Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was difficult to focus on any one thing at any given moment. The only things that remained constant was Elliot by his side, and the warmth from the orb of light carefully cradled in his palm.

“We’re on the Moon!” Atticus gasped as he stared up at the sky. They could see Earth so clearly, and all the stars in the sky. Atticus -- Ephesus -- felt as though he knew they were on the Moon, but didn’t think it could be possible.

Well, it didn’t make sense that it couldn’t be possible. He’d been on Jupiter not too long ago.

“I think so,” Atticus looked from one structure to the other. They both looked as though they’d been neglected for a very long time. It was going to take a lot of work to get everything cleaned up.

“And… we need to find somewhere safe for these…” he said quietly and glanced down at the light in his palm again. He hadn’t exactly been told that, but he felt a fierce protectiveness for it. Just as he felt protective when thinking about Elliot and his family.

The family that was probably worried about them. But! They were safe here! They would apologize for disappearing when they got back! Hopefully that would be enough.

He wanted to turn and inspect everything about Elliot. To look over his outfit and tell him how handsome he looked. But he knew they needed to get everything set up and secured before they were fully connected to their Wonder and the magic it gave them.

Though split into two pieces, when the little orbs spoke again it seemed to come from both and neither. It was almost as if a third person entirely stood before them to answer their questions.

“Place it somewhere safe for now. Anywhere in your Wonder will do, preferably somewhere hidden at least. The threat is small now but it won’t always be that way. If you don’t have time to explore now, you can make it up to me by visiting soon, and cleaning up a bit while you look for somewhere better to house this. It’s a piece of the Code. A piece of me. All Knights are connected by the Code, it’s where your powers come from. In the olden days, Knights were given the power to protect a Wonder–a sacred place, all across the universe. There were no Moon Knights in the past, though. You are the first of Ephesus and Amarynthos. When you want to return, you need only focus, and think of your Wonder. A phrase will come into your mind, you will know it immediately. You can return when you will it. At first, it will take more energy. You’ll be limited on how often you visit. As you grow stronger, it’ll be easier.”

The Code seemed patient, and continued, “When you want to leave this form behind—to return to your normal lives, you just have to focus. You can do it here, before I send you back to Earth. Otherwise you’ll arrive with an energy signature. It will let you feel others—but they’ll be able to sense you too. I want you to be careful. To reach this form again, focus on your weapons—the gifts I’ve given you— and summon them to you. Just be safe. Don’t share your identity with anyone you can’t trust.”

The Code didn’t seem to need any time to contemplate; as soon as Ephesus suggested the fountain, it glowed a little. “This will work, thank you. It’s a good place. I might not be able to speak when you return, but I can hear you. It takes a lot of energy to communicate like this, but if you need anything you can come speak to me where we met.“

Two little rainbow stars shimmered into existence before magically pinning themselves to the boy’s chests. “If you had more time I would tell you all that I could. But there will be more opportunities in the future. You are doing me a great favor. The Moon used to be beautiful. What you see now pales in comparison. It needs maintenance, and care. It will take time to come into your magic, but the more you pour into your Wonders, the more they will reward you. I’ll tell you about them sometime. There used to be much life here, between these two. Flowers used to grow. It was a place of peace and beauty. I think it can be again.”

Amarynthos stayed close to Ephesus, shifting his weight from his heels to his toes and ready to help support Ephesus as he stretched to reach the top tier. His feet hurt, but it was easier to ignore them now; they were a distant throb, and the shoes were surprisingly comfortable for being what they were.

He peered down at them briefly and wiggled his toes because this was probably not what he might have picked for himself, but he was going to have to look at himself in a mirror to get a better idea. When Atticus had said Knight, he was sort of thinking maybe some armor or something, but–

He smiled when Ephesus was back on the ground and his Code piece was safely tucked away.

He’d seen the star brooch on his chest when he was looking down at his shoes, but he just had to look at Ephesus’ to know what his looked like. It was a lot to take in at once, so he was carefully filing all of the information to process later.

“Much better than before,” he promised, both Ephesus and the Code. “I’ve done a lot of gardening with my parents, too, so if there were flowers and things here, maybe we can get them growing again. This is really pretty. You look really pretty,” he said to Ephesus, and took one more look around before he began the trek out of his Wonder and to his own. It wasn’t far off, maybe only a minute or two; it seemed like Ephesus ended right where Amarynthos began–which was good, because he felt much less alone knowing that his best friend was right next door. They could help each other; it would probably work better if they took turns working on things together. It would be less lonely, too.

He had to shake his head to focus; he’d already tried to reach for the phone that used to be in his pocket. He could feel the nervousness bubbling up again; maybe they’d only been gone for a few minutes, or maybe it was longer–he didn’t know. He was just worried about his parents, and he couldn’t help but be concerned that something might have happened while they were gone.

