(A/N: thanks for bearing with me while I got this chapter typed. I was
gonna put more on, but I decided to just make another chapter; it seemed
more evenly-spaced that way)
Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon
***
Chapter 13
***
The dreams were getting worse. The faces of the Predators were becoming more vivid; they were no longer just that of the Pred he had fought. Individual features began to show, and the voices changed. The silver scorpion (referred to by the Preds as 'The Dragon') was now mutilating him: ripping his body apart as if he were threshed meat.
And he couldn't wake up.
*********
"RAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!"
Auron sat up straight, his hand clenched around somebody's throat. He jumped on top of him, ready to slash his head off...
He blinked.
He was holding a plastic, humanoid toy. The plastic crackled and snapped under his grip, and even the painted face seemed to twist in pain.
He looked around...and found Aron and Garon, looking at him with awe from a distance.
He expected them to be fear-stricken at his sudden, ferocious behavior...but, on the contrary, they were holding smiles of awe and wonderment.
"Wow!", Garon exclaimed.
"Cool!", Aron accompanied.
"Can you do that again?", Garon asked.
Auron released a deep sigh from within and sat back down, still holding onto the toy.
"And what is this all about?", he asked them, holding up the action figure.
"Well", Garon said.
"We remember what happened last time we woke you up, and we thought it would be safer if we held out the toy first."
"Miserable little monsters", Auron thought to himself, but refrain from saying it out loud.
"Good plan", he commented, setting the toy down.
"But I think it would be safer if you two didn't try to wake me up anymore...I don't think it's the safest thing to do."
The twins looked thourghly disappointed at this. Auron had never felt this feeling before, but it bothered and almost hurt him to see thee face they were giving him.
"Man, is this what a parent feels like?", he thought to himself.
"Well, Peka's pretty good at deflecting it...my God, they're not even mine!"
"Well, actually...", Garon said, bringing Auron back.
"Mom told us to come upstairs and wake you...but we didn't know you were sleeping in the kitchen."
Aron started to snigger, but was silenced when his brother elbowed him in the stomach. After all, what shame was there to sleeping in the kitchen?
"Wait a minute", Auron said, holding a hand up.
"She sent you 'upstairs'? Where is she?"
"They're all in the basement", Garon answered.
"Even Reihana and doctor Jumba...they're waiting for you."
"Well, why didn't anybody tell me?", Auron said, getting up and jumping down from the table he was sleeping on.
Aron and Garon jumped after him.
"What're they doing?", Auron asked as he strode ahead of them.
"I don't know", Garon answered.
"But they're probably gonna leave us here again..."
Auron managed to suppress the note of feeling-left-out in the pup's voice and headed down the stairs to the basement.
"They're in the garage", Garon told him, still following.
Auron had never been in the garage, but he found his way there easy enough.
"Is this it?", he asked Garon after a while, standing in front of a door.
Garon smiled and nodded eagerly.
Auron had his doubts; he had been led playfully afar twice to different doors.
"Are you sure that this is it?", he asked.
"I don't want to walk in on Nani using the bathroom or anything."
"No, that's it", Garon said, his smile growing ever wider.
"Yes, that's definitely it."
Auron sighed heavily and opened the door, expecting to find another storage room.
But this time, Garon was true to his word. Many sets of eyes turned Auron's way as the door opened with a creak.
"Finally", Owen muttered, yet not unfriendly.
Auron stepped inside, and Garon and his brother slipped in behind him.
The garage-gate was closed, and was empty of the car. An overhead bar-lamp illuminated the other Experiments and Jumba, who was sitting close to Reihana (or, better yet, she was sitting close to him).
"Finally awake?", Stitch commented in greeting.
"Yeah", Auron said apologetically.
"I overslept...what's going on?"
"We're going to go clear up the crash-site", Peka told him, who was sitting next to Twyla on a tool-bench (Stitch and Owen stood against the wall).
"We were discussing while waiting for you."
"We're doing this already?", Auron asked in surprise.
"'Already'?", Stitch repeated with a slight laugh.
"You slept in! It's almost eleven-thirty!"
Auron suppressed a look of even more surprise and nodded.
"Uh...can I ask a question?", Peka asked Jumba, raising her hand.
"Vhat iz it?", the doctor replied.
