Sylvia had imagined many horrible ways their adventures could end - protecting Wander from such was her job, after all. But she hadn't imagined anything so unceremonious. So unintentional. So sudden.

Sylvia's eyes remained wide with disbelief even as she held Wander's quivering body close, his face pressed into her fur so she couldn't see the damage. She didn't want to. The blood pooling onto the slick floor of Hater's ship from his head was enough to tell her there was no hope for him. His body was spasming a few more times before giving up, but his mind was already gone, his brain sliced clean through by the helmet of one of the many watchdogs he somehow knew the name of.

And Hater didn't even know they were on board. This mess was her fault; she'd gotten careless. She'd let Wander's merry attitude sweep her away. It was as simple a detail as the length of a rope and she'd blown it.

Maybe Rider was right; maybe she'd let Wander make her soft. She'd been in the ship of one of the greatest enemies to the cosmos and she'd run around helping spread gifts, for flarp's sake.

She set Wander down carefully - a mix of denial and anger all that was keeping her from a nervous breakdown - and grabbed his hat, unceremoniously dumping out its ribbon-tied contents.

"You know what I think we both need right now?" Sylvia asked the magical garment. "To finally get some revenge."

Sylvia pulled a massive blaster from the hat before setting the memento upon her head. "Glad to see you agree."

A/N: tumblr why