Anywho, catatonia is a condition where you shut yourself off from the outside world. You are either unable or unwilling to do anything, including eating and talking, except sit and stare.
I've been meaning to ask this for a while now. How old are you?
To Anonymous but Interested: You're questions will be answered in later chapters. Although I did say before that I'm generally trying to separate this story from the series except where necessary to make references to it.
To Baal 626: You were correct! Throwing a bottle of Gin into a Lava flow is an offering to Pele to either ask that the lava does not come in the way of your house or, less usually, to ask for her help in some matter of life.
To Xoxerguy: Two words, emotional involvement! I'm not above resorting to such tactics just to get my readers emotionally involved in a story. As for your second question, what the hell kind of writer would I be if I had the emperor win!
Note: This is kind of the second half of the last chapter, which I simply didn't have enough time at that moment to write. This will be fairly short, but the next few chapters will both be quite long, and full of action.
And now for a little teaser: Imagine for a moment, the final climactic confrontation between Stitch and the Emperor. Now imagine, you've just finished reading that scene, it was awesome! It was slightly disturbing. But most of all, you can't scratch the feeling that there was something familiar, not about anything that actually happened in that scene, but just in its general style and atmosphere. Suddenly it hits you! This guy has probably watched Kill Bill just one too many times.
Sam Winnfield walked up to the balcony and leaned against the railing. He looked down at the slowly tumbling flow of a'a. At its sides was plain black dirt for several feet, and then, grasses and trees. It seemed wondrous how plants could grow less than ten feet away from thousand degree rock. The rain had been several hours away by now, and the heat in the lava was beginning to pick up again, and the a'a was now tumbling over itself a bit quicker and easier than it was only half an hour before. Whatever trouble was on his mind, Sam could just stare at that lava and forget it all, at least for the moment.
Unfortunately the moment has a funny habit of not lasting very long, and Sam realized he had to go back inside to boss people around because his little rebellion seemed to have no sense of direction without his presence.
Sam sighed. He looked out at the lava one more time and then turned around and headed back in. Sam walked through the office to the balcony, and back into the lobby.
"Ih!"
Sam felt a tugging at his right pant leg and looked down to see Stitch staring back up at him worriedly.
Sam didn't ask what was wrong, but looked at Stitch with one eyebrow raised as if expecting Stitch to tell him without being asked. It took Stitch a little while to realize what Sam was doing, but when he did, he looked and pointed forward.
Sam followed the direction of Stitch's talon toward a young rebel member kneeling over. Lilo was next to him holding up an M4 Carbine to her shoulder and looking through the scope on top. The rebel guided Lilo's hands through the various moving parts of the carbine while speaking to her closely. Lilo's face was cold-sober as she learned how to work the safety, unload and reload the clips, adjust the ROF (rate of fire) and detach and reattach the accessories from her stranger teacher.
Stitch was frightened slightly at the way Lilo handled the carbine. Only nine years old, she was clumsy at first, but soon it looked as if she had been doing it all her life. From the look on her face, it seemed as if she was truly ready to kill someone.
Stitch looked back up at Sam. His face was pleading a thousand different questions, but all he could get out was a whimper. Still, Sam seemed to get the idea.
"I couldn't believe the way she looked at me." Sam said to Stitch, his eyes on Lilo the whole time. "Her face was… I knew that face. It's the face of someone who's seen too much carnage, and has never been able to completely get over it."
Sam and Stitch watched for a minute more as Lilo was now just barely getting used to detaching and reattaching the shoulder stock.
Sam continued. "It's strange. It usually takes much more than being in just one firefight to bring out that face in someone. I suppose it's because she's only a child, and much more impressionable. But a child still shouldn't have that face. A child should have to worry more about things like bug stings, dirty clothes and, sneaking bites to eat when nobody else is looking."
Sam paused and they continued to watch as Lilo as she was now learning to use a snapped off and trimmed tv antenna to clean out a jam in the breach of the gun.
Sam continued. "I remember the first time Nani looked at me like that. It was after she led the attempt to retake Kokaua. That was before we knew just how adept the emperor's troops really were. Her entire team was slaughtered right before her eyes. She barely made it out with her own life."
Lilo was now learning how to do a rudimentary cleaning job with a can of compressed air.
