Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arin had always known that Earth wasn’t the only planet with sentient species. Nobody ever believed him, of course, but he knew it – without a shadow of a doubt. His parents, eager to foster a home where his curiosity could thrive, got him hundreds of books on the universe, deep space, and planets. When he got a little older, they started showing him all those old space movies – Star Trek, Star Wars, and even the Alien movies. As he grew up, Arin’s faith that humans weren’t the only ones in the Universe continued to grow with him. 

At the ripe age of 20, Arin knew that he was right. But the aliens of intergalactic space were not kind.

His parents learned that the hard way.

When Arin was sixteen, his parents were selected as part of the first ever rocket mission into intergalactic space – the Talaria Mission. They, along with six other participants, were equipped with food to last them hundreds of years, space suits, and a two way radio to talk back with Control. Exactly a month after the launch, Talaria went radio silent. The ship and the people on board were never found. 

Four years later, Arin graduated from the Space Force Academy. He was going to find his parents, no matter the cost.

“Aw, what the hell !” Arin yelled, ducking under a photon blast. Someone off to his left screamed, and he mentally marked another death in the list of his crew members. That left three more members of his unit, and they were falling fast. Soon, it would be just him.

The raid was a surprise attack, like most raids were. It didn’t help that the raiders picked a time where the ship was in night time protocol – the crew was asleep. Well, except for Arin, who had been monitoring the autopilot to ensure that nothing went awry. That was the only reason any of them had woken up at all – Arin had managed to hit the alarm. 

Not that it really helped.

There was another scream, and another crossed out member on Arin’s mental list. That left him and Martin – scratch that, it was just him. 

The aliens that had attacked them didn’t seem all that invulnerable. They were tall, but skinny, with very little clear armor. Some of them walked on two legs, others on tentacles, but they all shared the same webbed hands. They talked in a burbling language that sounded a lot like the rivers back home, but Arin’s communicator couldn’t translate what they said. Arin assumed they were some sort of water-related aliens, but couldn’t figure out how they were breathing oxygen. They relied on photon blasters and electric spears as weapons. If Arin could get past them, he had a feeling there wasn’t much the aliens could do to hurt him. 

One alien was approaching him, so he put his idea to the test. He ducked under the poking spear, snatching it out of the alien’s hands. Arin aimed a hard punch to the face. It was way more effective than he thought it would be. It seemed like the dude was made entirely out of some type of cartilage, because his face caved under Arin’s fist. “What the fuck !!!” Arin shrieked, shaking his hand to try and get rid of the blue blood and chunks of the alien’s face that were clinging to it. He scrambled away from the body, trying to put space between him and the other aliens.

The alien’s friends were talking to each other in a panic, dancing around Arin and his new weapon. Every once in a while, Arin would jab the spear out to buy himself some time as he desperately tried to make a plan. Clearly these aliens weren’t as strong as Arin first thought, but it was really hard to get close enough to hit one, between the blasters and spears. 

Speaking of blasters, a stream of light went flying past his arm, burning his cotton shirt and searing the skin underneath. Arin screamed through his teeth, dropping the spear and going to his knees. Dizziness was taking over his brain, along with a faint fog that he always got from pain. No, no, no, he thought, trying to push himself to his feet.

One of the aliens bravely pushed forward and struck him in the chest with the electric end of his spear. Arin’s body seized up and his brain promptly shut off.

Lloyd wasn’t really sure how the Merlopians managed to separate him from his parade. Oni were usually overprotective of their young, and while Lloyd was on the older side now, he was still – by Oni standards – a baby. Anyway, the point is that it was actually kind of impressive that this rogue group of Merlopians managed to snag him away from Primerak, his home planet. It was impressive that they tried to snatch him at all, considering Primerak was the first of the deathworlds, which makes Oni one of the first ever deathworlders.

Anyway, Lloyd really wasn’t all that worried. His dad was definitely out looking for him, and Lord Garmadon definitely got Wu and his bunch of aliens looking for him, too. So Lloyd was just biding his time. Usually, he was meditating or sitting in the darkness. He refused to sleep, so meditation is the best form of rest he can get, and the darkness is refreshing to his magic. 

He was in the middle of said meditation when the metal door of the prison bay screeched open. Lloyd opened one eye and watched the Merlopians carefully. They were walking directly towards his cage, dragging a limp figure between them. Once Lloyd got a good look at it, he sprung to his feet in surprise.

That was a human . 

The Merlopians finally reached the door of his cage. The first one dropped his side of the human and opened the door. “Back up,” the Merlopian hissed, jabbing his electric spear at Lloyd.

