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.

19. Salt

Chapter 18:
Salt

I

The tranquil night was broken by a series of frightened sobs.

Though they were muffled, they were enough to pry Lilo from her sleep.

She could feel the vibrations of the sobbing through her feet. Stitch, Angel, Elastico, and Felix were in the top bunk, Bonnie, Clyde, and Reuben were downstairs on the couch and the armchair respectively, and Spooky was in Nani's room (most likely on the armchair). So the sobbing noise could only have come from either 621 or Sparky, and she had heard the latter sneaking out of bed earlier, almost certainly to sneak a bite of some leftover chow mein or chop suey.

Lilo sat up slowly, and as her ear left the pillow, she heard 621 grunt something faintly through his teeth.

"...Chop...Suey…" She thought she heard him say.

She crawled closer to him, finding him curled up at the corner of the bed, his face buried in a pillow, which he hugged with all four arms and his knees.

His sobs, Lilo now noticed, were not depressed, but terrified. She remembered Stitch sounding similar the night he had dreamed about Scrump.

"Chop...Suey…" The words were faint behind the pillow, but Lilo had no doubt of what she was hearing.

She reached to 621, and had barely tapped his shoulder when he darted awake with a raspy gasp.

He backed into the bedpost first, but then he clinged to Lilo as if he were falling and she had a parachute.

"Sounds like you were having a nightmare," Lilo stroked his furry white mohawk; while the green fur that coated the rest of him felt like silk, his mohawk had an airy fluffiness more akin to snow.

"Ih." 621's sobbing had now calmed to stuttering breaths. "Nightmare,"

"You wanna tell me what happened in it? Sometimes bad dreams aren't as scary after you've told someone else about them,"

"Ih. Talk…" He pulled away from Lilo ever so slightly, only enough so that he could look at her as they held each other.

"In dream...Meega shot Clyde, like when awake...But shoot Stitch and Bonnie and Felix and Sparky, too...keep shooting them...Then meega look at hands...Yellow fur, purple claws...Just like Pig…"

"That does sound scary," Lilo whispered. "But you're okay now. We know you'd never shoot any of us,"
"Ih...But meega did...Can't stop...Seeing," His voice crumbled into a whimper as he buried his face into Lilo's shoulder. "Chop...Suey…"

"That wasn't you," Lilo comforted. "That was 621, and you're not 621 anymore." She gently pulled him up to look at her again. "You keep saying something; it sounds kinda like 'chop suey,'"
"Ih…" He nodded, sniffing once. "Isa good memory. So many bad memories...621 memories, meega need good memories. Naga-621 memories...Like Earth food with friends. With ohana,"

"Yeah, you really liked the chop suey. Nani said she should've just given you the box and saved on doing the dishes,"

They both chuckled.

Lilo felt a delightful tingle at 621's laughter, not unlike the feeling she got when she went to bed on the night before her birthday. She figured that it was because both events were rare.

"Meega need more...Chop suey memories," He said, his smile fading. "To stop 621 memories,"

At this, an idea sprouted in Lilo's head like a blooming flower.

"What if we named you Chopsuey?"

"Chopsuey…" He repeated more stolidly than his previous sayings of the word.

"Yeah. If it helps you feel better, then we can make it your name, so you'll always know that you're different from how you were before,"

"Chopsuey...Chopsuey…" His smile returned. "Yes. I am Chopsuey. Thank you, Lilo. Thank you so much,"

"Thank you, Chopsuey." She stroked Chopsuey's mohawk again, and he purred softly. "You think you're ready to go back to sleep?"

"Ih. Meega ready,"

With that, they each lay back down, although Lilo sat back up once she felt sure that Chopsuey had shut his eyes.

"Good night, Lilo," He whispered, nesting into the folds of the blanket.

Lilo leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the bridge of his nose.

"Good night, Chopsuey." She lay back down herself. "We love you,"

The tranquility of the night was restored.

Much later, it was broken only once more by another frightened whimper, which was then soothed by a single, sleepily-spoken statement.

"I am Chopsuey…"

II

Birds chirped. Waves splashed. Elastico giggled in another room. And 625 could no longer sleep with the irritating sensation that somebody was standing over him.

Stirring, he lifted his neck from the homely chair's arm, and stretched his legs over the other one.

He did not budge from his perfectly comfortable sleeping position; he merely turned his head to whoever had ended his slumber.

"Morning," Angel said dryly.

"Oh. Hey, 624- I mean, Angel. Sorry," He smiled, though his heart sank when she did not return it. "How's your ankle?"

"It's fine," She answered curtly.

625 glanced down; Angel's upper arms were folded, and what seemed to be a small brown book peeked out from behind them.

Her lower arms gripped two severed chair legs, which acted like a second pair of legs.

Then he saw that Angel's right foot was bandaged and crossed behind her good ankle.

"There's something I need to talk to you about, 625," She began, as if she were about to tell him that he had been sentenced to death. "We know you're not with Hamsterviel anymore, but that's not why some of us aren't ready to accept you yet. We need to see that you've changed for good, and not just for a little while when it was especially helpful,"

625 sat up, confused and intimidated, but not completely disagreeing with Angel.

"I really am sorry," He said. "But I helped you guys save Elastico and 621...Speaking of which, how come you guys are okay with him but not with me?" He scorned the words the moment they left his lips.

"Because he was our friend from the beginning, even though he made some mistakes," Angel retorted. "Before, you were just an asshole, and now you want to change that." She waited for a response, but the brown-furred Experiment remained glumly attentive.
"I'd like to believe right this second that you're different. I really would. But I can't forget the things you used to do; not to the Federation, but to my friends. All the times you bossed Felix around, or bullied Elastico, or told Chopsuey to 'lighten the fuck up.' Not to mention how you always acted around me the same way Pig did with 502 before she did what she did,"

At this, 625 sank backwards into his seat, even though Angel had not moved closer to him.

"No matter what you do, no matter how much you've changed from that disgusting little shit who we locked up on Hamsterviel's ship, you're still him." She pulled out the book from under her arm, opening it to a page that 625 noticed had a folded corner.

"You're still 625, so I'm gonna help you change that. I'm gonna give you a new name,"

625 shut his eyes and hung his head, his floppy ears despondently awaiting a name like 'Shitbag' or 'Asskisser' or even 'Pig II.'

He clenched as the word reached Angel's lips.

"Reuben,"

625 looked up at her, surprised, fascinated, and befuddled at how pleasant the same sounded.

"Reuben?" He repeated.

"Yep." Angel clapped the book shut. "625 was the little turd who served the Rebellion. Reuben's different. Reuben, I hope, is better." She smiled ever so slightly, and Reuben returned it.
"He will be," He said. "I promise,"

"Good," Angel replied curtly, and then turned and hobbled away on her homemade crutches without another word.

"Is Lilo awake yet?" Reuben asked, hopping out of the armchair. "I wanna tell her about my new name,"

"Yeah, she's awake," Angel looked over her shoulder. "And she's been at school for about an hour,"

"Oh," Reuben muttered, blushing.

"S'All good. You can tell her when she gets home. Maybe you can even go pick her up." She continued hobbling into the kitchen.

Stitch and Chopsuey sat at the table, the former munching on strips of bacon from a considerable plateful, and the other sitting with a totally clean plate that Angel was certain had been full of chicken, celery, beans, and egg when she last saw it.

Stitch was glancing over his newly-named friend's shoulder to see the green hardcover book which he seemed so gleefully glued to; the cover read, Robin Hood.

Felix stood at the stove, one hand around the handle of a frying pan in which a particularly fluffy pancake sizzled, and his other arm around Elastico's waist. The clown, who stood in front of the medic, whose trunk was draped intimately over his rubbery shoulder, also held the pan with his left hand, while his right was bandaged and hung in a sling fashioned from a snowy towel.

Elastico giggled as Felix licked his cheek.

"Are the crutches working out alright, Angel?" The medic asked.

"They're awesome. Thanks again, Felix." She swung herself carefully into a chair between Stitch and Chopsuey, plopping A Million Baby Names on the table, and then swiping several strips of bacon from their plate.

"So, how's Reuben like the name you picked for him?" Stitch asked.

"Oh, he loves it," She answered through a mouthful of bacon.

"Fantastic. And does it make you feel better about him, too?"
"It will…" She swallowed. "It'll just be a little while until I stop seeing the jackass we knew back at our old base,"

"And he feels just the same," Chopsuey added, looking up from Robin Hood. "There's not many people you can despise much more than your past self,"

"And just because we were always nice to each other doesn't mean that we weren't terrible, too," Elastico carried on.

"I know," Angel sighed. "It's just a huge change...But really, the last few days-weeks, really, have been nothing but huge changes. Not that long ago, we were all going by numbers,"

"We were fighting amongst ourselves," Felix contributed.

"We didn't even know who Lilo or Nani were," Chopsuey stated.

