"Attention, attention," an alien to the left of the platform droned. Their voice echoed in the chamber, and Viktor could hear it through the intercom system they had around the ship. "The ship is preparing for take-off in ten minutes. Please exit stairwells and hallways. Remain in your living quarters, the dining hall, or the plaza. Attention, attention. The ship is preparing..."

Nervous excitement fluttered through him. Take-off! He's never been in an airplane before, and the one time in a spaceship hardly counted, so Viktor was going to enjoy every possible second of this.

"Kohgrash and friends," Viktor heard Vok'Rul say. He was at least eighty percent positive that Vok'Rul just forgot all of his friends' names at this point. "There are seats over here for extra personnel."

So cool. They were gonna watch this ship take off in the cockpit! Viktor vibrated with excitement.

"You're shaking like a kid on Christmas after they chugged their mom's entire pot of coffee," Pedro said, amused. Viktor didn't even have it in him to scowl.

"No shit, Pedro! We're in a spaceship! Aren't you a little excited?!"

"I've seen way crazier shit than a spaceship."

"I'm excited," Aiko offered. Viktor smiled at her.

"Oh, little lord, I am glad you show such enthusiasm!" Ghhvresh interrupted as the group started making their way to the row of chairs. Viktor kept forgetting that the other aliens believed them sentient, let alone understand them. "Since you are already here, you might as well help me prepare with take-off!"

Viktor was gobsmacked. "I'd love to," he said faintly.

"What the hell," Ezekiel mumbled. "Why can't I fly a spaceship?"

"You are a grown man. You get to sit and watch." Nikolas said with a laugh, pulling the man away.

Viktor certainly wasn't equipped to fly a spaceship, no matter what Ezekiel complained about. Vok'Rul had to lift him into his arms so he could see the control, and the most exciting thing Ghhvresh let him do was flip a lever. Maybe it was a little condescending being treated like a kid, but the alien was anything but. She explained the controls to him without dumbing down the language. Though, it might not have translated anyway, if she had done so. Sayings and metaphors always had a hard time translating, and using examples might've flown over his head.

Some of the stuff she said did go over his head. But it was cool stuff though, so even if he didn't understand it, he'd listen wholeheartedly.

The ship rumbled and groaned very quietly. As the ship shuddered and rose from the ground, Viktor felt a familiar, overwhelming presence press on the front of his skull.

LITTLE ONE NOT OF THIS WORLD YOU ARE LEAVING IT AND ITS PLANET

Yes, Viktor had the clarity of mind to think back. He didn't know if It heard him.

IT HEARS YOU

IT IS SORRY YOU WERE HARMED HERE BUT IT IS GLAD TO HAVE MET YOU CURIOUS THINGS

YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE

Okay, Viktor thought back dizzily. I'm glad I met you, too.

Curls of amusement and fizzing affection touched him.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING confusion that was not his filled his entire being.

Home, Viktor said, thinking of Earth. The confusion increased before curiosity and possessiveness replaced it instead.

THIS IS YOUR HOME TOO YOU CAN STAY HERE

Viktor wondered why the Mirror wanted him to stay, and then he wondered if it was stupid to not feel even a twinge of regret at the thought of staying. Radiant smugness filled his chest, burning with superiority.

ITS PLANET IS A GOOD PLANET IT CAN BE A GOOD PLANET FOR YOU TOO

I know, Viktor thought back, feeling his head start to ache with the pressure of the Mirror residing inside it. But Earth is my home, too. I want to see it.

Silence, and then begrudging acceptance.

TAKE CARE OF VOKKRA ON YOUR PLANET HE WILL BE ONE OF THE GREATEST

COME BACK SOON

Thank you, he thought, trying to inject his words with all the gratefulness he could muster.

The pressure left his head suddenly, and he wilted in Vok'Rul's arms, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" he asked in a whisper.

"The Mirror," he returned with a flap of his hand. He was already straightening up and getting his breath back. "It said goodbye."

"The Spirits spoke with you?" Vok'Rul demanded with a slight note of panic in his voice.

"The Spirits spoke with you?" Ghhvresh repeated, awe coloring hers.

