Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Local Void was a vast, empty region of space with not even the smallest dying star in sight. The only inhabitable galaxy nearby was the Milky Way. Although being one of the most forbidden places to venture, by the Galactic Federation itself, it could be said that this part of the galaxy was a one big wasteland. However, this area was known for its one lonely asteroid, on which a max-security prison was built, for a single convict.

As nonsensical as it may seem, it was a necessary precaution. A safe distance, away from civilization and any potential victims. For that's where the most dangerous creature in the known universe, that attempted to enslave entire planets, was contained. At least most of the time.

Nicknamed 'The Runaway' for all the times he's slipped away despite all the upgraded security systems, programmed specifically to lock on his genetic signature, he sure was an inconvenience, to say the least. Every time he menaged to escape, regardless of the short window of time, he would wreak havoc wherever he went. Thanks to the distant location though, without the hustle and bustle of any big cities, there were no casualties. Left without any hiding place, he would be tracked down and recaptured again. Thus extending his sentence even longer, and making his punishments all the more sophisiticated.

Though being an indestructible fighting machine, programmed to destroy everything in it's path, made him have very few weaknesses. Hard to contain, nearly invincible, an utter pain in the ass to the Galactic Federation. They feared him wholeheartedly. For as far as they knew, all the atrocious crimes he committed by far, were done out of sheer boredom. Or as he liked to call it, 'for the fun of it'.

But the day he turned serious was bound to come, they all knew it. There would be no use trying to stop him. The Intergalactic Law protected every living organism, no matter the size, the significance, or lack thereof. But considering the threat posed by their prisoner, they feared that, to protect every other creature, they would have to reach for the last resort. Because all this time so far, he wasn't aggressive enough. He lacked the push he needed to finally get away. To be free, permanently. 

Suspended upside down from the ceiling and bolted into a block made from a metal so heavy, that it made him unable to move any part of his body besides his head, was the infamous Experiment 626. Today he was granted permission to watch video transmissions from the news programs. That was the only fun he would get on a good day in this shithole. Bored out of his mind he started reminiscing those short periods of time he was outside. How much fun that was. How much he loved the buzz of adrenaline in his veins. How sick he was of this place.

This was the longest he had been without trying to escape. His last punishment so severe it got the better of him. So this time he decided to try something new, plan ahead on his next getaway. Usually spontaneous in his actions, figuring out the first steps to his plan turned out to be a real headache.

Because despite being a creature that thought faster than the fastest supercomputers, and solved the most difficult mathematical equations, he sure didn't like being in his head. Oftentimes dropping into a spiral of thought and getting stuck in a place he didn't want to be in. His train of thought stumbling upon a matter that never failed to make him lose sleep at night. The question that yet had to be answered. The original cause of all his problems. Where had he gone wrong?

"I can't recall what i did. I can't recall what I did so wrong to be treated like this. Imprisoned here. Maybe I'm so bad that I don't see the bad in my actions anymore." he thought to himself, huffing bitterly.

Suddenly his ear flicked at the sound of a worried and confused female reporter's voice. The live-feed showed a face he was very familiar with. And he didn't like it one bit. He growled in disdain, tipping off the guards nearby. One of them yelled at him to 'shut it'. But what he heard next made him involuntarily growl even lower, more dangerous. 

"Dr. Jumba Jookiba released on parole for good behaviour." 

That sentence echoed throughout his brain for a hot minute while the rest remained a blur. In that moment the convict realized that apparently even those who sentenced him did not distinguish between good and evil. Seeing as they were setting free the guy who created him for the sole purpose to destroy. And now, for some unjust reason, he was paying the price, while his creator could roam free, probably up to no good.

And that was the push he needed.

"Whatever it is I did ..." he tore his left set of arms through the thick metal before the first alarms blew off. "They've seen nothing yet."

This summer seemed especially hot. The soil was visibly steaming, to a point where it looked like this beautiful Hawaiian Island was set on fire. Lilo could see the effects of climate change with her own two eyes, but she couldn't help but imagine it being the lava flowing beneath the ground. Hopefully sent by Goddess Pele, to get Martle and her clique and burn them alive.

She was just heading home from her Hula Dance classes, but it didn't take long for them to pick on her again. Yuki, Theresa, Elena and Martle. Ever since Lilo stopped reacting to the girls' insults there wasn't a day where they wouldn't tease, or even straight up torment her. She used to defend herself, by all means necessary, even if things got physical. But one day Lilo was pushed to her limit. Angry, she went too far, making the red-headed girl bleed. Of course, it was nothing serious, but the case was filed in her school records. As if she wasn't on thin ice already.

After that incident, that fit of rage, she was excluded from every possible interaction she could have, completely rejected by her peers. Her title of 'the crazy girl' soon changed to 'the quiet girl', because she refused to talk on the schoolground, which in turn affected her grades. 

She sure couldn't catch a break. 

One of the girls felt the need to throw a box of strawberry milk on Lilo's head while she walked ahead of them.

