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Description
Part 1:
Arc of Dominator: The End of the Galaxy -- 1/3?

Part 2:
Arc of Dominator: The End of the Galaxy -- 2/3

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TRIGGER WARNING:

Death, murder, war, blood, psychosis, serial killer, major character death, major character torture

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Good Stuff:

Happy ending, healing, recovery, friendship, life after tragedy,

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~~The Legend~~

In Wander's 50 years of life, he managed to accomplish enough good to be recognizable to many people and races.
But he was humble about his infamy, even when he and Sylvia showed up to try and rescue any survivors on a world that was mid-invasion.
For once the pair managed to show up during the chaos rather than just after it, and they rescued four children who'd missed their escape shuttle.
To their surprise, the kids spoke of a "hero" and "legend," and thought this being would come and save them.
When their home went up in flames, they agreed to go with Wander and Sylvia instead, not aware that the creature they were waiting for was already there, and already saving them.

Through the journey, the pair humored the kids by allowing them to tell their own interpretations of what "The Legend" was, and what he did.
Each variation was...wildly disturbing to Wander in particular, but he and Syl both bit their tongues and allowed the kids to tell their stories.
From then until they finally got the kids to their shuttle, Wander never revealed he was the one they were talking about, because to him it didn't matter; what mattered was it gave them all hope.
He didn't need the fame, or the glory, or even an ounce of credit.
All he needed was for survivors to hold onto that special little flame.

~~Higher Power~~

The next few weeks were very busy.
With Dominator's planetary count having now reached 27, she was moving quickly and only getting stronger.
It seemed like every time they turned around Dom was doing something else, destroying something else, and the death toll was unbearably high.
It had become the highest-priority Galactic emergency since the Irken Empire's attempts at conquest, but admittedly, Dominator was moving faster on her own than the entire Irken race had in their attempts.
The Grand Council Woman called for any capable armies and scientists to work together to try and take her down, but urged caution against her seemingly unstoppable rampage.
Meanwhile, the Galactic Council stayed out of the way, for if they fell, there would be chaos beyond anyone's imagination.

As this transpired, Sylvia, in her desperation to put an end to it, began to seek wisdom from sources beyond just the physical.
She was seldom one to seek higher knowledge, so this was a surprise to Wander, but she was desperate.
She was scared, of course.
Having no bright ideas of his own, the nomad followed her lead, and trusted his best friend.

First they attended a very high-profile party gathering on planet HinnLinn, featuring a prestigious and giant race of people, also simply calling themselves "hinns."
But where they went was notorious for being all-manners and all-seriousness, and it was said that if one could perfect their appearance, manners and speech, a council by the name of "High Gnees" would grant them wisdom to overcome any obstacle.
Hardly anyone ever stood a chance, and Wander was the last person to be trusted to not laugh when he saw the appearance of the hinns.
But in the end, it was his (and Sylvia's) inability to keep from laughing that brought the council joy, as their entire namesake, constant puns and even their butt-shaped appearances were all a test.
Their wisdom?
"Lighten up."
Not the most helpful words in an hour of such dire circumstances, but in an odd sort of way, it eased Sylvia's mind a bit.
She and Wander came away from the event laughing and feeling recharged for the road ahead of them.
They wouldn't learn until a little over a year later that the hinns didn't actually look like that.

Some days after the party, the pair encountered Brad Starlight, copying Wander and Sylvia's looks and style while feigning heroics in order to prey on the gratitudes of various women.
Although Sylvia (rightfully) was willing to let him die, Wander vouched for his life and they saved him when a Dom bot attacked.
Sylvia discovered through this event that she really was strong enough to beat one, which made her more confident.
Brad's survival, and Wander's trust in him to never take things too far, would come back to haunt him later down the line.

Days later still, Sylvia wanted to try her luck elsewhere.
In a vast and infinite cosmos, could there not be a power greater than the Greatest Hater of all time?
Surely something had to exist.
So next, the zbornak sought power in a haunted woodland shrouded in riddle and darkness, even when daylight persisted beyond its deadened horizon.
She got the riddle from map pulled out of Wander's hat, giving them the coordinates when Sylvia asked the hat for "what they needed to find the power to defeat Dominator."
And so the riddle went:

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"Deep in the darkest woods I hide

I keep you safe from what lurks outside

Even the strongest cannot resist my power

I can strike anyone, anywhere, at any hour

Only once you master me

Will you defeat your enemy."

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Sylvia seemed unfazed to face the woodland, driven by desire to end the war, but Wander fared differently.
Before even entering, he was already plagued with the very thing the riddle spoke of; fear.
He sensed the aura of it all in the darkness, and Sylvia remained strong and persistent, without fear...until she thought Wander may have been lost.
In the end, the two learned that fear was the key to the riddle, and it was what they had to defeat.
They found in the end that courage and love were the strongest weapons imaginable, that no object or magic would be any good without a steely heart.

"Even Dominator isn't as scary as the thought of losing you."

---

As previously mentioned, Wander had been the strongest of anyone.
His attempts at carrying the entire weight of his loved ones' worlds on his back, as well as feeling guilty about everything Dom was doing, finally took its toll on him the day after the woodland riddle.
When he awoke the next morning, Wander was discovered to have fallen very ill.
He was weak, his eyes bloodshot, all his strength had been sapped and he could hardly think straight.
Sylvia also found his temperature to be high, and thus made him stay down and rest in the cave they'd crashed in.
But Wander being himself, he tried to help Sylvia with their daily routine, but after attempting to get himself a glass of water, he could no longer fight what had come over him.

Falling back asleep in the hammock he was tucked into, the nomad became plagued with fever dreams.
As his temperature climbed his subconscious began to boil, and opened up his mind to the Otherworld.
The dreams were symbolic but maddening, featuring vivid hallucinations of him getting up and trying to assist Sylvia in doing strange things, spiraling down a rabbit hole of questionable acts.
In the visions he saw a cosmic deity who called herself "Myrtle the Eternal Turtle," which was only one of dozens of her names.
She contacted him via his fever, and through the dreams inserted herself by narration, and occasionally glimpses of her could be seen in the background, or even in Sylvia herself through glowing violet eyes.
As it went on it got scarier, and Myrtle continued to tell Wander that if he didn't care for himself and rest, he would perish, and if he died, he wouldn't be able to save anyone.
But he kept trying to help everyone else in the dream, took on too much responsibility, and it became a nightmare in which his person started to be consumed by slime and a moss-like substance.
It was scary.

