Chapter 6 - The Huge Misunderstanding
After all the villains in the galaxy gathered the strength to leave the rocky spires after the embarrassing battle royale, Wander and Sylvia, and their reluctant new companion Gypsy, were the only ones to stay behind and made camp.
But even though Sylvia had already fallen asleep, and the rest of the galaxy had fallen silent as well, one inhabitant just couldn't keep himself contained.
"I just can't believe it! Another Star Nomad like me!" Wander whisper-shouted while roasting a marshmallow over the campfire.
"Yeah, yeah, sure…" Gypsy grimly began, leaning her head against a rock like pillow and avoiding eye contact with Wander, "By the way, I'm real sorry I kicked you in the-."
"I-I assure you, it's quite alright—I've endured worse." Wander's nervous chuckle enticed Gypsy to look, and she couldn't help but grin at the blush on his face.
"I just didn't know you and Syl were pals, is all. But you're lucky Sylvia was there ta pry me off, or else I probably would've ended you."
"Oh, I always thank my lucky stars when I make a clean getaway. But back to the big picture here: Where've you been all this time?"
Gypsy looked over at Wander again, this time quizzically as he stared at her with curiosity, "Sylvia never told you?"
"Told me what?"
"Well, I wasn't lying earlier—it's because of you that I was separated from my family. Lord Hater and his army mistook me for you, and I was imprisoned for weeks." Wander watched and listened, guilt growing more obvious on his face as Gypsy went on; she then raised her fists, glaring at the stone shackles and shiny spikes.
"Why didn't you just, ya know—go home?"
"I was completely lost. I'd never been off my home planet before, and I didn't know my way around," Gypsy sighed in reply.
Wander smiled, "Well, I know the galaxy like the back of my hand. I could show you the way home if you'd like."
Gypsy shook her head, "I can't let you do that. Neither you nor Sylvia."
"What? Why not?"
"Wander, I love my family and I love Sylvia to the bottom of my heart," Gypsy began as she stood up, staring at her sleeping sister in sorrow, "But in these past few years, all I've learned how to do is survive alone. And nothing's gonna change that."
"What're you saying?" Wander asked, heavy concern and fear in his tone.
"I'm saying I can't stay. You'll just be deadweight, and vice versa. And with the galaxy's most dangerous villains hunting you down, I'm not gonna get caught up in that."
As soon realization came to him, Wander's face was struck with a glare, "So, you're leaving the only family and other creature of your species you've ever known—for your own selfish needs."
"I'm leaving for my survival." Gypsy finally turned and faced Wander with a glare to match his.
"What am I supposed to tell Sylvia?"
"Tell her it wasn't her fault, and that I love her—and that I'll see her again someday."
Without another word, Gypsy pulled out a secret bottle of Orbble Juice from her shoes, and waved the wand to engulf herself in a bubble before floating away into the darkness and the stars.
Gypsy obviously had some deep regrets about leaving Sylvia without saying goodbye—again. And Wander was truly devastated to break it to Sylvia that Gypsy left, but she refused to accept that news, encouraging Wander to help her find Gypsy again before it was too late.
Unfortunately, they got caught up in another skirmish with Lord Hater again; more specifically, the garbage crusher of his Skull Ship.
Meanwhile, Gypsy felt like eons had gone by while aimlessly floating around alone, and she couldn't shake the gnawing feeling of wanting to go back to Wander and Sylvia. But the thought of facing the very creature that caused all this kept her from turning around.
Eventually, though, she came across Lord Hater's ship, and was immediately tempted to go in and give the said skeleton a good beating. But she knew that was too stupid and risky, so she pushed the thought aside and continued on.
But just as she passed underneath the ship undetected, a large object suddenly came crashing down and burst Gypsy's Orbble Bubble. As soon as the protective coat was gone, she took in a deep breath to avoid being taken by the vacuum of space.
But when she saw that the large object that hit her was none other than Wander, she scowled and crossed her arms, grimly thinking to herself, I welcome death.
Before pulling out his own can of Orbble Juice from his hat, Wander gave Gypsy a faint grimace and entrapped them and Sylvia in a bigger bubble.
"So, you're back," Wander stated matter-of-factly, his voice full of disappointment.
"Yeah, why'd you leave? And you could've at least said goodbye, for Grop's sake!" Sylvia scolded.
"Sorry, Syl, I'm a lone wolf," Gypsy argued with a shrug, "But forget about me. What were you two doing on Lord Hater's ship?"
