I am a monster, a freak of nature. I came to be by unnatural means. And somewhere along the line, I went from one of the greatest threats to the galaxy to a mere pet. A pet!

And I am forever grateful that I can say that, for Lilo is my very best friend, and I am happy to say I was her pet.

I am the one called Stitch, as she named me. I am among a family of over 600 (and counting!), called the ohana. My many cousins and I came from the one named Jumba Jookiba. It's funny, for someone who claimed to be an evil genius, he was quite a friendly guy.

But that was nearly a century ago, as Earth counts time at least. I count nearly ten years until a full century by Earth reckoning, and I must admit that it is a very long time. And it is with a heavy heart to admit with that time comes the realization that even we are mortal too.

While accidents have occurred before, it's much more of a natural thing now. Checkers, Frenchfry, Lightfoot, and Ace were among the first to leave. I am very afraid that my lady will be next. Though to be honest, I hope she is first, the pain of losing someone is very steep, and I would not want to wish that pain upon her; that pain should be mine to bear.

Oh, but I am getting ahead of myself. I must simply start from the beginning.

I was born in a laboratory, the laboratory of Jumba Jookiba. Sometimes I look to him as a father, which is actually true even though he is not a natural father.

But at the time I was illegal, and so Mister Jookiba and I were brought before a council consisting of nearly every sentient species in the galaxy. We were found guilty, something I couldn't fully grasp at the time. The punishment for me was exile to a lowly asteroid.

That was supposed to be my fate, to be for all of my existence on that asteroid. I did and still do think that was unacceptable, and so I broke out. I stole a ship, and charted a course for a far away planet; Earth.

I ended up crash landing on a string of islands that lay a thousand miles from a mainland in any given direction. I wandered about aimlessly for a while, trying to evade a group of two (that included Jookiba!) that had been sent to capture me and take me back. I wandered into a pet store, and was mistaken for an Earth animal; a dog. I was sold to a little girl.

And that was how I met Lilo.

While I resented her at first; I was really using her as a shield, she grew on me. I soon found myself risking my life to save her. I made it clear that I had changed, that I could go against my programming and have a family, something I wasn't supposed to be able to do. And in the end, I was allowed to stay on Earth.

The ohana began there. Since then, Lilo's family has gone from a small and broken one to a very large and complete one.

For a while things were pretty calm, save for an incident that almost cost me my life. Apparently I had not been fully charged when I was created.

For a while I couldn't control myself. I would have these unpredictable outbursts, which would lead to destruction. In reality, it was the sign I was dying. I was very close to death, and in-fact I would have gone if it weren't for Lilo. She gave me my life back.

And sometime later someone let it slip that while the machine did not have the desired effect, it changed the way I could be charged. It was by sheer happenstance that Lilo's hug (I was also told she hugged me when I was out) was the exact temperature to help excite the particles in my system. While I think that completely ruined the whole moment, it makes much more sense.

And then we started having our experiences with the other experiments. That was the official start of the expansive ohana we have. That was the first time I officially met my cousins. And her, that was the first time I met her; the love of my life.

I didn't have regular contact with my cousins, nor her, during that period. During that time, which was the period Lilo and I rehabilitated my cousins to turn to good, an alien named Gantu was working against us. He later joined us when he was fired by Hämsterviel, his employer. Also during that time my cousin Experiment 625, who then did not have a name, was his assistant, and he also came to our side when Gantu was fired.

We were able to rescue our captured friends, and my lady, at some point, and all was well. For a while, at least.

When we rehabilitated the last of my cousins, we were honored by the grand counsel. I was offered to be a pilot of a vessel named the BRB-9000, which while I liked it a lot, I initially declined. After Lilo said it was okay with her that I could go, nothing stopped me from leaving. And so I did.

It was fun at first, but I found a heavy weight in my heart, because in it all I was missing something.

Before I could return, however, I encountered Leroy, a newly created experiment (which Jookiba was forced by Hämsterviel to make), and I was defeated.

After making an army of clones, he sent me, Jumba, and Pleakley to a worm hole, which the rodent (as well as everyone else in the heat of the moment) mistook as a black hole. I will admit, it did look very much like a black hole, but I rationalized later we would not have withstood the gravitational forces.

