Thank you for the wonderful reviews. ;; I'm still blown away at how many of you are enjoying this fic and to be honest I never actually expected people would enjoy it this much. I love reading them and hearing your thoughts!

There isn't far to go now until the end, I promise, so just hang on for a little bit longer! ^^

The family members arrived at the house, each within five minutes of each other. I opted to keep my distance as I watched. I'd never seen half of these humans before. Some of them looked similar to Lilo and Nani in genetics while others looked entirely different.

I recognised David's friends and family, having seen them at least once in the past. That was about it.

As I watched them, I felt a small stab at my heart. This was my family. Nani embraced them in open, comforting arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She was wearing her best dress. I'd never seen her act this sappy before and could only figure it was due to the hormonal changes to her body. It was weird to see.

I didn't want to go inside mainly because I wasn't in the mood to be stared at. Strangers I couldn't care less... but I just wasn't ready to face my family. Not yet, anyhow. The word repeated itself in my mind.

Family. Family.

I wasn't nervous so to speak, but I was apprehensive about what Nani was going to say to them about me. Considering she would likely put a bad a spin as possible on the current situation. I could hear them chatting away in the area that Jumba had set up. The only alien they'd met so far was Pleakley and he was absolutely relishing in the attention. They asked him all sorts of questions, and I knew it was the first time they'd all seen an alien.

The most surprised of the lot was David's parents; they'd had no idea about Pleakley despite having met him before, but I think they were even more surprised to learn that Pleakley wasn't female. His disguise was actually quite well done if not odd.

I still didn't understand why he enjoyed dressing as a woman. Then again, I didn't understand a lot of things about this planet in general.

Currently I was perched up in a tree. Quite a big one aways from the house that obscured me from view quite well. I still had no idea were Chops was. I'd looked around for him before.

I heard a familiar screech as the buggy pulled up and looked over to see Lilo finally back from her hula lesson. This time however, Mertle was with her. I stared. Why was she here? I hadn't been listening, but I did flip my ears up at that moment and zoned in on them.

Lilo was asking where I was. David told her he didn't know and I saw Lilo look at Mertle at that.

I sighed. I didn't want to go down there because that meant the family seeing me. When yelling hit my ears, I knew it was them making a huge fuss over Lilo. Some of them hadn't ever even met Lilo before. I recalled Nani mentioning her uncle last seeing them when Lilo's mother was pregnant with her and still alive.

They came up with a nickname for her, though – Little Nani.

I didn't know what to make of it.

Jumba had been keeping away from them as well, I'd noticed. I could hear him occupying himself with something in the ship. I had no idea if he actually planned on seeing them or not, let alone alone any idea of how long they were planning to stay. Probably until tonight.

It eventually became apparent that Mertle was there to see me; both herself and Lilo were looking for me and calling my name repeatedly. I grunted, finally willing myself to climb down from the tree and crutch towards them.

"Stitch!" Lilo cried, swiftly turning to face me when I approached her from behind. She lunged for me and hugged me tightly, but I didn't return it. I looked to the side.

"Stitch?" she asked. "Where have you been? Is everything okay?"

I couldn't bring myself to answer her. The goodness level chart above her bed still played on my mind. Instead, I faced Mertle.

"Why are you here?"

Lilo looked surprised at that brush off, even a little hurt. But I was hurt too; she knew how much that goodness chart meant to me and just to see her having altered it again after writing what she had on it the first time...

Permanent meant forever.

No, I couldn't accept it. I couldn't believe she'd even done that after everything.

Mertle came up to me. "I was uh... wondering if you're still up to helping me. You know... with Aleka?"

Oh. Right.

I shrugged. "I guess."

"...Stitch?" Lilo asked me in a small voice.

Mertle was looking back and forth between us.

"Now?"

She nodded. "Mhmm."

