[Disclaimer: the song 'The Night' belongs to Scooter. The original song has
only one verse, so the other are the ones that I made up]
*********
Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon
Chapter 15
***
Reihana and Auron stood next to Peka, Owen, and Stitch as they beheld the sight. Auron noted that it must've been very dark the night before; he didn't remember the ship being this big, and he didn't remember it sticking out of the ground in a perfect 45-degree angle.
The task that lied ahead was daunting to all of them.
"Auron?", Peka finally asked after a minute.
"Yeah?", he replied, and se asked;
"You crashed to Earth in a ship, too...how did you cover that up?"
Auron smiled to himself; they were all searching for the easiest possible way to do this...or to get out of doing it.
"It grew over with vines and plants", he explained.
"You can barely see it now...but I don't think that's gonna be possible now, with this one."
Everybody groaned.
"You had to choose the biggest, most obvious star-cruiser to arrive on Earth, huh, Reihana?", Owen asked playfully (Stitch elbowed him in stomach; Reihana had escaped with her life).
*********
Nothing seemed organized at first. Although everybody knew that the first step was to get the ship to a parallel level, but everybody seemed to have a different idea how this would be accomplished. Reihana eventually stood back from the scene, but this wasn't out of laziness; she was afraid that at any moment the ship would fall over and crush them all.
Auron was sure that if some support was established underneath the free part of the ship, the other part they would be able to dig out of the mud without problem.
Stitch claimed that the only way was to have him and Auron ease the ship into place while the others dug the mud away.
Everybody ignored Owen when he said that simply kicking the ship would solve the problem.
They ignored him, but that was what did the trick...when he kicked it, the ship came down, and almost obliterated Auron (who dove out of the way just fast enough).
Mud and leaves splattered along with a tremendous thud as the ship crashed down and heaved as it hit the Earth. For a moment, nobody could see a thing.
"AURON!", Peka shouted urgently.
The reply to this was referred not to her, but to Owen;
"I'm gonna kill him!"
He re-appeared as the debris settled, splashed in mud.
"Owen, I'm going to knock you out!", he said, stepping out of the scene in a way that could've been much more dramatic.
Even though Owen recoiled in fear, Auron knew he wasn't close enough to punch him and not feel guilty about it, so he settled for simply throwing him an evil eye.
"I'm sorry...", Owen whimpered, once Auron had turned his back on him (he didn't know it, but Auron wasn't for holding grudges; he had forgiven him already.
"Well", he said, in a 'looking-on-the-good-side' way.
"At least the ship's down, huh?"
Peka (who had gotten over the shock of seeing him almost get crushed) nodded.
"...But what are we going to do now? We can't stick the whole thing in the laser."
"I think that's where Stitch comes in", Auron answered, glancing at him.
Stitch looked pretty surprised at this.
"...Huh?", he asked in surprise.
"Aren't you able to tear metal?", Auron asked him.
It took a moment for Stitch to remember his strength; it almost surprised him.
"...Oh yeah!", he said in slight bemusement.
"I...I almost forgot."
This statement seemed to enlighten Auron in a way that the others didn't understand.
"Better to forget about it in a good life", he thought to himself.
"Than to keep it fresh fighting all the time."
He was referring to his experience with the Predator...but also the fact that he knew Stitch's strength, from when he twisted his arm behind his back the night before.
***
The work was divided between the five of them, and it was cooperative.
Stitch, who was indeed strong enough tear individual segments of the metal alloy apart, still needed some assistance from Auron. Together, they tore segmented pieces from the intact ship, and Stitch (more than Auron, because of his strength) tore them into bits small enough to be fed into the laser.
This job was taken up by Peka and Owen, who stood wait next to the growing pile of trash metal, ready to grab as much as they could and rush it over to the laser. Owen became increasingly intimidated by the violent spark created when something was dropped into the void, and he recoiled quickly whenever he managed to disclaim one of the scraps. This crazy hesitation finally led Peka to kick him in the back of the leg, after shouting;
"Come on, my arms are full!"
Reihana was feeling somewhat...irrelevant to the situation. She knew that the others had meant well to give her (the newbie) a job that didn't require a lot of work...but when she was told to 'make sure that the ship doesn't fall over', she felt a bit stupid. It didn't help that she screeched in surprise when something crawled over her tail (it turned out to be a harmless lizard), and everybody ran to her in alarm.
***
Nobody could've argued that they worked in silence. No conversation was heard; it was like a silent square of cubicles of a corporation. The only audible sound was the slow, reaching tear of metal, the sparking of the laser device, and Owen's occasion;
"Are we almost done?"
***
Perhaps it was simply the need for music and knowing that Auron could make it that made Peka ask him for some.
"Hey, Auron?", she asked after she had dropped a slab of metal into the laser.
Auron looked up from his work.
"Yeah?"
"How about you think up a song for us?"
...This request was a bit abrupt for Auron.
"...Now?", he asked in surprise.
"Yeah", Peka answered.
"Would that be alright?"
"...But I don't have my guitar", Auron pointed out.
"Can't you sing?", Peka asked.
"I thought you said you could."
"I-I can...", Auron said slowly, somewhat uncomfortably.
"Oh, come on, Peka; you're putting me on the spot here!"
"Come on!", Stitch voiced from behind.
"We'll sing with you!"
"No...", Auron moaned.
"Come on!", Peka, Stitch, and Owen urged playfully (Reihana watched, not interfering, but hoping for a song as well).
"No..."
"Come on!"
"Leemee alone..."
"Please!"
"No..."
It took a lot of persuasion, but eventually Auron agreed in playful reluctance.
"Alright, alright", he finally gave up.
"I'll do one...but you guys all gotta get into it when I get started...okay."
He sat quietly for a sec, slowly grinding a piece of metal between his claws. Everybody looked on in anticipation as he pondered, and looks up expectation filled their expressions as he looked up after a while.
"Alright", he announced, sitting up.
