Chapter 15: Fail Safe -or- A Less Lonesome Night
SPACE -GANTU'S SHIP-
A few minutes ago, Gantu fired a net at Lani that launched her into another room. Lani was stuck in the familiar area because the henchman also shot the control for the door, which Dr. Hamsterviel appearently upgraded along with Gantu's suit. Lani grumbled to herself about the modifications, it was one of the many problems with her tampering. She was going to need help to get out of the net, though the yellowy-orange experiment in front of her wasn't known to be that helpful -even in the future.
"Hey, 625," Lani tried to smile sincerely, another failed attempt of hers. "Do you mind helping me out of here."
"Not so fast, kid," 625 crossed his arms. "I've been listening in on you every now and again, and you clearly know more than you're letting on. So, what are you a psychic or something?"
"Something, definately a something," Lani straightened herself. "Its hard to explain."
"Tell you what, I'll untie you and you fess up to whatever your hiding," 625 tied to make a deal.
"How do I know you're not going to tell Gerbilville?" Lani raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously you don't know me very well," 625 began to undo the snare.
"I know you better than you think, 625," Lani began to tell him. "Like the fact that in the future, your name will be Reuben."
"Reuben?" 625 thought the name over. "Hmm, the classic corned beef and sourkraut on rye. Hey, not a bad name."
"Lilo thought so too, it goes with your sandwich making," Lani continued. "Otherwise it would have been names like 'Patty Melt', or 'Monte Cristo', or my favorite 'Pita, Pita, Sandwich Eata'."
"What else do you know?" 625 was halfway finished with the trap.
"Gantu gets reinstated with the Galactic Federation, and you become his galley officer," Lani said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Me, a galley officer?" 625 laughed at the idea. "Now I know your full of...Hey, where's my order of bologna?!"
625 -in his anger- cut through the matterial, freeing Lani in the process. 625 wasn't surprised, he shrugged it off as another unimportant thing. Though it was far more important to Lani, him being the closest predecessor of Stitch. Being having all of Stitch's powers, she was lucky that he was unmotivated to use them. At least that stayed the same, he would be ready when he was really Reuben. For now he was just like any other person, down to the last detail of most. Lani held out her hand to him, which he shook with no problem.
"Thanks, Reuben," Lani smiled genuinely.
"Sure thing, kid," 625 nodded.
"So, do you believe me or..." Lani trailed off -remembering which part was about to happen.
"Absolutely not," 625 shook his head. "I'm leaning on a guess that you got some isuues to work out, kid."
"Yeah, I'll be...Sure to, uh...Work on them," Lani ran to the door. "Listen, you can change Gantu's mind. Help him be good or at least try to, okay?"
"Uh, whatever," 625 questioned her sanity. "I'll see what I can do, but I don't understand what your planning."
"Don't worry, its about to happen," Lani tried to wrap things up. "Reuben, I need another favor. Do you have any suggestions on how to stay calm? Its for my daughter."
"Man, you got issues," 625 muttered to himself -though Lani still heard him. "I bet your 'daughter' doesn't no how to make sandwiches." He chuckled a bit when Lani actually shook her head. "Then you may wanna try singing."
"Singing?" Lani thought it over.
"Oh sure, it helps me relax after a nice meal," 625 rubbed his stomach.
"Mahalo, Reuben," Lani nodded to him. "Thank you, cousin!"
Before 625 could say anymore, Gantu ran into the room searching for Lilo and Stitch. Lani knew they tricked him, so she jumped out of the room before the doors managed to close. Beside Seam and 627, the majority of the stowaways were there to wave Gantu off. Lilo gave Sparky reign over the systems, which disconnected Gantu's ship from Dr. Hamsterviel's. Seeing him and 625 hurl through space actually brought on some worry for the two, which Lani couldn't help but smile at. They'd be fine, or at least she hoped so with her involvement.
Lani sighed in relief that everyone was okay, it looked like things were going to be fine after all. There was just one more thing they had to handle, which made its presence known by the loud rattling in the vents. Once again, Lani looked terrified to see what lied ahead. Getting back to Earth could wait, for now a clanking up above caught their attention. When the noise seemed to be over a hatch in the ducts, Sparky shot at it forcing whoever was in there to fall.
A red, cone headed experiment rolled in front of the group, while the hybrid of a rat and a lizard staggered to stand a few feet away. Seam growled at the group, glaring specifically at Lani with her acid green eyes -which froze the nine year old in fear.
"Oe new tsonta ska'a!" Seam sneered.
"What is that supposed to mean?" 628 looked to Seam's creator for the answer.
"Unfortunately for us, the same thing 'meega nala kweesta' means," Chopsuey brandished his weapons.
"A...Angel, sing your song in reverse," Lani took 625's advice. "Everyone else, cover your ears."
"Oh please, what's that going to do?" 628 crossed her arms. "Lull Alpha to sleep? Give me a break."
The only ones who didn't cover their ears were Stitch, 628 and 627, though 628's reason rested on how sureshe was that the whole thing was pointless. Angel stepped forward carefully, clearing her throat to get Seam's attention.
