Changes

By: Aubrie1234


Dear Readers, I've read many more Hardy Boys books since I last updated, so hopefully I can write this story better and even modify the earlier chapters. Also, read and review!


Upon arriving home, Frank found his friends gone, but there was a note and several sheets of paper on the dining room table beside the books they had checked out earlier that day. The lights were also out, signifying that the rest of the family was asleep. Turning on a small light in the kitchen, Frank sat at the table to read the papers, starting with the note.

Frank, the note was in Callie's handwriting, Since you took so long, we decided to write down what we found out before we left. The papers should be with this note, but they're not so good; I know you'll ignore my warning and read the papers anyway, and I know you're already very worried, but, no offense, I think Joe should be locked away for a while, or at least until we figure out more of what's going on. Frank's eyes narrowed as he finished reading the note. What would they read that would make them think this about their own best friend, especially Iola?

Laying down the note, Frank instantly went into reading their notes and soon saw why Callie had warned him; a lot of the stuff found warned that werewolves were unpredictable and could transform at any night, regardless of full moon, and all of the werewolves mentioned were out of control. Before he had left, Frank had noticed his baby brother's uneasiness and worry; was the fear of hurting people (or even killing them) bothering Joe? Knowing the blond, Frank guessed that it was and wondered how he was supposed to handle his brother if he ever got out of control.

Another discovery that disturbed him, though it was common with werewolf legends, was that silver could hurt a werewolf; some of the books even mentioned that it didn't have to be a bullet to harm a werewolf. Even touching silver could (or would) scar the person, wolf form or not. Frowning, Frank fingered the necklace he wore; it had been a gift from Callie for their 5-year dating anniversary, just a week ago, and was dark brown leather with a silver crescent hanging off. If the part about silver was true, then Joe wouldn't be able to get near any silver, including the necklace. Callie wouldn't like it, but she would understand; after all, she was involved in this werewolf business somewhat.

And speaking of werewolves, what about the one he and Joe encountered during their case a few nights ago? It couldn't have just left the forest, he knew, but there was a chance that, if it was a werewolf, it may have wanted to get at the Hardys again. Frank knew Joe was better at the instinctual stuff, but even he could feel that he was right about his hunch, and it worried him. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the clock on the wall, which told him it was nearly 11 o'clock. How had it gotten so late so fast? Yawning, Frank debated whether to follow his feeling or get some sleep; it didn't take long to decide as sleep soon became the only option, as he had trouble keeping focused on the notes and keeping his eyes from drooping. Gathering up the papers and books and turning off the light, he quietly climbed the stairs to his room, where he put the papers and books on his desk and went straight to the bed with undressing. The second his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light, snoring softly.


At midnight, the cables connected to the power and the burglary system were cut. Seconds later, the lock to Frank's window was picked and silently eased open. Quietly clamoring into the room, a huge, hairy figure looked around and, spotting the notes on the desk, ripped them to shreds, carefully making sure all the pieces were in the waist-bin beside the desk before turning to the sleeping Hardy. The brunette had barely moved since falling asleep and was now on his side, facing away from the figure, who advanced, raising a hand as if to strike.

Frank, somehow feeling the heavy, hot breath of the figure even at a yard, frowned in his sleep and turned over. The figure paused at this, waiting to see if the boy would awake, and when he did not, continued its approach. However, what the figure hadn't known was that the wood around Frank's bed was a bit squeaky, as the room had been shared by the brothers before they had become 14; their bunk-bed had rested in the same place's Frank's did now, and with the boys' combined weight, had softened to the point where it creaked when stepped on. So, when the figure was almost on top of Frank, the wood groaned loud enough to only awake the single Hardy, whose eyes snapped open.