"This one's pretty easy, but I've thought it up for some time. If you all like it, feel free to sing along."
He took a breath, and seemed to stand still...then, it became aware to the others that he was tapping his foot lightly, like a rapper finding a beat. Then, when it was suspected that he had found one, he began to hum a bit...the melody was unrecognizable, but once he opened his mouth, the lyrics were wonderful.
*********
"All my friends are talking to me, What's this love I see?
I know you can make it right, I'm still waiting now
Waiting for the love I need, If you want me too
There's something I don't understand, I don't know...
***
All the things I wanted to be, When can I be free?
Does this mean something rash? Do I want something more?
Is there something unfulfilled? Who can say...
***
All my dreams are speaking to me, Do they want me harm?
Is there some good in the bad? Like a moth in a shell
Some things are going down, But I won't tell..."
*********
It was a song to be played in a dance-hall: pitched, repeated, and sweet. The words seemed almost meaningless, but they were deep in Auron's voice.
It was easy enough for the others to pick up with, and they enjoyed doing so. It was almost like 'Kumbaya'; they were able to sing the three verses over and over with it getting old (but when it did, they did start singing Kumbaya).
Deep down (including Auron), they knew it was kind of silly, but it didn't matter at the moment.
***
In their time, their work didn't seem to take long. Owen's occasional complaints couldn't override the singing, even though it seemed like an uplifting to him as well as the others.
Bit by bit, the ship that Reihana had arrived in disappeared. Once the entire outer hull was dismantled and 'laserized', they were left with the 'inner organs' and engines. These took long to take apart. It wasn't because they were harder to tear apart (on the contrary), but because they had to be dissected delicately. These things carried the hazard of being highly-explosive if handled roughly, so it wasn't long before Stitch and Auron were squinting through slit eyes to make they didn't rupture any fuse- wires (while humming "All my friends are talking to me..." through their teeth).
Canisters which contained liquid (like the gas tanks, windshield detergent- holders, etc.) became an even bigger problem. None of the Experiments were sure if the laser could handle liquids, and neither did they want to simply pour it out and pollute the jungle soil.
They decided to simply take the specific liquids and canisters back to the house: maybe Jumba would know what to do with them.
It wouldn't be long before they would do so; their rate of work had profitably risen to impress and foreman.
*********
The walk back to the road where they were to meet Nani was filled with conversation (the laser was stacked with the liquid-containers, and followed them on remote). The tension had disappeared, and they were tipped with the confidence that the job was complete and nobody would ever be able to know that the ship had ever been there (what was left of the ship was now spread unnoticingly across the ground: the laser had reduced it to a small pile of ash). It felt good to have a large job done, and each of them was planning an ideal period of recreation.
"I'm telling ya, there'd better be a whole platter of strawberry-and-salsa sandwiches waiting for me when we get back", Owen stated, walking in- between Stitch and Peka.
The others scoffed inaudibly.
"You barely did anything", they were all thinking, but were in too high of spirits to destroy his.
"Whatever", Stitch said.
"But I know that I'll have to get some band-aids as soon as I can...I cut myself here."
He showed his hand, which held in its palm a slightly-bleeding gash.
"Oooh", Auron commented in grossed interest.
"Yeah, you'd better do something with that."
"Look who's talking", Stitch said playfully.
"I wonder why you didn't get cut."
"Well, I didn't want to mess my own hands up...", Auron said, shrugging his shoulders innocently.
Stitch gave him a playful shove, sending him a bit off-balance.
That's pretty much how the entire conversation went as they moved anewed through the jungle, unhurried.
***
They broke out into sunlight just as Nani's car pulled up along the road. It rolled to a stop as the dust kicked up behind it.
Stitch stepped up and opened the passenger-door. Nani's face was surprisingly welcoming, but it faded away almost instant.
"Oh!", she exclaimed in surprise and in disgust.
"What's that smell?!"
"Smell?", Stitch asked.
"What smell?"
"It's probably the gas", Peka suggested, opening the backseat door and climbing in.
"Or it's Owen", Auron said with a cruel smile.
Owen laughed sarcastically and climbed in after Peka. Reihana entered after her, then Auron. He lifted in the laser behind him, set it across their laps, and set the canisters of gas on the floor in front of the seats. He closed the door, giving Nani the cue to get moving.
"You all look like you've been productive", she commented, turning the car around, towards home.
"Did you get everything done?"
"Yep", Stitch responded proudly.
"All of it."
"What are those canisters for?", Nani asked, her eyes reflecting in the rear-view mirror.
"Well...almost everything", Stitch corrected himself.
"We don't know what to do with them, so we're gonna see if Jumba knows how to get rid of them."
Nani nodded.
"Just don't bring that smell into the house", she warned.
"I wouldn't want Twyla getting 'contaminated'."
"How is she?", Stitch asked, suddenly more serious than before.
"No need to worry, nothing happened", Nani answered.
"She's just been feeling a bit more fatigued. I think it was a good idea that she stayed at home."
She looked back into the mirror, at Peka.
"You guys really have mixed birth-cycles, huh?"
Peka shrugged her shoulders with a small smile.
"Talk to Jumba about it", she answered, then added;
"But I don't think that he's got all the answers either."
They rode in silence for some time. The Experiments watched out the window as cars whooshed by. After a while, the dirt road was replaced by the pavement that led into the town. The car rounded the T-turn upwards and towards the house.
As they pulled into the garage underneath the steps and stopped the car, Nani turned around in her seat and looked at Reihana.
"Are you alright?", she asked her.
"...Me?", Rei replied in surprise.
"Yes, I am...why do you ask?"
"You looked kinda sad for a second", Nani said.
She looked on for a second, then suggested to Rei;
"Here, why don't you come with me into the kitchen for a while? You don't smell like the others here."
The 'others' groaned in their discrimination, and Rei looked a bit unsure for a moment.
"Go with her", Peka urged.
