I forgot to add that thank you to some special people from the beginning of Fight. I hope it's okay to list their real names (just not the last, lol I'm not that insensitive) Thank you to Meghan, Rachael, Cossette, Ellie, a few from Tumblr and Skype that I can't list the names of at the moment. And to the WOY fandom themselves, for making my life magical and worth living and my inspiration to make these wonderful tales. Let's keep on fighting for season 3 too!
7/7/16
"Wander!"
It was the crack of the morning and birds were already tweeting their songs in the air. Sylvia the Zbornak tirelessly looked for her best friend, and under everything. Anything she had her eyes on she lifted up called for the star nomad.
Rocks,
"Wander?"
In tree tops,
"Buddy-boop?"
A family of beetles, having their breakfast be briefly disturbed by a blue creature, stared at her.
"Wandie?"
She left them to look in the river not too far,
"WHANDHER?" Her mouth gurgled bubbles.
Regretting that she got wet, she shook herself dry like a dog. She aimlessly looked for him, and refused to stop. She remembered him telling her to look for a specific place, as he was on a mission just a few days before and had left to fend for herself. Sylvia wasn't the best at remembering details, but she knew it was on the tip of her tongue, and as soon as she spotted his valued scarf, there was no mistaking it was him, she could see that old red stripe from a mile away. After all she made it for him as a gift.
"Grop, what place did he say again he'd be?" She tapped her lip.
They'd been staying on the current planet for months, but it was really peaceful, and both appreciated that. They preferred quieter ones than the other planets that had bigger civilizations. This one in particular because they'd find each other. She looked into one place she hadn't seen yet, a part of a cave.
"Wander?" Her sweet and gentle voice echoed against the rocky walls.
She could hear someone snoring. And she knew who's Z's they were.
She sighed happily. Sylvia entered, hoping it wasn't anyone's home she was intruding into.
"Roleswitched" Wander slept soundly and content. Sylvia's footsteps tapped loudly, but not enough to wake him.
"What did you get yourself into recently?" She giggled, cupping her hands under her chin.
"You get tired from long missions, knowing you."
It took her several minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but upon looking closer, Wander was holding a baby in his arms.
Sylvia gasped loudly.
"OH MY GROP. He's so cute!" Her eyes glittered with joy.
She forgot to remain quiet; as she woke up the bundle of trouble awake.
"AUUGH!" Wander's eyes flared red, he hated being woken up.
The baby cried louder, Wander forgot he was holding the rescued child.
Sylvia sat down at his eye level,
"Sorry buddy, I didn't mean that," she chuckles, "I'm glad you came back safely."
"You didn't need to worry, I'm fine." He replied with embarrassment.
"What's the kiddos name? What were his parents like?"
"Shush. He's trying to sleep." Wander didn't look at her, frowning.
Judging by his tone, Sylvia sensed something might've happened that he didn't want to talk about yet. She let it off for the time being.
"What's his name?"
"Nate."
Sylvia leaned closer and gaped,
"Oh no, he's bleeding."
Wander forgot that splinters from Nate's former house hit his face.
"It's all good now, there was an accident." He put quickly.
His gentle smirk appeared, and put one finger into the baby's tentacle. Nate squeezed it back, and smiled in his sleep. Wanting to inspect closer, Sylvia got closer, admiring more of the adorable child.
"We can't keep him." Wander said suddenly.
"But..." Sylvia was going to protest, "Where could he go?"
"You know we're not fit to be parents, someone else should have him."
"But you'd make a great father, Wander." She giggled.
"Yeah sure, I won't be able to sleep. You how I get."
A few weeks later...
Come on, Natey!"
Sylvia encouraged Nate to come closer to her, she and Wander attempting to teach him how to walk and crawl. He couldn't stand on his feet yet, so he went crawling first. Wander leaned against a tree and observed.
"Sania." He waved to make sure he had her full interest on him.
Nate couldn't pronounce their names, but Sylvia was able to tell he was trying his hardest, and that made it so much more adorable. The two decided to nestle on the planet for awhile longer and made their temporary home.
"A little more, that's it.."