"And...Heh, you know, now that I think about it…" Stitch chuckled. "I don't think I'm much older than two months,"

"That's just life, isn't it?" Angel smiled at her friends. "And we've wasted so much of ours on people like Hamsterviel and the Grand Councilwoman…" She curled an antennae around Stitch and another over Chopsuey, pulling them close enough to wrap two arms around each of them. "I'm so happy that we're all here together, even if Reuben's joining us, too. I only wish that we all got here ages ago,"

"Well, we're here now," Stitch whispered, licking Angel's cheek. "And Lilo and I have so much to show all of you. Elvis and surfing and hula and-ooh, I need to show you guys this guy at this food place that dances with fire. I was thinking we could try that. Once your ankle's healed, of course, Angie,"

"Aw, to hell with my ankle," She declared. "We can try that stuff today!"

"Um, Angel, I'm not sure that's the best idea," Felix warned.

"Oh, don't worry, Felix," Stitch chirped, hopping out of his seat. "You don't need the use of both feet to enjoy the King's best tunes. I'll go get Lilo's record player." He darted for the stairs.

Angel hurriedly gathered her crutches and followed him.

Chopsuey nearly stopped her, but he retracted himself when he saw how swiftly she swung herself up the stairs.

"I'm coming straight back down, Angie," Everyone else heard Stitch say, although he sounded overjoyed that Angel had come up with him.

"Hey, I can't skip out on exercise just 'cause I'm down a foot," She was heard joking back.

Elastico looked over his shoulder to find Felix staring anxiously up at the stairs.

"Don't worry, Fee." A finger stretched from his grasp on the pan, around the couple's bodies, and to the soft, curved space between the fins on Felix's head. "She's careful; she won't get hurt,"

The medic looked at him and smiled. "I can't help it, Ellie. Even now, I can't stop worrying about you guys,"

"I know. That's what I love about you," Elastico purred as Felix's trunk stroked his chin.

Their intimacy was interrupted by a short chuckle from Chopsuey.

"What's so funny?" They asked harmoniously.

"Nothing," The marksman answered casually before returning to his book.
He felt that strange feeling in his stomach again; it was warm, as if something smooth like chocolate was melting inside of him. At first, Chopsuey had attributed it to the heat from the planet's golden sun. Now, as the sensation enhanced at sights such as Felix and Elastico embracing, or Stitch and Angel returning excitedly and carrying a fascinating box with a fanciful cone protruding from it, he suspected that it was something completely different.
"You guys are just cute,"

III

L.E.R.O.Y. had come to love the burning, decaying stench.

He and his duplicates (which he had lost count of days ago) filled the glass-guarded cell, which had once been 89's home, with bodies of all shapes and sizes.

Some had tails, some had long snouts, some had three fingers and two toes, but they were all alike in the pitch black armor they wore, and the white, spider-like emblems on their arms.

When the cell was filled to the brim with limp soldiers, another L.E.R.O.Y. would come with a tall silver barrel lined with yellow, and dump its sickly green contents onto the pile like a repulsive syrup.

Then, L.E.R.O.Y. and his loyal clones would sit down, cross-legged, and enjoy the show. They would smell the putrid fumes rising from behind the glass like a rising cake, and they would smile.

"You know, I almost wish the Federation won't stop sending guys after us," L.E.R.O.Y. said. "These bonfires are a nice, relaxing reward for all the time we waste picking them off,"

"Too bad they can't elect a new leader with the same efficiency that they kill their own troops with," L.E.R.O.Y. added.

"Honestly, their army's probably so crowded with idiots and bitches that they can afford a couple casualties," L.E.R.O.Y. joked. "Not that different from us, I guess...How many d'you think we're up to, anyway?

The first L.E.R.O.Y. stroked his neck with his claw. "Enough...Gotta be enough by now,"

"You sure? We only get one shot at the ambush,"

"There's enough of us, and it's been long enough, too; they'll be off their guard. Waiting any longer will just be ridiculously over-boosting our chances,"

"Shall I send out the word, then?"

"Oh, no, please, let me," L.E.R.O.Y. smiled as he moved to stand up.

"No, I insist." L.E.R.O.Y. stood up first and rested an inviting hand on his twin's shoulder. He took a last gratifying whiff of the plasma fumes before he left.

The crimson Experiment approached the console on the other side of the room, gazing up at its immense myriad of screens.

Half of them showcased the loyal Experiments in their new base, their grins fearless as they either trained or rested, invigorated by the demise of both Captain Gantu and his elusive commander.

The other half showed what might be a million L.E.R.O.Y.s acting just the same.

L.E.R.O.Y. pushed a glowing red button on the console, and spoke into the thin microphone that protruded from beside it.

"Guess what, you handsome devils?! We're all set to finish off the traitors hangin' about down on Earth! Get ready and then get this thing down there!"

He watched gleefully as his doppelgangers got to work, their hurrying plethoras of crimson fur flowing through the base's corridors like blood in a vein.

Amidst the countless screens displaying this, however, there were two much more sombre screens that seized L.E.R.O.Y.'s attention.

One, only a few inches above his head, showed his creator sitting against the wall of a dark hallway, his heavy, scarlet eyes fixated on the floor. Hamsterviel had abandoned his red gloves and coat, leaving his upper body with only a black long-sleeved shirt. Occasionally, a pack of L.E.R.O.Y.s passed him, and he would not notice. Soon, he pulled a tall metal cannister from beside him, and he lifted his head to take a long sip; the way his face crumpled like paper as he drank led L.E.R.O.Y. to believe that the taste was disgustingly bitter.

By the time L.E.R.O.Y. had moved on from the screen, Jacques was still drinking.

The other unique screen showed the quaint quarters of "Daniel Terrance."

627 sat on his bed, against the post, positioned similarly to Jacques, only his attention was fixed on a black hardcover instead of a cannister.

L.E.R.O.Y. could not tell if the book was the photo album or the volume of Earth poetry which 627 was so obsessively fond of.

He did, however, notice 627's black eyes turn up and to his left; the angle from which he was being watched.

The crimson clone initially thought of this as a fleeting tic, but as he watched on, 627's eyes remained focused on him.

He wasn't just looking at the camera; he was glaring directly into L.E.R.O.Y.'s face. Though the assassin's eyes did not glow red, a petrified L.E.R.O.Y. could still feel their singe.

IV

Stitch marveled at how gracefully Chopsuey wielded his humble contraption.

Though it was only a curved stick and a length of string tied together, the triangular shape it made as Chopsuey pulled a pointed stick (an arrow, he had been told it was called.) backward through it hypnotized Stitch.

Chopsuey's right hand carefully pried the string and the arrow back, while his left aimed the bow at his target; a coconut dangling from a palm tree parallel to Lilo's school.

His lower arms were tucked away inside him.

Chopsuey blinked slowly, one foot planted on the concrete bannister that bordered the roof, as he gave the coconut his full attention.

Stitch saw his smile, saw the steady undulations in his chest as he breathed. He seemed so content, so patient, and wrapped in a soothing, peaceful world where there was nothing else but the bow, the arrow, and the coconut.

He looked nothing like 621.

Watching him, Stitch felt like he was in that world with him; he felt like they would float through it as long as Chopsuey held the arrow. He almost wish that he wouldn't let it go.

Chopsuey's right hand opened, and within two seconds, two halves of a coconut lay on the milk-covered dirt, and another tree across the street possessed a branch made from an arrow shaft.

The sight and sound of the transient snaps filled Stitch with a uniquely resounding aura of satisfaction; he could only imagine how it made Chopsuey feel.

Stitch whistled in impression. "I'm honestly surprised it didn't go right through the tree,"

"Probably because the impact was dulled after hitting the coconut first," Chopsuey suggested, retrieving another makeshift arrow from the pile between him and his friend.

"If it hits the tree first…" He entered his blissful stance again, remaining there for only four second before releasing the arrow.

The tree gained another branch on the side opposite the school.

"Seriously, Chop, you gotta get a job teaching people 'round here to do this," Stitch chirped.

"I will, I will," The marksman chuckled. "I just wanna teach myself a little more first, then maybe see if I can get a real longbow. Plus, I gotta find out how exactly I'd do that. Get a job teaching humans, I mean,"
"Nani says you'd just have to put up some pictures telling people to come see you, and then you'd teach them and they'd give you the money when you're finished. Then they're supposed to come back the same time every week until they're as good as you,"

"Hm. In that case, I should teach some of you guys, first," Chopsuey gave an excited smile. "I know Spooky's been serving people at that 'loo-ah-loo' place, and Sparky and Elastico have the construction site, but the rest of you I could train to get ready to teach humans. Then a couple of us could each teach somebody all at once...If you wanted to, of course." He ran a clawed hand anxiously through his fluffy white mohawk.

"I'd be honored to become your apprentice and teach at your side, Master Chopsuey." Stitch bowed flamboyantly, earning a laugh out of his reformed friend. "In fact, why don't we start now?" He excitedly picked up another arrow.

"Why not, indeed." Chopsuey held his bow horizontally, got to one knee, lowered his head, and held it up. "My apprentice,"

They both laughed as Stitch took the bow and mimicked the marksman's solitudinous aiming stance, gripping the back end of the arrow between his first and middle fingers.

