Hello again, fellow readers and writers. Don't worry, I'll be brief. As someone who plans to make a living out of writing someday, nothing elates me more than receiving feedback on work that I've done. Now, it occurs to me that not everybody who follows this story leaves responses. To those of you who do, you have my thanks and gratitude. But I would like to request the small favor from the rest of you to leave a reaction of some sort to this chapter. I understand that not everyone is critical, though I do appreciate some constructive criticism. But if you're stumped as to what to say, just tell me your favorite scene, your favorite character and why, or even your immediate reaction to the last scene. I don't expect everyone to heed my request, but those who do would have my genuine gratitude. And I will tell you honestly that receiving any kind of response to my work gets me even more inspired for the next chapter. Now, without further ado...
Chapter 15:
Cloud
I
"What peculiar architecture," 300 muttered. "And the material…What is it? It looks like exceedingly rusted metal,"
"It looks kinda like the trunks of the trees here," 624 added, also examining the humble Pelekai house from the bottom of its lengthy staircase.
"It's so primitive," 621 snarled. "What could they possibly find appealing about it?"
"Maybe it looks better on the inside," 624 suggested.
"Perhaps," The marksman responded. "Only one way to find out,"
He marched up the curving snake of wooden stairs, his two remaining comrades following close behind.
The wood creaked randomly under their feet as they ascended.
Once they reached the top, they found two windows on either side of the underwhelming front door. The right-hand window was illuminated by constantly changing colors like a rare crystal.
"What the hell?" 621 whispered at the sight of the colorful window.
"Up here, guys," 624 called as she crawled up the wall and above the window. "It'll be harder for them to see us if we peek from up here,"
Her allies promptly joined her. They all peered upside-down into the window, expecting some great and horrific revelation, followed by a bolt of inspiration for a new plan.
Instead, from their inverted viewpoint, they found a couch that seemed to be on the ceiling, seating the human child sandwiched between Stitch and Sparky.
Beside them, Clyde hugged a brightly smiling Bonnie to his chest as if she were a teddy bear.
In an armchair beside the couch, the elder human sat with a curled-up Felix in her lap.
Everyone seemed petrified by a glowing black box that faced away from the spies at the window.
"Good; looks like 10 patched 150 up," 624 sighed with relief at the sight of 150's bandaged shoulder.
She looked to 621, whose face seemed to be struggling to not change at the sight of 150's limp arm.
624's brow furrowed at her ally's refusal to react.
She then returned her attention to the one-handed Experiment inside, making a surprising discovery.
"He's taken his metal hand off," She whispered with intrigue to her comrades. "I've never seen him without it..." She leaned in closer as the people inside leaned closer to the glowing box.
"What happen to his hand?" Felix nervously asked, shivering in Nani's lap as he remained fixated on the glowing box.
The box seemed to scream and create the sound of shattering glass.
"It's been possessed by one of the demons," Nani answered in a playfully dramatic tone, though she caressed the soft fins on Felix's head in an effort to calm him.
"Why not pose-ess whole body?" Stitch questioned, his right cheek smushed against Lilo's left.
"Because they want him to suffer one body part at a time!" The girl responded ominously, making both Stitch and Sparky gasp in anticipation.
The box emitted a monstrous, mechanical roar, which echoed like machine gun fire.
"Who's laughing now?" The box snarled over the petrifying rumbling.
Everyone, even the Experiments outside who only had audio, leaned in with paling faces.
"Who's laughing now?!" The box exclaimed, then screamed as the mechanical roaring intensified. All the Pelekais, save Lilo, Nani, and Bonnie, covered their eyes, but they all shouted.
"Eeeeeeugh!"
Everyone who had shut their eyes clung tighter to the people beside them like small children.
Lilo, Nani, and Bonnie each pulled their respective Experiments closer, earning comforting purrs from each of them.
"I don't get it," 621 muttered, rustling his mohawk. "They seem scared by what that box is showing them, but they're enjoying it,"
"Maybe humans like to be scared," 624 suggested quietly. "That might explain why they keep trying to piss us off,"
"It may just be a bizarre piece of entertainment," 300 whispered. "Perhaps it's meant to create an artificial thrill by mimicking terrifying situations,"
The three spies continued peering into the house, finding Felix opening his mouth wide to release a long yawn.
He was promptly echoed by Clyde, followed by Bonnie, Stitch, and Lilo.
"You feeling tired, Sparky?" The girl inquired, noticing the electrician's lack of yawning.
"No," Sparky retorted, his eyes fluttering. "Meega...Not...Sleepy..." He muttered as his head slid lazily into Lilo's lap, his words substituted by snores.
"Seems like it's time for bed," Nani stated, scooping up a wavering Felix in her arms as if he were an infant child.
"What about you guys?" Lilo turned to Bonnie and Clyde as she gave the snoozing Sparky a piggy back ride.
"Want see what happen to Ash," Bonnie replied with a groggy smile, looking past Lilo at the television.
Nani then switched the glowing machine off with her knee, so as not to let go of a sleeping Felix.
"In morning, Bonnie," Clyde responded with another yawn.
He pulled his feet onto the couch, letting Bonnie sleep on his belly as he stroked her back with his fingerless hand.
Lilo kissed them each on a cheek as they drifted away.
"Good night, you guys," Lilo chirped quietly as she lugged Sparky up the stairs.
"Good night, Lilo," Clyde whispered. "And thank youga. So much,"
With that, Lilo, Sparky, Stitch, Felix, and Nani disappeared outside, leaving two happily sleeping Experiments downstairs and three utterly befuddled ones outside.
II
They all seemed so peaceful.
With her feet hooked on the roof and her hands stuck to the glass, 624 gazed upside-down into Lilo's bedroom window.
The girl was tucked into the bottom bunk with Sparky, Felix, and Stitch curled up around her. Their slumbering smiles connected each pair of ears.
624 could never imagine more peaceful creatures. In her mind, she was inside with them. She could already feel the soft duvet beneath her, Stitch's silky fur against her, and one of his long ears held with extreme care in her teeth.
Then something tugged on her ankle, and she returned to the cool glass, the hard rooftop, and whoever's furry hand had pulled for her attention.
624 looked with irritated surprise over her shoulder, finding 621 beckoning her back to the rooftop. She promptly obeyed.
"You see much in there?" The marksman questioned.
"Not really," 624 answered. "They were just sleeping, but they seemed happy. Like, super happy,"
"That seems to be the main factor in their betrayal," 300 responded. "They're obviously staying beside these humans out of some sense of elation, but what's causing it?"
"Maybe that glowing box they were looking at is a brainwashing device?" 621 suggested, pounding his upper left fist into the palm beneath in.
"But to what end?" The shapeshifter objected.
"Maybe humans have hypnotizing powers, like me?" 624 proposed. "It might come out of their eyes or their breath or something?"
"Then they would have used it on all of us back on Hamsterviel's ship," 300 replied.
"Oh, touche,"
"It just doesn't make sense," 621 gritted his teeth in frustration, grasping his snowy mohawk. "They were all so devoted to our cause! How could two goddamn humans make them abandon us!"
"We're just missing something," 624 added. "We might just be overthinking it." She peered behind her at the roof's edge, remembering how delighted Stitch, Sparky, and Felix seemed cuddled up next to Lilo.
"Stay focused, 624," The marksman brought her away from the window. "I want them back as much as you do, but it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than just missing them,"
"I was literally just looking back there for, like, three seconds," The pink Experiment growled. "You need to chill out, buddy,"
"You need to stop pining and start finding ways to get them back-"
"Both of you!" 300 snapped, shutting both of his bickering comrades up. "Pining, arguing, none of this is helpful! Misguided as our lost allies are, they at least still have mutual trust! It's exactly this sort of behavior that exposes us to the humans' manipulation!" He glared as the two Experiments' long ears drooped.
