Demon 626 had been asleep when my father had installed the device. He'd enlisted Chopsuey's help once more and I knew when he'd done it because I was aware in my mindscape of what was happening around me. Despite I was still pinned down tightly to the chair, the outside world echoed all around me twenty four seven.

I had no idea what the device did. It wasn't big enough to make me keep my mouth closed at all time but I found out soon enough what it actually did the next morning. Demon 626 had awoke to find out almost instantly that he couldn't make my body move. I was startled by this too.

His scream was what woke Lilo and my father up. Lilo had been sleeping cuddled beside Jumba on the couch and my father had her wrapped in his arms. They both woke in fright.

"GABA IKA TASOOPA...?! DACHADI GABA NA TUZJIBA MA MEEGA?!"

Jumba smirked at that. "Well, since you've paralysed 626, thought I'd return the favour is all!" He held up a device, before he narrowed his eyes at me. "You may be able to control him but with that device you cannot make his arms or legs move so now I control YOU. Simple."

That really made him mad. He let out the most loudest, savage snarl I'd ever heard myself produce. Lilo fell over in fright however my father just laughed.

"Give up."

"Like hell," the demon seethed. "May have stopped those for now, but cannot get rid of meega without killing 626. You know this, don't you?" He smiled at my father. "Jumba."

Jumba paused at that. Demon 626 smirked.

"He still here, with meega. In head. I can do what I like to him, here. Can't stop me, so... will be 626's funeral at your expense. Silly, silly Jumba Jookiba."

"Don't you dare lay a finger on him! I swear to Rofplar! Or so help me I will—"

"Will what? Keela meega? I'm just a program, retcha?"

"..."

"I thought so," Demon 626 smirked again and his voice darkened. "Now if know what is good for you, SHUT YOUR MOUTH 'N DON'T OPEN IT AGAIN."

Jumba roared and pounded his fist against the glass in temper. I'd never seen him look so furious. I struggled in my chair as Demon 626 approached me, a wide grin spreading across his features. His teeth looked razor sharp.

"Let's have some fun."

His eyes began to glow red. Before I could process what had happened, his mouth opened and doubled in size. I began to scream loudly as his teeth started to clamp down onto my head and I couldn't do anything other than brace myself for a decapitation, feeling them slice deep into the skin of my neck but before I could process anything further a loud rush of air hit me and oddly enough, everything went still. Almost as if time itself had stopped.

I knew I was still there in the chair, with the Demon about to bite down into my neck however something seemed different. In this bizarre frozen state, the first thing I noticed was that the paralysis had gone and I could move my limbs and I wondered why. I couldn't make any sense of the fact other than perhaps my alter ego was toying with me again? Was this another hallucination? He'd just been about to rip my head off so why would he stop so abruptly?

Suddenly I heard footsteps. Loud and dull, they echoed around the empty void surrounding me. As I looked to my left, a tall figure appeared. I couldn't make them out in the dark.

I remained quiet, being well aware that this could be another trap so I didn't want to risk anything further. But then, the figure finally came forth—it was a man I didn't recognise. Much younger than Mr Kuakini by the looks of it, but he had black hair. He approached me and for a fleeting moment I thought something about him was familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. His frame flickered about, like he was a static image. Not really there.

He walked around to the front of the chair and stared at me from a small distance and I felt the restraints loosen. However when I looked up to the man again, there was nothing there. He'd gone.

How...? How was this even possible? At that moment, I didn't care enough to ponder on it because I just wanted out. I quickly unfurled my extra arms and broke out of the ropes.

Was this it? Was I finally free?

There was a noise above me. I looked up.

"...Gaba isa...?"

I groaned. My vision flickered for a moment or so and I felt utterly distorted but shapes finally came into focus before me. Time had resumed again.

I moved slightly. Wait, moved? I was still bound tight to the chair, but I could move...? I COULD MOVE!

Something had happened!

Demon 626 was still in control of me and I knew that for a fact. But then it really hit me and I registered what I was staring at—the back of my own throat and as I felt white hot pain in my neck I remembered what situation I was in. I was about to have my head ripped off. As quickly as I could I brought up my extra arms and yanked his teeth away from my neck. His grip released and I pushed him away. He was in deep shock as he stumbled backwards.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he screeched. HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO MOVE WHEN I STILL HAVE YOU PARALYZED?!"

I shrugged. "I can move now. Do that again, I will tear YOUR voice-box out."

