Chapter 3

Stitch was waiting. He waited and waited and waited. He grew tired of it each and every second.

"WANDA!" He called. "Wanda. Wanda! WANDA!" The mother Kangaskhan hurried into the room, breathless.

"Yes?" She asked, catching her breath. She hated not having her wings.

"Where's Lilo?" She pretended not to hear.

"It's such a lovely day, isn't it?" Stitch looked at Sideshow Bob who was in the room.

"Sideshow Bob, sing song for Lilo." The secret villain sighed,

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say," He began to sing."On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day..." He continued as Wanda and Stitch had their conversation.

"Where's Lilo?" Stitch asked again. Wanda, again, pretended not to hear. She looked at the window. "Is that a rare bird outside? I thought they'd be where it's warmer."

"Lilo! Distracting me?"

"What? Heavens, no! Do you want any tea? Hot cocoa?"

"NO! WHERE'S LILO?!" Sideshow Bob stopped singing. Wanda was scared.

"Lilo?" She asked. "We don't know, well we do, she's outside looking for..." But Stitch didn't hear the rest.

"WHAT?!" He stormed out of the room. The Exploud followed him.

Stitch picked up the enchanted mirror from the end table.

"Show me Lilo!" He ordered. He watched as the mirror showed him Lilo, Poof, Kirby, Rapunzel, and Odie outside. He grew angry, and madly put the mirror down. "Must bring her back."

"She abandoned you I'm afraid." Sideshow Bob lied to him. Stitch looked at him, puzzled. "Listen to me, won't you? You trusty old friend?" And with that, he began to sing.

"Love is stupid." He began. "Don't let the arrow hit you from Cupid. Don't fall for it.

Don't get hit. Listen to your dear old friend, before your hearts breaks and your relationship ends. Before she cheats. I'm telling you, love is not sweet. You should just love yourself.

Nobody else except me. Don't you see?

Love will break your heart.

So just stay.

Just me and yourself.

If you love, you'll only feel hurt

You must stay far apart. Just love yourself, oh, and me. Don't you see? Love is stupid.

Nothing but stupid. So, so stupid. Love is stupid!"

Stitch roared and stormed out of the room when the song was done. Sideshow Bob let out an evil chuckle.

Starlight Shimmer was looking at all the decorations. She smiled.

"Wow; this is real good." She observed to herself. "Maybe we can pull out this grand Christmas after all." But Stitch stormed into the room, ruined the decorations, and left the room. Starlight sighed sadly. "Knew it was hopeless."

"That's the tree!" Poof said as they saw the a huge tree in front of them. The tree was on the other side of an icy pond. They were both outside. Lilo was on Ponyta as the others were pulled by the sligh attached to the firery horse. Buizel followed stealthily behind. Lilo and Rapunzel got off, and went towards the tree. So did Poof. Lilo looked at him.

"You're sure?" She wanted to know. "Because once Rapenzel cut this tree down, that's it. There's no turning back."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Poof answered. "Cut it down already. Raps; this'll be the greatest tree ever in all of Christmas tree history!"

"Again," Lilo said to him. "It's just a tree. Settle down."

"Sorry." Lilo looked at Rapunzel who nodded, and used Cut on the tree. The tree fell to the snowy ground.

"TIMBER!" Poof yelled.

"Do you see Lilo?" Wade wanted to know, exhausted.

"Not yet." SpongeBob replied. "But I'm sure we'll find her soon enough; I can feel it!"

"That's great, and all but I'm tired. I-I don't think I can go on." He then collapsed in the snow. His voice was now muffled in the snow. "Continue without me." SpongeBob went towards Wade.

"Come on, Wade. I don't know what you just said thorough all that snow in your mouth, but we can't give up; we have friends counting on us!" Wade managed to stand back up.

"But I'm tired. I said continue without me." SpongeBob shook his head. "Please!"

"Not going to leave you buddy."

"But..." SpongeBob shook his head again.

"Nope, we stay together, but we have to go on." Wade sighed. He was too tired to ague. He gasped, and changed the subject.

