Chapter 4
A/N: Okeedokee. Here we go. The fourth Chapter, and the introduction of another character. I'm feeling much better now, and, sadly, Fallen Wraith, I do have several spring allergies. I'm better off during the summer than any time else. Well...yeah, that's about it. I THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME REVIEWS! PRESENT ME WITH SOME MORE, PLEASE! ( A'ight? Okay. That's about it. Read on.
Lilo awoke as the sun neared the end of its rise, the wonderful pallet of pastel colors that stained the dawn sky just beginning to fade into the conventional blue. The orange light made its way into the dark tower through a large window, open to the outside. Clouds glided across the sky, their own stark whiteness warped with the rays. The sounds of morning filled the serene air, a mix of breezes and birds. A great contrast to the horror of the night before.
Lilo remained lying down; resting her head in a pillow that she knew was not her own. For a few minutes prior to her awakening, she had suspected that perhaps it had all been a dream. Her eyes now open, she knew that it was not as she had hoped, but she didn't seem to care too much. She was safe and warm, her whole body cocooned with a thick blanket. Her dizziness had gone away, having apparently found waiting for her to arouse distasteful, deciding to flit off and harry someone maybe more deserving. Her sight had returned, as well as her hearing, and the darkness from the night before was replaced by the coming of dawn. It was still dark, of course. The seclusion of most of the bell tower made sure of that. But it wasn't as dark.
Lilo decided to remain in the makeshift bed, not wanting to experience the cold of the morning (which she has experienced little more than two times), and taking the time to examine her surroundings. It was a lot easier to see now that there was some light able to filter into the steeple; a lot more than the night had allowed the yesterday. The brilliance of the early morning atmosphere was much more comforting, giving the place much more than darkness and creaks to impress her with.
She noticed several pieces that seemed to come from humanoid statues, the numerous arms, legs, and heads scattered nearly everywhere around the tower. Even beside her, a hand on an arm was set upward, a candle and its melted tallow set upon its upward palm. The detached heads of several statues stared out from their places upon the boards and among the beams, their gazes stern and unfaltering, as if sternly appraising her. It was somewhat unsettling, but Lilo, who was never a conventional person, just returned these gazes with looks of her own, albeit hers were much friendlier. The whole tower seemed constructed of beams nearly identical to the one yesterday, crisscrossing away, supporting the building. As was mentioned before, darkness still reigned over most of the tower, shadows cast weirdly across the wood. Beside her, Lilo saw a line running from one low beam to the next adjacent to it, a red dress hanging from it.
Lilo paled at the sight. A red dress. Her red dress. Lilo sat up quickly, and gently unwrapped part of the sheet. What was revealed was not her red dress, which would have been oddly identical to the one hanging had it been, but her bare skin, which prickled upon its uncovering. Lilo gasped out in surprise and pulled the blanket around her once again, looking around self-consciously. Why was she nearly naked? Apparently, whoever had rescued her had stripped her down and put her on its bed.
Now, I hope that whomever is reading this does not take this badly written statement into some sort of offense. Dirty minds (that means you Glo) that take it and interpret it into something disgusting, I will explain to you that Lilo does not know of such a thing, and will not learn of it for several years, where television will eventually reveal it to her. The reason for her uneasiness was not for such abominable behavior, but was based solely on the fact that she was naked. In addition, there was a good chance someone other than herself saw her in the nude (actually, more than a good chance; she didn't remember unclothing herself).
There was a chuckle from the shadows, apparently quieted from what volume it would have been, and Lilo turned toward the sound. Upon the sudden movement, it stopped abruptly. Lilo squinted her eyes at the shadows where the voice came from, and she was barely able to discern a figure in the gloom.
"Hello?" she called out, still gazing into the darkness. "Hello? Anyone there?"
Silence. Then: "Are you all right?"
Lilo smiled at the benign voice that responded and calmed. It didn't sound like the person in the shadows would harm her. Why he remained hidden was beyond her knowledge. Perhaps he was shy...
