KH: PoT Ch. 12 pt. 2

(FerreTrip and Maru are being kept apart by Elliot)
*anger-vein* Impatient little...
Maru: *anger-vein-*Lazy little...
Figment (on top of Elliot's head) : Alright, guys, settle down...We moved to another chapter, we're moving on, okay? Now, can we just PLEASE get along?
*Sighs, stops struggling* Fine...but only if I get to sit on Elliot, since Maru destroyed my chair...
Maru: *sweatdrops* Er...FT? There's...uhm...people...reading this, you know...
URK! *BIG sweatdrop* Erm...Eh-heheh...Uh, ah...*flaps arms and runs side to side like a chibi, making a "XD"-like face* AND NOW, BACK TO OUR SHOW!!
Maru: *sighs and looks upwards questioningly* Why are all my fans the crazy ones?
*Stops scuttling, grabs Elliot, and hops on his new chair* Because we are. Now, anyway: *clears throat*
Maru, Figment, and Elliot didn't have to wait very long before Nani, dressed back into her street clothes, came with her little sister in tow, who in turn had Stitch in tow. "There they are," Maru whispered. "Should we approach them?" he asked.
"Yeah!" Elliot said, nodding. "It sounds like Nani's okay with you, so why don't you go and ask if you could stick around and help her after what she's been through tonight?" he suggested.
Maru blinked at his large comrade, tilting his head back (he was sitting with his back against Elliot's front, "because he's reasonably comfortable and he doesn't mind it, and I really don't feel like giving a damn right now,") to look up at him with a questioning face. "You've been really...active, I guess, in this world. Why?" he asked.
Elliot shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "Oh, I'll tell you later! Just GO!" He pushed Maru off of his belly, causing him to stumble right out in front of the two Hawaiians and one alien, as the group had gathered from his appearance and actions as well as the way Jamba and Pleakley regarded him. Nani, who had been morosely silent until now, started back and yelped. "Yike! Watch out!!" she shouted. "Tryin' to kill us or..." She saw who it was and raised her eyebrows. "...Okay, you're officially scaring me, now," she said.
Maru put his hand on the back of his neck. "I'm terribly sorry, ladies," he apologized. "I guess I kind of got lost taking the scenic route home..." 'I'm just making myself seem weirder and weirder...OH, how it was so much easier NOT lying my ass off this much!'
Nani raised an eyebrow. "Through the jungle? At night?" she asked, then chuckled, shaking her head. "You're something else, you know that?" she asked, moving on.
Maru turned to talk with her as she walked past. "Look, I know I must seem a bit...strange," he said, trying his best to look sympathetic, "but please, trust me. I, actually, after noticing your guys' lives, want to help you somehow, especially since you're now, well...jobless..." He gulped. 'And down goes the bomb...let's see if it hits us or water...'
Nani stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Uuuuuh..." she began, uncertain if she could trust him or not.
"He's okay, Nani," Lilo said. Her big sister turned to her. "He and Stitch actually protected me from these weird black things earlier today." When she said this, Maru paled and shook his head and hands, mouthing her to stop while Nani turned around.
Nani raised her raised eyebrow even more, looking down at her. "Uh...huh. Really, now," she said, skeptical. She crossed her arms and crouched down to her. "And what about him being a spy?" she asked.
Lilo nodded. "Uh-huh, yeah, he's a spy, too," she said. "But I don't think he's a bad spy. I think he's spying on us to watch out for us or something..." She raised an eyebrow. "That still doesn't not make him a stalker," she added, more to Maru than her sister.
Maru sweatdropped. 'Oh, Elliot, I wanna throttle you SO badly right now...Wait, this is the first time I've EVER wanted to throttle him,' he noticed. 'Huh. Guess that means he really DOES have something going on...' When Nani looked up at him, he floundered for a moment before deciding to laugh nervously and tell the truth. "Yeah, you got me, Lilo," he said. "I AM spying on you to watch out for you. And I thought I told you not to tell Nani about those things..."
"You told me not to tell about the FIRST time, not the SECOND. -I- was talking about the SECOND time," Lilo pointed out.
Maru blinked at the logic. '...She's good.'
Nani raised her eyebrow again, putting a hand on her hip. "So you're not really an actor, huh?" she asked.
Maru shook his head. "No, I am," he said.
"He's also a spy, a magician, and a fire-spinner," added Lilo, looking suspiciously at him.
Maru sighed. 'This girl is just something else!' he thought, feeling like giving up and blabbing about the Heartless and everything so that life could be easier on him.
Nani sighed, too. "Well, I think we need to have a little talk, it sounds like," she said, a little like a mother when she tells her child that he's in for a scolding later. "C'mon, up there's our house. By the way, what's your name?" she asked. "I never got it."
Maru bowed. "Call me Maru," he introduced. "I'll just run up to the door and wait, if that's alright."
"Go ahead," Nani said, and Maru complied. The girls started walking slow again.
While he was up there, Maru leaned over the side rail and glared at Elliot. ''Thanks for getting me in trouble,'' he sent. ''I think WE need to have a little talk later, too.''
Elliot sighed, shrugging.
"Did you lose your job because of Stitch and me?" asked Lilo, meanwhile. The three had just gotten to the beginning of the steps.
Nani smiled down at her and chuckled. "Nah. The manager's a vampire, and he wanted me to join his legion of the undead," she joked.
Lilo slowed to a stop on the corner landing and looked down a little. "...I knew it..." she whispered before moving forward up the steps again.
Maru stepped aside while Nani opened the door and turned on the light.
"This is a great home; you'll like it a lot," Lilo smiled and told Stitch, who got in, narrowed his eyes, and let out a hiss as he looked back and forth at his new surroundings. "See?" she asked, crouching down to him.
"Uh, Lilo?" Nani asked, stepping in and looking down at her.
Lilo moved ahead and grabbed a pillow. She did something Maru would generally not have liked and shoved the green couch pillow in Stitch's face(well, his whole body...these guys were SHORT). "Comfy!"
Stitch promptly growled, pushed Lilo down and taking the pillow, making her go, "Heeey!" again as he proceeded to tear it to shreds. Nani yelped and came over, Maru in pursuit. "Hey!" Nani cried, as well. "What are you DOING?!" she asked Stitch, wrenching the pillow away while Maru wrenched Stitch away with a bit of difficulty. 'Woah, what does this guy eat? He's heavier than I'd imagined...'
Lilo got up and came over to the two of them. "Be careful of the little angel!" she said, pushing against them a little. Maru lost his grip a bit and dropped Stitch.