"You're not going to ride me down like a snowboard?" SpongeBob was confused.

"What?"

"You know, char boarding, or snow charing, or whatever." SpongeBob was still confused.

"What the heck are you talking about? Why in the seven seas would I do that?" Wade shrugged.

"I don't know. It sounded lame in my head, and it still sounds lame when I say it out loud." SpongeBob grabbed Wade, and pulled him along.

"Come on you slowpoke!" Wade screamed as he bumped into several trees on the way, eating its snowy leaves and branches, and spitting them out.

"SPONGEBOB!" He yelled. "Slow...down!"

"Sorry Wade, but we're almost there! I can feel it!"

"Okay, Ponyta." Lilo said to her horse Pokemon as soon as the tree was tied to the sled. "Take it away." Ponyta nodded, and trudged on, pulling the tree with her. Lilo sat in the sled with Poof.

Antoine got off the sled, and tried to stop the tree. However he fell on his face on the ice instead. Lilo noticed this.

"Antoine?" She questioned. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Antoine, you sneaky weasel!" Poof said to him. "Did you follow us?" Antoine stood up, and waved at the two.

"Aloha, you two, keeds!" This made Poof confused.

"Keed? Why did you call me that?"

"Because you are." He sighed, changing the subject. "I'm so sorry about this, guys." It was Lilo's turn to be confused.

"Sorry?" She asked. "Sorry about wha...?" But then Antoine did Bubblebeam. This made Ponyta panic. She neighed, lifting up her hooves, and broke the ice. "PONYTA, NO!" The sled broke off, and drifted on their own ice block. Odie barked franticly. The rope on the tree began to snap. Poof noticed this, and the Kangaskan's eyes went wide.

"LILO!" He yelled. "The tree!"

"Forget the stupid tree, Poof. We have more important stuff to worry about now. Sorry about the S word, but forget the stu...tree." But Poof was too obsessed about the tree. He hopped out, and ran towards the tree. "POOF!"

Poof grabbed the rope, and tried to pull it onto the ice. However it was too strong for him, and he went underwater instead. Lilo's eyes widened.

"NOOOO!" She hopped out of the sled, and hopped from ice block to ice block, trying to get to Poof. "Oh, Poof, where are you?!"

"Lilo, there he is!" Rapunzel called. Lilo looked, and saw her pointing at a block of ice.

"Can you help me break the ice?" Rapunzel nodded.

"Sure!"

"I'll help too." Antoine offered. He started this mess; he figured he'd help out. Plus, he couldn't bare the fact that he inadvently caused a child's death.

With that, he, Lilo, and Rapunzel all broke off a chunk of ice with their feet/hands/paws. Lilo saw a purple Kangaskan sail by.

"HELP!" He yelled when he broke the surface before he went back under. Kirby opened his mouth, and tried to suck him in.

"That's it!" Lilo cheered him on, as she and the others tried to hang on. "We've found a use for you in this story; suck away! Kirby sucked, and sucked, but grew tired, and stopped to catch his breath. Lilo was disappointed. "Aw, I feel like you were so close!"

"Nice try!" Rapunzel called to the star warrior. Lilo wasn't ready to give up.

"I'm coming, Poof!" She called.

"Lilo?" Rapunzel wanted to know. "What are you doing?" Lilo took a deep breath. "Lilo?" The little girl dived in. "LILO!" Odie and Kirby dived in as well. "KIRBY, ODIE; not you guys too!"

"Hurry, Wade!" SpongeBob called. He and Wade ran onto the scene. "This is terrible; they're in trouble! We might have got here a bit too late!

"This is bad alright." Wade agreed. "I shouldn't have slowed us down; I feel a bit at fault here."

"Wade, hurry! You can feel bad later, or better yet, not at all!"

"Right, it's about the kids first."

"Non, non, non, non!" Antoine cried. He felt more guiltier then before. "Where are they? What have I done?" He was about to cry when he heard Poof's familiar shout.

"WE'RE ALIVE!" He yelled. He, SpongeBob, Wade and Rapunzel all sighed in relief when they saw Poof, Kirby, Lilo, and Odie back on the ice. They all went over to them. Odie shook himself all over Wade. He defended himself, and was about to scold the canine when he sighed instead.

