Friendship

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

(Phase also created by raVen)

Chapter 18: Fate of the Traitor (II)

Stitch balanced the ship, fighting a sudden, drastic turbulence that came along with the fountain of water surrounding the pillar. He swung around, but kept his distance; the pillar was in a complete shield, and if he got too close the ship would be slowly eaten away by the salt in the water. He had to think—somehow he had to get them out of there without touching the water. He veered away, and looped around again, pondering desperately for a strategy.

"What the heck is wrong with this place?" Phase shouted over the overwhelming noise of spraying water. They had been watching Stitch and his incredible ship-boarding technique, losing him as he went underneath but generally getting the idea of how he got in. But that show was abruptly cancelled as soon as they saw the water rising from the ocean.

"Ocean Shores ain't got nothin' on this!" Lilo shouted, backing away deeper into the sanctity of the disk. Water was beginning to spray on them, soaking them, but more importantly eating away at the metal that held them up.

"If we don't do something this thing will fall and take us with it!" Phase roared, fighting a sudden increase in the water's fierce screaming.

"But we can't do anything!" Lilo exclaimed, throwing her free arm up in the air. She abruptly aborted her gesture as the pillar rippled, shaking them off-balance. "If Stitch gets too close to the water the ship will get eaten up!"

"What do you suppose we do then?" Phase questioned.

"I don't know; you got any bright ideas?" She asked, readjusting Angel on her shoulder.

"…As a matter of fact…" Phase looked toward the wall of water that continuously shot upward from what she could tell. She tried to peer through it, but it was too opaque for her to see anything beyond it. "Can you try to find the ship, Lilo?" She asked.

Stitch pulled up on the yoke, fighting another blast of wind that came from the spring. He also altered his course to fly upward, as he estimated where the others were located. He tried to see through the foam and gloss, but he couldn't. And having Agubada's sun reflect off the water's surface didn't help much either.

"This is no natural occurrence." He thought. "And plus, the weather reports of this planet never mentioned any hurricanes at all. I don't think this planet can produce hurricanes on its own."

"There!" Lilo pointed, peering through the water, cascading upward. Although she was only half sure, the other side of her--the Stitch side--reassured her that it was a ship, instead of just an illusion.

"Good. Is he still there?" Phase asked.

"No." Lilo said, looking back toward her. "He's still going up."

"...Maybe he sees something we don't. Do you think the water is stopping at some point? Maybe gravity's kicking in somewhere up there." The structure shuddered again, sending Phase to her knees and made Lilo struggle to keep Angel balanced on her shoulder.

"I don't know but I don't think we should stay here to find out!" Lilo shouted, as the water began to eat away at the edge of the metal in front of them.

"Back inside, to the elevator!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Lilo shouted after, her voice echoing off the walls inside. Their noises were hushed due to the acoustic noise of rushing water. It overwhelmed everything but the creaking of metal every time the structure seemed to lurch. "This thing's not gonna hold!" Lilo shouted, but she wasn't sure if she could even hear what she was saying. A few moments later, the elevator was in sight, and in tact. Phase had already punched the button when Lilo turned the corner, and once the doors opened, both girls jumped in, eager to get it going, as if that would somehow stop all the chaotic noises outside--strangely, it sort of did.

"We made it." Phase said rhetorically, over heaves of air.

"Yeah." Lilo replied, setting Angel down and walking to the panel. "Let's go all the way to the top, just in case. I don't want to have to make that run again." Phase smiled and nodded, sitting down. Lilo sat down as well when she returned; now would be a time for them to relax. The rushing sound of water could still be heard outside, but it wasn't as dramatic; it was almost soothing. Lilo closed her eyes, relaxing, though a slight dread of the elevator stopping on the top floor was present, it would happen at any moment, and right now Lilo just wanted to rest for as long as possible. However, that stop never came, not at the top floor at least.

