Avery the Immortal: Part Four (complete)

My work in Germany had all but been destroyed. I ran with what I could, taking all my research with me in hopes of completing it. I just needed to find an energy source, something that could power everything. If I could find that, then everything would fall into place.

The war was only further proof that my work was important and that it needed to get done as soon as possible. America was creating a bomb, something bigger and far worse than what Germany had in mind. I needed to beat them at their own game, I needed to get to them first.

Moving and finding a new base of operations was hard. All of Europe was in turmoil and there wasn’t really anywhere left in the world to find peace. I believe that after this war there will be far worse things awaiting in the future, leading to a war that would never end.

My connections found me a place to do my work, and from there we built. Going underground seems like such a cliche - something from an old book - but it provided us with the best way to hide. In less than a year I had recovered what I had lost in Germany, and I was on my way to grander things. I just needed to find my generator.

The few mages that I crossed paths with provided me with enough that I was able to create a basis for my theory. Unfortunately, they all died before I could get any definite answer. I needed something better, more powerful. But the supernatural world was in hiding, running really. Nothing like a war to mess up all your plans. Resources were already hard enough to come by, and you had to be clever if you wanted to steal something. All the tanks and weapons provided the supplies I couldn’t get, but it usually came at a great cost. The Technocracy was breathing down my neck, threatening to pull my funding if I did not come up with something. I had to find my generator fast. I was running out of time.

Then, one day on the street, I came across the strangest man I had ever seen. The poor thing had a face like a statue, but his form was wholly human. His hair was long and pale in color, and his skin was almost equally pale and dotted with freckles. His eyes were haunting, like empty houses that howled when the wind blew - once so full, but now abandoned. Despite this, he was lovely in appearance, and there was something about him that stood out like a sore thumb. 

He worked for a grocer, but there was a power radiating from him. It felt thick as syrup in the air, and when I breathed in I felt it seep into my bones. There was something special about this young man, something extremely powerful. I had to get to know him, had to speak with him, but he seemed to pay no attention to anyone, save for the rugged young lad who worked with him.

I needed to get him alone, so I made an order to the grocer asking for a delivery. When the young man was coming, I hired a group of boys to attack him.

“Do what you want, just scatter when I arrive on the scene,” I told them as I paid, shilling out bills to each of them. “Within reason,” I quickly amended. “Don’t want him dying on us now, do we?” I laughed.

The boys did well. They shoved him into an alley, taking his bike and beating him. He did nothing during the attack. He just took it. He didn’t defend himself, nor did he beg for his attackers to stop. I rescued him, playing the hero. I scooped him up from the ground and helped him to his feet.

“I feel sick,” the young man said.

“Stay alert, lad, stay alert.” I patted his cheeks as I brought him into my home. “If you pass out now I may not be able to do anything for you.”

“I can’t stay,” he grumbled, pushing against me as I tried to make him sit down. “Clef will worry. He always worries. I don’t want him to.”

“Now, now, now,” I eased him back to sitting. “This Clef fellow will have to wait. You got hit pretty hard now.” I looked over his cuts and bruises, realizing they had not bled at all. The edges of the cuts were raw, but no blood was seeping out. The bruises already looked their worst, but they were a sort of sickly green and blue color. It made me think that there was life in this body, but the life of the body was gone.

“What’s your name, young man?” I asked him. “Stay with me. I won’t let you go until I know I can send you home safely.”

“Avery,” he murmured.

“Avery,” I nodded as I mouthed the word. “Nice to meet you. I am Dr. Hans Gobbar, at your service,” I chuckled. “Now tell me, I noticed that you did nothing to fend off your attackers. You didn’t even argue it. You just… took it,” I murmured, watching his blank expression never falter. “Did you want them to kill you?”

“No, of course not.” Avery turned his gaze on me. 

I furrowed my brow. “Did it not hurt you?”

Avery looked down at his arm, where there was an exceptionally large bruise. “It hurt very much,” he replied.

“Then why take it?” I whispered.

Avery blinked slowly and looked up at me, away from his bruised arm. “I made a promise, a long time ago, not to make anyone suffer. If I tried to defend myself, I could have hurt someone.”

I took off my glasses as I tried to read him. His blank expression made it all but impossible. I leaned forward a bit more and touched his forehead. “A pacifist, are you?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he murmured. 

“Was this promise to the Clef you mentioned earlier?” I continued to pry.

Avery shook his head. “Not this one,” I answered. “It was the first one. This Clef doesn’t remember.”

