The first thing that Xibalba had noticed was just how preserved areas of his Wonder were. He’d been expecting something more in line with the old Roman and Greek ruins. A place where everything but the rock had fallen to time, and even the rock was having trouble holding out.

But this place… it wasn’t like that here. Oh, he could see where time was winning in spots, like the monstrously huge cell he’d passed by. But the smaller rooms were mostly intact. It was fascinating in a way, really. But he wasn’t here to sightsee. Well, not entirely anyway. The burly blonde paused beside a half opened door and pushed his way inside, noting that this room looked as if it had been tossed around in a long ago fight. And that it was more like a small suite. Moving carefully and straightening things up as he could, Xibalba decided that this had been an office or some sort of workroom once. And since this was his wonder, chances were high, that his once-self had paced these very floors a long time ago.

“You’d have thought I’d have left thing a mite tidier,” he muttered to himself as he did his best to at least clear the floor. “Rude of past me.”

He was chuckling and shaking his head at the idea of a past him purposefully leaving a mess to annoy present him when the vision hit. He stood for a brief moment in an impeccably tidy office, enjoying the soft, warm glow of the light with a book in his hands. And just as quickly as it had come, it faded, leaving Xibalba feeling slightly dizzy. Shaking his head, he placed everything he’d picked up on the desk that sat off to the side of the room. There was a slight alcove off to the side that he wanted to inspect.

Something about the layout made him think of his little meditation spot at home. A place to just sit and think and try to puzzle out the universe’s mysteries. Like whether or not Bindhi had remembered to eat today. It was something of a pity that he couldn’t bring her up here for a visit. She’d probably find it all very interesting.

“Aye, and then be bored within a few moments. Ah well,” he sighed. A brief flicker of movement caught his eye and he glanced up sharply and nearly gasped.

A pulsating orb of energy, about the size of a baseball, hovered within the office, lurking in and out the the meditation area. It seemed to have a presence—like it was more than just a light. While it did not share the same mist-like appearance as the Code Piece on Olympus, there was no denying that this orb of light was one in the same. Although smaller, it still seemed powerful.

Without thinking, Xibalba simply sat. Well, more like his knees buckled under him and sitting was better than falling on his face and knocking himself out.

“Oh ******** me, you’re the Code tha’ those others were speaking of. D’you talk to? If so, would y’be willin’ to answer some questions for me? Are y’willin’ to tell me about y’rself?”

He half expected the glowing orb to ignore him and go on floating serenely. But, to his bemused surprise, the Code answered.

"What there is to know of me, I have made known. If you have specific questions, you should take your time and word them to me, carefully. I may answer."

Resisting the urge to sigh loudly, Xibalba closed his eyes and counted ten. He wasn’t sure if the Code was objecting to his accent or not with it’s whole wording carefully thing. It also, he decided, was not worth bringing up that whatever the Code had said of itself on Olympus had been missed in the general shock and vocal explosions of several people. No, politeness would be the key here.

“I cannae go changin’ how I speak, m’friend, but I’ll try to at least avoid breaking into regional slang, aye? So. Can you help me understand why I was chosen for this? What my own place in this odd scheme o’things is? No one else has been able to give me an answer that doesn’t sound like a platitude.”

He’d expected the Code to be silent for a moment, to think about it’s own words. Instead, it answered almost immediately.

"Your place in things...it is hard to say. Right now, you're not really needed. Perhaps if you were stronger...Perhaps if you were better, the universe might have a special role for you. But as you are, now...Well. You'd probably be more use to the Negaverse than you are to me."

Raising an eyebrow at the borderline rude words, the blond tapped his fingers against the dusty floor, mulling things over. Well, being stronger couldn’t be a bad thing. And it was true that until he got used to this strange life and began to understand, he was essentially useless compared to others. But to say he wasn’t needed at all! And then to essentially tell him to go turn traitor. It was mind-boggling to say the least.

“If I may make bold, friend,” he said easily enough though part of his stomach was roiling. “Why are ye so insistent that yer Knights run off an’ join the Negavrse? Ev’rythin’ I’ve heard indicates that if they do, they’re lost t’ye forever. How does that help anyone? How does that help you? I’ll hardly be able to tend to ye if I’ve forgotten you exist or how to find my way here.”

It was a reasonable enough argument by his reckoning. It seemed so counter-intuitive to insist that your followers run off and join the enemy. And Xibalba had no doubts that the Negaverse was an enemy. Anyone willing to set monsters on innocent folks deserved to be squashed like a bug.

"You misunderstand. Is who you were really so important, though? Who you are…who you will become is so much more important. But the fact of the matter is, not everyone was cut out to be a Knight. They may have a better purpose. What if they are wasting potential here with the Knights? What if the answer isn't to defeat the Negaverse, but to reform it? You must learn to think outside the box. I am only interested in seeing that everyone reaches their full potential, and maintaining the balance. There is no need for useless Knights."

The calm with which the Code delivered that little speech made Xibalba snort in annoyance. So now he was useless unless he went skipping out to the nearest Negaverse recruitment center? Interesting though, he thought, that the Code didn’t seem to really answer his questions about a corrupted knight’s little tendency to forget about life before corrupting. Hard to reform anything if part of who you were was lost.

“Your pardon, m’friend, but I happen to like my box as it is,” he said as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off. “This has been a delightful chat, an’ I’m sure there’ll be more in the future, but I think I’m going to head home and do m’best to wash off the stink of being told to turn traitor from m’skin.”

Without waiting for further reply, Xibalba closed his eyes and willed himself home. The exhilaration he’d felt setting foot on his wonder had been diminished by his conversation with his Code piece. What should have been educational and helpful had taken a nasty turn and he wanted to try and chase away the cold that had seeped into his gut during that little chat.

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