When Rylar came to, he awoke in his previous prone position, with the back of his head firmly planted in the soft grass atop Nature's Hill, swishing in the wind. When he lifted his eyelids, he saw the same glassy night sky above, the stars shining, seemingly calling his name as he lay beneath them once more. As he fully recollected his thoughts, he remembered the dream he had over the past few moments. Or minutes. He was not quite sure how long he was out, but he knew he must have fallen asleep. Surely, he had fallen asleep while watching the meteor shower; he woke up in the same place he had remembered laying down, so this must be the case. There could not have been any running or tripping over the tree root if he were still in the same spot. Neither was there a crater or meteor in the ground, so the collision of a meteor with the Earth was out of the question.

But the dream felt so real. He could not seem to shake the feeling that it all had truly happened. To take his mind off the matter, if only to divert his attention for a moment, he decided to check the time on his ModAtt, the sleek piece of communications technology he wore on his left wrist in the typical place of a watch.

This was not to say that the ModAtt was just a watch; the ModAtt - formally known as the Modulus Attendant - performed a myriad of everyday tasks, with capabilities to send e-mail, make calls, conduct banking, research topics using a worldwide search engine, and much more. The design held a real wave display that curved slightly, yet comfortably, around the wrist and was paper-thin with a nylon strap that attached to each side and wrapped around the arm. At the side nearest to the hand, there were two slight bumps in the real wave that had slits: one for data transmission out, and the other for data transmission in. One the side opposite the hand and further up the arm, there was another bump in the center, with a slot for slotting in chips. This feature was akin to a vestigial organ for the most part, as battle chips were rarely ever used by civilians anymore, but wizard battling was still enough of a common occurrence for the ModAtt to have the slot. Viruses were hardly an issue nowadays; research on the wave world had been prioritized many years ago and although not everything was known (especially the details of wave changing and the existence of foreign wave beings throughout the universe), enough was known about viruses to the point that even the nastiest virus could be taken out in about a minute due to the effectiveness of the modern battle chips used by the newly formed Virus Patrol. The slot's other use was for the installation of software updates, which were files that were much too large to mass distribute to the world across the wave road.

Rylar's ModAtt had an emerald-green background that matched his hoodie. He sat up from his lying position and looked at the screen on his left wrist. The time was 11:12pm, about a half-hour later than he expected to be out. He figured he should probably get back to his uncle's house before it was too late. He did not have a curfew and tomorrow was Saturday, so it wasn't as if he needed to be awake early tomorrow, but there was no need for him to be out so late with no other plans. He decided to check his messages and see if anyone had tried to contact him and was greeted with a familiar voice just before tapping the icon.

"I must say, it is quite roomy in these devices that you humans have created. Much roomier than the Hunter-VG that I had heard about from Omega-Xis back in the day."

Rylar jumped and ripped the ModAtt off his wrist. Rylar hadn't set up the voice assistant, so there was no reason for the ModAtt to speak. Also, that voice...

It perked up again from the ModAtt that was lying on the ground. "There isn't any need to throw me around, Rylar. I understand you still have your misgivings, as you mentioned them earlier, but that is no reason to treat me with hostility. As I said, I wish to be your partner."

His partner. There was no way.

Rylar warily glared at his ModAtt, which was lying in the grass about two feet from him.

"Dragon Sky?"

"Yes, Rylar?"

That settled it. He was not dreaming. That had all happened. Unless that was a dream within a dream. Rylar considered that possibility, and ultimately could not make heads or tails of it. He crawled over to the ModAtt on the ground in front of him and strapped it back to his wrist. As he did so, Dragon Sky came to the forefront of the screen.

"You needed something?"

"So, none of that was a dream?"

"That is what I said previously."

"So you're actually here."

"Yes."

Rylar had no idea what to say. He only stared at the screen in disbelief. As he processed his thoughts, he realized that if everything that had happened with Dragon Sky was true...

"WAIT! So my parents are actually alive?!" Rylar felt tears rushing into his eyes and if this were truly happening, he knew he would be incapable of stopping their flow.

"They were before I set off to find you. However, I cannot bring them back without your assistance and, furthermore, they wouldn't have a planet to return to."

Rylar paused before speaking once again, the tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. "Why can't you find someone else to help you? I seriously doubt that I'm capable of doing this."

"I am an AM Sage. My wavelength is very distinct and in all the years of my existence, I have never come across a wavelength that matched mine. However, you are different than the other humans. Your wavelength matches mine precisely and this will allow us to wave change. This cannot be completed with any other human."

