Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 9: A Friend's Consoling

"What is it?" Gantu shouted as he heard a fierce pounding come from the ship's door. He jammed the button with his huge finger, and met Zeus' glaring face. "599." He said, half expectantly. "What brings you back here?"

"There's something I want to ask Dr. Hamsterveil." She said through gritted teeth. Gantu sensed her tension, and was therefore uneasy about letting her contact Hamsterveil; more so, she didn't state a business. However, he put his uneasiness aside and allowed Zeus through; if she showed any sign of hostility toward Hamsterveil he'd be able to set her straight (or so he thought).

Immediately Zeus went to the communications monitor, and to Gantu's surprise, typed in what was needed in order to contact Hamsterveil, even the top secret-highly classified-password. This action made Gantu even more unsettled, she was somehow acquiring knowledge that no one else should have.

"Yes, what is…it?" Hamsterveil's ears perked a bit higher as he saw 599 appear on his monitor, when he expected to see Gantu. "599…what is it you have contacted me for?"

"Dr. Hamsterveil, I am aware that you have something which can boost an experiment's power. Yet, from the conversation I overheard this morning, it appears that it is not tested to be a stable method." Hamsterveil's eyebrows raised, and he folded his hands in front of him, placing his elbows on the edge of his floating pod.

"Go on…" Zeus quickly thought of Angel, and gritted her teeth tighter, before she responded with a slow, steady voice.

"I'll be your guinea pig."

The elevator hummed quietly as Lilo rose to the tower. Her right hand held a small fork—though she knew it wouldn't be needed—and in her left she carried a plate, which upon rested a large slice of coconut cake. When the elevator finished its ascent, she saw Stitch looking through the scrapbook lying on the floor.

"I finished it today." Lilo said to get his attention. He looked up with a dim smile. "It's up-to-date with the experiments we got so far…except…" She drifted in her words, and in her steps as she gave him the plate. "You're still a little sad, aren't you?"

"Eh, a little, but-"

"Well, it's like I said," she spoke cheerfully, "maybe this whole thing isn't so bad." Stitch held the plate with both hands, nodding his head as he just gazed at the cake. "You don't have to eat it," she said after a couple seconds, "I just thought it might help you get your mind off things." As she spoke she walked to his bed and plopped to a sit, and looked out the window.

"Does Lilo think," Stitch began to say, as he set the plate down on the floor and sat next to Lilo on his bed. "Does Lilo think Angel mad at Stitch?" Lilo looked back at him as she thought of an answer.

"Well, from what you said, I would say yes…but the only way to really know is if we ask her." She replied quietly. "But, I don't see why she would be, I mean, Zeus kissed you, not the other way around. Angel has to know that." She continued, trying not to leave an open end to his question.

"Stitch go to Angel, eh?"

"That's what I would do if I were you." She said into his eyes.

"Stitch wants to, but Stitch afraid. Naga nota Angel tekkishta, egata eeshta, jotabu…"

"Well, you want to let her know you love her and not Zeus, right?"

"Eh." He responded quickly, nodding his head.

"Then why not just tell her?" She suggested. Stitch's mouth hung ajar, her answer was simple but somewhat vague.

"Gaba miga chigatu? Ja-miga ishka naga tokabaka?" He asked, confused, as looked down at his feet. Lilo tapped a finger, trying to figure out how to tell him what she was implying.

"Ok, here's the thing," she began, as she hopped off his bed, "Angel and I are both girls, and I remember Nani saying that all girls kind of think the same way, and now that I know what's going on—if you want me to—I want to help."

"But, Lilo helping already." Stitch said bluntly.

"I know, but I just want you to know that that's what I'm basing my answers off of. I mean, I'm not an expert in love or anything, and I don't want to give you the wrong answer; I'll just suggest, you have to decide on what to do." She finished, pointing at him.

"Okay." He said, scooting forward to let his legs dangle in the air. "What does Lilo suggest?"

"Like I said, I think the best thing to do would be to confront her and tell her straightforward."

"What would Stitch say?" He asked, looking down at his feet again.

"What you want to say." Lilo replied. "Here, it'll be easy; pretend I'm Angel, and tell me you love me in your own words." She said, taking his hands and moving him off the bed.

"O-ok." he said nervously, as he let himself be led by Lilo to the middle of the room. "A-Angel," he began, clearing his throat; Lilo looked at him and smiled, trying to ignore his shyness, "uh…m-miga enjata ish…ishkuto…" He twiddled his fingers, looking down at the floor. It wasn't because he didn't know what to say that made him so uneasy, it was more that he didn't want Lilo to laugh at him if he messed up. It was also strange to speak like this to her—mostly because he was afraid she would tease him about it later. He paused and took a deep breath. "Miga enjata ishkuta…." His mouth ran dry again.

