raVen speaks:
Sorry for the long delay in posting this, but I did mention, on my bio page, that I was taking a two-week road trip… But I'm back now, with chapter three. Read, rate, review, but most of all, enjoy!
To my fans:
HeMeleNoLiloLover: I plan to keep on going, and thanks for the review!
Ri2: That's two reviews! Thanks for your loyalty and time, and stay tuned!
Ecliptic(Starry): Thanks for the fave! Keep on reading!
Gijinka Renamon: Yep, there's more. A LOT more.
Thanks guys! You really make it worth writing! Stay tuned for episode three!
Breathe
Chapter 3
© by raVen
Editor: Kenjaje
The truck stopped off in front of the stairs to the Pelekai house and the passenger's door opened, as well as the rear-left door.
"Now. Remember our deal, okay?" Nani said as Lilo was closing the door.
"Yeah…" she replied and walked around to Stitch's side. What was she going to do? As she pondered her thoughts, Stitch slammed the door so the car lifted up on its two right wheels, and Nani's scream was heard from the inside.
"STITCH!" came the yell and he lifted his paws quickly and hid behind Lilo.
"Soka! Meega sooka!" he yelled back as Nani stared at him through the window, furious.
"Oooooh!" came her muted groan as she started the car again. Revving the engine, she spun the wheels and turned, speeding off down the dusty path. Lilo sighed and shook her head slowly as she stared at Stitch's sheepish expression where he sat doggy-style just behind her. What had she gotten herself into? She turned and crouched to look into his big, black eyes. Stitch flinched and leaned back some, keeping the eye contact for a few seconds before becoming uneasy and looking away with a groan… she kept staring at him thusly and he glanced at her every few seconds, leaning back a bit every time.
"Gabba!" he finally yelled and fell over. As if she was expecting this, Lilo simply repositioned herself so she could look at him from the side, holding back her hair with one hand.
"Stitch… I really need you to behave for the next four days…" she said, seriously. Stitch bared his teeth in an uncomfortable cringe under her scrutiny.
"Not only is this a matter of life and death, but we also have to prove to Nani, once and for all, that you are a true, model citizen!"
"I-ih?" he dared.
"From now on, or at least till the next hula practice, eat with a knife and fork, or with a spoon. Chew with your mouth closed, and compliment Nani on the food. Sit up at the table, and we're going to have to leave the coffee-"
"Naga!"
"It's for a good cause, Stitch." He groaned uncomfortably, once again. He wasn't going to have a say in this matter… Lilo seemed strangely resolute to have him be obedient. She counted off on her fingers all the things she just said.
"Oh, and one more thing… When you use the toilet, please put the seat down again. Nani hates it if you leave it up for some reason. Hm… okay, that's everything Nani was complaining about last week. Okay. My turn: from now on, you drink warm milk before going to bed, no more action movies or cartoons on TV-"
"Naaaagaaaa!" Stitch yelled in agony. This was torture!
"Please, Stitch. Just for four days." He put on his best puppy-dog face and Lilo's heart melted.
"Okay." She paused and stood up as she thought.
"I got it! Let's stay on Jumba's ship!"
Stitch tilted his head, not completely understanding how she got to this conclusion.
"You can do whatever you want, and Nani won't know! At least, that way, you won't be breaking Nani's things and she wouldn't see you not-behaving!" Stitch's face lit up considerably and he grinned.
"Lilo smart!" he said and she gave him a quick peck on his nose. His eyes fluttered and he blushed slightly.
"Thanks! Now, let's go see what Jumba was up too!" she said and turned, but froze in her tracks. Stitch, who had eagerly gotten up to follow her walked right into her back.
"Oof! Soka…" he said and rubbed his nose. He looked up at Lilo, who was wearing a confused expression.
"Gabba?" he questioned and followed her gaze. Jumba had emerged from the jungle with his back to them, and seemed to be urging something to follow him.
"What's he doing?"
