I'm glad you're all putting up with me so far. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. Read on!
Over the next couple of weeks, only a few events of real interest occurred. Lilo's attempts to cure Stitch with a voodoo doll were all for naught, since Stitch destroyed the doll before she could finish it and replaced it with a Ken doll to keep Barbie company. Lilo ended up shoving Ken up Mertle's other nostril at school the next day, resulting in another suspension, grounding, and a second possible lawsuit looming over the horizon. Jumba had begun to think that there was something wrong with Stitch's programming and attempted to analyze him to find out what was wrong. Unfortunately, Stitch escaped from the analyzer and claimed invasive scans were against his religion. Nani still hadn't gotten her raise. (By the way, could anyone tell me what exactly her job is? I know she works for Keoni's dad, but that's about it.) Pleakley…was Pleakley. 'Nuff said. Angel was extremely depressed after being dumped by Stitch and hadn't left the theatre for weeks. Her fellow actors kept sharp objects away from her, just in case she attempted suicide. All the other reformed experiments were somewhat worried about how their cool blue cousin was acting, but stayed out of the mess.
While life was going somewhat downhill at the Pelekai's, things were looking up at Gantu's ship. Due to Stitch's new obsession with safe driving and his refusal to fight Gantu over experiments, the shark-headed alien had captured approximately a hundred experiments with relatively little difficulty. His old confidence, pride, and arrogance had returned, leading him to pull his old Supreme Order-Bringer of the Universe costume out of mothballs and strut around in it all day. Hamsterviel was in a very uncomfortable position, because he was having more and more difficulty finding faults in Gantu, and was seriously considering giving him a raise. 625 was also starting to develop severe cramps from the rigorous sidekick training Gantu had forced upon him. He spent most of his free time torturing the prisoners by eating sandwiches in front of them and not offering them any.
Gantu, wearing his flashy duds, entered the cargo bay and flipped on the light switch. The sudden change in lighting temporarily blinded the numerous experiments encapsulated on a large rack at the back of the chamber. The ex-captain pulled three capsules off of his back and placed them in some of the few empty spaces remaining on the rack. One looked like a living pile of rocks, another was a three-eyed purple blob that oozed acid across its prison with no effect, and the last one was reminiscent of a big dodo. Gantu smirked at their misery and activated the nearby communications link.
Hamsterviel appeared on the big screen. "What is it now?" he grumbled. "I was about to complete some of the special enhancements I've been making to my soldiers!"
"My apologies, sir. I was just calling to report the capture of Experiments 605, 402 and 051. That brings the total number of experiments to one hundred and one," he said, gesturing to the capsules on the wall.
"Excellent! As soon as they are in my grasp, I can finally begin my campaign of galactic conquest!" said the evil rodent eagerly. Then he frowned. "Speaking of which, when will I receive them?"
Gantu shrugged. "The teleporter parts are still en route. I expect their arrival anytime now."
At that moment, 625 poked his head into the room. "Hey Gantu-"
Gantu scowled and crossed his arms. "Ahem."
625 sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hey Supreme Order-Bringer of the Universe, a package just arrived for you. I think it's the replacement teleporter parts."
The shark-headed alien was pleased. "Ah, excellent. I should have those experiments sent to your lab within the hour, doctor."
Hamsterviel grunted. "See that you do. And maybe we'll talk about a raise after those 101 experiments are mine!" The communication ended.
Elated, Gantu headed for the door. "625, watch the prisoners while I'm gone. I'm going to fix the teleporter."
"You do that." Bored, 625 leaned against a wall and started eating a sandwich. The imprisoned experiments looked longingly at the food, drooling hungrily.
Gantu marched outside the ship, where a large crate bearing the mark of the Intergalactic Postal Service sat on a rock. He smirked. It's amazing how much things have improved in the last few weeks, he thought as he picked up the crate and started back for the ship. I would never have done this well if 626 hadn't just given up fighting me!
He chuckled as he placed the crate next to the teleporter. "It's almost like the little trog wants me to have his cousins!" He started to laugh when a horrible thought struck him. All of the confidence he had developed recently was immediately stripped away as he rushed to a computer terminal and pressed several buttons, aiming his plasma gun at the crate. "Computer, scan that crate for any lifeforms!"
"One lifeform detected."
