Chapter 18: 202/Jam, 455/Mary & 390/Slimy -or- The Hunt Begins

KAUAI, HAWAII

Before Lani left for Scran Town, she told her o'hana which experiments were now active. What she didn't tell them was where the experiments were activated, or where they would end up. The first pod was a red one labled "202", which landed on a leaf near Waialeale Peak. A frog was sitting there since the pods fell to Earth, though now it was time for it to start moving again. The frog jumped from the leaf, sending the pod alongside the waterfall. Spray from the falls coated the pod, making it grow with yellow light before a flash revealed a creature inside.

202 had Stitch's face and nose shape, the rest of him couldn't be more different from his cousin. He was more of a cross between a lizard and a bat than a koala, with a lion-like tail and large bat wings as a major difference. 202 was going to fall right into the lake at the bottom, so he flew up and away from it. Two headlights blinded him for a short time, belonging to the dune buggy Lilo and the experiments were driving in. Having nothing nearby to use his power on, he zeroed in on them and flew where they couldn't see him.

In the driver seat was Stitch, awaiting instructions on where to go. Lilo sat shotgun, squished next to 627 who stuck his head out the door. Angel and 628 sat in the back, trying their hardest to pull him back. So far, they were nearly driving in circles to figure out what Lani menat.

"Okay, Lani said that five experiments were activated tonight," Lilo reminded them. "Experiment 202, 390, 455, 489 and...What was the last one?"

"529, I believe," 628 pushed him to the back seat. "627, close your mouth before you catch something in it!"

"Evil," 627 extended his mouth from his head.

"Angel, yuuga there before Stitch," Stitch thought out loud. "Yuuga know cousins?"

"El kiyotay, but naga," Angel's ears drooped. "Matyrs naga last jaba."

"I know their pain," 628 grumbled under her breath.

Without any idea what they were going to be facing, Lilo and Stitch shared a look of concern with each other. They had faught giant aliens, mad scientist and an evil experiment, this shouldn't be too hard. In fact, they recieved their first clue where one of the experiments might be. Running into the middle of the road was a woman, who had brown hair tied in a bun and she wore an orange mu'umu'u with white flowers. She vaguely reminded them of someone, though on a heavier set. Whereas the man that ran with her in blue trunks who barely had grey hair on his head, he was new.

Stitch had to hit the breaks before he hit them, leaving the two to stand in the street. They looked behind them, as if something was following in the bushes. When they were sure they were safe, the woman hunched over with her hands on her knees to calm herself while the man had his hand on his gut. The o'hana got out of the car to see if the pair was alright, besides a little freaked out at the sight of the experiments they were fine. The experiments stood back to let Lilo handle things, which was probably for the best. It took the woman a minute to fully relax, telling Lilo she was alright.

"Why were you both running in the street?" Lilo asked her.

"I was trying to get as far away from the hotel as possible," the man glared in the direction she entered.

"What's wrong at the Birds of Paradise?" Lilo knew the island's main resort was what she meant.

"Well..." the woman began to tell her story.

What happened to her was the activation of Experiment 455, the fourth experiment to be activated that night. The lady just so happened to be sitting poolside when the red pod fell out of the sky, only she didn't know that or the creature that appeared. The pod landed on top of a cup of sugar cubes, to her mistake she picked it up and placed the pod in her cup. Experiment 455 sat upright on the cup, smiling rather widely. 455 was a round, peach colored experiment with two long white-tipped ears, three large white stripes on her back, a white stomach and a red nose.

Needless to say, 455's unknown appearance surprised the woman. What the experiment did next wasn't something the lady could have guessed at, or prevented no matter how much she tried. 455 jumped off the table and crossed her arms, glaring at the woman.

"Hey Mary, beat it!" 455 told her.

The lady had no idea what the experiment was, where she came from or why she was there. All of those questions didn't matter as 455 got what she wanted, getting the woman out of the hotel. It started with blocking her from escaping to anywhere but the exit, soon escalating to 455 pushing her out the door. The lady was beyond confused at 455's actions, demanding to get back inside. 455 picked her up and threw her away, causing her to run when she stood back up.

"I said, get lost!" 455 called to her.