His eyes widened in fury. He lunged at me but this time I was able to break out of the chair. And OH GOD, how fantastic it felt to finally be free. I was elated. It was more than satisfying to see the look of raw horror mixed with pure anger on his face as I ascended from my prison. I broke free of my chains. HIS chains.

While he was dumbfounded I quickly picked up the chair and belted him as hard as I could with it. He flew across the void and landed roughly on the ground, tumbling a few times. And then when he picked himself up, he screamed and charged at me, my body morphing into something I'd never seen before. I stared in complete horror as my shape changed into some kind of demonic hell-spawn. I looked like something straight of a nightmare. My teeth had grown out of my mouth in all directions and my back had arched. I'd mutated, much worse than how Chopsuey had. It truly wasn't me anymore, I realised as I stared at the demonic, evil entity before me.

This was the real 626. He wasn't just an alien, he was a living demon.

For now I had to focus on getting out of this alive. I braced myself as he leapt at me. I knew he had a major advantage over me and he very nearly got me a few times. I was running on raw willpower at that point since I had nothing else. Lilo's words kept repeating in my head, fuelling me.

'I LOVE you!'

I thought of her. How much I needed her. How much she kept me going. And that was what kept me alive. I couldn't get angry because I'd start up the Metamorphosis System so I kept thinking of myself falling into her arms once this was over. I kept telling myself I would win this. This monster... this blasted god-forsaken demon would be ground to dust, just as I promised myself.

Our fight was brutal. I would be leaving this battle with scars. Should they show on my real body I couldn't tell but I kept going because I had to. I was so close to freedom.

When he tried to choke me by shoving his entire fist down my throat, I buried my claws into the back of his head. He made a spike impale through the back of my throat and I gagged. I sputtered for air when he pulled his fist back and he kicked me hard in the stomach, winding me. I was getting exhausted. I coughed up blood but I had to keep fighting. He kept changing his form with Metamorphosis which made my battle much harder than it currently was. He could weaponize his body at will. I couldn't.

'I LOVE you!'

I screamed. I impaled my claws at full length into his eye. He tried to do the same but just missed thankfully, impaling me though the cheek instead. I grabbed his tail and pulled as hard as I could until I felt it break and he howled in pain. He fell away from me before once again he tried to charge at me. I was just about blacking out again by that point from sheer exhaustion and my strength was depleting. Just as he was about to impale me again I grabbed the chair and threw it into him, knocking him off track. He picked himself up and growled furiously, and as he threw it back at me and I punched it as hard as I could, shattering it to pieces. Upon his second attempt of charging at me I grabbed a piece of the splintered chair and impaled him with it. He howled again. And then he collapsed.

I was heaving. It was getting much harder to stay awake. I'd used up the last of my strength and my vision finally faded before I fell into the realm of unconsciousness...

"You have to k— going... get —!"

A distorted voice...?

"S— wake up! W— up S—!"

My ears twitched. Who was calling me...?

"WATCH OUT!"

I jolted awake just in time to see a fist aimed between my eyes. I caught it. Demon 626 had returned to his normal form. He was snarling savagely in my face and I snarled back at him, crushing his fist in my hand.

"You. Won't. WIN."

"I WILL kill you," he snarled back, fighting roughly against me. "I will end your life and end the lives of EVERY SINGLE HUMAN on this backwards watery rock! I will kill Lilo! I will kill your father! And I will do it once I kill YOU so that I can rip your corpse apart in front of them, piece by piece."

I howled. He howled back at me.

Our brutal fight continued. My vision kept fading in and out worse than before as I fought one of the hardest battles of my entire life. In the end, both of us tired out completely. Demon 626 backed off, holding his arm. I automatically knew why he couldn't win and I was sure he knew too.

"Face it. You're just me. A flawed, failed version of ME!" I seethed. "As long as I can fight against you, you won't win 'cuz you match me in strength even with your stupid powers!" I roared.

"I'M MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU WILL EVER BE!" he screamed back at me.

"THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU W-WON?!" I screamed right back at him as loud as I could manage at that given moment. My voice cracked as it was going hoarse from my exertion.

He looked away from me. He knew I was right.

"You're an empty threat!" I hissed. "I'm not scared of you and I have no reason to be! Not anymore!"

He spat out some blood, wiping at his mouth.

"..."