We went through, and popped out where Lilo, and the newly reformed Gantu and Experiment 625 (also newly named Reuben!) were, and we took them.

Finally, the whole thing was settled with a grand battle between the ohana and the Leroy army. We won with a surprising upset after Jumba remembered Leroy could be shut off with Elvis' song Aloha Oe. When we played the song, all the Leroys shut down. Elvis saved us yet again.

Finally, after three years of hard work, we were finally at peace. Hämsterviel, Leroy, and his clones were sent to jail. We could rest, and I could spend time with Angel.

Of course, Leroy's clones didn't last long, they weren't nearly as stable as the original. It was to be expected though. However, I paid no mind to it, for my mind had wandered to other things.

Seven years of nothing passed, though Angel went and became a superstar, plus Hämsterviel broke out of prison somehow. I never had any doubt that Angel would become popular (I mean, she can sing so beautifully!), but there was some doubt whether Hämsterviel would escape or not. Not only that, he re-employed Gantu and Reuben by warping their minds toward evil (the former possibly through a recording of Angel's song).

Lilo found herself a boyfriend. With school, her boyfriend, and her job as the ambassador of earth, she couldn't spend much time with me.

At that point, I elected to explore the world a little. I found it hard to tell Lilo I was leaving, but she said it was for the best. Life had to go on, and she also felt that it was not fair to me to be alone. If I had thought it would be tough to tell her of my decision, I knew it would be harder to actually say goodbye.

I traveled far to the west, it seemed across an entire ocean. I ended up on and island east of what is called Okinawa, called Izayoi. I must have an affinity with islands, I suppose.

There I met a girl named Yuna during a storm, and we bonded during that time. I somehow found myself stuck with yet another girl, on yet another island.

I found out later that Jumba and Pleakley had come along to make sure I would remain safe during my trip, after all the queerest of situations arose from me simply being there. Indeed, Hämsterviel came to Izayoi simply because I was there, for no other reason.

It wasn't all that bad, it reminded me very much like Hawaii. Yuna was the new Lilo, and she had a classmate named Piko, whom I would compare to Mertle. Piko had a posse of three boys, whom I would compare to Mertle's posse of three girls.

I met many interesting characters while on the island, and had many adventures. Angel came by and visited a few times (which unlike Lilo she was able to do), which made me very happy.

I spent maybe one year on the island before Lilo was able to visit. I was overjoyed to see her, as well as Nani, who had come as well. And it was interesting to see Yuna and Lilo finally meet.

But it was cut short, as the island was attacked shortly after. At the time Angel had come to visit, but hadn't quite made onto shore when the attack started. Her yacht was destroyed from falling debris; much of the battle took place in the airspace above the island.

I remember rushing to her side, and she was unconscious. I carried her back to the house while Lilo, Yuna, and everyone else as well as cousins that were arriving to give aid were staving off the attack.

My goodness, I cannot recall how much of the island was wiped out from the attack. I remember the stone, which supported all the spirits on the island, was hit by a strong blast from the attackers. It was obliterated immediately. Kijimuna, my good friend of the forest, was gone in an instant.

It was very brutal; the island was in ruin (some parts were no longer fit for living). I can't believe there are beings out there that would do such a thing. Gantu and Reuben were there to see it, and it shook them up pretty bad, but thankfully it seemed to snap them out of their funk; they were back on our side. Hämsterviel disappeared during this time, I assume he was later captured and shipped back to prison.

It was then I resigned to leave the island. It was no longer safe that I be there, for it could not withstand an attack as well as Hawaii could. This meant leaving Yuna, whom had decided to stay and revive the island.

And so after our very long and emotional goodbyes, Pleakley, Jumba, and I, finally left what we had called home for the past year. Angel came with us, too shaken to continue the tour she had planned.

But… it was nice to be home in Hawaii once again. I missed the hula, the Elvis music, and everything else I had left.

I stayed for around three more years, which was a relatively peaceful and boring time. I did get a job as an accountant, though I wouldn't really consider that a highlight, after all it wasn't very exciting. To tell the truth I hated that job.

One day Angel announced she would be resuming her tour, and would be leaving the next day. I had to chance it, so I asked if I could tag along while she went on tour. She was very happy that I wanted to go.