Rylar was stuck. If what Dragon Sky said was true, Rylar was his parents' only hope. He was the only one that could potentially do it.

"And what happens if I can't do it?"

"Do you have a more pressing matter at hand?"

Rylar stifled his tears with a bit of laughter at the sarcastic comment that came from the AM-ian in his ModAtt.

"That's not what I meant. I'm not a fighter. Sure, I wouldn't necessarily shy away from it, but..."

"Of course you don't know how to wave battle. I would not expect you to. But as long as you are willing, you are likely to learn the ways to battling and will become a capable fighter."

Neither spoke for what seemed to be a long time.

"You said 'likely.'"

"Well, there is nothing absolute in this universe. But if you are related to Geo Stelar and have such a distinct wavelength, I'm willing to bet the protection of this world that you would be able to stand up to the challenge."

"And if I'm not?"

"I don't believe it would matter. At that point, you would share the same fate as the rest of the human population."

Rylar's eyes widened. One way or another, he would die. So why even bother? What was the chance that he was able to stop this threat and then eventually save his parents?

"...I still don't know..."

"That is fair. However, I will continue to warn you. The quickest of the AM-ians may arrive here on Earth very soon. I hope you will have made your decision by then."

Rylar grunted in affirmation, his cheeks stained with the trails of tears that had previously rolled down his face. He was no longer crying but was in more of a contemplative state. After Dragon Sky realized this, he disappeared back into the depths of the device, allowing Rylar a full view of his ModAtt's home screen. He noticed a message from his uncle asking when he would be home, a few missed calls from his uncle, and a missed call from Akari. She had not bothered to leave a message, but either way, it did not matter to Rylar. He would not be answering her or calling her back. He felt bad about it, but it was what needed to be done to make sure that no one got too close to him. Rylar found himself on his knees, his gaze averted from his ModAtt and once again directed back toward the sky, wondering where in the vast emptiness his parents were located.

"Rylar?" A soft voice called out to him as he kneeled atop Nature's Hill, fixated upon the heavens above. He subconsciously recognized the voice but paid it no mind.

The girl approached from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder as she repeated herself. "Rylar?"

Despite her hand and voice both being gentle, it was a jolt to Rylar and he jumped at her presence, spinning around and landing on his backside at the same time. He looked up at the girl. Her worried expression was obvious to Rylar, conveyed mainly through her eyes, painted a light hazel. Her hair was a very dark brown, almost black, but had a contradictory illustrious shine to it that reflected beauty in the moonlight. After his brief glance at her, he redirected his gaze back to its previous location.

"Ah. It's just you, Akari."

Akari seemed a bit bothered by this comment but shrugged it off and continued. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

She sighed. "Don't downplay it. I got a call from your uncle asking where you were. He said you hadn't answered his message or any of his calls. I cam her because I know you come here often, but we thought had maybe something happened to you..." She trailed off at the end of her sentence.

Rylar simply turned his head and made eye contact with Akari. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine. I just..."

...met an alien who is currently living in my ModAtt. Rylar trailed off before saying this last part, pausing to think about what to say next. He couldn't exactly tell her about Dragon Sky.

"Just what?"

"Fell asleep here. That's all."

At this moment, Akari's gaze seemed to shift, overlooking all Rylar's face. The moonlight faintly reflected off the stains that were left from the tears that had previously fallen. Rylar's eyes were clearly still watery, and Akari seemed perceptive of this as well. She sat down next to him on the grass.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"How long are you planning on staying up here?"

"I was just about to leave."

"Hmpf. How convenient."

Akari seemed to be peeved at Rylar's declaration and he noticed, but he did not pay it any mind. They sat there in silence for a moment, about a foot and a half from each other, before Rylar spoke up.

"We should probably get going. I'll walk you home."

Akari smiled sheepishly at this, still worried about Rylar. He clearly was incapable of feigning that he was fine, but he wasn't truly trying either. They both stood up and made their way down Nature's Hill and toward Kahara City.

They walked alongside each other along the dirt path that snaked down the hill, emphasized in the grassy knoll by the footsteps of those who had previously traversed the path. Rylar and Akari were silent, not talking, but thinking the entire way down the hill and began to cross into Kahara City within ten minutes.