"Great start already. You've been paying attention," Chopsuey remarked. He patted Stitch's right hand. "Just ease up here. The idea is to let it go, remember?"

Stitch obeyed.

"Now, what are you going to shoot?"
"You've already started decorating that tree across the street; think I'll touch it up a little more,"

"Sounds good...Alright, just relax, and when you're ready, all you need to do is let go." He took a step back. "Don't push or pull. Just let go,"

Stitch took a single breath. He made a sideways glance at Chopsuey, who watched him as intensely as he had watched the coconut.

He was smiling at him; it was a smile Stitch had seen frequently lately. Felix smiled that way as he cooked, Angel smiled that way as she sang along with Elvis, and Reuben smiled that way as he sewed together his "secret project." It was only a soft smile, but Stitch never tired of seeing it on each Experiment's face.

He concentrated on the tree again, and after a few more seconds, he gently opened his right hand. The arrow soared towards the tree, dipped a few inches, and then became another branch.

"Very good," Chopsuey remarked. "You just clenched your grip before you fired. You just gotta relax and keep your hold consistent,"

"Then it shall be done, master," Stitch joked. He held the bow up, looking between it and its creator. "This is amazing, you know,"

"...It's only a stick and some string," The marksman chuckled. "There's millions of both on this planet,"
"No, no, I mean what you do with it. In the old days, you could hurt anyone in all kinds of ways with your blasters. You could pretty much destroy anyone you aimed at, even if they were way bigger than you, like Gantu, or much meaner than you, like Pig or Hamsterviel. But with this, you've taken shooting and made it beautiful,"

"Well, it really is that different," Chopsuey took the bow and another arrow, drawing it once more. "With a blaster, I could keep shooting until it overheated; you could shoot at something a thousand times and be sure that you hit it at least once. But with this, with one shot, you have to calculate the shot, care for it. That way, when you hit what you were aiming for…" He took a steady breath, then relaxed his right hand again.

The branch on the other side of the tree was knocked out and replaced by a new one.

"It's earned." He smiled at Stitch, and he reflected it.

A loud ringing encompassed the building.

Stitch hurriedly scooped up the remaining arrows, and he and Chopsuey dived feet-first from the rooftop, landing gracefully and hiding by either side of Lilo's classroom door several seconds before the first few students came pouring out.

The two Experiments grinned mischievously as they focused intently on each exiting student, most of whom did not notice them until they had taken several steps outside.

They waited eagerly for Lilo to appear, and they would hug her into a "Lilo Sandwich."

Not Lilo. Not Lilo. Not Lilo. Not Lilo. Not Lilo. Not Lilo. Not Lilo. Not Li-

"Chop-Stitch-y Sandwich!"

Stitch and Chopsuey were suddenly squished together and spun around in a tight embrace. Lilo laughed with them as their cheeks were pushed against each other.

When she finally set them down, her face was met with a barrage of licks.

"Hey! You guys! Cut it out," Lilo guffawed, although she truthfully enjoyed the warm and sloppy kisses.

"I'm surprised those things haven't passed any diseases to you by now," A familiarly snobbish voice mocked.

Stitch and Chopsuey stopped licking, and all three Pelekais turned to the red-haired girl in glasses who had spoken.

Lilo and Stitch had seen too many times before. She was a stranger to Chopsuey, but from her pretentious tone, and the way she looked at them, told him that he was justified in baring his teeth at her.

She seemed to be glaring, but she did not seem angry. Rather, she looked at them the way a manager looks at an insufferable, incompetent employee just before firing them.

Her gaze reminded Chopsuey unsettlingly of Pig.

"Hey, Stitch and Chopsuey are totally clean," Lilo retorted, patting each Experiment on the head. "There's nothing to worry about, um…" She shut her eyes, awaiting a word which seemed hopelessly lost in her memory. "Sorry, I can't remember what your name is,"

The girl raised an eyebrow, and Chopsuey showed more of his sharp teeth.

"You're not very funny, Lilo," She said coldly.

"No, I'm sorry, I really can't remember," Lilo chuckled nervously. "I know we go to the same hula class. You never say anything nice to me, and I do remember that I punched you in the eye one time. But I swear, I can't remember your name,"

The girl in glasses squinted; it appeared that she was trying to intensify her glare, but Stitch was convinced that it was a face that was moments from tears.

The girl turned and left before he could find out for sure.

"Youga punch her?" Chopsuey asked, his face softened into a look of curiosity.

"Yeah; I gave her a black eye,"
"How many?"
"Just one,"
"Good," He nodded. "One is enough,"

"She is not important," Stitch scoffed. "Stitch want to hear about Lilo's day at school,"

"Ih. Meega, too," Chopsuey added.

"Oh, art class was really great," Lilo began. "We're gonna do our final projects soon, and they said we could make anything we wanted, as long as it was all in color and we don't use crayons. I think I'm gonna do a big picture of our ohana…"

As she spoke, they all began their stroll home.

Each step was marked with plans and prospects for Lilo's art project, which, according to Stitch and Chopsuey, would include Angel singing into a microphone whilst standing on her hands, and the marksman somewhere near the top, aiming an arrow towards a perfectly blue sky.

Their merry conversation was interrupted only once, when the school was far enough to seem like a model recreation, by a sudden outburst of realization from Lilo.

"Mertle!"

And then she suggested that everyone in the picture be drawn on a surfboard.

V

When the three Pelekais had ascended the stairs that led to their front door, they noticed that the windows all seemed eerily dark.

"That's weird," Lilo denoted. "There's gotta be somebody home,"

"Ih. Isa weird," Chopsuey concurred. "Stitch, youga and meega go look. Lilo, stay,"

"Why can't I go, too?"
"Because…" The marksman began, but then his mouth hung open without any more words to give.

"Just to be sure isa okay," Stitch finished, patting a nervous Chopsuey on the back.

Lilo smirked at them as they shuffled warily towards the front door, making certain that she would not follow them in.

She had a very intense suspicion of what they were up to.

"Alright," She rolled her eyes. "You guys go on ahead,"

The Experiments' faces lit up.

"Thanks, Lilo," Stitch said before they vanished into the house.

Once Lilo was certain that she wouldn't be spotted, she crept to the door and pressed her ear against it, hearing scurrying footsteps and equally quick whispers.

"Bonnie, Angel, hold higher, please,"
"Isa good, Reuben?"
"Even higher,"
"Ih?"
"Lower...Ih. Perfect,"

"Clyde, give blowy-noise-thing, please,"
"This one, Sparky?"
"Naga. Otakag,"
"This one?"
"Naga. Otakag,"
"This?"
"Naga. Otak-Oh, ih. Ih. Taka,"
"Alright, is everyone nearly ready?"
"Ih, just-Oh, Nani, youga on Felix's foot,"

"Oh, sorry, Felix,"
"Isa okitaka,"
"Now Nani isa on Bonnie's foot,"

"Sorry, Bon,"

"Now Nani isa on Elastico's foot,"
"Oh, man, I'm-Hey, no, I'm not,"
"Hee hee. Only joking,"

"Hush, everyone. She is about to enter,"

Barely a second after Spooky spoke, Lilo pushed the door open with a long creak. She found the lightswitch to her left, and simultaneously turned on a torrent of colors and a heartfelt cheer.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILO!"

Her entire ohana was gathered into a portrait-worthy ensemble in the living room. Sparky hovered above them all. Angel and Bonnie, whose left ear now sported a deep notch, stood in the center, their lower arms holding up an enormous chocolate cake with a multitude of layers that grew larger on the way down.

Everybody wore a colorful cone-shaped paper hat.

After their cheer, they each brought a whistle of curled paper to their lips and blew, unfurling each rainbow-like streamer with a long and delightful beeeeeeeeeep.

Before Lilo could even wonder where he was, Elastico burst out of the cake, and threw two fistfuls of confetti into the air. He now wore a purple ruff around his neck, and a similarly-colored polka dot had been painted onto his belly button. And, best of all, a soft red clown nose was tied over his smaller, green one, and his jester-like head was finally complete.

The cake was revealed to be only a cardboard craft once Elastico had burst from it, but everything about the image in front of Lilo was too wonderful for her to care.

"Naga worry; there real cake, too," Elastico chirped when Lilo's immense beam could produce no words. He stepped down from the false cake, and Lilo immediately ran up and scooped him up in a hug so tight that his rubbery body was nearly flattened at the waist.

The clown laughed until his feet touched the ground again, after which he planted a lengthy, wet kiss on Lilo's nose.

"Lilo like costume?" He gently pulled the ends of his ruff.

"You look amazing!" Lilo declared, wiping her arm over the spot Elastico had kissed. "Most clowns are pretty freaky, but you're a really cute one,"

"Awww." He turned excitedly to Bonnie, who had set down the shattered cardboard cake. "See, Bonnie? Elastico isa cute clown, naga scary,"

"Try again in dark at night," She winked.

"Now then, Lilo," Nani scooped up her cackling sister and set her on her shoulders. "Because it's your birthday, you have to make an extremely important choice; cake first or presents?"

