Nani dropped us off the next afternoon for hula class. I had already spent half the day yawning after helping Mr Kuakini that morning and didn't expect things to be any different during the lesson. I had another bit of a close call with Nani actually being awake when I got back home and questioning me on what I had been doing, but thankfully she'd been distracted by a phone call and after that hadn't finished pursuing the subject with me.

I was glad. It was still too early for her to find out what I was doing.

Lilo seemed a little tense after the events of the day before yesterday and gripped my paw tightly as we headed inside. The girls looked up at us. Mertle was in there and also looked at us, but didn't maintain her usual eye contact. I had no idea if Moses knew that she knew about me or not, but wasn't going to question it as I was sure it would become clear soon enough.

Lilo and I sat down together. After ten minutes into the lesson I was expecting a paper ball to hit my head, but to my surprise there wasn't one. I turned to look behind me. Mertle was staring at me and glared at me slightly when I locked eyes with her, but didn't seem to be doing anything to indicate she was going to pick on us. Good.

Elena, Yuki and Aleka just looked bored. That made me yawn.

Since the dance ceremony was over and done with, the buzz had died down significantly. I noticed Moses look at me a few times during the lesson. Lilo and the girls were given sheets to fill out. He looked as though he was going to give me one as well, but hesitated. Lilo nodded to him and he handed me the sheet.

It was a questionnaire of what he'd just been talking about. Lilo and I sat together and filled them out, her explaining the questions to me as some of them I had a hard time making out with my limited reading comprehension.

Mertle was definitely keeping her distance from the other three girls. It didn't surprise me all that much to see they didn't seem to acknowledge her and spoke among themselves. For once she was alone. She just glared at me whenever I looked at her though, so I figured she would rather be alone then sit with us or the other girls.

We had a break after filling out the sheets. Lilo and I sat in our usual place on the stage together and Lilo pulled out some sandwiches Nani had prepared for us from her duffel bag. We started eating them. My ears perked when I noticed Elena, Yuki and Aleka head outside and looked to see if Mertle would follow but she didn't. Instead she kept staring at me. It was getting a little annoying so I turned to face the other way.

Lilo noticed.

"You okay?" she whispered to me.

"Mertle sarri meega tabjai," I told her and she looked behind me.

"Just ignore her Stitch."

I nodded and ate the rest of my sandwich. I was expecting Mertle to come over to us, but she never did.

Moses began teaching the girls a new dance after break had finished. In order for us to practice it, he wanted us to pair up together. The only thing was, he decided who was paired with who. Lilo wasn't too happy about it. I could tell, but she wasn't going to defy Moses.

Elena was paired up with Lilo. Yuki was paired up with Mertle and I was paired up with Aleka. I wasn't happy about it either. Lilo looked at me with a dull expression on her face.

Aleka seemed bemused by it but kept scowling at me as she had in the store that time I'd run into her. I growled at her slightly.

Moses noticed. "Girls, I want you to work together today in the spirit of aloha. Aleka, this includes you too now," he said gently.

She sighed and stared at me.

"Now I want each of you to split up into different areas and work on a routine together, using what we have just learned. I will call you back after twenty minutes, and each of you will perform your routine together on the stage."

"Uh... kumu, I think that Stitch and I should..." Lilo started, looking at me worriedly.

"Lilo, I acknowledge that yes..." Moses replied gently. "But I would like everybody to work together here."

I sighed. I was just as concerned as Lilo. I would have much rathered work with Mertle for this. At least she knew I could talk. This was going to be a chore with Aleka, who not only disliked me but clearly didn't want to be near me.

We split up. Moses sent Aleka and I outside for our routine. Awkward didn't even begin to describe it. We stared at each other for about a minute.

"How am I supposed to work with you? You're a dog. Do you even understand me?" was the first thing out of her mouth when she did talk.

Of course, I couldn't answer her. I just shook my head in irritation and started the routine myself hoping she would get the idea. She just did her own thing.