Nani said, using a voice that was both harried and trying to explain, "He's not an angel, Lilo!" As Stitch curled up into a ball again and rolled away into the kitchen (with Maru following him), she hugged Lilo to her protectively and added, "I don't even think he's a dog!" When he was gone, she looked at her and let her go, saying, "We just have to take him back."
Lilo defensively stood up and pointed after Stitch. "He's just cranky because it's his bedtime," she reasoned.
Meanwhile, Stitch had gotten into the kitchen and was standing again, ready for trouble. While Nani said something else in the living room, Maru looked down warilly at him. "Now, don't you--" he began in a warning voice, but Stitch went and grabbed a drawer, pulled it all the way out, and dumped its contents before Maru could react. Lilo was walking in by the time he had grabbed the blender from the shelf.
"You're loose in the house all the time, and I sleep just fine!" Lilo was saying when she walked in and found Stitch. Stitch pressed a button on the blender, which was, for some reason, full of what looked like strawberry smoothie. "Heey, what are you doing?" she asked him accusingly as he lifted the lid and peeked inside curiously. He was promptly shot in the face with the fluid, causing him to jitter as if being electrocuted, sent to the floor while Lilo stood there, looking displeased and waving her arms while saying, "Stop that, Stitch!" Maru was trying to grab the blender away to little success, getting drenched in...stuff in the process.
Nani came in and shouted, "Heeey!" again. She grabbed Stitch away from the blender, which she turned off. As she stood and lifted the blue troublemaker up with difficulty, as he was flailing and trying to reach back to the blender, making incanine sounds that said he wanted to go on the ride a bit longer. "Look at him, Lilo!" Nani said, staggaring back with him. "He's obviously mutated from something else! We have to take him back," she insisted. She made her way backwards around the doorframe, which Stitch grabbed onto and tried to hold on, ending up making claw marks in the wood as he was pulled back. Maru ran to help Nani while Lilo trotted behind them.
"He was an orphan and we adopted him!" she yelled, coming into the hall. She saw Maru catch up to Nani, who had almost dropped Stitch, come and help by grabbing with an extra pair of arms. They were almost at the door. "WHAT ABOUT OHANA?!" demanded Lilo.
"Ohana?" Maru muttered, unable to help his curiousity.
"He hasn't been here that long!" Nani yelled back, drowning out his question as the two grappled with Stitch.
"Neither have I!" Lilo stamped her sandaled foot. She said in an arguing statement, "Dad said ohana means family!" At this point, Nani had just opened the door while holding Stitch with one arm, the latter having gotten tired enough for her to manage on her own. She looked about ready to throw him out. When she heard this, though, she stopped. After a pause, she slowly closed the door.
Stitch and Maru looked back at her and said, "Heh?" in confusion together.
Lilo continued on, "Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets..."
"...nobody gets left behind," finished her sister while Lilo said it, a solemn look on her face as she nodded and looked back at her sister.
"Or...?"
"Or forgotten." Nani looked up and said, "I know, I know." She smiled at Lilo and said, in a sort of playful sore loser sort of way, "I hate it when you use ohana against me."
Lilo just stuck her tounge out at her.
"Mmm-mm-mm," Nani stuck back, shaking her head down towards her. Stitch took the chance to rawr and break Nani's grip, surprising her as he flumped down to the floor.
"Don't worry, you can sleep riiiight next to me," Lilo said as she jogged off, Stitch following while scuttling along with his limbs stiff, resembling a bug or a crab (going forwards).
Nani groaned and settled down on the couch, holding her head from stress. Maru was about to set off after Stitch, saying he'd go and supervise her, when she said, "Oooohhh, no, you don't!" Maru was in the door frame out of the room with his back turned to Nani, and when he heard this, he couldn't help but cringe a little, caught red-handed. "YOU are staying right here, and WE'RE gonna have a little chat," Nani said firmly, pointing downwards while lying on the couch after Maru had turned guiltily around.
Maru sighed and shook his head, coming back in and sitting down on a chair. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just a bit...antsy."
Nani gave him a skeptical look. "Mm-hm," she nodded. "Well, I'm just wondering: What's with you and Lilo?" she asked. "You're kinda acting like a pedophile stalker or something. And I know Lilo's a bit loco sometimes, but why would she say you're a fire-spinner and a magician as well as a spy?"
Maru sighed. "Well, I guess I must confess a few things," he said. 'What should I say? Should I explain about the Heartless? What?'
His pause made Nani drum her fingers as she looked at him. "You know, I've seen you outside with Lilo holding a weird key thing and panting like you just did something--or worse, THINKING of doing something," she implied, making the pokémon blush furiously before she continued, "Lilo said that you fought off 'black things' with Stitch--probably when I left them alone for a bit earlier today--and you appear both at the luau and right here at my home. Mister, I don't think you're in any position to hide anything from me if you want me to trust you," she informed him, sitting up and crossing her legs, leaning back into the seat.
Maru blinked at the list, then sighed. "True, true," he muttered, then acted like he was wrestling with the issue, which, really, he didn't need to act very much to pull off. 'What could I say?' he wondered. His mind was racing. 'I'm running out of ideas...!' Suddenly, he felt one of his pockets grow warm and heard a voice in his head.
''Shut up and listen,'' said the voice.
''Figment? Is that you?'' he asked him. ''When'd YOU learn telepathy?''
''It's not teleplay, or whatever. Listen: I'm by the living room on the outside of the house right now, and I can hear what you're talking about! I've got an idea! Listen and repeat what I tell you,'' he instructed.
Maru gulped and nodded. ''Okay, but you're toast if you end up screwing things over,'' he warned, then sighed. "Alright, alright, you win," he gave up, holding his hands up and smiling a little. "'I'm someone from a group that's not connected to the government or anything, one that exists to do something you might not believe.'"
Nani raised her eyebrow. "Try me," she challenged.
Maru nodded, then repeated, "'It's my job to help people in need that are being targeted by strange creatures known as the Heartless.'" He paused, looking like he was letting it sink in while Figment supplied the next lines. Nani raised her eyebrow. "'They're beasts who prey on peoples' hearts, and your sister's heart, since she's so young, is particularly attractive. I'm here because I want to protect her from losing her heart.'"
"What happens if she loses her heart, if what you say is real?" asked Nani. She didn't look like she was buying it.
"She'll disappear, becoming a Heartless, herself," he answered without Figment's help.
Nani raised her eyebrows. "Well, THAT doesn't sound good," she admitted.
"No, it doesn't," Maru said softly, looking down. "Trust me. The Heartless are the worst. They...They can ruin people's lives." 'Like they ruined mine.'
