Chapter Text
Avery stares at his screen.
It’s him.
He actually found him.
“Holy shit,” he breathes, and starts typing. It takes effort, if he’s being honest. Every tap of the key feels heavy, and before he even has a chance to make his brain work again, that guy has cracked a joke.
>d3rlord3: You’re not a very hard guy to catch you know
>d3rlord3: Avery
Avery’s face feels warm. Which could mean nothing.
>TheMostMayo: it’s you
>d3rlord3: Me
>TheMostMayo: I found you
>d3rlord3: That you did
He can feel his throat close up. What the fuck. He’s-- this guy, this guy who went out of his way to warn him, now he’s right in front of Avery, and all he can say is “it’s you”? Oh, God, he must think he’s dumb as hell. Maybe. But for some reason, his response almost seems… Affectionate?
No, Avery’s just insane. That’s well established by now.
>TheMostMayo: oh my god i found you
Is he capable of saying anything else? Probably, but his mind is stuttering and this is about the only coherent thought he has at the moment. Can you blame him? Some 13 hours in front of a screen searching for a player on a single-player world who he doesn’t even know, you try that and then try to string together a semblance of thought when you actually find him.
On some level, Avery wasn’t expecting this. Part of him was worried that-- well. That he would be too late, for whatever all this is. Or that all this is some wild dream he cooked up after passing out from too much wine and cheese (he’s not really a wine and cheese guy, but y’know, New Year’s Eve isn’t complete without wine and cheese. According to his mom, anyway).
But this is real. The light of his laptop overpowers the faint streetlights outside his window. The sound of his heart pounding drowns out the noise being made by his family downstairs.
>TheMostMayo: i was starting to think I’d never find you
>d3rlord3: What can I say
Okay, the thoughts are starting to organize themselves a bit better now. Avery starts typing, rapidfire, afraid that if he doesn’t, this guy will disappear on him.
>TheMostMayo: are you okay??
>TheMostMayo: what happened
>TheMostMayo: why did you leave that in my world
Fuck punctuation, he needs answers.
Luckily, he doesn’t have to wait too long.
>d3rlord: I’ll be honest I wasn’t in the best state of mind when I left that message.
Yeah, that much was obvious. Filling multiple pages with the same phrase doesn’t exactly come off as healthy and happy. But regardless, Avery feels something inside him twist. There’s… several ways to take that, and he doesn’t particularly like any of them. Especially the worst interpretation.
He’s lost enough online friends, too many to dismiss the possibility. He swallows as he quickly taps out a response.
>TheMostMayo: wdym
>d3rlord3: Did you read the book?
Right, okay, so he did not see that question coming. His brain stutters once more. They’re in a library, there’s so many books here, like, way more than a normal library should have, and not to mention the books this guy left behind, and the… Book in the church.
He shoves that memory aside. It might be a stupid question but clarity is always better.
>TheMostMayo: what book
>d3rlord3: The book in the lectern right about us
>d3rlord3: above*
Oh. Duh.
>TheMostMayo: well you kinda cut me off lol
>TheMostMayo: :p
>d3rlord3: My bad
>d3rlord3: You should read it
>TheMostMayo: ok ok one sec
>TheMostMayo: lemme read it
He steps forward in game, pulls out some wood, and starts to tower. The guy watches him, politely stepping out of the way, but halfway up sends a string of letters and shit.
Did he just have a stroke? Did the guy he spent 13-something hours to find just die at his keyboard?
>TheMostMayo: ??
He keeps going to get to the top. A beat or so after reaching it, Der responds.
>d3rlord3: Don’t worry about it just read the book
Oh thank God he’s alive. Okay. Good.
>TheMostMayo: ok lol
Right. The book.
He doesn’t know why, but the entire time he’s been playing in this world, he moves carefully. Slowly. Like anything could jump out and-- what, get him? He has to keep reminding himself this is just a game. But something’s not right about this, and he knows it. Especially now.
In hindsight, he doesn’t know why the book in the church had that effect on him. He still can’t believe he wasted 12 entire hours doing… whatever it was he was doing. It was a strange ritual, what he did. He can’t say he’s never been suicidal, but he thinks if his therapist knew about this, he’d get sent to the psych ward or something.
There’s a real danger folded into the code of this world. It’s just a game. But the danger is real, he thinks.
