The Blue Werewolf
Part II: The True Hearted
C/By: Kenjaje
Edited by: raVen
Chapter 9: Knowledge of the Silent Pages
October 31: 7:12 PM: Bathroom
"C'mon…" Lilo begged, rubbing at her hair, "dry…dry…dry!" She commanded. "Dry-dry-dry-dry-dry-dry-dr—ah forget it!" She threw the towel on the ground and snatched the hairbrush sitting on the side of the sink. She ran to the elevator, furiously breaking the knots in her wet and mangled hair. Halfway up, the elevator began to shudder, and catch. "Stupid!" Lilo slammed her foot down, and the ride returned to normal.
"One second Stitch," Lilo said, her hair only getting worse with the way she was brushing it, "just as soon as—" she winced, yanking a knot loose, "I get my hair back to normal we can go. Then if we're lucky we can still make the Aloha party." She jumped up on the bed and flipped her hair over, brushing it the other way, giving the occasional yelp when a knot refused to budge. Finally when she was done, she whipped her head upright, and immediately fell backward, her vision sparkling.
"Whoa…bloodrush." She moaned, as her temples returned back to normal. "Ok, ok! C'mon, we gotta get you fixed up now! Unless you're thinking of using your own costume..." She said, finally staring at Stitch, who was standing in front of an open window. The whole time he hadn't said a word. Even now he gave no recognition of Lilo's urging. "Hello?" Lilo asked, dragging out the "o"; she walked toward him, his head seemed to vibrate against the orange sky.
She took his wrist, and unhooked it from the window, and then she ran to the elevator "Ok let's go!" But when she maximized his arm span, she couldn't go any farther, and she fell backward. "What are you made of stone or something?" she tugged at him, trying to loosen him. "You must be made of stone," she grunted, "you're fingers feel like ice." Despite her efforts he didn't budge.
"Ok, plan-B, let's go, Lilo wants candy." She slapped her hands across his shoulders, and her fingers felt his temperature change rapidly to boiling. "Wow!" Lilo exclaimed, backing away, "Are you sick again? I knew I shouldn't have let you run out in the rain," she scolded herself, "Let's get you some ice-water." She gently put her hands on his shoulders, and this time he shivered. "Are you…cold?"
Stitch's entire body began to tremble, but it didn't look to Lilo like shivering, more like he was resisting something. "Stitch, talk to me," she pleaded with concern, "what's—." Lilo leaned in just as she spoke, and tried to turn Stitch's chin. Just when her finger barely touched, he viscously turned, and pushed Lilo through the air. She screamed, her heart skipping beats as she felt her insides churn. She arched, and landed on her bed with a quick expulsion of air.
A moment later, her breath returned, and she sat up, just in time to see an elongated tail wisp past the window. Able to move but still unable to speak, she rushed to the sill to see the dark-blue werewolf running toward the town. She gazed at the sun, a quarter of it still peeking over the ocean. A voice inside her said something wasn't right, and then Bo snapped into her mind.
"If anyone will know what's going on…he will." She thought, rushing to the elevator, tripping along the way. She dove out before it hit the ground and rolled to her feet without stopping. She covered the hallway in nothing flat, and opened the door with a loud clack. Bo sat in the chair before his desk, his body halfway turned, his left eye bulged and staring.
"…Yes?" He asked, as Lilo panted in the doorway. "Where's the fire?"
"No fire," she said through heaves, stepping in and shutting the door, "it's Stitch." Bo set down the pencil that was held in his gloved right hand, and turned his chair.
"You're dog—or alien—whatever you call him?"
"Yeah…he's," Lilo swallowed, her throat dry from the rasps, "he's acting really strange, and weird things are happening to him." Bo pointed to the bed, and she took his invitation to rest.
"Weird things like what?" He asked, his voice very straightforward, as if he didn't yet know whether or not to be concerned.
"Well, last night, he didn't transform, because he didn't want to, and he had this fever—"
"Aw, don't be concerned 'bout that," Bo said, putting up a hand and smiling. "I figure he's never skipped a transform'n b'fore?"
"No, never." Lilo replied.
"Well, there's n'need t'worry. Skippin' is actually very stressful for werewolves. S'like catchin' a cold. A fever's typical, and the next day the skipper's usu'lly really aggressive'n quiet. If he ended up breakin' somethin', I wouldn't be too surprised. Don't make him feel too guilty, it's really not his fault." Bo smiled with sympathy. Lilo wondered where the other Bo went—that solemn and grim Bo, the werewolf hunter.
"I never make him feel guilty…he always makes himself feel guilty." She said aloud, although she didn't actually mean to. Bo let out a chuckle.
"A self-conscious werewolf; now there's a first for me!" He cheered. "But, don't worry too much if something comes up. And if you're wondering about anything, I know a thing or two." He paused to stretch his back. "The only time you should really worry is if he transforms without the full moon—then we have a problem." He joked with a laugh. He expected Lilo to laugh as well, but when he calmed down, her face was frozen and her eyes were filled with dread. "Hey, what's the matter?"