The dream ended with Myrtle and Sylvia chanting in his head that he was going to die, standing in Dominator's ship, lava rising up and surrounding his feet.
Feeling like he was burning alive, it was the massive spike in his fever which finally drove Wander to wake.
He was delirious, but knew he really would die if he stayed in the hammock, thus rolling out and dragging himself to a water puddle in the cave to cool down.
Sylvia was worried when she found him like that, but trusted he knew his body, and stayed with him until he cooled down.
After the scary dreams, Wander finally got the message, and willingly surrendered himself to his best friend's assistance.
She cared for him tenderly, did what he usually would do for them both, and showed it was no real bother for her to work in his place for a short time.
Through this, Wander learned the importance of letting others help him, too, which was no easy task.
He kept Myrtle in mind, and hoped to someday meet her under better circumstances.

~~Wisdom of the Nomad~~

Though they'd learned some good lessons, Sylvia wanted to try to make yet another ally, and see if this person couldn't also provide ammunition against their enemy.
They met an unusual sorcerer by the name of "Neckbeard," AKA, Seth, and while Sylvia hunted for a weapon, Wander found himself taken by a micro planet containing a tiny population of creatures he affectionately called "Bitties."
The nomad exposed this small species of people to information far beyond what they previously had, secretly knowing his actions were consequential, but believing everyone deserves the chance to learn and grow.
Seth fought him for the Bitties, and surprisingly, Wander showed contempt and frustration at the wizard, accusing him of keeping others in the dark to make himself seem smarter.
His wisdom and true understanding of his surroundings was apparent when he also told him that just because Seth thought he was smarter than everyone else, didn't mean it was true.
This was an unusually tense teaching moment for Wander, but as usual he got his way, and thanks to Sylvia's help, they set the Bitties free.
By so doing, Sylvia inadvertently sacrificed the mirror she was hoping to use against Dominator.
When Wander expressed remorse for this, Sylvia admitted allowing Dominator to live and destroy someplace else was no better, and definitely not noble.
Wander was very proud, and again, they carried on.

~~The Flower~~

It was now roughly six months since Dominator's unveiling, give or take.
As they came once more upon an attacked planet (after failing to retrieve a super mech they also hoped would beat Dom), the pair all but fell to their knees.
These months hadn't only been spent seeing ruin and ash -- they had seen bodies, blood, bones, death, entire lives and families lost.
People's dreams erased, memories obliterated.
Wander even picked up a discarded, burnt teddy bear, hoarsely saying "she's not coming back," before hugging the toy, and then laying it back where he found it.
Standing in the fading light of that planet's dusk, Wander found himself paralyzed with grief.
But Sylvia didn't want to give in to her feelings, and was afraid that Wander's state meant that hope was gone.
She desperately sought anything to reignite his spirit, and miraculously, amidst the soot, discovered a single flower standing meekly.

After dragging Wander to it, she mused that if that little flower could survive such violence, anything was possible.
To her relief, this did inspire her tiny friend, and they battled to keep it alive.
But it was fading, starved of nutrients, light and water after Dom's attack.
So the pair carefully uprooted the frail plant and took it with them in their cruiser, traveling across the wilderness of the planet, evading the destroyed cities as much as possible.
They flew many miles in only minutes, and Sylvia hit hyperspeed to reach a part of the world which still had sunlight.
They attempted to plant it in several different locations, but each came with a myriad of challenges the flower wasn't equipped for, including giant killer bees!
And when they finally found the right place for it, Dom revealed she hadn't been far all along, and she took delight in scaring them.
She attacked them -- Wander and Sylvia collected the flower again, desperate to keep something, anything alive.
Dom chased them across the planet, shooting them down in various places again and again and again, popping their orbble bubbles.
Each crash and fall further injured the flower, but by so doing, it released its seeds in each place it was thrown against.

After being shot into the pit of a crevasse, Dom cornered them, took the flower and began to pull it apart, savoring the inflicted misery.
Wander and Sylvia were helpless, until the flower contracted and released a spore plume, which rendered Dominator prisoner to a serious allergy attack.
The team took this opportunity to escape in their cruiser, and they landed on a distant moon to evaluate the state of the dead flower.
Wander had finally let his emotions win and accepted the death, but Sylvia tried one final time to revive it.
But upon seeing Wander cry, she cried, too, and expressed fear over losing hope.
And again Wander taught her a valuable lesson; it's okay to be sad.
He was sad, but he still had hope -- he wouldn't quit.
And Sylvia needed to hear it was okay to be sad, too.
They carried on, unaware of the hundreds of sprouts their little floral friend would spread along different regions of the planet they last visited.
This would bring a lot of life and love to the environment long after they were gone.

~~The End of the Galaxy~~

The next day, Sylvia had enough.
She sent a silent message to their allies and hailed them to gather at Secret, their refuge planet.
They gathered over the next few days, and in the meantime, Lord Hater had also grown fed up.
Having conquered his heartbreak over rejection, he now had left only anger at her for everything.
But he was driven by other emotions, too, which he couldn't acknowledge or grasp at the time.
All that mattered was it was game time.

The final members to gather were a very bloodthirsty King Bingleborp (oh my god) and his people.
Even Westley was there in the crowd!
Sylvia stood before them and asked for suggestions in plans to take down Dom, while on Hater's ship, the thimulan assembled the Watchdogs, offering zeal and courage when even Peepers was at the end of his rope.
To everyone's surprise, since the rejection, Hater revealed he'd actually dispatched spyware across the galaxy to see what he could find, and showed them this day that he wasn't as oblivious as everyone thought.
In fact, he showcased Secret, the "class D planetoid," as he knew it to be, and explained why Dominator hadn't likely attacked it yet.
He learned through his technology that Wander was there, and instead of hunting the nomad, claimed they would use him to distract Dominator, and finally beat her.
Peepers was more proud than he'd been in a long time.
They were determined to save the galaxy...so Hater could conquer it later, he claimed.

