Wander Over Yonder: The New Galaxy

Chapter Two: The Roommate

Thanks to everyone who read and commented on the first chapter. I'm excited to explore some new adventures with these goofy characters!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a safe and happy holiday, and everyone else had an awesome week!

If you read Never Hurts To Help, MissyMeghan3 created an awesome animatic that takes place during the final chapter of Wander and Sylvia escaping from the planet. It is so good and you should go and watch it! It can be found here: https/the-king-of-the-universe/770708355531587584/never-hurts-to-help-by-deyinel-on-archive-of-our?source=share

Enjoy chapter two and see you at the bottom!

It was finished.

Sylvia looked out over the completed ship from her place at the helm. It really felt like something only Wander could have thought of, from the strangely whimsical design choices, like modeling it after sailing ships of the far distant past, to the orble sails shimmering overhead in their hoops as they waited to be deployed, to the bright, multicoloured pictures painted across every surface.

It seemed strangely appropriate for their first voyage through the restored planets of the galaxy, a new type of ship to match a new outlook.

They were due to set off soon. The other aliens were busy with final preparations and making sure nothing important was being left behind. Wander and some others were off collecting any garbage that littered the surface of the tiny planet. He hadn't wanted to leave it dirty after it had been so helpful. Sylvia was looking forward to seeing the back of it, personally, but she had to admit it had been there for them when they needed it.

And so had Lord Hater.

She still felt like she was dealing with some of the aftermath of everything that had happened, from Wander going to face Dominator alone, to her own close call with the drill, to that moment when the ship had exploded and she hadn't known if Wander was safe.

That drill.

She almost wanted to shiver at the memory. Seeing it rushing down towards her had been frightening enough, but it had been the fear and desperation in Wander's voice that had stayed with her afterwards. She hadn't wanted that to be his last memory of her.

She hadn't expected Hater's intervention, would never have bet on it in a million years, but it was then, looking up at the overlord struggling to hold the drill back with his forcefield, protecting her from certain death, when Wander's words from before had come back to her and finally made perfect sense.

An enemy's just a friend you haven't made yet.

That had always been something he said, something he lived by, and it was true that she'd seen a few enemies become friends over the course of their travels together. Grop, she was living proof of that, much as she didn't like thinking about their first encounter. But she'd never thought someone like Lord Hater could change, could become a genuine ally, could actually be the person to save the galaxy.

That he would be the person to save everyone.

Wander had.

Hater had been moping around ever since the final battle, and she wondered what he'd been thinking about. Peepers had made it clear they were still planning to conquer the galaxy once their ship was repaired, which was about what she'd expected.

Normally, she would probably have written off Hater's actions as a one time stop-the-galaxy-destroying-bigger-bad kind of thing, but she found herself unable to do so this time. Maybe because Hater hadn't just stopped the drill, but he'd done it just in time to save her. Maybe it had been the look in his eyes when she got the other aliens chanting for him. He'd been so happy he'd practically been in tears. Maybe it had even been because he'd sequestered himself in the ruins of the skull-ship while they'd been building the Star Nomad. It seemed like he'd had some things to think about, and Sylvia was pretty sure she knew what some of them were.

In any case, she supposed she'd try to tone down the mockery she'd usually be tormenting him and Peepers with when they were down on their luck. If this was a new galaxy, perhaps she should give Hater a chance to be, well, maybe not good, but better.

That was also why she'd gone along with Wander's request, much as she hadn't loved the idea.

She gave a snort, turning back to the ship's controls, going over them one more time.

Hater would probably share those particular sentiments once Wander told him. Maybe she should invest in some earplugs or something. Or a really big mallet.

Well, this was it.

With one final look around his tilted bedroom, Hater headed out of the skull ship, and towards the group of aliens chatting and laughing as they piled into the…thing they'd built.

He'd managed to put a leash on Captain Tim, not wanting to lose the monstrosity on the trip. Peepers and the other watchdogs had brought over his essential luggage already, but Captain Tim had resisted their attempts to move him, and Hater had felt it necessary to fetch his pet himself. Then, once the leash was on, he had needed to spend a little while hunting down his missing ribs and the hand that Tim had torn off and thrown across the room, and had spent a little longer at this task than necessary. But he was now out of excuses, and couldn't put the boarding off any longer.

