Chapter Text
Hopeless.
That's how Derek felt every waking hour. Hopeless and powerless against this thing that used Avery's body like a puppet.
And worst of all, he had to endure the King's games, as he can't leave this world without horrible pain. But the good thing is, that Hastur can't either. It stays in Avery's Minecraft body, yet only has power over his consciousness. His physical body is unconscious at his computer desk. Something it never would have considered to be an option. They are both trapped. Only eachother to speak to while they try to find a way to destroy one another. Derek trying to erase the king from existence saving Avery in the process, and Hastur trying to get out of this digital prison without Derek stopping it.
Derlord has had a lot of time alone to think of a plan, and he has been trying and experimenting, but he didn't find out anything helpful. All he found out, was that he doesn't have to physically be in this Minecraft world to stay sane and pain free. He can simply screenshot any place in that world, and even leave Minecraft. As long as he stares at the screenshot, he's still okay. Useful, but what can he really use this for? He wants to free Avery, not leave him behind.
Worst thing is, the king knows it well and finds it amusing. It thinks that Derek's love for Avery is useful, as it can break his always-on-guard brilliance by simply pretending to be the slime. He fell for it exactly twice. Every other time, he's just looked more distant and distracted, but not trusting of the fake.
Once, Hastur tried to give it all it had. After all, it was born for theatre. It tried to pretend like every other attempt was the king, but this specific one was Avery's consciousness breaking free. Derek believed it for a mere three minutes.
It did that for a reason though. It worries that one time, Avery will be able to break through and take control over his body. Hastur is simply preparing Derlord for that moment to come, so that he wouldn't believe a second of it.
And that day came today.
Avery woke up inside that godforsaken church. He breathed heavily and felt foreign in his own body. His immediate priority was to find Derek.
He ran out and found Derek sat at the front of the church, looking deep in thought.
"D-Derek!! Oh my gosh, you're here! A-are you alright!? Where's the king? Did you kill it?? A-and why are we here!?" Avery ran up to the knight. All he got in response, was a murderous stare of one of Derlord's eyes from under the helmet. The other was hidden by the shadow.
"Didn't you try this recently already?" he replied coldly, looking away in annoyance. "Leave me be. I don't want to do this today."
Avery was completely stunned. What was he talking about? He looked way more tired than the last time he saw him. How long has it been?
"W-what..? Derek, what happened?? I-I feel so weird.. My head is really fuzzy-.. And I can't see anything outside of Minecraft! W-what the hell!? It's like I can't open my eyes outside the game..." He was feeling more and more uncomfortable in his own body. It was driving him insane.
What also drove him insane, is the fact that Derek refused to look at him. He was so distant, as if he was trying to drown out his voice. How could he? He pushes him off the damn platform and thinks he has the right to be moody about it? That was at least Avery's perspective.
The skywars champion, desperate for acknowledgment, put his hands on the knights shoulders. It successfully made the other look at him and stand up to get away from his grip, but that's not what Avery focused on. He realized he had long loose sleeves on, that were definitely not a part of his Hawaiian shirt previously. Yellow sleeves.
"What in the hell...?" Avery thought out loud, looking at himself. Those clothes definitely weren't on him before, that much he at least could remember. A long yellow robe with a big hood spread across his back, and long sleeves that went over his hands if he put his arms down. "Cultish much... Damn. Why am I in this?? Derlord?" he looked at the other.
"Can you stop? I already called out your tricks, I will not fall for this again, monster," the knight almost spat venom. At this point, it left Avery more hurt than confused.
He hated that Derlord could never simply explain something when asked.
"Monster..? Derek god dammit what are you talking about!? Explain something for once! I won't let you keep information from me again! Not after last time."
Der seemed touched by that specifically. He looked at Avery with aversion, as if he didn't want this conversation to take place.
"Stop," Derek's voice softened. "Stop using his body..." He looked away, his fists clenched. "What is it that you want to achieve with this? Amusement? Just- please, find a different form of entertainment."
Oh. Now Avery gets it.
Has he really fused with the king? Derlord's plan failed, it didn't die and just took his body? What an important piece of lore the slime has missed. It all made sense now.