When he said this, Nani looked at him in amazement. "Woah," she said after a while. "I know you're an actor, but...I dunno if that was acting, I honestly don't," she said. She relaxed a smidgen.
Maru raised his eyebrows without raising his head. 'Wow, that was simple,' he mused. He looked up and cleared his throat. "Anyway, 'I want you to trust me and let me stick around to watch you guys for a bit, and I want to protect Lilo and you from the Heartless.'"
Nani tilted her head and thought for a bit. "Hmmmmm...Well, first tell me what's in it for you," she asked, still suspicious a bit.
Maru sighed a little aggrivatedly. "Nothing's in it for me, honest!" he half-lied. He hoped that she wouldn't catch it. "I also want to help because of the way your life looks at the moment, not just because it's my job to." This was basically the truth; Nani's stress vibes had been haunting Mewtwo the entire day, and it finally got on his last nerve. 'If she doesn't calm down, I swear, I'll never get any rest until I find the Keyhole.'
'And then what?' asked the little voice in the back of his head.
'Oh, not this again, not now,' he thought back. 'We can have another self-argument later.'
Nani breathed a sigh out through her nose as she switched legs. "Well, that's nice, but, apart from helping people, why does this group really exist?" she asked. Maru's little moment of emotion had softened her a little, but she was still suspicious and wary.
Maru surpressed a groan. ''We've really gotten ourselves up a tree, Figment,'' he whined.
''Shaddup! Lemme handle this...''
"Well, 'we want to--'" Maru began, but he stopped for a moment. He took the pause to act like he was yawning. '''Usher in a new age of light for all'?! Are you STUPID or something?!'' he asked Figment incredulously. ''She'll throw me out as soon as she hears that!''
''...Yeah, okay, that wasn't a good idea, but I'm half-baking this. I'm doing this because I dunno if you could do any better,'' he answered the question Maru was about to ask.
''I dunno at this point,'' Maru muttered as he ended his long yawn. "Sorry...'We want to defeat Heartless because they threaten world peace. That's really our aim--we're peacekeepers, basically. It's a bit of a side-job, too, so don't worry about paying us anything,'" Figment added for him to say.
Nani raised both eyebrows. "Really?" she asked. "You're a free public service?" Maru nodded. "Hmmmm...well, okay...but I'm going to report you to the police if you try anything funny on me, okay?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and waggling a finger.
Maru chuckled. "Trust me, acting funny is on the BOTTOM of my agenda," he said with truth that made Figment scowl outside. (Moments later, Maru realized he was being a hypocrite again, remembering his little act before leaving the gummi ship. 'Dammit! I SWEAR, it's the mew in me!!')
Nani rolled her eyes, smiling a bit at this despite herself. "Really, now?" she asked. She looked at his hands. "Well, what's this about you being a magician?" she asked. "And a fire-spinner?"
Maru chuckled. "Oh, you can ask David about the fire-spinning," he said. "That also reminds me, we're also around to defend you guys against things called Nobodies. Yeah, that's what they're called," he assured. "When a strong heart is taken, the body it leaves behind becomes a Nobody. The general rule is that the more human a Nobody is, the stronger its power, and the more monstrous a Heartless is, the stronger ITS power. They're enemies to Heartless, but they're just as dangerous. It's our job to keep an eye out for them, as well. They're tricker, since they're generally more intelligent than Heartless."
Nani scoffed. "Great, 'Nobodies,' now? Heartless and Nobodies...Really..." She sighed. "Personally, I'd say you're crazy and need help, but I'm going to keep an eye on you. If you can prove you're not going to hurt us, then I'll trust you."
Maru nodded. "Deal. Anyway, the reason Lilo says I'm a magician is because...well..." He took a chance, ignoring Figment's instructions leaned in close. "Do you believe in psychic phenomena?" he asked softly.
"Psychic phenomena?" Nani repeated. "You mean like moving stuff with your mind?"
Maru nodded, then casually grabbed the beaten-up pillow on the floor and brought it over, making Nani drop her jaw. "It's nothing too special, really," Maru insisted, physically grabbing the green thing when it came close. "I'm actually extremely good at using psychic abilities. Please, don't be scared," he requested quickly, holding his hands up and shaking them at Nani's terrified face. He waited a few moments before asking, "You saw 'Carrie,' didn't you?"
"Worse," Nani replied, backing up a bit. "I read it."
Maru made the "Oooooh..." face. "I'm not one for horror, myself, but from what I've heard, I can potentially do the stuff she does. But believe me--she takes the fun out of being gifted with strong psychic power, from what I hear," he chuckled. "That, and while we can be scary when we go nuts, I generally am able to control my power and make sure not to harm anyone if I were to go mad. Besides, I'm really not all THAT powerful, since I recently lost most of my powers to the Heartless," he blabbed. 'Oh, shi--I hope that wasn't too much...'
Nani started at this, surprised. "Wait, what?" she asked. "They can steal peoples'...powers?"
Maru sighed and nodded. "Well, either the Heartless or the Nobodies--I'm still not quite sure," he corrected himself. "But please, trust me when I say I'm not going to hurt people, trust me!" he insisted. "I may be scary, but I'm not as scary as the Heartless. If you ever saw what THEY can do--and I earnestly hope you don't--then you'd see what I meant. Once you lose your heart, chances are you might not get it back."
Nani put a hand on her chest, considering all of this information. "Well...uh...I guess what a friend of mine back in school said was true," she said, chuckling a little. "There IS more to the world than what we see..."
Maru sighed. "I think they were trying to get your goat, but they're also pretty much true," he said. "But please, don't think about this too much. Just try and take it in stride. The Heartless will move on in a while, and I'll be out of your life as soon as they have. You won't have to worry about weird stuff ever again. And don't tell anyone, since they'll think you're nuts or something," he added, chuckling a little.
Nani shook her head. "Oh, no, no, trust me, I'm not gonna tell anyone about this," she assured him. "The less I think about this time in my life, the better." She sighed and smoothed her hair back, lying down again while she thought. "...Alright, I give up, Maru. Go ahead and stick around to help us if you'd like," she eventually said.
Maru smiled, face brightening. "Thank you very much, Nani," he said, standing up and bowing deeply. "I won't let you down as long as I can help it."
Nani raised an eyebrow. "What's with the bowing?" she asked. "You from China or something?"
"Japan, actually," Maru corrected. "Don't worry, we get it all the time," he added.
Nani smiled a little. "Yeah, sorry..." She tilted her head. "How'd you get your hair and eyes to that deep a violet?" she couldn't help but ask. "Are you really an actor?"
