Chapter Text
Derek hated it here.
He hated being comfortable and cared for, while millions were suffering under the King in Yellow's rule. He hated being trapped in this castle, being held hostage by the thing who looked like his friend.
If he could leave, he would. But it's not like there was any way Derek knew of to get past the impentrable force field around the castle. He had infinite knowledge, but it didn't extend to the King's domain, and now, the entire world was the King's domain.
He just wanted to get out there, find a rebellion, and risk his life if it meant having some chance at ending the King's tyranny. But as it was, he was just a pet.
He spent most of his time roaming the castle, wandering through its long meandering halls. The geometry of the place made no sense, and while at first Derek thought his internal navigation was messed up, he soon realized just how non-euclidian it was. He did this to avoid the King, but when the King really wanted to see him, he'd end up right back in the throne room.
It was unavoidable. The only way to avoid it was by sitting still, but Derek didn't like to do that. It made him feel like a sitting duck. Besides, the King would summon him to the throne room, one way or another. So Derek might as well do what he want.
Derek walked through a long hallway, lit only by torches, until he emerged into a room full of skulls. He sighed in relief, just glad it wasn't an infinitely repeating hallway like what happened one of the earlier times he explored. Ever since then, he'd been sure to disturb something in the hallway, to throw something onto the ground, just to make sure.
The bones were distrubing, and Derek didn't want to question where they came from. Instead, he poked around the piles, looking for interesting items, and when he found a locket, he wasn't disappointed.
The locket had the sigil of the King in Yellow on it, which was to be expected. But it was shiny, and pretty, so Derek put it around his neck, alongside the various other necklaces he aquired. His outfit was covered in chains and other shiny things, and when he looked in the mirror, he glimmered.
There was no pathway out of this room other the one he had come in from. There was no such thing as a dead end, not in the castle. Meaning if he went back through this tunnel, he'd end up in a location different from where he came from. The rooms randomly shifting was confusing, and Derek had yet to understand it, but he traveled the tunnel anyway, because what else was he supposed to do?
It wasn't surprising when he found himself at the throne room. On the throne sat Avery's body, only it wasn't him. Even from a distance, Derek could easily detect those glowing yellow eyes.
He really didn't wanna deal with the King, but it's not like he had any choice. Might as well get it over with. He walked towards the throne, standing face to face with the King in Yellow. Unlike the first time he'd looked into those yellow eyes, it didn't hurt him. At least, it didn't hurt him by inflicting infinite knowledge.
"My Lord, do you like my new gift?" The King asked, positively giddy.
"It's very… shiny." Derek said. "And I do take a liking to the practically of it."
It smiled. Derek kept his face neutral.
"I know you love being shiny." It said. "But if you want to be even more shiny-"
"No. The answer's no." Derek cut off the King before it could even start. He'd recived this proposition before and wasn't interested. He wasn't going to be the King's knight.
"Okay, I'll give you time. When you're ready." The King's eyes drifted to its left, where a full set of armor was on display. Derek knew that no matter how long he was stuck here, he would never wear the armor.
Above the throne was the sword the King wanted Derek to wield. It reminded him of the sword of Damocles, and Derek wondered if the King made that connection. Surely the King had to, with it having all the knowledge in the universe.
"Why am I here?" Derek asked. He didn't wanna deal with the King wasting his time. Though it's not like he's been doing much with his life, anyway.
The King rose from the throne and grabbed Derek's hand. "Follow me!" It exclaimed, and pulled Derek towards a hallway. Derek went along with it, knowing there was no way to truly fight the King's ridiculous whims. He was just lucky the King was nice, lucky it just wanted to parade him around a bit instead of doing something far, far worse, because in that scenario Derek would be just as helpless.
The hallway led to a dining room. The table was long, but there was no one there. The King sat at the head of the table and it lead Derek into the spot to the left of it. The food was snapped into existence, and extravagent feast that could feed far more than two.
The King immediately scooped up a bowl of pumpkin soup, Avery's favorite, while Derek half-heartedly nibbled on a piece of bread. Derek was hungry, but he didn't have much appetite right now.
The King started to talk about today's activities, about all the acts of cruelty he'd done to the people of Earth, in a cheerful, enthusiastic tone. It reminded Derek too much of Avery, and was stark contrast to the King's demeanor while in Minecraft. It was probably just an effect of being freed, Derek refused to believe the King was anything like Avery.
"So, my Lord, how has your day been?" Avery The King in Yellow asked Derek.
"Fine." Derek replied. "I roamed the halls." The King leaned in and listened with interest.
"That's what you do every day." It complained. "You should spend more time with me."
Suddenly, Derek was very interested in his mashed potatoes, and shoved several spoonfuls into his mouth.
Anything to not have to reply to the King in Yellow.
"Anyway, I've been scouring the universe, looking for an other eldritch gods that could pose a threat to me." The King said.
"Oh?" Derek tried to say through his mouthful of potatoes, but it was probably muffled. He would rather the King talk about this than hurting innocent people.
"Yup. Haven't found anyone who's a problem yet though. Most eldritch gods keep to themselves. Like me, they just want a world or a few to conquer. They don't really have any need for Earth."
Now something was nagging at Derek. "How did you get trapped in Minecraft to begin with?"
"It's a long story." The King said. "Let's just say… I've made a lot of… enemies… among other eldritch gods. I got too ambitious. That's my mistake. Anyway, let's continue talking about you."
"Uh huh." Derek said, not bothering to hide his disinterest. All he could think about was Avery. Avery, who's body had been stolen by the being to Derek's right. Avery, who he failed to save.
"Why do you never wanna hang out with me?" It asked. "You liked Avery so much, why don't you like me?"
Derek narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think looking like Avery would make me want to spend time with you? After you stole the body of my friend?"
"Hm."
"What did you even do with Avery? If you're so powerful, why don't you just make him his own body? Why not let him live?"
"Derek… I've been keeping something from you… and I think you're ready to know." The King said with such seriousness, the way Avery used to talk.
"What is it? Does it have something to do with Avery?"
"Yes, actually." The King replied, and for the first time, Derek truly cared about what it had to say. "The truth is… Avery… is me!" It grinned.
"What?" Derek exclaimed. "You're really gonna get my hopes up, just to tell a blatant lie!"
"No, no, I'm not lying!" It said. "Crap. This is all going wrong. Okay. Basically, when I took Avery as my vessel, I didn't take over him. No, we merged. So now, I'm a combination of the King and Avery."
"You've got to be kidding." Derek rose from his seat, pacing back and forth as he tried to process this. "You're not Avery."
"I am though!" The King said, and he just sounded so desperate to prove himself that Derek was inclined to believe he was telling the truth.
"You corrupted him." Derek realized. "You took parts of him, and corrupted them. His love for me. His manner of speaking. Everything about him! And only now are you telling me!"
"This is why I didn't tell you!" It exclaimed. "I knew you couldn't handle it. I thought I could tell you now, that you wouldn't react like this, but I was wrong."
"That's why you kept me alive." Derek continued. "You said you'd dispose of me painlessly, but since you're Avery, or at least part of him, you can't do it."
"Would you have rather I not kept you alive?" It asked, with full sincerity.
"Yes." Derek replied. "I don't want to live with my failures."
"I can't just kill you, Derek!" Avery the King in Yellow exclaimed.
"Get away from me." Derek said, exiting the dining room. "I don't want to ever see you again." It didn't follow him.