“When I can tell my parents–and Michael and Devyn–where we’re going to be, we’ll come back and get started on cleaning. I’m sorry for rushing. I really do want to look around and learn about this place. These places,” he corrected, because he already cared as much about Ephesus as he did Amarynthos, even if he hadn’t even seen his wonder yet.

It didn’t take long to get there, though. He retraced their steps out and returned to where the Code had first brought them. Making his way into his Wonder felt–

Well, a bit like coming home, only he’d never been there. It immediately felt welcoming, despite the fact that he was suddenly overwhelmed with what felt like raw energy in the place. It felt like all of his nerves were alight, and he wanted to look at everything and go everywhere, but–

There would be time for that. Not now. Soon.

Vines and weeds seemed to have taken over, and there were cracks in the foundation and a few broken windows. It was dusty, and there was debris littered in most of the corners. Mostly everything was white, but he could see faded pastel paintings, and badly damaged statues.

The first room they entered seemed like it was a reception hall; there was a lavender rug with holes and faded colors that led them through the first room. A row of windows all along the back long revealed what was obviously once a garden, but most of the plants were ashy in death and overgrown. He didn’t have to be an expert to see that a lack of care had all but destroyed them.

There was a pagoda in the distance, and a few other buildings, but he knew he didn’t have the luxury of time on his side today.

Everywhere he looked didn’t seem like a good enough place for the Code, but he had to tell himself that he could come back. He could move it! It just had to be safe for now.

He didn’t know where the light came from; it seemed like the whole area was just naturally illuminated by starlight.

A statue in the center of the garden caught his eye and he tugged Ephesus with him. He almost climbed through one of the broken windows, but the back door was open and unlocked and that just seemed safer after everything from earlier tonight. The path into the garden was made up of smooth stones, and though weeds had overtaken it, it didn’t slow him down. Some of the grasses had grown up to his waist along the side of the path, but he was careful not to walk too close to them. He’d never seen white grass like that, and it wasn’t fair that he wanted to explore everything now when he had to go home.

The statue was white marble and was carved with such skill that it almost looked like a living plant. Thin vines curled in perfect symmetry; they had a flared base and gathered in the center to create an open cage. It looked like it was designed to have a large light in the center, but the flat platform was empty now. The vines gathered again above the cage and stretched out like a tree. There were hundreds of marble leaves and coiling vines that tapered off, as if someone intended for things to be hung from them.

Crystal flowers adorned much of the statue, and Amarynthos imagined that if there was a light inside, they must have been beautiful.

Oh. The Code was glowing, it was light. It, and his hand, could easily slip through the open vines in the center of the statue.

“I think, here,” he said. “Because it’s pretty. And it feels safe. Would this be okay? Just for now, I can probably find somewhere better later!”

Guine

If he hadn’t been breathless before, he was certainly breathless when Amarynthos said he was pretty. Ephesus’ cheeks immediately flushed with color and he couldn’t stop the smile from lighting up his face.

Thankfully, they had to make their way to Amarynthos, so he could shuffle-skip his way behind his best friend as they left his Wonder and went to Amarynthos instead.

He looked around in awe at the reception hall. He wasn’t too sure about growing plants, but if Amarynthos knew how, then they would be fine. He would just need to teach him, and they had plenty of time together for that.

He watched fondly as Amarynthos picked the white marble statue with its crystal flowers as the place for his Code piece, and as soon as he had his hand free, Ephesus reached out to take it back into his own.

“We will be back soon,” Ephesus promised the Code. They just needed to make sure their parents were okay. He could probably thank the Code over and over, but he was afraid that if he started, he would just end up crying. A lot. And they needed to get home.

He was nervous. Excited. A little scared, because being Knights meant they would have to face those monsters, wouldn’t they? They couldn’t just have their magic and not protect others. That wouldn’t be fair, and would be taking advantage of the Code’s generosity.

The Code said before that they just needed focus on their normal selves in order to be changed back. So Ephesus squeezed Amarynthos’ hand and closed his eyes and focused and changed back into Atticus.

“I know,” the Code said, and sounded gentle. Patient, even. “You have a long way to go, but you have time. I believe in you. I will see you soon enough. I look forward to what you can do for these Wonders. I’ll send you home now. Rest, recover. Clear your mind. Come back to me if you have questions and I will do my best to guide you.”

It gave them a moment to process its words, and then it continued, “Be safe. Train your body and your mind. You will need focus and strength to stop the Chaos on your world. There is more that you can do for Earth than just fight. Cleaning up the messes they make and healing those who have been hurt is just as powerful. You will learn. You can do this.”

They were young. They did not have an Academy to learn from, but the Code did not want to send them into this oblivious of the dangers they would face or what more they could do than just fight.

It had hope that they would return, and soon.

A soft glow covered them, as though the moon found a way to wrap its light around them. It was warm, and safe.

It carried them home.