She encouraged him with her hands, this made him want to stand up. He wobbled forward and used his arms to balance himself. Not sure of what to do, he made an uneasy face at his foster, and took his first step.
Wander grinned and watched him, Sylvia gasped and her eyes sparkled again. Nate tipped over into her palms and she caught him.
"YOU DID it!" She praised, and made Nate chuckle.
Sylvia pointed to where Wander stood, "Now try going to papa."
"What? oh no no." Wander shook his hands, unsure of what to do.
Nate walked to him nonetheless, with a big smile on his face.
"Alright kid, take it easy, you're gonna-"
Nate wrapped his tentacles around his slim frame and hugged him tight, the admiration in the child's eyes was illuminating, as if gazing at Wander like he was his real father.
"Papa kitty." He chirped.
Wander's brow ticked, not liking the terms.
"Hehehe...you think you're so smart." He shook his fist, annoyed.
"Wander..." Sylvia chuckled, she tried to keep it silent.
"I heard that." He snapped at her.
They didn't notice or sense that someone was watching them...
Several months pass.
Wander never thought he'd be so attached to something or someone, besides Sylvia. He grew fond of Nate and cared for him like he was his own. Growing up, he never let himself be soft in order to survive the harsh galaxy out to destroy him. Only Sylvia knew details of his personal life and rarely shared his feelings with anyone else. Sylvia was aware of the emotional wavering of her best friend.
"He's so open, and that's never happened as much before." She said to herself.
He'd come a long away after they became friends.
She was looking after Nate again, who played with some toys they had bought awhile back. She enjoyed her tea while she watched the child of now two years old play. She sighed sadly. Sylvia remembered when he first brought him home he said something about not keeping him. She hoped they can for as long as they could.
"When papa coming back?" Nate asked suddenly and snapped his eyes at Sylvia.
"Oh, pretty soon."
Nate stumbled up, and fell onto her lap. Sylvia ran her fingers through his dark hair, which had grown since the day he first arrived; it was turning into a swirl at the top.
"Nate, do you remember what your real daddy looked like?" She suddenly brought up.
Nate rolled his eyes and thought;
"No, but I do know he was a fish."
"A fish?" Sylvia tilted her head.
"Yah! thiiis big!" Nate spread his arms as far as he could.
Sylvia chuckled at the silly representation.
"You know you're not a fish, right?"
Nate made a comical frown.
"But, daddy is a fish and so is Wander!"
Must be super confused. Or vague since his dad is an octopus.
"So that's a no, he doesn't remember." Sylvia said to herself again.
Nate slept on her lap while she tried to make sense of the child's origin. But from what details she knew, he was picked up from a tropical planet, but the name slipped past her.
...
"Wander, what did you discover there?"
"I told you, I don't want to talk about it." Wander huffed.
"But he deserves to know someday!"
Sylvia had tried to pry information when he came back from rescuing Nate. But every time she did, he'd avoid the subject.
"It's best you and Nathan don't know. They-" Wander paused, as if he was looking into scene where he stumbled upon a horrible secret.
There he was, standing by Eva as he watched the life slowly die from her and her smile haunted him more than anything. He witnessed a murder.
"They who?" Sylvia asked sweetly, seeing she had cracked a surface.
Wander whipped around and punched the wall of the cabin, as if he had sensed someone was sneaking up behind to kill him.
"Wand-"
His eyes returned to thier normal glint, but defiance remained,
"I told you, and I'll say it one last time...stay out of it." He said in a low-key tone.
Without making facial contact he stomped away. Sylvia looked at the hole in the wall, wondering what could have happened to him on his mission.
...
"Miss me?"
Sylvia stopped thinking of the flashback and gazed to see Wander with their dinner for the night.
"Hi, how did it go?"
Wander rolled his eyes and shut the door, "Ugh, these swine-birds weren't easy to catch, they proceeded to bite at my head."
"Well, at least you came back safely." Sylvia ensured him.
Flying pigs were no laughing matter, they were incredibly hard to hunt, and more challenging since Wander had to get up early and spent the majority of the day hunting. Before prepping to cook the well earned food, he took off his bandanna and scarf to wash later. He removed his arm wrappings to let his skin breathe.