"Well, we went looking for you, one thing led to another, and you know the rest—except for this part!" Wander happily exclaimed and pulled out a dirty envelope that was creased in one too many places.
"What is that?" Gypsy asked in disgust.
"Supposedly, it's a love letter from Hater ta Dominator," Sylvia pointed out.
"Oh, great."
"All I gotta do is get this letter to Dominator, and she'll know that someone thinks she's special!" Wander stood heroically on Sylvia's back, his chest puffed out and the letter held high.
"If all I've heard about them is correct, then why would you wanna get those two terrible terrorists together?" Gypsy growled.
Almost instantly, Wander started fantasizing aloud about the date Hater and Dominator would have, the wedding it would lead up to, and even the family they would have together.
"Ugh! Wander, this is one of those really, really bad ideas that you're gonna do no matter what, right?" Sylvia groaned matter-of-factly.
"I know that this whole thing might seem a bit loony, but I have to do it! Love depends on it!" Wander declared before exiting the bubble, taking enough with him to create his own personal little bubble, and heading out to pursue Lord Dominator.
"Ok look, I know you probably wanna punch him in the gut,-" Sylvia began nervously.
"That's not true," Gypsy cut her off, "I really do wanna punch him in the gut."
"Whatever. You gotta help me distract him, or else he's gonna get himself killed."
"I really don't get it, Syl. How could your be best friends with the guy who destroyed our family?"
"Are you serious?! You can't blame this all on Wander!"
"Well, I do. And I wouldn't help him, even if I owed him my life!"
With that, Gypsy forcefully pushed herself out of the bubble to split it in two, huffing as she sprinted away in the opposite. And as soon as she left, a space train suddenly sped by Sylvia, barely missing her. And it gave her an idea; it was a drastic measure, but it's the all she had.
"Fine. For both your sake's, I'll do this the hard way," Sylvia grumbled and glanced in Wander and Gypsy's direction, and then suddenly grabbed the caboose of the train, instantly getting pulled out of the bubble and helplessly getting pulled alone like a rag doll.
Sylvia instantly started crying out for help, albeit overdramatically, but it was enough to convince the two Star Nomads that she was in real danger. Wander and Gypsy wasted no time in sprinting to the train to aid Sylvia, but were instantly surprised to see each other yet again.
"What're you doing?!" Gypsy strained from the running.
"Rescuing Sylvia!" Wander shouted back and reached a hand out of his bubble to grab Sylvia's tail, to which Gypsy tried to do as well, but suddenly tripped and lost a lot of speed.
She grunted in frustration before picking up the pace again, trying to reach out for Sylvia's tail again, only to miss when Wander successfully pulled the said Zbornak onto the train. And instead of Sylvia's tail like she had expected, Gypsy's hand was filled by Wander's as he pulled her onboard, too.
"At least we share a common interest," Wander informed with a smirk, referring to Sylvia.
"Hopefully, it'll be the only thing we ever have in common," Gypsy sneered and pulled her hand away.
"Hoo, wow! Thanks, guys! I really need ta be more careful," Sylvia sighed sarcastically.
"I'm just glad you're safe and sound. And this station is the perfect place to get this letter to Dominator," Wander giggled in excitement when the train stopped at its station, and he quickly hopped out of the caboose to get the letter where it belonged.
"Wait a minute. If he delivers that letter, Dominator will be right on our tail!" Gypsy gasped in realization.
"Now you see where I'm coming from?" Sylvia exclaimed.
"Ok, ok, I'll help you stop him from playing match maker. But after that, I'm high tailin' it outta here. Deal?"
"Deal! Now, c'mon!"
Without warning, Sylvia grabbed Gypsy and pulled her into her saddle, taking off as Gypsy wrapped her arms around her neck; it reminded them both of those times when they were little, and guilt instantly found its way into Gypsy's heart when she thought about leaving again.
But Gypsy was yanked out of her thoughts when Sylvia dove behind some trashcans, seemingly hiding from a group of large, dark, and spiky robots with lava traces.
"What are those things?" Gypsy whispered in fear.
"Dominator Bots," Sylvia quietly explained, and then gulped in terror, "If Wander finds out they're here, he'll probably turn himself in just so he can deliver that stupid letter."
"Well then, we won't let him know they're here." It was Gypsy's turn to grab Sylvia's arm and drag her along, and luckily snuck passed all of the Dominator Bots until they met up with Wander at a directory.
As soon as they caught up, Sylvia spotted the dining car and a rather stupid idea came to mind.
