~ • ~
Wirt and Greg walked around town following the twins they had just met. Dipper was relaying silly stories that they had about different places and people from the previous summer. After getting a quick tour of the Mystery Shack, Dipper and Mabel volunteered to show them around the town.
"What about this place, Maple? Did anything fun happen here?" Greg asked Mabel as they passed a theatre named, "Theatre Time Theater." Mabel stopped and looked at the building. Her usual smile had faltered, and she stammered, "Yeah… I guess, not much though."
Dipper glanced over at her and nodded, "Yeah." Wirt noticed that both of them were holding something back. He bit his lip, not wanting to seem nosy.
Before Greg could say anything else, Wirt spoke for the first time during the whole tour, "Thank you so much for the tour," Greg looked up at him with inquisitive eyes, "But it's been a very long trip for us, and I think some of us," He looked pointedly at his little brother, who had been yawning for a bit, he said, "Need to get some sleep. We should probably head back to the motel for some sleep."
The twins nodded in agreement, Dipper holding out his hand, "Good idea. We'll see you tomorrow?"
Wirt hesitated but looked at Greg's pleading eyes with a laugh. He said, "Yeah," He took Dipper's hand and shook it. "I don't think either of our siblings would have it any other way." Dipper chuckled, "Most definitely. Also," He pulled Wirt slightly away from the others, "Don't be too surprised if Mabel starts to… not-so subtly flirt with you. She tends to develop crushes in mere seconds on any human-or not human..."
Wirt raised an eyebrow, confused at what he meant. Dipper sighed and waved it away, "Don't ask." And he didn't.
Wirt ran a quick hand through his hair, saying, "Alright, Candy Pants. Let's go get some sleep." he smiled and reached out his hand to Greg.
Greg smiled and gave one last hug to Mabel, before waving goodbye.
"Wirt!"
"Hm?"
Greg beamed up at him, "You haven't called me 'Candy Pants' since-"
Wirt cut him off and said, "I know, Greg." he smiled and bent down.
"Wanna piggy-back ride?"
Greg's face split into a huge smile, confirming his intent. He climbed on to his older brother's back and locked his arms around his neck. "Onward ho, brother o' mine!" Wirt chuckled and struggled to his feet.
"Boy, oh boy, have you grown, Greg." Wirt gasped, taking a few hesitant steps forward. Greg giggled in reply.
After a couple tentative steps, Wirt had picked up a steady pace and was on his way to the shady motel. The night sky rose in all of it's grandeur above the boy's head. When he reached the room, he fumbled around in his pocket for the key. As he unlocked the door, he felt a small head fall gently on his shoulder. He affectionately smiled and pushed the door open. He laid Greg down on his bed, undoing the small buttons on the overalls. He pulled a dusty cover over his brother and sat on the edge of the bed.
Though we may grow apart,
I will remember you.
Though we may fight,
I will protect you.
Though you may hate me,
I will always love you.
You are my dear brother,
And I am yours.
After a couple minutes of sappy poetry, Wirt decided that he should probably get ready for bed. He pulled his sweater off and threw it to the chair in the corner of the room. As the sweater landed on the armrest of the chair, he thought he saw a ripple of darkness flit over to the other side of the room. He narrowed his eyes and looked through the dimly lit room. A pair of bright eyes bore into him through the dark of the room. Wirt gasped and fell back on to his bed. He blinked rapidly and rubbed at his eyes.
The white orbs disappeared and he could see the broken lamp in the corner again. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, muttering, "It was nothing. Wirt… it was- you're just tired." he continued his sleep ritual and pulled the thin sheets over him.
But sleep didn't seem to find him that night. So instead, he fixated his gaze on the cracked ceiling. When night had reached its peak, Wirt saw a dark figure reappear in front of the door.
"Tra-la-la-la, tra-la-la-la, chop the wood to light the fire!"
He shot up and grabbed a pencil on his bedside table, ready to jump out of the bed.
"You-you… you're supposed to be dead! The woodsman- he killed you!" He exclaimed, voice shaking. He was met with a deep chuckle, soulless eyes mocking, "But did you?" He hesitated, lowering his hand. The Beast laughed and disappeared like a bad dream. Wirt fell back onto the bed and covered his eyes with his hands. His cries faltered when he felt a pair of warm arms loop around his torso. "It's okay, Wirt…" Wirt's breath hitched and he rolled over and squeezed his brother's hand. "Thank you, Greg."
"Wirt! Hey! Wiiiirt! Wirt?!" A voice called through the fog of sleep. Wirt groaned and pulled a pillow over his ears. "Five more minutes…" He groggily called. A couple laughs could be heard through his muffler. "C'mon Wirt! We're going to have fun today!"
"No…"
"We have coffee."
Wirt pulled the pillow off his face. He mumbled, "I prefer tea, but okay." He threw the covers off him and stumbled to his feet. Dipper and Mabel were standing next to the bed and Greg was sitting on the edge of the bed. They all wore bright smiles. And Dipper was holding two styrofoam cups with tops. Wirt wandered into the bathroom, grabbing his clothes and changing as fast as an exhausted teenager could. He walked out of the bathroom and took the cup extended to him. "I, uh, didn't know how you took your coffee so it's just black. I ha-"
Wirt interrupted Dipper, taking a large sip of the dark liquid, "Perfect."
