-1There was a knock at the door and Mark Nissan entered the room. “Hi mom, I‘m home.” Were the first words he said. A sweet looking woman with short brown hair had answered back to him in her kind voice, “Alright Mark. Dinner will be ready in a few hours.”

“Dinner? It‘s nine o‘clock…in the morning!” Mark told her in a calm yet surprised tone. She laughed and told him, “I am aware of that, but it doesn‘t hurt to plan ahead. You, of all people, should know that, Mr. strategist.”

“Heh, I guess your right. I‘m fine with dinner, as long as it‘s not haggis again.” Mark said to her. He was, unusually, not sarcastic or rude at all.

“Sweetheart, only your father would eat that stuff. No, I‘m cooking catfish. I know you like seafood delicacies.” This, was completely untrue. Mark hated seafood, but he never liked to criticize his mother’s cooking. The only thing he‘d admit that he didn‘t like was haggis. “That‘s great, mom. I got to get ready for another interview though, Kauai‘s going crazy over what I‘m capable of.”

“Yeah, this island sure has gotten even crazier about you ever since the CIA actually said that you were too skilled for them.”

There was suddenly another knock at the door and a happy, but serious looking man entered and took off his beret, revealing his bald head. He kissed his wife, he didn’t even notice his son who was still leaning against the kitchen wall right next to them. “Jeffery, not while I‘m cooking. You know how I‘m afraid of accidentally setting the house on fire.” Mark’s mother scolded the man. “Well, it‘s not like the miracle child can‘t get us out before we get seriously hurt.”

“Don‘t call him that! He‘s your son and his name is Mark. Not the miracle child! Honestly, sometimes I think he‘s got the right idea to be so mad at you.”

“Mark, wake up.” another woman’s voice came to his ears and all faded to darkness. Mark opened his eyes and he was in a different house, looking into Lilo’s eyes. “What?” Mark asked her drowsily. “Nani says time for breakfast, it‘s nine in the morning.”

“Oh…well, I‘ll be right down.”

“You ok? You know, people talk in their sleep when they dream of a past event, and you‘re no exception.”

“What?!” Mark asked in a shocked tone. How much did she hear? “Something about your parents and a…catfish.” Lilo said to him as if she read his thoughts. Mark shook his head and nudged her to the door. Getting the message, she turned and left the room. He massaged his head, trying to convince himself to let his old family go once again. This was his new Ohana now, they weren’t better, but they defiantly weren’t worse. Mark got his regular outfit on and got ready for the day that lay ahead of him.

A few hours later Lilo and Stitch went over to the dune buggy and started playing a game of Wasp Mummies while Jumba was working on the same vehicle. “The fearless exterminator has nearly escaped from the hive of the wasp mummies. Oh no!” Lilo said as she turned the inactive vehicle’s steering wheel. Stitch climbed on the top of the vehicle and growled as he flapped his ears like a pair of wings. “A wasp mummy is buzzing up behind me.” Lilo said as she saw Stitch in the mirror. Stitch jumped on the steering wheel and licked Lilo, who then said, “Eww! The dreaded lick of the wasp mummy!”

Stitch laughed insanely as he played with the steering wheel. Lilo grabbed it and said, “If I can just make it into that cloud of bug spray.” Stitch then fell to the bottom of the vehicle and pretended to cough. “My only hope is to engage the afterburner.” Lilo said. “Eh, don‘t pull on--” Jumba began but was stopped as his face was then splattered in oil as Stitch flipped the switch underneath the steering wheel. “Jumba, the afterburner‘s busted again.” Lilo told him as the oil-covered Jumba ripped off his goggles and said, “Will put on evil to-do list.”

“You seriously need to consider to stop using the word ‘evil‘ in every single sentence, Jumba.” Mark suggested to him as he sat on the porch, wearing his shades and reading a store-bought copy of his book since Phantasmo ruined his original copy. “And Jumba thinks Mark Car-person should be stopping with the sarcasm.” Jumba irritably said to Mark. “Touché.” Mark replied. “Ooh! While you‘re at it can you install robot legs so I can reach the pedals? I want to drive.” Lilo asked Jumba as she grabbed the steering wheel. “The law has an age requirement for that Lilo, and you‘re too young.” Mark informed her as he turned a page. “Mark Car-person is right. You are too young to pilot motor vehicle.” Jumba agreed.

“Please! I promise I won‘t crash into anything.” Lilo begged them both. “Sorry. Little girl will have to wait until she is bigger.” Jumba told Lilo, who crossed her arms and said, “Kids never get to have any fun. I…WANT…TO…GROW…UP…NOW!!!” Lilo shouted as she pounded on the horn. The sound waves knocked Jumba back while Mark calmly turned another page. “Must also install silent car horn.” Jumba said weakly. “Just take the horn part out, problem solved.” Mark told Jumba.