I looked at Lilo briefly but headed off with Mertle, not saying a word to her. I knew it was bad of me to do so, but I was afraid that as soon as I opened my mouth to her, I would start crying. Or start yelling at her – either one of those two. With how unstable I currently was I didn't want to do so in front of Mertle.

I would always love my angel. But for now she could wait.

As I crutched away from my home behind Mertle, I didn't look back. The only image I saw on my mind was that goodness level chart.

After a short walk we arrived at Mertle's home. I was glad she had asked now – it meant I didn't have to face my family.

"So, what is story with them?" I asked her as she led me up to the porch.

She checked her watch.

"Well... I don't know what they are planning but I did overhear Yuki mention to Elena that they were planning to do something while I wasn't home. My mother wants me to go shopping with her now. I figured... you could watch the home or something, to see what they are up to? Or even just follow them and find out their plan?"

I stared at her. "Okay," I muttered. "How long will you be."

She picked up on my tone. "I-Is it okay?"

"Ih. I'm here. I will help you." I kicked at the ground.

She nodded. "Oh, um. Maybe half hour tops."

I shrugged. "Facha bachata."

"Huh?

"Fair enough."

She looked stumped. My ears perked up when I heard Mrs Edmonds calling her name.

"I-I should get going... thanks Stitch."

I watched her as she went inside to her mother. Looking around, I just limped around to the side of the house and found a tree to sit in and wait for any activity. My leg was still sore but it was getting better bit by bit. Sure enough, shortly after Mertle and her mother exited the house and climbed into their car, the engine starting up. I watched them as they drove away.

Ten minutes passed. Nothing. Then fifteen. Still nothing. I yawned, getting pretty bored. Even so I'd rather be here than dealing with the situation at home. My ears perked at voices to my left and I sat up to look. So Mertle had been right. I huffed, wondering what the brats were up to as they approached.

Aleka was carrying what appeared to be bag full of toilet paper. Upon tipping it out onto the grass I noticed egg cartons and streamers as well.

There were going to TP the house. And egg it.

I snorted. What little s-

"Hey! What're you kids up to?!" I heard a yell to my right, disrupting my thoughts. I sat up further in the tree and saw a neighbour yelling across to them. Aleka screamed, as did Elena and Yuki, and they ran for it. I laughed, climbing down from the tree to watch. I had no idea where they had gone. Once the neighbour had gone back inside, I walked over slowly and looked at the contents of the bag. It was pretty stupid of them to leave everything behind considering they didn't realise I was there.

Eventually Aleka reared her head again and froze in shock at the sight of me standing there. The other two brats were cowering behind her apprehensively. I could see them eyeing my injuries.

"S-Stitch?" she asked slowly. "Why is... why is he here?"

I couldn't talk, obviously, so I crossed my arms and stared them down. Aleka tried to inch her way over but I blocked access to what she was after.

"Oh, come on!" She complained. "Get out of the way you stupid dog! Now isn't the time for games!"

I growled at that, discreetly using an extra arm to conceal an egg behind me. When I wouldn't move she started to get anxious and I knew why – I was doing it on purpose. She tried numerous times to get around to the bag but each time I would just block her path. She wasn't going to get away with it.

Eventually she kicked at me. I threw the concealed egg straight into her face and she screamed in horror and disgust. Yuki and Elena simply bolted. What cowards.

"You – !"

She tried to punch at me, but I grabbed her fist in my paw.

"..."

Frustrated, she tried to push me out of the way and get to the contents, eventually becoming desperate. "MOVE!"

I snarled at her and I could see a little fear in her eyes. "Fine... fine!" she put her hands up, turning as if to bolt but I knew what she was doing. Sure enough, she lunged right at me and tried to tackle me to the ground but she had no chance of even pushing me down.

"You stupid dog!" she wailed. "I won't do it, just let me get the stuff!"

I just smirked. She noticed and went still.

"How can you even do this?" she asked eventually. "You don't even act like a dog. You know I'm going to get into deep trouble for this, don't you...?"

