Dinner time was quickly approaching when Wander was humming to himself as he often did whenever he was on cooking duty and on this occasion, his humming was especially joyous.
"You're in a good mood! Whatcha humming there pal?" Sylvia asked while assisting Wander in seeking out ingredients in a massive crop field.
"Nothing in particular" Wander answers while squeezing a perfectly-ripe red tomato that was still on the vine.
"Nothing huh? Whatever it is, you definitely sound like you're in a great mood!" Sylvia commented.
"How couldn't I be!?" Wander asked. "The planet is coming back to life! Cooking time is here! The planet is producing so much fresh and beautiful ingredients!"
"You can say that again! This is some beatiful produce!" Sylvia praises while assessing a cucumber.
"Oh definitely!" Wander agrees, "but ya wanna know the best part!?"
"What's the best part?.. Lemme guess" Sylvia says while Wander looked as though he was about to explode with joy. "Dominator is coming around..."
"YES!" Wander shouts so loud that even Dominator amid her ship's ruins in the distance heard the exclamation.
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down buddy!" Sylvia urges seeing Wander seemingly about to bounce away uncontrollably. "I get that you're happy but we've got cooking to do! We can't get too worked up when working with a flame!"
Wander could not sit still he was so giddy with joy.
"...On second thought" Sylvia reconsiders, "maybe it's best you get all that excess energy out now before we're at the open-flame cooking stage. Permission to go nuts granted!"
"WAAHOOO!" Wander exclaims running about the crop field gathering cooking ingredients at record pace. "Cooking time for friends and loved ones HERE WE COME!"
With his iconic green hat temporarily transformed into a chef's hat, Wander was slicing tomatoes, dicing potatoes, chopping onions which summoned tears of joy out of Wander, and grating plenty of other ingredients.
"Hey buddy! Hogging all the work are ya?" Sylvia questions upon seeing Wander already frying some of the ingredients.
"Sorry Syl, I just cannot wait for this dish to be ready! Dee is going to be extra hungry when she's done cleaning up!"
"So how much longer before we're eating?" Sylvia asks.
"Won't be long! Gonna say about 10 minutes!" Wander informs. "In the meantime, could you check up on Dominator? Let her know food's ready in 10!"
"Sure thing" Sylvia agrees before walking off and heading towards the remains of the Skull Cruiser 9001. "Hey Dominator! Where are ya?"
"Over here" answers Dominator's voice.
"Oh, there you are" Sylvia says upon finding Dominator hard at work gathering up wreckage. "Hey, you're doing a pretty good job!" she says noting how the chaotic mess left behind by the explosion of the Skull Cruiser had been tidied up and much of it cleared away.
"Thanks" Dominator said.
"You've got things organized and everything. Any reason why?" Sylvia wonders while noting how all the different types of scrap metal had been piled up together.
"...I dunno. Why not?"
"...Okay, whatever. I'm just here to let you know foods ready in 10 minutes" Sylvia notifies.
"Oh! Good to know!" Dominator says. "All this work's got me building up an appetite! Can't wait!"
"Yeah, sure thing!" Sylvia says and shortly after, she is gone.
"...Dombots" Dominator states simply and out of hiding arise a little army of her spherical, magma-like minions.
"Yes Lord Dominator" one of the Dombots answers.
"Back to work! My Domship's not rebuilding itself!" Dominator instructs. "Well not without a bit of help anyways" she corrects herself recalling her ship's regenerative abilities.
At once, Dominator's minions resume gathering the pieces of the once-mighty but short-lived Skull Cruiser 9001 and carry it off to where a great deal of Dominator's ship lay in ruins.
"...It won't be long now" Dominator said to herself with a very satisfied smile.
With her Dombot armies busy, Dominator headed back to join Wander and Sylvia for what she hoped would be the last time.
-=episode title=-
THE LAST DAY
-=episode title=-
Wander made quick work of setting up the table, laying out plates, arranging the eating utensils, setting up cups, distributing napkins, and even went so far as to plant three fast-growing mushrooms to serve as cushioned seats.