A few minutes later, Lilo and Stitch were in Jumba and Pleakely’s room. Stitch curled up into a ball, dropped from the bed he was laying on, and began to roll around. “Pleakely, will you take us to see Wasp Mummies 3?” Lilo asked Pleakely who carried a huge pile of books across the room as he answered, “No time, Lilo. Not time. I‘ve discovered my life‘s ambition thank you very much.” Lilo sighed and asked him dully, “What is it this time?”

“I‘m going to be a world famous Earth fashion designer!” Pleakely shouted in excitement as he went to go get even more books.

“But that takes years of study to be a fashion designer.” Lilo told him. “Exactly! I‘m locking myself in this room until I know everything there is to know about current Earth fashion trends.” Pleakely explained his plan as he opened a book titled: “Fashion and You” and read aloud, “Chapter one: From Paisley to Paris.” Stitch rolled back to Lilo and stopped as she said, “Well, we‘ll leave you to your studies and go see Wasp Mummies 3 ourselves.”

“Not so fast. Nani says you‘re too young to see PG movies, and Mark‘s drivers license has been taken away after that little stunt he pulled yesterday. I still can‘t believe that he managed to get Nani’s car to fly eighty feet across a destroyed bridge, and then get out just before the car became severely damaged. And all that just to save five elderly earthlings. I tell ya, I‘ll never understand that guy.” Pleakely said to Lilo, speeding up at the last few words and then catching his breath as he finished. Lilo only cared about the first part and said, “Too young!? Ugh…fine! We‘ll just make up our own movie.” and both she and Stitch walked out of the room.

That night, Lilo put on pillow armor and a turban. “Lilotron four thousand, extreme exterminator, steels herself for battle.” Lilo said as she slid in front of the door. Stitch then came up the stairs, growling and playing with four sock puppets. “The king of the wasp mummies wasn‘t counting on her secret weapon: Bug zapper soft balls!” Lilo said before bombarding Stitch with softballs. Stitch fell over the railing and fell into a bush. Lilo looked over the railing to make sure that Stitch was ok. He showed that he was as he smiled at her.

“Lilo, time for you to come in.” Nani’s voice said from inside. “Ah, stupid curfew.” Lilo groaned before entering the house. “You know the rules, 7:00 means you‘re in the house.” Nani said as she got ready to go out. “But wasp mummies are nocturnal!” Lilo explained before she continued, “I don‘t see what the big deal is.” Both she and Nani left the room, Stitch went over to the mirror, took Nani’s lipstick, and looked at it in thought. “I just don‘t like you being out after dark.” Nani explained to Lilo, who complained, “But you‘re going out after dark.”

“That‘s right, but I‘m older than you. When you‘re my age, you can stay out late too.” Nani explained to her little sister. “But that‘s, like, a hundred years from now! I can‘t wait that long!” Lilo complained. “Exactly how old do you think I am?” Nani asked Lilo. “Well, not as old as Lilo‘s suggesting…what are we talking about?” Mark said to Nani as he entered the room. “Where have you been?” Nani asked him in a scolding tone. “Fixing the dune buggy so that you‘d have a ride.” Mark answered. Upon hearing these words her harsh, scolding look turned to surprise and thankful as she said apologetically, “Oh…sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.”

“Ah, don‘t worry. It happens. Anyway, speaking of age, I‘ll be 18 next week.”

“What?” Nani asked in shock. “Yeah, and the anniversary of when we met will be in two weeks. You didn‘t know? The whole island celebrates my birthday every year. Everyone knows it, it‘s almost like an official holiday here on Kauai.” Mark said to them. They both stood in pure shock and awe as they took in the last minute news. “Hard to believe you‘ve had to put up with me for an entire year. Well, see you guys tomorrow.” And with that, he headed up to his room.

As if nothing had just happened, Lilo then, suddenly, said, “Old enough to have all the fun. I can‘t drive, I can‘t go to the movies, I can‘t stay out late--”

“Lilo slow down.” Nani said to Lilo. She had almost forgotten what they were talking about. “If you spend your whole life wishing you were older, one day you‘ll find that your whole life has gone by.”

“My whole life is going by now!” Lilo said to her sister. “Maybe you should get some rest. Doesn‘t someone have a big day of experiment hunting tomorrow?” Nani said. “Oh…yeah. Come on, Stitch, it looks like we‘re immature to do anything except save the world from certain destruction.” Lilo said as she walked to her room before poking her head in the living room one last time and saying, “Again!”

Meanwhile, on the asteroid prison where Hamsterviel was being held, The messenger sent a hovering device to his cell. “Dr. Hamsterwheel?” The messenger asked. “It‘s Hamsterviel! Veal like the delicious thank you, bureaucratic imprisoning person!” The gerbil corrected the messenger. “But here it’s spelled Hamsterwheel.”

“No, no! Get it right! Change it, change it!”

“Very well, Dr. Hamsterviel. The parole board has looked over your files.”

“And you are releasing me from this stinking prison so that I may rise up against you and take over the universe?” Hamsterviel asked. “No. Actually we‘re doubling your sentence, cutting your TV time in half and removing the free popcorn cart from the break room.”