"Oh... Derlord, I'm not the King in Yellow! It's me!!" he put his hands on his chest. "I swear it's me! I've never been more sure of something.. I'm me, and I'm standing in front of you, I just- need you to believe me... Believe me, and then tell me what happened while I blacked out," he added, taking a few steps closer to the lord.
Derek's hands shook. He wanted to give in, to once more pretend to feel the warmth of Avery's hand on his cheek. But he can't. All that's left is a cold residue of what Avery once was, and all that brings to Derlord is a shiver down his spine. How much longer will he have to bear the cold?
Admittedly, Hastur is definitely becoming better and better at acting. This is already better than it's last attempt. And the one before that. It had his Minecraft body, his memories, it could definitely replicate Avery's quirks way better than all the way back in the disappearing mountains. Too well, Derlord would argue.
"You're this unknowable, powerful creature, yet you can't go a few days without something to entertain your sickly cravings?" asked Derek coldly. "You disgust me. How many times have you tried to fool me? Are you simply doing it to get a kick out of my suffering, or are you planning to use me if I fall for one of these tricks for long enough? You're dumber than I thought if you're attempting the latter. I'm already used to these disgusting schemes of yours, and I will never fall victim to them again. You are not Avery, and you never will come close to what he was."
Avery was swallowed with desperation. Derlord was serious, and the slime was glad he was hard to trick, but now his brilliance could be Avery's doom. Who knows when his consciousness would be able to shine through again. But if the king is so good at impersonating him, then how can he prove he's the real one?
"P-Please, Derek, look at me, it's me! How can I prove it to you? I'll do anything! You know I would! Anything for you," he grabbed the knight's hand, but his attempt was pushed away quickly. "You saved me once already, and you can do it again! You're so smart compared to me, I-I can't get out of this alone... Please, just believe me!"
"You will get nowhere with this pointless flattery, Hastur," Derek glared at the desperate slime in front of him, and yet he didn't want to go away. He had hope, hope that grabbed onto his heart and refused to let go. He could just walk away at any time, but he refused. Not until he gets confirmation that this indeed is a cruel trick.
"I-I'm not that thing!! Derek, please, I-... I don't want you to look at me like that, it's the worst anyone's ever looked at me! I want to have a chance at getting to properly know you.. It's only fair with how well you know me. I owe you my life, I don't want that effort to be gone because I wasn't good enough! I-I want to convince you, let me! A-at least let me try..."
Der's efforts to stay stoic faltered. All these words felt so real, so true, but the lord has felt himself loose his mind lately, and not for the usual reasons. Hopelessness getting to him, he felt like he was getting worse and worse at truly differentiating the truth from illusion. That's what weeks spent with that creature did to him. Weeks? Has it been weeks, or days? Or maybe even hours? Derek felt sick again.
Yet when the champion grabbed his hand once more, he didn't take it back. His touch felt just as cold as always, as Avery sandwiched his hand in both of his in a pleading matter.
"I can't," Derek's voice softened. It's hard for him to be cruel to this face, no matter who wears it. "I will not trust you." His light scowl completely faded when he saw tears in Avery's eyes.
The slime lifted Der's hand, and desperately put it on his own cheek. It felt so right on his face, that he wished he could wrap himself around Derlord and never let go. And he knows Derek would let him if he only believed he was who he said he was.
"Please.." Avery begged, his voice shaking. He felt tears leave his eyes when he caught Derek's gaze from under the helmet. He didn't know what else to say, he could barely think.
But Derek felt conflicted. As he felt Avery's lime tears slide down his fingers, he stared.
It made no sense.
Hastur cannot cry.
No matter how hard it tries to act it's heart out as innocent Avery, it can't control the way his body reacts to strong emotions. At least that's what Derlord believed. No matter how hard it begged in Avery's flesh, no tears would ever leave his eyes, as if it still wasn't fully merged with his mind and body.
Of course it could learn. It's attempts always consisted of learning from previous mistakes and getting better from them, like some sort of an eldritch machine. But this was still an interesting change.
He relaxed his hand on Avery's cheek, letting the slime melt into his touch. He lightly moved his thumb in the process. Avery's tearful eyes lit up.
"You don't even know how desperately I want to believe you," Derek said, quietly. His tone so soft, that it seemed he tried his hardest not to harm Avery any more with it.
