Author's Note: Chapter 26, and Lilo is finally home. I liked writing this chapter because I got to go back to Pleakley and Nani and Jumba and Stitch, people i haven't touched in a few chapters. I hope you like it too! Read and Review!
Chapter 26
Lilo awoke from her sleep, drowsy on the memory of a disappearing dream. She wanted to sleep, wanted to recapture that reverie and keep it forever, but slowly it continued to fade away, slipping from her cognizant mind into the unfathomable depths of her subconscious, where other past dreams went when she awoke. But, she would not give up on that dream. She would not let it go, no matter how far away it was drifting or how hard it was becoming to see it. Lilo would never in her life abandon its memory.
Her eyes opened slowly, her vision blurred and weary. Lilo could not see anything other than a vast white ceiling spreading out above her, illuminated by the golden, dusty sunshine that filtered in through a nearby window. Lilo watched the rays of light groggily, her sight clearing gradually as the seconds ticked away to the click of her alarm clock. She yawned, rolling onto her stomach and pushing herself off the white-lined mattress, blinking blankly at her surroundings. It took her several long moments before she realized where she was.
"I'm home!" she said suddenly, hopping onto her knees, her eyes wide with surprise. She scanned over her surroundings almost incredulously, her eyes shifting back and forth from one familiar thing to another. Yes, she was home! Finally, after everything that happened to her, she was back where she belonged! She recognized everything that she saw as she eagerly skimmed the walls. The shelves of toys beside the door, Stitch's bed hanging nearby, the alarm clock ticking peacefully on her—
Lilo paused, looking back at her bedside table, her exhilaration making way for utter bewilderment. Her alarm clock sat upon its top, staring innocently at her, its crooked mustache signifying nine o'clock. With a tentative move, Lilo poked it, as if trying to make sure it was actually there. Yes, it was true… her alarm clock was still alive and operating perfectly.
Lilo fell back with a confused sigh onto her bed. She could have sworn that Stitch had destroyed it many mornings ago, when she had ignored its loud and continuous chime. And yet, there it sat, working flawlessly but for missing its set seven o'clock alarm. Poking it softly a second time, Lilo felt a sudden unhappy sensation. Could it be that everything that she had gone through had only been… a dream?
It was possible… none of it would have been believable had she not known Jumba. But all of it had seemed so real… the pain, the sickness, her feelings… Quasimodo… Lilo wiped away a tear before it could even trickle all the way down her cheek. She looked at her palms, pink as if freshly washed, last remembered cut and dirty. She searched for a scar or a scab on her finger where she had cut herself on Quasimodo's glass. She found absolutely nothing.
"It was a dream…?" she asked herself almost incredulously. She couldn't believe it… so the pain hadn't been real, none of what she experienced had been true… but, if that was true… why did she feel so sad inside? How could she want anything as painful as that to be real? Why did she want to believe that she let down so many people? Why did she want the sorrow of losing her 'ohana to have really existed? How could she want anything like that?
She let out a sigh, shaking her head unhappily at these questionable thoughts. Lilo didn't like being confused, and she was sorely disappointed with herself when she was the one who was doing the confusing.
Not wanting to further jumble her already chaotic thoughts, the young girl clambered off the edge of her bed, onto the cold morning floor. Tiptoeing on the slight chill, she made her way to the lift that connected her bedroom to the hall below. She wanted to see her family. She missed them so much, even though she hadn't been away for real. She wanted to see their faces, wanted to smile up at them as they looked down at her, wondering why she was acting so curious. She would tell them about her strange dream, and they would all nod, laughing, and then everything would be forgotten again.
The elevator descended with a mechanical whoosh, and Lilo stared out at the familiar hall and doors that made the main of the house. She remained in the tube that housed the lift, wanting to hear what she had imagined she hadn't heard in a long time…
But the hallway was surprising silent that day, devoid of the usual buzz of kitchen conversation that she heard every morning. Lilo stood motionless, her brow furrowed in concentration, seeking out the sounds that she deeply wanted to hear. Shortly, the pad of Pleakley's scurrying tentacles smacking the kitchen floor became apparent, followed by the occasional clink of china against the kitchen table. But, no more activity seemed to exist in the strangely idle household.
After questing for more noises and getting nothing more than the nervous squeak of the ex-galactic agent that seemed to be constantly moving in the kitchen, she let out a sigh and stepped onto the cool floorboards that formed the hall. She ambled to the kitchen, clutching onto the hem of her green nightdress, and stopped just before the opening.
Lilo peeked into the dining area curiously. With a small smile, she saw the ever-panicked Pleakley pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor, that recognizable concern taking his one-eyed face. Lilo's sister, Nani, sat at the round table, her back to Lilo, every once and a while taking a small sip from a mug of coffee that she clutched tightly. Their well-known faces warmed Lilo, and she found herself content with watching their actions as if they were the most interesting things in the world.