“Relax.” Lloyd said, rolling his eyes. He backed to the corner of the cage, and the Merlopian waved his friend in. The human was dropped unceremoniously on the floor. Lloyd winced as its head bounced off the stones. 

“Don’t eat it,” one of the Merlopians said. They laughed as they shut the door to Lloyd’s cage and left the prison bay.

Lloyd stayed motionless until he was sure the Merlopians were long gone. He stepped carefully over to the human, trying not to make any noise and wake it. There was a festering wound on its arm and the shirt around its chest was burned away, but the skin was only pink – looks like he got hit with a blast and a spear. So, durable then. Merlopians spears were known for causing some damage. The fact that all it did was leave a tiny burn was impressive. 

Lloyd didn’t know much about humans, admittedly. They were fairly new to the intergalactic scene, and some of the meaner species chased them off pretty quick. What he does know is that, despite their apparent cowardice, humans were durable and smart. There were hundreds of languages on their world, compared to the usual one language on a planet in intergalactic space, and there were people who could speak up to ten languages. Smart and durable meant dangerous, but they weren’t as technologically advanced as the rest of space, which was why they were so scared. 

Lloyd focused on the human again. He reached forward, very careful of his claws, and felt around for a pulse. It was strong, as was the human’s breathing. Lloyd tried to gauge the gender, but he could not for the life of him remember the differences between male and female. 

Lloyd growled sharply in frustration, backing away. The Merlopians put the human in here either a) to keep him in line or b) for him to eat it. Both options were terrible and both options really pissed him off. Onis were supposed to be mean and dangerous, but really he’d inherited Wu’s righteous mentality and spread it through Primerak – Onis could not stand injustice.

Not like you can do much, Lloyd, he told himself. He settled down in the dark corner again, allowing himself to fall back into his meditation that was so rudely interrupted. The most he could do was wait.

“What do you mean ‘he’s gone’?” Kai screeched, trying valiantly to keep his flames from scorching the roof of Garmadon’s chieftain hall. The collected aliens leaned away from him as he sparked dangerously. “This is supposed to be the fiercest world in the discovered universe, how is he just gone ?”

“Lloyd is a curious young Oni.” Garmadon said defensively. “He travels around Primerak quite often, and does not like to be disturbed.”

Kai began pacing in a circle around the collected aliens, hooves clicking against the stones. Wu shook his head, half fond, half exasperated. When he’d collected his bunch of warriors to help look for Lloyd, he’d debated on including Kai at all. He knew, though, that if he’d left Kai out the consequences would’ve been a lot more dire than this. At least the Keltar was attempting to keep his flames at a reasonable level – that’s the most Wu could ever ask from him.

“Are we sure that it was Merlopians that took him?” Jay asked, wings fluttering nervously. “I thought the Merlopians were in a self-imposed exile after unleashing one of their Old Gods on the Intergalactic Space Force.”

“Oh don’t even get me started on that!” Nya – the resident mercenary that the ISF often called in for assistance – hissed. “I was wringing water out of my clothes for weeks .”

“You’re literally made of water–”

“It was a rogue group, we think.” Garmadon said. “The spacecraft that entered our atmosphere was unmarked and relatively small. We ignored it because of that reason, which I realize now was quite irresponsible.” Kai opened and closed his hand mockingly. Nya slapped at him and he ducked away from her to continue pacing. “But Lloyd’s magical signature disappeared from my communicator and I knew that he had been taken. He had no other means of getting off of Primerak.”

 “Well, even if it’s unmarked and small, we may still be able to track it. Ships tend to give off electromagnetic waves, no matter how small they are, which affects the ones already in the atmosphere of space. Those leave behind a trail that we should be able to follow.” Nya said, pulling her communicator out of her pocket and ignoring the confused looks that Kai and Cole were throwing her. “How long has he been gone?”

“A day, two at most.” 

“Great, so there should still be a signature on your radar that I can input into the tracker.” Garmadon nodded slowly, pulling out his own communicator. Unlike most other planets in the Universe, Primerak wasn’t very technologically advanced. That’s not because they can’t do it – Onis rely more on their magic and natural protections to fight, and it actually worked better than most tech (that’s why Primerak is classified as a deathworld). Usually only parade chieftains carry communicators. Garmadon handed his communicator over, pulled up to the atmosphere tracker.

Nya stood for second, comparing the two screens and inputting lines of code. Eventually, her communicator shrieked out an alert and then started beeping slowly. “Well, the bad news is they’re four days away, even if we hyperjump, at Qildaria. The good news is, they’re actually on their way back.”

Garmadon straightened. “Back here?”

“They are either stupid or crazy,” Wu said, running his claws through his beard. “Taking a young Oni and then returning to Primerak while they know he is gone is not advised.”