Their respite was interrupted, grousemly, as the elevator gave a violent lurch and began to churn. Both girls were already hugging the ground, and Angel was helped by Phase, who was closer to her than Lilo. All at once the elevator stopped, and the girls' heads came up to look around. Their center of gravity felt tilted, and the elevator was stuck between the 97th and 98th levels--level 100 was considered the "last" on the elevator.

"Is Angel ok?"

"Yeah. And I'm fine too." Phase mocked a snarl. "You?"

"I'm-" Lilo stopped her speech as the elevator groaned all around them. Hearts pounded and moved their way to throats, and a terrible fear flooded the girls as they felt their insides mash against their shoulders and heads. Lilo screamed, and Phase wanted to, but she was too busy keeping Angel steady. The elevator was already well on its way into a fall, catching onto the side of the tunnel every once in a while, giving its passengers a shattering tremor.

"Lilo!" Phase shouted. "Lilo calm down!" Angel's body fell onto her on another shudder, and she struggled to keep it off. "Lilo, listen to me for a second, if you stop panicking you can get us out of here!"

"Can't you just teleport us out?"

"I could," she admitted, "but then we might not be able to get off this thing later. We need you to get us out, understand?" The box shuddered again.

"All right, all right, what do I do?" Phase grunted, moving Angel's unconscious body again.

"I don't know...what would Stitch do?" She asked. Lilo blinked and lifted her head.

"You're right...what would he do?" Another shudder; Phase struggled to keep Angel off of her, and glanced at Lilo again.

"Well, any ideas?" Lilo smiled.

"Keep Angel safe."

"Tell that to her!" Phase moaned, as Angel's weight made her bang her head against the slanted side of the elevator. Lilo stood up, her legs fighting for balance. Once the box stopped shaking, she jumped up onto the ceiling, using Stitch's ability to adhere to the metal. Phase looked up as she heard the sound of contact. She was aware that the girl possessed some of Stitch powers, but how much power she had and what she was going to do with it was unknown to her.

She watched as Lilo's fist reared back, and paused; she was hesitating. Phase kept Angel's body still during the next shudder and watched as Lilo lost her hesitation, and with a yell, thrust her fist into the metal, tearing it as easily as--or perhaps more easily than--the boulder had torn the floor. But Lilo wasn't done; she thrust her hands into the small hole and with another roar, ripped the seam apart, like plastic, and then looked down at Phase, who was gaping at her.

"C'mon." Lilo said as she hung from the ceiling by her feet, her arms outstretched. Phase lifted Angel up, and Lilo took her with one hand, and ushered Phase to grab the other. Hesitantly, Phase did, and felt Lilo swing her around. Reflexively she clung to the girl's back, and grabbed Angel when she was secured. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Phase was dumbfounded as Lilo turned, kneeled, grabbed onto the lip of the hole she had made, and slipped through, defying gravity as though the hole were made in the floor instead. In mid-air, Phase felt a lurch in Lilo, as she rebounded from the roof of the elevator, and almost magnetically latched onto the wall, her back jerking against the falling force. Without a moment's rest, Lilo began to climb, with Phase and Angel hanging on her back. As they passed the 90th floor, they heard a crash. The elevator hit rock bottom.

"The water isn't dying down at all...it just keeps flowing." Stitch thought, as he turned the ship again. "It's all around the structure now, what's causing it?" He pulled up, gaining some height as did. He glanced back toward the structure to see three figures emerging from the docking bay.

"Lilo! Phase! Angel!" He said with relief, opening the cockpit hatch and flying closer to the structure. They were apparently shouting as well, gleefully from what he could tell. He slowed the ship down, preparing for a landing, when suddenly the water quickly shot up three levels, blocking his from entering. "Naga!" He yelled with frustration, slamming the dashboard. He grabbed the yoke and turned the ship around, keeping close. "I can't leave...and we're stuck again...what do I do?"

"What do we do now?" Lilo asked with frustration, as she saw the water jump higher, blocking their only means of escape.

"I was afraid this would happen..." Phase said, shaking her head. "This isn't a normal water-disaster, it seems like. But don't worry, I have an idea."

"What is it?" Lilo snapped, desperate for anything.

