Disclaimer- I do not own Lilo and Stitch x(

I love Reuben. I just do. Thanx to cat94208 for getting me pumped to write this!

Reuben rested his chin in his paws. Once again, Gantu was mad at him. This happened a lot. Gantu would get steamed, sulk in a corner somewhere, then cool off and come back. But not this time. Gantu hadn't spoken to Reuben for over 4 days.

Of course, there was no place to cool off here. The BRB 9000 wasn't all that big. Reuben had finished exploring the ship 2 days after they had set off for their first police mission. The ship was boring now. As a galley officer, Reuben's job didn't have much to do, so Reuben's days were free to make sandwiches and make wisecracks about everything Gantu did. Normally, Reuben would be content doing this all day every day, but after the battle with experiment 629, Leroy, Reuben craved adventure and excitement.

He scowled. Gantu got to do everything fun. Chasing criminals, capturing them, bringing them to justice, the works. Gantu got all the credit. Reuben was just the alien in the background that nobody noticed.

Reuben once again bubbled up with anger. Gantu is really quick tempered Reuben thought. All I did was put a cheese sandwich on the engine to grill. Was it MY fault that the cheese jammed the fan? Was it MY fault that the engine overheated? Reuben sighed. Yeah, it was. The engine had exploded and now they were on Planet Turo for repairs. Since everything was Gantu-sized on the ship, Reuben couldn't operate the grill by himself. At least Gantu tolerated me. Reuben knew that Gantu's job as a captain and police officer kept him pretty busy, but Reuben was still lonely.

Thank goodness Gantu doesn't have to be anywhere near me now. Planet Turo was huge! Actually, it wasn't a planet, but in fact, an enormous ship. Reuben could go anywhere he pleased! He dragged his furry golden body off Gantu's bed and walked towards the door. His black leather jacket rubbed uncomfortably at his neck and Reuben pulled at the collar. He preferred not to have it on, but since he had to go with Gantu on every mission, he always had it on in case of emergency. Oh the joy Reuben thought sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

He exited the ship's main door and started off through the crowded halls of Planet Turo. He reflected on the past 4 years. He had been created by Dr. Jumba Jookiba, an evil scientist working for Galaxy Defense Industries, who had made 625 other experiments as well, ending with Stitch, his closest cousin. The Council of Planet Turo found out about Stitch, arrested Jumba for creating evil monsters, and banished Stitch to exile on an asteroid. Of course, Stitch got away in a police cruiser and landed on a planet called Earth where he befriended an Earthling. Jumba and a one-eyed green noodly alien named Pleakley were sent after him to try and get him back, but failed. Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley were banned to Earth to live with the Earthling.

After that, Gantu sought the help of another evil scientist named Dr. Jacques Von Hamsterveil, who used him to steal a canister of experiment pods, which are experiments in their dehydrated form, and use them to make an army of experiments so Hamsterveil could take over the Galactic Alliance. Thinking that Reuben could defeat Stitch, they activated him since he was the closest to Stitch and found out that the only thing he could do was make sandwiches. Gantu stole the canister, but Stitch and the Earth girl snuck on the ship and emptied the contents of the canister over Hawaii. The pods landed in random places over the Hawaiian Islands and they would be activated if they touched water. Bad idea, since the Hawaiian Islands were SURROUNDED by water.

Reuben and Gantu were stranded in a cove for 3 years, trying to capture experiments for Hamsterveil, who was in jail. Stitch and Lilo always captured them, gave them names, and put them in the one place they truly belong. For example, there was a fat pink experiment that made sweet waves. Lilo called him Cannonball and his true place was making waves at the beach. Reuben smiled to himself as he remembered the wave that had sent Gantu to San Francisco.

Finally, Lilo and Stitch caught all the experiments and got rewarded by the Grand Council Woman, ruler of the galaxy. Lilo was Earths first ambassador and looked after the experiments on Earth. Stitch became captain of the BRB 9000, Jumba got the keys to his science lab back, and Pleakley got to be a professor at the Galactic Alliance Community College, or GACC. They stayed in space and Lilo was heartbroken. Meanwhile, Gantu got fed up and went to go break Hamsterveil out of jail, leaving Reuben on the ship. To pay the bills, Reuben turned the ship into a sandwich shop.

Gantu succeeded in getting Hamsterveil out of the slammer and they blackmailed Jumba into making another experiment for him. A re-creation of Stitch, but red, could change colors, and more evil. Hamsterveil named him Leroy and cloned him until he had an army of Leroy clones. Stitch was a police officer, so he had burst in and battled Leroy, accidentally locking himself in a capture container. Hamsterveil sent Jumba, Stitch, and Pleakley on course to a black hole.