"Naga nota…" Stitch mumbled, using his enhanced vision to try and spot what Jumba was doing. Jumba continued to back up into the clearing in front of the house, and soon afterwards, Stitch gasped as a white creature broke through the leaves somewhat unsteadily on its hind legs, its upper two paws stretched out, and its lower two spread to the side to keep its balance. Jumba was laughing with delight, once more.
"Be doing it! See! Is not so difficult!"
"Is that an experiment?" Lilo asked loudly and Jumba gasped, quickly trying to hide 628 with his bulk once more, spreading his arms.
"Ih! Cousin!" came Stitch's own exited voice from the side and he pointed; his ears up in curiosity.
"No! Is…. Uh, native island animal! Is not new experiment!"
"Akatah?"
"Yeah, what do you mean 'new' experiment? Like, one we haven't found yet? Or something else-?" They started moving closer in an arch to try and see what was behind Jumba, but he turned with them.
"Is uh- no, but-uh…" Jumba stammered and looked behind him at the white creature who was staring up at him with confusion. He dropped his arms and his head and shrugged.
"Okay okay… come here," he said and waved them over… but it wasn't really necessary as they had already moved nearly all the way to see what Jumba was hiding. He stepped out of the way to reveal the white creature. Lilo and Stitch both gasped and the creature replied by gazing between them with utmost curiosity… he leaned forward and smelled in their direction, and Stitch did the same.
"Ika male! Like Stitch!" he replied after a few seconds and 628 flinched at this sudden outburst and almost fell over backwards if Jumba's leg wasn't in the way. He bent his leg to help him back onto his feet.
"Wow… you have beautiful eyes…" Lilo said as she walked closer, cautiously, to peer into them. Instead of flinching or cringing, this time 628 stared back with just as much awe. He gazed up at Jumba and pointed at Lilo.
"Ooshtakka goojita bey joojibba!" he questioned loudly and Lilo frowned, looking up at Jumba and then at Stitch, who had also slightly tilted his head, but his ears were in a curious-yet-surprised angle. Jumba opened his mouth to answer, but Lilo spoke first at Stitch.
"You understand him?" she asked.
"Ih… Is gajakka turian…"
"Huh? What's that?" Lilo frowned, not understanding.
"Uhh… other Stitch-talk! Like Stitch-talk, but little different…" Stitch tried to clarify, but Jumba interjected.
"Is dialect of Turian. Same as Stitch's language, but just sounding different… there is being seven dialects."
"Oh… okay…" Lilo replied, slightly put off that, of all the experiments, this would be the first she wouldn't be able to talk to.
"And yes, 6-2-8, little girl is being native of planet." 628 looked back at Lilo as she frowned and Stitch gasped.
"Oooh… tajabba. Ihn-" He raised his hand slowly to Stitch.
"Gaja… gaja cousin?"
"Yes. That is what we call your 'cousin', or family. Let little girl give you whole ohana-speech later."
"So… you're 6-2-8…?" Lilo asked, and he nodded after looking at Jumba for approval. "How new is he?" Lilo asked suspiciously. Stitch was behaving very strangely. He had pulled out all his alien features and had backed up a bit.
"Uhm… okay, look little girl… know am been promising-"
"Naga takabah! Gaba ika tasoopa, Jumba! Stitch naga baka-dooka! Stitch good!" he yelled and caused all three of them to stare at him.
"Stitch! What's wrong?" Lilo asked and frowned at him. Stitch pointed at 628 who looked up at Jumba, confused.
"Jumba boocha ingatta 6-2-8 eega 6-2-7! Baka-dokka Stitch!" It took a second for Jumba to actually get what Stitch meant and he laughed.
"Calm down, 6-2-6! Have doing nothing wrong…" he chuckled again. "No, no. Is not another experiment like 6-2-7…"
"Gabba?"
"Is true… calm down and listen up. Over past three months, have been creating this experiment… experiment 6-2-8…" Lilo's face turned to unbelieving shock.
"But you promised you won't ever make experiments again!"
"Been having no choice, little girl. At this moment being, very evil experiment 'cousin' is free in galaxy… causing much destruction. And… and am afraid not even 6-2-6 was strong enough to defeat this one." Stitch, who was calming down, crossed his four arms and pouted with a 'hmph'.
