Stitch's Revolution

by Bennie Stardust

A reimagining of Lilo & Stitch and its sequels. In deep space, a revolution made of genetic creations mercilessly attacks the expansive Galactic Federation. Sensing betrayal by their creators, a small band of revolutionaries breaks away, only for one to find himself stranded on Earth, where a lonely young girl gives him a far greater victory than the one he was fighting for.

8. Rebirth

Chapter 7:
Rebirth

I

626 could feel the blood escaping his nostrils. The quantity of blood in his body and his scorn for his opponent were becoming an inverse ratio. Wiping the warm liquid from his face, he quickly returned to his feet, which the water he stood in only barely submerged.

"Goddamn, are you still alive?!" He heard what sounded like Lilo's voice, but deeper and distorted, as if spoken through a microphone with a voice scrambling feature. "Am I gonna be here all fricking day?!"

"Deal with it," 626 said defiantly, giving Scrump his coldest glare. The doll stood opposite him on the infinite beach by the endless sea that he stood in, just as tall as her fierce opponent. Her lips moved behind the array of tight stitches attached to them, making her mouth seem full of some grotesque and sticky substance when she spoke. "I've survived a crash at a speed that would've killed any other dumb creature in the universe! I can touch substances that even other Experiments can't! You think a doll of some corpse can top any of that?!" He grinned menacingly, revealing two unsightly gaps in his otherwise admirable teeth; their filler lay scattered somewhere in the water.

Scrump growled before charging at him again. 626 reached a hand out to grasp his enemy's forehead, toppling regardless into a deeper part of the water behind him, but maintaining his grip on the doll's cloth-like face. While the fingerless hands reached furiously for the terrorist, a blue foot was raised swiftly from the knee-deep water, and then thrust even quicker into Scrump's chest. As the doll fell and 626 arose, he found his fist still clamped around the piece of Scrump's face, along with a sinister black button dangling from it. He cast it indifferently on the miniature waves as he approached his recovering opponent. He grasped her firmly by her yellow stalk of hair, noticing an egg fall from her unsightly new wound and make a loud 'plop' in the water, and threw her over his shoulder. Two more eggs fell out, both creating 'plops' that were silent compared to the splash that Scrump made. Without delay, he had his left foot on top of the doll's head underwater. He resisted the urge to simply crush the remaining eggs like ants; applying just enough pressure so her arms flayed angrily and desperately against his leg as she drowned was infinitely more satisfying. He smirked evilly at Scrump, despite her vision being obscured towards it, but his smile was broken when he felt an arm of fabric curl relentlessly around his right ankle. After being sent onto his back, the revolutionary was underwater for only seconds before he was pulled out by a tuft of fur on his chest. He felt three cruel blows meet his right eye before catching Scrump's fist on the fourth.

"Why even bother?!" The doll questioned in immense frustration.. "You're just gonna leave soon no matter what!"

"Touche, abomination," 626 spat lowly. "Thing is, though; at least one of us has to go, and I know I'm not going just yet. So, by process of deduction..." Two new hands snapped out and seized Scrump around the waist. He threw her into the air like the empty sack that she was, smacking away two falling eggs shortly afterwards. As the doll reached the limit of her violent ascension, a miniature drop of water fell from the cloudless sky above and hit her surviving eye. Several more began to fall as the sky gradually faded to a melancholy gray and any shadows vanished. Her one black button burned as her remaining eggs throbbed with fury, and it increased tenfold when she found a familiar blue creature above her in the air, both primary fists behind his head. 626 brought his arms down onto his enemy like a powerful mallet, sending her hurtling back to the water like a falling meteor. To the terrorist's irritation, Scrump was able to roll out of the way of his landing stomp, but he was able to improvise a strong turning headbutt against the rising eggsack. He heard a satisfying shatter as the doll grasped her head in pain. Seeing an invaluable opportunity, 626 reached for Scrump's abused head with every intention of crushing it in his fists like paper. To his shock, however, two fierce arms of red fur burst from Scrump's waist like they were reaching from a grave, and grasped 626's arms.

"ENOUGH!" Scrump roared as her crumpled and incomplete face jerked back up as she raised her opponent into the air with her new limbs. Another pair of monstrous arms burst from beneath the first and grasped 626's dangling legs, pulling them both too far into the wrong direction. "ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLSHIT!" The doll roared over the revolutionary's blood-curdling yelp. The light rain slowly became an onslaught of precipitation, immediately soaking the two combatants as the sky turned pitch black. The newest hands moved to grasp 626's secondary forearms while the original fabric ones wrapped tightly around the sopping neck. Before he could even think, 626 found himself horizontal on the ocean floor, with nothing to look at but the single furious button and even less to breathe in. His arms wrestled in vain with the crimson ones restraining them, and his legs only lay uselessly beneath Scrump. For a second, 626 glanced behind his oppressor at the ripples created when the bullets of rain struck the water. He continued to stare at them, knowing Scrump resented his refusal of eye contact by the tightening of her hands around his neck. As his eyelids grew heavier and his lungs felt hollower, the terrorist was surprised to find his heart not beating rapidly in panic. Instead, he felt a grim knot in his stomach that put a frown on his face. His expression remained this way as his eyes finally shut, and his mouth opened to release nothing but bubbles.

II

"Ack!" 624 was disoriented to find herself hoisted up by the back of her head, leaving all of her limbs dangling helplessly in the air. Her immobilized head couldn't glimpse at anything but the ceiling of the snow white practice arena. "Hey, you grabbed your opponent by the back of their head!" She gladly complimented whoever was holding her. "Good job, 10!"
"Thanks, 624." The medic smiled a smile that 624 could never see. If she could, she'd find it one strained behind a waterfall of sweat, though much shallower than the one on his face after his first mission.
"See? Now I can't reach you to break free." She pretended to grab at her student to demonstrate.
"Yeah, much easier than going for that bear hug thing," 10 gasped with a chuckle. "But wait, couldn't you still use your antennae to grab me?" No sooner had he finished speaking did he feel something like a thin, furry rope tighten around his ankle. "EEP!" He quickly found himself looking at what appeared to be 624 standing on the ceiling.
"You're exactly right, 10!" She chirped. He gave a light chuckle as his pulse slowed down. Drops of sweat crept up his forehead, and then to the tips of his hair of fins before falling to the floor like a light rain. "Another important thing..." The teacher began as she carefully helped her trainee upright again. "Never give your opponent helpful advice. 149 likes to do it, but you're not as...What's the word...?"
"Elusive?"
"Thick-skulled,"
"Oh...Well, she didn't think much about that broken nose,"
"There are a lot of things she doesn't think about." 624 noticed how moist and scarlet her student's face had become. "Right, so, counter-attacks, head-grab, don't help your opponent; I'd say that'll do it for today's class,"
"Really? Um, alright, if you say so,"
"What, did you wanna spar some more?"
"No, thanks," He answered quickly and nervously, as if an offensive joke were imminent. "Let's just go see if there are any updates on 626,"
"Okay. That sounds good," She replied softly as they exited through the small door in the corner.

Entering the dark halls from the practice arena was always disorienting, since its users had adjusted to the brightness of the room by the time they were finished training. It was worst for 10, who had never found a reason in eight years to set foot in the arena. The sensation of entering a room so alien to him yet memorized by everyone else sent a hot rush through his veins, like entering the house of a friend for the first time. Though he was beginning to adjust to frequent training sessions in the room with 624 and any others who cared to join them, his favorite part of them was when they finally left.

"Don't be too squeamish about it," 624 advised as she shut the door behind her with a nudge of her foot and no glance back at it. "You're not gonna hit me really hard by accident, and even if you did, I wouldn't be mad at you,"
"You wouldn't?" 10 sounded mildly surprised.
"Of course not," She smiled. "Accidents happen. At least that would be a sign that your combat skills are improving,"
"I guess...I just don't want to hurt my friend." He got only a wider smile in response, but that was just as satisfying as a sentence. "Maybe if I could practice against 21, I'd be less worried,"
"Pig," 624 corrected, somewhat sternly. "621 had her name changed, remember?"
"Of course I do...I remember everything he did to her..." His face turned a slight pale shade. "I know Twenty-Um, Pig...Violated 502, but I never got why you guys enjoyed hating her so much,"
"Well, she sure provided a good outlet for all our frustration," The pink Experiment replied casually. "Kinda wish she was here now," She added softly and maliciously. "Didn't you hate her, too?"
"I did!" 10 replied, as if worried he was being accused of a crime. "I thought she was a bully, a pervert, and a...A pig. I just didn't enjoy it like you guys all did,"
"Hm..." 624 pondered briefly before noticing 10's anxious expression. "Come on, let's go see if anything's changed." She motioned to move down the hall and he quickly followed.

10 pretended to forget the mention of the infamous Pig, yet he couldn't help but hear and see the ghost of the despicable creature in his ears and eyes. He heard 502's muffled groans echoing with Pig's more pleased ones, and he saw a different image in the mind of each eye. He couldn't, or wouldn't, decide which sent an icier chill up his spine; the tall and inferno-colored 502, bound, gagged, and underneath the yellow and muscular Pig, or the disgrace with 621 above her, coloring her face redder and blacker with each abhorrence-fueled fist.

"Would be nice if something had come up," 624 unintentionally brought him out of his perturbed recollection just as he was becoming lost. "It's been a good few hours,"
"I sure hope so," The medic replied as they walked. "But it seems like he got sent pretty far away. Maybe the pod's radar can't find him?"
"I don't know...626's pod was going so fast, I..." She trailed off for a moment, a melancholic frown corrupting her face. It quickly vanished, though not without leaving a faint shadow. "His pod was definitely damaged when it crashed, so even if he is within the radar, the two might not be able to connect,"
"Yeah, that can happen..." He continued with an unpleasant pit in his gut. "And we've also gotta find where Jumba and Hamsterviel,"
"Yup," The answer came with a rugged hint of vengeance behind it. "And 627! Can't forget the one who took 626 away in the first place, can we?"
"No, we can't..."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's just...I don't know, I just think finding 626 is more important,"
"Oh, of course," 624 replied kindly. "Crucial! No need to feel worried; you're absolutely right,"
"It's not just that...Forget it..."
"Sorry, my curiosity is peaked," The pink Experiment pried.
"I think...I feel like it's so important that I...I don't feel like getting Hamsterviel and Jumba is..." He answered hesitantly and quietly. "Important, I mean," He added when he noticed 624's silence.
"Hm," Was all she could say at first. By now, the door to their comrades was in front of them and the younger was leaning her hand against it. "Well, they lied to us, manipulated us for years," She began in an unusual tone between concerned and strict. "They engineered the explosion-on-contact that killed 501 and 502 and did who-knows-what to Number 89. They made 627 as the perfect assassin against us rebels, and he's gone and taken 626 from us, and I can bet they're going to do even worse soon. You don't think that it's important that people like that get what's coming to them?"
"No, no, I think they should, it's just that it doesn't feel that important for me," The medic worriedly answered, his fingers intertwining with each other in a tense dance.
624 sighed before answering. "That's alright, 10. Just so long as you want 626 back..." She pushed the door open, bowing in jest to both let 10 enter first and to show that there was no offense taken from his statements. "I'm sure he'd want them saved for him, anyway," She muttered as she followed him. The medic heard, but chose not to reply.