"Are you sure you know what you want to say?"

"Eh…it just hard to say it…to Lilo…" He replied slowly.

"Oh, I see." She said teasingly, rubbing his head. "Well then if you won't do it, I will. I'll be you and you are Angel. Ok?"

"Oketaka." He agreed, relieved he wouldn't have to embarrass himself in front of her. She took his hand and bent down on one knee, a very serious look on her face. For a second he wondered if she wasn't really acting.

"Oh Angel," she said, in a dreamy yet realistic tone, "I will love you—and only you—forever!" A rush of heat boiled in Stitch's cheeks and his eyes went blurry. "You're blushing!" Lilo exclaimed with a beam and a laugh. Stitch looked to the side to try and hide his face.

"I-is that what Stitch supposed to say?" He asked, trying to divert attention away from him.

"If you want." Lilo said, standing back up and only now letting go of his hand. "You can say it how you want, but don't choke like you did with me." She said cheerfully as she patted his shoulder. "Anything else you want me to answer?"

"Eh, what if telling Angel not work? What if Stitch choke?" He said, returning his look back to Lilo, his cheeks still a bit red. "Is there other way to let her know?"

"Well, try telling her without words." Lilo replied.

"Huh?"

"You know, give her something. Like, when David wants to go out on a date with Nani, he brings her a flower. Or, he gives her a kiss-"

"Iky!" Stitch interrupted in response to the word. He closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue to display his disgust toward the action.

"What's so wrong about kissing? Zeus kissed you…" Lilo commented.

"Stitch didn't know Zeus would." He retorted. "Kissing blegh!"

"Hey, I kissed you once, and you said you liked it."

"I-iba…isa…different…" He tried to explain.

"You'd kiss Angel wouldn't you?" She quickly asked.

"U…uh…" He stammered.

"Go ahead, I'm Angel, kiss me!" She ordered, pointing to her cheek.

"B-but-"

"What's the matter, you don't want to kiss me, or you don't want kiss Angel?" She asked, mocking an angry glare at him.

"N-naga…mi-…ju-…chi-…" Finally he let loose a scream of frustration, pulling his lower eyelids as he tried to figure out why Lilo was being so shifty all of a sudden. She began to laugh at his behavior.

"Relax Stitch, I'm only kidding. You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to…because I can make you kiss me anytime I want." She said with a wink. "Anyway, I see what you're getting at." She continued, returning to her helpful tone of voice. "Gimme a second…I gotta think. What could you do to show Angel you love her, in case your telling her doesn't wor-duh!" She exclaimed, smacking her head and interrupting her own sentence. Stitch followed her with his eyes as she ran back across the room to her bed and picked something up off the table. "Here," she said, tossing what she had to him, "give her that."

Stitch caught it reflexively as came at him with a chink. He took it in his left hand and held it by the strand, and with his other hand he held the other end. It took a few seconds of looking at it before he realized what it was. His eyebrows raised and he looked up at Lilo in a close-mouthed awe.

"I didn't mean to…but I kind of listened in on you two last night. If it makes you feel any better I only heard you talking about the pendants." She explained apologetically. "I hope it's ok…you said white didn't you?" Stitch looked back down at the pendant in his hands, and then back up at Lilo.

"Eh." He said, walking over to her. "Isa perfect." He continued, as he approached her. He twiddled it in his hands for half a second, and then wrapped her in a hug. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She cooed, scratching his back. "Does…this mean you're going to go and tell her?" She asked meekly.

"Of course." He replied, retreating from his gesture and placing the pendant on her bed. "But…will Lilo come too?" He asked. She noticed a change in his voice; she knew he was asking her to come as a confidence boost, but it also seemed like there was another reason that she couldn't see.

"Sure I…if you want me to. How are we going to find her?"

"Stitch use Jumba's computer," he answered, walking toward the elevator, "find Angel fast." He stepped on the elevator pad, but paused with one foot off, and halfway looked back at Lilo. "What if Angel still angry and not listen to Stitch…even after tell and show?" He thought aloud. "Ah, nagutcha-tukki." He said, brushing off the thought as the elevator hummed down.

"Good point…" Lilo thought, as she stared blankly in thought. "What if she still doesn't understand? No, he's right, she will, who wouldn't? Stitch loves her and she knows it. …But still…" Lilo put a hand to her cheek as she fell back on her bed, and turned her head toward the pendant as it flipped up and thumped back down. It's back opened accidentally, and Lilo stared into it, thinking about what Stitch said. She looked over to her bedside table as her thoughts wandered, and saw her diary open to a blank page with a pen to its side, and suddenly an idea hit her.

