theshipper101's Random One Shots and Short Stories

Bad End Friends-- Wirt

"Take on the task as lantern bearer?" The beast asked.

I swallowed. "O-okay."

"Wirt!" Beatrice cried.

I started to hand the beast the lantern, but stopped. "Wait...that's dumb. I'm not just going to wander around in the woods for the rest of my life. You've just got some weird obsession with this lantern. It's almost like your soul is inside it."

Everything became dark and the only light came directly from the flame of the lantern. The beast loomed over the teen. A horrible screeching was heard. Before he could think, the beast grabbed onto Wirt and lifted him off the ground by the arm. "Are you ready to see true darkness?"

Wirt shook, unable to get free of the beast's grip. The lantern fell from his hand, showing the beast's true body, one made of humanlike faces carved into wood. The beast plunged forward and Wirt fell unconscious.

Beatrice and the Woodsman watched as Wirt began to change and the Beast disappeared inside of him. Wooden antlers sprouted from his temples and his hands became like branches. His eyes flew open, revealing ones mirroring the beasts.

He quickly picked up the lantern so the snow wouldn't put the flame out. He looked back at the wide eyes of his friend and the woodsman. Then his eyes fell on Greg. He quickly grabbed an ax and freed his brother from his prison. Greg's eyes opened a little. "Wi...rt?"

"It's  alright, Greg," he said in a voice that was a strange mixture of his own and the beast's. "I will get you home."

"W-what about...you?"

"Shh." He picked Greg up along with the lantern. "Now stay awake, alright?"

Eventually, Greg disappeared from Wirt's arms. The teen knew that Greg would be okay, but he felt a severe sadness as his brother disappeared. His hands gripped the lantern, knowing that it now held his own soul.  He was now the Beast. He could never go back home.

He looked down at his wooden, treelike hands. What had he become. His head was heavier with his antlers and he could see better in the dark. "At least Greg is safe."

"Wirt!"

He turned to see Beatrice flying towards him. "Where's Greg?"

"He went home," Wirt said quietly. He dug in his pocket, pulling out the scissors that he had stolen from Adilade. "Here."

"What?"

"The scissors. They can make your family human again."

"Wirt..."

His multicolored eyes swirled sadly. "Go on...get going."

Beatrice knew that if she took the scissors and went back to her family, Wirt would be all alone to deal with his new transformation. Her eyes filled with tears as she took Wirt's gift. She quickly wrapped her wings around his shoulder. "You wonderful mistake of nature!"

Wirt put his wooden hand on her to hug. The act had the opposite effect on her as she no longer felt the warmth from his body. "I-I've gotta go."

"Goodbye  Beatrice."

"Goodbye Wirt."

So Wirt wandered through the woods. He kindled the fire from lost souls that found themselves in the Unknown to keep the Beasts, no his soul alive.