“They must be some type of hunter,” Cole commented, peering over Nya’s shoulder at the comm screen. “Do you think they picked up a Qildan?”

“I hope they tried to get a Calikae and it burnt their faces off,” Kai muttered hotly, crossing his arms. 

“Let us hope not,” Zane said. “Otherwise, Lloyd would be stranded in space.”

“Point is,” Nya said, waving her comm. “They’re on their way back to Primerak, judging by their pathing. We need to come up with a plan.”

Chapter Text

Lloyd thought that the Merlopians would stop with the human. He was very wrong.

Three sleep protocol rotations after they dropped off the human, the ship stuttered to a stop. Lloyd assumed it had landed somewhere, but without any windows he couldn’t be sure. They were stopped for a while and Lloyd had the sudden realization that they were raiding again. Another sleep rotation went by before his suspicions were confirmed. The two Merlopian guards who had brought in the human returned, preceded by the whir of machinery as the ship lurched into movement again. They were dragging a Qildan behind them, bound in chains and muzzled. From the little bit of the Qildan’s face Lloyd could see, there seemed to be two curvy yellow stripes under the eyes – the unique face markings of a female. Her left arm and tail were both missing. Judging by her size, she was probably still a kit, or close to it.

Surprisingly, the Merlopians passed by Lloyd’s cell. Through the glass wall, he watched them drag the Qildan into the cell next to his. Lloyd noticed that her eyes were open and very aware, but there were metal shackles surrounding the entirety of her remaining paws, making her claws useless. One Merlopian leveled his spear at the Qildan’s face while the other undid the chains around her waist and chest. As soon as she was able, she scrambled back into a corner, slipping on the shackles around her feet, and tried to remove the muzzle on her face. Without her claws, though, it was useless.

The Merlopians laughed as they backed out of the cell. One of them waved condescendingly at Lloyd as they passed. “I’m going to kill you first.” Lloyd promised, smiling menacingly at them. 

They closed the prison bay doors behind them, ignoring him completely. The ship lurched as the Merlopians jumped through a phase gate and hit lightspeed. 

Lloyd glanced at the human. It was still unconscious, so Lloyd turned his attention to the Qildan cowering in the corner of the cell next to him. “Hello,” he started gently, lowering himself to the floor beside the glass wall. He smiled, trying to make it less toothy and aggressive looking. The Qildan stared at him, the shackle of her top paw resting on the side of the muzzle. It looked like she was trying to hook the lip of the shackle under the muzzle strap. Smart. “My name is Lloyd. I know you can’t talk right now, but is there any way to tell me your name?”

The Qildan shook her head slowly. Relief shot through Lloyd’s chest – he wasn’t sure how she managed to get the Oni language into her communicator’s database, but he wasn’t going to question it. “Okay, that’s okay. Well, I’m an Oni.” The Qildan’s face almost comically dropped, eyes going wide as plates. “No, it’s okay, don’t panic! We aren’t actually that mean anymore. Not after the Overlord and this whole crystal thing– anyway. The point is, I have people looking for me, and they’re super smart, so we’ll be out of here in no time.” The Qildan’s face did a complicated shift of emotions before settling on something a little bit too close to grief for Lloyd’s comfort. 

Lloyd grimaced as he realized why she might be grieving. Qildans were just as fiercely protective of their young as Onis were, if not more. For the Merlopians to manage to capture a Qildan, one who still looks like a baby….. Either she was alone like Lloyd was or her parents are dead. Both options are horrible.

Suddenly, the Qildan whimpered. Lloyd half-raised to his feet in alarm and then noticed that the Qildan was looking behind him. Slowly, he turned his head.

The human was awake.

A mantra of what the fuck was repeating over and over in Arin’s head as he stared at the creature across from him. It was large, with inky black skin dotted with specks of gold. Four arms protruded from its sides, ending in wickedly sharp claws. Two horns curved up around white hair, tipped with gold. The alien was staring at Arin with glowing green eyes. Arin was beginning to realize he was in a very dangerous situation. He was flat on the floor of this…cell, and the creature had a very natural advantage over him – both in terms of it being on its feet and its claws. The thing clicked cautiously, and Arin’s communicator started to hiss in his ear, the tell-tale sound of it struggling to translate. He knew it wasn’t going to work – he’d never seen this thing before, there was no way its language was in the translation database.

First things first – get off the floor. 

Arin sprang to his feet and scrambled backwards until he was in the corner as far as he could get from the thing. The creature surprisingly made no move to follow, remaining half-raised to its feet. It clicked some more and its face shifted. Arin was mildly surprised to see that he could actually read the facial expressions – wariness and concern chased themselves across the creature’s face.