Lilo had begun to worry about Stitch, so she had been trying to contact him. But there was no way to call into space because she couldn't get in touch with a Secret Agent, Cobra Bubbles, who could call space, and there was no other galactic communicator except on Reuben's ship. So she had gone there, and bribed him into fixing the video phone. They became friends and Lilo finally named him after a Reuben sandwich.

They found out Stitch was in trouble, Reuben helped fix the ship, and they flew to space. Leroy had gotten to Earth and caught all the experiments so Hamsterveil could destroy them. Hamsterveil had taken over Planet Turo by the time they got there and had thrown Reuben and Lilo into jail. Gantu came and got them out, Reuben discovered his powers, and they took a ship to Earth just in time to save the experiments, or "cousins" Stitch called them because they were part of his family, or "o'hana" in Hawaiian. They battled the Leroy army and won. Just thinking of Lilo and Stitch made Reuben's heart swell.

Of course! While Gantu was angry, Reuben would take a trip to Earth and visit Lilo, Stitch, and the cousins! But, he would have to get permission from the Grand Council Woman. Reuben changed direction and set off towards the Grand Council Woman's office.

Reuben entered the huge double doors and walked nervously to her desk. Even now, the Grand Council Woman made him nervous. To Reuben, there were 2 sides. A funny, goofball side he used more often, and a respectful, considerate side he used with important people. The Grand Council Woman was one of those people. She spun around in her high-backed chair and asked, "625? What have you come for?"

Reuben shuffled his feet and fixed his gaze on the floor. "Gantu's pretty busy right now, and I've finished all my duties, so I was wondering if…if I could go to Earth for a visit. Maybe a day or two." The Grand Council Woman smiled warmly.

"Of course you can. I'll prepare a crew to bring with you."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go…by myself." There was a stunned silence.

Finally the Grand Council Woman replied, "If that's what you want, so be it." Reuben was filled with relief and he dipped his head respectfully.

"Thank you."

Before long, Reuben was on a ship with coordinates to Earth. Reuben activated hyper drive and took off.

"Entering Earth's atmosphere" An electronic voice beeped. Reuben's paws started to sweat. He hadn't seen Lilo or Stitch in a year. Would they remember him? He landed the ship almost right behind the house. He got out and was immediately knocked down with a huge tackle. He heard the alien words for, "Who're you?" the dust in Reuben's eyes cleared away as he blinked and he saw the blue face of Stitch looking down at him.

"H-hey cuz!" Reuben raised a shaky paw in greeting. The snarl on Stitch's face turned into a huge smile.

"Reuben! Long time no see! Lilo missed you!" He gave Reuben a hug. "I did too!" Stitch still couldn't speak English very well. Stitch led Reuben into the house. He yelled, "Lilo! Visitor!" Reuben could hear heavy footsteps thudding down stairs. That doesn't make sense. Lilo is a light girl and she doesn't have stairs, she has an elevator. But the footsteps weren't Lilos. It was Jumba standing in the doorway looking at him and Lilo had squeezed around him.

"625! Haven't seen you in while. How goes the job?" Jumba asked in his thick Russian accent.

Reuben shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Gantu's busy all the time now and he's kinda mad at me, so I came for a visit."

"I'm so glad you did! I missed you!" Lilo rushed forward and swept him up in a big embrace. Stitch looked shocked, then jealous. Lilo gestured inside.

"Come in! Nani's out right now, so it's pretty quiet here. I have a friend over, though." Jumba went back to his makeshift lab in Lilos old bedroom and Reuben stepped into the house. Stitch growled menacingly.

"Stitch," Lilo scolded, "Reuben isn't an enemy anymore! Behave yourself!" Stitch mumbled something in alien roughly translating to, "old habits die hard". Reuben chuckled quietly.

As Lilo led him up to their room, Reuben noticed that she had gotten taller. Well, duh. Reuben said to himself Lilo's 11 years old now! Of course she's taller! The elevator arrived at the main bedroom and there on the bed, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen! Her perfect, dark brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and as the elevator went up, she turned her gorgeous dark eyes to him. A loose shirt and sweat pants covered her slim figure. Reuben's jaw dropped. Lilo introduced her.

"Reuben, this is Megan. She's my best friend. She knows all about the experiments and wants one of her own." That can be arranged. Reuben swallowed hard. Stitch did and evil grin and closed Reuben's mouth for him.

"Oo lala, ich?" Stitch whispered in his ear.

"Knock it off, cuz." Reuben threatened, but didn't take his eyes off Megan.

"Aloha, Reuben!" Megan greeted him in Hawaiian. "I've heard a lot about you!"

