[Hello everybody, and welcome to my second extensive 'Lilo & Stitch' fic. I hope you will enjoy!

First of all, I have to state the following:

Auron [Experiment 541], belongs to me. His origin lies in a previous fic of mine, 'Before Perfection', and it'd probably be wise if you were to read that before this.
The other Experiments (Owen, Peka, Twyla, and Aron and Garon] belong to Took Baggins, and are all described in her many stories. I give her all credit for them, and she has graciously agreed to let me mix my storyline with hers (isn't she the greatest?).

This fic is the sequel to both 'Before Perfection' and 'A Change of Heart' [the second by Took Baggins]. I'm very excited about writing this, and all I can ask from my readers is that I'm supplied with intelligent feedback...be it positive or rightly negative.

So, without further ado (shades of the 'Before Perfection' foreword), I present to you;

'Love and Burden']

Love and Burden
by The Great Red Dragon

Chapter 1
It had stopped raining a while ago, and the streets were left in the greasy after-dew that the rain left. Disgusting grime spawned in the cracks of sidewalks and crept forth like brightly green slugs.
It was so nasty outside that a person would avoid the outdoors altogether. People stayed inside and sheltered, and even the homeless sought refuge in a variety.

In a small, lighted phone booth, with a floor as filthy as a garbage can, a small, blue figure, wrapped in a cloak, sat crouched in the small corner, glaring at the revolting scenery outside of his temporary haven.
Experiment 541 balled his hand into a loose fist and blew warmly thoroughly the cracks. His breath could warm his hands for only so long, so he performed this action quite frequently. His lower set of arms was concealed inside of his body, so he didn't need to worry about those. His small, red backpack lay across from him. At the moment, he was mainly using it to store his munchies. Several pouches were filled with nothing but candy bars and things that were high in sugar; it kept him energized.

He grimaced and pulled out a peanut bar. It had grown warm and mushy inside the backpack, but he chewed it down anyway.
541 reflected on the last time he had a decent meal...it had been several month ago....back with his family.

He shut his eyes tightly as his mind traveled back to his loved ones. It had been nearly six months since he had seen them; since he left them.
541 clenched his fingers over his furry brow so hard that it hurt. It pained to even think that he could not be with his loved ones when he wanted to, and to have miles and miles of land and water separating them made it even worse.

When he had left Riley, Rebecca, Lara, and Dr. Hartrum, he had no course in mind of where to go. For some time, he had wandered around the island he was on, but then boarded a ship that made travels between the isles of Hawaii. From the bowels of the ship, he would listen as passengers overhead laughed and danced on the deck while he lay in the grimy innards of the sea- faring vessel. When the boat would finally dock, he would slip unheard into the water and swim with his pack until he was clear of human eyes. Then, he'd crawl up onto the beach, and make his way inwards of the island.

541 had visited just about every island now, large and small. He had been to many sites and places, although all of them had held the distinct Hawaiian taste...perhaps he could check out something else?
He shook the thought out of his head. It would be nice to see the world, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving his family so far behind.

Family...

His family was the reason that 541 found himself in the phone booth [besides the rain]; he had tried to call them, but the receiver cord had been ripped off.
541 had responded with anger, and punched the saved quarters out of the machine. He would've normally been happy for the extra money [he had been running low], but he would've given up his fur coat for a chance to speak with his loved ones.

For some time, he had experienced an urge stronger than usual to get back to his family. The will to communicate with them was gigantic, and almost insane.
But it was an understandable insanity. 541 had left his family to protect them from a would-be threat...but it had been months without any danger, and it was beginning to seem as if the whole act was senseless.

Then again, 541 repeatedly told himself that the enemy would strike when he was least aware of them. This thought is what kept him moving, what kept him running, and what kept him from seeing his family.
541 finished his peanut bar and crumpled up the plastic wrapper and stuffed it into the pocket of his jacket. He blew through his hands again before settling down onto his behind.
One of the reasons that he wished to be back at home was because he wanted to somebody to talk to freely. He wanted to be able to spring up a conversation at random, and not at fixed points through a telephone booth. His one-way letters weren't too appealing to himself either.