"I guess I deserved that." The rope from the tree that got tied around Lilo's leg started dragging her down.

"NOOOO!" She cried. The servants all gasped.

"LILO!" They all yelled. They all ran to her. Poof grabbed her, trying to free her. The others tried helping too. Kirby tried sucking again, only to once again, fail. He was disappointed yet again. The little girl went under. Everyone gasped.

"LILO!" They all hollered again. Odie was about to go dive back in when they all heard a roar. They all looked. It was Stitch! He was mad.

"Had to be water." He said, and dived in. They all gasped yet again.

"Master!" Wade cried. "You hate the water!"

A few moments later, Stitch emerged, Lilo in his arms. Everyone was excited and relieved as Stitch exited the water, and marched off.

"Lilo!" An excited Poof cried out. "You saved her."

"Yeah!" SpongeBob put in. "Even though you absolutely hate the water for some reason, you sacrificed for someone you care about. That's so sweet and very noble thing you did. It shows that you came a long way since the curse, and changed for the better." But Stitch didn't answer. He just stomped on. This worried the transformed sponge. "Master?Are you alright?" Wade saw that Poof was in Stitch's path.

"Poof; look out!"

"Oh, right!" He then sidestepped out of the way. "Thanks. If you haven't said anything, I might of gotten seriously hurt."

"No prob, kid." They all watched as Stitch headed back towards he castle. Ponyta trotted from behind. Antoine burst into tears.

"This is all my fault; I should never have listened to Sideshow Bob." SpongeBob sighed sadly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Antoine," SpongeBob began. "But I fear that we're all to blame here for hoping for Christmas. Master was right; it's a stupid holiday." Everyone else was sad as well.

"You said wouldn't leave." Stitch told Lilo when she put her in the dungeon.

"I wasn't leaving." Lilo told him. "I just wanted to see you happy."

"Well, didn't. You, rot in here forever." He then left. Lilo sighed. She sat down, and cried in her lap. She didn't mean to make things worse.

"I guess you'll never change. You'll only be...a monster."

The clock struck midnight. Everyone else was back in the castle, still sad.

"It's midnight." SpongeBob told Wade. "Merry Christmas, Wade." Wade sighed.

"It doesn't seem so merry, SpongeBob." Wade said.

"I know how you feel. Let's go all go keep Lilo company in the dungeon. We at least owe her that much." Wade agreed, and they went off.

"I'm sorry, master." Sideshow Bob said to Stitch when they were together. "But I warned you what'll happen if you fell for this little girl. Something felt wrong about this. If you were an animal, and she was older, and did...well, that would be very wrong! There's a word for falling for your captor, Stockholm Syndrome. I don't know if this is exactly that since she volunteered, but it's close enough."

"Thought she was the one." A heartbroken Stitch said.

"Well, she wasn't." Stitch sighed.

"Never will fall in love again."

"Right. Love only leads to heartbreak. Only fools fall in love."

"And Stitch no fool."

"I agree completely."

"Lilo?" Poof asked as he, his mom, and everyone else approached her in the dungeon, even Starlight Glimmer. "I know it doesn't feel like it but merry Christmas."

"Yeah." Antoine agreed. "Or as the French say, 'joyeux Noel." Lilo looked at all of them. She stopped crying, but was still sad.

"And as the Hawaiians say, 'mele Kalikimaka." She put in, but sighed. "But no matter how you say it, it still doesn't feel that way. I made everything worse."

"That tree was stupid." Poof said gloomily. "I can't believe I was that obsessed. That was stupid of me." Lilo looked down at the sad child.

"Sorry, Poof. Nothing changed, and I fear nothing ever will."

"I don't want to be that Pokemon." Starlight said. "But, I told you. I told you Christmas was hopeless here in the castle, and miracles won't happen. I told you..., but I was wrong." Lilo looked at her, not believing what the Glaceon just said. The Pokemon then began to sing.

"When I felt sad and lonely." She began. "When all of my hopes and dreams has gone astray.

