Ten years after that hopeful and mysterious night, a wounded creature was staggering through the woods on Planet Elysia. It sported a significant bruise on its left leg as it whimpered, glancing around warily. The sun was rising on what promised to be a bright and happy morning for the rest of the world as the poor, fluffy brown rodent made its way toward the usual spot. Surely it could get some help.

It was just one of many creatures roaming in the wild, or else among the people.

Some avians flew through the air, little buglike critters that bounced with joy. They were dancing in a mating ceremony around what looked like a small, elegant stone altar, waiting eagerly for the ritual to begin. Some buzzed about the little rodent, who swatted at them in a grumpy fashion with its tail. It just needed—

“Hey, there you are!”

The boy!

He came up from behind the little light-brown rodent and patted its head, eliciting a surprised squeak. “How are ya, little buddy? Haven’t seen you in forever!”

The rodent turned and looked to its friend. The wandermouse was the size of a house cat, nursing its leg, but it stood almost as tall as the boy’s kneecaps. She squeaked again, much more happily, as she verified it was Alex. His bare feet, black shorts, and colorful blue-and-orange shirt gave him away, even in a colorful forest like this. Alex picked her up and nuzzled her, and the creature playfully nibbled at his messy head of hair in return.

She winced at the pain from her leg, however, and looked up with a pleading face to the boy.

“Aww, look what happened to you, Scally! Did you get into a fight again?” Alex got down on his knees in front of the altar and held the wandermouse up to inspect the wound. “Next time you’ve gotta be more careful!”

“Perhaps you should heed your own advice.” The smartwatch on his wrist chimed in. It was the home system monitoring him, and it detected that the boy had snuck off again. “Perhaps Mom would like to know you’re running around in the woods without permission, again?”

“Oh, come on!” Alex rolled his emerald-green eyes with a cheeky smile. Of course, one of those eyes was hidden behind a tuft of his messy hair. “Just doing a little exploring…” He pressed two fingers on Scally’s leg as the critter’s long fluffy tail flitted from the hurt. Uttering an incantation, he watched intently as the bruise became enveloped in a warm soothing light, little sparkles rising from the spot until the fluffy little friend healed. “She doesn’t need to know!”

“Ah, you’re right. It will be much more fun to see how you screw up and she finds out, anyway.” The home system was always a little snarky, ever since he and Mom added a personality chip to it a few months ago. “But why don’t you at least help me save face and come back up here? She just wants you to be a little careful, that’s all.” It sounded more concerned towards the end.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But I’m just hanging out with my friend here!” Alex tickled Scally’s belly as it felt overjoyed to not be nursing a hurt limb anymore. “Plus, the avian mating ceremony is today. I had to be here for that! It’s not like I’m running off with strangers.”

The little avians flitted around Alex’s head impatiently, jealous of the attention that the fluffy pal below was getting.

“Oh-hohokay!” He laughed as they buzzed and nudged him. “Don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget about you!” The dark-haired boy raised his arms over the basin in the middle of the altar, and all the tiny flying critters immediately swung to the bowl-shaped crevice. They all danced with their partners, each flying in opposite circles around Alex’s hands.

“Alright…you ready?” He began uttering a different incantation, and the avians’s bodies began to glow. Each partner’s glow began to meld with the other’s, and as the light spilled over the entire basin, they began to fuse together, two by two, to create a different, more powerful species.

The newly formed fusions danced together and flew from between his hands straight into the sky with excitement, the ritual now complete.

And Alex watched, always loving to see them grow and take off like that. “Look at you go…”

He smiled, ushering Scally off his lap and standing up. He took a deep breath and looked at the sun rising higher still upon the horizon. It was a beautiful day already, although every day was as far as he could remember. It never seemed to be anything other than beautiful, simple, perfect…

Maybe that was why it was boring to him, too.

“Alright, I’ll head back,” he said with a stretch.

“There we go, finally some sense—!” Home System chimed in.