"As a hobby," Maru lied. "And this is my true hair and eye color," he added.
Nani laughed, thinking it was a joke. Thankfully, Maru decided to roll with it, and she didn't ask for the real information.
A clock chimed. Nani looked around at it and sucked in air through her teeth. "Oooh, getting late," she said. "Would you like something to drink? Sorry for being such a bad host before, but..." She trailed off as she stood, starting for the kitchen.
Maru waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry," he said. "I understand entirely." In his mind, he was cheering and dancing. 'I DID IT! SHE TRUSTS ME!! THANK YOU, GOD!! Now I don't have to sneak around anymore!! Well, not as much, but that's still great!' ''Thanks, Figment,'' he said to him.
''No problem! Oh, and the reason I could talk like this is through a special card I somehow picked up at Merlin's while you were busy flubbing Cure like a dingbat. It responds to your transforming card.''
''Hey, I'm not a magician, I'm a--'' He almost said 'pokémon'. ''--psychic,'' he decided. He held his head. ''Speaking of, this is starting to give me a headache. Head back to Elliott, I'll be fine.'' (Oh, yeah, I picked up Pete's Dragon (FINALLY!! Oh, childhood memories...) and found that his name's spelled with two t's. If you think I'm going back and changing all of them, though, you're certifiable...)
Figment agreed and broke the link. Just then, Nani asked, "So, what would you like?"
"That Sprite would be nice," Maru said, smiling.
Nani tilted her head in confusion, then smiled as she remembered his order. "Sorry you had to see that," she said. "Stitch...well, we got him earlier today, as you know. He's...I dunno what he is. I'm gonna look at that later tonight. He's not a dog, is he?" she asked.
Maru shrugged. "I'm psychic, but I don't know everything," he said. 'Actually, I'm pretty sure he's an alien, but...'
"Oh, well," Nani said, digging in the fridge and pulling out a can of Sprite. "Here you go! That'll be $1.00, please!" she said, grinning and holding out the can as if on a tray.
Maru laughed. "Oh, great, and here I am, dead broke," he said, chuckling and reaching for it. He pulled back his hand. "You're not serious, right?"
Nani giggled. "Oh, man, I see what you meant about the funny thing," she said, giving the can to him.
Maru half-smiled as he opened the can, sitting at a table. "Thank you," he said. "But, yeah, Stitch seems like quite the little ball of trouble."
"He is," Nani said. "I'm worried about if Lilo made the right choice. He's a bit of an imp, really."
Maru thought for a moment. 'Like a mew...but more...evilish...' He shook his head and quaffed some of his soda.
"You should have seen him today," Nani went on, sitting down in a chair at the table with him. "We were out for a bit, and he went and ended up clocking a poor dog in the head with some shaved ice and serving a volleyball at someone's head when we were on the beach after the ball bounced towards him!"
Maru nodded his head as she spoke. 'Yeah, more evilish.' "Well, thank you for the Sprite," hesaid, "and for trusting me, but I've got to leave for a bit, now. I'll be around, however, so don't worry."
Nani nodded. "Right, right," she said. "So you've got a place outside of here? What, a hotel or something?" she asked.
Maru tilted his head. "Mmmm...yeah, I guess you could say," he said. "If you call sleeping under the stars while caked with bug dope a hotel."
Nani raised her eyebrows. "Oh! Maybe you could sleep on the couch?" she suggested.
Maru politely shook his head. "No, I'm fine; thank you very much, though, truly." He stood up, finishing his soda. He looked at it for a second. 'You know, I never did have a lot of this stuff before back home...I hate to say it, but I think I'm starting to like it, despite the fact it's poor health in a can.' He smiled to himself and crushed it in his hands. After asking where the recycling was, he put it there and turned to go. "I'll be back in the morning, don't worry," he said. "If you need me, just scream like hell," he half-joked.
"Eh-heh-heh, yeah," Nani nervously laughed. She stopped and looked at Maru, who was a little shorter than her. "How old are you?" she asked.
Maru stopped, struck by it. 'You know, I never thought about that,' he thought. 'How old AM I?' He looked at himself for a second. "Ah, 16," he said, really guessing. 'So smart, but still so stupid...I guess it's a bit of a fitting age.'
Nani laughed. "Oh, man, and I'm 21! I was getting the living daylights scared out of me by someone who's just old enough to drive!" She shook her head. "Sorry, but at least I feel a bit better." She waved her hand in a shooing manner. "Well, good night, thanks for coming, and see you tomorrow, I guess," she said.
Maru nodded, holding his hand back in good-bye. "Good night, and good luck on handling Stitch," he bade, walking out the door.
"Thanks," Nani said weakly, turning to get a phone and to look for a book.
Maru: -Points- See? NINE PAGES OF CUTSCENE!!
Oh, shut UP!
Figment: Guuuuuyyys...
FerreTrip & Maru: Okay, okay...
When Maru stepped outside, he immediately jumped over the railing to the left side of the house. The save disc they had set down was one of those temporary ones, which explained why it was able to not be there anymore. He didn't see Elliott or Figment, so he sensed for them. He found them in the jungle, for some reason. Grumbling about his partners, he climbed into the bushes, wandered through the foliage, and climbed up a slope until he came to a small clearing. As soon as he came out and found his comrades, he also found they were pretty nearby, of all people, Jamba and Pleakley. He stopped himself from yelping in surprise and crouched down near Figment and Elliott. They had also set up a permanent save disc in their spot.
"What's with the stone's throw away to them?!" demanded Maru in a whisper, looking uneasilly at the dragons.
Figment shushed him. He was out of his costume. Maru also found, to his surprise, that they had brought down some, as he had said to Nani, sleeping bags and bug dope. He handed the can to Maru as he whispered back, "They can't hear us if we whisper--we're farther away than you'd think. Just don't do anything stupid, and we'll be fine--they could still look back and stare for a few seconds and they'll be able to see us."
Maru nodded, spraying on the essential stuff gladly. He disliked bugs, being a Psychic-type. "If you guys could, I'd insist we all use telepathy," he said, handing back the can. He sniffed his sprayed arm and wrinkled his nose. "Sure they can't smell us?" he asked.
"I'd be surprised," Figment said. "There's so many scents coming from the flora around here..." He sniffed it in and sighed contently. "Oh, it just sparks my imagination...It's making me think of adventures in the tropics! More than this one's been...So far, I don't think I've been having very much fun, sneaking around so much. Where are all the Heartless, too?" he asked, looking around. "I can't believe it, but I kinda wanna fight some..."