Also, he missed his name.

When he was with Riley and his family, his name was Auron. It stood for compassion, honor, and courage. When he was on his own, his name was 541, or sometimes nothing at all.
Auron sighed heavily. He hadn't thought it possible to sink into depression on account of having no name, but he was proved wrong.

He now looked up, and saw through the cracked glass of the phone booth that the rain had stopped. He realized that there was no point in sitting around and doing nothing [it was only three P.M.], and began to pack up his things. He zipped up his cloak and swung his backpack over his shoulder. With one hand he pushed open the door of the booth and made his way down the sloppy street, while skipping mud puddles and the green grime as he went.

Auron walked through the town steadily, stopping here and there to momentarily view stores or attractions. He noted mentally that this place was very much like the town he had lived in with his family...although, such stormy weather was rare to him.
After some time, the pavement ended and was replaced by a dirt road that traveled out of the shopping streets and into the neighborhoods. Overhead, Auron noticed the dark clouds parting as the sunlight began to slice through them. He realized that soon people would be emerging from their houses again, and he'd have to find cover quick.
To the left, the road curved upwards, away from what seemed the other houses. Auron moved partially into the green overgrowth and moved uphill, hoping that he wouldn't encounter anymore residents.

Once at the top, he did find a single [yet large] house. From the looks of it, it held many rooms within, with several stories. There were many windows that decorated the front view, and a squared flight of stairs led up to the front door.
And...most extraordinarily, he saw a large, circular dome erected from what was the attic, and his only thought was that it must be a small [yet genuine] observatory.

All in all, a very original-looking house.

Auron noted that there was a parked car in the garage, which probably meant that there was somebody home. Sometimes, if he was feeling bold enough, Auron would sneak into an empty house, and steal a small amount of unnoticeable food, usually bread or candy. There was no chance of him doing so here.
He didn't think he should go back down the hill, and he figured that he might find a way around the house. Venturing out carefully, he climbed through and around the wild-tamed plant life surrounding the house, and found himself in a large backyard that led only into the jungle, with no pathway in sight.

Auron shook his head, and realized that he would have to work a bit of waiting into his schedule. During the day, he couldn't risk being seen, so the only option was to sit and wait until after dark.
Feeling very lazy, he slinked his way into the greens facing the back of the house. He found a comfortable cradle-like bunch of vines and leaves and settled himself down, with a good look of the house's back-view in sight. He could still see the dome of the observatory.

Auron reached into his backpack and pulled out a small CD player and inserted the ear pieces. With a click of a button, the mild-shriek of a guitar opened up 'Rock You like a Hurricane': the success of the Scorpions.
He put his hands behind his head leisurely and spread his legs out. The position felt good, and just the right amount of sunlight and shade fell upon his body. For once, he felt at ease, and almost safe and almost secure.
Auron leaned back, and was just about to close his eyes in relaxation...when he sat up quickly, his eyes wide and staring.
My body's burning,
It starts to shout
Desire's coming,
It breaks out loud
The patio door swung open, and two little monsters burst into the dew-wet backyard of the Pelekai house. Behind them, although he was in no hurry, came another monster, bigger than the romping twins, but below four feet in stature. He would have moved faster, but his stomach was still digesting a very unusual sandwich [spam and sour pickles].

The monster with the strange diet was Owen, and the two wrestling around and jumping in puddles were his offspring, named Aron and Garon.
Owen rubbed his chubby belly tenderly, and it growled in disapproval. This was a strange reaction, as his stomach was used to receiving a variety of strange mixtures.

"You two stay out of the mud!", he called aimlessly at his children.

Aron and Garon simply rolled away from the puddle they were about to dive in, but quickly found another one.
Owen sighed in exasperation and discomfort [his stomach], and retreated back into the house, making sure that he wiped his feet on the doormat.
The living room was well-lit, as usual. Owen heard a conversation doing on in the kitchen, as well as some commotion upstairs.