“I can’t understand you,” Arin said shakily. The creature’s pointy ears perked up, like a dog who’s attention just got grabbed. It started clicking faster, rising all the way to its feet. Holy shit , Arin thought, ice flooding his veins. The creature was so tall it had to bend over, and its horns were still scraping the ceiling.

Arin whimpered, shoving himself into his corner. The creature froze. It looked over its shoulder into the other cell, trilling quietly. Just over its shoulder, Arin could see an alien that looked incredibly similar to the tigers back home, curled in the corner of the other cell. The tiger shrugged – a shockingly human movement – golden eyes flickering back and forth between them. The unfamiliar creature looked back at Arin and then did something very familiar. It spread its hands to its sides and sat back on its feet – the universal symbol for I’m not a danger . 

Arin wasn’t about to push his luck with something that looked like a demon. He slid down the wall, pulling his legs in to protect his stomach. He didn’t allow himself to look away, cataloging every movement the alien made. To the thing’s credit, the only time it moved was to settle a little more firmly on the floor of the cell. Arin watched with bated breath as it settled its hands on its knees and shut its eyes, blocking the green glow that had been lighting up the cell. 

Arin let his breath out, controlling the speed so he didn’t surprise the thing in the cell with him. The thing didn’t move as he breathed, and barely looked to be breathing itself. It stayed unnervingly still and quiet. The tiger in the other cell hadn’t moved either, but it was looking at him in unabashed curiosity.

Arin knew he was out of place in the intergalactic sphere of influence. Humans were new to the cosmic scene, and they had been scared off pretty quickly because of the technological advancements and other natural advantages that alien species had. But clearly, the aliens were not as invulnerable as humanity had been thinking, and humans were maybe a lot stronger. Arin could still remember the way that Merlopians face had caved under his fist.

It was definitely an interesting thought, but one that he pushed to the back of his mind. He could dwell on that later, when he was in a safer space. For now, Arin settled in for a long night of keeping watch. 

He was determined not to die in this jail cell. He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep himself alive, but for now determination would be enough.

Lloyd could tell the second the ship entered Primerak’s atmosphere. He could feel it in his chest, where most of his magic was coalesced. He could feel it in the way he could breathe a little easier. And he could see it in the way the Qildan in the other cell tensed. It was pretty common for aliens who weren’t deathworlders to be tense on a deathworld – it really said something about the human, that it didn’t seem all that bothered. At least, it didn’t seem more bothered than it already was. Anyway, point is, the Merlopians were back on Primerak, which Lloyd had to admit was a pretty stupid idea. Garmadon was absolutely on the lookout for them. They pretty much just signed their own death warrant.

“It’s okay,” Lloyd whispered to the Qildan. She was shaking, pupils blown wide. “I promise, nobody on this planet will hurt you while I’m here. I won’t let them.” Lloyd could tell that the Qildan was losing her hope quickly. She’d stayed curled in the corner since the Merlopians put her there, over ten sleep cycles ago. The muzzle was still tied tight to her face and Lloyd could tell that the totally encompassing manacles were really starting to bother her. She’d taken to rubbing the edges of the chains against her face and chest – patches of her fur were missing. 

The Qildan shook her head, and her pupils shrunk just a little. She jutted her chin in Lloyd’s direction, so he turned and looked over his shoulder. The human was still curled in the corner, its head on its knees. This was the first time since it’d first seen Lloyd that it let down its guard at all. It seemed a little less afraid now, more relaxed in Lloyd’s presence and had taken to alternating between watching Lloyd and watching the hallway outside of their cell. The Merlopians stayed out of the prison bay most of the time, but every once in a while one would come down to look at them like they were creatures on display. The human would wrinkle its nose at them in response, baring its teeth in a snarl that Lloyd often made himself.

 It was nice to see the human be a little more aggressive to something that wasn’t Lloyd.

While it seemed more comfortable with Lloyd, it had still stayed pretty resolutely tucked away in the corner. Lloyd couldn’t really blame it – humans were new to intergalactic space. It probably hadn’t seen anything like him before. 

The ship rocked softly as they finally breached the lowest part of Primerak’s atmosphere, and the human’s head shot up from its knees. Lloyd stayed on the ground, trying not to overwhelm it anymore than he already had. The human looked towards him first, and he waved softly at it. 

Before the human could even react, the prison doors shot open. The two Merlopian guards came waltzing in, unarmed and cocky. “Hello, hello, hello!” One called cheerfully, grinning at Lloyd. “We’re back in Primerak. Maybe we can catch some more deathworlders. Enough of your magical energy could fuel the ship for millions of lightyears of travel.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “I’m so excited for my parade to get their hands on you,” he snarled, baring his teeth at them. “You don’t have any idea what pain feels like until they’ve warped your bones to the point where they don’t fit in your body anymore.”

