I do not own Lilo and Stitch, though this story is of my own creation.

Chapter 15

For what seemed like hours, Stitch walked through hundreds of doors in his attempt to find where the real Lilo was. Stitch had realized that behind each door was a memory of Lilo's. The first door he went through was the first memory that Lilo was able to remember. As he continued down the hallway and looked through the doors, Stitch saw aspects of Lilo's life that he had never seen before as well those he had experienced aside his best friend and current lover. The fights with Gantu and Hamsterviel, the many attempts to become friends with Mertle and her gang of girls, the battles with the experiments and helping them find their one true place were but a few memories Stitch had witnessed. The most devastating of memories that Stitch came across were those established by the death of Lilo's parents. Since Lilo herself never saw her parents die or see their bodies after the tragic accident that took their lives, Stitch only saw the emotional pain Lilo and her sister experienced. He did not stay long in this memory, feeling more helpless than ever after being there for what seemed like only a minute. Stitch had been fortunate not to run into Apolline while searching for Lilo, but still was no closer to finding where she was. He repeatedly tried to call out to her through their telepathic link, but this was to no avail. It seemed that opening the doors was the only option left to him, even though every second was important.

Stitch was about to open another door when he paused. He felt something different around him, like a soft breeze on the beach. He backed away from the door and closed his eyes, once again calling out to Lilo. A minute had passed and nothing had happened. "Perhaps I was imagining it" though Stitch as he opened his eyes.

"Stitch"

Stitch became alert. He was sure that he had heard Lilo's voice and began to call out to her. "Lilo, where are you?"

"Help me"

Stitch looked back and forth in hopes of finding where the voice was coming from. Looking carefully, he noticed one the doors he had already seen was glowing brightly. He ran on all fours back to the door, hoping that this was the clue he needed to find the real Lilo. All the doors were the same, numberless brown doors with only a handle to open them. Nonetheless, the memory behind the shining door made an impression on Stitch that made it easy to know which door he was about to open. He did want to go through, but for even the slimmest of chances to find and save Lilo, he opened the door and walked into the memory.

Stitch arrived into the living room of his home, or would be his home some time after this event. There were two people in the living room; Lilo was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the floor while tears flowed down her cheeks, and Nani was pacing back and forth, screaming and crying at no one in particular. Stitch had already seen this not too long ago, but still cringed at being here. This was the aftermath of the Pelekai sisters learning of the death of their parents; Lilo became catatonic while Nani became emotional unstable. He did not know how long this event had lasted for, but was sure that every moment would have felt like an eternity to the sisters.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Stitch did not remember this part, though it could be that he simply left before coming to this part of the memory. Nani turned her attention to the door and walked towards to open it, wiping the tears from her eyes. As she opened the door, she gasped at the sight she had seen.

A tall black man stood at the front door. She looked down at Nani; his black suit, black sunglasses, and bald head gave off an impression on someone not to mess with or cross in any situation. "Ms. Nani Pelekai?" asked the tall man. Nani shook her head to acknowledge herself, unable to speak from the shock of the man and the grief she was still feeling. "My name is Cobra Bubbles. I am with social services".

Nani open her mouth several times to speak, but failed to get any sound to come out. After a few tries, Nani managed to say a few words. "Why are you here?"

Cobra took a deep breath and began speaking. "I'll get straight to the point. I need for your sister to come with me"

Nani froze where she was standing, but she was not the only one. Stitch felt as if he was frozen on the spot he was standing on. "Lilo was taken away before I arrived. How come she never mentioned this to me before" though Stitch to himself, unsure what was happening.

Nani once again tried to speak, to ask the reasons for this or what would happen to her younger sister. Instead, she only managed to whisper one word. "Why?"

Cobra glared down at the smaller women, maintaining his impassive facial features. "With your parents gone, there is no one in her family suitable to watch over her as a parental figure"

Nani's anger became apparent. "What do you mean? I'm more than capable of taking care of my sister".

"Contrary to what you believe, you are not fit to raise Lilo" said Bubbles

"Give me one god damn reason!" said Nani as she pointed her finger at Cobra.

Cobra lifted his hand as if to strike Nani down where she stood; instead, he reached into his suit and pulled out a folder. "There is evidence that you were involved in the murder of your parents".