Seeing the large figure, Frank had almost shouted in surprise when the figure seemed spooked itself and raced to the window, leaping out. Thinking of the two-story drop, Frank dashed to the window, but saw nothing; the figure had disappeared. Heart racing, he was about to get his parents when he noticed the absence of paper on his desk. Taking a closer look, he found that only the notes made that night were gone; but, the figure hadn't been carrying anything with it and the paper couldn't have been folded up without making enough noise to wake him, that much he knew. Another dreaded thought had come to him was about how it was only the notes that were missing. The figure must have been involved with what was happening and probably ripped up the papers, and with it coming to attack Frank, it may now be after Joe as well. Worry taking over, Frank ignored waking his parents or aunt and raced downstairs, only grabbing the keys to his father's van and the house on the way.


Joe found that since he had woken up from his injuries, he wasn't tired at all and wouldn't be getting any sleep soon. He knew he should have already gone to sleep, as it was past bedtime for patients, but he couldn't. He was actually moving around the room, too much energy to sit still, and looked out the window every so often to look at the moon. Besides his discussion earlier with his father and brother, Joe had developed an interest in the moon, which he reasoned was from his new werewolf side, if he had one, and he was certain he did.

After making another lap around the room, Joe stopped to sit on the bed and lay back, wanting to finally think about what was going on, now that some of his trapped energy was out of his system. He remembered the night that all of this had started, and the fear he had felt for his brother, not just himself. Frank may have believed that he was responsible for what happened, but Joe knew that wasn't it; Frank was blaming himself because he felt helpless, unable to help Joe, though he wished he could.

Joe smiled at the thought as he closed his eyes, knowing he felt the same way every time Frank got hurt or worse. It was brotherly instinct to take care of your brother as much as you could and then feel helpless when you couldn't do anymore. Joe supposed it was the same with other siblings, like sisters or a brother and sister, and even those who had more than one sibling; he also supposed that the strength of the instinct and feelings depended on how strong the sibling bond was, which was why it hurt so much to both him and Frank, since they had such a good relationship.

Joe then heard something and quieted, trying to make it seem like he was asleep. A sound was coming from the window, like it was being picked, and then there was the slight squeak of the hinges as the window opened. There was a clack of something sharp or metallic as it his the floor, and also heavy breathing; the blond could feel it even as he lay on the bed, which was several feet from the window. The clack was then heard again and again, like something was walking over to the bed, and then he could feel the stranger's shadow over him, blocking the moonlight.

The blond contemplated whether to shout, even with his marred voice, or just open his eyes to startle the stranger before attacking, but didn't make a decision as there was a slight noise in the hall, like someone running, and the stranger must have picked up on it too, because Joe could feel the suddenly tense vibe the stranger gave off. Then, there were more clacks as the stranger went to the window and a whoosh, like it had jumped out, but how could it? Joe's room was on the fourth floor, making that a 40-ft. drop, seeing as there were no trees near his window. Just as he opened his eyes and was ready to check out the window, the door was flung open by none other than his furiously panting brother.

"Wha' are you 'oi' here?" Joe asked, standing to help his brother.

"Werewolf...attack...home...sleep..." Nothing made sense, so Joe sat his brother in the chair beside his bed and waited for Frank to catch his breath. Once he did, he told his brother of the attack on him and his rush to make sure Joe was okay, not even trying to check in in his worry.

"I guess I got here first." Frank said before Joe shook his head, "So the stranger got here first?"

"Yeah, 'u' you 'ro'e i' away." Frank smiled at knowing he got here in time.

"Well, it's what big brothers do, isn't it? We drive away dangers to our little brothers." Joe smiled and the brothers hugged.

"I wa' ho'e." Frank's smile faltered at Joe's sigh.

"I know you do. You'll be fine for a while longer, won't you?" Joe's sadness hurt Frank's heart, but he turned and left before he made a decision he knew he would regret. Staring after his brother, though he couldn't see him anymore, Joe clenched his fists and made a deep growl, deeper than any he had ever made before. He knew Frank couldn't have stayed, but he wish his brother had; not only was it lonely much of the time, he noticed, the doctors had become suspicious of his rapidly increasing health. He was scared, though he hated to admit it; they were trustworthy, he knew, but there were certain lines some would cross if they wanted fame & fortune, not to mention contributing to science. Joe had been on enough cases to know what those lines were, and that the science mentioned wasn't good for both sides; which is why he wanted to get out of there, before anyone else found out he was a werewolf, if he really was one.