I froze at that.

"..."

"I'M RIGHT AREN'T I?!" she yelled, taking advantage of my distraction and pushing me aside. "SO MOVE!"

I cried out as she knocked me down. At that moment, a car pulled up into the driveway. I'd been about to pelt her with another egg. Aleka also froze momentarily before turning to run but I tripped her.

Mertle and her mother got out of the car. "What is going on here?!" Mrs Edmonds shrieked.

"It was him!" Aleka jumped up and shouted, pointing at me. "He threw an egg at me as I tried to stop him! He was gonna TP your house!"

My jaw dropped. That little –

"Stitch?" I heard Mertle ask quietly.

I went to talk but I couldn't. Not with Aleka still there. I jabbed my claw towards her in frustration when I realised I was still holding another egg.

"I saw him!" she continued. "He dragged that bag out when you left!"

"Stitch, is that true?" Mrs Edmonds faced me. Mertle was quiet.

I shook my head frantically, pointing at Aleka again. Not being able to talk was REALLY frustrating and of course, once again, I was being made out to be the bad guy when I'd done nothing wrong. My fist clenched.

"Yeah!" Aleka said. "Look at me! He did this! It's all his fault!"

"Are you going to stand here and take this then 626?"

I shook. I could feel my anger starting to overwhelm me. The egg dropped onto the grass by my feet.

"I tried to stop him, Mertle! Really! You gotta believe me!"

"LIES!" I roared before I could stop myself. Their eyes widened in shock. Laughter echoed in my mind.

Before I knew what was happening, my body morphed again. I lost control of my limbs and everything went deathly quiet. I could see myself pinning Aleka to the ground and slashing her face with my claws. Mrs Edmonds screamed and ran forth to push me away but I knocked her back. Mertle was crying, screaming at me to stop. But I couldn't.

No! NO STOP!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

STOP!

As the world warped around me with a deafening sound of rushing waves, something collided hard with the back of my head and knocked me down.

"G-gaba..." I muttered, vision focusing as I came around. I hadn't been knocked out to the point of being unconscious, but whoever had hit me had really done a number on my head. It was still spinning. I was in a cage and a metal collar was around my neck.

Before me was Aleka, being tended to by a paramedic. The police were outside, looking in at me and talking amongst themselves. I looked down at my body relieved to see I was back to normal again. Mertle was nowhere in sight and Mrs Edmonds was being consoled by another office standing to the side.

This was bad. This was REALLY bad.

Now what?

"Are you hurt anywhere else sweetheart?"

My ears perked up as the paramedic addressed the girl. I could see her look at me slightly, and when she saw I was awake she looked away hurriedly and began to panic.

"No... NO!"

"Hey, hey! Calm down, it's okay!"

"NO!" she cried. "Keep that thing away from me!"

"Paul... PAUL!" the paramedic yelled out and another officer rushed in. "Put him in the truck."

Truck?

The officer named Paul grabbed the cage I was in and I could see him taking me away to a black truck. I had a feeling they were going to take me to the pound and attempt to destroy me. I knew enough about what happened to out of control animals that attacked humans.

I snarled loudly at him as he was about to close the door. He jumped in fright.

"Yikes! I hope they take care of you for good boy..." he said to me, shaking his head. "Can't be having this..." The door was slammed shut in my face.

I slumped for a few moments, trying to handle the reality of the situation. I couldn't. I was completely screwed. Even if I broke out and ran back home they'd track me down. They would be all over me now that this happened publicly, not to mention, a dog breaking out of restraints and smashing a hole into a car was more than enough to warrant the wrong attention.

I really hated that voice. I hated myself for not being able to control myself. I should never have gone with Mertle. I should have answered Lilo. Hell, I should have stayed with her. This would never have escalated to such a situation.

I pounded my fist against the side of the cage.

"WHERE IS HE?!" I jumped in fright again at the sound of a roar.

