He's a spider in black. Clad in the colour that drips from the curves of his body like an engulfing shadow. Pores exuding the silent glimmer of danger sourced from his blackened soul. His smokey, kohl rimmed eyes scope out the endless stretch of darkness that lies ahead, beyond a barrier of thick glass. The Captain's gaze - that no one would dare desire being on the receiving end of - is sly and harsh, sharp and devious as it snakes between dull floating chunks of space matter to lock onto his target, contemplating all the ways he could crush it.

Plush lips are pulled into a razor thin line, pink fading into white against the cracks of chapped skin, pierced by a single diamond studded hoop, in a painful gradient. The accessory is linked to a shining silver chain that hangs loosely from the leather collar adorned around it's owner's slender neck whilst another length of interlocking chains dangle from the top of his right ear to the bottom. He wears it as a symbol of irony. A show of mockery. Collars, on many planets throughout the cosmos, are usually found around the necks of pets, bestowed upon them by their masters as a show of ownership, a way to stake a claim on what's theirs. But Byun Baekhyun is nobody's property, so screw that.

The iron chains draped over his lithe frame scream danger yet the opaque band of colour wrapped around his throat stands as a stark contrast to the near translucency of his skin, making him look sickly. Fragile almost. But the Captain is neither of those things. The Captain is soft lines forced into sharp hisses, he is glowing white light engulfed by bitter darkness, he is midnight eyes seeing nothing but red. He is flawed, ethereal beauty. Unattainable. Unfathomable.

Their destination is a little planet known as Earth. A measly old thing - particularly boring when compared to the likes of Venus or Mars or any other globe in the galaxy. Earth is known through the cosmos for being significantly behind in terms of technology - unlike Technos, an ecosystem that literally thrums with the use of electricity - while the human race itself is particularly infamous for their defining characteristics of bigotry and selfishness. The wretched creatures start wars between each other over land and currency and a God with no proper name whilst simultaneously wiping out their own blessed stores of natural resources - effectively killing their own planet slowly from the inside out with every pile of coal burnt.

But don't get Baekhyun wrong. He and his fellow pirates - innocent travellers, they prefer, though the intergalactic media could care less - aren't a bunch of aliens looking to take over another planet to obtain more space for their own species to run around in. God no. That had already been done over a decade ago.

'The Invasions,' the humans call it whenever they recount the events to younger generations in homes and schools, their species growing progressively dumber and dumber with every new child that pops out another womb. It was the first time extraterrestrials had made themselves known to the population of the isolated planet Earth after millenniums of hiding in the surrounding universe's shadows. They hadn't even seen them coming.

The puny humans hadn't put up much of a fight back then, not that they could have against their new - literally - alien enemies. They eventually had no choice but to the surrender to the attacking forces. The foreign invaders offered them massive advancements in their technology and way of life, leading to a sort of begrudged truce to form between the two species, however it had quickly become apparent that not even the help from the foreign conquerors could steer the humans away from their inevitable path of self inflicted extinction and the aliens soon deserted the planet, knowing it was hopeless to try and preserve it. Earth was beyond saving. Many humans had cheered when the invaders left, little did they know that they were the ones who had lost the battle.

Needless to say, another pointless invasion was not what Baekhyun is looking for.

Baekhyun himself was once a member of the human society. He remembers his past life on Earth with mild disdain and potent distaste. Nowadays he likes to think of himself as a wanderer, one without a true home. Not anymore. Not after it had been ripped so cruelly from his grasp all because of one man's selfishness. As much as Baekhyun would love to wreck havoc upon Earth, perform his revenge on the planet that had once been so hostile to him despite being the place of his birth, he has bigger fish to fry. One person's neck in particular that he'd like to feel scrape against the blade of his sword. The person whom he has vowed to hunt down even if he has to scour the entire galaxy in order to find him.

"How much longer 'til we give up on this search," his right hand man Kyungsoo sighs from his perch, sat by the ship's control panel with his plump cheeks, doe eyes and pretty lips settled into an unimpressed expression. "It's been years, Baekhyun, maybe we should give it a rest now." The addressed doesn't even bother to spare him a glance though the muscle that jumps in his cheek out of irritation doesn't go unnoticed by his companion.

"My quest for vengeance has no rest," the elder of the two all but snarls out, handsome features shifting dangerously into a demonic scowl. They've had this conversation one too many times before. An aura as dark as the colour of space radiates from Baekhyun's body in sweltering heat waves. Suddenly he looks to have aged several years in Kyungsoo's eyes.

Said eyes that begin rolling around in their sockets.