"I'm fine," Lilo answered, leaning forward somewhat to see if that would improve her chance of seeing him. No luck.
"That's good," came the reply, relief clear in the tone, along with a barely noticeable sadness that seemed to be hidden beneath it. Lilo smiled modestly, thanking him for his care. After that, none had anything left to say, and a somewhat awkward silence ensued. Lilo took this time to examine as well as she could whoever was hiding. It was more difficult than she would've liked it to be, his dark outline and the shadows encompassing were hard to disjoin in her sight, but she could make it out just scarcely.
What she saw was a bit puzzling. The silhouette was so oddly shaped! It was very broad, it's shoulders very hard to make out, its knees were touching, and its stance seemed to show that it was a very unsure person. But the oddest thing, she had to admit, was the fact that the uppermost part, which one would suspect the head to be placed, seemed more mountainous than the normal thin roundness of a human skull. She didn't know what to consider it to be, an was a bit unsettled by it, but then thought her observation to be incorrect and pushed it as far as she could to the back of her mind.
"Are you the one who saved me yesterday?" she asked, wanting to forget the odd-looking creature that she imagined when she first discerned the silhouette.
"Yes," the voice answered. He seemed to nod as he spoke, a movement noticeable in the shadows. Lilo stared oddly at the figure in the shadows. If it was a nod, which both did and did not make sense, then he must have been very hunched over. The head seemed to be low; it seemed maybe to be set where his chest would be had it truly been a nod. Either this was a very oddly put together man or Lilo still wasn't seeing very well!
"Thank you," she said. She thought for several moments, wondering what else she might say, wanting to continue the conversation. She looked at him quietly as she thought, then suddenly asked, "Why are you hiding in the shadows?" Instead of an answer, she received one of the harshest sighs that she had ever encountered. It was obvious that she had struck some sort of a chord with him, and she suddenly regretted her earlier statement. There must be a horrible reason for him to be hiding, and it was none of her business for her to ask so.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, blushing ruefully. "It's all right," he said, in an attempt at reassurance. His voice was very quiet, and the tone of sadness that was concealed earlier was much more distinct to the ear. Lilo frowned sadly. She wished she had never said that. She wanted very much to cheer him up, and it took several moments for her to realize the best way to bring some happiness back into the conversation. Finally thinking of a subject, she cleared her throat and looked back toward the shadows. "Um...Did you take of my clothes?" she asked, blushing.
There was a silence that followed, and the man answered yes, obviously compressing some laughter. Lilo laughed herself, trying to make the man more comfortable, then she coughed again and asked, "Why?" She seemed rather embarrassed.
"Well," the man chuckled, not unlike the laughter that had at first brought him to her attention, "last night, before you went unconscious..."
His voice trailed off and he sounded a bit guilty. There was silence, Lilo wondering what he had meant. It took several moments for her to remember what had happened, and she apologized for her actions. "I can't always control what I do," she explained, embarrassed. The night before, with all its turbulence, had ended for her with her vomiting. Right on him. And, apparently, upon herself. Wasn't that a wonderful way for her to show her gratitude! PUKE on her rescuer! She felt her cheeks burning.
"Don't worry," he said kindly. She thought she perceived a smile in the shadows. "I've cleaned both of us up. You can get your dress now. I think it's dry."
Lilo nodded happily and stood up to get the dress, but then she replaced herself upon the cot, thinking (even more than usual, she had to admit). This man...he was a veritable mystery to her. She wondered how he must look beneath the cloak of shadows. Maybe there was a way to make him come out into the light. And, it would be very interesting to find out just why he sounded so depressed about her earlier question.
"You know what," she said, looking harder into the shadows, "I don't really want to go walking around naked. Why don't you get it?"
"No!" The voice exclaimed. Lilo lifted an eyebrow. Her rescuer seemed to notice this and he cleared his throat. "No, um, it would be a lot better if you saw if you could walk. You, um, y-you didn't seem to be able to last night. And, besides, uh...You wouldn't have to worry about the whole naked thing...I'll just look away..."