"By the time I get down this path it'll probably start to stink." Lilo thought gloomily to herself while the content of the box soaked into her hair within seconds it made contact with her head. She calmly stood frozen in place despite the overwhelming heat, letting the posse get past her. Hoping that'll be it for today.

"Whoops! Thought you might want to cool down a little!"

"Eww ... As if she wasn't gross enough already ..."

"Now she looks like that chick from 'The Ring'!"

"Ha ha! Bye weirdlo!"

They continued to laugh as they walked further down the gravel road, leaving Lilo standing quietly all by herself. Lilo grew to have this blank, expressionless face which a thirteen year old girl shouldn't have. It's gotten to a point where she forgot the last time she sincerely smiled or felt happy. Sometimes she wondered if the good days would ever return. Or maybe they got up in the middle of the night and went for a ride in the rain and then fell off a cliff just like her parents. If that was the case, they're never coming back.

It's not like it mattered to her anymore, but she couldn't wrap her head around why she ever considered them her friends when she was younger. Whatever she did to impress them to gain their friendship was never good enough. Although she never let them make fun of her or things she was passionate about, unlike now. Her younger-self would definately kick their butts for the things they did to her now but... She promised Nani to never cause her trouble again. This promise she made to her older sister tore her heart. Because nobody ever stood up for her. And since she couldn't stand up for herself anymore, there wasn't a day where she wouldn't feel sad, lonely or lost. The Lilo that all the residents of her town knew and loved, was gone.

She finally looked at the box that hit her head. It was laying on the ground and still leaking, reminding her of all the annoying and rude tourists that visited her Island every year. Leaving nothing but gibberish behind. She picked up the box and threw it to a trash bin on her way home. During the majority of her free time she would collect the garbage, wether on the beach or anyplace else. But no matter how often she went to do that all those places would end up just as dirty, which she found very upsetting.

On the way she remembered there was still some homework she had to do before it was officially the end of the school year. Lilo quickened her pace, since the tendency of her being forgetful was pretty high these days.

Suddenly there was a loud, reverbrating boom. Sartled, she looked in the direction where the sound came from. Noticing a large cloud of smoke coming from a small area in the forest near a campsite where tourists often hung out.

She scrunched her face in irritation, hoping these idiots wouldn't cause a wildfire after they're done playing with their firecrackers. At least that's what she thought the sound was. 

"I better hurry home and shower before Nani comes back from work." she mumbled to herself.

Chapter Text

The overly big, termite infested, wooden house that's paint was peeling off thanks to the high humidity, sometimes seemed to be too much for two people to live in. And yet it was one of the few spaces where Lilo could truly be herself. Only when Nani, her older sister and caretaker, wasn't there though. Despite that, Lilo hated coming back home before Nani, it always felt too quiet. On her worse days she could swear she heard the silence crack her senses.

Before heading to the bathroom to scrub out the strawberry milk, that now turned into melted cheese, she checked the answerphone. Thre was only a message from Nani, letting her know that she had to substitude for a coworker that called in sick. That instantly made Lilo very bitter. For that meant she would be alone until late evening if not deep into the night. Just because her non-confrontational sister wouldn't say no to her boss.

Unlike Lilo, Nani had a choice. She could do or say whatever she wanted, because she was 'normal'. Nobody would call her crazy for standing up for herself. She was lucky, is what Lilo considered her to be. But then again she had to cancel all her future plans of surfing career just so she could fill the gap left by the sudden death of their parents. Lilo knew that her sister has lost more than she did, and that she was only doing her best to provide for them both. She understands that now.

And as for the reason that made her never speak of the never-ending bulliying was the fact that thanks to a mistake she made when she was five, they were under constant supervision of a shady social worker, Mr. Cobra Bubbles.

Despite the cute name, the guy almost caused the sisters to get separated, and Lilo to end up in an orphanage or foster family. At the time Lilo barely managed to convince the social worker that her sister was taking the best care of her she could ask for. That day Lilo made a promise, to never act upon emotions and to never cause Nani trouble. Ever. She was all that Lilo had left after all.

After a quick shower she put Elvis Presley's record on to fill out the silence. The older Lilo grew, the more she realized how unique Elvis' singing style was. His songs were her only escape from everyday life. Sometimes she would hear a hint of sadness in his soothing voice, and that was the best comfort she could get. Because it meant that the one true 'King of Rock' knew what she felt, so she wasn't alone.

Elvis' record collection was also one of the few things that reamained to be kept forever after their parents. That and the family picture she always kept under her pillow. After their death they didn't have enough money. So before Nani could find a job they had to sell most of their parents' clothes, furniture and belongings.

For an unsaid reason Lilo felt responsible for their death, after the realization hit on the first anniversary of their accident. She tried not to think about it, which wasn't easy, she visited them every sunday after all, and kissed them goodnight.

Drying her hair with a towel she dancingly got herself a jar of pickles out of the fridge. She bit into the one that reminded her of Martle the most. Munching on what she imagined to be Martle's head, she considered to pray to the Goddess Pele yet again tonight in hope she'll finally listen and throw her bullies into a volcano.

"So many deranged thoughts, as Elvis sings his blues" Lilo realizes.