"Hey, Wander! What's the rush? Why don't we grab a bite? I'm starved!" Sylvia quickly explained and forcefully pulled Wander's head up to her belly, even making stomach growling noises with her mouth to fool him. And it worked.
Just to keep him distracted long enough, Sylvia ordered countless dishes so that he wouldn't leave, while Gypsy and Wander only ordered a salad or two.
"You're gonna burn holes through it, ya know," Gypsy grimly stated, as Wander hadn't kept his eyes off the envelope while eating.
"No, I won't, Silly! Besides, that's physically impossible," Wander nonchalantly brushed off, still not looking away from the love letter.
"I didn't take you for the sciencey type," Gypsy muttered under her breath.
"Mmm-mm! That was delicious!" Sylvia said with a smile before stretching her limbs and yawning, "But I gotta tell ya, after that, I'm ready for a great, looong nap."
"No problem. You get your rest, and I'll get back ta playin' the matchmaker," Wander whispered reassuringly and left the diner cart, alerting Sylvia and Gypsy.
But when they tried to chase after him, Sylvia fell far behind because of the chubby gut she gained from lunch, and the waitress even stopped her to pay for the food. So, knowing she couldn't waste time waiting for Sylvia, Gypsy made a dash for it.
And since it was the one thing she did best, Gypsy lunged at Wander and tackled him to the ground, sending them into a rolling tumble until they stopped; she held his arms down in a vice grip, she sat on his back with her legs straddling his lower back, and she scowled viciously down at him.
"If you move one more inch, I'm gonna-."
Out of nowhere, the same lame villain with a teapot head and underwear on the outside from the battle royale showed up, raising his arms and roaring to look bigger and more threatening. But his attempts were futile, and he knew it.
"Uh, not so fast! It is I, uh, Something the So and So…and, uh, yeah! So, I'm gonna maybe do some evil perhaps," he began pathetically, causing a pretty embarrassing scene, "So, uh…um, conquer the galaxy! Yeah! Um, um, 'cause that's a thing, right? And so, enslave everyone, ya know…attack all heroes, and steal the treasures-the trains! I'm gonna do, uh…somethin' evil with the trains! …Whatever…"
Too dumbfounded by his own idiocy, Gypsy slowly stood up and let Wander go. And when Sylvia had finally caught up a moment ago, she took this perfect opportunity.
"Oh no, Wander! Not Something the So and So!" Sylvia cried dramatically, "Maybe you should stop him. It'll probably take hours. Drat! Now, we will never get that letter to Dominator!"
But as Sylvia made her intentions very clear, a cold glare made its way onto Wander's face. His heart and mind were filled with determination, and nothing, not even a lame villain, was going to stop him.
"Excuse me, Mr. So and So. Normally, I would spend eleven minutes on this sort of thing, but since love in compelling me towards another quest, I just gotta ask: Is this really what you wanna do with your life?" Wander calmly ranted.
Something the So and So then sighed and recoiled in shame, "Uh, yeah, I…I dunno, probably not. Seemed like the only good idea, but, um, so I dunno. Maybe not. Yeah, sorry, thanks, ok, bye, sorry…bye and sorry…sorry…"
"Sheesh, he's more pathetic than the tall guy from Foster's Home. And that's sayin' somethin'," Gypsy added dryly.
"That doesn't matter. He's still on the move!" Sylvia shouted in terror, suddenly noticing a display of numerous brochures and grabbing them all, "I got an idea! C'mon!"
The two once again raced to catch up with Wander, having to walk backwards since he wouldn't stop, and Sylvia started showing him the brochures she collected.
"Wander, look! Scary ghost monsters!"
"It'll just turn out to be Old Man Jenkins in disguise," Wander protested flatly.
"A search for lost antiquities?"
"We'll just end up in a temple Indiana Jones style, solving a bunch of riddles, dodging poison darts, and getting chased by a giant boulder just to find out that the greatest treasure is our friendship, which we already knew."
"Ok, then—how about returning to places we've already enjoyed?" Sylvia then started spouting a lot of random places Gypsy had never even heard of, but Wander brushed them off, too, stating he'd either been there, seen it, or loved it.
But then Gypsy noticed the last brochure in Sylvia's hands, and read it aloud, "How about Ye Old-Timey Candle Stick Makers?"
That finally stopped Wander. His heels even dug ruts in the ground when he stopped, and his slowly turned around, his eyes wide in utter shock, "What?"
He then sprinted up to them and snatched the brochure from Sylvia, scanning over it with a bright smile.