"Now, if you'd care to listen, I have a plan to gain some more in-depth information, albeit an ambitious one,"
"Oh?" 624 raised a curious eyebrow.
"The problem we're faced with is that we can observe the traitors' behavior for ages, but never know the reason for it," 300 continued. "As you said, 621, we need to know our enemy, but to know as much as we need to, I must use the full extent of my powers,"
"What are you getting at, exactly?" The marksman inquired.
"First, we need to enter the building." 300 then slithered down the wall of the house, sliding the window open with only the slightest creak.
He didn't need to remind his allies to be silent as they crept into the bedroom like spirits.
The room's cheerfully slumbering inhabitants barely stirred.
"Now, 624," The shapeshifter whispered, his words a battle cry to his comrades but little more than wind to the sleepers. "I need you to go downstairs, get 149 and 150, and bring them up here. 621, you go find the taller human and bring her here, too,"
"On it," The two Experiments chimed before urgently and silently leaving the room.
As 300 began his wait, he glanced at the bunk of sleeping creatures.
He tilted his blobby head at the sight of the top bunk, doubtful of how stable such a structure could be.
Looking down, he discovered an empty black space beneath the bed. Curious as to why anyone would bother leaving such a space, the telepath slithered beneath the bed to explore its mysteries.
He was met with darkness, dust, and a strange shape that stood out in the blackness. Reaching a shapeless hand out, 300 retrieved the shape and brought it into the light.
What he held was a clump of green fabric. It had four round protrusions that resembled limbs, but the lack of a head made it seem like a decapitated body.
300 cast the fake body aside, predicting that he would forget about it almost immediately. Instead, he was only possessed by curiosity as to what the fabric thing was, and if it ever had a head.
Were he much less intelligent, he would have awoken one of the sleeping Experiments to ask them.
The door was opened as if by a ghost.
300 turned to find 624, who held 150 effortlessly above her head and 149 in her lower arms, and 621, who carried Nani like she was a newly acquired rifle.
"So what's your big plan, 300?" The pink Experiment whispered as she and 621 set their peaceful cargo gently on the wooden floor.
"If we want to get anywhere with the traitors," The telepath began, scanning the room's snoozing occupants. "We need to understand them as best as possible. I know a trick that can give us the most in-depth perspective on their minds you could ever desire. 276 taught me it,"
"Oh, God." 621 rubbed his furrowed forehead.
"Yes; one of the few things I enjoyed about him," 300 continued. "I'm going to let us all see deep into the minds of everyone here,"
"Have you done it with this many people before?" 624 inquired, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"Never," He answered. "We're just going to look at them one at a time, otherwise the overload on information could...Well, you know what happened to 89,"
"Just pull us out if you feel like something will go wrong," 621 advised sternly.
"Of course," 300 responded. "Now, both of you lie down and relax,"
624 and 621 obeyed without hesitation. They shut their eyes and exhaled as they felt something slimy coat their foreheads. It stretched across their temples like a repugnant night creature, crawling down to their eyes. It reached their tear ducts, then, for barely a moment, they were plummeting. Then there was nothing.
III
Then it was impossible to breathe.
624 sat up, her eyes widening at the empty blue space that had replaced the human bedroom.
She turned to 621, who seemed just as shocked by the change of scenery.
They each felt something familiarly slimy tap their shoulders, and darted around to find 300, slithering up a wall behind them like a serpent.
The two Experiments urgently followed the telepath, all the while befuddled by the distressing heaviness of the air around them, as well as why their fur drooped, forming what looked like fuzzy needles protruding from their elbows.
All three Experiments heaved themselves out of the water with a well-earned gasp.
The floor beneath their arms was made of a prickly white material, which they agreed looked better than the wood of the humans' house, despite feeling more discomforting.
A crimson foot with three pointed toes stomped onto the ground in front of 621. Looking up, the marksman discovered that the foot belonged to a red Experiment who looked astonishingly like Sparky.
Aside from the fur color, another noticeable difference was that this Sparky's fingers glowed with flames instead of sparks.
The fiery Sparky charged forwards to another Experiment who was his near-perfect reflection; the only flaw being his blue fur, which was a shade not unlike Stitch's.
Moments before the Blue Sparky was tackled, the onlooking Experiments noticed a wide, toothy grin on his face and spheres of water forming around his hands.
"So this must be 221's mind," 621 denoted as he and his allies pulled themselves out of the pool. He glanced upwards, finding that while the sky was a typical shade of blue, the clouds moved across it like waves on water.
"Which one is supposed to be him, then?" 624 added, watching the Blue Sparky kick his counterpart off of him with foot encased in a watery bubble.
"That's likely what they're fighting over," 300 suggested.
The Experiments looked across the pool, finding the human girl unwinding some long green tube from a wheel bolted to a wall.
"So what's the human doing here, then?" 624 questioned, scratching behind her lowered left ear.
621 looked down at the water again, gazing intently at its constant undulations.
He then turned back to the dueling reflections, who had each grasped one of his opponent's fists.
The Blue Sparky's antennae became coated in water, which undulated just as the water in the pool did.
The Red Sparky's antennae ignited like thrusters on a ship. snapped his fingers.
As 621 stared as the fiery Experiment, his brain was consumed by a distant memory.
He was on the roof of a museum dedicated to the Galactic Federation, 626 and 221 amongst his allies there. 626 turned to 221 with a torn Federation flag, whose black spider-like logo seemed to cower beneath its wrinkles.
The electrician smirked and, with a casual spark from his foot, set the cowering flag aflame.
"That's it!" 621 declared with a snap of his clawed fingers.
"What's it?" 624 questioned.
"Remember when we attacked that Federation museum?!" The marksman exclaimed and beamed as if he had just entered a room to discover a surprise birthday party. "221 helped 626 set a Federation flag on fire! This fire-221 here must be the memory of things like that trying to come back!"
"So the water one must be suppressing the memories of the Rebellion," The pink Experiment added.
"So the victor-" 300 began.
"Will be the real 2211" 621 interrupted, sprinting around the pool with sadistic excitement.
He darted behind the Blue Sparky, whose hands stretched to either side to charge separate watery projectiles.
621 clutched the hydrokinetic's arms and forced them to fold to the top of their owner's spine.
"Ack! How is this fair?!" The Blue Sparky exclaimed.
"Let him have it, 221!" 621 called to the red reflection after stomping on the blue Experiment's calf, making him kneel with an agonized yelp.
Flame-coated fists rocketed across the Blue Sparky's face, each accompanied by a moan from their victim and a roar from their crimson owner.
621 couldn't help but release a gleeful cackle at the reflection's situation.
Finally, the Red Sparky clutched his opponent's head and thrust it into the pool, keeping him as still as he could as the Blue Sparky's arms splashed desperately.
"Thanks for the assist, bud," the pyrokinetic smiled ominously at 621, who returned the grin.
To their mutual surprise, however, the Red Sparky was suddenly assaulted by a tremendous torrent of water.
621 reared his head to the water's source; Lilo, still grasping the hose which she had now gotten working.
The marksman admitted that he had almost forgotten that the human was even there.
He swiftly drew one of his blasters, about to shoot the girl without a moment's hesitation.
Unfortunately for 621, Lilo's hand was quicker. The burst of liquid struck him like a toppling wall, sending him falling backwards despite his best efforts to maintain his footing. 621 tumbled into the pool, though his upper right hand caught hold of the pool's edge as he did.