The Federation pod had not moved an inch since the previous day. 150 sat inside with a cross expression upon his metal fist, staring intently at the screen, which still told nothing but that it was scanning the quadrant for a specific vessel. 300 also watched from outside. 621 and 345 were standing guard on the roof, while 221 was carefully unwrapping the bandage from 149's nose by the entrance to the medical ward.

"Hey, hey, hey!" 10 darted towards the couple so fast he could have teleported. "What are you doing?! You shouldn't remove that without asking me first!"

"Woah, relax, Tenzy," 149 began coolly. "I just thought my nose felt better, and since you were trainin' with 624, I asked 221 to do it. He only did it 'cause I asked, so only yell at me, got it?"

"I need to make sure it's alright to remove,"
"If it's not, you could've always put on a new one, right?" 221 suggested.
"Yes, but I know how to do it right," 10 argued.
"Oh, well then," The electrician replied sarcastically.

"Well, you are our medic, 10," 149 continued. "So is it okay to remove?" She held her bandaged nose out for the doctor to inspect.

"...Yes, it's fine," He quietly answered, his pulse slowing after actually acknowledging his previous outburst. "Here..." He carefully unwound the bandage with precision like surgery, and 149's nose was bare again, with almost no hint of 627's striking it. "There, all better." He gave the nose two gentle taps.

"Thanks, bud." 149 chuckled as 10 entered the door to the medical ward to dispose of the old bandage. "He's gettin' more assertive," She stated to her lover.

"He is," 221 replied slyly. "I'm so proud,"

III

"Any updates?" 624 inquired softly as she approached the seated 150 and the standing, still-bandaged 300, both pairs of eyes glued to the pod's screen.

"No..." They both answered in near-perfect synchronization.

"Hm..." She glumly muttered in response.

"If we do find anything, you'll be the first to know," 150 added, remaining so still that it was only half apparent that he was speaking.
"Third, actually,"
"Hm?" He broke from his stillness and turned curiously.
"You and 300 will see it first, and if you told me straight after, then I'd be third,"
"Oh, yeah," The huge Experiment concurred. "That is true, unless you want to take over?" As he offered, the shapeshifter next to them made not the slightest movement, as though he were carved out of stone.
"Thanks, 150," 624 replied as they traded places. "I'll let you know when something pops up." She turned her attention to the image of a green line slowly making a circle like a clock, whilst images of constellations and occasionally planets scrolled behind it.
"Awesome," 150 responded as he made to leave, but he stopped and turned back to his friend, who was already staring as intently at the screen as he had been. "Hey, uh, 624?" He began softly.
"Mm?" She replied listlessly. The one-handed revolutionary opened his mouth to make his inquiry, but the indirect glare on 624's face combined with the more personal one he felt coming from 300 demotivated him. "Never mind. I'll ask you another time," He exhaled before leaving, feeling just as hollow as he did several hours ago.
"'Kay," Was the pink Experiment's only response. 150 slumped away, lost within the withering forest of his own thoughts, only being brought out when a familiar and upside-down white face suddenly appeared in front of his own.

"From here, it looks like you're smiling," 345 began, audibly concerned, though his smile was still far from death. "Which means you aren't really. How come?"
"A better question would be 'what's there to smile about?'" The plump Experiment glumly replied, looking up irritably at the clown, whose neck, now longer than a giraffe's, extended down from the wound 627 had created in the ceiling.
"Aw, I think there's always something to smile about, even if there's a lot to frown about, too; you just have to look hard enough,"
"Really?" 150 pressed, unconvinced.
"Really really,"
"For example?"
"Hmm, I don't know..." The clown's smile, thanks to his unique function, enlarged further than any other creature's cheeks would allow. "How about..." He quickly brought his elongated arms down into the base as well. Upon the two limbs, swinging from them like a trapeze, came an ocean blue form that sent a piercing bolt of pleasant shock through 150's heart.

"How are you, 150?!" 626 cheerfully asked upon landing in front of his comrade, patting him so enthusiastically on both shoulders that 150 could feel a slight prick. He didn't feel it, though, as his nerves were too preoccupied with the hammering disbelief that beat his brain. "Oh, sorry about that, 345," The blue Experiment turned back to the clown, who was now standing beside him, gently wiggling his left hand.

"Aw, that's okay, 626," 345 chirped as a certain viridescent marksman dropped down behind him, sporting the only smile he could create; one of ominous glee. "Just a little scratch is all. I'm just glad to have you back." He wrapped his arms around his old comrades like he was wrapping a present, topping it off with a friendly touch on the cheek from his grass green nose.

"I was beginning to worry that you'd be lost for a while," 621 rested a hand on 626's shoulder. "For once the scales tilt in our favor. Now we can focus entirely on finding Hamsterviel,"

"My thoughts exactly, 621," The returning rogue smirked similarly.

"626!" 149, 221, and especially 624, all exclaimed at once, with one in particular calling louder than the others. The fire within most of the Experiments transformed into fireworks, and together created a spectacular show that outgunned even that lighting up the planet Earth's American sky on its Independence Day. 149 and 221, as usual, could not restrain themselves, and immediately treated their veteran with a hug more airtight than the couple would even give each other. 624 felt stuffed with helium; the weight that even an Experiment struggled to hold was elevated high beyond anyone's reach. She experienced relief like that when 626 successfully grasped her foot and avoided an early, explosive end, mixed with an exhilaration more empowering than when the flag was blazed at the museum. In one second, she wanted nothing more than to share her emotional high with her favorite creature in the cosmos. She quickly leaned out the door of the pod with every intention of scooping 626 up and licking his face like a big, blue popsicle. In the next second, though, when the bandaged 300 put out a blob-like arm to block her planned route, she did not need to see his icy, fulvous gaze to realize that what seemed real was far too wonderful to be.

"Hi, 624," The blue Experiment greeted softly after breaking away from 221 and 149's claustrophobic hug. "C'mere..." He held his arms out to her. "I really, really missed you,"

624's disappointed frown lived only a second longer before it seemed to transform into a joyous beam. "Don't worry," She whispered confidently to 300, who was now holding 10 back as well. "I'll deal with him,"

"...Mind his fingers," The telepath whispered back.

"Got it. Thanks." The pink revolutionary was allowed past, and she immediately hugged what appeared to be 626, deliberately binding his arms through the embrace. "I missed you, too," She said softly before pulling away and rising to her usual cheerful chirp. "How did you get back? We thought you were pretty far off,"

"Well, as luck would have it, the Federation tracked the pod I was in," The returned Experiment merrily explained. "They sent some guys, so I did away with them, swiped their pod, and flew back here,"

"That is pretty lucky," 621 began, maintaining his ominous smile while a hint of suspicion crept through his arrows of teeth. "Where did you land, exactly?"

"A real shithole,"

"What, didja land on Irk?" 221 jokingly asked, a beam rivaling 345's upon his face.

"It was like if Irk had a creepy Gallifreyan government run by copies of 625 and 21,"

"Pig," 624 corrected.
"Excuse me?"
"Her name was Pig,"
"Yeah, I know,"
"You remember why we call her that?"
626's answer was delayed. "Because her face is so deformed,"
"Incorrect." 624 took a step back as the blue Experiment heard a threatening click right behind his head.

"Good guess, though," He heard 621's voice growl as he saw all smiles fade into scowls, except for 221 and 345's, which simply faded to grey. "Her face is deformed as part of her punishment,"
"Punishment for what?" 626 sounded suddenly cross; not an ounce of fear arose from the blaster at his head. "Don't tell me you abuse your own comrades!"
"I'm willing to demonstrate the consequences of one's actions," 621 snarled. "Yours, for example,"
"Oh, you're gonna shoot me in the head? Whatever did I do to deserve such a violent and agonizing demise?" The impostor replied sarcastically. His voice was every bit as solid as the true 626's; were a third party to stumble upon the scene at that moment, they would be incapable of differentiating the pretender from the original.
"I will, but first; you know Pig, which means you know where she and the rest of the Experiments are. And I'm very confident that you know where Jacques Hamsterviel and Jumba can be found, too,"
"Oh, I dunno..." The fake pretended to consider the demand. "It's not like my untimely death will be postponed either way, right?" His lips curled into a villainous smirk as he turned his head slightly to look back at the marksman. 621 now had a proper view of his new opponent's eyes; although they were black, they felt crimson. They housed their own impression of hell, but one that the angered revolutionary had definitely seen before. Were he more gullible, he would've lowered his weapon and apologized to 626. Instead he snarled, allowing a reveal of his forest of teeth.
"Are you a remodel?" He questioned strictly, blinking twice. "A clone of some sort?"
"Something like that; I'm what Dr. Jumba calls a Later Engineered Replica that will Oblige to Yield, or a L.E.R.O.Y.," As he spoke, his blue coat of fur began to shift to a malicious scarlet, clashing strikingly with the flame in his gaze.

"You mean a L.E.R.T.W.O.T.Y.," 345 added with a yawn.

"Whatever you want, Plastic Man," L.E.R.O.Y. muttered, remaining focused on 621. "Hey, General Pissy, you even have any ammunition that would hurt me?" He said confidently when he saw the marksman blink some more.

"Hm," 621 returned a sly smile of his own. "Touche; if you are a copy of 626, and will 'oblige to yield' to Hamsterviel more than he would, then you should have all the same immunities..." He lowered his gun as he forced his eyes to remain open. "You know what I don't think you're immune to, though?" He didn't give L.E.R.O.Y. a chance to make a snide inquiry before he stomped firmly on his calf, forcing him to kneel. "Pain." He threw his strongest side kick into the scarlet Experiment's back. He stumbled forwards towards 624, who delivered a powerful headbutt into his forehead. His instant of vulnerability set off a chain reaction; a furious electric-charged hook from 221, a strike on top of his head from 150's metal fist, followed by a strong scissor kick, and then a roundhouse kick from 149, and a floppy front flip from 345 that kicked L.E.R.O.Y.'s face into the hard, metal floor. 624's elbow was in his back before he could return to his feet, and held him in place with a foot on his cheek and another in his right shoulder blade.

"Now, 621 asked you nicely..." She began, glaring at the only visible eye, indifferent to its menacing blaze. "Where the hell are Hamsterviel and his porky assistant?"

"You know, I can't help but notice that most of you guys dealt me less punishment than I expected," L.E.R.O.Y. ignored her persistence as he smirked cruelly back at his antagonists. "Only your attacks have been particularly painful, 624. The rest of you seem a bit tired, actually,"

The pink Experiment looked up and found all of her allies' eyes fluttering. "Who can be tired at a time li-..." 345 trailed off with a yawn before falling flat on the floor, as if into sleep.