"Well, how are we going to dispose of that big ship?", Peka asked.
"I mean, it's not like we can just throw it in the trashcan...and we can't move a whole spaceship around the place; we'd be seen."
"Ah!", said Jumba, as if they had reached a point in the conversation that he had been wanting to get to.
"I vill show you!"
He moved past Reihana (who was watching with as much surprise and curiosity as the others), and began throwing hoses and tools off of a large pile of materials in the corner.
"Jumba?", Stitch asked.
"What exactly are you looking for?"
"Watch it!", Owen shouted indignantly as a pair of pliers narrowly missed his head.
"A-ha, I have it!", Jumba exclaimed, moving away from a pile that was now considerably smaller.
Now unearthed, there stood...well, floated what seemed to be a rectangular, yellow metal box. About six feet long and two feet tall, the thing floated noiselessly about a foot of the ground. The Experiments (including Aron and Garon) leaned forward, and found two panels on top of the deck that could open.
"Everybody, look", Jumba said as he reached for a button on the side.
"But look carefully!"
He pressed a small, red knob, and the panels slid open. Immediately, a single wave of bright, crimson light shot out of the growing opening, and the Experiments shielded their eyes quickly.
"No, no; look!", Jumba urged them.
Slowly, one by one, they removed their hand from their faces, and peered inside.
Zipping around above a seemingly endless opening, were about a dozen, bright, angry lasers. These lightning-like bolts zipped and whizzed sharply about, creating a forever-changing threshold for whatever lay beneath it.
"It iz my latest invention!", said Jumba with pride.
"Zhis machine can instantly vaporize any material in zhe universe! Zimply slide zhe waste-metal into zhe lasers, and it vill be gone faster zhan you can see! Vatch!"
He picked up a screwdriver from the floor and held it a foot above the lasers.
"Ready?", he asked, and dropped the appliance into the void.
ZZTZIP!
Indeed, it happened faster than anybody can see. In a slight flash and spark, the screwdriver was gone from sight.
"Wow...", Aron and Garon awed, voicing everybody else's opinions.
"It iz good, iz it not?", Jumba said proudly.
"Ze technology iz quite new; I have been keeping up vith ze latest finds in ze Galactic Council."
"How can you keep up with it if you're here on Earth?", Aron asked curiously.
"Intergalactic news-messaging, young one", Jumba answered.
"I have been using ze computer."
"So that's why the internet's been acting up", Stitch speculated, to which Jumba shrugged with a blush, as if he knew nothing of it.
"It's an amazing machine, Jumba", Peka complimented.
"But...when did you build it? You didn't make it just because of the ship, or did you?"
"I admit, I have had it for zome time", Jumba confessed.
"I zhought zhat since 625 be making so many messes, it vould be nice to have an easy way to dispose of zhem-"
"Oh, shut up!", Owen shouted irritably.
***
Everybody was out of the garage now. The Experiments, as well as the laser machine, would be transported to the edge of the jungle by Nani, in the car. Twyla urged by pre-birth fatigue, had decided to stay behind (as would the twins, who had protested vigorously).
The machine was being loaded into the car, and Reihana still sat in the house. Upstairs, in the kitchen, on the table, where Auron had slept.
She wasn't feeling too well.
"471? 471?"
Jumba came into the kitchen.
"Zhere you are!", he exclaimed.
"Ze others are vaiting for you!"
He looked at her...but she lowered her head.
"471?", he said, quietly.
"...Yes?", she replied.
Jumba's face fell with her's.
"471...vhat's wrong?", he asked her, stepping closer carefully.
"...I don't feel so good", she confessed quietly.
Jumba said nothing, but walked over to her. He sat down next to her, and the table creaked under his weight. He put his arm around her shoulders and gently squeezed her.
"471...", he said.
"Please...tell me vhat troubles you."
Reihana sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"It's...it's just that...", she began in a low sob.
"It's just that...well, things are happening so fast...I just feel so stressed about it..."
Jumba sighed inaudibly, and gently lifted the sad Experiment into his lap.
"My dear 471....", he said to her as she rested her head against his chest.
"...I can only imagine zhe pain you feel right now...you have suffered much...more zhan I have ever vanted you to...but you cannot live on sadness."
