Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was quiet in the house. Diryas was at work. Teegan had gone back to the Bells' house that morning and, from there, to a midday Mass. That left Zebulon, sitting at the kitchen table working on grading papers, and Tobias, who was also sat at the table working on his homework. Graduation was in less than two months, which meant plenty of senior project work.

His senior graduation project? Data analysis involving the historical impact of land use allocations on the environment around the city. There were a number of endangered species that lived in the forests around Destiny City, and there were a number of endangered birds and insects whose migratory patterns stopped over in Destiny City itself. But the city was, well, a city. People needed places to live and work. It was no surprise to him that there had always historically been political battles over whether a given bug was important enough to stop zoning for new residences on the outskirts of DC.

It was no surprise to him, but he wasn't paying much attention to it.

Running his hands through his ever-frizzier hair, fingers tugging in the coarse curls and hair tie long discarded, Tobias groaned in frustration. Frustration first at his inability to focus, but also a--perhaps greater--frustration with the reason he was so unable to focus.

Months. It had been months since Teegan had purified, and he still was not comfortable enough to move back in with them permanently. And Tobias understood that Teegan had some stuff to work through with that, even though it had been months. But it felt like that chapter of their lives couldn't resolve until they were all back home for good. And with that chapter of their lives unresolved all the way, it was impossible for Tobias to keep ignoring one of the facets of it that bothered him the most.

Apologies and making-up had resolved a lot of the issues with the damage to the group dynamic and their trust in and bond with each other. He was glad for that, even though he was not glad for how long it had taken, or that some things would just have to take more time still. They had all promised Teegan he was still welcome, and now they would just have to show him.

But the part that kept bothering him the most was thinking that Teegan might not be so insecure in his place if their reaction to his confessions hadn't been so strongly negative. For ********' sake, he'd been there specifically to say goodbye because he was getting out! Tapping his pen impatiently against the notebook of planning law notations in front of him, Tobias thought back--as he often did--to the day Teegan had come forward and told them all why he had been gone for so long, where he'd been, and to whom he'd sworn allegiance to.

'Sorry isn't good enough!'

He could remember Diryas shattering a bottle on the wall where a moment before Teegan's head had been. And it didn't matter to Tobias that he'd used the name Ransomite. He had still been Elliot, now Teegan, hadn't he? Tobias could still remember Diryas trying to shove him backward into the kitchen while Zebulon went for blood. And then Diryas joined him, the two of them in their blue uniforms by then and steadfastly determined to end Teegan's life.

And Tobias had been unable to do a damn thing about it. He remembered the feel of Diryas'--Imhotep's--hands on him, shoving him backward with a strength uncharacteristic of Imhotep's petit frame. A strength Tobias could not do anything about resisting. Imhotep had pushed him out of the way as if he were little more than an obstacle to murdering Ransomite. He remembered that part vividly.

And Tobias had been unable to do a damn thing about it. Wide-eyed, blood gone cold, he'd watched from the entryway to the kitchen as Promethei hurdled a table and swung a textbook at Ransomite with a force meant to do so much more than hurt him. A second swing after Ransomite had been lucky enough to dodge the first, all three of them wholly ignoring Tobias' shouts. Shouts desperately imploring them to stop, don't hurt him!

He didn't see where Imhotep had gotten the chair, but he had watched in slow motion as it crashed down and splintered around Ransomite's shoulders.

He had seen the knife come up second. Tobias didn't know how or where Imhotep had gotten the knife. But that didn't stop him from acting, from getting between that knife and Ransomite. And even now, he could see the glint of the light on that blade that Imhotep wanted to sink into Ransomite. And Tobias knew Imhotep--Diryas--enough to know that he would do it, given the chance. That he'd sink that knife until Ransomite stopped moving.

There'd be some excuse for the police, of course. Something to excuse the dead body on the floor that used to be a man all three of them had cared desperately for. And maybe that care was why Imhotep and Promethei ultimately had been so angry. But it was why Tobias had gotten between them, shielding Ransomite with nothing but his own body and hoping against hope that it would be enough. He hadn't had anything else.

The frustration once again bubbled sour in his throat and Tobias took a long drink of the glass of water sitting next to him. It didn't help.

He'd dropped Imhotep when he saw Promethei go to finish what Imhotep had started. He'd dropped him and turned back for Ransomite, desperately racing Promethei to see who got there first. It had been due to nothing but sheer ******** god-damned luck that it'd been Tobias and a chair. It could have been Promethei given another millisecond of delay in Tobias' reaction. A millisecond was all that had stood between them and tragedy.

And all he'd been able to do was have faith none of them would hurt him. He couldn't actually stop them without leveraging himself. Nothing would have actually stopped Imhotep or Promethei from shoving Tobias aside 'for his own good' and going to finish off Ransomite.