There was a part of the routine that required us to hold hands and perform a specific movement. I went to hold hers but she just stared at me and kept pulling her hand back.

"What are you doing?" she questioned me. I started to get annoyed.

I waved my paw at her trying to give the hint but apparently she hadn't been paying attention in class because she thought I was trying to just grab her. Thankfully Moses had been watching from the window and came outside to us.

"Aleka..." he began.

"He's a dog! I don't know what he wants! He keeps trying to grab my arm!"

Moses sighed. "He simply wants to do the dance routine with you. If you were paying attention when I demonstrated, you would have seen the part of the routine involves you to hold his hand and do a movement," he gestured inside and Aleka peered in. "See? The other keiki are doing it."

Aleka blinked at that. She stared at me. I stared back at her deadpan.

"Stitch is a smart dog, Aleka. Smarter than average. He will do as you say but you need to respect what he wants to do too, okay keiki?"

"Fine..." she grumbled and took my paw as we did the movement. She was tense.

Moses left us and headed back inside and we practiced the routine. The second time I went to hold hands with her when that movement came up, she edged away from me, looking disgusted. I was tired of it so I stopped what I was doing and growled. She looked scared and hesitantly went to hold my paw.

The next few times after that she knew to hold my paw or I would growl at her. Eventually she eased up and started reaching for my paw as opposed to me reaching for hers. We managed to get the routine down. By the time Moses came to get us to do the performance, she seemed to have eased up a bit more.

"Now then, was that so bad?" Moses smiled at her as she passed him. She didn't reply and went to sit down with Elena.

As soon as I saw Lilo she beamed in delight and she jumped up and hugged me. We sat down together.

Mertle and Yuki performed first. Lilo and Elena's turn was next. Lilo kept eye contact with me the whole time and I smiled at her. I clapped when she had finished.

Aleka and I were up last. I climbed up onto the stage and Aleka stood up beside me. We performed the routine together and she quickly grabbed my paw when the movement came up but made me overbalance and I ended up falling over. I knew she had done that on purpose.

"Stitch!" she cried at me. "Thanks a lot!"

"It's okay Aleka, just do it again," Moses said calmly. I looked at him.

She sighed. I pushed myself back up and we tried again. I could tell she was irritated with me. I knew she would try that again and sure enough she did, but I was quick to grab her hand instead. She looked shocked. I didn't care if she didn't like me but treating me like an idiot? No. I wasn't going to tolerate it. She got a taste of her own medicine when she ended up tripping instead and I nearly giggled, just barely covering my mouth with my paw.

Lilo was hiding laughter too. Moses looked irritated.

"If you two do not complete this dance seriously, I am holding you both back after the lesson for twenty minutes detention."

I wasn't bothered by it, but she was. She huffed and we did the dance routine again. This time she didn't try anything with me, but simply grabbed my paw without any attempt to make me overbalance. We got through the dance.

Lilo clapped once we had done as I had for her. Aleka hurried off the stage away from me to rejoin her brat brigade while I remained and bowed as we were supposed to do. When she looked at me I just shook a finger at her in a 'tsk tsk' movement. Moses rolled his eyes and put his hand to his head.

"Aleka, part of the routine was that you were supposed to bow together at the end."

"I forgot," she stated. Mertle wasn't sitting with them still, I noticed, and was off to the right of Lilo by herself. Moses sighed. "Stitch did it no problems and you were practicing it outside, so I don't see how you could have forgotten."

Lilo reached for me and I sat close to her as she took my paw into her hand and held it in her lap. Aleka went red at that but Moses didn't seem to care to push it any further at that point. He continued the lesson and eventually it reached 5.00pm.

"Well... apart from that little mishap today, well done girls," Moses said. "I hope you will continue to set aside your differences with each other and work together. We will continue this routine next lesson. Class is dismissed."

The other girls left, except for Mertle who I could see sitting outside on the porch. Moses approached us.

"Stitch, you handled today well," he addressed me and I turned to face him. "I wanted to see how Aleka would get along with you considering how her and Mertle have been towards you in the past. Yes I know she purposefully made you fall over on stage. I hope, with time, she will learn to be better towards both you and Lilo."