"You know what? I'm in a real cake-y mood right now," Lilo answered.

"Great," Felix cheered. "Meega and Reuben make cake." He put an arm around his baking partner, who accepted the credit with a shy smile. "Hope youga like it,"

"If you guys made it, then it must be good," Lilo responded merrily.

"Experiments naga have cake ever," Sparky hovered up to her, an excited grin across his face. "Isa exciting!" He then held a clawed foot out to Lilo, who, after a moment of confusion, smiled and reached out to grab it.

"Hee hee. Too slow, Lilo," He giggled as he flew behind her, holding out his foot again. Lilo reached for it, and once more he flew around her, offering his foot from her left.

This time, Lilo successfully caught Sparky's ankle. "Gotcha!"

The electrician gasped as if he had not allowed her to grab him, and then ascended until he pulled Lilo off of Nani's shoulders. They both laughed as he carried her into the kitchen like a helicopter pulling cargo. Lilo dropped into a chair at the kitchen table, and Sparky landed in her lap.

Everyone else followed close behind.

Lilo looked down the table and found a sight that made her mind even less that the cake Elastico had hidden in had been fake.

This chocolate cake was almost like a giant block; it must have taken up the entire width of the oven. There was icing of blue, pink, yellow, and green around the cake's edges, trickling down its sides, and drizzled all over its face like an erratic chalk drawing on the floor of a children's playground. Ten candles were dotted throughout the immense dessert; one blue, one pink, two yellow, and six green.

"Somebody wanna get the lights?" Nani asked, armed with an electric lighter as she approached the cake.

Elastico stretched an arm across the room to flip the lightswitch.

"Alright, guys, just like we practiced…" Nani encouraged as she lit the colorful candles one by one.

Sparky floated out of Lilo's lap and went to sit on Nani's shoulders.

Then everybody except Lilo broke into song.

"Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you…"

They were not like a choir; their tones and pitches were ridiculously mismatched.

And Lilo loved it.

As they sang, she drifted momentarily to exactly a year ago, when Nani sang a soft, borderline melancholic rendition all by herself. She held her sister in her lap, and held in front of them a cake small enough to divide only amongst the two of them. There was only a single candle in the shape of a white number '9.'

Lilo remembered glumly accepting the entire somber scene; realizing that, from then on, her ohana would just be her and her sister. It wouldn't be much, but it would be enough. She appreciated what little they had left, and didn't dare ask for a bigger cake, more candles, and certainly not more guests. And yet, as she did, she couldn't help but wonder what she and Nani had or had not done to deserve so little.

"Happy Birrrrrrirthday to Liiiiiiilo…"

She could hardly believe that those thoughts had passed her mind only a year ago.

She could make out everybody's singing in the torrent of voices, each one beautiful to her in its own unique way.

Nani, who lit the candles as she sang, was as soft as she had been last year, but her softness came with a chirp that had been so despondently absent then.

Spooky's voice was the deepest; it might have frightened other kids, but Lilo was warmed by his singing.

Bonnie's bouncy accent filled Lilo's ears with a pleasant tingle.

Clyde's rough but tender tone was as sweet as Lilo anticipated the cake would be.

Reuben had always spoken to Lilo in a quiet, almost scared voice, but now he boomed triumphantly like a living trumpet.

Felix's voice was always soothing to Lilo, but as he sung, Lilo believed that, if there were such things as angels, then they would sound like Felix.

Elastico seemed to be laughing as he sung, and as Lilo listened, she had to laugh, too.

Sparky's invigorated singing came with an electric buzz, which filled Lilo with a tickling sensation.

Chopsuey's voice was as gravely as ever, and in its cheerful singing, Lilo felt all of his pain, his regret, and his grief, but most of all, she felt a powerful sense of relief. The only pain she felt was that of resisting the overwhelming urge to run to him and give him the biggest hug she had ever administered.

Angel's singing was, Lilo thought, the best objective voice out of the whole crowd. She remembered once, when she was much younger, wishing that Elvis would come perform at her birthday party. Now, she felt like Angel had granted that wish.

Stitch was sitting right beside Lilo, looking right at her as he sang. His singing was just like his laughter; youthful in its high pitch, but ancient in its rough rasp. As Lilo listened to everyone's voice, and looked right at Stitch simultaneously, she felt a single tear brewing in her right eye. As it fell down her cheek, she saw one fall down Stitch's face, as if the two tears were holding hands as they fell.

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Lilo blew out her candles with a single tremendous breath, and then, as the singing became applause, she couldn't hold it in anymore; she cried, but she smiled what she thought must be the grandest smile she had ever made.

She moved to hug Stitch, and he moved to hug her, as if they had anticipated for years that they would embrace at this exact moment.

"Thank you for saving me," Stitch whispered.

"Stitch," Lilo whispered. "Even though you got here ages ago...You're the best birthday present ever,"

They pulled away, and Lilo saw that Stitch was crying and smiling at the same time.

She saw that he looked just like her.

VI

"You know what to do, bud. Your plan is top-notch; not foolproof but damn near close. Just get to it!"

"Just keep your nerves about you, alright? Just say it's like playing Vyq...Okay, maybe it's not, but you know what I mean, right? You can do it so long as you keep your wits about you, and don't let those lookalike bastards scare you!"

"You'll do great. I know you will. You're everything I couldn't be, and so much more, my son. And no matter what happens, we all love you."

"Daddy do good. Daddy come back. Ellen love daddy,"

"There's nothing you can't do. Whatever you've failed at in the past, we forgive you. There's not a thing in the universe that can stop you, not because of your powers, but because you are unstoppable. You'll kill those disgusting cloned creatures, you'll save that family, and you'll get the answers that you deserve. You can do it. We know you can...I know you can...my Daniel,"

VII

The cake was the second most delightful aspect of the party.

Felix and Reuben had ingeniously hidden a layer of whipped cream and another of cookie crumbs inside their baked masterpiece. The result was a moist, creamy shield around a marvelously crispy core, and the most spectacular dessert Lilo had ever tasted.

The only thing better, she thought, was watching the Experiments' reactions to their first cake.

"Wow, Reub," Bonnie exclaimed through a mouthful. "I know you love eating food, but I had no idea you were such a freakin' master at making it." She slapped him approvingly on the back.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Reuben sputtered, surprised by the friendly hit. "...I had a feeling you guys would like the cookie bit in the middle,"

"It tastes tickley," Elastico giggled. "You did a spectacular job, cuddlebug." He stretched an arm around Felix and kissed his cheek with icing-covered lips.

"Aw, I knew you'd love it, Ellie," The chef purred.

"Holy crap, this existed all along and we didn't even know?!" Angel declared. "Earth just gets better and better everyday,"

"Hey, Angie." Stitch tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to him with a joyous grin. Her nose was smothered in a coat of icing. "You've got something on your…" He was stopped when Angel leaned in and touched her nose against his, passing on half of its icing.

"Better?" She laughed.

"Much better." They each took turns licking icing from one another's noses.

"You know what?" Lilo addressed Felix and Reuben after swallowing another incredible mouthful of cake. "You guys should open a bakery or something,"

"Bakery?" Reuben repeated.

"Yeah!" Nani concurred. "You guys could have your own place where you'd make cakes for everyone,"

"Ooh," Felix crooned, his black eyes lighting up as if he could already envision the myriad of pastries and patrons filling the room.

"Ih," Elastico agreed, throwing another arm around Reuben, and pulling the two bakers close. "And meega and Sparky come see youga in bakery after construction,"

As they fantasized about their bakery, Lilo grew curious as to what Chopsuey thought of the delectable cake. When she looked to her left to ask him, however, she only found an empty chair and a crumb-covered plate.

She turned right, and this time found the marksman, smiling warmly as he handed her a flat box wrapped in paper as green as his fur.

"What's this?" Lilo asked, excitedly taking the present and rattling it beside her ear; it made little noise.

"Meega make it," Chopsuey answered curtly. His two pairs of hands were each rubbing together anxiously.

Lilo did not keep him waiting any longer; she tore away the paper, pulled the cardboard lid up, and removed its contents.

Inside was a skirt almost exactly like the grass ones Lilo wore for hula. This one, however, was black, and covered with silver dots that reminded her of stars. She traced the length of one of the 'leaves'; it was made of leather.

"That was Chopsuey's gunbelt," The marksman said after Lilo had marveled at the gift for a while. "...Youga like it?" He asked nervously.

At his revelation, Lilo turned her awestruck face from the space skirt to its creator. She stood up and pulled him into the hug she had been tempted to give him while he was singing.

"I love it," She whispered. "And I love you, Chopsuey,"

"Meega love you, too…" He reciprocated the embrace with all four arms. "Meega so happy to be here...Where naga need gunbelt." His words earned him a soft kiss on the nose.

"Oh, oh, Lilo," Reuben called eagerly. "Can meega give youga present now?"

"Sure, Reuben," She chuckled, pulling away from Chopsuey. "Go right ahead,"

"Okitaka. Be back." He hopped out of his seat and darted upstairs.

