Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Unfortunate circumstances had brought them together. 

Commander Peepers had been stranded on a dangerous, hostile jungle world and Sylvia wanted nothing more than to leave him to his own devices. After all, he had been the one to chase them to this planet in the first place, even if he was just following Lord Hater’s instructions. It wasn’t their fault Peeper’s platoon had lost sight of him.

Of course, Wander refused to leave Peepers on his own, despite Sylvia’s instance. So here they were, the three of them sharing the same cave. 

Peepers resisted the help in the beginning on principle, but Wander was a hard guy to say no to. It didn’t help that the dangerous animals in the jungle would have torn Peepers apart in an instant, so the cave was really the safest place to be. In the end, they were trapped in the cave together. 

Wander had no trouble sleeping soundly on the ground next her, cuddled up sweetly in his hat. 

Sylvia, however, refused to take her eyes off their “guest”.

Peepers had been silent most of the night. He had only talked to them sparingly and did the best to ignore Wander’s antics. Therefore, it took Sylvia by surprise when he asked her a question, unprompted. 

“You’ve known Wander for a few years now, right?”

“Huh?” 

“You and Wander,” Peepers said again. “You’ve known him for a few years now.”

Sylvia looked down at his sleep friend beside her. “So?” she grumbled.  "What's it to you?”

Peepers shrugged. “Nothing much. I was just wondering how well you know the guy.”

Sylvia raised an eyebrow. “He’s my best friend so I would say I would know him pretty well.”

“Really?” Peepers said, his eye growing larger with interest. “So that means you know what species he is?”

Sylvia stilled. Wander’s species? She had always wondered, but Wander never talked much about himself. She had never seen anyone in the Galaxy that looked like Wander, but that wasn’t completely unusual. There were plenty of endangered species in the galaxy and she was worried it was a touchy subject. 

“Why does that matter?” She asked, her tone more defensive than she intended. 

“You're his best friend and you don’t even know his species?” Peepers shook his head. “Honestly I’m not surprised. This fits… all things considered.”

Sylvia crossed her arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Peepers seemed to consider her thoughtfully. “Let’s just say I have a… theory about that buddy of yours.” 

Sylvia frowned “What kind of theory?” 

Peepers leaned back against his side of the cave. “Well, I guess it can’t hurt to tell you.” He glanced at the sleeping Wander before turning his attention back to her. “Have you ever heard of the species called the Star Nomads?”

Sylvia shook her head. 

Peeper didn’t look surprised. “Not many people have. They are an ancient race said to be at least hundreds of thousands of years old, maybe even a millennia. No one knows what they look like or where they originated from, but they are supposed to be creatures of great knowledge and power. It is said that no one has seen a Star Nomad in over ten thousand years.”

Sylvia couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “And what? You think Wander is one of these Star Nomads? You think he’s some kind of ancient, powerful being? No flarping way!” 

Peepers was unfazed by her outburst. “For the longest time, I thought Hater was off his rocker when he would insist that Wander was some kind of secret genius,” Peepers admitted. “One day, I heard the legend of the Star Nomads. It seemed familiar, so I decided to look into it. I don’t have conclusive proof yet, but… well, do you know how old he is?”

Sylvia shrugged. “It hasn’t come up, but I always assumed he was younger than me. Maybe somewhere between 22 and 28?” 

“You never had any suspicions that he might be older?” Peeper asked. “A lot older?”

She started to scoff, but then she paused. 

Wander had been all across the universe. Based on the stories he had shared about the places he’d been, it seemed strange that he was able to travel as much as he had in just two short decades. 

A memory, one she had brushed off, began to emerge. They had been heading to the Rydan star system near the edge of their galaxy. Sylvia had never heard of it before, but Wander had pleasantly recounted all the planets he visited there and he eagerly wanted her to see it too. He was most excited about showing her a natural wonder that could only be found on the third planet of the system. When they arrived where the star system should have been, they were both shocked to see there was nothing there. There wasn’t even a star shining in the empty space, let alone the planets that Wander had rambled endlessly about.

Sylvia has written it off as a mistake. Wander had traveled to many places and she figured he must have misremembered a star system. It was unusual, since Wander’s memory was usually impeccable. He could remember the name of every person he met, their favorite color, and even their birthdate if he could weasel that information out of them. A mistake like forgetting where a star system was located was usual for Wander, but Sylvia couldn’t think of any other explanation. It’s not like a star system could just disappear. At least… not within a few short decades. 