Reihana looked up at her creator, her eyes shining and brimmed with tears.
"...What?", she asked quietly.
Jumba stroked her ears carefully as he spoke.
"You have endured much", he said.
"And have braved it better zhan many others would...but you cannot let vhat happened control your life."
He leaned forward, and pressed a small kiss against her forehead.
"You are safe here, on zhis planet", he assured her tranquilly.
"Nobody can hurt you now."
Reihana sniffed again and looked down. She wanted to believe that she was safe...indeed, she did feel better than she had when blasting through hyperspace in the spaceship...but Jumba's words just couldn't comfort her.
"B-but...but what about the other Experiments?", she asked in a sob.
For a moment, Jumba said nothing...then, the silence was broken by Peka calling;
"Reihana, you coming?"
She looked back up at Jumba...and saw that he was smiling.
"Go vith them", he advised her.
"Have some fun...we can discuss this later, no?"
After a moment's hesitation, Rei agreed.
***
It was cramped inside Nani's car as she drove to the edge of the jungle. Lilo had decided to come with (just for the ride), and now she, Stitch, Peka, Rei, and Auron sat in the backseat, with the laser-machine (now turned off) lying across their laps. It was quite heavy...and it was kind of an insult to hear Owen having a perfectly comfortable discussion with Nani in the front seat, as the machine was quite heavy.
"-And that's how I learned that neither of the kids tolerate cheese-spray and strawberry-syrup sandwiches", he finished.
Nani was silent for a moment, still not totally accustomed to Owen's strange (gross) eating habits, and finally answered;
"...Right."
"Are we almost there?", Lilo asked in a slight groan.
"Why?", Owen asked, turning around.
"My stories don't interest you?"
"We're almost there", Nani answered, glancing at the backseat through the rear-view mirror.
"Just another minute; I wanna make sure nobody sees you guys."
As she said this, Reihana shifted uncomfortably. Not because of the machine, but because this idea of staying hidden all the time was starting to bother her.
"...Why do we have to hide all the time?", she asked quietly.
"Why can't we go out like...like..."
She forgot the word.
"Like humans?", Auron asked.
Reihana nodded.
"They think we're freaky or something", Stitch said.
"But you're not", Lilo said defensively, mirroring Reihana's thoughts.
"I know, Lilo", Stitch said to her.
"But you know that even though we're all ohana, getting everybody else to like us is hard."
"Why?", Rei asked.
"Humans aren't used to anything different", Peka answered, who was sitting next to her.
"And they'd probably be scared of us...even though there's nothing to fear about us."
"Except when Owen snores, and he sounds like a monster", Stitch sniggered.
The others laughed and Owen moaned: he wasn't too fond of being the subject of everybody's joke.
"Well", Peka said, speaking over the laughter.
"I think you should all know that Owen doesn't snore as much as he used to."
This was somewhat of a surprise to the others, who had known her to go right along with small teases aimed at her mate.
"...Really?", Owen finally asked.
"I don't snore that much?"
While the others took part in another laugh, Auron felt terribly guilty again. He knew that Peka had stuck up for him to get him back...something that he had promised to help out with.
"Think, think!", he thought to himself hurriedly.
"What's a good way to get a guy back?"
He didn't have much time to ponder the matter.
Unexpectently, the un-nerving cry of a police-siren surprised them all.
"Oh no...", Nani moaned, glancing into the side-mirror, and seeing the police-car right behind them.
"What did I do?"
"PULL YOUR VEHICLE OVER", a megaphone-enhanced voice ordered loudly.
"Darn it!", Nani cursed.
"What're we gonna do?!"
"Just pull over", Stitch advised.
"We don't want trouble."
"We ARE in trouble", Nani said stressedly, turning on the car's blinkers.
"They're gonna see you!"
"What are we going to do?", Lilo asked anxiously.
"Don't worry", Stitch told her reassuredly, even though there was a hint of tenseness to his voice.
"Everybody", he directed at the other Experiments.
"Act like dogs!"
"...What's a dog?", Reihana asked.
"Just don't say anything!", Peka hissed as they pulled over to a dirt sidewalk that lined the jungle.
As the cop car pulled up behind them, the Experiments and Lilo heard Nani whispering something. They thought she was praying.