Christmas is where you should aways feel homey.

No matter what you say, it never goes away.

So with everyone so sad.

Remember what this brave little girl said.

Christmas isn't about decorations.

It isn't about presents. Heck, it isn't even about plans snow, and all of those things." Poof looked at his mom.

"This was sung before, Mama." Poof remembered.

"Shh!" Wanda shushed him. "Don't be rude, it's a reprise." Poof saw that Antoine wiped away a happy tear. He, too, was happy. So was Kirby. Poof snuggled up to his mom. So did Kirby. Wanda smiled down at them, and they resumed to listen.

"It's about people coming together." Starlight continued. "People from every nation.

Christmas is a god-seND..

So let the holiday spirit ring!

It means so much more.

So much more.

The world can be unfriendly, unfair, and cruel.

"Unlike Christmas, that's not cool." Lilo joined in.

"But if we all come together.

We'll all get though this stormy weather.

If we're always understanding and kind.

We'll find that's it's a great find.

Sometimes life is a very deep slope.

But we won't let anyone fall.

For we all need some hope.

For it is and will always be the greatest gift of all!

We'll make everyone proud, even the ones from high above." Wade went over to SpongeBob who smiled, and wrapped a hand around him. He even let him hug him, a little too tight, but he didn't mind one bit, not even with him getting dirty with the slime. Lilo joined in again with Starlight.

"For when we all come together and at Christmas, there're will be a moment when all of planet Earth is filled with peace and love."

"It pains me to see you this way, Master." Sideshow Bob said. He pointed to the encased rose in the room. "But there's the painful reminder of the past. I'll destroy it if I were you. Why keep it if it pains you to see it?" Stitch saw it, and nodded in agreement. He walked towards it. "That's it, destroy it. Show it no mercy." Stitch grew mad, and raised his fist, ready to destroy it. "Yes, destroy it, destroy it with all of your might!"

He was about to smash it when something stopped him. The rose lost one of its petals, and the petal fell onto Lilo's gift. Stitch softened at this.

"Lilo." He said to himself, and grabbed it.

"What are you doing?!" Sideshow Bob commanded to know. "You were right there! You were about to smash it." Stitch opened it, revealing the book. Th blue alien smiled.

"Lilo gave me storybook." Sideshow Bob pretended to be touched.

"Aw! A storybook? Is this a pop-up, or does it have cute little pictures of pure joy? Does it..." Stitch glared at him.

"Want to read it."

"Okay, but can you destroy the flower first? I was kind of counting on that, and you didn't. That kind of bummed me out." Stitch sat in a chair, and opened the book. "Hello? Yoo-hoo; earth to master! Master!" Stitch pounded the armrest, and shot a look at him.

"WANT TO READ!" Sideshow Bob rolled his eyes.

"Alright, master. Sheesh! As you wish, though I don't know why or what you see in her." Stitch glared at him again, and read the story in his head.

"Once upon a time," Stitch heard little Lilo's voice as she read it to him in his mind, "In a far away magical castle, there was a little girl, kind Pokémon servants, and a blue alien prince whose heart was frozen. The little girl needed to thaw the prince's heart, and so she did. She played with him, laughed with him, and showed him that a random act of kindness can go a long way, and it's better then being cruel. Christmas really changed him for his heart grew three sizes that day, and he started to understand, and vowed to change his wicked ways for the better, and it did. It was the best, magical Christmas he and the others at the castle had in years, and it was all thanks to this little girl and her kind heart. For the very best gift that anyone can have is hope. The end."

Stitch sighed heavenly as soon as he was done.

"Hope." He said.

"Okay, you're done now." Sideshow Bob put in. "Now, throw that book into the fire, and resume on smashing the rose, only actually do it this time...please." Stitch got up from his chair.

"I understand now." Stitch said. This confused Sideshow Bob.

"Understand? Understand, what?" His master headed for the door. "Master? Where are you going?" Stitch closed the door after him. Sideshow Bob sighed in defeat. He looked at the rose. "Don't look at me like that. The master will destroy you, I assure you. I could do it myself, but for some reason, I want the master to do it. And if he doesn't, I'll destroy you myself." He laughed evilly. "I'm so crazy that I'm talking to a flower!" He laughed and laughed.