Now that she thought back to it, Wander hadn’t seemed confused about the missing star system. Instead, he’d been uncharacteristically sad as he apologized for not being able to show her the sights. 

“I take your silence to mean that maybe my theory isn’t as crazy as it seems,” Peepers said smugly.

Sylvia scoffed as she attempted to ignore the sinking feeling building in her chest. “This is ridiculous. Have you met Wander? The other day he was fascinated by a bug crawling up a blade of grass for over an hour. If he was thousands, or even millions of years old, I doubt he would be so easily entertained.”

“I do know Wander.” Peepers said. “Which is why I’m even entertaining this theory in the first place. We both know he’s not as naive as he seemed to be. In fact, he’s downright clever… diabolically so. He would have to be in order to stop us at every turn.” Peeper hesitated. “Don’t tell Hater that I admitted that. He’ll never let me live it down.”

It was true. Wander almost always knew more than he let on. His plans seemed nonsensical at first, but things almost always managed to work out in his favor. 

“So he outsmarts you,” Sylvia said with a shrug and a proud smile. “That doesn’t mean he’s some ancient being.”

“Yes, but I’m not just talking about us. Have you heard of Major Threat? I know for a fact that Wander was the one to reform him into the peaceful guy he is now. And he’s not the first villain he’s reformed. Do you know any other creature capable of running around reforming villains? You traveled with him for years. Have you ever met any other creature in the galaxy like him? Anyone that comes close to being able to do what he can?”

Sylvia looked down to where her best friend was sleeping. She had to admit, she had never met anyone in the universe quite like him. As sweet and child-like as he was, she had also seen him do incredible things that she could only describe as miracles. 

She reached towards her best friend and gentility stroked the hair on top of his head. 

Who are you, Wander? 

“If I’m right, he’s been lying to all of us. Even you.”

Sylvia’s head jerked up in surprise. “If you're right about this crazy theory, then calling him a liar is a stretch. Wander is the most honest guy I know.”

“His name isn’t even Wander.”

The comeback Sylvia prepared died in her throat.

“Before Wander he went by Tumbleweed,” Peepers continued. “I did more digging, and before Tumbleweed he went by Drift. Who knows how many names he had before that? 

“So he changes his name?” Sylvia shifted uncomfortably. “What’s wrong with that?”

“It means we don’t know who this guy really is! Sure, maybe he hasn’t outright lied to you, but did he tell you about his other names? Did he tell you who he was, where he’s from, or how old he is?”

“Wander just… doesn’t like to talk about himself,” Sylvia said, but even to her ears it seemed like a lame excuse.

“Doesn’t like to talk about himself? Or doesn’t want you to know who he is?”

“Does it even matter?” Sylvia snapped. “Wander is Wander now. It doesn’t matter who he used to be.”

“You're missing the point. You don’t even know who he really is! If he’s really tens of thousands of years old, and if he’s really as clever as we think he is, then how do we know that we aren’t just some pawns in his plan?”

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “Now you’re going to make him out to be some supervillain?”

Peepers shook his head. “No, not a supervillain. At least supervillains are straight with you about who they are. What he does is worse. He acts like an innocent fool, but his true agenda is to trick people into becoming “good” and “kind” and give up their evil ways.”

Sylvia snorted. “And by tricking people do you mean giving out hugs and making sandwiches?”

“You know exactly what I mean, zbornak. Or was it really a coincidence that every time Lord hater got his hands on a powerful weapon, Wander would show up and ‘accidentally’ break it, or distract Hater with an inane challenge? You and I both know that Wander knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Sylvia crossed her arms. “So maybe Wander does have his own agenda and the galaxy is better for it. It’s not our fault that Hater falls for it every time.”

“Agree to disagree. But that’s beside the point. Have you ever once considered that you might also be a pawn in Wander’s plan?”

“Me?” Sylvia looked amused. “I help Wander because we’re friends. That’s my choice. He’s not tricking me into anything.”

“Oh really? And what exactly were you doing when you first met Wander?”