So we went, together, on tour. I didn't actually play in the concerts, of course, but I was happy to be one of her adoring fans. It lasted around two months. She went on break for around three months, and then a new tour started; she let me go on that tour too. I couldn't help but think she was one of the busiest beings I knew.

And then we received word that Leroy had broken out of prison and was wreaking considerable havoc upon the federation. He had to be stopped. And so, I had to leave midway through the tour to recapture him.

I found him on Turo, in one of the most precarious of places. Though I forget exactly what it was, our battlefield was a utility pipe two feet wide, spanning across a deep chasm at least fifty feet across, the chasm itself lead into a reactor core. If one of us fell, it would mean the end.

I was able pin him, and no matter how much he flailed about, he could not break free. He started cursing and shouting. He called the ohana a ridiculous thing, but then admitted he didn't know what ohana actually meant.

I told him what it meant. I told him that he was a part of it, and he didn't even know it. That despite his wrongdoings everyone still loved him. While at the time that was somewhat a lie (even I was unsure myself), he believed it. I think it had a profound effect on Leroy.

As soon as I released my grip on him, he fell off the pipe, ready to topple to his demise below. I caught him as he fell, and to my surprise he protested, wishing for me to let him go. I was shocked; it had to mean he had done something terrible. But I told him that the people that loved him wouldn't want him to go. He believed that too. I am happy to say both lies I told that day are truth now.

We went back, and he turned himself in, saying "Sorry for escaping." It was obvious then that he was a changed creature, which was what the justice system is all about really; reform. They actually lengthened his sentence to longer than what it actually was, but it wasn't as much as it would have been, in lou that he was changed. He made no protest.

I am so proud of him. He gets frequent visits by the family, and they always have a good time with Leroy. Heh, it's funny, I could not have been able to say that even a year before.

I went back to Earth and told the story to everyone. They were pleased as well. After that things went back to normal. With one exception; Angel was no longer a superstar; she had finished her career, and had settled down. I was ecstatic when I heard that, she would be around more often!

Despite the occasional occurrence around Hawaii (which had become the entrance to Earth for aliens), things were pretty dull. I am kind of thankful for that, after all up until then my life had been one wild ride. I believe around six years went by.

Then one day, it happened. Lilo became engaged. I didn't exactly know what that was at the time, so I asked Lilo about it. What she told me gave me an idea, though I was kind of scared to do it at the time. I also didn't want to do it until after Lilo got married. Perhaps I was procrastinating… no, couldn't be. Or maybe I am wrong?

But her wedding day came, and of course the whole ohana came. I was also pleased to see Yuna again, it was so nice of her to come see Lilo get married. Unfortunately, she was my only friend from Izayoi that was able to make it; everyone else was still rebuilding the land.

I couldn't help but glance at Angel, then at the bride and groom and imagine Angel and I in the same position. I was a bit surprised to find Lilo come to me and ask me if that was what I was thinking. The answer was yes, and I also told her of my fear; what if she said no? Of course, there wasn't a doubt in my mind what her answer would be, but really the excuse covered the real one; that I was too nervous to try.

After that, things became quiet again. Three more years of nothing went by.

Then Hawaii was attacked one day. Goodness, it was like a repeat of Izayoi. Thankfully, most of our cousins were there to fend off the attack, and thusly the same devastation was not repeated.

But we managed to find something out during that attack. Hämsterviel had orchestrated the attack, just as he had with Izayoi. Suddenly many pieces began to fit together, both the attack on Izayoi and Hawaii occurred because I was there. The fact he could do so now meant he was out of prison.

But at the time that wasn't important, I had to act. I went before the council and told them about the situation. When we received word that a nearby planet had just been destroyed, we knew the situation had become urgent.

I immediately took command of the new BRB-12000, and the funny thing was I had not quite gotten over my obsession with red vehicles (though I've gotten much better self control pertaining to them), and even still the launch went without a hitch. The moment I took command of the ship, it became the flagship of the fleet. While we weren't the biggest ship, we were the lead ship, thusly they had to do what I ordered.

We all traveled to the planet in question, and we encountered Hämsterviel's fleet. A great battle ensued, during which was lost half of our ships. Hämsterviel's forces were greatly numbered, and it looked like we would lose for sure.