The footsteps of the approaching officer were audible even through the settling of the dust. Auron looked up and saw as the cop's torso stopped in front of the driver-window. He held his breath as Nani unrolled the screen.
"Uh...is there a problem, officer?", she asked as soon as the window was completely open.
The man leaned down in his tan uniform and adjusted a pair of clip-on sunglasses.
"Ma'am, may I see your license and registration, please?", he asked, by-the- book formally.
"A-alright", Nani said nervously, and took the laminated papers from the glove compartment.
The others were silent.
"Can I ask what this is about?", Nani asked as she handed the papers to the cop.
"You were driving with a broken taillight", he informed her as he checked her license.
"That's a traffic-violation. I'm afraid I'll have to write you up for that- "
Just then, he realized that Nani wasn't the only person in the car.
The officer leaned back down to the window, looked inside, and saw not only Lilo, but also the four other Experiments.
Forgetting his formality, he removed his glasses completely and asked;
"What in the world are THOSE things?!"
Nani tried to hide the redness of her face, as the Experiments looked up at the cop innocently.
"They're...uh...", she started, talking quickly between her pauses.
"They're...my pets."
"What are they?", the cop asked in somewhat disgusted awe.
"They're...dogs", Nani answered.
"Crossbreeds."
"Must be one Hell of a mix", the officer said, still staring.
Then, he noticed the laser-machine lying across the backseat.
"And what is THAT?", he asked.
"That's a vacuum-cleaner", Nani answered, faster than before.
The officer stared a few more moments, then stood back up.
"You're transporting...five animals in one vehicle", the officer stated.
"I'm not sure if that's a violation or not...whether or not, I'll still have to give a ticket for the tail-light, lady."
"O-okay", Nani said.
The others felt the relief in her voice.
The cop handed back the license papers and began filling out the ticket with a pen.
"You'll have to sign this", he said, handing it to Nani through the window.
Nani began cramming for a pen, and the officer stepped back to the backseat- window, which was halfway opened.
"Hey, little guy", he cooed to Reihana, in a disgusting sing-song voice.
"How've you been?"
Everybody watching could see that Reihana was terrified of the cop (after all, she wasn't yet acquainted to humans). She was even more scared when he reached in to touch her.
She squirmed and tried to wriggle away as the hand came closer.
Nani heard the commotion and turned around in her seat.
"Sir!", she exclaimed.
"I don't think you should be doing that!"
The officer ignored her, and Rei's eyes grew wide with fear as the hairy- knuckled hand tried to stroke her.
"Sir, please!", Nani said again, but the man wouldn't listen.
"Don't!", Lilo said, louder than her sister.
However, it wasn't her voice or Nani's that knocked some sense into the officer; it was Auron leaning forward and sharply biting the cop's hand.
"Ow!", he (the cop) cried in impact and withdrew his hand abruptly, holding it with the other.
Everybody's look snapped to Auron. He was looking at the officer with a great deal of loathing and resentment. A growl escaped his lips. He looked very vicious.
Nani looked at the police officer anxiously; surely he was going to give her another penalty.
The cop was staring back at Auron not-too-pleasantly. Still, he obviously realized that it had been his mistake.
"Move on!", he snapped angrily, and started to walk back to his car.
Nani started the car up as quickly as she could and pulled out of the dust- road.
As she drove, Lilo and the Experiments looked at Auron in some kind of awe. He hid a blush, and simply said, very quietly;
"That was very rude of him..."
***
(A/N: I've been meaning to say this for some time...at the risk of sounding very self-assured, I believe that this is a very good fic I'm writing.
I'm typing chapters faster than 'Before Perfection', and I've achieved more than half of the words that 'Before Perfection' had, in less than half of the chapters that it had. To me, that's a great accomplishment.
Also, I've received more reviews on this here than I ever did on 'Before Perfection', and it's nice to know that there are going to be more of them (thanks so much!).
PurpleJoy6 - we'll see if Nago's gone or not...but be warned: you'll have to wait a while to find out.
DanMat6288 - I'm not sure what you mean, because I haven't seen the Series, but I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna keep all of my ideas original. Sorry.
most extreame priness - okay, I finally remembered: Reihana is pronounced 'ry-ah-na'. Understand?