My father had arrived.

I pondered on how Jumba knew I was there, but then again, he was monitoring me like a hawk now and I should have expected it. The truck door was slammed open and his eyes widened at the sight of me in the cage. He simply smashed open the lock with a rock and pulled me out.

"Hey! You can't do that!" The police pulled their guns on us. "FREEZE!"

"Try stopping me! Go on!" Jumba sneered and they backed off slightly from his size. The guns didn't phase him.

Before I realised what had even happened, he'd pulled out that same device he'd used on Mertle that time I'd attacked her after the dance. There was a flash, and the humans were left stunned. During that time he healed over Aleka in a similar fashion like he'd done with Mertle, and then flashed the device again at the crowd before bolting from the scene once he grabbed my crutches.

"What is that thing?" I asked him quietly as he stopped behind an alley to catch his breath.

"Erases minds. Memories, to be specific. One of my inventions back from GDI."

I had figured just as much. I guessed that was the only option left at this point. Jumba looked out of the alley before darting out with me again. "Cannot be drawing any more attention right now, 626. Seriously. Is already out of hand as is."

I pushed my head into his shoulder. He was right.

Things were bad enough as it was and this situation, without Jumba's intervention, would have just escalated it beyond repair. This couldn't happen. I was fortunate my father was so tech-savvy.

"Family?" I muttered as we approached our driveway.

"Still there. Not sure about little girl."

Lilo...

I put my head into my paws. I'd almost forgotten all about what had happened between us just before.

"Where is she?"

Jumba shrugged. "Sorry, not sure. She took off the tracker."

I jumped from my father's arms and he looked at me. "626?"

"I need to find her."

He nodded. "I'll be in ship if you need me."

"Wasn't my fault."

He stared at me at that for a while before he nodded. "No. I saw what happened, 626."

Good. Turning, I put my nose to the ground and hurried off to find my angel. There were things that needed sorting out between us.

It was hard to avoid the family while searching for Lilo inside. I had to duck and hide a few times from some of them while they ventured about the house, either getting refreshments or using our bathroom.

At one point I was spotted. The woman, who I guessed must have been one of Lilo's relatives, froze up in shock but I bolted out of sight before she could register I had been there. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with any of them. I truly had no idea what Nani might have already told them about me, but I still believed she would have put a bad light on me knowing how things were between us lately.

Lilo wasn't too hard to find once I pinpointed her most recent scent. She was hiding in Nani's closet. She jumped when I opened up the door and went in beside her.

"S-Stitch?"

I sighed and sat down beside her. It was quiet between us for quite sometime before I finally spoke up.

"Why'd you do it, Lilo?"

"Do what?" she asked. I looked up at her and was about to tell her to not mess around but her question was innocent enough; she was genuinely confused.

"Chart."

She stared at me before he eyes widened. "You... saw that?"

"Couldn't miss it," I muttered, before grabbing her by the shoulders. "Why, Lilo?! WHY!"

"Because you scared me!" she rasped, and I let her go. I slumped down against the wall. "Ever since the motel... you've been different, Stitch! I know you said that you weren't talking to me when you were talking to that... that voice? But it sure felt like it! I-I don't know how to feel anymore, Stitch!"

I stared at the floor for a while. "Ama gata..."

"No you're not!" she responded. "How can you be fine, Stitch?"

"'Cuz when I tell you I'm not, Lilo don't believe me!"

She looked stumped. "What do you mean?"

"I said, I wasn't talking to Lilo! Bad voice! Lilo STILL did new chart!"

"..."

I faced her again, standing up. "You know how much it mean to meega, Lilo!" I thrust out my paws. "Ika na nista, chi! Are you giving up on Stitch?!" I cried. "Is that it?"

"N-No!"

"THEN WHY?!"

She couldn't face me. "I-I'm sorry..." she eventually squeaked. "It means a lot to me too and I take how you are to heart, Stitch!"