300 and 624 ran to help their comrade out, but they suffered the same watery consequence both the Red Sparky and 621 had felt.
"Right, you hold still, now, you son of a bitch," the Blue Sparky spat as he heaved himself out of the pool, grasping his counterpart just beside the eyes.
624 and 300 sat up, befuddled and disgusted as the blue Experiments seemed to melt onto the Red Sparky's skin.
"What the...Fuck...?" 621 whispered, having hauled himself out of the water.
Lilo dropped the hose as she darted to the two Sparkys' side, clasping her hands together anxiously.
The two Experiments were now one, their fur a distorted array of red and blue like a lake polluted with crimson oil. His body spouted licks of fire and drops of water at random places, from the tip of his ear, the side of his chin, his hip, his elbow, and his toe.
Suddenly, the two elements were replaced by sparks, which become concentrated to his arms. His murky-looking floor solidified into a radiant golden color.
Sparky straightened up, his arms held out a joyous beam aimed at Lilo.
The human and Experiment shared a warm embrace as Sparky's feet became two ghostly trails of electricity, carrying them both off the ground.
"Wait," 624 began, raising an eyebrow at the merry scene. "Red and blue don't make yellow,"
"It's more than that," 621 growled, his eyes clamped shut as his upper hand clutched his head. "He absorbed his other self instead of killing him...What does it mean?!"
Sparky and Lilo took to the skies, flying into the distance like a miniature rocket.
"Wait!" The marksman ordered them, rushing to the bordering wall of the pool. "I'm not finished with you yet!"
His allies followed after him, and they all gracefully scaled the wall.
When they dropped to the other side, though, they were mystified that their feet had not yet touched new ground.
Then it became a chilling concern.
IV
Then the grey air around them was absolutely frigid.
Then 624's hand clamped shut around something.
621 and 300 each grasped one of 624's ankles.
Though they had halted their descent, the three Experiments now felt as though they were being carried upwards just as fast.
"Oh, holy shit!" The pink Experiment gasped. "You guys alright?!"
"Fine, fine," 621 growled. "Just goes to show how screwed up this dream state can get. We'll need to be more careful while traveling through here,"
"Speaking of which, where exactly are we at the moment?" 300 inquired. Glancing behind him, he was intrigued to find a torrent of flame shooting relentlessly beneath them like a thruster. Beneath him, he discovered some familiar black metal.
"It's a pod of some sorts," 300 stated.
"One that seems in a real rush, too," 624 added.
"What exactly are you holding onto, 624?" 621 questioned.
"That's, uh, actually a real good question, 621," The pink Experiment responded, looking up to find what the fuzzy thing was that was barely keeping her and her comrades from tumbling into space.
To her surprise, she found an all too familiar, green-furred face smiling down at her.
"Oh, hey, 149," 624 greeted, looking at Bonnie's foot, which was the furry, life-saving thing that she had been gripping.
"Heya, 624," Bonnie chirped. "How're you?"
"Well, uh, I've been better," The pink Experiment remarked. "What about you?"
"Not bad, aside from the whopping cramp I'm gettin' right now,"
"Yeah, um, 149," 624 began hurriedly, denoting how firmly she was squeezing Bonnie's foot. "I feel like, at the moment, there are more pressing problems than cramp,"
"I know, I know, I'm just sayin'. Don't get your antennae in a twist. I'll get us into the cockpit in two seconds," Bonnie sent her left arm forward, pulling herself and her hangers-on closer to the pod's cockpit.
624 felt her fingers loosen ever so slightly, but enough to convince her to wrap her free hand around Bonnie's ankle.
"Not helpin', 624," The short Experiment called sarcastically over her shoulder.
"Will you give it a rest with the cramp?!" 624 snapped.
"Alright, jeez," Bonnie grunted, shooting another arm forth, this time landing on the glass of the cockpit. The glass slid open almost instantly, and a metallic hand reached out to pull Bonnie inside.
"Sure is windy out here!" The nimble Experiment joked as Clyde picked her up with both hands.
To 624, 621, and 300's confusion and anxiety, Clyde's shoulder didn't have so much as a bruise.
"Looks like ya got a few passengers, Bon," The metal-handed Experiment nodded to the chain of aliens that dangled from Bonnie's ankle.
"A few? Isn't it just Six-Two-F-" She glanced down at her feet, her glowing expression vanishing when she noticed a typically stern 621.
"Get rid 'a that guy, 624!" Bonnie ordered.
"What?!"
"Don't you fucking dare!" 621 retorted, retrieving a blaster from his belt with his lower left hand, aiming it precisely at Bonnie's right shoulder.
"None of us are going anywhere until we get some answers!"
"You want answers?" The green Experiment, still held aloft by Clyde, beckoned to an unseen occupant of the cockpit.
A tanned pair of furless hands handed her a blaster.
"My answer is go to hell!" Bonnie shoved the blaster's barrel in 624's face.
"Look, 149, we can-" The pink Experiment began, clutching Bonnie's foot even tighter.
"That pile of shit shot Clyde!" Bonnie roared. "And he's goin' off no matter what! So you can kick him off or go down with him!" As she spoke, the dangling noticed a familiar human face beneath flowing raven hair peeking out of the cockpit.
621 immediately recognized his former hostage. He instantly aimed his blaster at Nani.
The trigger was halfway depressed when Bonnie noticed 621's change of target.
She didn't hesitate in taking her shot, which soared beautifully for a mere second, and then sank deep into 624's right bicep.
The pink Experiment's cry harmonized with the pod's blaring thrusters.
624 felt as though all the fire shooting out of the ship was seeping into her arm like a monstrous leech.
Her hands slipped off of Bonnie's foot like drops of water, so one hand was free to clutch her repulsive green wound.
621's shot hit absolutely nothing as the three Experiments plummeted.
300 separated from the group as he watched Bonnie, Clyde, Nani, and their pod shrink into the distance until it blended in with the stars. 621 kept hold of 624's ankle, while there was little more she could do but fall, sweat, and bleed.
V
Their descent halted as their feet touched nothing.
624 felt like ice as the burning in her arm vanished instantaneously.
As she panted with a discomforting mixture of shock and relief, she scanned her surroundings, finding them to consist of little more than a sky of the brightest shade of blue. She moved around as she observed, all without ever moving her dangling legs.
On any other day, 624 would have awed at the sensation of floating miles above a planet's surface. Today, though, once she spotted a befuddled and irritated 621, the fact that they were levitating became insignificant.
"What the fuck was that, 621?!" The pink Experiment roared.
"Don't shout!" The marksman snapped. "If anyone's around, they might hear you. We can't interfere until we've analyzed what's going on here properly," He continued in a more restricted tone. "Anyhow, don't be mad at me when it was 149 who shot you-"
"Because you pulled a blaster on her!" 624 retorted, quieter but every bit as infuriated. "Because you think that people will just fold to your itchy trigger-finger!"
"It's all a dream, 624," 621 growled. "The worst that happens is that we'll wake up. You'll never really be harmed here, so just relax-"
"Easy for you to say! Do you know what that felt like?! Have you ever been shot with plasma before?!"
"No-"
"Well, I have now. Even if it is a dream and I haven't really been shot, I felt it! Like a extremely hot hand clawing its way into my arm!"
"What do you want me to-" 621's glare intensified as 624 got into his face. He felt imprisoned despite the infinite stretch of sky surrounding him.
"And you did that to 150! In real life!"
"Silence, the both of you!" 300 ordered, obtaining the attention of his two boiling allies.