"The rest of us are going to take a shower before we do anything else."
"Speaking of taking a shower", Nani interjected, looking up.
"I hate to say it, but we've been wasting a lot of water lately. All of you taking separate showers is costing a lot of money, so I want you all to shower together this once."
Obviously, this was considered an abrupt intrusion of privacy, and Stitch, Auron, Owen, and Peka both exclaimed;
"What?!"
"Oh, don't act like that", Nani said.
"You go naked wherever you go; I think that you can save some water for once and get wet together."
There was a lot of grumble, but Nani ignored it all. Still, it was obvious to the Experiments that showering together wouldn't mean a thing...it just seemed strange, on account that they had never done it before.
***
After placing the canisters in the garage, they marched up the sloped, wooden stairs and through the door, Nani in the rear. As the Experiments headed up the stairs and towards the bathroom (minus Rei, who went with Nani), Stitch excused himself for a moment to see Twyla (who, Nani had said, was on the sofa in the living room).
Halfway up the stairs, Auron, Owen, and Peka heard Stitch greet her warmly;
"Hey, sweetie, how are you?"
A moment later, she responded with;
"Oh, don't come any closer! You smell like a gas station!"
Very soon, Stitch rejoined them.
"Let's get this over with", he said, urgently.
On their way t the bathroom, they met Lilo, who came out of her room excitedly as she heard them approach. But she too backed away at their smell.
"P-U!", she exclaimed, holding nose.
"What did you guys do?"
"It's a long story", Stitch answered.
"We'll tell you after we shower."
Lilo looked as surprised as they were at first.
"All of you are going to shower together?", she asked.
"Your sister's making us", Owen accused.
"Just to let everybody know right now, I take absolutely no pleasure in this."
"Oh, you think we do?", Auron asked.
"Have you ever smelled a wet dog?"
*********
Sometime later, downstairs, Reihana was thinking more than listening. She sipped at her drink and nodded while Nani talked, but she was actually sorting out things inside of her mind.
Nani had obviously heard the story about her loss, and figured that her short moment of sadness was an affect of it. Now, she was trying to 'make her feel better' by telling her about some love problems that she had encountered.
Reihana liked Nani very much and was thankful for her hospitality...but she was too shy to tell Nani that her attempt was not working.
Reihana enjoyed the girl-to-girl talk, but Nani just couldn't honestly say anything that would make her (Reihana) feel any better about the subject.
Perhaps it was because Nani just didn't know what it felt like to see her mate killed before her very eyes...but she wouldn't hold that against her.
But she had made one true and crucial point: there was nobody else like Nago.
Rei remembered the love she had shared with him and still harbored for him. She remembered his gruff yet friendly nature, and his gentle, loving touch whenever she needed it. She remembered his voice and his words, and the way he could make her laugh.
She loved him so much that it hurt...so why was she feeling what she was at the moment?
Specifically, why was she feeling the way she did about Auron?
She knew that Auron felt something for her too; it was plain obvious. He was naïve and scared about the feeling, like most people can be.
Reihana didn't feel passionate love towards him...it was a kind of attraction. It startled and upset her; she didn't want to feel this way, not when she was still supposed to be grieving.
It frustrated her, and she bit her tongue tensely.
Indeed, Auron was a lot. From what she had heard, he was not only strong, steel-minded and intimidating, but also funny, soft-hearted, loving, and compassionate.
Wasn't that all that Nago was?
"No!", she said to herself.
"He's not for me...only Nago was...and now, he's gone."
She refused the tears and sipped at her drink again.
"There'll never be another Nago...never"
*********
Slow, thudding footsteps announced the arrival of Jumba. He pushed open the door to the kitchen and caught sight of Reihana.
"Ah! 471! You are back!", he said warmly.
"Hi, Jumba", she replied with a smile.
Jumba looked over at Nani, who was leaning against the counter.
"Oh!", he said.
"I am not interrupting something, am I?"
"No, we were just talking", Nani said, before adding;
"By the way, the others brought back something from the ship...some kind of gasoline, I think."
"Zhey did?", Jumba asked.
"Yes", Nani replied.
"It made them smell like crazy, but they thought that you might be able to do something with it."
"Hmmm...", Jumba said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
"Intergalactic spaceship fuel...perhaps I could use it for zome of my other experiments..."
He quelled Nani's sudden look of surprise by assuring her;
"No, no, no, it not real Experiment like 626 or 625...it just be something practical like...advanced exercise machine?"
"Are you implying that I'm fat?!", Nani asked offensively.
"No, no!", Jumba said quickly, raising his hands.
"Perhaps I vill just build tventy thousand flashlights...anyvay, I need to talk to 471 for a moment."
With that, he snatched up Reihana and carried her away before Nani could jump to anymore conclusions.
***
Once they were at a safe distance (namely, in the hallway, by the stairs, away from Nani), Jumba sat Reihana back down, and sat down next to her.
"What's going on?", Reihana asked, wondering about the urgency of the conversation.
Jumba looked at Reihana, then slowly down the floor, then back at Rei, and answered.
"It is about 541."
"Auron?", Rei asked in surprise.
"What about him?"
Jumba put his hands together uncomfortably, and looked around, as if checking if somebody was watching or listening; nobody was.
"Vell...", he started off slowly.
"I have noticed, like everybody else, zhat 541 is...vell, 541 has seem to become...'attracted' to you."
Jumba expected her to be surprised at this, perhaps even frightened. But on the contrary, she responded with a polite, simple;
"Yes, I know."
Now, it was Jumba's thought to be surprised.
"Oh!", he said in surprise.
"You know...vell, of course you know. Of course you know, vhy vouldn't you? Yes..."
He trailed off for a moment before continuing.
"About zhat...", he said.
"...I'm vorried."
"You're worried?", Rei repeated in surprise.
"Why's that?"
"...I don't know 541", Jumba said.
"I know zhat is being my fault, but it also makes me vorry about you."