Avery's heart ached, and his head hurt more and more. There was no hope left, but he trusted that Derek would be able to set them both free.
He trusted Derek more than himself. He would give him his life if he only asked.
But before he got to say anything, he felt his own thoughts slipping away. His eyes widened, and as he desperately tried to utter a word of warning, he blacked out once more.
His... It's eyes closed shut, and then slowly fluttered open. A wide grin appeared across it's face, as it leaned into the knight's touch.
"What a shame," it began. A drastic tone switch, even if it still possessed Avery's vocal cords. "You truly are a genius." It turned it's face slightly towards the lord's hand, clawing into it with the hand it had atop it. Suddenly, it bit into the gloved finger with surprising strength, and an uncomfortable shine in it's eyes. "But I was close this time. I will catch you off guard eventually, my knight."
Derek snatched his hand away immediately, his heart beating faster. It's back.
But it seemed less confident. Another hint that perhaps Avery has just spoken to him. It made Derlord feel more hopeful, that maybe Hastur is starting to loose hold of Avery's consciousness.
When Derek backed up, the yellow king lost it's balance and it's whole body shifted unnaturally. It shook, jiggled and turned in ways that made sense for a slime, but that Avery always chose to avoid to appear less uncanny. Hastur did not care about that. It used the abilities to it's advantage, changing the body's shape often.
Once, yet Derlord wouldn't be able to say the exact date of the event having lost track of time, the king melted onto Derlord's frame in a disturbing way, gluing itself to his back and shoulders when Derek tried to leave the area to explore the other words in search of something helpful. Like a clingy lover, it wouldn't let him leave. What a pathetic excuse of a god, dependent on it's knight.
But remembering that, Der realized he could use this to his advantage. The king was clearly drawn to him for some strange reason. Maybe if he plays along, it will be easier to outsmart?
While deep in thought, Der didn't notice Hastur grabbing his bitten hand once more.
"You're disgusting," Derek spat coldly as the yellow god licked the bite mark like some sort of an animal. A beastly predator with the theatrical mask of a victim. Derek pushed it away.
"You seemed hopeful," it spoke. "I am quite taken aback by your level of desperation. It surprises me how you still find hope in those soulless eyes, Derek Hutchins." It manually blinked at the mention of it's vessel's eyes. Something it also doesn't do often.
"Do not utter my full name with his mouth," Der scowled. "I am not desperate."
Eventually, the god stepped close enough to make Derek's back get stopped by the wall of the church. What a useless building.
"Your longing gaze speaks otherwise, my little lord," it replied, smiling. It grabbed onto Derlord's chin, refusing to make the other look away. A drastically different form of affection than what that same hand did before, gently grabbing Derek's hand. The lord started to suspect that it really wasn't a mere act. "He's gone, Derlord3. There is nothing to search for so keenly in my frame everytime I pass by."
But Derek remained sceptical. Perhaps there is still hope. And he would figure out a plan with it's remains.
*
How long has it been again? Derek can't remember, but he can tell he's been thinking a lot. Avery's life depends on him, and he can't stay unconscious for so long.
It'd be helpful if he at least knew how long it actually has been. If infact weeks have passed, then it was too late. Avery already died from dehydration. But then would his consciousness still be able to function? Maybe it really wasn't Avery, but just the king showing it's amazing acting skills? Or maybe it has only been a few days.
Derlord came up with something though, and that's what's important. Even if it was already too late, at least Hastur would be without a vessel, and hopefully without a way to ever enter the real world.
He just needs to be convincing.
He spotted the king inside of the church, looking like it's trying to get used to Avery's fluid slime body. He stepped closer with a face that almost showed defeat, as if he has gave up on trying. He hoped the act wasn't too obviously fake.
"My king," he started, catching Hastur's attention immediately. He felt it's eyes on him, wide and intrigued.
"Oh?" it replied. "You have certainly caught my attention, my little lord." It grinned sickly. "Continue."
"I.." Derek signed, lowering his head and putting his hands together. He interlocked his own fingers, and continued, "Forward I give my devotion, and a plan for glory. I know how to get you out, my king, and I want to aid you, as your knight."