However, someone managed to contact the local planetary defense systems and activate them. While it wasn't able to disable the ships, they were disoriented in a way they couldn't fight back properly, and we gained the upper hand.

Hämsterviel's ship was destroyed afterwards. I do not recall seeing any escape pods jettison from the hull, I assume he was in the ship when it was destroyed.

But the problem was resolved.

It was then I designed to stay with the federation. Through the dire situation I had fun commanding the ship, as well as the fleet. In fact, I was offered to keep that position, and I accepted. I had once questioned what I really wanted to do with my life, after all I was created for destruction and chaos. Perhaps I could be a bringer of peace, and with the position I was in, I could do that.

I briefly went home and told everyone of my decision. After some fits of opposition, they agreed to let me go. I did find out however that a few of them were planning to move to Turo, namely Lilo, Pleakley, and most importantly Angel. Jookiba had already gone somewhere else during my absence, I don't know where. However, that would mean more visitation time, as trips to Turo were commonplace, as I found out later.

Four years of commanding the BRB-12000 went by, and I had a weight in my heart again. I knew it was something different this time, as I could see my family very often. I was missing something, and for a while I didn't know what. Then it hit me that it was something I put off for a very long time, something I shouldn't have.

The next time I went to Turo, in which there was a sort of a welcome party, I filled the void. Angel was there, and immediately I went up to her. After talking to her a bit, I got down on a knee, and officially asked her to marry me. The day was a very magical one.

The preparation was very long and grueling, as I wanted it to be the best wedding possible. In the end, it was all worth it. Lilo was very proud, she too knew how it felt to be in my position. Five months of planning and we were done, the ceremony was days later.

I don't exactly remember when the music started to play, because as soon as Angel came down the aisle, everything else, even my own existence, disappeared from my mind. Lilo, Yuna, Pleakley, Jumba, and the rest of the ohana, I forgot they were all there. I forgot I was there as well.

The next moment that I was aware of my existence was just after we kissed. With that came the realization, I was married. Married to (an) Angel!

The first thing she did was move in. She was aware that due to my position I would not be around that much, and she was fine with it. However, she promised to talk it over with the federation to see if she couldn't get a spot on board the BRB-12000. I wasn't sure they would allow that, as it could compromise the mission at hand. They later didn't allow it as I thought, but still we were able to keep constant contact with each other, so it wasn't too bad.

After a few months, Angel and I designed to have a child. While we were aware that we were not compatible, in the sense that experiments cannot reproduce, we could make a baby the same way we were born. I called Jumba (who was now back in his lab), and started to arrange the whole thing.

One day, Angel and I went to his lab and spent the whole day coming up with our own offspring. The only help we received was from Mr. Jookiba, who only showed the two of us how to work the machine. Other than that, we were on our own.

That is how Rudy was born. At age thirty I finally had a son. He looked just like his mother, but a lot smaller, and purple.

He was an excellent child. He excelled in school; completing all nine grades at age five. He joined the federation and by age six became the captain of his very own ship.

But his legacy is the battle of Turo. Creatures from another galaxy in a huge warship attacked Turo in hopes of gaining control of the galaxy.

Angel was visiting the ship in the docking bay at the time, and we had no time to get her off; we had to launch immediately. I didn't want to get her involved but the circumstances forced my hand.

A big space battle ensued over Turo, every ship in the federation seemed to be up against this massive threat. Rudy's ship was among them, though through the chaos I could not discern which one was his.

The enemy had a very good offense, it was apparent they knew the layout of our vessels well, for they could accurately strike the bridge of each ship. If the bridge was taken out, the ship would be inoperative, and no longer be a threat.

My own ship was destroyed late in the battle, fortunately most of us survived, including Angel. We all took off in the escape pods. Me, Angel, and some of the bridge crew were present. I was that tried to fly us to safety, which was difficult and terrifying for the enemy was able to randomly destroy the fleeing pods.

Pretty soon there was only one ship left, and with no other targets, the enemy could focus all of their attention. The ship was a new model, however, so the enemy wasn't exactly sure where to target.

After the ship took a few hits, I saw many escape pods jettison. As soon as the ship started to turn toward the enemy, I knew there was still someone on board. It seemed like they were going to make a last ditch attempt to stop the enemy.