Before Reihana could say anything, he carried on.
"541 has never been around female Experiment zhat he vhas attracted to...I'm afraid of vhat affect it vould have on him...I'm afraid zhat he may hurt you."
This statement had several impacts upon Reihana. Firstly, she was able to give herself another reason to refuse her attraction to Auron. But she realized the next second that Auron had never displayed any aggression or violence towards her, so why should he now or in the future. Then she figured that Jumba had created all of the Experiments, so surely he would know their emotional attributes. The second revelation told her that this wasn't necessarily true: the Experiments were all mixed in every prowess, and none of them were modifyably predictable. And, as Jumba himself had said: he didn't really know what Auron was like, so how could he know how he acts?
In the end, it all came down to one conclusion: Reihana knew Auron, and knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Jumba's concern was in vain.
She looked up at him, and showed him a smile that was so full of affection and understanding, it might've been sympathetic.
"Jumba", she told him.
"I understand what you mean...I know that you and Auron aren't getting along at all...but I know that he isn't a danger to us or to anybody else."
The Evil Genius didn't look very convinced.
"But that's just it!", he said.
"541 hates me!.........so I think that-"
Reihana cut him off; not rudely, but swiftly.
"Jumba", she said again.
"No matter how much Jumba doesn't like you, he won't let it out on anybody, especially me."
Jumba raised his eyebrows.
"Vhy especially not you?", he asked.
Reihana's smile lessened to a small, grin.
"Because", she answered.
"He likes me."
***
Jumba wanted to say something else, but whatever it was was interrupted by the sound of feet coming down the stairs they were sitting on.
Auron, Peka, Stitch, and Owen descended the staircase, their fur looking still somewhat damp from the shower. They were all looking a bit disgruntled, but no worse for wear.
Jumba stood up abruptly, as if he had just been walked in on.
Reihana looked up at them as they came closer.
"How was it?", she asked, in an effort to be nice.
Owen, who seemed to be extremely harassed, shot her a look that suggested she had made a bad joke. Peka, on the other hand, brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and managed to smile back.
"We survived, didn't we?", she said humorously.
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and took the opportunity to sit down next to and around Rei. Stitch and Peka sat next to her and Owen did so behind her. Auron stretched out comfortably above all of them.
Jumba observed the scene of Experiment-harmony and suppressed a smile that none of them would've understood.
"Do you all have any other plans?", he asked the group.
Peka sat up (she had leaned back in leisure) and nodded.
"Actually", she answered.
"We were planning to go to the beach."
"Zhe beach?", Jumba asked.
"You mean...all five of you?"
Peka nodded.
"Everybody who wants to go", she said.
"We were going to ask Reihana right now."
"471 cannot go to zhe ocean", Jumba insisted.
"Her molecular structure is too great; she vill drown."
"No, she won't", Stitch objected.
"We'll teach her to surf!"
Jumba shook his head and crossed his arms.
"I am sorry", he said.
"But I am not vanting it."
"Please, Jumba?"
Jumba blinked. Reihana had just said that.
"Vhat?", he asked.
"I really want to go with them", she said.
"Please...can I go?"
Jumba exhaled forcibly. Peka put her arm around Rei's shoulder in a companion-like way.
"We promise we won't let anything happen to her", she assured him.
Jumba still didn't look very comfortable with the situation.
"But vhat if she fell into zhe vhater?", he asked in concern.
"She could drown!"
"David's probably gonna be there", Stitch predicted.
"He'd always be watching us."
"But vhat if he isn't zhere?", Jumba pressed on.
"None of you can swim!"
"I can", Auron corrected.
Jumba's gave shifted to him, and it was in surprise.
"541?"", he said in bewilderment.
"You can...swim?"
Auron nodded curtly.
"...But how?"", Jumba asked.
"Your molecular structure is also-..."
"You must've made a mistake", Auron answered neutrally.
"I can swim very well."
Peka didn't look surprised, but happy about this news.
"Can she, Jumba?", she asked again.
"Even if David isn't there, Auron will be, and he can swim!"
Mixed ideas about Reihana's safety ran through Jumba's head. Mainly, it was a debate between two conditions: Reihana would be safe in the care of the other Experiments, or she would be prone to misfortune.
He pulled out of his mind-battle, and looked back at the Experiments. The deciding factor came when he caught sight of Reihana's pleading face.
"Please, Jumba?", she asked.
"I'll be alright, 'because they'll be with me."
Jumba breathed in, started to say something, but fell short of it and exhaled heavily.
"Alright", he said.
"You may go."
In happy, yet mock and exaggerated support, the Experiments (except Rei) clapped and applauded loudly.
"I'll go get Lilo", Stitch said, standing up and hurrying back up the stairs.
"She'll wanna come, too."
"I'll go beg Nani to drive us", Peka announced, standing up as well.
She motioned for the other Experiments to follow her as she headed towards the kitchen.
Auron, Owen, and Rei began to follow, but Jumba held Rei back.
He kneeled down to her, with a look of pleading in his eyes.
"Please be careful", he begged her.
"Please, please, please be very, very careful, alright?"
Reihana replied with a smile and;
"I will; I promise I will."
Then, she hugged him around the neck and kissed him on the nose.
Jumba couldn't help but smile at the charm she possessed.
*********
[A/N: I'd like to start out by saying that I think I screwed up big-time on the first part of this chapter. The work on the spaceship seemed rushed: not the kind of style I thrive to write. Also, I messed up when I tried to portray Auron's musical talents through a dance-song (it seemed like a good idea at the time...). I'll try hard to think up another opportunity to show his true skill.
I hope this chapter isn't too long: it was supposed to be two separate ones, but it turned out to be two. Oh well...
VOID99- yes, I've realized that the Auron/Rei relationship is a little uncomfortable, considering her past experiences...but if they do 'get together', I promise that everything will be worked out (there's still a lot of story to tell).
PurpleJoy6- all in good time; don't worry.