Although she was a kind-hearted girl from nature, she couldn't help but wish for the worst to the people who took advantage of her lack, once excess, of expression. She couldn't think of any other way to cope besides trying to ignore her bullies as they made fun of her. There was no way she could get back at them without making things complicated, so she prayed to forgotten gods to punish them for her.

Yet she had another, more fun way tho deal with her suppressed anger and need for justice. She particularily liked to arrange petty acts of revenge. Messing with tourists was a good example.

"I had a rough day again. But I heard they're going to test the sirens, so why don't we go to the beach tomorrow and cause some mass panic?" she suggested to her beloved hand-made rag doll which sat across her at the kitchen table.

Sighing at the lack of response, Lilo started unpacking her dad's old military duffle bag and took out her homework with a couple of pens. Scrump was her totem of strengh, Lilo took her everywhere. Even though girls her age didn't play with dolls anymore, it's not like she cared, she already was called the worst of names. And without Scrump's listening ear and her crooked smile Lilo wasn't sure if she'd made it through the day without her in her bag. There used to be someone else she considered her friend, however that topic wasn't to be talked about.

While working on her homework Lilo noticed from the kitchen window that it started raining, merely a drizzle. Trying to solve a particularily difficult task she frowned and got up to the fridge, needing more battery for brainpower. As she was about to make herself a sandwich she stopped in her tracks and looked down at her belly. It was slightly more protruding than her chest, which instantly made her feel self-concious. She closed the fridge and rubbed her tummy, silently berating herself for eating so much.

Since she got her period faster than most girls in her class, she was certain that her breasts would be bigger by now. That would've helped her look more proportionate and her chubby belly less visible. And yet she was stuck inbetween of a body of a child and a woman. She turned around, taking her seat.

Then, she heard rough rustling sounds outside. It sounded like someone running in the tall grass behind her house where they kept their trash. Assuming it was probably the wind, she went back to her task. Putting her eyes on the worksheet she twirled her pen with her fingers. For a while, it got serenely quiet. But for some odd reason Lilo felt an unexpected bout of anxiety. An aching pit in her stomach, as when she drunk too much coffee. For a second, she thought she would start to cry. A random release her body needed, that she couldn't control.

But all of a sudden, the kitchen door swung open, making her gasp and drop the pen to the floor. In the kitchen entrance stood a very strange image. In fact Lilo had no idea what she was looking at. The person intruding Lilo's home stood in the doorway, gasped for air, drenched and nearly as confused as she was. Certain that it was just some kid in a costume, given the bizzare and terrifyingly realistic sight, she started to shush away the unwelcomed guest.

Though what she thought was a well-manufactured bodysuit, in reality was the very fur coat of the not-so-person-like-creature. It's short but dense fur coated it's entire body, deep ocean blue in color. It's ears were sticking upward, similar to a rabbit. Also having anntenae poking out of it's head, like a bug.

Upset by the brazen lack of response, Lilo rushed to chase away this freak out of her house. It's not like she out of all people got to call anyone a freak, but this dude literally broke into her house in some furry costume. 

"Didn't you hear what I said? Get out!" she yelled pointing to the door. Yet it seemed like she was being ignored, noticing the way, she presumed, he looked around the place. To her astonishment he shook off the rain water off himself like a dog. Wetting her, her homework and everything nearby.

Now seriously pissed Lilo decided to physically shove him out the door. Since the upper-half of his red jumpsuit was tied around his hips by the sleeves, his cyan colored belly and chest fur was revealed, making Lilo somehow uncomfortable touching him. Her angry glare didn't phase him when she decided to lay her hands on his shoulders and started pushing.

To her surprise he didn't budge one bit, and the fact that he allowed her this close only fueled her anger. Because that meant this bastard didn't take her seriously. She groaned and huffed using all her strengh to get him out of her house. Suddenly he grabbed her by the head and effortlessly pushed her off himself, so that she landed on the floor butt-first. 

"That's it!" Lilo changed her demeanor.

Grabbing the phone on the counter she waved it around. To which the subject of her frustration reacted with a growl. With ears pinned to the head, taking the phone for some sort of weapon, he pointed his silly waterguns at her. If only she knew these things weren't mere toys but plasma shooters able to burn right through her skin and bones.

"I'm calling the cops on you! You god-damn punk!" she cussed him out in an old ladys' tone of voice, expecting him to understand that she's not messing around.

"Who do you think you are?! Barging into my house like you own the place!" bent over she screamd her lungs out in fury, stomping on the ground once. At that display the intruder only snorted like a pig, putting his guns back into his hip-holsters. Deeming this loud female as no threat.

As Lilo was about to dial the emergency number everything started shaking. Lilo gasped, expecting to hear sirens next, knowing full well that it could've been the volcano erupting, or something worse. Living on a beautiful Hawaiian Island had it's perks just as much as it had it's cons.

But the sirens never came, not even a boom or an explosion. Something unfamiliar came instead. A loud and heavy swishing sound right above the roof. Knowing full well what it was, the criminal squinted his eyes into slits at the sound. They were looking for him. But how did they find him so quickly? They should've been far behind. He's initiated hyper-drive for fucks' sake! Thinking fast he decided his next move. Uncaring of the consequences, as always.