"I see he's been lazy." Wander gestured to Nate asleep on her lap.
"Oh, we had fun. He's missed you."
"Did he? like I care."
Being with him over time, Sylvia knew it was his way of hiding appreciation by being sarcastic. She knows he's not all cold-hearted.
"Nate knows you love him."
Wander jolted as if getting stabbed by a needle.
"Where the flarf did that come from?"
"You don't need to feel ashamed, he reads everyone well like a book." She admitted sweetly. She felt it was her job to assure Wander that he was supported and sometimes he didn't know that.
"And that's not necessarily a good thing." He muttered a harsh whisper.
Being distracted into the conversation he momentarily forgot he was making dinner and fumbled with the meat cleaver.
"I'm surprised I've lasted so long, it's just unreal. Since I've met you, I still fear the day someone will come and find me for who I am and finish me off."
"But those days are in the past, there's no point in living with fear of it." This time Sylvia grew a concerned altitude.
Wander was only silent and didn't reply.
"Wannder, you don't have to hide from me and Nate-"
He shoved aside the kitchen equipment loudly, cutting her off. He startled Sylvia at first, he showed a defeated frown;
"You don't understand, Sylvia. I do have to hide..."
He had faced away from her, he held up his left wrist and put the other hand on his forearm; a set of four claws retracted from the fingertips.
He felt the compression of tough skin wrapping around him, Sylvia came up and hugged him and set her head on top of his.
"Again, you don't have to hide it, what's the point if I already know?" She ensured him and sighed contently.
"You know being with me puts him in danger." He nudged his face up to meet hers.
"He's not the only one, I've been put into danger with you since, and look at us now," She poked his forehead,
"Don't worry so much."
"But-"
"If the time comes you need to tell where he came from and about your powers, just keep silent until then."
Wander was about to agree, but then she picked him up and hugged him so tightly she cut off his air-ways;
"Oh I love you so much, buds." She sighed again happy.
"Choking...not breathing." He croaked.
Nearly at the age of three, Nate's adventurous side had begun to sprout and bloom. At whenever chance he got, Nate would run off and see the scenery of the planet, on a trail leading a popular picnic area, and a large lake right by. Sometimes he would go straight to the lake and undress to swim in it, even though his guardian would come home to find him soaking wet and told him not to.
"But papa's name is Wander, meaning he likes to go places, I want to do it, too." He told himself proudly.
Having made it to his destination, he awed at the sparkling lavender-colored water of the lake. But his second most favorite part was the sky above, thriving with distant planets and stars. He went without permission again, but he was used to Wander only giving him light scolding afterwards that it didn't bother Nate.
He settled under a tree and sat his supplies down. Taking out a sandwich he munched it down quickly, all the walking had made him hungry. While eating he was thinking about whether to swim or not, but came too focused on the beautiful view ahead.
"Wish auntie Sylvia was here."
There were some groups of families down below, swimming and chattering amongst themselves, having a good time. By old habit, Nate took out his binoculars to see closer, he loved doing it. But for his age, he wasn't told that it was rude and invasive.
A moment of peering down, something had blocked his view, lowering the binoculars he saw someone was standing in front of him.
"WAAA!" He jumped.
The stranger chuckled, "I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"
Rubbing his eyes Nate looked who it was, and he wasn't someone he knew or seen before;
About 3 feet tall and skinny, orange fur, wore a black long over jacket and black shoes with white knee-high socks. The fur on his head was similar to his foster dad's but messier.
"Um, yeah, but I'm alright." Nate replied sheepishly.
"How are you?" He sat on one knee and held out his hand to shake,
"I don't know. I'm fine?" Unsure of what to do, he took his hand and returned the shake.
"If you don't mind, may I sit with you, lad?" His eyes peered into his,
For some reason, if he said no he would feel guilty later on, he nodded his head. The man smiled and sat next to him, occupying the invitation.
"Ah, beautiful isn't it?" He leaned back with his hands supporting behind him.