"Part of that little girl is still inside that battle, and it always will be. She will never be able to bring herself entirely out of it."
"Will Lilo be okay?" Stitch asked quietly.
Sam paused before answering. "Yes. She'll be okay. Though she may never get over what she experienced, she may learn to live with it. In time, with a little help, she may even learn to be happy again, though for much different reasons than she once was, much simpler reasons."
"Gaba?"
Sam looked at Stitch, and spoke directly to his face this time. "It will be things like having a roof over her head, hot and cold running water, clean clothes, a regular supply of food, and people that care about her."
People who cared about her. Stitch drooped his ears and let his mouth hand open. He knew Sam was talking about him.
"Those are the things she will treasure when this is all over. All other matters will become secondary to her."
"What about Nani?" Stitch asked.
"Nani?" Sam answered. "Nani's already too far gone to ever be happy again. Nothing can help her now."
POW!
A shot rang out. Sam and Stitch jolted toward the sound. Lilo was on the floor in shock. Her now smoking carbine rested in her lap. It seemed the one thing she wasn't taught about was hair triggers.
Sam and Stitch looked forward of Lilo to see Nani standing in a doorway to the lobby. Her teeth and fists were clenched and her eyes were open as far as they could go. The undeniable red splatter was right in the center of Nani's diaphragm.
"Nani! They were just blanks!" yelled out the man who showed Lilo how to handle his gun.
Lilo continued to sit and stare at Nani in shock. The man knelt over and grabbed Lilo by the shoulders.
"It's okay. You didn't hurt her. It's only paint."
Nani gnarred loudly and then turned around and walked out of the room again.
Lilo looked up at the man with his hands on her shoulders, and then behind her.
She saw Sam and Stitch looking at her. Stitch began to walk forward toward Lilo, but Lilo jerked her shoulders free of the man's grip, stood up and ran off clutching the carbine to her chest.
Stitch motioned toward Lilo, about to run after her himself, but stopped as he heard-
"No Stitch."
Stitch Looked behind his shoulder to see Sam shaking his head at him.
"Let her go." Sam said. "She needs to be alone right now.
Stitch lowered his head and whimpered.
Stitch was back out on the familiar balcony looking out over the lava flow. The lava had now heated up to the point of being gooey liquid rock on the inside, with a black crumbly crust outside. The Glowing inside would show up through the cracks or when a piece of the crust broke off and began to tumble over. The lava was now somewhere between the crumbly a'a' and the flowing pahoehoe. This kind of rock the Hawaiians had no name for, even though they should, as it was the most mesmerizing of them all.
It seemed everyone went here when there was something wrong, and Stitch could understand why. The lava had a hypnotic effect on him. Whatever he was thinking, whatever he was feeling, staring into the flowing lava seemed to make it all fade away into nothing. Eventually, not even the realization of self would exist anymore. There was only the lava, and it seemed perfect in its logic and order.
It wouldn't take much to bring one's attention back to reality. A distant crashing sound managed to do that with Stitch.
Stitch looked up at the sky. It was a cloudless night. The moon was set at the very center of the sky. It was only mid-evening when Stitch last came out to the balcony. That was the power of lava for you.
Stitch went inside and looked around to see what had caused the crash.
A small pile of boxes shoved carelessly into the corner of the room had fallen over. They spilled old junk radios and radio parts over the floor.
Stitch walked up to the scrap and kicked one of the pieces against the wall. It hit the wall and fell over again with a clank-clank.
Stitch looked up. Everything was dark. Everything was quiet. Except for the watchmen patrol everyone must've gone to bed by now.
Normally silent over the commotion of talking and unpacking. Stitch could now hear the distant drops of water from leaking pipes, the soft rumbling of the diesel generator in the basement, the whirring from rooms with unbalanced air pressure, and the squeaking of tiny animals in the walls.
Stitch walked out of the office back into the lobby. It was totally black, at least to a human. There was just enough light in the room to allow Stitch to see everything as flat blue silhouettes. There were still boxes piled everywhere, but the place at least looked like someone was living there. Guns hung up on hooks on the walls next to MRE's piled on the shelves and various maps and reports scattered messily on tables.
Rummaging through a pile of worn clothes at a side of the room drew Stitch's attention.