My mouth opened in surprise. “Now hold on,” I started. “Are you suggesting reincarnation? And if so, have you been reincarnated and remember your past life?” This could be it - the reason the air felt so thick around him, why he set my teeth on edge. If he had lived a past life, perhaps he had a sort of power I could utilize.

“Clef was,” Avery answered. “But I am not.” He then looked at me. “I suppose you think I’m weird talking like this. Clef says I shouldn’t speak so freely on matters.” Avery looked around with that dull expression of his. His eyes trailed along the walls and then back onto the sofa. He hand brushed over the material.

“What sort of animal was this?” he asked.

I chuckled. “The fabric wasn’t an animal. Now, don’t try to change the subject!” I laughed to make the air light. “I do not think that what you are saying is strange. No, no. In fact I am quite interested in the strange. Past lives, monsters under the bed, magic in all its forms, it’s very fascinating. It’s also very rare to find someone who speaks about it as if it were truth.”

Avery looked away from the sofa. “So you don’t mind my oddness?”

“Oh, not at all,” I gave him a big grin. “But it is the oddities of the world that we need. When do you remember someone normal sticking out? Huh?” I laughed and pulled out a jar from the side table. Inside were biscuits with jelly centers. “Go ahead, try one.”

Avery took one, looking it over for a moment before taking a bite. “I’m not hungry,” he stated. “But Clef like sweets.”

I didn’t want to get too far off track. I needed to know so much more. “Now tell me, if your friend is reincarnated, and you are not, then what are you, Avery?”

Avery looked up from the crumbs in his hand. “I’m not sure anymore. I’m not what I used to be, and I’m not really that anymore either after taking over Avery.”

“So you are not Avery, then?” My heart was pounding so fast. I had never been this excited before. I was ready to chew my nails in anticipation of his answer.

“I am and I am not,” Avery replied. He then shrugged. “I just am at this point.”

“What were you before - tell me about yourself.” I offered. “We need to make sure you’re alright before I take you home. We have the time, and I am eager to hear.”

Avery broke the biscuit into pieces absentmindedly. “What do you want to know?” He asked. 

“Why not simply begin at the very beginning?” I asked. “Where do you come from?”

“I don’t remember that,” Avery answered. “I don’t really know anyone who does remember that. I can remember a time when there was nothing, then all of a sudden there was something.” He glanced out the window. “I remember the day humans came,” he murmured. “That was strange. I was told to ignore them though because of how temporary and fast they were.” He looked back at me. “Sorry, no offense.”

“None taken, Avery. Go on, go on.” I could have been foaming at the mouth and chewing a pillow and I doubt he would have noticed.

“I found humanity to be amazing. They were so helpless yet so determined. They had no idea how fruitless and meaningless their lives really were. They simply wanted to live. That was it. I wanted to help them, to do something for them.” He blinked a few times. “You really don’t find this strange?”

“Why would I?” I chuckled. I wanted to scream at him, shake him, tell him to get on with it. If he didn’t get to the meat of the matter I was going to strangle him.

“That’s when I met Clef,” Avery answered. “They were so special to me. I loved them, I needed them, but I only ended up hurting them.” His eyes looked up at me and for a moment I thought I saw a flicker of humanity there. “That is why I will do anything for Clef now.”

I was going to strangle him. I needed to! He wasn’t telling me anything I needed! Get to the point, get to the point!

“They worshipped me as a god, as a savior, but I only did what Clef wanted.” Avery looked away again.

A god? I nearly fell from my seat then and there. Did I hear this moron correctly? Did he say he was a god?

“I tried to keep Clef with me as long as possible, but eventually I lost them.” Avery closed his eyes. “There was so much war, I lost everything. Then I found Avery, and when I realized I couldn’t save him, I...” He stopped and looked back at me. “You’re smiling.”

“Am I?” I laughed. I had it! I had it at long last! This little freak was my answer, my possible generator. If he was what he claimed to be, then there was no stopping the Technocracy! “I’m enthralled by your story, your life,” I said. “But maybe, it is time we get you home.” 

I couldn’t act just yet. I wasn’t even certain that Avery’s claims were true. I needed to work myself into his trust first. Once I had him in my hands, I would be able to find out what he was truly capable of. I took him home and met his Clef, who insisted I call him Bill. He was protective of Avery and seemed none too pleased to have me in his home. But I needed Avery, so I was willing to do anything.

Once Bill stormed out of the room, I had Avery to myself. “I didn’t mean to upset him,” I said apologetically. “I feel so strongly for these things. You understand, right?”

