Chapter Text
Avery had always been afraid of death. He’d been terrified of it for as long as he remembered- maybe that’s why he was still searching. Because this seemingly random guy on minecraft- D3rlord3- had given his own life to save Avery’s, without hesitation, and because of that, Avery, for just a fleeting moment, did not fear death-
He feared it would find Derek.
When fireworks had erupted in the sky, when the red ‘you died’ screen had appeared, Avery learned two very important things;
What it felt like to lose someone that important to him and what Avery himself was capable of.
And so, Avery began to search, starting with the strange code Derek had send him- it had to mean something, and judging by the video that youtuber had uploaded, it could be a google drive link. If it had worked to get information out once, then surely Derek would use it again, right?
It worked, and many tears later, Avery had Derek’s ‘final’ letter, his footage, and most importantly, Derek Benjamin Hutchin’s full name.
He could work with that- he could find the other using that.
Avery knew Derek had to live nearby- there was no other way for the blonde to get his laptop- so all he had to do was find where the other was; preferably before others did.
Which led to a cold day on January 21st, where the blonde was standing outside of an apartment complex.Derek had only been two blocks away from Avery’s own apartment, the knowledge causing just a little frustration.
All this time, the two of them had been this close-
Whatever.
He’d talk to Derek about it later.
Picking the lock to enter the building was easy, Avery taking the elevator up five floors and then heading to the end of the hallway, where apartment 211 was-
Derek’s apartment.
Avery easily managed to get in, noticing that there hadn’t been a scent of decay outside-
That, paired with how Derek’s name was still on the mail box downstairs, meant Avery had arrived on time- before others had noticed something was wrong.
Perfect.
Inside the apartment smelled foul- like mold and grime and decay- forcing the blonde to quickly close the front door behind him- He didn’t want other people to know something was off.
The apartment was… clean, for the most part, which made sense- most of the rooms hadn’t really been used in a long time, so aside from dust there wasn’t really anything too noticeably ‘wrong’-
Avery DREADED opening the fridge though- that was going to be a rough cleanup.
…Derek first, cleanup of potentially really gross fridge later.
The apartment was fairly small, so it wasn’t too hard to find where the other was- still slumped over his desk, though the signs of decay were obvious- it would be very difficult to get rid of the stains left behind by the liquids the corpse had leaked.
“...Not important right now.” Avery spoke, slowly approaching the corpse, placing a gentle hand on its shoulder. “What’s important is that I’m here now. Sorry it took so long, Derek.”
The corpse didn’t reply, but Avery could feel the bones through the other’s hoodie- could feel how the rot and decay had taken hold and been eagerly consuming the other's flesh.
“Nobody was concerned when you didn’t reply or respond to anything for weeks, huh?” Avery asked, a small, sad smile on his face. “I hate to say it, but I was kind of hoping for that. It’ll make things easier for me, but… man… how could you not be missed?”
Avery’s smile faded.
“...How could they not… notice you not being there…?”
It hurt to think that this could’ve been the end- this could’ve been how Derek Hutchins- brilliant, wonderful, kind-hearted Derek Hutchins died.
Alone.
Abandoned.
Forgotten.
…Had the king shown him… THAT thing? Had Derek known? Nothing in the way the other talked had suggested he knew what Avery was capable of… so… he probably hadn’t known. If he had, he would’ve told Avery his address- would’ve been up front about his plan right away.
…Then again, Avery didn’t exactly REMEMBER what he was capable of until Derek had already pushed him off of the platform, so it wouldn’t really have made a difference, probably.
“...I’m… let’s get you to bed.” Avery sighed. “You’re lucky that I know how to 'relax a corpse'- wouldn’t want you to feel more sore than you’d have to- I want you to have easy entry.”.
Best case scenario Derek wouldn’t feel sore at all- but that all depended on things out of both his and Avery’s control.
Getting the body to the bed was a bit of a struggle, relaxing it enough for what was going to happen was even worse- but after an hour and a half, Avery could get a good look at the damage.
It was bad. As expected.
Most of the soft tissue was gone, with insects and microbes having consumed most of it. Avery knew that underneath the skin, there were only bones and the tough connective tissue left.