"No thank you," Lilo said casually. "It would be cold anyway. I could always practice walking when I have my clothes on already."
"Oh," he said, dumbfounded. He was quiet for several moments, and the creak of the floorboards told Lilo that he was shifting his weight. Was he going for it? "Well, you can go with the blanket to keep warm. I wouldn't mind."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to mess up your bed," she answered calmly. She was used to such exchanges, having experienced more than her share with Nani. She didn't always win (Nani let go of all logic and just forced her to do what she was told), but she was practically a veteran at coming up with excuses (though not most of them made much sense).
"Oh, I wouldn't mind," the other said.
"I would," Lilo said, sounding much harder than she meant, but nevertheless getting her point well across. She suspected that the man could tell after that one statement, but she still attempted to look as calm as she could. The figure in the shadows remained silent, and sighed. Soon enough, the sound of the floorboards beneath his weight sounded, and he walked hesitantly from his cover.
Lilo was speechless. What was he?
The whole house was in a state of panic. Pleakley, Jumba, and Stitch were rushing around, overturning furniture and yelling out Lilo's name. Nani was driving out around town, searching everywhere for signs of her little sister. Everything had gone wrong! Where was she?
Nani had checked with the school, and it turns out Lilo was not there. She came to confront the two liars that she had left at the home, and they seemed as surprised as she that Lilo wasn't at school where she was supposed to be. After several moments of examining their expressions, Nani accepted their statement as true and everyone panicked.
After searching the house, and calling several parents, they determined that Lilo had ditched. Nani declared that she was going to kill Lilo when she was found, but her tremulous voice wasn't very convincing. It was obvious how worried she was.
Jumba and Stitch looked together in some sort of joint effort, Pleakley detaching himself from the group, a bit uneasy at the fact that she was last with them (which was a bit of information that he decided to keep from Nani) before she disappeared. Seeing that she was not within the vicinity of the household, or at least not where they were looking, Jumba and Stitch returned to the attic and searched for clues there. Something must have malfunctioned in the machine.
"I'm very sure I sent her to school," Jumba said, scratching his head as he laid down on his back and looked at the mechanics that made up the control board, searching for any problems. "That would have surprised her a lot."
"Eh," Stitch just muttered, looking around the cubicle of the Dimension hopper. There was barely anything there of interest, just a few burn marks that signified where Lilo had been last standing. He sniffed them with a bit of disgust, and continued his search. A few more mars at the side...Ah, something interesting! Stitch extended a clawed hand and gently picked up a cylindrical piece of metal that lay at the corner of the compartment. It was slightly burned, but didn't seem too warped from its supposed original shape. Maybe it was a clue!
"Jumba!" he exclaimed, rushing out of the Dimension Hopper, pointing excitedly at his finding. "A clue, a clue!"
"Excuse me, 626, what?" Jumba said, pulling himself from the inside of the device. Stitch pointed heatedly at the metal. At the distance that he stood, the purple scientist couldn't see just what Stitch was holding; noticing only the long fingernails that held it up. "Yes, Stitch, very long nails. Maybe you should cut them. But later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some tinkering to do. Even evil genius knows when it's right for a manicure."
Stitch frowned and mumbled.
"Jinkies," Stitch muttered angrily, pointing a little less enthusiastically at his supposed clue. Jumba sat up immediately at the mention of the word, conking his head against the metal. He gave out a rather vulgar exclamation at this, but soon recovered and rushed to the experiment's side.
"Jinkies," he said. "Is always what girl in TV show with talking dog says when she finds a clue. What is it, 626?"
"Thingy," Stitch replied, holding up the metal so that the large alien could view it. The scientist lifted an eyebrow, glancing at Stitch, then took the burned metal from the 'dog's' hand. After several seconds of perusing, Jumba exclaimed yet again (less vulgar, more triumphant), patting Stitch on the head, and telling him how smart he was.