"Y-you h-have!" Reuben stammered. He normally wasn't this unstable. Megan crossed the room, leaned down, and hugged him. Reuben blushed bright pink and Stitch snickered.

"I've seen all the experiments on the island, but I think you're my favorite of them all." Megan said.

"I-I AM?' Reuben was confused. "out of all 626 experiments I'M your favorite?"

"Yup! Out of all of them!" Reuben felt lighter than he had in days. Finally! Someone appreciates me! Lilo interrupted.

"So, Reuben. Why is Gantu mad at you?" Reuben told the story of the grilled cheese and engine. When he got to the cheese-melting-all-over-the-fan part, Megan kind of giggled, making Reuben's voice crack. He swallowed and continued. When he finished, Lilo commented, "You must've been in a hurry! You didn't even take your uniform off!" Once again, Reuben was reminded of the uncomfortable rubbing against his neck. "Do you mind if I take it off?"

"Go ahead." Reuben unzipped the jacket and slipped his arms out of the holes. He folded it and set it in the corner. He had missed the way the air had felt on his soft yellow tummy fur. He went on all fours, gave himself a shake, and stood back up.

"Aww!" Megan cooed, "You look even cuter without it!" Lilo nodded in agreement. Stitch growled under his breath. Reuben changed the subject.

"Um… if you don't mind, I'd like to see the other cousins too."

"Sure!" Megan grinned, "I'll come with you."

Reuben walked beside Megan as she led him down the street towards the beach. Megan waved at another experiment. "Hi Snooty!" The purple bat nodded and smiled at Megan. Reuben counted all the other experiments they had seen so far. Slushy, Splodyhead, Clip, Tank, Sprout, Gigi, Felix, Slick, and Topper. There were still a lot more to see. They had visited the place where Kernel was supposed to be, but strangely, he wasn't there. Megan broke the awkward silence between them.

"So Reuben. Your true place is with Gantu in space?" Reuben noted that Megan sounded a bit sad. Reuben looked at the sidewalk.

"I suppose so. Since Gantu is always busy with the BRB he doesn't really notice me. Unless I do something wrong." Reuben was surprised to feel a jump in his heart every time he thought about Megan or talked to her.

"And do you…LIKE it there?"

"Yeah I guess." By this time they had reached the beach. Ploot had seen them and come over to investigate. Megan squatted down and rubbed his head. Reuben felt his heart jump and he realized that he was having…FEELINGS for this human. He loved the way that every move she made was graceful and smooth. He caught himself staring at her and promptly looked toward Ploot. He was grinning, kind of evilly, and glanced toward Megan and back again. Reuben did a double take. Are my feelings really that obvious?

Reuben scurried to catch up with Megan, who was making her way to Cannonball's rock. When he got there, Megan was already hugging him and saying goodbye. He glanced at Reuben and smiled sweetly. A fake sweet. Like too much icing on a cupcake. Reuben shuddered at the thought. Cannonball flicked his ear in the direction of Megan who was standing on the beach, waiting for him. Blitznack! Reuben cursed silently. Will everybody know about how I feel by the end of the day? Reuben crossed his arms and scowled at the smirking Cannonball.

"What's up, Reuben? You look mad." Reuben's mood immediately changed when he heard Megan's voice behind him.

"I'm fine." Then they left to go see Yin and Yang, who were making small islands in the middle of the ocean. (They also noticed Reubens' feelings toward Megan.) They headed off toward the lighthouse to see Sparky after that.

After they had seen all the experiments, they headed back to the house. "So," Megan started, breaking the awkward silence between them, "does Gantu nag you a lot? Do you like living with him?"

"Well, when he does see me, he bugs me a bit. But he's mostly too busy being the captain of the BRB and PRETENDING to be important." He reached up and rubbed the back of his furry golden-yellow head. "He would lose it if it weren't for me. I organize all the ships and make prints for plans and such. It doesn't take very long, so I have a lot of free time. Living with him is OK, I suppose, but it can get kinda boring. I mean, I can have everything I want, but there's no…" He struggled for the right word, "excitement."

Megan hesitated before answering. "W-would you want to live… here? On Earth?" Reuben stopped dead. Megan looked back at him and nervously licked her lips.

"I-I'll have to think about it." Reuben felt torn. He already missed Gantu a bit, but he felt as if his one true place was here with Megan. Megan continued.

"I live by myself. I… am an outcast. I have no mom or dad. If you did stay here," she wrung her hands together and looked at the sidewalk, "you could live with me." Reuben said nothing. Without warning, Megan leaned down and took his paw in her hand. Reuben's heart jumped, but he made no effort to take it away. They walked that way all the way home.

