Experiment 616: Spartan

Experiment 615: Spartan

A Fanfiction by knightcommander

The summer sun in the Hawaiian archipelago can be as pleasant as any in the splendid islands of the Caribbean, or as brutal as an oppressive taskmaster to his peons. On this day, the weather chose to be the latter. The mercury was shooting into the low nineties, and the lack of water due to tourist demands was not helping the situation at all. This made it a horrendous experience to go outside, and indeed many locals were fleeing indoors, where the readily available air conditioning made the oppressive heat somewhat bearable. Luckily for the residents of Kokau Town on the island of Kauai, the weather forecast called for temperatures to go down to normal over the next couple of days, so there was hope.

For some people, however, the heat wasn't on their minds. This was especially true for the group of people assembling in the jungle outside of town. The lush emerald green fronds of tropical flora acted as sort of a natural trap for moisture, making the interior of the jungle much cooler than the outside. This was a blessing to the people now gathering in the deep jungle, for they felt that they would have died had it not been for this fact.

The people gathered in the jungle were not tourists, nor were they some kind of flower child offspring that communed with nature to escape the rigors of modern life. In fact, they were here on serious business. The three men and two women were experimental historians, members of an emerging breed of scholar who, instead of just studying the past, attempted to actually live it out, in order to deepen the knowledge gained. In this case, the five graduate students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa were studying the ancient fighting arts of the Hawaiian warriors. The warriors, who battled each other in ages past, were no longer around, but the scholars who gathered here today were determined to unlock their secrets.

One of the students, a young man of twenty-five going for his doctorate in Cultural Anthropology, with thick brown hair and a beard to match, dressed in a pair of faded denim shorts and an old Green Bay Packers jersey, worn from much abuse, examined the replica weapons that had been brought out for them to work with. In this case, they would be using slings similar to those used by the ancient Hawaiians in both hunting and warfare. The pouches were made of leather, attached to strings made from pig intestines. Back during the age of these warriors, they were made of a more morbid source... the intestines of enemy warriors killed in battle, but for their purposes (and for the sake of the law) pig intestines worked just fine.

The student, bothered by the oppressive heat, opened his water bottle and took a swig. He then poured some of it on his head and face to wash the sticky sweat off of him. What he didn't notice was the small round object on the ground by his feet. Some of the water he poured in his head dripped off of his chin and onto the ground, hitting the object. The reaction that followed startled the student and his friends.

Before their startled eyes, the object began to glow with a brilliant lime green light, and began to expand where it lay. The object grew until it burst in a brilliant flash of bright light, forcing the students to cover their eyes. As they withdrew their arms from their eyes, they were even more shocked when they saw what stood before them.

Where they flash of light had appeared, a small creature stood. The creature looked like a strange variety of koala bear, with the exception of its bright yellow fur on its body. The creature got even stranger with the black fur on it's head and ears, giving it the semblance of wearing a helmet, the small tuft of red fur on the top of its head that resembled a helmet crest, and it's blue almond shaped eyes. On its chest was a mark in the shape of an upper case Greek letter Lambda; essentially, an uppercase "A" with the crosshatch removed. Across the creatures waist was a black leather belt, and attached to the belt was a sword in a black leather scabbard with strange lettering on its surface. The sword was small, no bigger than a dagger for a human, but in the creature's hands was good enough to be a short sword. It resembled an ancient Greek or Roman military sword, with the exception of a grip in the semblance of a Medieval sword; it's hand guard curved and crafted from a gold-colored metal, its pommel capped with a ruby-like stone, and its blade edged with the same gold metal that made up the hand guard.

The sudden appearance of this strange creature rattled the students. The female students cowered near the edge of their camp. The three males students quickly got over their shock and began to approach the bizarre creature, albeit with apprehension. The women did not like this at all.

"Scott," one of the women said, referring to the man in the Packers jersey, "that thing looks dangerous. Don't go near it." The man, Scott, looked at her reassuringly.

"I'll be fine." He said. No sooner had he said this, the creature began to growl at the approaching men. The men stopped in their tracks, as the creature drew its sword. Scott began to approach the creature again, but soon regretted his decision. As he got close to the snarling creature, it swiftly drew its sword and slashed him in the leg, opening up a great gash across his shin and calf. Scott yelped in pain and dropped to the ground, bleeding heavily from his wound. The women cried out and rushed to his side. In the commotion, the creature ran from the site and into the jungle, hacking away at some of the vegetation with its sword.

"Warning! Experiment 615 activated. Primary function, unarmed combat and swordsmanship." The experiment tracker in Gantu's ship went off as it had every time and experiment was activated. The aforementioned Gantu, a large alien with an inferiority complex to match his size, walked over to the tracker and examined the readout on the latest experiment.

"Hmm." He thought to himself. "An experiment designed to fight both with martial arts and with the sword. I'm sure Hamsterviel will be chomping at the bit to claim..." The communication screen crackled to life, revealing the visage of the rodent megalomaniac, Dr. Jacques van Hamsterviel, Gantu's "employer".