The Qildan made a chuffing sound that Lloyd guessed was laughing and the Merlopians' faces warped into anger. One slammed the wall of her cage and the other opened up the door to Lloyd’s. “You better watch your mouth, Oni,” he hissed, ducking into the cell. “I’m not afraid of you or your people, and I’m not afraid to get a little aggressive.” There was a clattering from the corner, and Lloyd and the Merlopian turned to look. The human had risen to its feet so quickly that the tiny bed beside it had slid a couple feet, slamming against the wall. It was watching the two of them intently. “Sit back down,” the Merlopian snarled, turning on the human. He advanced a few steps, and the human faltered, rocking back on its feet with a strange sound like a mix between a whimper and a whine.

The human chattered angrily, pointing at the Merlopian. He gargled angrily in response, advancing another step. The human backed off, nearly knocking its head against the wall in its haste to get away.

Lloyd grinned sharply, overcome by anger and protectiveness. “You’ve just made your last mistake, buddy,” he snarled. “Your first was coming in here with no weapon.” In the blink of an eye, Lloyd was across the cell, two hands around the Merlopian's throat. With his bottom arms, he grabbed the Merlopain’s hands and twisted them sharply. The Merlopian let out a mangled scream, and Lloyd threw him out of the cell. 

Lloyd risked a glance at the human. It was looking at him with an expression he couldn’t decipher. It wasn’t really fear, but it was still closed off, so Lloyd turned away. He stalked out of the cell, straightening to his full height until he was towering over the two Merlopians. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said softly, cocking his head. “You’re going to unlock her cell and remove her bindings, and we are going to leave. And if you set off that alarm, I’ll make sure the entire might of Primerak is rained down on your measly little crew. Are we clear?”

The Merlopian who still had his hands nodded. “Very good.” Lloyd smiled sharply at the Merlopian slouched against the wall. While they worked on releasing the Qildan, Lloyd turned back to the human, trying to soften his face. “Come on out, buddy. We’re getting out of here.” He waved his hand, which the human seemed to understand. It stepped hesitantly out of the cell, eyes glancing between Lloyd and the Melopian on the floor. Its face hardened and it kicked the Merlopian hard in the chest.

Lloyd ignored the fact that it did far more damage than it should’ve.

The human stopped a couple feet from Lloyd, watching the other Merlopian unlock the Qildan’s cell. He unlocked the hand shackles and the muzzle, and the Qildan moved so quickly Lloyd almost missed it. She lunged forward, snapping at the Merlopian. He stumbled back in surprise, tripping over his webbed feet and landing hard on the cell floor. The Qildan snarled – Lloyd had a feeling she was calling the Merlopian a few choice words – and then snatched his keys. She stepped out of the cell, pulling it shut and locking it behind her. 

“Alright then!” Lloyd said cheerfully. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter Text

Arin was not going to forget what just happened for a long, long time. He’d gotten comfortable – as comfortable as he could be in a cell – and forgotten the danger in the cell with him. The reminder was dealt swiftly – the moment that aquatic alien made him panic, the thing had disappeared in a haze of smoke and reappeared with its top hands around the aquatic thing’s throat.

The creature hadn’t turned on him, though, when all was said and done. Instead, it waved its hand, like it was inviting Arin to come out. He took the peace offering hesitantly, trying to keep the various threats in his line of sight. The tiger – once it was out of its chains – moved quickly too, but it didn’t use smoke like the other thing did. It snapped its teeth in the other aquatic alien’s face, startling it so bad that it toppled over. It was almost enough to make Arin laugh.

The moment the three of them stepped through the open doorway leading into the rest of the ship, the lights started flashing red, accompanied by a wailing alarm. Arin’s cellmate slapped its face harshly, chittering quietly to itself. 

Arin knew self-scolding when he saw it. 

Arin’s cellmate led them quickly through the halls of the ship, muttering quietly to itself. Arin’s translator was still fizzling as it worked to try and translate. Eventually, he powered the useless thing off. 

The tiger was not as eager to follow them. It lingered near the back, which made Arin really uncomfortable, but it matched pace with them as the other alien navigated through the ship. Eventually, they came to a room with a large window, opening out into the vast expanse of stars. A deck with buttons and screens stretched across the bottom of the window. 

It was the control room, if Arin had to hazard a guess. 

The demonic alien pranced forward and looked out the window. An emotion very close to glee flared on its face, and it clapped its top hands together. It turned to Arin, pointing out the window and chattering. 