I nodded. "Stitch can handle Aleka."

He nodded. "See you two later."

"Oh! Mr Puloki! Nani wanted me to tell you something!" Lilo called after him and stood up to follow him into his office, leaving me there by myself.

I looked around the hall. Part of the floor still had a big dent in it from where I'd tossed the amplifier that time. Lilo had told me that I'd also leapt from the rafters, snapping my teeth at everybody. I shuddered.

I had no idea what I'd done when I glitched. I was glad I didn't remember much of it. The only thing that was burned into my mind was when I'd hurt Lilo. That memory was a permanent scar.

I could see Mertle on the porch. I stood behind her in the doorway. She sensed me there after a few moments and turned to face me.

"What are you looking at?"

"Could ask same of you," I responded nasally.

She looked surprised and then sighed. "Go away Stitch."

I did the opposite. It annoyed her, but I didn't care. I sat down beside her.

"I notice something different about you."

"What?" she asked me, facing me now. I stared at her.

"Today. No talk other girls... like used to. Aga ba?"

She stared at me. "They don't talk to me anymore. They ignore me. Satisfied?"

I was quiet for a moment before responding to her. "Why?"

"Ever since the dance thing. You know. When Aleka and I were gonna make you guys dance at the back?"

I nodded.

"She blamed me for everything. She said it was all my fault, but she had a big part in it too. It was both of us. Moses suspended me and she lied to him about what she did. All the blame was on me. It was so unfair."

I remembered how Mertle had seemed distant from the other girls at the dance ceremony – now it made sense.

"Yeah yeah, I know I was mean to you guys, don't remind me," she waved me off. "But I was mad at her lying too. So we're not talking now. I don't even know if we're friends anymore."

Mertle's mother pulled up at that moment. She stood up and walked to the car but didn't look back at me.

"Oh, Hi Stitch!" her mother called to me from the car and I waved awkwardly. Mertle just got into the car and they drove away. I yawned again.

Lilo came out to me shortly after. "Sorry Stitch! I forgot to tell him about the wedding. I had to give him an invitation from Nani and David."

"Is okay," I told her as she sat down beside me. "Mertle... different today, Lilo notice?"

She nodded. "She's not talking to the others anymore. Do you know why?"

I told her about Aleka lying. Lilo was surprised by that, but she also knew how nasty Aleka was too.

"Do you think... she'll try to be our friend?" Lilo asked me, putting her head on my shoulder and I put my arm around her.

"Naga. Too much between us," I responded truthfully. "But... I think she be nicer now, ih?"

"I hope so..."

I licked her across the cheek again and she pulled back to stare at me, before resting her head back against my shoulder as we waited for Nani.

Later that evening I lay across Lilo and Jumba on the couch. Nani and David had gone out for dinner. Pleakley was beside us on the computer again. I could feel Lilo stroking my ears and Jumba was stroking my back. I wanted them to stop because they kept making me purr and it was embarrassing.

"Uh... Uncle Jumba?" Lilo asked after a little while of silence. We'd been watching a documentary on lions.

"Yes little girl?" he responded.

"What is wrong with Stitch...?"

I tilted my head up to face her and Jumba looked at her sadly. "Am not knowing, Lilo. Doing my best to figure it out, I assure you."

I kept quiet. Pleakley glimpsed at me.

"Is his glitch coming back?" Lilo asked quietly.

"Cannot answer that Lilo, but as I said, I am doing everything in power to figure out what is wrong with him."

Lilo sighed and Jumba put his hand on her head. "I promise, okay?"

"Okay..." she responded, watching the TV again though I could tell this was on her mind.

"Little girl and 626 want something to eat?" he asked, and I knew he was trying to take her mind off the subject. "Larger girl bought new ravioli flavour?"

Lilo grinned. "Sure!"

Jumba nodded. He pushed me aside and stood up to head into the kitchen. Pleakley followed him, leaving us two in the living room. Lilo continued stroking my ears as we watched the documentary.

