We're nearing the big finish, my friends. Only a few more chapters to the end. The countdown to doomsday has begun…

Anonymous, you'll have to forgive Dracula. He only thinks he's a ninja anyway, he probably just got the honor codes messed up.

Cweek, I am aware by now that Houdini is in actuality a boy, but it's a little late to change her gender back.

…

"Good God."

That was what Stitch said the instant they reached the coordinates Hacker had confirmed as the location of Hamsterviel's hideout, deep inside the pitch-black Horse Head Nebula.

They had arrived from the Shorca system, crammed into the cockpit of the refurbished excursion vehicle stolen from Gantu, and were struck dumb by the sight waiting for them.

It was a fleet. An enormous fleet, numbering in the thousands, with ships extending in every direction as far as the eye could see, all lit by a small, newly built artificial sun. And every single one of them was dead. The ships were covered in rust and showed other signs of decay, indicating that they had been there for a very, very long time indeed.

"I don't think even the Galactic Navy is this big…" Sparky whispered.

"It must have been an impossible feat, to construct all those ships…" Dracula mused.

Houdini quivered. "D-do you think there might be ghosts on those ships?"

Kixx ignored her (as he had been doing ever since he had found out she nearly abandoned him to the Walker) and switched on the communicator. "Hacker, what's going on? Why's the doc's hideout in this old ship graveyard?"

The spider shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm still sifting through his databanks. I checked the Galactic Library, but there's no record of a fleet of this size in history…except for the one belonging to Hamsterviel's direct ancestor, Adolf the Really Evil, which vanished thousands of years ago."

"What would he want with a bunch of old wrecks belonging to his great-great-to the somethingth power grandfather?" wondered Slugger.

"Like I said, I don't know. I'll try to find out, though. In the meantime, head for the flagship, it's this one right here." She pulled up a set of coordinates showing where the ship was. "That's where the doc's base of operations is. Now I gotta go and see if I can find an explanation for all this. Good luck!" She vanished, and the small ship flew in silence towards the massive ghost fleet.

…

Hamsterviel looked up from his computer to see a flashing light. "It looks like we have an intruder approaching our hideout."

"Is it those lousy experiments again?" asked Mertle.

"No doubt."

"What are we gonna do about them?"

Hamsterviel pressed a few buttons. "Let them right in. If any of our prior encounters have taught me anything, it's that my defenses, no matter how expensive or powerful they are, aren't enough to stop 626 and his cousins. But we have nothing to worry about, because once they get in, there's no way out. And our newest weapon will be waiting to eliminate them…isn't that right Gantu?"

In the chamber's shadows, a pair of red eyes narrowed. "My name isn't Gantu anymore."

Hamsterviel rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, whatever your name is, you are ready, aren't you?"

"I'm ready."

"Good. Go and wait for them. 626 and his little friends should be here soon."

"I look forward to his arrival." He left the room.

Mertle looked at her mentor. "Do you really think he can kill them?"

"No, but he can certainly delay them long enough for me to finish up here. Then nothing, not even 626, can stop me."

Mertle gazed up at the horrific monster in the center of the room. "So this thing is your master plan?"

The doctor nodded. "The culmination of it, yes."

Mertle scratched her head. "So how does it all fit? The experiments, Lilo, the stolen computer, the Uburnium, the Star of Destiny…what does it all have to do with this thing?"

Hamsterviel grinned. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" Hamsterviel began explaining his master plan, unaware that a certain virtual spider was listening too.

…

It had been all too easy to get inside the flagship. The ship had moved quietly and invisibly to avoid detection, but they needn't have worried. Any weapons the enormous battleships had once had were eroded from age. There were no mines, drones, clones, space fighters, or anything at all to protect the ship from curious outsiders. They even found an open docking bay that allowed them to land right next to Hamsterviel's globular ship. When they became visible again, there was no outcry or alarm of any kind, merely silence.

"Why hasn't anything happened yet?" Angel muttered, looking antsy. "This was too easy. How come nothing stopped us?"

"Well, one possibility is that Hamsterviel never fixed up security in this old wreck because it would be too expensive what with having to finance all his other plans, and he figured that nobody would find it anyway since it's in the middle of an almost lightless void," theorized Finder.

"And the other possibility?" asked Stitch, already knowing the answer.