"What is it?" Stitch asked curiously. Would it help them find Lilo?
"Is clasp from Lilo's transmitter," Jumba replied, holding the piece up to his four eyes. "It must have broken off during the transferal."
"Clue?" Stitch asked eagerly. Jumba remained quiet, apparently thinking.
"Maybe," Jumba said. "We now know that Lilo was not wearing the transmitter properly during the trip, leaving this piece behind..."
"Where Lilo?" Stitch asked. His eyes brightened up in expectation. Jumba looked down at his creation and shook his head.
"I do not know," Jumba replied. "She could be anywhere."
Stitch slumped over, obviously descending back into his state of discouragement, and Jumba sighed quietly. Poor 626. He had supposedly lost his best friend in the jumbled torrent that was space and time. Stitch looked back upwards to the metal piece that Jumba held and grabbed it amidst Jumba's pained exclamations. This stupid thing was supposed to be a clue! But, it didn't help at all! And, with great gusto, Stitch threw the clasp with all his might against the glass of the upstairs window, which shattered easily with impact.
"626!" Jumba cried, his eyebrows lowered irritatedly. "That was a meaningless bout of destruction that you have just created!" He looked up thoughtfully. "Actually, that was pretty good. Why was I upset anyway? Eh, nevermind."
Pleakley rushed up the wooden stairs for the first time in the day, his single eye shifting nervously. "What was that?" he asked.
"What?" Jumba inquired.
"That sound. That crashy sound thing. What was it?"
"Oh," Jumba said, understanding, "626."
Pleakley looked down at the young experiment, shaking his thin head, then soughed to himself, muttering worriedly. Stitch didn't seem to feel very guilty. Upon hearing Pleakley's whispered chastising, he lifted his head pompously, turning away from the thin alien.
"Stitch," Pleakley said sternly, drawing little attention from the blue creature. "Don't every break anymore glass." Looking up, he searched the attic with his eye. "Anyone find anything useful?"
"Well, yes and no," Jumba replied. "We found Lilo's clasp, which tells us that little girl was not wearing transmitter. But, it would not help finding her, and 626 threw it out of the window anyway."
"Transmitter?" Pleakley asked, lifting his eyebrow. "What transmitter? Then again, what was she doing up here anyway?"
Jumba and Stitch exchanged a look, realizing that Pleakley was not in on the experiment that they were doing. Had it been normal circumstances, the whole thing would have been kept a secret, knowing that the ex-galactic agent, though somewhat less strict on these testing conferences, tended to disagree with the whole thing. Pleakley seemed to understand the fact that Jumba was not as cautious as most when it came to experimentation. But, seeing that Lilo was in more danger than she was usually, the whole scenario needed to be revealed. Jumba sighed, and Stitch grumbled. This was going to take some time.
"Sit down, my friend," Jumba said, gesturing toward a stool at the corner of the room, "this may take a while."
A/N: Okay. Now that's the end of my fourth chapter. I have something to say to Serendipity 1, if they're reading this. I have come to realize, after your review, that, yes, I do have a tendency toward long words. The problem is, this is how I speak and it is difficult for me to change it, unless I am forced to by the little people at school. I asked three people of random choice what their thoughts on my writing were, and it turns that two out of three agreed to your suggestion. My mother claimed that despite how well I do write, the words tend to be difficult to understand and it takes several moments for her to figure it out, claiming that, in fact, it did disrupt the flow of the story. My sister took a look at your review, then took a look at me, and bluntly stated that I did indeed talk like a forty-year-old (which is a statement that I did take into offense.) A classmate of mine claimed that she liked the way I wrote, but I had a tendency to jumble up too many things into a confusing paragraph. I will try harder to make my writing more smooth, and more concise. I hope that those who read it will find it easier to take in. The funny thing is: I am an adolescent. And I didn't even use a thesaurus! I hope that you won't take anything I have written here into offense, and I hope that everyone will continue reading. Now let me convert to a more modern speak: HUZZAH! NOW I FORCE YOU TO REVIEW!
