Chapter 25:

Perspectives

Lorcan watched Captain and the boy embrace as if they had always known each other. He needed to think clearly, understand what was going on. The boy had called Captain Foxy "Lucy". So Lucy was Captain's real name? But the pirate didn't look a bit like a woman! And from what Capt-Lucy had said, the two of them were best friends. So why hadn't they recognized each other right away? Both of them had unusual appearances. It wasn't like they could get confused with someone else!

He groaned, crossing his wings in frustration. In the process, he almost lost his balance and fell off the branch he was sitting on. He quickly righted himself and resumed watching the two. "You named him Lorcan?" the boy said in disbelief after the two friends broke their embrace. He gestured in Lorcan's direction.

"Of course me did!" Was it just Lorcan, or was Cap-Lucy (Notch, this was difficult) blushing in what he assumed to embarrassment? "He be a bat, me be a pirate! It make perfect sense!"

The boy stared at the pirate. "Why are you still talking like that? I know it's you now."

Lucy lowered his (her?) voice after glancing at Lorcan. Luckily, bats are blessed with excellent hearing. "But Lorcan doesn't know, Di. He still thinks I'm a pirate. Pirate speak is convenient. I was using it to disguise my voice."

Something was wrong here. Something was terribly, horribly wrong. Was he being lied to the entire time? Also, why did Captain have the voice of a teenage girl?!

"You shouldn't lie to him…" the boy – Di – said with the voice of a teenage girl as well. What was going on here?!

"You've been lying to your slime friend over there, haven't you?" Di looked guilty at the accusation. "We've both been doing it. How are we supposed to explain the truth to them? It's easier for both of them if we are what makes the most sense. For me, a pirate, and for you, a boy named Sky. Neither one of us were brave enough to tell the truth, to say that we're merely kids playing Minecraft that somehow got trapped in what we believed to be a simple game."

Lorcan's blue eyes widened. Captain was a player?! No, that couldn't be right! Someone please prove me wrong! Notch, I'm begging you! Just let Capt-Fox-Lucy-whatever his or her name is be a normal, everyday human!

"Hey, James! Get your butt over here!" the girl yelled at the top of her lungs. She had been trying to get him to come check out her discovery, but he had stubbornly remained by the fire. With a groan, she marched on over to the tall boy and tried to tug on the hood of his hoodie.

He swatted her hand away. "I'm not going," he muttered. He rested his head in his hands and stared dismally at the fire. He hadn't moved since she had lit it. They had woken up in the middle of the woods, each quickly realizing who the other was. After that, he had cried. She hated seeing him cry.

"Come on!" she shouted as she resumed her efforts to move him. Like her earlier attempt, it proved to be in vain. She sighed and sat down next to him. "Look, you're upset. I'm upset too, you know." She stared at the fire. "But there's nothing we can do about this. We just have to get home, alright? If you just sit there, we'll never find a way back. So you have to stop pouting. Anyways, I'm the younger sibling in this relationship. I shouldn't be doing all the work."

He finally met her eyes. "I'm sorry…" He remained seated.

She groaned. "Error. Sorry not received. You've got to get your butt off the ground before I take that apology." To her relief, he stood up. She followed suit, and began to walk away from the dying fire. "Standing by the fire doesn't work either, James!"

He silently followed her.

"There's other people here," she blabbed. If he wasn't going to talk, she would do the talking for both of them. "I'm betting that they're players too. I mean, one of them's a pirate with a red guitar on his back." She skid to a halt. "See?"

He nodded.

"God, someone's moody. Look, I'm sorry that I ate the last cupcake. It was your fault for leaving it out-"

"Rita, this isn't a game!"

She stared at him. He looked angry, and that terrified her. He barely was angry. The last time he had gotten mad like that was when…it was so long ago that she couldn't remember.

"We're trapped here, and you keep treating it like it's a fucking joke!" Angry was too light of an adjective. He was furious with her. "The boy standing before you isn't me! And the girl standing before me isn't you! We could die here, Rita! A creeper could blow us up and we're dead! Stare into an enderman's eyes and we're dead! A skeleton could shoot us from the shadows, and we're dead-"

"IF YOU KEEP ACTING SO TERRIFIED, WE'RE DEAD!" He fell silent, staring down at her with wide blue eyes. "You keep thinking of the worst case scenario! Instead of walking around like you're terrified of the world, walk around like you own it!"

He weakly protested, "I don't have your bravery."

With a sigh, she walked over and hugged him. "But you're the strongest person I know, James. Nothing can beat you." After a minute of embracing each other, they finally broke away. "Let's go talk to those players, alright?"

"Alright," he agreed.

They nervously approached the boy who looked like Skydoesminecraft and the pirate. Once they drew closer, she noticed that the boy was holding a slime in his hands.

"There's a bat," James whispered.

She froze. "Where?"

"In that tree watching them."

She turned pale, but still went forward. As long as she didn't have to deal with the bat, she would be fine. The two fell silent once they noticed the siblings.

"Hey there," she began. It was difficult talking to other people. Luckily, she had James there to help her. "I'm Rita Asteri, and this is my older brother, James Asteri. Are you two players?"

The boy and the pirate exchanged glances. "Yes," the boy simply replied. She noticed that he didn't sound like Skydoesminecraft.

"That's a relief," she said with a sigh. "We are too, and we were hoping that we wouldn't be alone. So, what are your names?"

"The name be Lucy Mauseth," the pirate informed her with a mischievous grin. "And my friend is Diane Hunter."

Diane held the slime in her arms a little closer to her chest. "I'm holding Jerry Slimer the Second, but I just call him Second for short."
James gave a shy smile, and took a step forward. "You like CaptainSparklez and that series by Bashur too?"

Diane grinned. "Yeah, I do."

Suddenly, Lucy gestured towards the bat. Rita went even paler at the sight of the black mammal, but only James noticed. "That's Lorcan Fuery II-" she stopped mid-sentence, a worried expression appearing on her face. "Matey, what ye be upset about?" she asked the bat as she rushed to the tree.

The bat crossed its wings and turned its back to her. And, though Rita didn't know how it was possible, the bat had a look of utter betrayal and disbelief on its face as it did so.