"Can I at least help fetch the drinks!?" Sylvia asks amazed at Wander's work ethic.
"Oh! I'm sorry Syl! Got ahead of myself again!" Wander apologized then handed Sylvia a baster.
"What's this for?" Sylvia asked.
"For fetching drinks of course!" Wander answers pointing at a series of tulips. "The nectar from those flowers is perfectly drinkable! Good for you too!"
"Is it now?" Sylvia asked before drawing nectar and pouring it into a cup for tasting. "..It is! Delicious!"
"Right!?" Wander asked.
"And look who's here!" Sylvia then said as Dominator got within view.
"Dee!" Wander exclaimed. "You're just in time!"
"Am I?" Dominator asked looking tired from cleaning up the Skull Cruiser 9001.
"Yep!" Wander confirms presenting Dominator's seat at the table.
"Is my seat a mushroom!?" Dominator asks.
"All seats are!" Wander said. "Now please, have a seat while I fetch the main course!"
Dominator, finding her mushroom seat oddly inviting, sits.
"This is quite nice. Lots of cushion!" Dominator said getting comfortable atop her seat.
"You can say that again" Sylvia responds while seated atop her own chair.
"And what's this?" Dominator asked looking in her cup to find a pink, semi-transparent fluid.
"It's nectar. Give it a sip!"
"Nectar!?" Dominator let out in surprise. "Oh this is good! You got this out of a flower?" she asked after a sip.
"Yep!" Sylvia says pointing towards a tulip.
"Well what do ya know?" Dominator said after a direct taste.
"Ladies!" Wander sung upon his return, silver serving tray held high up in the air, "the main course is here!"
Setting the tray down on the table, Wander lifts the dome cover to release a thick and warm cloud of steam. After the steam clears, a generous helping of fluffy brown rice; a small and fancy glass pitcher filled with a dark sauce; and a large bowl of chicken and vegetable stir-fry are unveiled.
"Chicken!? Wander, you're a vegetarian!" Sylvia pointed out in alarm.
"Oh, he's one of those is he?" Dominator thought half amused, half annoyed.
"It's not real chicken, Sylvia!" Wander confessed.
"It's not?" Sylvia let out.
"What the heck is it then?" Dominator asked.
"Try it!" Wander instructs.
Dominator and Sylvia have a taste.
"...How could this not be chicken!?" Dominator almost demanded. "It tastes just like it!"
"It's cauliflower seasoned juuuust right!" Wander revealed.
"Cauliflower and seasoning?" Sylvia asked.
"And egg whites" Wander said.
"Aha! So there WAS chicken!" Dominator said.
"Ehehe! Egg white from egg plant!" Wander reveals chuckling.
"Hahaha! You sly dog you!" Sylvia compliments while Dominator rolls her eyes.
With a wooden spoon, Wander patted down a bed of rice on Dominator's plate before drizzling a tiny portion of the sauce on that bed and then placing a portion of the chicken and veggie stir-fry atop that.
"I assure you, these are the optimal proportions for this dish" Wander said before moving on to arranging Sylvia's plate.
"Look at him! Trying so hard!" Dominator thought to herself. "It almost makes me feel bad that I plan to crush his adorable little dreams once my armor and ship are back!.. Almost... I cannot wait to see the look on his face!"
Dominator tastes her dinner.
"...Hate to admit it but I'm gonna miss his cooking!..." Dominator thought to herself. "...Whatever, I'll just teach one of my Dombots some recipes. I'll loot some culinary planets if I have to."
"Wander, you gotta write the recipe down somewhere for me" Sylvia requests. "I want to send it my mother's way, I'm sure she'll love it! Maybe it'll help her get my brothers to eat more veggies!"
"Sylvia! It would be an honor!" Wander said. "For now, let's just enjoy the show!"
"Show? What show?" Sylvia asked what Dominator was about to ask.
"That show!" Wander says pointing towards a growing bed of glow-in-the-dark multi-colored flowers.
"What's going on there?" Dominator asked.
Before Wander could answer, faint popping sounds are heard along with sudden flashes of light bursting out like fireworks from the bed of flowers.