“What!?” Hamsterviel asked angrily. “Oh, and here‘s a note: Hope you‘re enjoying prison. Don‘t expect to get out anytime soon. Ha, ha, ha. Regards, Parole Board.” And with that, the hovering device flew away and closed the cell door behind him.

“So, that is the game you want to play, huh? Ach nach glach gaga!” Hamsterviel said as the hovering device was out of hearing range. Upon saying those last few ridiculous words, a computer voice said, “Dr. Hamsterwheel detention code override sequence activated.”

“HamsterVIEL!” The gerbil corrected the computer. The cell then transformed into Hamsterviel’s own personal office.

“Gantu!!” Hamsterviel called out through a communication screen. “Sir, yes sir!” Gantu said in a saluting position, he was wearing a cooking outfit this time. “Speak up when I am talking down to you!” Hamsterviel ordered as the communication screen pressed against Gantu’s face as if the gerbil was really there. The screen backed up a bit and Hamsterviel asked, “How many experiments have you caught so far?”

“Eh…how many?” Gantu questioned nervously. “That is a good question. You see, I‘ve been telling him to do some kind of inventory.” Six-two-five said to Hamsterviel. Gantu threw one of his oven mitts at him but the experiment ducked and tisked at Gantu. Gantu turned back to Hamsterviel and said, “Let‘s see here: The brown one, the pink one, the little green one--that‘s three.”

“That one who‘s hair is always clogging the sink.” Six-two-five added. Gantu pointed to him and said, “Right” before continuing, “and the one with the two things that goes ‘zzt’!” Gantu put two fingers next to his head, suggesting that the experiment he was talking about had antennae. “I‘ve caught um…some.” Gantu finished as he tried to count with the three large alien fingers he had on each hand. “Some!? Oh, and how many does the little girl and the ridiculously talented adolescent man have?” Hamsterviel asked. “Eh um…more.” Gantu answered regrettably.

“I must have all! Or, at the very least, most!” Hamsterviel scolded his henchman. “I know it‘s taking a while sir, but I can do better.” Gantu quickly said. Hamsterviel scoffed and commanded, “You will capture all the experiments, even if it takes you another ten years!” Hamsterviel then signed off. “Oh brother. Another ten years of this?” Six-two-five complained as he dipped his sandwich in a pot of melted cheese and finished it.

The next day Mark, Lilo, and Stitch went over to the animal shelter. “Sorry Lilo, no stray dogs this week.” The shelter woman said to her. “They don‘t have to be just dogs. It can be anything that breaths fire, spits acid, or maybe anything that reminds you of Stitch.” Lilo said to her. The woman’s eyes glanced over to Stitch, who was purring and nudging against Mark’s hand as Mark was stroking him.

“Well, it‘s not a dog, but somebody brought this little guy in yesterday.” The woman said before pulling out a cage from under her desk. Inside the cage was a cute experiment that had a purple body and a few glowing green spots on its head. “Weird enough for you?” The woman asked Lilo in a slightly amused tone. “Plenty.” Lilo answered. A few minutes later, they returned to the house to determine which experiment it was. However, Pleakely was keeping Jumba busy as he was making a dress and used Jumba as a fitting device.

“How much longer am I having to wear this--this.” Jumba began but sneezed and continued, “Evil genius is allergic to taffeta.” Pleakely tried to say something, but he was muffled as he held a piece of the cloth in his mouth. Stitch let the experiment out of the cage and Lilo gave him some food and asked Jumba, “So what exactly makes this little fella so dangerous?”

“During evil days, Jumba too impatient to wait for microwave to reheat leftovers. I make zero-eight-nine so I could skip ahead ten minutes.”

“Aliens have microwaves?” Mark asked, but everyone seemed to be ignoring him again. “So what happened?” Lilo asked him. “Heek! Big mistake. I put burrito in microwave, activated experiment and boom! Ten years go by.” Jumba answered Lilo. “Aliens have burritos?” Mark asked and, once again, everybody ignored him. “So he skips ten years huh? Well, I guess we better go find his one true place.” Lilo said as she took the experiment with her and headed to her room. Mark didn’t follow her, he had work to do now that he knew what the experiment was capable of.

“The way I see it is this, if I ask Nani, she‘ll say no…but if I skip ahead ten years, then I‘ll be old enough and I won‘t have to ask permission.” Lilo said to Stitch. Stitch looked a little disagreeing with Lilo’s theory but chose not to say anything against her. Lilo took the experiment with her and said, “Stay next to me, Stitch, so you‘ll skip too. Here we go.” Lilo pushed the large button on the top of his head. The experiment went slightly transparent, there was a flash of light and the next thing they knew, Lilo was a teenager and the date was ten years away from their origin.