"Yeah it is! It's my favorite." Nate innocently chirped.
"But I don't know..it feels like it's missing something." Stranger input, "More red would be nice."
"Red? is that your favorite color?" Nate asked, his curiosity rose.
He shook his head,
"Never mind, you're a bit young to understand,"
His mouth made a flat smile. Nate sat on his knees, determined to play and engage; thinking it was a game.
"Try me." He challenged.
Stranger took in a breath, as if giving in, "There is something I want to ask you."
"Yeah, yeah?" Nate nodded his head enthusiastically.
Seeing that he was pulled into it, he removed his cap to reveal dark and reddish eyes, which would have set some off because of how eerie they appeared, but Nate was too into conversation to notice.
"My name is Mono, I've had my attention on a fellow that looks like me, you know him."
Nate gasped, "Wander?"
"Yes, him."
"What do you want from him?" He asked innocently.
Mono leaned forward and smiled, "Just to speak with him, nothing else."
He put his hand on the young octopuses shoulder, and in doing that, now Nate felt uneasy. But Mono went on,
"You see, he and are alike, meaning species wise...I don't know him personally, but since he's the same as me, I've been anxious to meet him, Nate."
"Oh! Are you brothers?" Nate asked excitedly.
Mono chuckled at the silly thought,
"You could say that." He patted Nate's head.
"I think I know what you're going to say, you want to talk to him?"
"Talk to who?"
Nate flinched and turned around, Wander stood with his arms folded, not too happy. He sighed with disapproval and stomped wearily to him,
"How many times have I told you to not run off alone here?"
"I'm sorry."
Nate being distracted, his apology wasn't as genuine; thoughts still on the conversation with Mono.
"Papa, there's someone who's been wanting to see you." He announced happily.
Wander stared at him, confused.
"Where is he?"
"Right there-" Nate pointed to where Mono sat,
But he was gone.
...
That night Nate couldn't sleep, his curiosity had skyrocketed since that afternoon, thinking about Mono and what he would want with Wander.
"If he travels like pops, he could join us." He cooed.
Someone in the dark, a smile went from ear to ear on Mono's face, and biting his lower lips... piercing the skin and making himself bleed. Hearing Nate's hope of joining together was slowly working with his plans.
"Foolish child, thinking I'm his ally, it will be his greatest downfall."
The next two days went on as normal, Nate didn't sneak off, and Mono remained out of sight. He finished helping Sylvia with the chores and keeping their house clean. Now bored, he wondered what to do. Easily seeing something was on his mind, Sylvia poked her head into his room,
"Is something wrong, Natey?"
"Oh um-!" Nate jumped and fumbled the tips of his tentacles on the bed sheets, "I uh, met someone the other day."
He didn't like to lie and wanted to keep it that way. What harm would Mono do?
"Is that who you're thinking about?" She chuckled,"Who is it?"
"Well..he looks like Papa."
This caught her attention, eyes popped in fascination,
"A furry man?"
"Not what I was going to say, but yeah!" Nate shrugged," I think he wants to be his friend."
"Be sure to tell Wander about it first, he isn't one that trusts others."
"But he trusts you." Nate input.
"True." Sylvia nodded.
"Do you fight like him, auntie Sylvia?" Nate sat in a pretzel and set his tentacles under his chin.
"Not as well as Wander does, I prefer not to fight unless I have to."
Wander knew she wasn't the engaging type, despite that Zbornaks were known to be gruff and thick-headed. But she wasn't like her brothers back at her home planet. All tough acting.
There was a knock on the front door.
"Oh, I'll get that." Sylvia left the room.
Nate followed after, having nothing to do. Sylvia opened the entry door and to see a short man half her size standing on the threshold.
"Evening!" He cheered.
"Wander-?"
"Oh heavens, no. But I'm looking for the him, is he home?" He shrugged nervously.
Sylvia thought Wander had dressed himself up in fancier clothes than usual, which was unlike him. But this was an entirely different person.
"No he's not, but he should be-" Sylvia started but was cut off; Mono had spotted Nate.
"Well hello there, how have you been?" Mono waved.
Nate stepped out.