"That sounds like—the funnest thing ever!" Wander cheered, allowing Sylvia and Gypsy to exchange victorious glances, "And we're definitely going there after I get this letter to Dominator."
"Dangit," Gypsy hissed as Wander handed the brochure back to Sylvia, and made his way up to the Dominator Bots.
"Wander, look, a missing sock!" Sylvia once again tried to distract Wander, but he grabbed the sock and easily returned it to its rightful owner.
"Is that baby lost?"
Wander simply grabbed the baby and handed it to its father.
"What's in the box?!"
"Who cares?"
"Uh, I sure could use a cold drink!"
Wander handed a man selling drinks some money, and he gave him a cold bottle of water in return; he then tossed the drink to Sylvia, who was getting just as agitated with her friend.
"Sylvia, you're not trying to keep me from being the matchmaker, are you?" Wander growled in annoyance.
"Stop you from being 'the matchmaker'?" Sylvia repeated with air quotes.
"Either that, or it's all just a futile mission, simply because it's funny," Gypsy added nonchalantly.
"Wander, how could you even-? I am so surprised. No, I'm shocked! I'm shocked and hurt," Sylvia went on sarcastically, "Yes! Yes, I'm deeply hurt to think that I could ever, ever, ever stand in the way of-!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Sylvia's back hit the hot metal of one of the Dominator Bots.
"Grop," the Zbornak cursed.
Luckily, she ran into the back of the largest robot, which didn't notice her, and that gave Sylvia the chance to resort to her final option: Stealing the letter and running away with it.
Wander didn't let get far, though, and he was soon hot on her tail to get the letter back; Gypsy ran after them as well, in hopes of making sure Wander didn't get the letter back. But when she got close enough, the two disappeared through and Interdimensional Door, making her screech to a halt.
Great. At least now, that letter and those two are gone for good, Gypsy thought and turned to run away, only to once again get hit in the head by Wander and Sylvia a mere second later.
"Not again," Gypsy grunted in pain.
And when Wander tried to get back up after getting the letter back, Sylvia quickly grabbed his ankles and stopped him.
"Wander, sometimes you have these crazy ideas that I classify as—well, bad. But I only say that because you're my friends, and I'm worried you'll get hurt. You understand, right?" Sylvia explained while looking Wander directly in the eye, even pulling him in for a quick hug.
And as Gypsy watched the two friends, perhaps waiting for the perfect opportunity to sneak away for good, she couldn't help but feel the tiniest twinge of jealousy.
"I sure do, Sylvia. But I gotta ask: Do you trust me?" Wander asked sincerely.
Gypsy's eyes widened. Do you trust me? Something about that very phrase and the voice that said it triggered something deep within Gypsy. A memory; it was very faint and everything was blurry, but she could distinctly remember that voice and those words. They were all too familiar, as she swore it was Wander's voice.
Sylvia sighed in defeat and smiled, "You wanna deliver that letter ta Dominator so bad? Well—I'll be with you every step of the way."
"As mush as it pains me to say it, I'll be there, too," Gypsy declared with a smile, taking the others by surprise.
"What changed your mind?" Wander asked with a smirk, as he and Gypsy climbed into Sylvia's saddle.
"Well, it seems that no matter what I do, I just can't seem ta get away from you guys."
"It's good ta have ya back, Gigi," Sylvia added with content.
"Hey, don't get too excited. It's only for a little while," Gypsy corrected with a grin, "Now, let's deliver this stupid letter already!"
All three matchmakers were now ready to go, and Sylvia ran up the Dominator Bots and prepared for the worst. But when Wander realized what she was doing, he immediately yanked on the reigns and made her stop.
"Whoa, Sylvia, are you nuts?! We can't just go up to Dominator's Bots, we'll get killed!" Wander whisper-shouted and hopped off Sylvia's back, expertly sneaking around the killer bots and ran up to a mail box.
"I was just gonna put it in the mail," he clarified and pushed the love letter through the slot.
Gypsy's jaw dropped as she slipped off of Sylvia's back in shock, and a crooked grin and eye twitch of insanity was plastered on Sylvia's face before she fainted.
"That would've been nice to know sooner, Dummy," Gypsy growled in frustration and crossed her arms.
"So, now…?" Sylvia asked groggily.
"I guess it's time for the end," Wander simply replied.
Sorry for the long wait...again!
But yes, the mystery behind Gypsy and Wander's pasts are very important(perhaps even dependent of each other).
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!