Lilo was completely wierded out by the change in her voice and kept trying to get used to it. Stitch looked at himself in the mirror that Lilo was standing in front of, turned to Skip, and asked, “Ichi nawa?” The experiment just smiled sweetly at them. Stitch‘s appearance hadn‘t changed at all. “You look exactly the same. I guess genetic experiments age differently than humans.” Lilo said to him before checking herself out some more. Stitch lowered his ears sadly and groaned. He felt left out at the growing process.

“Maybe you can grow a goatee, that‘ll make you look older.” Lilo suggested, trying to make him feel better. Lilo then thought about it and said, “I kind of look like…Nani.” Then she gasped and remembered her older sister. “Uh-oh.” Stitch said to her when he remembered too. They both took the lift down into the hallway and snuck to the corner. The sounds of someone sweeping the house reached their ears. Lilo shushed Stitch to remind him to keep quiet as she peeked around the corner. Nani had her back turned and was sweeping the floor.

Even from the back, you could see that everything about Nani’s appearance seemed a little different, her hair was a different style, she looked a little skinnier than she used to as well. Lilo stepped into the hall and said, “Nani?” Upon hearing that familiar voice, she stopped, and turned around in hope. Nani gasped and dropped the broom. Tears filled her eyes as she saw her younger sister at last after ten years and replied, “Lilo…you‘re back!” before running up to and hugging her.

Nani had then snapped back into her usual self and scolded, “You are in ten years of trouble young lady!”

“Let me go!” Lilo demanded as she tried to get herself free from Nani’s grasp. “Oh no, I‘ve been waiting ten years to yell at you for this!” Nani scolded some more. Lilo shouted and finally managed to slip free from Nani’s grip and ran back to the lift with Stitch. “Yeah, you go to your room! You are super extra grounded!”

“You can‘t ground me, I‘m not a kid anymore.” Lilo protested.

“Neither was Mark when he was seventeen! And even he accepted punishment. You are still my little sister and I still make the rules.” Nani said as she chased her sister to the elevator. Lilo went up the lift with Stitch and said, “This is why I skipped ten years in the first place, so that you‘d stop treating me like a child.” Nani shook her fist at the lift and replied, “I‘ll stop treating you like a child when you stop acting like one.” A little while later, Nani seemed to have calmed down as she came up to the room with a sandwich.

“Lilo, I brought you lunch. You must be hungry if you haven‘t eaten in ten years.” Nani offered politely, Lilo turned away and replied harshly, “I‘m old enough to make my own lunch now!” Nani sighed and said, “I guess I forgot what it was like to be in a hurry to grow up, I‘ve been spending most of my time wishing I could go back to being a kid.” Nani said. Lilo replied, “There‘s nothing good about being a kid.” Nani just looked at her and said simply, “You‘ll understand when you‘re older.”

“I‘m sorry I mysteriously disappeared for ten years.” Lilo apologized. “And I‘m sorry I still treat you like a kid, I only lived with an obnoxious teenager for a year, then he became an adult. Speaking of which, Mark has been waiting ten years to see you two again, he really hasn‘t been himself for these last ten years. He hasn‘t trained, he didn‘t even say one sarcastic remark since you two have been away. I know it‘s hard to believe but…I actually wish he was back to his old self.”

“Mark‘s been waiting this whole time?” Lilo asked Nani. Stitch looked incredibly interested, he had almost forgotten that Mark didn’t go with them in the time skip. “Yeah, he‘s out shopping again. I tell you, that guy has enough money to keep us going for another 70 years.” Nani answered. “Can we go see what the town‘s like when we go see him?” Lilo asked Nani, who replied, “I guess so. But you aren‘t going out in this are you?” Nani said as she took a piece of Lilo’s sleeve. At that moment, Pleakely finally left his room and announced, “I did it! I read everything there is to know on fashion! And it only took me…ten years.” Pleakely was also surprised to see Lilo.

Pleakely dressed Lilo in a yellow dress, a huge yellow hat with a red band around it, a purple fake fur scarf, and purple shades. “Boy did you come to the right place. Island casual is so passé.” Pleakely said as he was sizing out her clothing. “Are you sure this is ‘in’?” Lilo asked him as she checked out her cloths. “You think I‘d spend ten years reading these books and not know what‘s in style?” Pleakely asked Lilo as he threw the scarf on her and rested against the many piles of books.

“Oh hubba, hubba! Kacheefa!” Stitch commented as Lilo checked herself out in the bedroom mirror. Jumba reached into his pocket, pulled out a key and said, “Here are keys to buggy.” Lilo reached for them but held them out of her reach and continued, “Make sure you turn on alarm before you park it.” Jumba then lowered them into her reach, she took them and said, “Thanks.” She walked out of the room as Stitch played with the scarf hanging from her neck. “Come on Stitch, let‘s go see Mark.” She said as she left the house.