Dipper smiled, "That's good to know." He took out a small leather bound notebook with a gold print of a hand on the front. "Wirt likes black coffee." He pretended to write it down, laughing.
Wirt scoffed, "Alright. So, what is this fun I hear about?"
"Well, me and Dipper-"
"Dipper and I," Wirt corrected without a breath.
Mabel sighed, continuing, "Dipper and I were thinking that we could bring you into the forest, and we could do a day or two of camping!"
"Like the Unknown!" Greg cut in.
Dipper looked at Greg, "What's the Un-"
Wirt had put his coffee down on a rickety table, interrupting Dipper, "Nothing important. Now why are you taking us camping? In the… forest? Is it safe?"
Dipper furrowed his brow. Wirt was too quick to shut Greg down. But the follow up question made him ignore the suspicious activity. "We thought it might be fun, and yes. The forest is safe. If it wasn't, we wouldn't be taking you there. Don't worry. We'll stay together and have lots of fun."
Wirt hesitated, "But we don't have camping gear-"
"We have extras."
"Do we have food?"
"Yes."
"Water?"
"Yes!" Mabel said exasperated.
"But our clothes-"
"Don't worry, Wirt. It'll be fine, honestly. Why are you freaking out?" Mabel asked,
"I-" He faltered and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's nothing. Just being a worry Wirt. But are you sure-"
Greg tugged at Wirt's sweater, "Can we please go? Please, Wirt?" Wirt looked down at his brother and sighed with a smile.
"Alright… we'll go. Lead the way, Pines."
The Pines twins grinned and opened the motel door.
"Oh, and Wirt," Dipper said, "Lock the door next time."
Wirt flushed and stopped, "I- okay… thanks." Dipper chuckled and took out keys from his pocket. "It's fine, man. Everything we need is back at the Shack. We'll take the golf cart to it. That alright with you guys?"
Wirt scratched the back of his neck, clearly wanting to say something. "Yeah… I guess… but what-"
Mabel cut him off, laughing and throwing an arm around his shoulders and pressing close. "Don't worry, Wirt~" He edged a little bit away, unnerved by the sudden contact. "We'll be fine! We've camped in those woods before! There's nothing to worry about!"
Dipper nodded with a grin on his face, amused by Wirt's anxiousness.
He sighed, "Sorry,"
The ride back to the shack was short and quiet.
Minus the impromptu acapella karaoke, cheers to Mabel and Greg.
When they finally reached the Mystery Shack, which Wirt thought was exceedingly fake, they saw Soos starting a tour with a couple tourist families. As they made their way to the side door he waved at them and said, "Have fun, dudes! Careful for those bears!" He winked at Dipper and then continued to show the tourists inside. Dipper laughed and handed Greg a small backpack.
Wirt glanced between Dipper and the retreating form of Soos, fiddling with the straps of the bag. Dipper noticed this and deadpanned. He sighed and said, "Dude. There are bears everywhere. You need to chill. The bears here will not bother us, believe me."
"I know," He sighed, "I'm just kinda worried…"
Dipper raised his eyebrows and hesitantly said, "...Because of 'The Unknown?"
Wirt froze, swallowed and quickly said, "No. The Unknown is just something Greg made up. It's nothing. There's no reason I would be scared of it. So, no." Dipper looked away, still suspicious of Wirt.
Mabel looked between both of them, "O...kay?" She pursed her lips and took Greg's hand and led him ahead of the other two. And so the four of them made their way into the forest of Gravity Falls. While Mabel had started another pop karaoke with Greg, Dipper and Wirt remained silent, a tense air from the question before. The silence was broken when Dipper cleared his throat saying, "So… What do you like to do? Like hobbies,"
Wirt bit the inside of his cheek and stayed quiet, making Dipper laugh. "What's up? Is it embarrassing?" He nodded and the other boy smiled slightly, "Can it really be more embarrassing than mine?" Wirt raised an eyebrow, as Dipper took a breath, "I am obsessed with the supernatural and paranormal. I play tuba in my school's band, and I love the hit band BABBA. Now you try."
Wirt scoffed and laughed for a second before scratching his cheek and took the allotted breath. He hesitantly started, "Well, that virtually makes me feel better. I'm even worse of a nerd, I'm afraid." At this point, unbeknownst to the boys, Mabel and Greg had started to listen in on their conversation. "I enjoy classical music. I like learning about interior design. I play the clarinet as opposed to the tuba, plus a little bassoning-"
"Both?" Dipper exclaimed, making the older boy jump. "But you need a totally different embouchure for them!"
"Yeah-yeah… my friend bullied me into trying to play it, and I did. And I kinda enjoyed it. So I take lessons occasionally."
"That's super cool, wow!" Dipper grinned, "Wait," he faltered, "Sorry, did I cut you off?" Wirt chuckled, "Uh, yeah. I was going to say that I also write poetry… a lot… " He trailed off, lowering his voice a bit.