"I didn't know he could run that fast," Stitch joked.

"Man, wait 'till you see what he's made," Angel said. Stitch noticed her feet wiggling impatiently under the table.

"What's he made?"

"It's really amazing. He didn't want anyone else to see it, but I accidentally caught him working on it the other night-"

"Don't spoil it, Angel!" Reuben's voice interrupted. The guffaw that rang with it indicated either that he would not be especially angry if he was disobeyed, or that he did not truly believe that he might be.

"I wasn't gonna spoil it!"

"Were too!"
"Was not!"
"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

Angel blew the loudest raspberry she could at the stairs.

"Anyway," She turned back to Stitch, who was smirking at the childish argument that had just subsided. "It's big-Well, more long, really, and...It's really sweet, too. You'll see in a moment,"

"Can I have a hint?"

"You're gonna see it, like, right now,"

"Pleeeeeeease?" He rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Alright, fine…" Angel rolled her black eyes as one of her antennae coiled around Stitch's ear. "It'll remind you of somebody you and Lilo used to know,"

Before Stitch could even begin considering Angel's hint, the doorbell tolled.

"Huh. Who the heck could that be?" Nani asked.

"I will go see," Stitch volunteered, licking Angel's cheek before hopping out of his seat.

As he strode to the door with a skip in his step, he gleefully imagined who might be waiting to pleasantly surprise him and his ohana. Perhaps it was Cobra Bubbles, or David from the Luau, coming to bring Lilo birthday wishes. It may even be a crowd of students from Lilo's school, wanting to surprise her just as he and his friends had already done. Wouldn't that be something, he thought.

He grasped the knob and flung the door open, greeting the mysterious visitor with his broadest and brightest beam.

"Miss me, handsome?"

A scarlet-furred arm seized his neck.

Stitch burned. Every remotely positive thought fled from his mind, and his entire body felt consumed in enraged flame.

He looked his red reflection in his repugnant, yellow-toothed face, grasped his wrist, and slid a clawed hand under his elbow. Then he pushed up with all his might, and passed all of his burning into L.E.R.O.Y.'s arm. He heard a snap like a breaking branch, saw the extended arm become an inverted 'V', and saw the clone's arrogant face crumble into a look of excruciation shock.

"How dare you?" Stitch stomped forward and grabbed a moaning L.E.R.O.Y. as he had just grabbed him. "How dare you come here today?!"

L.E.R.O.Y. lashed out again with his intact arm, but Stitch slapped it away and rewarded him with a vehement headbutt.

"I'll give you a choice, you little shit!" He shoved his doppelganger out the door, and he nearly tripped and fell down the stairs. "You can piss off and never come knocking again, or you can stay here and I will kill you!"

L.E.R.O.Y. wiped a trickle of blood from his nose, and then matched Stitch's fuming glare. "That so? You think little old you can take on all of me?!" He pointed his unbroken right arm out to the beach beyond the house.

Stitch looked past his bleeding opponent, and found that he could not see any sand beneath the horde of red, trailing back through the shallow water to the whale-like vessel that rested on the sea like a nightmarish aquatic monster.

L.E.R.O.Y. looked at him with the same cocky, contemptible gaze hundreds of times over.

"You didn't think I'd come back with just the same three, did y-" L.E.R.O.Y. turned to glance proudly at his army for only a moment, but as he turned back, he received a punch like a wrecking ball, and plummeting backwards, over the stairs.

Stitch, his breathing heavy as he looked over his mass-produced nemesis like a judge looking down on a defendant he has already decided to execute, looked to either side of him.

His ohana was already beside him on the porch. Angel, Sparky, Bonnie, Clyde, and Spooky shared his glare as they took in the sight of the L.E.R.O.Y. army. Felix, Elastico, Reuben, and, to Stitch's surprise, Chopsuey, looked devastated. They didn't seem scared of L.E.R.O.Y., but Stitch saw tears brewing in each of their dark eyes.

He felt a warm grasp around his right hand. He immediately entered Lilo's arms.

"I am so sorry," He whispered, hugging her with all the strength he had used to break L.E.R.O.Y.'s arm. "Should not happen on birthday. Lilo naga deserve it,"

"Stitch…" She gripped tufts of his fur tightly, dreading the moment when she would have to let them go. "Whatever you need to do to get rid of them...I forgive you,"

"Thank you," He pulled away and took her hands, wishing more than anything that he would not have to release them. "It will be okay. As long as Stitch and cousins here, ohana will be okay,"

Lilo leaned in and kissed his nose. Then, their eyes nearly blinded behind a barrier of water, they parted, and Stitch turned back to L.E.R.O.Y., ready for the rest of Lilo's birthday.

"Angel, Spooky, Bonnie, Clyde, we're on offense!" He commanded, pointing a determined claw at the horde as he marched down the stairs, closely followed by his selected team. "The rest of you, protect Lilo and Nani and each other!"

"Got it!" Chopsuey concurred. His upper arms were already armed with a bow and arrow, and his lower arms each gripped the biggest fistful of arrows they could.

"Sparky, cover the air! Guard the windows and keep an eye on us!"

"Yes, sir!" Sparky zipped above them, and Lilo heard him growl, "We were having a nice day, you fucks,"

Reuben puts his fists up, Felix bared his claws, Elastico elongated his arms in front of his friends, Chopsuey drew his arrow back, and took a deep breath, and L.E.R.O.Y. climbed onto the porch a dozen different times.

"Hah! Check out the caveman here!" One of them cackled as he pointed mockingly at the marksman. "What, were the blasters too heavy for you?"

"I am Chopsuey…"

An arrow flew through L.E.R.O.Y.'s black eyeball quicker than a gust of wind, and he fell limply back the way he came.

"Holy crap, Chop…" Reuben muttered, every bit as startled at the late L.E.R.O.Y.'s duplicates were.

"I know," Chopsuey replied dryly as he drew another arrow. "I won't be getting that arrow back,"

He looked right; Felix and Elastico were each contending with a L.E.R.O.Y. Felix threw his opponent over his shoulder, but then his foot stepped near the porch's edge, and into the reach of another climbing L.E.R.O.Y.

Chopsuey opened his hand, and the crimson clone fell with a stick protruding from his face.
Before he vanished from view, the marksman thought that he had been wearing black armor, with a white spider-like emblem on his arm.

"I am Chopsuey…"

"Up here, Chop!" Elastico called.

He stood on stilt-like legs, dangling two of L.E.R.O.Y. by the ankle like strung-up sandbags.

Chopsuey sent them each an arrow, and their crimson sand poured from their eyes.

For a fleeting moment, he thought the two clones were a single, giant creature resembling a shark.

"I am Chopsuey…"

The marksman turned around, and found Reuben fending off two of L.E.R.O.Y. while a third clung to his back, striking the top of his head.

He donated another arrow, and it found a home in the back-clinging L.E.R.O.Y.'s eye.

As Reuben's other attacks were struck by streams of lightning from above, Chopsuey momentarily thought that his latest victim had been huge and porky, sporting a lab coat, and possessing four eyes before he had rid him of one.

"I am Chopsuey…"

He turned around again, and saw a L.E.R.O.Y. ready to pounce towards the doorway, where a paling Nani shielded Lilo.

Chopsuey tackled him in mid-leap. He stood up, stepped on the clone's throat, and drew another arrow.

He wondered how far in it would go at close range, and then quickly banished the thought from his mind.

"You really are a goddamn psychopath!" L.E.R.O.Y. bellowed. He clamped his eyes shut, so Chopsuey had to kneel down and begin pushing at his right eyelid.

"You know how many of me there are?!" Pig continued as her eyelid duelled with the marksman's fingers. "No matter how many of me you kill, there'll always be more! There's always more of me than there are of you! All you're doing is spiting me, you hypocritical fucking sadist!"

Chopsuey finally saw some of her black eye, and did not amuse her with a response as he plunged an arrow into her head.

He stood up, armed another arrow, and for only a second, spared a glance at Lilo and Nani. He anticipated looks of terror, but instead, he saw them breathing steadily with relief, looking at him with soft eyes that seemed to be giving thanks.

At the same time, they seemed concerned, and as their brown eyes met his black ones, he found that the concern was for him.

He realized that it was he who was scared, and somehow, he, too, felt relief.

The marksman turned to the porch steps again, finding more of L.E.R.O.Y.alwaysmorestorming towards him.

He pointed his bow at them, unaware of his own whispering.

"I am Chopsuey…"

VIII

Spooky took every ferocious form he could imagine; a lion from Earth, a sandworm from Saturn, and a massive reptilian monstrosity he had encountered shortly after his own creation, but had never learned the name of. Each was satisfactory in fending off a multitude of L.E.R.O.Y.s, but there was nothing Spooky could transform into that could destroy all of them.

His mind raced as he slithered through the battle-torn beach, but very few of them were his own.

How do you like it, huh?! Bonnie thought. How do you like this, you piece 'a shit?! Think I care?! It's not like Lilo'll miss your disgusting ass!