Sylvia's heart sank as she thought back to that day. Back then, she thought she had seen it all. She knew the universe to be a cruel, ruthless place where the only rule was to look out for yourself because you couldn’t trust anyone else to have your back. Then one day, she captured Wander for his bounty and everything changed. It had taken time, but eventually he managed to get under her tough zbornak skin, and in that moment, the universe opened up before her. She had never met anyone with so much optimism, kindness and love. She desperately wanted to be part of the universe that he saw.

“I was a bounty hunter,” she said slowly. “I was going to turn him in for money, but in the end I couldn’t. We became friends and it had been a while since I had one of those,” she she said with a fond smile.

“So, he got to you too.” Peepers said. “You weren’t a supervillain, but he did the same thing to you that he did to Major Threat.”

Sylvia opened her mouth to refute the claim but found that she couldn’t.

“What he does is…. insidious. You don’t even know what he’s doing until it’s too late and he covers it up with flowery words and a smile.” Peepers took a deep, frustrated breath. “Look, I know he’s probably a good guy and he really is just trying to make the universe ‘a better place’ or whatever you call it.” He added in finger quotes and a roll of his eye. “But if he’s really as old as we think he might be, I have to wonder how much any of this really matters to him. Is Hater just another villain in a long list? And you may call him your best friend, but how many other best friends did he have? Maybe we’re all just a small blip to him.”

The heaviness in Sylvia’s chest was crushing her lungs now and she felt cold in a way that didn’t have anything to do with the cool cave air. Wander told her he loved her and that she was his best friend, but if that was true, why didn’t he open up to her more? And if their suspicions are correct, and he really is thousands or even millions of years old, why would she, a random zbornak, mean anything to him? 

She looked down at the sleeping Wander, fearful she would see a stranger. Instead, the fog of doubt cleared and she was left with an overwhelming feeling of warmth and gratitude towards the small being next to her. Looking at him, she couldn’t see the fantastical creature that Peepers described. All she could see was her optimistic, helpful best friend who needed her just as much as she needed him.

“It doesn’t matter.” Sylvia said at last. “It doesn’t matter if he’s 22 or even older than some star systems. He’s still Wander and nothing is going to change that. And if your plan is to get into my head and make me doubt that, then you’re out of luck.”

“Okay I get it,” Peepers said. “You don’t care if he’s been lying to you.”

Sylvia sent peepers a glare. He might be their “guest”, but he was really pushing his luck, and her patience. 

“But let's at least take this opportunity to test one theory.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have an experiment that might tell us if there is more to him than meets the eye.”

“An experiment?” Sylvia's eyes narrowed as she put her arm over Wander protectively. “You’re nuts if you think I’m going to let you experiment on my buddy.”

Peepers sighed. “Relax, I'm not going to do anything to him. I’ve had this suspicion for a while and maybe you have to.”

“What suspicion?”

“Don’t you find it odd?” Peepers asked. “Wander puts himself into danger all the time but he almost always seems to come out unscathed.”

“I don’t find it odd at all. In fact, you’re looking at the reason right here,” she said, gesturing to herself.

“Yes, I know you protect Wander, but I’m talking about more than that. I’m talking about how ten platoons of Watchdogs can be shooting at him and he just skips away completely unscathed. There is natural agility and then there is just the unnatural.”

“Things always tend to work out for him,” Sylvia admitted. What she didn’t mention to Peepers were all the times she secretly wondered if Wander might actually be magic.

“My hypothesis is that he can influence probability at a subconscious, subatomic level.”

Sylvia stared at him blankly. “What?”

Peeper sighed. “Okay look.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out something shiny. Sylvia recognized it as a Hater-coin, the currency Hater used on the planets he conquered. “If you flip a coin a hundred times, how many times is it going to land on heads?”

“Umm…” Sylvia wasn’t really good at math in general, but this question seemed obvious. “About fifty, right? It’s a fifty-fifty toss if it’s a fair coin.” 

“Good, you at least have a rudimentary understanding of probability. That’s more than I expected.”

Sylvia growled, her patience quickly disappearing. “What does this have to do with Wander?”

Peepers tossed her the coin, which she easily caught. 

