Friendship

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

(Phase also created by raVen)

Chapter 10: Agubada

"Hyperdrive activated—it's going to be a bumpy ride." Stitch warned to Lilo. She took his implied advice and hooked the seatbelt around her shoulders and waist. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever-" Lilo's words were cut as her heart leaped to her throat, pulsing and throbbing in her neck and temples while she gripped the handles of her seat. Even with Stitch's powers she still didn't travel in Hyperdrive very well. The ship's speed decelerated slowly, and Lilo relaxed as they reached the calm point of the jump.

"You know, come to think of it, Phase was using the Hyperdrive system on the ship she was traveling on," Stitch brought up, "why didn't she just teleport to Agubada?" Lilo came out with an answer almost immediately, slightly surprised at her quick assumption.

"She has a limited range; her antennae direct where she ends up, and the more complicated the teleportation, the less accurate she is. I'm pretty sure she's not able to teleport a whole ship, also."

"Taking the safe route." Stitch commented, gazing out at the stars. "There it is—Agubada." Stitch pointed into the vacuum; Lilo followed his finger. A fairly large sphere with a white, cottony texture could be seen rather far off in the distance. A star identical to the one surrounding earth lighted it.

"The whole planet is in one, giant cloud…" Lilo commented, as the sphere grew steadily larger.

"We're landing on it—somewhere." Stitch flipped a few controls. "Take the navigations system and guide me to a landing." He spoke more with a request than a command.

"I'd be ready for something if I were you." Lilo warned. "When we came to rescue you from Hamsterveil, he had a fleet of sentinels attack the ship."

"I'll keep an eye out." He confirmed. "But there's one other thing before we land: the plan."

"I'm interested to hear it." She told him, while monitoring her other task.

The red ship came silently through the thick canopy of clouds. The planet was nothing like Lilo was expecting. Of course she knew it was composed of water, but the extreme plainness of the flat, oceanic covering, which seemed completely smooth from horizon to horizon, just didn't fit to her liking. It needed an Island; a Hawaii.

There was also a distinct lack of lighting. The omnipresent canopy seemed dreary and uninviting; not a sparkling ray of sunshine filtered through in the smallest way. The word "abandoned" wasn't used lightly in the synopsis of the planet, it seemed.

The ship made its way to a tall, slender pillar, composed of metallic material that dully glimmered, barely giving any contrast against the deep blue of the planet's aquatic body. It also contained several levels of horizontal disks that protruded from the pillar's body at even increments. The synopsis of the planet labeled the pillar as a docking station for refueling ships and transferring cargo. Hamsterveil obviously had a different use for it.

There were no signs of a sentinel fleet, no recognition of their presence, nor any recognition of residence on the pillar for that matter. But the blips that marked Phase and Angel on Jumba's computer distinctly directed them to that petite appendage in the middle of the giant ocean.

"This is more than what I'd ever hope for," Lilo commented as the ship landed, "I know exactly where Angel is." The hatch to the cockpit opened, and Stitch hopped out, walking to the other side, extending his right hand to Lilo. She took it, allowing him to gentlemanly aide her out, while she continued with her pleased words. "I can have her out of here in no time."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Stitch's automatically translated voice asked. Lilo sensed the slight undertone of doubt; he told her in the ship that the plan was too loose, and he'd rather have a chance to think it over, but there wasn't any time; they had wasted too much figuring out where to land. The plan had holes; places where things were expected to be extempore, and mainly those holes laid in Stitch's part of the plan.

"I really should be the one asking that…" Lilo said with a sudden, deep concern. "I know there might be surprises waiting for me, but you've got the biggest threat to worry about." She suddenly found her arms wrapping under his, in a hug.

"I'm more worried about you though—I didn't even ask if you wanted to do this." He hugged her back comfortingly, trying to quell his own anxiety. "…If you get a second thought and don't want to go with the plan, I'll understand. All you've got to do is touch my left palm with your right." He told her, letting her go.

"I know." She said. "The same goes for you, too; if you think you need your powers back, don't hesitate to take them." She finished with an averring tone. "Otherwise," she continued, "I'll do my best to get your Angel back safely." She smiled and scratched his head. He came back with a response and a look that almost made her want to abort the plan then and there.