Peepers was coming too of course, along with a small contingent of watchdogs, leaving most of the soldiers behind to continue repairing the ship until Hater returned. Until then, the overlord was just going to have to put up with his changed status among the other aliens, not to mention be in close proximity to Wander for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Peepers had been staying at a respectful distance for precisely this reason, just in case Hater decided to vent his feelings with some lightning.

In actuality, Hater had felt too emotionally wrung out for any kind of violent reaction, and he was still having trouble summoning any rage towards the nomad. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling about Wander, aside from confusion and a vague sense of dread when he thought about the voyage to come.

Now, as he approached the strange construction the other aliens had been building, Hater let his eyes rove over it, taking in every nauseating detail. Okay, he decided grudgingly, utilizing orbles as sails was at least pretty creative, given their distinct lack of working engine parts, but the rest? It looked like no ship he had ever seen, being mostly made of wood of all things, with an open deck on top protected only by railings, with feathery, bird-like wings protruding out of the sides. Then there was the paint-job, which was a chaotic mess of colours and symbols, bright and happy and indisputably Wander. Hater shuddered.

He could only hope the beastly thing managed to stay together long enough for him to get to a planet with the parts they needed. And that it had a more subdued colour scheme on the inside, though he wasn't counting on either hope.

As he'd now come to expect, his reception when he arrived at the ship was warm and friendly, with many aliens exclaiming happily and patting him on the back. At least having Captain Tim with him gave him a bit of a buffer zone. Nobody tried to hug him at any rate, but their greetings were still just as excited and happy. Hater ignored this to the best of his ability. He had already noticed that the joyful greetings made him feel strangely warm inside, so he'd determined that the best reaction was to simply grumble and glare, keeping a lid on any confusing emotions he was experiencing. It was one thing for people to cheer after his awesome defeat of Dominator, but their insistence on acting like he was some kind of hero whenever he showed up had gotten uncomfortable fast.

Well, he supposed that would stop once he started conquering planets again. Peepers was certain that would return things to normal, and while Hater wasn't entirely convinced, it would no doubt help to blacken his reputation a little.

And if there was a small part at his center that would miss those happy cheers, the smiles and the feeling of being wanted, well, it would be more than compensated for once he was ruling the entire galaxy and the citizens were bowing and groveling before him.

He was sure it would.

Pushing past some convenience store clerk, and stepping around the Black Cube of Darkness, much more respectfully, Hater finally saw the person he'd both been both anticipating and dreading. Wander was over by the gangplank, helping a group of hooded aliens to board, and making sure they didn't trip on the slanted board they were walking up. He seemed to feel Hater's eyes on him, because he looked up immediately, giving Hater one of those bright, friendly smiles that haunted the overlord's dreams. He gave the alien he was helping a final wave, then turned and headed over to Hater, slipping deftly through the crowd.

Hater watched him approach warily. After the scene a few days before, he was feeling even more uncomfortable around the nomad. He'd decided to stick to his plan of being distant and vaguely grumpy, but Wander tended to have a way of messing up Hater's plans, and the skeleton lord didn't have much hope of maintaining his cool around the pest for long.

"Hater! You made it, buddy!" Wander announced happily as he stepped around the final group of aliens to stand in front of Hater. "And ya brought yer little Tim-Tim!" He bent down to coo at the arachnomorph who had started growling as soon as the nomad was in sight.

"I'm not your buddy!" Hater corrected automatically. "I'm just here because there's no other way off this stupid rock. Now, are you going to show me to my room or what?"

"Oh, o' course, Hater!" Wander straightened back up, just as Captain Tim's fangs snapped shut on where his face had been a moment before. "Follow me!" He waved a furry, orange hand, leading the way through the crowd towards the ship. Hater followed reluctantly, glaring at any alien who looked like they were about to greet him or give him a high five.

Wander was still chatting as they walked up the gang plank, pointing out which parts of the garish vessel had been painted by which aliens, and talking about general aspects of the construction.

