Chapter 7 - Remembering

Disclaimer: The characters that make up the cartoon, Wander over Yonder, do not belong to me; neither does anything that you would recognize. Instead, those wonderful things belong to Craig McCracken and his crew.

Summary: One can choose to remember things, good or bad. But sometimes life can be uncompromising.

Warning: Mention of Sylander (Sylvia and Wander) romance, as well as potential head-cannons. (Possibilities of it being a little AU)

A/N: I recently started a poll for this story, so heads up! Check it out!

Enjoy!


43. Darkness

They inched closer to the small creature, being as silent as the inky blackness that they were born from. They made not a sound. Silent. Small tendrils stretched ever further, twisting and curling over fallen leaves. As they crawled over the field of tall flowers and trees, they shook with increasing yearning. To touch him. To see him.

To feel him.

The transparent beings stopped short. Their forms, instead of stretching longways, were now a condensed blob; tucked close to one another. Though it did not bother them, no. It was better this way. To be together. As one, not separated.

It lurched forward after a long moment, itching more so than ever to just reach and touch -

There was a sigh, and the figure shifted; turning over onto its side. The soft, barely audible, rustle of fabric was heard by the silent beings; causing them to shrink back suddenly. Tiny arms curled tightly, held back in worry.

Had it awoken? The beings, shadows, sunk low to the ground, awaiting. Observing. No..

The shadows tingled from end to end in with glee, being so close. So near. It tentatively reached out a single arm, weary of the much larger beast that was slumbering not even a foot away. Ignoring the pull of the warm breeze as it rushed through the deserted forest, the curious silhouettes rolled just a bit closer... aha!

Soft. Black colored fingers gently touched his face. Orange - the bundle of shadows was sure of - tufts of fur tickled its duo of arms as it slowly, cautiously, glided across the youth's forehead, cheeks, and chin. The apparition reared up with joy, giddy for moments to come - surely, right? - at the opportunity to touch, caress, a creation of the stars.

It reached forward again, gently stroking the sides of the nomad's wrinkle-free face. The shadows watched, torn emotionally, as, in seconds, as the wide smile on the slumbering creation's face slowly changed; lips folding down into an uncomfortable frown. Eyebrows wrinkled - in either pain or confusion, the silhouette did not know.

The darkness was sad to be feared by such a wonderful creature, who harbored excellent amounts of light and happiness. On the other hand, however, it was giddy to be frowned at. For it meant that he knew it was there!

Such gladness the shadows felt. To be noticed! And by the child of the stars, no less!

The inky black form curled around the tightly bundled star nomad, noticing everything but one important detail. Still, it hugged the bipedal close, ignoring the green hat that its newly-discovered possession was resting in. Its form pulsed with a long-since-felt emotion. It surrounded the now-restless child, tendrils sneaking further down and across the length of the headdress; getting ever closer to the band in the middle and the -

It pulled away with a hiss, as if it had gotten burned.

No longer trapping the nomad in its icy embrace, the haunt leaned in close and fixated its narrowed gaze at the middle of the magical hat. Staring confidently back was a now-glowing star piece, emanating a strong yellow glow.

The black apparition growled softly, its low-pitched voice echoing off of the aged bark of trees and crinkled leaves of berry-coated bushes. It ignored the whimper of the frightened, yet still asleep, star nomad as it rushed forward once more, hoping to initiate a change in the hat.

Ah! The shadows shrieked loudly, and the sudden sound caused the birds to squawk in response before fluttering off into the distance. It curled inward, shielding the burned section. It glared at the still-glowing star.

The wind rolled through, pulling once more at the recently injured shadows. It whistled lowly, the sound passing through the trail and growing louder as it bounced off of trunks and moss-covered boulders. It struck a chord in the dark cluster of longing shadows, causing it to break free of its trance with the shining hat and star pin.

Would it stay, wondered the hat? Or would it leave? Its star pulsed once, then once more; the golden light illuminating the camp sight of its owner. If not..