"It's a trap," Finder said flatly.

Clip sighed unhappily. "Knowing Hamsterviel, it'll probably be the last one."

They started walking for the hangar's exit. "Well, we'll just have to be careful about where we step, right guys?" said Slugger, stepping on a panel that was 1/1000th of a shade lighter than the rest of the gray floor. Instantly, a trapdoor opened beneath the members of Team Stitch, sending them plummeting to their doom. The trapdoor shut behind them.

Angel groaned. "Well, that was ironic. Who didn't see that coming?" Houdini timidly raised her hand. "Nobody asked you, Houdini."

Kixx pulled out his communicator. "Hacker! Hey Hacker, we got a problem! Stitch, Slugger and Sparky just fell down a trapdoor and…hello? Hacker?"

The communicator beeped. "Sorry, but I'm busy trying to learn Hamsterviel's master plan so I can help my friends save the universe. Please leave a message at the sound of the tone, and I'll call you back after I save the day. Bye!" The communicator beeped again.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Kixx left a message. "Uh, hey Hack, this is Kixx. Stitch and his pals fell through a trapdoor, so we've gotta go look for them. Good luck with the snooping stuff, I guess. Please call back if you have any way to help us find the guys." He hung up.

"Hey, you don't need her to help find Stitch's team," Finder pointed out. "My nose can sniff em' out!"

"Hey yeah, that's right!" said Angel.

"Then lead the way, O noble aardvark," said Dracula.

Finder sniffed at the air for a moment, then ran out the exit. The other five experiments followed him. Once they had left the hangar, a heavy door slammed shut over the entrance and a huge metal fist fell down from the ceiling, smashing the excursion vehicle to pieces. A tape holding a recording of Hamsterviel's laugh played. Now there was no escape.

…

Team Stitch screamed as they fell through a hole in the ceiling. Slugger struggled to flap his wings, slowing his descent and allowing him to grab his teammates. Flapping more frantically, he stopped their fall and allowed them to land safely on the floor of a very dark chamber. "Where are we?" asked Sparky. "I can't see anything…wait! I know!" He started glowing with electricity, making it very painful for Slugger and Stitch, who had already activated their night vision, to look at him.

"Hey, knock that off!" said Stitch angrily.

"Oh. Sorry." Sparky stopped glowing. "Where are we?"

Slugger looked around. "We're in a big, dome-shaped room. Like an arena of some sort. There's something big in the center of the room, but it's so dark in here even with night vision I can't quite make it out."

Stitch had more advanced night vision and eyesight than Slugger (courtesy of Jumba), and zoomed in to examine the object. "It's big, and shaped kind of like a giant man. Almost like…" He frowned. "No, it can't be Gantu. It's too big, and it has wings."

"Yeah, and since when does Gantu have wings?" asked Slugger.

A pair of pinpoints of red light shone from the darkness. "Since now."

They all recognized the voice. "Gantu?"

"I once went by that name. When I was weaker. Fleshier. When I still had a life, and dreams, I was called Gantu. But no more," said the figure.

The trio stared at him blankly. "What're you talking about?" asked Stitch.

The thing that was and was not Gantu kept talking, ignoring the question. "When Gantu was a little boy, he loved stories of heroes. Heroes who defeated great evil and saved the world. Like every other Whark his age, he wanted to be a hero…but when he grew up, he kept that dream in his heart and joined the Galactic Navy, believing it would allow him to fulfill his destiny. He rose quickly through the ranks and became commander of the entire fleet due to his numerous heroic feats, and it seemed as if his dreams had come true…until you came along!"

"Who, me?" asked Stitch, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yes, you! Thanks to you, Gantu lost his position as Captain and became an outcast! He was forced to serve Doctor Hamsterviel in capturing your cousins in the hopes that he could somehow deliver them to the government and be proclaimed a hero again for capturing them, but instead he fell further and further from his dream! No matter how hard he tried, Gantu could do nothing but fail, over and over again, becoming less of a hero and more of a fiend as you stole the spotlight from him again and again!" He pointed furiously at Stitch. "Every chance he had to become the hero again, you ruined, making yourself into a champion the likes of which only exist in legend, and turning Gantu into a villain, and a failure of a villain at that! Because of you, he lost his job, his dreams, his life…his entire planet! All lost because you escaped his ship on that day of your trial so long ago and would not submit to him like any captured villain should, starting the chain reaction that led to the final transformation that created the being I am now. YOU STOLE HIS DESTINY!"