Hater was half inclined to yell at him to shut up and tell him that he wasn't interested in how the stupid thing was put together in no uncertain terms, but he kept his jaw shut and let Wander babble on. He was supposed to be civil for now, right? And it wasn't as though Wander would stop talking if he told him to. At least once he got to his room, he'd be able to shut the door in the annoying creature's face and go back to sulking. He wasn't planning to come out until they reached the next planet. That way, he'd be able to prevent himself from blowing up their only means of transport, and he wouldn't have to deal with the uncomfortable feelings he'd been experiencing around Wander ever since the whole 'saving' incident had happened.

"And here we are!" Wander paused before a door made of dark wood with a star painted on it. Hater had at least been relieved to see that the interior of the ship was mostly plain wood. Maybe they hadn't had time to paint it. "This'll be our room for the trip."

Hater started to nod, prepared to push past the furry pain and into the room, but then froze as Wander's last words sunk into his skull.

"Our room?!" he demanded, whirling to fix Wander with the most threatening glare he could muster. "What do you mean, 'our room?'" Hater straightened to his full, impressive height, looming over the nomad and casting him in shadow in the narrow corridor. Behind him, a light on the wall flickered as his power surged.

Like always, Wander didn't seem the least bit intimidated. He didn't even seem to notice that Hater was trying to intimidate him, which was just rude. He simply smiled.

"Well," he started, "after ya said you were missin' me, Sylvia an' I had a chat." Hater tried to interject that he'd said no such thing, but Wander didn't seem to hear him as he continued. "Sylvia's gonna be our pilot an' steer the ship, on account of how she knows a bit about how ta work a helm, an' she said she didn't mind sleepin' in the cabin up on deck so she can take the wheel when needed, an' we heard Mr. Peepers was gonna be bunkin' with the watchdogs, to look after 'em on the ship, so I figured you an' I can share a room an' spend some time together."

Hater was torn between continuing to glare, much as it wasn't working, or recoiling in terror at the prospect. He forced an angry snarl into his voice.

"What in the whole Grop-darned galaxy made you think I'd want to spend time with you?"

"Hmmm, I dunno." Wander was still smiling up at him, but he seemed to consider the question for a moment. "A hunch? I know a lot's changed, an' you can be a li'l shy an' awkward around strangers, so I thought it'd be nice to have a friend by yer side fer the voyage."

It felt like Wander's smile was burning itself into Hater's skull, and the nomad seemed uncomfortably close. Hater's glare faltered for a moment before he could force it back on.

"I – I'm not shy or awkward," he managed. "I'm the Greatest in the Galaxy!" He was going for menacing, but he wasn't sure it came across. It sounded a little more petulant and sulky than he would have liked.

"Well, any-whooser," Wander didn't seem to be listening as he started back down the hallway again, "I'm gonna go help with the launch. Lemmie know if you need anything an' see ya later, roomie!"

"We are NOT ROOMIES!" Hater yelled down the empty corridor. He stood for a moment uncomfortably in front of the door, tapping his foot awkwardly. Captain Tim hissed from beside him, and suddenly Hater spurred himself into action. First, he pushed the door open, nudging the arachnomorph inside before closing the door. He'd deal with that later. Then, he was off down the corridor after his nemesis. He was going to have this out with Wander now. The little nomad was crazier than he looked if he thought Hater was going to share a room with his greatest enemy.

He emerged on deck again just as the orble sails started to fill. Aliens were everywhere; pulling on ropes, securing objects on deck and calling out to each other. Hater spotted Sylvia up by the ship's wheel, adjusting some knobs and levers, one hand on the wheel, ready to turn it. Slowly, the wings spread on either side of the ship and began to flap, and Hater felt the contraption start to lift. It was a strange sensation, not at all like the launch of a normal spacefaring vessel, and it took the overlord a moment to remember what his intention had been for coming out on deck.

When he did, he glared around, looking about for Wander. He was going to find the pest and make him understand by pounding it into his thick, furry skull, if necessary, even if it meant drawing more attention by doing it on the crowded deck. Before he could locate the nomad, however, Hater felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder.

"Uh, how's it going, bud?"

Hater turned, flinching slightly when confronted with the former Terror of the Galaxy.