And with that, he turned and vanished into my mindscape and I was left alone with the remnants of my prison. I knew I still had a long way to go before I was free entirely of this demon. Before I could escape my mind and return to reality. Fall into the waiting open arms of my father and Lilo.

Demon 626 was finally getting weaker. It had taken this long for it to happen, but it was finally happening. I couldn't give up now, no matter how tired I was. I just had to hang on for a little longer and then this would all be over for good. I'd lost a lot of blood during our fight and it had pooled around my feet. I was covered in cuts and bruises. I bore a sleuth of new scars on my body—a permanent reminder of this beast's control. But I didn't care.

I would kill for Lilo. This demon had done his best to ruin my life and prevent me from being with my angel. I wanted him to get weaker. I would MAKE him weaker.

My fist clenched tightly. He needed to pay for what he'd put me through.

I would make sure of that.

In the dark silence I pondered on what had happened to me before. Who was that man and why had he looked so familiar? What had he done that had made the paralysis disappear like that? I couldn't even begin to explain it.

Demon 626 avoided me. I had no idea where he'd sulked off to after our battle, but he was awake because I could see out of my eyes. As my father and Lilo had stared back at me from behind the glass during my fight, I knew they would have had no clue as to what had just taken place in my head. The biggest battle of my life existed only to me.

As I sat thinking to myself, I remembered Demon 626 mentioning to me how Metamorphosis had given me the ability to change my form. He could do it easily and seeing how much he'd changed before me before made me wonder if I was capable of such a thing too. It was almost like shape-shifting. I had no idea of the extent I could go to and actually shift my form, but I knew the ability was there with the fact I could grow guns from my back, and extra spines out of my shoulders and upper arms. If I could do something I might have more of an advantage over Demon 626.

Now that the paralysis was gone, I had full control over my body. Lilo and Jumba where elsewhere at the moment so I couldn't establish communication with them. I didn't know if I'd even be able to, but I had to try.

I closed my eyes and focused on my body. I thought about those spines in my arms and tried willing them up—surely it had to be a process similar to how I could will up my antennae and back spines. Nothing happened at first. It took at least twenty minutes for me to feel something push through my shoulder. I looked down to see a single spine there and gaped in amazement. I felt it.

"Eegalagoo..." I muttered. So it was possible!

I concentrated again, and shortly after I'd managed to regrow the spines I'd seen before in the bathroom mirror when I'd changed. Like the ones on my back, I could flex them quite easily. They probably wouldn't help much but it was something at least.

I sat down and pondered again. Demon 626 had turned me into a demon. He'd made me grow horns out of my head. I cringed at the thought of that happening to me, but I also wondered if I was capable of that too. When Jumba had created me he'd used an assortment of DNA from different monsters around the galaxy. He never told me how many he'd used exactly, but all those characteristics combined—surely that was the key point in using Metamorphosis? I had various different sequences of DNA in me, not just Kweltikwanian DNA. Something called pDNA, I recalled. I had NO idea what that was, but was that how Demon 626 could make my body change? Or was it something else?

What if I was able to do that as well? What on earth would I turn into?

In full Metamorphosis I was a massive monster, with these new spines and also the guns. But I didn't look anything like how he had when I fought him. He could entirely change my form. I didn't want to end up looking like the franken-demon he had become before... whatever hell-spawn that was. Literal nightmare fuel. Perhaps he could change so drastically because he was a program. He was composed of data... but if I could get those guns working perhaps I could kill him?

Those guns had looked huge on the image on Jumba's computer, but that was because they were in line with my huge body size. When I had them, I was bigger than Godzilla. So I had no idea if such a thing could even work. I concentrated and tried as hard as I could to will up those guns, nearly knocking myself out from the blood rushing into my head at how hard I strained, but nothing happened. I panted slightly.

Hm. Perhaps that was only possible in full Metamorphosis. I tapped my claw to my mouth before pulling back my paws and unsheathing all of my claws to their full length. I could do that quite easily. They were the size of garden shears when I had them fully out and I'd never been able to make them go any longer. I retracted them.

They weren't of much use to me right now however, only when it came to fighting Demon 626.

I rubbed at my eyes. I didn't want to do it... but it was worth a shot and it would one hundred percent prove that I could change my form at will. I thought about Demon 626's butt-ugly demon form. I focused on my head. Nothing happened at first but then I yelped out loudly as I felt something sharp underneath my skin.

"OW! OW OW OW!"