While Captain Byun may be the leader of the most feared pirate ship in all the galaxy, the antagonist of hushed stories told to skittish children at night and the owner of the head intergalactic authorities would exchange billions of ducats for, there will always be one person with enough gall to defy and question him whilst miraculously keeping his head attached to the rest of his body. That person is none other than Do Kyungsoo.

"Way to hold a grudge, Baek." Baekhyun is thankful no one else is in the room to witness Kyungsoo's defiant manner of talking to him or else his reputation would definitely take a swirl down the drain. He forces himself to count to 10, his blood beginning to boil. He takes in and releases slow drags of filtered air in an attempt to try and quell the scalding irritation that spreads through him. It is not as effective a method as he'd hoped it would be. It never is.

"I could have you walk the ing plank. Shut your mouth and just fly this damn ship." The Captain's voice is cold and clipped, the signature authoritative tone injected into it a product of many years of practice. It's almost like second nature for him to attach it to his tongue now. But Kyungsoo knows better. This isn't his Baekhyun. This is someone else with an identical appearance, only this double - this imposter - lives with a blackened and charred heart laying idle within his chest.

With a tired shake of his head, Kyungsoo steps on the accelerator pedal until it lays flat against the floor. Just to get it all over and done with. A few startled cries can be heard from outside the control room at the sudden jolting of the ship as it begins to zoom through the abyss, pirates stumbling left and right as the ground beneath their feet shifts.

Baekhyun, however, doesn't even flinch.

//

Happiness, freedom, adventure. These were the emotions Baekhyun had once associated with the high seven seas. There was always a new horizon to discover back then when he was just a little boy, living a different life, his eyes filled to the brim with wanderlust. Back when he had dreamed of becoming an explorer, of sleeping under a new collection of constellations each night, of maybe discovering new uncharted lands and creating his own little universe. Back when the salty sea breeze and the steady rocking of the ship were two of his most favourite-est things in the world and the promise of a new adventure would be his only comfort through endless storms and relentless starvation.

His father had been offered a job onboard a royal British navy ship, picked amongst thousands to work under the prestigious Captain Park. A man of great reputation and wealth, a man people could only dream to become acquainted with. He was only there to mop the man's floors and carry his belongings but Baekhyun and his father had both been excited for the new opportunity nonetheless, they would've jumped at any chance they could've got to leave their problems back on land behind. The picture of metal mouled into pure, staggering beauty - about 10 times as large as he'd been - is still engraved into Baekhyun's mind to this very day, the graceful curve of a silver bow slightly tinged with the yellowing colour of aged memories. 'The Merida' was ingrained lavishly along the side of the ship. The words are replicated in ugly jagged scratches across his heart.

His time on the ship itself was precious to him - a sacred part of his history - however the memories he'd made there were not as cherished. The faint yet cheerful 'yo ho ho' of his father still rings from somewhere in the deepest pits of his recollections but the yellings, the beatings, the sneers aimed in his direction by those in higher positions cloud over and mute even the brightest of sea shanties. His father always had a smile on his face despite it all, always told him to dream, to hope, to have a thirst to explore and promised him that one day they were going to make enough money somehow to buy a boat of their own, travel the seas just the two of them.

These memories are faded and dripping with the blood of a thousand broken promises.

( A golden telescope is all he has left to remember his father by, It had been acquired through blood, sweat and tears exchanged into every penny he'd ever earned. An intricate B was expertly carved along the shaft, twisting and curling and spiralling out around the edges in swift . "It's all yours," his father had said on his 12th birthday. And it had become Baekhyun's lifeline when things started to fall apart shortly after. )

The attack came suddenly. Explosives cannon balled down at them through the clouds in the middle of the day. These enemies were unknown to them, unlike anything they'd ever seen before and not human. Bone crushing fear, scrambling to grab onto his father's hand, praying to every deity he could recall. This is how Baekhyun remembers his first encounter with extraterrestrials. He remembers The Merdia's Captain Park, the man known for his bravery, for his wealth, for his abuse on those he deemed inferior, begging on his knees for mercy and offering to trade his entire crew in order for him and his own son to go free. Words said without a moment's hesitation but there was no uncertainty in his eyes. And then Baekhyun remembers dark nights, a fire raging in his heart and his father's icy, ashen hand clutching onto his as he breathed his last on a foreign planet.

It is around here that he chooses to stop remembering.

Pain, fire, anguish. A need for vengeance. These are the things Baekhyun associates with his past. His soul aches to track down the one who created the bitter blight across his treasured memories. His fingers itch with the urge to return the pain he has suffered tenfold.