“I don’t–”

Arin stumbled as the ship shuddered and groaned. The tiger lost its footing, and the demon reached forward to steady it. Outside the window, there was a faint orange glow. 

The ship had entered an atmosphere. The hull was burning.

As bad as Kai was at waiting, he was a lot better at following instructions. And his instructions today were to sit and wait . He was told – very sternly – that if he left this spot it was very likely they would miss the ship holding Lloyd, so Kai stayed resolutely still. On the other hand, Jay – his waiting buddy – had not stayed resolutely still.

Kai and his friends were split into three groups – him and Jay, Cole and Zane, and Nya off by herself. The plan was to sit at multiple different spots on Primerak with thinner atmospheres, where the Merlopians were most likely to enter back into the planet. He and Jay got the northwestern end, Cole and Zane the southeastern, and Nya was sitting as close to the middle of the planet as she could get  – the initial point of entry when they had kidnapped Lloyd. Kai didn’t really mind sitting here, but Jay’s constant movement was starting to grate on his nerves. “Would you stop buzzing?” Kai hissed, embers flaring. “You’re starting to piss me off.”

“I can’t help it.” Jay cried indignantly, reaching back with his bottom arms to try and stop his buzzing wings. “I’m nervous !”

“You’re always nervous,” Kai said, rolling his eyes. He stood up and put his hands on Jay’s wings gently, watching his claws to make sure they didn’t puncture the fragile membranes. Slowly, like always, the wings came to a stop and rested against Jay’s back. “Lloyd is entirely capable of keeping himself safe. I’m sure he’s fine, even if he’s in a containment cell when we find him.”

“Yeah, but Merlopians are ruthless. We know that,” Jay said.

“So are Oni.”

“That’s…..a good point, actually.” Finally, Jay settled – or, settled as much as he could. He folded his arms tightly across his chest and tried to pin his wings to his back – they kept shuffling every now and then, but it was better than the full on buzzing they had been doing before. “You think Garmadon is going to kill them?”

Kai hummed, scanning the starry sky for a second before responding. “It depends on how hurt Lloyd is. There’s going to be some bodily harm, at the very least. Garmadon has a habit of going nuclear when something bad happens to one of his parade. Last time something like this happened, the guy who hurt the kid disappeared. I guess it’s a good thing he actually got in touch with Wu this time, instead of just going after Lloyd himself.”

Jay shivered. “Garmadon is freaky.”

“He’s a deathworlder. I don’t know what you expected.”

“Yeah, but so is Lloyd. And he’s nothing like Garmadon.”

“But he lived around Wu more than he did the other Oni.” Kai shrugged, scanning the sky again. “Ya know, I have a secret conspiracy that he’s got some of Wu’s blood in him. I’ve never seen an Oni with golden horns before.”

Jay made a face, opening his mouth to say something. He didn’t get the chance, because Kai put a hand over his mouth and pointed up into the sky. A medium sized spacecraft, painted the colors of Merlopia, was careening through the sky. It was ablaze, lighting up the sky like a shooting star. Kai grinned sharply, elbowing Jay. Looks like Lloyd had gotten some revenge of his own. “Merlopian ship just went spiraling past us going eastwards. It should be easy to see. The thing is blazing.”

“Copy, I see it,” Nya said. “All teams follow its path, try to converge on its crash site. Lloyd is powerful, but there’s still a chance he gets overwhelmed. Let’s be there to help him.”

Lloyd kept one firm grip on the Qildan’s arm as the ship shuddered again. He had hoped to get control of the ship to slow the descent before it hit the atmosphere, but clearly that hadn’t worked out. 

He should’ve been faster. He knew Merlopian ships careened as a fail safe, and he knew that’s what the alarm was for. There was no excuse for that.

But there was something he could do now. Outside the control room, there was a scraping sound or approaching Merlopians. He couldn’t fight them and watch his two charges at the same time. “Go there,” he told the Qildan, pointing to the corner between the control panel and the wall and letting the Qildan go. She did as she was told easily, scrambling away on four paws and lodging herself into the corner. The human tracked her as she moved, but its eyes quickly shot back to Lloyd as he started to move. 

He wasn’t sure how to get the human over there with the Qildan, so he let it be. Instead, Lloyd angled himself so he was between the human and the door, just as four Merlopians spilled through the door. 

Lloyd was a little pleased that he didn’t see either of the guards. 

“You’re going to kill all of us,” one of the Merlopians hissed. The electric staff she was pointing at Lloyd wavered. “Do as you're told and let us have control.”

“Fuck. You.” 

The Merlopian’s lip curled and she jabbed forward. Lloyd dodged it easily. 