I cringed hard as something pushed through and moaned out in horror, reaching up to feel two horns had grown out of my head.

Yuck! I pulled my paw down and looked at it, finding drops of blood. I had no explanation for how this was possible other than perhaps one of the creatures Jumba had sourced DNA from had horns. I wanted them gone pretty much instantly and began crying when I couldn't retract them and that set me off into another mild panic attack.

Demon 626 laughed behind me, making me stop and catch my breath. I looked at him angrily, wiping my eyes.

"What are you upset for 626, they look good on you!" He grinned at me, sitting beside me. "You are a monster after all. So do you believe me now?"

I spat at him. He just wiped it away and grinned at me widely, exposing razor sharp teeth.

"Why don't you keep going?"

"NO!" I roared. "I hate them!"

He just laughed at me. "Well. Too bad for you. Look who's back. What will SHE say when she sees you like that? A 'butt-ugly' demon like me, or so you say?"

I looked up in horror to see Lilo walking over to the cell. But there was was no way she could see me...? Demon 626 continued laughing, noticing my expression.

"Why do you think I had you in that chair? To control you. But now that's gone, you're back in control," he spoke, learning forward to grin even wider at me. "For now at least so lucky freaking you—but you should probably keep something in mind before you go and start screaming victory." He put a claw to my chin and I flinched away from him. "Whatever you do in here, reflects out there. You might have your body back, but as long as you're trapped in here with me you can't do a thing about it."

My eyes widened. He nodded.

"Mhmm. You're stuck in here. I might be paralysed now too thanks to that fat moron, but he won't get you back no matter how hard he tries. How hard YOU try. Because I STILL have you in my grasp right now, even if only minimal."

"Why you!" I lunged for him but he just jumped back out of the way.

"Stitch?!" Lilo's voice made my ears shoot up in alarm. She had her hands to her face in mortification. "W-W... Wha...?!"

Oh god. She actually could see those horrible new horns. And those spines sticking out of my arms and shoulders. I couldn't move to hide them from her thanks to Jumba's device and it was too late to try and retract them. So I just cried brokenly.

NO! Don't look at me Lilo!

"JUMBA!" she screamed, and my father came forth, also seeing them. He stared in shock for a moment or so before he bit his lip and I saw his expression fall.

I knew he knew what it was. "...626? Can you speak?"

I tried. I opened my mouth and went to talk since I could control myself again, but nothing happened. No words came out. Demon 626 chuckled behind me as I cried harder.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed at him. "WHY CAN'T I TALK?!"

He just laughed at me and vanished. Lilo was crying, unable to take her eyes of my head. I couldn't read Jumba's expression.

"What happened to him?" my angel asked my father, clutching his hand. My father rubbed at his head.

"Is part of 626's Metamorphosis ability."

She looked confused, pressing her hands against the glass and peering in at me. Chopsuey finally appeared behind them at that moment, and when he saw me he smirked. I think he'd been asleep before.

"That's really not a good look for you 626."

I was so embarrassed. I felt like a true monster. I wasn't a monster, I was Stitch. Demon 626 was the monster, not me.

My father continued. "Remember how is being able to change form? Is part of it. I... admittedly I never told him when I should have..." He held his head and cringed slightly. "Perhaps alter ego has taken control of that too. But should not be able to as I completely wiped ability to control 626's body from him with device... so does that mean somehow 626 has broke through?!"

"IH!" I screamed. I struggled at that. My body responded to me in the cell by twitching again, but the device was preventing me from moving. Thankfully Jumba seemed to realise this and I saw him turn off the device. But that was a mistake. The moment he did so, I was slammed back into a chair again, restraints securing around me. My heart dropped to the ground below me.

No... NO! Tears flooded my eyes.

Demon 626 had taken control again.

"WHY!" I screamed. "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GO?!"

He laughed loudly, leaning against the chair beside me. "And here you thought you were finally free...! Oh boy, the look on your face!"

I swore at him loudly and he put his paw over my mouth.

"Hush now. You were never going to escape from this. You simply got lucky before and that idiot actually slipped up for once. I don't believe it!"

I went quiet again, tears streaming down my face. I was done for.

I'd stopped struggling in the chair. My body reflected that in the cell. I just wanted to scream. Scream until my lungs gave out. I was so sick and tired of this.

"I'VE. HAD. ENOUGH!" I roared. Before I could stop myself, my emotions flooded out of me like a tidal wave and a green glow took hold of my form. Demon 626 was grinning.