"Calm down, don't get snappy on me."

"Sorry...I'm just..."

"I understand. My idea is simple, as long as you can jump. How far can you jump?"

"How far...? I don't know..."

"Well, the farther the better. All you have to do is get a good jump in; I can take care of the rest."

"You're going to teleport us? Are you sure you can do it?"

"I'm sure, trust me. Just don't let go of me or Angel, you'll have to hold her while I concentrate ok?"

"Sure." Lilo took Angel and strung her over her shoulder. Phase hopped up on Lilo's back, and supported herself. "Ready?"

"Go!" Lilo immediately took to a run, the features of the ground a blur in her vision, until she came to the very edge of the metal disk. The water was slightly farther out it seemed, as when Lilo gave it her all in a long jump, she didn't feel anything but a slight mist after she left the structure. Phase's heart pounded; the world around them seemed to slow down, the water's flow nearly stopped, and they were almost frozen in mid-air. Phase closed her eyes, concentrating, but after a moment, opened them, and dawned a look of worriment.

The beating in her heart thundered as dread took her over, but quickly the dread was silenced. She took a few deep breaths, calming herself, and then extended her lower-left arm. She glanced down as her hand unfolded to reveal a small CD. Her arm shrank back into her side as she took it with her upper hand, and looked around. She spotted Lilo's pocket, and slipped the CD inside, her heart beginning to race again. She took another few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She wished she hadn't lied.

"Say 'hi' to Angel for me when she wakes up." Phase said. Lilo started to look back, but she was already gone. Phase felt the mass underneath her disappear, and slowly the world around her returned to normal. Phase smiled as she felt her speed increase. She opened her eyes, watching as the wall of water came closer and closer, and faster. Her eyes burned as she hit it, the salt stinging her skin. But she didn't care. The water seemed to slow her down, and it made her sleepy. But before her vision faded to black, she felt her speed abruptly stop. What felt like arms seemed to catch her, and for a moment she thought she heard a voice.

"Gotcha!"

"Stitch, go!" Lilo shouted, as soon as Lilo felt the floor of the ship. Stitch looked back, saw them, and immediately gunned the throttle. Lilo panted hard, her blood boiling and surging through her veins. "We made it!" She said with a laugh, rolling back and closing her eyes. "Nice job Phase." She complimented. But when she didn't receive a reply, she began to grow concerned. "...Phase?" She said with alarm, looking over the back of the ship. "Phase?" Lilo looked back and forth, but the only other person she saw was Angel. "Stitch, where's Phase?" Stitch looked back.

"I...I don't know." He said, looking over the ship, the clouds of the Agubada sky taking up the window. "Lilo?" He asked rhetorically, observing the look on the girl's face. With a clutter, Lilo scrambled to her feet, and rushed to the oyster-shaped computer, flipping it up aggressively and smashing in the command to do a universal scan for experiment 6-0-0. She panted heavily, wishfully, as the scan commenced, and after five agonizing minutes, two horrifying words flashed across the screen.

"Location Unknown."

"...This...can't be...did she-?" Lilo looked back at Angel, hoping Phase would somehow be there. "Is that what she meant by...?"

"Lilo, let me see the computer." Stitch said.

"You know how to find her?" Lilo asked quickly, handing him the console.

"No...but it'll tell us if she's ok or not." He replied. Somehow, by what means Lilo didn't know, he calmly typed the keys, and glanced at the monitor as it flickered with blue lighting. "She's ok." He told Lilo, turning the computer.

Lilo observed it; it was a status report on Phase, some sort of monitoring system. There were green dots next to words such as "pulse", "oxygen levels", and "functioning levels". But next to "current condition", in purple text, there read "Unconscious".

"What do we do? She's ok...but we can't find her...can we go back? Maybe we can find her if we go back!" Lilo said excitedly, her hopes rising.

"Lilo, I would have turned around already if I could." Stitch replied logically, crashing Lilo's cheer. "The acidity levels on that planet are too high; even the clouds will eat this ship up if we pass through them now. I'm sorry...but we can't go back."