( "Touchdown, Captain," Kyungsoo's voice pulls him out of his thoughts with a jolt. Blinking rapidly in order to bring himself back to reality, Baekhyun takes a moment to drink in his surroundings. They are no longer encompassed in the pitch black of space, but under the bright burning sun and sailing along a blue horizon. The familiar rocking of steady azure waves beneath their feet is nothing but soothing and Baekhyun has never felt more at home. At last. )

//

The Exodus is Baekhyun's baby. He'd somehow been able to build himself a new life on the planet of Technos from the rubble upwards not long after escaping from years of imprisonment and had spent several long, grueling years working multiple jobs in order to garner enough money to build Her. Some jobs less respectable than others. With determination in his heart and stacks of golden nuggets in his bank, he'd managed to find a run down garage that was willing to help him out. Kyungsoo was the son and - therefore - the apprentice of the local mechanic and with a smile, he'd shaken Baekhyun's hand and offered his service free of charge.

( "You seem like you have a story to tell. You don't just get resolve like that poofing out of thin air." )

She was built out of pure, shining aluminum, elegantly moulded by the skilled hands of Kyungsoo - and Baekhyun who had just fumbled along. Forgoing the usual round, flat disc shape that standard spaceships were modelled after, he'd created his ship with sloping starboard curves that veered up into the deathly sharp point of a bow, long spirals of twisted metal that spiked up into unmovable, towering masts and thin sheets of melted metal that curved into impenetrably perfect sails. It was the exact replica of the Merida and yet so much more. It was the ship of nightmares. Dangerous, dark, with every angle sharp enough to effortlessly pierce through your body. Designed after a regular navy ship yet possessing all the modifications of a space vessel, created to carry its men through wind, fire, earth and rain; born to drift beyond the bleak entity of space yet also glide beautifully across the oceans of the universe. Bulletproof, collision proof, with an interior that was ultimately bigger than the exterior would give away, the ship of Baekhyun's memories had been recreated and upgraded into his own work of art.

If only his father could see him now.

//

"Ready the guns," Baekhyun commands, all but snarling into his communicator earpiece. The harsh edges of his voice are coated with the sea breeze, blown across the main deck to the ears of the men who stand in perfect formation behind him: all on edge, all on their best behaviour. They did not want to risk him turning such a tone on any of them. The captain's crew are all dressed in loose white shirts and slacks - for ease of movement - and wear the identical war paint of steel hard focus across their features as they clutch onto their rifles while others wait below deck in the main control room, anticipating their Captain's commands.

Baekhyun looks out across the stretch of calm sea, eyes settling on the twin floating vessel opposite the Exodus; the Merida. Of course, the old git wouldn't have changed his ship, he thinks, one corner of his lip curling upwards into a malignant smirk.

Ever since the day the Exodus had finally become functional, Baekhyun had never taken a day off searching the galaxy for the man who was once his Captain - raided thousands of passerby ships, scoured planets and emptied out houses - after hearing the news that the ship of his past was no longer in use and realising his mission would not be as straightforward as he'd hoped. As soon as he'd detected the rippling rumours of the vessel setting sail again, he knew he had to track it down. He knew he'd be on it: exactly where Baekhyun had last left him.

The Captain fights off the crashing wave of nostalgia that accompanies the view of the vessel before him. She still looks exactly as he remembers, even better now that Her image is no longer dripping with blood and grime around the edges. She also looks exactly like the Exodus. The two ships are cognate but the Exodus is more advanced, more sturdy, more enduring, encompassing more of Baekhyun's own resilient character. The Merida would sink in a second flat.

With one hand clutching onto a gleaming golden telescope and a heinous smirk sitting all wrong on his soft features, the Captain shoots his crew a look of pure vehemence that takes them aback before parting his lips to speak.

"Fire."

And all hell breaks loose.

//

It's between fighting off a sailor attired in the rich blue colour of the royal navy and hissing into his communicator earpiece - "Kyungsoo, where the are those canons!" - that Baekhyun realises he has yet to see his prey scampering around. His eyes scan the main deck of the Merida, having swung over onto the old ship on a length of sturdy rope true pirate style - though he could easily have taken the galactic transporter like everyone else. The long sword held in his vice like grip continues to jab at his current opponent, on autopilot as he focuses on more important things. The rest of his team is currently busy ransacking every room on the ship while ignoring the onslaught of ballsy marines that attempt to 'fight back' against them. His men never make the first move. They're just here to get their desired cargo and go.

Quickly growing tired of the endless joust he's engaging in, Baekhyun aims a perfectly timed kick to his adversary's stomach. He's rewarded with a strangled sound as the sailor topples onto the ground in a heap.