A while later, a cop pulled Lilo over before they even got the chance to head into town. “May I see your license please?” The cop asked Lilo, who cluelessly repeated, “My…license?” Lilo then remembered what it was and said, “I guess I kind of missed out on getting one.” Stitch smiled innocently, and hoped that the cop would let them go scot-free. However, the cop said, “Well, you‘re not missing out on tickets.” And began shoving various traffic tickets into Lilo’s hands. “And that one is a repair order, your brake light‘s out.” The cop finished as she handed Lilo the last ticket.

They managed to make it to the theatre. The main movie playing was the second part of the final chapter of the Wasp mummies series. “I guess we missed out on a few sequels.” Lilo commented on the subject. Lilo and Stitch went up to the theatre and a hideous looking teenager with a fat nose and a chubby face came out, laughed at Lilo and said, “That is the ugliest outfit I‘ve ever seen.”

“Myrtle? It‘s me, Lilo.” Lilo said as she took her sunglasses off. “Weird-lo? From when we were kids? Well, that certainly explains your ridiculous get-up.” Myrtle insulted in her usual snobby tone. “Oh, Myrtle Edmunds, are you bothering people again? My goodness, your cousin had better manners than you did.” A man behind Lilo said to her. Lilo turned around and the man seemed to recognize her immediately. “Lilo? Stitch?”

“Mark!” Stitch said happily before hugging the him.

Mark didn‘t look too different, his hair was still neatly combed and his outfit didn‘t change that much either. The main difference was that he was taller and had full facial hair. “Um, sorry cousin Mark. I promise that I‘ll try not to do it again.” Myrtle apologized to him in a rather fearful tone. “Cousin Mark?” Lilo and Stitch asked in surprise.

“Yeah. I grew up and married Myrtle‘s cousin, she‘s nothing like the rest of the Edmunds family. She doesn‘t care who or what is weird, and she‘s not as snobby as the others are.” Mark answered. Myrtle then pointed to Lilo’s car and said, “Looks like you have a ticket.” Myrtle then walked away as Mark, Lilo, and Stitch looked at the dune buggy. There was a ticket pinned between the window and the windshield wiper.

“Oh man, please don‘t tell me that Jumba actually let you drive without a license.” Mark complained, but Lilo was more upset about the ticket and said, “Oh no!” Lilo chased down the traffic officer and said, “Hey, parking guy! You can‘t give me this! We were--” Lilo began but all three of them gasped in shock as they saw a gerbil poke his head out of the traffic control vehicle. “I am sorry, but there is nothing I can--” Hamsterviel began but then Lilo grabbed him and asked, “Hamsterviel, what are you doing out of prison?”

“Indeed, last I heard they doubled your sentence to 50 years.” Mark added on. Lilo and Stitch looked at him. “He‘s a member of the Galactic Armada now, he knows everything apparently, except what he doesn‘t know is that I‘m on parole!” Hamsterviel explained. “Who would be dumb enough to parole you?” Both Mark and Lilo asked the gerbil. “I am now a reformed productively-producing member of society!” Hamsterviel said to them both before snapping a defensive device at Lilo’s hand, causing her to drop him and walking to his vehicle.

“Now, if you‘ll excuse me, I have a quota to meet. Goodbye!” Hamsterviel continued before driving off. Mark glared after him and commented, “I don‘t trust him. And after the Bonnie and Clyde incident, you guys should know that my instincts are usually right about who to and not to trust.” They both nodded. Meanwhile, as Hamsterviel turned out of view, he said, “Whew, that was a close one.”

Hamsterviel then turned on a communicator watch and Gantu’s face appeared on the other end. “Yes sir, Doctor Hamsterviel?” He answered. “The experiment hunter Earth girl has returned and the ridiculously talented man has re-joined her.” Hamsterviel reported. “Hmm, that‘s rather troublesome, but it‘s no matter. I have virtually all of the experiments in my prison.” Gantu replied. “This is good. Proceed with phase number the second!” Hamsterviel ordered. “Yes sir, and might I add that I look forward to phase three the most.” Gantu replied. “Oh yes, phase three will ensure my successful success. When phase three is complete, nobody will stop me, not even that talented earth man, Mark Nissan.”

Meanwhile, Mark, Lilo, and Stitch were back at the car. “So far, being a teenager is a drag.” Lilo said. “Ih” Stitch replied. “I bet I didn‘t skip far enough. Maybe if I get older things will be even funner.” Lilo suggested, but Stitch and Mark shook their heads, but Lilo ignored them both and asked Mark, “Are you coming with us this time.”

“Nah, I can wait another ten years, now that I know when you‘re coming back this time. I‘m getting the feeling that I should stay put, just in case.”

“Ok, I just hope that you‘re wrong about Hamsterviel for once. Alright, Skip, punch it.” Lilo said. Skip pressed the skip button on his own, went transparent again, and there was another flash of light and everything was different somehow. Mark wasn’t there anymore, obviously, and the dune buggy was now flooded with tickets. “Did it work?” Lilo asked. Stitch opened his eyes, saw Lilo and said, “Nani!” Lilo looked into the mirror and admired her adult self before noticing the parking tickets.

