A/N: I'm back!
Shadowstriker55: It was, wasn't it? Well, sadly it still is in a way, but the pace will pick up as soon as I have all the characters in their places on the board. Also about the free time… hahahaha! I waited until summer was completely gone! Oh I'm such an evil person…
Cold-heart-Angel23: Here's your update, not soon but it's finally here, and thank you for reviewing!
h: Thank you! We all hope they can… including me. That is probably not the best sign ;)
Ghost Robot: THANK YOU!
OMAC0001: THANK YOU AS WELL! I can't wait to see how it turns out either!
Rumicwarrior22: Well here I am, continuing this. I really am glad I am as well… and I promise the next update will come soon!
If you'd also like to know, I read all of the reviews and it pained me that I was either in the wrong place to type this or feeling lazy that day or something, and I kept promising myself this would happen. Finally, it has.
I'm so sorry for leaving you all and taking a nice long vacation I am updating now and tonight and immediately to appease all of your beautiful reviews, and I really am sorry for leaving you all so long!-and I mean to make this one longer. This is also to prove I never gave up on this story, I just didn't know where to go after this... so I do now!
Greg's POV:
When he awoke, he was staring out a window, still next to Wirt. "Maybe he's awake" was the first fragment of thought that flashed across the young boy's mind, but then he looked at Wirt, and saw that he was not. The feeling of hope left him, and so did the comfort he had felt for such a short time was gone.
He somehow knew he had to get into the Unknown now, but how was the real question. After climbing off the bed and untangling Jason Funderberker from the end of the bed where he had gotten under the sheets, Greg left his brother. He didn't like doing it but he knew he just had to find a way into The Unknown again to save Wirt. Where this idea had come from, Greg himself wasn't altogether sure but he knew he had to do it.
After making his way down to the graveyard and standing amidst the graves for a few moments, Greg turned around in a full circle and came to a stop, facing Jason Funderberker.
"What will we ever do now, Jason?" He asked, and the frog croaked in reply. "Aw, you're just a big ol' softie really. But I really do wanna get back to Wirt. We need to get into that old forest again."
He had picked up the frog now and was walking towards the wall where they had fallen over so many nights ago and begun their journey in the forest. The memories had come back to Greg at one point and he now fully remembered everything that had happened before, during, and now was living, in the after, of their experience. Wirt might've called it something different than what Greg was calling this experience, since he was so much older and knew more. But Greg was content with calling it "The Book Experience" where they had gone through the beginning, the middle, and now were drawing towards the end.
Or so Greg had thought after he'd recovered, but now he knew, they were nowhere near the end. He still had to get back to Wirt.
Jason croaked loudly in protest as Greg tried to get over the wall and couldn't manage to hoist himself up. After trying on a tree and a rock, Greg realized it was going to be impossible to get over the wall, and anyways, he would just end up drowning again, if that was what had happened last time. Surely there was an easier way? And he just wasn't figuring it out because he didn't know any better?
Greg wasn't one to admit defeat, and he wasn't giving up now. He had to figure this out, and so he left the graveyard in a heat, trying to brainstorm something as fast as he could. Nothing he thought of seemed to work. If he tried to enter in a dream, it would be a dream not real life. If he tried to get over that wall, what would be waiting on the other side?
When he reached home, he walked up the front steps and opened the door, announcing to the whole house that "I AM HOME!" and then promptly running up to his room to sit and think without anyone disturbing him. Jason Funderberker began hopping around the room when Greg set him down, and while Greg didn't really mind, he didn't know why his ol' frog was so bouncy all of a sudden. Surely Jason Funderberker knew they needed to save Wirt. Otherwise … but wait! Greg suddenly realized that maybe Jason Funderberker agreed that going back over the wall would get them to the Unknown… but it also might land them in more trouble, countered the other half of Greg's brain.
So it remained that Greg sat there for a little over an hour, thinking about how he should help save Wirt by going over the wall again, and wondering how it would be possible.
"Croak!" Said Jason Funderberker, seated now on Greg's lap.