Why can't you leave us the fuck alone?! Clyde thought. We're good now! Why do people like you need to keep fucking up our life?!

You're even worse than Pig! Angel thought. Tell her I said that, you bastard! You're fucking made for each other!

Think we can't do it?! Stitch thought. Think we can't kill every last one of you?! You watch, you fucker! You're gonna watch yourself die over and over again! For once, it's not gonna be somebody who's good! Just this once, it's gonna be somebody who deserves it, like you!

For the first time in his life, Spooky scorned his powers. He begged that his telepathy would just vanish, and he would not have to listen to his ohana, who had been happier than he had ever dreamed mere minutes ago, thinking such hideous thoughts. He pleaded for it until he cried.

Hello? Hello? You there? Blobby one who can read minds? Oh, come on, please let this work!

For a moment, Spooky set aside his desperate pleas, and began searching for the owner of this strange new voice as he slithered between L.E.R.O.Y.'s hundreds of feet.

He concentrated as hard as he could, and soon found another trail of thought running beneath the one requesting his attention, like a hidden layer akin to the ones inside Lilo's birthday cake.

Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend…

Is that you, 627? Spooky thought.

Oh, thank God! 627 thought. Is it you?

Yes. It's the blobby one who can read minds.

Sorry. I don't know most of your names.

Mine is Spooky.

Spooky? The shapeshifter heard him chuckle in his head. Cute...My name's Daniel.

Daniel? He nearly asked for the origins of the assassin's name, but when he was nearly stepped on by a charging L.E.R.O.Y., he saved it for later. You've led me to believe that you're no longer allied with L.E.R.O.Y., Daniel.

I'm not. I'm here to help you, and then I want to talk. No more fighting or shooting. I want us to sit down and work out what's between us.

I think we'd all like that. But first things first; have you a plan?

I do. We need to lure all of these L.E.R.O.Y.s back into the ship, but we need to keep them in that first room; the one where we last fought. Then I can fly the ship out to the middle of the ocean, and tip them all out. They'll sink to the bottom and drown. The rest of you will be safe in a deeper part of the ship.

Sink? Spooky inquired.

Yes. During one of my fights with the blue-furred one...Stitch; that's right...I dragged him underwater and he sunk like a rock. If L.E.R.O.Y. is an exact copy of Stitch, save for the behavior and fur color, then he most likely has the same weakness.

But Stitch evidently survived. How do you know that L.E.R.O.Y. won't? Spooky asked, hoping desperately that 627 had not left a single aspect of his stratagem uncovered.

Stitch was much closer to land. I'll drop L.E.R.O.Y. so far out at sea that he couldn't possibly make it to shore before he drowned.

Brilliant. Alright; before we enact your plan, I must spread the word to my companions. Meanwhile, you must go up to the porch and ensure that Lilo and Nani are taken safely to the ship; Sparky and Elastico should be most helpful to that end.

Alright. An insolent quiver of doubt rang with 627's mental voice. What if they don't believe that I'm here to help, like you did?

Then the sight of you killing a L.E.R.O.Y. should convince them.

...Okay. I'll do it.

Good.

With that, Spooky resumed his slithering between L.E.R.O.Y.'s many feet, following the deafening sound of his ohana's ugly thoughts, and endlessly grateful for his powers.

IX

Nani could not explain why she was frozen.

She thought it might be fear, which she was as intimately as a lover as the battle raged on.

It may also be that neither she or Lilo could bear to move anywhere where they could not keep a close watch on their defending ohana.

The theory she leaned closest to, however, was that she was still struggling to accept the crippling disappointment that the violent, crimson carnage before her was Lilo's birthday.

Then she saw a single, unique red creature, this one with a head like an inverted cone, and her first assumption felt more likely.

"I am Chopsuey…"

Nani saw 627 catch a flying arrow so fast that he may as well have conjured it in his fist.

He then drove it into the eye of a nearby L.E.R.O.Y.; a sight which Nani was still hesitating to call sickening.

"I suppose that's the welcome I deserve," 627 said dryly, casting a powerful burst of electricity from each hand to ward off attackers from either side.

"Daniel?!" Reuben exclaimed, seeing his former friend after knocking a L.E.R.O.Y. off the porch with a right hook.

"Don't worry, 625." The assassin grabbed a clone in each of his six arms, then hurled them all from the house like javelins.

"I've come to help you against L.E.R.O.Y., and then I want to resolve what's between us all peacefully, once and for all,"

"Phew!" Elastico exhaled as his elongated body coiled around as many aggressors as he could. "Cause I really don't wanna fight all these guys and you, too,"

"How do we know this isn't just another trap?!" Nani demanded, too intensely absorbed in the crisis to be aware of her volume.

"Not make sense," Chopsuey answered, shooting a L.E.R.O.Y. attempting to sneak up on Felix.

"Weega in trouble already. Best time for 627 to kill,"

"Ih," Sparky agreed from above, using a flurry of bolts to thin the crowd charging up the stairs.
"So, redsie, you got anything better than just keep killing 'em as if they'll ever stop coming?!"

"I do…" 627 grasped either side of a clone's head, twisted it to his left, and let him drop with a quick and repugnant snap.

"We need to lure them all back into their ship. The blob-Spooky said you and El-something would be helpful in getting us all in there first,"

"That's me!" Elastico eagerly held up a long arm as if he were a student volunteering to answer his teacher's rhetorical question. "I'm El-something! You can call me Ellie if that's easier to remember,"

"We should split into two groups, then," Chopsuey added, somersaulting over a charging L.E.R.O.Y. He turned to the two sisters.

"One of youga stay; Ellie will carry. Other fly with Sparky, get rest of ohana, go to ship,"

They both nodded, but before either could volunteer who would go with who, Elastico had curled an arm tightly around Lilo like a harness, and Sparky was holding his arms out to Nani.

"It's gonna be okay, Lilo," She comforted, reaching for her sister's hands before Sparky's. "We'll all keep you safe,"

"I know." Lilo surprised her sister with her calm, forgiving tone. "I just want the rest of you to be okay, too,"

Before Nani could think to respond, she and Sparky were high above the battleground.

"Alright, let's be quick, now," 627 began, gazing intently and anxiously at the horde of L.E.R.O.Y.s charging up the stairs much more efficiently without Sparky thinning them out.

"Okay," Reuben added with a hesitant gulp. "I'll carry Lilo, and the rest of you can focus on keeping L.E.R.O.Y. off of-"

Suddenly, a ring of crimson arms burst out of the wooden floor where Reuben stood, reaching for him like demons out of Hell.

Before anybody could move to help him, Reuben was plummeting to the sand below with half of the porch.

"One of you take Lilo and get to the ship!" Chopsuey commanded, diving after his friend.

The quickest to heed the order was 627.

He scooped up Lilo, holding her close to him as he hopped on the heads of the ambushers like stones in a stream.

As he jumped, Lilo had nothing to look at but her shrinking house, beneath which she could barely make out three figures of green in the horrendous sea of red.

The only comfort to her was that 627's hold felt very much like a hug.

X

Why don't you put him down, Stitch?

Spooky's words were a soft hum in Stitch's ears amidst the deafening screams and insults all around him.

He looked down and saw that, in his lower right fist, he still gripped the neck of a dead L.E.R.O.Y.

He thought it might be the one who had attacked him at the door, but he had lost count ages ago.

"Sorry." Stitch got rid of the corpse by using it as a club against one of its living counterparts.

He and Spooky defended each other's backs, but even that comfort did not ease Stitch's disgust at his surroundings.

Ahead of him; red. Beside him; red. Attacking from above (before being grabbed and thrown back into the crowd); red.

Stitch's blood had been boiling from the moment he saw one L.E.R.O.Y. on his doorstep, but he felt like an inferno at the ludicrous quantity of the bastard's clones. He was sweating more out of his own fury than at any exertion from the battle; he was able to pick them off with a relative ease. To Stitch, L.E.R.O.Y. was a swarm of gnats; they could not hurt him, but they could certainly keep him from seeing for sure that his ohana was unharmed.

Here they come.

At Spooky's mental voice, Stitch looked up and was eternally thankful for a sight that was not red; Sparky was flying in their direction with Nani in tow.

For a fleeting second, he had a condensed taste of a heart attack when he did not see Lilo with them. The sensation was stifled at the thought that Lilo was most likely traveling in a second group that was still on its way. Even so, he could not take his eyes off of Sparky and Nani, as if they would vanish the moment he turned his back on them. A flurry of L.E.R.O.Y.'s fists, elbows, knees, and feet forced him to.

"Why don't you look at me, jackass?!" L.E.R.O.Y. spat.

"Why don't you look at the better model?!" L.E.R.O.Y. added with a vicious headbutt. "Look at the one that's gonna kill you!"

"Words from the model that's already died several dozen times today," Spooky retorted dryly, leaping over Stitch like a torrent of water to tackle an attacking clone.

The blue Experiment was allowed enough time to extend all four arms, with which he thinned out his surrounding opponents in a powerful spinning attack.

