Believe

Chapter 7: A Rival's Goodbye

Answering reviews:

Anonymous But Impressed: Its good to see that you liked the last chapter. In this chapter, your idea will come into play. :)

Wouldn't You Like To Know: Oh, if only you knew how good a couple… :P

I Would Prefer To Keep It A Secret: Glad to see you like the mix of things. I've got more elements I may throw in…

It's been a blast to write this story, and the awesome reviews I keep receiving keep me going.

Miracle smiled, as she looked at Stitch. After having talked to Jumba, the two of them had gone to Stitch's room, to try and get to know each other better than they had before. They were lying on the bed, facing each other.

"So Miracle… What do you want to discuss?" Stitch asked her.

Miracle opened her mouth to speak, when they both heard loud footsteps outside the house. Stitch looked out the window and saw that Gantu was outside, although he was not armed. This confused him.

"Gantu's outside, but he's not armed," he told Miracle, surprised.

"Odd… maybe he wants to apologize?" Miracle mused. "Gantu didn't seem evil just… confused and misunderstood. I was with him for a while, and the only time he seemed to be evil is when he sent me to Hämsterviel… Other than that, he seemed like he could be good."

Stitch nodded at her words.

"He and I worked together to catch Splodyhead, somewhat reluctantly," he replied. "If not for the fact that he wouldn't give up working for Hämsterviel, we could have become friends, and possibly worked to catch the rest of the experiments. In any case, let's see what he wants."

The two of them went outside, and sure enough, Gantu was unarmed.

"Hello, 626. Are 625, 624, 627, and the girl here?" he asked.

"This is 624," Stitch replied. "Angel managed to take on a new name and body, and she is now Miracle, Experiment 630. And 627's not here… But what do you want?"

"Well… I wanted to let all of you know that I'm leaving Earth… probably for good."

That stunned both Stitch and Miracle. Stitch quickly ran inside to go get Lilo and 625.

"Are you serious!" Lilo asked.

"He said so, listen!" Stitch replied.

"Alright… Since 626 and 624 within the body of 627 killed Dr. Hämsterviel, I no longer have a reason to remain on this planet, and catch the experiments," Gantu started. "I wanted to apologize for my actions… After seeing that Hämsterviel did indeed kill 624, I didn't feel right helping him."

Miracle nodded and added, "I sure hope you didn't feel right…"

"After you and your cousins killed him, I thought long and hard, and realized there was only one thing I could do to atone for my mistakes," he continued, reaching and undoing the strap that held experiment containers.

There were several containers; each holding an experiment that Lilo and Stitch had lost to Gantu and Hämsterviel, except the last one, which held a number of pods.

"I don't know if you'll forgive me, but I figured the best way to apologize would be to undo my wrongs, and return each experiment back into your custody," he explained.

Miracle, Lilo, Stitch, and 625 were all stunned silent. 625 was the first to speak.

"So… you're finally leaving, eh?"

"Where are you going?" Lilo asked.

"The Galactic Alliance will never take me back after this. However, even with some of my mistakes, there are still several beings out there that consider me worthy to be an intergalactic bounty hunter. Granted, it won't be as good as when I was with the Galactic Alliance, but it's better than nothing."

Stitch nodded, telling him, "Well, I guess I am sorry for being such a pain in the patookie, but as you probably realize, I had good reason to be…"

Gantu nodded.

"Yes, I've seen the reasons… And I wish you good luck in finding the rest of your cousins."

"Thank you, Gantu," Miracle told him. "I was right in my judgment of you. You weren't evil, just misunderstood."

"Well… that may be so, but that's all in the past now. I hope to make a more positive impact for the galaxy in the future, by becoming a bounty hunter."

"It's been fun, big guy," 625 said, "but I guess this is good-bye."

"Yes it is, 625. Although you tended to be a royal pain most times, having you there with me was appreciated, even if I didn't show it."

"Good-bye, Gantu. I am sorry for some of the mean things I said," Lilo apologized.

"No, don't worry about it," he replied. "You were working with 626 in doing the right thing."

"I barely knew you, but I'm glad you've chosen this new path in your life," Miracle said.

"Thank you, 630. When you were 624, you helped me come closer to succeeding than ever before in doing the wrong thing. Your double-cross, while it did cost you your life as 624, may have been for the best… And with that, I need to get going."

"Good luck, Gantu," Lilo said.

"Same to you," he replied, before turning around, and heading back to his ship.

Stitch, Lilo, and Miracle walked over to the experiment containers. Inside were each and every last experiment that Gantu had managed to get from them, along with the pods that they had lost when 627 was still evil.

"Wow… that'll make it even easier when you guys are trying to get the rest of the experiments…" Miracle said in awe.

They all heard an engine start up, and looked over to see Gantu's ship, fully repaired, leave the Earth's atmosphere.

"So that's what he's been doing… farewell, Gantu," Stitch said softly, smiling.

With all fears of Dr. Hamsterviel and Gantu cutting into their lives, Stitch, Lilo, and Miracle all had good reasons to be happy. It looked like their lives could go back to just about as normal as they could hope for, with experiments still out on the loose.

Whether this would be the case, only time would tell…