And then… Rudy was heard on the communications channel, and we found we were able to talk to him. He told us he was not going to make it, that it was the only way we could survive. I realized he was the one piloting the lone ship going to ram the enemy, something Angel realized that soon after I did.

And he did so, but not before tearfully speaking to us one last time. He shouldn't have tried to say so much, he didn't have time to finish saying, "I love you." He flew into the enemy ship's bridge, and for reasons I do not know, it destroyed the entire enemy ship.

I didn't care that the enemy had been beaten. My heart was taken and smashed into pieces. He could only stand there and hold Angel tightly as she cried into my side. She couldn't even bare to look at the wreckage.

Rudy was only six years old. His funeral was attended by many. Me, Angel, the ohana, the federation, the families of those he saved, and those who were simply grateful for his sacrifice. I counted Sixty thousand, possibly more; after all he had saved eight billion souls that day.

I quit the federation after that, I could not bear to repeat that loss (even though I knew it was impossible). I also refused to have another child, saying "it would be too painful". Angel, who had been affected the most, wholeheartedly agreed.

Angel and I settled down together. Both of us decided to apply for normal jobs.

I myself became a construction worker. It was interesting to note that this was what I decided to do, despite my original purpose of destruction. I was built to destroy, not to create, but that was what I wanted to do.

I helped make building all around Turo. Alone, I was able to carry heavy materials that normally would require a crane to lift. I was an invaluable part of the construction team.

And one day the team was tasked with building what we thought would be the tallest building on the planet. It didn't have an official name to the tower; we only knew it as Project Skyscraper at the time. While I was interested in the building as a whole, I never really looked into the name of it.

That took a couple of years to build, but it looked amazing when we were done. It had to go at least a mile and a half into the sky. Now that is what I call impressive.

While we hadn't had a single project as big as that one, things were still busy during that time. I enjoyed my job very much.

Then one day we found ourselves attending Jumba Jookiba's funeral. I had not been so emotionally torn since Rudy's demise many years prior. The hall was full of all the surviving experiment, as well as Pleakley, Lilo, Nani, and a few select members of the council.

A few years afterwards, Pleakley went. I thought my family was starting to disappear.

On the contrary, Jumba and Pleakley were old by their species terms, after all it's been fifty two years since I was created by Jumba, and it had taken Jumba at least fifteen years to create all the six hundred twenty five that came before me. Both Mr. Jookiba and Pleakley had to be at least in their thirties when I was born.

Then, when I was sixty two, I became a writer. I had many stories to tell (including a life story, which is the one I am writing right now), and so it made sense to tell them to the galaxy. Angel has had a few story ideas of her own, which I gladly made for her.

Of course I will still working in construction, but more and more the latter came took my time. Eventually I found myself out of the construction business and fully immersed in literature.

I absolutely will not write the story of Rudy. The account written here was hard to write as it is, and I doubt my soul could survive such an endeavor.

Anyways, I have written about nine novels, and countless short stories. About two of those novels have made the bestseller list, which is nice and all, but doesn't really matter. I am glad however that these events will not be forgotten into history as a result.

I broke for a while when Nani finally went, as did the increasing number of experiment departures. It was a heavy reminder that we are not mortal, that Angel's time will soon come, that Lilo's time will soon come, that… my time will soon come.

As a writer, I often task myself in writing stories. Often I finish them and when that happens, a great wave of accomplishment and happiness floods over me. But with the story of life, my life, it is different.

When I am done writing the story of my life, I cannot help but weep. It is set in stone, it cannot be changed; it is permanent. It is the record of what I have done, and that is it. That is how I feel now.

I still have a decade left, I should make it last.

So, for now, this is the end of my story. While it pains me to finish my story, I am also very happy to look at it and see all that I have done. I have had a very interesting life. If it were not for a few occurrences, I would gladly live through every single moment again.

And it gives me great joy to say I was able to share this life with my lady, who I always have and always will love. These past sixty years have been truly magical, and I am thankful I can say that.

With that I shall bring my story to a close. I've had a wonderful time, and I hope to do it again someday. Unless that means parting ways with Angel, of course, for then I would simply refuse to leave wherever it is we go.

For now, I am Experiment 626, and this is my story.

- Stitch SixTwoSix