"Gantu!" He shouted in his annoying voice. "I'll assume that since you received the alert of Experiment 615's activation, that you will be getting your enormous blubberly butt that is so very large up and catching it!" Gantu cringed, not from the insult; he was used to Hamsterviel's insults, but from the terrible high pitch of his shouting.

"Yes sir." He said. "I was just about to gather my equipment and begin searching for the experiment." If Hamsterviel was pleased with this, it didn't show. Only his trademark scowl was apparent on his face.

"Well, then get to it!" He shouted. "Oh, and take that fat, sandwich making buffoon with you." He added.

"625, sir?" Gantu asked, referring to the experiment that resided on the ship with him. Experiment 625, a prototype of the better known (and more successful) Experiment 626, was a short, fat yellow experiment with a fatal flow; he was a cowardly buffoon who spent almost all of his time making and gorging himself on sandwiches. Though he had all the powers and abilities of Experiment 626, his cowardly nature meant he refused to use them. Not surprisingly, given this knowledge, Gantu was surprised at Hamsterviel's command. "Why him?

"Because," Hamsterviel said in a tone of annoyance, "I want him to start pulling his weight around here. All he does is sit around on his lard filled behind, making sandwiches and gorging himself when he should be working. He is a fat lazy coward and I want it to end."

"But, I've never been able to get him to so much as clean up after himself, much less help me catch an experiment." Gantu said.

"Do you not think that my genius mind has already thought of such a thing?" Hamsterviel asked sarcastically. He reached down and apparently pushed the transport button, because the next second saw Gantu's transporter system activated. With a flash, a small box like device appeared in the transport pod. Gantu immediately recognized it as a holographic imager, the kind used to store static holographic images and display them.

"If I may ask, how will a holographic imager help me get 625 to assist me in catching the experiment?" He asked. Hamsterviel rolled his eyes, as though he thought that Gantu would be able to divine the reason for the imager.

"Activate it and you will see!" He said with great consternation. Gantu picked up the device and pushed the button to activate. Instantly, the device displayed a holographic image of an experiment. Not just any experiment, but a female, with emerald green fur and light purple fur on her stomach and around her eyes. She had two small, short antennas that curled around the front of her head. And, as usual, she had long eyelashes.

"An experiment, sir?" Gantu asked. "Where did you find her?"

"I didn't find her, nor did I create her, in case you were going to ask that." Hamsterviel said. "She doesn't exist. She's nothing more than an image. My plan is for you to tell 625 that I have created a female for him, and he shall receive her upon helping you catch the rest of the experiments." Gantu cocked his head.

"But, 625 already has feelings for the..." He began, but was cut off.

"Do not question my genius, you mackerel-faced buffoon!" Hamsterviel shouted. "Now catch me my experiment!" He added, before cutting the communications feed. Gantu shrugged and turned off the device before heading into the galley, where sure enough, 625 sat on the counter, making another assortment of sandwiches and making another huge mess. Gantu rapped on the counter to get his attention.

"Oh, hey G." He said upon seeing Gantu. "Say, you want a bologna sub?"

"No 625, I want you to help me. Another experiment has been activated, and I want you to help me catch it?" 625 shook his head.

"Sorry G, no can do." He said. "I'm working on breaking the record for the most layers on a sandwich." Gantu scowled, but regained his composure.

"Noble endeavor." He said, with a small amount of sarcasm. "Oh, if I may ask, are you still interested in 624?" He asked, referring to experiment 624, which he had managed to catch a couple months ago. 625 scoffed.

"Meh, I got over her a long time ago." He said. Gantu smiled.

"That's perfect, because Dr. Hamsterviel has a proposition for you." He said, pulling out the imager and activated it. The image of the female appeared before 625's eyes.

"Woah! Hot mama!" He said. "Who is she?"

"An experiment." Gantu said. "Hamsterviel managed to get another scientist to create a crude copy of one of Jumba's experiments. He says you can have her, if you help me." It was a poor lie, but 625 seemed to believe it. 625 though for a second, scratching his chin.

"I don't know." He said. "I'm not so sure about an arranged relationship." Gantu deactivated the imager.

"Okay, if you don't want her, I'll be going then." He said. He barely got to the gangway before 625 stopped him.

"Wait, never mind, I can deal with it." 625 said. Gantu smiled.

"Very well then." He said. "Let's go." 625 hobbled out the door with him, intent on winning this mysterious female.

The heat of the day didn't stop the two figures walking through the downtown from retreating inside. The two, a young Hawaiian girl and another experiment, blue in color, were heading for the Kokaua Town amphitheatre. The two were none other than Lilo Pelakai and her experiment, Experiment 626, better known by the name he gave him, Stitch. At the moment, the two were making their daily rounds through the town, making sure that the experiments, each one of 627 (with the exception of the 627th) created by extraterrestrial mad scientist Jumba Jookiba. Jumba had long ago left the life of a mad scientist behind, and was now helping Lilo and Stitch catch and repurpose all of the experiments he had once created for mayhem. The two of them were making sure the ones they had caught so far were happy in the places they had found for them.