That was the last thing she heard before she ran, not even turning back for her luggage. The man's story was a bit simpler, starting with 390's red pod landing on his stomach. When he woke up from his nap by the pool, he flicked the pod into the water which unleashed the experiment. 390 was a big, green slug with three back spines. One look from the experiment sent the man running, although he slipped on 390's slime trail on his way. He bumped into the woman when he got up, the rest was history.

"Sorry we screamed when we saw your..." the man worked in an appology, but didn't know what to call the experiments.

"Oh, they're my dogs," Lilo thought they were spooked enough for one night.

"Bark," Stitch helped her prove it.

"Woof, woof?" Angel joined as best she could.

"Hmph!" 628 crossed her arms.

"Evil," 627 slobbered, much like a dog actually.

"Don't worry about your bags, we'll get them back for you," Lilo jumped back in the buggy. "Punch it, Stitch!"

"Tukibowaba!" Stitch sped off.

202 had a tough time keeping up with them, though he managed to follow the path they did. With everyone at the hotel -even 202 who hid above them in a palm tree-, 455 was the first to greet them. Angel wanted to handle this one, so she walked up to the experiment only to be knocked back.

"No can do, Mary," 455 stared at her. "Scram!"

The shock from 455's actions only lasted a second, from there Angel balled up a fist ready to punch 455 out. Stitch remembered a similar thing happening to him on his first walk with Lilo, Nani kept him from eating a sandwhich and he almost decked her right there. Jumba's warnings about capturing him held him back, Angel didn't have such guidance. So Stitch decided to be that guide, stopping her from harming their cousin. With a shake of his head, he reminded her what Lani always said about being good.

Though this cousin was was testing her patients, he had a point. Lilo came up with the idea to go around this experiment and search for the next, by climbing in to the pool area by the roof. From there they met up with 390, who somehow managed to get past them as they slipped on the slime covered floor. Stitch stopped a little too close to the pool for his comfort, until 627 accidently pushed him in when the red experiment stopped himself from sliding. Stitch squirmed in the water until Lilo and Angel pulled him out, leaving him shivering from fear and the cold.

As if the night couldn't get any worse, 202 decided to join them. He started by getting a curious look at 390, which got him to calm down before someone startled them both. 202 let out a high-pitched screech, directed right at 628. Oddly enough, once it hit her she dropped to the ground.

"Jerudai, yuuga accata?" Angel helped her up.

"Who's there?" 628 freaked out. "Why can't I see, hear or feel anything?!"

"Hey!" Lilo looked towards the person who caused the problem.

Standing at the door to the lobby was a boy, one who looked like he didn't know what to think at the moment. He had a redish shade of brown hair, brown eyes, wore a blue shirt with tan shorts.

"Why did you scare the experiment?" Lilo glared hard at him.

"The what?" the older boy asked. "I was just coming to look at the moon when I saw a bat and a snail near my dad's pool, and he'd freak if I didn't do something."

Lilo didn't know what he was talking about, which was a first for her -besides those times with Lani. She didn't have time to dwell on it too much, 628 clearly needed help from Jumba. She walked over and helped Angel carry her to the door, with Stitch and 627 disregarding 202 and 390.

"Here, let me..." the boy offered to help.

"Haven't you done enough?" Lilo moved past him to see 455 staring at them. "We prefer to kick ourselves out now."

"And stay gone!" 455 shooed them away.

They loaded 628 into the back seat, strapping her down after she tried to walk away. The boy watched them leave before turning back to the mess 390 was causing, noticing 202 hiding in the corner. He walked over to the frightened experiment, extending a careful had for it to see.

"Hey, little guy," he whispered to 202. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Hurt was something 628 was, though it was hard to tell since she couldn't feel -or see, or hear- anything. Stitch and Angel were concerned, they and 627 were proof that no experiment created before them could do much harm to them. For their first experiment hunt, they were off to a pretty rough start.

A/N: I wonder who that boy was who Lilo met, and who's dad would "freak" if the hotel's pool was a mess -hint, hint. And 202's effect on 628, that's something very fun to explain next chapter.

Next Time: With two more experiments on the loose, how long can the experiment hunters last?