The shadow abruptly sunk low to the ground, lying in hiding among the uncut grass. The bulbous form of black gradually snaked its way backwards towards the towering forest's line; never once taking its invisible eyes off of the pulsating, sentient object. Once more feeling its fellow partners of darkness, the daring shadow cluster rose to an impressive height - almost as tall as a neighboring tree.

It watched, like always. Rippling and churning ever slightly. One day..

No matter, the hat chirped - though its musical tone having a slight, angry edge to it. As long as there was darkness, the headdress decided, it would forever be there for its owner. For it was also the duty of a star - to protect.

The shadow, now enlarged and ever watchful from its shelter inside the tree-abundant forest, morphed into an almost evil grin. It rippled with a silent laugh, no longer feeling any joy or worry. No, that was gone.

It called back across the wind, from one sentient object to another; And darkness will be here, waiting. Always.

44. Hospital

"Oh! Syl, look at 'em all!" Wander squealed, the sound echoing loudly down the hall of the newly built hospital building. He leaned up against the large rectangular shaped window, his hands, along with his face, squishing up against the glass plane. His smile grew even wider at the many wiggling infants.

Leaning sideways on the protruding counter, said female allowed a softer smile to grace her enlarged face. Her tail flicked once, then twice, from one side to the other, further announcing her concealed happiness at seeing the younger creatures. Her eyelids drooped, an emotion lighting up her dark eyes.

"Yeah," she sighed, agreeing with her traveling partner. "The little rascals are pretty cute, huh Wander?"

Silence. The only sound being the muffled squeals and snores of the several awaiting babes that were separated by a single door and large glass rectangle.

"Wander?" She called, pushing from her spot against the wall. Sylvia turned around in a circle, looking beneath her and over her shoulders; in the dark corners. She called for the short nomad once more; "Wander, where -"

Thump! Thump!

The blue furred Zbornak whipped around, once again facing the sheltered infant room. Her eyes flashed with confusion when the sudden sound was not paired with its maker, but only with soon-to-be-one-year-old children. She leaned forward slowly, large eyes scanning the room that was available to the outside spectators. "What was-"

"Sylvia!"

In response, said being stumbled back with a shout of utter surprise. Her eyes grew wide at the abrupt appearance of a bright orange creature. After a minute, it finally clicked - the waving alien, orange fur... "Wander!"

Waving, he cheered, "hi, Sylvia! Look at me!"

Hands clutching the white painted counter top, Sylvia asked - raising her voice a little higher so the nomad could hear her over the thick glass and now-louder babies. "How'd you get in there?"

Looking around at the feel of something tugging at his long furred coat, the hat-wearing alien smiled softly down at a kicking newborn. Gently prying meaty fingers from his waist, Wander, instead, offered his much larger hand for the young to grab hold of. "Over there," he pointed to a slightly ajar wooden door that was to his immediate right. It stood tall, it wooden sections harboring a small square-shaped window; unlike its partner, however, it was incredibly small and clouded.

Leaning over the side of the cradle, Wander cooed at the tot, "aw, look'it you! Aren't you a cutie? Yes you are, yes!" Hat flopping as he sharply turned his to look over his narrow shoulder, he called, "come look at them, Syl!"

Pressing her face up against the finger print-littered window, Sylvia caught a brief glance of the open door. She laughed softly under her breath, the action being accompanied by a quick shake of her head. "Alright, I'm comin'."

Sylvia knew for sure that if there was one thing that her buddy, Wander, loved more than visiting hospitals, was checking on the infants.

45. Dinosaur

"Hey, Syl?"

Looking over her shoulder, said creature answered, "yeah?"

The soft crinkling of pages being turned was the next sound that greeted the Zbornak, not the nomad's explanation. Fingers sliding across paper also filled the air, a sign that caused the female to pay more attention to the slow arriving answers.

It was about a minute or two later when Wander decided to answer, "have you ever seen a dinosaur?"