Currently, they were leaving the shake shop operated by Richter, an experiment designed to create devastating earthquakes. Richter had given them free shakes, the least he could do for helping him find a purpose other than destruction, which they were now sipping happily as they went to the amphitheatre, where another experiment worked. This experiment was Experiment 621, better know as Torch, for his powers, which was the ability to create fire with his mind. Unlike most of the other experiments (624 was the only other one they knew of that was the same way) he was peaceful and non-violent when he was created, and completely unwilling to serve his purpose, which was to start fires to distract emergency workers while the rest of the experiments did their work. As a result, it was quite easy to place him, as he needed no work to tame him. He now worked at the amphitheatre, providing fiery pyrotechnics for performing rock bands that came to the amphitheatre.

"Hmm, good." Lilo said, finishing her shake. "Richter makes the best shakes." Stitch gulped the rest of his down and even ate the cup.

"Ih!" He said with a grin. Lilo threw her cup out and looked at the street signs. They were almost to the amphitheatre.

"C'mon Stitch, let's go see Torch." She said. "I'll race ya!" Stitch grinned. The two of them lined up like track runners. "On your mark, get set, go!" Lilo said, and they two of them shot off, giggling as they went.

What neither of them noticed was the creature, Experiment 615, now emerging from the jungle just outside a trail that led into town. The creature ran down the trail and emerged into town. Seeing that people surrounded him, he immediately retreated back into an alleyway. Growling, the creature activated one of its abilities. As though he were just a hologram, he disappeared, as he turned himself invisible. Satisfied that he could no longer be seen, he crept out of the alley and into the crowd, careful not to touch anyone. Once he was clear, he ran up the street, desperate to get out of the open.

Up at the amphitheatre, it was another relaxing afternoon for the orange experiment who called the place home. With his long hair, leather vest with band patches, and barbed wire tattoos, he looked every part the heavy metal fan, which truly he was, for his vest was covered with patches from just about every heavy metal band that had ever been formed, with the exception of any black or death metal band patches, two genres he did not like. His orange and yellow claws, orange body fur, light orange fur on his stomach and around his eyes, and the flame pattern fur on his chest gave away his power of pyrokinesis.

At the moment, Torch, as he was known, was sitting in a lawn chair outside the flat that had been built for him to live in by the amphitheatre's owner. Behind him on a picnic table sat a large boombox, which right now was blasting loud thrash metal music. Across his lap sat his most prized possession, a black electric guitar, built by him in the style of Gibson's famous "Flying V" guitar. It had originally had a red pickguard, but he had recently replaced it with a full-body pickguard with red flame decals on it, which he felt made it look more "metal". He had also replaced the Gibson style neck and head with one patterned after Jackson's famous King V guitar. At the moment, he was in the process of replacing the strings on the guitar, which had become frayed and in danger of breaking. He delicately removed each string, one at a time, from the guitar and put the new one in it's place, turning the tuning knob of the respective string to tighten it down into place. Once the last string was on the guitar, he pulled out a knob on the bottom of the guitar, activating the self-tuning mechanism he had invented (he was a brilliant player, but was terrible at tuning), and strummed the guitar, allowing the mechanism to make adjustments. He repeated the process until the guitar was in the tuning he desired. To test his work, he plugged his guitar into his amp (which he also built himself) and began to play along with the song he was listening too. The guitar sounded just as he wanted it too.

"Perfect." He said with a smile. He then began to play a spirited guitar solo, sweeping his fingers up and down the frets of the guitar. As he finished he noticed the two people approaching his shack. He smiled when he recognized them.

"Hi Torch." Lilo said when she got up to him. Torch put his guitar.

"Lilo! What's up?" He said. Lilo embraced him in a hug. Since placing him, the three of them had gotten very close, to the point that Lilo considered him one of her closest friends, next to Stitch. Torch returned her hug, before turning his attention to Stitch, whom he highfived.

"We were just making our rounds." She said. "Making sure you guys are happy in your places." Torch smiled.

"You bet." He said. "I love doing what I'm doing. Thanks for helping me." He said.

"We we're wondering, you want to come with us?" Lilo asked. Stitch nodded. Torch's smile got wider.

"Sweet! Just one sec." He said. He picked up his guitar and amp and lugged them into his flat, where placed them in a corner of his living room. He then went to his bedroom, pulled a Judas Priest t-shirt out of his drawer, slipped off his vest, and put the t-shirt on. He then grabbed his spiked leather wristbands and put them on. He then joined the others. "Ready." He said. Lilo smiled.

"Alright," she said, "let's go." The three of them left the flat and headed back into town to check on the rest of the experiments.