"Not important," Viktor dismissed. It was very important. He felt his hands tremble as he grabbed Vok'Rul. He leaned out of Vok'Rul's arms to get a better look at his surroundings. The ship rose quickly now. "We're going up!"

The murky yellow sky quickly became black as they left the planet's atmosphere. The stars, scattered in unfamiliar patterns and among completely new ones, twinkled brightly as they appeared in the thick, black web of Outer Space. Viktor could barely make a noise of awe, struck silent by its beauty.

"There it is," he heard Vok'Rul murmur.

A1-308 lay beneath the ship, slowly shrinking underneath them. It quickly vanished from view; their location on the ship made it difficult to see anything underneath, but what Viktor did see was nothing short of breathtaking.

Where Earth was blue, A1-308 was yellow. It did not host oceans of water, speckled with green and white. Most of the planet was uninhabitable to Vokkrus and other animals, an arid wasteland that forced its organisms to adapt. Viktor could easily pick out where civilization had grown; red, orange, purple, and pink. Colors speckled the lands where the Vokkrus cities had flourished. It was beautiful.

"Ah, it never gets old, looking at it," Ghhvresh sighed wistfully. The three of them stood in silence for a moment before the spell was broken by the captain leaving her post to check on the other Vokkrus in the room, demanding status reports.

"We will enter the Drive, soon, Kohgrash," Vok'Rul warned him. His claws almost dug into his skin, pressing tightly against him. "What did the Spirits say exactly? It is unheard of to..." he trailed off, voice tinged with fear.

"Relax," Viktor soothed, making the alien drop him onto the ground gently. He gripped the walker with all his strength. He still felt a bit wobbly after speaking to It. "It just told me that I was welcome on your planet."

Vok'Rul stared at him. "Are you sure?" Viktor nodded. Despite the sheer vastness of It, Viktor knew there was really nothing to fear. It didn't mean him any harm.

The alien let it go reluctantly. Viktor questioned him about the "Drive." It sounded pretty interesting. Was it like hyperdrive, just like Star Wars? He hoped it didn't make him sick. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally start dissolving someone.

Just like always, he ignored the thought of Zorrash that invaded his mind like a parasite.

"Attention, attention," the same alien from before droned. "We have reached space. We will be entering the Drive in thirty minutes. Secure yourselves. Be advised. Attention, attention..."

Vok'Rul explained, in stilted terms, that the Drive was what allowed them to travel through systems, and even galaxies, as quickly as they could. It was still hard for Viktor to wrap his head around that the alien had visited multiple galaxies, in the first place. It was harder still to even fathom the thought of traveling through them in the way he described. Viktor couldn't relay it if he tried.

"...and that is how we will move. Kohgrash, you look like you are still on A1-308. Did you want me to repeat what I said?"

"No! Thank you," he hastened to add, throwing his hands up. He had to quickly place them back on the walker. "No, I'm fine, really. What an awesome explanation. I really, definitely, one hundred percent understood that."

"Well, great!" Vok'Rul beamed. Viktor hoped he never got the idea to become a teacher.

Hesitant to even look at some of the controls, lest he accidentally blew up the entire ship, Viktor convinced Vok'Rul that they could go join the others, and that really, he was fine walking by himself. The alien hovered, which was to be expected he supposed even if it were a little annoying.

His dad was looking a little green around the gills. "You okay, Dad?" he asked with a grin. "Space travel not up your alley?"

"Where is this alley?" Vok'Rul muttered under his breath. Oskar nodded, looking queasy.

"It wasn't bad the first time. All cooped up in those rooms," he explained. "Now that I can actually see space..."

His dad didn't like the thought of space too much. Sure, it was cool and fascinating to the man, but actually putting himself in it was not something he wanted, or even considered a possibility. Well, Viktor thought. At least he had a story to tell. Not everyone could claim they'd gone into space, and only the people on the ship could claim they'd been to space with aliens.

The planet shrunk quickly, and soon it was just a small speck of yellow in the inky backdrop of space. The sun, a white dwarf Viktor remembered, was far away. It was hard to look at; much brighter than their sun. The atmosphere of A1-308 must have protected his eyes more than he thought. Without the hazy yellow sky in front of it, the star burned with a feral frenzy. Viktor looked away.

"Okay," Vok'Rul said, tail hinting at the nervousness he felt. It was twitching back and forth like a snake. "Hold on."

