Chapter 2: Baby Mine -or- Alaula's Monster
Since destroying the Pelekai household with plasma and having extra pieces swept away in a flood, the house was up for some clear reconstruction. It was rebuilt with everyone's participation, even adding a space-aged room for Lilo and Stitch to sleep in while Jumba and Pleakley took Lilo's old room. With them and Nani, the house reached the maximum living space. So that left Lani, Angel and 628 to live in the Small Blue Spaceship -dubbed the SBS a while before Lani and 628's time.
They didn't mind one bit, it was spacious enough for them to be comfortable. It was still small though, in terms of Lani's work. She needed a bigger space to do any of the projects her mind set up, so she used Jumba's unoccupied lab to fit her needs. Which is where she had spent a large amount of her time, only leaving to get food which she would never fully eat right away. Her work had kept her too busy for anything or anyone, so naturally this was a concern for her legal guardian.
628 had gone in there to help, with Angel along to make sure her friend was alright. Everyone had gotten worried about her, since hadn't been seen in a good amount of time. Watching Lani typing away at the supercomputer, they noticed she looked overworked.
"Lani?" Angel tapped her shoulder. "Yuuga oketaka?"
"Hmm?" Lani shook her head clear of sleep. "Yeah. Yeah I'm...I'm alright." She yawned while typing still. "Just a little tired. I haven't slept in two days, but it feels like seven for some reason."
It was a wonder she was still awake, she could hardly do math by the looks of it. Lani was smart though, everyone knew it. Only, 628 was the only one on the island that knew more about her than just that. It was her that was tasked with keeping the girl safe, which at the moment wasn't going so well. Lani was well into her work, not only typing but messing around with chemicals and some blob-like form floating in a fluid filled containment chamber. To say the least, it was a bad combination.
"Clearly, this is unsafe," 628 stepped away as Lani moved the rolling chair to a different station.
"Don't worry," Lani blinked some sleep away while checking the containment chamber. "I know what I'm doing."
"Naga injibay," Angel shook her head. "Yuuga too fooboo to work."
"What?" Lani objected. "No I'm not. I've never...Felt more...Awake...ZZZ...Huh? I'm up! I'm up."
"This isn't healthy for your age, or you species," 628 rolled her eyes. "When was the last time you even saw natural sunlight?"
Angel walked over to a switch and flicked it up, which opened up the window to let more light through. Lani hissed and narrowed her eyes, taking refuge in the most shaded part of the lab. The experiments sighed in unison, there had to be some way to snap her out of it. She looked locked on whatever project she had set out to accomplish, to 628 this one didn't seem to have anything to do with virus in the future that affects all of the cousins -something only she was told of.
No, this was a whole new project Lani put herself on. Though after spending two full days -give or take fourteen hours-, Lani had finally stopped moving about. Instead, she walked over to the containment chamber. 628 and Angel joined her side to see what she was up to, watching as the blob form took shape before being shrunk down into a sphere. Lani turned a knob, moving the circle towards a dispenser. The marble was out, colored blue and marked in a black letter "A". Angel and 628 instantly recognized what it was.
"An experiment pod?" 628 and Angel shared wide eyes.
"Eegalagoo," Angel oohed. "Lani, gaba ika tasoopa?"
"I just thought we could use a little extra help," Lani was completely focused. "I hope it works."
Lani picked up the pod and brought it over to the middle of the room. Angel got Lani some water, giving 628 a moment alone to get answers to her current suspicions. With Lani looking awake for now, it was easier to get somewhat of a clear answer.
"Alexandra," 628 made sure Angel was out of the room before she spoke. "What is going on?"
"There was an accident in the theater," Lani slumped into a chair. "You remember the one I took you all to?"
"I remember," 628 nodded.
"I must have left the door open or something," Lani rubbed her eyes. "J.A.V.A.'s not working so now I have no idea what's going to happen. So I decided to beef up security, to protect us in case I slip up."
"I understand," 628 sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, Alexandra."
"Me too, G-Net," Lani stood up.
Angel came back into the lab, holding a glass of water. Lani let her place it down, and even be the one to activate the new experiment. The pod started to glow a whiter blue than the original color, allowing a flash to momentarily blind the three. When they opened their eyes, they were amazed to see a creature looking back at them. It was female, though at first look it was easy to mistake. She had a rat-like head with lizard body, three back spines and what appeared to be a metal triangle on the edge of her tail.
The yellow and black striped creature's eyes were that of any other experiment, which put 628 at ease. The grey headed new experiment looked in between the three of them, overly happy for someone who just came out of pod form.