"Fire flowers! They bloom at night and when they do, they put on a show!" Wander explains, Dominator and Sylvia awed by the sight. "Neat aren't they?"
"Ohoho! Look at 'em go! It's so beautiful the way they illuminate their surroundings!" Sylvia said.
"All we need now is a bit of musical atmosphere" Wander said pulling out his banjo.
"Good idea" Sylvia agreed.
Good food and a light show with friends accompanied by a very gentle and relaxing banjo strumming. Very few in existence could ever find it a miserable way to spend an evening.
For a very brief instant, a rare emotion for Dominator had overcome her: she felt very relaxed and satisfied with her life. She had forgotten all about destruction and simply wanted to indulge in a moment she admitted to herself she would not mind if it were to last forever.
She made quick work of shaking off such a sentiment.
Once food was done, all three lied down atop camping blankets and were enjoying the final moments of the light show put on by the fire flowers.
"Full stomach with a soft, comfy blanket, and a pretty nice light show" Sylvia says. "Now this is the life!"
"You can say that again buddy!" Wander answers. "How about you Dee? Hoping you had a swell day!"
"Yeah, I did" Dominator confesses.
"I'm certainly ready to call it a day" Sylvia declares after a hearty yawn.
"Yeah, me too" Wander agrees before he too gave a loud yawn. "Good night Sylvia."
"Good night Wander" Sylvia responds.
"Good night Dominator!" Wander made sure to say.
"G-good night Wander" Dominator says.
"Dee, please wish Syl a good night" Wander asks nicely.
"G-good night Syl" Dominator says through a half-hearted eye roll.
"G-good night... Dee..." Sylvia says before finally falling asleep.
"Good night... Dee..." Wander says once again.
"Good night again Wander" Dominator said and very soon, Wander was also fast asleep.
Now Dominator was the last one still awake.
"These two idiots beside me are so vulerable right now!" Dominator thought to herself. "I could shock them both awake and put the scare into them with my armor and ship!.. Speaking of which, I should check up on my Dombots. Their work must be done by now... But I'm really comfortable here... Maybe I'll just close my eyes... for a couple minutes..."
"Good morning!" Wander greeted.
"Good morning" Dominator greeted back with little thought at first. With the morning sun rising, she slaps her forehead dismayed by her falling asleep the previous night without checking on her Dombots or on the progress on her ship and armor.
"Shower's all yours by the way!" Wander declares.
"Shower?" Dominator asks and Wander points towards a waterfall. "..Oh."
After a refreshing morning shower, Dominator joins Wander at the breakfast table.
"No Zbornak this morning? Sylvia, that's her name" Dominator asks Wander.
"Nope! She's still sleeping!" Wander answers. "She loves her sleep time!"
"Seems like it" Dominator said. "...Sorry, I'll be right back" she then excuses herself.
"Alrighty! I'll try to have breakfast ready by then!" Wander announces.
Dominator headed straight for the remains of her ship to check up on progress of repairs on her suit and ship.
"Lord Dominator, your suit of armor is ready" a Dombot reported as two other Dombots held up her restored armor.
"Oh! This is awesome!" Dominator said examining her armor. "This looks like new! How's the ship coming along?"
Dominator's ship immediately rose up from its former resting place looking like new and glowing with life.
"Ohoho! Ahahahahahahahaha! We are back in business!" Dominator celebrates. "This is excellent! EXCELLENT! Suit me up!"
At once, Dominator's Dombots assemble her suit of armor onto her body.
"Lord Dominator" a Dombot said presenting her with her old helmet.
"My old crown! How I missed her!" Dominator remarked gasping. "Please! Crown me!"
The Dombot carefully placed the helmet on Dominator's head completing the visage that once terrorized the galaxy.
"I feel... I feel..." Dominator began, "I feel like myself again!"
"Welcome back Lord Dominator" a Dombot greets.
"It's so good to be back" Dominator answers beholding her recovering legions of Dombots. "Display the current villain leaderboard" she directs at a Dombot with a projector.