Back at the house, Reuben settled in to a makeshift bed consisting of a laundry basket and a lot of blankets. He thought about Megan. He had left her at the dirt crossroads about ¼ of a mile away from Lilos' home. Her house was blocked by trees, so Reuben couldn't really see it. She had said that she would be fine when he offered to walk her to her house, and they had waved goodbye there.

But Reuben was worried. That's why he'd planned to sneak out once he was sure everyone was sleeping. Throwing the covers off, he crawled out of the laundry basket and quietly headed towards the door. Suddenly, he heard a movement in the kitchen. He heard mutterings that sounded Russian. It was Jumba. Reuben stood completely still. Then, Jumba grabbed whatever he was disconnecting from the counter and went back to the room he shared with Pleakley. After the door closed, Reuben let out a silent sigh of relief. He stuck his head through the dog door and his shoulders followed. But right in the middle, he got stuck. Pushing with both arms, he tried to free himself. His back end just wouldn't come through. Giving up, he set his back legs against the door and pushed. His head popped free of the dog door and he was sent rolling backwards and crashing into the wall behind him. He was silent for a minute, wondering if anyone had heard him.

Well, I can't go though the dog door. What other choices do I have? He suddenly felt a cool breeze. He glanced up to see that the window was open. He grinned. Walking up to the wall, he realized that he could only haul his body up the wall with his 2 extra arms. He sighed. He hated having them out. They were so uncomfortable and awkward. But he would have to have them out to see Megan. So, reluctantly, he shoved his other 2 arms out of their sucked-in position and gripped the wall with all 16 fingers. He dragged his body up the wall and he put his head out the window. The rest of his body soon followed. Walking down the stairs, he headed off in the direction of where he last saw Megan.

The house was totally dark, although, Reuben wouldn't really call it a house. More like a creepy mansion right in the middle of nowhere that no one would think there was an 11 year old girl living there and on top of that, the door was 10 feet off the ground! Reuben sighed again. He knew what this meant. Shoving his other 2 arms out again, he began his slow climb to the door.

Collapsing at the top, Reuben gasped for breath. He was REALLY out of practice! Breathing normally again, he tried to look at his surroundings. There was nothing up in the mansion except black. He activated his night vision and looked around. There was a whole bunch of furniture that was covered in white sheets. The walls and floor were coated in dust and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. A confused expression crossed Reubens' features. He was sure he saw Megan coming this way.

Suddenly, Reuben was tackled from behind. He was once again sent somersaulting into the wall. Dust flew everywhere, making Reuben cough hard. Something dark green pinned his arms down… all 4 of them! As well as his legs! The thing growled, "Back, stranger! You're trespassing on private property!"

"I'm sorry! I was just looking for a friend in here!" Reuben struggled against the iron grip of his attacker. Then, the snarl on its lips died and its eyes glowed red, a sign that it was using night vision. Reuben activated his again and they stared at each other.

"REUBEN!" He felt his arms and legs immediately released. His attacker helped him to his feet. The dark green experiment had 6 arms, a body shape like Angel, ears like Stitch, almond shaped black eyes, set underneath a black "V" shaped mark on her forehead, about Reubens' size, with tall, green antennae and back spikes. To Reuben, she seemed oddly familiar. When she wasn't threatening to bite his head off, she was quite pretty. She leaned 3 of her 6 hands on the wall and folded one leg behind the other.

"Soooooo… looking for a friend, huh," She inquired. Reuben nodded warily, as if he expected her to attack again. The experiment sucked in 4 of her 6 arms, leaving 2 out. She looked remarkably like Stitch, especially with her antennae and back spikes still out. She extended a paw. "I'll help you look if you like. I'm experiment 388. More commonly know as Megan. Primary function, shape-shifting." Reuben gasped in astonishment.

"Y-you're Megan! Were you always an experiment!" Number 388 put her hands on her hips and grinned.

"Yup! Even Lilo doesn't know I'm one of Jumba's creations!" Reuben was so startled, he fell over! Megan giggled, making Reuben get hot in his cheeks. He knew he was blushing.

"So, what's your true place?" Megan shrugged.

"Don't have one. You and Gantu were asleep when I was activated and since I never really wanted to wreak havoc, Lilo never noticed." Gantu the name struck homesickness into Reubens' heart, but he quickly pushed it away. Megan turned to him.

"Want to go for a walk?"

Reuben and Megan walked along the dark sidewalks of Kokoua town, his hand in hers. Reubens' heart felt like a butterfly with all its fluttering. His only thoughts were of Megan. Suddenly, he realized that they had veered off the sidewalks and Reuben had instinctively gone to the clearing where the ship had been. But surprisingly, the ship, which Reuben had repaired and brought to Turo, was still there! In the exact spot to the very last inch!

Running up to the ship, Reuben punched in the combination to open the hatch.

