I know there was a bit of a long wait for this chapter and my readers have been getting anxious. Sorry about that. But at least there's a new chapter for you now. I hope you like it. Granted, there is some fictional alien politics discussed in this chapter and that isn't necessarily the most exciting topic in the universe, but it serves a purpose.

While the last several years were filled with a variety of annoyances and disappointments, Captain Gantu of the Galactic Armada was rather satisfied with how his life turned out in the end. His present condition was certainly nice overall.

That didn't mean he didn't occasionally want to strangle Reuben. And it didn't eliminate his past frustrations with Stitch and how he'd wished hundreds of times that the experiment and the little girl would stop ruining his life and career. Even after they put their past hostilities aside and his title was reinstated, it didn't completely erase the memories of numerous humiliating defeats.

But all of that was in the past. He didn't always like the past, but he could accept it. And no matter how much of his past frustrated Gantu, that didn't mean he was happy about what happened to the little Earth girl.

Gantu marched down the hall with Reuben at his side, his ship barely docked before they hurried towards their goal. Even with how much the little girl interfered and hindered, he'd held quite a bit of respect for Lilo since near the beginning. Even when they were opposite sides when it came to collecting experiments, he felt some respect for the child. She and Stitch were surprisingly competent as a team. Gantu could admit it. And once he ended up on the same side, the child declared him part of the ohana and he realized that the respect he held for the pair also contained a certain amount of exasperated affection. So when someone chose to kidnap Lilo, he found himself taking it rather personal.

"Captain Gantu. Reuben," greeted one of the assistants that worked there. "The Grand Councilwoman said to expect your arrival and to direct you to Conference Room Four."

"Thanks," Reuben said with a short nod. "Is my cousin there already? And Jumba?"

The tiny, long-eared alien nodded and said, "They arrived earlier and are waiting inside."

"Lead the way then," he said.

The long-eared assistant was fast, but the sheer length of Gantu's stride ensured he was faster. And unlike Reuben, he already knew where Conference Room Four was located in the building. The door frames were a little low for him since his people tended to be taller than the average sentient species, but he easily ducked through when the doors slid open.

Around the thankfully-tall oval table were several familiar and worried faces. Dr. Jumba Jookiba and Pleakley were on one side of the table with four other experiments. The formerly-evil genius looked like he was silently festering with anger, though he didn't seem completely unhinged yet. The Plorgonarian was messing with a data-pad, anxiety making him stiffer than his noodle-like body should ever be. On the other side of the table were Stitch and an older human girl it took him a moment to recognize as Lilo's sister. He never really interacted with the older girl much. He barely knew her. But if she was even a fraction as concerned with ohana as her sister was, then she must be out of her mind with worry. She and the blue experiment certainly looked troubled by the situation.

Reuben, moving faster than he normally bothered, hurried over to Stitch. Grabbing the blue experiment's shoulders, Reuben turned him to face the chief galley officer. He stared at the heart-broken expression briefly before shaking his head regretfully.

"Oh, cousin," said Reuben solemnly. "You're not handling this well at all, are you?"

"Naga," Stitch replied quietly, his ears flattened.

Smiling encouragingly, he said, "Don't worry. Come on, this is Lilo we're talking about. She's tougher than she looks." Gesturing up towards Gantu, he continued, "She dealt with that big guy for years, with and without your help. She'll be fine until we find her."

"He's right. She is a formidable little Earth girl," said Gantu. Turning towards the older human girl, he nodded a greeting and said, "Ms. Pelekai."

"Just call me 'Nani.' Considering how many times you ripped the roof off my house, let's skip the formalities," she said firmly.

Rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, Gantu said, "I am sorry about that."

"You're here to help my sister. I think we can get past it."

Stepping into the room and instantly commanding everyone's attention, the Grand Councilwoman said, "Now that we have all arrived, it is time to discuss the situation as it currently stands."

Stitch actually felt a little better with the arrival of Gantu and Reuben, which surprised him after spending so much time fighting them. Part of it might be the fact their arrival meant they were making progress towards finding Lilo. That's wasn't all of it, though. At the moment, Stitch didn't completely trust himself. There was too much worry, guilt, and anger rolling around his head alongside his destructive programming. He wanted to be good, but he couldn't completely trust his self-control. Not with Lilo in danger. Reuben, though lazy, might be able to stop him if he lost track of what was right. He could stop Stitch if he started doing things that Lilo couldn't forgive.

"So what do we know so far?" asked Gantu, standing beside the table since none of the available chairs were designed for his size.