"Alright, Jason, we will go over that wall again! I just don't know what to tell everyone here…" Greg had thought about this part too, but no reasonable explanation came to mind, because he felt like leaving a note wouldn't help. But then again, anything helped.
Climbing off the bed and running across the floor to his little desk, Greg pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a little note to his parents, thinking that this would clear things up completely.
'"I have gone to save Wirt. Be back soon.'"
With that he gathered up several pairs of shirts and overalls in a small bag, grabbed Jason Funderberker, and ran down the staircase and out of the house without a moment's break except to drop the note off in the kitchen. No one seemed to be home now so Greg could just leave the note wherever, he knew they would find it.
With that last thought, Greg made off for the graveyard once more, clutching Jason Funderberker in his arms as he ran there. He had no idea how to get in, but he did know what to do now. Greg figured that was a good thing.
The minute he reached the wall, he looked around for something else to stand on. It was then that he saw the hole in the wall, he facepalmed lightly.
"Jason Funderberker, look!" He pointed at the wall, holding Jason up to see it.
The frog croaked in reply, and Greg took that to be a definite reply. He walked on over to the hole, and slipped underneath and through it, with Jason in tow. It was then that he saw the lake. It was the same one he and Wirt had fallen in, and the one their bodies had come through again. Now he just needed to find some type of portal… Greg looked down into the water, he stared hard and long, but saw nothing. If there had been a portal, how had it worked? He didn't have a real desire to go down again but Greg was beginning to feel like he needed to, in order to reach Wirt. If he could do it without going into the cold water, it would be even better, and he could tell Jason agreed, because he was squirming to get out of Greg's grip.
"Jason, if we go into it again, maybe we'll find Wirt! But what happens if we don't and end up in some other place?" His voice was full of fear suddenly with the realization that it may have a portal leading to somewhere else. Greg wasn't one to think about what would happen if his parents found him in the water again, it had slipped his mind with the thought of finding Wirt.
Slowly, he walked to the water's edge and dipped his toes in, feeling the cold water soak into his feet. Coming up to the edge gave a different perspective, and he saw that maybe indeed there was a forest below in the water. As he walked slowly down into the water, it was as if he was going back into time, remembering the sound of the train from the tracks above and Wirt and him jumping off into the water... Greg stepped in with more confidence. Whatever was there, he would find it. Soon he was completely under, holding his breath for a mere moment. He began to lose consciousness and while that was part of what he had hoped for, he suddenly felt very, very wrong. This wouldn't work, and now he was sure of it.
Thrashing his arms about, Greg tried to move up and out of the water to air, but found he was weighed down by Jason Funderberker who'd ended up still in his arms below the surface. Yet he still couldn't get up, and he wasn't going to let Jason go. His vision was going black. Even as young as he was, Greg knew this was not a good thing. His body sank lower and lower, his mind going blank. A sudden current caught him as he floated downwards, seeing nothing and hearing nothing, his body shutting down. Jason, being a frog, wasn't drowning but was becoming increasingly concerned about his owner as they sank.
The current took the boy and sent him upstream, even if that was impossible in a pond such as this. Then, everything was bright, as he opened his eyes. Greg stared wildly about him, thrashing once more, thinking he was underwater, but then saw the sky above him, and heard the noises of birds. He was still floating, and now was going down a stream. Jason croaked from on top of him, he was on Greg's chest, somehow not weighing the boy down, and Greg grinned.
"Jason, where are we? Did we make it?" In reply, the frog hopped off onto the solid ground next to Greg, who immediately climbed out of the water.
Slowly he looked around, his eyes growing wide. It was indeed the forest he'd been in before, it was the same path that was cutting through it at one end, near the stream. Looking down the stream, Greg saw a mill. It was the Unknown, and he'd been carried directly to the old woodsman's mill. Greg smiled widely now, and looking at his frog, he set off towards the mill. He remembered the time the dog had attacked him and Wirt and how much candy he'd thrown at the bewildered beast. Then he remembered The Beast. Shuddering, he quickened his pace, suddenly noticing that it was growing dark.