Experiment 615 ducked into another alleyway, outside what appeared to be a martial arts dojo or gym, as there were people exercising to loud techno music inside the building. 615 deactivated his invisibility and sat down, trying to figure out what his next move would be.

"Come along 625!" Gantu shouted. 625 was panting as he ran. Blast him for allowing himself to be so out of shape, Gantu thought.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He said. He hated trying to keep up with Gantu, but thoughts of the female they had waiting for him kept him going.

Lilo, Stitch, and Torch had just finished checking on Sparky, also know as Experiment 221, at his lighthouse, where he provided light for the beacon. Sparky had been quite happy to see them, as he rarely received visitors. He even offered them lunch, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, which they ate while they chatted, mostly about how Sparky was doing. Like the others, Sparky was happy in his place, and very thankful.

The three of them were now heading over to Kixx's gym, where he taught kickboxing. Torch was not particularly happy about the idea, as he and Kixx did not get along. In fact, Torch loathed Kixx, and Kixx in part was a complete jerk to Torch, teasing him relentlessly about nearly everything about him. Lilo knew this, and noticed the scowl forming on Torch's face, as they got close.

"Here." She said, pointing to the alleyway near the gym. "You can stay there while we visit Kixx. I know you guys don't get along very well." Torch smiled.

"Thanks guys." He said, before ducking back into the alley. Lilo and Stitch walked inside to talk to Kixx. Torch leaned against the side of the gym while he waited for them to finish. As he waited, he heard something shuffling around in the alley. Thinking it was an animal, he ignored it, before he heard something.

It sounded like Tantalog speech.

Curious, Torch walked deeper into the alley, where he encountered, to his shock, an experiment he had never seen before. The experiment was yellow, with black on it's head and a tuft of red fur like a helmet crest sprouting up from between his ears. He appeared just like Stitch, except for his fur color. Surprisingly, he wore a leather belt with a sword hanging off of it. Right now, he was digging around in a dumpster.

Wondering what an experiment was doing scrounging around in the garbage, Torch decided to approach him. He cautiously crept up behind him.

"Hey buddy." He said. The experiment turned around and stared at him, looking startled form the intrusion. "What are you doing digging around in the trash? Don't you have a home?" Torch asked. The experiment continued to stare at him. Thinking he didn't understand him, Torch repeated the question in Turian. The experiment just growled and drew his sword, staring Torch down with anger in his eyes.

"Woah, hey man, I'm not gonna hurt you." Torch said. He continued to approach the experiment, an action he soon regretted. The creature snarled and plunged his sword deep in into Torch's shoulder. Torch screamed as the blade pierced him, which was followed by a swift kick to the stomach, wrenching to sword from his shoulder and taking some of his flesh with it. The creature bolted from the alley, disappearing before Stitch, Lilo, and Kixx came out from the gym, to be greeted by a screaming Torch, blood flowing freely from the wound in his shoulder. Lilo cupped her hands over her mouth in shock. Kixx tore a couple of strips off of his sweater and wrapped Torch's wound with them, making sure they were just tight enough to effectively control the bleeding. Stitch climbed up on the roof of the building, trying to scope out the attacker if he could.

"What happened?" Lilo said, terrified for her friend.

"An experiment." Torch said. "He stabbed me." Kixx shrugged.

"You sure it wasn't just some homeless guy trying to roll ya?" He asked in Turian. Torch shook his head.

"Nah, positive it was an experiment." He said. He was beginning to grow weak from blood loss as they took off for Lilo's house, were Jumba was.

"We gotta hurry. He's bleeding!" Lilo said, panicked. Stitch climbed down from the building, grabbed Torch, and took off like a bullet for their house, leaving the others to rush to catch up.

Lilo stood outside the ship, waiting anxiously for news on Torch. He had lost consciousness long before they arrived at the house, due to blood loss, so Lilo was double worried now. Stitch did his best to comfort her, but she was still worried. Lilo was so lost in her thoughts, she was startled when the door opened, revealing the rotund four-eyed purple alien known as Jumba. Jumba removed the gloves he had been wearing when treating Torch's injury as he stepped into the room.

"Is he okay?" Lilo asked, scared of the answer. To her great relief, Jumba nodded.

"He is being fine." Jumba said. "I have stopped the bleeding and attached a tissue replacement device to repair the damage. He should regain the use of his arm in about a week. You may see him." Kixx said something about locking up the gym and left, while Stitch and Lilo went back with Jumba. Torch lay on a medical bed in the ship, an IV containing experiment blood pumping into his vein. Jumba had apparently given him a transfusion to replace lost blood. The two of them immediately ran to his side, just as he was beginning to wake up.

"Ugh, man." He said. "What a gnarly day." Lilo smiled with relief.