I paused. "G-Gaba?"

"I don't expect you to get it... but..." she clenched her fists. "I made that chart because... it represents you and everything I've worked for with you. I made you good. Me!" – she pointed to herself – "And when I see that falter... I feel like I'm to blame. I can't just ignore it because I'm responsible for you."

I swallowed. I think I understood.

"Lilo make chart for herself... not for Stitch."

She nodded.

"Kind of."

I sighed. I put my paw to my heart. "Still hurts."

"I'm sorry Stitch..."

I looked away. I felt her take my paws into her hands. "I will never give up on you. I made a promise to. I'm not going to break it, no matter what happens," she put a thumb underneath my eye and picked up a stray tear. "I love you."

"..."

Lilo pulled me down onto her lap. "Where did you go? What happened with Mertle?"

I choked a little. "I– I-I– "

She was alarmed by my reaction. "Did something bad happen again?"

I sighed. "Ih... very bad. Jumba fixed though."

"Do you want to tell me?"

I gazed directly at her at that. She gazed back.

"I won't tell. I promise. No matter how bad it was. You can trust me, Stitch."

I pondered on this. Perhaps this would be a chance to gauge how she would react about me and would give me an opportunity to start slowly revealing the truth to her. It was going to come about soon enough anyway.

"Leelo..." I put my paws on her shoulders again. "Listen. If I tell you... I NEED you to promise, you will not tell. Ever."

"I won't," she responded quietly. "What happened Stitch?"

With another sigh, I told her how I'd attacked Aleka after she'd framed me and almost attacked Mrs Edmonds as well. She stared at me in disbelief.

"What do you mean? Like... you-you clawed at her?"

"Naga. Attack. Like Mertle."

"Like when..." her eyes widened as I nodded.

"Is okay..." I told her, gripping her hands. "Jumba fixed everything. Nobody remember."

"Are you sure?"

"Ih. Jumba heal Aleka like he did Mertle. Only you know about it now."

She was quiet for a few minutes before she finally spoke again. "How does this make you feel Stitch? This whole situation?"

I stared at her in disbelief. Nobody had ever asked how this situation was personally affecting me so far. I went to answer her but instead I slumped against her and hugged her tightly, burying my head into her shoulder as deep sobs shook me to the core.

"Shh..."

She instantly began to hum that lullaby to me again. I drew in a shaky breath. It soothed me. I felt her stroke my back.

"It's really affecting you isn't it Stitch?"

"Ih. Stitch naga kaphong."

"I know..." she soothed. "You're not."

"I'm changing, Lilo."

"Huh?" She drew back to look at me at that.

"Meega..." I pointed to myself. "I'm not... who you think I am..."

"W-what?" she asked, perplexed. "What are you saying, Stitch?"

"I– " I wanted to tell her so badly. My fists clenched and I tried to get the words out, but I couldn't. I just couldn't bring myself to tell her.

I lowered my head. "You will... find out. Soon."

"Is this... like what Chopsuey said?"

I stared at her at that. She elaborated. "About you being evil? Please Stitch!" I saw tears well up in her eyes. "Please tell me that's not true!"

"Naga! Naga, is not true!" I yelped at that. "Stitch naga evil, Lilo!"

"Then why are you changing? Who are you if you're not..."

My breath caught in my throat. "I... Lilo..." I sunk to the floor. "Lucha. I love you, okeytaka? That's all you need to know for now."

"I see."

It went silent between us apart from Lilo's occasional sniffle. She seemed to get that I didn't want to talk about it. Not at that moment, anyway.

"Gaba topa et mopa Lilo?"

She wiped at her face. "Hiding."

"From famalee?"

She laughed a little. "Yeah. Silly, isn't it? But I got a bit tired of being fussed over so much. They kept asking me so many questions."

"Little Nani."

"Ugh, don't say that..." she stuck out her tongue but giggled. "I'm nothing like my sister."