"If Stitch can't get through to her for some reason, then maybe I can." She said, as she took her diary and ripped a page out. "After all, Angel and I got to know each other a lot while we went to get Stitch." Immediately she began writing; the only sound above her breathing the next few minutes, was that of the pen scribbling misspelled words, deep thoughts, and mistake blots galore as she wrote a small letter to Angel.

Electricity and thunderclaps boomed and buzzed, but it was all contained inside of the glass-sealed molecular-transportation platform. Zeus screamed as she tried to contain her powers, and after the fourth attempt, the noises finally quieted, and Gantu pressed a button.

"How are you feeling now?" Asked Hamsterveil. Zeus looked at her hands, then at her feet, and over her entire body.

"Not any different." She replied, disappointedly.

"Good, you shouldn't feel any different." He commented.

"What do you mean?" Zeus snapped. "I thought you said that…thing…was going to make me stronger. If anything I feel weaker than I did five minutes ago. And that was the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire existence."

"Relax!" Hamsterveil shouted, slamming his hands down on the unseen pod. The monitor shook a little on his side, and fuzzed as it tried to maintain the feed. "How dare you question my genius? That robot is designed to make you feel absolutely normal. If you try your abilities you will see that they have increased magnificently." He stated, almost challengingly. Zeus looked back at her hands, and formed a static charge.

The charge soon flashed as she gave it more power, and she let it dance across her body; the feel, the control, the precision, it was something she wasn't able to do on her own. Never before had she been this flexible with her lightning power. She banished the bolt and then concentrated a static charge around her entire body, and within moments surrounded herself with a sphere of electricity.

"Now I see." She said, as she banished the sphere. "Without feeling normal, I wouldn't be able to control this strength."

"Exactly." Hamsterveil replied with a grin.

"Thank you, Hamsterveil."

"But of course. Just, one thing," he advised, pointing a finger into the air, "do not, under any circumstances, lose this technology to any other experiment—especially 626. I will be very enraged if you do not bring it back to me in one piece."

"Of course," she said, while disappearing, "you have my word."

"…He really does love you, even if he doesnt kno how to tell you. And, if he did tell you rite, and you still raed this leter, and you find somethig I say that make you angry…don't listen to me. I want too help him, not hert him, and I'd hate to see you get angrey at him for something I said. But, one thing, I don't want him to kno about this leter, its just betweene you and me, so don't tell him, ok? Its just…this is kind of embarrassing to write, and I know that sounds funney, but please. Love, Lilo."

She looked back over her shoulder as she finished the last paragraph of her letter; Stitch hadn't returned. Her hand hurt a small bit, her wrist felt loose, and her cheeks were red from the heavy thinking and fast writing, but she was satisfied. She only hoped Stitch wouldn't find out about it as she folded it up and put it in the back of the pendant, with one corner barely peeking out.

"Lilo, hurry!" Stitch said, suddenly appearing in front of her. She suppressed a gasp and looked at him, trying to appear concerned.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Angel and Zeus close to each other. Zeus heading straight for Angel, hurry!" He pulled her up, ran, and jumped down the elevator chute while Lilo was forced to wait for it to rise. When she arrived at the bottom Jumba called her name before she could follow Stitch down the stairs.

"What is it Jumba?" She asked hastily.

"Jumba is worried little girl will get hurt if she goes after 599. Is very dangerous because can generate lightning. Older sibling will not be too happy with Jumba if littler sister is fried to crispy crunchiness."

"I don't care if Zeus can make lightning, I'm going; Stitch wants me to, and there isn't anything you can do to stop me." She said sternly.

"Who said anything about stopping you? Here," he said, handing her something that looked relatively like a wrist-watch, "this will keep little girl safe from lightning. Just don't be overloading it, ok?" He whispered.

"Ok," she said, smiling up at him as she wrapped it around her wrist, "thanks Jumba."

"Don't be mentioning it."

"Lilo!" Stitch shouted from downstairs.

"I'm coming Stitch!" In a moment she was finally at the back door, but Stitch was already a small dot outside. "Hey! Slow down, I can't run as fast as you!" She saw him stop in the distance and turn around. He ran back at her and met her half way.

"Iggita." He said, as he went down on all fours.

"You sure?" She asked hesitantly.

"Eh, iggita!" He demanded

"Alright." Lilo said, as she climbed onto his back. "Let's go!" She yelled, and Stitch ran full-speed toward the spot where Angel and Zeus were about to meet—the one spot he knew the most; the meadow of leaves where he'd been so many times before.