"Are you okay?" She asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, except my shoulder's killing me." He indicated to his shoulder, which was heavily wrapped in bandages. A green light was blinking underneath the bandages, which Lilo assumed was the tissue repairer. Stitch clapped him on his other shoulder, so as not to hurt him. Jumba sat down in a chair near the bed.

"Now then, you said an experiment attacked you." He said. "Can you describe him?" Torch nodded.

"He looked like Stitch, had the same ears and body shape and everything, except he was yellow." He said. "He had black on his head and a little tuft of red headfur on his head. Looked almost like a helmet. He carried a sword, obviously, and he had blue eyes, and a mark on his chest, like an upside down "V"." Jumba knew instantly whom he was talking about.

"Well, this culprit is being easy to identify." He said. "Is Experiment 615, one of my personal favorites." Lilo cocked her head.

"What does this one do?" She asked. Jumba pulled out his portable computer and opened it, accessing the file on Experiment 615.

"Is the culmination of all of my fighting experiments, Kixx included." Jumba said. "He is programmed in eight martial arts, has leadership abilities, and is also programmed to be expert in the use of swords." He said. "Is also immune to most chemicals, has strength greater than double that of Experiment 601, is the platform for the program that would eventually became the quick heal power, and even has the ability to shroud himself." Jumba beamed. Even though he was no longer evil, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride in his creations.

"Shroud?" Lilo asked. Jumba tapped a couple of keys on the computer. Experiment 615's image was replaced with that of an animation of him literally disappearing and reappearing.

"Experiment 615 has the ability to create a special field of bioenergy that inhibits the passing of both light and most forms of radiation, rendering him invisible to both the eye and most sensors." Jumba explained. "Was to be used for those missions which required him not to be seen." Lilo read the bio on 615.

"If he can do this, how do we catch him?" Lilo asked. Stitch nodded, indicating he was wondering the same thing.

"He is invisible to most sensors," Jumba said, "but he can be detected by a sensor array designed to pick up the field his shrouding generates. And I have developed just such a device." He said. He went up to the front of the ship, and returned shortly with a small device, which appeared to be an ordinary motion tracker. "I have redesigned this motion tracker to detect the tachyon particles emitted by 615. Should help you to keep track of him even when he is shrouded." He explained. Lilo thanked him and took the device.

"C'mon, Stitch." She said. "Let's go catch your cousin." She said. Stitch whooped and took off out the door with her.

"How much longer are you going to be poking around here?" 625 whined. They had been scanning the jungle for the past half hour, and so far nothing had appeared.

"As the earthforms are fond of saying, patience is a virtue." Gantu said, beginning to grow tired of 625's constant complaining. He had done nothing but whine ever since they started searching the jungle for the experiment. He desperately wanted to shoot 625 by that point, but since he was laserproof, it wouldn't do him any good. So, for the moment, he was stuck with the fat abomination.

"We could have at least brought some food." 625 said. Gantu growled.

"You don't bring food to a mission." He said. "Besides, you need to lose weight. You're about ready to break the bridge chairs." Gantu chuckled at his joke. 625 just fumed.

"I'm not seeing any tachyon particles." Lilo said. "And no motion either." The two of them had been searching the town, with no sign of Experiment 615. They were about ready to head into the jungle to search for him, when the motion tracker began to beep, indicating the programmed target was in motion.

"Over there!" Stitch said, pointing in the direction of Kiki's place. The two of them took off in the direction indicated by the motion tracker as fast as their legs could carry them.

615 scowled as he tried to force his way through the crowd near Kiki's. Nobody really seemed to notice him, partially due to the fact that he was so small, and partially due to the fact that he was now shrouding again. He growled when two fat tourists got in his way, leading him to punch both of their ankles, knocking them to the ground. He managed to skirt out of the way as the two enormous bodies hit the ground. Chuckling, he sat down by the coffee shop to rest, when he spotted them. He took off into a wooded area near the coffee shop.

Lilo and Stitch crashed their way through the crowd to confront the experiment. The motion tracker, sniffing 615 out by the tachyon particles that his shrouding field left behind, led them past the coffee shop and into a section of woods out behind the shop. The trail finally stopped in a small clearing. Stitch led the way, scanning their surroundings with the eye of an eagle. His vigilance paid off, as he saw a rustling of the bushes that could only indicate one thing; Experiment 615.

"There's no escape 615!" He said in Turian. "Come out now!" The air around the bushes seemed to ripple like water, and the experiment appeared, a look of fury on his face, his blue eyes flashing with anger. He snarled loudly and drew his sword. Stitch drew the blaster he carried at his side, loaded with a cartridge full of green, sticky goo designed to immobilize a target. Jumba had invented it specifically to immobilize and trap experiments to facilitate their capture.