"There were some in that clearing in the jungle path, remember?" Maru thumbed. "We could head there tomorrow morning for some morning excersizes if you'd like. I kinda want to, too."
"I actually would join you," Elliott said as soft as his language could allow. He was naked, no armor or clothes or anything (there was nothing to see, though, trust me), and lying on his stomach while watching the two aliens ahead of them. He brought up his tail and rubbed it, looking worriedly at it. "My poor tail is all cramped from being shut in those clothes all day," he mourned.
"Sorry, but until things get to the BIG Heartless stage, I dunno if revealing I'm travelling with a pair of dragons would be a good plan," Maru said, truly sorry. "The more normal I seem, the better."
"After telling her and showing her you're psycho?" Figment asked, holding his paws up and smiling sarcastically. "Oh, yeah, like we wouldn't be that bad. Especially Elliott--he's a big sweetheart. Though I probably wouldn't fit well with her--I'm a bit of a troublemaker, myself!" He sniggered.
"Hey, I've been known to cause a bit of trouble, myself," Elliott pointed out, surprising Maru.
"Really?"
"Yeah--I actually can't help myself sometimes," he confessed, grinning sheepishly. "Don't know why, really."
Maru blinked and tilted his head. "But you're so...calm, most of the time," he said, confused. "If you're mischeivous, why hide it for so long?"
"Because...well, you're kinda...well...not that easy to feel natural around," Elliott answered, shrugging. "Sorry, it's the truth."
Maru raised his eyebrows, then blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...I know what you mean," he muttered. He looked away. 'I still find it hard to be around people, myself.'
At this time, Jamba, who had set up some bi--well...tetroculars, I suppose, since he was a four-eyes...regardless, Jamba saw something in the window of Lilo's room, where some destruction had taken place, Maru later learned. He was setting down a sleeping bag by Pleakley, who was, for some reason, bandaged up like a mummy, his eye the only visible part on him. "You know something?" Jamba asked, furling out the sleeping bag.
"What?" asked Pleakley.
"626 was programmed to destroy," said the large alien. "I designed him to be perfect for doing that, but nothing else. That is his only function."
As Maru overheard this, he froze. 'Wait...626...Stitch is 626...? He was...He was created?! Like me?!' He turned and listened harder to Jamba.
"Now...there's nothing left to destroy," Jamba noticed. "He took care of all the things in that girl's room that were fit for destruction...but now what? I wonder how it must be...to have nothing..." He lay down on his sleeping bag, pulling a blanket on top of him (but it didn't cover much of him, he was so big). "No family...no friends...not even memories to visit...How terrible it must be to be all alone...with no one else in the world..." He settled in a bit. "I feel a little sorry for him."
Pleakley was silent for a moment. "Well, does he have a heart?" he asked. "If he doesn't, then why worry?"
"No," answered Jamba. "At least, I didn't put one in...Then, well...Science has yet to understand the heart and its many mysteries. I've heard rumors of those who have tried, but the results..." He trailed off. "I don't know if 626 has a heart or not for certain, but if he does...it doesn't seem to be a very good one..."
The conversation stopped there. Maru, curious, stood up and looked over through the foliage to the window. He couldn't see that well. 'I wish I had some binoculars...' he thought.
"Awww, poor little guy," Figment said beside him.
Maru looked and saw him holding a pair of binoculars almost as big as him. Instantly, he snatched them away, snapping the purple dragon's mouth shut with one hand while he held them in the other, turning the adjustment knob with telekinesis. He saw Stitch standing there, clenching and unclenching a paw and looking around, a helpless expression on his face. He then decided to look through Lilo's bookcase for some reason. Maru was stunned. "I don't believe it," he whispered to himself. "He's just like me..."
"Huh? What do you mean, Maru?" asked Figment.
Maru shook his head. "Nothing, nothing," he told him. "Just muttering." 'He's got to be the 626 Jamba was talking about. He's a created being, just like I am...and, like me, he was made for destruction...in our own ways, of course, but we're the same in that respect. He's also like me in that...now...he's found that there's no need for his original purpose now...Is he looking for a greater purpose, like me? Or is he seeking...Wait...he's seeking identity...isn't he...?' He recalled what Jamba had said. 'No family...Maybe he's...looking for a family? Someplace to belong...?' Maru stopped paying attention to what he was seeing.
'Just like me...he's searching for somewhere to belong...' he realized. 'I'm searching for a place I belong, aren't I? Is that really why I'm going across these worlds? To find one I can fit into?' He shook his head mentally. 'No, I'm supposed to be in my world...but where? There's nobody else like me. There never has been...never will--'
An image of Ambrexi flashed through his head.
'...They're just fucking with me. That's GOT to be it,' he told himself. 'There's nobody like me. If there was, then...then I'd know. I've been looking for every sign of pokémon cloning, and so far I've found nothing. She can't be a clone of me...unless...my power...?'
He shook his head physically now. 'I've got to stop thinking about this,' he told himself. 'But I can't ignore this fact...' He observed Stitch waking Lilo up and showing her a picture in the book he had just gotten out. Maru clenched the binoculars tightly. 'Stitch and I are one and the same: Creations of a destruction-oriented mind thrust into reality without a real point anymore and without anyone to call family.' From then on, Mewtwo swore to protect and help Stitch in any way he could--he had discovered a bond that was very important to him and he did not want to let go of it.
He watched Lilo hold up a record after Stitch had climbed into a pineapple crate that had been turned into a bed, then wondered if Nani knew her sister was about to possibly wake her up (he noticed that there were now no more lights on in the house). He put the binoculars down and turned to grab a sleeping bag. "Stitch..." he muttered to himself as he floofed it out, checked it for bugs, and crawled in himself. "Good night, you guys," he said afterwards, and lay down his head.
"What? You're going to bed?" asked Figment, who appeared over Maru, having crawled on top of him. "But we haven't done anything FUN yet! We still have to roast marshmallows, sing campfire songs, tell ghost stories..."
"If you don't shut up, I'll tell you the story of Ringu and make you never want to watch TV ever again," Maru threatened, looking up at him half-eyed.
Figment's face brightened. "Ooooh! I LOVE how the imagination gets used to scare the pants offa people!" he squealed quietly.
Maru groaned, but he was saved when Elliott, sitting up in what had to be the world's largest sleeping bag, grabbed Figment's mouth shut, turned him towards him, and made the "zip it" gesture. Maru fought laughter at this while Figment just hmphed and fluttered off to his tiny sleeping bag. "I see what you meant," he said to his large comrade.