"Reuben," Megan whispered loudly, "what're you doing?"

"This ship shouldn't be here. I'm going to go check it out."

"No, don't!" Reuben heard a pop behind him and he turned to see that Megan had turned into a bat and was flying away. He was overcome with a sense of abandonment and hurt, but the hatch had opened and, reluctantly, Reuben walked into the ship he had called home for 3 years.

It was almost exactly the same as it had been when Reuben had fixed it. Sandwiches were stacked up against the walls and they littered the floors. The ship was completely silent. Reuben felt as if the padding of his feet were an earthquake of sound. There was a slight hissing noise and Reuben halted to listen. Suddenly, a capture container fell from the ceiling, trapping him inside. A green gas was released and Reuben, inhaling it with quick, panicked gasps, blacked out.

Why? The word sliced through the warm darkness in which Reuben now floated in. Why? The voice sounded familiar. Why? The darkness was slipping away, merging into what looked like the top of a capture container. A dark figure loomed over him. The form looked oddly familiar and the voice changed into a voice he knew very well.

"Why'd you go, 625?" There was only one person, other than Jumba, that called him 625.

"GANTU!" Reuben raised his head and shook it, trying to rid it of the grogginess that overtook his body. His black eyes focused and the first thing they saw was the huge head of Gantu staring at him. "AHH!" He yelled in surprise and flattened himself against the far side of the capture container. Gantu must have been startled too, because he jerked up and whacked his head on the ceiling of the ship.

"Ow! Hey! Why'd you do that?"

"Why'd you capture me?" Reuben countered.

"You ran away. The Grand Councilwoman sent me to get you. She thought you would only be gone 1 day. You have now been gone for a week! And what happened to your uniform?" Had it already been a week? The time sure had flown!

"I took off my uniform." Reuben said flatly.

"Why are you angry at me?" Ironically, Gantu sounded angry.

"You were angry at me!" Reuben stepped forward and put his paws against the glass wall of the capture container. "Don't you remember the grilled cheese incident?" Gantu thought for a moment.

"I have half a mind to~"

"And that's more than I'd give you credit for." Reuben crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the shark-like alien.

"That is IT!" Gantu shouted. He whipped out a blaster and pointed it at the fuzzy yellow experiment. A fat finger squeezed the trigger and the blaster shot forward a ball of plasma-fire. It disintegrated a hole in the capture container big enough for Reuben to get through, but it didn't stop there. It slammed into his tubby stomach and, exhaling sharply, he was blasted back, shattering the capsule and throwing Reuben back so hard it made an experiment-shaped dent in the back wall. Sliding down the wall, Reuben face-planted onto the floor and, dazed, shoved his upper body off it.

Gantu came through the smoke, blaster raised at Reubens' heart. "I thought were my friend." Gantu growled menacingly. Reuben stared, open-mouthed, down the barrel of the blaster. He was weakening and he knew it. One more shot would probably render him unconscious. Then Gantu would be free to do whatever he wanted with him. Probably take him back to the Galactic Armada. Reuben knew he had only one choice. Fight.

He pushed out his other two arms out and rushed toward Gantu. He shoved all sixteen fingers under Gantus' foot and heaved upward, flinging the astonished Gantu up through the roof. As he was coming down, Reuben got right under the huge alien and caught him, immediately flinging him into the wall. He lay there, stunned, for a moment before he leaned down and with two fingers, picked up Reuben by the leg and held him, upside down, in the air. The experiment knew he couldn't get out of Gantu's grip by struggling. Reuben felt himself fill with anger and, bending himself around, he bit Gantu in the finger with his flat buck-teeth. HARD!

"Ow!" Gantu screeched in pain. "That hurt!"

"Noooooo. Really?" Reuben spoke sarcastically through clenched teeth.

"You'll pay for that, you trog." He had let go of Reubens' foot and the experiment had scuttled up his arm and onto his head. Curling his paw into a fist, he raised it and, with a heavy heart, Reuben slammed his fist down on Gantu's skull. The officer swayed for a moment, then crashed to the floor, KOed.

Tears sprang into Reuben's eyes. He flash-backed to the past 4 years. Reuben had faithfully followed Gantu 24/7. He was the one to set Gantu straight when the officer got in-over-his-head. He remembered when Babyfier had been activated and Gantu had been turned into a baby. Reuben had taken care of the helpless Gantu until a cure could be found. A small whimper escaped Reubens' throat.