To verybody reading: thank you so much for being there. I really appreciate your support, because it lets me know that I'm good at writing. You give me strength, and I say to you all now; thank you)
Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon
***
Chapter 13
***
The dreams were getting worse. The faces of the Predators were becoming more vivid; they were no longer just that of the Pred he had fought. Individual features began to show, and the voices changed. The silver scorpion (referred to by the Preds as 'The Dragon') was now mutilating him: ripping his body apart as if he were threshed meat.
And he couldn't wake up.
*********
"RAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!"
Auron sat up straight, his hand clenched around somebody's throat. He jumped on top of him, ready to slash his head off...
He blinked.
He was holding a plastic, humanoid toy. The plastic crackled and snapped under his grip, and even the painted face seemed to twist in pain.
He looked around...and found Aron and Garon, looking at him with awe from a distance.
He expected them to be fear-stricken at his sudden, ferocious behavior...but, on the contrary, they were holding smiles of awe and wonderment.
"Wow!", Garon exclaimed.
"Cool!", Aron accompanied.
"Can you do that again?", Garon asked.
Auron released a deep sigh from within and sat back down, still holding onto the toy.
"And what is this all about?", he asked them, holding up the action figure.
"Well", Garon said.
"We remember what happened last time we woke you up, and we thought it would be safer if we held out the toy first."
"Miserable little monsters", Auron thought to himself, but refrain from saying it out loud.
"Good plan", he commented, setting the toy down.
"But I think it would be safer if you two didn't try to wake me up anymore...I don't think it's the safest thing to do."
The twins looked thourghly disappointed at this. Auron had never felt this feeling before, but it bothered and almost hurt him to see thee face they were giving him.
"Man, is this what a parent feels like?", he thought to himself.
"Well, Peka's pretty good at deflecting it...my God, they're not even mine!"
"Well, actually...", Garon said, bringing Auron back.
"Mom told us to come upstairs and wake you...but we didn't know you were sleeping in the kitchen."
Aron started to snigger, but was silenced when his brother elbowed him in the stomach. After all, what shame was there to sleeping in the kitchen?
"Wait a minute", Auron said, holding a hand up.
"She sent you 'upstairs'? Where is she?"
"They're all in the basement", Garon answered.
"Even Reihana and doctor Jumba...they're waiting for you."
"Well, why didn't anybody tell me?", Auron said, getting up and jumping down from the table he was sleeping on.
Aron and Garon jumped after him.
"What're they doing?", Auron asked as he strode ahead of them.
"I don't know", Garon answered.
"But they're probably gonna leave us here again..."
Auron managed to suppress the note of feeling-left-out in the pup's voice and headed down the stairs to the basement.
"They're in the garage", Garon told him, still following.
Auron had never been in the garage, but he found his way there easy enough.
"Is this it?", he asked Garon after a while, standing in front of a door.
Garon smiled and nodded eagerly.
Auron had his doubts; he had been led playfully afar twice to different doors.
"Are you sure that this is it?", he asked.
"I don't want to walk in on Nani using the bathroom or anything."
"No, that's it", Garon said, his smile growing ever wider.
"Yes, that's definitely it."
Auron sighed heavily and opened the door, expecting to find another storage room.
But this time, Garon was true to his word. Many sets of eyes turned Auron's way as the door opened with a creak.
"Finally", Owen muttered, yet not unfriendly.
Auron stepped inside, and Garon and his brother slipped in behind him.
The garage-gate was closed, and was empty of the car. An overhead bar-lamp illuminated the other Experiments and Jumba, who was sitting close to Reihana (or, better yet, she was sitting close to him).
"Finally awake?", Stitch commented in greeting.
"Yeah", Auron said apologetically.
"I overslept...what's going on?"
"We're going to go clear up the crash-site", Peka told him, who was sitting next to Twyla on a tool-bench (Stitch and Owen stood against the wall).
"We were discussing while waiting for you."
"We're doing this already?", Auron asked in surprise.
"'Already'?", Stitch repeated with a slight laugh.
"You slept in! It's almost eleven-thirty!"
Auron suppressed a look of even more surprise and nodded.
"Uh...can I ask a question?", Peka asked Jumba, raising her hand.
"Vhat iz it?", the doctor replied.
"Well, how are we going to dispose of that big ship?", Peka asked.