With her gaze on the ceiling Lilo didn't notice him leaping towards her. Unexpecting, she felt herself being grabbed from behind. As she was about to fight back, she was shushed by a clawed hand on her mouth. Now she was freaking out. Because what she earlier suspected to be some weird appendages sticking out of the sides of his costume, were actually his second set of arms. She felt the muscles in them flexing around her body, they were real.

Her brain short-circuited. If that wasn't a cosplayer... then what was that thing? She was so stunned for a moment that she didn't realize that the noise was gone, and that the runaway reached for one of his weapons again with his upper left hand. Throwing the arm over her shoulder he pointed the barrel to her left temple, turning her head his way. Pulling off the hand he kept on her mouth he took something out of his pocket. Streching his arm upwards with the thing in hand he urged her to look up. There was a quick flash and Lilo got momentarily blinded by some sort of device.

"Ugh! Did you just take a picture of me?" Lilo asked, rubbing at her eyes, coming to her senses. 

The creature has let her go and started speaking, while clicking and typing on the device. She would've appreciated him finally talking and maybe explaining to her, what the heck was going on, only if she understood what this guy was saying. She didn't understand a thing. It didn't even sound like any proper language, it sounded like absolute gibberish to her.

As the weird-looking guy turned to face her, yapping away whatever he was trying to convey, he noticed Lilo's look of uncertainty. He stared at her. His big, beady, pitch black eyes blinking once. Then it came to him, that he was stuck on a planet in one of the most forbidden territories. A place crossed out of maps, for it was considered the inhabitants of this quadrant were too primitive to join the alliance which was The Grand Intergalactic Council. He could see that now.

Deciding a different approach, talking slowly he repeated himself, explaining that as long as the young female cooperated she would remain unharmed. Lilo noted how much effort the guy put into making himself understandable, but to no avail. He tried to communicate with her through body language. Struggling, he started adding sound effects to his movements. But after seeing Lilo's scrunched up face, he whined, facepalming himself and baring his teeth in frustration.

Even though he was able to comprehand otherwordly languages previously unknown to him pretty fast, that wasn't the case for most beings. So he was somewhat grateful that his creator thought him, via programming slash brainwashing, an universal language that most of extraterrestrial creatures understood. But on this planet he had to put in the effort to learn the basics himself, so it seemed. Normally he would like the challenge, but not in this case. He was running out of time. Besides he would probably take over this planet or destroy it before he would learn to spell a proper sentence, or so he estimated. 

"Dude, what's your damage?" Lilo asked, agitated by this whole situation.

Pulling at his ears he turned around, taking out the device back out of his pocket. Starting to browse through the thing he stole straight out of his creator's mansion, along with a couple other jumpsuits and a flashy spaceship he crashed, he trusted to find some sort of translator.

Lilo raised her eyebrow as she noticed another one of his odd feautures, and that were three spikes poking out of his back. Frowning she started to worry wether she should be anywhere near that thing, she didn't want it to turn out that he was a radioactive mutant. Well... maybe a little bit.

Starting to grow impatient she put her hands on her hips, slowly looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He snarled whilst turning his head, forcing her to keep her distance. Not very long after he faced her again. He said something to the device and Lilo at last heard some words in english.

"Girl. Safe. If. Girl. Helps." said the device for him.

"What do you mean?" Lilo prodded, needing to know more than that. Observing that he didn't seem to need the device to understand her qestion despite not knowing her language an unsettling feeling settled in her gut.

"I. Runaway. They. Chase." he confessed. "Need. Help. Hide."

"The hell..." Lilo mumbled, more so to herself than to him. The thoughts that formed in her head after hearing these words made her spiral into a bunch of weird scenarios .

The furry took a step back, clicked something on his device and lifted it above their heads. Within a blink of an eye the whole room was overtaken by a blue light, startling Lilo for a moment. As she focused her eyes she realized it was a hologhraphic map of space. Something she's seen only in movies. Tapping on an area on the map he zoomed in on a planet Lilo did not recognize. Though what he was showing was the meteorite he was imprisoned in for years.

"Held. Captive. There." he said. Covering her mouth in shock Lilo asked who imprisoned him.

"Councilwoman. Adjudication." 

Stunned, only a single word left Lilo's mouth.

"Why?"

Hesitating, he answered truthully.

"Considered. Bad."

Seeing the fear in Lilo's eyes he added, lowering the device, making his face look distorted.

"Girl. Funny. Girl. Don't. Die."

Threatening to break her personal space bubble he bobbed his head in a way that made him look taller, even though they were the same height, without counting the ears. Planning on making Lilo's face stain with tears of fear he plastered the most menacing grin he could muster.

What he didn't expect was for her to start to giggle in a lunatic kind of way. Put out by this, he barked like he needed an explanation. But Lilo only turned around and combed her fingers through her hair, having a thousand thoughts per minute. 

"This isn't real, right? This must be just a very weird dream. Yes! I must've fallen asleep at the table while I was doing homework. Because this is so-not-normal. Why is it so realistic though?! Why can't I be normal even in my dreams?!" she started reasoning with herself out loud, uncaring of how crazy she looked.