"Son of a bitch..." 621 muttered scornfully, forcing his eyes away from so much as a blink. "Felt you scratch me...When I helped you out..." He fell to his knees, drifting. The Experiments toppled to the ground one-by-one like wounded deer, with the last left standing aside from 624 and L.E.R.O.Y. being 221, who rubbed his eyes fiercely to no avail. With his last moment of consciousness, he looked down at 626's red doppelganger, who looked back with a sinister grin. The electrician's last soft yet malicious words to him before he fell were "Fuck you..." Just before he started to fall, the alarmed 624, still reeling with the mixture of frustration, shock, and fury that whirled around in her gut, felt a quick, painless, but definitely resentful scratch on her ankle. Jerking her attention downwards, she found the claws of L.E.R.O.Y.'s left hand very near the foot that was restraining his head.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget about you," He joked slyly. "Just a bit of a knockout chemical Dr. Hamsterviel gave me. Why waste so much effort fighting the fat cripple, the queer clown, the chickenshit medic, the town bicycle, among others, when they can be taken out during a pat on the back, a group hug, a handshake, or, well, I'm sure you can guess,"

624 stepped off of L.E.R.O.Y., feeling fueled more with rage than with panic. "300, 10-" She turned to her remaining allies, only to find that they had vanished.

"Aw, your buddies are gone," The clone taunted as he arose, rubbing his stomped-on cheek. "I could expect that from Chickenshit, but the scary goop monster?" The lone rogue Experiment was haunted by L.E.R.O.Y.'s voice; it was identical to 626's in almost every way. He spoke to her with the same confident and defiant tone that the blue Experiment used against the Federation's supporters. The original's usage of his strong voice had been empowering to 624, but hearing it used against her filled her with a much less uplifting power. The scarlet Experiment approached what appeared to be the back of an isolated, poisoned, and intimidated enemy. "Don't worry, I'll find them for you. You just rest-" He found an elbow shoved cruelly into his throat and his body horizontal again. Only a millisecond later did he find two fierce pink hands around his neck, and looking up at a smirk even more malicious than he had distributed earlier.

"Nah, I think I'll kill you instead," 624 threatened in a tone that ominously combined contempt and delight. "Tell you what, though..." When L.E.R.O.Y. summoned two more limbs from his waist, she repeated him immediately and restrained them. Her antennae did likewise to his primary arms before they could retaliate. "You're right; telling us where Hamsterviel is won't make me change my mind about this, but if you did tell me, then I promise to finish you off with something less painful than this," She spoke just as proudly and defiantly to him as he had done to her, and as 626 had done time and time again. Her murderous grin widened as she observed L.E.R.O.Y.'s helpless gagging like so many feeble victims before him.

"He's-..." He gasped with barely any volume. He felt 624's fingers loosen slightly as he tried to speak. He opened his drying mouth to continue, but then he noticed her eyelids wave slightly. This destroyed his motivation to speak, and instead he took the few seconds he was given to regain some breath. His oppressor caught on quickly, to his misfortune, and the strangling resumed. The clone was drawn towards her eyes like a leaf into a whirlpool; her gaze encased a petrifying celebration of demonic fireworks, bright enough to blind and hot enough to scorch its entire audience, namely L.E.R.O.Y. His heart making a final spring for the finish line, the clone's eyes clamped shut as tightly as his windpipe. He grasped his breath for longer than he thought even an Experiment could. His brain became helium as his lungs neared total vacancy, and he felt something warm near his face, like a much kinder grasp reaching out to him. He was about to reach back for it, but only then did the warmth vanish like the wind, and he heard a miserable thud directly by his right ear. His eyes bursting open, he heaved the limp 624 off of him, as breathing became both a burden and a blessing. He stood up with a stumble, retracting his secondary arms and spitting on his unconscious strangler once his mouth had regained liquid to spare. He scanned over the room as his lungs refilled and his throat loosened; six of the eight Experiment he was searching for lay sleeping around the black-and-white Federation pod. He cursed under his gradually-returning breath at first, but then blamed his frustration on his current anguish. With a more optimistic mind, he leaped through the gap which he entered through, and approached the pod he arrived in, painted misleadingly in white and black. The duplicate walked around to the pod's two elliptic thrusters, in between which was a miniature, white, knob-shaped switched centered amid an otherwise pitch dark stern. Once the switch was flipped, the pod's storage compartment rolled open like a hasty garage door, revealing the crimson back of L.E.R.O.Y.'s partner. He could hear the tall Experiment muttering in barely a whisper.

"-the beating of their hideous hearts..."

"You ready?" L.E.R.O.Y. inquired solidly, his once-powerful voice now ringing with a deep rasp. 627 turned his head and stared for a moment before answering.
"Doesn't matter." He stepped out of the trunk with a similar glumness to that of someone forcing themselves from bed on a grey, stormy day. "You scratched them all?"
"Except 300 and 10, but there's nothing to worry about from the chickenshit, is there?"
"Hmph..." The older Experiment scoffed at the unconvincing statement. "We need to find them first,"
"Why?"
"So they can all be killed at once,"
"...Oooooor, you could just kill the three quarters of them that are down there now, and then have, really, just one threatening rogue to worry about,"
"I could..." 627 began as he approached the wound in the roof, leaving L.E.R.O.Y., still rubbing his own neck, to follow like a pet dog. "When somebody dies, the people around them feel like they need to do something; what that is depends on who died, how, and such. When someone is killed, though, the people around them feel like something should be done to the murderer; something...Conclusive. So if I kill the six you've already knocked out, 300 and 10 will get that feeling, but times six. That feeling, L.E.R.O.Y., is enough to make even a 'chickenshit' dangerous..." They had reached the gap by then, and 627 shut his dark eyes and hung his head for little more than a moment. "We get the last two as well, then kill them all, and we won't have to worry about making them more powerful." He finished as he jumped down, closely followed by a riveted L.E.R.O.Y.
"I'm surprised you know so much about vengeance, 627," He said once they were inside. The crimson Experiment responded with a weary sigh as he observed the would-be graveyard.
"I'm surprised you would think that it's complicated..." 627 scanned the room until his eyes fell upon one particular door nearby. "Let's check in here." He approached the door while his scarlet partner followed, as if pulled by an invisible leash. Before the door could be opened, L.E.R.O.Y. found 624 laying where he left her, seemingly scowling up at him with shut eyes. The lack of fireworks, however, did little to hide their existence from the duplicate.

"Hey, uh, 627?" He called as firmly as he could, rubbing his neck once more. Only a light rasp remained with his voice now.
"What?" Was the irritated response.
"When you're ready, you think you could off the 624th here first?" The rasp came alligned with a tone of malicious confidence, not unlike that which he had used against the rogue Experiments earlier. 627's towering ears were disgusted by such a sound.
"No, L.E.R.O.Y. I'm not going to fulfill your desires before my own," He coldly scolded.
"But you want to get rid of her anyway-"
"No means no,"
"...Fine," The clone muttered in frustration, abandoning the dozing body temporarily to follow 627 again. As he did, he heard a slight chuckle, barely audible, but noticeable nonetheless. It was more of an amused hum than a proper laugh. "What's so funny?"
"Your prototype really liked her," The crimson Experiment opened the door with an ominous, metallic creak. "It's ironic..." The life of his faint smile finished abruptly as they both entered the barren medical ward. 627's pulse quickened, as if his heart were banging against his rib cage like an inmate demanding release from his cell. He reluctantly thought about the sensation he felt on Christmas Eve night. With every step, his heart pounded more brutally, and a second felt like a lifetime as he longed for someone to lunge at him, for his arms hungered for a retaliation. All too soon, though, he heard L.E.R.O.Y. yelp over a sinister slithering noise, like a cobra through a watery terrain. Darting around, he discovered the remake being slowly coated in a terrifyingly similar substance, coming from outside and colored a pale green. Before he could intervene, he was suddenly grasped by the back of his head by a fierce, clawed hand. His arms and legs dangled helplessly in the air as he was hoisted upwards. He did not need to see his attacker to identify him.

10 reeled with panic and shock as he gripped 627. He recalled the assassin's display of electrokinesis during his previous attack, and thought that it might prove advantageous here, but kept his mouth shut. Both Experiments could clearly witness 300's possession of L.E.R.O.Y.

"Get off!" The scarlet clone exclaimed as he pulled desperately at the pale material that quickly consumed his body. "You're not getting in, you weed!" He was covered everywhere but his forearms, hands, shins, and feet. Just after his insult, his vision turned a fiery pink, and he felt his throat tighten like a taut rope. For mere seconds, the macabre fireworks celebration resumed in his brain, just before he gagged violently as his head shot backwards like a bullet, and then rolled back down on his shoulders almost automatically. L.E.R.O.Y. was now coated from head to toe in the pale green substance. His dark eyes were shut, but when they hovered open, they were an icy yellow that stared maliciously at the immobilized 627.

"I remember the way, 10," The pitch of L.E.R.O.Y.'s voice was as middling as always, but he spoke it with a deep, captivating monotone that both 10 and 627 associated with 300.
"You 'remember?'" 10 inquired, hurriedly putting his opponent's nose into the metal floor.
"Well, I feel as though I remember," The shapeshifter explained as he approached their horizontal enemy. "L.E.R.O.Y.'s mind is completely vulnerable to me, to the point that I experience some thoughts and memories as he does. The route is familiar to him, so what I know to be recent knowledge feels similarly familiar." He descended to one knee and pulled up 627's face by the chin, aiming two of L.E.R.O.Y.'s claws just in front of the narrowed eyes. "Good night," He said flatly, with his puppet's wrist only a second away from an onward motion. 10 was restraining 627's arms, doing so with a hammering heartbeat against his chest. The crimson Experiment, for barely more than a moment, was relieved. He felt next to peace and was prepared to fall composedly into a slumber long overdue. It made him impatient. Then two thin beams of dark red leaped from his eyes, repelling his possessed ally. 300's fall backwards distracted the medic just long enough for him to be picked up by his trunk.

"And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain..." 627 muttered as he struck 10 firmly enough in the stomach to make him feel like vomiting. "Thrilled me, filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before..." He continued as his opponent grasped the arm that held him and, his body acting sooner than his brain, thrust both feet into either side of 627's neck. The red assassin spluttered and gagged as he dropped 10, who made to scurry towards the 300-L.E.R.O.Y. hybrid. "So that now, to still the beating of my heart," 627 coughed while spinning around and snaring 10's foot in a grip that would've destroyed the limb of a less sturdy being. "I stood repeating-augh!" He received a thin laser to the head straight from his enemy's trunk, and his grasp was broken once more. 10 hurried out of the medical ward where he found much more red on L.E.R.O.Y. than he would've liked.