"He can." Lilo's voice quivered. "He's always been able to transform when the moon's almost full—like up to a few days, maybe four. Then he transformed the other night, when the clouds were covering the sky and the storm was starting. He told me he found out he could transform without it in the middle of July." Bo's eyes began to narrow.
"Better not be pullin' m'leg kiddo…" He muttered. Lilo shook her head.
"I'm not…honest." There was a pause between them, and Bo let out a very long sigh. "…What does it mean?" Lilo finally garnered the courage to ask. "Why do I have to worry about him transforming without the full moon? Does it mean he's gonna be worse? I can deal with him being mean and grumpy; he's usually that way anyway…" Bo let out another troubled sigh.
"I wish it were that, kiddo." He told her. "And also wish I didn't have to say why to someone like you…it'd be a lot easier if you were older…" He trailed, but the look in her eye was absolute. His thumb rubbed against his gloved left palm. "For most, being a werewolf is a very temporary thing, in a sense. They only have to worry when the moon gets brighter and brighter, then it happens, and then they don't have to worry for a while. It's like taking a test, or paying taxes. But," he reached behind him, and opened the drawer to the desk, and pulled out the old book.
"This book is where I learned everything I know about werewolves—everything I could translate that is. And there's another type of werewolf. There's the normal temporary kind…and then there's the kind who are quite possibly like your friend…they are werewolves that slowly, but surely, become werewolves…permanently." Lilo's heart skipped.
"P-permanent…like for-forever?" Bo nodded.
"I've never actually heard of it happening before…this is definitely my first experience with this situation…that's for sure." The look on the girl's face almost made Bo cry, but his age wouldn't allow it.
"You're not lying…are you…you're not just doing this because you hunt werewolves?" Bo shook his head. Lilo brought her knees to her chin, where she sat silently for a few moments. "But…but…" Bo was expecting her to break, and bawl, and talk about how she would be able to accept it anyway. However, what hit his ears was a rather calm voice, as if she had long finished her tears, "There's a way, right?"
"A…a way?" Bo asked, squinting and rubbing at his eyes.
"A way to change him back…that book, doesn't it say something? I mean…there's got to be a way, magic or something, to change him back?" At first, Bo wanted to say there wasn't, and give his condolences, but his memory quickly stopped him. He thought for a moment, to make sure he was remembering it correctly, and not just coming up with this memory to satisfy a little girl's hopes.
"There might be," he said, using words that would ensure Lilo it was indefinite. "This book," he motioned it, "periodically refers to someone known as 'The True Hearted'."
"The True Hearted…" Lilo repeated.
"The book often uses riddles when referring to The True Hearted and one in particular mentions that The True Hearted is, 'a werewolf, but not quite; one who is able to change at will.' In another, it says, 'when the desire is great, he with a True Heart will come to dispel the curse for all'." Lilo repeated the phrases then began to think aloud.
"Do you think it's Stitch?" She asked. "I mean, before Stitch becomes…permanent," she spoke with a shudder, "he's able to transform into a werewolf whenever he wants…to tell you the truth," she added, "That's why I came down here. Stitch turned into a werewolf while the sun was still up just a little while ago." Lilo glanced out the window to see that the sky was already pitch-black.
"He meets that, yes, but what about the other part; how badly does he want to be back to normal."
"Both of us want it more than anything." She assured him.
"Well…it's only a myth but I think with your reasoning…but don't get your hopes up, ok?"
"Ok…but what do I do? How do we dissipel the curse?"
"Dispel?" Bo asked, correcting her. She gave an urgent growl. "Here," Bo thrust the book in front of her, which she took out of reflex. "The book is the real key to dispelling the curse. I'm not exactly sure what happens, but it's somehow supposed to react to The True Hearted when his desire to be back to normal is great enough."
"Ok, got it."
"But there's a chance," Bo added, "that he might have to read something. I'd hate to say it but you're fighting against time, it seems like your friend doesn't have much longer until he's unchangeable, and that includes his voice. If he can't read the spell…"
"He will." Lilo told the man flatly. She left the door, book in hand, and went up to her room. "Where did I put that thing?" She began to rummage through her toy chest set on a perpendicular path to her bed.
"Here it is!" She exclaimed, pulling out a radar device with a box screen and a long handle. She flipped the switch on the side. "It's a good thing I had Jumba make this, to keep track of him." She said to herself. "Maybe I should tell him about it after this is over…then he'll believe me when I say he wasn't in town during those destructions." She picked up her things and went downstairs, racing past the kitchen to the front door, when Nani stepped in her way. Lilo hit her sister with a slam and fell back, the book dropping out of her arm.
"And just where do you think you're going…?" Nani asked with an angry voice.