“I do,” Avery answered. “Everything you said it true. All this time I have watched men and seen what they do to one another. Every word is how I feel. I want so badly to do what Clef wanted, and you know all about how to get there!”

“Not all,” I chuckled. “That is why my research is so important. I could use help,” I replied. “Someone who is like-minded, someone who wants the best for humanity and its future.”

“I don’t know of anyone,” Avery replied. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin to look for such people.”

Maybe he was a god, but he was certainly a stunted idiot. “You don’t want to take up the offer, Avery?” I kept up the kind persona. “I was hoping you would want to help me.”

Avery blinked a few times. “Oh! Really?” He tilted his head. “I’m not sure Clef would want that.”

“Go talk to him. If it makes you happy then maybe he’ll agree to it. I’ll also be able to pay you handsomely.”

Avery stood up. “I’ll go see if Clef is okay.”

I soon had Avery to myself as he came to work for me. I didn’t show him everything - I took him into my research lab but I did not show him the full scope of my research. Once I had built up his trust and I was certain of what he was, I would take him down there.

From what I have gathered, Avery is a forgotten god, and therefore a weak one. His powers are at their lowest, so much so that when he tried to save the real Avery, an actual mage, he had gotten pulled into the young man’s dying body. Now he was trapped there until his powers could return, about as useful as a dim lightbulb. There was a power there, a possible reservoir of it, but there had to be a proper way to tap it and bring it back.

Then, one day, I decided to test what he was capable of. I sliced my hand open, faking an accident with the equipment. I sank to the floor as blood spilled everywhere. I saw a look in Avery’s eyes, one that nearly gave him away.

“Avery!” I cried. “Help me...” I raised my bleeding hand up to him as I writhed on the ground.

Avery knelt down beside me. “I don’t know if I can.”

I clung to him, staining  his clothes with blood. “Please! Avery! All our work… it will be useless without me,” I gasped for breath. “Please, you have to save me.”

Avery took hold of my arm and I felt as though I were on fire. I cried out in genuine pain. As my spilled blood started rising from the floor. It swirled in the air, spinning around Avery’s head. His eyes began to glow, and a radiant light spilled from his mouth. He threw his head back, letting out a scream that rattled reality around me.

Avery let go, and screamed again before dropping to the ground. I gasped in fear, scrambling to get away from him. My heart was palpitating, and my blood was seeping back into the cut. The cut sizzled, steaming as the flesh sealed back together.

Avery’s eyes and mouth were wide open, still spewing light. His powers had not yet returned to him, but he had them. I grinned victoriously. I finally had him.

I took Avery to the basement, placing him on a table and binding his arms and legs. His body hung limp, and his skin looked pallid and crinkled. I stepped away, locking him inside the room. I had to cover my tracks. Bill would need to be dealt with - he would obviously come looking for Avery. I couldn’t deal with any such annoyances, so I set a trap. 

The air raids served as the perfect cover. The address I had given Bill was, of course, fake. Once he was there, it would be too late. He would get trapped by the air raids, and if he somehow survived, I would make sure my men took care of him.

Avery came to his senses two days later. I had been experimenting on him while he was unconscious, hooking him up to various devices of my own invention to see what he was capable of. If all went well, I could use him to get ahead of the Manhattan project in America.

As Avery woke, his eyes had yet to regain their color. There was a faint circle where the iris was, and the pupil was a foggy gray. He tried to move his arms, and when he found he couldn’t, he went limp again.

“Where am I?” His voice was strained and cracking. “What happened to me?”

“Nothing to worry about,” I chuckled. “You’re safe and sound with me.”

“Clef?” Avery whispered. “Where is he? I need him.” He strained his arms again, trying to lift them. “Why can’t I see anything?”

“I told you,” I chuckled. “Nothing to worry about!” I patted the side of his face and his head jerked to the side. “You are still helping me to conduct my research, Avery. You should be happy.” I walked over to the counter, pulling open a drawer full of syringes. Taking one out, I moved to the refrigeration unit and took a bottle from inside. 

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Avery answered. “Please, tell me where Clef is.”

“You know,” I sigh as I fill the syringe, “I am not sure where your Clef is.” I set the empty bottle aside and tap the syringe with my finger, giving it a squeeze so all the air escaped. Not that it would matter. I could pump his veins full of air and he would probably only burp. “The air raids were not so forgiving.”

Avery gasped, his mouth hanging open. He took a few deep breaths and thrashed his head side to side. “Let me go!” he cried. “Please! Let me go! I need to get out of here! I can’t let it find me!”

