Okay, so this is my very first Over the Garden Wall Fanfiction! My friend got me to watch the show and I was rather surprised to find enjoyed it quite a bit since it's not usually my sort of thing. I got this Idea after having a dream about the Unknown. I don't own anything, please enjoy and review so I know what you think!

"Antelope, Guggenheim, Albert, Salami, Giggly, Jumpy, Tom, Thomas, Tambourine, Leg-Face McCullen, Artichoke, Pete, Steve"

Liz restrained herself from telling her younger brother to stick a sock in it as She and her siblings walked down a dirt path. There was Gregory, who was dressed in a pair of army green overalls over a white button up shirt with a grey tea pot on his head. He was the youngest, and in Liz's opinion the most high maintenance.

But only slightly less so was her other younger Brother Wirt, who was always anxious and over dramatic. Dressed in a blue cape over a pair of grey pants and white shirt, with a cone shaped red hat perched on his brown curls. He was a tad shorted then his older sister without the hat, especially now since she was wearing black shoes with an inch of heel

Elizabeth, or Liz as she preferred, was the eldest and was currently leading her brothers down the path, trying to keep an eye on Greg who had an awful habit of running off and causing trouble. The forest was growing darker and darker by the minute, and quite frankly none of them had any idea where they were or how they got there.

"But I think the very worst name for this frog is…"

"Greg! Honey!" Liz whipped around, her robin's egg blue dress and white apron whipping as she did, "I have an Idea, Let's play a game!" she suggested, "Okay! Like what?" Greg asked eagerly and Liz pressed a finger to her lips and knelt to eye level with him. "It's called the Quiet game and the first to talk loses."

Greg thought, "Hey, is this the same as the mind reading game where you…"

"Shh, Quiet game's started, no more talking!" She cut him off quickly and looked around. Nothing looked familiar. "Uh…" she turned in a circle and Wirt got that panicky look about him. "Uh Liz, where are we?" The sister could feel an attack coming on and crossed her arms, "We're in the Woods Wirt" she said plainly.

"I know, But…" he looked around, "I mean… what are we doing out here?" Liz pursed her lips, "we're walking home remember, smart one?"

"I win!" Greg Jumped in the air, "Boy you guys are really bad at this game."

"Guys… I-I think we're lost!" Wirt's eyes grew wide "We, w-we should've left a trail or something" Greg pulled a hand full of hard candy and toffees from his pockets, "I can leave a trail with my Candy!" He offered and Wirt's eyes closed and he swayed a little.

"Oh Boy here we go" Liz groaned.

"No. Though I am lost, my wounded heart resides back home-in pieces" Wirt dramatized sadly "Strewn about the graveyard of my lost love. For only—" Thankfully a sound from the woods cut him off before his sister could shake him.

"Did you hear that?" Wirt quivered and Liz took a few steps forward. "Yea" she pushed Wirt behind her a little bit. The sound came again, closer. It sounded like an axe hitting the wood of a thick tree. "I'm sure it's nothing, probably just an animal…Nothing to Freak out about." The sound came again.

"Do you think it's some strange lunatic with an axe waiting out there in the darkness for innocent victims?" Wirt said quickly, his voice going up about three octaves. Liz's face fell into a deadpanned expression, "Nice job not freaking out Wirt"

She sighed and the noise seemed to stop. "See, Nothing." She turned to face them with an authoritative look. "Let's keep movi…Greg!" The youngest ran past her and into the woods, making her heart skip a beat or two.

"Greg! Get back here!" she ran after him, leaving Wirt to make a frightened squeaking noise and reluctantly follow, not wanting to be left alone.

Meanwhile Liz had caught up to the Greg and grabbed his small arm. "Greg! Have you lost your mind?" She knelt down, getting dirt patches on her black and white stripped stockings. "Look!" Greg pointed at a figure ahead of them, It was a broad shadowy figure with a large hat on his head, he carried a bright lantern and an Axe along with timber strapped on his back.

"We should ask him for help." Greg started forward but Liz pulled him back just as Wirt arrived at their side, "No we should not!" She whispered. "But!"

"No! shh!"

"You Shh!"

"Just!..." Liz growled and covered his mouth before passing him off to Wirt, "Here! Hold him." She bossed and looked up to find the man gone. Wirt swallowed, "Y-you think we should have asked him for help…?" he said normally and Liz glared holes into him.

"Hey!" A voice called over head and they all looked up, "Maybe I can help you. I mean, you guys are lost, right?" Liz looked around to see who spoke, but all she could see was Greg, Wirt, and a Bluebird. "Who said that?"

"I did!"

The bird came down closer. Wirt stared and slapped him self a few times, "What in the WORLD is going on here!" Greg shrugged, "well you're slapping yourself, I'm answering your question and…"

"No Greg I mean…" Wirt began to correct him but Lis cut him off, dumbfounded, "A bird's brain is capable of Cognitive speech, It's basic biology."