“Hey you! Is this your car?” A cop asked her as he drove over to them. “Um…no?” Lilo answered. “Well, I feel sorry for whoever owns it. It‘s breaking about a million laws in the Hamstervielville city code.” Something wasn’t right about the name. “Hamstervielville? But I thought this was Kokaua town.” Lilo said.

“Miss…this place hasn‘t been called Kokaua town for at least five years.” The cop informed her before speeding off. Lilo had then noticed it, Hamsterviel was distributing himself everywhere as if he were the one who owned the entire island. There were even more posters of Mark as a wanted man. A very large price was wanted for his capture and hand-in to Hamsterviel. “Stitch…I think we skipped too much.” Lilo said in a frightened tone. Stitch pulled on his face and screamed in worry.

They ran through the town, trying to find their way back home. Then Stitch noticed the wanted bulletins on the many screens. “Oka Taka!” Stitch shouted and pointed to them. The very first one was Mark, the second was Sparky, third was Finder, then Shoe, and last were Skip and Stitch. “Oh no…these were all the experiments I caught twenty years ago…and Mark! Stitch, we‘ve got to get you and Skip out of here before--” Lilo began but then another cop noticed the two experiments and shouted, “Hold it right there!”

“…caught.” Lilo finished.

Stitch growled, extended his extra arms and said, “Chubi chiba!”

“No, Stitch!” Lilo protested, but the little blue alien went with his own instincts and jumped at the cops. They both took out some high-tech weapons and captured both Stitch and Skip. They went over to them when Lilo jumped in between the experiments and the cops, saying, “If you want them, you‘re gonna have to get through me!” At these words, the cops stood away from each other to reveal a mean crab-like alien.

The crab split into two halves, one half captured them while the other simply tossed Lilo aside. The two halves of the crab then became whole again and trapped Stitch and Skip in a container that was made in their center. “Lilo!” Stitch called out to her. “I‘ll come back for you Stitch!” Lilo told him before running away. “Halt!” The male cop shouted at Lilo, but the female one stopped him and said, “Let her go, the boss only cares about the experiments and Mark Nissan.”

“That Mark sure is a slippery one, he‘s been spotted more times than I can count, but nobody‘s managed to get a hold of him yet.” The male cop replied as they both drove away with the experiments. Lilo finally made it to her house a while later. Lilo opened the door and called for Nani, Jumba, and Pleakely, but there was no answer, just an empty house. “Anybody…” Lilo said desperately when a voice finally replied from a different room, “Little girl?”

Jumba came from the hallway, wearing a tacky orange sweater, yellow scarf and eating ice-cream. “Jumba!” Lilo greeted him. “It is you!” Jumba replied as they hugged each other. “Oh, you are a sight for my eyes to go sore to look at.” Jumba said as he smiled at her. The color of his eyelids made it look like he had gone days without sleep. “Jumba, what happened here?” Lilo asked. “Uhh, house was reposes-ed to pay for unpaid parking tickets.” Jumba answered. “Why didn‘t you just move the car?”

“You had the car keys.”

“Oops.” Lilo said guiltily as she pulled the keys from her pocket.

“I have been hiding in attic, eating only canned rutabagas and rain-water ever since Emperor Hamsterviel took power.” Jumba told her as he began working on a futuristic television set. “Emperor?” Lilo asked in shock. “He captured all experiments because you were not here to catch them with six-two-six. Where is six-two-six?” Jumba said to her. Lilo answered, “They just arrested Stitch and Skip, we‘re going to need more help to rescue them. Where‘s Nani.”

“Eh, is not such happy story. To pay of debt, bigger, bigger girl went to work for Hamsterviel. She is his personal water-bottle holder.” As he finished this, a picture of Nani holding a large hamster-style water bottle for Emperor Hamsterviel to drink appeared on the television.

“There were a LOT of parking tickets.” Jumba finished. “And what about Mar--” Lilo began but Jumba suddenly clamped his giant alien hand over her mouth and said, “SHH!! His name is not to be spoken of in this household, Hamsterviel‘s orders. We are to forget all about him, and not even mention his name. Do not worry though, he is excellent hider, hasn‘t been caught yet.”

“What have I done?” Lilo asked in horror as she backed up to the sheet-covered couch. Jumba followed her but his weight cause a lot of dust to fly in the air. “There is some good news though, Pleakely is international fashion celebrity.”

“Pleakely?” Lilo asked, happy to finally hear something good. “He has top-ten TV show on intergalactic fashion channel.” Jumba said as he turned the TV on. Pleakely was on a talk show, wearing a snazzy outfit and had appeared to have grown white hair. “So remember, that‘s flannel gauchos for the look that‘s all the rage in Milwaukee this season.” Pleakely said before jumping off of his chair and bowing to the audience. “Now, lets take a few callers.” He said suddenly. Lilo called him immediately. “Hi Pleakely, it‘s your old pal, Lilo, and have I got a makeover for you.” When the call was finished, Lilo said, “Ok, we got Pleakely to help us, now we just need someone with speed and agility.”