Stitch walked up to the pile and sniffed. The scent was fresh. Human female, mid fifties, or possibly late sixties but in very good health, but she wasn't in a very healthy state of mind, certainly no condition to hold any place in a rebellion. She had been in the pile of clothes less than a minute ago.
A refugee. Sam insisted on taking them along when he found them, even though they did nothing but take up space and use up food. Sure they would do chores, but the rebels were all just as capable of that.
Another rummaging through the papers on the table on the other side of the room. Stitch turned around and began walking toward it, quickly at first, but then he slowed down as he got closer.
"Hello?" Stitch called out.
He went to inspect the table. There was no movement. It was too dark here even for Stitch to see.
Stitch blinked his eyes, and they opened glowing red.
As soon as he opened them, he saw the short old woman hiding beneath the desk jump out at him.
Stitch was too startled to do anything but fall over as the woman practically jumped on top of him and scooped him up into her arms. The woman cried out loud into Stitch's chest as she would stroke his head too hard for comfort.
"Why did he do it Stitch!" She wailed into Stitch's ear. "Charlie was only thirteen! Why did they take him away!"
"Naga nota!" Stitch shouted back as he struggled against the woman's grasp, trying to break free without using his strength as he knew that would hurt her. "Naga nota! Let Stitch go!"
Stitch finally wriggled his way out of the woman's arms and dashed out of the room, leaving her to crawl back underneath the desk, muttering incoherently.
Stitch wandered some time more through the observatory, using his infrared vision to try and find a silhouette through the walls that was just the right size and shape. He finally found it, but in a closet?
Stitch opened the door to the closet and saw Lilo sleeping inside, covered in dirty camo jackets, and still holding onto her carbine like most children would hold onto a teddybear.
Stitch walked inside the closet and closed the door behind him. He crawled underneath the pile of jackets until he was right behind Lilo, and then reached his arms around her. Lilo squirmed, shivered and groaned at the touch, holding her gun tighter. Stitch was not ignorant to this. He pulled back his paw and rubbed it against the thick fur on his chest several times, and then brought his paw to Lilo's face. Lilo took a deep breath and immediately began to relax. Even in her sleep she could recognize Stitch's smell. Though she no longer squirmed or groaned, she still shivered. Stitch extended his other two arms and wrapped them tight around Lilo. He blinked and his eyes returned to black, and then he closed his eyes. In a few minutes, he too was asleep.
It was well into the next afternoon when Lilo and Stitch emerged from the closet, both smelling like dirty laundry. Lilo's face was dirty and her hair unkempt. She had her gun slung over her shoulder. Stitch didn't look too much better.
They walked side by side down the halls, never speaking to, or looking at each other. They turned a few times, drawing stares from everyone they passed. They'd learned to ignore this by now. They finally made their way to the main lobby of the building. This was where breakfast was usually served, and there was quite a crowd in the room today.
Strangely, none in the room seemed concerned with eating. They were all gathered around the only twenty four inch tv in the entire complex.
Lilo tried shoving her way through the crowd to no avail. Stitch smacked his face at her attempts.
"Gaba?" Stitch spoke out loud.
The whole crowed turned to face him.
"Let Stitch and Lilo see."
The crowd parted to let Lilo and Stitch walk up to the very front of the TV and sit down. On it was video of some fantastic parade in an unknown city. Huge floats and even huge marches cascaded down the street. The air was filled with balloons, silly string and colored tissue paper. Marching bands played the most distastefully patriotic tunes imaginable. None of them could be recognized, but they were clearly patriotic.
"What is it?" Lilo asked.
"Footage from last years bon fire."
Lilo turned around to see a short bearded man with a pot-belly had said this.
"What bon fire?" Lilo asked.
"It's one of the emperor's stranger quirks."
Lilo turned the other way to see Sam had answered her this time.
"Every year he has one in city Hawaii zero one, also called Capitol City. It lasts all day. It's like mardi-gras. The bonfire is the finale at midnight, usually reaching two stories high. It's fueled entirely by peoples' left shoes. No one's ever been able to figure out why he does it."
Lilo and Stitch looked at each other smiling. They were the only one's there who actually did know why the emperor would ever do such a thing.
"The next bonfire's scheduled to take place three days from now."