"Initiating Drive," the alien droned. There was a loud click as they flipped the lever, sudden pressure around Viktor's head, and

the scream that ripped out of his throat was loud and inhuman.

He felt his bones pressing against his skin, against his muscles. His organs shifted in place, straining against their restraints. His head felt like it was going to pop at any second. Belatedly, he realized that he wasn't the only one screaming.

"STOP! STOP!" Vok'Rul roared. He felt claws press against his skin, and he wanted to get away from them. The pressure was too much. He couldn't move an inch if he wanted to.

It stopped all at once. He felt dizzy and nauseated. He only managed to turn his head a little, which only caused him more nausea, before vomiting onto the floor (when did he get on the floor?).

Words came to him in bits and pieces.

"You... killing my Kohgrash?!" Vok'Rul screamed, tail thumping on the metal ground like a drum. His claws fluttered over Viktor, and he wanted to shove them off. "I will... challenge... make you suffer!"

"My Lord!" was the frightful reply. The alien sounded petrified.

"God, fuck," that was Pedro. He sounded sick. The acrid scent of vomit reached his nose, and his stomach convulsed. Hot, burning bile scorched his throat as he vomited again. It suddenly became much harder to breathe.

A wordless moan came from Nikolas.

"Don't touch," was a snapped command. "Poison. Will melt... right off."

"If he dies," Vok'Rul snarled above him, voice tight and angry. Only Viktor could pick out the underlying worry trembling in it. "You shall wish that the Mirror had gotten to you first!"

"I- I'm sorry- I don't know what happened!" Viktor decided that he needed to get himself in order before Vok'Rul started killing people.

His vision swam, but he had to fight while feeling worse, so he forced himself upright. Vok'Rul grabbed his shoulders, and Viktor was suddenly fearful of where he had puked. He brought his arms up quickly, knocking the alien's hands off him. "No," he slurred through slow lips. "My... my poison."

"It's alright," Vok'Rul soothed. "You're okay, Kohgrash."

Shut up and listen to me, he wanted to say, but the words were stuck in the back of his throat. He still felt nauseous and queasy enough that he wasn't sure if he'd throw up again. His stomach was probably empty by now, though.

"You'll die," he managed, very, very afraid. He didn't want Vok'Rul's face to melt off!

"Your poison is nowhere near me," the alien reasoned, hands lightly touching his shoulders again. Viktor didn't have to strength to shrug them off. He was using all of it to sit up.

"Viktor?" Oskar wheezed. He had gotten to his hands and knees, looking worse than Viktor felt. The others didn't look too great either. "What was that?"

"Feels like I got hit by a bus," Ezekiel complained.

"Your bodies were not used to the Drive," Ghhvresh explained hesitantly, looking at Vok'Rul a bit fearfully. "We will have to readjust the speed. Did it feel like you were squeezed from the inside out?" Several miserable exclamations of agreement followed her statement. She nodded solemnly. "As I suspected. The speed at which Vokkrus can travel is much higher than yours. Our trip may take a few extra days, but we shall still be able to use the Drive without issue once we reduce the speed."

"You are certain?" Vok'Rul asked. Viktor started to get some semblance of normality as his nausea retreated. He just felt achy instead.

Viktor barely paid any attention to whatever math and science were involved in determining the speed the Drive could go up. An alien announced the situation over the intercom, loud and grating on his ears.

Vok'Rul helped him and the others back in their seats; almost all of them save Aiko had fallen onto the floor during the lurch into the Drive. Only he and Pedro had actually thrown up, though. The mess soured the entire room, and several Vokkrus surrounded it fearfully, keeping the others away. Viktor wished he had some water to wash away the taste in his mouth.

"I do not wanna do that again," Ezekiel muttered, hand on his forehead. He slumped in the oversized chair tiredly.

"Thought I was going to die," Aiko groused back.

"Tell me about it," Viktor wheezed. His voice was nothing more than a scratchy, feeble whisper. His chest felt tight, just like it did in the hallway of the facility. He hoped he wasn't having another heart attack.

As it was, it took him a while to feel like he wasn't going to keel over and pass away at moment. By that time, whatever math needed to be figured out had gone through multiple aliens without any luck. Vok'Rul stalked around like a snarling panther.