I grabbed him, shoving the syringe into his neck.

“What is that?” Avery cried out.

“Something to keep you compliant.” I sighed.

Avery went slack in the restraints. “I can’t move,” he whispered. “I can’t feel anything.” His jaw trembled as he tried to move his head. “Hans, why are you doing this to me?”

I stood beside him and pressed a guard into his mouth. He choked and rasped for a moment as I fit it into place. “Imagine what I could do with the power of a god on my side,” I murmured softly to him. I brushed his hair from his face as his eyes became wide, nearly looking deranged. “I would no longer be playing god, as your little friend put it.” I moved aside, pulling several levers. 

“We can still change the world, Avery,” I told him. “We can reset the core of humanity and take away the suffering in the world. We can create a utopia, just for us. All we need to do is restart everything.”

Avery shook his head back and forth, choking on the guard in his mouth.

I finished flipping a few switches and returned to Avery, placing two rods from the ceiling on his chest and stomach. “It will take a while to rebuild. After all, only so many phoenixes can rise from the ashes.”

Avery goes still and his eyes focus on me.

“The world will burn,” I chuckled. “But it will be for the good.”

The power surged and the ground rumbled. I heard a great cacophony of noise from the other room. There was an explosion, and the door to the room blew from its hinges and hits me. I  toppled to the floor, sliding down the wall. I knew some of my bones were broken, and I had trouble breathing.

I had to get Avery, I told myself. We need to get out of here, or there is no hope. All my work will rot! I started to get up, crying out in anguish. I got to my feet, and saw that outside the door the rest of the underground facility looked like hell.

I went to the table, undoing one of the restraints on Avery’s arm. He lashed out and his fist latched onto my throat. 

“What are you doing?” I choked. I grabbed hold of him. “How are you doing this?” I fought his arm back down. “I thought you promised Clef to cause no suffering!” I spat at him. 

His hand broke free of the other restraint and clamped over my face. His fingers slipped into my mouth, and I bit down hard upon him. I didn’t taste blood, but I could taste the flesh on my tongue.

Suddenly, Avery’s body went limp and he sagged onto the table. I laughed, spitting him from my mouth. “I knew you were too weak. I knew-” The sound of a gun rang through my ears. I looked up, seeing Avery’s blank expression on the face of a young soldier. I lurched forward, taking a step before I crumpled to the ground. There was blood on the floor in front of me.

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The young soldier had been standing in the doorway, and I took advantage of his proximity. Distracting Hans was another thing. I didn’t want to have to possess the young man, but I had no choice in the matter of my survival.

I escaped Hans’ laboratory and watched his house burn down. The shape of his teeth remained imprinted on my fingers, and I would probably carry the scar forever. I went in search of Clef, but our home was destroyed. In the ruins of the building, I found Clef’s journal. Inside were recipes, notes and observations about me. There were passages detailing his devotion to me, and how his feelings were changing and yet the same.

I then found a picture of him. He was smiling and in uniform. He looked so young. On the back there were runes. It was a spell of protection written by Avery before I became him. The magic was still strong. It was probably the only reason I was still alive. Avery had been young, but quite powerful in his magic. I prayed the spell still worked, and that Clef was out there alive somewhere, although I now realized he was far better off without me. 

I needed to get away, run from the war. It was already changing me, and I had gone against Clef’s wishes to save myself. I had done something so utterly and completely human - I fought for my life. I was scared and still could not see clearly. My vision was impaired and probably would be for a long time. I ran from the city, going back the way I came, heading north and watching as the sun went down, and my eyes grew dimmer with it. 

Now I don’t know where to go, nor do I know what to do with myself. All I know is that I need to keep moving. I have to escape somehow, but I know it will always be following me. Suffering - it would always be breathing down my neck. It’s best that Clef will no longer be around me. I was foolish to think I could keep them. I made that mistake before, and I only ended up hurting them.

I find a place to rest, a warm home where the family thinks I am harmless and tries to serve me liquor and soup. That night, as I lay down on a mat on the floor, I think about Clef. I used to be so close to them. If Clef was here, I would sneak into their bed. I feel so lonely at night, and the overwhelming loneliness drove me to him. Now, I have nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Even as I feel the loneliness creep over me and settle heavy on my shoulders, I want to cry. It would be the second most human thing I have ever done, and yet, I am incapable. I feel suffocated and restrained, much like I was on Hans’ table.

I am trapped, and I am alone.