"So having being creating 6-2-8 to counter this new threat…"
"Oh… Okay…" Stitch mumbled and withdrew his alien features and gave a little laugh at his foolishness.
"Now, let us be doing this right. 6-2-8. Meet little earth-girl, Lilo." Lilo stuck out her hand in greeting, but 628 took it, pulled her closer and gave her a long lick across the face.
"Eeeeeeeu!" she squealed and wiped the saliva off her face. Stitch chuckled.
"Is being how experiments record and sort scents and smells of new people into memory… oh, and 6-2-8, meet experiment 6-2-6, or Stitch."
Instead of licks, they sniffed at each other again, and grinned at each other afterwards. Lilo tilted her head as she was waiting for them to do something more.
"Hey! Why don't they lick each other, then?" Lilo asked and pointed after a few seconds and Jumba laughed, covering his face with one hand. The two experiments sat with ears at various angles, looking confused, as if they didn't know the answer to these questions themselves.
"Okay, seeing as being of same species, smell is being enough, as can compare data from smell with own and store this data. Is much quicker, but each new species something more is needed."
"Weird. How come they can't just shake hands like everyone else?"
"Stitch not like everyone else!" Stitch said and crossed his arms with a smile.
"I know… So, what's his name?"
"Hm. Don't know…" Jumba said and thought for a second.
"Don't worry; I usually get the best names for all the experiments. So… What does he do?"
"Well… His primary function being to destroy rogue experiment by any means possible…"
"Oh… so, no super-cool powers like Yin and Yang or Yaarp or Splodyhead or-"
"Stitch?" he said from the side, a little sad that Lilo didn't think he had super-cool powers.
"No, not like you. No-one can have powers like you do."
"Aaaw… takka…"
"It's okay. You're the best-"
"In-fact… 6-2-8 actually being like 6-2-6 in most regard… except, did not give 6-2-8 pre-programmed data-shot that is making all experiments evil… uhm, which am reminding me… Hmm. To be asking favor of you two."
"A favor? What favor?"
"Gasha ju dja jinjibe."
"No, 6-2-6. Am charging you with teaching 6-2-8 all about living. Especially you, 6-2-6. See, data-shot also contains all training and studies of everything needed to be evil-genius experiment in real life." 628 had been feeling an odd pressure building up near his stomach since he was… uhm… Alive? And he twitched his legs a bit to relieve it… but moving suddenly made him realize the pressure was bigger than it felt.
"So, we get to be his teacher?" Lilo asked excitedly.
"Hmm… something like that."
"Wow! But we're not going to teach him how to be evil, okay?"
628 made some strange faces and absent-mindedly moved his lower set of paws to his crotch. Stitch noticed this…
"Well, that is being own decision. 6-2-8 completely free from programming. And… maybe be leaving name choosing to self as well."
"Okay… so… what do we start with?"
"Uhm, tajatta gooshka? Paja toodokka!" came Stitch's voice and he pointed at 628, who was now hopping around. Jumba gasped.
"Good idea, 6-2-6! Start with toilet-training! Hurry!"
Stitch closed the toilet-door behind him and looked at where Lilo was standing in the living-room with a disturbed look.
"Stitch never do again!" he said, his face almost glowing from embarrassment as he quickly hurried up onto the couch and buried his face in a pillow.
"Why?"
"Spichatakka!" came his muffled reply.
"Embarrassing? But why? You're both boys-"
"Oke-takka! Cheetah!" came his muffled voice again and Lilo kept quiet, not understanding what Stitch was going on about. A few moments later, there was a crash that made both of them jump.
"Oh no. I heard that sound before…" Lilo said and looked at Stitch with horror.
"You did tell him to flush it very softly, right?" Stitch grimaced and Lilo groaned with frustration. "Not again!"
They both ran to bathroom and opened to door to find a 628 clinging to the wall, and, surely enough, the toilet-basin was in two pieces on the floor, which was covered in water, a steady stream still squirting from the pipe protruding from the wall. Lilo looked at the destruction and Stitch lifted his paws from the wet floor and glanced at them.