Seeing Lilo struggle with her inner turmoil the, as it turned out, alien, decided to take a look around in the other rooms of the house.

Now pulling at her hair, Lilo paced around in circles, trying not to lose it at the relevation. She had a wanted, alien, criminal hiding in her house! Now what?!

Chapter Text

*Before the Crash*

Off in the far dephs of space, on planet Turo, specifically at the Grand Intergalactic Council Headquarters, every high-ranked member was roaring orders at their subordinates to notify all nearby planets to prepare their military forces. For the recently fled public offender number one was still in hyperspace in a stolen spaceship, with no way for them to determine his possible destination.

Normally, he would be tracked down by the many chips implanted in his body. But either he deactivated them somehow, or dug them all out himself. Which was hard to imagine, knowing their amount and the surgical precision needed to remove them.

They tried scanning the footage on all achievable for their systems satellites. Though he must've went around them, beyond their reach, hacked them, or fled into forbidden territory.

The lack of knowledge of his whereabouts proved to be highly panic-inducing, knowing what he's capable of. The runaway has never put them in such a hopelss position before. Their hands were tied. That is, until a certain scientist entered the control room, at the order of the Grand Councilwoman, who promised his usefulness.

As the aforementioned were approaching the main computer operator, everybody went silent. At first, out of respect for the authority the Grand Councilwoman presented, then as they realized who was accompanying her, they were absolutely outraged. It was Dr. Jumba Jookiba himself. The very creator of this monstrosity on the run. Spiteful comments and questions were thrown his way, making the evil genius giggle.

The Councilwoman raised her voice, explaining that the doctor was commissioned by her as an consultant for the retrieval operation. And because he himself showed the initiative to help, since his experiment not only robbed him, but also blew up his property. Leaving him homeless right after he got out of prison. The evil genius was feeling vengeful for that stunt, making him the most fit ally. Knowing that working with Jumba was their best option, the committee quickly resumed their opposing rebuttals. Because who would understand the runaway better if not his own creator?  

Since the doctor was the rightful owner of the ship his experiment stole, he could locate his exact exit point, thanks to his remote control panel. And maybe even use it to access his system to crash land the ship.

With swift movement of his big and chubby fingers he soon found out the estimated destination and put the coordinates on the big screen for everyone to see, along with a non-static picture of the planet. The so-called: Earth.

As they suspected, it was a planet set in the forbidden territoriy. Which meant that this planet did not fall under their jurisdiction. Meaning they couldn't just send their troops to search for their convict. That would cause a catastrophic planet-wide panic. And they couldn't destroy the planet either, since it was marked as an wildlife reserve in their database.

Despite the difficulties, everybody in the room let out a silent sigh of relief. As unpleasant as it was to associate with someone like Jumba, thanks to him, half of the job was done. Now they just needed to figure out how to handle the situation.

The Grand Councilwoman asked for an expert on the planet to be brought to her immediately. Meanwhile Jumba was pressed for answers. Why did his experiment decide to make his biggest jump so far only just now? What were his assumptions about his experiment's next move? What were the experiments weak points? 

If they couldn't snatch him back by the collar, as they usually did, how were they supposed to recapture him? No attempt at pacification has ever worked despite the passing of years. None of the present members were willing to believe that a silent retrieval operation was going to work. And yet it seemed to be their only option. 

Jumba was basking in all of the attention and concerned faces. Proud of himself, of the importance he held with his knowledge about the only creature capable to keep the mighty and powerful Federation on its toes. And the fact that only he was capable of coming up with effective solutions to capture it, break it, was only inflating his ego in the worst of ways. His sour mood from returning back to his mansion, only to find it in a deplorable state, has definitely improved. 

His gratifying inner-monologue was cut short after a notification set off on his control panel, letting him know that his favorite experiment has finally came out of hyperspace. It was his cue to start messing with the ship. 

"During the investigation you said that he can't survive in water. But from what I'm seeing, this planet is mostly surrounded by it." stated the Councilwoman. 

"I said that he can't live in water. But survive? He can survive anything." Jumba grinned as he answered, while toying with the device that now made the unsuspecting runaway's ship go haywire.

"What's the difference?" she asked, slightly tipped off.

"Saying that he can't live, would be an assumption that he might die. While survival is an evolutionary requirement, to live."

"What?"

"Thanks to his dense molecular structure he will sink to the very bottom, yes. I didn't make him able to breathe underwater, yes. But you better keep your fingers crossed that he hits land, because getting his organs filled with water will only induce him to a coma-like state. I know you were hoping for your problem to resolve itself. But if that happens, you won't be able to find him. 'Cause guess what? I made him blue! Bwahahaha!" Jumba leaned back, unable to contain his laughter. 

The Councilwoman crinkled her non-existent nose while the rest watched in bewilderment. Jumba wiped a tear of laughter, then continued. 