Back on Secret, as tensions rose within the Resistance, Wander tried to ease the flames with an encouraging speech.
It worked, but of course, everyone wanted to kill Dom, which was what Wander already knew.
When he turned to Sylvia for guidance, as predicted, she assured him they would take it from there, and he did not have to help them kill her.
All he had to do was not try to stop them.
So...he didn't.
However, as the day had finally come and as everyone plotted, it suddenly became excruciatingly real to him that, potentially, almost everyone he loved was going to be killed.
What made them think they could stop her now if they couldn't before, especially when they weren't trained?
Wander was only one person, and he knew he couldn't actually change Dom's mind or stop the others from running head-first into battle, but he would be damned if he allowed them to perish without him giving it his best shot.

While Sylvia and the others began to arm themselves and quickly plot, Wander slipped away and took their little cruiser into space.
Dominator's ship was a bit close for comfort, as he could spot it on the radar, and he hyperdrove to her location.
The killer had assumed that, since she hadn't seen them in a while, Wander and the leaders were dead, and was enthused to see him hailing her from his little cruiser.
All smiles, he braved the megaship and searched for her, hoping to keep her distracted and potentially, by some miracle, just convince her to stop.
But upon arrival she initiated a chase, terrorizing him, even wounding him with a light hit to the head.
She thrashed him about the ship, leaving him in disarray, even burning his beloved hat.
Fed up with torture, he approached her and asked why she was like this, and tried his usual tactics of offering to "hug it out" or get to the root of her problem.
Once more, he knew it was a losing battle, but he fought it for the sake of his friends.
But she was tired of his games and grabbed him, having a bot scan his memory for information.
This was very violating and unnerving and left him feeling a bit dizzy, but the machine revealed Wander's knowledge of the Secret planet, which his friends were alive and plotting on.

Enriched with adrenaline at the thought of finally, after all these months, getting the pleasure of shattering Wander's spirit, she froze his body and dragged him to the pilot room, and gunned it for Secret.
On the way there Dom talked down to Wander, laughing as she plucked off many of his hairs one by one, and clawed his cheek and under his chin, drawing his pink blood.
The pain was dreadful, but all the while he tried to talk her out of it, told her it wasn't worth her life or soul to do this, and worried direly that he was now delivering his loved ones to their graves.
Dominator enjoyed his fear and laughed off his offers, even telling him, "I have no soul."
But at the same time she was approaching, so was Hater and his army.
By the time Sylvia realized Wander was missing, Dom's armies surrounded their hideout, and the Rebels exited to gaze in fear at what had found them.
In order to get the best effect from it all, Dom made a bot project herself and Wander at the dashboard for them all to see up above them.
Sylvia was relieved to see Wander alive, but he was quickly apologetic.
No time for remorse, as Dom prepared to unleash hell on the small army barely consisting of 1,000 people.
But then along came Hater, who engaged in battle with her army.

As the Watchdogs deployed and the Rebels rose to arms, Dominator threatened to drill through them all multiple times, tormenting them.
Finished playing with her prey, she shouted for her army to grab Sylvia, and when four bots pinned her down, she sang and laughed while sending her drill cascading towards the earth.
Wander watched, screaming as his best friend was moments from being splattered across the dirt and sand, but all were surprised when Lord Hater came to her defense.
He put up a shield of his green energy, encasing much of the battlefield, and Dominator's drill could not pierce through.
Next came Peepers and his crew, who freed Sylvia from the bots's grip.
They teamed up and worked to lay waste to the synthetic armies.
They had to fight for all that they had left.
For everyone.
And when Dominator used a holograph of herself to try and break Hater's concentration and resolve, that failed, too, when Sylvia stomped out the projector and chanted for him.
Following suit, 2,000 Watchdogs and 1,000 Rebels chanted for him.
Even up on Dominator's ship, a frozen, bloodied Wander rocked about, excitedly chanting "Hate's great, best villain!"
Hater could hear it all, and through not hatred for Dominator, but an unspoken love for his galaxy, a man without a people pushed his power beyond its known limitations, and crushed the drill straight up through the center of the volcanic megaship.

As Hater briefly collapsed in exhaustion, up on the ship, the drill's penetration caused pure chaos.
Dom's technology began to fail, and while she had been pinned between the drill and the wall of the pilot room, Wander had been thrown against the dashboard, smashing him free of the ice.
Somehow, after everything, the nomad rose to his feet and went to approach Dominator, but the killer was not keen on letting him near her.
He told her it didn't have to end this way, that maybe there was a chance for her (even if he knew deep down this wasn't so).
As he got closer, she used what little power she had left in one of her gloves to swipe him away with cutting ice, leaving him with more injuries on his body.
As he reeled, the ship shuddered and began to cave.
Back on the ground, while the others ran for cover, Sylvia stared, knowing this could be it for her furry friend.
As Wander looked up at Dominator, she scowled at him, bloody, messed up, and seething with hatred.
It was the last time she would ever be seen.
The ship detonated, and Wander encased only himself in an orbble bubble, and the cross of Volcanium and Frostonium spurned by Hater's electricity finally obliterated everything.

There was minimal shrapnel due to the elements canceling each other out, leaving much of the ship to turn to ash and frost, blowing out and fizzling up in the planet's atmosphere.
All of the robots collapsed, losing all connection.
They collapsed not only on Secret, but all across the galaxy, and everyone knew it was finally over.
Through the smoke and raining ash, Sylvia kept her eyes up, and after a minute assumed the worst.
She saw no Wander.
Only when she was at her absolute weakest did she finally see a glint beneath the stars, and in the light of the rising sun she saw the silhouette of her best friend, alive, safe inside the bubble, rays of sun blinking through it.
When she cried out for him, he could hear her, and drunkenly crawled in the bubble to descend it to her.
After touching down the bubble popped and Wander collapsed in the dust, coughing and spent, still dazed from the explosion.
Sylvia scooped him up and the two of them cried, embraced, while the others celebrated their victory, and Hater, for saving them all, too.
It was a beautiful sight, and while this went on, a group of Watchdogs scanned the skies for any signs of life, just to be sure.
But she was gone, and it was over at long last.
Sylvia and Wander joined in cheering for Hater some more, both moved to see him on their side.
And Hater?
Well...it was a feeling of goodness he had never felt before.
And...it frightened him.

