Erica slowly opened her eyes. She needed a second to realize that she was not home… the white walls, the plain looking room… "Why am I…" she slurred. "The hospital?" She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, looking down at her son. Greg was sitting in her lab, still deeply asleep. On the chair next to her husband sat, also asleep. Erica didn't dare to move too much, not wanting to wake Greg up. She looked around, the memories of the past events slowly returning to her.

There on the hospital bed was laying Wirt as he was just sleeping peacefully. Nothing looked unusual about this scene except for the fact that they were in a hospital room.

Erica closed her eyes again… why had Wirts' eyes glowed in such a weird color? Why had they glowed at all? She knew that her son wouldn't tell her if he knew. Wirt had always been an introverted person, not wanting to bother anyone with his problems… but she just couldn't leave him alone with this!

Somehow… somehow she had the feeling that she had seen those eyes before. She couldn't recall when or where but… it seemed like a distant, long lost memory just out of her reach. Where? She looked at Wirt again.

Of course, they hadn't told the doctors about the eyes- not that they would have believed her- and no one could say anything other than that he had fainted from low blood pressure. That didn't explain why he was still conscious though, over four hours after he blacked out.

"Are you alright?" Erica's heart skipped a beat. Her mind needed a split second to recognize this voice as Jonathans.

"Yeah." She stated, not sounding sure herself. "I was just thinking…"

"Do you want me to hold Greg?" Jonathan asked. Erica nodded silently and her husband gently placed Greg on his own lab. The young boy didn't wake up and just snuggled into his father's chest. The man smiled down at him and sighed. "Do you think there is any truth to what the boys told us…"

"About the Unknown?" Erica nodded. "It seems likely… when they woke u-" the woman stood up abruptly, nearly throwing over the chair she sat on, and took her jacket already reaching for the keys inside the pocket. "I need to go!" She stated quickly. "I will be back in an hour!" Without waiting for an answer, she ran out of the room.

Erica knew where she had seen those eyes before.

Wirt woke up. The warm sun touched his skin and the leaves underneath his body were comfortable, soft even. He stood up. Looking around. Wirt took a moment to realize where he was. This was The Unknown!

The boy wanted to panic, but the feeling of 'home' and 'safety' overwhelmed every other feeling he had. This was home. He should not fear anything. There was nothing to fear. He took a deep breath. "Hello?" he shouted. Maybe this was a dumb idea he realized but, it was as if he could tell there was nothing near him that would (could) harm him.

"Is someone there?" Wirt asked again as he started to walk between the trees. The unknown looked different than before. He knew that it was The Unknown… but. It was hard to explain. All the trees looked like they were dying, slowly rotting away. Only seconds before falling because the roots were already destroyed… What had happened here? Just looking at the forest made Wirt's heard ache.

The boy wasn't even sure how this worked. Weren't the Edelwood trees lost souls? What was happening to the souls if the trees died?

It just felt wrong.

The forest seemed to be endless, just like the first time they were here, and Wirt began wondering what had happened to all their friends. How much time had gone by in The Unknown? Was Beatrice still around. What about the Woodsman? Wirt knew that this place was some kind of in between… could the people die here? There were just so many questions he had no answers to.

He continued walking. Wirt did not know where he was going but it just felt right… Like there was something drawing him to… wherever he was going. Like a moth was drawn to the light.

Wirt stumbled as his foot caught on something solid. Was it a rock? He stood up, not bothering with the dirt on his clothes and looked at the object. It was the beasts' lantern. Somehow, Wirt was not surprised. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had expected to find it.

Despite any common sense, he reached out to touch the lantern.

"Stop." Wirt turned around, searching for the source of the oh so familiar voice. "Wirt?"

When Greg woke up, his mom was not in the room anymore and his dad was asleep. He hopped down and ran towards his brothers' bed. The older boy was still unconscious. Greg had seen Wirt like this before… when he woke up before his brother after the unknown.

"Wirt?" the boy asked. He knew that his brother wouldn't answer him. After all, Wirt was in the Unknown. "Can you say everyone hi from me? I hope you wake up soon brother o' mine." Greg smiled. "And that we can go to The Unknown together!" The boy sat down next to his brother's unconscious form, legs swinging over the edge of the bed. "And we can take Jason Funderburker with us! You know, even though mom has forbidden us to keep him, he still lives in our garden. He probably wants to go back too…"

Greg took his brother's hand. "Aaand you have to wake up soon." He stated. "You promised me to help me with my homework!"

"Hnn…" Greg stared at his brother. Did he wake up? Well, he promised Greg to help and Wirt always kept his promises. "Beatrice…" Wirt whispered.

Greg's eyes lit up. So Wirt was in The Unknown after all.