A few minutes passed before Lilo finally entered the kitchen, her feet barely making a sound against the floor tile. She passed behind her sister, undetected by either person in the room, and scrambled onto another chair set at the table. No one seemed to take notice of her as she sat in that place, smiling at them broadly as they moved, completely engrossed in their unspoken thoughts.
Lilo stared up at Nani curiously, but the young woman continued to sip at her coffee, staring out at the far wall with wide and nervous eyes. Pleakley seemed to have his single eye glued directly on the strange movements of his three two-toed feet. The little girl tapped her fingers with mild impatience against the bare table, waiting for some acknowledgement from the two busy grown ups.
Finally, she spoke. "I'm hungry," she said sincerely, feeling her stomach grumble as the two words came out of her mouth.
The two in the room almost jumped out of their skin at the unexpected noise, Nani just barely keeping her cream-less coffee from spilling all over the table and floor. Pleakley fell clumsily onto his bottom, hurrying back up onto his feet to maintain some sort of already diminishing dignity. Lilo stopped herself from giggling, cupping a hand over her smirking mouth.
Nani finally looked at Lilo and saw her, her lip quivering unsurely. "Lilo?" she asked tentatively, reaching out to touch her sister on the shoulder.
Lilo tilted her head curiously. "Yes…?" Lilo looked at her sister's face in an examining manner, noting the strangeness in her eyes and mouth. "I think you have something in your eye, Nani," she said at length. "It's all wet and squinty."
With a sudden noise, a mixture of a laugh and a sob, Nani swooped at her sister, her arms wrapping around her with the quickness of a striking cobra. Lilo yelped in surprise, nearly crushed by the passion of her sister's embrace and thoroughly baffled. Nani repeated her sister's name over and over again in relieved but shaky breaths, her face pressed maternally against Lilo's cheek, which she adorned with thankful kisses.
Pleakley, who had seemed to have, in a strange and rare turn of events, lost his voice, finally moved, joining the happy hug and burying Lilo further in cuddles and excited words. The girl couldn't get a word in, and so allowed the surge of hugs and kisses, doing her best to keep from drowning beneath the overwhelming love.
Suddenly, Pleakley pulled away, rushing inelegantly to the kitchen door. "Lilo!" he exclaimed, screaming out excitedly into the hall. "Lilo's awake! She's alive! She's here! Lilo's alive and here!"
Following the sudden proclamation, the pounding of heavy footsteps could be heard thumping on the upper levels, and, soon enough, the scientist Jumba Jukiba lumbered into the room. Pushing the noodle-man unceremoniously away from the door, he walked heavily to the little girl, who had yet to escape from Nani's grasp.
"Aha!" he exclaimed, rubbing the top of Lilo's head roughly. "I see you are being awake, little girl! This is good, very good! 626 almost killed me, you know."
Lilo responded with a mere nod before being pulled along with her sister into an uncommon bear hug from the ex-convict.
Pleakley watched the scene with a smile, his three-fingered hands tucked behind his back. "Human love," he said proudly. "Hugs, kisses, and asphyxiation! I love this planet!"
As he watched the sickly-sweet incident play out, a small blue figure came into sight at the corner of his eye. Turning inquisitively, he saw Stitch enter the kitchen, standing beside the door and studying the group silently.
"Hey, Stitch," Pleakley said, waving at the little experiment with a smile. "Don't you want to participate in the traditional Earthanoid welcome back smothering?"
Stitch glanced up at the alien as if the suggestion was tempting, but he had wished he hadn't said it. The blue creature looked at the hugging scene, and, letting out a tired sigh, shook his head.
"Naga," he muttered, turning to walk out of the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder with a subtle smile, but then trudged with a curious melancholy back up the steps.
"Okay, okay!" Lilo exclaimed finally, pushing away the relieved relatives with a fed up strength. "What happened? What's with the kissing and hugging?"
"What are you talking about, Lilo?" Nani asked, wiping away a final happy tear from the corner of one almond-shaped eye. "You finally woke up."
"Finally?" Lilo asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Are you making fun of me for not waking up in time for school? It's not my fault," she said obstinately. "Somebody must've shut of my alarm clock when I was asleep."
Nani laughed, though there was an obviously confused look on her face. "It's more the fact that you actually woke up, Lilo," she told her, an arm draping about her sister's shoulders.
"Well, you woke up too, didn't you?" Lilo asked. "Did they suffocate you with hugs and kisses?"
Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley exchanged a three-way glance, almost disbelieving what the little Hawaiian was saying.
"Lilo," Nani began, "you've been unconscious for three days."
Lilo's eyes and mouth opened wide with shock. "What do you mean three days?"
"She is meaning you have been conked out for seventy-two hours, give or take a few minutes," Jumba further explained.
"We found you out cold just outside the Dimension Hopper," Pleakley told her.
Lilo gave the alien an incredulous look.