"Bonnie!" He heard Nani shout from somewhere. "Grab onto my ankle!"

Stitch looked again for his flying friends, and saw Bonnie jumping out of the chaos to grab Nani's ankle.

L.E.R.O.Y.'s fist appeared in the corner of Stitch's eye, and was promptly caught and twisted.

"Hey, An!" Bonnie shouted. "Grab onto my ankle!"

Stitch stole another glance as his opponent screamed; now Angel leaped to seize Bonnie's ankle. The chain swerved in Stitch and Spooky's direction.

"Guys!" Angel called, stretching her left foot out towards them. "Grab onto my ankle!"

Stitch reached up as the chain passed overhead, but his claw barely scratched Angel's sole.

"Shit," He grunted through his teeth as the chain circled around again. He gave a small chuckle at the tingling sense of deja vu he felt, but all humor was lost when he saw another L.E.R.O.Y. facing him. He was becoming both furious and bored by the color red.

"There room for one more?!" L.E.R.O.Y. cackled, pouncing at Stitch just as the chain approached.

Within a few fleeting seconds, Spooky clung to Stitch's back, Stitch bounded over L.E.R.O.Y., then kicked off of his head, and grasped Angel's ankle.

"You guys alright?" She asked, looking at them over her shoulder. Her voice was firm but short of breath.

"I will be…" He exhaled after a delay of a few short breaths. "Once all these things are dead,"

"They are dead…" She glared down at the crimson masses below, who shoved and climbed over each other like rioters to pursue their foes. "Whether we do it 627's way or pick them off one-by-one, they're dead,"

They passed over the edge of the water, where tall and incessant splashes almost obscured a battling Clyde from view.

"Hey, guys, I'm not sure I'll be able to carry Clyde as well!" Nani shouted.

Don't worry, Nani, Spooky's voice echoed through everyone's minds. We would not expect you to.

He and Stitch, with one of his lower arms, reached for Clyde as they neared him. He obliged them with his flesh hand, then was thrown upwards with L.E.R.O.Y. clinging to his back, and was caught by Sparky.

"Just give up already, you leeching little shits!" Clyde sent the clone plummeting back to his brethren with an excruciating blow to the head from his metal fist.

Mere seconds later, the flying chain swooped into Hamsterviel's base, dropping to the floor one at a time.

Almost as soon as Nani had landed, 627 slammed down beside them, he and Lilo clinging to each other. Everyone's heart skipped a beat after momentarily mistaking the red-furred Experiment for another L.E.R.O.Y. that had captured Lilo. They suspected that one of them would have a full stroke by the end of the day.

The Pelekais looked out at the red sea, relieved to find Elastico, with Felix wrapped in one arm and Chopsuey, who carried a seemingly injured Reuben, in the other. What was less relieving were the stockings of scurrying L.E.R.O.Y.'s on Elastico's stilt-like legs.

"Ellie!" Lilo cried.

"It'll be alright, Lilo," Spooky declared, concentrating on the approaching Experiments. "We need to get L.E.R.O.Y. in here anyway. Think of it as Elastico carrying them to their deaths,"

Lilo tried to imagine Elastico, with his bright, loving face and his squeaky giggle, as a veiled figure like the Grim Reaper, carrying L.E.R.O.Y. into the darkness, and could not. The thought of the crimson duplicate dead, however, fit much more comfortably in her mind.

Elastico's foot landed in the base ten seconds before the rest of him, and one second before the wave of L.E.R.O.Y.s that had ridden on it. They were kept at bay by Sparky's electricity, Angel's swooping antennae, bolts from Clyde's metal hand, and scorching blasts from 627's eyes.

Given a precious moment, Lilo and Stitch moved to hug one another, as if they had arranged the embrace telepathically. Nani, Spooky, and Bonnie joined in; the moment was so quick that it felt like it had been a daydream, but it helped to restore a small scrap of tolerance for their dire situation.

"Start backing up!" 627 commanded once Elastico's party had joined them. "Make enough room for all of them!"

Elastico, Felix, and Chopsuey were all pale as they heeded the order, the latter keeping the hurt Reuben close to him in his lower arms like a newborn child. Their comrades noticed that the marksman was no longer quietly reminding himself of his new , he only kept a quivering glare focused on L.E.R.O.Y., while Reuben's face remained buried in his shoulder.

"You all go further in!" 627 commanded again after two minutes that had felt like two decades. He faced L.E.R.O.Y. with all six sparking hands, and his allies turned and fled into the hallway a few feet behind them.

As they ran, Elastico had a dreadful recollection of his time wandering the ship as Hamsterviel's brainwashed slave, and hit a button on the right-hand wall with an extended finger. Nobody looked back, but they all heard the woosh and slam of the door behind them, followed instantly by the bangings of several L.E.R.O.Y.s that had leaped after them a second too late.

A few more seconds of running brought them to a room in which the furthest wall seemed to be made entirely of monitors. To the Experiments, this was where 625 died and was reborn as Reuben, and where Jumba simply died. To Nani, this room was brand new. To all of them, it reeked putridly of plasma.

"Hug the wall!" Spooky instructed, slithering to the far right side of the room with his ohana close behind.

As they ran, Nani's heart stopped when she noticed, or rather, didn't notice, something.

"Where's Lilo?!"

They all turned around, and as if Lilo's disappearance was not the most nightmarish thing that could occur, they found Chopsuey on his knees, looking down at Reuben. Elastico and Felix knelt beside him, looking equally disconsolate.

"I'm sorry…" The marksman whispered, his quiet voice trembling. "I tried to save him...L.E.R.O.Y….grabbed one of my stray arrows and…"

Nani approached them carefully; her first thought was that Reuben was crying. Then she saw that he was only crying from one closed eye, and his tears were red. At the sight of the disturbingly stiff Reuben, Nani was glad, in a strange and nauseating way, that Lilo was not there.

XI

Lilo was not certain why she had darted from her ohana's side and to 627's; all she knew was that she needed to. Or, she thought, he would need her to.

Barely a second after the huge metal door was bombarded by a hail of late L.E.R.O.Y.s, 627 scooped her up and carried her over the crimson horde just as he had done outside.

"You should have stayed with your family," He told her once they had landed beside the console. He sounded critical, but not especially perturbed.
"I'll tell you which buttons to press while I keep them off of us," He said as if he knew that she was about to volunteer.

"There's a line of red buttons! Hit the second one from the left!" He turned and thinned the advancing crowd with an electrified backhand.

Lilo found the button in an instant. The ramp-like door ascended like a drawbridge into a fortress. A swarm of clones slid eagerly down the door-wall as if they would be safer inside the vessel.

"Now, there should be a big button that says 'Chart' on it!" 627 shouted, grabbing L.E.R.O.Y. by both long ears and swinging him into his brethren like a wrecking ball.

"Push it, then use the stick beside it to steer us as far over the water as you can!"

Once Lilo had fulfilled the Experiment's commands, she found that the immense screen in front of her showed an alarmingly lifelike image of the ship from outside, as if it were being filmed from outside. She felt the vessel rise around her before she saw it on the screen. Once it was higher than the island's tallest mountain, she grasped the joystick and pushed it forward. The ship began to cast its shadow over the beach, so Lilo pulled the stick back, and watched the ship hover over the serene sea. She would have felt exhilarated were she not already painfully transfixed by the carnage around her.

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!"

As she remained fixated on the screen, watching as the ocean became increasingly vast miles beneath the ship, the only assurance she was given of her safety was 627's uninterrupted voice. He was muttering, but he sounded contemptuous all the same. Those words, though; where had she heard them before? She had heard his strange reciting in the past, but could never remember exactly what he had said after the fact; only in the moment did she feel the nagging familiarity like an excruciating rash on her brain.

"Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!"

When L.E.R.O.Y. was dead, she would finally question him about it. She had a feeling that she would find out regardless of her questioning.

L.E.R.O.Y. would be dead, right?

"Leave my loneliness unbroken! Quit the bust above my door!"

Of course he would.

"Ready!" She declared. She was certain that they were miles from any harbor or beach or even a fisherman by now. Surely, even if L.E.R.O.Y. walked on the ocean floor for hours, he would drown before he even saw a diminutive island. Maybe there were even sharks out here.

She hoped there were sharks.

"Open the door!" 627 ordered.

Lilo did not turn to see how he was faring against L.E.R.O.Y.; she only did as he asked.

As soon as she did, one of 627's arms curled around her, holding her close to him. Another arm hit another red button beside the one for the door, and then moved to pull on the joystick. The rest of his claws hands clung to the console.

Lilo felt blood rush to her face. 627's arm felt like a thick, furry bungee strap around her. Her hair fell upward, and the floor they stood on was swiftly becoming a wall. The door became a trapdoor, and at least a third of the L.E.R.O.Y. army vanished into the blue beyond it.