Elliott humphed, smoke coming out of his nostrils a little. "Well, I'm trying to sleep, and I don't like it when people act like horror movies are exciting adventure movies..." He looked up thoughtfully. "Though, I'll admit, I'm not that familiar with very many movies, myself. But I don't like scary stories, though," he asserted. "Good night, everyone," he bade kindly, though, smiling at the two before crawling back into his bag, becoming a huge, breathing mound of red fabric and white trim with yellow zipper, Kingdom model colors (evidently, these were from the gummi ship).
Maru sighed, said good-night again, and went into his.
A moment passed, and Figment noticed, "Hey, just because we're sleeping out now, it doesn't mean we're still not going to have our little beach fun, does it?"
Maru and Elliott blinked a moment in their minds before Maru said, "Ask complicated questions in the morning. Good night."
"Okay," Figment said. A few more moments passed, then he asked, "Do either of you snore?"
"GO TO SLEEP!" dull roared Maru and Elliott together.
"OKAY, oKAY, sheesh..."

- - -

Maru, Figment, and Elliott awoke to the sounds of the jungle and the morning light filtering through the trees. Elliott sat up, yawned and stretched, and scritched his big front while smacking his tounge and mouth. Figment got up and yawned and stretched like a normal person, then sat and looked around him while his eyes adjusted to the daytime environment. Maru rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he yawned and stretched like a cat does after a nice nap. "Mmmmmm, oh, do I feel good," he murmured as he did so. He stopped and sat up in his sleeping bag, looking around. "Hey, this place is beautiful in the morning," he noticed. He then noticed he was getting strange looks from his companions. "Wh-What?" he sweatdropped.
Figment and Elliott held up a claw, hesitated, then shook their heads, saying to nevermind.
Maru raised an eyebrow before getting up and out of his sleeping bag. He had stripped himself of all but a pair of boxers he had on under his shorts the night before. He had shoved it all into the end of his sleeping bag, and he now went to retrieve it. He put on his shirt first, then his shorts, which he kept on with his belt (they were actually a little big for him). He then went through the trouble of reattatching the leggings, attatching the ribbon-net pockets via their buttons and zipping the leggings on. He put on his socks and laced up his shoes. (Here, he had a little trouble, since, being a pokémon that always Transformed into clothing, he had never tied his shoes before. He was smart enough to figure it out fast enough to make it look like he was just pausing for some reason, though--or, really, Navi fluttered up and whispered instructions in his ear, making use of the bright sunlight to hide her. XP ) He then put on his gloves, tightned the straps on them, and finally put on his cloak.
Before he did, he held out the sheet of durable brown cloth in front of him and paused as Figment and Elliott both said, "Huh?" He looked at them. "What?" he asked again.
Elliott pointed at his cloak. "It's just one piece of cloth?" he asked in amazement.
"Yeah, it's just one piece of cloth," Maru answered, smirking, as he began folding it around his neck. "It's a handy--as well as rather dashing--cloak, if folded properly. Durable, matchable to any outfit, and able to protect against the elements fairly well, it's become quite a friend of mine. I took it up when I was in my world because one day was pretty chilly. It took a while for me to figure it out, buuuuut..." He took his hands away from the collar he'd just made and tugged on the cloak itself a few times before he was satisfied that it was finished. "...I soon found myself a handy way to stay warm if I need to, as well as a great inventory item and a cool accessory. I've been wearing it for a little over a year...washing it, of course!" he added, pointing at Figment before he could crack about it.
"Well, I'm just glad you're a resorceful fashionista," Figment said, smiling and putting his hands on his hips.
Maru growled, but decided not to bother and went about stuffing his pockets and cloak full of items again. He had put them in the VERY bottom of his sleeping bag. Navi flew into her spot in his cloak when he was all set. By the time the Keyblader was ready, his companions were ready, as well. They weren't in their costumes yet, but they were ready for battle. He smirked. "You guys ready for a bit of morning excersize?" he asked.
To his surprise, they nodded. "Yeah! I'm bored!" Figment said. "I wanna have SOME fun today!"
Maru put his hand behind his neck. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "You guys are going to have to stay in disguise again today, too." He sighed, holding his hands up as he shook his head. He looked over to where the aliens were the night before and blinked. "They're gone," he said in surprise.
The dragons looked and started a bit. "But...when'd they get up?" asked Figment.
Maru blinked, looking at how easily they could see the (well-cleaned) campsite and at how easily someone could spot their bright sleeping bags. He slowly looked at his companions. "I'll be damned if they didn't notice us," he said gravely.
Elliott shrugged. "Well, if they were hostile towards us, they'd've tried to hurt us by now, wouldn't they?" he reasoned.
Maru hummed in thought, repeating the green dragon's words when the purple dragon asked him for a translation. "...I suppose you're right," he gave after a moment. He then thought of something and grabbed up the binoculars off the ground where he had left them. He looked and saw that Lilo was still asleep in her bed. "I don't think anyone else is up yet," he said, putting the binoculars down. "We've got time, then!" He smirked and held up a fist. "Let's get us some Heartless now, huh?" he asked. The other two gladly agreed.
"Yeah, I could finally get a good look at those vine Heartless today with the broad daylight," Navi said, coming out of Maru's cloak. She followed them as the party went down to the jungle path. With the amount of traffic it had seen recently, it was pretty clear of debris. Maru worried if that would affect the environment much, but he had to admit that it was already fairly clear to begin with. They made their way to the clearing in the jungle.
"Come on...come on..." Maru muttered as they approached. Then, for the first time ever, the sounds and sights of Heartless appearing in front of him made him pump his arm and go, "YES!" He grinned and called out, "GOOOOOOD MORNING, HEARTLESS!!"
Navi flew up in front of them before they set on their prey. "And how would you gentlemen like your Heartless butt this fine Hawaiian morning?" she asked like a courteous waitress.
Figment flicked up a Thunder card in his paw, grinning meanacingly. "Fried!"
Elliott snorted out some smoke, smiling mischevously. "Hard boiled!"
Maru summoned and twirled the Keyblade around his hand, smirking a dangerous Mewtwo smirk. "Scrambled!"
Navi sighed. "Oh, dear, I just realized you'll have to prepare them yourselves," she pouted.
"GOOD!" said the three boys in unison, and they ran out to whup up some Heartless rump roast.
Navi watched after them as they charged onwards and blinked at everyone's, including her, actions. "Wow," she said. "It's amazing what a good, proper night's sleep can do for a person's mood." After ducking from a Powerwild's capturing dive, she hauled twinkling butt back to Maru's collar.