Well, Viktor supposed. He had every right to be. They were kinda stranded in the middle of space if this didn't work.

Vok'Rul slammed his fist on one of the consoles, making it beep in screeching protest. Viktor twitched violently at the sudden noise, curling his hands into fists reflexively. "Figure it out!" he barked at the poor Vokkrus hunched over a hologram.

"I'm trying, Your Majesty. There are just some aspects to mammals that I don't understand!"

"Learn them quick," Vok'Rul growled. "Or I will lose what shred of patience I have left."

"Yeesh, what crawled up his ass?" Ezekiel, who recovered the quickest out of the six of them, judged. Viktor shot him a weak glare.

"He's just," he took a breath after every other word, struggling to speak, "a little... overprotective."

The five of them stared at him with bewilderment.

"Understatement, kiddo," Oskar sighed.

"Captain! Permission to come aboard, Sir?" someone saluted from the doorway. It was a trio of aliens, all wearing thick clothing. Something blue shimmered over them in whispery waves. It looked as though they were underwater.

"Granted," Ghhvresh grunted without even glancing in their direction. She was hunched over the hologram as well, muttering with the aliens about the Drive.

The trio marched in, dragging a large cart of supplies behind them. They approached Viktor and Pedro's messes, quickly cleaning them up. Viktor nearly threw up again at the smell of some of their cleaning supplies.

"God, it's like a dead animal doused in gasoline," Pedro choked, slapping his hand over his nose. Viktor could see his eyes watering. His eyes were watering. They watched the aliens work for a while before Viktor's attention started to drift. He still felt a little shaky.

"Lord Kohgrash!" someone shouted five inches from his face.

His arm swung up and sucker punched the Vokkrus right in the neck. The alien stumbled backward, choking and coughing.

"Jesus!" he wheezed in fright. "I am so sorry-"

"My apologies, little lord," the alien choked out. "I just wanted to ask if you would like to be cleaned up-"

The alien couldn't get much more than that out before a large clawed hand squeezed their neck. Vok'Rul dragged the alien away from Viktor's personal space and threw him onto the ground viciously. His back was to Viktor, but he could tell that the alien was anything but happy.

"What," he hissed, "makes you think you can disrespect Kohgrash like that?"

"No disrespect was meant, Your Majesty!" the alien blubbered. They didn't even try getting back on their feet.

"Shouting in his face was not disrespect?!" Vok'Rul shrieked. The alien balked in the face of his anger, stuttering feeble excuses of how Viktor didn't react the first few times he tried to catch his attention.

"Hey!" Viktor said quickly. "It's okay! No harm, no foul, right?"

"It is very foul!!" Vok'Rul seethed. He looked stressed to the max. This probably wasn't going to plan at all.

"Ignore him," Viktor told the alien, gesturing for him to get up and come closer. "I would like to get cleaned up. Do you have any wet wipes?"

The alien stayed rooted to the spot, glancing between Viktor and Vok'Rul. Vok'Rul sounded just a little bit calmer - less murder-y and more you-cut-me-off-while-driving-and-now-I'm-pissed-for-the-entire-ride-y - when he snapped, "Well? Are you going to ignore him, now?"

"N-No!" the alien spluttered, quickly getting to their feet and offering Viktor what supplies they had. There were no wet wipes, which is what he would've preferred, but they did have some towels. Better than nothing.

"You need to be a little nicer," Viktor quipped, slumping against the chair as soon as the cleaning trio left the room. It was still full, but it smelled less of vomit and sweat and more of disinfectant and chemicals. It stung his nose enough to make his eyes water.

"You need to be less fragile and breakable!" Vok'Rul huffed, crouching in front of Viktor. The alien fiddled with Viktor's clothing, a habit he picked up while he had been bedridden. Straightening the hem of his shirt, the alien spoke quietly, surreptitiously looking around the room. "If you were to pass when you are so close to your planet..."

"I'm hardy, Vok'Rul," Viktor said, patting the alien's claws. "You're too much of a worrywart. Don't take your anger out on everyone here. It's... kinda scary to watch."