He clicks the book, and reads. It doesn’t take too long to do so, but his head hurts trying to make sense of it. A little exposition would’ve been nice. But he feels the hair on his arms raise as he reaches the final pages.
Good. Lord.
He digs back down. The rapid crouch he did in greeting was instinctual, and the short, single crouch Der does in response makes him smile. Minecraft players will always be Minecraft players.
>TheMostMayo: what does it mean?
>TheMostMayo: its weird but like
>TheMostMayo: what does it mean
>d3rlord3: Do you know about the king in yellow?
The what now.
>TheMostMayo: No?
Der steps closer. Avery leans closer to his screen, shifting in his gaming chair.
>d3rlord3: Do you know about Hastur?
Who?
This guy is a fucking enigma. Fleetingly, Avery wonders if he ever speaks in anything besides riddles, but the thought is dismissed as too mean. He’s just not as smart as him, that’s not Der’s fault. Avery needs to be nicer, do better.
>TheMostMayo: no
>TheMostMayo: is that the king in yellow?
The conversation that follows is difficult to absorb, to say the least. He wonders how the hell Der has survived this far, if everything he’s saying is true. He’s tempted to believe it, all of it. It would explain what happened at the church, if something supernatural really is at play.
He wants to be insulted by Der telling him to leave. He is, sort of. But not really. Clearly, this stranger is just looking out for him, like he’s been doing this entire time. Unfortunately for him, Avery is known for being stubborn. And he’s grateful for how Der seems to know this already.
At some point, Avery finally manages to interrupt.
>TheMostMayo: hold on. You said this thing is watching, listening to us, right?
He thinks Der seems startled. Hard to tell over a videogame, though.
>TheMostMayo: let’s talk more not on here. do you have discord? can you open it?
Der doesn’t immediately respond.
>d3rlord3: I
>d3rlord3: Yeah, I do.
Avery starts to type his username, but before he can hit send, the app buzzes his phone with a friend request.
>TheMostMayo: how did you know my username
>d3rlord3: I know everything now, remember?
>TheMostMayo: right! cool
His sister would call it creepy, but it is actually pretty cool, isn’t it?
>TheMostMayo: lemme call you
Avery pulls out his phone, accepts the request, and hits call.
His heart is pounding again. What will he sound like? Privately, he’s been imagining the guy with a voice deep and smooth, but he shouldn’t hold expectations like that.
The call melody plays for a few seconds, and just when he starts to question himself over this, Der joins the call.
“Hi!” Oh God he said that way too loud.
“Hello,” Der says, or at least, Avery thinks he says. His audio crackles and echoes badly, and he’s both quiet and gravelly sounding.
“Dude, you sound like shit, are you sure you’re okay?” Maybe not the best thing to start with, and he resists the urge to facepalm.
“I’m fine, I promise. It’s just-- It’s been a while since I’ve spoken. Maybe a couple days.”
“Oh.”
“I’m fine,” he repeats, and the audio sounds a bit better, “I adjusted some of my settings. Clearer?”
He didn’t tell him the audio was shit, did he? No, he didn’t…
Right. All-knowing. God, that’s going to take some getting used to.
Besides that, his voice… Der’s voice. If he flushed from hearing it, no one saw in this dark room, and he sure as hell isn’t admitting to it. He clears his throat.
“Yeah. So…”
“The book.”
“The book,” Avery nods, forgetting Der can’t see.
“Did you see what the book said?”
“Well, it said a lot of things.”
“Right. Some group of people was trying to summon this thing,” he starts, “Some idiots, mind you. They saw it too – at least the one writing did. And he left us a clue: find the doors, and close them all.”
“Like the doors in the giant hallway?” Avery chimes in.
“Right, maybe, but I wager that the giant door at the end might be the more interesting one.”
“Right. So we have to get to it.”
It gives him a bit of a thrill, landing on a concrete goal with Der. They can do this. He can do this!
But the feeling doesn’t last long, because all of the sudden, the library
disappears.
Everything on the screen is black, and faintly, he can hear Der cussing. A buzzing noise builds up on his speakers, in his ears, ringing in his skull.
Avery blacks out, head landing on his desk with an audible thunk. He doesn’t hear Der calling his name.
Avery doesn’t respond. He heard that thunk, he knows what it probably means, yet it doesn’t stop his mind from racing.
Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit--
After a moment of hesitation – a very, very risky moment of hesitation, he knows this, but – Derek pulls out his wooden axe and kills Avery as quickly as he can. Should he hang up on Discord too? Can the King reach him like that, outside of Minecraft?
He decides he doesn’t want to risk it, and leaves the call.
And not a moment too soon, for the King speaks.
“You are awake.”
It’s uncanny. The way the sound is unlocatable. If he didn’t know what he does, he would never be able to figure out where the voice comes from – his mind, the computer speakers, an unseen presence behind him, a loudspeaker outside. It reverbs with a simultaneous clarity, carrying a soft veneer to absolute authority.
Derek refuses to move. Maybe because he’s scared, sure, but more importantly, he doesn’t want to react. Doesn’t want to bring the King’s attention to anything that can be used against him.
“You shouldn’t be.”
He stares at his screen, unblinking. He knows better than to look away, even as that pounding pain in his head begins to thrum harder.
The reek of old smoothie bottles cluttered around him is suddenly nauseating. Mint, chocolate, and soylent have never smelled so rancid.
“You are awake, but you are alone,” The King continues, pausing with the slightest notes of curiosity. The same level of curiosity one uses observing a dying bee, having used it’s stinger, crumpled on the asphalt with trembling defiance. “There is only darkness for you. There is no hope, there is no future – and this is only the beginning.”
He hates how certain the entity sounds. The confidence isn’t boastful, it’s barely goading. The cadence of his voice is almost comforting.
Derek bites the inside of his cheek.
“Today, 724 days after the Genesis, I will fuse with the vessel and finally escape this digital realm. And then your world will belong to its King.”
He knows. This is just a performance. An intimidation tactic, a message. The King probably also knows that Avery will see this, eventually.
It’s disgusting.
“The vessel must remain intact. Its mind must remain clean. You may have moved it, but it will return.”
“It”. His blood burns at the sheer dehumanization. Avery deserves so much better than this, this fucking borderline-perverted moron manipulating him.
Derek holds his tongue, and cradles his rage. Don’t feed the trolls, as they say.
“As for you, you are nothing.”
Does the King know how little he disagrees with that? Because of course he’s nothing. Especially when Avery is everything.
At the same time, it’s why the King is using him like this.
As bait.
After all, in every universe, every timeline, he always arrives at the gates.
“A human has no place in the business of gods. How fearful it must have been, to fall into a realm of which you do not belong.”
(For a brief moment, Derek remembers this is all taking place within Minecraft. Oh, if only he could bring himself to laugh at the King’s face.)
“I will remove you.”
Wait.
“Now, sleep.”
The command is said gently, almost kindly. But Derek knows what it means. And he refuses.
“No,” he croaks, pushing against the forced unconsciousness creeping in. He types.
>d3rlord3: no
“You have no choice. Sleep.” There it is. That increase in volume, the quiver of impatience. The true hue of the color yellow.
>d3rlord3: no
“Your mind is strong, but I am beyond strength. I am… Now, fall.”
His character hits the crimson ground hard, and for a reality-melting second, he can feel the pain in his legs. But the migraine recedes, and he knows what he needs to do. It’s just a matter of how fast he can do it.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Avery?”
He wakes with a gasp, then coughs as he peels his face from the desk, sticky notes clinging onto his hair.
“Y-yeah Mom?”
“Just checking in, honey! You’ve been up here a while, are you sure you don’t want to come down?”
“I-I’m fine! Thanks Mom!”
She hesitates, and for a split second he thinks she’s going to open the door and forcefeed him some crackers and hummus while dragging him downstairs.
“Oookay,” she sighs, “You’re 20, you can spend your New Year’s how you like. Just don’t forget to hydrate, alright, sweetie?”
“Yes, Mom!”
Good God his mouth is dry. He brushes off the sticky notes and snatches his half-empty water bottle from his bag and chugs it, listening carefully to her receding footsteps and her mumblings of “kids these days.”
He can apologize to her later. First, he needs to make sure that… That all of that wasn’t a dream.
… Actually, first he needs to pee.
After skittering to the bathroom down the hall, spending less time than he should scrubbing his hands with water and soap, and dashing back to his room, he flicks on the lights, closes the curtains, flops into his gaming chair, and re-opens the world file that shouldn’t exist. Absentmindedly, he notices his video recording stopped. He doesn’t bother starting it up again.