"I mean, he would be bound to wake up someday, if he did crash in the middle of the ocean. It might take years, before the water levels drop. He might catch you old and unprepared, completely off guard. So... How would you sleep at night?" he said, casting a dreadful feeling into the air as he spoke the last sentence. 

At that, the committee visibly deflated in incertitude. 'A dreaded evaluation', was an understatement. They couldn't just luck out on a matter this important. What was the Councilwoman thinking? It's almost as if she was trying to relieve herself of the responsibility, that was the custody of the runaway.

Chitters and whispers were heard, irritating the Councilwoman. The quiet assumptions about her 'lack of competence despite the high rank' made her blood boil. Putting the position she worked very hard for to question. All of this, because she couldn't control the uncontrollable.

To save face she needed to take action. Immediately. These fools will soon know why she's the one in charge. 

Agent Pleakley, the Earth expert, entered the vision, giving the Councilwoman an idea. 

*Back on Earth, Current Time*

Heaving, feeling her heart throbbing in her throat, Lilo left the kitchen, geared up in a make-shift armor out of kitchen utensils, ready to face the worst. In her hands, covered in oven mitts, she was holding a broom, as her weapon of choice. Her head wrapped in tin foil, to protect herself in case the alien could read her mind, was additionally covered by a colander. And for damage control, she tied two frying pans to her torso, one on the front and one on the back, with a laundry line. 

Despite the exchange she had with him earlier, she was scared. After her little meltdown, she lost the ability to think right. His image imprinted at the back of her eyelids. She had no idea what to do or how to act. But what she knew for sure, was that she needed to find him.

He hasn't left the house, she could tell. Tip-toeing around the living room she noticed a few things were off. The carpet was dented, the pillows were off the couch, and the coffee table was overturned.

"Guess someone tripped and fell.'" she thought to herself.

Uncertain, she turned towards the corridor. And as she was nearing the doorframe, she was startled by a loud metal clattering. As if the shower curtain rod fell on the bathroom tile floor. 

Somehow, as if she wasn't scared enough already, and as if she didn't pinch and bite her arm to make sure that this wasn't just a dream just a few minutes ago, she felt it dawn on her. Deep in her gut, an anxiety spread, set her nerves on fire. Putting her body on high-alert. 

But before she could let the feeling take over, the soft sound of the record playing in the kitchen brought her a sense of clarity. All this while, she didnt even notice she was mentally muffling Elvis. She sighed when it came to her that the current song's title was 'Something Blue'. As ironic as it was. 

She took a moment to build up some courage, clenching her hands around the broom stick. Taking a big gulp of air she held her breath, to listen for movement. Then, rushed right in. 

Chapter Text

Busting the bathroom door open with her bare foot wasn't a good idea. In an attempt to catch the alien off guard Lilo decided to rush into action before her bravery dissipated. Instead, she found herself hanging on the door handle by her elbow, and holding on to her throbbing big toe.

As it turned out, her well planned ambush was in vain. Somehow the alien had vanished before she got there. Grinding her teeth, she kept from howling in pain. Scowling at the shower curtain rod on the floor Lilo was now certain that the alien was messing with her. It was an obvious tactical diversion. It worked, she could give him that.

Straightening back up she scanned the bathroom for anything out of place. Aside from shampoo bottles thrown into the tub and a couple of other things left strewn across the floor everything else seemed to be intact. There wasn't really a proper hiding spot for the alien in here, so she gingerly started picking up some of the amenities. 

But now she was weirded out, because how the heck did he flee? She entered through the only door leading inside, and the window was closed. Did he close it after he left? Is he gone? No... It didnt feel right.

As she was looking through the window in search for anything blue, she heard a grumble, a crunch, then an agitated thumping.

"Yep. He's still inside."  she thought. 

The noise came from the room next door. It was Nani's. Lilo was certain, that if the alien started breaking her stuff, she would be in so much trouble. Nevermind the wet cabinets in the kitchen, or objects scatterd on the living- and bathroom floor. She could take care of that and no one would've known. But if he broke any of her big sister's golden cups from tournamets...

Anxious and a little on edge, Lilo peeked her head into the corridor. Then hesitantly followed into her big sister's room. The door was slightly ajar, despite normally being closed all the time. With the bristle-side of the broom she pushed the door open, to witness what she feared. Upon further inspection though, it turned out that the old floorboards were simply not on par with the heavy metal cup shaped like a surfer. It was dug headfirst into the floor. 

Clicking her tounge Lilo grabbed the surfer-cup by the legs and pulled it from the wooden plank. The damage was very noticable, it definately wouldn't go unnoticed by Nani. For the time being, a carpet cover-up would have to do. Patting the carpet gently over the hole with her foot she deemed her work sufficient. She would worry about getting scolded later. 

Because now there was another problem at hand. There were only so many rooms left in her house the unwanted guest had yet to explore. So either she kept playing this stupid cat-and-mouse-hide-and-seek game, or she would actually have to hunt him down. All by herself. He did say he needed her help, but the way he said it, and the way he disrespectfully sifted through her home made him all the more unwelcome. And Lilo still wasn't sure how she would go about this. 

