"Hater's Law Number 1074: Every third Monday of the month will be known as Festivale de Hater! Hater's Law Number 1075: The day will be a testament to the greatness of…"

Hater rolled his eyes, staring out into space. Usually, he enjoyed the part of conquering planets where the former leader was forced to listen to the new rules, but today, he was just bored.

The streets in front of him were bustling with people, the air buzzing with nervous energy. He grimaced at the crowd that was starting to form, and to his delight they dispersed awkwardly, slowly clearing out.

His glee quickly disappeared when he caught a flash of orange fur and a floppy green hat.

"Wander…" He growled, standing up.

"Sir? Sir, we still have," Peepers paused, looking down, "536 laws to go over!"

Hater rolled his eyes, waving his commander off. "Just keep doing that without me, I have something to take care of!"

"But sir-!"

Hater turned to glare at him, and Peepers shut up immediately, turning back to the list. "H-Hater's Law Number 1081…"

The overlord smirked, then stormed over to the entrance, slowing his steps as he got closer to the orange being.

Wander would never know what hit him…

"Alright, so that's the gist of it." A purple native in a lab coat said as she handed something- a necklace?- to the other person, who Hater now saw was wearing a yellow sundress.

Weird. Since when was Wander into cross-dressing?

The orange being nodded, removing the green hat and letting long blonde hair fall out as they put the necklace on. "I'm not entirely sure if this'll- Oh! Oh, my goodness, I sound just like my mom!"

Hater froze in place, his eyes widening when he heard the creature's…

When he heard her voice.

It was almost musical, soft and sweet with a slight country accent.

He'd never heard something so… so… so beautiful.

The other person looked up, eyes widening when she saw Lord Hater looming over them. "L-Lord Hater, sir!"

The woman whipped her head around to look at him, her big blue eyes wide in shock.

She had a face to match her voice.

Hater realized that he was staring, flushing as he looked away and cleared his throat. "A-Ah, um, sorry… I, er, I thought that you were someone else."

The woman smiled nervously at him, brushing some of her blond hair out of her eyes. "Oh, um, that's fine…" She put her hat, which was eerily identical to a certain nomad's, back on, sticking her hand out. "I'm Hope, by the way."

Hater hesitated for a moment before shaking her hand. "Tha- Erm, I mean, Lord Hater. B-But, uh, you already knew that, because, um, y-your friend said it just a minute ago…"

'Hope' smiled weakly at him. "Uh… Can I have my arm back?"

"Huh?" He looked down and saw that he was still shaking her hand. He blushed again, relinquishing his grip and folding his arms, smiling anxiously. "Uh, sorry, that was…" He gestured back to the building. "I'm just gonna go now…" He managed, turning and starting to head back to Peepers, before walking straight into the glass doors. He stood there for a moment, immobilized by humiliation before taking a step back, grinning at 'Hope' sheepishly as he fumbled for the door handle, grabbing it and hurrying inside.

"Uh… so anyway, thanks so much for helping out with this, Wander."

The nomad grinned at her. "It's no problem, Andy! You know me, always happy to help!"

"I do have one question, though. Why did you tell Lord Hater that your name was Hope?"

"Oh, well, me and Hatey have a bit of a history. It's probably better if he doesn't know I'm here. And, well, I sound a lot like my mom right now; her name's Hope, so why not?"

Andy smiled at him. "Well, let's just hope that he doesn't figure it out."

On the other side of the glass, Hater was panicking.

He'd never felt anything like this before. His face was flushed completely green, and if he'd had a heart he was sure it would have been beating uncontrollably.

"Lord Hater, sir!"

The overlord jumped. "What is it, Peepers?"

The monocular alien saluted him. "I've finished debriefing the former ruler on the new rules, sir! We're ready to depart!"

Hater stared at him for a moment, then looked out the door, watching as the woman disappeared into the crowd. "You know what, Peepers? New order: We are going to remain on this planet for a few more days."

Peepers blinked. "Sir? We've already conquered this planet, haven't we?"

The overlord glared at him, narrowing his eyes. "Are you questioning my orders?"

"O-Of course not, sir!" Peepers cried, holding his hands out in front of him. "I just… why?"

"BECAUSE I SAID SO! Now go tell the men that we're staying on planet for a few more days!"

Peepers swallowed hard, saluting as he ran off.

Hater looked out the door. 'Hope' was long gone by now, and yet…

It was irrational, stupid, possibly even insane.

But for some reason, he just had to see her again.