When the world loads, he’s in front of the gate. The one in the tunnel.
Right. Okay. He… Did he die? He remembers talking to Der, remembers things going black, and then… nothing. So, he must have died, right? And it put him back at the start. Which generally makes sense for videogames, but not necessarily for Minecraft. He doesn’t have a respawn point here.
He checks his phone. Discord is still on, and he’s still in a call, but he’s the only one there. He must not have passed out for too long, but where did Der go?
Damnit. God dammit, he finally found the guy, and he just! Disappears! Again!
Avery growls in frustration, and leaves the call.
“Right. Let’s do this one more time.”
Traveling through the doors and their dimensions is a lot quicker now that he knows what he’s doing. He wonders if maybe he could’ve gotten to Der sooner, could’ve avoided that weird blackout, if he knew all this the first time. If he were just a little smarter, a little bit better at puzzles, a little bit more like Der…
Guilt stabs his stomach. He’d better fucking be there.
He’s a few doors in when Der appears in the chat, and he nearly loses all his breath in relief. He doesn’t pause to type, and immediately calls Der.
“Derlord?”
“Avery, listen,” He starts, but Avery interrupts.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m okay, but I--”
“What happened, I just, I like blacked out, and I woke up in front of the gates again?”
“Back in your world?”
That’s a weird question. But, he probably has a reason for asking.
“Yeah, back in my world.”
“Okay, listen--”
“What happened to you?” Avery tries to ask, but Der keeps going.
“I need you to hurry, we don’t have a lot of time. You’ve seen the tree, right?”
“Yeah, the big one on the disappearing mountains.”
“Right. You need to get to the top.”
Avery isn’t stupid. At least, he’d like to think he isn’t that stupid. He knows he isn’t always the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to certain things, but this moment isn’t one of them. SkyWars and quick reflexes aren’t his only strengths.
Der doesn’t want him around. That much is obvious. And it hurts to think about.
“Why?” He ask quietly, and he hopes the anger doesn’t show.
“There’s a giant pile of gold up there,” Der says quickly, “I couldn’t get any before, but I need you to collect it and cover up all the doors you can find, like the book said to do.”
Of course it makes sense when Der puts it like that. Of course it does. But…
“At the top of the tree?”
“Exactly. It’ll take me too long to get there, so you have to do it.”
Avery purses his lips. On the surface, it sounds perfectly logical. Get the gold, seal the doors. He hates that this requires they stay split up.
“Okay,” I’ll trust you, “I’ll try.”
Please don’t be lying.
“I’m counting on you.” He… says it without doubt. Avery’s heart wrenches.
“I won’t let you down, Derlord.”
Der… laughs. It’s not a scoff, not derisive, it’s short, but it’s sweet and full of affection and so light, and oh God does he need to say “no homo bro” out loud? … Is he “no homo”? Actually, there was that boy in high school one time, and--
“Derek is good too.”
Derek.
It’s the most beautiful name he’s heard in his life.
Everything is too warm. The room is too warm, his palms are sweaty, his face is burning.
“Got it,” he forces himself to say quickly, maybe too quickly, but better than an awkward pause, “See you soon, just stay there.”
He stares at Derek, so, so tiny and far away on his screen, before turning to go back to the mountain world.
“… Derek?”
“Yeah?”
“Stay on call with me? Please?”
Holy shit, what is he doing.
“Just so I know you’re safe?” He adds, as Derek inhales to answer.
“… Of course. Mind if I go on mute, though? My smoothie slurping can get pretty loud.”
Avery snickers, “Yeah, that’s fine.” He doesn’t know what to make of that hesitation, but he smiles anyway.
It’s okay. They’re not together this time, but they’re not alone either. It’ll be okay.
I trust Derek.
“So how old are you?”
Avery has been peppering him with questions as he’s traversed the stone wastes. Favorite color, favorite animals, how he’s managed “you know what” with the whole can’t look away from the screen thing. Derek knows exactly where he’s going, that he needs to hurry, but he can’t help but savor this moment. He considers himself extremely lucky that this is the timeline he ended up in, the one where they have just a few more precious moments together.
“24,” He says, fully aware of what’s coming next.
“Oh my God, you’re like, ancient?” Yup.
“And you’re a fetus,” He responds easily, with zero barb or malice.