"A-koo dite mutia-la no taga, nah toom onta tagito teemicha tooca," Angel sang her siren song.
Seam faultered for a moment, stepping back as the song began to sink in. Her eyes flickered back to their original dark shade, even her energy glowed blue instead of red. Seam looked ultimately confused by what was going on, though that wasn't a feeling that lasted long. Unfortunately, Angel's spell wore off faster than it initiated. Seam's eyes and tail returned to their evil colors, leaving Lani and Angel both confused and scared for what Seam was now capable of doing to them.
"It didn't work!" Lani's eyes widened. "Reuben seemed so sure, and I thought Angel's song in reverse should have turned her good. What happened?"
"Naga smish," Angel shrugged.
"I'm not sure about Alpha, but I'm feeling much calmer now," 628 said with a wide smile.
"Hmm, I've got it!" Lilo had an idea. "Stitch, let's rock-a-hula."
"Ooh, yeah," Stitch nodded frantically. "Elvis style!"
Stitch ran over to one of the many computers and ripped the wires from it, stretching them out as far as they could go. Sparky syphoned the power away from Stitch, keeping his cousin from getting zapped. No one but Lilo understood what he was up to, they just assumed he was hotwiring the ship to trap Seam. When it was clear that he wasn't, Lani rushed in to grab Seam. It took all of her power to make sure her experiment didn't move from the bear hug hold, which earned her a few scratches on the back and arms from Seam's struggles.
The slices were so bad they dug past the suit, causing bruises to be left on Lani's actual skin. The others gasped as Lani held back her screams, silently begging them to help her. Lilo whispered her plan to the experiments who had no clue what to do, -excluding a dumbfounded Chopsuey- 628 and Angel were happy to help. When Lilo nodded, Stitch began strumming the wires like a makeshift guitar. Angel and 628 hummed along with the music, with Lilo beginning to sing her own song.
Are you lonesome tonight, do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter summer day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?
Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?
Lani smiled at Lilo, she had a few memories of her own with that song thanks to her. She was the only one who would think to sing an Elvis song to calm a wild acting experiment, or Lani whenever she was depressed.
"No, I can't think like that yet," Lani shook her head. "I have to keep up what they believe."
Turning her attention back to the situation, she noticed the changes. The song was working for the most part, as Seam began fighting less. Whatever badness in her still remained, which was shown as she continued to thrash in Lani's grasp.
"Good idea and all, Lilo," Lani said worriedly. "But I don't think its enough to get Seam back to normal."
"Maybe you should try making the song a bit more personal," 628 told them, still smiling. "Then, the message might reach Alpha the right way instead of prolonged like the other effects."
"You may be right," Lani fought harder to subdue Seam. "Lilo -if its all the same to you-, I'd like to try now."
"Go ahead, I'll help 628 and Angel with back up," Lilo encouraged her. "Hit it, guys!"
Are you lonesome tonight, are you frightened tonight?
Are you shocked that you've lost all control?
I'm more scared than you know, but I won't let you go
Because your heart has not turned to coal.
In this state you will do things that you will regret
This is my fault not yours so don't feel too upset.
When your vision is clear, I'll be waiting right here
So please dear, don't feel lonesome tonight.
Chopsuey couldn't believe it was actually working, 627 even kept still for once. Seam wasn't resisting anymore, her acid eyes even began to close as their music sent her to sleep. Stitch's strums began to slow, signalling the time to wrap it up.
"Bring it home," Stitch whispered, allowing Lilo and Lani to sing together.
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?
Lani let go of Seam, letting her lay on the ground curled up. Seam's antennae and sub arms went away, leaving nothing but a glowing red tail to remind them of her danger. Lani looked to her with a mix of thoughts, deciding only one of them was right. She turned away and used her power on her daughter, reverting her into a blue experiment pod. 628 shook her head, bringing the grey experiment back to her senses. This was definately something Lani had to do alone, she was the only one who could fix things.
As sad as the moment was, 628 -and everyone else for that matter- was relieved. From what Lani told her about this part of the timeline, the worst was now behind them. 628 found herself smiling, even giving a slight laughing breath that confused them.
"Hmm, you know what?" 628 earned everyone's attention. "In spite of releasing six hundred twenty-three experiments at once, getting captured by a pair of idiots and almost becoming mince meat at the hands of an unstable experiment, I'd say this day wasn't half bad."
"You're kidding me, this day was a nightmare!" Chopsuey glared at her.
"Oh, relax," 628 rolled her eyes. "Pilot us back and we'll let you go, then will you be happy?"
"Its a start," Chopsuey shrugged.
"You can land the ship?" Lilo asked him.
"This overgrown bubble, no problem," Chopsuey smirked. "Follow me, 627. You could be a big help."
"Gaba about Lani?" Angel asked when they left.
"I'm sure she'll make it up to us later," 628 thought it over.
"But right now, I'm just glad we can go home," Lilo said to them.
A/N: I'm back home, its so good to be back! Now -since next week I go back to school-, the rest of this week is going to be the last chapters. Next chapter ends the movie, but there are a few things I need to cover before the story ends.
Next Time: When the heroes land back in Hawaii, they have to face the music of their adventure.