A/N: Okeedokee. Here we go. The fourth Chapter, and the introduction of another character. I'm feeling much better now, and, sadly, Fallen Wraith, I do have several spring allergies. I'm better off during the summer than any time else. Well...yeah, that's about it. I THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME REVIEWS! PRESENT ME WITH SOME MORE, PLEASE! ( A'ight? Okay. That's about it. Read on.
Lilo awoke as the sun neared the end of its rise, the wonderful pallet of pastel colors that stained the dawn sky just beginning to fade into the conventional blue. The orange light made its way into the dark tower through a large window, open to the outside. Clouds glided across the sky, their own stark whiteness warped with the rays. The sounds of morning filled the serene air, a mix of breezes and birds. A great contrast to the horror of the night before.
Lilo remained lying down; resting her head in a pillow that she knew was not her own. For a few minutes prior to her awakening, she had suspected that perhaps it had all been a dream. Her eyes now open, she knew that it was not as she had hoped, but she didn't seem to care too much. She was safe and warm, her whole body cocooned with a thick blanket. Her dizziness had gone away, having apparently found waiting for her to arouse distasteful, deciding to flit off and harry someone maybe more deserving. Her sight had returned, as well as her hearing, and the darkness from the night before was replaced by the coming of dawn. It was still dark, of course. The seclusion of most of the bell tower made sure of that. But it wasn't as dark.
Lilo decided to remain in the makeshift bed, not wanting to experience the cold of the morning (which she has experienced little more than two times), and taking the time to examine her surroundings. It was a lot easier to see now that there was some light able to filter into the steeple; a lot more than the night had allowed the yesterday. The brilliance of the early morning atmosphere was much more comforting, giving the place much more than darkness and creaks to impress her with.
She noticed several pieces that seemed to come from humanoid statues, the numerous arms, legs, and heads scattered nearly everywhere around the tower. Even beside her, a hand on an arm was set upward, a candle and its melted tallow set upon its upward palm. The detached heads of several statues stared out from their places upon the boards and among the beams, their gazes stern and unfaltering, as if sternly appraising her. It was somewhat unsettling, but Lilo, who was never a conventional person, just returned these gazes with looks of her own, albeit hers were much friendlier. The whole tower seemed constructed of beams nearly identical to the one yesterday, crisscrossing away, supporting the building. As was mentioned before, darkness still reigned over most of the tower, shadows cast weirdly across the wood. Beside her, Lilo saw a line running from one low beam to the next adjacent to it, a red dress hanging from it.
Lilo paled at the sight. A red dress. Her red dress. Lilo sat up quickly, and gently unwrapped part of the sheet. What was revealed was not her red dress, which would have been oddly identical to the one hanging had it been, but her bare skin, which prickled upon its uncovering. Lilo gasped out in surprise and pulled the blanket around her once again, looking around self-consciously. Why was she nearly naked? Apparently, whoever had rescued her had stripped her down and put her on its bed.
Now, I hope that whomever is reading this does not take this badly written statement into some sort of offense. Dirty minds (that means you Glo) that take it and interpret it into something disgusting, I will explain to you that Lilo does not know of such a thing, and will not learn of it for several years, where television will eventually reveal it to her. The reason for her uneasiness was not for such abominable behavior, but was based solely on the fact that she was naked. In addition, there was a good chance someone other than herself saw her in the nude (actually, more than a good chance; she didn't remember unclothing herself).
There was a chuckle from the shadows, apparently quieted from what volume it would have been, and Lilo turned toward the sound. Upon the sudden movement, it stopped abruptly. Lilo squinted her eyes at the shadows where the voice came from, and she was barely able to discern a figure in the gloom.
"Hello?" she called out, still gazing into the darkness. "Hello? Anyone there?"
Silence. Then: "Are you all right?"
Lilo smiled at the benign voice that responded and calmed. It didn't sound like the person in the shadows would harm her. Why he remained hidden was beyond her knowledge. Perhaps he was shy...
