Andy (again)

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I felt a burning pain on the back of my head. I grunted and opened my eyes.

I stared up at a canopy of leaves. The sky hiding behind them was pure blue with wisps of cirrus clouds.

I sat up and looked around.

Giant trees towered above me, their branches swaying in the slight breeze. Vines hung from the branches of the older trees and wrapped around some of the trunks.

Whispers filled my ears.

"...He is not from this world..."

"...He is one of them..."

"....He is her friend..."

"...He looks like one of the Heroes..."

"...Yet he is not..."

"...He merely pretends..."

"...He is in the Goddess's favor, however..."

"...What shall we do with him?..."

I noticed a crystal pool nearby. I suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty I was, so I got to my feet and ran over to the pool. I got to my knees, cupped my hands and plunged them into the water. The water was ice-cold, and I shuddered a little bit. I pulled out my cupped hands and sipped the water. It was refreshing and cold and crisp. But it was also something else. I couldn't put my finger on it.

A giant sea serpent shot out of the water defiantly. Its scales were aquamarine and pearly white, and its eyes were a sea green. One of its nostrils was as big as my hand when the fingers were fully spread.

"Well...He seems a little...Odd..." It hissed in an eerie voice. "Definitely not from Ru'aun..."

"What about Sikaron?" another voice asked. I turned my head. A dragon whose scales were brown and green slipped out of the shadows. Its eyes were green.

A tinkling laughter came from the treetops. A flame colored dragon descended from the canopy. "Definitely not," it purred. "He has absolutely no scent of Magick about him."

"How about...Dagonstone?" the sea serpent asked.

The brown and green dragon snorted in mirth. "Absolutely not. He doesn't even look like any of the tribes or clans whatsoever."

The orange dragon gasped. "What about Earth?!"

The other dragon's eyes widened. "Do you really think he could be?" the green and brown dragon asked in awe.

The serpent sniffed my chest. I backed away nervously.

"He smells like Earth. Petroleum and smog," it commented. "Human, are you from Earth?"

I gulped and nodded.

The orange dragon flapped its wings excitedly. "I knew it!" it squealed. "I just knew it!"

I smiled faintly. They were kind of adorable, once you got past the fact that they were dragons. But my smile faded quickly. I still didn't know where I was, and I was getting a little panicky about it.

"Uh, where am I?" I asked nervously.

The serpent chuckled. "You are in the Sacred Grove, human. May we ask you of your name, dear?"

I started to sweat. "M-my name is Andy..." I stuttered.

The flame dragon nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm....." it said. Its eyes lit up. "Do you know of Lady Irene, Andy?"

My eyes widened. I had said that name several times in the past for Jess. I nodded shakily.

The serpent grew angry. "HOW DO YOU KNOW OF HER IF YOU ARE FROM EARH?!" it roared.

I put my hands up in front of me defensively. "I can't explain it!" I said back. "It wold be too confusing!"

"Explain it to the best of your ability," the green and brown dragon said. "We have enough time."

"Uh..." I said. "W-well...I voice-act for a woman named Jess...Y-you might know her as-"

"Aphmau?" the flame dragon finished. "Oh, yes, we know of her. The greatest legend Ru'aun will ever see. The very reincarnation of the ancient Goddess Irene."

I nodded. "Right. B-but...Uh...."

"Well?" the serpent sneered. "Spit it out!"

"Aphmau created Ru'aun! She created everything in this world that you have seen and ever will see!" I said.

Silence filled the grove.

Jason

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I groaned. My body felt like it had been hit with an iron-clad punch.

Then I remembered Jess and how I had found her on the ground.

(Flashback!)

I quickly opened the office door and gasped.

Jess was lying on the ground, rocking back and forth. She was groaning in pain.

"J-Jason," she stuttered. "I-it hurts..."

I ran over to her and knelt on the ground. "What hurts?" I asked worriedly.

"...E-everything..." she said.

I picked her up and laid her in my lap gently. "It's gonna be okay, Jess," I whispered. "You're gonna be okay. I promise."

She tensed up. A strange whooshing noise filed my ears, then I blacked out.

(End of Flashback!)

My eyes fluttered open.

I stared up at an endless pure blue sky dotted with wispy clouds. The sun shone brightly in my eyes. I squinted.

I sat up carefully and looked around.

I was in some sort of...crater. Blackened stone dotted the area around me, almost as if it was burned. It seemed oddly familiar...

(Flashback!)

"Jess, you ready to build?" I asked.

She smiled. "Heck yeah!" she said happily. "Let's do this!"

We both logged onto Minecraft, got the blocks we needed in our inventories, and began to scoop out the earth. Aphmau destroyed the portal and began to dig the area around it. We kept doing this until we had a sizable crater. We decorated it with the last bits of Netherrack and Obsidian.

"This. Looks. Amazing," Jess said happily. "Thanks, Jason!"

I grinned. "Anytime, Jess."

(End of Flashback!)

I looked around me again, and everything was familiar. I saw the wall at the edge of the crater and instantly knew where I was.

Phoenix Drop.

I saw Jess slumped over nearby. I stood and ran over to her and knelt down. "...Jess?" I asked cautiously. She stirred slightly and groaned.

"Jason, what happened?" she asked groggily. I sighed with relief and smiled.

"I have no idea," I said. "You alright?"

She blinked her eyes tiredly and looked around. "Where are we?" she asked.

"I think," I said. "We're in Phoenix Drop."

All traces of her fatigue abruptly vanished. "...That's impossible..." she whispered, then sat up. I noticed she looked like her Diaries skin.

I looked down at my outfit.

"Oh great," I muttered. "I look like Aaron."

Jess looked at me and stifled a laugh. "Oh my god," she chuckled. "You look like a dead guy."

I smacked her arm. "Did you seriously just say that?"

There was a small gasp and a sob. We whirled our heads around.

A woman stood at the edge of a crater. She looked exactly like Jess.

Tears were pouring down her face, and she whispered a name in disbelief.

"...Aaron..."

Jess leaned in and whispered, "I guess you could say this is a dead end."

I leaned in and whispered back, "You disappoint me as a person."