I do not own Lilo and Stitch, Kim Possible or American Dragon: Jake Long. Zee is my OC.
Cavalry Arrives
Zee glanced up as Stitch entered the attic. She smiled at him, but the smile quickly disappeared when she noticed the sullen look on his face. "What? What happened?"
"Grand Councilwoman coming," Stitch said.
Zee pressed a hand over her eyes. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Naga."
"Wonderful. The leader of the galaxy and the woman in charge of my capture is coming here."
"Gets worse," Stitch sighed.
Zee stared at him. "I don't like the sound of that."
"Hero friends coming too. Kim Possible, teen hero and Jake Long, dragon boy."
"Wait, dragon boy?"
"He can turn into dragon," Stitch explained in his broken English.
Zee threw her arms in the air. "The last thing I need is a boy who can turn into a dragon be on my case."
Stitch patted her hand. "We will protect you. Promise."
"I know you will. But it's going to be difficult, considering you have every creature who wants my butt rotting in a jail cell coming to your house."
"Everything will be fine," Stitch assured her. "Have to go now. See you later!"
Zee waved him goodbye and collapsed on the old couch.
Well, it was obvious she couldn't stay in the attic any longer. Not that she would terribly miss it. The dust and mould was beginning to take its toll. Zee glanced out the attic window and sighed. She wondered if Lilo had another place in mind for her to hide. Someplace safe.
Being an intergalactic fugitive is no cakewalk, Zee thought tiredly.
...
"Lilo? It's time for dinner!"
"Not hungry!" Lilo shouted down to her sister. She and Stitch were lounging in Lilo's bed, trying to think of a safe place for Zee to hide.
But of course, to Nani, it seemed like another pouting fit.
Nani sighed and peered up the elevator chute with worry. Lilo had not emerged from her dome since that afternoon. "If you say so. But if you get hungry later you can have the leftovers."
No response.
Nani shook her head and entered the kitchen. She sat down heavily in one of the wooden dining chairs and Jumba glanced at her. "Where little girl and 626?"
"In their rooftop dome," Nani answered, pushing her meatloaf around her plate with her fork. "I think they're just frustrated by this whole thing."
"Don't they know we're keeping them out of the way because we want them to be safe?" Pleakley asked.
"I don't think Lilo quite understands that. She has it in her head that because she successfully reformed all 625 experiments, she can do the same to 000. She doesn't understand the difference between her cousins and this fugitive. I don't know if Stitch feels the same as Lilo, so I can't really speak for him." Nani looked at Jumba, who knew the most about Stitch next to Lilo.
Jumba tapped his fork against his plate in thought. "626 also has mindset that he can be handling anything. Doesn't know when situation becomes too dangerous to handle. Probably feels frustrated no one wants his help. Also has become overconfident with successful reformation of experiments."
"Sounds like Stitch is in the same boat as Lilo." Nani frowned with worry. "I hope they realize that we're doing this because we want to keep them safe and not because we don't think they can't handle it."
"I'm sure they do. They're just frustrated right now at not being able to help," Pleakley said confidently. "After all, I don't think they would directly put themselves into such danger like that. That would just be dumb!"
...
The following morning, Lilo and Stitch tiptoed down the empty hallway. Lilo had sent Stitch to Zee with a message that they would meet the fugitive outside at dawn, so they could tell her the solution they had come up with.
The two walked out into the dull morning and Stitch sniffed the air. He turned around and pointed to Pleakley's begonias. "Cousin!"
"Zee! It's us! You can come out now."
Zee crawled out from behind the begonias. "Why can't we ever do something at noon? I'm more awake at noon."
Lilo ignored her complaints and the three of them set off down the dirt road. Stitch directed them into a very thick section of the forest. The blue experiment climbed up the trunk of a tree and sat on a branch, peering down at the two. Lilo sat down in the dirt and pulled her dress over her knees. Zee leaned against a boulder and studied their surroundings. "So, what's the plan?"
"There is this old creepy warehouse at the edge of the cliffs," Lilo said. "No one goes there, it's in a private spot and no one could sneak up on it. You have a perfect viewpoint of the entire area around you."
Zee mulled this over in her head. Although it would make more sense to just leave the island, Zee knew that Galactic Federation officers were probably stationed all over the globe. At least on Kauai, it was easy to tell who the locals were and who the aliens were. "Sounds good. But I won't go there right away. They might search all the abandoned places the second the cavalry gets here."
"Good idea." Lilo propped her chin in her hands. "You can probably just go and hang out at the beach and we'll meet you there after everyone arrives."
Suddenly a great rumbling sounded overhead. Zee glanced up as a large aircraft sailed above them. "And this would be...?"