Lights turned on in the millhouse before he arrived, and though he heard nothing from inside, Greg knew someone was there. Slowly and carefully, he approached the front door, and with all of his courage, he knocked loudly. It was minutes before someone answered it, and that someone was the Woodsman. First the man looked above him, but when he looked down to see Greg standing there, his eyes widened with shock and he stared at the young boy.
"What are you doing here once more?" He gasped, five minutes later. Greg shrugged.
"I came to find Wirt and bring him home."
"What made you come back for him, boy? Do you know what comes after dark?"
"But nothing can, the Beast doesn't exist anymore." Greg furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at the old man in puzzlement.
"If only, boy, if only. Come in, we were just sitting down to dinner."
Greg followed the Woodsman into the house, noting that some new things had been put into place but didn't think much of them. A dinner table had been set down, and two plates were at two chairs, and a girl was coming in with a large pot of what looked like soup. When she saw Greg with the Woodsman, she stopped and stared at him, and Greg stared back. Jason croaked.
"This is my daughter, Anna. Anna, this is the wee boy I told you about who accompanied his brother a few months back on that quest. Er, what was your name again, boy?" The Woodsman looked down at him again.
"Greg. And this is Jason Funderberker." Greg held up the frog for them to see.
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Greg, and... Jason." The girl replied. She looked to be at least a young woman, maybe Beatrice's age.
"Get young Greg here a plate. We have a bit of explaining to do before bed tonight."
Greg sat down at the chair she offered him and after a plate was set down in front of him full of food, the Woodsman started talking almost immediately. Greg payed thorough attention, if this was about Wirt, he wanted to know all the details.
"Greg, your brother... he is still here, at least to my knowledge. But also to my knowledge... something horrible has happened to that boy. I can almost not speak of it, for I know of it very well. See, we did destroy the Beast, but only his shell. The Beast in truth is an ancient force that can flit about freely until it finds someone to ... live in. The Beast came back for your brother, Greg. He took over that poor boy's soul. Or still is, from what I've heard. He's progressed slowly. You have a strong brother. But he will not win the battle. You coming back here is pointless, Greg." The Woodsman explained this carefully, yet when Greg heard of what had happened to Wirt, he stared for a few minutes in wonder.
"I can save him, I know I can." Was all he said after a moment of silence. The Woodsman shook his head.
"You would not be able to. Even I failed to reason with him."
"But father, remember, you only talked to him once." Anna gently prodded him, but he only gave her a stern look.
"So I did. It was a mistake of mine, especially after he began to demand for me to supply him. He was, at that time, still mostly your brother, very little of him was the Beast, but now I suppose he has taken over most of him."
Greg still was convinced he could save Wirt. If there was still Wirt in him, then Greg could get him back. He had to, anyways, their parents would never forgive him if he couldn't do what he had set out to do. The rest of the dinner was spent in silence, and afterwards, the Woodsman directed him to a bed and told him that they would have breakfast early the next morning, and if he wanted to set out, they would supply him with a few things. Greg normally wasn't used to this much freedom, he wasn't sure he could find his way through the Unknown alone without anyone to help him, but he had to.
Sleep wasn't easy, images of Wirt as the Beast from his imagination kept him up a good bit until he reminded himself he was going to get the Beast out of Wirt. Greg had no trouble sleeping after that and was actually hard to wake up. Once he did, though, he was fed a good amount of breakfast from Anna and the Woodsman and given the supplies needed to make it to the next house he could find, where ever that was. Greg thanked them and set off with Jason Funderberker following him. Greg was glad he had remembered his manners, it would definitely serve him well later on if he had to deal with the Beast again, and he was quite sure of that. It would also help with Wirt, because then he could correct him if he needed it. Greg had no idea who he'd run into next, and neither did the person who did.
A/N: Whew... well, I suppose that's that, for this chapter. Maybe a bit rushed but hopefully it didn't feel too filler, and yes, the name of the Woodsman's daughter is apparently officially Anna, okay? Deal with it. I did that just because. Writing Greg drowning is not as easy as some may think... So anyways, that was chapter five, I think I'll start the next chapter after finishing writing this note, and then hopefully I'll get that one up sooner than this one. Thank you for reading as always, and please, reveiw, review, review!