“We’re going to do an experiment. You’re Wander's friend and I’ve seen you benefit from his probability manipulation. Your goal is to flip the coin a hundred times and see how many times you land on heads. If you get heads around fifty times, give or take some room for error, then that’s normal and there is probably nothing strange going on with your friend. If you land on heads an unusually high amount… well it won’t prove anything without further tests, but it will definitely lend credit to my theory.”

“You think he’s lucky,” Sylvia said bluntly.

“That’s a crude, unscientific way to put it, but essentially, yes.”

“I wouldn’t think an egghead like you would believe in luck.” 

“It’s probability manipulation and it’s a well documented phenomenon-“ Peepers cut himself off before he went full-rant and took a deep breath. “Can you just do the experiment? I will explain more after.” 

“Fine, if it will get you to shut up so I can go to sleep,” Sylvia grumbled, doing her best to disguise her own curiosity. 

“You should sit close enough that you are touching him- just in case we get better results that way,” Peepers instructed. 

She did what he suggested and cuddled closer to Wander, his warm fur brushing her hide. She flipped the coin, letting it fall to the ground. Peepers pulled out a notebook and started recording.

“And that’s the 100th one,” Peepers said as he recorded the results. “And it looks like you got 61 heads.”

“See?” Sylvia said. “61 isn’t that far away from 50. Seems like you were wrong.”

“Are you crazy?” Peepers shouted. “Do you know how unlikely that is? No, of course you don’t, you don’t understand statistics! Let me put it this way: it’s very, very unlikely! And that was with you doing the coin toss! Imagine if it was Wander himself!”

“Come on, maybe I just got lucky,” Sylvia tried to reason.

“Maybe,” Peepers said, unconvinced. “We would have to do this many more times to determine if there is a pattern, but these numbers…” Peepers shook his head. “Theoretically, there are very few places in the universe where probability can be altered this drastically, and always on a quantum mechanical level.”

Sylvia was almost afraid to ask. “What kind of places?”

Peepers threw up his hands. “The heart of a star, for one! There aren’t many places that can literally break down physics!” 

“Okay, calm down,” Sylvia said as he ran a hand through Wander’s fur soothingly. “You’re going to wake him.”

Peepers slumped against the cave wall, suddenly looking like he hadn’t slept in days. “I don’t know exactly what you have traveling with you, or where he came from, but if I was you, I would start demanding answers.” 

Chapter Text

It had been a few months since the night in the cave with Peepers and his crackpot theory. 

Sylvia had mostly been able to push Peepers’ accusations from her mind. It was only at night, when the sun began to set and their adventure wound down, when Peepers’ voice returned.

How much did Sylvia really know about Wander? Why did she know absolutely nothing about her best friend’s past?

Sylvia leaned back against the roof of her family’s house. She and Wander had been in her home system and decided to visit her mother and brothers again. They were only planning on staying the night and the next morning they would buy tickets to catch the space train to the Typhus system.

Wander sat next to her under the star-filled sky. Sylvia’s family still didn’t seem to understand Wander, but he never let it bother him. Her brother had been a pain as always, but Sylvia enjoyed the few hours she spent talking with her mother this evening. They were getting along much better now that they had come to their understanding at her last visit.

She glanced at her furry companion, a content look resting on his face.

“So, Wander… I’ve been wondering,” Sylvia began cautiously. It was alright to ask, right? She couldn’t imagine him getting angry with the question. She was more worried about bringing up bad memories and upsetting him. “We’ve visited my home planet twice so far. When am I going to get to see where you’re from?”

There was silence from her furry friend. As it dragged on just a few seconds too long, Sylvia was starting to worry he wouldn’t answer. 

At last, Wander chuckled. “Sorry Syl, we are way too far out to visit where I’m from.” 

“We can take a space train,” Sylvia suggested. “Those travel at warp 10 now.”

Wander shook his head. “Nah, it’s still too far. And we’ll miss all the wonderful sights and people this galaxy has to offer!”

So, he was from another galaxy? That wasn’t too surprising. 

“Oh, it’s really that far, huh?” Her hopes of seeing Wander’s home planet were quickly dwindling. “Well, where are you from?” she prodded gently. “What’s it like?”

She waited, almost certain that he was going to change the subject. Maybe even pretend to get distracted by something else. 

“Hmm…” Wander said thoughtfully. “Do you see those two stars just above the Argos cluster?” Wander pointed up to the stars and to the left. 