“No way! He won‘t like it. I am telling you, he can‘t go out of hiding!” Jumba protested. “Oh, come on Jumba, we can‘t do this without him. He knew Hamsterviel was up to something ten years ago and--”

“He hasn‘t been able to do anything about it. The most talented man in this world and even he couldn‘t stop Hamsterviel‘s plan before it even began.”

“That‘s because we weren‘t around to help him the same way he helped us almost every day. Come on Jumba, where is he?”

“Jumba cannot say. He doesn‘t contact Ohana for their own safety. He always cared about us, even though he never showed it when you were just little girl.” Jumba said to Lilo. “Oh, come on, Jumba, you have to know where he is, you‘re a genius after all, where would he be able to hide?” Lilo asked. “Jumba cannot say. House is under full surveillance. Our entire conversation might have been recorded.”

“But…you do know right?”

“Of course Jumba knows, but am not telling. Maybe I just show you.” Jumba said before getting off the couch and heading outside. Nobody was waiting for them, the surveillance must have only been the recordings that Jumba had mentioned. They walked through the horrible town that was once so beautiful and was now ruined with distributions of Hamsterviel and wanted bulletins. Hamsterviel was everywhere, it felt like he was watching their every move, clearly something that he intended to do. “Over here.” Jumba said as he tried to get the lid off of a manhole, but his fingers were too big.

Lilo helped him and took it off herself. “You want us to go into a sewer?” Lilo asked in disgust as she looked down the hole and was welcomed by the horrible stench of the bile and urine that might have flowed as a stream in the tunnel below. However, the tunnel was pitch black from where she was. “Underground is only way to hide from Hamsterviel‘s forces.” Jumba explained. “How do you know?” Lilo asked him. “I‘ve thought it over many times. The police don‘t patrol the underground because of horrible smell, and everybody else is wanting to keep Mark safe. They believe that he is only chance against Hamsterviel.” Jumba answered.

Holding her breath, Lilo jumped into the hole and Jumba tried to follow her but his enormous body size wouldn’t let him go any further than his waist. “Ah, blitsnak! Do not worry! I will find own way down.” Jumba said to Lilo as he struggled to get back to the surface. Lilo looked around. The setting didn’t appear to be your average sewer system. If anything, there was nothing down there that would have caused that odor that she smelled when she was on the surface. This sewer line looked more like it would serve as someone’s living area. A few moments have passed when Jumba came from the side of Lilo, it appeared that he had found his own way down.

“You shouldn‘t have come here, Jumba. Lilo? So, it‘s been ten years already. Glad you‘re here. I need your help in over-throwing Hamsterviel, but first, we need to get Skip back.” Mark said from the shadows. “How do--?” Lilo began but Mark had interrupted her, saying, “I‘m well informed on what happens on the surface. Just because I live underground doesn‘t mean that I don‘t have a television.”

“Right. Well, we need your help too.” Lilo said to him. “Yes, of course. I will meet you at Hamsterviel‘s place. I already have a plan to stop him, and don‘t worry, I‘ll get caught on purpose this time.” Mark said to her as he stepped out of the shadows. Getting arrested was Mark’s one-way ticket to where Stitch and Skip were being held. “You guys better go. If someone didn‘t follow you here, then chances are that the satellites have spotted you two getting in here.” Mark continued he looked up at the entrance that Lilo took. Lilo and Jumba went their separate ways and left Mark alone. Surprised at how easy that was, Jumba commented, “What on earth could he be planning that would force him to allow himself to get arrested?”

When Lilo and Jumba arrived, Stitch and Skip were being threatened by Gantu when the police brought Mark in. “Well, if it isn’t the trog and the fugitives. I’ve waited a long time for this moment.” Gantu said to them. “Gantu! Jakata Quista!” Stitch shouted before launching himself at Gantu and attempting to bite him. However, he was restrained to a specific point. “I see you‘re as abominable as ever.” Gantu commented on Stitch’s actions. “Learned a new word I see. Too bad you‘re still thick-headed.” Mark insulted Gantu. Gantu was about to reply when Six-two-five appeared in a hologram calling system and said, “Hey Gantu, we got a collect holo-call from Hamsterwheel.”

“Viel! Hamsterviel!” Hamsterviel shouted from the other line. “If you want I could accept the charges.” Six-two-five continued. “Do I have a choice?” Gantu asked. Hamsterviel had then replace Six-two-five in the hologram calling system and said, “I heard that! I should have you turned into Friday-night fish sticks served with many tasty dipping sauces!”

“Emperor Hamsterviel, to what do we owe this great pleasure?” Gantu asked as if the gerbil didn’t insult him. “My oh-so-sneaky spying spy says that Mark Nissan has been caught yes? I wish to heckle him.” Hamsterviel answered as he glanced at Mark. “You thought you could defeat me eh? It is I who will laugh last. Ha, ha! See? That was the last laugh.” Hamsterviel gloated. Mark just continued to sit on his knees with the same smirk on his face that he had when he got there.