I hope y'all enjoyed that. Sorry it took so long to get written!]
*********
Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon
Chapter 15
***
Reihana and Auron stood next to Peka, Owen, and Stitch as they beheld the sight. Auron noted that it must've been very dark the night before; he didn't remember the ship being this big, and he didn't remember it sticking out of the ground in a perfect 45-degree angle.
The task that lied ahead was daunting to all of them.
"Auron?", Peka finally asked after a minute.
"Yeah?", he replied, and se asked;
"You crashed to Earth in a ship, too...how did you cover that up?"
Auron smiled to himself; they were all searching for the easiest possible way to do this...or to get out of doing it.
"It grew over with vines and plants", he explained.
"You can barely see it now...but I don't think that's gonna be possible now, with this one."
Everybody groaned.
"You had to choose the biggest, most obvious star-cruiser to arrive on Earth, huh, Reihana?", Owen asked playfully (Stitch elbowed him in stomach; Reihana had escaped with her life).
*********
Nothing seemed organized at first. Although everybody knew that the first step was to get the ship to a parallel level, but everybody seemed to have a different idea how this would be accomplished. Reihana eventually stood back from the scene, but this wasn't out of laziness; she was afraid that at any moment the ship would fall over and crush them all.
Auron was sure that if some support was established underneath the free part of the ship, the other part they would be able to dig out of the mud without problem.
Stitch claimed that the only way was to have him and Auron ease the ship into place while the others dug the mud away.
Everybody ignored Owen when he said that simply kicking the ship would solve the problem.
They ignored him, but that was what did the trick...when he kicked it, the ship came down, and almost obliterated Auron (who dove out of the way just fast enough).
Mud and leaves splattered along with a tremendous thud as the ship crashed down and heaved as it hit the Earth. For a moment, nobody could see a thing.
"AURON!", Peka shouted urgently.
The reply to this was referred not to her, but to Owen;
"I'm gonna kill him!"
He re-appeared as the debris settled, splashed in mud.
"Owen, I'm going to knock you out!", he said, stepping out of the scene in a way that could've been much more dramatic.
Even though Owen recoiled in fear, Auron knew he wasn't close enough to punch him and not feel guilty about it, so he settled for simply throwing him an evil eye.
"I'm sorry...", Owen whimpered, once Auron had turned his back on him (he didn't know it, but Auron wasn't for holding grudges; he had forgiven him already.
"Well", he said, in a 'looking-on-the-good-side' way.
"At least the ship's down, huh?"
Peka (who had gotten over the shock of seeing him almost get crushed) nodded.
"...But what are we going to do now? We can't stick the whole thing in the laser."
"I think that's where Stitch comes in", Auron answered, glancing at him.
Stitch looked pretty surprised at this.
"...Huh?", he asked in surprise.
"Aren't you able to tear metal?", Auron asked him.
It took a moment for Stitch to remember his strength; it almost surprised him.
"...Oh yeah!", he said in slight bemusement.
"I...I almost forgot."
This statement seemed to enlighten Auron in a way that the others didn't understand.
"Better to forget about it in a good life", he thought to himself.
"Than to keep it fresh fighting all the time."
He was referring to his experience with the Predator...but also the fact that he knew Stitch's strength, from when he twisted his arm behind his back the night before.
***
The work was divided between the five of them, and it was cooperative.
Stitch, who was indeed strong enough tear individual segments of the metal alloy apart, still needed some assistance from Auron. Together, they tore segmented pieces from the intact ship, and Stitch (more than Auron, because of his strength) tore them into bits small enough to be fed into the laser.
This job was taken up by Peka and Owen, who stood wait next to the growing pile of trash metal, ready to grab as much as they could and rush it over to the laser. Owen became increasingly intimidated by the violent spark created when something was dropped into the void, and he recoiled quickly whenever he managed to disclaim one of the scraps. This crazy hesitation finally led Peka to kick him in the back of the leg, after shouting;
"Come on, my arms are full!"
Reihana was feeling somewhat...irrelevant to the situation. She knew that the others had meant well to give her (the newbie) a job that didn't require a lot of work...but when she was told to 'make sure that the ship doesn't fall over', she felt a bit stupid. It didn't help that she screeched in surprise when something crawled over her tail (it turned out to be a harmless lizard), and everybody ran to her in alarm.
***
Nobody could've argued that they worked in silence. No conversation was heard; it was like a silent square of cubicles of a corporation. The only audible sound was the slow, reaching tear of metal, the sparking of the laser device, and Owen's occasion;
"Are we almost done?"
***
Perhaps it was simply the need for music and knowing that Auron could make it that made Peka ask him for some.
"Hey, Auron?", she asked after she had dropped a slab of metal into the laser.
Auron looked up from his work.
"Yeah?"
"How about you think up a song for us?"
...This request was a bit abrupt for Auron.
"...Now?", he asked in surprise.
"Yeah", Peka answered.
"Would that be alright?"
"...But I don't have my guitar", Auron pointed out.
"Can't you sing?", Peka asked.
"I thought you said you could."
"I-I can...", Auron said slowly, somewhat uncomfortably.
"Oh, come on, Peka; you're putting me on the spot here!"
"Come on!", Stitch voiced from behind.
"We'll sing with you!"
"No...", Auron moaned.
"Come on!", Peka, Stitch, and Owen urged playfully (Reihana watched, not interfering, but hoping for a song as well).
"No..."
"Come on!"
"Leemee alone..."
"Please!"
"No..."
It took a lot of persuasion, but eventually Auron agreed in playful reluctance.
"Alright, alright", he finally gave up.
"I'll do one...but you guys all gotta get into it when I get started...okay."
He sat quietly for a sec, slowly grinding a piece of metal between his claws. Everybody looked on in anticipation as he pondered, and looks up expectation filled their expressions as he looked up after a while.
"Alright", he announced, sitting up.
"This one's pretty easy, but I've thought it up for some time. If you all like it, feel free to sing along."