“…Right after a little fly-around!” Alex gave a cocky thumbs up to the smartwatch.

“…Yeah. That’s right. Please give me the first-ever robot heart attack.”

He laughed, petting Scally quickly, and spread his wings. The wandermouse looked up at him and whimpered, not wanting her friend to go yet.

Looking up at the cliff ahead, Alex wiped back the tuft of hair that always hung over his right eye to get a good look. He began to walk forward…

—As a girl his age was walking towards the library-bound hoverbus from her home…

Then run…

—As an 18-year-old young woman was preparing for her final game of the season…

Then jump…

—As a 21-year old young man was getting ready for his duel…

Then fly!

And he shot up into the air like a rocket, soaring above the floating island below him where Scally chased after his shadow. Alex waved to other people and their companions as he zipped past their homes. Some commanded the creatures to magically sprinkle water on their gardens, while others had hovering or walking robots to help them with home projects. Everyone everywhere was finishing their chores now so they could be ready for the big impending announcement.

He zoomed in the clear fresh air and looked around to the other massive islands floating in the sky, wishing he could go beyond them more often. Of course, he could never go too far…

Still, the rush of being up here, feeling so free, would always give him goosebumps. It felt amazing being able to just explore the air, almost like swimming.

And speaking of his want to explore…

He glanced up and saw the massive megastructure on the horizon, a giant space elevator that attached the moon to his planet down below. One of the greatest marvels of engineering beneath the sun, it had gone into construction almost as soon as the war ended long ago. It stood as a sign of peace and interconnectedness for all the planets. Whenever it was in his hemisphere, Alex could always at least see it as a long line dividing the sky in the distance. Up close, it must be even more impressive. It would be great to ride that one day…to go into space for the first time!

Alex just wanted to see the solar system, to take in its sights and learn everything that the sun’s satellites and all its people had to offer. Maybe one day he could find—

“Hey!” He wavered and swerved to one side as a flock of evolowls bustled their way forward. “Careful guys, you almost ran me over!”

They didn’t seem to pay much heed to him as they stayed steady on their migratory path. Alex rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at the stubborn creatures, but one turned back to look at him.

Its eyes were an intense blue, as if filled with an unexplained determination. The elegant creature locked eyes with Alex for a few seconds before diverging from the other creatures.

“Hey wait!” Alex propelled himself forward with a heavy wing-flap to follow the evolowl’s changed course.

But a shimmer below on the planet’s surface caught his attention, and he got distracted by one of the great rounded masses of energy that spotted this world and all the others.

He noticed the evolowl had sighted the towering natural structure’s glow as well. “Pretty, huh? I always wondered what’s inside the Light Domes. Some people say it’s where the Gods live!” He whispered this part like he was telling a secret. “But whatever it is, it must be something amazing, don’tcha think?”

It ignored him and kept its keen eyes on the Light Dome’s ethereal, swirling glare. The near-blinding surface shifted around much like the surface of the sun. They were always so bright and entrancing, like they demanded everyone’s attention.

Before he let his body and mind wander anymore, however, Alex realized he should probably get back home before Mom came home from work.

“Okay, I gotta go back, buddy! But you keep flying your own way, alright?” He winked at the bird and turned back towards the house that sat on the same floating island he had started on.

The evolowl, meanwhile, kept drifting closer towards the Light Dome below.

Within minutes, Alex landed on the cliffs and stretched his arms. That was quite a flight, hopefully Mom wouldn’t realize he was out. The house was a few hundred feet away, overlooking the vast expanse of land from its high perch. He made his way over, wiping his feet with a moist paper towel he had brought to hide the evidence, and walked in through the back door.

The home was a decent size, with a nice large main area encompassing the living room and the kitchen. All the furniture hovered in place, fitted with floating pads to keep them in the air. The house itself was installed with an electronic setup, the television and appliances and services all connected to a central computer that obeyed the owner’s commands. Adorning the shelves were multiple knickknacks that his mom loved to procure. There never seemed to be any rhyme or reason other than that she thought they looked cool. Alongside them were pictures of Alex, his mom, and his grandma, who lived on the mainland below.