"Yes... YES!"

I felt my body starting to twist beneath me. And then a piercing alarm blared from Jumba's computer, instantly distracting me to the point I snapped out of what I was doing.

"IS ACTIVATING!" I heard my father scream. "NO! NO NO NO! NOT NOW!"

"NO!" I screeched. I thrashed about in the new chair. The green glow diminished and I sat there in a cold sweat. Demon 626's eye's widened in horror as he realised I'd stopped changing.

"WHY YOU—!"

He went to hit me again but stopped himself.

"What now?!" I spat at him. "Punch me over and over again? Until I collapse? How long will this go on for? Forever?"

He was quiet.

"IS THAT ALL YOU WANT?!" I screamed before choking crying. "Is t-this all that's left for me now?"

He just snarled loudly before unleashing a tirade of swear words and insults at me. He punched me so hard that my vision started to swim and then he stormed off. I sat there, shaking.

I realised then that this was never going to end and I was doomed to this chair for the rest of my life after all. I could feel my heart struggling inside of me at that point. It was too much. My throat constricted.

I finally gave up.

…

…

"Stitch..."

"...?"

Had I fallen asleep? I didn't recall doing so. I cracked open an eye slightly. I was still very sore from the previous fight so I could barely move. When my eyes adjusted, I realised I must've been asleep. Or hallucinating again. I wasn't in my mindscape. I wasn't even strapped to the chair.

I was on a mountain top. Around me the sky was a pinkish-blue.

"...?"

I stood up shakily, walking over to the edge to peer around. I ended up bumping into something and falling on my backside. Looking up, my eyes widened in disbelief.

The fusion chamber?! What was it doing here? And where the heck was I? I looked around again, shaking my head in sheer disbelief. "Naga... naga naga naga!"

This was the same mountain I'd crashed the ship into! Debris was littered about the ground around me as well as large sheets of red metal which had exploded from the impact. I could see the ship above me, lodged against the side of the mountain itself. It was on fire. The ship that I'd crashed in my desperation to leave the planet and live in complete isolation.

What was happening to me?

"Stitch..."

I turned around. It was that man again. The one that had appeared when I'd broken through the restraints and paralysis. This time however, he didn't look like static. He stared at me.

"Who are you?" I asked, backing away slightly.

He just gave me a sad smile. "Do you remember this day? I'm sure you do."

How could I forget it. I purposely avoided his gaze though he continued.

"You were so strong. Well done for fighting right to the end, even though your body gave out on you."

"How do you know that...?" I cried, confused and scared. "Who are you?!"

No answer. He came to my side and knelt down beside me. "It doesn't matter. But what does matter is you."

"Why do I matter?" I asked, holding onto the horns and reminding myself of how ugly I was now as tears blurred my vision. "Look at me! I'm just a monster."

"Are you?"

"..."

I felt him take up my paw. "Because I know not everybody sees you that way. You're not a monster."

"HOW. DO. YOU. KNOW?!" I screeched, pulling away.

"You don't need to be afraid, Stitch. You just need to be strong. Like you were that day."

"What are you talking about?"

He looked towards the fusion chamber. I put my paws against it, seeing myself inside. I nearly fell over in shock when Lilo appeared before me and stepped back, my paws at my mouth.

"Stitch..."

My paw slipped down and fusion chamber me gave a last stuttered breath before going still. It was the moment of my death.

"How can this be...?" I started, but trailed off. I saw my father pick me up and hug me, crying into my body. I nearly broke at that. And then I saw Lilo take me into her arms, sobbing into me despite my father's protests that I had gone.

"I kept saying how I needed you, but you needed me more..."

I felt myself quivering. The man put his hand on my back.

"Watch—" I started to say, however to my disbelief his hand went though my spine and nothing happened. Was this man a ghost? I reeled back.

"What's going on here...?" I cried. "Why is this happening?"

"This is simply what we observed that day."

Day? The day I'd died?

I struggled to think back. And then it hit me... those white beings I'd seen I could never explain when my eyes had shut and I'd entered that void of nothing. Was this man one of them? He knelt down beside me, turning me to face him.

"Why have you given up?"

"I—"

"I know you can fight this and you know so too. Aren't you the most powerful creature in the galaxy?"

"How can I fight it?" I cried at him. "I can't even control my own body anymore!"

"Yet you broke free of those restraints before, all on your own."

"That... wasn't you?"