He took a breath, and seemed to stand still...then, it became aware to the others that he was tapping his foot lightly, like a rapper finding a beat. Then, when it was suspected that he had found one, he began to hum a bit...the melody was unrecognizable, but once he opened his mouth, the lyrics were wonderful.
*********
"All my friends are talking to me, What's this love I see?
I know you can make it right, I'm still waiting now
Waiting for the love I need, If you want me too
There's something I don't understand, I don't know...
***
All the things I wanted to be, When can I be free?
Does this mean something rash? Do I want something more?
Is there something unfulfilled? Who can say...
***
All my dreams are speaking to me, Do they want me harm?
Is there some good in the bad? Like a moth in a shell
Some things are going down, But I won't tell..."
*********
It was a song to be played in a dance-hall: pitched, repeated, and sweet. The words seemed almost meaningless, but they were deep in Auron's voice.
It was easy enough for the others to pick up with, and they enjoyed doing so. It was almost like 'Kumbaya'; they were able to sing the three verses over and over with it getting old (but when it did, they did start singing Kumbaya).
Deep down (including Auron), they knew it was kind of silly, but it didn't matter at the moment.
***
In their time, their work didn't seem to take long. Owen's occasional complaints couldn't override the singing, even though it seemed like an uplifting to him as well as the others.
Bit by bit, the ship that Reihana had arrived in disappeared. Once the entire outer hull was dismantled and 'laserized', they were left with the 'inner organs' and engines. These took long to take apart. It wasn't because they were harder to tear apart (on the contrary), but because they had to be dissected delicately. These things carried the hazard of being highly-explosive if handled roughly, so it wasn't long before Stitch and Auron were squinting through slit eyes to make they didn't rupture any fuse- wires (while humming "All my friends are talking to me..." through their teeth).
Canisters which contained liquid (like the gas tanks, windshield detergent- holders, etc.) became an even bigger problem. None of the Experiments were sure if the laser could handle liquids, and neither did they want to simply pour it out and pollute the jungle soil.
They decided to simply take the specific liquids and canisters back to the house: maybe Jumba would know what to do with them.
It wouldn't be long before they would do so; their rate of work had profitably risen to impress and foreman.
*********
The walk back to the road where they were to meet Nani was filled with conversation (the laser was stacked with the liquid-containers, and followed them on remote). The tension had disappeared, and they were tipped with the confidence that the job was complete and nobody would ever be able to know that the ship had ever been there (what was left of the ship was now spread unnoticingly across the ground: the laser had reduced it to a small pile of ash). It felt good to have a large job done, and each of them was planning an ideal period of recreation.
"I'm telling ya, there'd better be a whole platter of strawberry-and-salsa sandwiches waiting for me when we get back", Owen stated, walking in- between Stitch and Peka.
The others scoffed inaudibly.
"You barely did anything", they were all thinking, but were in too high of spirits to destroy his.
"Whatever", Stitch said.
"But I know that I'll have to get some band-aids as soon as I can...I cut myself here."
He showed his hand, which held in its palm a slightly-bleeding gash.
"Oooh", Auron commented in grossed interest.
"Yeah, you'd better do something with that."
"Look who's talking", Stitch said playfully.
"I wonder why you didn't get cut."
"Well, I didn't want to mess my own hands up...", Auron said, shrugging his shoulders innocently.
Stitch gave him a playful shove, sending him a bit off-balance.
That's pretty much how the entire conversation went as they moved anewed through the jungle, unhurried.
***
They broke out into sunlight just as Nani's car pulled up along the road. It rolled to a stop as the dust kicked up behind it.
Stitch stepped up and opened the passenger-door. Nani's face was surprisingly welcoming, but it faded away almost instant.
"Oh!", she exclaimed in surprise and in disgust.
"What's that smell?!"
"Smell?", Stitch asked.
"What smell?"
"It's probably the gas", Peka suggested, opening the backseat door and climbing in.
"Or it's Owen", Auron said with a cruel smile.
Owen laughed sarcastically and climbed in after Peka. Reihana entered after her, then Auron. He lifted in the laser behind him, set it across their laps, and set the canisters of gas on the floor in front of the seats. He closed the door, giving Nani the cue to get moving.
"You all look like you've been productive", she commented, turning the car around, towards home.
"Did you get everything done?"
"Yep", Stitch responded proudly.
"All of it."
"What are those canisters for?", Nani asked, her eyes reflecting in the rear-view mirror.
"Well...almost everything", Stitch corrected himself.
"We don't know what to do with them, so we're gonna see if Jumba knows how to get rid of them."
Nani nodded.
"Just don't bring that smell into the house", she warned.
"I wouldn't want Twyla getting 'contaminated'."
"How is she?", Stitch asked, suddenly more serious than before.
"No need to worry, nothing happened", Nani answered.
"She's just been feeling a bit more fatigued. I think it was a good idea that she stayed at home."
She looked back into the mirror, at Peka.
"You guys really have mixed birth-cycles, huh?"
Peka shrugged her shoulders with a small smile.
"Talk to Jumba about it", she answered, then added;
"But I don't think that he's got all the answers either."
They rode in silence for some time. The Experiments watched out the window as cars whooshed by. After a while, the dirt road was replaced by the pavement that led into the town. The car rounded the T-turn upwards and towards the house.
As they pulled into the garage underneath the steps and stopped the car, Nani turned around in her seat and looked at Reihana.
"Are you alright?", she asked her.
"...Me?", Rei replied in surprise.
"Yes, I am...why do you ask?"
"You looked kinda sad for a second", Nani said.
She looked on for a second, then suggested to Rei;
"Here, why don't you come with me into the kitchen for a while? You don't smell like the others here."
The 'others' groaned in their discrimination, and Rei looked a bit unsure for a moment.
"Go with her", Peka urged.
"The rest of us are going to take a shower before we do anything else."
"Speaking of taking a shower", Nani interjected, looking up.