"Please!" The clone cried out in fury as he pulled desperately at the psychological coating that persisted in enslaving him. "Just let me go, you son of a bitch!" As he struggled, his teeth barred like an impenetrable gate, and a storm of tears fled from his fiery eyes.
"A poor insult, L.E.R.O.Y.-626..." His response came from the same mouth. "Since we share a creator,"
"Shut up! Stop showing me those-...What in the universe are these, anyway?!" He demanded, appalled and panicked at what flashed within his eyes. "How did you think up all these disgusting things?!"
"These images are not products of my imagination,"
"Just stop them!"
"No,"
"...Fine." L.E.R.O.Y. fell to his knees and slammed his claws violently enough into the floor to create a slight rumble. He noticed 10 out of the corner of his eye, and 627 just behind the bewildered Experiment in mid-pounce. He imagined what he knew the assassin would do to the medic, and every possible and impossible way it could be done. To conclude his fantasy, he pictured only a static image of the green Experiment, but thought of his appearance if the dark green fur was just as scarlet as his own. He concentrated on the visual in his mind's eye and let it consume every fiber of him, including whatever was attached to him.

"I stood repeating; 'Tis some visitor...'"
"Stop!"
"'Entreating entrance at my chamber door...'"
"I said STOP-AUGH!"

The sounds of battle just next to him were barely a rat's squeak compared to noise that rang in his ears. The cry that he caused was unique; of unbearable agony and chilling terror, but as satisfying to L.E.R.O.Y.'s ears as a rose was to one's nose. 300 screamed. The clone's face tasted the clear air within the oxygen field once more, and waited only a second to grasp the glob-like head that had strenuously parted ways with his own. He pulled 300 down over his shoulders, landing him violently on his back. L.E.R.O.Y. then picked up his opponent and held him up for 627, whose right fist crackled with electricity as he stood over a splayed 10 with a blackened face. "Spare a shot, Terrance?" L.E.R.O.Y. requested. The taller Experiment obliged and shot two lasers from his eyes into 300's chest. His attack was followed up by the duplicate smashing the shapeshifter headfirst into the floor and then punting him into the air. After a confident bound, L.E.R.O.Y. concluded his combo with an airborne headbutt, which landed 300 on the roof of the black-and-white Federation pod, behind which he involuntarily slid down, out of sight. "Hey, if you're done beating up the runt, you can come off 300..." L.E.R.O.Y. trailed off when he saw his partner striking the cowering medic without end or mercy. 10's arms acted as a vaguely effective barrier for his head, only lessening or transferring the pain from his targeted face.

"Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door..." His eyes were clamped shut in front of the storm of blows; all he could hear was the poem, as if pouring automatically from 627's lips without their speaker's consent.

"Stop!" 10 cried. "Why?! What did I do?!" The pummeling suddenly halted. The medic was allowed an opportunity to lower his arms and open his eyes, one turning black. 627's glare could've turned him to ashes where he lay; though the violence had stopped, 10 was being stared at with what he could only describe as the purest epitome of fury and disgust. The medic moved to sit up, but was then grasped by the neck and shaken like the rattle of an oversized and irritable infant. 10's eyes felt as if they were sinking into his skull, and he felt like his strangler was suppressing vomit as well as air. He experienced unbearable agony in one moment, and then felt the bare minimum of feeling in the next. Finally, 627 let out an ear shattering roar before tossing 10 in the same direction L.E.R.O.Y. had sent 300, only the green Experiment sailed violently through the air before crashing through the door that lead to the training arena. Without a second's hesitation, 627 darted resentfully for his victim, ignoring the pod behind which 300 had last been seen.

"Alright..." L.E.R.O.Y. grumbled, peering behind the vehicle to find the shapeshifter, but saw nothing. He did hear something; a crackling from the pod, right before a voice remarkably similar to his own spoke beneath it.

"...Hello? 624? 621?"

IV

627 found 10 having landed on his stomach in the dark hallway. He had heard the transmission just as L.E.R.O.Y. had, but his head burned too furiously to pay it any immediate mind. He grasped the viridescent neck once more, lifting the medic up with every intention of punishing him further, but his hands stopped before they could lift him from the floor. Instead, they held the neck less firmly to confirm his suspicion. When the assassin had grasped 10's throat only seconds ago, it rumbled and shifted like a fidgeting child forced to wait in a chair. The neck was now as stiff as a husk. The trunk which had once squirmed as much as its owner only lay draped over 627's bloodied forearm like an abandoned rag. He dropped the hollow head without care, closing his heavy eyelids, and spoke softly enough that even he could barely hear. "This it is...And nothing more..."

"Hey, uh, 627?" L.E.R.O.Y. called hesitantly from the damaged pod. "I've got some, uh, bad news." No response; just the assassin's silent, frigid back. "Hey, egghead!"

"What?!" He suddenly reared his head quicker than a bullet, giving the clone a jolt.

"You didn't actually finish off my prototype!" This brought 627 upright again, turning around completely. The fury in his face did not alter, only increase. He marched towards L.E.R.O.Y. as the clone continued. As he got nearer, he could hear an obnoxious static groan from the console, which only piled onto his agitation. "He just tried to contact another space vehicle. He asked for the other rogues, but he might've just been happy to contact anyone,"
"So he's still out there?" The assassin pressed.
"Yeah-"
"Where?!" 627 was up in L.E.R.O.Y.'s face; the clone felt cooked just from the vengeful glare. "Did you find out where he is?!"
"I did, I did!" L.E.R.O.Y. then lowered his strong voice, knowing that somebody was still unaccounted for. "The screen showed the coordinates for a moment before it fizzled out. I'll tell you later; 300's still about, and he could hear us, even find the information in my mind-" He was cut off when 627's bloodied arm sliced through the air and sunk into the console like a drill into a planet's crust, halting at its center. The horrible static ceased, and the noise was now substituted by the much less grating sound of sparks pouring from the machinery's wound every few seconds. 627's eyes were shut, as if asleep and enduring a less-than-pleasant dream; he looked to the flabbergasted L.E.R.O.Y. like a melancholic statue for all of eight seconds, and then he leaped out of the pod and onto the ceiling, just by its gap. "Where do you think you're going?!"
"To find the bastard!"
"What about the rest, you stupid prick?!"
"Next time."
"But you said-
"I know what I said! This is far more important; even worse than the rest of those monsters! Come on, I need you to tell me where he is before 300 finds out!" 627 vanished through the hole before the clone could argue again. After hearing the thunderous response, L.E.R.O.Y. turned around briefly to see 10, distant in more ways than one, down from the doorway.
"Hmph. Figures." Without so much as a second glance, he followed his hasty partner out of the base. As he departed, he was oblivious to the medic slowly opening his icy, yellow eyes.

V

"Come on..." Stitch said through barred teeth, holding sparking wires together in three of his four hands. His free upper left hand was leaned against the cracked, black screen. As he waited impatiently for a reaction, he gazed out of where the pod's windshield once was. He had been working, he estimated, for over an hour, but at least the weather was much drier than last night's. The once blackened sky was growing an edge of orange. Staring at it made Stitch's eyes flutter, but they shot back open at the thought of being drowned by Scrump again. The screen flickered for just a second. "Come on, come on!" He leaned in closer as the screen lit up some more. "Hello? 624? 621?" In between moments of white static, several images flashed upon the screen for barely seconds before vanishing. Stitch saw a bewildered boy no older than Lilo, with tall brown hair that curled at the top like icing, then a curious-looking man with curly brown hair and a colorful scarf that had no visible end, then a familiar creature that had some resemblance to a shark, then a green-skinned creature with mad, purple eyes, then a surprised, scarlet creature that made Stitch feel like he was looking in a mirror, then a pale green doll with a sewn-up grimace, and lastly a confused man wearing a brown suit that seemed much less contemporary than anything he had seen a human wear, sitting in what appeared to be an enormous, wooden machine. Stitch shook his head and shut his eyes when he thought he had seen both Scrump and himself, and then the screen coughed up a series of sparks from a newly-created hole. "Ah, shit..." The stranded terrorist stared at the deceased screen for several seconds, vainly preserving the false hope that the situation he had entered was simply another dream. Soon, though, he stepped out of the pod, almost automatically, and onto the lighthouse's prickly stone floor. He had shattered several windows and one of the white walls to fit the pod inside the high, circular room, only to find that the dull and primitive machinery lining its interior like chalk around a corpse was just as deteriorated. Even the tall, glass machine encasing a light bulb, serving as a centerpiece beside which the decaying pod was now placed, was coated in ghostly cobwebs. Stitch took in a heavy amount of the planet's oxygen through his nose, and then released it from his mouth. He shut his eyes for a moment, and then he turned to the wrecked vehicle. "BLITZNAK!" He turned and kicked the pod's underside hard enough for his foot to pass through the metal. "Goddammit..." He pulled his trapped limb back forcefully. He looked out the entrance he had created earlier, finding the sky's orange border expanding slowly but surely. Shooting the would-be scrap one final, scornful look, he turned and darted out of the lighthouse, free falling towards the sand like a diver. As he prepared for the moment when he would roll forward and land on his feet, he hoped, even more so than for his own rescue, that Lilo had not awoken and realized that what lay beneath the covers of the bottom bunk was merely a lump of pillows.

VI

"Heard you lost your job." Nani didn't receive so much as a greeting from Cobra Bubbles when she opened the door. His tone was as blunt as his statement. There would have been an awkward silence were it not for Lilo and Stitch's cackling behind Nani. The alien, lying amidst several scattered toy cars, laughed because of Lilo's tickling, while the human's chuckling was for her new friend's own admirable laugh; youthful and elderly at once.

"Oh, uh, Mr. Bubbles..." Nani was already unsettled by the towering man's mere presence, but the obvious circumstances for his return were enough to freeze her blood. "Hello. I wasn't expecting you,"
"Nor was I; I was rather looking forward to taking my boat out," He toed the line of sarcasm. "As it happens, when I stopped by your former workplace to ask about your work habits, I discovered that you are no longer in their service as of last night,"
"Well, uh...Yes...Yes, there was a...Yes, I was fired,"
"I was told by your former employer that your new pet was being...Troublesome." The social worker peered over Nani's shoulder to see the blue creature, who was now free of Lilo's ticklish grasp. His beam had faded when he noticed Cobra, but Lilo's spirit was too lofty to lose her grin. "Personally..." Cobra's attention returned to Nani, although his eyeballs shot a glance to the dog every other second, and his neck longed to follow suit, as if Stitch were a sunny view from the window of a monotonous classroom. Had he not been wearing sunglasses, Nani would've been distracted by his inconstant gaze. "I've heard of worse things to terminate an employee for, but regardless, your being jobless is something I cannot ignore." He noticed Nani turning pale, but she did not sweat or fidget. She stood firm and intent, like he was telling her a story. He wanted to smile; perhaps improvement had already begun. At the same time, he could see Stitch approaching him on all fours, with Lilo following without any immediate concern. Improvement was apparent in the younger sibling as well. "I'll give you three days; I don't believe I need to explain what happens if circumstances have been static by then,"
"No, you don't," Nani answered firmly. "And I can promise you, circumstances will not have been static by then,"
"I hope so-" The false cough of a third party cut Cobra off like scissors through paper. Looking down, both he and Nani found Stitch, still on his hands, and looking up at the suited social worker with a look of aggressive curiosity. Cobra, for a moment, felt like he was seeing a reflection. Stitch would've felt likewise, but something obstructed his view.