The lights came on, blinding Stitch and Slugger. They screamed and clutched their eyes in pain. Sparky stared in awe at the monster before them.

Gantu had been transformed into a great shining knight with golden armor, every inch of his mechanical body speaking of strength and power. In his left hand he held a great round shield with the symbol of a phoenix on it, and in his right he held a long lance. A pair of wing-shaped thrusters grew from his back, and they had feathers engraved into them to make them look even more like wings. His face, visible through his spiked helmet, was noble and handsome, with a pair of great tusks growing from the sides of his face. His red eyes were the only thing that marred his heroic features, for they were filled with such hatred and loathing that it hurt to gaze into them.

"Weak, pitiable, mortal Gantu is no more. In his place is the harbinger of your doom, 626, created by the agony and hatred of a lost world and shattered dreams, aided by the evil that is Doctor Hamsterviel's Soul Vacuum." He glared balefully at Stitch, who was trying to clear his eyes. "I am Mal, embodiment of hatred…AND I HAVE NO DESTINY!" His thrusters ignited, lifting him off the floor. With a battle cry, he charged at the trio, lance forward.

Sparky grabbed Stitch and Slugger, who were still blinded by the lights and the sheer shininess of Mal's body, and zapped out of the way of the charging knight before he could skewer them. He solidified on the other side of the room. "Guys, the only way we can beat him is if we tear through his body with our Thundershot attack! Stitch, get into ball form!"

"Huh?" Sparky grabbed Stitch, forced him to curl into a ball, and charged him with electricity.

"Slugger, hit it!" Sparky threw Stitch at Slugger.

Slugger looked around in blind confusion. "Sparky? Where are you?" He got hit in the face by Stitch, breaking a few teeth.

Sparky held his face in his hands. "Blitznag. We're doomed."

"DIE!" Mal charged towards Stitch, who was still blinded.

Sparky yanked Stitch out of the way and hit Mal with an electric attack, but it just slid off the giant's shockproof armor. "How do you beat this guy?!"

Mal turned around and slashed with his lance, sending out a yellow laser blade at Stitch. Fortunately, Stitch had finally managed to recover his sight and grabbed the blade in his indestructible gloves. He flipped it around and sent it back at Mal, who broke it on his shield. "Ah, so you're ready to fight! Now I can finally have my revenge!"

"Look, Gantu, I'm sorry if our rivalry has led to this! I never wanted your life or your planet to be destroyed, I just wanted you to stop bothering my family! I never wanted you to become this!" Stitch protested.

"Nevertheless, it has. And for that, you will DIE!" He charged again.

Slugger swooped down, grabbed Stitch, and pulled him out of the way before Mal could kill him. "Why are you ragging on Stitch, anyway? If anyone's responsible for all the bad stuff that happened to you, it's Hamsterviel! He turned you into this monster, didn't he?"

Mal paused, then shook his head. "He would never have transformed Gantu and destroyed his world if he hadn't failed so many times, and he wouldn't have failed so much if 626 had not ruined his life to begin with!"

"Hey, you didn't have to work for Hamsterviel after I cost you your job, you could have gone to work for anyone else! But you wanted revenge, didn't you? And because of your thirst for vengeance, you kept fighting me and kept sinking yourself deeper and deeper into failure! You're partly to blame for this too, you know!" Stitch pointed out.

Mal blinked. "I…no! NO! Stop confusing me!"

"No one person is to blame for your failure, Gantu," said Sparky. "Sure, Stitch caused you to lose your hero status…but you lost it even more by working for Hamsterviel, who caused you to become more evil and eventually led to this! Stitch and Hamsterviel may have ruined your life…but you ruined it too!"

Mal gritted his teeth. "SHUT UP! Gantu may have ruined his life, but that's not who I am anymore! I'm stronger, faster, superior in every way!" He slashed his lance dozens of times, sending several laser blades at Stitch.