He smiled at me. "No. It was your raw willpower alone that broke you free."

"How did I not die that day? In the fusion chamber?" I yelled. "Tell me!"

"You didn't die simply because it wasn't your time to."

"That glitch killed me..." I seethed, pointing to my chest. "I SHOULD have died. It makes no sense that I survived."

"It did. But as the legend YOU know so well goes... love is more powerful than death, right? The power of Lilo's love alone brought you back."

I stared. The man was joined by a woman at that point, who also seemed familiar. They both smiled at me. And then it clicked.

"Are you—?" I fell to my knees in shock.

"Lilo's parents? Yes," the woman said to me. "You're seeing us right now because you died in that chair, Stitch."

I felt my heart sink.

"I-I... what?"

"You gave up."

That... had that actually killed me? Had Demon 626 really won? But if I was dead then that meant... that the Metamorphosis System wouldn't activate! He COULDN'T win!

Everybody was saved! Just like I'd wanted! I was astonished. I even felt elated.

"But that means...!"

They nodded, however Lilo's mother put her hands together slightly and stepped forward. "Where you feel victory, others feel raw pain..."

"Huh?"

She put her hand on my shoulder and suddenly I was back in the ship. I looked for myself in the holding cell. Except, I wasn't in it anymore. I was on Jumba's workbench and he was frantically performing CPR on me while Lilo was holding onto my paw crying hysterically. Even Chopsuey looked a little scared. But this was what he'd wanted...?

My teeth clenched as I realised what I was seeing. Oh god...

"What do you truly want, Stitch? Do you want to stay here with us, or would you rather go back?"

I stared at her. And then I looked down at my angel. She looked completely heartbroken and then I cried out in horror when I saw her throw up. She was in shock.

"I know my daughter, Stitch. This will be too much for her. She only barely pulled through from our death because you came into her life."

Lilo's father nodded. "She's already lost us. I know the Metamorphosis System alone is what would keep you from going back, but you need to."

I clenched my fists. "But I don't want to destroy the Earth!" I cried. "I NEED to be here if that means they are saved!"

"Even if you save them, they will still find a way out."

"Huh...?"

"They'll give up. Remember what Jumba told you?"

I froze. My father had made it very clear to me that if I was gone, he'd die too. It would be too much for him and with his heart condition, if I didn't make it back this time? That would be the end of him. If both Jumba and I were gone, then Lilo would no doubt... give up too. I felt sick.

"Lilo might be young, but she's endured trauma," her mother told me. "Far worse than most people her age. She'll get to grow up but she won't be happy ever again."

He nodded. "She'll become depressed and give up too. She's not as strong as Nani."

"No!" I cried. "She can't do that!"

"Then don't let her."

I fell to my knees again. The parents sat down beside me and her mother spoke. "We might not be alive anymore Stitch, but we've seen it all. We saw Lilo and the day she adopted you. That one day... that one simple act of her adopting you, changed the course of her life. We watched you grow and change. We saw it all."

"Life exists after death?" I asked. "Truly?"

"I don't know... I don't know what this place is," she told me and smiled at me. "But what I do know is that we ended up here for a reason. It's like the bridge between living and dying."

He nodded too, before replying, "Like we're stuck in limbo."

Limbo? Was this actually limbo?

"Why? For what reason?" I asked, unable to process the reality of the idea despite I was currently existing in it for myself.

He shrugged sadly. "Only one I can think of. We certainly weren't ready to die. We had our lives taken away from us beyond our control. You ended up here both back then and now because you're the same. You're not ready to die, Stitch... Are you...?"

I looked back at my family in the ship. Jumba was on his knees, begging me to come back. Screaming my name over and over. My throat constricted again.

"...N-No."

"You need to go back while you can. Even if that system activates and the worst happens."

"But that's why I can't go back!" I cried. "Don't you get it?"

"Yes, we do. Believe me Stitch. However, you should. Even if it does activate."

I stared at them. "A-Are you ghosts?"

They looked at each other. "We've never been able to get back to Earth from here. Only watch over," Lilo's father told me. "But there have been some that have managed to get back. I guess those would be called ghosts. They roam amongst the living despite not being alive themselves."

"But... how could I see you before then? If I was still alive?"

"You were starting to die then. A bridge was forming between here and your world."

I was astounded at hearing that. I wondered how, then I remembered that Demon 626 had started to try and tear off my head. I must have been bleeding out the entire time. My body really had given up on me.