I turned over and looked up at Lilo. I wasn't too interested in watching lions. She noticed me staring up at her and looked down at me.

"You okay?"

I nodded. "Lilo?"

"Mm?"

"Stitch... uh... notice something."

She paused. "What's that Stitch?"

I stared at her. "About you."

Lilo didn't seem to know how to react to that. She looked back at the TV. I gripped her hand.

"What do you notice about me, Stitch?" she responded quietly but avoided eye contact.

I stared at her, not sure how to answer her without making things awkward. But there was no other way around it.

"Uh... Lilo kiss me more. On nose, or cheek. Aga bata Lilo?" I asked slowly.

She had a look on her face similar to the time I'd seen her stare at me when she first dressed me in the vampire costume. I sat up to face her.

She let out a soft sigh but she never answered me. I figured she wasn't going to so I just lay back down and she continued stroking my ears.

Maybe one day I would find out the answer of how she really felt about me. I knew I liked her. I'd realised that a few days ago at the tree. The future still scared me because my dream could very well come true if Lilo couldn't accept me being not human. I still felt as though the 'marriage' between us was her special way of playing with me. But when she showed more affection to me as she had been doing recently, it was hard to tell.

She still had a lot of growing up to do, despite Nani telling me that Lilo was mature in some aspects compared to other kids due to the circumstances of her childhood. I could never bring this up to Nani, let alone anybody else. There was no way for me to tell how the family would react to such a thing and I wasn't prepared to find out.

A few times at night the thought of what being a human was like crossed my mind. I knew it was something that would never happen but for me a future with no Lilo was no future at all. Just as she had said to me. I loved her too much.

I needed her.

As I lay across her lap I couldn't help but envy that Keoni person from the dream and envisioned that it was me instead.

Drifting.

Darkness.

"Stitch..."

A voice echoed around me. The room was spinning.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes trying to clear my vision. I couldn't make out where I was. Everything was too dark.

"Oh Stitch..." the voice echoed again.

"G-gablia?" I asked, confused. I stood up and looked around. Nothing.

My ears perked at a small laugh beginning to echo and I looked around frantically. All directions. Which one was the right one?

The laughter got louder, and louder. I held my ears.

"Agabba! AGABBA!"

There was a loud sound, like rushing air. Everything warped.

I let go of my ears. The laughter diminished. Shakily, I turned around only to have a pair of glowing green eyes lunge at me.

Everything went black.

"NAGA!" I screamed, bolting upright. "NAGA! NAGA! NAGA!"

I swiped my claws around me and snarled savagely. Something was on top of me. Trying to rip into me. I felt like I was being crushed. As much as I clawed it my paws went straight through it and the laughter started up again.

It was deafening.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed.

"626!" A roar penetrated the laughter and I felt two strong hands secure me.

When my vision finally cleared I realised where I was. Jumba was holding me up in the air and away from everybody. Lilo was looking at me from Nani's arms, looking terrified. David was staring at me in alarm and Pleakley was cowering behind the computer desk. The room was dark and I just barely comprehended a movie on the television in the background.

Popcorn was on the floor, the bowl tipped sideways. The rug was stained from an overturned can of lemonade.

My heart raced. I drew in deep breaths.

"626... is alright... you are safe..." my father said up to me.

"G-gaba tu chaba?" I cried. "GABA TU CHABA?! Zylsk zyi aans deisk?! Ylsk ko'zik eeb..."

He clutched me close to him and stroked my head. "You were having bad dream."

I panted against him. It took me a moment to realise all of my alien features were out. When Jumba started stroking the base of my spines I realised how tensed up I was and relaxed. My antennae had been pressed flat against my head.

"Hush... it's alright."

He set me down on the couch and wrapped a blanket tightly around me. Lilo walked over to me and put her hand on my face. I latched onto her with my secondary arms. It took me a moment to register she was wearing those fake bouncy antennae Nani bought us a while back. They all were. When I saw a set on the floor I realised I'd had some on too.