Stitch watched the events unfold with disbelief. "These can't be Lilo's real memories. None of this ever happened. Her parents died due to a rain storm". Stitch turned his attention to Lilo; she had not moved once since he arrived in this memory. Lilo's tear kept flowing down her cheek, leading to Stitch wiping them off with his finger.

Cobra continued telling Nani that they were going to have to take Lilo and away and that she was to be taken into custody when he turned to face Lilo. He took of his glasses and stared coldly at the small girl sitting on the couch, noticing that her cheeks were no longer wet from the tears she had moments ago. He proceeded towards Lilo, but was blocked off by Nani, still screaming at him about taking Lilo away.

Stitch finished wiping the tears from Lilo's cheeks and looked into her eyes. They were not filled with life and love, but with despair and hopelessness. He attempted to grab her hand, unsure if he would be able to within a memory. To his surprise, she was solid and capable of being held by Stitch. "Lilo" whispered Stitch.

Lilo slowly lifted her head until she was able to look in the eyes of the person in front of her. She simply stared for a few moments, seemingly unable to speak. A moment later, her eyes opened a little more as she spoke softly "Stitch?"

Cobra was trying to walk around Nani, who was yelling that he had no right to take her sister away. Finally, he grabbed Nani by her shirt and brought her face to his. He stared at her his such hatred that Nani could no longer speak, much less complain. "I'm taking Lilo with me, so get out of my way". Cobra slammed Nani in the nearest wall, her skull cracking upon impact. She collapsed to the floor as Cobra put his sunglasses back on and fixed his tie. He turned his attention back to Lilo, who had moved her head and appeared to be speaking to someone.

"Lilo, I finally found you" said Stitch as he let go of Lilo's hand and hugged her. He let the tears he was holding back flow from his eyes, not wanting to hide the happiness he felt being with his love.

Before Lilo had a chance to respond, Cobra cleared his throat loudly enough to catch the attention of Stitch and Lilo. Both experiment and girl let go and looked at the staggering figure. He had regained his composure; only the slumped body of Nani gave evidence to his momentary rage. "Lilo Pelekai, I need you to come with me now"

Lilo looked back at Stitch, unsure of what was happening. Stitch could tell by Lilo's facial expressions that she was confused. "Lilo, this is all just a memory that Apolline had fabricated to keep you distracted while she took over. I'm here to help you regain control of your body and mind and put an end to your dark side".

Cobra had reached into his suit, pulled out a handgun, and aimed it at Lilo "Get up and follow me now" said Cobra. Without warning, Cobra was sent flying back into the wall ten feet behind him, his gun dropped at soon as the cause of the impact connected. A moment after regaining his wits, he lifted his head up and looked at the cause of this transgression. A blue alien, no bigger than the girl he was aiming his gun at, was snarling at him with rage. As he tried to get up, to confront the monster that had attacked him, he felt his body give up and his mind slipping into unconsciousness.

Lilo jumped off the couch and slowed walked towards Stitch, who had calmed down once Cobra was no longer a threat. Stitch turned to face Lilo, who had started crying again, but not as severely as before. "I remember now. We were fighting Aadevia. I tried to transfer my negative feelings onto the other experiments to slow down Apolline, but it didn't work. She managed to take over while imprisoning me here: said Lilo. She turned her attention towards Cobra. "Why couldn't he see you, and why wasn't I able to break free of this illusion?"

"Cobra couldn't see me probably because I was not part of the illusion Apolline had created. It was only after I made my presence know when I attacked him could he see me. As for you, Apolline choose your worst experience and used it to model a prison for you. You were too depressed and scared to be able fight it" said Stitch

Lilo lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry" said meekly.

Stitch walked closer to Lilo and held her hands in his. "It's not your fault. No one would blame you for this, especially not me. Only Apolline is to blame, and we need to stop her for good"

Lilo closed her eyes and shook her head. "Stitch, I don't think I can do it"

Stitch pulled Lilo in for a hug and held her firmly. "You can. I'll be with you the whole time".

Lilo hesitated for a moment before hugging Stitch back. "Thank you".

Apolline was not happy. Lilo had broken out of the prison created for her and had teamed up with her love. Apolline would need to put an end to this threat to her existence once and for all. The time for games had come to an end.