"Fine." He grinned.
"Who is this, Natey?" Sylvia wrapped her hands on his shoulders.
"This is Mono, the one who wanted to talk to Papa."
Mono took one step onto the doorway, smiling mischievously.
"Miss, would you mind if I stayed and waited for Wander?"
"Um, sure."
Sylvia wasn't sure to trust him or not, he was a little suspicious appearing but she couldn't refuse now.
"Alright then-"
Mono was knocked off his feet by a large mace. Someone had attacked him and he tumbled down the pathway to the front door.
"Mono!" Nate called out.
Both he and Sylvia ran out to assist him, but saw that the man in question stood in the way.
And he wasn't too pleased.
"What the grop are you doing here, slug?"
Mono put on a babyish act with puppy eyes and rubbed his head.
"Is that how you greet themselves these days? Furnicles have sure lost their manners."
"For good reasons." Wander cracked his knuckles, glaring at him.
"Furnicles?" Nate looked up to Sylvia, seeing if she knew what they were talking about.
She made a sharp nod and shushed him.
"Oh goodness, what have I ever done to you?" Mono cried fake comical tears and pouty face.
It was funny, and well as pathetic to Wander that he faked innocence.
"Your last warning, Mono...don't ever come back here again."
Mono dropped the masquerade, and smiled snidely.
"I don't need to, you're right here, and my work is almost done." He sat up, cracked his neck and patted off his jacket.
"Let's talk."
Wander continued to glare and raise a brow at him. Mono made eye contact, red and black irises dilated into Wander's...his eyes rolled into the back of his skull.
Wander fell to the ground.
"It will be done tonight." Mono sighed pleased.
"Papa!"
"Wander!?"
Sylvia and Nate rand to his side, he barely moved, Sylvia put her head on his chest, and instantly could see he was still breathing.
"What did you do to him?" Nate cried, "I thought you wanted to be his friend."
Mono wasn't as friendly this time to him and just blankly stared.
"Of course, we're already friends," Mono turned to leave, his main objective finished, "Whether he wants to or not."
Mono chuckled heartlessly and started to go another direction. Now Sylvia was set off. Cracking her own fists she followed after him, and caught him with her tail and held on tightly. Nate has never seen her this mad.
"Explain what you did to him just now." She growled.
"Left him a message, nothing more." Mono rolled his eyes.
"What SORT of message?!" Sylvia wrapped her tail even tighter on him.
"Very well, I'll tell you."
Even though his arms were bound to his sides, he effortlessly slid out to shrug at her. Like the pressure on his body was nothing less than the strength of a light tug. Nate stayed closely to Wander, scared now.
"If you care about yourself, I suggest you leave tonight and abandon."
"As if." Sylvia spat.
"You're a tough one aren't ya? We'll see how long that'll last once you see for what he really is. I simply gave him a command."
His snide remark disgusted her, so she let go.
"Shame, because those who care the most, suffer the most."
He glanced at Nate, the boy gulped nervously.
"If you touch either one of them..." Sylvia hissed,
"Really, I don't want to fight. Just want to do what I was born to do."
He turned to leave and was gone quickly, his jacket behind him flowed with the breeze.
"Wander!"
Sylvia almost forgot the nomad had passed out, and she tried to stir him awake.
"Wander!"
Nate shook his head, trembling.
"WANDER!"
…
Later that night, Sylvia and Nate sat anxiously at the dinner table, hoping he would wake up. He'd been out since the afternoon without a sound.
"Will he be okay?" Nate looked to her for reassurance.
"He's a stubborn guy, he's made it out of lots of scary situations." Sylvia puckered her lips, trying to be brave.
Nate laughed at her, feeling somewhat better. But it didn't last.
There were crashing sounds coming from the hallway next to the bedrooms. The two took a quick glance and got up. Nate stayed behind Sylvia allowing to protect him. Making it to the bedroom, Sylvia opened the door and found Wander panting on all fours. Relieved that nothing was wrong she called him.
"Hey! how are you feeling-"
"Get...back..." Wander's voice cracked, as he was being suffocated.