Elliot then begging for his life on the floor. As if he, too, knew that the only thing keeping him alive was Imhotep and Promethei being unwilling to hurt Tobias. Nothing Tobias himself could do would protect either ******** one of them. A question then-Elliot had asked him still echoed in Tobias' memory.

'Are you powered?'

No. No, he ******** wasn't. And that was the crux of the problem, wasn't it? Maybe if he was, he could actually do something to protect the people he loved without relying on the goodwill of whoever was attacking them. Diryas had managed to get around Tobias, to finally draw blood. It was, again, only through sheer luck that it hadn't been worse than a swift right hook to the corner of Teegan's mouth.

Tobias’ heart thudded in his chest at seeing the look in Diryas’ eyes. He was distantly aware of how easily they could both shove him aside if they wanted to. Because no, he wasn’t powered. He didn’t have any extra help if they decided to push the matter further. He was alone in this. He would just have to protect Elliot with just his own mundane ability--

Luckily--there it was again, luck--no one had died that evening. But now Tobias had been left with the indelible impression that luck was all that kept him from being entirely goddamn useless. What if someone else had been trying to take Teegan's sins out of his hide, someone that didn't have that personal connection that Tobias had been able to exploit? What if Imhotep and Promethei had been just enough angrier to look past how much they loved Tobias?

What if love hadn't been enough to save them all from making a terrible mistake?

"You know," spoke Tobias into the silence of the kitchen, a silence unbroken except for pens scratching against paper. A long sigh as he thought about how to word what he wanted to say next. He wasn't angry at anyone in particular! Just... at feeling powerless even now. Even the little things, like Teegan telling him not to play tennis alone in the park, just in case someone tried to come for him, rankled Tobias. Both in his own right, because he didn't like being called helpless, but also because it highlighted how unsettled Teegan remained even still.

He would give a considerable amount to be able to protect himself, not to mention the people he loved. Tobias got up from the table, then, moving to go refill his glass. On the way, he rested a hand on Zebulon's shoulder, both as a gesture of affection and to get his attention. "You know," he repeated, paused, then continued, "I don't suppose you have a way of getting me one of those fancy costumes that give me special powers."

It was then that the world shifted sideways like the worst kind of amusement park ride and just as nausea-inducing, causing Tobias' grip to tighten on Zebulon's shirt in reflex as he gave a shout of surprise. The world went blurry, then dark, then light again. It left him dizzy, grasping for anything to use to steady himself--and that 'anything' being his grip on Zeb. As the blur cleared, Tobias saw tall pillars and marble floors, everything a swathe of white. He realised he wasn't standing in the kitchen anymore.

No windows, no doors, no furniture, nothing.

His words died in his throat.

In the center of the room, floating atop a wide pedestal, the Code swirled. Small specs of light whirled, like glowing dust, in a sphere half as tall as either of them. The orb was vibrant and the energy radiating from it was practically palpable even to those unable to sense it. With what seemed to be no effort, its presence was immediately both awe-inspiring and soothing.

The room was silent, and then–it spoke.

“Such profanities in my Sacred Domain? How shameless. You are here because I brought you here.” Suddenly, it seemed as though it had eyes on Zebulon, but without a face there was no way to see the expression. It was felt, though–judging him. “If you don’t want to be here, I can send you back. You are not the one I need to speak to. But your company may bring him comfort..”

Attention shifted to Tobias, and the buzzing energy seemed to soften. The Code did not ask how Zebulon knew they were on the Moon. Obviously, he’d been here before. Which meant he was a Senshi, or Knight. The Code did not need to ask; starseeds held little secrets from it.

Tobias’ was blank. An empty canvas of untapped potential.

“You asked about magical powers. I was looking for someone to share some with. Your starseed called for help, and I chose to answer. Tell me why you want magic. Why you want power. What would you do with it, if you had it?”

Really? The Code cared if he used swear words? He caught Tobias' stifled snicker and glanced in Tobias' direction with no mirth on his face, and buried his urge to simply roll his eyes when he turned back to the glowing ball he recognized as the Code. "No, that's okay," at the comment that the Code could just send him specifically back. If it was judging him, he didn't care so much as long as he could figure out what the ******** was going on- "Just didn't expect to suddenly be two hundred thousand miles away. Want to know what you want my husband for."

Sacred domain, did the Code fancy itself g-d?

No point in asking that question. He'd keep his thoughts to himself, though he wondered if he should tap into Mercury and move to his knight form. He was fairly sure The Code at least recognized he was already a knight considering he recognized the place they were.

Approaching the Code after the events of the alien betrayal had been an interesting experience, for sure. What did it want with Tobias, though?

... Oh. Oh.

Zebulon couldn't provide any way to give Tobias any of the magical power he desired, but maybe the glowing ball could.