Blinking, Sylvia stopped walking. She shook her head, and said, "no, don't think so. Why?"

"Oh, okay." He said, turning yet another page in the new picture book that he had pulled out from his magical hat. Said headdress twitched and flopped ever slightly as a cooling breeze swept through the open trail, carrying with it the salty smell of the sea that was just within their eyesight.

Wander tilted his head to side and held up the book, turning it to the left so that instead of being right side up, it was now upside down. Pages sagging against the minor pull of the planet's gravity, he was still able to see the expertly drawn picture of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. His eyes widened in awe. "Wow," he breathed.

Twisting her neck around so she could sneak a look, Sylvia asked, "whatcha lookin' at there, Wander?"

Turning it, Wander showed her the two pages that he was admiring. "Isn't it cool?"

Eyes churning with surprise at the incredibly large creature, despite being on a small scale factor, Sylvia nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, and it's pretty big." She added, and started walking along the ending (finally) forest. "But why the sudden interest in these-these-" she paused, trying to remember. "These dinosaurs?"

Wander showed her yet another page within the pop-up book, surprising his friend with a 3-D model of a green-brown-yellow scaled Stegosaurus. "Because, Syl! Look at them - they're so cool and big!" A split second later, the nomad swallowed the book up in a tight hug, crushing the bundle of hard-pressed paper against his small chest. "I bet they give great, big hugs, too! Don't you?"

Sylvia shook her head, although the action was dismissed as a large smile crossed her angular face. "Sure, bud."

Leave it to Wander to turn one of the aggressive species known into the exact opposite.

46. Bike

"Are you sure about this?" Sylvia asked, a feeling starting to form in the pit of her stomach as she continued to watch a familiar star nomad straddle a rocket-boosted bicycle. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry, mimicking the emotion that was generously coating her words when she spoke. "I-I mean, he could get hurt with this a-"

Waving a yellow-gloved hand, the engineer dismissed the worrying vibes that were coming from the Zbornak. His lip curled in defiance, and he disagreed; "Nah, it's all good!" He leaned over the side of the custom built bicycle, tweaking it once more before it was to be cleared. "I know what 'm doin'."

Crossing her arms, Sylvia mumbled, "sure ya' do," as memories from previous visits were stirred up.

"Alright," the overall-clad alien grunted, standing up. He dusted off his hands on the pants of his overalls before continuing. "Ya're all set, little man." His southern accent shining through easily as he spoke. "Ya' ready?"

Wander nodded, pulling his green - and did I mention sparkly? - helmet further down on his rounded head. "Yes!"

"Alrigh', on the count o' three." The older male announced, stepping back towards a computer. He pulled Sylvia along with him, so neither of them would get as hurt. "One...two..." he paused for a second, looking down at the assigned red button; "Three."

And then Wander was gone.

In his spot was a faint smoke outline of him and the boosted vehicle, as well as a single, thick line of tire tracks vanishing off into the far distance to the North. There was the sound of a low rumble of engines and rockets activating before a sudden, and rather loud, BOOM - signaling a crash.

"Wander!" Sylvia shrieked in worry, not caring anymore and rushing off in the direction that her partner had been dragged off into. Her eyes immediately locked on a column of grey smoke as it started to quickly rise up into the baby blue-colored sky. She knelt down, arms reaching out so her three-fingered hands could grab him.

"Bud, can ya' hear me?" The Zbornak asked, her voice rising close to a yell. She gently lifted the motionless form of the nomad into her lap, holding him protectively to her chest. She leaned down, listening. "Wander?"

"S-Sylvia?" Came a soft moan, and with that, Wander turned his head to his right; finding her voice.

Relief flooded her every vein at the nomad's response. "Oh, thank glob!" Sylvia sighed, her nerves, though, still standing on edge. "Are you okay, bud? Did you get hurt?" She asked as she helped the frazzled nomad stand up.