I looked at Jumba again, seeing the pure anguish on his face. At that moment I realised I didn't need to stand there debating reasons with myself why I had to go back. I had to go back because I knew I had to. I couldn't destroy Lilo and my father anymore than I already had. Even if my destiny was to destroy everything around me, I had to see it through to the end. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I also had to remember that there was a chance of the Metamorphosis not activating at all. I had to give myself some kind of hope even if it seemed impossible to.

I sighed deeply. "I will go back..." I told the couple. "But I have one question first."

"What's that?"

"Why did Mitch become me?"

They looked at each other. "Mitch ended up here with us, in this odd limbo state. He wasn't ready to die. We stumbled upon him one day, lost and confused. He spoke to us and well... I guess we were all just sort of here together. I missed my daughters terribly, so having a child about was comforting. As wonderful as this place is, it's not the same as actually being alive. You can wish for anything and it will happen... but the one wish that cannot be granted is life."

I was dumbfounded. She continued.

"Mitch was very lonely here. He longed to go back despite he had everything he wanted. Everyday he gazed down into the stars above Earth. And then one day, he suddenly disappeared. We couldn't figure out what had happened to him considering nobody really leaves this place. Not until the day you died at least."

My ears lowered. "What happened to him?"

"He joined us again momentarily," Lilo's father explained. "Told us that he'd actually ended up in you, only you didn't know it until you met Mr Kuakini and that was when he started remembering his past life through you. He didn't know how it happened either, but somehow, your creation lined up on a dimensional plane he was pulled into. When I was alive I studied engineering and worked in that field but I also took an interest in astrophysics and astronomy and I recalled reading a theory that there is a possibility of ten dimensions existing, though some might be super tiny. I never believed in aliens before seeing you, Stitch—and when I realised you DO exist, it wasn't such a far-fetched idea that his soul joined with yours as Jumba created you, and he became you. The evidence was there. I mean... listen to how clearly you can talk right now."

I was awestruck. It took me a moment to find my voice again.

"So I... I... am a human—?"

"Well, from what we gather, yes and no. You believed you were reincarnated if I recall correctly from what you told your father. Rare, but it happens. That's what happened with you. So that means that Mitch is actually here again right now. Inside you." Lilo's mother smiled at me sadly.

"In me?" I asked hesitantly. "What happens if he wasn't in me? Who would I be?"

"You are who you are. Are you the back-up program? Are you the Metamorphosis program? Or are you something else?"

I was so confused. He elaborated.

"Demon 626 was supposed to be you. You ended up as you are because of Mitch. But Jumba gave you his DNA too. So, who do you think you are?"

While I was trying to process who exactly I was, I felt a strange sensation. Before I could register what had happened, a boy appeared before me. I realised who it was after my initial shock had passed. Scrawny ginger hair and pale skin dusted with thousands of freckles. An Orion's Belt birthmark.

Mitch. The kid himself.

Lilo's mother hugged him. "It's wonderful to see you again!"

"Neesa... how possible?" I asked.

"You're dead right now, Stitch. Technically. While you're in this place you two can separate due to that. He visited us that way the moment you died."

I was perplexed. Then I remembered how I'd seen three white figures and never had been able to explain it. If Mitch wasn't in me now then was this the real me? Wasn't I supposed to be a monster?

I felt no reason or urge to destroy. If anything I just felt like... myself. I didn't feel any different.

I stared at my paws and as this dawned on me, a smile crept onto my face. Jumba had said that I was supposed to be the back-up had Mitch not gone into me. But there was something else too... Jumba had given me his DNA. I was half him.

If this was the real me then... I truly wasn't a monster.

"Stitch..." I breathed. "Stitch... naga kaphong! NAGA KAPHONG!" I cried happily.

Mitch smiled at me shyly and Lilo's parents stroked me gently and her father spoke up. "Just like I told you."

I hugged myself. I was saved! ...Or was I? I still had that cell inside of me.

"Neesa... gaba abu cell? Now what...?"

"That's something you'll have to battle alone, Stitch, but just remember, you're stronger than your demons. You can win this. You just have to believe in yourself more."

I looked across them before my eyes rested on Mitch. "You're... you're me..."

He nodded. "I..." his voice was soft. "I kinda... just ended up... t-there..."

"Do you like being meega?"