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“There! No problem.” He stuck his tongue out at the glowing eye of the Home System on one wall, which scanned him to ensure that he was, in fact, not an intruder.

“Very good,” came the sarcastic response. “So, what do we do about your friend?”

“Huh?” Alex swerved around confused, but then he saw Scally huffing and crawling over to the doorway. “Oh geez! Open the door again!”

Alex rushed out and picked up the tired little fuzzball. “What the heck, how did you even climb the cliff that fast?”

Scally looked back longingly but tired, its tongue stuck out.

“Did you come all the way up just to say hi to me?” He petted the rodent and walked her over to the kitchen. Scally licked his cheek as confirmation. “H-hey! You know, I could always come down to you next time, silly.”

Alex typed in a phrase and pressed a button on the counter, and a small conveyer belt popped out from the ceiling. Grabbing a bowl of water for the little fuzzy handful, he watched Scally drink up.

The boy took out a small drawing pad and sketched his little friend. They had been hanging together for nearly a year now…Maybe he could talk to Mom about adopting the little guy, and Connecting with him? He knew it was a risk to ask but—

“You might wanna check out the door. Someone’s about to be really happy to find a wild animal on the premises!” The home system’s advice knocked Alex out of his thoughts.

“Wha—no…Nonono!” He ran to the window, peeking his head out to see if he could catch a glimpse. And there she was. Mom was home faster than expected. She swaggered up to the door, flicking her red ponytail behind her, as her large black canine companion followed. It looked as alert and sullen as usual.

Scally wandered over and peeked out the window with Alex.

“Gah, we need to hide you quick!” Alex picked the wandermouse up and, hearing the key being used on the front door, panicked and opened one of the cupboard doors where the condiments were kept. He placed the brown fluffy critter there and it squeaked curiously before jumping in surprise as he pressed a button which caused the condiments’ platform to spin and face backward.

“Just hang in there for now, and no eating anything!” Alex said as he wagged his finger. Then he turned around, closed the conveyor belt, and ran to the door just in time as it kicked open, flooding the entryway with the morning light.

“Alex, I’m hooome! …Oh, there you are!” She had her hands resting imposingly on her hips as she stared down at her kid. A nametag reading Linda was embroidered on her work uniform. “And what’s up with you today?”

“Oh, not much…just went for a little walk in the backyard!” He grinned innocently, holding his hands behind his back. “How was work last night?”

“Ah, pretty good,” she replied, smirking a little as she leaned forward to reach eye level with him. The light from the rising sun coming through the door illuminated her frame as she stared suspiciously at him. “Just followed the orders and made some magic happen, as usual.”

Alex tried to maintain his composure, though the canine creature peered at him with a sniff. It grunted as his mom stood up, and the two of them walked past him into the main part of the house.

He followed, but his heart began to pound as she headed towards the kitchen. Inwardly gulping, he hoped that at least she wouldn’t want anything requiring sauces or dressing…

“But I have to say, I’m glad to be back home! Nice to see ya, Homie.” Linda waved to the central eye and then slumped into the seat at the counter, relaxing her neck and looking up at the ceiling. “And how’s the backyard looking? You took care of the chores?”

“Oh yeah, got the garden watered and picked a few fawnberries for you!” He was happy to have an excuse to give her a snack of his choice, rushing to the other side of the counter and grabbing the bowl full of berries.

“Aww you shouldn’t have!” She lit up and grabbed a bite as he brought them back to her side, her expression melting with joy from the sweet taste. “Mmf theywer gvweat!”

“And I think the school project I told you about is looking good! Maybe you can check out the transistors later, if you feel up to it?”

“Mmfmm svure,” she said through another mouthful, and she finally gulped them down. While her black scapehound sat in the corner, she turned around in her seat to look at Alex. “You’re really good with that stuff, though. Don’t need to doubt yourself!” Patting her chest, she pressed the button to get a glass of water from the conveyer belt.