Stitch and Slugger punched and deflected the blades, knocking them all over the room. One got past the robot's shield, nicking his shoulder. "Just look at yourself! You claim to be better than you were before…but all that's changed is your body! You're still the same sad Whark inside, and no amount of name changing or high-tech weaponry will fix that. You're no different than you used to be, because you've still got the same hatred and anger you've always had…and because you can't get rid of that, you will NEVER win!" said Stitch.

Mal roared, "I WILL WIN!" He rose above the floor and drove his lance into the ground, creating a yellow shockwave.

They all jumped over it. Stitch turned into a ball in midair, and Slugger hit him, sending him towards Mal. The monster raised his shield, and Stitch bounced off of it, leaving a small dent. Slugger intercepted Stitch and hit him again, knocking him back into the shield. He continued to bounce Stitch off the shield until it was full of dents. Mal looked at his damaged shield in surprise, then growled and fired several missiles from his back. Slugger dropped Stitch and deflected some of the missiles back at Mal. Most of them missed, but a few struck the shield, damaging it slightly. Mal backed away, raised his shield, and threw it at the heroes like a boomerang. Stitch punched it back at the giant, who caught it easily. "Ha! I've seen how you defeated the 199 clones and the H-Viper! You can't use that trick on me!"

Stitch shrugged. "Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure out some other way."

Mal backed up some more and lifted his left foot. The tip opened up, dispensing a sphere. He bounced it up into the air, then kicked it towards the trio. "Take this!"

Slugger automatically swung his tail at the ball. It exploded, knocking him out of the air. "Slugger!" Sparky yelled.

Mal grinned and dispensed another footbomb. Stitch punched it when it came to him, and predictably it exploded, knocking him back. "Ow…" Mal laughed and launched another footbomb. This time, Stitch caught it in his gloves instead of punching it. It still exploded, knocking him back. "Okay, this is getting annoying." Mal threw yet another footbomb. This time, Stitch caught it with one hand, but immediately used its own momentum to spin around and throw it right back at the robot.

Mal quickly raised his shield, protecting himself from the explosive blast. "Not bad…" He rose into the air and charged at Stitch.

Stitch curled into a ball and rolled out of the way, then got back up, grabbed Mal's foot as he flew past, and spun around, throwing the robot into a wall. "Yeah!"

Mal got back up and fired his missiles at the blue experiment. Slugger had by this time recovered, and started deflecting the projectiles. Sparky zapped several of them to help, and Stitch punched others, causing them to either explode or malfunction and turn back on their master. Either way, Mal got hit by several of his own missiles, damaging his shield some more. Getting angrier, he predictably charged at his nemesis again. Stitch rolled out of the way and was about to grab the giant's foot when Mal abruptly spun around and struck Stitch with his lance, knocking him away. Mal took advantage of Stitch's stunned condition to charge again.

Slugger flew at the giant's head, blocking Mal's vision and surprising him enough to halt his charge. Angry, the robot swiped at Slugger with his lance, trying to knock him out of the air. Sparky took this time to get over to Stitch and start supercharging him. Knowing it would be folly to throw Stitch at Slugger while the pterodactyl was distracted avoiding the lance, Sparky instead opted for the somewhat weaker Thunderball technique, throwing the charged Stitch right at Mal's chest. The robot saw the attack coming from the corner of his eye and quickly raised his shield. Stitch ricocheted off the shield and flew towards Slugger and was deflected right back by the pterodactyl's tail, causing the shield to shatter.

Mal was shocked. "No…how did you break my shield?!"

"Would you believe it was the power of teamwork?" Stitch asked as he tried to punch Mal in the face.

The robot grabbed him and tossed him away. "Don't give me that crap!"

"No really, it was teamwork. Sparky threw me at the shield, and when I bounced off, Slugger knocked me back with enough force to break it. That's teamwork."

"Yeah, but you'd need friends to understand teamwork. And you don't have any, do you?" Slugger taunted.

Mal's eyes flashed. "I don't need any friends!" A second shield dropped from the ceiling and landed in his hand. This one had saw edges and the emblem of a dragon on it. He reared back and threw the shield at the experiments.

"Slugger, boost us up there!" said Stitch.

Slugger grabbed Sparky and Stitch and dropped them on top of the shield as it spun towards them. Mal gaped. "That's not possible!"

"Anything is possible!" Sparky said, trying to keep from vomiting from the spinning while charging up Stitch in his hands.