"We are here to learn, not to bicker amongst ourselves! Now, if you're ready to get back and track, there is something that might interest you."
He gestured behind him, where, in the distance, two figures flew, dove, corkscrewed, and loop-de-looped around each other as gracefully as birds.
The Experiments did not need to watch the figures perform, or listen to their laughter, for long to realize that they were Bonnie and Clyde.
"But we just saw them in the last...Place we were," 624 denoted with intrigue.
"That was just one dream," 300 responded. "Most likely 149's. This, then, would be 150's dream,"
"I can buy that," The pink Experiment replied, watching the joyously dancing couple more closely. For a moment, she recalled her conversation with Clyde the previous night, and many nights before. How often must 150 have had this dream, she thought, before now, when its only implausibility was that neither Experiment could fly.
"This is nice, actually," 624 commented, managing a slight smile. "The sky, the, you know, flying. There's no fighting or falling or shooting or anything. And when you think about how long 150's wanted to be with 149...It's everything he could ever want,"
300's yellow eyes shut, his eyelids' backs recreating the sight of 221's duel with his fiery reflection, 149's struggle to enter the soaring pod, and 150's airborne dance with the love of his life.
In the silence that he was left with, 624's words echoed in his brain, harmonizing with the images of the dreams he had witnessed.
Somehow they connected, he thought, as his eyes furrowed as if it would speed up his thought process.
He felt chillingly close to a certain answer, but hesitated in thinking further towards it. He couldn't tell if it was because this answer was wrong, or if he was afraid that it would be right.
"300," 621's stern whisper pierced the telepath's brainstorm. "Come on, pay attention,"
300's icy yellow eyes were revealed once more.
He, like his allies, was surprised to find Clyde and Bonnie suddenly so close to him. What was more surprising was that they weren't dancing anymore.
They were glaring with razor sharp eyes at 621.
"Right, try to contain yourself this time," 300 whispered to the marksman. "Hello, 149, 150. We understand that you're upset, but we promise that we want only to talk. We've a few questions for you that, in perfect honesty, have been driving us mad,"
The shapeshifter was met with nothing more than Bonnie and Clyde's continued scornful glance.
He began to feel cold, and wondered if this was how Federation soldiers felt at the sight of his frigid eyes.
300 glanced at Clyde's hands. While his fingerless left hand was ungloved, as it was in reality, his right hand's fingers were now missing.
Clyde and Bonnie's glare persisted at 621, who was initially irritated by their staring, but soon found his stomach turning more and more the longer he maintained eye contact.
Suddenly, his right shoulder felt eerily warm. 621 thought nothing of it at first, but the warmth soon became hot, then disturbingly boiling.
The marksman's breathing intensified. He felt as if some small, parasitic creature had grown inside of his shoulder, and was now desperately clawing its way out.
621 looked at his shoulder, and his forehead began to drip like a burning candle. A slimy substance of the most repulsive shade of green, light glowing sewage, was oozing out of 621's arm, spreading in both directions.
"150..." He gasped, turning his panicked gaze to the metal-handed Experiment. The marksman had hoped that looking at Clyde would be an improvement over staring at his unbearably expanding wound.
It wasn't.
"150, I'm sorry!" 621 exclaimed, feeling the horrendous burning reach his neck. "It was an accident! I'm sorry, with every ounce of my soul, I'm sorry!"
Neither Clyde nor Bonnie had any response for him but their intensifying glares.
As 621's eyes became as moist as his forehead, he could feel the fiery plasma crawling towards them.
"I'M SORRY!"
His whole face erupted with agony.
VI
And his feet were suddenly cool and wet.
621 jolted up with a frightened scream.
It was only after he steadied his breathing that he noticed that he was now sitting down. He was sitting on sand, looking out at a distant full moon amidst a clear indigo sky.
The moon was gradually rising up from behind the docile sea, like a welcoming face peeking out from beneath a duvet.
621's feet felt wet again. He looked down and found the blanket of salty water reaching out to coat his feet, making his fur damp and sleek. The water left him, but returned mere seconds later, undulating repeatedly, but never getting further than 621's shins.
He looked to his left, meeting eyes with 624, sitting just as he did, with similarly dampened feet, and looking every bit as terrified.
621's ears immediately rang with the echo of his last conversation with the pink Experiment.
"You're right, 624..." He confessed softly, resting his upper left hand on its neighboring shoulder, which now felt only lukewarm.
"My handling of the situation with 149 was careless, to say the least. I reacted impulsively and you suffered the bulk of the consequences. I'm sorry,"
624's expression relaxed into a slight smile.
"It's alright," She began.
"No, it isn't," 621 countered. "My foremost concern is the well-being of our own kind. In the span of just a few hours, I've gotten two of you shot. After spending so long scorning the Federation and Jumba and Hamsterviel for hurting you all, I feel like..." His upper hands covered his eyes, while his lower hands rested on his knees, which bent so the undulating water could no longer reach his feet.
"I feel like I'm the only threat to you now,"
621 was left in silence for some time, feeling little more than 624's furry hand on his left shoulder, and a watery touch, which he knew belonged to 300, on his right.
Before too long, though, a familiar voice, the kindest that any of the Experiments had ever heard, shattered the silence.
"You don't have to be, 621,"
The three Experiments all looked left, discovering the trunked, sweetly smiling face of Felix, who also sat beside with sleek, dampened feet.
Beside him, they noticed the younger human, smiling just as kindly.
Between them, however, was the greatest surprise; a beaming white face beneath three floppy green fins, which created the playful shape of a jester's cap. The full jester look was nearly complete, if only he had a large, bright red nose, instead of the smaller green one which he was stuck with.
"Oh, hey, Felix," 624 greeted, delighted and relieved to have found a dream with a less confrontational dreamer.
"What's 345 doing here? He's still stuck on Hamsterviel's ship,"
The medic redirected his smile to 345, who reflected his beam.
"I just miss him, that's all," Felix said to 624, but still faced 345.
"And the human?" 300 inquired.
"Well, I was just thinking how much 345 would love being here," The medic continued. "And how much Lilo would love that, too. I wonder what his name would be..."
The three Experiments observed Felix as he enjoyed 345's smile.
Their memories of the medic were filled with panicked gapes, frightened frowns, and timid smirks, but nowhere could they find a smile as big and as genuine as the one he displayed to 345 and Lilo.
624 would have let them enjoy the silence a little longer, but then a critical memory struck her mind.
"10-I mean, Felix?" She was promptly given his attention. "I'm sorry I brainwashed you," She admitted, wanting to hang her head, but devoting her eye contact to Felix.
"It was 621's idea, but I shouldn't have gone along with it. We should've thought of a better solution, one that wouldn't have risked so much from you. I'm sorry..."
Felix's smile persisted.
"I'd like to forgive you, 624," He replied. "I really would, but the thing is, saying sorry is only the first step. Now we need you to show it,"
"Alright...How do I do that?" 624 questioned, hopeful.
"I can think of one way." The trunk Experiment leaned back on his clawed hands. "What's the one thing you want more than anything in the universe?"
"...I'd like to have my friends back. You, 626, 150, everyone," Her answer was firm.
"Not to overthrow the Federation?" Felix smiled. His beam grew wider when he saw 624 hesitate. "You haven't even thought about that in a while, have you?"
"...No, I haven't,"
"Well, there you have it. And you know what else, 624?"
"What?"
"We want you back, too. Stitch especially...Hey, you know what he was saying before we went to bed?" His smile grew brighter, as if he were excited for his next sentence.
"What did he say?" 624 began to mirror Felix's grin.