The morning was quiet once again a good Heartless-bashing later. Maru panted a little, then turned to his comrades. "Well? Get enough excersize?" he asked, smiling a bit. He was returned with a positive response, making him chuckle. 'I think I'm rubbing off on them somehow,' he mused. "Well, I think that's enough for this morning. And, I'm sorry to say, you're going to have to get back into your disguises," he added as he walked over to them, a little bit of sincere sorriness on his face as he spoke.
The dragons drooped their heads and went, "Awwww..." before nodding and smiling a bit. "We understand," Figment said. "I just wish that we could be able to walk around freely."
"I do, too, believe me," Maru said, rolling his eyes. "I'm tired of cooking up lies for Nani and Lilo. It's amazing just how nosey they are, really, it is." He sighed. "Speaking of, I'm going to head over there now. I said I'd help them out, so I'd better start. You guys go back up and get changed," he instructed, pointing to the path from which they had come. "We've got food on the gummi ship, right?" he checked.
"Yeah, but it's not the best," Figment grumbled. "Should we get you some breakfast? Or will you be fine if you hit the save disc?"
"I'll see if I can mooch something off of them," Maru chuckled. "If I can, I'll try and sneak you guys something, too. I plan on introducing you to them today at some point, though, so you don't have to hide more than you did at Sherwood and Paris combined."
Figment gave him a half-eyed look with his arms crossed as he slouched and tapped his footpaw. "We've ALREADY done that," he pointed out. "A whole day? How can you beat that? And we're still hiding, anyway," he added, "if you think about it."
Maru did think about it. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed after a sec, raising his eyebrows in a sorry fashion. "Sorry. I don't know how Donald and Goofy could pass as normal, but I'm pretty sure it's the fact they were a duck and a dog, not a pair of creatures people consider mythical."
With that, Maru and the dragons parted ways. The Keyblader went through the main jungle path back to the house while the other two went up to their campsite. Maru found the front door was locked, and although he knocked, nobody answered. He went around back and peered through the windows. Nothing there but the kitchen. An idea struck him as he glanced at the stove. "Hmmm...Well, if I want them to see I'm trying to be helpful, I don't see how cooking them breakfast could go wrong," he reasoned, easily undoing the lock with telekinesis. He opened the door, approached the cluttered range, and sweatdropped. "Oh, dear," he muttered. "Maybe not..." He shook his head and carefully cleared off two burners, anyway.

-

"Nani?" Lilo asked.
Nani woke up and turned her head to Lilo. She was in her room, which had red wallpaper, the sun brightening the chamber thus enhancing its warmth. "Huh?" she asked. She saw Lilo standing beside Stitch, a phonograph between them.
"Watch," Lilo said in her strange, sort of drab way. She put a record on and, instead of a needle, put Stitch's claw in a groove. She gave a "one second" gesture to Nani before opening Stitch's mouth like a hatch. As soon as she did,
"We can't go on together...On suspicious minds (On suspicious minds!)"
Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" played out of Stitch's mouth as if it came out through the horn on a normal phonograph. Nani looked with a shocked expression, probably amazed, disgusted, confused, and overall "WTF?" about the sight as Lilo opened and closed Stitch's mouth a few times. Then, a knock on the door caused Nani to jump out of bed and Lilo to close Stitch's mouth as her big sister, who had enough clothing on already to be acceptable, ran past her to the front door.
When she opened the door, Nani saw a bald black man with black glasses and a black suit at the door. She couldn't help but let out a horrified gasp. Maru, who had just put on some bacon and was about to scramble some eggs, heard this and peeked out the kitchen. He saw Nani and the man, who were talking about something. "Oh?" he muttered, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back in and broke some eggs over the other pan, checking the bacon to see if he should flip it. 'Is that an Agent?' he thought at first, but he shooed it off after recalling that the Agents' suits were a bit different. They had shoulders and crotches that were a lot more flexible than normal suits' shoulders and crotches, which allowed them to execute their fancy moves better. (Thank you, some guys on YouTube who cosplayed "September" in suits and pointed out that the Agents' suits must be different!) He glanced out the doorframe again and saw Stitch walking along with a big book in his paws, for some odd reason. Maru noticed the book looked a bit hard (not in difficulty) and scrambled from the kitchen before something bad happened.
He was too late. Stitch, after giving him a narrow, thinking gaze, tossed the book right at the all-black man's head, knocking off his shades. "STITCH!" Maru cried disapprovingly, running towards him. He had to dance around Lilo as she came running down the stairs and bowled past him. "YEE-hee-hee! Careful!" he squeaked when she did.
Nani made a look that would have registered either a blue-lines-on-face or a sweatdrop if it were an anime. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bubbles, I really am!" she said, pulling Stitch back.
Maru stopped and blinked. "'Mr. Bubbles'?" he mouthed, raising an eyebrow. 'And I thought Figment had a weird name...'
Mr. Bubbles just glared and looked down. "And WHAT is THAT?" he asked testilly, pointing at Stitch.
Lilo came and pushed past everyone. "That's my puppy!" she said brightly.
"Really," he said to Lilo in a tone that would be appropriate if "Oh," was put before "really", picking up his sunglasses. He sighed and looked at Nani. He opened his mouth to speak when he noticed Maru standing in the hallway. He raised his eyebrow and a nostril at Maru's appearance. "And who are YOU?" he asked.
Maru bowed. "Maru. I just met this family yesterday afternoon and, after talking it over with Nani, I am now helping them with anything they need for a while," he introduced. "Things such as looking after Lilo, cleaning the house for them a bit, or, like I'm doing right now, cooking." At this, Nani turned to him, wide-eyed and mouthing, "You can cook?"
"I can try," Maru mouthed back, sweatdropping a little.
Mr. Bubbles raised an eyebrow. "Really," he said. "So, then, if you're here, who's watching the food?" he asked.
Maru squeaked and was about to dash off before catching Mr. Bubbles' "I knew it" disapproving stare. He couldn't help but droop in loss at it.
"Sorry to say, but you really don't look like someone I can trust after he's just met a family yesterday and is suddenly in their house before they wake up," Mr. Bubble said, crossing his arms and eyeing Maru.
Maru, a bit flustered, pointed at Stitch. "Well, HE'S just met these guys yesterday!" he defended himself. "Why give only ME the evil eye?"
"Because," he said slowly, "he's a dog. Dogs generally aren't large-scale theives...or worse," he added, raising a nostril again.
Maru's face turned beet red, but he stopped himself before continuing, leaving his mouth open and a finger up and pointing for a second before he let them return to normal.