"From Dr. Jookiba's interview with Dr. Hamsterviel, we have confirmation that Queen Soltus of the Swarm knew and expressed interest in Lilo shortly before she disappeared," said the Grand Councilwoman. "And Stitch's description supports the current working theory that the Entolyterians are responsible for kidnapping her."

"And how did you convince Dr. Hamsterviel to reveal anything to you?" asked Gantu.

Grinning in a rather vicious fashion, Jumba said, "I asked nicely and gave him no choice."

Stitch remembered how Jumba seemed when he returned from interrogating Hamsterviel. The tension in his body, the slightly faster heartbeat thumping loudly, and the aggression that could be smelled from the Keltikwan scientist made it clear that he was furious at his former partner. And the lingering scent of terrified Gerbillinite clinging to his hands suggested the conversation wasn't particularly nice or friendly. Even if Jumba didn't have destructive programming, he possessed the potential.

Honestly, Stitch wished he could have scared Hamsterviel a little too for getting her involved in this. It might have made him feel better. Or maybe not. Lilo would still be missing either way.

"For those of us who've never been off Earth before, could someone tell me exactly who the Swarm is? Because it might be nice to know a little more about who kidnapped my sister so I know who I need to beat over the head with a surfboard," Nani asked.

While Stitch momentarily visualized the older girl performing that exact sequence of events, Pleakley started messing with the data-pad he'd acquired upon arriving. He pressed a few buttons on the screen and a hologram appeared in the middle of the table. Everyone turned to look at the figure, Turian writing floating in midair beside it. Stitch gripped the edge of the table and instantly put his supercomputer-level brain to work on analyzing his enemy.

He knew what a praying mantis looked like, with the spiked pincher-like folded front legs, the long upright body divided into three segments, the triangle head with bulging eyes and long antennas, and the four thinner legs supporting the insect's weight. He could see the similarities between the Earth insect and the creature the kidnapped Lilo. He could also see the differences between the real bug and the holographic alien in front of him.

There were still six limbs, but only two of them could be considered legs. Not only were two of them the famous folded pincher-things that were found on praying mantises, but there were also two smaller ones that Stitch would definitely consider arms. They were thinner than the other limbs and ended with what appeared to be three fingers. The legs themselves were thicker in relation to the body than the legs of a real praying mantis would be.

Covered in the same hard substances as the rest of the alien, the leg seemed to be as thick as what Stitch would expect a human's leg to be and they ended in flattish two-toed feet. Across the chest, the exoskeleton didn't seem to be in a single solid piece. Instead, there were overlapping pieces extending from where the triangular head attached to the body all the way down the middle segment in a manner than reminded him of plate armor on a knight. Unlike when he watched small insects, Stitch could see slight movement as the holographic recording breathed. The creature was probably more flexible that way than if it was in one solid piece of exoskeleton, which would have hindered the evolution of lungs.

Finally, the mouth wasn't a set of mandibles like he expected an insect to have. There was an almost beak-like structure. It sort of reminded Stitch of what she might see on the face of a species of bird, but not quite the more colorful or common ones. It was shorter and thicker in shape with just a slight curve at the tip like how the beak of a predatory bird might be.

The joints of the limbs would be weak points, more vulnerable to breaking than the rest. The exoskeleton would be easier to snap and crack since they needed flexibility there to move. The leg joints would be the most effective to break because the weight of their body would assist in the destruction if he hit right. Getting his claws under the overlapping segments of the body would also be effective, letting him pry pieces loose and get to the more vulnerable internal structures. The large eyes would give them a wide view of vision, but would also be an easy target. Their eyes and antenna would be easy to damage. Getting past their pincher-shaped claws would be trickier, but the neck could probably be another weak point similar to the joints of their limbs.

Stitch shook his head sharply, forcibly dragging his mind away from that entire train of thought. Those ideas made him feel uncomfortable and wrong. He knew better than that. He wasn't bad. He was good. He was good now. And yet his destructive programming kept bringing those plans into his mind. And there was no escaping those thoughts completely. He was built to be a living weapon and his current turbulent emotions fed into those destructive impulses.

He didn't want those thoughts. He didn't want to be a monster. But Stitch couldn't deny that, knowing the Swarm took Lilo and he couldn't protect her, there was a certain amount of vindictive pleasure of the idea of tearing them apart. And that terrified him.