"We were watching a scary movie, and he said that he wished you were there with him. He said he wanted you to cuddle with him so he'd feel less scared,"
624 didn't answer, she only scratched behind her right ear as her face reddened.
"You know...You've come such a long way, Felix," She eventually told him. "You're not the shy medic anymore. You're...You're so much more. I could never have imagined you seeming so...Content,"
"Could you have imagined Clyde finally being with Bonnie-er, 150 finally being with 149?" Felix responded. "That's the wonderful thing about this place; all of our dreams, our real, best dreams, are coming true here everyday,"
"You sound like a goddamn salesman," 621 growled, his arms folded and his gaze fixated on the undulating saltwater.
"Yeah, I guess it does sound kinda corny," Felix chuckled. "But it's all true...So, you guys are here because you're trying to understand why we're all leaving the Rebellion?"
"Precisely," 300 responded.
"Well, I'll tell you right now that you're thinking too hard about it." The medic looked back to the sea, whose next approaching wave seemed ten times the height of those before it.
The water pounced at its audience's unsuspecting faces.
624, 621, and 300 heard three joyous laughs harmonizing amidst the splashing.
VII
Their ears rang with the boisterous mechanical roar of a ship's engine.
They were standing up, completely dry, but had no memory of ever leaving their seats.
The sky was a glowing orange, but it was difficult to admire with the engine screaming in the background.
The Experiments felt metal beneath their feet, and glanced down to find themselves atop the roof of a black Federation ship, soaring lazily into the distance.
"What is it with all the sky-themed dreams?!" 624 questioned over the engine's roar.
Suddenly, the roof of the ship sprouted a convex dent with a discomforting pound.
The Experiments knew straight away that somebody inside was hammering their way out. 624 put her fists up, 621 pulled out two blasters, and 300 prepared to pounce.
Another pound. The Experiments had anticipated a monstrous fist with menacing claws. Instead, they were shown a thick but stubby arm that seemed to be made out of a sickly green fabric.
The arm struck the sides of the hole it created, widening it enough to drag its owner out.
The Experiments were both horrified and mystified at the sight of their strange opponent.
It had buttons for eyes, and sported straw-like hair tied up to resemble a fountain of blood protruding from its head.
Its mouth seemed to have been sewn shut once, but the strings remained stuck in her lips. When its mouth opened, the scarlet string made it seem like it was chewing some repulsive substance.
Trailing from its neck was a cape, the end of which was enveloped in seemingly idle flames. The cape flapped up once with a gust of wind, allowing the Experiments to catch a glimpse of the black, six-limbed emblem they recognized too well from the Galactic Federation's flag.
"One fucking dreary night," The creature spat, its rough, decaying voice sounding just barely female. "While I sat and fucking thought about dreary shit!"
"Uh...What?" A paling 624 questioned, too shocked and befuddled to consider any plan of attack.
"Wait, those words..." 300 muttered. "That rhythm. I know who they're from,"
"There came a fucking tapping on my goddamn door!" The creature charged at the Experiments like a rabid animal.
624 brought an arm back, ready to sweep it into the monster's legs once she was within range.
Well before that, though, a huge blue ball zoomed from behind the Experiments, crashing into the creature's skull. While the monster fell onto its back, clutching her forehead with her stubby hands, the blue sphere unraveled into a humanoid form, landing gracefully on two feet and one hand to reveal an all too familiar face.
"Oh, shut up, you egg-headed asshole!" Stitch mocked the doll-like creature, who sent him a glower as she picked herself up.
"Looks like she wants some more!" The blue Experiment called over his shoulder.
"Oh!" 624 said, surprised that Stitch so readily accepted the invaders' presence in his dream.
She was surprised further when a sickly green ball of plasma soared over the Experiments' heads, as if upon Stitch's command.
The creature attempted to dodge the projectile, but wasn't fast enough to save her right arm.
All the Experiments reared their heads, finding Lilo, smiling victoriously as she held up a smoking, yellow blaster.
"Nice shot, Lilo!" Stitch cheered over the monster's pained grunts.
He was given a thumbs up in response.
Stitch returned his attention to the creature, just in time to avoid her next attack.
Her severed arm had been replaced by a much thicker one of red fur, with ferocious black claws.
Stitch rolled backwards as the creature's new fist hit nothing but the metal they stood on.
"And a fucking raven flew into my fucking window!" The monster roared.
"Come on, guys," Stitch chirped, patting 624 and 621 on their backs. "If we work together, Scrump doesn't stand a chance!"
"You want our assistance?" A fascinated 300 questioned.
"Of course. The more the merrier," The blue Experiment smiled.
At that moment, Scrump lashed out once more at the four Experiments, but they dispersed faster than she could strike.
624 had rolled to Scrump's left, only a few feet away from the ship's edge.
The life-sized doll lunged at the pink Experiment, who blocked and countered with an elbow to Scrump's face.
624 smirked at the feeling of something in Scrump's head breaking beneath her elbow.
She made for a straight punch, but her fist instead landed in Scrump's waiting grasp.
"The raven sits on my fucking door and says never-fucking-more!"
The doll threw 624's fist away, following up with a vicious backhanded swing.
The pink Experiment was dazed for only a second, but it was enough for Scrump to reach down and grasp her ankle.
"It says nevermore over and fucking over again!"
Scrump beat the roof of the ship with 624 as if she were a sack of flour.
The pink Experiment tried to stick her palms to the metal to pull her foot free, but was never successful.
Soon, a furry blue arm wrapped around Scrump's neck. She lost her grip on 624's ankle just before being tossed into the awaiting grasp of 300.
"You alright, 624?" Stitch asked as she leaped to her feet.
"Oh, yeah," 624 responded, massaging her head with two hands. "I've had worse. What the hell is that thing anyway?"
"That's Scrump," He answered, sending a glare in the doll's direction.
Scrump was currently locked in close combat with two 621s, while Lilo fired another shot, but missed.
"She's a, uh…" Stitch continued, returning his attention to a befuddled 624. "Well, she's an old friend of Lilo's,"
"Huh," 624 muttered, nodding despite her continued confusion. "Not that I'm disappointed, but you don't seem very pissed at us,"
"Pissed about what?" The blue Experiment raised a curious eyebrow above a sincere smile.
"You know, about brainwashing 10, shooting 150, just generally causing you trouble despite you and the others always being able to rise above it,"
"Well, right now, you guys are helping Lilo and I beat Scrump. Once that's done, we'll have all the time in the universe to deal with those other things," He stated with a smile. "If you're up for it,"
624 was only further confused at Stitch's kind words. Regardless, she returned his smile, feeling a pleasant and soothing heat growing within her as she did.
"For sure," She chirped. "Right, let's deal with this Scrump asshole,"
"No matter what the fuck I say to the raven, it keeps fucking saying nevermore!"
Lilo fired a shot at Scrump's egg-filled head, but the doll moved at the last second, losing only her remaining stubby arm.
As Scrump suffered an uppercut from the original 621, she sprouted another monstrous red arm.
She sent an elbow in the direction of 300, who had disguised himself as 621.
The shapeshifter fell victim to the first blow, but when another came his way, he morphed his left arm into one identical to Scrump's, catching her fist. He altered his right arm to match, and then brought it down on Scrump's elbow. He relished in the resulting snap and scream.
300 pushed the doll into Stitch and 624's direction, where Scrump's head was violently squished between one foot from each of the two Experiments.
Scrump dropped to the floor, clutching her head in agony while 300 resumed his typical watery form as he slithered over to her.
"Show me," He growled, his slimy hands grasping the fabric of Scrump's malicious face.
