A Love Estranged

The morning sun shined through the windows of the Pelekai household, as it does every morning. Stitch pulled the blankets over his head, in an attempt to shield his eyes from the flashes of sunlight that danced and reflected on the metallic, chrome-like surface of the walls of the dome. But it was in vein, he was already awake and stirring under the sheets. Stitch then opened his eyes and slowly pulled the covers off him, groaning as he did. But as he sat up, he immediately felt a soreness in his rump.

"Ow!" Stitch shouted as he rubbed his butt, looking over at the sleeping Leroy, who was lying awkwardly on the bed.

"Meega patookie hurt , jerk" Stitch said to Leroy as if he were awake. He then got up off the bed, walked to the door and left the room. Stitch then shut the door quietly behind him, being sure not to wake his sleeping mate.

"Good morning Stitch!" Lilo jovially greeted as Stitch jumped from the sudden sound.

"Oh... umm, good morning Lilo" He said once he regained his composure.

"so..." Lilo began, ignoring Stitch's jumpiness. "Are we going to the beach today? Remember you promised?"

"Ih!" Stitch replied to Lilo in an enthusiastic tone. "Want meega wake Leroy?" Stitch then asked Lilo.

"Nah, we can wait. Come on, lets go make some lunch to take with us to the beach."

"Okie-takka" Stitch said as he and Lilo descended down on the platform.

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Leroy began to stir on the bed, mumbling softly. But soon he started to thrash and shout, yelling and screaming curses and ramblings at no one in particular. His eyes then shot open and they were greeted by darkness. not a pitch black, but what could only be described as a twisting purple void of semi-consciousness. Leroy didn't know how to comprehend his situation, at first he stood still, his jaw agape, stunned at the surreal world he found himself in. Leroy then attempted to regain his composure and figure out just where he was.

He looked around, but there didn't seem to be anything tangible that he could identify. He started to panic and began running in a random direction, anywhere to get out of this nightmarish place. He didn't make it far though, before a sharp, high-pitched nose began ringing in his head. making him clasp his ears in agony and collapse to his knees.

"I told you would be mine." The familiar voice echoed throughout Leroy's mind as the ringing subsided.

"Where is meega?" Leroy shouted at 628 as if she were there.

"Why, you're safe and sound inside your own mind. And that's where I intend to keep you, until you learn to love me, and only ME!

Leroy stood baffled by her outburst before speaking up. "Leroy nagga Love you! 628 evil! Meega not evil anymore!"

"Shhhh." came her reply. "You'll see things my way soon." And when I finally have you, Stitch will die, by your very own hands if need be."

Leroy stood where he was, shaken and nearly in tears as he heard her cackling sadistic laugh. Leroy then clenched his fists and began to shout at her:

"Whore! Meega hate you!... Leroy never hurt Stitch!" He shouted in a fury. "Leroy love Stitch..." He said, this time in a more calmer, almost remorseful, tone.

Just as he finished, he heard the low, sadistic cackle of 628 again. Anger boiled inside him, as he listened to her sickening laugh. But not for long, leroy instantly clutched his ears again in an attempt to stop the even more high pitched nose that pierced the darkness and made him feel as if his head were going to explode.
Leroy then began to shout again: "STOP IT! STOOOOOOOP IIIIIIT!"

The red experiment opened his eyes and shot up from the bed. he was relieved to look around and see he was back in his room.

'What was that?' Leroy thought to himself as he sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor. He then decided to get up and head downstairs, anxious to forget about this nightmare.

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Lilo and Stitch were in the kitchen, Stitch had a butter knife in each of his upper hands, spreading mustard onto multiple pieces of sliced bread. Lilo was leaning in the refrigerator trying to decide what to get.

"Hey Stitch, do you want bologna, turkey, ham or this mushy tuna that looks like zombie brains?" she questioned.

"umm, all." Stitch said nonchalantly as he finished spreading the mustard on the bread.

Lilo then closed the fridge door, holding the assortment of lunch meats in her hand, before placing them on the table.

"Now you finish making the sandwiches, and I'll go get some beach towels." She said as she left the room

"okie-takka Lilo" Stitch replied as he did what he was asked. A few moments later, Leroy wandered into the kitchen, obviously a bit distressed as he sat at the table, staring down at the salt and pepper shakers. Stitch noticed this and spoke up:

"What's wrong Buchi-bu?" He said looking up from the sandwiches.

"umm, nothing... just had nightmare" Leroy replied.

"tsk, Leroy need hug?" Stitch said playfully

Leroy tried to smile and replied; "naga hug, meega not feel good is all."

Stitch then tilted his head and gave Leroy a look of concern. "Leroy sick?" Stitch asked.

"Naga sick, just.... just forget it" Leroy said as he looked to the side.

Stitch was a bit worried now, but he brushed it off and changed the subject: "Leroy want to come to beach with Stitch and Lilo?" The blue experiment questioned. Leroy groaned, he remembered Stitch asking him last night before he fell asleep.

"Meega guess so" Leroy said with little enthusiasm. Usually he loved going to the beach. But not today, not after the nightmare he had. It seemed so realistic, and it frightened him, even now. The only thing he knew for certain, was that it had something to do with 628.