Lilo sighed. "Kim Possible. And everyone's probably noticed Stitch and I aren't home."
"Big trouble," Stitch muttered.
"I don't understand why they don't want our help." Lilo frowned in frustration. "We caught 624 (625 if you want to count Reuben, who never really needed to be reformed) experiments and turned them from bad to good! I don't see what the difference is with you."
"Jumba knows all the weaknesses of all his experiments," Zee explained. "He knows their strengths. He knows their original purpose. No one really knows anything about me. That's why I'm classified as dangerous. I'm unpredictable."
"They wouldn't think that if they really got to know you!" Lilo cried eagerly. "Maybe that's all you have to do! After all, you only stole to survive."
A grim smile crossed Zee's face. "If only it were that simple. Once you make their list, it's hard to get off. The shoot first and ask questions later."
"Ih," Stitch agreed, remembering his days as a fugitive from the Galactic Council.
Lilo sighed. "I know. Well, we better head back Stitch. Maybe they haven't noticed we've left yet."
The two waved to Zee and headed back for home. Lilo peeked through the foliage and groaned. "Looks like we've been busted, Stitch."
Stitch peered over Lilo's shoulder. "Nala queesta."
Pleakley was standing on the porch, his eye scanning the surrounding forest intently, a frown on his face. "That girl is going to be the death of me," he muttered.
"Don't worry," Kim Possible assured Lilo's alien 'aunt'. "I can get Wade to check out the surrounding area with the satellites orbiting Earth. Hey, Wade-"
Wade grinned from the small screen on the Kimmunicator. "Already on it."
Ron Stoppable rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hey, would this whole 'scanning Earth' thing find Triple Zero?"
Kim smiled. "I wish. Wade already did a global wide search. Couldn't pick up anything unusual."
Pleakley glanced at the teen hero. "A global wide search?"
"From his bedroom," Kim confirmed with a fond smile. "Wade can do anything."
At that moment Lilo and Stitch decided to face the music. "No getting out of this one," Lilo muttered. "Come on, Stitch."
The two emerged from the greenery and into plain sight. Pleakley sighed with relief and grabbed the girl into a hug.
"Never mind Wade. She's here," Kim informed her genius friend. She slipped the Kimmunicator back into her pocket and frowned at Lilo disapprovingly. "Should I even ask where you two were?"
"Naga," Stitch answered.
Lilo pouted up at Kim from Pleakley's arms. "Geez, I don't see you for two whole years and that's all you can say?"
"Lilo, this isn't a joke," Kim said sternly. "Where were you?"
"Out for a walk," Lilo answered.
"It's five in the morning!" Pleakley cried, finally releasing his grip on Lilo.
"Morning walk," Stitch returned. Lilo grinned at him.
Kim sighed wearily. She knew the two alien reformers were going to make this entire situation difficult. She crouched down until she was level with the little girl. "Lilo, this isn't one of your alien cousins. This is a dangerous alien criminal that we know nothing about."
"How do you know she's dangerous?" Lilo demanded. "Maybe she's just misunderstood."
Ron let out a snort of laughter and he hastily covered it up with a cough. Kim managed not to smile. The girl held too much in the good in people. "Lilo, you and Stitch have the amazing trait of being able to see the good in people. But sometimes there's just no good to see."
"We don't know Z-000 is pure evil!" Lilo protested. She was extremely relieved at having caught the near-name slip.
"000 blew up one of the headquarters on Planet Turo. And she put you and Stitch in harm's way." Pleakley patted Stitch's head affectionately. "That's pretty unforgivable to me."
Lilo tried to think of something that would convince the Zee Retrieval Squad to give Zee a chance, and not just apprehend her on the spot if she was ever caught. Before she could say something to make them see the situation her way a deafening roar sounded, and a great wind sent the palm trees bending to the ground. Lilo clapped a hand over her ears as a yellow and red rocket descended among the trees.
Removing her hands, Lilo wiped a streak of dirt off her face. "Okay, if we're trying to be subtle, a poor job is being done so far."
"Come on, brah," Ron said, rubbing Lilo's head and being careful not to touch her wound. "Don't be upset. It's all for the better."
It was then the Grand Councilwoman disembarked from her spaceship, black robes flowing around her. Ron stared in awe. "That's the Grand Councilwoman, ruler of the galaxy?"
"Indeed."
Lilo jumped in fright at the sudden new voice, her neck swinging upwards. Gantu loomed over them, his large shadow blocking out the morning sun. Reuben was beside him, eating a bacon and egg sandwich. Gantu noticed the nervousness of the girl and thought it was because of her anxiety of being harmed again by 000. "Sorry," he said quickly.