“Excuse me, I’ll have you know I have a credit card and a car!”
“In this economy?”
“It’s an old one, Honda civic--”
“Run over these children with my 2009 Honda civic, I must,” Derek says in a Yoda impression, and the way Avery guffaws is worth it.
“My driver’s license is clear! Slander! Slander and libel!”
“I know you hit that lamp pole 2 months and 3 days ago.”
“Dude.”
Derek can’t help grinning. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“I know,” and oh, he said that so softly. If only, if only, if only.
“You’re welcome.”
“So, do you live alone?”
“Oh my gods, Avery, you can’t just ask strangers on the internet if they live alone.”
“S-sorry! I just meant, like, do you have help nearby, or...” Avery trails off, flustered. Heh.
“I live alone,” Derek admits, “But before you ask, no, I’m not telling you where.”
“Why not?”
“Internet safety.”
“I-- Okay, yeah, but why else?”
“Because I know you’d come after me.”
That got a choked squeak out of Avery, and Derek closes his eyes, just for a moment, to imagine Avery showing up at his doorstep. Avery coming inside, Avery pulling him into a hug, Avery’s lips--
No, that’s not fair to Avery. To imagine such things. Gods, he wants to be closer to him, he wants to spend as much time with him as possible, but he knows what needs to happen. And this isn’t fair to Avery.
“It’s better this way.”
“What is?” He hates how hurt he sounds.
“If anything happens. I don’t want you to be the one to find me.”
“That’s…” Avery inhales, steadying the start of a tremble in his voice. “That’s not fair. You know where I live. Why should you get to decide what I do or don’t risk?”
“It’s okay Avery, I’ll be fine.” A lie.
Avery seems to accept it, though begrudgingly.
“… Okay.”
Silence. Derek crests the top of the stone hill, and a village is revealed, a massive church sat atop the furthest part. A river sits between him and the structures, and he pulls out his boat.
“Derek?”
“Yes, Avery?”
“… I reached the top of the tree.”
Maybe it was a mistake to stay on call. Making his way through the village, he waits for Avery to say something.
“There’s nothing--”
“—Sorry, Avery, you’re breaking up--”
“—Derek, don’t you dare--”
He slams the button to leave the call and quits Discord.
It’s better this way. That’s what he keeps telling himself. He repeats it over and over in his mind, holding onto that thought, holding onto his singular goal of saving Avery.
When his reality becomes glitchy; when his game lags; when his heart skips several beats in fear; when the cathedral goes dark, and the King in Yellow appears. That’s what he holds on to.
It’s okay if Avery hates him. As long as he’s alive to hate him.
Avery hits call as he sprints. And waits. And waits. And waits.
Derek doesn’t pick up.
He races across the stone hills, up the hill to the church. At the far end of the cathedral, the graphics seem to… blur, and darken. He swallows his fear and charges headfirst into the inky void.
Derek doesn’t notice him at first, glancing around panicked at the very disturbing giant eyeballs (???) floating above them. But he spins around when Avery types in his username.
>TheMostMayo: d3rlord?
Derek barely moves.
>d3rlord3: Avery
>TheMostMayo: open discord
>TheMostMayo: now
>TheMostMayo: … Please
He takes less time than Avery wanted to respond.
>d3rlord3: I’m sorry
>d3rlord3: I can’t
Before Avery can respond, he keeps going.
>d3rlord3: what are you doing here
>d3rlord3: Why arent you at the tree?
Is he fucking with him right now.
>TheMostMayo: What am I doing here??
>TheMostMayo: What are YOU DOING HERE??
They were supposed to do this together, Avery is supposed to save him, he can’t save him if he goes off on his own to face an extra-dimensional deity!
Fuming, he presses on, stepping closer with every message.
>TheMostMayo: YOU LIED TO ME
>TheMostMayo: THERE WAS NOTHING ON THAT TREE D3RLORD
>TheMostMayo: What are you doing here????
>TheMostMayo: What is this?
Betrayal. That’s what this is, and Avery knows it. He knew it from the start, when Derek asked him to get the gold, but by God he wanted to trust him, he did trust him.
Derek stares at him for what feels like too long. Way too long.
>d3rlord3: Avery I need you to leave
Damn. He-- he actually said it. God, oh God it hurts. The screen blurs, and he blinks rapidly.