A chill ran down her spine as she noticed, how it's been awfully quiet for a while. Turning her head she listened for something, anything. Biting her lip she decided it was best if she went back to the corridor. That way she had a better chance to catch where he headed next. 

Facing the attic entrance, right on the ceiling next to the bathroom, she strained her ears trying to hear for footsteps. Only to jump in place in fright at the sound of the coffee machine turning on, almost tipping the colander off her head.

She made a gruff growl and stomped her foot. It didnt occur to her that it was so late already, that the automatic setting for Nani's 'coffee time' would set off. Today's circumstances made Lilo glad that her sister wasn't able to make it home on time. But that had left her to question, how much time she actually had left. Would she be able to catch the alien before she got back? And even if, what would she tell Nani? How would she react? Would she... No. There was no way she could let Nani know.

Following that spiral of thought she felt engulfed in cold sweat. She couldn't allow the illusion of normalcy she created to melt away. She didn't let herself to be hurt for this long to lose that. Her sacrifices will prove meaningless.

Sighing with a heavy chest she dragged herself to the kitchen, craving some caffeine, some relief. Rubbing her fingers against her temple she felt her hair stand on end. That's when her eyes went wide. The blue alien had both his upper arms rested on the counter and the other set at his hips, watching the coffee getting done. Somehow, it felt surreal. Lilo's brain short-circuited again.

Oh, how silly this must've looked to an bystanders eye. A fuzzy blue alien getting captivated by the most basic thing possible. And a pre-teen, all silly, dressed up in kitchenware. 

As the coffee machine went silent, the alien acknowledged her presence by turning to her with the stinkiest eye she'd ever seen. What was his problem? All sassy for no reason. Lilo returned the look and steadied her hold on the broomstick. 

When he noticed her getup he smirked with a noise then went back to ignoring her, by grabbing the glass tureen with the freshly brewed liquid, examining it. Lilo decided it was best she asserted some sort of superiority over him before he got any ideas. He already treated her like a joke. It was time to swallow up her fear and teach him some manners.

Taking a step forwards she pretended to be winding up for a strike with her broom. Winning his attention, she locked eyes with him. She noticed they were not so different from hers. Deep black, empty, hard to read. The only difference was that he seemingly lacked any sclera, making it hard to determine where he was looking. 

"I don't like the way you're acting. This is my house. You can't just do whatever you want. So you either behave, get out, or get hurt." Lilo advized the alien, cutting to the chase. 

He gave her a condescending look, as if positive of her bluff. Without breaking eye contact he smiled smugly, taking a sip from the tureen. That was it. 

She swung her broom. She may have took the bait, but she was no small fish. So now, once again, after a while that felt too long, Lilo let her rage take over. Just as the record player hit "Blue Suade Shoes", which was... weirdly fitting.

Surprised herself that she menaged to hit the alien square on the head, making him splash and spill half of the coffee, she couldn't bring herself to stop the edges of her mouth from curling. Off guard, the alien grabbed the sore spot and growled, baring his teeth. Unfortunately for him that intimidation tactic didn't work anymore. He had to bend himself in all kinds of ways to dodge the series of attacks that followed. 

Gulping down the remaining coffee he chose to indulge this little girl. He threw the now empty tureen on the wall right next to Lilo to daunt her. The girl shrieked, covering her face and ducking out of the way as glass shards exploded across a quarter of the kitchen. 

"HAVE YOU LOST IT?!" she yelled furiously, taking the colander off her head and aiming it at him. 

Trying to evade the blunt piece of metals' trajectory he nearly slipped on the spilled coffee. The loud clang along with all the screaming made his ears hurt, but it didn't mean he wasn't having fun. He slid into the living room, excited for an confrontation. The girl followed him not long after. She threw her thick wooly gloves to a corner, hastily peeled off the shiny foil on her head and readied herself for another swing. 

"Don't forget you asked me for help" was her last warning. 

The alien hummed, tapping a clawed finger on his chin, as if contemplating her words. Only to quickly crouch down to grab a throw pillow at his feet and plunk it in Lilo's face, hard. She stumbled backwards a few steps even though she blocked most of the impact with the broomstick. All she could hear besides the blood pumping inside her eardrums was maniacal giggling. Opening her eyes she saw him bent in half, holding his mid-section, while she was huffing up the wall. 

Not wasting another second she started beating on his exposed back, making him voice his displeasure. He flailed his arms,  switching between trying to catch or blocking the broomstick. But for some reason, only found himself smacked around the head. And here he thought that his anger was unmatched.

"This is getting annoying."

After the enth hit she roared and swung down on him with all her might. Hoping that would end the fight. Instead, Lilo's `final power move' landed in his open palm. Immediately curling his fingers he crushed the piece of wood in half. 

The satisfying crunch made Lilo stop in her tracks. Looking at the splintered end of the stick she was still clutching in her hands she felt most of the confidence she had leave her body. A little pale on the face she glanced back up at him. He looked amused. And that somehow provoked her to no end. She couldn't stand being looked at like that. She couldn't take it. Not anymore. 

Throwing the reminder of her weapon to the ground, Lilo clenched her hands into fists and put herself into a fighting stance. The alien oohed in pleasant surprise and mirrored her movement, a sharp-toothed smile plastered on his face.

