Chapter Text
Darkness. And more darkness. It was finally quiet, the voices, the colors, they all were gone. For the first time in a long while, Derek felt like himself. In this black and endless void he finally admitted what he was, just a boy. A young, scared, too smart for his own good and way too unlucky kid.
In the darkness Derek was faced with all the what if’s, what if he had been the vessel, what if he had never taken that code class in high school-and most of all-what if he hadn't met Avery? He was just a boy too, not one who should have been in this mess, not one who should have been burdened by the weight of the world. Derek didn't really know Avery -at least not personally, of course- he knew about Avery, he knew everything about Avery. When he had all the knowledge in the world he knew Avery. He knew everything about him, his brunette hair, the freckles on his face, and those pale green eyes. He knew all his quirks, all his likes, all his life.
Was he interested in Avery because of that? No that really wasn't true, Avery was the vessel, the one he was destined to meet, to help, to die for.
Was he really dead? He was awake, aware. He could think and ponder, but there was no time that crept on, and no body for him to move.
“Well, death isn't that bad, especially if it's this.” Derek told the dark, though he knew he wouldn’t get a response back.
Did his head hurt like this before? Derek felt a sudden pain through his temple, dull and heavy. The darkness -which once felt soft and numbing- was now overwhelming and suffocating. The darkness grew from, and so did Derek, the darkness seeping into the holes of his face, clogging his mouth, nose and eyes. Derek could finally feel -and it was horrible.
He clawed at his face, as the darkness poured into him like tar, suffocating him. He writhed in his mind, his skin unraveling, falling off of tissue, muscle, and bones.
And just as his consciousness was thrust into oblivion, he heard a voice-one he had only heard in the most precious corner of his mind. “DEREK!” And then it was over.
****************************************************
Avery ran. He ran like his life depended on it, and in a way it did. Derek’s life depended on it. Worse-case-scenarios ran through Avery’s head, what if what he said was right? What if the King had truly taken Derek down with him, as he had promised? What if he was too late? What if Avery couldn't find Derek on time?
He burst into his dad’s office, the door echoing in the empty house. Avery ran to the monitor, flicking it on as he passed. He pushed back the chair at the desk, choosing to stay standing. The screen flickered to life, the default background of rolling hills opening on the screen. Avery put in the password. He learned it a while ago, when his father left the password in, forgetting to log in. Avery had committed it to memory. He hadn't known if he was ever going to use it. He thanked his former self now.
The computer opened, pulled up to the criminal database of the whole state. Avery skillfully switched to the civilian records, he had seen his father do this a thousand times. Avery clicked on the search bar. ‘Derek’, he typed in.
500 results. Shit.
He narrowed it down. Only nearby towns. 72 results. Still not close enough. Under 20 years of age. 40 results. Over 17 years of age. 10 results.
Avery wasn't sure why he was so confident about Derek's age. He could just be a very smart teenager. Or an old guy who likes Minecraft. But Avery was sure, Derek was one of these 10 names. One of these ten faces.
Derek Rudenburg-17
Glennbrook High School
Average grades, had gotten in trouble with a cop for smoking weed.
“Probably not him,” Avery thought. There was no way that Derek had ‘average’ grades. No, Avery had to keep looking.
Derek Johnson-20
College student, attends local college
Address registered with a dorm on campus. Multiple penalties for consuming alcohol underage at a party. Takes mandated drug education classes, has a suspended driver's license.
Not him. Shouldn't someone who was big on parties be at one on New Years?
The next one -a boy who dropped out of school at age 16- currently an electrician. Nope, not Avery’s Derek.
And at last, at long last, Avery found him. His Derek.
Derek Taylor-19
Attends an Ivy League college far down-state. No altercations with the law. Drivers license was taken out on his 16th birthday.
Of course, this was D3rlord. This was the one. Avery knew it in his core that nothing less than someone who attended an Ivy League school would be able to solve a… what was that cipher called? Ah yes, a stacked cipher.