~~Brush off the Dust~~

Everyone was exhausted, but relieved.
Hater stood and drank in the glory, peering out at the starry sunrise as distant suns faded in the light, knowing what he had done, and secretly, why.
For the moment everyone thought he would finally turn over a new leaf...until he swallowed his emotions and went right back to his old habits, claiming he could now conquer the galaxy he had saved.
Peepers was probably the only one who was happy with this.
Regardless, after planting one of his flags and making the (very tired, very annoyed, very done-being-evil) Watchdogs and Peepers march back onto their beaten up ship, Hater briefly made eye contact with Wander as he turned to head in.
The soft, grateful, wise smile of the nomad struck a nerve, and for only a second, Hater looked conflicted about his actions.
The doors to his ship closed, and they took off, not sticking around for the cleanup or the after party.
Sylvia and the others were frustrated, but Wander smiled, because he knew this was the beginning of something new and beautiful.

Although the victory was great, there were losses.
Every leader there had managed to survive, but 22 people died in total.
The toll could have been far worse, but it was still hard on everyone -- especially those closest to the fallen.
But as bodies were uncovered and collected and groups of friends and allies banded together, Sylvia carried Wander away back into the cave.
What was happening outside was sad and needed attention, but the zbornak needed a minute with her platonic soulmate.
She sat him in the part of the cave used for washing and dressing injuries, and although he at first motioned to protest, Wander allowed Sylvia to wipe the blood off his face, and look him over.
When he tried to weakly apologize again, she softly said, "Not now."
She wasn't mad at him.
She didn't want to lecture him, or overwhelm him.
All that mattered was they both were safe, and they expressed that to one another.
What had happened was over now, and it was clear Wander had seen and endured a lot up there, and needed a break.
Far be it for him to rest, though, as once Sylvia felt satisfied with simply getting to touch his face and look into his eyes, Wander stood and embraced her again, pressing his face over her heart, and told her he was glad she was all in one piece.
She knew what he was referencing, and said, "me too."

When they went back outside they helped search for potentially any other dead, but the others had pretty well found them all.
It was a stark combination of celebration, mourning, and feeling stunned.
The sad were comforted, the bodies were wrapped, and they spent the day resting from the battle while working on commemorating the dead.
By that early evening, Prince Cashmere held a small ceremony for the fallen, and those close to them did the honors of laying them in the ground.
Wild flowers were plucked and released along the top of the ocean waters in their honor.
Even Sylvia shed tears -- it was hard for her and Wander not to feel guilty, but they knew this wouldn't go perfectly, if well at all.
They had to count their blessings, and they knew no one blamed them for what happened.
As Cashmere reminded everybody, there was no more honorable way to go than defending an entire galaxy, and their sacrifices would never be in vain.

As evening became dusk, they made a massive outdoor bonfire and found food, and there they celebrated the defeat of Lord Dominator.
Wander was a tad more neutral than them all when it came to her, telling Sylvia in private he was just sad it had to be this way at all.
He also expressed worry for his own soul, for when Dominator looked at him, he confessed he did not feel remorse to save only himself.
He had felt...numb.
For one thing, he wasn't sure he could have anyway, and it wasn't as if he killed her.
Still, he felt uncertain of himself, but Sylvia expressed only pride, and as always, reassured him.
And being himself, Wander later ended up singing a soft tune, which most joined him in.
The entire night was touching, and they all rested together in the cave as they went to bed one by one.
Wander made sure to patch his hat before laying down, and so the magical object repaired itself by morning.

The next morning, some gathered their things and departed, save those who agreed to stay behind and curate the Secret's getaway space for them.
They vowed this place would remain a haven for them all, and perhaps would someday be gently inhabited and cared for.
But in the meantime there was a lot of cleanup to be done, so Sylvia and Wander stayed for a few days to help get rid of the discarded bots and debris.
The beach was a mess and would need some restoration.
Wander did his part, too, though Sylvia got on his case due to how injured he still was.
Still, she let him help where he could.
During their efforts, the pair were approached by Westley, who shyly asked if he could stay with Wander and Sylvia from here on out.
He'd been lonely and the incident with Dominator was scary, and he needed friends.
Of course they could never tell him no, and Wander excitedly invited him to join!

~~Love Prevails~~

Dominator would go down as the most fearsome and successful killer of all time.
By the end of her brief reign, she claimed roughly 5.7 billion lives, and terrorized 32 life-inhabited planets.
Staggering stats, but all that was left to do now was honor the dead, pick up the pieces, and rebuild.
It was hard, but a special ingredient was present, which everyone in this side of the galaxy harnessed to carry on.

The pair became a trio when Westley joined.
As they departed, they made plans to check out other parts of the galaxy and see who needed help, but all agreed a little more R&R was a necessity, too.
In just a couple weeks Hater would even find them and tag along, finally succumbing to his emotions.
The next several months were full of ups and downs, but everyone felt the relief of Dominator's defeat.
Through everything, even after so much trauma and fear and close calls, Wander kept his heart.
His love, his courage, his trust in optimism and light.
He learned many lessons, and taught them, too.
From here on out, Wander can and will only get wiser, and draw in more good to his life.
By so doing, it will spread.
Love was what Dominator didn't have, and why she was conquered.
Love is what is restoring what has been lost, filling black cracks and holes with gold.
It took a lot, but Wander's determination to make friends and allies even gave Hater the strength to love, and now he is exploring that, too.
No matter the threat, no matter the horrors or the suffering in life, Wander and his family knows now that love always prevails.
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I forgot to take my Zoloft today and cried like 20 times typing this
Sorry the ending is so fuckin' corny but idk how else to end it, and WHO CARES?!
THE SHIT IS FINALLY OVER!!
RAAAAHHHH *DIES HAPPY*

I called Neckbeard "Seth" because that's his voice actor's first name...his wizard name is ridiculous
ALSO the song Wander sings during the celebration party is Freedom is a Voice by Bobby McFerrin, and it fuckin' slaps.
Here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ69sh…

NOW I CAN DO AND CONCENTRATE ON OTHER THINGS AND TAKE A BREAK!
I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED FHFIDJXBIRCDWKNJXDFHRCD THANK YOU FOR READING!

---Wander Over Yonder is property of Disney, as is the image of the ship behind Dom featured above. The artwork belongs to me.---

Description
Part 1:
Arc of Dominator: The End of the Galaxy -- 1/3?