He caught the way Tobias's eyes slid away from him when he started explaining, and Zebulon couldn't help rubbing his neck and murmuring, "You're important to me," not as a self-defense but to explain himself. Tobias was right, though. The past several months, hell, the past few years, had been a lot, and he couldn't quite get out of his head the way that Tobias had fought so hard even against him and Imhotep to make sure everyone was safe.

And in the end, it had worked, but how much more could he have done in general with magic of his own? Even now, where all three of them had to keep leaving him behind? When Promethei patrolled, there was a part of him that specifically did it to make sure nothing could get near Tobias. Other parts did it because he wanted to make sure the city remained liveable for all four of them, that his university remained a safe place for his students to learn at -- but Tobias had been a central focus for so long.

He knew Tobias was the one being addressed by the apparently sensitive-to-words Code so he kept his mouth shut, but he heard Tobias' deep breath and saw his expression and knew he was getting emotional. Without saying any words, he offered his hand.

"Yes! Sorry. Yes." Tobias cleared his throat, squeezing Zebulon's hand in gratitude before releasing it. "I would gladly fight for other people. Other people have fought for the people I love, so I can't turn down the opportunity to do the same. Not just for those people specifically, obviously," back to the earnest hand gestures as he paced a bit, "but in general. In case anyone else needs help at all. Paying it forward."

But the Code was right. It would put a bigger target on his back. He was familiar enough with the concept. When the others had told him about their double lives, the second thing--after the quick primer--had been that he couldn't talk about it to anyone because of the chance of it leading to them getting hurt--or worse. So he'd zipped the proverbial lip and had mentioned nothing about it to anyone he didn't know for certain was already part of the double life they led--and on the same side, at that. They had enemies, and he knew that. And if he accepted this, those enemies would be his.

But weren't they, honestly, already his?

"I know it'll be hard. I've seen some of how hard it'll be, and I know it's even worse than that." Worse than having to stand between Promethei, Imhotep, and them trying to kill Teegan? That was hard for him to believe, but he also didn't believe he knew even half of it. He would certainly have to risk his life, and he hadn't been at risk of that before. He knew that the other two would have never hurt him. But he'd be fighting people that would probably jump at the chance.

"But I've been protected enough, and I want to be able to protect anyone that needs it." Even if it was just some random person on the street. He didn't want to just protect the other three, or himself. He didn't want to just protect Livie and the princess who had saved Teegan. He didn't want to just protect the people he loved or felt he owed something to. He wanted to be able to protect the little old Polish couple down the street who gave them paçzkis for Dyngus Day every year. He wanted to be able to protect the other students at DCU. He wanted to be able to protect the kids across the street who often woke him up early on weekends with whatever game they were playing.

Maybe he did just want to protect the people he loved, but he didn't just love the other three. There were so many ways to love.

"I don't want anyone to be in danger if I can do something about it. I know I'd be in danger, but--" a vague hand gesture. "That's the point, right? I'd be in danger and that's... that's something I'm willing to live with, if it helps other people." He took a deep breath, still deliberately not looking at Zebulon. He knew what Zebulon's opinion would be, and it would probably be the same as Diryas' and Teegan's, but this wasn't their decision. It was Tobias'. "So, yes, I'm sure."

For a long moment, the Code was silent. The air was heavy, not with a sensation of judgment, but with deep contemplation.

The pressure mounted, and could have become suffocating, but–

The air cleared.

The Code seemed pleased.

“Then I have done my due diligence. You make this choice knowing the danger it can bring. But you must know that you will not go unrewarded for your service. I will spare you the lecture I would give newcomers, you have others in your life that can fill in the gaps.”

Zebulon was here, and there were others back home. The Code had seen enough to know that Tobias would be in good hands. Their time together now was better spent on other topics.

“I am the Code. I hold an ancient magic, the likes of which I can grant to those I deem worthy. I have the power to share my power with you. I can give you magic. Strength. Power. I’m not asking for more than you’re willing to give, just a commitment to do your best. I want to ask you to use that power to help yourself–your loved ones–and me. In exchange for the power I can give you to protect them, to protect Earth, I ask that you protect the Moon, as well.”

It paused for a moment to let Tobias soak in its words.

“There are ancient wonders here. Places of great importance that have been abandoned for too long. I need them cleaned up. Restored. Protected. I’ll give you a piece of my power to place there, and in exchange, you’ll have power of your own.”

A light grew from within the Code and seemed to solidify within the swirling particles. Something round, the size of a small dinner plate, seemed to take form.

“I will give you this, if you are certain. I will make you a Page of the Moon. And, I will take you to Amoris. A place for young lovers and wishmakers whose hearts were full of hope. It lacks the charm and beauty of ancient times, but I think one such as yourself could revive it. It would be in good hands with you.”