"Kaltxì?" the new experiment tested out the squeaky voice she owned. "Kaltxì! Kaltxì, kaltxì, kaltxì!"
The new experiment jumped around excited, happy to have said her first word. Lani laughed, mostly an insane one but with happiness mixed into it. It reminded Angel and 628 of how Jumba would get, since he still branded himself as an evil genius.
"She's alive!" Lani cackled madly. "She lives! I...Am...A mother!"
"Kaltxì, kaltxì, kaltxì!" the new experiment continued to run around the three of them.
"I present to you my daughter," Lani calmed down a bit. "Experiment Alpha!"
"Kaltxì, kaltxì, kaltxì!" the new experiment sat down -still bouncing in her seat.
"She can run ninety miles per hour," Lani started off with the speed ability. "Climb walls and fit into spaces as small as three inches in diameter."
"So yuuga naga make her nala?" Angel wondered.
"Nope," Lani smiled proudly. "Experiment Alpha is a hundred percent good. Her tail even acts as a force field generator. It's her only power."
Experiment Alpha wagged her long tail, so fast in fact that she activated the metal piece in a blue light. Contradicting what Lani told them, a bolt blasted from it and bounced around the room. She proved Lani correct by producing a blue bubble for the four of them to be kept safe in. The powered bolt bounced off the shield's surface and exploded once it hit the metal wall, creating a new circular window in its place. Experiment Alpha dropped the spherical shield, smiling that she had done good.
"I might have accidentally added a few things," Lani shrugged sheepishly. "I'm really tired."
"I hope you can seam up the hole you created," 628 crossed her arms at the new experiment.
Experiment Alpha titled her head to the side, turning her gaze to the trouble she caused. Her ears dropped in sadness that she'd done the damage, it was pretty bad by the look of it. Then, her ears went back up as her eyes widened with an idea. Experiment Alpha bounded over to the burnt area, leaving 628 and Angel to wonder what she was up to. They looked to Lani for some kind of answer, all they got was Lani gesturing for them to watch. Even when she was tired, she gave off a vague amount of help.
The three of them watched as Experiment Alpha went to the new window, placing her tail piece to the problem. It glowed once more, only it didn't release anything but the necessary heat to fix the issue. Pulling her tail away, the hole was gone and a burning seam was left in its place. Experiment Alpha bounded over to them, feeling even happier than when she was activated. Angel was impressed that she handled it well, 628 had to admit the new experiment did good and Lani was proud of Experiment Alpha's accomplishment.
"Zeyko!" the new experiment smiled brightly.
"Butifa saari," Angel pat the new experiment on the head. "Seam isa naga nala after all."
"Seam?" Lani and 628 repeated the name Angel had chosen.
"You know what, I think that works," Lani accepted the name idea -given the clear evidence on the wall.
Experiment Alpha -now going by Seam- liked the name too, her happy attitude showed even more so after earning her title. Lani knelt down in front of her creation, pulling her face close so the excited experiment would pay attention.
"Experiment Alpha," Lani smiled warmly to her. "Your name is Seam. Your primary function is to protect others. Do you understand me?"
"Hawnu?" Seam tilted her head before she smiled. "Oe hawnu frapo. Oe hawnu frapo!"
"I know you'll make me proud," Lani yawned happily.
"Oe si nga lenrra," Seam nodded.
Seam gave off an overall happy energy to the room, even though none of them could understand what she was saying. By the way she spoke, they were sure it was good. 628 and Angel still needed to be sure though, unfortunately Lani finally fell asleep.
"Oketaka, ah-chooga moopa," Angel pointed to the door. "Lani fooboo."
"I suppose letting her sleep for a few hours wouldn't hurt," 628 shrugged in agreement. "We'll just have to find out ourselves what it is Experiment Alpha eats. We may also find a way to decode her speech." She went to the chair to bring a blanket over. "Pleasant dreams."
"Jhua tehrqua, Lani," Angel gave her a pillow to rest her head on.
"Sìltsan txon, Sa'nu," Seam smiled before following after 628 and Angel.
A/N: Experiment Alpha, ladies and gentlemen -this is where you applaud. When I was looking for the original concepts when I wrote What Could Have Been, I came across a few extra images that I'm gonna use later. The first was of Stitch before he became the fluffy ball of mischief we all know. So to include the design in, I figured what better way to prove Lani's intelligence than have her make her own experiment? But then I had other plans, you'll all find out those when this story is over.
Next Time: While Stitch tries to find out more about his own cousins, Angel and 628 try to learn about Seam.