"What did you say, Wander?" Sylvia didn't understand.
His twisted his body in painful angles,
"Nate, Syl -cough-..."
Wander finally stood on his feet, and the two saw he was taller than normal, past Sylvia's height...he looked into their faces with twisted joy. Both eyes turned into black and blue hues.
His smile was demented but his eyes were screaming with fear.
"Run!"
Two voices resonated in the room; Wander's normal tone and a monstrous one.
They scrammed, not wasting the chance to get away. They yelped and screamed. Wander ran all four of his feet, chasing them and scratching the floors with his claws while doing so. Unfortunately, the cabin was so small it made it easier to jump on the walls to get his prey.
He easily grabbed Sylvia and made her trip.
"AH!"
Immediately she kicked him off, Wander became dizzy but his senses came back and he charged at the two again.
"Get on!"
Sylvia grabbed Nate and stashed him onto her back, he held on tight to her long neck. He dared to look back...Wander snarled loudly from behind; determined to get him. Sylvia wished she knew a way to turn him back to normal, she knew of this condition of his where he could transform at will but this wasn't like normal, thus not knowing what to do. All she could do was run.
She growled, because Mono was standing ahead of her.
"YOU! What're you doing here-?"
"I'll handle this!" He yelled to her,
She of course didn't trust him one hundred percent, but she ran past him anyway, and let him do whatever he was going to do. She stopped running to watch.
"Wander..." Mono spread his arms at the rampant beast before him,
Wander jumped, ready to sink his claws into him.
"Welcome home."
The two rolled on the grass, but Mono didn't fight back, in fact he had a pleased expression on his face when they stopped moving. Wander made a guttural growl, and bared his fangs. He put his body on top of Mono, threatening to kill him on the spot.
"Beautiful...I'd never thought..I would find another of my kind.."
Mono's reddish eyes went glassy and passionate, he embraced one hand on Wander's cheek, and revealing his own claws. Wander flinched from the touch, confused at first, then accepted it.
"Stay with me."
Now Mono sounded like a child begging for his mother to not leave, it was pitiful to Sylvia. The way he acted deemed like understood the pain Wander was forced to experience was being used against him. Wander's eyes dilated back to black orbs, and frowned fearfully. He scurried off on his feet away from Mono, confused as to why he was on top of him.
"What're you doing here? I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Seemingly dissatisfied that he reverted to normal, he attempted to persuade him again.
"Not enough, I have to-"
Sylvia took the chance and hit Mono as hard as she could, knocking him unconscious.
"Sylvia?" Wander looked at her and without any verbal commands, demanded to know what was going on.
"Are you feeling.. okay?" Sylvia asked anxiously.
"I..I don't know about that..suddenly it's night? and Mono was here...what happened between then and now?"
How horrible, he doesn't remember...
He rubbed his head to make sense of it, and jumped when he saw his claws.
"AHH! what.. What's happening to me?!"
"Wander, it's okay! You just-"
Wander's eyes caught Nate several feet away, the boy shaking in fear. The smell of his scent caught on again.
Wander reformed back to his previous state and went after him!
"MEAT!" Saliva splattered out of his mouth,
"AHH!" Nate screamed at the top of his lungs, and ran for his life.
"WANDER, NO!" Sylvia called and tried to command him to stop, but her voice was deaf to his ears.
"Help me, help me!" Nate cried, determined to get away as fear drove him to survive.
Despite his efforts to run as fast as he could, Wander caught him.
His guardian turned-hunter raised his claws to inflict a killing strike, but with Nate's quick thinking, he slapped him hard with his small tentacles and made Wander stall.
"Papa, please don't!" Nate begged.
The boy exhausted himself from running, so he could only crawl away. Wander did the same and reached out his hand to grab him again...and stopped.
Wander panted from exhaustion himself and tried to catch his breath. He coughed up dirt as it made his throat hoarse and dry. His face returned its gentler form.
"Wander!"
Sylvia stopped to see if Nate was still okay, and to her relief he was. But the damage had been done and scars had left their mark on the young child.
"Nate...what happened-"
Nate started to cry, fearing he'd be chased again.
