A/N Hello, wonderful Souls! I'm incredibly sorry for the lack of updates. I'm posting two chapters to make up for it. Also, I love writing the interactions between Lorcan and Captain Foxy, and Sky and Second.

Time to answer guest reviews!

Guest-*looks away* I have no idea what you're talking about. Okay, I admit it. You are onto something.

Fluffy543-I think you'll find out why Sky was included. But when people write stories about characters falling in love with YouTubers and vice versa, I don't think that's unoriginal. People can write really amazing stories about that. Also, thanks for the compliment. :D

Disclaimer-I don't own Minecraft or Vampirates.

Chapter 24:

Fated Meeting

The first town that the duo arrived in wasn't that friendly to visitors. That didn't bother Captain Foxy of the Black Pearl. He was expecting that sort of reaction from all of the town. A pirate wasn't usually accepted by people in reality; that was a simple fact of life. He couldn't do anything about it.

It probably didn't help that he was claiming Lorcan was a replacement for a parrot.

"He be me substitute parrot," he told one villager. Said villager regarded him with a hardened glare before going about their day. Lorcan, who had taken to sitting on his shoulder after his wings got sore from flying too long, also glared at him when he looked in the bat's direction.

"It be th' best me can do!" Foxy whispered to Lorcan. The bat crossed his wings and turned away. "Oh, fer Notch's sake, Lorcan! Me know ye be me friend, but me puttin' on a act to make them be more accepting of us!" Foxy gave an angry huff. It was with this anger and exasperation that the pirate stormed out of the village, much to the relief of the villagers and humans that resided there.

Sky was lost.

It was something that he unfortunately had to keep to himself. Telling the already terrified Second the truth was a disaster waiting to happen – ever since they had entered the darkest parts of the woods, Second had been giving tiny, frightened pews. It had taken to staring at the ancient, twisted trees with wide brown eyes.

The other thing that Sky knew he couldn't admit to Second? The fact that he was just as scared himself. These were the type of woods that harbored ghosts. Monsters. Demons. Beasts.

He gulped.

"I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm not scared," Sky repeated under his breath. When Second stared up at him questioningly, he stopped. He had to be brave for Second. If he kept saying that, Second would catch on.

Suddenly, Second started to wriggle about in his arms. Frantic pews left it as it desperately tried to get him to do something. But what could that something be? He finally followed Second's gaze and found himself looking at a pirate.

Sky dove for the bushes, all thoughts of keeping his clothes neat forgotten. The pirate slowly approached. When Sky listened closely, he heard the man singing something with a drunken slur. Sky peeked over the bushes.

In his hand was a bottle labeled "rum" in large capital letters. It didn't take a genius to figure out why the pirate was so drunk. The bottle was practically empty.

"…captaaiiinnn wearrsss a veil ssooo as too cuuurrddle your friighht-Me singing be perfectly fine, Lorcan!" A hiccup escaped his lips after he addressed the bat perched on his shoulder. "No, me not be drunk!"
Lorcan? That name, along with the pirate's sea shanty, sounded suspiciously familiar. But why? Sky continued to stare at the pirate and his companion. It wasn't just the name and song. The voice rang a bell.

The pirate took a swig of rum. When only a pitiful drop fell out, he stared at it accusingly. "Why be th' rum always empty?" he questioned before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

As the pirate made his way down the path, Sky followed him from behind the bushes. Second quietly hopped next to him as they tried to keep up. Luckily, being drunk didn't help the pirate's speed.

The pirate hiccuped. "Me be fine, Lorcan. Me not going to get a hangover-how do ye even know what a hangover be? Ye be a bat!"

Sky had to wonder how on earth the pirate was getting that message simply from the bat staring at him. He glanced down at Second, who was currently next to his hand. He couldn't understand his best friend that well. In order to (sort of) get an idea about what message Second was trying to get across, he would need to see what Second was doing, and hear the tone of its voice. That wasn't foolproof either.

In a scene suspiciously cliché, Sky placed his down on a twig and it snapped. He ducked down as the pirate spun around. Second came to a halt. "Who be there?" the pirate asked.

Sky remained silent.