Sylvia squinted her eyes. She thought she did see two faint stars, but they were hard to make out. 

“Yeah?” she said, growing excited. Were one of these stars the system that Wander was from?

“Well, between those stars used to be another star. That’s where I’m from.”

Sylvia’s heart sank. “... Used to be?” she asked quietly.

Her mind was racing. What happened to Wander’s planet and why was the star no longer there? Or was Wander really ancient like Peepers suggests and he outlived his star system?

“Buddy, I’m sorry,” Sylvia said instead of any of the hundreds of questions that were buzzing around in her head.  

“Aww, no need to be sorry, Syl. I’m not sad or nothin’. It may be where I’m from, but it’s not my home.”

“What about siblings? Relatives?”

Wander shook his head.

“No family?” 

“Well I wouldn’t say no family…” he said with a soft smile as he looked up at her. “I’ve always considered you my family, Syl.”

Sylvia wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in a tight hug. “Aww, Wander. You’re my family too.” 

Chapter Text

“Tumbleweed! It’s me!”

Sylvia didn’t notice that someone was calling them until Wander pulled on her reins. 

“Linsee!” Wander shouted as he jumped off Sylvia’s back.

He ran over to a cute cottage house and hugged a green skinned alien girl that looked just a few years older than Sylvia.

“How have you been? How’s Marsee?” Wander asked, practically bubbling over with excitement.

“Good! We’re both good! Come on in, you know she’d love to see you!”

“I had no idea you guys moved to Thylan!” Wander said. “Sylvia! Come over here and meet my friend, Linsee!”

Sylvia had long since grown used to running across Wander’s friends. She gave a small wave and her friendliest smile. Wander’s friends came in all varieties of creatures, and Sylvia usually enjoyed meeting them because they were trustworthy, kind, and usually willing to put them up for the night.

“Nice to meet you, Sylvia! Any friend of Tumbleweed is a friend of mine.”

“Umm,” Sylvia stared blankly at the girl. She recognized the name as the one Peepers had said used to be one of Wander’s aliases, but was uncertain how to respond. “You, uhh, too.”

“Actually Linsee, folks call me Wander now.”

“Wander? That’s a cute name,” she said with a giggle. “I could see why you would come up with that name for yourself. It fits you perfectly.”

“Thank you kindly, but I didn’t come up with it. My best friend gave it to me!”

Sylvia froze, her brow scrunching up in confusion. His best friend? Wander talked about many friends in his past, but he only ever referred to her as his best friend. The only exception was the occasional wishful comment about Hater also being his best friend.  Who was this mysterious best friend who not only named Wander, but also caused his whole face to light up with happiness? 

“Well, other than your name, nothing else about you seems to have changed! Come on in, both of you! 

Sylvia allowed herself and Wander to be led into the quaint little cottage. Linsee offered them a seat and Sylvia tried her best to sit as delicately as she could on the antique chair.

“So, how do you know each other?” Sylvia asked.

“Oh Tumble- I mean, Wander, used to travel with my grandmother,” Linsee explained. “And even after they stopped traveling together, he would still come by to visit and I got to know him too.” Linsee made sure they were sitting comfortably before she offered them some cookies she had made earlier that day. “I’ll let Grandma know you’re here. I’ll be right back,” Linsee said as she disappeared into the back room.

“You used to travel with her grandmother?” Sylvia asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

There was of course nothing wrong with Wander choosing to travel with an older lady, but Wander’s adventures could get pretty intense. She had a hard time imagining that an elderly lady could keep up with him. Not every old person could be Stella Starbella. 

“Sure did! We had tons of fun adventures together! I’m surprised I didn’t tell you about her.”

“Well, you don’t talk much about your past, buddy,” Sylvia said, trying to keep the accusation out of her voice. It wasn’t as if Wander owed her the information about his past, even if it would be nice if he could tell her a few things… or anything really.

“Oh, look at you,” an older female voice said from the doorway. “You haven’t changed a bit. Although my granddaughter says you’re going by Wander now?”

“Marsee!!” Wander exclaimed as he hopped off his chair to give the green-skinned elderly lady a hug.

The older lady hugged him back tightly.

“It’s sooo good to see you!” Wander said. “How long has it been?”