"I...what did I do?"
Nate passed out. And Mono had disappeared.
After several days had gone by, Wander recovered from the bruises and scratches he earned himself from bumping and chasing after his friend. But he, mentally and emotionally, tore himself up from the inside out. That night he and the other two went to the hospital, they were discharged a day after. But Nate stayed behind. The nurses noticed he would stare endlessly at walls and not react to anyone's voices or when someone snapped their fingers in his face to get his attention.
Since coming home to find the disaster of a mess in the house included, Wander stayed in Nate's room and sat in the little desk provided. He didn't budge since. Having his bandana off his face was easier to read, but his scarf still on, as it provided some comfort.
"May I come in?" Sylvia peeked in the crack of the door frame.
"Yeah."
She sat on the bed, concerned. Wander's eyes had slight purple bags underneath, obviously not having slept much. Sylvia watched him fumble with the clothing Nate wore from when he was smaller. Wander gestured his head to something on the desk, an envelope that was wrinkled.
"What is that?" Sylvia pointed.
"Something his mom gave him, I forgot it was with the clothes."
"Did you read it?"
Wander shook his head, "It's not for me, it's for Nate, he should read it."
"Ah, I see."
"But I never got to thank them."
"Them?"
"His parents." Wander shifted in the chair and stared at the letter in his hands.
"It's not my business..." He started, "But this time, I'm curious."
"I think he'll forgive you." Sylvia grinned. "Just like I forgive you."
Wander snapped his eyes at her, seeing the acceptance in her own eyes, the forgiveness for that night he attacked, melted his doubt.
"Thanks, Sylvia."
He got up and sat next to her, seeing the bed was more comfortable.
"I'm gonna read it."
"Hmm." Sylvia nodded. She got up to give him his privacy.
He started to open it and then paused, Sylvia was at the doorway still smiling at him. "I'm going to the hospital to visit, Nate must miss one of us."
"Alright."
"You want to come with me when you're done?" She suggested.
Wander glanced away, guilt struck again.
"No. You go on without me, and Sylvia..." He tightened his fingers around the letter, "It's probably best he doesn't see me again."
Surprised at first, then sad; Sylvia nodded again. She understood a choice like that was probably for the best.
"You be careful, okay?"
Having left, Wander had the privacy he needed.
After opening the letter and finishing it…
Wander had never cried harder his life in years. A message of love packed in one letter reassured him that Nate was going to a good place in life, despite robbed of his parents. He began to miss Eva, who in earlier years, was one of his very first friends he had. He already regretted not doing enough to save her that day. But rested assured, he knew she was watching over them all without any grudges. Smiling while tears streamed his face, Wander got up and sat back at the desk again, opening the drawer and getting a pen to add something to it. It would be a long time before the child he called his own.. would read it.
...
After some searching Nate found his permanent home and family. Planet Rockna was in an entirely different galaxy and it was going to be a long travel. Sylvia accompanied Nate with his personal things, she was heartbroken that he was leaving, but knew he would be just as happy in a new place.
Before leaving, Sylvia knocked on Wander's bedroom door.
"You sure you don't want to say goodbye?"
"My choice hasn't changed." He answered simply.
Without another word, she left the house.
The following year, Nate still had nightmares that plagued him from that night. His new parents would wake up to hear screams of terror in the middle of the night. He would be sent to do therapeutic sessions to treat the trauma and took some forms of medication to treat anxiety and his jittery-episodes.
But some nights were worse than better than some. But he never forgot the frightening face of the beast that wanted to kill him, and he remembered it's name.
"Furnicles..Furnicles...evil, heartless monsters.."
His new phobia of the creatures nursed his hatred over the course of the years. Despite he hated them, he wanted to study them and their history to get a better understanding of their nature. But because of it, it wiped out the memory of his former caretakers, the memory of that night caused him to go into shock and forget them entirely. His weariness somehow didn't interfere with his daily life and continued to function like any normal person, but still required to take his medications. Nate had no more of the warm, and loving nomad who risked his life to save him, as well as Mono.
"I'll hate you for as long as I live."
The Fear