"Can I help you?" Cobra sliced swiftly through the silence. In response, the Experiment lifted his left hand and beckoned. Cobra warily obliged and knelt down closer to the strange creature. Almost immediately after he descended, his sunglasses were snatched from his face. "Hey!" He took his property back with equal force. Stitch, despite his outward glare, relished in the reveal of Cobra's eyes, sharp like a rainfall of arrows. Making proper eye contact with the social worker gave Stitch a victorious tickle, like that when plasma struck his unreactive skin and dripped pathetically to the floor. "Come now, there's no need for that," Cobra added more calmly, standing up as he returned his sunglasses to their proper place. His trench-deep voice reminded Stitch of an old ally, although Cobra didn't impress him half as much.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Bubbles," Nani exclaimed, scooping up the Experiment indelicately under the arms and plopping him back inside. "That's Stitch; our new dog. He's a bit...eccentric,"

"So I've heard..." Cobra replied lowly.

"Sorry, sir." They both heard Lilo's voice, much more stimulated than Cobra recalled, and looked down to find the girl peeking out from behind her sister, cuddling the irritated alien from behind with much more care than Nani had just shown. "Stitch had a nightmare last night, so he's feeling a bit jumpy. But I'm teaching him to be good. I promise,"

"Let's hope that you are successful," He replied solidly before turning back to Nani. "Three days..." He received a firm nod in response. He made to leave, but turned back for just a moment. "Just do your best...Good day," He finished before finally turning and descending the steps of the house. It took Nani a few seconds to realize that she should shut the door.

"He's kind of a nag, isn't he?" Lilo stated, as if they had been visited by Mertle or one of her identical companions. "Poking his big, round nose into everything,"

Nani knew a reasonable reaction would be to scold her sister for her disrespectful remarks, but couldn't help but concur. "Yeah, he kind of is, actually," She released a chuckle which she shared with Lilo. Stitch, as if oblivious to the immortal hug he was receiving, still grimaced. He turned his head to look over Lilo's shoulder, seeing the hideous makeshift doll laying on the floor like an empty husk.
"Did he tell you to hurry up and find a job?" The younger girl inquired.
"Yeah, he did," Nani tried to maintain her somewhat heightened spirits. "I'll get my resume and then we'll head out. You and Stitch can play around while I see about any job openings, just make sure he doesn't break anyone's nose," Nani shared another chuckle with her sister before leaving after the mentioned resume.
"Can I bring dad's record player?" Lilo asked after. "I wanted to show Stitch some Elvis songs,"
"Sure, just don't have it on too loud," The older sibling called back, now in a different room.

"Resume?" Stitch asked Lilo as he was finally released.
"Some paper that Nani needs to show people so they can see if she'd be a good employee," She explained. "Don't know why she can't just tell them and they listen,"
"People stupid. If they read...They get smarter," The Experiment joked, but he didn't lie. Lilo guffawed before looking at him with concern.
"Why did you take Mr. Bubbles' glasses?"
"Stitch wanted see eyes. See how they looked,"
"...How did they look?"
"Orange, red. Like fire." As he answered, Lilo's stomach dropped when the flames licked the rims of his eye sockets, as if they were kissing him passionately. "Stitch see it before,"
"Where did you see it?" The girl asked hesitantly, but her curiosity outmatched her reluctance.
"People who killed," He responded blankly. The fire now seemed to wave out of the black eyes and towards Lilo, and she suddenly felt sweat approaching from beneath her ebony hair. Her pulse seemed to halt for just a second before resuming at a hastier pace. "Record player?" Stitch asked when he noticed Lilo's idling.
"Oh, right, thanks." Lilo turned to retrieve the musical device from its place on the coffee table by the couch, where it had not shifted since the lonelier Friday afternoon. As she brought it down, Stitch turned his head to see Scrump, still horizontal on the floor, her buttons narrowed beneath her sagging fabric brow. As she glared at him, his throat felt suddenly numb.

VII

"Any reason why Nani's starting with the retarded old fossil?" Scrump questioned casually as Lilo set the record player upon the hard, gray sidewalk next to their car. Lilo turned to see Nani, one of the several papers she had brought in hand, approaching a lady half her size but much more than twice her age. The elder stood behind a row of shelves containing seemingly infinite quantities of colorful fruit, paralleling the shaded room of crates that lay behind them.
"Mrs. Hasagawa's not retarded, Scrump," Lilo corrected the doll, returning her attention to the machine.
"What is she, like, ninety? Why isn't she frickin' dead?"
"Scrump!"
"What?"
"You know what,"
"Alright, fine. I'm sorry," Enough sincerity rang in Scrump's distorted voice to partially fill a matchbook. She then noticed Stitch suspiciously peering into the thin, horizontal slots that lined one wall of the wooden base. "There's nothing in there, prickface,"

Stitch glared up at the doll, his scorn for it increasing with every second of attention squandered upon it. Growing impatient, he summarized his feelings as bluntly as he could. "Fuck off, Scrump,"

"Stitch!" Lilo scolded.
"What?"
"Don't say things like that!"
"Lilo said to me,"
"I didn't say anything!"
"Stitch heard. Stitch saw Lilo's mouth move,"
"You did not, you-" She suddenly stopped and shook her head. "Never mind. Anyway..." She put Scrump down on the furthest side of the sidewalk from the road. "This, Stitch, is Elvis." She pushed a miniature switch to the bottom right of the black disk on top of the device. The Experiment raised an eyebrow at the unusual flow of sounds that poured from the machine, swinging and jumping as if they were alive, and lining up to form something Stitch could never have imagined. It felt like a painting that he observed with his ears.

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog. Cryin' all the time.
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog. Cryin' all the time.

"Elvis?" Stitch asked, fascinated. The inconvenient knowledge of his pod's lack of cooperation was drowned out by the music.
"Yep." She gently but enthusiastically pulled him to his feet.
"What is Lilo doing?"
"I'm showing you how to dance,"
"Dance?"
"Just do what I do." Holding onto his outstretched hand, she fell backwards and touched the ground with her free hand. Stitch, almost automatically, did likewise.

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine.

They both bounced upright again, and then repeated the movement with swapped hands. Lilo pulled Stitch towards her with enough force to make him tip, but she caught him with an arm under his back, their noses barely touching, and lifted him upright.

Well, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.
Well, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.

The terrorist hesitated, but then recreated the tipping movement with Lilo in his place. He found himself chuckling as she spur around under his arm, and she joined in as he repeated her.

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine.

She acted as a pendulum as Stitch dived feet first beneath her legs, pulling him back up afterwards. After she dived under him, she was pulled back up in a joyous spin. "You're doing great!" Lilo cheered as they continued dancing. Stitch only laughed in response.

Well, they said you was high-classed. Well, that was just a lie.

The heartening sound of his youthful and ancient laughter alongside the music generated a sense of warmth within her which even the generous Hawaiian sun could deliver. Stitch felt likewise, his mind never once being invaded by his plucky, pink mentor, a broken, useless pod, or even burning flags.

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine.

The Experiment's pulse quickened as it had several times before, but where previously it charged like a bloodthirsty warrior, now it seemed to soar like a graceful bird. He and Lilo flowed into the music like water through a canal, right up until an unwelcome voice met the Experiment's long ears.

"Watch where you're dancing, twinkletoes!" The low and surly voice ordered sarcastically. The source was in front of Stitch, but he knew it was meant to originate elsewhere. While Elvis continued singing, both Stitch and Lilo glanced over the terrorist's shoulder, finding that his left foot had landed a mere inch away from the laying Scrump.

"Careful, Stitch," Lilo warned him more warmly while he still glared at the doll. "Come on, we can still keep dancing. Just try not to step on-"

"No." The alien broke away and reached for the macabre creation. The girl could predict what he wanted to do and darted around him, picking up Scrump before he could. "Lilo," Stitch pressed not quite as firmly as he had when demanding to see her poor math test. "Put Scrump away." He took a step towards her, so she stepped back, holding her craft in both hands.

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog. Cryin' all the time.

"She didn't do anything wrong; she only said to try not to step on her,"
"She didn't say. Scrump can not say, Lilo,"
"What are you talking about?"
"Put away or give to Stitch." He continued to step closer to her, and she stepped back at the same time, as if they were still dancing. The terrorist's focus was shared between the girl and the doll, with the former, for a few moments, seeming to adopt Scrump's immortal frown. Lilo was forced to halt by something wooden, and looked over her shoulder to see shelves stacked with fruit. She also found her sister, fixated upon her job interview.

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine.

"Didn't you work at that luau down the way?" Mrs. Hasagawa inquired, adjusting her glasses, three times the size of her eyes, to examine Nani's typewritten resume.
"Yes, I did." The interviewee answered stolidly.
"But not anymore?"
"No..." Nani considered adding to her simple response, but quickly changed her mind.
"Hm...How's your little sister, by the way?" The old woman asked, looking up from the paper suddenly.
"She's great. Mrs. Hasagawa, I would really appreciate the opportunity to work here..."

Before Lilo could plan her next movement, her dog seized the opportunity to swipe Scrump out of her hands. "Hey, no fair!" She attempted to swipe her macabre creation back, but Stitch avoided her with a graceful front flip. Graceful, that is, apart from the wobbly result of his landing on one of the wooden fruit shelves.

"Oh, my word!" Mrs. Hasagawa exclaimed with shock as she darted around to the messier side of her fruit stand. She frantically scooped up the fallen products that covered the floor like a blanket and left the shelf nearly bare, using her white apron as a crude sack.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Hasagawa," Nani proclaimed as calmly as she could. She joined the elderly woman in retrieving the fruit, knowing that each and every individual colorful item would need to be washed before returning to the shelf. "That's our new dog. We're still, uh, training him,"

"New dog?" The old woman turned to look at the strange creature, still standing upon the wooden shelf, gripping the horrific doll in his hand, looking upon the scene with a surprised look. His black eyes narrowed once he jumped off of the shelf and dropped Scrump lazily to the ground. Lilo picked it up quickly with both hands and brushed sand out of its stalk of hair. Mrs. Hasagawa was silent for a moment after looking at the alien. "I'm very sorry, Nani, but I don't think there'd be any work for you here,"
"Oh..." Nani wanted to say something like 'What?!' or 'Excuse me?', but tried to remain courteous. As soon as the bland word left her lips, she wished she had chosen any other word.
"I mean, things already quiet enough around here with just me. I'd just be wasting your time keeping you here,"
"I could help you clean these," The older sister bargained.
"...Well, I suppose I could give you some money for helping with that. But I've nothing to offer you long-term. So sorry, dear." The elderly shopkeeper smiled warmly at Nani, and she reciprocated dishonestly. Behind the oversized glasses and comforting brown eyes, she could deduce an alternative reason for the refusal. Small amounts of work meant small amounts of income, and were anyone in Mrs. Hasagawa's employ, said income would become smaller when divided between herself and her employee. Whether it was to defend her interests or Nani's, the unemployed sibling could not determine. All she knew was that Mrs. Hasagawa would never admit to such a dilemma. Regardless, she agreed to take the temporary work, despite it not meeting Cobra's demands. The money would prove useful at some point. Even Lilo and Stitch helped, but both were unnervingly silent as they retrieved the fruit and put it in a box-like sink behind the shelves. As the blue Experiment went to and fro between the mess and the sink, his stomach felt strange, like it were falling and trying to drag his heart with it. The sensation was alien to him, but somehow he wondered if Pig had ever felt it when receiving any one of her uncountable blows. Just as the tedious job was concluding, he realized that the record player had remained on the whole time. Stitch could tell easily that it was a song differing from the one he and Lilo had danced to. He glanced at Scrump, still held tightly in her creator's hand, and actually listened to the words that danced with the music.

