Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 4: Experiment-Rehabilitation 101

"That was more fun than I thought it would be."

"I told you." Angel smiled, as they walked down the hall. "I did that to 625 a lot to occupy my time." Lilo laughed as she stepped up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Jumba? Jumba are you there?"

"Jumba's outside," Pleakley answered over a crashing noise, "but you can come in."

"What's he doing out there?" Lilo asked, as she twisted the knob and opened the door. Pleakley turned, only hearing a little bit of her question, and piecing together what was muffled from behind the door.

"He's busy adjusting that huge evaporation contraption on the buggy." He replied, putting some things that were on Jumba's work desk into a small chest.

"Why?" Lilo asked, eyeing the purple gun that sat in the middle of the desk in particular among the other things.

"He's preparing for when Zeus comes back." He answered, lifting the box up onto his chest, then rested it on his head. "But I'll be glad to help if there's anything you need." With an exaggerated grunt, he lifted the box from his head and shoved it up onto a high shelf in the closet, then shut the door with a casual laugh.

"Actually, we need that recent experiment pod. What was it…?" Lilo looked up to the side and strained her memory. "Oh yeah, 050."

"050, huh?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. "I think it's…" He proceeded to the other side of the room, where more of Jumba's contraptions and inventions were stashed. "No…nope…not that…" He muttered, sifting through the objects. Stitch wandered in from the hallway, a sluggish look on his face. Lilo smiled at him kindly, then walked over to Pleakley while he searched. "Not over here…that's not it…and that's definitely not it." He mumbled, while Lilo watched impatiently.

"Are you sure it's even here?" Lilo asked, setting her hands on her hips and scanning the pile Pleakley had yet to get to.

"Yeah, sure I'm sure, I saw it just a little while ago…" He replied, standing straight and popping the kinks out of his back. Stitch jumped into the pile and started looking as well, at a much faster pace than Pleakley.

"Here." Angel said, as she stepped up behind Lilo and handed her the green pod. She looked at it, then at Angel.

"Where was it?" She asked.

"By the computer." Angel pointed back with her thumb.

"Oh yeah, that's right." Pleakley said, thumping his forehead. "Jumba asked me to log it into the database, but then I saw how messy this place was and…well…" Pleakley cleared his throat. "Anyway, what've you got planned for that one?"

"I dunno," Lilo replied, "no idea what it does." Stitch popped out from another section of the pile than from where he entered, and jumped down to the floor, heading for the computer. Angel and Lilo immediately followed and watched the screen as his fingers ticked away at the keys.

"Chaki." Stitch said, jumping out of the chair and offering it to Lilo.

"Thanks." She said, standing on the seat and leaning over to read the monitor. "050, designed to-"

"Decomposition of biodegradable substances, expired and rotten products, uneaten food, and holiday leftovers." Jumba announced, entering the room with a towel scrubbing grease off his hands.

"It doesn't say anything about leftovers…" Lilo noticed, reading the computer.

"I know," Jumba chuckled, "wasn't intended, but worked out pretty well." He put the towel aside and leaned against his desk. "So what are you planning with this one?" He asked, looking at the green orb in her hand.

"You and Pleakley…" Lilo muttered with a smile. "Well, that depends on how evil this one is. Hopefully-" Jumba interrupted her with a deep-gutted laugh.

"050 evil?" He laughed again. "Be kidding me. Are finding more evilness out of toaster than 050." Stitch and Angel tilted their heads to the side.

"If 050 isn't evil, why did you make him?" Lilo asked, a little confused.

"Some planets are not liking cleanliness of wastes." Jumba shrugged.

"You mean there are planets that actually like rotten food and spoiled milk and stuff like that?"

"Of course. Is being some ways of life."

"What about planets that need cleanliness? Maybe we can send it to one of those." She proposed, but then she thought about something. "Unless, of course, he winds up being a total freak about it like Felix…" Stitch moaned and shivered.

"You alright?" Angel asked him.

"Felix…blegh." He replied, shaking off the chills of the memory. Angel giggled.

"050 is being as calm as fly: only eating when hungry and is easily being full. Will contact a planet later and see if in need. Is good idea, little girl." He complimented, patting Lilo on the head.

"That's what I'm full of!" She said with a laugh. "C'mon guys," she said to Stitch and Angel, "let's activate it." Briskly they ran down the hall and into the bathroom. Lilo plugged the sink and turned the water on, waiting until it was a good, deep size before turning it off. "Alright cousin," she said, "let's say 'hi'…" The water plopped as she dropped the pod into the pool, and a second later the flash of light and noises came. But over the loud buzz of the pod expanding, they could also hear a deep, booming yell that sounded to Lilo like the monster from the Frankenstein movie she saw the week before.

"Taka je-ba!" Stitch screamed, clutching his ears and running out the room. Angel followed, and then came Lilo, who shut the door. There was an abrupt silence, and then all three of them let go of their heads.

"What…in the world…was that?" Nani asked, breathing heavily with surprise, her hair unkempt from lying down..

"Another experiment." Lilo replied cheerfully.

"It sounded more like a giant." Nani stated, seizing the doorknob and forcibly opening the door. She jumped back with shock, falling on top of Lilo and Angel, and missed Stitch who flew to the ceiling. "Jumba!" She yelled.

"Nani! You're crushing me!" Lilo screamed.

"Get up! Get up! Get up!" They both struggled from underneath her and managed to get her to roll over. Jumba ran down the hall from his room, followed by Pleakley.

"What is going on? Is there problem?"

"Yes there's a problem!" She yelled. "I have a giant umbrella of fur in my bathroom! What is this thing?" Jumba peered into the bathroom, and saw 050 sitting as quietly as ever. He appeared calm from what Jumba could tell.