"I mean, it's not like we can just throw it in the trashcan...and we can't move a whole spaceship around the place; we'd be seen."
"Ah!", said Jumba, as if they had reached a point in the conversation that he had been wanting to get to.
"I vill show you!"
He moved past Reihana (who was watching with as much surprise and curiosity as the others), and began throwing hoses and tools off of a large pile of materials in the corner.
"Jumba?", Stitch asked.
"What exactly are you looking for?"
"Watch it!", Owen shouted indignantly as a pair of pliers narrowly missed his head.
"A-ha, I have it!", Jumba exclaimed, moving away from a pile that was now considerably smaller.
Now unearthed, there stood...well, floated what seemed to be a rectangular, yellow metal box. About six feet long and two feet tall, the thing floated noiselessly about a foot of the ground. The Experiments (including Aron and Garon) leaned forward, and found two panels on top of the deck that could open.
"Everybody, look", Jumba said as he reached for a button on the side.
"But look carefully!"
He pressed a small, red knob, and the panels slid open. Immediately, a single wave of bright, crimson light shot out of the growing opening, and the Experiments shielded their eyes quickly.
"No, no; look!", Jumba urged them.
Slowly, one by one, they removed their hand from their faces, and peered inside.
Zipping around above a seemingly endless opening, were about a dozen, bright, angry lasers. These lightning-like bolts zipped and whizzed sharply about, creating a forever-changing threshold for whatever lay beneath it.
"It iz my latest invention!", said Jumba with pride.
"Zhis machine can instantly vaporize any material in zhe universe! Zimply slide zhe waste-metal into zhe lasers, and it vill be gone faster zhan you can see! Vatch!"
He picked up a screwdriver from the floor and held it a foot above the lasers.
"Ready?", he asked, and dropped the appliance into the void.
ZZTZIP!
Indeed, it happened faster than anybody can see. In a slight flash and spark, the screwdriver was gone from sight.
"Wow...", Aron and Garon awed, voicing everybody else's opinions.
"It iz good, iz it not?", Jumba said proudly.
"Ze technology iz quite new; I have been keeping up vith ze latest finds in ze Galactic Council."
"How can you keep up with it if you're here on Earth?", Aron asked curiously.
"Intergalactic news-messaging, young one", Jumba answered.
"I have been using ze computer."
"So that's why the internet's been acting up", Stitch speculated, to which Jumba shrugged with a blush, as if he knew nothing of it.
"It's an amazing machine, Jumba", Peka complimented.
"But...when did you build it? You didn't make it just because of the ship, or did you?"
"I admit, I have had it for zome time", Jumba confessed.
"I zhought zhat since 625 be making so many messes, it vould be nice to have an easy way to dispose of zhem-"
"Oh, shut up!", Owen shouted irritably.
***
Everybody was out of the garage now. The Experiments, as well as the laser machine, would be transported to the edge of the jungle by Nani, in the car. Twyla urged by pre-birth fatigue, had decided to stay behind (as would the twins, who had protested vigorously).
The machine was being loaded into the car, and Reihana still sat in the house. Upstairs, in the kitchen, on the table, where Auron had slept.
She wasn't feeling too well.
"471? 471?"
Jumba came into the kitchen.
"Zhere you are!", he exclaimed.
"Ze others are vaiting for you!"
He looked at her...but she lowered her head.
"471?", he said, quietly.
"...Yes?", she replied.
Jumba's face fell with her's.
"471...vhat's wrong?", he asked her, stepping closer carefully.
"...I don't feel so good", she confessed quietly.
Jumba said nothing, but walked over to her. He sat down next to her, and the table creaked under his weight. He put his arm around her shoulders and gently squeezed her.
"471...", he said.
"Please...tell me vhat troubles you."
Reihana sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"It's...it's just that...", she began in a low sob.
"It's just that...well, things are happening so fast...I just feel so stressed about it..."
Jumba sighed inaudibly, and gently lifted the sad Experiment into his lap.
"My dear 471....", he said to her as she rested her head against his chest.
"...I can only imagine zhe pain you feel right now...you have suffered much...more zhan I have ever vanted you to...but you cannot live on sadness."
Reihana looked up at her creator, her eyes shining and brimmed with tears.
"...What?", she asked quietly.