615 snarled and shrouded himself again. Stitch scanned the area with the motion tracker. His attention was drawn to the trees when some leaves fell off. The motion tracker indicated the experiment was in the trees. Stitch attempted to aim his blaster in 615's direction, when the experiment plunged out of the trees. Stitch was able to catch a glimpse of him emerging from shroud before the blade of his sword was smashed on his head. The force of the impact knocked Stitch to the ground and temporary dazed him. Fortunately, he was able to bring himself out of it in time to block another swing of the sword with his arm, which due to his super strong skin, failed to injure him, though it did hurt quite a bit. 615 smiled evily and flipped a switch on the grip of the sword. Stitch knew instantly what that meant

An ultrasonic blade.

Ultrasonic blades had small generators in the hilt that created ultrasonic waves in rapid succession. These waves vibrated the blade, causing it to be much more effective and deadly. Even a glancing blow to an unprotected body could leave a gaping wound. Not even Stitch was safe from such a weapon; a thrust from the sword would pierce him like a normal sword would, killing him. 615 howled and charged at him, raising his sword as though to strike him. Stitch was barely able to get out of the way in time to avoid a wound. 615 moved to strike him again, but this time Stitch had time to aim his blaster and fire. The glob hit 615's sword, knocking out of his hand and sticking it to the ground. 615 howled with rage and charged at Stitch with his fists, but Stitch was more than ready and fired another shot from his blaster at 615's, trapping him in a nasty, gooey mess. 615 tripped over his own feet, crashing to the ground. He swore loudly and vigorously in Turian, pounding the ground with his fists. Stitch didn't know that such language even existed.

"Dirty mouth!" He scolded. 615 just growled. Stitch withdrew the capture container he had on his back, clamped it around 615, and used a plasma cartridge to cut the sticky goop. "Tada!" He said. Lilo clapped.

"C'mon, Stitch." She said. "Let's take him to Jumba."

"I must say, I'm surprised you were able to capture him so quickly." Jumba said as 615 growled and scratched at the container he was in. "I figured 615 would put up more of a fight." Lilo smiled.

"Oh, he did." She said. "But Stitch was better." Stitch smiled smugly. 615 just snarled. "He seems really angry." Lilo said. Jumba chuckled.

"He doesn't take losing very well." He said. 615 clawed at the container furiously. At this moment, Torch came into the room, his arm pinned to his side by the bandages.

"You guys got him?" He said. Lilo smiled and nodded. "Nice catch." He complimented. 615 just growled. Torch made a mocking face at him, which caused 615 to fly into a rage and pound and claw at the container, sending a storm of curses and swears out from his mouth. "Dirty mouth." He said. Lilo nodded.

"It will take some time to tame this one." Jumba said. "He only knows fighting." Lilo nodded. Looking at the unbridled aggression of this creature, it would take a miracle to retrain him.

He's a warrior, hmm? Lilo thought. Warrior, swordfighter, knight... wait, that's it! Lilo leapt up as a flash of inspiration struck her. "I've got an idea, follow me!" She said to the others, leading them outside the ship.

"You want to teach him what?" Torch asked incredulously.

"I want to teach him about how the knights lived. I think that's the best way to tame him." Jumba scratched his head.

"I beg pardon, but how exactly will that accomplish the purpose of taming him?" He asked.

"It's simple. Right now, he's aggressive and cares only about fighting, right?" She said. Jumba nodded. "Well, knights were all about honor and what not, so we teach him about honor, and he'll turn good." Stitch and Torch looked at her like she was crazy.

"That's nuts." He said. "Didn't you see the way he was acting?" Lilo put a hand on his uninjured shoulder.

"Have a little faith, Torch." She said. "We can do this." Torch sighed, and nodded.

"How exactly do you plan on doing this?" Jumba asked. Lilo gestured to a stack of books she had gathered, all telling stories about brave knights, fierce dragons, and chivalry.

"We just have him read these stories." She said. "Their bound to get to him if we push it." Jumba nodded.

"Is worth shot." He said. The others nodded, and the three returned to the ship with the books. Up on seeing them, 615 growled. Lilo shook her head.

"Do you want out of there?" She asked. To her surprise, 615 answered in perfect English.

"Yes! I demand that you trogs release me at once!" He shouted. Lilo shook her head.

"You wont be getting out if you keep that attitude up." She said. 615 growled. Lilo was surprised to have heard him speak English. He must have the same advanced language capabilities that 625 has, she thought.

"Who are you to give me orders?" He said.

"I'm Lilo." She said. "And this is Stitch and Torch." She said, pointing to the two of them. Stitch waved. 615 just scowled.

"Greetings 615." Jumba said. "I'm sure you remember me." 615 smiled in acknowledgement.

"Yes I do." He said. "What is it you wish me to do?" He asked, as though Jumba was his master.

"You will accept the little girl's plans for you." He said. "She has special training in mind for you." 615 scowled, as though he didn't like Jumba's instructions, but he nodded obediently and turned to Lilo.

"I await this special training." He said. Lilo nodded and gestured to the books they had brought with them.

"I want you to read these." She said. "I'll assume you can read English, since you speak it. And I really want you to think long and hard about them." 615 looked at her incredulously.

