Friendship

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

(Phase also created by raVen)

Chapter 13: Fate of the Traitor (I)

"Keep moving." Phase felt the blaster push against her back. She walked forward, her pace wary, as she had a blindfold covering her eyes. The pinch of the wafers atop her head was a constant reminder that she was unable to use her powers, so long as they were attached to her. With their magnetic disruption, no impulse could be sent from her brain. In a sense, she was paralyzed.

"What a fine mess you've gotten yourself into." She thought, shifting her arms to circulate the blood. "This is what you get for trusting a rat." She felt the blaster tap her right shoulder, Gantu signaling the turn in the hallway. "So where am I headed, off the ledge and into the water?" She asked bitterly.

"Very funny." Gantu said, amused. "No, you're much too valuable for us. We'll be taking you to see your friend." He told her.

"I'm not very useful for you if I can't teleport." She commented.

"Oh you'll be able to slip into that Tetra-space, or whatever you call it—we'll just be controlling you. You see, you are going to get an amplifier—one that will allow us to control your power for our own benefits." He tapped the blaster on her left shoulder. "Uncomfortable?"

"Very."

"Good." Silence took over. Phase listened to the sound of her nails clacking against the metal floor; with each click her anger and frustration steadily rose. She had been played this whole time—set up from the beginning. The only thing that was hurt now was her ego; things would only go from bad to worse for her. "Hey, what are you doing out!"

Phase's eyes turned to Gantu's voice; she forgot she was blindfolded. She felt the gun lift from her shoulder, and heard it fire once, which made her turn her body, desperate to move, as she was afraid she would somehow get hit accidentally. Who was Gantu shooting at?

Another shot was heard, far away from Phase's hearing. It sounded like the confrontation was taking place a ways down the hall. There was rustling—either Gantu's clothes as he moved, or blows were being exchanged. She heard grunts of contact, but only from Gantu. It almost sounded like he was fighting with himself rather than another person.

Phase moved forward, away from the wall, wishing she could see what was going on—from the sounds of it Gantu appeared to be losing. A soft clack, followed by a louder one that echoed through the hallways as Gantu roared with pain; three more loud clacks, then a skidding sound that ended as quickly as it had started—Gantu had been disarmed. Two more yells from the whale, and Phase heard a fleshy clutter, and assumed he'd been knocked unconscious.

Silence; Phase twitched her ears, listening, and stepped a few more paces away from the wall. A click, and then another; they came slowly, calmly, and echoed, coming closer to Phase. Footsteps—she would be cut free from the braces and the blindfold. A sigh of relief escaped her. Whoever her Samaritan was, he or she was certainly silent about coming to her aide.

The clicking paused. For a moment, silence came. What was the person doing? Didn't the person see her? Why did the person stop? Another noise came; a scraping noise, metal against metal, and then the footsteps. Phase suddenly felt a shiver ripple through her back, and the pulse of her heart felt heavier as a slight, instinctive panic took her over. The footsteps crossed her; the person passed her, and then went behind her. She felt the circular head of the blaster press against her head, and immediately her breath went erratic.

"Keep moving." Her face froze; a sweat trickled down her neck. This was no Samaritan, this was no rescuer; if anything she wished Gantu would wake up—right now he was as good a rescuer as any. No, she was not rescued; she was merely passed on from one captor to another. However, her present captor was infinitely more dangerous to her than her previous one: Angel.

Stitch's arms quivered as he held an Achie-baba Kino's talons above his head, stopping them from slamming down on him, resisting the Kino's force, which was aided also by gravity. He realized he was wasting his strength in resisting, and as his anger grew so did his awareness of such minor details.

He gave, intentionally, and allowed the Kino to pin him down—it wouldn't be fore long. The Kino could not stop its motion in time; just as the maximum force of the Kino's attack was attained, Stitch rolled on his back, kicking his feet into the Kino's metal chest, and using the dinosaur's own force against him, threw the Kino back into the wall. Stitch was on his feet again.