There was a nervous tone to the pirate's voice. "Who be lurking in th' bushes?" When he still didn't reply, the pirate gulped. "L-Lorcan, m-matey, me thinks th-that we m-might be in th-the company of a gh-ghost."
Sky glanced at Second. He raised a finger to his lips, and after a moment of hesitation, Second nodded to show that it understood. Sky lowered his voice even more than usual. "Halt, mortal."

The pirate froze. "A-Aye?" he questioned.

"I am the ghost of…" Sky scrambled to find an answer. He had to keep up this ruse. As long as the pirate was there, his and Second's lives were in jeopardy. "Herobrine," he improvised.

Second stared up at him with wide brown eyes.

"I am the ghost of…Herobrine," came the ominous reply. Foxy found himself frozen in fear at the name. He had been searching for Herobrine, but had never thought that they would meet like this! Lorcan looked equally disturbed at the response. Suddenly, he became aware of frantic whispering.

He slowly inched way over towards the bushes.

"Second, I'm not Herobrine!" the voice from before hissed. "I'm just trying to trick the pirate. Come on, buddy!"

Foxy finally reached the bushes. He peered down at the boy and the slime hiding behind the brush. Said slime was desperately trying to escape the boy, despite the boy holding onto it as if it was the most important thing to him in the entire world.

The boy sighed. "Fine. I'm Herobrine. You happy, buddy-Ah! Second, come back here!" The slime finally managed to break free from his grasp and had dove for the bushes. It burst out, hopping right into Foxy's legs.

"Ahoy," he greeted it. The slime gave a terrified pew – Foxy shocked by the sound that a slime makes – and stared up at him with wide brown eyes. "Lad, me know yer there. Ye can come out."

The boy nervously raised his head above the bushes. After giving him what Foxy hoped was an encouraging grin, he stepped out from his hiding spot.

His clothes were covered in dirt, but Foxy could still make out distinguishing details. His outfit was completely gray. His brown hair, save for a few stray strands, was in a high ponytail. A golden amulet inset with a purple gem hung above his chest on a golden chain.

Casting a glance at Foxy, he crouched and stared at the slime. "Second," he reassured it. "It's me. Sky. I was lying about being Herobrine, alright?" When the slime frantically shook from side to side (was that its version of shaking its head?), the boy lifted his sunglasses up. "See? I have eyes. Golden ones."

The slime emitted something that sounded suspiciously like a sigh of relief before hopping into the boy's outstretched arms.

"Sky," Foxy repeated slowly. "That be yer real name?" Lorcan sent a curious glance in his direction.

The boy got to his feet. "Yes," he replied, his voice as cold as ice. "Why are you asking?"

He began to pace back and forth in front of the boy, just enough to put him off. He rested his hand – still holding the empty bottle – on his hip, and put his hook to his mouth in what he hoped was a musing way. "Because ye don't exactly sound like Adam Dalbergh."

The boy froze.

Foxy shrugged. "Then again, being stuck in th' game might be messing with yer voice. But me can't exactly wave a piece of gold in front of yer face, or show ye a squid, because Adam Dalbergh would only react in th' game, not real life."

"So where's your proof?" the boy said, crossing his arms.

It was Foxy's turn to freeze – this time in shock. His visible golden eye widened. The voice. How had he ignored the voice?! He had realized that it wasn't the voice of Adam Dalbergh, but he hadn't thought much farther than that! "Th' full name of yer slime be…?"

"Jerry Slimer the Second-"

"Oh my God, it's you!" All thoughts of acting calm and collected were roughly thrown aside as he threw his arms around the boy. The boy gave a startled yelp, nearly dropping the slime in the process.

"Let me go, creep!" the boy exclaimed, trying to break free.

"Me have an ouchie," Foxy informed him after he finally pulled away. He placed a hand over his chest. "In here." He started to walk down the path, glancing over his shoulder. It was all an act, of course. But he couldn't help himself. It was too fun messing with the boy that watched him with confusion in his golden eyes. "Ye would think after all th' time we spent together, ye would think of me in a different way. Me guess best friends forever means nothing to ye?"

Silence.

And then, "Lucy?!"

The pirate grinned. "In th' flesh!"

Lorcan and Second stared at the exchange.