Believe
Chapter 3: Angel's Tale
Answering reviews:
Anonymous but Impressed: Thank you again for the awesome review. I have a feeling that you'll like this next chapter.
Baal 626: You'll find out this chapter how it happened.
Ri2: You'll also see this chapter. But I can tell you weren't expecting that. And that's the kind of effect I wanted to have.
In this chapter, I return to first person POV. As you can probably guess, it is from Angel's POV. Sections in bold represent conversations from within. Italics alone are Angel's words translated. Bold italics are once again Stitch's words translated. Here is Chapter 3.
Hämsterviel couldn't believe what was happening. He even teleported directly to Gantu's ship, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"But… You… If you're 624, then what about 627? And how?" Hämsterviel stammered, shocked at the turn of events.
"I bet you'd love to know," I told him. "Too bad."
I took a deep breath, and, with Dante's help, blew a frosty breath at the demented gerbil, freezing him.
"Wow… no wonder why you had so much trouble," I told him.
"Now you see?" Dante asked.
"Yes," I replied. "But now that your body isn't going to kick you out, you should be able to handle it. But can I ask to stay here, until I can ask Jumba to do something?"
"Sure. You helped me out when no one else could."
I turned to Stitch, who had stood up.
"Nice one, Angel. Let's finish off Hämsterviel for good. Toss me at him as hard as you can."
He rolled up into a ball, and I understood what he wanted. I picked him up, took aim, and threw him hard at Hämsterviel. When he collided into the block of ice, it shattered, as did the demented doctor. Stitch had a couple slight scratches from the ice shards, but nothing more.
As he walked over to me, a little dazed, but fine otherwise, the other experiments started cheering.
I grinned at Stitch, happy to be back with him.
"I'm so glad that I got even a chance to see you again, my love."
"Angel… I missed you. And even though I never gave up hope, I still feared I would never see you again. Seeing your dead body on that monitor sucked almost all my hope from me…" he confessed.
"Well, let's go home, and I'll explain everything." Turning to those who had come to help, I announced, "Everyone, I appreciate you coming to help Stitch out, but I know none of you expected me to return. You can go back to what you were doing if you wish, or come back to Lilo and Stitch's house, where I'll explain."
Nobody moved, so I took that as a sign that everyone wanted to hear. My eyes fell on 625, holding Lilo, who appeared to have fainted.
"What's he doing here?" I asked Stitch quietly.
"After your 'death', I convinced him to come home with me, because I felt that his life was in grave danger if he remained with Gantu."
"Awww… that's so sweet! If I get back into a female body, I owe you a kiss!"
He blushed a bit, but turned to everyone, and announced, "Okay everyone! Let's go home!"
"Think again, trogs!" Gantu cried, getting up, and aiming a plasma blaster at Stitch.
I calmly stepped into the path of the blaster, and gave him a dark look.
"Gantu. I suggest you look at the odds. There are 17 experiments here, more than capable of kicking your butt. I suggest you stand down, unless you have a death wish."
He grunted, but lowered the blaster.
"Good idea."
Stitch helped carry Lilo, and we left the ship.
Back at the house…
Everyone gathered in the living room, while Nani kept an eye on Lilo. She was Lilo's older sister, as I found out when we arrived. I had never met her before, but she obviously cared for Lilo. I just wish she treated Stitch the same way; she wanted to throw him out, because she thought it was his fault that Lilo was the way she was.
When everyone one had settled down, I began by saying, "I suppose I should start at the point where I 'died'."
The story I told was fantastic, and many would say it was impossible. But I lived it, so it's very possible.
On Hämsterviel's ship…
"Well well," the infamous gerbil greeted me, "if it isn't the traitorous double-crossing worthless experiment."
"My name," I growled, "is Angel."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure that's what the little Earth girl called you. But that makes no difference to me!"
"Like I care what matters to you?" I said, spitting at him.