It took him a moment to respond, and when he did, it clearly took the two taller creatures by surprise.

"That..was..awesome!" Wander cheered, his hands waving around excitedly. "Let's go again! C'mon!" With that, he grabbed hold of the engineer's hand and started to pull the elder male towards the dented and scratch littered vehicle on its spot on the ground.

47. Run

For years he had been running all on his own. He always thought that was never going to change - he would travel from planet to star and back solo.

Wander did not really think that he would ever find someone that wanted to run with him. He hoped, but that was all it ever came to. Hope, for things that would never happen.

Until he meat Sylvia. Now, he was not so alone. He had a partner to run with, and there were no questions asked from either party.

Granted they were escaping from different pasts, but their responses were the same - to run. Together.

48. Luck

Lord Hater scowled. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, the soft ruffle of the fabric of his robe could barely be heard over the sharp clicking and whining of different buttons and small machinery. Lights colored either red, yellow, or orange blinked and shined their bright shades in his skin-less face, highlighting his deepening frown.

"One day, Wander," he growled, eyeing the endless blankness of space. He ignored the familiar shapes of passing planets and the blurry multi-colored shades of stars. "You're luck will run out; and when it does.." he trailed off, the frown being replaced by an evil tinted grin. His electric green eyes narrowed, shining with growing glee.

"I'll be there."

49. Way

The small cyclops looked up longingly at the shiny - and recently polished, courtesy of the watchdog army - metal ship, squinting against the windows' glare. Rectangle teeth stared back at him, wide compared to the rest of the front's mouth. On the sides were twin pairs of incredibly large tailpipes, designed specifically for large thrusts of flames and orbal juice.

His eye scanned over the rest of the ship, rolling over red tinted windows and lighting bolt-shaped fins. Rocket boosters could barely be seen from the side, due to stretching far back. It was a magnificent piece of machinery, if you ask him.

And it was not just because he, and a few more watchdog soldiers, had built it from near-scratch. Maybe.

Peepers, who was recently promoted to commander status, rubbed his hands together, a well-known sign that one was coming up with a plan, usually. His eyelids twisted upwards in a sort of smile, or evil grin, rather. "This'll work." He muttered to himself, and took a half-step backwards. "Definitely!"

One way or another, he was going to help Lord Hater conquer the galaxy. Even if it took many years and several tries, he was going to; and the first step towards that was a ship. After all, one cannot get their way without a rather intimidating ship, right?

Peepers dashed down the hallway, roughly shoving aside a strolling soldier. Right!

50. Pranks

"Are you sure Mister Peepers and Hater will like the surprise?" Wander asked, glancing nervously over his narrow shoulder at the abandoned - by people, at least - hallway. Having taken part in this abrupt surprise, the nomad could call out every single present that him and his friend, Sylvia, had taken their time in hiding. Darkened corners and shaded crannies did no use in sheltering from the experienced eye set traps, sticky spots of super glue, blobs of glitter, and suspended bags of feathers.

Sylvia, harboring a restless alien on her saddled back, rolled her eyes, pausing in her set-up of a trip wire. Her meaty fingers worked quickly of tying knots and pressing down on a sensitive platform. She looked into wide eyes once finished, and answered quickly - more so in a rush now than before. "Yes, I'm sure."

Rushing around the corner, the Zbornak waved at a focusing camera that happened to be shaped in the form of a skull. She did not even bother to try hiding a growing smug grin. "This is going to be awesome!" She cheered, not caring if anyone over heard her, either.

Wander laughed alongside with Sylvia, a familiar smile appearing on his face, as well. "Yeah!" He agreed, the shout echoing further down the hall, in all directions, along with an afterthought: "Hope you like the surprise, Hater!"

Though, what Wander did not really know was that he was certainly going to give Lord Hater and his loyal watchdog army a surprise. Good or not, was up debate. But it was a funny one none the less.

"Yeah," Sylvia laughed, the playful smirk stopping its growth finally. "Surprise, surprise!