"Where is he," Baekhyun growls out, breath coming out jagged and rough, neck muscles constricting against his choker - more out of anger than any kind of physical exhaustion. Eagle eyes scour the deck again - scanning, searching, seeking - before they zoom back down onto the fallen crew member, a foot firmly placed on his chest to keep him locked in his place beneath Baekhyun. The man shakes under his malignant gaze.

Baekhyun swiftly presses the edge of his sword against his victim's windpipe as hard as he can without drawing any blood, fiery flames flickering deep within his dark orbs. "Your Captain. Captain Park. Where is he?"

"P-please don't hurt me"

His eyes roll heavenwards before he forces his expression to soften slightly, if only to calm down the marine in front of him. They're less compliant when they're frightened. "It's not you I want. We're here for your Captain and no one else. You and the rest of your crew won't be harmed." Baekhyun thinks it's absurd really, how this man is so scared of him, how the Merida's entire crew are running around and waving their guns at his men who aren't really in their way at all. In fact, Baekhyun was doing them all a favour, freeing them from working under the clutches of such an evil creature.

"Captain!" Jongdae's voice booms from the other side of the deck, cutting through the chaos like his bloody knife had cut through flesh earlier. It is clutched by his side, stained crimson with a pool of coloured pain dripping from the tip and staining the deck. Sometimes it is necessary to resort to violence. "We have Captain Park! Kyungsoo's teleporting him back onto the Exodus right now!"

"So quickly?" Baekhyun questions with a cocked eyebrow, suddenly feeling numb. "Old man must be losing his touch."

The Captain of the Exodus turns away from Jongdae when the male starts saying something that sounds a lot like, 'he handed himself over in exchange for the safety of his crew' because it was complete and utter bull. The wretched man would never do such a thing.

Baekhyun turns his attention to the sailor trembling beneath him and fists fair fingers into the navy blue of his uniform. "I guess, we'll have to cut this little first meeting short. Lovely meeting you, though," and without another second's delay he lets go of the man, sending him reeling backwards to crash his skull painfully against the ground.

"Kyungsoo, beam me up," he orders into his headpiece, eyes resembling hard stone as he quickly crosses the main deck, strides powerful, fast and determined. The Merida's crew stand down, unwilling to make a move against him. Oh, so lost without their Captain. They don't bother Baekhyun and the latter is thankful for their cowardice because he had really been hoping to get through this raid without having to kill anyone.

He watches with mild pride bulging in his chest now as the Exodus hums to life, foot tapping impatiently against the deck whilst watching his baby float upwards into the sky, proceeding to hover directly above him. A circular entrance in the bottom of the ship whirrs open before a beam of light is cast over Baekhyun, cancelling out the gravity around him and extracting him upwards to the ship. He sneers down at the ship he once called home and readies himself to meet his destiny.

//

"What the is this?" Baekhyun all but roars at his crew members, face contorted into a vision of complete and utter seething. He looks animalistic with the way there is nothing but rage infiltrating the black of his irises, spreading through his orbs like the scorching darkness of his aura. Clutched in his vice-like grip is a tattered woven bag, freshly ripped off the once covered head of his hostage - Captain Park. Baekhyun had been dreaming of the day he'd have the foul man knelt in front of him, had been planning all the most painful ways he could draw out the man's death ever since he'd escaped from rotten space prison. And not too long ago - merely seconds before this very moment - he'd thought he'd finally be able to revel in the glory of enacting his revenge. He'd thought he could finally put an end to his suffering. Seems like his plans would have to be put on hold. Again.

"Who is this man?" he demands an answer from his crew who exchange confused looks. his lithe fingers into a birds nest of fiery red hair, Baekhyun's subordinates all wince at the sharp hiss Captain Park lets out as their Captain tugs harshly on the strands, forcefully angling his captive's face upwards and displaying it to his crew. They watch as his youthful features twist in pain.

"Captain Park," Jongdae decrees, loud and clear though he has never seen his Captain's face so dark. He struggles to keep his voice and steeled over expression from faltering at the sight of him. "From the Merida."

Baekhyun thinks in his head that, yes that may be the case, but this Captain Park of the Merida is not the one he's after. Glaring down at the man who kneels by his feet and taking in the pair of large doe eyes set against milky white skin - b with a cocktail of fear and mild confusion - Baekhyun knows without a doubt that this is the wrong Captain Park.

Closing his eyes with a short exhale, the raven haired man attempts to control the frustration boiling inside of him - focuses on counting to ten, tries to steady his ragged breathing. He promptly snaps his eyes open again after continuing to see nothing but red from behind closed eyelids, his gaze now razor sharp as it settles on each one of his crew members in turn. He is no calmer.