"Oh, hey there, um…"

"Jeff," the alien reminded him helpfully.

"Um, yeah. Hey Jeff. What do you want?"

"Well, you looked a little lost over here by yourself, man. Anything I can help you with?"

"No, no, no!" Hater waved his hands in denial. "I'm just…I'm looking for…" his voice dropped to a whisper, not entirely happy with what he would be admitting. "I'm looking for Wander, actually." Now the glare came back full force. "Need to see him about a room assignment."

To his surprise, Major Threat laughed.

"Oh, so you're the one!"

"The one what?" Hater asked suspiciously. He was pretty sure he wouldn't like where this was going.

"Well, Tumbleweed said he was going to be rooming with a friend who needed some help, and you know Tumbleweed; 'it never hurts to help.' I should have guessed it was you, after you were moping around down there, man."

"We are not friends," Hater hissed. He was getting tired of correcting people on that, and it was probably only going to get worse during the journey. He pressed a frustrated hand to his head and took a deep breath, trying to collect himself. "Look…Jeff. I may have done some…things recently; weird things, things that, under normal circumstances, I would never, ever have done, but that doesn't make me any less of a bad guy. So, let's get a few things strait. I'm not a hero, I wasn't 'moping' and I do not need any 'help', and I am not his friend."

Major Threat chuckled good-naturedly again.

"That's, uh, totally okay, bud. You don't have to worry about labels or anything like that. Trust me; I've been where you are, and it can be tough to take those steps. Just be what you wanna be, and you'll be happier. You may have trouble finding another room though, if that's what you're after, man. The ship ended up being pretty full, but you're welcome to come and bunk with me and the guys if you really want to. See you 'round, man!"

Giving Hater one last pat on the shoulder, the former warlord set off across the deck, waving to the skeleton lord over his shoulder.

Hater stared after him, baffled and feeling vaguely unsettled, the way he always did when he ran into Major Threat lately.

Ever since meeting the former villain and learning what had happened between him and Wander, the warning had stayed somewhere in the back of Hater's skull; the worry that the same thing could happen to him. Now, here he was, having saved the galaxy, protected several of his most hated enemies from certain doom, and was now riding on a ship filled with all the people he should be subjugating.

It certainly felt like that uncomfortable future was closer than it had ever been.

Above his head, the tips of the feathery, white wings could be seen as they rose and fell, and the orble sails glittered in the starlight; fully extended and making the vast expanse of space quiver with rainbow colours. They were well up from the surface of the secret planet now, and on their way into the rest of the galaxy.

Hater felt his shoulders slump slightly, feeling suddenly tired. He should have known trying to change his room would be a problem. Wander was certainly not going to listen if Hater told him to get out, and if the rest of the ship was full, he was probably better off staying where he was with just the furry pest than he would be trying his luck anywhere else. He couldn't imagine staying with Peepers and the watchdogs. Evil galactic overlords did not room with their minions. And he didn't want to end up sharing a room with a group of his new 'fans' either, where he would have to pretend to be pleasant and get along with them for the whole Grop blasted voyage. At least with Wander he would be able to act however he wanted, and Wander would go along with it. Hater really didn't want to get kicked off the ship before they reached their destination.

So, this was happening, he supposed, and it was going to be another annoyance he was forced to put up with, though he still planned to give Wander a hard time about it when he finally found him.

Well, if he was waiting anyway, he might as well stay out here a little longer and watch the ship in flight. It was strangely peaceful now they were airborne, and the motion of the ship against the far distant stars was actually helping some of his pent-up tension to evaporate.

But as soon as Wander showed up, Hater was going to drag him back to the room and make some ground rules very clear. He refused to let Wander pull him around for the whole trip. He promised himself that the furry freak was going to listen to him for once.

He just hoped it was a promise he'd be able to keep.

Hope you liked it!

I heard in a list of ideas that were going to be used for season 3 that Hater and Wander were going to be roommates on the Star Nomad. I don't know whether it's true, but it sounded amazing and I had to run with it lol.

My next update will either be the first chapter of "Fighting The Tide" or chapter three for this story. Both of them are inspiring me right now!

See you all soon!