He clutched against Mrs Pelekai tightly and avoided looking at me. I could tell he was shy and a little scared of me and I knew why. When he did face me again he could barely look me in the eye. "Do... you not want me to be there anymore? To stay here?"

"I..." I started. I looked away.

He had gone into me so technically I was never my own true alien from my birth. I grew up as him, but I was Stitch. He was just locked away inside of me. Had he never have done that, I don't know how I might have ended up but I did have a feeling I wouldn't be like I was now. I would have been an evil monster.

I looked at my paws. I wasn't mad about it. Perhaps he had no control over where he'd ended up, it was just something that happened. If anything... it had made me closer to Lilo. It had made me capable of experiencing human emotions. And I liked that.

"If Mitch stays here Stitch, there is a chance that you will not be who you are now if you go back," Lilo's father told me.

"Gaba eiek?" I asked. I didn't like the sound of that.

"Well... considering Mitch became you when you were created, you technically are him. In the dimension of the living, that's what you were and who you came to be in your life. If you disrupt that by going back as somebody else, it might affect your current reality. Things could very well be different to how they were before and you might end up being the real 626. The demon itself. The cell is integrated into you and would take over you entirely since there would be nothing to block it or resist it at all—which is essentially what Mitch did."

I had an idea of what he was saying. It was a similar theory to time travel—if you changed the past you could alter the future drastically. I certainly did NOT want to be Demon 626.

Mitch looked up at Lilo's mother and father. "So... I have to be him?"

"Well, is that what you want?" Mrs Pelekai asked.

Mitch looked at me, rubbing his arm. I noticed him opening and closing his hands into fists. "I-I..." he swallowed. "What happens if I stay and he goes?"

"You've already perished, honey. Nothing will happen to you and you'll stay with us. But there is strong possibility that Stitch won't be who he is anymore."

He paused at that. I looked away.

"You won't see your family ever again. Your father."

Mitch looked deeply saddened. "I... I don't want to be away from dad again. I can't...!" He turned to me again and once more was barely able to look me in the eye. "What... do you want, Stitch?"

"Meega...?" I swallowed. "I..."

Before I could answer, a dark shadow started creeping over me and I reeled back slightly in fright. Mitch looked scared as well but Lilo's mother and father just looked saddened.

"Gaba eiek?!"

Lilo's father looked at me with a forlorn expression. "Your time here is almost up, Stitch."

I looked up. "Agabata...?"

He looked up at the impending darkness before looking at me. "If that window closes, you'll be here permanently. It's your descent window, Stitch."

My eyes widened.

"You need to hurry and go back while you still can. The window is closing." He looked at Jumba before looking at me. "Jumba's CPR will only work for just this time, and then it will fail."

"I..." I looked at Mitch. "I—" I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head before pulling at my ears. "You are meega, ih? Come back with Stitch."

His eyes widened in astonishment. "You... you're fine with it?" he asked softly.

"You're Mitch," I told him. "I'm Stitch. But when you're meega, I am just meega," I shrugged. "Never knew any different."

He gave a nod. "I'm you... now..."

I nodded back. He walked over to me and stared at me for a moment before he reached out and held my paw.

"Goodbye Stitch. It was nice to finally meet you after all this time, even under dire circumstances," Lilo's father said, before her mother spoke up again. "Please... tell Lilo and Nani we love them very much and will always be watching over them. You too. Goodbye, Mitch."

I nodded. "Ih..." As they started to vanish I called out to them a question that had started burning on my mind. "Stitch nagita nota! Lilo mom and dad approve of Stitch loving Lilo?"

I knew they were aware of it. They had to be.

Lilo's mother and father looked at each other. "You make her happy, Stitch, yes? So... keep doing so!" Mrs Pelekai smiled at me.

Did that mean...?

I saw Lilo's father nod at me. My heart soared.

"Neesa gaba abu Metamorphosis?" I cried as they started to vanish and Mitch gripped my paw harder. "Gaba happen?!"

"You have to let time run it's course," Lilo's father called to me. "That's just how it is. Not just for you, but every living creature. There is more than one future ahead of you, Stitch."

"What do you mean?" I cried out, but they vanished, waving to me from a distance as I descended down into heavy smog. Another loud wail of anguish in the distance from Jumba made me clench up in pain and Mitch held onto me tightly. I felt myself drifting. I had to get back to my father. Back to Earth.

Everything began to warp. Mitch screamed into me.

There was a blinding flash of light and that was the last I saw of the boy before everything went black.