"I hate to say it, but we've been wasting a lot of water lately. All of you taking separate showers is costing a lot of money, so I want you all to shower together this once."
Obviously, this was considered an abrupt intrusion of privacy, and Stitch, Auron, Owen, and Peka both exclaimed;
"What?!"
"Oh, don't act like that", Nani said.
"You go naked wherever you go; I think that you can save some water for once and get wet together."
There was a lot of grumble, but Nani ignored it all. Still, it was obvious to the Experiments that showering together wouldn't mean a thing...it just seemed strange, on account that they had never done it before.
***
After placing the canisters in the garage, they marched up the sloped, wooden stairs and through the door, Nani in the rear. As the Experiments headed up the stairs and towards the bathroom (minus Rei, who went with Nani), Stitch excused himself for a moment to see Twyla (who, Nani had said, was on the sofa in the living room).
Halfway up the stairs, Auron, Owen, and Peka heard Stitch greet her warmly;
"Hey, sweetie, how are you?"
A moment later, she responded with;
"Oh, don't come any closer! You smell like a gas station!"
Very soon, Stitch rejoined them.
"Let's get this over with", he said, urgently.
On their way t the bathroom, they met Lilo, who came out of her room excitedly as she heard them approach. But she too backed away at their smell.
"P-U!", she exclaimed, holding nose.
"What did you guys do?"
"It's a long story", Stitch answered.
"We'll tell you after we shower."
Lilo looked as surprised as they were at first.
"All of you are going to shower together?", she asked.
"Your sister's making us", Owen accused.
"Just to let everybody know right now, I take absolutely no pleasure in this."
"Oh, you think we do?", Auron asked.
"Have you ever smelled a wet dog?"
*********
Sometime later, downstairs, Reihana was thinking more than listening. She sipped at her drink and nodded while Nani talked, but she was actually sorting out things inside of her mind.
Nani had obviously heard the story about her loss, and figured that her short moment of sadness was an affect of it. Now, she was trying to 'make her feel better' by telling her about some love problems that she had encountered.
Reihana liked Nani very much and was thankful for her hospitality...but she was too shy to tell Nani that her attempt was not working.
Reihana enjoyed the girl-to-girl talk, but Nani just couldn't honestly say anything that would make her (Reihana) feel any better about the subject.
Perhaps it was because Nani just didn't know what it felt like to see her mate killed before her very eyes...but she wouldn't hold that against her.
But she had made one true and crucial point: there was nobody else like Nago.
Rei remembered the love she had shared with him and still harbored for him. She remembered his gruff yet friendly nature, and his gentle, loving touch whenever she needed it. She remembered his voice and his words, and the way he could make her laugh.
She loved him so much that it hurt...so why was she feeling what she was at the moment?
Specifically, why was she feeling the way she did about Auron?
She knew that Auron felt something for her too; it was plain obvious. He was naïve and scared about the feeling, like most people can be.
Reihana didn't feel passionate love towards him...it was a kind of attraction. It startled and upset her; she didn't want to feel this way, not when she was still supposed to be grieving.
It frustrated her, and she bit her tongue tensely.
Indeed, Auron was a lot. From what she had heard, he was not only strong, steel-minded and intimidating, but also funny, soft-hearted, loving, and compassionate.
Wasn't that all that Nago was?
"No!", she said to herself.
"He's not for me...only Nago was...and now, he's gone."
She refused the tears and sipped at her drink again.
"There'll never be another Nago...never"
*********
Slow, thudding footsteps announced the arrival of Jumba. He pushed open the door to the kitchen and caught sight of Reihana.
"Ah! 471! You are back!", he said warmly.
"Hi, Jumba", she replied with a smile.
Jumba looked over at Nani, who was leaning against the counter.
"Oh!", he said.
"I am not interrupting something, am I?"
"No, we were just talking", Nani said, before adding;
"By the way, the others brought back something from the ship...some kind of gasoline, I think."
"Zhey did?", Jumba asked.
"Yes", Nani replied.
"It made them smell like crazy, but they thought that you might be able to do something with it."
"Hmmm...", Jumba said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
"Intergalactic spaceship fuel...perhaps I could use it for zome of my other experiments..."
He quelled Nani's sudden look of surprise by assuring her;
"No, no, no, it not real Experiment like 626 or 625...it just be something practical like...advanced exercise machine?"
"Are you implying that I'm fat?!", Nani asked offensively.
"No, no!", Jumba said quickly, raising his hands.
"Perhaps I vill just build tventy thousand flashlights...anyvay, I need to talk to 471 for a moment."
With that, he snatched up Reihana and carried her away before Nani could jump to anymore conclusions.
***
Once they were at a safe distance (namely, in the hallway, by the stairs, away from Nani), Jumba sat Reihana back down, and sat down next to her.
"What's going on?", Reihana asked, wondering about the urgency of the conversation.
Jumba looked at Reihana, then slowly down the floor, then back at Rei, and answered.
"It is about 541."
"Auron?", Rei asked in surprise.
"What about him?"
Jumba put his hands together uncomfortably, and looked around, as if checking if somebody was watching or listening; nobody was.
"Vell...", he started off slowly.
"I have noticed, like everybody else, zhat 541 is...vell, 541 has seem to become...'attracted' to you."
Jumba expected her to be surprised at this, perhaps even frightened. But on the contrary, she responded with a polite, simple;
"Yes, I know."
Now, it was Jumba's thought to be surprised.
"Oh!", he said in surprise.
"You know...vell, of course you know. Of course you know, vhy vouldn't you? Yes..."
He trailed off for a moment before continuing.
"About zhat...", he said.
"...I'm vorried."
"You're worried?", Rei repeated in surprise.
"Why's that?"
"...I don't know 541", Jumba said.
"I know zhat is being my fault, but it also makes me vorry about you."
Before Reihana could say anything, he carried on.