Part 2:
Arc of Dominator: The End of the Galaxy -- 2/3

---

TRIGGER WARNING:

Death, murder, war, blood, psychosis, serial killer, major character death, major character torture

---

Good Stuff:

Happy ending, healing, recovery, friendship, life after tragedy,

----------------------------------------

~~The Legend~~

In Wander's 50 years of life, he managed to accomplish enough good to be recognizable to many people and races.
But he was humble about his infamy, even when he and Sylvia showed up to try and rescue any survivors on a world that was mid-invasion.
For once the pair managed to show up during the chaos rather than just after it, and they rescued four children who'd missed their escape shuttle.
To their surprise, the kids spoke of a "hero" and "legend," and thought this being would come and save them.
When their home went up in flames, they agreed to go with Wander and Sylvia instead, not aware that the creature they were waiting for was already there, and already saving them.

Through the journey, the pair humored the kids by allowing them to tell their own interpretations of what "The Legend" was, and what he did.
Each variation was...wildly disturbing to Wander in particular, but he and Syl both bit their tongues and allowed the kids to tell their stories.
From then until they finally got the kids to their shuttle, Wander never revealed he was the one they were talking about, because to him it didn't matter; what mattered was it gave them all hope.
He didn't need the fame, or the glory, or even an ounce of credit.
All he needed was for survivors to hold onto that special little flame.

~~Higher Power~~

The next few weeks were very busy.
With Dominator's planetary count having now reached 27, she was moving quickly and only getting stronger.
It seemed like every time they turned around Dom was doing something else, destroying something else, and the death toll was unbearably high.
It had become the highest-priority Galactic emergency since the Irken Empire's attempts at conquest, but admittedly, Dominator was moving faster on her own than the entire Irken race had in their attempts.
The Grand Council Woman called for any capable armies and scientists to work together to try and take her down, but urged caution against her seemingly unstoppable rampage.
Meanwhile, the Galactic Council stayed out of the way, for if they fell, there would be chaos beyond anyone's imagination.

As this transpired, Sylvia, in her desperation to put an end to it, began to seek wisdom from sources beyond just the physical.
She was seldom one to seek higher knowledge, so this was a surprise to Wander, but she was desperate.
She was scared, of course.
Having no bright ideas of his own, the nomad followed her lead, and trusted his best friend.

First they attended a very high-profile party gathering on planet HinnLinn, featuring a prestigious and giant race of people, also simply calling themselves "hinns."
But where they went was notorious for being all-manners and all-seriousness, and it was said that if one could perfect their appearance, manners and speech, a council by the name of "High Gnees" would grant them wisdom to overcome any obstacle.
Hardly anyone ever stood a chance, and Wander was the last person to be trusted to not laugh when he saw the appearance of the hinns.
But in the end, it was his (and Sylvia's) inability to keep from laughing that brought the council joy, as their entire namesake, constant puns and even their butt-shaped appearances were all a test.
Their wisdom?
"Lighten up."
Not the most helpful words in an hour of such dire circumstances, but in an odd sort of way, it eased Sylvia's mind a bit.
She and Wander came away from the event laughing and feeling recharged for the road ahead of them.
They wouldn't learn until a little over a year later that the hinns didn't actually look like that.

Some days after the party, the pair encountered Brad Starlight, copying Wander and Sylvia's looks and style while feigning heroics in order to prey on the gratitudes of various women.
Although Sylvia (rightfully) was willing to let him die, Wander vouched for his life and they saved him when a Dom bot attacked.
Sylvia discovered through this event that she really was strong enough to beat one, which made her more confident.
Brad's survival, and Wander's trust in him to never take things too far, would come back to haunt him later down the line.

Days later still, Sylvia wanted to try her luck elsewhere.
In a vast and infinite cosmos, could there not be a power greater than the Greatest Hater of all time?
Surely something had to exist.
So next, the zbornak sought power in a haunted woodland shrouded in riddle and darkness, even when daylight persisted beyond its deadened horizon.
She got the riddle from map pulled out of Wander's hat, giving them the coordinates when Sylvia asked the hat for "what they needed to find the power to defeat Dominator."
And so the riddle went:

------

"Deep in the darkest woods I hide

I keep you safe from what lurks outside

Even the strongest cannot resist my power

I can strike anyone, anywhere, at any hour

Only once you master me

Will you defeat your enemy."

------

Sylvia seemed unfazed to face the woodland, driven by desire to end the war, but Wander fared differently.
Before even entering, he was already plagued with the very thing the riddle spoke of; fear.
He sensed the aura of it all in the darkness, and Sylvia remained strong and persistent, without fear...until she thought Wander may have been lost.
In the end, the two learned that fear was the key to the riddle, and it was what they had to defeat.
They found in the end that courage and love were the strongest weapons imaginable, that no object or magic would be any good without a steely heart.

"Even Dominator isn't as scary as the thought of losing you."

---

As previously mentioned, Wander had been the strongest of anyone.
His attempts at carrying the entire weight of his loved ones' worlds on his back, as well as feeling guilty about everything Dom was doing, finally took its toll on him the day after the woodland riddle.
When he awoke the next morning, Wander was discovered to have fallen very ill.
He was weak, his eyes bloodshot, all his strength had been sapped and he could hardly think straight.
Sylvia also found his temperature to be high, and thus made him stay down and rest in the cave they'd crashed in.
But Wander being himself, he tried to help Sylvia with their daily routine, but after attempting to get himself a glass of water, he could no longer fight what had come over him.

Falling back asleep in the hammock he was tucked into, the nomad became plagued with fever dreams.
As his temperature climbed his subconscious began to boil, and opened up his mind to the Otherworld.
The dreams were symbolic but maddening, featuring vivid hallucinations of him getting up and trying to assist Sylvia in doing strange things, spiraling down a rabbit hole of questionable acts.
In the visions he saw a cosmic deity who called herself "Myrtle the Eternal Turtle," which was only one of dozens of her names.
She contacted him via his fever, and through the dreams inserted herself by narration, and occasionally glimpses of her could be seen in the background, or even in Sylvia herself through glowing violet eyes.
As it went on it got scarier, and Myrtle continued to tell Wander that if he didn't care for himself and rest, he would perish, and if he died, he wouldn't be able to save anyone.
But he kept trying to help everyone else in the dream, took on too much responsibility, and it became a nightmare in which his person started to be consumed by slime and a moss-like substance.
It was scary.