Not wanting any part in either activity, he settled himself onto the couch, in an attempt to quell the unpleasantness in his belly. Owen leaned back against a fluffy pillow and groaned dramatically.

"Upset stomach?", came a voice from behind the couch.

Owen jumped up in surprise.

"Oh shoot, don't do that!", he said loudly as stitch himself emerged into sight.

Experiment 626 sighed in mock frustration as he emerged from behind the couch.

"You've kinda been on edge lately, huh?", he said as Owen sat back down.
"It's getting to the point that nobody can walk into a room without you screaming."

"Shut up", Owen said miserably as he tried to get comfortable.
"Why do we even buy that nasty brand of pickles anyway?", he said, wanting to shift some of the blame off of himself.

Stitch smiled smugly and brought forth the empty bottle of pickles he had held behind his back.

"Maybe you should try checking the expiration date before you devour something", he said.

Owen frowned.

"Why in the world do we keep expired food in the fridge?", he asked.

Stitch set the empty jar onto the table and looked sternly at his fellow Experiment.

"Look who's talking", he said irritably.
"We've gone to the trouble to setting aside a while rack of the refrigerator for the stuff that you eat; the least you could do is throw away your own junk."

Owen felt guilty at these words, but didn't want his expression to be seen. He turned over onto his side and mumbled a quiet 'go away' at Stitch.

Stitch shook his head and turned away from the miserable Owen. He scooped up the empty jar and made for the kitchen, where another two experiments were in deep conversation. Peka and Twyla were conversing vividly about something that Stitch knew he wouldn't be interested in. Carefully, he dropped the empty jar into the container for the waste glass, and then turned towards the two sitting on the table.
They hadn't even noticed him as he entered, and were giving him no attention whatsoever, even though there was only a four-foot difference between them.

For some reason, this annoyed Stitch. He was used to receiving a lot of attention, and this lack of getting it was very annoying.
He cleared his throat loudly, hoping to draw heed upon himself.

Peka and Twyla gave him no reaction.
He cleared his throat even louder.
Peka and Twyla continued in their conversation...
Stitch coughed audibly: a nasty, hacking sound.

Finally, the eyes turned his way...although only temporarily.

"You might want to get a glass of water", Peka said to him.
"Aron's had a cough for a while. Maybe you caught what he's got."

"There's some cough drops in the bathroom", Twyla added.
"They're cherry-flavored."

And then, she and Peka continued with their conversation, leaving Stitch feeling both confused and vexed.

"What time is it?", he asked loudly.

Again, the eyes were averted to him, but this time with equal annoyance.

"There's a clock right above you", Twyla informed him.
"Now quit playing stupid."

"Oh, come on!", Stitch moaned, climbing onto a chair to add to his height.
"Why won't you talk to me?"

Twyla sighed and leaned against the wall of the table.

"Weren't you listening to us when we were talking?", she asked.

Stitch shook his head.

"We were discussing names for the baby."

Stitch slapped himself mentally upside the head. He had forgotten that he was an expectant father.
That was pretty hard to do, considering all of the reminders he was receiving. Twyla gaining weight and form was more than enough, but there was also a lot of talk circulating of knocking out the living-room wall to expand the house. Everybody had begun to notice that the house that had once seemed very large was beginning to look so small to a big ohana.

Stitch looked at Peka and Twyla, and he tried hard to hide his stubbornness.

"So why aren't I in this conversation?", he asked.
"It's my kid, so shouldn't I have some say in this?"

Twyla closed her eyes and groaned.

"Come on, Stitch...", she said in an pleading voice.
"I barely got any sleep last night...I think it's gonna be time, soon."

At once, Stitch's face dropped as he realized his inconsideration. Twyla had begun to experience the pains of pre-birth, and she needed all the rest and serenity she could get.

"I'm...I'm sorry", he apologized, and climbed on top of the table to be closer to his love.
"Really, I am. Is there something I can do for you?"