The rest of them clinged to the floor-wall. Lilo was so scared she nearly puked on some of them, but once a scorching beam began tracing over each of them, prying them from the ship in reasonable bursts, her stomach settled. She was able to breath as 627 blasted the defenseless clones, not especially bothered by their screaming as they plummeted. Then she spotted one, who seemed more scared than the rest of his lookalikes Lilo had seen until now, only a few feet from them and under the sight of 627's heat-filled eyes, crawling towards her like a giant, red-haired spider. She did not panic straight away, believing that 627 would dispatch him before too long.

The crimson Experiment blasted away, with less than thirty L.E.R.O.Y.s remaining by now; the one now a little more than a foot away amongst them.

Fifteen left. L.E.R.O.Y. was within arm's reach of her dangling bare feet.

Five left. L.E.R.O.Y. reached out with his desperate claws and grabbed Lilo's ankle.

Two left. L.E.R.O.Y. made a quiet, breathing sound that almost sounded like the word "Please…"

"627!" Lilo called. She was surprised that she did not yell louder. Then again, L.E.R.O.Y.'s grip was not as crushing as she had feared.

For a moment, the scorching beam was gone.

"Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door,"

627 spoke with clear and petrifying scorn, and then the beam returned, shrouding L.E.R.O.Y.'s face in a blinding cloud of orange. Lilo felt one last clench on her ankle, and then he was shrinking into the blue.

Lilo did not see his face again as he fell. She only saw his tiny red body swallowed into the sea, leaving behind nothing but ripples.

The water was full of ripples then. It looked like it was raining.

XII

The Pelekais were grateful when gravity left the wall and returned to the floor. Being pressed to one side of the room was not particularly unpleasant to any of them. Doing so while reeling with the realization that yet another of their ohana was dead, however, was enough to make them want to scream. (Nani, Elastico, Felix, Clyde, and Chopsuey had, and only stopped once they felt the ship resuming an upright position. Their screaming had come in spurts, like loud, agonized breaths).

They all stood up, their minds set on finding Lilo, but dreading her reaction to learning that her birthday would now also be the anniversary of Reuben's murder. Before they could even think of what to say or what to do, their eyes wandered to their right, in the direction of the multi-screened console; Jacques Hamsterviel, in only his black shirt and scarlet pants, stood just a few steps away from them, staring at the floor in front of him as if it were a friend's grave. He held a metal cannister loosely in his left hand.

"How long have you been here?" Chopsuey sniffed, his hands never once moving from Reuben. From his tone, his friends believed that he would lash out and strangle his creator without Reuben there.

They had to wait for a response.

"I was here when you got in," He mumbled. "You were too preoccupied to notice me," His words sounded passive aggressive, though his voice could not have cared less. He turned and looked at Reuben's corpse cradled in Chopsuey's arms, and looked at it for a while, like it was a depressing piece of art. Then he brought the metal cannister to his lips, and only then did he raise his head.

Nani stormed towards him, smacked the cannister out of his hand, and punched him in the face. She sent all of her grief, her confusion, her fear, and her contempt from her fist into the scientist's face, and somehow, watching him lie on the floor, painting it red with his nose and his mouth, she seemed only to feel more of it all.

"You bastard!" She shouted at him louder than she knew she could shout. She was almost terrified at this harrowing, monstrous voice that was coming out of her. Then she remembered who it was for, and she stopped caring.

"You could have stopped him! All you had to do was tell him not to do it, and you could have saved Reuben! This was her birthday, you asshole! Lilo doesn't need this! She doesn't deserve this!"

Once she had stopped, she found that her throat had become sore. She looked down at Hamsterviel, lying in a miniature puddle of his own blood. Nani thought about kicking him in the gut if he tried to stand up, but he barely moved aside from breathing and blinking. Even with these undeliberate signs of life, Hamsterviel looked dead.

Spooky slithered beside her, his watery form rising to curl warmly around her shoulders.

"Come," He said softly. Nani thought she heard a slight quiver in his deep voice; that, she thought, was spookier than anything that had earned him his name.

"All of you, come," He said to his ohana. "These screens monitor areas throughout Hamsterviel's base, remember? Finding Lilo will be easy with these." He led a somber walk to the screens, which were looked upon with hopeful faces stained with streaks of tears.

"And the only easy thing about the rest of this day," Spooky added in a whisper.

Each pair of eyes scanned its own region of the screens, and it had been only a few seconds when Felix pointed with a despondent claw.

"There she is," He said. "She's in 627's room with...627…"

"...You know what?" Elastico suggested. "I think he might be, like...Apologizing…"

"Not just apologizing…" A voice added flatly behind them.

The Pelekais turned and found Hamsterviel approaching them, his right cheek damp and red. Any urge to beat back to the floor disappeared as he spoke.

"I should have known this would happen eventually...If I know Number 627, and I know him very well, his apology will come with an explanation,"

"Explanation?" Angel repeated. "You mean, he's gonna tell her why he was so damn passionate about killing us?"

"Precisely, Number 624-"

"Angel," She corrected firmly, and her tone had all the force of the blow she was restraining. "My name's Angel,"

Hamsterviel only nodded weakly.

"It seems he only wants you and him to understand each other now. But if you want to understand him at all, then there's something you'll need to see first...Several things, actually…" He lifted his furry, three-fingered hands, and the Pelekais split into two groups, forming a path for the scientist to reach the console. Once he did, every screen went black in a matter of seconds.

"Wait, hold on," Clyde said. "What is it you're showing us, exactly?"

"I'm showing you 627," Hamsterviel answered, his voice never anything but a pitiful murmur.

A single screen, the middle one of the bottom row, lit up.

"I'm showing you Daniel Terrance,"

XIII

Lilo could not believe the bed she sat on, which was surprisingly even softer than her own, was only inches away from where Chopsuey had lain, beaten and broken, mere weeks ago.

Moreso, she could not believe that the crimson Experiment who stood above her, his finger intertwined, and looking at his feet as if he were a shy boy struggling to ask someone out, had previously broken into her house, beaten her ohana within inches of their lives, and had sent an army of clones plummeting to their watery deaths without hesitation. She wanted desperately to end the silence between them, but she said nothing; she felt like 627 wanted even more to speak first.

"I…" He finally said, looking up at her but keeping his hands locked together. "I wanted to talk,"

"Okay,"

"More than that, I wanted to say sorry…" He continued. "I've done horrible things to your friends in front of you, and now I feel like I haven't had all the facts before doing them...I can't imagine what it's like for you to see things like that...But being the one who caused those things; that's a weight that's been getting heavier and heavier for me since we first met. So, for what little it's worth...I'm sorry,"

Lilo breathed deeply before responding. She felt giddy with a terrifying form of excitement, like she was opening a malevolent-looking door that she had been walking past all her life.

"I was wondering...What are those things that you say sometimes while you fight? Is it a poem or something? I think I've read it before,"

"Sorry," 627 said again. "That's a weird thing I've been doing since I started all this. I get all swept up in the battle, and I just start talking for no reason, and that poem always comes to mind...Anyway, it would sound familiar to you; it's Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven,"

Lilo almost heaved her head back and declared, "That was the one!" but restrained herself; there were still more and more questions coming to mind, and she intended to have them all answered.

"Does it stop you from feeling scared?"

"No...But it stops me from seeming scared,"

"Where did you hear it? I didn't know Edgar Allan Poe sent his poems into space,"

"He didn't," 627 chuckled. Lilo saw the faintest smile appear on his lips. "I learned it in Earth Studies class,"

"Earth Studies?" Lilo repeated. "Like, in a school?"

"Yes,"

"In a classroom, with desks and teachers and homework and everything?"

"Of course," 627 seemed amused by this line of questioning, if not confused.

Lilo's mind overflowed with questions. She had pictured Stitch and his cousins as soldiers of fortune, charging into battle, instilling fear and feeling none, but had been specifically told by Stitch himself that no Experiment ever sat in a classroom and had an education. There was no need when they came with a basic education built-in. What, then, made 627 the exception?

"Did you have a mom and dad?" She inquired, resting her chin on her palms.

"A mom…" 627 answered. He placed a hand on his cheek, and what little smile he had faded. "A dad, too, eventually,"

Lilo knew that she did not need to ask him if his parents were Hamsterviel and Jumba. More than that, she knew that she shouldn't.

"You know what?" She smiled at him. "Stitch has told me lots of stories about what the Experiments used to be like. Why don't you tell me some stories about what you used to be like?"

His smile returned at her offer, greater than before.

"You...You want to know about me?"

"Yeah. I don't think any of us know much about you, except that you're scary and you like Edgar Allan Poe a lot,"

627 laughed more at this. He went to the bookshelf by the foot of the bed, and took a black hardcover resting on top of it.

"What's that you got?" Lilo asked, her excitement already feeling a little less terrifying.

"Pictures," 627 answered. "To go with the stories I'm about to tell you,"

As he opened to the first page of the album, Lilo patted the space on the bed beside her.

"Oh, sorry," The crimson Experiment chuckled, sitting down beside her.

"I'm Lilo, by the way," She said as he placed the open album between them.

He smiled at her. Lilo returned it, but could not shake the bittersweet notion that it was the first time that face had smiled in ages.

"My name's Daniel,"