The dream ended with Myrtle and Sylvia chanting in his head that he was going to die, standing in Dominator's ship, lava rising up and surrounding his feet.
Feeling like he was burning alive, it was the massive spike in his fever which finally drove Wander to wake.
He was delirious, but knew he really would die if he stayed in the hammock, thus rolling out and dragging himself to a water puddle in the cave to cool down.
Sylvia was worried when she found him like that, but trusted he knew his body, and stayed with him until he cooled down.
After the scary dreams, Wander finally got the message, and willingly surrendered himself to his best friend's assistance.
She cared for him tenderly, did what he usually would do for them both, and showed it was no real bother for her to work in his place for a short time.
Through this, Wander learned the importance of letting others help him, too, which was no easy task.
He kept Myrtle in mind, and hoped to someday meet her under better circumstances.

~~Wisdom of the Nomad~~

Though they'd learned some good lessons, Sylvia wanted to try to make yet another ally, and see if this person couldn't also provide ammunition against their enemy.
They met an unusual sorcerer by the name of "Neckbeard," AKA, Seth, and while Sylvia hunted for a weapon, Wander found himself taken by a micro planet containing a tiny population of creatures he affectionately called "Bitties."
The nomad exposed this small species of people to information far beyond what they previously had, secretly knowing his actions were consequential, but believing everyone deserves the chance to learn and grow.
Seth fought him for the Bitties, and surprisingly, Wander showed contempt and frustration at the wizard, accusing him of keeping others in the dark to make himself seem smarter.
His wisdom and true understanding of his surroundings was apparent when he also told him that just because Seth thought he was smarter than everyone else, didn't mean it was true.
This was an unusually tense teaching moment for Wander, but as usual he got his way, and thanks to Sylvia's help, they set the Bitties free.
By so doing, Sylvia inadvertently sacrificed the mirror she was hoping to use against Dominator.
When Wander expressed remorse for this, Sylvia admitted allowing Dominator to live and destroy someplace else was no better, and definitely not noble.
Wander was very proud, and again, they carried on.

~~The Flower~~

It was now roughly six months since Dominator's unveiling, give or take.
As they came once more upon an attacked planet (after failing to retrieve a super mech they also hoped would beat Dom), the pair all but fell to their knees.
These months hadn't only been spent seeing ruin and ash -- they had seen bodies, blood, bones, death, entire lives and families lost.
People's dreams erased, memories obliterated.
Wander even picked up a discarded, burnt teddy bear, hoarsely saying "she's not coming back," before hugging the toy, and then laying it back where he found it.
Standing in the fading light of that planet's dusk, Wander found himself paralyzed with grief.
But Sylvia didn't want to give in to her feelings, and was afraid that Wander's state meant that hope was gone.
She desperately sought anything to reignite his spirit, and miraculously, amidst the soot, discovered a single flower standing meekly.

After dragging Wander to it, she mused that if that little flower could survive such violence, anything was possible.
To her relief, this did inspire her tiny friend, and they battled to keep it alive.
But it was fading, starved of nutrients, light and water after Dom's attack.
So the pair carefully uprooted the frail plant and took it with them in their cruiser, traveling across the wilderness of the planet, evading the destroyed cities as much as possible.
They flew many miles in only minutes, and Sylvia hit hyperspeed to reach a part of the world which still had sunlight.
They attempted to plant it in several different locations, but each came with a myriad of challenges the flower wasn't equipped for, including giant killer bees!
And when they finally found the right place for it, Dom revealed she hadn't been far all along, and she took delight in scaring them.
She attacked them -- Wander and Sylvia collected the flower again, desperate to keep something, anything alive.
Dom chased them across the planet, shooting them down in various places again and again and again, popping their orbble bubbles.
Each crash and fall further injured the flower, but by so doing, it released its seeds in each place it was thrown against.

After being shot into the pit of a crevasse, Dom cornered them, took the flower and began to pull it apart, savoring the inflicted misery.
Wander and Sylvia were helpless, until the flower contracted and released a spore plume, which rendered Dominator prisoner to a serious allergy attack.
The team took this opportunity to escape in their cruiser, and they landed on a distant moon to evaluate the state of the dead flower.
Wander had finally let his emotions win and accepted the death, but Sylvia tried one final time to revive it.
But upon seeing Wander cry, she cried, too, and expressed fear over losing hope.
And again Wander taught her a valuable lesson; it's okay to be sad.
He was sad, but he still had hope -- he wouldn't quit.
And Sylvia needed to hear it was okay to be sad, too.
They carried on, unaware of the hundreds of sprouts their little floral friend would spread along different regions of the planet they last visited.
This would bring a lot of life and love to the environment long after they were gone.

~~The End of the Galaxy~~

The next day, Sylvia had enough.
She sent a silent message to their allies and hailed them to gather at Secret, their refuge planet.
They gathered over the next few days, and in the meantime, Lord Hater had also grown fed up.
Having conquered his heartbreak over rejection, he now had left only anger at her for everything.
But he was driven by other emotions, too, which he couldn't acknowledge or grasp at the time.
All that mattered was it was game time.

The final members to gather were a very bloodthirsty King Bingleborp (oh my god) and his people.
Even Westley was there in the crowd!
Sylvia stood before them and asked for suggestions in plans to take down Dom, while on Hater's ship, the thimulan assembled the Watchdogs, offering zeal and courage when even Peepers was at the end of his rope.
To everyone's surprise, since the rejection, Hater revealed he'd actually dispatched spyware across the galaxy to see what he could find, and showed them this day that he wasn't as oblivious as everyone thought.
In fact, he showcased Secret, the "class D planetoid," as he knew it to be, and explained why Dominator hadn't likely attacked it yet.
He learned through his technology that Wander was there, and instead of hunting the nomad, claimed they would use him to distract Dominator, and finally beat her.
Peepers was more proud than he'd been in a long time.
They were determined to save the galaxy...so Hater could conquer it later, he claimed.