Jumba stroked her ears carefully as he spoke.
"You have endured much", he said.
"And have braved it better zhan many others would...but you cannot let vhat happened control your life."
He leaned forward, and pressed a small kiss against her forehead.
"You are safe here, on zhis planet", he assured her tranquilly.
"Nobody can hurt you now."
Reihana sniffed again and looked down. She wanted to believe that she was safe...indeed, she did feel better than she had when blasting through hyperspace in the spaceship...but Jumba's words just couldn't comfort her.
"B-but...but what about the other Experiments?", she asked in a sob.
For a moment, Jumba said nothing...then, the silence was broken by Peka calling;
"Reihana, you coming?"
She looked back up at Jumba...and saw that he was smiling.
"Go vith them", he advised her.
"Have some fun...we can discuss this later, no?"
After a moment's hesitation, Rei agreed.
***
It was cramped inside Nani's car as she drove to the edge of the jungle. Lilo had decided to come with (just for the ride), and now she, Stitch, Peka, Rei, and Auron sat in the backseat, with the laser-machine (now turned off) lying across their laps. It was quite heavy...and it was kind of an insult to hear Owen having a perfectly comfortable discussion with Nani in the front seat, as the machine was quite heavy.
"-And that's how I learned that neither of the kids tolerate cheese-spray and strawberry-syrup sandwiches", he finished.
Nani was silent for a moment, still not totally accustomed to Owen's strange (gross) eating habits, and finally answered;
"...Right."
"Are we almost there?", Lilo asked in a slight groan.
"Why?", Owen asked, turning around.
"My stories don't interest you?"
"We're almost there", Nani answered, glancing at the backseat through the rear-view mirror.
"Just another minute; I wanna make sure nobody sees you guys."
As she said this, Reihana shifted uncomfortably. Not because of the machine, but because this idea of staying hidden all the time was starting to bother her.
"...Why do we have to hide all the time?", she asked quietly.
"Why can't we go out like...like..."
She forgot the word.
"Like humans?", Auron asked.
Reihana nodded.
"They think we're freaky or something", Stitch said.
"But you're not", Lilo said defensively, mirroring Reihana's thoughts.
"I know, Lilo", Stitch said to her.
"But you know that even though we're all ohana, getting everybody else to like us is hard."
"Why?", Rei asked.
"Humans aren't used to anything different", Peka answered, who was sitting next to her.
"And they'd probably be scared of us...even though there's nothing to fear about us."
"Except when Owen snores, and he sounds like a monster", Stitch sniggered.
The others laughed and Owen moaned: he wasn't too fond of being the subject of everybody's joke.
"Well", Peka said, speaking over the laughter.
"I think you should all know that Owen doesn't snore as much as he used to."
This was somewhat of a surprise to the others, who had known her to go right along with small teases aimed at her mate.
"...Really?", Owen finally asked.
"I don't snore that much?"
While the others took part in another laugh, Auron felt terribly guilty again. He knew that Peka had stuck up for him to get him back...something that he had promised to help out with.
"Think, think!", he thought to himself hurriedly.
"What's a good way to get a guy back?"
He didn't have much time to ponder the matter.
Unexpectently, the un-nerving cry of a police-siren surprised them all.
"Oh no...", Nani moaned, glancing into the side-mirror, and seeing the police-car right behind them.
"What did I do?"
"PULL YOUR VEHICLE OVER", a megaphone-enhanced voice ordered loudly.
"Darn it!", Nani cursed.
"What're we gonna do?!"
"Just pull over", Stitch advised.
"We don't want trouble."
"We ARE in trouble", Nani said stressedly, turning on the car's blinkers.
"They're gonna see you!"
"What are we going to do?", Lilo asked anxiously.
"Don't worry", Stitch told her reassuredly, even though there was a hint of tenseness to his voice.
"Everybody", he directed at the other Experiments.
"Act like dogs!"
"...What's a dog?", Reihana asked.
"Just don't say anything!", Peka hissed as they pulled over to a dirt sidewalk that lined the jungle.
As the cop car pulled up behind them, the Experiments and Lilo heard Nani whispering something. They thought she was praying.
The footsteps of the approaching officer were audible even through the settling of the dust. Auron looked up and saw as the cop's torso stopped in front of the driver-window. He held his breath as Nani unrolled the screen.