Derek steps closer.
>d3rlord3: now
Avery grits his teeth, and closes the gap between them. There’s no way he’s letting Derek do this to him, to himself.
>TheMostMayo: I’m not leaving until you talk to me
Please, please, please.
>d3rlord3: I’m not talking
>d3rlord3: you have to go
>d3rlord3: NOW
Avery steps back. Derek steps forward.
>TheMostMayo: WHY?
He feels like a child. Like he’s acting like a child, like Derek is treating him like a child. He’s not a child, he is an adult who cares about his friend, and Avery does not abandon his friends.
>d3rlord3: I am finishing the job Avery
>d3rlord3: YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE.
Wh-- “the job”? Does he mean defeating the fucking King in Yellow?
>TheMostMayo: What do you mean finishing the job??
>TheMostMayo: What is this?
Is this the King in Yellow’s domain? Is that where they are? Not only did Derek trick him, leave him behind, he went straight to the final boss? What that actual--
>d3rlord3: Avery I need you to leave this world and then I’ll explain okay?
>d3rlord3: Disconnect
>d3rlord3: right now and ill tell you after
He’s lying.
>d3rlord3: Close minecraft
>d3rlord3: close your computer
He’s… panicking.
>d3rlord3: ill tell you what’s going on soon
He’s lying and he’s panicking and he’s expecting Avery to leave him like this?
It’s Avery’s turn to push back. Derek backpedals as he gets closer, and it stings.
>TheMostMayo: NO
>TheMostMayo: I won’t go
>TheMostMayo: Tell me whats going on NOW
Avery is stubborn. Derek knows this. He thought he respected it, understood why he’s like this.
Please, please, just let me stay.
>d3rlord3: I will afterwards
Stop lying!
>TheMostMayo: I DONT BELIEVE YOU
He ignores the wetness on his face, the mucus building up in his sinuses. This isn’t fair.
>d3rlord3: Avery
And God, he wishes he could hear Derek’s voice right now.
>d3rlord3: I need you to leave or this will all be ruined
Why? Why would him being there ruin things? What is he not telling me?
>TheMostMayo: I’M NOT GOING UNTIL YOU TELL ME
Avery steps forward. Derek steps back.
>TheMostMayo: WHATS GOING ON
Forward. Backwards.
>TheMostMayo: WHAT IS THIS PLACE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Closer. Further.
>d3rlord3: Avery I’m not asking
>d3rlord3: I’m telling you
Push. Pull.
>d3rlord3: if you don’t leave I’ll kill you
The scoff doesn’t reach his heart, which is laying in about a hundred pieces at his feet. He chokes back a sob, and pulls out his wooden sword.
>TheMostMayo: WILL YOU?
A dare. Calling his bluff. He has to know Avery is pretty goddamn good at PvP.
>TheMostMayo: WELL I’LL KILL YOU FIRST
Derek equips his axe. Avery swallows.
>TheMostMayo: TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON
Neither of them move.
>d3rlord3: Avery
>d3rlord3: the only way to stop this thing is to have it merge with someone whose mind is already gone
“Gone”? Wait, wait, merge? No, no no this isn’t-- Derek’s mind isn’t gone, he’s right there still--
>d3rlord3: If I force it to enter my mind
>d3rlord3: as it deteriorates
>d3rlord3: it’ll go down with me
He never said his mind was deteriorating. What-- what does he mean by that? There has to be another way, something they can do to fix this, something that is not this.
>d3rlord3: it’ll be trapped
>d3rlord3: Okay?
>d3rlord3: We will win
And he has the nerve to step closer, as if what he said makes any sense at all, as if Avery’s supposed to be comforted by this.
>d3rlord3: But I need you to leave this area or it wont work
Fucking. Bullshit.
>d3rlord3: If you stay here it all falls apart
>d3rlord3: I have it under control just leave
Bullshit!
>TheMostMayo: And what’ll happen to you?
This is insane. It’s unfair and insane and stupid--
>d3rlord3: I don’t know
>TheMostMayo: Don’t lie to me.
Avery’s response is immediate. Derek knows exactly what’s going to happen, because Derek knows everything. He cannot “not know” anymore.
And then Derek hits him with the axe.
The axe breaks.
Oh.
He really doesn’t want this either, does he?