"I need to know! Just what are you?" The shapeshifter tore the doll's face apart like a birthday present.
Everyone else gathered around 300, watching him chuck torn bits of green fabric into the air as if he was preparing to perform a brilliant magic trick.
Before too long, Scrump's divided head had flown into the wind like leaves, and the ship's five passengers were left staring in awe at the doll's new faces.
One head was definitely human, with long, jet black hair above a face no older than ten.
The other head was slightly bigger, possessing a dog-like nose between two big, black eyes and a pair of towering, notched ears. This head was also coated in ocean blue fur.
"You fucking idiot!" Stitch's lookalike scowled at him. "You were so close to having the Federation at your feet! You could've had anything you or your allies ever wanted, but you threw it all away so you could laze about on this shitpile world!"
"You're a goddamn moron!" Lilo's doppelganger roared at her. "What have these fucking aliens ever done for you except bring you more and more bullshit?! Why do you always try to make friends with fucking assholes?!"
As Scrump's two heads ranted and berated, 624, 621, and 300 watched on with wide eyes and heads reeling with questions.
All the while, Lilo and Stitch frowned in Scrump's direction, trying not to look at her two infuriated heads. They tried not to listen, but Scrump's tirade shattered their ears.
Before long, 624 glanced over at them both, noticing their sadness where she and her allies were bewildered.
She then stepped forward, picking up the malevolent doll by one of its stubby legs, and tossed her like a discus over the ship's edge.
"Man, was she annoying!" 624 exclaimed once Scrump's shouting had stopped.
She looked back to her companions.
300 and 621 each had their hands at their chins, the image of Scrump's two heads no doubt carved into their minds.
Stitch and Lilo's heads still hung like reeds weighed down by rainwater.
624 slowly approached her old friend, playfully, but with concern, kneeling down to look at his hidden face.
"You alright?" She asked.
The moment she spoke, Stitch's face lit up again.
"I am now." He brought out his secondary arms to wrap her in the warmest hug he could create.
624 immediately mirrored his embrace, spare arms and all.
Though she knew that the situation was a dream, and that in reality Stitch was sleeping several feet away from her, the silkiness of his fur, its warmth, and his beaming face so close to her own, felt no different than they did in the waking world.
She would have been content to remain as she was for ages, until she felt ten arms when there should only be eight.
624 peered over her shoulder, discovering that Lilo had joined in the embrace.
She felt her heart stop for barely a moment when she realized that, of all the thoughts that burst through her mind at the sight of Lilo, none of them involved pushing the human away. Instead, she found the warmth she felt between her and Stitch enhancing.
She knew that 621 and 300 were watching them, but couldn't be bothered to see their expressions.
The ship began to descend, making everyone's stomachs hover as it lowered.
Soon the marksman and the shapeshifter felt the chill of the clouds around them, but Stitch, Lilo, and 624 did not notice it.
Then the warmth vanished, and 624 felt the chill.
VIII
Then the heated metal beneath their feet became cold stone.
624 opened her eyes. Stitch and Lilo were gone; that was all that mattered to her for a few seconds.
After that, she discovered that she and her allies were inside a pitch black cave, with the only source of light being an opening several feet away.
"You okay, 300?" 624 questioned, noticing 300's eyes seemed unusually warm, as if they were about to shed tears.
"Is that it?" The telepath whispered. "All we've been working for, just distracting us from…No…Can it?" He looked ahead at the light, longing for it like a marathon runner only steps away from a checkered flag.
"Onward, now," He anxiously ordered his comrades. "Our work isn't done yet." He slithered on his way before 621 and 624 could even begin their first steps.
"624?" The marksman turned to his comrade, his voice worryingly weak. "…We're right, aren't we? In this whole…Dispute between us all…We are in the right. Right?"
624 sighed. "I don't know," She answered with a slight shrug. "Everyone thinks they're right, don't they? Gantu thinks he's right, 627 thinks he's right, so does Hamsterviel and so did Jumba." She sighed again before continuing, knowing that her next word would be the sound 621 despised more than anything.
"Pig thought she was right, too,"
621 reared his head at her statement. His brow furrowed, but then relaxed as his ears drooped.
"You're right," He whispered. "You're completely right…Oh, God…" His upper hands hid his eyes as his head hung. He eventually pulled his head backwards, looking to the cave's roof, now showered in light, as his fingers slid down his face like raindrops.
"Forget it," He grunted. "We stay focused on studying these dreams until we have the answers we need. Nothing else is worth worrying about until then,"
"Whatever you say," 624 responded as they exited the cave, knowing easily from 621's anxious face that he was struggling to follow his own advice.
300 was already absorbing the new environment when his comrades caught up with him.
The first thing that stood out to them was that they were accompanied by the older human. Next, they found that they were standing on a balcony made of wood not unlike the floor their tangible bodies were currently sleeping on.
Nani was gazing out at an infinite stretch of grass, interrupted only by a similarly endless crossroads. Though the view was barraged by bullet-like rainfall and a gray sky like a concrete wall, the balcony and its inhabitants were left completely dry.
"What is this?" 300 anxiously questioned Nani. "Have you shown are former allies this place? Why is it important? Is it important?" He didn't see the slightest movement in Nani's sunken face.
"Tell me something!" He ordered through his teeth. "I have had enough of you and your spawn corrupting and warping our allies. We are owed some kind of explanation!"
He still received nothing but her grim expression.
300 was about to lash out again, but then he heard the faint but distracting sound of an engine revving.
He turned back to the rain-soaked crossroads, finding one path occupied by a small vehicle of the same shade of blue as the planet's ocean. The path adjacent to it was also inhabited, but by a sickly, pale green car traveling as if it were being pursued by a furious, colossal beast.
Mere seconds later, the two cars met at the crossroads' center, and became a harrowing, fiery display with an unpleasantly loud bang.
Initially, 300 was only mystified by it. Then the crossroads vanished like a blink, leaving in its place one half of a black-and-white ship, with only flame and ash where its other half once was.
The shapeshifter, for only a second, completely forgot where he was. He wasn't sitting on a balcony with Nani, 624, and 621, gazing at a damp crossroads where a car and its passengers had just met an unlucky end. He was gazing out the window of a pod, with 621's face pressed against the window, masking his eyes which were drowning in tears. Their hearts and heads were throbbing like they had each been wounded, fighting to cope with the thought that they would never see two of their dearest friends again.
300 returned to his present situation, but could not stop seeing the burning ship where he saw the burning cars.
His eyes were wide and, for the first time in a span he couldn't remember, they were wet.
His throat felt like speaking, but it had loaded no words.
300 turned from the distant wreckage to Nani, who maintained her focus on the cars, but struggled to do so as her eyes were barricaded by tears. Her lip quivered, her hands grasped the wooden railing of the balcony tighter, and her neck trembled as if it were begging her to turn away from the horrific sight, but she ignored it.
Behind her, 300 noticed 621, concentrated on the floor as he scratched the base of his mohawk. The shapeshifter thought his ally would look up in a few seconds and be petrified as he and Nani were at the sight of the wreckage. The marksman, however, seemed to be more interested in the wood beneath his feet.
It was then, watching such devoted misery and immense ignorance beside each other at the same gruesome sight, that 300 felt that the answers he had been seeking were within his grasp. He needed only to reach out to them, and his heart screamed as he wondered if he should.
Then the balcony shook beneath their feet, as if an earthquake was approaching. The Experiments' feet clung to the wooden boards to steady themselves, but Nani seemed to barely notice the vibrations.
At that moment, some giant, endless thing flew past the balcony, heading for the gray sky above.