"Hey! What was that?" The bird swooped down and Wirt stepped up to explain, "I mean, I-I'm just saying, you're, you're weird, like, not normal, I, I mean…" Liz grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back, "Wirt! Stop talking to it!" She scolded him. Greg looked up. "But she says she can help up."

Liz looked at him, "Greg it's a blue bird it shouldn't be saying anything!"

"What are you doing here!?" A gruff voice bellowed and caused them all to cry out, "Explain yourselves!" Liz pushed herself in front of Greg and Wirt defensively. "We didn't mean to! I mean we're lost is all!"

"Calm, calm down, mister! Wh-Whatever you do here is your business! W-W-We just wanna get home with all our legs and arms attached!" Wirt peeked out from behind his sister's blue skirt and she bumped him back with her shoulder, letting him know he wasn't helping.

"These woods are no place for children! Don't you know the Beast is afoot here?!" Liz trembled, "Look we didn't know okay! We just got lost!" The woodsman drew back and shined his lantern about. "Well, welcome to the Unknown missy, you and your brothers are more lost then you realize."

The stranger led them to an abandon looking mill house. The entire area was grey and gloomy and Liz kept a strong hold On Greg's tiny hand so he wouldn't get into any trouble. The Woodsmen closed the door and lit the fireplace with a piece of flint. "I found this Homestead abandoned and repurposed it for my needs." He didn't look up at them but Wirt let his eyes glance over the room, Liz let go of Greg's hand, figuring he couldn't get into too much trouble here but still kept an eye on him. "You and your brothers should be safe here for a while, while I work."

"What is your…work? Exactly?"

"Everyone has a torch to burn" the stranger said grimly, and patted the lantern at his side gingerly, "this one is mine." He picked up a twig form the trees outside the house that made up the entire forest, "I grind the horrid Edelwood trees into oil to keep this lantern lit." He broke the branch and tossed it aside, "this is my lot in life, this is my burden,"

His speech reminded Liz of Wirt's habit of lamenting his life and she took Greg and Wirt aside and knelt down. "Okay boys, This guy sounds loony" She whispered in a hushed tone "Maybe we should make a break for it" Wirt nodded "But he must know the woods really well, so we may need to knock him out, first." Liz glanced at him and he stammered a bit "Except...that might turn out really badly, huh? Yeah, bad, bad plan, eh, forget it, bad plan"

"what are you three whispering about?" the Woodman said suddenly. "Talkin about running away out of here." Greg informed his loudly and Wirt clapped his hand over Greg's mouth. "Shut up!" Liz hissed.

Wirt and Greg got into another shhing contest and the woodsmen grunted with effort as he stood up. "Leave, if you wish. But remember: the Beast, haunts, these woods, ever singiiiing, his moournful melodyyy…" Liz tried to take him seriously but the way he said it just made him seem more like Wirt, whom she never took seriously. "Search for Lost souls such as your selves."

"To help us?" Greg piped and the Woodsmen seemed a little annoyed by him, "No! Not to help you. I have work to do in the mill. When I'm finished, I will do what I can to guide you. If you are still here when I return" He left them alone and Liz watched him go with an uneasy feeling. "Well" Wirt began, "I guess we could just leave, but…I don't know… Greg!"

Greg was swinging a log and looked up, "What?" Liz crossed her arms and Wirt turned to her, "Do you really thing there's a beast out there, or was that guy just messing with us?" Liz thought and shrugged. "I don't know Wirt. I mean it sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but that does bring to question the Blue Bird from before."

Wirt shrugged and sat on a bench by the fire. "I dunno" he sighed and flopped on his back, "Sometimes I feel like I'm just like a boat…" Liz rolled her eyes, honestly her brother was so melodramatic and serious. "Upon a winding river...twisting, towards an endless black sea..."

But she had given up on trying to give him advice when he reached highschool, Meanwhile Greg grunted while trying to swing a banjo, "Did you know, that if you soak a raisin in grape juice, it turns into a grape?" He took a rock with a crude face painted on it "It's a rock fact!"

That did it. "Look" Liz put her hands on her hips. "You two stay in here, I'm going outside to take a look around." She spotted a half melted candle on the counter and took it over to the fire place and lit it. Securing it in a brass candle holder, she eyed Wirt, "Wirt, you're in charge until I get back."

Wirt didn't seem to hear her so she sighed and left the house. The night was warm but black as pitch. "Well we're really down the rabbit hole now" she muttered and squeaked in surprise when a spider web hit her in the face and a tree branch caught her long, straight blond hair. Mud was caked onto the bottom of her black dress shoes and her eyeliner and mascara had smeared slightly leaving grayish purple circles under her eyes.