"How exactly is that going to help me become a better warrior?" He asked. Lilo smiled.

"You'll see." She said. "We'll check back with you in the morning." She then had the books transported into his container, and they all left. 615 scowled. He hated the idea of having to learn something from books. But, Jumba had given him his orders, and he intended to follow them. He picked up the first book. It was entitled Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and other Tales of the Knightly Age.

"How amusing." He thought as he opened the book to the first story and began to read.

Nani came home later that evening, having had to work late due to a recent rash of illness amongst the hotel staff. Exhausted to the bone, she was pleasantly surprised to see that dinner had already been prepared (thankfully not by Pleakley), and was already on the table with the others ready to eat. Tonight they were having lasagna, a meal Jumba had found himself particular adept at.

"Hi Nani!" Lilo said when she entered the kitchen. "We figured you'd be tired, so we went ahead a cooked for you." Nani smiled.

"Thanks guys." She said. "I could use it." She sat down next to Lilo and began dishing out the food. "So, what did you guys do today?"

"We caught another experiment." Lilo said excitedly. Stitch nodded, tomato sauce dripping down his face slightly.

"Be wiping your mouth, 626." Jumba whispered to him. Stitch wiped his mouth on a napkin.

"Oh, which one?" Nani asked. "Wait, don't tell me, this one blows things up with a laser that shoots out of it's forehead." They all enjoyed a chuckle at this.

"Actually, he's a fighting experiment." Lilo said. "He's locked up in the ship until we repurpose him." Nani was worried about this.

"There's no chance he can get out, is there?" She said. Jumba shook his head.

"Chamber is completely escape proof." He said. "I have made significant modifications to the containment pod, and I'm confident it will hold him." Nani was reassured, if only slightly, by this information.

"Alright, I trust you." She said. The rest of the meal was spent talking about their respective days, and Lilo recounted the capture of Experiment 615. Following the meal, they all retired to the living room, where they watched a late evening movie, Lilo crawling into Nani's lap and relaxing after a long day.

615 had spent the good portion of the day reading the books the strange female had given him. Like the girl, Lilo they called her, had asked him, he had been thinking hard about them, and now a strange sensation was coming over him.

The more he thought about them, the more he felt his battle lust begin to subside. It was as though the content of the books, the stories contained within them, were having an effect on him, bringing him peace and serenity. By now, the lust in his veins for violence and combat were almost gone. 615 was amazed. All his life, he knew nothing except the desire to fight and destroy. Now, this incredible new feeling of peace was engulfing him, and honestly, he liked it, a lot.

He decided to read one more book before he turned in for the night. He picked the next book in the stack. It was entitled The Virtues of the True Warrior. According to the book cover, the person who wrote it was a martial artist and motivational speaker. Intrigued, 615 opened the book and began to read.

"Stitch, can I ask you something?" Lilo asked her blue friend. She had already changed into her nightshirt and was readying herself for bed. Stitch was already covered up and about to fall asleep.

"Hmm?" He said.

"Do you think it will work? 615 reading the books and all?" She said. Stitch smiled.

"Lilo never wrong before." He said. "Why be wrong now?" Lilo sighed.

"It's just, it seems so simple, and this job has never been simple." She said. Stitch hopped out of bed and hugged her.

"Lilo will succeed." He said. She returned his hug.

"You're right. I guess I'm just second guessing myself." She said. "Let's get some sleep. I'm tired."

"Ih." Stitch said. The two of them dove into bed and were soon fast asleep.

615's head was swimming with the words of the book he had just read. The true warrior fights not for pride, but in the defense of others. The true warrior fights to defend his loved ones. The true warrior keeps himself clean in mind, body, and spirit. The true warrior is honest to a fault, and never willingly lies, especially to ones he cares for. The true warrior is faithful to God and his family. The true warrior is always ready. Such words coursed through his mind like a rushing river. His lust for battle had completely disappeared, as though the words on the page were a spell cast over him, and he was made a new person, er, experiment. He found himself smiling as he drifted off to sleep. He had finally found his purpose.

Lilo awoke early the next morning. It was another lazy Sunday, a time for relaxing and, for some people, praying. For Lilo, it was a day to check on the new experiment, and see how his rehabilitation was proceeding. She noticed that her blue friend was not in the room. Usually, she was up before he was. She quickly showered, washed, and threw on a pair of Capri pants and and blue t-shirt, before bounding out the door to the ship, to be greeted by Torch.

"Hi Torch!" She called. Torch waved back.

"Hey, what do you think?" He said. Lilo was confused.

"What do I think about what?" She aked.

"About 615, what else?" He said. Lilo smiled.

"Is it working?" She asked.

"You better come see for yourself." He said. He led into the ship where 615 was kept. Stitch was already there, speaking with 615 on Turian. Stitch noticed the two of them approaching, and waved. 615 noticed them too. To Lilo's astonishment, he bowed politely.