"I'm fine," Lilo answered, leaning forward somewhat to see if that would improve her chance of seeing him. No luck.
"That's good," came the reply, relief clear in the tone, along with a barely noticeable sadness that seemed to be hidden beneath it. Lilo smiled modestly, thanking him for his care. After that, none had anything left to say, and a somewhat awkward silence ensued. Lilo took this time to examine as well as she could whoever was hiding. It was more difficult than she would've liked it to be, his dark outline and the shadows encompassing were hard to disjoin in her sight, but she could make it out just scarcely.
What she saw was a bit puzzling. The silhouette was so oddly shaped! It was very broad, it's shoulders very hard to make out, its knees were touching, and its stance seemed to show that it was a very unsure person. But the oddest thing, she had to admit, was the fact that the uppermost part, which one would suspect the head to be placed, seemed more mountainous than the normal thin roundness of a human skull. She didn't know what to consider it to be, an was a bit unsettled by it, but then thought her observation to be incorrect and pushed it as far as she could to the back of her mind.
"Are you the one who saved me yesterday?" she asked, wanting to forget the odd-looking creature that she imagined when she first discerned the silhouette.
"Yes," the voice answered. He seemed to nod as he spoke, a movement noticeable in the shadows. Lilo stared oddly at the figure in the shadows. If it was a nod, which both did and did not make sense, then he must have been very hunched over. The head seemed to be low; it seemed maybe to be set where his chest would be had it truly been a nod. Either this was a very oddly put together man or Lilo still wasn't seeing very well!
"Thank you," she said. She thought for several moments, wondering what else she might say, wanting to continue the conversation. She looked at him quietly as she thought, then suddenly asked, "Why are you hiding in the shadows?" Instead of an answer, she received one of the harshest sighs that she had ever encountered. It was obvious that she had struck some sort of a chord with him, and she suddenly regretted her earlier statement. There must be a horrible reason for him to be hiding, and it was none of her business for her to ask so.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, blushing ruefully. "It's all right," he said, in an attempt at reassurance. His voice was very quiet, and the tone of sadness that was concealed earlier was much more distinct to the ear. Lilo frowned sadly. She wished she had never said that. She wanted very much to cheer him up, and it took several moments for her to realize the best way to bring some happiness back into the conversation. Finally thinking of a subject, she cleared her throat and looked back toward the shadows. "Um...Did you take of my clothes?" she asked, blushing.
There was a silence that followed, and the man answered yes, obviously compressing some laughter. Lilo laughed herself, trying to make the man more comfortable, then she coughed again and asked, "Why?" She seemed rather embarrassed.
"Well," the man chuckled, not unlike the laughter that had at first brought him to her attention, "last night, before you went unconscious..."
His voice trailed off and he sounded a bit guilty. There was silence, Lilo wondering what he had meant. It took several moments for her to remember what had happened, and she apologized for her actions. "I can't always control what I do," she explained, embarrassed. The night before, with all its turbulence, had ended for her with her vomiting. Right on him. And, apparently, upon herself. Wasn't that a wonderful way for her to show her gratitude! PUKE on her rescuer! She felt her cheeks burning.
"Don't worry," he said kindly. She thought she perceived a smile in the shadows. "I've cleaned both of us up. You can get your dress now. I think it's dry."
Lilo nodded happily and stood up to get the dress, but then she replaced herself upon the cot, thinking (even more than usual, she had to admit). This man...he was a veritable mystery to her. She wondered how he must look beneath the cloak of shadows. Maybe there was a way to make him come out into the light. And, it would be very interesting to find out just why he sounded so depressed about her earlier question.
"You know what," she said, looking harder into the shadows, "I don't really want to go walking around naked. Why don't you get it?"
"No!" The voice exclaimed. Lilo lifted an eyebrow. Her rescuer seemed to notice this and he cleared his throat. "No, um, it would be a lot better if you saw if you could walk. You, um, y-you didn't seem to be able to last night. And, besides, uh...You wouldn't have to worry about the whole naked thing...I'll just look away..."