The second and third Kino struck from both sides, their talons reaching to grab Stitch by the arms; he dodged one, and flipped up onto the other, then, facing the other Kino, jumped across the arms and ran up the one who he had merely dodged, and latched onto its face. The Kino, its computing function obviously lacking common sense, struck at Stitch, who moved away just as the Kino slammed down on its own skull. Electricity fluttered about its body for a moment, and then it remained still.

"One down, nine to go." Hamsterveil chimed confidently. "I hope your friend is enjoying her…" He looked over to where Lilo was. "Hey! Where did she go?" Hamsterveil struck his anti-gravity pod.

"Rescue Angel." Stitch replied curtly. Hamsterveil's eyes curiously squinted at the blue experiment as he turned his head back to face the fight.

"You don't say…" He spoke rhetorically, tapping his pod. "Kino-ten; after her, Kino-four; join –one and –three!" The rodent barked.

"Hamsterveil promised not to touch Lilo, recaba?" Stitch hissed, the fourth Kino running into the fray.

"Oh, but you've changed the rules, 626, so I will change them as well. As long as she is inside here, she will be safe. Out there…" He looked toward the door as Kino-ten tore through it. "Well, let's hope she can run. Maybe I'll keep her as a ransom for the Council."

"Ju rataka!" Stitch barked, rage taking him over. All three Kino's beset him; he caught two, and missed the third—yelling with not pain, but anger, as he was thrown to the floor a few meters away. He landed, crouching, his feet, a knee, and hand skidding on the metal, his claws carving trenches as he slowed. "Naga simpasha." He growled, his dark eyes reflecting the flames of rage inside him.

Phase felt the cool, gentle wind blow from her left as she stepped through the door leading to the outer portion of the level. She continued to walk, the barrel of the blaster pressed against the small of her back, and stopped upon Angel's second command.

"On your knees." Phase blindly followed the order; her shins hurt uncomfortably under the weight of her body and the hard surface of the metal. "I don't think I need to tell you how I feel, do I?" Phase didn't respond; it was rhetorical. "I have to admit, you really caught me off-guard. You're a good actor Phase; have you been playing the part ever since you first ran into me?" Phase took a moment to answer.

"I did." She confessed. "We were actually going to stage the whole experiment-capture thing. Lilo was supposed to do her bit; find my 'One, True place' and all. I was supposed to find out where you were using Jumba's computer—but seeing as how you were with them, that eliminated that portion of the plan…and complicated others." Phase spoke without a distinct tone, merely relaying facts through explanation.

"Well, regardless, I commend your acting. You persuaded me into thinking you were actually a friendly experiment. How wrong I was." She said with a laugh, flooded with a distinct type of hatred. The wind blew a bit harsher, as if to emphasize Angel's tone. "And look where you've ended up for such acting—betrayed by the very person you were working with. I'll bet you feel pretty stupid right now." Phase grit her teeth; Angel was right. "I see." Phase heard Angel as she fidgeted with the blaster.

"You know, Phase," Angel's voice continued among the fidgeting and wind, "Stitch and I are very good—with blasters, I mean." She paused, and then continued, Phase knew she was looking at the fear on her face. "He has an amazing accuracy rating. I believe its 89.94. But you know…I'm a much better shot." Angel tapped the blaster.

"You don't say." Phase said; her voice dry and quiet.

"Oh, I don't mean to brag, but…I believe I have a 99.99762." Phase heard the blaster clutter sharply; it was being aimed. "I can hit a target the size of your nose from three-hundred feet away. Imagine how much sharper that is, when the target is only a few feet." The crescendo of charging plasma hit Phase's ears. "You have fifteen seconds to convince me that you're still a friend—starting now."

"…What can I say?" Phase asked with a noticeable quaver. "'I'm sorry?' I can't tell if you're vengeful or crazy…but either way I don't care. I'm sorry though—I really am." She took in a breath, held it, and exhaled, adrenaline taking over her fear as the rest of the seconds passed slowly.

"Time's up." Angel ringed; her voice half-interrupted by the sound of shooting plasma. Phase's scream was caught by the wind.