Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or its music, nor do I own Over The Garden Wall. This is an unfortunate fact of life.
Wirt sat up straight in bed. The voices were calling to him once again. He'd been ignoring it for nights, but he'd had enough. The nightmares, the calling, the constant fear was all too much for him. He didn't understand why he couldn't just let go of The Unknown. He and Greg were safe now, and that was what mattered, not the fact that they were almost killed or- He couldn't get into this tonight.
Just as the boy began to lay back down, the whispers began again. They called him back. The forest wanted him and Greg back. Wirt groaned.
"I can hear you, but I won't!" He called out to the darkness. He felt dumb talking to the empty room. "Some look for trouble while others don't." He thought of how much Greg would love to return to the magical woods. Greg didn't understand the true horror of The Unknown. "There are a thousand reasons I should go about my day and ignore your whispers which I wish would go away." Wirt continued, more trying to convince himself than whatever was calling him. He haphazardly gestured to his school bag and the direction of Greg's room.
The whispers grew in volume the more he protested. He wanted desperately to bash his head into something, anything to get rid of the voices.
"You're not a voice! You're just a ringing in my ear. And if I heard you, which I don't, I'm spoken for I fear." He pushed images of his family into his mind as if trying to show the thing in his head. "Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls. I'm sorry secret siren but I'm blocking out your calls!" Wirt threw himself back onto his bed and covered his head with a pillow. "I've had my adventure, I don't need something new. I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you-" Wirt took a deep breath and spoke the words that hadn't dared pass his lips since that Halloween night: "Into The Unkn-" He tried again. "Into The Unknow-" He had trouble bring himself to say the full world, but he forced it out of his vocal cords. "Into The Unknown!" The boy huffed. He was annoyed with himself that it took so much effort just to speak one little word.
Instead of leaving him alone, the sounds unified into one bone-chilling voice. "COME TO ME, PILGRIM..." Wirt bolted upright once more. He'd know that voice anywhere.
"What do you want?" He said as loudly as he could without waking the whole block. "You've been keeping me awake." He murmured, knowing full well that that wasn't the real issue. "Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake? Or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me? Who knows deep down I'm not where I'm meant to be..." Wirt stared out the glass of his first-floor bedroom window. Tentatively, he opened it and slid out into the night.
The boy paced in his backyard, wary of the woods behind him. "Every day's a little harder as I feel these urges grow. Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go Into The Unknown!" He was shocked by how easily the words rolled off his tongue now. It was as they were being spoken by another. "Into The Unknown." He tried again. He almost like the feeling of the words. "Into The Unknown!" He yelled into the woods. It felt good to let out. Too good.
Wirt backed away, horrified that he'd even considered re-entering the forest. If he went back, he wouldn't make it out. He was about to turn and go back to his own, safe room when the voice froze him once more.
"DO NOT HIDE FROM ME, PILGRIM! ACCEPT YOUR FATE! YOU ARE MINE!" Wirt gasped as a headache split his cranium. He balled his fists and struggled to stay upright.
"I'm not yours!" He screamed at the forest. "I defeated you! Go back to your stupid woods and die! Just leave me alone!"
"IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, BOY?" The beast responded, much to Wirt's surprise.
"Y-yes." He said. He was confused by the beast's sudden compliance.
"YOU ASKED. REMEMBER THAT." Suddenly, Wirt's migraine disappeared. The boy straightened and sighed in relief. His success was undermined by the intense feeling that something was off. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and nearly jumped out of his skin. He calmed quickly when he realized who it was.
"Greg, what are you doing out of bed? It's the middle of the night." The teen received no answer from the younger boy. "Greg?" He asked again. The child in question glanced at him with empty eyes.
"You did this." Greg breathed in a tone Wirt had never heard from him and would be happy to never hear again. Wirt sputtered and tried to form a coherent sentence. Before he could utter a real word, Greg's small body turned and ran into the tree line. Wirt gasped as he realized what Greg had meant. The beast's words echoed in his mind: "YOU ASKED FOR THIS.". The teen wrenched himself out of the throes of shock and tried to follow his brother, but he tripped with nearly every step on the infinite tree roots.
"Greg, please come back!" He shouted. "I'm sorry!" He heard a rustle ahead of him. "Candy pants?" He tried, using the affectionate nickname. He held back a sob of despair.
"Are you out there?" He reconsidered his approach. What if the beast had already taken Greg's mind? What if he'd already forgotten Wirt? "Do you know me? Can you feel me? Can you show me where you are?" Wirt flung question after question at the shadows. He fell to his knees in the dirt and leaves. "Please, take me instead!" He screamed at the sky. Then he caught a glimpse of an all too familiar tea kettle nestled in brown hair. It disappeared into the trees again almost before Wirt could process it. He sprang to his feet and ran in the direction of the small footsteps.
"Where are you going? Don't leave me alone!" Wirt cried out, the tears flowing freely down his cheeks. "How do I follow you?" He dashed into the center of a small copse. In front of him stood his brother with a soulless expression that was so unlike him. Wirt didn't care. He rushed forward to hug his brother, only to meet air. Wirt was confused, frustrated, and, worst of all, alone. That was until the Beast cackled.
"FOOLISH PILGRIM." Bellowed the Beast. "YOUR BROTHER NEVER LEFT HIS BED." Wirt's head reeled as his brain caught up with the situation.
"You tricked me." He whispered in disbelief, and then again with more force. "You tricked me!" The Beast's cold laughter echoed all around him.
"INDEED I DID, PILGRIM. HOWEVER, THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T DO IT. I PREFER YOU TO THE BRAT, BUT MY VESSEL MATTERS NOT. DO YOU WISH TO SUBJECT YOUR BROTHER TO MY WRATH?" Wirt shook his head vigorously. He couldn't let Greg into this mess. "GOOD." The Beast said. "OPEN YOUR MIND TO ME WIRT PALMER, AND I SHALL SPARE YOUR BROTHER. AM I UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yes." Wirt responded firmly. The wind blew harder and the trees shook. A hammering in his skull even worse than before overtook Wirt, and he collapsed on his hands and knees. The boy convulsed alone on the ground, trying desperately to retain even an ounce of control from the being in his head.
He failed.
If anyone had been around to see the boy open his eyes after a long struggle, they would have immediately noticed the pink, blue, and yellow orbs boring into their soul. In a flash of light, the Beast summoned his lantern and vanished into the night.
"Into The Unknown..." The trees seemed to whisper.
Hi there! Hope you liked my little one-shot. The idea kinda just popped into my head randomly and I decided I had to do it. So, this happened. I'm a huge fan of Frozen and Over The Garden Wall so this was fun for me to write, just as I hope it was fun for you to read. Thanks for stopping by! ~E