Back on Secret, as tensions rose within the Resistance, Wander tried to ease the flames with an encouraging speech.
It worked, but of course, everyone wanted to kill Dom, which was what Wander already knew.
When he turned to Sylvia for guidance, as predicted, she assured him they would take it from there, and he did not have to help them kill her.
All he had to do was not try to stop them.
So...he didn't.
However, as the day had finally come and as everyone plotted, it suddenly became excruciatingly real to him that, potentially, almost everyone he loved was going to be killed.
What made them think they could stop her now if they couldn't before, especially when they weren't trained?
Wander was only one person, and he knew he couldn't actually change Dom's mind or stop the others from running head-first into battle, but he would be damned if he allowed them to perish without him giving it his best shot.

While Sylvia and the others began to arm themselves and quickly plot, Wander slipped away and took their little cruiser into space.
Dominator's ship was a bit close for comfort, as he could spot it on the radar, and he hyperdrove to her location.
The killer had assumed that, since she hadn't seen them in a while, Wander and the leaders were dead, and was enthused to see him hailing her from his little cruiser.
All smiles, he braved the megaship and searched for her, hoping to keep her distracted and potentially, by some miracle, just convince her to stop.
But upon arrival she initiated a chase, terrorizing him, even wounding him with a light hit to the head.
She thrashed him about the ship, leaving him in disarray, even burning his beloved hat.
Fed up with torture, he approached her and asked why she was like this, and tried his usual tactics of offering to "hug it out" or get to the root of her problem.
Once more, he knew it was a losing battle, but he fought it for the sake of his friends.
But she was tired of his games and grabbed him, having a bot scan his memory for information.
This was very violating and unnerving and left him feeling a bit dizzy, but the machine revealed Wander's knowledge of the Secret planet, which his friends were alive and plotting on.

Enriched with adrenaline at the thought of finally, after all these months, getting the pleasure of shattering Wander's spirit, she froze his body and dragged him to the pilot room, and gunned it for Secret.
On the way there Dom talked down to Wander, laughing as she plucked off many of his hairs one by one, and clawed his cheek and under his chin, drawing his pink blood.
The pain was dreadful, but all the while he tried to talk her out of it, told her it wasn't worth her life or soul to do this, and worried direly that he was now delivering his loved ones to their graves.
Dominator enjoyed his fear and laughed off his offers, even telling him, "I have no soul."
But at the same time she was approaching, so was Hater and his army.
By the time Sylvia realized Wander was missing, Dom's armies surrounded their hideout, and the Rebels exited to gaze in fear at what had found them.
In order to get the best effect from it all, Dom made a bot project herself and Wander at the dashboard for them all to see up above them.
Sylvia was relieved to see Wander alive, but he was quickly apologetic.
No time for remorse, as Dom prepared to unleash hell on the small army barely consisting of 1,000 people.
But then along came Hater, who engaged in battle with her army.

As the Watchdogs deployed and the Rebels rose to arms, Dominator threatened to drill through them all multiple times, tormenting them.
Finished playing with her prey, she shouted for her army to grab Sylvia, and when four bots pinned her down, she sang and laughed while sending her drill cascading towards the earth.
Wander watched, screaming as his best friend was moments from being splattered across the dirt and sand, but all were surprised when Lord Hater came to her defense.
He put up a shield of his green energy, encasing much of the battlefield, and Dominator's drill could not pierce through.
Next came Peepers and his crew, who freed Sylvia from the bots's grip.
They teamed up and worked to lay waste to the synthetic armies.
They had to fight for all that they had left.
For everyone.
And when Dominator used a holograph of herself to try and break Hater's concentration and resolve, that failed, too, when Sylvia stomped out the projector and chanted for him.
Following suit, 2,000 Watchdogs and 1,000 Rebels chanted for him.
Even up on Dominator's ship, a frozen, bloodied Wander rocked about, excitedly chanting "Hate's great, best villain!"
Hater could hear it all, and through not hatred for Dominator, but an unspoken love for his galaxy, a man without a people pushed his power beyond its known limitations, and crushed the drill straight up through the center of the volcanic megaship.

As Hater briefly collapsed in exhaustion, up on the ship, the drill's penetration caused pure chaos.
Dom's technology began to fail, and while she had been pinned between the drill and the wall of the pilot room, Wander had been thrown against the dashboard, smashing him free of the ice.
Somehow, after everything, the nomad rose to his feet and went to approach Dominator, but the killer was not keen on letting him near her.
He told her it didn't have to end this way, that maybe there was a chance for her (even if he knew deep down this wasn't so).
As he got closer, she used what little power she had left in one of her gloves to swipe him away with cutting ice, leaving him with more injuries on his body.
As he reeled, the ship shuddered and began to cave.
Back on the ground, while the others ran for cover, Sylvia stared, knowing this could be it for her furry friend.
As Wander looked up at Dominator, she scowled at him, bloody, messed up, and seething with hatred.
It was the last time she would ever be seen.
The ship detonated, and Wander encased only himself in an orbble bubble, and the cross of Volcanium and Frostonium spurned by Hater's electricity finally obliterated everything.

There was minimal shrapnel due to the elements canceling each other out, leaving much of the ship to turn to ash and frost, blowing out and fizzling up in the planet's atmosphere.
All of the robots collapsed, losing all connection.
They collapsed not only on Secret, but all across the galaxy, and everyone knew it was finally over.
Through the smoke and raining ash, Sylvia kept her eyes up, and after a minute assumed the worst.
She saw no Wander.
Only when she was at her absolute weakest did she finally see a glint beneath the stars, and in the light of the rising sun she saw the silhouette of her best friend, alive, safe inside the bubble, rays of sun blinking through it.
When she cried out for him, he could hear her, and drunkenly crawled in the bubble to descend it to her.
After touching down the bubble popped and Wander collapsed in the dust, coughing and spent, still dazed from the explosion.
Sylvia scooped him up and the two of them cried, embraced, while the others celebrated their victory, and Hater, for saving them all, too.
It was a beautiful sight, and while this went on, a group of Watchdogs scanned the skies for any signs of life, just to be sure.
But she was gone, and it was over at long last.
Sylvia and Wander joined in cheering for Hater some more, both moved to see him on their side.
And Hater?
Well...it was a feeling of goodness he had never felt before.
And...it frightened him.