"Hey!" A young woman in the crowd suddenly shouted out. "Maybe we can get Stitch to go there!"
Stitch, Lilo and Sam all looked up at the young woman.
"I mean." She continued. "Everyone in the empire's gonna be watchin the bonfire. And if Stitch and the emperor are seen in the same place, all hell'd break loose out there!"
"And would that necessarily be a good thing?" Sam interrupted. "If that happened, the emperor would probably become even more ruthless and paranoid. He'd probably form inquisitions to hunt down anyone suspected of working for his evil twin."
"Evil?" Lilo interrupted.
"Well…" Sam answered. "That's what he would call it."
"What about reconnaissance?" another young man spoke up from the crowd. "If Stitch really does have all the powers of the emperor-"
"He does!" Lilo shouted at him, hugging Stitch in the process.
"Ih!" Stich added in. "Anything emperor can do, Stitch can do."
"So." The young man continued. "He would be the perfect spy!"
"But what would there be to spy on," Called out another voice from a distance away. "the magic doctor?"
Everyone turned around. Nani was in the back of the room leaning against the side of the doorway.
"And how do we know Stitch isn't working for the emperor anyway?" Nani finished.
The crowd went silent. Everyone stared at Nani angrily. How dare she say such a thing about their savior! But there was no use arguing with her point. Logically, they knew what she said was more likely than any other answer. But still. How dare she say such a thing about their savior!
Nani was unmoved by the crowds glaring.
"You know Nani." Sam interrupted. "When all other options have been wasted, I'm willing to take some things on a leap of faith."
"In my experience, faith'll only ever get you one place, killed!" Nani shouted back.
Sam sighed and looked down to find Lilo staring back up at him.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"Who's the magic doctor?" Lilo asked.
"The magic doctor? Supposedly the man who lives in the great pyramid in Capitol City."
"Great pyramid?"
"It's a giant steel pyramid in the middle of Capitol City with no windows and only one door. Only the emperor and his escorts are ever seen going in and out of it. The magic Doctor is supposed to some alien scientist made a slave by the emperor. He's supposed to have invented all of the empire's weapons. I believe you already know his name."
"Jumba Jookiba." Lilo and Stitch both whispered simultaneously.
They looked up at Sam who nodded and smiled at them.
"Jumba! That's it!" Lilo shouted. "If anyone knows how to beat the emperor it's him!"
Murmurs were heard through the crowd, now paying more attention to Lilo and Stitch's conversing than to the video. Quite a few gasps of, there really is a Jumba Jookiba? could be heard coming from them.
"And how could you figure that?" Sam asked.
Lilo raised her hand and opened her mouth. About to speak out, Stitch butted in before she could.
"Jumba build Stitch!"
The crowed gasped again. Murmers were sent flying from person to person. Sam just stared at Stitch with one eyebrow raised.
"That's why the emperor calls himself 6-2-6!" Lilo shouted. "He's Jumba's experiment 6-2-6!"
"Experiment…" Sam said. "As in, genetically engineered?"
"Ih!" "Yes!" came from both Stitch and Lilo's mouths at once.
"Okay okay!" Nani hollered from across the room and walked toward the crowd. "Let's all assume just for assumptions sake that everything you're saying is true. How do we know Jumba'll cooperate with us? Huh? Especially if he created the emperor, as you claim."
"Again Nani." Sam spoke up. "When all other options have been wasted, I'm willing to take some things on a leap of faith."
Sam looked back at Stitch and smiled. "The bonfire celebration should provide the perfect cover for Stitch to sneak into the Pyramid, and with the costumes people wear to that thing, it won't be hard to disguise him. The pyramid won't be hard to find either, since the parade will circle right around it. Now all we need Stitch, is a camera, for you to record what you find there."
"You are an idiot Sam you know that!" Nani screamed at him.
Sam coolly turned toward Nani with an arrogant smirk on his face, adjusted his shades and said, "I probably am."
Another Note: I've decided to discontinue writing Gems of Tomorrow until I'm finished with Empire of the Pacific. This is so I have maximum time to build up inspiration for what I'm going to write in that story. I'm also going to reopen my dialogue with Ri2 and Bluefox to help me with that inspiration. Hopefully, when I get around to continuing that story, it won't be quite as campy as the previous chapters.