You make me so lonely, baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.

VIII

Nani attempted twice more at securing employment. Both times, her sister and her pet remained in the car, with more arguments between Stitch and Scrump than conversation with Lilo. The older sibling was answered only with a promise that she'd be contacted, as opposed to the more welcome guarantee of a new job. Regardless, she decided that it was much better than what she was given by Mrs. Hasagawa. She went home feeling hopeful that evening, while the younger girl and the terrorist did not know how to feel at all.

"Stitch likes Elvis," The Experiment said to break the silence that had lasted since they had entered Lilo's bedroom, darkening with the sky outside.
"I knew you would," She sat up on her bed and smiled at him, still holding Scrump carefully.
"Stitch likes dancing, too." He curled up at the foot of her bunk. He smiled as well, although he was befuddled. His stomach still felt heavy, and seemed to shift with every moment he observed either sister. It seemed a quieter version of what he felt on his first mission, racing to escape the suicidal space vessel. Lilo's smile maintained for a few more seconds, and then it shrunk as she held up her macabre toy.
"You could've done more if you didn't start bothering me!" Scrump muttered maliciously at Stitch.
"Stitch would not if Scrump not mean," The alien replied the doll firmly, although he was making eye contact with Lilo.
"You think I'd just let you stomp on me with your big, stupid feet?!"
"Without rude,"
"From me or from you? Come on, it's not difficult,"
"Not just rude today; yesterday, too. Call Stitch names, say I am 'pig with rabbit ears,'"
"I'm rude?! I didn't get Lilo's pussy sister fired!"
"Bad word,"
"Zippit! I didn't steal that big asshole Bubbles' sunglasses or ruin the fossil's fruit!"
"You couldn't,"
"Not the point! All you've done is make things a fucking pain for everyone-"
"LILO!" Stitch may very well have frozen the girl in solid ice. "Stop it!" He breathed in and out slowly before continuing, softer in the hopes of earning an explanation for such behavior. "Why does Lilo say mean things?"

"What mean things?" The girl asked, anxious.
"Lilo says bad words and then look like Scrump say,"
"It is Scrump!"
"Don't lie!"
"Don't yell at me!" Now it was Stitch's turn to freeze, as Lilo's confused frown shifted into a glare. In the moment after she had retorted, she returned to her former weakened expression, and the alien and the human's faces seemed to be reflections of one another. Stitch sat up so he could take a new seat next to the girl, sitting only with his bottom like the girl and not on his whole front like a dog.
"Lilo..." He began, softer than he had spoken even to 10. "Scrump cannot talk. Scrump cannot move. Stitch hears Lilo say bad things about him and everyone else, but make different voice. Make different voice and call it Scrump. Stitch hears Lilo say bad things to him, and makes Stitch sad. But when Lilo is not Scrump, Lilo makes Stitch happy. Stitch likes to talk to Lilo without Scrump,"
"...Wait, you said that I need to teach people to not push me around," The girl objected, mostly inquiring, but a hint of humor rang with her tone to show that she did not mean it maliciously.
"Yes...Stupidheads, like Mertle. Not your friends. Friends say good things. Make other friends happy." Stitch briefly thought of the ecstatic and elastic 345. He noticed Lilo's head was hung. He thought to tell her to look up with some firmness, but he found no motivation to do so. "Look at Stitch, please," He asked kindly, and she obeyed. "Is Stitch your friend?"

Lilo smiled and wrapped her arms around the furry alien, dropping the limp, macabre doll to the floor as she did. Scrump hit the wooden ground much like the corpse which it resembled. "Of course you are, Stitch. You're my best friend." The Experiment found himself reciprocating the hug more automatically than he had been previously. His fur provided a permanent source of warmth, but that which he felt when hugged by Lilo somehow felt more rewarding. He now realized why hugging 624 had made him feel calm when battling 627. "I love you, Stitch," Lilo said quietly after a few silent moments. The terrorist hesitated in his response, as he knew that it would not be entirely genuine. At least, he didn't believe it to be.
"Stitch loves you, too." The sentence poured discreetly from Stitch's lips, curved around, and then stabbed him in the chest. Nevertheless, the embrace was maintained for several more minutes, until they pulled away for the Experiment to make an additional, more sincere statement. "Stitch is sorry for making mess today,"
"It's okay. Nani said Mrs. Hasagawa wanted to harvest all our brains for her evil experiments, anyway," Lilo joked, although her friend seemed legitimately concerned. He felt that he should return to the old woman's fruit stand and snap her neck before said experiments got out of hand. "But she told the brain harvesting police and they took care of it," Lilo added when she noticed the alien's concerned expression, and he released a sigh of relief. "Why don't we read a story before bed?"
"Okay. Which story?"
"Let's see..." The girl hopped off of the bottom bunk and approached the completely filled bookshelf right across from it. Stitch could not help noticing that Lilo's bare foot had landed its first step just short of the laying Scrump's head, not unlike he himself had done when dancing earlier that afternoon. The moment felt more significant to him than he thought it should, but all the same, he found himself wishing that either his foot or Lilo's had landed just a few millimeters elsewhere. Lilo quickly returned with a crimson book of about the same thickness as a brick, upon which gold text spelled out The Complete Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. "I thought about getting the one of Edgar Allan Poe, but I don't think we're in the mood for any sad stories right now,"
"Happy stories, then?" Stitch inquired with a soft smile.
"Most of them, yeah." The girl, returning to the chipper disposition the alien had come to know her for, returned to her former seat next to him as she opened the collection of stories. "Here; you can pick." She showed him a page containing a towering list of titles beside dots leading to numbers.
"So many..." The Experiment muttered as he scanned the lengthy list. Only mere hours ago, he was gritting his teeth over his lack of any means of escape from the planet, and was now confused to find his foremost concern being what was the most captivating amongst titles such as The Snow Queen and The Little Mermaid. He knew that he should be searching for an alternative to the tattered pod in which he arrived, but somehow his time on this unusual new planet felt incomplete. Finally, he made his decision and pointed to the entry entitled The Ugly Duckling.

IX

Stitch did not realize until he left the room that he had no reason to. The night before, he had left Lilo asleep while he went to work on the black-and-white pod, although he knew now that any timely repair was nigh impossible on such a primitive planet. He had nothing to do, and yet, unlike Lilo, he was wide awake. He descended the stairs automatically, hoping he would eventually feel weary enough to lie down on the comfortable sheets. As he walked, the events of the story that Lilo recited before drifting peacefully to sleep bounced about inside his brain. Despite their erratic movement, they acted as an enzyme that calmed his befuddled thoughts. A creature called a duck, who had thought himself hideous, searched in many hospitable places for a new home, only to be driven from them all and spend the winter in a lonely cave. The ending in particular riveted Stitch; the duckling, suicidal, flung himself at a group of swans in the hopes of them ending his misery. Instead, they welcomed him into their group, and he finds that he himself was a swan all along. Stitch had heard other stories before from his fellow revolutionaries, all involving the unfortunate death or disappearance of a comrade, or the gruesomely specific murder of a pathetic foe. This Ugly Duckling came as a surprise. No violence, no struggle between rivals; just a sad creature finding peace where he least expected it. So simple yet so fascinating. It racked his brain still as he ventured away from the stairs when he reached the house's lower floor. He wished the Hans Christian Andersen who spun the tale were nearby so he could inquire about its simplistic intrigue. Just before he could decide where to go from the stairs, he heard Nani's voice responding quietly to an inaudible one.

"Yes?...Yes, that's right..." She sounded excited. He heard a light thump, and assumed that she had slammed her arm upon something in anticipation. Both sounds had emitted from the living room on his left, so he headed there. Surely enough, the older sister was there, sitting on the couch, her right arm on the parallel chair arm, which Stitch assumed was what had caused the light thump, while her left hand held a phone to her ear, with a chord leading to a coffee table on her right. She had a wider grin on her face than the Experiment had ever seen, so much so that it was like a lightbulb, filling the dark room with light. As she listened on, however, the lights were dimmed.
"I see..." She said like a stone dropping suddenly into a pond and then sinking dismally to the bottom. The Experiment dropped to all fours as he watched Nani listen to the unseen voice of disappointment. "Alright...Thank you, anyway," She concluded soberly before returning the phone to its place on the coffee table to her right. She was still in that position before her face fell into her hands, where it remained for several moments before rising again. When it did, there was a dark, sunken look that Stitch could only describe as the very definition of hopelessness. Stitch became fixated on Nani's depressing expression, wondering if he had perhaps made a similar face either when fleeing from the detonating ship on his first mission, or when he slept in the grey animal shelter on that rainy first night. Nani eventually noticed him, although it took her a few seconds to react.
"Hey there, Stitch," Was all she blankly said when she did. He tilted his head to one side, which Nani took as meaning confusion. "That was, uh...That was one of the places I applied for today," She explained as she stood up. "Not that they had anything worth saying…" She marched across the room, past the bizarre pet, as if she had to be somewhere urgently, but when she reached the end where she would have to turn, she halted, realizing that she wasn't actually going anywhere. Stitch observed her back curiously, seeing her head hang like gravity was tugging carefully on it. Lilo had intrigued the Experiment, but her older sister seemed like little more than additional baggage. He admitted to himself that he'd forgotten what her name was. Suddenly, she turned to look at him, with her previously sunken expression sharpening like a scythe. Stitch was not intimidated, only mystified.
"You know, I wouldn't even have to find another job if you hadn't screwed up my old one!" She declared furiously. "I had everything under control! I could've made Bubbles see, I could've convinced him to let me keep Lilo! It could've been easier, but no! You just had to punch him and get me fired and put me in this hopelessness!" She took a step towards the alien, but he was a stern statue. "I never did anything to you, or to Bubbles, or to that drunken idiot…" Her fury escalated and then halted, like something in the distance was distracting her. Her reddening face flushed into a striking white. Her head fell back into her hands, where it remained until her fingers dropped from her face as if they were melting. Nani looked again at Stitch, who seemed to be an observer of her frustration rather than a target.
"Not like you understood any of that…" The older sister muttered, her hands back at her sides but her head still hanging, much like the expression upon it. Stitch hesitated, but shook his head in response. Nani might've been surprised had she not been feeling like she had been beaten nearly to death.
"Well, then…" She took a deep breath, as if it would help to repair her mood. "I got you so Lilo would have a friend...Can you do one small thing for me...For both of us...Can you be my friend, too? Please?" This request surprised Stitch. He had been anticipating 'Die' or 'Go fuck yourself' or perhaps something bleaker. He considered the question, for so long that Nani ultimately lost patience and ascended glumly up the stairs. The Experiment was left alone in the dark living room, still unsure of what answer to give.