Vok'Rul looked like he had just slapped him across the face. "I am sorry," he murmured, squeezing Viktor's fingers. He stood up, towering over him easily. Still, Viktor didn't feel the least bit frightened. "I admit that my temper might have slipped from me."

Vok'Rul went back to interrogating the aliens about the Drive, but this time, he was a little nicer about it. They were still wary of him and answered his questions with the most respect they could inject into their voices. It took a lot of squabbling, questions, and a little bit of shouting amongst themselves before they were able to figure out the correct speed for humans to travel safely.

It took about five hours. Viktor was certain every part of his body had fallen asleep while sitting on this chair.

He was hungry, too. Expelling his breakfast, lunch, and dinner didn't do wonders for staving off starvation. At least he wasn't the only one.

"Damn," Ezekiel groaned. He was pacing around the set of chairs they were all sitting on. Viktor was small enough that he could sprawl out on the seat with only a little bit of discomfort, but the others weren't so lucky. "I'm so bored. I bet I could hotwire the ship and drive us all the way to Neptune before they figure it out."

"You probably don't even know how to hotwire a Roomba, let alone a spaceship," Aiko said condescendingly. She ignored Ezekiel's offended gasp.

"Pedro, you'd help me, right? You practically made these translators, didn't you?"

Pedro shot him a look. "The most I did was hand Blacksmith some tools."

"Can we get room service?" Nikolas interrupted. "I am starving."

Someone poked him hard in the stomach. Viktor swatted at his dad. "Stop it," he griped.

"You okay?" his dad's hand, warm and heavy, settled on his stomach after snatching his hand. "That was kinda..." he trailed off.

Viktor turned his head to look at him. He looked tired and stressed. Viktor offered him a little smile. "Yeah, it was a lot." He was tired, too.

"Listen," his dad started, mouth open as he formulated what he'd say. "I was wrong about your alien."

Viktor stared. He tried not to feel too smug about his dad apologizing. He lifted his eyebrows, waiting for more. It was like pulling teeth, but he wanted a real apology.

Oskar sighed, dropping his gaze to his hands. Like Viktor, he ended up fiddling with whatever he had in his hands as he got lost in thoughts. In this case, he started messing with Viktor's hand. Little scars littered his skin from fending off the teeth and claws of animals. His nails were growing long. "When I last saw you, you were nearly sixteen. All excited about getting your real license and being able to drive wherever you wanted. You were bubbly, excitable, unafraid to speak your mind."

Viktor waited. His dad continued, voice low and slow, "And when I saw you again, nearly a year later, I was so happy. I wasn't sure where we were, but even if we were separated by a glass wall, I had my son again. But you were all chained up, like an animal."

Chained up was a bit of an overstatement. Viktor had just been wearing the harness.

"And," his dad continued, "And then you disappeared to go find some alien, and I had no idea if you were safe! Then you come back with that alien, and he's holding you down and grabbing you, and..." He cleared his throat against the thrum of emotion in his voice.

"I was scared that these aliens would take something else from me. A month later, I'm free and you're asleep. Maybe forever," his dad frowned at him. "I was angry at that alien you seemed to adore. He was the only one whose voice you'd react to, at first. It was his fault you were sleeping, and his fault that you were in this damn situation in the first place!"

This wasn't much of an apology. Viktor frowned back at his dad, looking unimpressed. His dad hastened to say, "Look, what I'm saying is: I misjudged him. He cares about you, and so do I. I'm sorry."

"I know," Viktor murmured, pleased. "He said the same thing about you."

Oskar looked skeptical before he wiped it from his face, taking a breath. "I was quick to jump the gun. I don't want to be the reason you're miserable, and if getting along with him makes you happy, I'll do it."

Viktor beamed. He surged forward, almost toppling off the chair to give his dad a hug. "Thanks," he said into his neck. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, kid," his dad said back, squeezing Viktor tightly.

"Hey, Viktor!" Ezekiel said. "Think you can get your cook buddy to make some food for us?"

"Ezekiel," Aiko hissed, slapping the man's shoulder. "They were having a moment."

"Moment, schmoment, Aiko. I'm hungry. Right, Nikolas?"

"Do not drag me into your stupidity, Ezekiel."

"Harsh."

Viktor pulled away from Oskar, giving him a shy smile. "Come on, let's get some food."