"Ah… but you should! You can renounce all your loyalties to 626 and the girl, return to being evil, and I will do you no harm. In fact, I will treat you very well if you submit to my plans."
"Sorry Hämsterwheel. Your deals mean nothing to me at all. I would rather be beaten and die, and stay true to Stitch; than to forsake him, and save myself. I did that once, and I regretted it."
"It is Hämsterviel! Not wheel, viel!" he yelled. "I guess I will have to teach you respect!"
He started searching around for something to torture me with.
'Even though I said what I did… I'd rather have the best of both… Stay true to Stitch, but also avoid the torture… That's it!'
I remembered about a secondary power that I had forgotten about. Jumba had given it to me in case such a situation arose – and knowing Jumba, he also had forgotten about it by now.
'Let me cut my ties with this body, so that my spirit may live on…'
As I told myself those words, I felt a strange warmth and a strange freezing sensation on opposite sides of my body. Two different chemicals had entered into my bloodstream. In a minute, they would mix together, and my body would shut down. At the same time, my spirit would be freed. This chemical suicide was a last resort that I hadn't ever planned on using, but I was now glad for.
As I faced Hämsterviel, with a determined look on my face, I suddenly felt as if I was no longer bound. He lashed a whip at me, but as I braced for the hit, and then heard it hit, I realized I had felt nothing.
I turned around, and saw my body starting to shut down, a few cuts opening from that attack. But now I faced not one, but two problems.
First of all, even if I was freed, I still was reliant on Hämsterviel to transport something to Earth if I ever wanted a chance to see Stitch again. Worse, I could only maintain this spirit form for 24 hours, unless I entered the body of a weak or scared living creature, and helped it out from within. Some would call it 'possessing' a living creature. But I like to think of it as a way of coexisting within a creature and assisting it.
Luckily for me, one of my cousins started acting up a few hours after my body had shut down, and it appeared that this wasn't the first time.
"Not again!" Hämsterviel groaned. "That does it! Gantu can keep an eye on you! Gantu!" he screeched through the monitor.
"Y, yes sir?"
"I am sending an experiment back to you! This one has caused me endless headaches!"
"B, but sir…!"
"No buts!"
He shut off the monitor, and turned the teleporter on, placing the rouge cousin inside. Taking advantage of this, I just simply stepped in right next to my cousin, and within seconds, I had returned to Earth!
Still…
I only had a small window in which I had to assist a creature. Luckily for me, Gantu went stomping past me, and I saw him nearly squish a chameleon. He had frightened her badly, so I entered her body.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Who… who are you?" she wondered.
"Think of me as a friend, who wants to help and be helped."
"Do you have a name?"
"I'm known as Angel. You?"
"I call myself Cammy. So how can you help me with that gray giant?"
I thought for a few moments, and then remembered how easily Gantu could be flustered or embarrassed.
"I know! Let's go inside his ship! You'll see how weak he really is. In fact, a little furry rabbit-like creature bosses him around!"
Cammy giggled.
"No way!"
"Trust me! Let's go inside to wait and see!"
We walked inside the ship, and Cammy blended into the pattern of the ship. Soon enough, Gantu returned, empty-handed and beaten up.
"Wow! How'd he get beaten up so bad?"
I grinned, and told her, "I bet my mate did it to him."
"Oooh… he must be big and strong!" Cammy replied in amazement.
"Strong, most definitely. Big… well, he's only three feet tall. He's 'also cute and fluffy', as he puts it."
"And he cares for you?"
"Would give his life for me, although that's almost impossible. He's nearly indestructible."
Together, we watched, laughed, and talked, as Gantu got verbally reamed by Hämsterviel time and again.
After a few weeks…
"…so I sang my song once more, even though I didn't want to. I hoped he would stay away, but he followed me, truly devoted, right into the trap I had reluctantly help lay out. But he managed to get through it. Surprisingly, after I had admitted everything, including my pure love for him, he forgave me…" I finished.
