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No one would ever expect their first time truly feeling fear to be inside Minecraft.
Avery stared at the screen of the beaten-up laptop as it displayed a death screen. Fireworks went off outside his window; the new year was here. He would never forget that feeling. The fear, the guilt, and the helplessness that mercilessly hit him all at once. Had he just let somebody die? Had he just let Derek die? No, that couldn't be. He refused to accept that.
As soon as he respawned, he rushed, door after door, pushing, sweating, sobbing, yet moving, until he got back to that room. There, he found D3rlord3, still, silent, empty. The creepy yellow eyes were nowhere to be found, the stare gone, yet the feeling of them, the one that gave him chills, remained.
Avery approached slowly what, to him, had become a friend, but he didn't stare back. Instead, he displayed a soulless, blank stare—one that he would never forget. And sure, this was still Minecraft; this was still some stupid children's game, but to Avery, everything felt so very real. There was just no way to explain it, but it felt as if he were looking at a corpse.
"Derek." He started, "Derek, I'm here. I'm back."
Avery pleaded, to no response. He kept going, calling his name, crying for him to snap out of it, begging for this to be some sort of sick joke. How could it be that one of the only people to truly understand him had come and gone so quickly from his life?
But it was true. He had failed; there was still no response. Yet again, Avery had done what he does best: be a burden and doom everyone around him to failure. Except he had really fucked things up for real this time. Thanks to him, someone he cared for, someone who deserved so much, was gone.
"Derek, please."
"Say something, anything."
Suddenly, as if the player had truly heard him, D3rlord3 began to move, his gaze coming to meet Avery's own. Tears began to blur Avery's sight. He had thought that he was completely gone, yet here he was, moving as if nothing had happened.
But something was wrong.
It was that same feeling, the same one he got when his screen went dark or when he entered this very room. Why now? Why would this unease suddenly overpower him when all seemed so still and quiet? And then, he spoke.
"The king whom emperors have served." A voice, so unlike Derek's, yet one that somehow sounded uncannily similar to it, came from the one who was supposed to be his friend.
No. God, no.
There was no way.
Had that thing somehow invaded Derek's mind? Oh fuck this, fuck whatever this thing is planning to do. He was not going to let Derek down, not again. Avery was going to get "The King in Yellow," or whatever D3rlord3 had called it, out of him. He was determined to save him once and for all.
It still wasn't moving. Maybe it was adapting to its new form. Well, Avery wasn't about to let it do whatever it pleased, not when it was Derek's body it had stolen.
Without much hesitation, he launched an attack, immediately attempting to push him off the suspended platform they were on. He was sure that it was much stronger than he was, so this was probably the best bet. Maybe attacking while it was recuperating was a bit wrong, but if he learned anything from games, this was the best plan he could've come up with. Besides, that thing didn't think about right or wrong when he threatened to take over the world and blatantly robbed D3rlord3's body.
But as soon as he was about to push it off, it spoke once more.
"Wait, Avery—"
He froze. The voice he had just heard was gone; it was only Derek's. Maybe it was a trick for him to let his guard down, a ruse to deceive him into stopping. But, somehow, he knew he had to stop. This wasn't the king. It was his friend.
"Derek?" Avery asked fearfully.
Had he just made a bad choice? If this were truly a lie created by that demon, what would become of him? What would become of both of them? There was no way of knowing that then; he would just have to go for it and hope he hadn't just messed everything up again.
"Yes," D3rlord3 managed. "It's me. Though I don't know how."
He sounded much more freaked out than Avery had ever seen him be; well, he did have an understandable excuse to be freaking out in this moment. Who would enjoy having their body taken that way, even if they did inflict it on themselves…?
"You have no idea how much you scared me—" Avery choked out. "I thought you…"
He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence—it was just too horrible to think about. The possibility of someone dying because of his stupidity or his inability to comprehend the simplest of tasks was unnerving to Avery.
"I think I did," Derek said, staring straight at Avery. "I know I did. I was gone, Avery. I don't know how or why I'm back."
"What do you mean?" Avery asked, but he truly didn't want to know.
"I mean, I was dead, Avery, and now I'm not! I know I was, I'm sure of it."
Avery didn't know how to react. What was he supposed to say to that? Oh, glad you're alive, dude, you're a zombie now, that's sick. That sounds insane, doesn't it?! He didn't want to freak Derek out more by freaking out as well, but it was pretty damn hard not to.
"I can look away from the screen now," Derek said.
"Somehow, the headache is gone, and I can walk around without going mad."
Derek started to sprint around the platform, and all that Avery could do was watch. It really made no sense. It was insane that the cure to madness was absorbing the eldritch entity that liked making puzzles and challenges. Maybe the craziness canceled out? A negative times a negative does make a positive, though he isn't sure that applies to this situation.
"This makes no sense. The King was supposed to be corrupted by my broken mind and bring me down with him." He suddenly stopped, staring at Avery. "This seems… Impossible."Derek
Avery stared back, unsure of what to say or do. It was Derek, there is no doubt in that, but it is somehow different. He took a second to think before he spoke, something he rarely did, then he stepped closer to Derek.
"I really thought I–" He stopped himself, thinking of a better way to say what his mouth wanted to blurt out unfiltered. "I mean… Derek, even if this is kind of insane, I'm glad that– that you're still here."
He wondered if that had been the right thing to say. He wasn't exactly a master of communication, much less in a situation like this; he usually avoided scenarios that needed him to show any amount of seriousness, but this time, it was needed of him even more since he wanted to give Derek someone to rely on, he wasnt going to be a burden anymore.
D3rlord3 stood in silence for a few seconds, his unshaking gaze sending shivers down Avery's spine. He wanted to pretend that he was the same, that Derek hadn't changed, in a way, both wanted that, but they knew is wasnt true. Every time Avery met his gaze, he had to remind himself that the man before him was his friend, not an enemy.
"I–…" Derek started, but he seemed to regret saying anything before he even did so. Nonetheless, he continued. "Even if I don't know who or what I am anymore… I'm more than happy. Happy that I get the chance to actually get to know you, Avery."
Avery held his breath. Get the chance to meet him? Wasn't he supposed to know everything at any point in time? It's not like there was anything special about him to inquire into. Still, Derek sounded completely elated.
"It's a bit blurry now, but… what I saw behind those golden gates, visions of present, past, and future… If I'm being totally honest, even through the headache and the impending doom, I thought only of you, how I needed to save you, how you deserved to live an amazing life. You are so special in every way, Avery I–"
"Derek–" Avery stopped D3rlord3's compliments before they went any further.
"A– Alright, I get it, ok?" He burted out, red face and shaky hands. Of all people, Derek, the actual prodegy, was the one praising him. "I mean– Thank you, Derek. The fact that you think of me that way is– wow, honestly, I never thought anyone in their right mind would say that.
He paused for a second. "Although I guess you aren't really on your right mind either…"
Avery chuckled, and Derek followed. Their eyes met, and silence stretched between them; neither of them wanted to address what was really bothering them. The stillness remained until Avery nobly dared to ask the question.
"So… What now?"
Derek hummed, thinking for a few seconds.
"Minecraft is overrated anyway, wanna know where I live?"