Then, his round, black eyes narrowed. Pushing aside the feeling of betrayal, Reuben looked back at all the times Gantu had left him alone or been mean to him. And just last year, Gantu had deserted him for… Dr. Hamsterveil, of all people! How sad is that, Reuben asked himself. He wondered why he hadn't left the officer 4 years ago. He then remembered the clenching of his heart when he'd had to knock Gantu out. He and the fish-like alien shared a bond. More than acquaintances and more than friends. He and Gantu were best friends, both loyal to the end of the Earth. But Gantu had tried to hurt him.

Reuben clenched his fists and, turning toward the ships' exit, thought Megan had been right not to come here. He should have listened to the green experiment.

Megan! He had forgotten Megan! Is she alright? Reuben didn't stay longer to ask any more questions. He didn't want to be here when Gantu woke up anyway.

"There you are." Megan breathed a sigh of relief. They were back at Megan's house. "I thought the big grey guy would get you. I heard him muttering something about you and 'disloyal'" Reuben shook his head.

"Nope. I'm fine." He saw the purple light of dawn through one of the windows. "I'd better get going. It's almost morning and if Lilo wakes up and finds that I'm gone, she'll start to worry."

"Bye, then." Megan blew him a kiss, and, once again, Reuben blushed under his golden fur.

Reuben climbed back into his laundry-basket bed and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. It had been a strenuous night. Reuben almost never used his powers, so that one time was a complete workout.

It felt as if Reuben had just closed his eyes when he felt something shaking him. E opened his big black eyes and stared into the face of Lilo.

"Lunchtime, sleepyhead." She said with a grin. Reuben yawned, showing off his flat teeth. Then something dawned on him.

"Lunchtime? Don't you mean breakfast?"

"Nope. You slept right through breakfast. It's past noon now."

Yikes! I slept until NOON? Reubens' stomach growled angrily and he was suddenly aware of how hungry he was. "What's for lunch?"

After a big meal of hamburgers, salad, and, of course, sandwiches, Reuben leaned back in his chair and contentedly patted his swelled middle. Suddenly, Stitch burst through the door, panting hard. Lilo rushed to his side, obviously worried about him. Reuben's heart squeezed. He wished he had someone to worry about him. Lilo bent down to Stitch's eye level.

"What's the matter, Stitch?"

"It happened!" The blue experiment was jumping up and down, pointing in the direction of the town. "Clip and Slushy!" Lilo turned pale. She staggered back, eventually plopping down on the couch. She put her head in her hands.

"Not again…" Lilo moaned.

"What's wrong?" Reuben came over and patted her knee. "What happened to Clip and Slushy?"

Lilo hesitated, then started the story. "About a week ago, Stitch saw what looked like an alien aircraft land near the ocean, but when we went to check it out, there was nothing there. We didn't think much of it until the cousins started disappearing. Lately, we've been keeping watch to see if there's any particular pattern." She shook her head, making her black hair swing side to side. "Nothing. They're going randomly and we have no idea why."

"Could it be Hamsterveil again?" Reuben knew the gerbil-like creature had gone after them before. He had been Gantu's "boss" during the 3 years that they were on Kauai.

"No. He's under ultra-guard at K-37. They're making sure he can't escape."

And it can't be Gantu. He's out for the count, and besides, he's turned good now. thought Reuben.

"It's something with protective covering. None of the cousins can affect it, or they would have fought their way free. It's hopeless." Lilo sounded defeated.

Reubens' normally lazy brain was working overtime. He racked the furthest corners for an idea. He came up with nothing. Megan would've come up with a plan already. Reuben scolded himself angrily.

Hey wait a minute…

Megan!

"Lilo," Reuben was almost shouting with excitement, "Check the experiment database! Look up number 388!"

They were all upstairs, crowded around the experiment database. "Experiment 388," the computer read aloud, "Primary function, Shape shifting."

"Impossible." Lilo stated, "I've never heard of him."

"It's a girl." Reuben and Jumba said at the same time.

"And yes you have, Lilo." Reuben was quivering with anticipation. "That's Megan! If you don't know about her, do you think the kidnapper doesn't either?"

"M-maybe." Lilo stammered, still in shock of her best friend being an experiment. That was all Reuben needed to know. He dashed out the door, surprisingly fast for his short legs and stubby body.

He heaved himself up the wall to the door to Megan's mansion. "Megan!" he yelled once he had caught his breath.

"What?" Startled, Reuben spun around and there was Megan. As fast as he could, he explained the problem. She listened attentively, and when the story was done, she nodded thoughtfully.

"So you think I can stop this threat?"

Reuben nodded. "You haven't been catalogued! He wouldn't know about you!"

"Alright. Let's go then."

And she shoved him out the open door.

As he was falling, Megan jumped out too, changed into a giant bird, and snatched up Reuben gently in her talons. Spreading her huge wings, she streaked out over the small town.

"Where do you think the kidnapper might be?" Megan's voice sounded strangely higher and more jerky. Like a birds'.