"He's very forgiving. Not many would have done such a thing. You're very lucky to have found him Angel."
Just then, Hämsterviel came on, and ordered Gantu to recapture 627.
"627?" I asked. "Jumba made another one after Stitchy?"
"Is that bad?"
"Probably…"
We chatted back and forth for a little while, until 627 was activated right in front of us. As I looked at him, especially when he was looking at Gantu or Hämsterviel, I noticed the look of a lost, confused, and almost frightened experiment.
"He may be powerful, but I see the mind of a frightened child inside that war machine…" I told Cammy.
"And I can tell you're as worried about him as you were about me. Go on Angel. I think I can take care of myself much better now."
"Thanks Cammy. This could be my ticket back to Stitch!"
"Good luck!"
I left Cammy, but I wouldn't forget her anytime soon. Then, I easily flew into 627's ear, but helping him out was anything but easy… His brain tried to get rid of me as soon as I got in, so I had to go down to his heart before I was safe.
There, I noticed a little experiment that resembled him, except this little fellow was hiding, and had the same scared look on his face that I had noticed earlier.
"627?"
"Y…yeah… Who are you?"
"I used to be Experiment 624, but I go by the name Angel."
"I… don't have a name, other than Experiment 627. Thanks to Jumba, all I can ever tell anyone is 'Evil'."
"Why is it that you can only say that one word?"
"When Jumba made me, he set out to make a war machine without any feelings. Since that's impossible though, he made me with amazing mental and physical powers, but a brain that only knew how to obey orders, and an extremely weak soul… the one you see before you."
"Can't you fight back, like take control of your mind?"
He sighed, and answered, "It's not that easy. There are tough mental barriers designed to keep me and anyone else out. When Stitch had found my weakness of laughter, and I was doubled over, I tried breaking through the barrier. But even then, when it was weakened, I still couldn't get through."
"That's Jumba for ya. When he wants something done right, he'll do it himself. But first, why don't we give you a name? Then we'll try taking down that barrier."
"Okay. Do you have any ideas, Angel?"
"Not many… Lance?"
"Lance… hmmm… no…"
"Ace?"
"Nah…"
"Dante?"
"Hmmm… Dante… Dante… That name I like!"
"All right, Dante! Now we're going to get through to your mind, and take back your body."
I heard Stitch's voice, so I knew that he had been captured. He was taunting Hämsterviel, so…
"C'mon Angel! Hämsterviel wants to drown Stitch! If we don't get control and set him free…"
"No! Let's go Dante!"
We entered into his head again, and ran smack into a barrier as we tried to get to the brain.
"C'mon Dante! Let's push against it! I bet Jumba designed it only to hold up against your strength."
"Yeah! Together we can break it down!"
As we pushed, I heard his body start crying out.
"It's working! Keep going!"
Finally, it collapsed under our combined strength, at which time, the body cried out, "Get out of my head!"
"Naga!" Dante cried. "Angel, Hämsterviel just ordered for Stitch to be sunk!"
"We gotta save him!"
Together, we leapt past Gantu, and dove into the water.
"Smash the table! If that breaks, then the weights are worthless!" I suggested, in a panic.
We smashed the table, and grabbed Stitch. As we swam to the surface, Dante pulled his extra arms out, and grabbed the edge of the pool. But even as I helped, Stitch started to slip.
"No!"
Suddenly, I felt a sudden burst of strength, and with Dante's help, we finally pulled him out.
"Thanks Dante!"
"No Angel. Thank you."
He hugged me, gratefully.
Meanwhile, Hämsterviel screeched at us, "627! How dare you betray me?"
"And the rest," I finished, "you all know."
Jumba, who had a short version told to him before, was the first to react.
"I am sure Experiment 627 is thanking you for helping him undo my evil genius work… but what are you going to be doing? You cannot be staying within his body forever."
A small grin crawled across my face, as I replied, "I know this Jumba. That's why I have a request for you…"