He recalled very few times that he heard a tone as powerful as that which Nani had used, though the majority of them were from 621 and 300. He remembered one moment in particular, not long after his second mission, when the marksman introduced him to Pig. She scowled at anyone she noticed, and Stitch had been no exception. One of Pig's long, L-shaped ears was halved by a bite mark, and one eye obscured behind a red and black sphere. Many teeth absent, her left arm like a corpse attached to her at the shoulder, and her left foot awkwardly on its toes when she stood, as though it were paralyzed there. Stitch had done what 621 asked and began contributing to the sickly yellow Experiment's injuries, thinking the task redundant until he remembered the tale of the marksman discovering Pig and 502 front-to-back in a cupboard, then he couldn't help but smirk as he struck. Then his fist was caught, and the pig's scowl worsened, revealing gums darkened and jagged with dry blood. 626's smirk was broken until the scowl was violently erased by a clawed, two-toed foot. 621, who had recommended the assault so quietly, shouted at Pig with a volume and force that he had not even used against Captain Gantu. He was interrupted occasionally only by his own continuous stomps to the abomination's head. Despite the vulgarity of the scolding, the fact that it was not targeted at Stitch had given the blue Experiment a warm feeling like a condensed version of what he felt when burning the Federation's flag. Now, being on the receiving end of such exclamations, he felt not warmth but weight, like he was falling into an abyss, but without the fear of hitting the bottom, for there wasn't one. There was only the defeated sensation of falling. Finally, he decided that the most effective way to stop falling was to climb. He went slowly up the stairs and knew that Nani's room was to the left, but he looked right at Lilo's room automatically, where he found the older sister standing outside the door, peering in, not observing but simply looking. As he approached the human that had made him fall, he recalled the many random occasions where Lilo had hugged him purely for the sake of it. He was curious as to how it had begun to feel so comforting, and he supposed he would find out. Nani did not notice the short blue creature until he was right next to her, hugging her around her legs. He looked up at her and smiled as warmly as he could muster, and he figured that it was enough when Nani knelt down to pet his head gently.

"It's alright. I won't stay mad at you," She told him quietly, as Lilo was still dreaming. "Life just can't be easy. I just didn't know it could get this hard so fast…" She stopped petting him, but he still smiled, and his long ears dropped behind his head like holstered pistols. "I can only imagine how hard it was for you…" She pulled him into a hug much softer and less tight than those he had received from Lilo, though he found it just as unexpected. As he reciprocated, he wondered if there was ever an instance where he had anticipated a hug, from Lilo, 624, 345, or anyone. Perhaps I'm just no good at predicting them, he thought. "I was thinking I could take you two surfing tomorrow," Nani began as she pulled away. "I wanted to see for a job as a lifeguard, anyway." She received a friendly nod in response. "Great. Now to bed with you…" She gave him a careful nudge on the back as she stood back up, indicating that he should return to the bedroom.

Stitch did as he was asked as he and Nani went in opposite directions. He felt relieved that the falling sensation had vanished, being replaced by a warmth even more soothing than when he listened to 621 berate Pig. They felt similar and yet were completely different. Was there a single term for the warmth or did each version have its own name? He re-entered the bed feeling more befuddled than he had when he left it. His body longed for rest but his brain fought against it vigorously, enjoying the endless pondering in the same way that he enjoyed battling the Federation's soldiers; tiring and endless, and yet he yearned for more. As he sat at the foot of Lilo's bed, his fluttering eyes turned away from the quiescent girl and to her bedside table, where the photo of the much younger sisters on the shoulders and in the arms of two disturbingly absent individuals. Two dear friends, gone before he even arrived. That was familiar. His eyelids dropped, and so did he.

X

"Where is Pudge, Lilo?" Stitch inquired as he followed the girl down the stone-dotted pathway of dirt beside her house. His growling stomach answered him before Lilo did. he wished his new friend had thought to take in breakfast before heading out so early. He noticed some board-like object against a lonely palm tree, shielded by bushes to the left, but he did not care.

"He's at the end of this trail," Lilo responded cheerfully as she lead the way. She grasped a peanut butter sandwich tightly in her left hand. Stitch was just happy that she had not brought any egg-stuffed dolls. The end of the trail was like a sandy protrusion from the land, obscured between the vastness of the sea and a thick row of bushes on the shore. Nobody would find this place again unless they were looking for it, Stitch thought.

"Where is Pudge?" He repeated his earlier question when he saw that they were alone.

"Let's see..." The girl got on both knees, planted her hands firmly in the sand, and dunked her head into the water, creating a explosive splash that interrupted the cadenced flow of the sea. "Yup, he's here. Come see." She gestured merrily for him to do as she had done, as if there were nothing bizarre about it whatsoever. He was hesitant, yet he ultimately repeated Lilo and dunked his head into the water. When he opened his eyes, he thought he was peeking at an alternate reality under the planet's surface, like a deep blue reiteration of Hell. The sand from the surface stretched along the subterannean wasteland, seeming infinite with the greatest change being its increasing depth. It brought Stitch back to his nightmare two nights ago, battling the enlarged Scrump on the endless landscape, half water and half sand. He felt like he should pull his head from the underwater realm, but he was convinced that he would want to look again immediately, not because he found it beautiful, but because it was different, almost haunting, in every way from both space and the planet he was stranded on. It wasn't long before some unusual creature of bright yellow and deep purple, no more than a flat head with fins, approached him and pecked his nose with its eternally-frowning lips. He was surprised when he did not think to lash out at the aquatic creature like he had at Mertle, Cobra, Nani's former boss, and several others before. His stomach, however, once again voiced its outrage. The Experiment pulled his head from the water, and was surprised to find himself straining to resurface, as though the liquid had tried to pull him in further. When he was graced with the planet's warm sun again, he looked back down at the water, not seeing the purple-and-yellow fish poking its head out to see Lilo, but at the first substance in the universe to make him afraid.

"Where is Pudge?" Stitch repeated once more.

"Didn't you see him?" Lilo asked merrily, pulling her sopping hair from her face like heavy, black curtains. "Here." She handed him the peanut butter sandwich she had broguth, and his impatient stomach leaped before it was dragged back down with some crushing news. "You can give him his offering."

"Offering?" Stitch thought he might still be asleep and dreaming; did this girl worship the fish?

"Yeah, just put it in the water and Pudge will make sure that it doesn't rain," The girl explained further, as though it would make her dog less confused. Stitch imagined that stuffing the offering into his own face instead of Pudge's would be infinitely more productive, even if such a sight would irritate Lilo. He nearly did eat the sandwich, but the girl's beaming face was like the watchful gaze on an unforgiving God, and so he dropped the food into the water. The weather-manipulating fish seized it in its frowning mouth almost instantaneously. Now Stitch missed the sandwich nearly as much as he missed 624.

"There we go," Lilo chirped, petting the Experiment's furry head, though he did not react, not so much as a smile. "Now we'll have more sunshine." She added before glancing quickly over her shoulder. "Hey, Stitch, can you wait here a second?" The girl requested softly. Stitch nodded in response, giving her only a sideways glance. These days, his brain felt too large to fit inside his skull, but he forced himself to appear unaffected, just as he had once struggled to not appear smitten by a certain pink-furred comrade. "Great. Just a second, I promise," Lilo spoke as if there was a likelihood that she would be veered miles away from whatever destination she had in mind, and then she left through the bushes. Stitch could not guess where she be going for 'a second', but he supposed that he would discover soon. He only hoped that it was not back to the house to retrieve her malicious homemade doll. He glanced back down at the water, seeing Pudge the supposed weather God gnawing bit by bit at his offering. Stitch's stomach roared at him once more, making him realize the golden opportunity in front of him. The unforgiving God's watchful gaze had turned away from him for the time being. He looked once more at Pudge and his sandwich, and finally noticed just how meat-like the fish appeared. He checked over his shoulder once before his hand shot into the water like a silenced bullet.

"Hey, Stitch," Lilo sounded much mellower than she did when she had left. Stitch would be lying, however, if he said that she sounded sad, but he would not be telling the truth, either. He swallowed the water in his mouth as quickly and silently as he could. His army of teeth were strong enough to chew the bones with ease; he was thankful that he would not have to hide anything incriminating. The sandwich was soggy, but the rest of Stitch's breakfast was soft and sweet, aside from the bland crunchiness of the bones. It was better than nothing, he thought. The water had been part of an attempt to clear any other evidence away from his teeth. He hoped that it had been successful as he turned to the young girl. She said nothing accusing. She only knelt next to him and watched the water. "Hm. I guess Pudge needed to hurry somewhere today," Lilo stated without a hint of concern, surprise, or disappointment. Stitch resisted the urge to exhale with relief."Hey, Stitch, can I show you something,"

"Sure," He answered curtly. She took him gently by the hand and led him back out through the bushes. She lead him to a place closer to the slope leading to the house from which they came, and the Experiment was surprised to find himself in front of the lonely board tied against a palm tree. Upon it, he now noticed, was an inscription, carefully painted in melancholy black letters; Lei and Akela Pelekai. Beneath it added The Best Anyone Could Ask For. Curious, Stitch stepped forward, somehow feeling that the colorful board's true purpose was not to be written on and tied to a lonely tree.

"Careful," Lilo advised firmly, but she grasped him gently by the shoulder. "Their box is under there," She added without first considering the best choice of words. The terrorist looked back at her, now even more curious than he was made by the melancholy board. "...It's a...Really small box..." More curious still.

"Whose box?" He inquired. "Why buried? Why board? Who are Lei and-"
"That's Mom and Dad..." The girl was quick to answer, more to let it out than to stop the flow of questions. It was effective in more ways than one.
"Mom...Dad..." Stitch repeated, becoming fixated not on the board, but in the empty space of sand in front of it, as though something should be there. Something should be there.
"Since you're part of our Ohana now, I thought you should know about them,"
"Ohana...Nobody left behind..." He recalled the words she had spoken the night of his first day with her.
"That's right," Lilo replied warmly. "Sometimes I come out here and talk to them. You can talk with them, too, if you want." This suggestion was particularly intriguing to Stitch, even more so than anything else that the girl had presented to him. He had never known any of his comrades to 'talk' to 501 and 502. If the Rebellion thought him dead, did they talk to him?
"Yes..." He responded stolidly. "Stitch want to talk with Mom and Dad,"
"Well, alrighty, then," She said, trying to lighten the mood. She felt like the attempt had been in vain. She sat on her knees and Stitch followed her, sitting cross-legged on the sand, which was like a warm blanket draped across the mattress that was the Earth.