Gantu immediately opened fire, blasting the crate with dozens of plasma bolts. It exploded, scattering wrecked machine parts as well as the corpse of a Blorchian asteroid rat across the room. Pushing aside the knowledge that he had just destroyed his much-needed spare parts, Gantu turned to the computer again. "Computer, scan the entire ship. How many lifeforms are on board?"
"One hundred and three lifeforms detected."
Gantu relaxed slightly. "Good, he's not on board…but that doesn't mean he won't be!" He raced down to the cargo hold. "625, stop eating that sandwich! We have work to do!"
"Huh?" 625 asked dumbly.
"That little abomination has been playing me for a fool all along! Oh, he thinks he's clever with that 'I don't want to steal from you', act, but I'm not falling for it! You have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on Captain Gantu!"
625 stared at him in confusion. "Huh?"
Gantu growled and slowly explained, as if to a child. "626 has deceived us. He's pretending not to want to fight me to lure me into a false sense of security. The moment I let my guard down, he'll strike and release all of the experiments I've collected." He chuckled. "But I'm too smart for him. Come on! We're going to have to fortify the ship! When he comes here, he'll be in for the surprise of his life!" He picked up 625 and headed for the elevator.
"Hey, I wasn't done with my sandwich!" 625 protested.
"You can finish it later. We must defend the ship!"
As they passed through the bridge on the way to the armory, 625 saw the destroyed crate of machine parts. "Hey, did you wreck those teleporter parts? Ooh boy, you're gonna be in trouble when the doc finds out!"
Gantu stopped as the full horror of his earlier actions dawned on him. "Oh blitznag, the teleporter! I said it would be fixed in an hour!" His mind raced and quickly came up with a plausible solution. "If he calls, I'll just say the parts were defective. I'd better order a new shipment."
He dropped 625 and headed to a computer terminal. Before he could log on to the Net, the spherical experiment detector beeped. "Warning! Experiment 451 activated. Primary function: Poison." The machine popped open, showing a detailed hologram of a large purple snake with long red fangs, gold stripes, red and black eyes, and a few pairs of small claws.
Gantu looked worried. "Blitznag! I can't go out now. I have to stay here and fortify the ship. If 626 gets in while I'm out and frees all the other experiments, Hamsterviel will kill me!"
625 was very amused. "And if you don't go out and capture 451, Hamsterviel will kill you anyway. Tough luck, fish face."
Gantu looked down at 625, getting a brilliant idea. "Wait a minute…I can't afford to go out there, but you can!"
625 blinked. "Who, me?"
"Yes! It's time to see if all that training I've been giving you was worth the effort. Go out and capture 451!"
625 frowned and crossed his arms. "And what if I don't want to capture 451? Maybe I'm scared of getting poisoned!"
"Then no food, television, OR Space Porn for a month."
625 paled. "I'll be good." He grabbed a glass capsule and waddled out of the ship as fast as he could. Gantu placed his order and headed to the armory. If 626 thought he could pull the wool over his eyes, then he had another thing coming!
Some time later, Lilo and Stitch arrived at the coffee shop (Having heard that a large snake had been sighted in the area) and found 625 waiting, munching on a sandwich at one of the tables. Experiment 451 was trapped in a capsule lying against the side of 625's chair, longing for her freedom. 625 looked up as they arrived. "Oh, hey cuz'. You're a bit late, already got 451 all by myself." He patted the serpent's capsule. The snake hissed at him through the glass.
"How did you capture her?" Lilo asked, finding it hard to believe 625 had succeeded at anything other than sandwiches for once.
The experiment's chest puffed out with pride. "I'll have you know there's more to this bread-scarfing doofus than meets the eye. Just because I don't use my super powers all the time doesn't mean I can't. 451 had no chance against me!"
"You caught her while she was sleeping, didn't you?" Lilo accused.
"…Yes," he admitted. "But she was snoring really loudly. My ears are still hurting a little." He picked some wax from one of his ears and finished his sandwich. "Well, lunch break's over. Better get this baby back to the ship. I'll tell Gantu you said hi."
As 625 picked up the capsule and started walking away, Lilo turned to Stitch. "I don't suppose you'll steal just this once?"
He shook his head. "I cannot."