He was obviously going to keep holding back on her, she was far too interesting. No one has ever entertained him for this long, for the sole reason that most of his victims knew of him, how powerful he was. The majority of time anyone who stood in his way succumbed to fear before he had the chance to lay a finger on them. Engaging in such a playful sparring session was a novelty to him, and he didn't want it to end. 

He swiftly kicked the halved stick and pillows out of the way, making the young female tighten her guard and glance down on his feet. He grinned, assuming she thought he was about to strike. It was a mystery to him how a creature consumed by fear was brave enough to will themselves to fight with someone like him. But he was far from complaining.

Bouncing in place he decided he would let the female strike first, he even exposed a better half of his torso to lure her in. But then he noticed her unsure expression, putting him into a standstill. He tilted his head to the side in query.

"Is it so cool to bully little girls? Four fists against two is a little bit unfair, don't you think?" she explained her disaffection.

He looked downwards at his lower set of arms, sprawled to the sides with claws at the ready. He wasn't planning on using them, he already had the advantage as is. But it sure must've been an discouraging sight for the girl. Putting his main set above his head he made room for the secondary appendages to suck themselves back into his ribcage.

At the grotesque display Lilo made a disgusted noise but was now content enough to continue their standoff. She started circling him, changing her stance every now and then, deciding how she was going to attack. While the alien stood in place, his arms now loosely hanging at his hips, following her movement with his ears.

When Lilo rounded his back the second time she resolved herself to leap and put him into a chokehold from behind. Expecting this, the alien let himself get grabbed, only to immediately shake her off. Making the girl to painfully land on her back.

Lilo groaned, turning to the side. From the peripheral of her blurry vision she saw the figure of her opponent looming above. His arms were crossed and appeared to be disappointed. She let out something akin to a war cry as she pulled him down by the bend of his knee with all the strength she could muster from her position.

Taken aback by the effective move the alien let out a yelp as he felt himself getting dragged. When she successfully made him crumble to the floor she forced her way on top of him. Getting a hold of his long ear in her left hand she tried to punch his face with the other, but to no avail. The alien caught her by the wrist just in the wrong time.

She struggled to wriggle out of his painfully hard grasp on her wrists, but then she remembered that she still had a hold of his ear. Pinching him hard he let out a cry of pain, letting her go. Wasting no second she threw a series of hits upon his face.

Her face was twisted into a deranged grimace. Every punch felt like a get-back at her bullies. For all the hardships that life itself seemed to throw at her. A revenge for all the cruel treatment she had to endure, truly a dream come true. She could swear she felt the frame of Martle's glasses bend against her knuckles. Just like couple years ago, when the girl stumbled upon her in the school hallway and started picking on her, at the worst time possible.

At that time, just like right now, all she could see was red. She couldn't help it. The punches that connected with Martle's face and the sound of her breaking nose felt so good. And she hated herself for it, for feeling this way. It wasn't normal.

Her body was put on autopilot, soly operating on instinct. While her mind was clouded and loud, just like the storm on the day that her parents-

Completely out of breath she felt herself recover from her trance-like state. Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears she couldn't shed. Gulping down the knot that formed in her throat she returned back to reality, her eyes searching for her opponent's face. Finding him hiding behind his hands. Only after a couple of heavy breaths he slowly revealed himself back. There was a dribble of vivid pink liquid running down from his round nose.

Clearly pissed off he locked eyes with Lilo and let out a low growl that rattled her whole body, since she was basically sitting on top of his chest. An immediate sense of danger washed over her, but she found herself unable to move. Either too tired or too paralized by fear, she couldn't tell anymore. Then the alien supported his upper half by the elbows, put a foot on her face, and basically pushed her off himself that way.

Lilo grunted as her back hit the floorboards once again, completely awake now after her little outburst. She felt guilty for letting herself go like that, even though the alien was a roughneck he didn't deserve to be her punching bag.

Both of them took the time to recuperate, each on the opposite sides of the carpet. Lilo eyed him as he was wiping what appeared to be his blood off his upper lip. He inspected the stain, then decided to lick it off the back of his hand. Feeling Lilo's gaze on him he turned her way and hissed in warning. She hissed back, mimicking his glower.

That's when the runaway's patience wore thin. Who did she think she is? She's alive only because he was holding back. And yet here she was, acting high and mighty, just because she drew only one drop of his blood. Big deal. He threatened entire galaxies just by existing. Her accomplishments would never compare. 

The alien felt a sudden surge of energy. And decided it was best to use it to put the girl in check. As he positioned himself into a crouch he let out a scratchy squawk. A start of a pathetic, childish tantrum he needed to let out of his system. 

Covering her ears, Lilo hollered in disdain. Fueled by her reaction, the alien felt urged to continue his naughty behaviour. Not only did he keep screeching, determined to add gasoline to the fire, he jumped onto the ceiling and started cawling on all fours.

Terrified by this sight Lilo got up and ran out of the living room screaming, with the alien following close behind.

"THIS THING WALKS ON WALLS!!!"