"I want you back safely, too." She turned, her posture pretending she heard nothing, but her face showing recognition.

"C'mon," she told him recomposing herself, "it's now or never. And I'm getting anxious; that performance I did last night is nothing compared to the performance I have to do now." She told him unnecessarily as she began running toward the center of the horizontal disk they were on, toward a door that lead inside the pillar.

Stitch ran ahead, gesturing insistence that he take the lead, into the belly of the structure. Internally, the structure was more spacious than they anticipated. Stitch and Lilo estimated that roughly thirty-five to forty ships of Jumba's proportions could fit inside the section of the level they were currently in alone. However, the blueprints Lilo managed to pull up forewarned them that there were multiple hangers on each level; it was almost a labyrinth—the perfect place for a base. But the main question on their mind as they ran through the roomy sections of docking bays was why Hamsterveil had chosen such a place. They knew there was more to this than met the eye; Stitch's instinct thriving in both of them found that blatantly obvious.

Stitch ran cautiously, leading Lilo through labyrinth of the unknown metal that the structure was composed of. Their eyes were gleaming emerald, as they saw everything in the dark, but they were bothered more by what they did not see; the absence of a challenge made them more on edge than the thought of the challenge arriving. Where was Achie-baba Kino? Was it waiting in the darkness? No. There wasn't a need, unless Hamsterveil was not entirely confident that his creation could take on Stitch with ease.

After what seemed like the distance of miles, they arrived at the central section of the level, where the blueprints on the ship had displayed a channel with an elevator capable of going both up and down to any floor. Though Stitch saw it as a large risk—they were trapped in a small area, and they could easily be rendered helpless.

"Why am I so cautious?" He asked himself, taking a deep breath as he pressed the button on to summon the elevator. "There's something wrong, something we're not expecting. I know I'm right. That plan is as good as irrelevant as soon as we step inside." They did as soon as the doors opened.

"Level 73." Lilo told him; he pressed the button. The elevator lurched, a light turning on above their heads. "This place is eerie." She commented, blinking off Stitch's granted night-vision. "And not the mummies and werewolves and ghosts kind of eerie…"

"It's just quiet, don't worry. Besides, I have a feeling the silence won't last too long."

"That's weird; I was thinking the same thing. You get the feeling there's something out-of-place too, don't you?" Stitch nodded. "I wonder if I'm sharing your emotions too. You're feeling…" she tried to sound as specific as possible, "anxious, and a little jumpy aren't you?"

"A little bit." He admitted, though his voice suggested more.

"I wonder if I can read your mind too…"

"You can try, but I'll-"

"Deny everything I say?" She interrupted, the words coming to her spontaneously.

"No." He said, trying to sound convincing. "Ok, yes." He corrected, relaxing a little. "But interrupting a sentence is easy. Besides, can't you already read my mind anyway? It seems like you're able too…"

"Pretty much." She replied cheerfully; indirectly was intending to relax him, and was glad he didn't notice that. "You can't hide anything from me." She boasted, rubbing his head. The elevator lurched around them, causing Lilo to lose her balance. Stitch caught her by the shoulder and let go as she steadied herself.

Behind her, the elevator doors began to open. Their creaking and groaning resonated in the stomachs of the passengers, bringing back the odd, quiet feeling about the structure. Stitch put a finger to his lips and stepped outside, and signaled not to turn her night-vision on, as it would give them away when they entered the next few hangars.

Slowly, cautiously they passed through the dark, slipping like phantoms across the metal floor, the shuffling of their feet muffled by the sheer emptiness of the massive rooms. Through one section, then another; with each passing heartbeat influenced by short breaths and surges of adrenaline they knew they were getting closer to their goal. Their last obstacle arrived; a final open hanger through which there was thirty feet of length they had to cover to reach the center of the room, then thirty more to the far end from there.

But they would go no farther than the first thirty. Expecting, yet unexpected, they fell into their trap—literally running headlong into it. They expected to see the Achie-baba Kino standing ruthlessly before them and half-expected to see Hamsterveil, who was standing on his usual anti-gravity console. But what they had not expected were the nine other extra pairs of emerald-glowing eyes, which surrounded them on all sides as a brilliant set of floodlights illuminated the hanger.