"I don't need a stupid Christmas tree to make me happy." Poof said back in the dungeon. "After all, the obsession almost caused me to die by drowning." Wanda was puzzled about this.

"What?!" She questioned. Poof didn't answer. "What's this about drowning, Poof? Poof!"

"And we don't need all of the fancy decorations." SpongeBob declared.

"You're right." Wade agreed. "All we need is each other, and to have hope, and to never let go. That's what Christmas is all about."

"We're all a cut above the rest!"

"Yes, we're all a cut above the rest, what he said."

The door then opened; it was Stitch.

"Oh no!" Poof observed, seeing him with everyone else. "It's the master!" Lilo was scared at first, wondering what he'll do to them, when she realized he had the book in his hand. She cheered up.

"My gift to you!" She said with glee. "You opened my present to you. Did you read and like it?"

"Yes." Stitch replied with a nod. "I did and loved it." Lilo pumped up her fist with success. Stitch then grew serous. Lilo noticed this, and stopped her happy dance, and looked at him. What did he want?

"Asking for forgiveness. Do you accept?" Lilo thought about this, and saw in his eyes that he was truly sorry. She smiled.

"You bet I do! Mele Kalikimaka, Stitch!" Stitch sighed in relief. He took Lilo's hands in his.

"Mele Kaimakie." Lilo giggled at the wrong pronuncuation. Stitch noticed this. "No, wait, Mela Kalikimaka, no, Malie, no, ugh!" Lilo kept on giggling.

"It's Mele Kalikimaka."

"Oh right, Mele Kaa...whatever." Everyone cheered.

"Come. Us give Lilo Christmas she always wanted."

"That's all I ever wanted, nothing more." Stitch smiled once again.

"Oh, this is rich!" Sideshow Bob said to himself back in his room. "Simply devine! Lilo gets her Stitch. Stitch gets her Lilo. They kiss, and fall in love. Spell gets broken. Poof; everyone is happy. and live happily ever after...except Sideshow Bob. I get shoved in the background, forgotten and no longer needed." He then grew mad. "I THINK NOT!" The Exploud then shouted at the top of his lungs, making the whole castle shake.

"Whoa!" Poof said, trying to catch his balance in the unexpected earthquake with everyone else. "What the? Mama, why is there an earthquake in the caste? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know." Wanda admitted. "But, try to hold on."

"I'll try." Antoine gasped as he realized what was going on.

"Sideshow Bob!" Antoine said to himself. Poof heard this and was confused.

"Sideshow Bob?" He wanted to know. "What about him? Is this is doing for an unknown reason? But the Buizel didn't answer for he left the room. "Antoine, where are you going? Come back!" Debris fell from the ceiling.

"Watch your heads." Wanda cautioned everyone. Stitch's platform began to separate from Lilo's and his servants.

"NO!" Lilo screamed.

"Lilo!" Stitch called back. Lilo saw a plank of wood, and got an idea. "Wanda; help me out with this!" She and Wanda walked towards the plank.

"Sideshow Bob!" Antoine said to him when he entered the room. "Please, stop this! You've gone too far."

"Sorry, Antoine." Sideshow Bob said to him, "I'm on a roll here, and get this. They can't fall in love if they're dead!" He chuckled evilly. Antoine gasped.

"You madman!" Sideshow Bob looked at the Buizel.

"Oh, and Antoine. I've decided. I'm not going to do a duet with you, never, ever, ever. I never even wanted it really in the first place." Antoine gasped.

"Well, I'm not going to do a duet with you, never, ever, ever!"

"Good, glad we can agree on something."

"SIDESHOW BOB!" Stitch yelled as soon as he entered the room. "ENOUGH; GONE TOO FAR!" Sideshow Bob looked at him and stopped.

"Sorry, master." He pretended to apologize, and used his Uproar attack to blast his master to the wall. "But like I told Antione; I'm on a roll. I can't stop now!" He laughed and laughed.