"No matter who this man claims to be, or whichever ship he claims to own, this is not the Captain Park I remember. No, the Captain Park from my ing nightmares is shorter and uglier and ing twice this one's age." Finally relinquishing his trembling hold on his hostage's hair, he shoves the man onto the ground in exasperation before beginning to pace slow vulture like circles around his prey, his thunderous footsteps echoing around still quietness. Slender fingers massage temples that throb in time with the blazing anger coursing through his veins. "He isn't the one I'm looking for." His voice is low and level and quiet, but it's by far the most menacing he has ever been.

The root of his anger doesn't lie with his crew. It's a fact they are well aware of. When the Captain is agitated by something, he has a tendency to lash out at anything and everything around him, regardless whether they are deserving of suffering under his wrath or not. This time, the Captain is merely baring his teeth because this is one of the many attempts he's made so far in attempt to catch the bastard Park and yet, somehow, the devil just keeps slipping through his fingers. The knowledge of this, however, does little to comfort his intimidated crew.

"Where is that oaf hiding-"

"Excuse me," a new voice speaks up for the first time, "but you wouldn't be talking about my father per chance, would you?" The fiery haired man's voice is deeper than his face would give away, rough and shaky around the edges from pain and fear. He rubs gingerly at the bump forming underneath his bushy hair from where he'd made contact with the floor. It had caused an unsurprisingly hollow sound.

Finally, Baekhyun's ever present frown melts away and his eyebrows quirk out of interest. His heart is pounding when he next addresses the male. "You father is Captain Park of the Merida?" All other thoughts are flung to the backs of his mind in order to make way for the memories that come reeling in. He thinks back to the small, chubby boy around his age, the one that had always trailed behind the Captain of Baekhyun's nightmares, hiding behind him like he were some kind of shield, the one who'd always stay glued to the side of the ship, plump fingers clinging on for dear life. Big eyes, big ears, bright smile; but he was his father's son and Baekhyun had hated him to the core.

With his recollections comes a familiar feeling that settles itself in the pit of his stomach. Burning. Churning. His heart squeezes harder and harder in disgust the longer he keeps his eyes on - Chanyoung? Hanyeol? Whatever his name was, it wasn't important right now. Baekhyun wonders how the seasick fool managed to become a Captain of all things.

Well, he always had wanted to please his daddy back then, no doubt that had something to do with it.

"My name is Park Chanyeol." Ah that was it. "I am the current Captain of the Merida. What is your business with my father?" As he introduces himself, he slowly steadies himself onto his feet, dusting off his uniform of royal blue adorned with the sparkling golden accents only a Captain could acquire. A few of Baekhyun's men bristle, muscles readying themselves at Chanyeol's movements, hands instantly reaching for the clubs and guns decorating their waists. They quickly fall back into line when their Captain holds up a hand, silently ordering their idleness.

Chanyeol's gaze is hard and prideful despite the situation he's become wrapped up in, despite the anxiety coiling in his gut. Baekhyun, when he turns to face the taller sailor, finds himself entertaining the idea of wrapping his hands around his neck and draining that look right out of him. He tucks that thought away for later.

"Ah, yes. Park Chanyeol. I remember you." The name still flows so perfectly off of Baekhyun's tongue when he finally spits it out but it leaves a bitter aftertaste that lingers in the back of his throat a second too long for his liking. Chanyeol's eyebrows furrow together and his large eyes peer down at him, melding into an expression of curiosity and confusion that Baekhyun so badly wants to scrape off his face.

The hostage's lips part to formulate something no doubt pretentious and enraging but the shorter cuts him off before he can articulate any of the many thoughts whizzing around in his head, gaze raking down the length of his body before sliding back up to lock onto a pair of bewildered, round orbs. Baekhyun's own eyes have a tenebrosity lurking within them that screams trouble. Chanyeol has to stop himself from looking away.

"Lock him up. But make sure he's in one piece. I don't want a single scratch on him."

As soon as his commands infiltrate the space surrounding them, two men appear out of thin air to grab onto either of Chanyeol's arms, their fingers strong around the tall boy's limbs. He makes no move to try and escape from their hold, frozen still by the smirk gracing his captor's lips.

It's a sight that's burned into the back of his eyelids, lingering in the back of his mind even after he's tossed into a dark, cold cell deep in the heart of the ship. Smoky kohl rimmed eyes glow red in the darkness. A sharp, hissing voice ghosts by his ears.

"His father will pay a high price for his safety. He has once. And he will again."