"Stitch... what happened to you?" she asked me softly. The rest of my family gathered around me, deeply concerned.

"Naga... nota..." I replied shakily. "All see... something attack meega," I drew in a breath. "Gaba ika tasoopa?" I added.

"You fell asleep. Larger girl and surfer boy return home with new sci-fi movie for us to watch."

Another fun night, I realised. Somebody must have put the antennae on me when I was asleep. I rubbed my eyes.

Nani put on the light and Pleakley went to start cleaning up the mess.

"Stitch, are you okay?" Nani asked me, bending down to my level beside Lilo.

"I-ih..."

"You want to head up to bed?"

After that? I wasn't going to be sleeping for a while. I shook my head frantically. Nani seemed to realise this and held onto my paw. "Sorry. Well... I'll get you a cold drink."

She stood up and left the room, David going after her. Lilo put her arms around me.

"You... you sounded so scary Stitch. Snarling like that... you started swiping and clawing at everything. You almost got me and you ripped my shirt. Jumba had to pull you up and away from us."

My heart stopped for a few seconds. I'd almost hurt Lilo?

I quivered and tears pooled in my eyes. I tilted my head down and saw a big slash on her nightgown. I choked.

She was well aware of my reaction and tried to soothe me. "It's alright Stitch... it wasn't your fault, you were having a bad dream. I'm okay!"

I barely heard her. I pushed away from them. I had to get out of there. I was dangerous.

They called after me but I burst out of the doggy door and just ran. And ran.

I'd almost hurt Lilo... I'd almost hurt Lilo.

Eventually I tripped. I'd been blinded by tears. Only a second later did I realise I'd run right out onto the road and two headlights snapped me back into reality. It was too late for the driver. He tried to avoid me but ended up running over me. I grunted from the impact and my spines ripped through both of his tires, shredding the rubber. Once the car had gone over me I stood up.

Darn it. I couldn't be seen, so I bolted. I wasn't hurt but I'd done some damage to the car. I wasn't going to stick around to explain I was an indestructible (almost) planet destroyer and cars were like toys to me.

Ugh.

I could never be hurt. Instead... I was the one to cause it.

Running into an alleyway I bashed my head into a wall. "Naga!"

The bricks caved in beneath me from the impact and I slammed my fist against the wall. "Naga hurt Lilo! Naga naga naga!"

I slumped down against the wall. What was wrong with me?!

Slowly but surely my worst fear was starting to come true. If I couldn't control myself in my sleep then was was going to come next?!

I jumped slightly when a loud bark distracted me. A dog was staring at me in the dark and I could see its eyes. Two seconds later a flashlight hit me and I shielded my eyes. Two humans were looking up into the alleyway. One looked like a chef.

"What the?!" one of them started when they saw me but I quickly scampered up the wall and fled. "What the heck was that thing?!" I heard the other cry in alarm.

They must have heard me banging my head into the wall. Or at least, felt it. It had made the wall shake. Damn it.

I leaped across to the next rooftop and sunk my claws into the wood, crawling up to sit on the roof. I had no idea how much time passed as I sat there, mulling in my thoughts and brooding in my misery. All I could think about was Lilo.

I didn't want to go back home. I didn't want to be near her. I didn't want to hurt her. I couldn't hurt her.

It was always because of me she suffered in some way or another. She didn't deserve more of it.

I was in the middle of donking myself on the head when a buzz made me jump and slam my head back against the chimney I'd been resting against.

I looked up to see the B.U.G.

Oh great.

'Please come home 626!' I expected to hear. 'We want you to come back! It's okay!'

"626, we are worried. Coming to get you to bring you home. Everything will be fine."

Close enough. I sneered.

Bring me home and what? Have another nightmare? Who was I going to scratch next? David? Nani?

No.

No. It wasn't okay. It wasn't fine.

I was a danger to my family. To everybody. To the whole planet.

I growled and grabbed the robot in my paw.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed and hurled it at the wall as hard as I could. It smashed against it and fell down against the roof.