…Yeah, awful.
The blonde took a deep breath.
Get rid of the bugs
Clean the home so Derek doesn’t have to come back to a place that’s filthy, and then… resurrection.
…Or maybe something in-between the clean and resurrection? Once Derek was back, there’d be no way to undo or change anything, so… Avery would have to think about what he wanted.
And how he wanted to go about it.
…He could think while he cleaned the place- while most of the apartment just needed some dusting, Derek’s room was a mess.
It’s a good thing Derek had plenty of cleaning supplies, because hoo boy had his room needed a good clean. Avery was proud of the work he had done, though- if you didn’t know any better you’d completely miss the stains on the floor and desk!
The fridge had… not been as bad as Avery expected it to be- just some salads that had turned to mush and dairy that had definitely gone bad, but due to the fact everything else in the fridge had been in containers, it had been easy to just… throw those out- Avery could buy Derek new Tupperware if the other would be upset about it.
With the home tended to, and the windows opened to let in fresh air, it was finally time to tend to Derek himself-
To bring him back
Avery knew how to bring the other back- he knew several ways, actually, but… which one to pick for this situation.
This wasn’t like the previous times- grieving families seeking him out, willing to sacrifice everything for just a few more years together. This time it was personal, and of course that meant complications.
…First time that Avery would be sacrificing something to bring someone else back, and given that it had to mean something…
Avery thought about it.
…He could… sacrifice his memories- not enough to forget everything he was capable off, but… he had a LOT of memories, and the blonde wasn’t doing much with 90% of them. He could… realistically… sacrifice most things, and just remember his origins and the last few years. He could do that- And with how Derek feared being forgotten…
…It fit….
It was a worthy sacrifice.
Avery smiled, glad to have gotten that part of the plan squared away, but…
The blonde frowned, reaching into his bag to take out two items; gardening shears and a glass jar containing… it.
A calcified object, with pale green light shining trough the cracks.
…He could use that, but… if Derek would ever learn about it he’d probably freak out.
…Eh, he was already going to learn about Avery being able to do this in the first place- that thing was probably the least messed up part of all of this. The blonde wanted to make sure he and Derek would both live, and with that thing, he could make sure they both lived or died together.
So into Derek’s chest it went, Avery making sure to remove the remains of the other’s heart as the body began to heal.
Derek figured out what it felt like to be flattened by a steamroller. It was not the sort of feeling he’d recommend, but he was experiencing it.
…Which… he knew was weird- he was not supposed to be able to experience anything anymore. He was supposed to be dead, and for a while he had been, shrouded in a comfortable, cozy nothingness.
It had been peaceful- so incredibly peaceful.
Part of Derek wished to return to that place, but another part of him was screaming that he was alive- he should not want to go back.
…How… was he alive?
“Hey. Easy there…” A voice sounded, followed by a gentle touch. “Take it easy, don’t try to move yet.”
Derek knew that voice- he had never heard it, but the knowledge of who it belonged to had been forced upon him.
“...Avery…?”
“The one and only”
Derek tried to look over- tried to open his eyes, but it felt like his body just didn’t want to move-
“Easy. Easy…” Avery hummed, voice sounding closer. “Your body still needs to adjust. It’ll be a while before you can move- about 5-6 more hours I think?”
“What… happened?”
“You… saved me, Derek.” Avery spoke, a hand touching the other’s cheek. “You took down the king, he’s gone now, and I… I couldn’t… let you die for me”
Derek was confused- what…
“...Did you do… something?”
“Yeah, but I’ll talk about that later, for now… can I just… stay with you?”
Avery sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
“...Of course.” Derek spoke. “But if you hug me I can’t… hug back yet, apparently.”
Derek had tried to make it sound like a joke, but the words had barely left his throat before he could feel arms wrap around his chest, and hair pressed against his cheek.
“I was so worried about you,” Avery confessed. “I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to find you.”
“What can I say…?” Derek sighed, wishing he could hold Avery as the other quietly began to cry.
It was over now- Avery didn’t have to worry about the other anymore. Derek was safe, sound and alive.
Avery had managed to save him- he did it.
It was over- it had to be.