It was a shade of green not unlike the darkness of 621's fur. Its thick body was coated in vines, thin enough to be grasped, but thick enough not to break in somebody's fist.
The Experiments hadn't even accepted the presence of the colossal plant when the familiar golden streak that was Sparky flew into view, carrying an elated Lilo on his shoulders as if they had just come from his dream at the poolside.
"Faster, Sparky!" Lilo laughed, looking down at something on the giant plant beneath the balcony. "They're catching up to us!"
The electrician blew a cheeky raspberry at whoever was below them. The Experiments on the balcony could tell that he was not malicious, however, from the brightness of the beam on his face.
Sparky zipped further up the gigantic plant, circling it as he did, leaving a fleeting trail of sparks in the shape of a spring.
Lilo and Sparky hadn't risen much higher when Stitch, Bonnie, Clyde, and Felix were seen scaling the plant as effortlessly as a ladder.
"No fair, you guys," Bonnie chuckled, not especially annoyed by Sparky and Lilo's lead. "You can fly! That's cheating!"
"Then we've just gotta climb faster than Sparky can fly!" Stitch declared.
No sooner had the blue Experiment spoken did Nani bring a bare foot up onto the wooden railing. Within seconds, she was balancing on the railing, and in another moment, she was catching up to the Experiments already halfway up the plant, climbing just as effortlessly as they were.
300, 624, and 621 stared up at the climbers as they shrunk into the distance. The plant continued even above depressingly gray clouds.
"Enough of this," 621 growled, turning back to the pitch black cave. "Come on; there's at least one more dream we haven't found yet,"
His allies were hesitant to follow him, their eyes glued to the enormous plant reaching into the sky.
They were ultimately able to pry their eyes away, but the instant 300 did so, he had spent too long looking away from it.
The shapeshifter darted back to the balcony, bounding like a splash of water onto the tremendous plant.
"300!" 621 snapped. "What the hell are you doing?! Get back here!"
"No, 621!" 300 laughed, astonishing and mystifying both of his comrades. "You should come up here!"
He climbed at least three feet before rearing his head to face them. His yellow eyes, once able to petrify even the most hardened soldier with a single glare, were now as warm as the human planet's persistent sun.
"Will you stop fucking around, 300?!" 621 commanded, his voice harrowing for barely a moment. "We need to keep focused! Please! Don't you see what they're doing to you?!"
"Oh, yes!" The shapeshifter cheered. "Yes, it's all so obvious now! I was just considering it, thinking it was something horrible, but I don't think it is! In fact, I think it's exactly what we all need!"
"No, no, NO!" The marksman roared. "Please, 300! Not you! Just…Not you!" His voice harrowed completely.
"621, trust me!" 300's deep voice seemed to escalate as 621's deflated. "I would never lead you astray! Everything we're searching for is up here! I'm certain!" He resumed climbing. "Wait for me!" He called merrily up to the other climbers, already about to pass the gray clouds.
"GODDAMMIT!" 621 exclaimed, turning and storming back into the cave as if he were charging at a formidable opponent inside.
624 was left staring at the plant for a few seconds more, watching 300 slither up it like a delighted watery snake. For a while, she was tempted to follow him. But she could not ignore 621's infuriated departure, nor could she abide not knowing where he was heading.
She turned and ventured back into the cave as well, sending back a brief smile to 300, who was already approaching the clouds.
IX
621 smacked away a bamboo chair blocking his exit from the cave.
As he emerged, he found that it would not be the only chair he'd be lashing out at. The room was populated by chairs and round tables, but nobody was present to make use of them.
The marksman directed his reddening glare upwards, finding that the night sky above him was illuminated by a roster of burning torches. For a moment, he was reminded of the Federation's flag burning above the museum that seemed a lifetime ago. He looked to his left, and where 626, 345, 221, and 624 once stood, now only the last of them was there, looking at him without any of the determination or confidence they had once shared.
The marksman looked ahead, past the empty chairs and tables, and found a stage where much of the torches' illumination was utilized. On it, lined up like soldiers, from right to left, Clyde, Bonnie, Stitch, Lilo, Felix, 345, and Sparky, all donning skirts made of thin grass of the brightest green. A drumming sound emitted from seemingly nowhere, commanding 624 to tap her left foot. The performers on stage were all beaming as they danced. Their hands moved as if they were painting the air with their fingers, and their hips swayed in a way that made their skirts move like gently splashing waves. 624 was reminded for a moment of the waves on the beach that she had sat at with Felix, Lilo, and 345, but 621's head burned far too much to be reminded of anything.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He roared, pointing a malicious claw at Lilo as he marched towards the stage, shoving or kicking any chair or table unfortunate enough to have been placed in his path.
624 followed him with initial urgency, but with each downed chair and table, her urge to rush to his side lessened.
"My only allies in the universe, and you've turned them all against me!" 621 continued, now in front of the stage.
The rhythmic drumming came to a halt, the performers' hula halted, and their beams dissipated at the marksman's tirade.
"Forget how! I don't care anymore!" His voice weakened and whimpered the more he tried to raise it. He spat his words out, caring less and less with each sentence how enraged or broken he sounded, so long as his grass skirt-clad former comrades and their new friend would at least listen to him.
"Just tell me why! Why have you all left me?! Why is the rebellion suddenly so insignificant to you?! I need to know!"
Everyone on stage exchanged anxious glances before looking back to 621, whose face was crimson and eyes were becoming wet.
"I was thinking the exact same thing not too long ago, mate," Sparky began. "I know from where you are, this all just looks stupid…" He adjusted the grass skirt around his waist. "But it's not about how it looks; it's about how it feels. It's not something you can just look at and study and understand like a battle plan, or a ship, or a fighting style. You just need to feel it to understand it, and when you do, you'll realize just how simple it actually is. But if you don't at least try to feel it, then you'll never understand it,"
"For most of us, it was like an epiphany," Clyde added. "For as long as I can remember, you and especially 300 have been tellin' me that my feelings for Bon were just a distraction, that I should just save them until we'd beaten the Federation and there'd be time aplenty for it. But the more I put it aside, the more it…corrupted me, made me do things that I shouldn't even be thinking about,"
He sent a sorrowful glance to Sparky.
"Then 624 finally convinced me to just spit it out, and after that, after I'd finally said what I'd been waiting ages to say, it hit me…This whole 'new age' you and Jumba and everyone had been building up, it suddenly meant nothing to me. There was only me and Bonnie, and if I already had that, then what do I need the rebellion for?"
"And a lot of it comes down to you, too," Bonnie continued, sterner than the preceding speakers. "You're callin' us traitors, and I agreed with ya at first. But you know what? We don't come to you with our quote-unquote traitorous ways! You're the one ordering all the brainwashing and doing all the shooting, leavin' behind your friends and everythin'!"
She pointed to 345, who was performing the rare action of standing still.
"You're always goin' on about how we've gotta punish Hamsterviel and topple the Federation, but you're the only one bringin' us trouble anymore!"
"We talked about this before, remember?" 345 began, an unusually mellow look upon his radiant face. "Just after you flushed Pig's body out of Hamsterviel's ship? I talked with Felix, too, just after you left. It was then that I realized that the whole revolution actually never mattered to me. You guys are my friends, so I wanted to help you out. It was the helping-you part that I was focusing on, not the beating-the-snot-out-of-everybody-else part. Then, after we killed Jumba…I-It's not that I didn't not like him, it's just that I finally realized that, what I was helping you guys to do, it wasn't really…helping you, you know? I thought I was the only one, some weirdo who had no idea what he was doing, but then I found out that Felix felt the same way. Then it turned out that Stitch had thought of the same thing on Earth, and so did Sparky, and…Well, now look,"
He stretched a long arm down the row of hula dancers.