The light of her candle was bright but it didn't service her much. She did a once around around the house and mill, the mist of the waterfall dampening her clothes and hair when she heard deep throaty growling from the woods. She whipped around but saw nothing, only trees and blackness.

But she still felt as if something was watching her.

But the next thing she heard curdles her blood, she heard yelling from the house and loud growling and barking. And a door being broken down. "Wirt! Greg!" she gripped the candle but ran back to the house, the candle blowing out as she did and she sprinted as fast as her feet would carry her. Blood pounding in her ears she yelled again. "Wirt! Greg!" she spotted the light coming from the broken down door she reached the door and stifled a scream as the sight of a demonic dog with horrifying eyes the size of dinner plates.

Wirt and Greg were trapped at the stairs and the Woodsmen was flat on the floor knocked out. "Hey!" she yelled and picked up a stone from the door and threw it out the creature, hitting it on its head. "Leave them alone!" The beast turned on her and all bravery left her body in a split second. "Oh God." She trembled as it crept toward her and posed to pounce. "Boys run!" she yelled and made for the mill, grabbing one brother in either hand and dragging them behind her.

The monster ate the candy Greg threw at it and they realized that it must had followed them by the boy's candy trail. "Greg if we live through this you and I gotta have a talk." Liz growled and Greg led them up a rope ladder that led to the roof, only for the creature to come bursting through the roofing.

"uh, uh" Greg dug in his pockets for more candy then remembered the sweet he had placed in Wirt's cape and threw it to the beast. Just as the animal pounced off the roof it gave a chilling moan and without a moment's hesitation collapsed under them, sending the trio into the water below.

Liz surfaced near the middle of the pond sputtering and coughing, long blonde hair clinging to her face and neck. "Greg!? Wirt?!"

"Over here!' she spotted Wirt near the shore and swam toward him before wading/running through the water. "are you okay?" she checked him over, genuinely concerned for once in a long while. "Yea, Where's Greg?" Liz's head whipped around, "Greg! Gregory!"

"Wirt! Liz! Look" Greg was standing with the dog, which shook off the water and Greg.

"The Mill!" The Woodsman Appeared and wailed at the sight, "It's destroyed, the Oil! It's all gone!"

Wirt looked around. "But look, we got rid of the Beast!" he pointed at the mutt laying on the grass. The Woodsman towered over the siblings. "The Dog!? That is not the Beast!" He tore his axe from Wirt's hands, "The Beast cannot be mollified like some farmer's pet!"

"He stalks the night! He sings like the four winds! He is the Death of Hope, He steals their children!" Liz stepped up in front of the boys. "Look my brothers messed up but…"

"No Child, You have it backwards!" he reared on her, "You are the eldest child, you are responsible for your brothers' actions." Liz's face heated up with guilt. "I'm sorry but…"

"You must take your brothers north" he said forlornly, "Look for a town." Liz nodded, "Right" she turned and grabbed Greg's hand and looked at Wirt, "Let's get out of here guys."

"One last thing! Beware, the Unknown! Fear the Beast! And leave these woods!" Liz Knew he was speaking directly to her when he added, "It is your burden to bear" He looked a Greg, "And you little one, take care of that frog of yours, give it a proper name."

"Okay" Greg said as his sister pulled on his hand.

They hiked the moonlit path, Liz still in a foul mood because she knew what the woodsman said was true. It was her job to take care of her brothers now. "Wirt I think I thought of a new name for our frog, I'm gonna call his Wirt." Greg informed them.

"That's going to be really confusing" Wirt told him and Greg shook his head. "No, I'm gonna call you Kitty" he said matter-of-factly. "What! Well maybe I'll start calling you candy pants!" Wirt laughed.

"Woah Yea!" Greg was all for the idea. "Guys, can we focus please?" Liz said a little harsher then she had meant to. Greg stared at his sister's back and leaned into Wirt, "I think we should rename Liz 'Bossy Pants'"

Wirt sighed and jogged up to his sister a moment, "hey, you alright?" Liz sighed, "No, That guy was Right Wirt. I should have been watching you two. You almost got killed because I wasn't around to look after you." Wirt frowned, "Hey." He grabbed her shoulder and looked up at her. "It wasn't your fault, That thing would have come around even if you'd have been there."

Liz smiled a little. "Thanks little brother." She adjusted his cap a little, which was still damp from the pond. "Hey, you still have the candle." Wirt pointed out and Liz looked down at the tarnished Brass candle holder and wax pillar. "Oh." She removed the candle from the holder and put both in the pockets of her white apron. Maybe they'll come in handy."

"So, We go North. With any luck we'll find a town by sun up."

Okay! So Chapter one done! I'm hoping to either do a Chapter an episode, but I may end up splitting some episodes in to two chapters instead. I hope you enjoyed! Please review so I know what you like and how to improve, or what you might want to see.