The Blue Werewolf

Part III: Spellsinger

©/By: Kenjaje

Chapter 10: The Merge

October 31st 11:54 PM

"You will," Stitch muttered. Lilo felt her weight go to her head as she was held upside-down; her eyes spun to the top of her head and she stared at the dry-cracked ground. Stitch altered her position a second later, his right hand clasped her ankles and his left held her right arm, balancing her. She looked at him and started to stammer his name.

His arms pulled back just a little, and he planted his foot; she felt the lurch of his stop, and then her guts slammed into her feet; she screamed as she flew into the air. She watched the portal fade and return, like a flickering light. It turned off again, and she pictured the ground rising to slap her in the face. The black, rippling circle flashed back to life and as she passed through, her flight was abruptly stopped.

She twirled in limbo, spiraling upward until she fanned her limbs to stop. She felt as if she was drifting in a pool. The still current of this world-between began to change and pull her downward; she looked to her feet, and saw a light that consumed the darkness almost instantly. She closed her eyes, and everything stopped.

"Ah…you have returned, young Seer." She opened her eyes; Stoker smiled at her.

"Doctor Acula…" Lilo muttered, and looked around, "Where…did Stitch make it?" She turned away and called his name, looking about the room.

"I am afraid that you are the only one who came through, little Seer." Lilo turned to Stoker, as if she had just noticed him.

"Where's the portal; why is it gone?"

"I am afraid that the portal I created could only last an hour." Lilo's face grew pale.

"So Stitch is…trapped in that other world?"

"I'm afraid so. I offered to send him to the other world to rescue you, and specifically told him I would not be able to keep the portal up for long." Stoker dusted his coat. Lilo balled a fist, a little angry at his calm gestures.

"Is…there something else we can do…to get him back?" She asked through slightly gritted teeth. Stoker smiled again.

"Maybe," he said straightforwardly. "If I recall, it was you who opened up the way into the other world first and caused those shadows to cross over." Lilo stepped back.

"M-me?—I did that?"

"You were the one that read the spell." Lilo's eyes dropped to the floor.

"So you're saying it's all my fault Stitch is trapped in the other world." Stoker frowned.

"Why…no, my dear," Stoker said dropping to one knee. "On the contrary; it shows that your magic has great potential; you can open the portal again."

"Magic…me?" She pointed to herself, "What the heck are you talking about."

"Come, come," Stoker clapped his hands, "there's no time to explain now. Let us rescue your friend, the hour is midnight and very soon you will not get another chance."

"Okay, okay…what do I do to get Stitch back?"

"Simple: cast the spell you read on the scroll again. Do you remember?" Lilo looked at the smeared chalk on the ground.

"I…I think so…" She took in a breath, and closed her eyes; she raised her palms in front of her, and began the chant: "Realm of the Living, Realm of the Dead; Moon in the Sky, Shadows on the Land; On this night, All Hallows Eve; let our Worlds be Hand-in-Hand."

Her heart thudded after her words, and shook as a great wind erupted in the room. Just as before, a sphere formed into the air, and gave off a blood-red light. As it grew by the second, she could see Stitch and the fox; they were staring into the sphere back at her.

"Stitch!" She shouted brushing her hair aside, "Come through!" She saw him turn to the fox, and then back to her. The fox stepped by his side, and both of them jumped out of the sphere and into the room.

"Lilo!" Stitch exclaimed. She called his name back, and embraced him.

"You fool!" The fox shouted at her, "Do you know what you've done?" Lilo's eyes pulsed.

"I…I was trying to get Stitch out of that other place," she explained. "Doctor Acula said that I could use my magic to open it up and get Stitch to come through."

"And you did a fine job, my little Seer." All three looked toward the deep and menacing voice that echoed through the air. "You have managed to open a portal strong enough to merge your realm with the undead." Stoker stepped toward the portal—a dark cloud began to flow from it. "Thanks to you, I now have the power to rule both worlds…" He reached toward the smog.

"Everyone get down!" The fox yelled, and jumped in front of the magician, buffering him from the werewolf and his friend. Lilo winced as a bright red light flared into the room; she felt Stitch's arms cover her. The earth trembled, and she heard a nerve-shattering scream; she was compelled to open her eyes.

Stoker was becoming clouded by the opaque darkness; it covered over his hand, his arm, and wrapped around the back of his head. The red light flared again, but this time Lilo kept her eyes open just a sliver. Blue fires burned flying debris as the earth shook; the light flared again and Lilo was forced to bury herself into Stitch's arms. The tremors began to subside quickly, and the shrill sound of distant screams faded. The air shattered with one last tremble, and the sound of breaking wood echoed through the air. Lilo glanced out her right eye, to see the barren and decayed world of the undead through one wall of the dance school that had been torn away.

Stitch let go of Lilo and ran out of the busted wall. Lilo dropped to her knees as she saw him run toward a large silhouette that had just started to take flight. Stitch, a silhouette himself, leapt onto the flying monster.

The air was still as Lilo watched them disappear; her mouth hung open and her head buzzed. The fox stepped in front of her vision, catching her attention after a moment. As she met its eyes, he said flatly,

"Did I not tell you to be careful of the spells you cast?" She closed her eyes and looked to the ground.

"You're the one from my dream." She stated.

"There are only nightmares." He replied.

"What's going on?" She shouted angrily. "Why is Stitch a werewolf; why is Doctor Acula a monster; why am I casting magic?" The fox sat.

"Why do you want to know?" Lilo shook her head.

"I want to help Stitch…" she muttered, somewhat distantly.

"Then run off and try to help him. I can't stop you; I tried once and it hurt my shin." Lilo's eyes blinked open; she stared at the fox.

"A—Alex?"

"Lilo." He replied. "Or should I say, True of Heart." Lilo blinked again.

"How…do you know about that?"

"Lilo," Alex said gently, "to be a True of Heart is not something uncommon. All you need is to be able to empathize with any of the undead…or in your case, a werewolf." She stared blankly. "Well, it's not as common as I'm making it out to be…"

"What's going to happen to Stitch?" Alex's snout shut for a moment.

"He's about to go up against a very powerful person—apparently, a corrupt True of Heart is able to control the Shadows."

"Doctor Acula is…a True-Hearted?" Alex stepped forward and sat in front of Lilo.

"So it seems. He had the desire to control the Shadows—just as skillfully as you controlled the werewolves last year." A memory flashed by Lilo. Stitch, and dozens of other werewolves, fought each other in the middle of the street. She yelled for them to stop—and all at once they looked at her, and heeded her command. "It's making sense now isn't it?"

"Yeah…" she said, and dropped her head. "All I can do is boss werewolves around. I'm just a True-Hearted. I can't do anything to help Stitch." She looked up, and Alex's bright blue eyes stared her down. "W…what'd I say?"

"Spellsinger," he whispered. Lilo backed away just a bit, scooting over the wood.

"Spellsinger?" She repeated, a little frightened.

"A True of Heart is any mortal who empathizes with the realm of the undead. But…when a True of Heart finds a deeper feeling…" Alex skipped back and lowered his head; Lilo saw his eyes light up. A blue sphere formed in front of his face, and as it reached the size of a baseball, flew toward her. She scrambled back, and lifted an arm above her head. A foot before the sphere even reached her; a flash of light overcame Lilo's vision. The sphere was gone, and Alex stood upright, the look of a smile on his snout. "They gain a magical aura…" He met her eyes, and a sense of warmth fell over her. "And those with strong magic are known as Spellsingers."