Mabel rushed towards him and grabbed his hands. "You write poetry?!"
Wirt froze, his face heating up from Mabel's hands holding his. "Uh- yeah?"
Greg grinned, "It's super good!" He piped in, "There was one about being lost and a graveyard or something! It sounded super-duper fancy!"
Wirt flushed, "Greg?! How do you- I mean- that was so- how do you remember that?!" He covered his face with his hands, which he had taken out of Mabel's grasp. Her eyes shone and she grinned even wider, if that was even possible.
"Can you write something about me? Or for me? Or… oh! I know! Unicorns–or magic–or, or-"
"Mabel, give him a break." Dipper chuckled mirthfully at his sister. Everyone laughed at the eldest groan of embarrassment and went back to their original conversations. After an hour or two more of walking, the group settled down to have lunch. It was a wide grove with large conifers leaning towards the middle. A few bushes created a more secure circle, but several wildflowers littered the floor of the grove. Dipper and Wirt showed Greg how to light a fire, building the pit in the middle. This consisted of mainly Wirt telling Greg to "not use the lighter on your hair."
After eating lunch and having a group discussion on the plausibility of shows like Buzzfeed Unsolved or any other ghost hunting television series, Wirt and Dipper continued their discussion on "nerdy" topics. As the sun finally laid itself down, Wirt noticed a sudden absence in noise beside them.
Mabel and Greg were gone.
"Dipper… did you see them leave?"
Dipper looked at him strangely, "Who? What are you-" A look of realization flickered over his face, "No. No, I didn't."
Wirt held his breath. Greg was gone. Again. And he hadn't known. His breathing quickened by a pace. "Let's go look for them." He said, quickly and nervous. Dipper nodded his response and opened his bag to grab two torches. The two boys walked down the path they took to get there, flashing the light over the bushes.
"Greg…?" Wirt called, followed by Dipper calling his sister's name.
"Mabel! Where are you guys?"
"Greg! Please… come out."
"Hey… Wirt. It'll be okay. We'll find them. They're probably together. Mabel knows these woods like she knows her favourite sweater. He'll be okay, man."
Wirt looked at Dipper. He looked away. He wiped at his eyes and continued on looking down the path. Dipper stood for a second staring at Wirt's figure moving down the path. Something wasn't right.
"Greg!" His voice shook, "Greg…" For the next five minutes, the two boys paced around their little camp, looking for Mabel and Greg. Dipper finally suggested that Wirt sit down and stay in the grove, while he looked around some more. He complied whole-heartedly. Wirt felt wet tears slowly fall down his cheeks and onto the dirt below him. He was shaking, holding his head in his hands and rocking himself back and forth. He lost his brother again. It was his fault he was gone. It was his fault The Beast took him. And he couldn't take it. He heard Dipper rustle around in the bushes next to a tent they had set up prior to sun-down. Dipper was calling the names of both of them, and then he stopped.
Wirt stood up, tears quickly falling to the forest floor. He picked up his torch and shone it where Dipper had been.
No Dipper.
No noise.
Just the wind shaking the leaves.
Just the moonlight shining through the dense growth.
"Dipper... ?" He said quietly.
He was met with silence.
Taking a breath, Wirt tred closer to the spot Dipper disappeared. He turned away and walked forward, shining the torch to the woods beside him. He felt his foot slip and fall from under him. He let out a small yelp and tried to get up, but the mud he had fallen in, shifted and gave from his weight. Wirt felt his body enter cold, rushing water. He screeched and tried to grab hold of the bank, but the silt slipped through his fingers and plunged him into the river.
The current quickly swept him away, filling his mouth with the frigid water. He flailed in the river, struggling to keep himself above the water. A sharp pain filled his head, blurring his vision and abating his struggle. As he looked up, he could see the stars above him, blurred into a faint light, and then disappear.
"Hey, Wirt?"
"Yeah?"
"What are we doing?"
He stopped, "I… actually don't know. I guess… we're walking?"
"Yeah, but where?" Dipper asked,
Wirt shrugged, "I don't know."
"Shouldn't we… know this?" The shorter boy said running a hand through his hair. Wirt nodded, timidly.
They stood in silence for a second.
"We gotta leave this forest," Dipper said, manner-of-factly.
"Yeah." Wirt agreed,
They quickened their pace and continued down a stretch of road. As they walked along, Wirt looked around, more acutely than Dipper.
"I feel like I recognize this place…" He said,
"What? What do you mean?" Dipper asked, looking back at Wirt.
Wirt rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I mean, I feel like I've been here before."
"Huh, that's weird-" Dipper stopped, "Look! There's a sign!" He ran ahead as Wirt trailed behind, apprehensive of his surroundings.
"Huh. 'Pottsfield, 1 mile.' Weird name for a town."
Wirt's eyes widened, "What did you say?" He ran forward to read the sign, "No…"
"What is it? You do know this place?"
"Yes," Wirt hesitated, his face quivered, "And we have to get out of here now."
Dipper looked up at Wirt in confusion, "What do you mean? What's wrong?"
Wirt looked down at Dipper and gave him a wavering smile,
"Welcome to the Unknown."