"I know that the Federation is really frustrating, and I know nobody's supposed to give up, but…Maybe some things are frustrating because they're just not worth it,"
"See, I've been you guys' doctor my whole life," Felix proceeded. "My job was to fix you when you got hurt, and I was good at it. So maybe you'll understand why hurting people, to me, is such a backwards thing to do. I thought I'd get used to it, but even now, even in a fight where I'm winning, I just feel like I'm about to puke, and killing Jumba was easily the worst version of that feeling. All this time, you've been asking me to do something that makes me so sick, and making all my friends ask me the same! And now it's gotten to the point where you'll make one of our best friends use her powers to make me do those horrible things! Do you really expect me to come back to you after you did something like that?! That's just the problem with you, 621! All you know is hurting, even if it's the people who think they're your friends, and I am sick of it!"
"But to be fair, that's all most of us knew not too long ago," Stitch continued. "I know we're giving you a hard time, 621, and I can tell from your face that it's really hitting home. But you see, it's one thing when somebody you hate says these kinds of things to you. Nobody really cares if they're criticized by somebody they don't like. It's just wasted breath in the end. What I think you so desperately need is for your old friends to say these things to you. I meant what I said back on Hamsterviel's ship; the rebellion is Hamsterviel's dream, and even though you despise him, you're still obsessed with his dream. It's all you've ever known. I get that it's hard to give up what's just been your life for as long as you can remember. I didn't just land here and immediately decide to stay. It dawned on me slowly, and I think it will on you, as well. But you need to make that leap, 621. Everyone's pegging you down, but I'll say to you, from the bottom of my heart, that I want you to make that leap here, even more than you want us to make the leap back,"
"Stitch told me that you lost two people you really cared about," Lilo added. "So did I. We probably felt really different about it, but I know we both felt like crap. I punched some people until they bled, I made a doll to say bad things to people for me, and I was even a pain for my sister, who I know now was just trying her very hardest to make things at least a little better. It makes sense to feel angry when bad things happen, even if you're angry at your friends and family. They'll stay with you for as long as you need to be angry. But sooner or later, you need to think about whether it's better to stay angry for the friends who are gone, or to stop for the friends who are still with you,"
"And there's something you haven't realized yet," 624 began, turning to stand in front of the marksman, her back to the performers on stage.
She did not relish in 621's shattered expression as she spoke.
"Maybe telling you will help you understand more. I know 501 and 502 meant everything to you, and there's not a day where you miss them that I don't miss them, too. I know it's just unfair that they had to be built with that explode-upon-contact bullshit. That's a kind of torture that I don't think even Hamsterviel deserves. But you always say how we should beat the Federation for 501 and 502. You never think about how they were made suicide bombers only because Hamsterviel and Jumba decided that the rebellion needed suicide bombers. They didn't die for the rebellion, they died because of it!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" 621 exclaimed, slicing the air with a three-clawed hand.
Nobody shifted from their mellowed state.
"I've heard enough from all of you! You traitors and deserters and cowards! Don't you see how much I need you, and still you all leave me as if I haven't done anything but think of you every fucking step of the way!"
His eyes were drowning in tears, and his enraged and broken voice sounded similar.
"The rebellion is the only way! The only way for any of us to mean anything! If you just let it die, then all of 501 and 502's suffering is meaningless! A goddamn joke!"
"But consider how they would have seen it, 621!" 624 pleaded firmly. "Think about it; the chance for a life where you have a lifetime to spend with the people you love! No missions, no battles, no enemies! Bonnie and Clyde took it, Felix and 345 chose it, so did Stitch and so have I now! I bet you that 501 and 502 would leap on a chance like that!"
"Then what's the point?!" 621 roared. "What point was there to anything I've done; getting pushed around by Pig, punishing her, watching 501 and 502 die, fighting 627, finding Hamsterviel, killing Jumba, what does any of it matter if we only needed to come here the whole fucking time?!"
The marksman backed away during his tearful tirade, until he felt something thin and furry, not unlike 624 or Sparky's antennae, gently tap his back.
He glanced to his left, finding himself looking up at a bright blue head, long and thin like a shut umbrella. Beneath it spread a series of skinny antennae, like tentacles. This Experiment had no nose or mouth, but eyes that watered just as profusely as 621's.
A single fuzzy antennae gently strode along the marksman's tear-stained cheek, drying what little it could.
Turning around, 621 found another Experiment whose height equaled his own. His fur was a bright, fiery orange, and his ears were jagged like two lumps of coal. His back was lined with a row of spines shaped like geysers. 621, however, was completely focused on the Experiment's eyes. They were supposed to be as black as his own, but they were corrupted with an unsettling red tint, making them seem cracked like eggshells.
621 would never forget the day those eyes turned that way.
Since he met them not long after his birth, 621 could never imagine how 501 and 502 felt in their situation; loving someone so intensely and being deprived on the simple pleasure of touching them. But there, as the three Experiments stood, merely looking at one another, 621 was certain that he felt the agony that they experienced every waking moment. He had to blink just so he could see them clearly through an increasing wall of tears.
"I'll show you!" He finally spat at his former allies.
They were not frightened, or confused, or worried, or angry. Their hanging faces only seemed disappointed.
"I'll show you that the rebellion still has a purpose! That their sacrifice wasn't for nothing!" He took a clawed hand from 502 and a furry antenna from 501.
This would do it. He would pull the two suicide bombers into the most casual of embraces and, in the fantasy world they currently inhabited, they would be alright. They would be allowed to touch, and 621 would be right.
And yet his hands could not complete the motion. They were petrified, hellbent on enjoying every precious, salvageable second with 501 and 502. Their fur felt every bit as warm, silky, and soothing as it did in reality, as if it had only been a few hours since 621 had last touched it.
The marksman looked one last time into their damp, broken faces, praying that, just once, even in a dream, he could see them rise into even the faintest smile.
Finally, he shut his sopping eyes and pulled his hands together. Nothing would happen. 501 and 502 would be safe. He would be right.
The last thing he heard was a deafening bang and two heart-halting screams.
X
621 screamed as he jerked straight to his feet, as though he hadn't even shut his eyes. He stumbled backwards across the hard wooden floor, seeing only a horde of silhouettes in the dark. He bumped into a shelf behind him, and a book plopped just beside his left foot, making his heart race even faster than it already was.
He could barely distinguish one shadow from the next, but he knew they were all arising with much less urgency that he had, but arising nonetheless.
Footsteps echoed from down the hall, no doubt made by the taller human.
Blood was rushing through 621's heart but neglected his brain. Breathing like he had done nothing but sprint for several days, he raced for the window and leaped out of it. He landed on the sand with a hundredth of the grace he would have had any other day. He ran straight ahead, not thinking of where he'd arrive, but only of where he wouldn't be.
The arrays of trees and plants he had already spent multiple nights in now barred their leafy claws at him. His ears rung with the sound of his own breath, the dead silence around him, and the horrifying bang and scream he had heard mere seconds ago.
Before long, his feet made splashes. He made only a few steps into the water before he fell to his knees.
His lower hands met the sand beneath the sea, while his upper fingers clamped over his eyes. He filled the ocean with his tears, each one an ocean in its own right. He wept until his eyes ached, and then continued. His eyes reddened and cracked, but he never opened them to see their watery reflection.
He had no more schemes. No more comrades. No more advantages or ambitious tactics.
There was only the waves to harmonize with his sobbing.