"Uh...is there a problem, officer?", she asked as soon as the window was completely open.
The man leaned down in his tan uniform and adjusted a pair of clip-on sunglasses.
"Ma'am, may I see your license and registration, please?", he asked, by-the- book formally.
"A-alright", Nani said nervously, and took the laminated papers from the glove compartment.
The others were silent.
"Can I ask what this is about?", Nani asked as she handed the papers to the cop.
"You were driving with a broken taillight", he informed her as he checked her license.
"That's a traffic-violation. I'm afraid I'll have to write you up for that- "
Just then, he realized that Nani wasn't the only person in the car.
The officer leaned back down to the window, looked inside, and saw not only Lilo, but also the four other Experiments.
Forgetting his formality, he removed his glasses completely and asked;
"What in the world are THOSE things?!"
Nani tried to hide the redness of her face, as the Experiments looked up at the cop innocently.
"They're...uh...", she started, talking quickly between her pauses.
"They're...my pets."
"What are they?", the cop asked in somewhat disgusted awe.
"They're...dogs", Nani answered.
"Crossbreeds."
"Must be one Hell of a mix", the officer said, still staring.
Then, he noticed the laser-machine lying across the backseat.
"And what is THAT?", he asked.
"That's a vacuum-cleaner", Nani answered, faster than before.
The officer stared a few more moments, then stood back up.
"You're transporting...five animals in one vehicle", the officer stated.
"I'm not sure if that's a violation or not...whether or not, I'll still have to give a ticket for the tail-light, lady."
"O-okay", Nani said.
The others felt the relief in her voice.
The cop handed back the license papers and began filling out the ticket with a pen.
"You'll have to sign this", he said, handing it to Nani through the window.
Nani began cramming for a pen, and the officer stepped back to the backseat- window, which was halfway opened.
"Hey, little guy", he cooed to Reihana, in a disgusting sing-song voice.
"How've you been?"
Everybody watching could see that Reihana was terrified of the cop (after all, she wasn't yet acquainted to humans). She was even more scared when he reached in to touch her.
She squirmed and tried to wriggle away as the hand came closer.
Nani heard the commotion and turned around in her seat.
"Sir!", she exclaimed.
"I don't think you should be doing that!"
The officer ignored her, and Rei's eyes grew wide with fear as the hairy- knuckled hand tried to stroke her.
"Sir, please!", Nani said again, but the man wouldn't listen.
"Don't!", Lilo said, louder than her sister.
However, it wasn't her voice or Nani's that knocked some sense into the officer; it was Auron leaning forward and sharply biting the cop's hand.
"Ow!", he (the cop) cried in impact and withdrew his hand abruptly, holding it with the other.
Everybody's look snapped to Auron. He was looking at the officer with a great deal of loathing and resentment. A growl escaped his lips. He looked very vicious.
Nani looked at the police officer anxiously; surely he was going to give her another penalty.
The cop was staring back at Auron not-too-pleasantly. Still, he obviously realized that it had been his mistake.
"Move on!", he snapped angrily, and started to walk back to his car.
Nani started the car up as quickly as she could and pulled out of the dust- road.
As she drove, Lilo and the Experiments looked at Auron in some kind of awe. He hid a blush, and simply said, very quietly;
"That was very rude of him..."
***
(A/N: I've been meaning to say this for some time...at the risk of sounding very self-assured, I believe that this is a very good fic I'm writing.
I'm typing chapters faster than 'Before Perfection', and I've achieved more than half of the words that 'Before Perfection' had, in less than half of the chapters that it had. To me, that's a great accomplishment.
Also, I've received more reviews on this here than I ever did on 'Before Perfection', and it's nice to know that there are going to be more of them (thanks so much!).
PurpleJoy6 - we'll see if Nago's gone or not...but be warned: you'll have to wait a while to find out.
DanMat6288 - I'm not sure what you mean, because I haven't seen the Series, but I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna keep all of my ideas original. Sorry.
most extreame priness - okay, I finally remembered: Reihana is pronounced 'ry-ah-na'. Understand?
To verybody reading: thank you so much for being there. I really appreciate your support, because it lets me know that I'm good at writing. You give me strength, and I say to you all now; thank you)