"You look like her, Lilo."

"I guess so. You look like Jumba."

I smiled. "Ih..."

It went quiet again. Lilo just sat me in her lap again and continued to stroke me. "Your English is kinda getting better lately I've noticed."

I nodded. "I talk more lately."

"Good. You should. I like listening to your voice, Stitch."

She liked my nasally voice? I wondered why.

"Why is that Lilo?"

"Because it's unique. It makes you Stitch."

I smiled at her. "I like Lilo's voice too."

I put a paw against her cheek and she closed her eyes.

"Lilo keeping that chart?"

"No. I wasn't thinking when I drew it, I was just thinking about if I was to blame."

"You're not," I told her.

"And neither are you."

"Thank you, Lilo."

She nodded. She drew me close into a long hug. Part of me never wanted to leave that closet. To just stay in there with her forever, away from everything. I felt safe there.

I knew it wouldn't last. I would have to face reality in the next few upcoming days. By then, my angel would either still be a part of my life, or she'd be gone.

I closed my eyes as another tear leaked against her dress.

Evening drew in. I'd successfully avoided most of the family for the day. Except for dinner time. Lilo's aunt had decided to remain whereas everybody had left to go rest at the motels they were staying in. Some of them were staying at the motel I'd been at with Lilo.

I couldn't avoid her.

Once Nani and I crossed paths again, I could tell almost instantly she was putting on a nice act around the family. I'd figured she would have said bad things about me but apparently she must have avoided talking about me at all. Somehow. They knew I was an alien but surely they'd asked about me at some point?

She had been sitting with her aunt in the living room when I first made my appearance. The aunt looked up and stared at me in complete disbelief.

"Oh... hello there. Is that your dog? Or...?" she seemed confused.

"Stitch," Nani simply responded, not seemingly interested in introducing me and focusing on the television. To prove I wasn't going to let her get to me, I spoke up for myself. This was my family I was finally meeting for the first time. She wasn't going to ruin that.

"Aloha. I'm Stitch. Yes I'm an alien. Nice to meet you."

I almost snorted at the response I got as I walked into the kitchen. Nani looked bewildered but the older lady's jaw had dropped.

"That's one of the aliens?" I heard her ask. "That dog you mentioned?"

"Mhm."

This continued for a little while. Eventually the woman came into me. I was sitting at the table eating some leftovers Jumba had previously prepared for me since I knew Nani wouldn't bother feeding us.

She stared at me sitting there, eating like any normal human would.

"Stitch... right?"

I nodded.

"I'm Iwalani. Nani and Lilo's aunt. Her mother was my sister."

I waved to her but continued eating.

"Uh... so what are you? Are you a dog?"

I swallowed. I figured she was a straight to the point sort.

"Alien. Not dog."

"You look like one."

"I'm aware."

"Sorry. That's all I heard out of Nani before, that you were the family pet. This is a real shock as you can understand."

"Is okay," I waved her off. I wasn't going to be angry at her when she was the first real family member I'd ever interacted with. What she'd been told about me in the past being a dog was entirely Nani's fault. "Nani talk about me today?"

"Only briefly. We were wondering about you and where you were. Nani said you too busy to come by."

I snorted again. I figured just as much. She looked a little astounded by my response but I just continued eating my dinner.

"Well... you'll be at the wedding?"

I sighed. "Perhaps."

"Did... something happen between you two? Is that why we didn't see you today?"

That made me pause. She was smart.

"Ih," I said.

"Well... I hope whatever is bothering you two, you can work through it before the big day."

I doubted that. But I just nodded in agreement, giving a slight smile. I was trying my hardest to be polite despite how tense I felt.

"Well it's nice to finally meet you, Stitch. I have questions, obviously, but I'll leave those for the next few days and give you some space. I'll be staying here for the trip, if you're wondering why I didn't go with the others."

"Okay," I responded. I had been wondering about that actually. She smiled at me and headed back into the living area to Nani.