Mr. Bubbles sighed and addressed Nani again...after cracking his shoulders and neck. With a perfect, nearly comical, flat, half-eyed expression, he informed, "Thus far have you been adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience. But I cannot ignore you being jobless," he added, face normal again, pointing at Nani. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly," Nani said weakly.
Mr. Bubbles looked down and motioned with his hand to Stitch, who was standing behind Lilo and sneering up at the suited man. "And next time I see this dog, I expect it to be a model citizen. Capice?"
Lilo looked a bit confused as she raised her eyebrow and made an uncertain, "Uuuh...yes...?" up at him.
Mr. Bubbled looked over at Maru. "As for you," he said, "I had better see some truth to what you're saying about wanting to help this family. Otherwise, I might just have to report you to the police. I want to see you leaving a positive effect here."
Maru nodded. "Understood," he said calmly.
Mr. Bubbles then looked at each person in turn as he summarized his tasks and pointed with his folded sunglasses. "New job," he said to Nani. Looking down at Stitch, he said, "Model citizen." Finally looking back up at Maru, he said, "Positive effect." He stood straight, put his sunglasses back on and, after a POING! while his right lens popped out of the rims, bade them a short, "Good day," before turning and walking back to his all-black, fancy-looking car.
Nani, Lilo, and Maru looked uneasilly at each other. Maru then remembered he had food on the stove. "Aw--!" He dashed back to check and bounced right back out the door frame, causing the girls and Stitch to turn and raise questioning eyebrows. "Oof!" Maru went as he did so, and had to shake his head a bit on the floor before looking at what made him bounce off. He raised his violet eyebrows so high, they disappeared into his grand bangs. "Elliott?!" he asked in disbelief.
Elliott turned around and put his paws to his mouth in the "OMG! I'm sorry!" fashion, blushing.
"Elliott?" repeated Nani as she helped Maru up. He ignored her question, though, and merely muttered his thanks.
Maru took off past his large friend into the kitchen to find, to his surprise, the food was gone...onto platters sitting on the table. The bacon was cut up in little bits and sprinkled over some salad while some eggs were hard-boiled and cut artistically, each having a toothpick with a little burst crown made out of colored celophane, some were scrambled and sprinkled with what looked like paprika. The toast was sitting on another platter, with cream cheese, jam, and butter sitting out, ready for use. He blinked in amazement at the impressive spread. "What on--" he muttered before catching sight of Figment, who was whistling and slapping his paws across each other in the "finished with work" gesture, walking towards him from behind a chair. He blanched. "FIG...aro?" he asked, stopping himself.
Figment looked offended as he put his paws on his hips. "Excuse me?" he asked.
Maru leaned down and whispered, "'Figment' isn't a normal human name, remember?"
"Oh, yeaaaah," Figment remembered.
"Maru? Who the...wait, aren't these the same guys from yesterday?" Maru stood and turned to find Nani looking at Maru's companions and paled. She had HER hands on HER hips, looking displeased.
Maru sweatdropped, but sighed. "Yeah, they are," he said. "They're my companions. The large one's Elliott and the kid here's Figaro." He held his hand out to each as he introduced them.
Nani raised her eyebrow at them. "Really. So, what's with the...holy..." She saw the food, eyebrows raised. "Did YOU do this, Maru?" she asked in amazement as she squeezed past Elliot. (Lilo and Stitch, who gave glares to the new people, had an easier time as they followed her.)
Maru held his hands out in front of him in an "I dunno!" way, looking a bit flustered. "I had bacon on and was going to do some scrambled eggs, but...I dunno who did it all up so fancy..."
Figment cleared his throat, and the humans (well, humans and pokémon) turned their heads to him. He bowed (performance bow, not like Maru's Japanese bows). "Bon appetite," he bade, sounding like a waiter or butler or something and holding an arm up to indicate the food on the table.
Maru gaped at him, but sent, ''Explain later, got it?'' instead of saying anything. He regained composure and cleared his throat. "Well, I guess we should all have some breakfast before we go out today...that is, well, if I'm right in assuming job-hunting is on the agenda for today?" he asked Nani.
Nani sighed. "Yeah, it's got to be," she said. "But I dunno if I can..."
Maru patted her arm. "You'll get a job, don't worry," he said. "Just...give it your best shot." 'I was never good at encouraging words...'
Nani gave a weak smile. "Thanks," she said. She sat down and looked at the food. "Wow. Figaro, you're pretty good," she complimented. "I've never had eggs this fancy for breakfast before in my life."
Figment bowed and said, in a somewhat high-pitched voice in a needless effort to sound young, "It was my pleasure."
Everyone sat down to eat--Elliott on the floor since there weren't enough chairs, and they didn't look like they'd support him long, anyway--in relative silence. Then, Maru's curiousity got the better of him and he asked, "Nani?"
"Hmm?" Nani went, chewing some food.
"Who exactly was that?" he asked, tilting his head a little. "I mean, why's Mr. Bubbles so important?"
"Oh," Nani said, having swallowed her food, and she looked down a bit. "He's the social worker."
'Social worker?' "Uh-oh," Maru said before he could stop himself. He blushed and clapped his mouth shut.
Nani chuckled. "Oh, don't worry," she said. "He's a bit scary, but I'm sure we'll all be alright."
Maru nodded, thinking, 'Well, if it's alright that we've got a little monster with us who is meant for destruction and finds it difficult to resist his programming...'
After a bit, Nani pointed her fork at Maru, another eyebrow raise aimed at him. "As I was saying, is this really make-up on him still?" she asked, motioning to Elliott's green scales.
Maru gulped, fortunately having food in his mouth before he did so so that it didn't look too obvious. "Ummmm..." he began.
"What's it matter, Nani?" asked Lilo. "He's here to help out, too, right?" she asked Maru. Nod. She smiled back at her sister. "Sure, they're all spies or something, but if they want to help, why don't we just let go ahead and help us and worry about that stuff later? Besides, you're ruining the sanctity of a cool breakfast!" she added, the real reason for her saving Maru coming out. Everyone (except Stitch, who was grumpilly sitting on the floor, looking at his disgusting dog food in a dish) chuckled at that.
"Alright, I'll stop asking questions," Nani said, smiling a bit. "But I'm still a bit wary, Mr. Psycho," she said to Maru, pointing her fork at him.
Maru anger-veined. "It's 'psychic,'" he corrected. "I'm not a psycho."
"That's not what she said," Figment joked, and he got a hard elbowing for saying that in front of a child from everyone around him (barring Stitch, who laughed).
Later on, after Lilo and Nani were ready to go, the party set off down the road.