As the shield came back towards him, Mal swung his lance to deflect it. Slugger dropped down and knocked it right back, causing it to collide with the robot's chest and explode. Sparky had jumped off at the last second and hurled Stitch at Mal's face, smashing into it and ruining the villain's perfect features. Mal howled in pain and took a few steps back. "My face! You ruined my face!"

"We'll ruin more than that when we're through with you!" promised Sparky.

Mal was getting really mad now. He roared and thrusted his left arm forward. The trio was startled when it morphed into a huge cannon and fired a laser blast that ripped a giant hole in the arena wall. "I…WILL…NOT…LOSE!!!" He launched fifty missiles all at once.

As the experiments got ready to deflect the missiles, Mal fired his laser at the floor in front of them, causing an explosion that hurled the team away and left them totally open for the missiles, which hit them and detonated, knocking them senseless. Mal grinned maliciously and trod over to Stitch, who was struggling to get back up. "It's over."

Stitch looked up at the robot in disgust. "Look at yourself," he hissed. "You said when you were younger, you always wanted to be a hero. Do you think you're a hero now, Gantu? Are you happy with what you've become?"

"No," admitted Mal. "And you have only yourself to thank for that."

"As I already said, this is your fault too…but you know you're just being used, right? Do you really think Hamsterviel will let you live after you kill me?"

Mal shook his head. "No. But I look forward to my death. It will end the pain of living like this."

"It doesn't have to be that way!" Stitch insisted. "You still have one last chance to be a hero. Help us!"

Mal was puzzled. "What?"

"Help us! You can help us take down Hamsterviel. You can be a hero for one last time. You can find your destiny again." Mal frowned and thought that over. "Well? What'll it be?"

The giant paused, then shook his head. "No, I think I'll enjoy killing you more." He raised his gun arm and prepared to fire. Without warning, a shuriken imbedded itself in one of his thrusters, causing it to malfunction and boost Mal into the air, making his laser misfire and miss Stitch. "What?! Who dares interfere with my revenge?!"

"We do!" The air shimmered, and six familiar experiments appeared.

"Guys!" said Stitch, happy to see his friends.

Angel winked at him. "Team Angel and Team Kickass are here to help!"

Sparky and Slugger had recovered from the missile strike and joined Stitch, reuniting the team. "And we're here too!" added Sparky.

Mal actually looked a little worried. "This has nothing to do with you. Leave now or be destroyed."

Kixx snorted. "You think we're that stupid?"

"Yeah, we know there's no way you can defeat all nine…well, all eight of us together," said Clip, thinking of Houdini, who was at this point already hiding in the doorway they had used to enter the arena.

Dracula pulled out a katana along with a few shuriken. "Evil must die. Prepare to die, Gantu."

Mal was visibly concerned, but still acted tough. "You will all succumb to my fury!" He hovered into the air and drove his lance into the ground, creating a shockwave that everyone jumped over easily.

As the two new teams started fighting, Stitch began to run over to join in but was restrained by Sparky. "Hey Stitch…leave him to the others. They could use some action."

"But then what do we do?" asked Stitch.

"The finisher. We still have a Thundershot to perform, don't we?" asked Slugger.

Mal hovered up to release another barrage of missiles. Dracula glided behind him and slashed at his thrusters with the katana, destroying them and dropping Mal to the ground. As the robot struggled to get up, Kixx gave him a nasty double right hook, snapping off one of his tusks. Mal knocked him away with his lance and kicked a footbomb at Angel. She held out her dagger to block it, and when the bomb hit it and exploded, the blast was sucked into the magic blade. She slashed the dagger, sending the explosion back at Mal as an energy wave and damaging him some more.

Angry, the giant pointed his laser at her. Angel gave the dagger to Clip, who swallowed it. She curled into a ball and bounced up to Finder, who punted her into the cannon. She stuck out her claws and the dagger as she entered it, slicing the gun's internal mechanisms to shreds and causing it to blow up, throwing her out only a little burnt due to the strength of her hair. Mal looked in horror at the stump of his left arm and realized he was going to lose. He started slashing his lance frantically in an attempt to hold everyone back, but Angel managed to absorb and deflect the laser blades right back at him, severing his right arm as well.