"Careful, everyone." Lilo told everyone as she walked on the plank that they made into a bridge, connecting the two sides of the room. Everyone followed.

They entered the room where the rose was. They all gasped as the encased rose was about to fall of of the table.

"Oh no!" SpongeBob observed. "The rose! It's going to fall!" And with that, he lunged at it.

"Hurry!" Wade said. SpongeBob smiled when he caught it in the nick of time. Wade sighed with relief.

"I got it! Hurry, help me put it back on the table." Wade went to aid him to put it back on the table.

"Careful!" Starlight Glimmer warned. SpongeBob sighed, and wiped his brow when the encased rose was completely on the table, safe from harm once again.

"Glad's that over." He said.

"You said it." Wade agreed.

"Don't want to hurt you." Stitch told Sideshow Bob. He pretended to be touched.

"Well, if you won't, be my guest, but I will!" And with that, he did his Echoed Voice attack on the alien, sending him flying back into the wall. Stitch groaned in pain."Sorry, master. But an Exploud gotta do is what an Exploud gotta do." Stitch managed to get up. Antoine saw the piano in the middle of the room.

"Master, the piano!" He called out to him. Stitch was confused. Sideshow Bob ran up, and pinned Stitch the floor. Stitch growled as he struggeled to get up, but the Pokemon wouldn't let him.

"My apologies again, master." He stated. "But I'm happy as an Exploud, don't you see? I'm not about to let you ruin it for me with a stupid little girl." This angered Stitch.

"LILO NOT STUPID!" He found his strength, and flung the Exploud off of him. They both got to their feet. Stitch looked at his ex-servant, now knowing his true nature, and was hurt by it. "Why?! Trusted you."

"Aw, I know you did, master. But it's not my fault. It's Lilo's. If she never came to the castle in the first place, and you never felt feelings for her, none of this would be happening right now, honest."

"Can't help it. Lilo's kind, cares for me, and very friendly."

"You could have not felt any feelings towards her at all, but you do, so now sadly, I have to kill you both."

"NO!" With that. Stitch lunged at him, and the two rolled on the floor, fighting. Antoine sighed, and went to the piano. He tried pushing it, but it proved too heavy for him. Lilo and the others went over to him.

"Want some help?" The little Hawaiian girl wanted to know. An exhausted Antoine looked at her, and nodded, They all helped the weasel push the piano towards the fighting Pokemon and alien. "I don't normally condone to violence, but I see Sideshow Bob's insane now, so I want to help."

"Plus, he attempted to murder children." Poof added. "And that's a big no-no!"

"Murdering anyone is a big no-no!" Wanda put in. "But let's take that jerk down!" Antoine realized something, and did Aqua Jet on the piano,

"Stitch!" Lilo called when they were close enough. "Watch out!" And with that, she and the others tipped the piano over from another of Antoine's Aqua Jet. Stitch saw it come down, and rolled out of the way just in time. However, it fell onto Sideshow Bob. He screamed as it crushed him. He stopped, as he was now dead. Stitch drooped his ears in sadness.

"Sideshow Bob." He said mournfully. Lilo looked at him.

"I'm sorry, but on the bright side, he can't hurt us any longer." Stitch smiled.

"Yeah."

"Here they come!" An excited Poof announced later that day in the ballroom. They then saw Stitch and Lilo enter the room, hand in hand. Lilo had a lovely yellow dress.

"She's beautiful!" Wanda observed. Starlight Glimmer smiled.

"She sure is." She agreed. Wade was trying not to cry, so was Antoine.

"See?" A giddy SpongeBob piped up. "See what happens when you don't give up hope? Good things happen! Hooray; I'm so proud of them!"

"I am too." Starlight agreed. "I'll never give up hope ever again."

"That's the Christmas spirit, Starlight!"

"This is the best Christmas ever!" Poof declared. "It may have started out bleak, but overall, we finally got one in all of these years, that's why it's the best...for now." Wanda let out a laugh, as she totally agreed with her young son. This Christmas did turn out pretty great.