"Don't you remember anything that happened?" Nani gave Lilo a sympathetic look. "You were gone for almost a week, Lilo. When Stitch didn't come back with you, we thought we'd lost you forever."
"You mean it wasn't all just a dream?" Lilo asked, feeling a sudden lightness in her chest. That means that her talisman trick really did work! She hoped Mr. Clopin was okay… "Wait a minute," she said, interjecting her thoughts. She peered at Nani warily. "How do you know about it?"
"She wouldn't stop crying," Jumba replied bluntly. Pleakley nodded in agreement.
"If it wasn't all a dream," Lilo thought aloud, "then that means that Quasimodo really existed and I…" She felt her heart fall suddenly, and she looked down at her hands. "I hurt his feelings…"
"What are you talking about, Lilo?" Nani asked, noting the sudden sadness in her sister's face.
Lilo only muttered the word: Quasimodo, which had no real or understandable meaning to Nani at all. Nani suddenly became worried.
Lilo's eyes began to water, and a worry came to beat roughly in her chest. She still hadn't come back yet, even though she promised… There was a good side to all of those events being untrue, but now, knowing that they really existed, that she had actually felt what she had felt... what was she going to do now? Should she forget the promise? Was there anything else that she could do?
"Hey," she muttered suddenly, looking up. "Was I wearing my transmitter when you found me?"
"Well, the transmitter was a few feet away, as if was thrown off," Jumba replied, looking at the ceiling as he tried to remember. "Heh. Is meaning you barely made it before transmitter broke apart again. You are being lucky, little girl."
"Was there a golden talisman near it?" she asked suddenly. "It had a sun on its face and a lot of weird symbols…"
"Oh, you are meaning that shiny doodad. I am thinking 626 is having it, yes."
Lilo hopped decidedly off her chair at the news. "Where's Stitch?" she asked seriously.
The three exchanged another glance, but Pleakley answered nevertheless. "I saw him go back upstairs. He looked really sad and wouldn't help with the smothering."
Nodding, Lilo hurried out the door and up the stairs.
Stitch sat despondently before the control panel of the Dimension Hopper, playing with the disc of gold that had been lying beside Lilo when she had come back. He examined it suspiciously, his eyes glimmering with a strange sort of jealousy, barely keeping himself from crushing it between his strong fingers. He didn't know from who she had gotten it, or why she had held it so close to her even after they were reunited in the Court of Miracles, but something about it gave him an unhappy vibe.
He wondered, though he never asked, who this Quasimodo was that Lilo seemed so impassioned toward. She had cried about not being able to see him, yelled at him for making her late, hurried to his door when they were being attacked other than running away. She acted almost as if she loved him. That frightened the experiment just a little bit.
He had never met this Quasimodo, but if Lilo was in love with him, that would be a great problem. What if she didn't want to stay here anymore? What if she wanted to go back to him? He had seen it on television before; the girl was never seen again by her family after she left. Could he make it through life with Lilo so far away?
"Stitch?"
One of the experiment's large ears twitched at the familiar noise. He heard the creak of the attic steps, the uncertain crinkle of fabric… it was Lilo. But the experiment didn't turn around.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, approaching him with her hands on her hips. "You didn't even give me a hug."
Stitch felt guilty. "Sorry," he muttered stiffly, turning to give her a hug before swiftly returning to his original position.
Lilo spotted the golden trinket that her pet had in one of his hands. "You do have it," she said, reaching over Stitch's shoulder to take the talisman. But, Stitch moved, making it impossible for her to take the medallion from his possession.
"Lilo," Stitch began, glancing over his shoulder. "Who…is… Qua-quasi…"
"Quasimodo?" Lilo finished for him.
Stitch nodded his head. "Ih."
"He's my friend," Lilo answered, a plaintive smile taking her face. "He's really nice, and smart…He saved my life and stuff like that… that's his talisman. It's the only reason I got back here… and Mr. Clopin helped too," she added, momentarily wondering whether or not the Gypsy king had made it out unscathed.
"Oh," Stitch responded with a nod. So he had saved her life and even got her home in one way. Something that Stitch had been unable to do. He would have come back, he really would have, but the power had been out for a long time, and Lilo had miraculously arrived just a minute or so after everything started working again. She spoke of him respectfully… maybe his suspicions were right…
"Stitch…" Lilo looked at her friend seriously. "I need to go back."
Stitch blinked in surprise. What did she say?
"I have to see Quasimodo again," she told him, looking at the talisman sadly. "And I need you to help me do it."
A/N: Is Stitch the jealous type? He certainly struck me as being it. FYI, his feelings for Lilo aren't romantic at all (my sister's kept poking at me), at least, not in this story. He just doesn't like the thought of Lilo being so far away. They are best friends after all. Well, a few more chapters before the end, and I hope that you all will be there for the conclusion to the Hawaiian and the Hunchback! Review, please!