“About five years since you visited. We tried to get a letter to you when we moved, but it’s very difficult for the mail carrier to track you down.”

“Yeah, it makes answering jury summons a pain as well,” Sylvia quipped.

“Marsee, I would like you to meet my best friend Sylvia. Sylvia, this is Marsee.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sylvia said. “It’s good to meet someone else who's traveled with Wander. Were you also subjected to every helping impulse? We haven't visited a single flarping restaurant where he hasn't insisted on offering to restock the condiments."

Marsee laughed. “Oh my grop, yes! That brings me back! Half the restaurants in the Tyrel system should have hired us on part time!”

Wander grinned sheepishly, but also in good humor. “It was the helpful thing to do, and like I always say, it-”

“Never hurts to help,” three voices chorused back to him.

“Exactly!” 

The four of them laughed; the sound filling the small quaint cottage. 

“We traveled all over the Tyrel system. Have you been there?” Marsee asked Sylvia.

Sylvia shook her head.

“Oh, it’s beautiful. Linsee, can you get the old photo album?” 

“Sure Grandma!”

“That’s where I met Wander. I never met anyone quite like him before.”

“Oh shucks, Marsee,” Wander said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You’re such a flatter.”

“Yeah, Wander’s definitely one of a kind,” Sylvia said, glancing at her best friend. 

Sylvia was just starting to understand how true that might be, especially now that she knows the star system he originated from was gone and he had no biological family. 

“Here you go, Grandma.”

“Thank you, darling. Here’s a picture of me and Wander about a week into when we first started traveling together.”

Marsee held the photo up for Sylvia to see. 

At first, Sylvia thought Marsee was holding up the wrong picture. She could see Wander clearly, but beside him was a young green-skinned lady a few years younger than Sylvia. Sylvia’s brain tried to make sense of the picture until realization sent a shock through her system. The green alien in the picture was Marsee, but much, much younger. And Wander, despite the years that had passed by, hadn’t aged a bit.

Sylvia was about to comment, but Marsee began to talk about all the trips she had taken, and it felt rude to interrupt the old lady. 

After visiting for a few hours, Sylvia mentioned that they had to leave soon if they wanted to make it on time to view the space whale migration.

“Come back any time,” Marsee said as she escorted them to the front door.

“Thank you Marsee. Are you sure you don’t want to come with us to see the migration?” Wander asked. “The viewing platform at the space station has the very best view! At least, according to this travel brochure we picked up.”

“No, no. That's a long trip for an old woman like me. My adventures are a little closer to home nowadays. You too have fun!”

“That we will!” Wander said as he jumped on Silvia’s back. “Come on Sylvia, let’s get going!”

Sylvia obliged him as they headed towards the interstellar train station.   

“She was nice,” Sylvia said, a strange sensation of dread forming in her chest. She still wanted to ask him more about his age, but for now a more pressing question plagued her mind. 

“Yeah, Marsee’s the best!”

“Wander, I wanted to ask… how many people have you traveled with?”

“Oh, lots and lots! I’ve met so many folks while traveling the stars and sometimes they want to come with me for a time. Most people have to get back to their own life eventually, but I can always visit them again when I’m in the area. It’s much more fun to see the sights with a partner by your side, wouldn’t you agree?”

Silvia smiled but it was strained. “Yeah, of course I do, buddy.”

She really was just one companion in a long line of others, wasn’t she? Peepers had been right. 

Wander said he considered her his best friend, but how many other people did he feel the same towards? She knew it was stupid and selfish to feel this way. Wander loved everybody. She loved that about him, but she also hoped that their relationship was somehow special. She was suddenly feeling a lot less special now that she learned about this other best friend that had apparently given Wander his current name. Who was this person? How long had they been friends with Wander? Did Wander like this person more than he liked her?

She knew she was jealous, but that wasn’t the problem. Jealousy was natural and she’d work through it either on her own or by talking to Wander. It was embarrassing, but he would never judge her for it. 

The problem was that Wander had another best friend, but that Wander never once mentioned this person before today.

Was that Sylvia’s future? 

Would she travel with Wander until she got too old to travel anymore and he would leave her behind? Would he find a new companion and never mention her again?

As time passed, stars died, and one companion turned into the next, would his memories blur together?

Would he forget about her?