Twyla shook her head and closed her eyes.

"No, that's fine", she said.

Stitch sighed and leaned forward onto his hands.

"It's hard to be a father for a kid who's not even born yet", he said with humor.
"I'm not used to this at all."

Twyla chuckled and pulled Stitch back to her. Falling for his obvious charm, she nuzzled the fur on his neck and kissed him on his nose gently.

"You do fine", she said as he placed an arm around her.

Stitch squeezed her gently and returned the kiss. He wasn't used to showing his passionate side, but he was very good at it.
At the other end of the table, Peka sighed obviously.

"Look at the time", she said, glancing at the clock.
"Aren't you supposed to pick up Lilo from the bus stop now?"

Stitch's eyes widened in sudden surprise.

"Oh!", he said.
"I forgot!"

He jumped down from the table nimbly and made his way to the front door quickly.

"See you in a few!", he said, and Peka and Twyla heard the front door open and close.

Twyla looked at Peka in an annoyance that was almost anger. She was about to question her angrily to why she had broken up the moment...when a harsh pitter-patter of feet was heard entering from the patio into the living room, and the combined voices of Aron and Garon calling;

"Mom, Dad, come quick!"

Peka jumped from the table and ran to the living room, with Twyla giving pursuit.
They found Aron and Garon, muddy and wet, pulling frantically at Owen's right arm, urging him to follow them outside. They looked very excited about something.

"Hold it, hold it!", Owen was saying in protest as the twins pulled at him.

Peka came forward and released Owen from his snare, and turned to her children. Immediately, they began giving her the same treatment, but she silenced them both with an authoritative;

"Calm down!"

At once, they sat silently down on the floor, like two well-trained puppies. Still, it was evident that they were bursting to say something.

"Now, what happened?", Peka asked them as Owen realigned himself.

Aron and Garon looked at each other to decide who would speak first: this was a system they had developed for their mother.
Finally, it was Garon who spoke.

"There's a monster outside!", he informed Peka exuberantly, while pointing behind himself.
"In the trees back there!"

Peka, Owen, and Twyla all repressed a sigh. They had all had a lot of experience with Aron and Garon's monsters; they were everywhere: in the bath tub, in the closet, under the stairs, and in the basement.

"Really, Mom! We saw something!", Aron said, backing up his brother.
"We were playing in the yard and it was looking at us from the bushes!"

Peka nodded reluctantly. She would've considered herself a bad mother to blatantly refuse to listen to what her children were saying, but the monster-stories were becoming almost annoying.

"Honey...", she said to her kids gently.
"Are you sure you saw something back there? Couldn't it have just been the wind making the leaves sway?"

"No, no!", the twins insisted.
"There was something looking at us!"

"You're sure it wasn't an animal?", Peka asked.

"It was a monster!", Aron and Garon insisted.
"It had big eyes and looked like dad...only skinnier!"

At these words, Peka and Twyla burst into laughter, while Owen gave them both an 'I-don't-see-what's-so-funny-about-that' look.
Aron and Garon looked up at their parents desperately.

"Don't you believe us?", they asked, with fear in their voices.
"If you don't go and chase it away, it'll come in here at night and eat us!"

Peka swallowed her last giggle and nodded.

"Okay, okay", she said.
"I'll go take a look."

She turned to Owen, who was still looking very disgruntled.

"Make sure no monsters come in here while I'm away", she said to him, earning herself a look of disapproval.

Peka stood up and went out the patio door.
Aron and Garon, who were cowering in the doorway, called after her;

"Be careful!"

Walking carefully to avoid the mud puddles [which had been spread by her romping children], Peka made her way towards the area that Aron and Garon had pointed out. Obviously, she wasn't planning to actually search for anything. She planned simply to look around a bit and assure the worried pups that nothing was there.
She smiled to herself as she remembered Aron and Garon when they had been younger. At night, she would hear them call;

"Mommy, monsters!"

From their bedroom, and she'd come in and 'chase' the monsters away. She actually giggled when remembering that Owen didn't enjoy that game too much.