"No thank you," Lilo said casually. "It would be cold anyway. I could always practice walking when I have my clothes on already."
"Oh," he said, dumbfounded. He was quiet for several moments, and the creak of the floorboards told Lilo that he was shifting his weight. Was he going for it? "Well, you can go with the blanket to keep warm. I wouldn't mind."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to mess up your bed," she answered calmly. She was used to such exchanges, having experienced more than her share with Nani. She didn't always win (Nani let go of all logic and just forced her to do what she was told), but she was practically a veteran at coming up with excuses (though not most of them made much sense).
"Oh, I wouldn't mind," the other said.
"I would," Lilo said, sounding much harder than she meant, but nevertheless getting her point well across. She suspected that the man could tell after that one statement, but she still attempted to look as calm as she could. The figure in the shadows remained silent, and sighed. Soon enough, the sound of the floorboards beneath his weight sounded, and he walked hesitantly from his cover.
Lilo was speechless. What was he?
The whole house was in a state of panic. Pleakley, Jumba, and Stitch were rushing around, overturning furniture and yelling out Lilo's name. Nani was driving out around town, searching everywhere for signs of her little sister. Everything had gone wrong! Where was she?
Nani had checked with the school, and it turns out Lilo was not there. She came to confront the two liars that she had left at the home, and they seemed as surprised as she that Lilo wasn't at school where she was supposed to be. After several moments of examining their expressions, Nani accepted their statement as true and everyone panicked.
After searching the house, and calling several parents, they determined that Lilo had ditched. Nani declared that she was going to kill Lilo when she was found, but her tremulous voice wasn't very convincing. It was obvious how worried she was.
Jumba and Stitch looked together in some sort of joint effort, Pleakley detaching himself from the group, a bit uneasy at the fact that she was last with them (which was a bit of information that he decided to keep from Nani) before she disappeared. Seeing that she was not within the vicinity of the household, or at least not where they were looking, Jumba and Stitch returned to the attic and searched for clues there. Something must have malfunctioned in the machine.
"I'm very sure I sent her to school," Jumba said, scratching his head as he laid down on his back and looked at the mechanics that made up the control board, searching for any problems. "That would have surprised her a lot."
"Eh," Stitch just muttered, looking around the cubicle of the Dimension hopper. There was barely anything there of interest, just a few burn marks that signified where Lilo had been last standing. He sniffed them with a bit of disgust, and continued his search. A few more mars at the side...Ah, something interesting! Stitch extended a clawed hand and gently picked up a cylindrical piece of metal that lay at the corner of the compartment. It was slightly burned, but didn't seem too warped from its supposed original shape. Maybe it was a clue!
"Jumba!" he exclaimed, rushing out of the Dimension Hopper, pointing excitedly at his finding. "A clue, a clue!"
"Excuse me, 626, what?" Jumba said, pulling himself from the inside of the device. Stitch pointed heatedly at the metal. At the distance that he stood, the purple scientist couldn't see just what Stitch was holding; noticing only the long fingernails that held it up. "Yes, Stitch, very long nails. Maybe you should cut them. But later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some tinkering to do. Even evil genius knows when it's right for a manicure."
Stitch frowned and mumbled.
"Jinkies," Stitch muttered angrily, pointing a little less enthusiastically at his supposed clue. Jumba sat up immediately at the mention of the word, conking his head against the metal. He gave out a rather vulgar exclamation at this, but soon recovered and rushed to the experiment's side.
"Jinkies," he said. "Is always what girl in TV show with talking dog says when she finds a clue. What is it, 626?"
"Thingy," Stitch replied, holding up the metal so that the large alien could view it. The scientist lifted an eyebrow, glancing at Stitch, then took the burned metal from the 'dog's' hand. After several seconds of perusing, Jumba exclaimed yet again (less vulgar, more triumphant), patting Stitch on the head, and telling him how smart he was.
"What is it?" Stitch asked curiously. Would it help them find Lilo?