"Greetings, good lady." He said in a dignified tone, a sharp contras to this earlier aggression. "Lilo, you said your name was." Lilo smiled.

"Yes, that's my name." She said. "Is he, completely reformed?" She asked Torch. He smirked and nodded.

"As though he was never the way he was before." He said. "Stitch here has been teaching him about 'ohana." He said. Lilo beamed.

"I don't mean to be a nag, but may I be released?" He said. "This container is awfully cramped." Lilo nodded.

"You bet. Go ahead a let him out." Torch pushed a button on the container's base. The container hissed and popped open, and 615 stepped out. He bowed again.

"May I take this opportunity to apologize for my behavior." He said. Lilo smiled and hugged.

"It's nothing. You were acting on your programming." She said. 615 was surprised by her gesture. Torch moved his arms in a hugging motion, and 615 returned the gesture. Stitch whooped at their success and slapped Torch on his bad shoulder, eliciting a cry of "ow" from him.

"Soko." Stitch said when he realized his mistake. Lilo giggled.

"Do you know where my sword is?" 615 said. Stitch nodded and retrieved the sword from the compartment it was kept in, and handed it to 615. 615 backed up a little bit and sliced the air with his sword twice before sheathing it in his scabbard.

"Now all we need to do is find the one place you truly belong." She said. "Jumba says you're good at martial arts. Perhaps you can teach people." 615 smiled.

"That would be wonderful." He said. "I would be honored to share my knowledge." He said. Lilo smiled.

"There's a dojo downtown you could work at. C'mon, let's go." She said. The whole gang took off.

Their trek took them downtown, where they ran into some other experiments. 615 proved to be sociable, interacting well with his fellow, much to Lilo's delight. He was especially kind to the females, remembering one of the virtues he had learned; the true warrior is, at all times, respectful towards women.

"You know, we need to think of a name for you." She said. 615 nodded. Lilo thought for a moment, when she saw a movie poster for the film 300 at the local movie theatre. She snapped her fingers.

"I've got it," she said, "Spartan!"

"Spartan?" He asked. Lilo nodded.

"The Spartans were ancient Greek warriors. They were some of the fiercest warriors in history." She said. 615 thought for a moment.

"It is... wonderful." The newly christened Spartan said. They all smiled. Their revile was cut short when they heard a voice.

"Well, well, I'll have to thank you for leading me here." The voice of Gantu said. He towered over them, 625 standing at his side. "Now, hand over the experiment." He ordered.

"No way, big dummy!" Lilo shouted. She turned to notice that Spartan had disappeared. "Where'd Spartan go?" She asked. Her question was answered by a sudden "oof" from Gantu as something struck his face. That something turned out to be Spartan, who stood over the fallen Gantu with a smile of triumph on his face.

"A true warrior fights for his family." He said. "And you've just threatened mine." Gantu tried to grab him, but the acrobatic Spartan leapt out of the way.

"625, get him!" He shouted. 625 stood in front of Spartan, who sized him up.

"I've got an incentive to beat you." He said. "I've got a girl waiting for me." Spartan's face contorted with disgust. He hated the idea of a woman being a prize. He then activated his shroud ability. 625 was about to track him with his infrared vision, when he remembered he didn't know how to activate it. It wouldn't have mattered anyhow, because a few seconds later, Spartan reappeared behind him.

"Boo." The warrior experiment said, before drawing his sword and slamming it into 625's face. He continued to hit 625 with repeated blows, pushing him back, before jumping into the air and bringing the sword squarely down on 625's head, severely dazing him. Stitch laughed and picked Gantu up before hurling him into the water. Torch added his own touch, setting 625's rear end on fire with his pyrokinesis. 625 yelped and ran around for a bit before Torch put the fire out. The four of them then walked off, smug in their victory.

"You were amazing, Spartan." Lilo said. He smiled.

"When you must fight, win." He said. They all had a laugh at this.

Gantu spat salt water out, infuriated at his loss. 625 rubbed his patookie where Torch burned it.

"Say G, I did help you. Do I still get my girl?" He asked.

"There never was one!" Gantu shouted. "It was a trick to get you off of your lazy patookie!" Crushed, 625 threw a piece of concrete at him.

"In that case, I ain't helping you no more, blubber butt!" He shouted. "You can swim back to the ship!" He ran off, leaving Gantu to swim for shore.

A couple of hours later, Stitch, Torch, Lilo and Spartan stood in front of the refurbished dojo that they spruced up for him. Spartan smiled. At long last, a purpose. He turned to Lilo.

"Lilo, thank you for giving me a purpose." He said. Lilo hugged.

"That's what 'ohana does. We look out for each other." She said. "Now, are you going to start up?" She asked.

"Yes, of course." He said. "Will you be my first students? Consider it a thank you gift." They all smiled.

"Sure, let's go!" Lilo said, and they all went inside, another catch successful

THE END