I clenched my fist before running away from there and into the night.

I sat on the edge of that same cliff I was at with Jumba shortly before and looked out into the ocean. The moonlight sparkled against the water.

It was so peaceful. So serene.

No. I had no intentions of a watery grave. But I did picture myself falling into there. If I hurt Lilo, that was. Or my family.

If that stupid system somehow activated and I destroyed Kauai this would be the first thing I would do. Jumba had reassured me so many times it wasn't going to happen. That the chip was 'doubley' encrypted. Somehow, I didn't believe that was true.

After tonight, I just didn't.

I didn't know what to believe anymore. I didn't even believe in myself. I was capable of killing Lilo. Her, nor anybody else... not even Jumba, would have a chance against me if I lost control of myself. I had to Mertle, and now I'd lost control in my sleep.

And it could happen again and I was powerless to stop it.

The only possible way for me to not hurt anybody else was to lock me up and throw away the key. But even so I was capable of just breaking out and still hurting people. I really hated what Jumba had created me to be. Why did he have to kill the board that way?

WHY?

I sighed.

I couldn't blame him for what he did. His revenge was justified but his actions weren't. I had seen how much it had hurt him to question him. I wasn't going to put him through that again.

This stupid thing that kept laughing at me. What was it? Why wouldn't it leave me alone?

"Because you are weak."

I jumped so hard I almost fell off the cliff ledge. I had to plunge my claws into the soil and hoist myself back up. Jumba wasn't there to catch me this time.

I looked around shakily. What the blitznak was that?

I was alone on the cliff ledge. I was sure of that. I turned on both of my night modes. Nothing. I could hear cars but they were distant. There was nobody around for miles. It was just me and the lashing waters below.

Was I losing it? Seemed like it.

I wanted to leave there but I didn't want to go home. I felt bad for smashing Jumba's robot.

My anger was getting out of control lately. Normally I was placid. I wasn't like this. Something really was wrong with me.

I smashed my paw into the grass. "Naga. NAGA! NAGA! AKA BABA TAKA AGATOO MEEGA!"

"Stitch!"

My head whipped up at that. Lilo was running towards me with a flashlight, Jumba right behind her. The rest of my family were in the buggy behind them.

How had they found me? I pondered about this but then realised - that STUPID GPS!

My heart sank at what Jumba was carrying. It was a lasso. I recognised it instantly. That lasso could restrain me. He'd designed it.

I growled at them. "Meega o-itumi!" I snarled as Lilo approached me. She backed off seeing me raise my claws.

Lilo was crying. "Stitch... why are you doing this?"

I closed my eyes. It felt like a nightmare, but I had to. I had to push them away. I wasn't going to let myself be close to her because I'd just end up hurting her. As much as it pained me, I needed to do it.

"Is being like this because he is not wanting to hurt you Lilo..." I heard Jumba say to her silently. "Thinks is best option, but in reality is ridiculous mindset. 626, get over here. Now."

Damn it Jumba. I didn't want her to know that. I spat at the ground. "G'roztik reebas ches chatszilk..." I warned.

His eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare threaten your creator 626," he said angrily. "Now, come here. Or I be having no choice. You cannot stay out here like this."

I refused to move. I backed myself towards the cliff ledge and his eyes widened.

"You STUBBORN little... DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

"Naga coming back... naga hurt family..." I said and he paused at seeing me put my foot out over the ledge. "Go away."

I wasn't really going to do it. I was smarter than that and I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt Lilo that badly. But I needed them to back off and there was no other way around making them listen to me. Lilo was terrified.

Jumba threw the lasso at me but I dodged it. I snarled at him.

I inched back further. Lilo tried to run to me seeing that. "NOOOO!"

Jumba took no chances with me. Before I could react he raised up a concealed gun and fired it at me. I yelped and looked down to see a dart in my leg. I realised the lasso had been a distraction.

"Stitch!" was the last thing I heard Lilo cry in horror before I blacked out.