'But what?' He thought to himself.

"Leroy?" Stitch spoke up snapping the experiment from his thoughts.

"Huh wha?" Leroy asked as he stopped staring into space, giving his attention to Stitch.

"youga coming?" Stitch asked as he was standing in the door way, Lilo behind him, both ready to leave.

"Oh, Ih..." Leroy said half-heartedly as he started for the door, trailing behind Stitch and Lilo.

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All three arrived at the beach after a quiet and uneventful walk. Lilo seemed perky and was actually setting the pace for the two experiment behind her. Stitch wasn't walking slow, but slowed up ever few minutes to allow Leroy time to catch up. The red experiment was lagging behind, his eyes looking down at the ground as if deep in thought.

Stitch then picked up pace and moved next to Lilo, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Umm Lilo..." Stitch said in a hush tone.

"What is it Stitch?" Lilo said turning her attention to her friend.

"Meega think something wrong with Leroy." Stitch confessed.

"What?" Lilo queried.

"Naga knowta..." Stitch replied solemnly. He then turned his attention to Leroy, who was still looking down at the ground, not paying any attention to any one. In fact, he almost seemed lost.

"Hmmm..." Stitch pondered to himself. 'What's wrong with him?' He wondered.

Lilo and Stitch then turned their attention in front of them, staring at the vast blue ocean. It wasn't very crowded, in fact, few people were even there.

"Going to the beach out of tourist season sure makes the difference in crowds, huh Stitch? Lilo stated to her friend

"Ih!" Stitch replied eagerly. He knew that few people meant more surf for him.

Lilo set a large beach towel out on the sand and sat down on it, taking a rest. Stitch meanwhile threw the food down on the towel next to Lilo and made his way to the sea, a surfboard in hand.

"Leroy! want to surf?" Stitch shouted to his lover from over his shoulder.

Leroy lifted his head, and shook it from side to side slowly. His eyes had a slight glaze to them, and his facial expression appeared more as a pale one then anything else. Stitch didn't take notice though, He merely shrugged at Leroy's decesion, jumped on the board and cautiously waded his way out into the water.

All the while, a pair of eyes were watching from a nearby bush, making sure she was upwind of course, avoiding detection by either of the two experiments.

"I see the effects are starting to enter the next phase" 628 whispered delightfully to herself as she watched Leroy, who was looking ill and disoriented.

"And 626 is in the water?! Perfect. I'll kill two birds with one stone." She said cackling as she displayed a large plasma rifle.

"Hey, Leroy you don't look so well. You wanna sit here on the towel?" Lilo asked as she saw the sickly look on the red experiments face.

"Meega not... feel, good..." Leroy mumbled out to Lilo as his legs gave out and he collapsed on the sand. It was at this point that 628 decided to reveal herself, jumping out from the bushes surprising Lilo and frightening her at the same time.

"Back away runt, and you won't get hurt." 628 threatened as she pointed the gun at the girl, inching her way to the unconscious experiment. Lilo did as she was told and backed up toward the water. 628 then lifted Leroy over her shoulder and aimed the gun at Lilo.

"Say good night" 628 said, ready to squeeze the trigger. Leroy then opened his eyes quickly:

'That voice!' He thought to himself. Leroy then mustered all the strength he could and launched himself in a summersault, off of her shoulder, landing directly behind her. 628 was surprised by this sudden move, but quickly regained her composure and aimed the rifle at him in an attempt to intimidate the red experiment. Leroy growled and bared his teeth, showing his disgust for her. 628 then lowered her gun and grinned.

"I don't have to fight you, I can control you." She said as she made her way to Leroy, not threatened at all by his stance and bearing toward her. Leroy slowly lowered his claws and closed his mouth as 628 approached him, the scent he associated her with as present as ever.

'Naga...' Leroy said to himself, not wanting to obey her, yet at the same time desiring nothing more.

"I can see the confusion in your eyes, you're weak now, you don't even know what to do next." 628 taunted, wafting her fragrance as she moved. Leroy tried not to inhale it, but it was to sweet to his senses. He found himself walking to her now, not in a threatening or menacing way either, he wanted to be near her now.

"That's right, come to me." 628 smirked as Leroy obeyed her. Leroy wrapped his arms around her and embraced her closely. 628 smiled all the more the instant she lifted her head to see Stitch, standing up on his board, in the middle of a low surf, watching, shock evident on his face. He didn't know who she was, but as soon as he saw Leroy hugging her, and instantly felt a pinch of both anger and jealousy. This anger became pure rage at the sight of Leroy licking her on the cheek. Stitch then noticed she was holding a large plasma cannon and became fearful for Lilo, who was nowhere in his immediate sight.

"What's wrong 626? are you mad? Jealous? or just confused?" 628 taunted the experiment as she raised her gun, aiming it directly at him. As everyone knew, Stitch couldn't swim, in fact he sank like a rock, all thanks to his dense moleculer structure. So now there he was, surrounded by nothing but water, a psycho aiming a large gun at him, and not to mention holding the loyalty of Leroy, his love, in the palm of her paws.