>d3rlord3: I DONT KNOW
>d3rlord3: My mind is GONE anyway Avery
>d3rlord3: I can’t look away from this computer without horrible pain
Avery knows that, but, that doesn’t mean he gets to just throw his life away--
>d3rlord3: Soon I probably won’t be able to think at all
That’s-- that’s gotta be a lie, right? There’s no way he could get this far if that were the case--
>d3rlord3: If you stay here it will merge with you too
>d3rlord3: That’s EXACTLY what it wants
… Oh.
Avery is the goal of the King in Yellow.
Derek isn’t just sacrificing himself, he’s-- he’s protecting Avery.
>d3rlord3: It will be free in the physical world DO YOU WANT THAT
No! No, of course not, but…
He backs away from Derek, several steps. He bites his lip.
>TheMostMayo: I don’t care
He knows exactly how selfish he sounds, but he doesn’t really care about that either. He can’t possibly let him go, not now, not when they’re so close to doing this together, not when Avery has finally found him and Derek knows him and he was just getting to know Derek.
>TheMostMayo: I’m not letting you do this
>TheMostMayo: There has to be another way
>TheMostMayo: Not this one
Avery hears his sister call up the stairs, just a few more minutes till midnight. The reminder is jarring, but he clenches his fists and keeps his eyes on Derek. Fuck New Years. He won’t enter the new year losing an old friend he just met.
>d3rlord3: We don’t have time Avery
He gets the feeling he meant that apologetically. And he hates that. Hates that he’s still being so patient with him, that he has the ability to weather this stubborn storm he’s brought on.
>TheMostMayo: YES WE DO
But he knows it’s not true. He glances at the eyeballs still on his screen, and suppresses a shudder when it feels like they can see him. The physical him.
>TheMostMayo: There has to be another way d3rlord
>TheMostMayo: please there has to be another way
He’s not getting through to him. He can feel it. Derek might just be as stubborn as he is.
>d3rlord3: Avery you can’t stay here you have so much life to live
As if Derek himself isn’t 24 years old? As if he doesn’t also have life to live?
>TheMostMayo: AND I OWE IT TO YOU
God knows what would’ve happened without him, God knows how long Avery would’ve been stuck at that awful church, God knows that Avery can’t bear the thought of a life without him, it’s not fair it’s not fair it’s not fair.
>d3rlord3: NO YOU DO NOT
>d3rlord3: THAT IS AN INSANE THING TO SAY
>d3rlord3: YOU DONT KNOW ME
But he knows Avery. And God, Avery wants to know him.
>TheMostMayo: YOU WARNED ME DEREK
>TheMostMayo: YOU’RE ONLY PART OF THIS BECAUSE IT WANTED ME
>TheMostMayo: IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT YOU’RE HERE
>TheMostMayo: I’M NOT LETTING YOU DIE FOR ME
This is all Avery’s fault. Why couldn’t he see it sooner? Why couldn’t he be smart like Derek, why does he have to be the one to be saved?
>d3rlord3: AVERY IF YOU DONT GO WE’LL BOTH DIE
Somehow, Avery hadn’t noticed Derek had closed the gap between them. He rushes backwards, knowing that if this were in person, he’d have stumbled and fallen flat on his ass.
This hurts. So. Much.
>d3rlord3: It’s okay you might not even remember me when you’re out of here
>d3rlord3: who knows how this place works
That is the worst possible thing Derek could’ve said, and part of Avery wonders if he knows that. Said it on purpose to hurt him, drive him away.
He refuses to let that work on him.
>TheMostMayo: Even if I don’t
>TheMostMayo: My recording will
>d3rlord3: That’ll do
>d3rlord3: Now leave Avery
>TheMostMayo: No
Avery gets closer.
>TheMostMayo: I’m staying with you d3rlord
>TheMostMayo: You can’t stop me
>TheMostMayo: No matter what you say
>TheMostMayo: You warned me
>TheMostMayo: You saved me
>TheMostMayo: If we’re doing this we’re doing it together
>TheMostMayo: I don’t care
He means it. He means every word of it, and he knows he sounds insane, he knows it sounds selfish, but he means it.
>d3rlord3: You’re staying
It’s phrased much more threateningly than Avery expected. Why is he backing up? Why is Derek getting so close?
>TheMostMayo: Yes
Something’s off. He can hear the countdown start downstairs.