Alex laughed at her encouragement, opening his mouth to say something. But then he froze as he saw who was sitting on the refreshments carousel.

“I’m happy to help you out, but I’ll bet you have it under control.” Linda continued with a smile, not noticing her son’s eyes widening as he counted down the seconds. “Just keep your head high, I always say!” She reached for the glass and slowly turned to the drink… “And eventually, you’ll get to what you’re looking for—”

Her nose bumped into Scally’s, and her smile disappeared as quickly Alex thought it would. He facepalmed.

The house was quiet for a moment, one long tense instant…until Scally squeaked.

“Alex. What is this doing in my house.” They weren’t questions as much as threatening barbs.

Alex smiled guiltily, trying hard to ignore the smug home system eye looking at them, and attempted to stutter an answer. “W-well, you see, I—”

“Actually, I don’t wanna know.” Linda picked the wandermouse up by the scruff of its neck and stood up. “Let’s skip straight to the part where we put it back outside!”

“Wait! Mom, come on, listen!” He chased her as she went towards the back door, her foot looking like it was itching to kick Scally’s butt very far. “Please! She was just lonely! And yeah, I went down the cliff to the woods…” He poked his fingers together. “B-but that’s part of our backyard, so I didn’t technically lie!”

“Not the time, kiddo!” She turned around and glared at him. Her scapehound looked at them from the corner. “Seriously! I told you, at least let me be with you while you’re hanging out back there! And instead, you bring a little suzflea-trap into the house!” Linda dangled the wandermouse in front of Alex. Scally squeaked, not sure exactly what was going on. “This thing could have bitten you!”

“Oh, come on! I wouldn’t let her in the house if I thought she would bite me! I’ve been hanging with Scally for a whole year! She’s not gonna hurt anyone, I promise!”

Linda raised an eyebrow.

Alex sighed and glanced away. “I…I was kinda thinking that she might make a good Connection…” He knew this was probably the worst time to say it, but it might be his last chance. “She’s been sweet to me and I’ve been taking care of her… And maybe I should have told you, but I guess I was nervous about what you’d say. I know you wanted me to make a Connection with a domesticated creature, but…I guess I just fell for her.”

Now it was Linda who let out a deep breath. “Kid, I wanted you to get a domesticated one so you’d be safer. And running off like this all the time doesn’t really help my concern! It isn’t just about this little guy; I know how you are when we go out anywhere.” She gestured around with her open hand. “Every time you see something weird or ‘cool’ or interesting, you get distracted and you want one of everything. I don’t know if you really want this fuzzball or whether you’ll pick five more tomorrow, and it’s hard to feel comfortable when you’re out there by yourself because you can never seem to stay in one place for too long!”

She watched him fidget, always unable to stand still. He was more than a handful…although to his credit, he never had broken a bone at least. He seemed to have some understanding of how to take care of himself. But it was clear that she still wasn’t sure.

The things that were out there…she just wanted him to be careful and ready.

Yet maybe the best way to make sure he was ready was to let him finally have some independence. She glanced to her canine, who looked back expectantly…Maybe he needed to explore and find himself.

A spark snapped in the air just outside.

She took a deep breath and released it.

“…Alright. You really want a critter from the wild?” She tilted her head to catch his eyes. Almost immediately, she saw them glimmer like they usually did. “You’ll have to train her much more than you would a domestic one.”

“I…” He didn’t want to push his luck, and knew that this was a big step for her, to give him a chance… “I’ll take care of her all the time. I’ll potty-train her and everything!” He felt a shiver. Was she really going to…?

“…Okay.” She signaled to the outside door with a nod. “You wanna do this? Let’s do this.”

He couldn’t believe it. His face burst with a smile and he followed her outside.

Linda gave the wandermouse to Alex so he could hold her while she went back to grab something inside quickly. She called to her scapehound on the way back out. “Come on, C’esta, we need you out here!”