Sparky held up the glowing Stitch. "Okay guys, move out of the way!"

As the other experiments cleared the way, Mal saw the object of his doom. "No! Noooo! I was supposed to kill you! I was supposed to-"

Sparky tossed Stitch up to Slugger, who struck him in slow motion with his tail. Stitch flew through the air and sliced through Mal's chest like a knife through butter, blasting out the other side. As Stitch landed, he turned around and looked at his oldest enemy sadly. "I'm sorry."

Mal's body sagged, and his sad eyes showed acceptance. "No," he said. "It was never my destiny." He exploded, sending pieces everywhere.

Stitch shook his head and turned away from the burning remains. "Are you gonna be okay?" asked Angel.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's just…its Gantu, you know? I've always hated him, but I never wanted him to die…and I am partly responsible for what happened to him. I tried to convince him not to do this, but he wouldn't listen. You all heard me, right?"

Kixx nodded. "Yeah, but I think in the end he finally understood. You had to do it."

"It is no sin to kill the suffering horse. The killing is merely a way to end the pain and open the path to tranquility," said Dracula in an attempt to sound wise.

"Well, if that's the case we've got another suffering horse to kill. Come on guys, we've still got to find Hamsterviel and pay him back for everything he's done!" said Finder.

Clip nodded. "And then we'll be able to see Lilo and all of our cousins again!"

They started to leave, following Finder's nose. Stitch lingered a moment. "You coming, Stitch?" asked Sparky.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just give me a second." Sparky shrugged and headed out the door. Stitch looked at what was left of Mal and sighed. "Goodbye, Gantu." He ran out of the room.

…

The struggles the three teams had to go through as they continued their search for Hamsterviel were legion. They had to cross acid pits, fight ridiculously large hordes of clones, and grind down rails while being blasted at by giant lasers. Their confidence rose, and they believed that no matter what the Doctor had in mind for them, they would be able to defeat it as a team.

They had no idea what the villain had in store.

After being chased by three huge flaming spiked boulders down a steep slope, they reached their final destination, a room the size of a city. Cells lined the walls, containing their missing cousins, all of which looked strangely glassy-eyed. In a containment field in the center of the room was an enormous cyborg monster made from a perfect fusion of red flesh and metal. It was serpentine, with two heads and way too many limbs, wings, and eyes. The rest was too grotesque to describe. Hamsterviel and Mertle waited on a platform at the base of the monster's containment field, in front of three devices. All of them looked like some sort of complex harness. One held the Star of Destiny, one held a strange glowing orb, and the third was empty but looked like it would fit Hamsterviel's hoverchair.

But the real thing that caught the heroes' attention was the enormous army of clones waiting for them. There must have been several thousand, armed with plasma bazookas and space tanks and all sorts of high-tech weaponry. But the truly horrible thing was that they weren't experiment clones.

Every last one of them looked exactly like Lilo.

The nine heroes stared at the army waiting for them in disbelief. "L-Lilo?" Stitch asked.

Kixx swallowed. "No Stitch. They're clones."

"But…but then where's…the real Lilo?" Stitch asked, his reeling mind unable to comprehend the horrible, obvious truth.

Hamsterviel smiled and pressed a button on his armrest. A device lowered from the ceiling. When the experiments saw it, they all expressed reactions of shock and horror. Houdini vomited at the sight.

It was a metal cross. Lilo hung in the center of it, bolts driven through her hands and feet, very much dead.

Hamsterviel snickered. "You like it? I got the idea from some silly Earth folktale. Something about a man named John Cross…or something like that." They were all speechless. Hamsterviel frowned. "What, no cries of anger? No 'How could you?' No 'You'll pay for this?'" He snorted. "Bah! So boring. For that, I'm not going to explain my master plan to you. I've already told it once to Mertle anyway." He piloted his chair into the waiting harness. "I'm not even going to bother savoring this moment, because I have bigger things ahead of me. Isn't that right Mertle?"

"Yeah!" she agreed.

Hamsterviel nodded. "Yes, so I'm just going to skip all the gloating and kill you already. Then make myself invincible." He looked out to his army of Lilo clones. "Fire!"

The thousands of clones raised their guns and pulled the triggers.

…

I bet you all hate me for ending it there, don't you? Tune in next time for the thrilling continuation!