"Hey, guys," Lilo began the conversation. Stitch was surprised by the chill that shot up his spine at the responding silence. "I brought Stitch with me, today." She nodded to the Experiment, who hesitated in his salutation.

"H-Hello...Lei...Hello, A-Akela..." Nobody would respond, but he felt as though everybody in the universe had heard him.

"Hope you guys are doing alright," Lilo continued to the glum surfboard. "Things here are a little better. There's this nosy guy called Bubbles who's telling Nani to do stuff. I don't know what he wants. All he's doing is making things a lot harder for everyone," She stopped for a moment. Stitch noticed that her smile was still present, but it had been condensed. "I just don't understand why people put so much effort into making other people miserable." She paused again. Stitch thought of the foot of a certain green-furred marksman pressing into the wounded shoulder of Captain Gantu. 'Thank you, you wonderful, pretentious, hideous retard', the gruff and malicious voice declared in the terrorist's head.
"Thanks again for sending Stitch..." Lilo's next statement pulled Stitch from his trance. He was befuddled; it was 627 who was responsible for his marooning. The idea that some invisible entity had orchestrated the event made Stitch feel even chillier.
"I taught him how to dance and he showed me how to do fractions. He helped me realize that Scrump was mean, and he even scared Mertle away. He's just awesome. I don't think you guys could've sent a better friend." Stitch looked up at her as she spoke, but then felt as if his gaze was dragged back to the sand that obscured the undersized box.
"He came with me to give up an offering to the All-Powerful Pudge, so there won't be any more rain." Why would Lei and Akela care if it rained or not, Stitch pondered. Then he figured, just as he was with his Rebellion at the start of one day and separate at its close, had a similar day for Lilo, Nani, Akela, and Lei been a rainy one?

Lilo continued speaking, but they were not the only words that attacked Stitch's mind. He remembered the stranded revolutionary, miles away from his faithful rebellion. He needed someone foolish and unquestioning enough to grant him safety until he could return to his comrades. He was rude, he was angry, and he was a hindrance, and still the girl would hug him for no reason at all. Even 624 had been more resistant of the urge to caress his silky fur. He had thought the girl stupid, and she thanked him for his tutoring. He taught her to frighten, and she taught him to dance. He left her alone to attempt repair of a hopeless escape, and she played with him the next morning. Now he sat with his legs crossed and the delicious weather controller lay scattered in his stomach, listening to Lilo and her parents talking about him, praising him for his many deeds. Two dear friends, lost before he even arrived. That was familiar. The war in his brain hurt. He thought it was making him bleed, but when he blinked, he did not see blood, but water. His mouth trembled, and although the thoughts of 626 and those of Stitch still crossed swords, the Experiment had stopped thinking. The swords were too painful.

"Stitch?" He felt something warm on his shoulder as he heard Lilo's words swerve slowly off their course. He looked left, seeing the girl, more concerned than he had ever seen her. "What's wrong?" His throat wanted to create words, but his exhausted brain had none to give, and his unbalanced jaw refused to open. Lilo looked again into the Experiment's black eyes, and found that the rebellious hellfire that had petrified her before was now being doused by a light rain. She had not seen it rain in ages. Just a few seconds of watching the flames become smoke rising from the water, and Lilo, too, began to rain.
"It's okay, Stitch," Her voice shattered like glass. The two of them were airtight in each other's arms without a moment of thought, as though they were brought together by magnets. "It's okay." There were knives within them both, maliciously carving their way out. As they embraced, they sewed up the cuts made by the outraged knives. Stitch remembered standing atop the Federation museum, his allies beside him, panicking morons beneath them, and orange eating black-and-white above their heads. He had once longed to see that orange above the entirety of the Rebellion's heads for the quadrant's collective idiocy to see. Only in the present second, as he cried in the arms of the girl who mystified and enraged and delighted him, did he realize that the image of Scrump's skull of eggs being flattened bit at his lust more than any shade of orange.
"I love you, Stitch..." As he thought of smashed eggs, he heard Lilo repeat what she had told him the previous evening. His response then had not been completely sincere, but his new response, which he did not hesitate in making, was truer than anything he'd ever said or done in his short life.

"Stitch loves you, too,"

XI

Both Stitch and Lilo's eyes were stale with dried tears by the time they had set off for the beach. The girl's illuminating smile had returned, although the terrorist's face was longer than it had ever been. Not even Lilo, changed into a red-and-yellow striped swimsuit, gently stroking the fur on his head as they walked could bring the Experiment's smile.

"Did Stitch have another nightmare?" Nani, carrying a scarlet surfboard and wearing a sky blue swimsuit of her own, asked as if nothing was truly wrong.

"No...Well, maybe. He didn't say." Lilo's hand left the silken, blue fur as she whispered to her sister. Stitch did not notice. "I showed him Mom and Dad," She told Nani quietly.

"Oh..." The older sister whispered in enlightenment before resting a hand on Lilo's shoulder. "That's good,"
"No, it's not good. I've made him depressed,"
"Well, what did you think would happen?" Nani asked her question like a friendly joke.
"...I didn't think he'd be that sad...I've never seen him sad," Lilo looked back at the alien, following them closely and yet looking lost beyond recovery. "It makes me sad, too,"
"Then it's a good thing we're coming out here today," Nani responded, maintaining a smile while her sister's seemed irretrievable. "Because there's no better cure for a sour face than catching a few waves, right?" Lilo looked up as a small fraction a grin appeared on her face.
"I thought you needed to find a new job," She inquired.
"I'm gonna see about lifeguard duty on the beach,"
"Oh, cool. You're really good at sitting in a chair and shouting at people." Nani did not want to echo her sister's chuckle, but she could not resist.
"I learn from the best," The elder sister retorted jokingly. Lilo laughed once more, and then turned back to find Stitch lagging behind them, his mouth still hanging like a noose. "C'mon, slowpoke." The girl turned around and picked him up in an airtight hug before setting him down in front of her, so they all walked at the same speed. Stitch had been surprised, but his face was still the polar opposite of a smile. He wanted to return to his Rebellion, but the lonely surfboard and the diminutive box were printed in ink upon his mind.

It wasn't until they were on the water that Stitch thought of something besides Lei and 502. The respective thoughts of the two couples had become amalgamated during the war in his brain. The board, the alien thought, was like a barrier that defended him, Nani, in front of him, and Lilo, in front of her, from the ominous and infinite darkness that waited all around them. Stitch felt like he was surrounded by an army of 627s; not completely frightened, but rather tormented by their lingering, anxious for their eventual pounce. He remembered, with repentance, dipping his head into the water to see Pudge, and how something invisible seemed to be pulling on him. Had that been the same invisible force that might have manipulated 627 to send him rocketing towards this bizarrely colorful planet? Was it trying to kill him, and 627, the truck that struck him after he landed, Scrump drowning him in his nightmares, and his head dunking into the water had all been failed assassination attempts? He remembered the black-and-white flag burning again, and realized now that, after having waved the flag so much and so fiercely at others, it was now being waved at him. He looked down at the water, seeing the other world that lay beneath it. It called out to him, suggesting that he reach a clawed hand in and caress its cool atmosphere, but the terrorist was afraid that whatever he put in would be seized by the invisible force and pull him under, just as Scrump had done to him in his dream two nights ago. He was quiet for longer than he had ever been in the presence of others, even more so than when he was a newborn, waiting glumly for 621 to drive him and their allies to Gantu's hiding place. Then he felt his stomach levitate, and he realized that the surfboard itself had risen, and Nani along with it. Then it dove like a gull, down a wall of water that had crept up beneath Stitch like an aquatic predator. If the silence had not been shattered by the crashing of the waves, then it was by the scream that hopped up into Stitch's throat and exploded from his mouth. He was rocketing through space again, the wind striking his face repeatedly as the board cut across the violent water like a blade through flesh. Another attempt on his life by Lei and Akela, the Experiment thought, screaming as loudly as Lilo was laughing. This time was different, though; he could combat 627, he could survive crashing, and he could take a hit from a rushing vehicle, but if he entered the other realm beneath the water, the invisible force would drag him to the bottom and hold him there, just as Scrump had done, until he became a statue. The board was thin; clinging to its edges did not offer much reassurance to the blue Experiment. Desperate to avoid Lei and Akela's justice, he took hold of the only other thing that could be taken hold of, which was Nani's ankle. Stitch's hand grasped it on its own accord, and it took him a second to realize his action. Looking up, he saw the oldest sister looking down at him with a look of shock and discontent, but her face quickly shifted into a smile as she faced forward again. The Experiment noticed how content both girls seemed in circumstances that he found deadly, and how Nani, her hand cutting through the monstrous wall of water, kept herself upright so effortlessly, even with Stitch gripping her foot.

If these two are laughing in the face of death, Stitch thought, then what am I doing? He looked to his own feet, remembering his very first mission, where 624 had explained to him the Experiments' adhesive hand and foot pads. Releasing Nani's leg, he stood up, feeling his pads stick to the board. Their grip felt loose, yet reassured Stitch that they would not allow him to tumble into the trap that awaited him beneath the water. He held his arms out sideways like a scarecrow as he sidestepped carefully beneath Nani's legs and beside Lilo.

"Hey, Stitch!" The girl cheered when she saw him. She was on her knees, grasping the front of the board, not unlike he had done before his courage returned to him, only she was laughing, as if it were how she breathed.

"Hey, Lilo!" The alien exclaimed in response, his scream slowly regenerating into an imitation of Lilo's cackling.

"You having fun?!" He pondered the question for a few seconds, but when he decided on his answer, he was laughed at the idea of having to consider such a simple question.

"Yes!" He laughed even louder than he had screamed. "Stitch is having so much fun!" He took Lilo's hand and pulled her to her feet, and both of their laughs harmonized. In his mind, there were no burning flags, no crushed eggs, but only a mirror image of what he was seeing; he and Lilo laughing as they flew over the deathly water that longed to drag him down. Stitch had smiled when he and his allies discussed their double Rebellion, he had smiled when the Federation's flag burned, and he had smiled falsely to fool Lilo in the dog shelter, but all of his preceding smiles combined were still only a fraction of the size of his present beam. The first thing he learned when Jumba took him out of his lab was that he was new, but even then, he felt as though he had some previous experiences. It was only here, as death stood so close to him and yet too far to touch him, that he felt truly new. He looked at Lilo's laughing face once more, and could not resist the urge to playfully lick her cheek. He no longer cared that his pod was a wreck, for he no longer needed it.

He heard a voice. Stitch initially thought it was just a stray thought in his head, or a whisper from Nani or Lilo, but then the voice grew louder, and his magnificent smile shattered like glass.

"Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer..."