Being a school day, Frank nor any of his friends could visit Joe until the day was over, which the brunette couldn't wait to happen. He knew his brother didn't like the hospital (neither did he, with their share of scrapes, usually from cases, getting them stuck in there more than once), and he wished he was with him now. When he did finally get out of school, his friends that had been away for the weekend and hadn't seen Joe, Biff, Tony, Jerry, and Phil, wanted to go with him.

"We heard about Joe, though I'm guessing that there's something you can't tell us. How is he?" Biff asked.

"Much better. I think he might even be released today, but I was already going over there to visit him."

"Could we come with you?" Jerry asked.

"Sure. Get in, if you can." Frank grinned as Biff, Tony, and Phil had to squeeze into the back of his convertible while Jerry took the passenger seat. Frank took the driver's seat and started the car, backing out of his parking spot and moving to the road.


On the way, Frank noticed the three in the back kept looking up at the rear-view mirror quite often, looking somewhat anxious.

"Is someone tailing us?" he asked.

"There's been this dark blue car following us since we left the school, and I didn't think much of it until now, with how long it's been following us." Tony spoke.

"Think it's one of your enemies?" Phil asked.

"Maybe. Could be one of Dad's; I'm going to try and lose them. If I'm right they're doing this to kidnap Joe, myself, or both of us, if he doesn't know that Joe isn't here."

"He probably does after seeing us at school." Jerry said, "He might be doing this to find out where Joe is." Frank growled as he turned onto a side-street, aiming to double back and lose the car tailing them.

"If he even threatens Joe he'll regret it, dangerous or not." The boys knew how protective Frank was of his brother, but they had never heard his express protectiveness so openly; however, one thing they did know was to never get on the brunette's bad side when Joe was involved. Frank may be the calm, rational one of the detective duo, but his protectiveness would always override his sensibility when it involved his brother being in danger; this sort of made the others feel a bit sorry for whoever was tailing them, if he was after Joe.


After a few laps around various blocks, they finally lost the car, where they continued unhindered to the hospital. Joe was very happy to see his others friends, who were as equally happy to see him quite fine. Joe was even talking fine now, and said that the doctors allowed him to be discharged at any time.

"That's great, but Mom and Aunt Trudy will probably have to get you." Frank said, "One, my car is crowded enough with these jokers," the others gave the elder Hardy playful glares, "And two, someone was trying to tail us on our way over." Joe's eyebrows rose.

"Have you talked to Dad about this yet?"

"No, but hopefully this isn't anything major. You need rest before you start taking another case." Joe pouted, crossing his arms.

"No fair."

"Fair enough." Biff said, "You're in no condition to investigate this, even if you do seem fine." Joe glared at them all before sighing.

"Fine. But as soon as I'm well enough, we're taking on the case, if Dad hasn't already." Frank nodded before glancing at the clock on the wall, which was at a quarter to 4.

"Mom and Aunt Trudy should have been here by now." Frank said, "They get off from work the same time we get out of school, and Aunt Trudy is really punctual, so where could they be?"

"You think something happened?" Jerry asked and Frank nodded.

"I think we should check the house and find out what's going on, but I can't just leave Joe alone..."

"Here, Tony and I will stay." Phil said, "We'll keep an eye out for your mom and aunt if they come by while taking care of Joe, and you can take Biff and Jerry and check out your house." The blond Hardy was too worried to comment, wondering if it had something to do with him as Frank agreed.

"We'll be back soon, and make sure Joe stays out of trouble." There were nods from their friends as Frank left with Biff and Jerry, leaving Joe in the company of Phil and Tony.