"I don't know. Try the old, crumbling buildings first!" Reuben had to yell to be heard above the wind. Megan changed course and headed for the beach. Landing neatly on the golden sand, Megan-bird was surrounded by a yellow light, glowing brighter and brighter until Reuben couldn't see her anymore. There was a loud POP and the light disappeared, leaving Megan standing on the sand like nothing had ever happened to her.

That's cool! Reuben caught himself thinking just like her.

They went inside the first warehouse. Searching the whole place, the two experiments found nothing. They went into the next one. Then the next, and the next. In the fourth warehouse, it was completely dark. Both experiments activated their night vision. Boxes lined the walls of the warehouse. Reuben stepped forward to begin exploring, but Megan shot out a paw to halt him in his tracks.

"Wait. Do you smell that?" Megans' nose was twitching. Reuben stuck his nose in the air and took a big whiff. He almost gagged. He sneezed hard, trying to get the smell out of his head. It was sickly-sweet and seemed familiar. He suddenly felt heavier than an anvil. His eyes drooped and he dropped to the ground, only vaguely aware of Megan slumping to the floor next to him.

He heard quiet cackling. What happened? His head pounded and he tried to rub it, but his paws were heavy. He was aware of an odd, unnatural warmth beside him. He forced his eyes open. He was staring at the top of a capture container. Not again. But this time it wasn't Gantu. The being that had captured them was very thin, had an oval shaped head, and a raptor–like body. He was obviously an alien. Reubens' eyes widened. He had spent a very brief time at the Turo jail once before and he had seen this guy pacing back and forth in front of his door constantly. He had heard something about this guy from Gantu. He had escaped prison and Gantu had been on a mission to get him back. Reuben had put the cheese sandwich on the engine on that mission. Realization dawned on Reuben and a horrified look crossed his face. The engine had exploded while they were on his trail and this alien had gotten away. That's probably why Gantu got so mad! And now, this alien was on Earth, capturing experiments and it was all Reubens' fault!

Reuben staggered to his feet, leaning against the side of the glass containment pod to help his weak legs support his body. He leaned down, moving slowly for two reasons. One was to not attract attention, and the other was that his head was swimming too much to move very quickly. He shook Megan awake. She glanced around, slightly disoriented. She caught sight of the criminal and her eyes narrowed, fur bristling.

"Albi." She whispered, her long ears going back in a display of aggression. "Jumba told me about him. He had made himself known around the time Jumba created me. He's a brilliant scientist, but a bit wrong in the brain."

Reuben looked at Albi. His raptor body was covered in a custom-made striped jumpsuit from the jail. The only other article of clothing he had on was a small watch on his left wrist.

Reuben turned to Megan to whisper something to her, but she was gone. In her place was a tiny spider, which scuttled up the side of the capture container and slipped through a crack between the panels of glass. On the other side, she changed back into herself and smashed the capture container with a strong forepaw. Reuben stumbled out of the remains while Albi, alerted of their activity by the noise of glass shattering, spun around. Megan turned into Splodyhead and started firing red plasma balls at Albi. He merely touched his watch and a red force-field surrounded him. The plasma balls disintegrated as they touched the force-field. Megan's eyes widened in shock. Shaking her head so her ears whipped back and forth, she crouched down in attack posture. Changing into Sparky, the normally dark green experiment shot out a 2000 volt electric shock at the rogue alien. But Albi just touched his watch again and the force-field turned yellow. The bolt bounced off and hit the ceiling. Before Albi had a chance to recover or change his force-field, Megan had switched to Phoon and, with a wind so strong it could knock an elephant off its feet, blasted Albi into the opposite wall. He slid to the floor, dazed. Reuben noticed something.

"Megan!" He shouted, paws cupped by his mouth to direct his voice to her, "Hit him fast! That wristband is his force-field and you can hit him if you change really quickly!" Megan did nothing to show that she had heard him, but instead turned into Plasmoid and made plasma balls shower down on Albi. He had no time to recover and screamed in pain and fury as the plasma touched his skin.

Suddenly, Albi's eyes went red. Megan stopped dead and fell to the floor. Reuben felt anger burn inside him. I should just run. Save myself! He was thinking, but his stout legs wouldn't move. He couldn't bring himself to spin around and dash out of the warehouse. Albi turned on him, now that the green experiment was out of commission.

"You figured it out, did you, 625?" He sneered unpleasantly. "That's too bad. You will make an excellent specimen, though." His eyes started to glow red. "You should've run while you still could." The last thing Reuben remembered was his face hitting the floor.