The human behind him snarled and the Merlopians flinched back. Lloyd raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of it. That little thing?” Lloyd couldn’t help it. He laughed, and he laughed hard. The Merlopians snarled and hissed, but they didn’t move closer. “It’s not even a deathworlder.”

“He caved in my brother’s face,” one of them said. His tone was close to a whimper and it made Lloyd chuckle. 

“Yeah, and I broke that guard’s hands.” The Merlopians exchanged glances, their weapons wavering. “It’s not like you’re invulnerable."

The first Merlopian snarled and lunged forward with her weapon. Lloyd shifted, prepared to catch her, when the ship rumbled and twisted. Lloyd dug his claws into the metal to keep his footing and reached back just as the human started to slip. He grabbed its arms and held tight. 

The Merlopian that had lunged at him slammed to what was once the roof as the ship turned, her companions falling after her. There was an ominous crack and she didn’t get back up. Her friends scrambled across what was now the floor, trying to get back to Lloyd. 

The human, dangling between them, chattered angrily at Lloyd, glancing down. Its legs jerked upwards and it switched its scolding to the Merlopian that had leaped to grab it. Lloyd glanced back to check on the Qildan and saw her claws buried in the side and top of the control panel to keep her in place. Then he glanced out the window and cursed. 

“This is going to suck,” he muttered. With all the muscles he had, he jerked the human up and curled over it.

The ship slammed into Primerak in a cloud of smoke and dirt.

Chapter Text

The Merlopian ship was in ruins when they finally reached it. Nya was already there, dousing the flames. Cole was moving the pieces of rubble blocking the entrance to the ship. “You stay back,” Nya told Kai sternly. “I don’t want your flames making it worse.”

Kai didn’t argue. She had a point. His fire burned hot, it would only strengthen the flames. Instead, he lingered a few feet from the ship as Jay rushed to help Cole. 

They made quick work of the smaller pieces of rubble. Once Zane, Wu, and Garmadon finally joined them, the rest of the pieces were removed and they stood in the entrance. “Should we just…” Kai trailed off, gesturing into the bowels of the ship. 

Cole bit his lip and rumbled uncertainly. The stone plating over his chest and forearms shifted. “It’s not very structurally sound anymore.” He edged forward and ducked his head to look at the roof of the ship. “The roof looks ready to cave in.”

Zane leaned forward, prepared to speak, when something came scurrying out of the entrance way. Cole jerked back, his stones shifting in surprise. Zane, to keep from getting rammed, skipped backwards.

The creature that came out of the ship was like nothing Kai had ever seen before. It was small, nearly a quarter the size of Garmadon, with dark skin and no fur. The only recognizable thing it had were clothes, a shirt and pants nearly the same dark color as its skin. It froze in the entranceway, staring at them. Kai leaned forward, narrowing his eyes, when Wu grabbed him by the back of the arm. 

“Cole,” he said gently, carefully. “Back away.”

Cole didn’t need to be told twice. Carefully, he edged away. 

“What is it?” Kai hissed, letting Wu pull him back. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“It’s a human.”

“Lloyd!” The Oni appeared from the dark beyond the entranceway. He was limping, dragging his left foot behind him. “What happened?” Garmadon demanded, glancing at the human. “Did it hurt you?”

Lloyd waved dismissively. “No, no. The crash did it. I’m fine otherwise.” He paused, glancing back into the ship. He crouched down and waved a hand. 

A Qildan slouched out of the darkness. She was crouched so low her belly was dragging against the metal. “Qildarian isn’t in my translator database,” Lloyd said softly. “Neither is the human language. What do they speak again?”

“It depends on where they’re from,” Wu said. He still had a tight hold of Kai’s sleeve, like he was worried Kai was going to do something. Which – fair. “But most speak English.”

“English,” Lloyd said slowly, looking back at the human. “How fast could we program it into the translator? Or, do we have another one? It’s scared and I don’t know how to tell it that it’s safe.”

Nya approached them slowly, her hands held loose at her sides. “Hello,” she said to the Qildan, crouching down to her level. The Qildan perked up a little – she must have a translator, and it must have Keltarian. “My name is Nya. What’s yours?” 

The Qildan rumbled and Nya nodded. Kai’s not surprised that Nya has Qildarian in her database – she did freelance work at a lot of different planets, so it made sense she’d have more languages than them. “Sora,” she said with a smile. “Sora, these are my friends. The big bad Oni that was trapped with you is Lloyd. Those four are Kai, Cole, Zane, and Jay. And that’s Wu and Garmadon.”

Sora chuffed, rising to her hind feet. She waved one hand slowly, and Kai registered that it was a prosthetic, a metal arm made of gold. Her tail, too, was the same way. “What happened?” He asked, gesturing to the prosthetic.