“Ahem, sir. If you don‘t mind--” Gantu began but Hamsterviel interrupted him by sating, “You see this shiny thing on my head? How much bigger and more expensive looking it is than yours? You may continue when I am finished!” Hamsterviel turned around and Gantu waited until Hamsterviel decided that he had nothing more to say to Mark and said, “Ooh! Ok, I‘m finished!” before disappearing. “Goodbye abominations.” Gantu said Darkly to Mark, Stitch, and Skip. Stitch and Skip trembled in fear but Mark remained calm. Then the doors behind them opened and Pleakely came running out, saying, “Hold it! This is a fashion emergency!”

“Right on time.” Mark whispered before breaking his handcuffs off with ease and unlocking Stitch and Skip’s handcuffs. Gantu was too shocked by Pleakely‘s appearance to see what Mark was doing. “Hey, I know you!” Gantu said angrily. “Well, you can‘t have seen my show, or you wouldn‘t be wearing this awful all-yellow ensemble. Ugh, you look like a giant talking banana!” Pleakely said before snapping his fingers and summoning his outfit crew, which Lilo and Jumba had disguised themselves as. “While my assistants re-decorate your room, I‘ll see what I can do with your awful sense of style.” Pleakely said as he began rummaging through the cloths rack that Lilo and Jumba brought out.

Mark handed Stitch and Skip to Lilo and took care of the guard crabs his own way. Jumba grabbed Pleakely just as he threw a purple scarf on Gantu and dragged him away. “Oh, my work here is finished!” Pleakely said as Mark, Jumba, Skip, Lilo, and Stitch made a run for it. Gantu ripped the scarf off of his face and growled furiously. Mark closed the doors when Lilo, Stitch, Skip, Jumba and Pleakely made it to safety. Lilo pounded on the door and said, “Mark! What are you doing? Get in here!”

“No way, you guys need to get out of here, I‘ll buy you time!” Mark replied as he faced Gantu, who pulled out his blaster and began firing.

Mark pulled a few back flips but it was all he could manage. There was a loud snap and Mark held his leg and shouted in pain. “Darn it, I‘m getting too old for this!” Mark said as he held his leg, too wounded to move. Lilo saw him through the crack in the door. “Jumba, what’s happening?” Lilo asked in shock. “Mark is 37 now, near the age of 40, when people decline in physical skill, in short, he‘s getting old and can‘t do as much as before.” Jumba answered. Gantu aimed his blaster at Mark at close range and said evilly, “Phase three…complete.” before pulling the trigger and ending Mark’s life.

All the others saw was a green light and then Mark fell down, completely lifeless, but with a winning grin on his face. He knew what only Jumba knew and knew what would happen in the next few moments, he had planned all of this out before his death. Lilo backed away from the door, tears running down her face as she said, “This has gone too far. Jumba, I can‘t do this anymore, I just want everything to go back to the way it was.”

“Conveniently, Zero-eight-nine also comes equipped with reset button.” Jumba said. Lilo and Stitch looked at the experiment in surprise. Skip nodded and pointed to the smaller button on his head. “Now you tell me.” Lilo commented. “Now is good.” Jumba replied as Gantu tried to break the door down.

Lilo picked Skip up and said, “See you guys later. I mean earlier…before. Oh, you know what I mean.” Stitch, however, found goodbyes to be useless at this point as he took Lilo’s hand and made it press the small button on Skip’s head. Skip flipped upside-down, went transparent and flashed just as Gantu broke in. Lilo was back to her normal self and they were in her room, resting near the repaired record player. Lilo was happy that she had her seven-year-old body back but she and Stitch were concerned about Nani. Lilo and Stitch went downstairs while Skip rolled over and decided to rest. “Nani!” Lilo called out. Nani came out from the kitchen behind her and asked, “What? What is it?”

Lilo and Stitch ran up to her and took a leg to hug. “You‘re acting as though you haven‘t seen me in years.” Nani said. “I haven‘t.” Lilo replied. “Listen, maybe I was a little too strict last night. You‘re growing up whether I like it or not.” Nani said as she made her way to the couch with the weight of Lilo on one leg and Stitch on the other. “Forget about it, I think I‘m perfectly happy being you baby sister for a while.” Lilo replied. “Who are you and what have you done with Lilo?” Nani asked playfully as she tickled Lilo. When she stopped after a second, Lilo said, “Don‘t worry. You‘ll understand when you‘re older.”

“I just hope I‘ll understand you when I‘m older.” Nani replied.

“No luck. Maybe this is why the time machine hasn‘t been invented yet, because there‘s no existing power source that gives the energy needed to bend time and space.” Mark said as he came into the room. “Mark!!” Lilo and Stitch shouted before tackling him to the ground and hugging him very tightly. Mark was caught off guard at first but then chuckled and said, “What‘s with you guys? You act as if I came back from the dead.”