Kahara City was known as "The Out-of-Place City" since it was massively built up. Within the city limits, there was every entrail that one would expect inside: jumbo screens with advertisements, buildings infringing upon the personal space of the clouds, and a grid-like street system that cities are well-known for throughout the world. Stores, restaurants, apartment complexes, and office buildings lined the streets. Thus, inside, Kahara City was completely normal. Its nickname was derived not from what it was, but where it was. Outside the city, there were little to no suburbs, with a great deal of nature. Nature's Hill was a great example of this, and there were quite a few people who simply owned a small, quaint home a few minutes outside the city limits and walked through the beautiful scenery on their way to work.

Rylar had lived on the outside of the city prior to his parents' disappearance, but ever since then, he had moved in with his uncle in an apartment complex within the city limits. He had not been to his childhood home since he left it for the last time to move, and he had no desire to go back either. There were too many memories that would be too painful for him to bask in if he did.

Unwillingly, Rylar found himself thinking back on the memories he had around that house. He forced himself to not touch the can of worms that included memories with his parents, but he had an image of the park that him and his friends would play in often after school, chasing each other around and playing games such as tag and hide and seek. He had always been friends with Akari, Badger, and Phoebe, and he wondered why they still stuck around for so long. He was aware that he did not treat them well; he did so on purpose to push them away. He no longer felt sad - it was simply that his choice to push them all away weighed on his conscience every day that he chose to do so. However, he felt it was something he needed to do. It would be better for all of them if they would exercise the same methodologies as him; however, he knew this would never happen and never forced it upon them. Instead, he was left to sullk over his own actions daily.

After he had reached a depressing end to his mental tangent, he brought his attention back to reality. Akari had not said a word this entire time. He felt guilty, selfish even, for treating her the way he had over the past five years. She didn't deserve it. They had been so close years ago and he made sure that the bond had been damaged. Her patience and drive to be by his side all these years had amazed him. He wondered why she would ever waste her time with him. he wondered if he could ever salvage the relationship if he so desired, but he could never do such a thing to himself. He needed to protect himself above all else. He could care less if it was a selfish way of thinking. However, he could never fully convince himself that he did not care about her. Deep down, he always did, and he would internally wince whenever he was cold to her, but he could just never admit it to himself that he truly did.

Rylar glanced over at Akari, who was walking with her head angled slightly downward. He could tell that something was on her mind. He normally would not ask to keep in line with his normal actions. He did want to know, however, and was uncharacteristically about to speak up when a bright light flashed from the alleyway just to Akari's left and a loud crash was heard. Suddenly, something bounded from out of the alleyway and grabbed Akari, dragging her into the alley.

"AHHH! Help!"

Rylar was startled by this seemingly random occurrence and turned to face the alleyway. He was faced with a shocking sight. An EM wave being in the shape of a big cat hovered menacingly, with a red flame body and white armor that covered the top half of its body and face, emphasizing the pointed ears that stuck above.

"I just arrived here on Earth, and I have already grasped my first target! The AM-ian settlement of this planet will go smoothly if every encounter is to be like this!"

Rylar froze for a moment, staring at the wave being with Akari on the ground beneath it. The being had its claws out, ready to pounce. However, its attention was not on Akari; it was on Rylar, who sat watching, unable to move out of shock. The being seemed to smirk when it saw Rylar.

"Well, what do we have here? What is this wavelength that I sense?"

Rylar finally found his words and did not speak to the being in front of him, but instead to the one in his ModAtt.

"Dragon, you have to do something!"

"I am of no use in this form - as an AM sage, my power resides in the satellite above. You must wave change and call upon me from the satellite if you would like to do something here. I would if I could.

"Lynx, however, is not a powerful being. He is quick, but in a wave battle, I fully believe you could win. I will produce the Star Card for you if you choose to act."

As Dragon said this, a battle chip with a green background and the shooting star insignia ejected from the slot slightly, just enough for Rylar to pull it out with two fingers and take a glance.

Akari was sobbing on the ground, helpless. She was able to stifle out a few words between sobs: "Rylar...please get help..."

Lynx let out a laugh. "What, a battle card? I guess the kid that Dragon was seeking out was useless after all. Unless..." He brought his claws closer to Akari. "...maybe there's a way for me to see how powerful you really are?" Soon, the claws of his right paw were inches away from her exposed neck, threatening to remove her from this world in an instant.

Rylar could not let that happen. But could he do anything? He was nothing by himself. He was only a human and had always treated Akari terribly. Rylar closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to collect his thoughts.