"I'm not expert on them, but I know enough to know they're bad news. The Swarm isn't part of the United Galactic Federation and they're usually careful not to attack our planets," Pleakley reported. "They go after other worlds, conquering and enslaving the locals while claiming the planet's natural and manufactured resources for their own needs. They have a very strict system in place that assigns everyone's place in their society. They value the collective far above the individual. Only their leader has a name while everyone else doesn't matter enough to have them. And the Swarm literally has only one purpose: conquest. Their entire society is built on conquering other species. Any peace between Entolyterians and the United Galactic Federation is an uneasy one."

"They are powerful and dangerous, individually or as an army," continued Gantu, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "If it wasn't for the Galactic Armada, I suspect they would have tried their luck with some of the outer planets of the United Galactic Federation a long time ago. But for now, the risk would be too great for them. And we're not prepared to commit to an all-out war against the Swarm. It would be costly for both sides and there is no certainty who the victors would be."

"Which is why it is so surprising to find out the Swarm took our ambassador for Earth," said the Grand Councilwoman. "That was a bold move. A dangerous one. If it was for any other planet, that would be an almost instant declaration of war."

Leaning forward in her seat a little, Nani asked, "And why isn't it in this case?"

"Well, technically Earth is considered a protected wildlife preserve instead of a full member of the alliance. It isn't one of the signatories," Pleakley said uneasily. "That leaves the situation a little… uncertain. They can claim her removal from Earth didn't violate any treaties since the planet isn't covered by them. But she's also a representative of the United Galactic Federation because she was elected to serve as an ambassador. The question is which is more important: Earth's status in the alliance or her status in the federation?" Fidgeting nervously, he said, "That's one of the big problems with proceeding. Figuring out if kidnapping an United Galactic Federation-elected ambassador who represents a planet not directly covered by the alliance counts as a valid violation of our treaties and to what extent our response should be… That could take weeks for the Federation Council to make a ruling on."

"Weeks?" said Nani. "Are you telling me that my little sister could be prisoner for a bunch of giant bugs for weeks?"

With a disgusted expression, Jumba muttered, "That's politics. Why do you think I ignored them for years?"

Stitch, Reuben, Splodyhead, Slushy, Kixx, and Slugger all raised a hand, paw, or wing. They were all pretty good reasons for why he preferred to ignore authority figures. And it had nothing to do with impatience. The evil genius merely shrugged in response.

"Too many laws tend to being restrictive of my creativity."

"Regardless of Dr. Jookiba's previous issues and opinions the Federation Council, I'm afraid there is a limit of what we can officially do in the immediate future," said the Grand Councilwoman, her expression rather regretful. "I've looked into what are options are, hoping to find an obscure law or an ancient precedent of use in this situation. But the official actions available are what I suspected they would be. We can contact Queen Soltus through proper channels and request the return of our ambassador. She may choose to release her when she learns that the United Galactic Federation is aware of her actions. Queen Soltus may not be ready to court war with us quite yet."

She is not likely to be returning Little Girl that easily," Jumba said. "Hamsterviel says she wants to be learning Little Girl's secret on how she turned experiments from bad to good. She is to be wanting that power for herself so she can use it for her own diabolical purposes. She will more likely pretend Little Girl isn't there so she can keep her."

Stitch and his cousins exchanged confused looks at the entire idea. What Lilo did wasn't a power or a rare skill. It wasn't a trick someone could learn by studying the little Hawaiian girl. Lilo didn't hypnotize them into being good or rewrote their programming. What she did to change them was harder to describe exactly and yet simpler.

She tried to find way for them to belong and experience meaningful lives that gave them real purpose. She saw them more than just experiments and living weapons. They weren't just destruction and chaos to her. She saw their potential as individuals with identities that were more than just numbers on a list of Jumba's creations. She opened their eyes and showed them what they could be. She was kind, patient, and caring. She accepted them completely and unconditionally as family. She made them an ohana. She made them more.

Then there was something else that none of them could truly explain, describe, or understand properly. None of the experiments could really talk about it because it was so hard to comprehend beyond just knowing it was true. There was just some element about her that made it easier to ignore instincts and programming, something unique that sparked a desire to be better. When she wanted you to be good, to be part of her ohana… it filled an emptiness inside you never noticed was there before.

Lilo didn't trick or brainwash them to be something they weren't. She didn't force them to start acting good. What she did, no one else in the universe could match or copy exactly. Lilo did it by simply being Lilo. And by being Lilo, she changed everything.