The beast followed, and when all of them were outside, it looked Scally over with a strict snarl. She squeaked nervously in response.

“Let’s see…” Linda held out a little black container with a symbol on the cap. She unscrewed it and slipped her fingers in to scoop out a black granular paste. Then she beckoned for Alex to come forward so she could place some on his forehead, drawing it in a symbol matching the one on the container. “I was saving this for next month, actually…We were gonna go looking for a Connection on your birthday.” She looked into his eyes and smiled. “But I guess that you’re okay with no present, in exchange for this! Gotta punish you somehow.”

He smiled and nodded. “I guess this is the best punishment I could have asked for, hehe…”

“Don’t be snarky!” She handed the little black tub to him so she could apply the same signature on her. “You’ll be lucky if I bake you a cake, at this point.”

They next placed a separate symbol on C’est and Scally, and then the two of them sat down.

Linda took a white cannister which looked similar to the other and sprinkled a pale powder around them in a circle. She then traced a symbol in the middle and placed her finger there. Alex mimicked her, feeling so excited at this point. They touched foreheads and their companions did the same, although Scally was a little fidgety. A slight growl from the scapehound got her to acquiesce.

And Linda began chanting the incantation. “Vela toola naie agos veln…Join these young spirits in the eternal bondage. Bena lefen anya vojie sctall…May they protect and strengthen each other through all times, both great and trying…” The circle and symbols began to glow a neon blue and pink. Strands of light formed and swirled in the air, connecting to each other and causing little sparks to appear in the air. Alex and Linda closed their eyes. “Thene seile bovona tua alstan… And may they divine a greater world from their kinship and deeds, as those before them!”

A column of light appeared around them, shooting up high into the sky. The colors mixed and wove into varying blues, pinks, and purples, and the symbols on their foreheads melted away. The column shone brighter, brighter still…and finally, it evaporated.

The mother and her son opened their eyes, and they looked to their companions.

“A greater world indeed.” Linda murmured as Alex joyously grabbed Scally, picking her up and hugging her tight.

“Aww, you’re finally able to stay, little girl!” He squeezed the fuzzball as she uttered a suffocated squeak. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to say goodbye to me anymore!” They were now Connected, and she could live in the house with them as long as Alex lived there too.

Sighing, the mother petted her scapehound and pondered. Maybe she needed to try a new approach after all, to let him see the responsibility he would have in life. She would need to hold herself back…he meant the universe to her, and she would do anything to protect him. But unless he truly needed her protection, she would try to restrain herself from interference.

Off in the distance, she saw similar columns of light shoot up into the sky. Linda smirked; apparently a lot of young people were making Connections today. It was often claimed that this was a good sign.

“…Guess it’s time for a change,” she whispered to C’esta.

At that very moment, the house beckoned them. “Special news broadcast incoming. Sounds like they’ve made a decision!”

“Oh yeah! That’s today, isn’t it?” Linda pushed herself up. “Ugh…I was just about to get some shut-eye too! Come on, Alex! This is important.”

“Ohohkay, just a second!” Alex was trying to fend off an equally delighted Scally who was on top of him and licking his face.

The two of them sat on the hovercouch and the Home System turned on the monitor. A live feed came on.

“—And this could have huge repercussions to trade, of course! We will have to see how a nation this vast is able to properly function under a single economy.”

“No doubt, and you think that enough countries are going to be swayed this time? Lots of people are saying this is a big leap, and some regions might be worse off joining Star Nation…”

Linda held her son close…the worlds were changing much faster than anyone had anticipated. Everyone was sympathetic to achieving lasting peace and the prosperity that blossomed from it at this point, though not everyone agreed how.

It seemed like one theory was on the cusp of being put to practice, however.

As long as her son could benefit from this new venture, that was all she needed.

Alex held her hand and smiled. With his other, he looked at the monitor and wondered what was going to happen.