"541 has never been around female Experiment zhat he vhas attracted to...I'm afraid of vhat affect it vould have on him...I'm afraid zhat he may hurt you."
This statement had several impacts upon Reihana. Firstly, she was able to give herself another reason to refuse her attraction to Auron. But she realized the next second that Auron had never displayed any aggression or violence towards her, so why should he now or in the future. Then she figured that Jumba had created all of the Experiments, so surely he would know their emotional attributes. The second revelation told her that this wasn't necessarily true: the Experiments were all mixed in every prowess, and none of them were modifyably predictable. And, as Jumba himself had said: he didn't really know what Auron was like, so how could he know how he acts?
In the end, it all came down to one conclusion: Reihana knew Auron, and knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Jumba's concern was in vain.
She looked up at him, and showed him a smile that was so full of affection and understanding, it might've been sympathetic.
"Jumba", she told him.
"I understand what you mean...I know that you and Auron aren't getting along at all...but I know that he isn't a danger to us or to anybody else."
The Evil Genius didn't look very convinced.
"But that's just it!", he said.
"541 hates me!.........so I think that-"
Reihana cut him off; not rudely, but swiftly.
"Jumba", she said again.
"No matter how much Jumba doesn't like you, he won't let it out on anybody, especially me."
Jumba raised his eyebrows.
"Vhy especially not you?", he asked.
Reihana's smile lessened to a small, grin.
"Because", she answered.
"He likes me."
***
Jumba wanted to say something else, but whatever it was was interrupted by the sound of feet coming down the stairs they were sitting on.
Auron, Peka, Stitch, and Owen descended the staircase, their fur looking still somewhat damp from the shower. They were all looking a bit disgruntled, but no worse for wear.
Jumba stood up abruptly, as if he had just been walked in on.
Reihana looked up at them as they came closer.
"How was it?", she asked, in an effort to be nice.
Owen, who seemed to be extremely harassed, shot her a look that suggested she had made a bad joke. Peka, on the other hand, brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and managed to smile back.
"We survived, didn't we?", she said humorously.
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and took the opportunity to sit down next to and around Rei. Stitch and Peka sat next to her and Owen did so behind her. Auron stretched out comfortably above all of them.
Jumba observed the scene of Experiment-harmony and suppressed a smile that none of them would've understood.
"Do you all have any other plans?", he asked the group.
Peka sat up (she had leaned back in leisure) and nodded.
"Actually", she answered.
"We were planning to go to the beach."
"Zhe beach?", Jumba asked.
"You mean...all five of you?"
Peka nodded.
"Everybody who wants to go", she said.
"We were going to ask Reihana right now."
"471 cannot go to zhe ocean", Jumba insisted.
"Her molecular structure is too great; she vill drown."
"No, she won't", Stitch objected.
"We'll teach her to surf!"
Jumba shook his head and crossed his arms.
"I am sorry", he said.
"But I am not vanting it."
"Please, Jumba?"
Jumba blinked. Reihana had just said that.
"Vhat?", he asked.
"I really want to go with them", she said.
"Please...can I go?"
Jumba exhaled forcibly. Peka put her arm around Rei's shoulder in a companion-like way.
"We promise we won't let anything happen to her", she assured him.
Jumba still didn't look very comfortable with the situation.
"But vhat if she fell into zhe vhater?", he asked in concern.
"She could drown!"
"David's probably gonna be there", Stitch predicted.
"He'd always be watching us."
"But vhat if he isn't zhere?", Jumba pressed on.
"None of you can swim!"
"I can", Auron corrected.
Jumba's gave shifted to him, and it was in surprise.
"541?"", he said in bewilderment.
"You can...swim?"
Auron nodded curtly.
"...But how?"", Jumba asked.
"Your molecular structure is also-..."
"You must've made a mistake", Auron answered neutrally.
"I can swim very well."
Peka didn't look surprised, but happy about this news.
"Can she, Jumba?", she asked again.
"Even if David isn't there, Auron will be, and he can swim!"
Mixed ideas about Reihana's safety ran through Jumba's head. Mainly, it was a debate between two conditions: Reihana would be safe in the care of the other Experiments, or she would be prone to misfortune.
He pulled out of his mind-battle, and looked back at the Experiments. The deciding factor came when he caught sight of Reihana's pleading face.
"Please, Jumba?", she asked.
"I'll be alright, 'because they'll be with me."
Jumba breathed in, started to say something, but fell short of it and exhaled heavily.
"Alright", he said.
"You may go."
In happy, yet mock and exaggerated support, the Experiments (except Rei) clapped and applauded loudly.
"I'll go get Lilo", Stitch said, standing up and hurrying back up the stairs.
"She'll wanna come, too."
"I'll go beg Nani to drive us", Peka announced, standing up as well.
She motioned for the other Experiments to follow her as she headed towards the kitchen.
Auron, Owen, and Rei began to follow, but Jumba held Rei back.
He kneeled down to her, with a look of pleading in his eyes.
"Please be careful", he begged her.
"Please, please, please be very, very careful, alright?"
Reihana replied with a smile and;
"I will; I promise I will."
Then, she hugged him around the neck and kissed him on the nose.
Jumba couldn't help but smile at the charm she possessed.
*********
[A/N: I'd like to start out by saying that I think I screwed up big-time on the first part of this chapter. The work on the spaceship seemed rushed: not the kind of style I thrive to write. Also, I messed up when I tried to portray Auron's musical talents through a dance-song (it seemed like a good idea at the time...). I'll try hard to think up another opportunity to show his true skill.
I hope this chapter isn't too long: it was supposed to be two separate ones, but it turned out to be two. Oh well...
VOID99- yes, I've realized that the Auron/Rei relationship is a little uncomfortable, considering her past experiences...but if they do 'get together', I promise that everything will be worked out (there's still a lot of story to tell).
PurpleJoy6- all in good time; don't worry.
I hope y'all enjoyed that. Sorry it took so long to get written!]