We're All Lost ⇋ Bipper x Wirt

Chapter I

Song: Come Wayward Souls - The Blasting Company

⌯ ⌯ ⌯ ⌯ ⌯
Wirt

The ground was hard and cold, bits of bramble and tree roots shoving up into Wirt's back, forcing discomfort upon the boy's spine. The wind nipped at his cheeks, pulling him in and out of sleep. One minute, he was dreaming about Greg and Jason Funderburker (the frog, not the boy), and the next he was staring up at the snowy night sky with glassy, sleep-coated eyes.

He was just drifting back to sleep when he heard it. The song.

"Come, wayward souls,
And wander through the darkness."

Wirt sat up with a start. The song was flowing through his ears like molasses; it was the Beast's song. It was only after a moment of listening that he realized the song was coming from the woods.

Wirt looked around. "Greg?" he asked. There was no response. Through the blinding flurry of snow around him, Wirt couldn't see his little brother anywhere.

That could only mean one thing.

"There is a light, for the lost and the meek.
Sorrow and fear are easily forgotten,
When you submit to the soil of the earth."

Wirt's heart skipped a beat. "Greg?" He scrambled to his feet, fighting his way through hungry Edelwood branches and loose snow. He couldn't think properly—the only thought in his mind was to find Greg—so he threw caution to the wind and bounded into the forest. His body buzzed with adrenaline, acting as a pain reliever. Wirt could barely feel the bite of the cold wind anymore, and when he slipped on the frozen ground, he felt nothing.

"Greg! Where are you?" Wirt's voice was getting hoarse from shouting, and the cold air stung his lungs like needles, but there was no way that he would stop searching until he found his brother.

"Grow, tiny seed,
You are called to the trees.
Rise till your leaves fill the sky."

Suddenly, the tip of Wirt's toe caught on a loose tree branch. Wirt fell face-first into the snow.

With a low groan, Wirt pushed himself up on his hands and knees. Everything in his body ached, from his lips to his bones. Despite this, he knew that he had to get up. He had to get out of the snow, to keep going, to find Greg. He didn't care what it took. He just had to get his brother back—

"Hello, helpless creature!"

The voice was sharper and colder than any shard of ice, but Wirt couldn't hear the sinister overtone. In fact, he could barely even hear the voice's words, for his head was pounding so hard that he thought it was going to explode.

"C'mon, kid, get up! I can help you find your brother."

Wirt heard that part. Or did he? Was he imagining things, or did that voice really just say it could help him? He had to find out. Using every last ounce of energy left inside of him, Wirt pushed himself up into a sitting position. After rubbing his temples for a few seconds to ease the stabbing pain in his skull, he opened his eyes.

Wirt gasped. The skinny, fluffy-haired boy standing before him was not who he expected to see... although, he didn't really know who he was expecting. This kid was as good as any other person. The boy had sparkling yellow eyes with slits for pupils, which kind of made him look like a cat. He was wearing a long black tailcoat, a tan undershirt and drab slacks. "Uh... who are you?" Wirt asked the boy, confusion written all over his face.