After she left I felt a bit relieved. I had been nervous because this was the first member of the family I'd ever spoken to, and I had no idea what she thought of me, but she seemed nice and understanding. I wondered if Lilo's mother had been like her, considering they were sisters.

As I finished eating my dinner I could hear Iwalani asking Nani about my bandages.

I sat on my bed that evening, pondering on what would happen tomorrow considering it was my birthday. Who would celebrate it with me? What was going to happen?

Was Iwalani going to know about it now that she was here and celebrate it?

I'd seen sparks coming from the ships windows outside. It had lit up the area a dull blue. I had no idea what Jumba was up to but I figured he was pulling another late night. I hadn't seen Lilo since we'd left the closet. I figured she'd joined Jumba and I guessed whatever they were doing was concerning me considering Lilo had left without saying a word.

I could hear Iwalani and Pleakley conversing outside in the hallway. They were by the dome door. Nani was talking with David quietly in their bedroom but I wasn't going to bother listening to that. Eventually it went quiet.

I rocked myself back and forth on my bed.

In the silence, the thought of Mitch crossed my mind again. Jumba had said the only way it could be possible that I was formerly human was to have memories I couldn't explain. I had no idea how I'd even access them. Perhaps I could try dreaming again, and that was a way to access them if they did exist, considering that weird wheelchair dream had happened when I'd been asleep. I'd really felt like that boy in that dream. It was something beyond a lucid dream as well. It was weird – I didn't know how to describe it.

I'd really felt like a human in that dream. Like I wasn't me. Even though I knew I was Stitch and not somebody else. The thought was starting to consume me and I needed more signs.

I lay down and closed my eyes, scouring my memory banks for anything I didn't recognise. Having a photographic memory enabled me to track past thoughts easily, but considering I wasn't entirely organic and was half computer, it was a similar process to sorting through files. After an hour of searching I was yawning. I hadn't found anything unusual or out of place. No thoughts that weren't my own.

I didn't recall drifting to sleep that night. But when I woke up during the early hours of the morning drenched in a sweat, I was able to recall the bizarre dream I'd had easily.

In the dream I'd been in a mall. I'd felt like I was trapped, hundreds of shoppers pushing past and bearing down on me. Humans didn't scare me, but for some reason I'd felt terrified. My anxiety was overbearing and as I'd struggled to get out of there, I'd started suffocating.

I wasn't a human. I wasn't supposed to have anxiety, or feel suffocated in such a manner. I'd never had a dream like that before and I'd never experienced these sorts of feelings before either.

I'd been running though my legs felt like jelly. They didn't respond to me the way I wanted them to. And when I'd stopped and caught my reflection in a shop window I'd finally realised – these thoughts of being suffocated were not my own, they were somebody else's. Staring back at me in that reflection wasn't a blue alien, it was a human.

A human with tossed ginger hair, pale skin and freckles.

And that was when I'd woken up. It had taken me a few moments to snap myself back around. I'd felt my ears, making sure they were there. I had fur, not hair.

Jumba had programmed me never to have those feelings. It was hard-wired into my very biology to not know how to feel such bad anxiety – yet, my heart was racing like I'd been sprinting a full marathon. I was a monster, programmed to destroy. I was designed to fight. I didn't know what it was like to feel afraid.

And yet, I did.

I knew then I had a good an answer as I was going to get. I curled up close to myself underneath the covers, listening to Lilo's soft breathing above me. After a few moments I climbed up to the top bunk and peered over. The green chart was gone. I looked across to the bin and noticed it ripped up in there.

Climbing beside my angel, I pulled up the covers and snuggled in against her. She responded by muttering in her sleep and curling close to me.

After that dream, more unusual thoughts started drifting about in my head. Almost like I'd finally unlocked something buried deep. I smiled.

Tomorrow I would tell Lilo I wasn't entirely as alien as I thought.