Stitch closed his eyes briefly, thinking about her somehow making his misery even worse. He missed her. He missed her in ways he couldn't describe in any language. He needed her back.

"Well, the queen is a complete blubber head if she thinks she can figure out how to be like Lilo," said Reuben. "That's impossible. We figured out she's pretty unique years ago. Not even Hamsterwheel's plans were that stupid."

"Didn't say it was a smart plan. It is just being what she is wanting," said Jumba with a shrug. "She is being unlikely to let Little Girl go."

"If Queen Soltus will not admit to having our ambassador and return her promptly, the matter will be brought before the Federation Council," the Grand Councilwoman continued. "Any direct form of action against the Swarm could be viewed as an act of war and I cannot risk declaring a war without the approval of the entire council. If the first attempt for a peaceful resolution to our missing ambassador does not work, the council shall try to agree on a more proactive solution. Our ambassador—"

"Lilo," snapped Nani, a sharp edge to her voice making Stitch's muscles tense. He could smell her anger and hear her pounding heart, declaring her desire for a verbal fight and it was feeding into his instincts to physically attack something in response to his stress. "She's not just some ambassador. She's my nine-year-old little sister. She's alone. She's been kidnapped and taken to another planet because Lilo just happens to get along with Jumba's experiments. Anything could happen to her. Anything could be happening right now. And all you can do is ask the kidnappers nicely or check with the council thing, which Pleakley said could take weeks? No. We can't leave Lilo for that long. She needs to be saved now."

"Hold on, lady," Reuben interrupted, half crawling on the table in order to get her attention. "Nani, right? You've got a temper to match Gantu on a bad day. Of course, you've got a good reason. But take a deep breath and calm down. You've got to read between the lines." Glancing back towards the Grand Councilwoman, he continued, "You said that's all you can 'officially' do. So what's the less official option?"

Stitch noticed the older girl lose some of her fury, surprise and hope driving away some of the scent of aggression. He almost wished that the entire place didn't have the same unnatural cleanness of a spaceship's life support system. Then he could focus on smells other than everyone's heightened emotional state. The scent of aggression and fear did little to help him control his own turbulent emotional state. He missed the salty tang of the ocean that always floated on the breeze at home, a background aroma that could be detected everywhere on the island and a smell of normalcy that he sorely needed.

As Nani calmed down, she looked towards the Grand Councilwoman with a questioning expression. The Tweslyroden wore a rather mysterious and slightly mischievous smile. The expression vaguely reminded him of when she changed his banishment to staying on Earth when provided the right excuse. Stitch approved. The Grand Councilwoman might be the one who focused on the rules, but it was clear she understood loopholes.

"Due to the fact most of you call Earth your home and have dwelt there for over two years, you're considered to be residents of that planet. That includes not only Ms. Pelekai, but also Dr. Jookiba, Agent Pleakley, and all the experiments," said the Grand Councilwoman.

"Dual citizenship for Earth and Keltikwan," Jumba said with a nod. "Handled the paperwork ages ago when it became clear we would to be staying there permanently."

"Earth is not a true signatory of the alliance. Any actions you might take against the Swarm would not be considered an 'official' response from the United Galactic Federation," she continued. "It wouldn't be considered an act of war for the same reason that kidnapping Lilo wasn't." Turning towards the rest of the group, the Grand Councilwoman said casually, "Captain Gantu, I believe you and Reuben are due for some… vacation time. And we can't dictate how members of the Galactic Armada choose to spend their vacation while off-duty. At least, not when they aren't using armada resources."

Grinning up at his taller companion, Reuben said, "I hear Entolytera is nice this time of year. Feel like paying it a visit? Unofficially?"

"I think that would be a very useful and productive way to spend our vacation time," Gantu said with a nod.

"If a couple of you wish to remain here, you might be able to help convince the Federation Council to take swifter action. Pleading your case personally could help," said the Grand Councilwoman. "As for everyone else, I'll leave it up to you what actions you decide to take. I can't tell you that a single ship might be able to avoid detection if it was no larger than Captain Gantu's personal vessel and equipped with something to scramble their scanning equipment."

"I could throw something together," Jumba muttered. "Give me fifteen minutes."

They were doing it. They knew where to look, who took her, and why. They were moving forward, going after Lilo properly. They had a plan to save her. Multiple plans, actually. Diplomacy and more direct methods. They would get her back. They would save her. She would be fine.