Reuben knew one thing. His face hurt. He tried to reach up and rub it, but, once again, his paws wouldn't cooperate. Groggy as he was, his eyes shot open. Looking down, Reuben saw that his paws were not working not because he was weak, but because they were barred down, as were his legs. He tried to break free, even resorting to use his super-strength, but the bars held fast and the golden experiment felt surprisingly weak.

"Don't even try, 625." A sickly-sweet voice came from behind him and cut through Reuben's mind and he craned his stubby neck to see who it was. The raptor alien was behind him, smiling in a grossly charming way. Reuben's stomach churned and he fought the urge to vomit.

"I have been blessed with the ability to shoot a power draining ray from my eyes. You can't use your powers for half an hour. A short time, I know," excitement flickered in Albi's dark grey eyes, "but it's long enough for me." he raised a device in his hand and Reuben recognized it as a Flargletog, the alien version of a chainsaw. Reuben felt his eyes bug out and his jaw drop. He's going to DISSECT me! Reuben felt panic rise in his chest and he struggled harder as the blade came closer. He could almost feel the wind from the rapidly moving blade as it got within 6 inches of his stomach fur.

Suddenly, there was an enormous crash. Reuben immediately thought it was Megan, but instead, the dark grey, 9 foot tall, Galley Officer Gantu was standing there. Oooooh boy. This is bad. But Albi was too startled to do anything, so Gantu stomped up, shoved a bag over Albis' head, and shot a capture net out of his blaster.

"That was easy." Gantu mused.

"Hey, fish-head!" Reuben called, "could you help me out, here?" The officer spun around, mouth open in shock.

"625? What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Gantu drew himself up as tall as he could. "My current mission was to capture this fugitive and return him to the jail on K-37."

"Great. Now take these bars off, wouldja?" Gantu leaned down and easily tore the bars free. Reuben stood up and rubbed his wrists. The bars had been causing friction and his wrists were sore now. But there was no time for recovery yet. Reuben started to rush off to find Megan, but Gantu held him back by his scruff.

"625, I want to tell you something. I... I didn't come here by accident. I chose an Earth mission because I wanted to see you and try to convince you to come back to space with me. I thought you had left the Galactic Armada for good and I... I was scared. I didn't want you to leave. You're my best friend. I missed you a lot, 625. Please come back." Reuben couldn't believe his ears. Gantu had MISSED him! He had once thought his true place was in space with him, but now that he'd met Megan, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Speaking of Megan, he should probably go find out where she was.

"I'll give you my decision later. Right now, I've got to go rescue a friend."

"I'll go with you."

Reuben gave Gantu a small smile. "Ok."

They found Megan slumped against a wall. Reuben shook her awake and she blinked, trying to clear her eyes out.

"What happened?" Reuben grinned.

"Gantu saved us." And with that, Reuben felt exhaustion take over and he fainted on his paws.

Back at the house, Reuben had woken up to a very distressed looking Megan. She had sighed in relief and had hugged him. Reuben told her of the offer Gantu had given him and of the choice he would have to make. Megan was silent for a minute.

"So which did you choose?"

Reuben took a deep breath. "I'm going back to space." Megans' eyes overflowed with tears. She sobbed quietly as Reuben left the house to tell Gantu his decision.

Gantu was thrilled. But every moment left on Earth felt like betrayal to Reuben.

"Can we leave quickly?" He asked Gantu, voice cracking with sadness.

They boarded the ship, Gantu with a light heart and Reuben with a heavy one. They were about to leave and Reuben was closing the hatch when a small bird flew in. Reuben knew it was a one in a million chance, but he asked, "Megan? Is that you?"

The bird changed into the green experiment Reuben was used to. "Came to say goodbye?" He asked sadly.

"Nope. Just to say I'm coming with you." Reubens' eyebrows and mouth went in opposite directions. Mouth down, eyebrows up.

"You WHAT!"

"I'm coming with you, Reuben. I can't bear to live without you. I- I love you." Reubens' eyes filled with tears.

"You would leave your one true place for me?" Megan shook her head.

"Earth was not my one true place. My one true place is with the one I love. You." They stood awkwardly for a moment, then both rushed to the other and they embraced.

They were back on the BRB. Everything was the same, except there was Reuben-sized kitchen equipment, another bed, and a new green experiment. Megan fit in well with the space life and she looked really cute in a uniform. Reuben was looking for her right now. He walked into the bedroom and there she was, on her bed. reading.

"Hey Reuben," she greeted, jumping off the bed and landing near him on the floor, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing." He replied, "But there's something I've wanted to do ever since I met you."

Reuben took her face in his paws, hesitated for a second, then brought his lips to hers. She looked startled for a moment, then her eyes closed and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

And for the first time in a while, Reuben felt that everything was genuinely perfect.

END