"Is clasp from Lilo's transmitter," Jumba replied, holding the piece up to his four eyes. "It must have broken off during the transferal."
"Clue?" Stitch asked eagerly. Jumba remained quiet, apparently thinking.
"Maybe," Jumba said. "We now know that Lilo was not wearing the transmitter properly during the trip, leaving this piece behind..."
"Where Lilo?" Stitch asked. His eyes brightened up in expectation. Jumba looked down at his creation and shook his head.
"I do not know," Jumba replied. "She could be anywhere."
Stitch slumped over, obviously descending back into his state of discouragement, and Jumba sighed quietly. Poor 626. He had supposedly lost his best friend in the jumbled torrent that was space and time. Stitch looked back upwards to the metal piece that Jumba held and grabbed it amidst Jumba's pained exclamations. This stupid thing was supposed to be a clue! But, it didn't help at all! And, with great gusto, Stitch threw the clasp with all his might against the glass of the upstairs window, which shattered easily with impact.
"626!" Jumba cried, his eyebrows lowered irritatedly. "That was a meaningless bout of destruction that you have just created!" He looked up thoughtfully. "Actually, that was pretty good. Why was I upset anyway? Eh, nevermind."
Pleakley rushed up the wooden stairs for the first time in the day, his single eye shifting nervously. "What was that?" he asked.
"What?" Jumba inquired.
"That sound. That crashy sound thing. What was it?"
"Oh," Jumba said, understanding, "626."
Pleakley looked down at the young experiment, shaking his thin head, then soughed to himself, muttering worriedly. Stitch didn't seem to feel very guilty. Upon hearing Pleakley's whispered chastising, he lifted his head pompously, turning away from the thin alien.
"Stitch," Pleakley said sternly, drawing little attention from the blue creature. "Don't every break anymore glass." Looking up, he searched the attic with his eye. "Anyone find anything useful?"
"Well, yes and no," Jumba replied. "We found Lilo's clasp, which tells us that little girl was not wearing transmitter. But, it would not help finding her, and 626 threw it out of the window anyway."
"Transmitter?" Pleakley asked, lifting his eyebrow. "What transmitter? Then again, what was she doing up here anyway?"
Jumba and Stitch exchanged a look, realizing that Pleakley was not in on the experiment that they were doing. Had it been normal circumstances, the whole thing would have been kept a secret, knowing that the ex-galactic agent, though somewhat less strict on these testing conferences, tended to disagree with the whole thing. Pleakley seemed to understand the fact that Jumba was not as cautious as most when it came to experimentation. But, seeing that Lilo was in more danger than she was usually, the whole scenario needed to be revealed. Jumba sighed, and Stitch grumbled. This was going to take some time.
"Sit down, my friend," Jumba said, gesturing toward a stool at the corner of the room, "this may take a while."
A/N: Okay. Now that's the end of my fourth chapter. I have something to say to Serendipity 1, if they're reading this. I have come to realize, after your review, that, yes, I do have a tendency toward long words. The problem is, this is how I speak and it is difficult for me to change it, unless I am forced to by the little people at school. I asked three people of random choice what their thoughts on my writing were, and it turns that two out of three agreed to your suggestion. My mother claimed that despite how well I do write, the words tend to be difficult to understand and it takes several moments for her to figure it out, claiming that, in fact, it did disrupt the flow of the story. My sister took a look at your review, then took a look at me, and bluntly stated that I did indeed talk like a forty-year-old (which is a statement that I did take into offense.) A classmate of mine claimed that she liked the way I wrote, but I had a tendency to jumble up too many things into a confusing paragraph. I will try harder to make my writing more smooth, and more concise. I hope that those who read it will find it easier to take in. The funny thing is: I am an adolescent. And I didn't even use a thesaurus! I hope that you won't take anything I have written here into offense, and I hope that everyone will continue reading. Now let me convert to a more modern speak: HUZZAH! NOW I FORCE YOU TO REVIEW!