>d3rlord3: You won’t leave?
>TheMostMayo: No.
That’s what he’s been saying this whole time. Why…
>d3rlord3: Avery what’s in your inventory
Huh?
>TheMostMayo: What?
>d3rlord3: What’s in your inventory
Wait is he… He’s letting him stay? Right? He just needs him to check for anything they could use. He’s smart and resourceful, Avery’s pretty sure he just has junk in there, but…
No
No no no no no
>TheMostMayo: ?>wdaswadd
Avery scrambles to hit the keys to move in time, but he’s too late.
The countdown gets louder.
He’s
“5!”
falling
“4!”
>TheMostMayo: WAIT
“3!”
NO!
“2!”
>d3rlord3: Until next time friend
“1!”
<You Died!>
“Happy New Year!”
Fireworks explode outside, flashing colors past his curtains.
Avery’s hands tremble as he stares at the screen.
He can’t bring himself to close the game.
He reaches for his phone to check Discord, but his dad bursts through the door, honking one of those shitty fucking paper horns.
He stops as soon as he sees Avery.
“Wh-- woah, hey, bud, what’s the matter? Everything okay?” He has the decency to lower the festive crap, but Avery turns away, stumbling from his chair to grab a tissue.
“Avery? Aves, what’s wrong, did something happen?” Dad slowly closes the door behind him, and moves to sit down on his bed.
“I—” How the hell does he even begin to explain this? “My friend, Derek--”
“Derek DeMagio?” his dad frowns, “What did that little shit want--”
“No, Dad, a different Derek, you-- you haven’t met him.” Avery blows his nose, and the tears well up all over again.
“Then… Who…?”
“Some guy, I met online-- whatever, point is I. I think he just died?”
His dad’s face crumples with sympathy and concern as the weight of it, acknowledging it, punches Avery in the gut. He falls onto the bed next to him, sobbing, and his dad pulls him into a hug, rocking side to side slowly.
“I’m so sorry kiddo,” he whispers, “I know what that’s like. I’m so sorry.”
They sit there like that, swaying, for a few beats more. Then, quietly, his dad asks, “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Avery croaks, unable to make the words work, and shakes his head.
“Alright. That’s okay, I get it. It’s okay.”
“’S not okay,” Avery mumbles, stuffy with mucus once more.
“I know, kid. I know.”
Eventually, his dad coaxes him into the bathroom, urging him to wash up. “You’ll regret going to bed like that, be nice to yourself. Use a hot towel and brush your teeth,” he said, as if Avery were 10 years old again. For once, he can’t hold it against him.
He pretends to not hear the party crashing to a stop as his dad undoubtedly spreads the word in hushed tones. The front door opens and closes loudly, once, twice, four times as their friends and family file out. Friends and family he didn’t even say hi to.
His mom comes in as he pulls the covers of his bed over himself, facing away from the window.
“Hey honey,” she says, much too softly, and he feels like he’ll shatter all over again. “Dad told me what happened. You doing-- … Of course you’re not doing okay, but I…”
“I’m fine, Mom,” and they both know it’s a lie. But she lets him have it.
“Okay. Okay, sweetie. Just… You know you can talk to us, right? About anything?”
He hums in the affirmative, avoiding looking into her eyes. Burrows his face into his pillow. Pulls his phone closer.
Just in case.
“… Avery.”
That tone of voice means, “Look at me.” He complies.
Her eyes are wet.
“I love you, Avery.”
“… I love you too, Mom.”
Avery has spent the first two weeks of the new year scouring the internet for obituaries, police reports, anything that could help him find Derek. Find… closure.
He knows his name is-- was Derek. He kicks himself daily for not pressing him about a last name.
There is a surprising number of Dereks in existence, for a guy in his 20’s there’s about 39 thousand people named Derek. Avery can’t check every single one of them. So he tries searching somewhere else instead.
His recording.
Maybe there’s clues he left behind, or clues Avery missed.
And that’s when Avery realizes – the string of random letters Derek sent back in the library. It’s not random.
He finds the Google Drive folder. He watches the video.
He reads the letter.
He reads it several times, actually.
He can’t bring himself to believe Derek, not yet. He thinks he’ll be carrying this guilt, this grief for a long time. But he can do more than just remember Derek, because Derek made this with his account.
He finds Derek Hutchins.