Stitch repeated those reassurances in his head as he pried his claws out of the grooves he'd accidentally torn in the table by gripping too hard. He wasn't even sure when he started to tighten his hold on the table. Probably when Nani had her outburst. Thankfully, the table was metal instead of wooden like some of the furniture at home. Wood would have splintered and cracked in his grip. The metal surface just tore where his claws tightened, leaving the rest of the surface undamaged. Hopefully they could fix it later.

"I'm not going to be much help in a fight. And we all know it'll be a fight when we go there to find her," said Pleakley. "But I might be able to help talk to the Federation Council. If it comes to it, I mean."

Stitch couldn't argue with that idea. He knew Pleakley would try his best to help, but infiltrating a hostile planet and fighting off threats during a rescue mission weren't really his strong suits. He didn't even have the greatest aim with a weapon. If members of the Swarm were as dangerous as they were being made out to be, Stitch suspected they would spend more time protecting Pleakley than finding Lilo. It would be safer for him to stay here. Besides, he knew more about the Galactic Federation and their rules than the rest of them, so he could probably do the most good here. It would be better than having Jumba told to the Federation Council.

But thinking about how unsuited Pleakley would be for the rescue mission, Stitch realized someone else shouldn't come. And he knew he would have to say something about it.

"Nani stay too," he said carefully.

The older girl spun around to face the experiment beside her. Stitch met her gaze firmly. He wouldn't back down. He wouldn't bend to her wishes with this. No matter how she reacted, Nani couldn't come along.

"Excuse me?" said Nani in a dangerous tone, the type of voice that preceded her grounding troublesome members of the household on occasion.

Flattening his ears, he said, "Nani stay. Help Pleakley. Please?"

Something in his voice must have caught her attention because some of the fire died down in her eyes. Nani stared at him as if searching for answers. Then she leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why do you want me to stay?" she asked quietly.

Stitch tried to focus on the words he wanted to use. Whether it was called English or Standard, it took more effort to speak it. His mind was wired for Tantalog. He needed to focus carefully when discussing more difficult concepts. Lilo understood some Tantalog and could figure out his meaning with only a few English words. Nani only knew a handful of Tantalog and needed longer phrases. And while Jumba could probably translate, Stitch wanted to handle it. This felt too important.

"The Swarm too dangerous. You don't fight. You don't hunt cousins. You take care. You…," he paused, trying to phrase it correctly, and said, "help make our house home. Important, but different. Nani, please stay. Don't want you hurt." Glancing down, Stitch said, "Don't want to tell Lilo her sister hurt by the Swarm. Don't want to lose anyone else either. Please help Pleakley and stay safe."

When he looked back up, Nani's expression was difficult for him to read. He wasn't completely sure what she was thinking. He didn't want her to come. His cousins were durable, Jumba was relatively sturdy, and Gantu's sheer mass made him tough. Humans were different. They were fragile with weak senses and no protection. And Nani didn't have the experience that Lilo did when it came to hostile and powerful opponents. The Swarm could hurt Nani. Break her. Kill her. It would be so easy for the older girl to be harmed, shattering under the slightest pressure or crumbling from a single blow.

Stitch once again dragged his thoughts away from what information his supercomputer-level brain provided. Thinking about how vulnerable Nani would be against an army of Entolyterians could easily lead him to considering how vulnerable Lilo was. And there was no one to protect her. She was alone…

"Okay," said Nani, regaining his complete focus. "I'll stay and help Pleakley talk to the council people. But you have to promise to bring back my baby sister."

Stitch nodded and said, "Ih. Promise. Lilo is ohana."

"And as we all know, ohana means nobody gets left behind," said Reuben. "So there's no chance we'll leave her behind." He chuckled briefly and added, "That Queen Soltus person and her Swarm really don't know what they've brought on themselves."

He sounded confident and unconcerned, but Stitch heard the slight undertone that made Reuben's words ring hollow. And a quick glance at Gantu proved that golden-furred experiment didn't fool him either. His cousin was just as smart as Stitch. Reuben could figure out the same fears and concerns that plagued Stitch. He knew anything could happen to Lilo before they could reach her. Anything could have already happened. But just as Stitch struggled and tried not to think about it, Reuben clearly chose to remain in denial and hopeful.

It was better that way. Believing they could save Lilo was better than the alternative. They would save her in time. Any other outcome was unthinkable.

I know it isn't exactly the longest chapter I've written, but I figured it would be a good stopping point. And you've waited long enough for an update. And it isn't like this is short chapter. It is just a little shorter than some of the others.

Thanks again for all the feedback so far and I hope that you're enjoying the story.