At once, a Dombot steps forth and projects requested data.
"A sandwich is at the top!? That has to be a joke... Pathetic!" Dominator chastised. "I cannot believe villain standards have fallen so low!"
"Shall we prepare for departure from this planet?" another Dombot asked.
"Yes, I must regain my throne at once and show all those dorks who the true villain leader is but first, I must tend to some loose ends" Dominator said with a conniving smirk.
Wander was busy putting the finishing touches on breakfast when Dominator, her armor withdrawn into her person, rejoined the table.
"This is always the toughest part!" Dominator thought to herself while at the table. "What's the best way I can wreck that little heart of his before I buzz off this irritating planet!?"
"Welcome back Dee" Wander greets happily when he finally noticed Dominator's return. "You're looking... different."
"Am I?" Dominator asked sweetly. "What're you seeing differently?"
"W-well, you've got your horned helmet back" Wander observed.
"Indeed I did! What else?" Dominator asked standing up from the table and summoning her armor.
"And your suit is back too..." Wander noticed.
"It is isn't it!?" Dominator said still feigning surprise before a legion of her Dombots joined her side. "What else!?"
"...D-Dominator, what's going on?"
"Guess" Dominator requests, an arm of hers turning into magma.
"D-Dominator, d-don't do this" Wander then said with growing alarm.
"Don't do what? This?" Dominator asked before blasting Wander with her magma and pinning him to the ground.
"D-Dominator, you're better than this!" Wander pleads. "You were doing so well!"
"Was I!?" Dominator demands. "Stuck on this stupid planet with you and the Zbornak while pathetic excuses for villains claimed my number one spot and defiled my throne!?"
"Dee, please don't do this!" Wander begged.
"Dee!?" Dominator exclaims before she dons her old mask granting her her old robotic voice. "The name is Lord Dominator and I have you to thank for helping me recover my ship and armies!"
Dominator's ship rises out of the horizon to loom over the planet menacingly.
"Now I can truly say I'm feeling like myself again! Best of all, I won't be needing you anymore!"
"N-no!" Wander says weakly.
"Yes!" Dominator counters, "and I want you to remember one thing! As I return to destroy this pathetic galaxy, town by town, continent by continent, planet by planet, remember one thing!"
Dominator closes the distance to get face-to-face with Wander.
"This galaxy's destruction will be ALL... YOUR... FAULT!"
Dominator's ship beams Dominator along with her armies up into itself all the while Dominator laughed heartily in her robotic voice.
"We shall meet again" Dominator announces on her way up, "and when we do, the shattered spirits of the galaxy's happiest orange wanderer will adorn the top of my villainous crown! YOU will have made ME the greatest villain in the universe! Wahahahahahaha!"
Dominator's ship disappears into space leaving a stunned-silent Wander near tears. What he had been working on for so long, a good Dominator whom he could have called a dear friend, had just disappeared at the drop of a hat or rather, at the donning of a helmet. He was left helplessly stuck to magma rock and shattered in spirit.
Soon, Dominator was light-years away and celebrating her new-found freedom and rebirth.
"Ahahahahahaha! Did you see the look on his face?" Dominator asked of her Dombots. "He looked sooo devastated! Like all the hard work he put in had come crashing down around him! Ahahahahaha!"
Her Dombots stared at her coldly unable to join her in her revelry while she laughed heartily.
"Oh, the only regret is I didn't record it so I could relive the moment again and again!" she said looking over an old photo of her tormenting Wander and Sylvia over a little yellow flower. "Oh well! Back to business! Back to reclaiming my throne and showing all these clowns how it's really done!" she said while looking over the current villain leaderboards.
Just then, her stomach began to growl.
"Oh man! All this winning is making me hungry!" Dominator declares. "Bring me my breakfast!"
At once, a Dombot shows up with a silver serving tray and lifts the covering to reveal a tube of insta-lunch.
Dominator stares blankly at it and the tube stares right back.
The Great Lord Dominator's second reign had just begun.
Author's note: Thanks for reading. Next chapter in the works! Any and all feedback is welcome!