"For someone so tall, he sure doesn't make any noise. He should start wearing a bell around his neck or something," Lilo whispered to Stitch, who smothered a giggle.
"How're my favourite cousins today?" Reuben asked. "Staying out of trouble?"
"I wish," Pleakley answered flatly. "They snuck out this morning to go looking for 000."
"It was a walk!" Lilo insisted. "A morning walk! Don't go making false assumptions!"
Kim shook her head at the shortness in Lilo's voice. "Come on, Lilo. Don't be having a temper tantrum."
"I am not having a temper tantrum!" Lilo hollered. The Grand Councilwoman, who had reached them by this point, looked startled by Lilo's outburst.
"What is going on here?" she demanded.
"Nothing," Lilo said, trying hard to reign in her frustration. "Sorry. It's nice to see you again," she said genuinely.
Stitch smiled up at the leader of the galaxy. "Ih! Nice to see you."
The Grand Councilwoman smiled, correctly having a feeling that Lilo's outburst had something to do with her frustration. "And it is very good to see the two of you."
"What is with the yelling and racket?" Jumba lumbered out the front door. "Oh, I see Kim Possible and sidekick have arrived! And your Eminence! Very good. "
"Seriously? It's a three letter name. Not. Hard. To. Remember," Ron muttered in annoyance.
As if Lilo and Stitch weren't already outnumbered, a large black car moved into the driveway. "I'm going to guess Jake is here," Lilo muttered.
"Did Lilo come home yet?" Nani came out to join the crowd, looking around frantically. Relief filled her expression upon seeing Lilo standing next to Stitch, the both of them seemingly unharmed. "You two are in so much trouble!" she said, scooping them into a hug.
"Story of my life," Lilo sighed.
"And I would also like to know why you didn't tell me about our guests." Nani set her sister and Stitch down. She frowned at the duo. "Pleakley ended up telling me last night at dinner that your friends would be staying with us for a bit."
Kim stared at Lilo, who stared at the ground. "You didn't tell your sister we were coming?"
"Slipped my mind," Lilo said honestly. Despite the fact she was actually telling the truth this time, no one besides Stitch seemed to believe her.
"I'm sure you did," Reuben said with a sigh, studying Lilo with slight concern. He could see faint bags under her eyes and she seemed paler. She also seemed to be gaining a shorter and shorter fuse.
"Good morning all," Cobra Bubbles greeted curtly. Jake Long and his friends Spud and Trixie followed behind him.
Jake grinned easily. "What's up, y'all?"
Lilo could feel her stomach drop. She had expected everyone to show up, but she was hoping at different times. She also thought it would be safe to assume that they would be keeping a close eye on her and Stitch.
How were they supposed to help Zee if no one would let them help? Granted, she wouldn't really be helping her friends and family find Zee, but she knew she would be deceiving them in favour of a greater cause. And she was pretty miffed by the lack of faith they were showing.
"Let me guess," Lilo said dryly. "Babysitters?" Her happiness at seeing her old friends was overpowered by the frustration and exhaustion she felt.
Jake tousled her hair. "Good to see you, Lilo." He smiled, overlooking the sharp tongue.
Cobra scanned the yard and nodded when he saw that everyone was accounted for. "We should get started right away. Nani, show everyone to the living room please. Lilo, why don't you and Stitch take a walk down the beach?"
Lilo gaped at her social worker. "It's my house!"
The pure indigence on her face was hilarious. Kim had to turn her head away so she could hold back a smile. Even Cobra's lips twitched. "And you can come back after we have our meeting. You are to go to the beach and stay there until someone comes to collect you. Or do I need to send someone to go with you?"
Lilo scowled, knowing when she was defeated. "All right, fine. I'll go to the beach." She stalked down the driveway. "I'll die in the hot sun while everyone sits in my living room. Better yet, I'll go for a nice long surf."
Stitch was about to hurry after her when Nani stopped him. She glared sternly at the experiment. "I know your opinions on this whole situation are the same as Lilo's. But I need you to keep Lilo in check. She can get carried away, and I'm counting on you to make sure she doesn't do anything drastic."
Stitch swallowed nervously. "Uh...ih. Stitch protect Lilo."
And he scampered off. His words were true. He would protect Lilo. Especially if they happened to get into a mess while protecting his cousin.
Kim watched as the experiment jog after the annoyed Hawaiian girl. "Will they be okay?"
Nani massaged her temples, having a feeling that her small talk with Stitch wouldn't cause him to prevent any impulsive actions by her sister. "I ask myself that same question every day."