"Meega soka!" 628 said from the wall with a truly shocked and sorrowful face. It seemed he had a start at what he just did, and almost looked like he was going to cry.
"Hey… I can understand you!" Lilo said, but before she could get excited about it, she clasped her hands over her mouth, and her eyes stretched as she gasped.
"No! Stitch, our deal! Nani can't know about 6-2-8 and now she's going to think it's you! Know what this means?" Stitch's jaw and ears dropped with worry and looked around as his mind raced. He gasped and prodded Lilo's shoulder.
"Naga! Jumba fix!" Lilo's face brightened some.
"Okay, hide 6-2-8 while I go get him!"
"Ih!"
"Asha meetso," Stitch told the white experiment as he crawled under Lilo's bed.
"I-ih," came the somewhat shaky reply. Stitch dropped the covers and started to leave.
"Hamcha…!"
"Huh-?" Stitch lift up the covers and got under the bed, having them drop when he was under it. He gasped slightly in awe as he saw 628's eyes glow faintly in the dark… they were in a worried shape and disappeared as he laid his head on the floor in shame.
"Meega naga cadu koota…" 628 said softly. Stitch lowered his gaze some and wondered what Lilo would say. He reached out and lightly touched the experiment's shoulder.
"Ika oketakka. Stitch break toilet first try too. Naga bad, Lilo not mad." 628's ears lifted some and he looked at Stitch.
"Stitch mean it," he assured the experiment and 628 blinked several times, looking slightly more relaxed.
"Stitch!" came a call from below and he looked back.
"Okay, not take long. Lilo and Stitch back soon."
"…Takka."
"Ika oketakka." And with that, he disappeared from under the bed and hurried down the elevator to the bathroom. Lilo was standing in front of it, as Jumba's big bulk occupied most of the bathroom now.
"Did you hide him?"
"Ih."
"Where Nani won't find him?"
"Yah."
"Under the bed?"
"Yep." There was a pause. "…huh?"
"That's the first place she'll look!"
"Oops!" and Stitch turned to hide 628 somewhere else but Lilo caught his shoulder.
"Wait for now, Nani won't look if she doesn't have a reason to." Stitch slapped himself on the forehead. "Injabba…" he mumbled. Duh.
"So proud of self!" Jumba spoke and Lilo jumped at his sudden words. He was placing the last finishing touches to the basin.
"Not even put destructive programming in, but experiment still destroys! Hah! Am greater than I thought!"
Lilo and Stitch glanced at each other.
"Uhm, Jumba, he just doesn't know his own strength yet."
"You not knowing what talking about."
"Ga soka about it too."
"Okay okay! Am just busy appeasing evil genius side!" And Jumba gave the pipe one last good turn.
"There. Now, just be cleaning up before Nani gets here-" SLAM.
"Stitch!" came from the outside.
All three of them gasped with a "Nani!"
"Stiiitch!" came the call again. He whimpered and played with his claws nervously.
"What meega do?" he asked Lilo nervously.
"You did nothing… just answer her."
"Okay… GABBA?" he called and moved down the hall to the front door.
"Come help me carry this stuff," came her slightly more muffled reply. Jumba quickly moved up to his and Pleakley's room.
"Okay!" came Stitch's reply.
"Stall her, Stitch! I'll get a mop!"
Moments later, Lilo walked into the kitchen and her jaw dropped at what she saw. The table was covered with shopping bags. Nani was busy looking through one of them.
"Soka…" came a voice from behind, and Lilo made way for Stitch, who was carrying several more bags which he dumped on the floor next to the table, and collapsed with them.
"Foobu…" he mumbled/whimpered.
"Did you win the lottery?" Lilo asked and walked over to the table, glancing at all the stuff around Stitch. Nani turned to her little sister and took on a 'bow before me, mortal' pose with a grin.
"No, Lilo. I… got a new job."
raVen speaks:
Boo-ha-ha!
Cliffhanger! I love the suspense! Thanks for the read, and watch out for chapter 4 soon!
-raVen