"Is only 050. Do not be worrying. Looks big, but is harmless." Lilo peered into the room too, along with Stitch on the ceiling. 050 was apparently an oversized, disheveled mass of long, stringy fur that covered his entire body to the floor. Two large, black eyes were visible near the top of the experiment's head, but the fur that made up his eyebrows overwhelmed them. He had a fairly big sized nose, and a wide, blank smile across his face, like he didn't have the faintest clue where he was, but was still happy.

"He's not big," Lilo said, "he's just really, really shaggy."

"050 isn't too keen with his looks. Is very messy eater." Jumba said with a chuckle as he followed Pleakley back to his room.

"Whatever he is," Nani said, as she started to leave for her room, "find out where he belongs as quick as possible. That walking carpet gives me the creeps."

"He just needs a haircut!" Lilo shouted as Nani shut her door. She sighed, and turned toward Angel, the disturbance now settled. "Well, I suppose we'd better start. To begin with, we've gotta give this big guy a name." She gestured to 050, who seemed distant. Angel nodded, and a second of silence came over them.

"Wait, you want me to name him?" She asked, pointing to herself as Stitch dropped from the ceiling behind her.

"Why not? This seems like a good one for you to start with."

"To start with?" She asked, tilting her head. "Start what?"

"Find its one, true place!" Lilo said with enthusiasm, and a bit of surprise. "Didn't you know that?"

"Well," Angel replied, twiddling her fingers, "no…I thought you just contained them. I didn't know that they had a 'one, true place'."

"Every cousin belong somewhere." Stitch explained. "Stitch and Lilo help find place where cousins belong and fit in."

"You mean so they can use their abilities for a good cause?" Angel guessed.

"That's right!" Lilo said. "You've got it. And if you're going to live with Stitch and me, you're gonna have to do the same thing. We'll help you figure out where this one belongs, but to give you practice you're calling all the shots."

"A…alright." Angel agreed reluctantly. "A name…huh?"

"Eh. All cousins need name." Stitch explained.

"Well…why not just call him 'Shaggy'?" She suggested, after giving up trying to come up with something on her own.

"You sure?" Asked Lilo.

"Would you rather I call him 'walking carpet' instead?" She asked sarcastically.

"No, Shaggy's fine." Lilo replied with a smile.

"Ok…what's next?"

"Ishkata gutchata." Stitch replied, pushing her into the room.

"Ah-Stitch!" Angel started to yell, but her momentum already took her into the bathroom, and three steps away from Shaggy. She looked up, a bit intimidated by his height; he stood nearly a foot and a half taller than she, and that was only if he was standing (she couldn't tell). He looked down at her, with that same blank smile, and she smiled back, showing her teeth nervously while she waved. "Uh…gutcha…miga-" Shaggy let out a gruff like he was angry, or at least that's what Angel's first assumption was. She put her hand out to shake his, hoping that if he were angry, that would calm him. "Miga Angel."

His smile must have turned crooked in the corners of his mouth because that's what his ragged, bushy fur suggested. Angel's ears lowered with patience or fear. Whichever the two, she was wired to run, because as soon as he leaned over she saw that as her warning and bolted out the door with a low yell, and took refuge behind Stitch. Shaggy titled his head with confusion.

"Angel, he's not gonna bite or anything." Lilo said, a little irritated. "Watch." She confidently stepped into the room, with a friendly stride. Shaggy was standing low to the ground on four big, wide paws. Apparently his only height was in his neck, as his body seemed small compared to his head, which now fanned large ears with the same unkempt fur. "Hi Shaggy," she said cheerfully, extending her hand, "I'm Lilo, and behind me is Stitch and Angel."

Shaggy looked at her hand hesitantly, not sure of what she was doing. But, after a moment, his cheerful smile crossed his face, except this time he seemed caught up with the moment rather than distant. He let out a little gruff, and promptly engulfed Lilo's hand in his mouth.

"Lilo!" Angel yelled, thinking that when Shaggy would retreat, her hand would be missing. When she tried to run, Stitch stopped her. When she looked back at him coldly, and tried to get free, he smiled and tightened his grip.

"Whoa!" Lilo said with amazement as Shaggy let her go. A green liquid surrounded her hand. It felt thick and slimy, and it dripped to the floor in large globs with a plop. "It's like swamp water!" She exclaimed, rubbing her hands together to play with it.

"I don't think that's sanitary…" Angel warned.

"Why not? Doesn't hurt." Lilo said, wringing her hands of the thick saliva. She went over to the sink and washed. "You should try it Stitch, it feels so weird."

"Oketaka!" He said, running to Shaggy to "shake" hands, but Angel stopped him as he passed her. "Gaba?"

"Hands that touch that stuff won't touch me, just keep that in mind." She warned him. He looked at her and gave an upset groan.

"Catchoota." He pouted, folding his arms.

"I'm sorry, but it stops with picking my nose with my tongue." She reasoned. He released his arms and looked at her sadly, but nodded.

"Alright," Lilo came in, wringing her hands again, "now we've gotta find this guy's one, true place. Any ideas, Angel?"

"Well…he eats garbage. Is there a place around here where there's a lot of garbage?" She asked. Though, she silently wondered if Lilo already thought of his one, true place.

"Yup, as a matter of fact there is. Stitch?"

"Eh?" He replied, saluting with attention in response to the militaristic tone in her voice.

"We're taking a trip to the landfill. Go make a leash out of something big for Shaggy. And Angel, you come with me. We're going to be there for a while so we'd better pack some lunch." With an agreeing "ok", they all broke into the assigned teams. Shaggy, not given an assignment, was left to follow one of the groups, so he chose to go with Stitch.