~~Brush off the Dust~~

Everyone was exhausted, but relieved.
Hater stood and drank in the glory, peering out at the starry sunrise as distant suns faded in the light, knowing what he had done, and secretly, why.
For the moment everyone thought he would finally turn over a new leaf...until he swallowed his emotions and went right back to his old habits, claiming he could now conquer the galaxy he had saved.
Peepers was probably the only one who was happy with this.
Regardless, after planting one of his flags and making the (very tired, very annoyed, very done-being-evil) Watchdogs and Peepers march back onto their beaten up ship, Hater briefly made eye contact with Wander as he turned to head in.
The soft, grateful, wise smile of the nomad struck a nerve, and for only a second, Hater looked conflicted about his actions.
The doors to his ship closed, and they took off, not sticking around for the cleanup or the after party.
Sylvia and the others were frustrated, but Wander smiled, because he knew this was the beginning of something new and beautiful.

Although the victory was great, there were losses.
Every leader there had managed to survive, but 22 people died in total.
The toll could have been far worse, but it was still hard on everyone -- especially those closest to the fallen.
But as bodies were uncovered and collected and groups of friends and allies banded together, Sylvia carried Wander away back into the cave.
What was happening outside was sad and needed attention, but the zbornak needed a minute with her platonic soulmate.
She sat him in the part of the cave used for washing and dressing injuries, and although he at first motioned to protest, Wander allowed Sylvia to wipe the blood off his face, and look him over.
When he tried to weakly apologize again, she softly said, "Not now."
She wasn't mad at him.
She didn't want to lecture him, or overwhelm him.
All that mattered was they both were safe, and they expressed that to one another.
What had happened was over now, and it was clear Wander had seen and endured a lot up there, and needed a break.
Far be it for him to rest, though, as once Sylvia felt satisfied with simply getting to touch his face and look into his eyes, Wander stood and embraced her again, pressing his face over her heart, and told her he was glad she was all in one piece.
She knew what he was referencing, and said, "me too."

When they went back outside they helped search for potentially any other dead, but the others had pretty well found them all.
It was a stark combination of celebration, mourning, and feeling stunned.
The sad were comforted, the bodies were wrapped, and they spent the day resting from the battle while working on commemorating the dead.
By that early evening, Prince Cashmere held a small ceremony for the fallen, and those close to them did the honors of laying them in the ground.
Wild flowers were plucked and released along the top of the ocean waters in their honor.
Even Sylvia shed tears -- it was hard for her and Wander not to feel guilty, but they knew this wouldn't go perfectly, if well at all.
They had to count their blessings, and they knew no one blamed them for what happened.
As Cashmere reminded everybody, there was no more honorable way to go than defending an entire galaxy, and their sacrifices would never be in vain.

As evening became dusk, they made a massive outdoor bonfire and found food, and there they celebrated the defeat of Lord Dominator.
Wander was a tad more neutral than them all when it came to her, telling Sylvia in private he was just sad it had to be this way at all.
He also expressed worry for his own soul, for when Dominator looked at him, he confessed he did not feel remorse to save only himself.
He had felt...numb.
For one thing, he wasn't sure he could have anyway, and it wasn't as if he killed her.
Still, he felt uncertain of himself, but Sylvia expressed only pride, and as always, reassured him.
And being himself, Wander later ended up singing a soft tune, which most joined him in.
The entire night was touching, and they all rested together in the cave as they went to bed one by one.
Wander made sure to patch his hat before laying down, and so the magical object repaired itself by morning.

The next morning, some gathered their things and departed, save those who agreed to stay behind and curate the Secret's getaway space for them.
They vowed this place would remain a haven for them all, and perhaps would someday be gently inhabited and cared for.
But in the meantime there was a lot of cleanup to be done, so Sylvia and Wander stayed for a few days to help get rid of the discarded bots and debris.
The beach was a mess and would need some restoration.
Wander did his part, too, though Sylvia got on his case due to how injured he still was.
Still, she let him help where he could.
During their efforts, the pair were approached by Westley, who shyly asked if he could stay with Wander and Sylvia from here on out.
He'd been lonely and the incident with Dominator was scary, and he needed friends.
Of course they could never tell him no, and Wander excitedly invited him to join!

~~Love Prevails~~

Dominator would go down as the most fearsome and successful killer of all time.
By the end of her brief reign, she claimed roughly 5.7 billion lives, and terrorized 32 life-inhabited planets.
Staggering stats, but all that was left to do now was honor the dead, pick up the pieces, and rebuild.
It was hard, but a special ingredient was present, which everyone in this side of the galaxy harnessed to carry on.

The pair became a trio when Westley joined.
As they departed, they made plans to check out other parts of the galaxy and see who needed help, but all agreed a little more R&R was a necessity, too.
In just a couple weeks Hater would even find them and tag along, finally succumbing to his emotions.
The next several months were full of ups and downs, but everyone felt the relief of Dominator's defeat.
Through everything, even after so much trauma and fear and close calls, Wander kept his heart.
His love, his courage, his trust in optimism and light.
He learned many lessons, and taught them, too.
From here on out, Wander can and will only get wiser, and draw in more good to his life.
By so doing, it will spread.
Love was what Dominator didn't have, and why she was conquered.
Love is what is restoring what has been lost, filling black cracks and holes with gold.
It took a lot, but Wander's determination to make friends and allies even gave Hater the strength to love, and now he is exploring that, too.
No matter the threat, no matter the horrors or the suffering in life, Wander and his family knows now that love always prevails.
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I forgot to take my Zoloft today and cried like 20 times typing this
Sorry the ending is so fuckin' corny but idk how else to end it, and WHO CARES?!
THE SHIT IS FINALLY OVER!!
RAAAAHHHH *DIES HAPPY*

I called Neckbeard "Seth" because that's his voice actor's first name...his wizard name is ridiculous
ALSO the song Wander sings during the celebration party is Freedom is a Voice by Bobby McFerrin, and it fuckin' slaps.
Here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ69sh…

NOW I CAN DO AND CONCENTRATE ON OTHER THINGS AND TAKE A BREAK!
I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED FHFIDJXBIRCDWKNJXDFHRCD THANK YOU FOR READING!

---Wander Over Yonder is property of Disney, as is the image of the ship behind Dom featured above. The artwork belongs to me.---