Nya listened intently as Sora answered his question. “She says it was an accident on her home planet,” Nya relayed, leaning back on her heels. “Been like that for years.”

There was a shuffling noise. Kai jerked around to find the human pressed flat against the side of the ship, staring at Garmadon. It didn’t look scared, not like it should, but it still had a healthy amount of caution. Garmadon had moved closer to it, until he was almost looming. “Dad,” Lloyd hissed, limping between the human and Garmadon. “Back off a little.”

“The Merlopians?” Garmadon asked, shuffling backwards. 

“Dead.” Lloyd crouched down and twisted, showing his hands to the human. “Crash got most of them. We got lucky. About the English?”

Nya raised from her crouch, beckoning for Sora to follow. “We’ll have to go back to the Bounty,” she said. “I’ll need Pix’s help, and I don’t have the materials to do it here.” She paused, glancing towards the human. “How are we going to get it to move?”

“I think it’s male,” Lloyd mentioned off-handedly. “I think he’s going to stick with me. It’s not like he’s got anywhere else to go, and he’s familiar with me.”

Zane smiled invitingly. “Perhaps I can help,” he said, ducking around Garmadon. He began to speak in a language Kai couldn’t understand – English, if he had to guess – and the human turned its cautious gaze on him. 

Slowly, hope overtook caution the more Zane spoke. He spoke back, in quick bursts of chatter that only Zane could understand. He pointed at Lloyd, an eyebrow raised. Zane replied and he nodded. “His name is Arin,” Zane supplied, turning back to them. The skin over his face rippled as the gears behind his eyes shifted. “He has agreed to follow us back to our ship.”

“Wonderful,” Nya mumbled, beckoning to Sora. “Let’s get going then.”

Arin was more than willing to leave behind the smoking, crumbling remains of that godforsaken ship. He’d been a little hesitant – that alien looked a lot like his cellmate, but it was much larger, and much darker – but there was one among them that looked almost human. And it spoke English! It was quick to explain that its name was Zane, and they were helping – which Arin kind of got – and that they were going back to their ship to program their translators. 

So, Arin followed in their wake. The planet they were on was dull and dreary, with a glowing orange sky and dry, flaky soil. Large monuments that looked like his cellmate were scattered along as they walked, some standing tall and others crumbling. Arin was beginning to wonder how he was even breathing on this planet – it looked like it couldn’t support oxygen, and yet he was breathing fine, so it must. 

The group of aliens he was following were….strange, to say the least. One looked like the earth given a human shape, made of interlocking plates of stone and packed earth. Another looked like a humanoid dragonfly, thin and lanky with two sets of gossamer wings. Two large blue eyes were set in its face, and it had two sets of arms to match its wings. Two looked like satyrs, but their top halves were fire and water respectively. Another had a sinuous body covered in a layer of white fur, with four legs that it walked on, although he’d seen it raise to its hind legs in the same way the tiger had. It reminded him a lot of the Chinese dragons he saw in paintings. 

And then, of course, there was the big demon. 

Arin hadn’t managed to place what exactly Zane was. He wasn’t human, that much was obvious. Its skin rippled in a way that was uncanny to watch, and Arin thought he’d heard shifting gears as it spoke. But he was the most human looking of them, so Arin stuck close to him as they walked. 

They reached a small village made of dark stone buildings. In the center was a long hall, with a sloped roof. Settled next to it was a spaceship. This is where the group of aliens led him. Arin found the furthest corner he could when they reached their destination and slotted himself into it, back to the wall. 

He didn’t zone out, not completely, but he lost a little bit of time. It felt like he blinked and suddenly his cellmate was in front of him. It was a few feet away, crouched low, with it’s hand outstretched. Sitting in it was a little earbud, connected to a flat, rectangular screen.. The alien pointed at it and mimed speaking, then gestured between him and the fire satyr. 

“Oh,” Arin said, glancing at Zane. “A translator?”

“And a comm,” Zane said, pointing at the flat screen. “It will allow my friends to communicate with you and vice versa.”

“Ok…” Arin didn’t reach out for the translator. As much as he wanted to, he was still a bit scared of the alien’s claws. The alien, to its credit, noticed his hesitation. It set the translator and comm on the floor and backed away. 

Arin’s relief nearly exploded out of his chest. He leaned forward, keeping his eyes on the alien’s, and took the translator and comm. Carefully, he slid it into his ear. “Uhm…” he said, glancing at each alien in turn. “Hello. I’m Arin.”

His cellmate grinned. “Hello, Arin,” it said. It was uncanny, the way its mouth wasn’t forming English words and yet Arin could understand it anyway. “Welcome to the club.”