"So 626, any last words?" 628 shouted as she placed her finger on the trigger.

"IH!... Youga pay, youga pay soon!" Stitch shouted back, his voice distraught with anger and pain.

"Don't count on it." She said as she pulled the trigger sending a massive blast of plasma directly at Stitch. It connected with him square on the chest, knocking him into the water.

"Ha! The mighty 626 taken out with a single shot. Good riddance, eh my sweet?" 628 spoke to Leroy. However, he didn't answer her at first, he was to busy looking at the surf board, confused as to whether he should laugh about what just happened, or cry over it. 628 then grabbed his chin, and forced him to look at her.

"I asked you a question, now answer!" She demanded, as Leroy finally took his eyes off the surf board.

"Ih..." He said, in a remorseless tone.

"Good, now lets go, we have other things I have to attend to now." 628 said as her and Leroy vanished into the forest.

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"Stitch..." Came Lilo's soft whisper as she watched the two experiment's run off. As soon as they were gone she leapt from the bushes and ran towards the shoreline as fast as she could. She knew Stitch couldn't swim, and that blast would have only weakened him. She waded the current until she got to where she figured the board was when Stitch was shot off of it. Lilo then dived down into the warm water, looking for her best friend. It wasn't too deep, but certainly way over her and Stitch's head. She swam to the floor, and searched around. even though the water was fairly clear, she still couldn't see the experiment. Finally her lungs were beginning to burn, so she was forced to resurface. She popped her head above the water, took another deep breath and dove back under, not giving up on her friend.

'Stitch where are you?... hang on, I'm coming, just please don't die.' Lilo thought to herself, fear and tension beginning to build in her. Just then she spotted the blue experiment, unconsciousness and drifting slightly deeper with the current.

'Stitch!' Lilo thought in her mind, both relieved and shocked as she swam her hardest to him. Lilo finally clutched his paw and brought him up to the surface of the water, lifting his head up, and wading as quickly as she could to the vacant surf board. As soon as she reached it, she pushed Stitch up onto the board, and began paddling her way back to the shore. Lilo was exhausted, but Stitch's life was in her hands, and this drove her to run on pure adrenaline. Lilo finally arrived on the shore, dragging the surfboard on the sand, and placing her hand on Stitch's chest. Lilo didn't know CPR, but was doing anything she could to keep Stitch alive.

"Come on Stitch, don't leave me, please don't leave me!" she yelled, frantically trying to keep him alive by pumping her hands on his chest. Lilo did this for the next thirty seconds before giving up suddenly and breaking down in tears, buryingher face in the blue fur of Stitch's chest. Lilo cried for a moment before she felt a thump. She lifted her head to see Stitch begin to cough up water and small bits of seaweed. He then rolled over and threw up the salty water onto the sand. Stitch coughed some more, his eyes watery and his lungs feeling as if they were on fire.

"Sti... Stitch?" Lilo whispered.

Stitch coughed again and lifted his head. "Yeah, Lilo?"

"You're alive!" She shouted elatedly and jumped up to hug her best friend. Stitch returned the hug, even in his weakened state he could still hug his best friend. Just then he remembered Leroy and that female experiment he was with.

"Leroy! Where's Leroy?!" Stitch asked in hectic and worried tone.

"They... they ran off together Stitch... I'm sorry" Lilo said to Stitch, with a somewhat apologetic tone.

Stitch then looked at Lilo staring her directly in the eyes, as if looking for her to be lying to him. He knew she wouldn't, and she wasn't. But that's what hurt him all the more, the very fact that what she said was true. Stitch then did something he very seldom does, he cried. His head fell on Lilo's shoulder and there he wept. He wept because his love had left him for someone else, for no reason and no explanation given. His tears ran down and began to soak Lilo's shoulder as his sobs rang out, making his friend tear up a little too.

"Stitch, I'm so sorry" She said again whilst rubbing his back soothingly, trying to comfort him. Lilo then pulled Stitch away to look at him, to tell him things would be alright. But Stitch was looking down at the sand, his eyes still dripping warm tears, his fac; an expression of hurt, remorse and sorrow.

"Come on Stitch... we have to go home. We need to talk to Jumba about this new experiment that... that Leroy left with." She said to her friend in a slow and careful tone.

Stitch didn't say a word, he merely nodded and got up, trying to pull himself together. Lilo then put her arm around his shoulder trying to comfort her distraught friend.

"... Stitch... Very hurt Lilo, very very hurt." Stitch finally mustered after his low sobs subsided.

"I know Stitch, lets just go home. We can sort it all out there." Lilo said. "Are you gonna be ok?" She then asked.

Stitch looked at her and nodded slightly. Although the expression on his face showed that he wasn't even sure. The two then started their slow walk home, Stitch leaning against Lilo, neither of them saying another word.
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Author's Notes: Yeah, this chapter ended on a much sadder note then the last. But I figured it was time for the story to actually start living up to it's title. <<

Well, I hope it was enjoyable nonetheless, I'll try to get the next one up in a quicker time period, but I'm such a procrastinator. ^^