Avery opened a new tab, and looked up the name of the school. On break. Three weeks for the holidays. He went back to the database. Derek owned a small house in the neighbourhood. In. The. Neighbourhood. Less than ten blocks away. That's how close this boy was.
With increasing urgency Avery closed the database, signed out of the computer. He knew it was sloppy but Avery didn't care, he was running out of time. He could explain to his father if need be. Avery bolted to his room, the monitor still displaying a death message.
“D3rlord, im coming for you.”
****************************************************
Avery biked out of his house less than a minute later. The streets were dim, lights pooling in long stretches of asphalt, shadows creeping in unlit corners and shrubbery. Avery sped down the road, phone in hand. He knew where he was going.
Left, right, straight, right and left again. The houses were cloaked in darkness, street names and house numbers practically illegible at nearly 12 am in the middle of winter. Speaking of winter, Avery was freezing, his hands and face numb from the bike ride where they stuck out of the big winter jacket Avery threw on. But Avery would freeze a million times over to save the boy who had saved the world.
House number 240, McFarland Dr. The house was a small, ranch style home. This was it. Avery threw his bike on the frozen grass and ran up towards the house. He ran to the back, the door to the back entrance locked. But Avery came prepared, he grabbed the baton he stole from his father’s case… and smashed it right into the sliding glass door.
The crash echoed in the silent night. But there was no time to worry whether this would be a problem later, all that mattered was saving Derek. He climbed in through the door, cutting himself on the broken glass. The pain didn't register. A room down the hall had a light on, the neon colors lighting up the hallway through the cracked open door.
Avery ran into the room, ready for anything, ready to help. What he saw… it suddenly made the events of the past day real.
Black goop coated the desk and gaming chair right next to the bed. It was everywhere, on the floors, the walls and… a boy with raven black hair. Derek-it could be assumed-was writhing on the floor, his hands covering his face as he thrashed on the ground. Avery stood frozen in the door, he was not ready for this, he wasn’t rea- “DEREK.”
Avery rushed to Derek, his thrashing stopping in favor of twitching. Avery didn't know anything about medicine, but he thought this was how people looked when they have seizures. Avery prayed this wasn't a seizure.
“Hey man, wake up, snap out of it!” Avery yelled, trying to pry Derek’s hands from his face.
“Derek please!”
Finally Avery was able to pull Derek’s hands away. Derek gasped and coughed for air, black bile flowing from his mouth and staining Avery’s hands where they still grasped his. Avery recoiled in shock, "Why was this black stuff coming from Derek?” he thinks.
“Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me D3rlord?” Avery pulls Derek’s hands towards his chest, pining them there as he grabs Derek's jaw, tilting his face towards him.
Derek’s eyes are firmly shut, but at the moment he seems to not be throwing up any more bile. Good. Avery puts his thumb on Derek’s neck, checking for a pulse. Derek’s heart rate is jackrabbiting under Avery’s thumb.
Relief washes over Avery in waves, followed by a sharp stab of fear, Derek still isn't conscious. Despite the constant shaking and yelling, Derek still hasn't woken up, still hasn't opened his eyes.
Avery pulls Derek into a hug,knowing that it won't help at all. He knows he’s not a medical professional,and he sure as hell should have called 991 at least ten minutes ago. But Avery is selfish, he always has been. So he pulls the boy he’s foolishly tried to save into his arms.
Avery buries his hand into Derek’s black locks as he cries into his neck. Once again he couldn't save him. Once again he's going to need help solving something he doesn't even begin to understand.
The world explodes around them as the clock strikes midnight, fireworks going off in droves, the night lit up by gunpowder, the darkness pushed away. Derek is really handsome, Avery finally notes, as if the new year opened his eyes to the man in his arms. His face was sharp, with loose black hair framing his golden brown skin.
And then those eyes open, and Derek looks up at Avery with the deepest brown eyes he’s ever seen. Eyes that have seen the world.
And then Derek speaks, in a raspy, weak tone. “Avery?”