["Dad, monsters!"]
["Let 'em eat you up."]

Owen...
Peka was closer to Owen than anybody else in the family. She understood him, and knew that his love for food would never overrule his love for her and their children.
But...it seemed that the passion that they had shared was fading. Owen used to be full of feelings and emotions that urged Peka to hold and cuddle him. Not that she didn't want to anymore, but it seemed as if he didn't want too anymore.
Nowadays, it was rare that Peka would receive even a hug from Owen, and a mere kiss was like the coming of a comet: rare and quick.

Peka knew that their physical love would change with the birth of Aron and Garon...but she hadn't expected it to burn down to such a small amount.
It hurt her to know that Stitch and Twyla still had it all. It was a stab of emotional burden when she saw the two of them together, sharing the kind of love that she herself wasn't receiving anymore.
Owen just seemed more ready to stuff himself with food than to simply share a few minutes with Peka. Even when Peka went out of her way to try to attract him to herself, Owen always found someway out of it. One day, Peka had arranged it so that everybody except she and Owen were out of the house. She had gotten him as far as the couch, and was ready to put her arms around him when he had noticed what time it was, and he switched on the TV to watch a sitcom.
It was impossible to be romantic while watching a sitcom. She had given up then.

Peka now blinked away a tear that was forming in her eye. She had now reached the edge of the jungle and walked a few paces inwards. Absentmindedly, she looked around, although not expecting to see anything.
She turned back, ready to report back to her kids, when she stepped on something that felt unfamiliar. There was a silent cracking noise, and Peka felt something cut at her foot.
She backed away quickly, thinking she might've stepped on a bug or a snake...but it was neither of those.

When Peka looked down to see what she had crushed, she found no animal of any kind, but a simple gray CD-player, where the broken plastic cover had cleaved at her heel.
Carefully and curiously, she picked it up and held it up. It looked as if it had been in good condition, and even the headphones were still connected to the player's outlet. Peka clicked one of the buttons, and the damaged lid creaked open to reveal a copy of 'Crazy World'...the group was called 'Scorpions'.
The rhythm of love
It's the beat I'm looking for
The rhythm of love
It's got the groove that hits the bone
From his new hiding place, Auron cursed viciously under his breath. He had risked himself being discovered, and had left behind his CD player. Not only did he no longer have the tunes that he wanted, but he had left his trace behind. He had allowed somebody to get close enough to see him...and he had damn-near been caught.

But...there was something greater than that at hand.

Auron turned, and he could see [through the leaves] the figure returning to the house.
There was no denying or mistaking it...she was an Experiment of Jumba's as well.
Auron sat down and watched as the stranger re-entered the house, and the two smaller creatures crowded around her.
Were they Experiments as well?

Questions flooded Auron's head. He had always considered himself to be the only Experiment alive...he knew that others had been created before him, but he had thought them all for dead...he wouldn't have put it past Jumba to destroy all of his other 'failures'.
Had these guys also gone through the Hell that he had experienced? Did they escape the lab like he had? How did they all end up on Earth?
Auron clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tightly. He didn't know what he wanted to know, and it aggravated him.
He had seen five of them in all, with two of them in the shadows of the living room.

Did they all reach the planet together? Or did they find each other? If so, why hadn't they found him?
Auron opened his eyes again and saw the patio door being closed. The female figure he had lost his CD-player to was saying something to what he thought to be the two children...perhaps describing to them what she had.
Auron sighed and stood up, ready to venture deeper into the jungle for a better hiding place.
He looked back at the house, and wasn't sure what expression would fit his face. He would be back to investigate more. He would spy on them silently, and find out exactly what was going on. And then, once he had uncovered all he needed to...maybe...just perhaps...he would let his presence be known.
[A/N: so, how was the first chapter? I hope I didn't set anybody out-of- character...if you have any complaints [or compliments], please say so in a review, okay?

By the way, the lyrics of 'Rhythm of Love' and 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' belong to the Scorpions, not me]