"Then it's a good thing I packed lunch." She pulled a sandwich out of her backpack and ran after 625. "Hey Sandwich Boy, if you give me 451 you can have this sandwich."
625 paused. "What kind is it?"
"Peanut butter."
"No jelly?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Just plain peanut butter."
625 thought for a minute. "Hmm. Not the most elegant of sandwiches, but simplicity isn't always a bad thing." He rubbed his belly. "It's a good thing for you I'm still hungry. You've got a deal." They traded, and 625 waddled away, nibbling on his snack.
"Great job, Lilo!" said Stitch as he came over. "Now give her to me so I can destroy her."
Lilo blinked. "What?"
"I have to destroy her. She's a servant of the devil." Stitch explained.
Lilo stared at him in confusion. "Scales can't be a servant of the devil, she's just an experiment."
Stitch groaned. "You've already named her. Great, now you're going to feel attached to her and make things difficult."
Lilo hugged the capsule defensively. "What makes you think she's a servant of the devil?"
"She's a snake." Stitch said matter-of-factly.
"…So?"
"Serpents are tools of the devil. They are made in her image to spread evil throughout the world and corrupt mankind. By killing 451, we can stop her before she destroys us," Stitch explained.
"But Jumba made Scales, not the devil. That means she can't be a tool of the devil," Lilo protested. "And besides, she's o'hana. That means we can't kill her. She's family!"
"If she is a tool of the devil, she's not a member of my family." Stitch said coldly.
"But she's not a tool of the devil! She's not even a real snake, she just looks a lot like one!" she argued.
"Even if she isn't a real snake, she looks too much like one for my comfort. It would be safer to destroy her than let her live. Please give her to me." He reached for the capsule.
Lilo backed away. "I'm not going to give her to me. And I know you can't take her without my permission, 'cause that would be stealing!" she said triumphantly.
"Those rules are suspended when dealing with a tool of the devil." He grabbed one end of the capsule.
Before Stitch could pull it from her, Lilo popped open the capsule's top. "Run, Scales! Get away before he kills you!"
Scales needed no prompting, and immediately slithered out of the capsule. Stitch cursed, dropped the capsule, and ran after the serpent as she slid away. He chased her under several tables, bumping customers and causing the Sunburned Tourist to drop his ice cream cone, until Scales squeezed her body into a crack in the ground. Stitch made a grab for her tail, but she pulled it into the earth and vanished. Furious, Stitch returned to Lilo. "Why did you do that?! Now she's free to work her evil on the island!"
Lilo was not in a mood to be scolded. She had finally had enough. "Stitch, I've had it up to here with this religion of yours! I didn't do anything when you forbade me to see Mr. Pudge or play with voodoo dolls. I didn't do anything when you broke up with Angel just so you could become a big shot priest or something. I didn't do anything even when you refused to lift a finger to stop Gantu from capturing our cousins. But this is too much! You wanted to kill a member of our family just because she looked like a snake! I'm sick and tired of you acting like this all the time! I just want the old Stitch back," She said, starting to beg. "Please Stitch. Can't you forget about stupid Ban-Kar and go back to normal? I want us to be a family again."
Stitch looked at her in surprise. "You're asking me to give up my religion? After all it's done to help me mentally and spiritually? You want me to turn my back on all that just so I can be normal? A part of your little family again? Are you really that selfish?"
"Stitch, I-"
"You're asking me to choose? You want me to choose between my religion and my family? Is that what you're telling me?"
Lilo screwed up her courage. "Yes. What's it going to be, Stitch? Ban-Kar or O'hana? You have to choose one, because you can't have both."
Stitch shrugged. "Fine. I choose Ban-Kar."
Lilo was shocked. This was not the answer she had been hoping for. "But…but why?"
"Because I see now you were only holding me back. And if I am to be a true follower of Ban-Kar, I must be free of all ties to my old life." He shook his head. "I'm part of a new family now, one offering me far more than you ever could. Goodbye, Lilo. I hope that someday you realize that I've made the right decision. If you ever feel the need to apologize or repent, look for me at the Church of Ban-Kar. That is my true home now."
With that, Stitch walked away. And poor Lilo was left all alone as her world shattered around her.
Well, that was a sad chapter. Any reviews or comments are welcome. I don't mind if you flame, I'm sure I deserve it.