Welcome to Gaia! ::

For a moment, Riker wasn’t sure what Maisie was talking about. Then he realized she was talking about him.

He blinked for a moment as he followed along, having been distracted by the vastness of space around them from the moon.

He hadn’t thought to think about being anyone but himself…

But then, that wasn’t exactly the whole truth. He didn’t have to think about it, because it was just… who he was.

“Reims,” he said after a moment, but even then he frowned at himself as though it was both foreign and familiar. It was strange to not know, but also to know. He certainly hadn’t been given a name. It just… always was. Kinda. He supposed he could ask the Code about it, but he didn’t want to sound stupid in front of Maisie-- Cynthus. Not any more than he had at least.

Confusing? Maybe.

Overwhelming? Also maybe.

Cool? Definitely.

Cynthus glanced at Riker — Reims — when he said his superhero name, then made a face at how strange it all sounded. What was Cynthus supposed to be anyway? And Reims? The moon seemed like such an empty, lonely place. “Distant memory” was right. There definitely hadn’t been anyone here in decades — longer, if the moon landings didn’t count. It wasn’t like they’d found any ruins back then.

“So knights have been a thing for a long time,” she assumed.

She wanted to ask about reincarnation, but knew if she got on that topic she’d get distracted by how no one on Earth knew this stuff, and if they did no one had ever told her, and if they’d never told her, why?

All this stuff about space and knights and Chaos seemed so big. Did something that important really have to be secret? Wouldn’t it be better if everyone knew, so everyone could work to stop it?

“What’s a Cornerstone piece?” she asked instead, trying to stay on one topic at a time, even if instinct compelled her to ask a bunch of questions at once. “Was that the bigger you back at the—... whatever that place was?”

“Knights have been a thing for a very long time. But the universe has held less and less life, so their numbers have dwindled. It’s almost impossible to find anyone anywhere else. Earth is an exception in many ways. The abundance of life is unique, all things considered.”

No amount of questions seemed to deter or fluster the Code; it spoke with a calm logic and didn’t seem the least bit annoyed but their curiosity. It respected good questions, after all, and they hadn’t been Knights for long enough for it to be exasperated by them.

“You are correct about the Cornerstone piece. There are several like it, on different worlds. Though, they don’t all resonate as strongly as they used to. But that’s a subject for another day, I think. There’s enough to take in now that you don’t have to worry about such things. Reims, you are correct as well. You should not be revealing your identity to anyone without good reason. You’ll find allies, other Knights, and Senshi. It’s safe to give them your identity if you choose, but there’s no obligation to do so. You must be careful, otherwise. Chaos could be hiding in anyone you know. They could use your identity against you, to hurt you or the ones you love. You must be responsible. The Negaverse alone has great reach on Earth. They are always looking to gain an advantage. I don’t want anything to happen to either of you. So promise me you’ll be careful. If someone learns your identity, I have the power to give you a new one, but the price of that is high. You’d have to leave behind everything you knew.”

It didn’t want to scare them, but it was being practical. “If you’re good at keeping secrets, you won’t have to worry, though. I’ll help you, regardless. But you mustn’t talk about this, or anything like this outside of those you know you can trust.”

Reims practically froze in place when they were told the Code had the power to give them a new identity if someone discovered theirs.

That they would have to leave behind everything they knew.

He felt his ears turning red, and he reached up to rub at one of them in frustration.

“You could do that? Just… wipe someone from existence and they’d have to start over?” he asked, trying not to sound like he was interested, because surely no one in their right minds would want to give up everything.

But the idea of starting over. Of knowing no one.

There was at least one person he wanted to know who he was, but maybe she wouldn’t mind if he didn’t ever talk to her again. They’d only crossed paths when his mother was doing her events, anyway.

Oh, but Cynthus was talking about her dump of a Wonder, and he quickly turned to look around them. “I hope mine doesn’t look like this,” he finally grimaced, but spared a glance at the Code and forced a smile. “No offense.”

Cynthus spared a brief glance at Reims. He sounded more awed by the prospect of assuming a new identity than worried about having to do so, which struck her as odd.

Then again, he was kind of a weird guy to begin with. Not bad, just… Well, she didn’t know how to describe him, really. He was just Reims.

The important thing now was her Wonder, and the amount of repairs it would need to look even remotely habitable. As for what it was, she’d go with the assumption of a market until proven otherwise. A market could be fun. It was like she owned a mall, only the shops were primarily outdoors and the setup was ancient and there wasn’t anything for sale.

Maybe there could be, one day.

“What happens to you?” she asked the piece of the Code still cradled in her hands. “Where do you go, now that we’re here? It doesn’t look like there’s any fancy place for you to, like, float and swirl around like back at those other ruins.”

The Code was quiet for a moment, not because it had nothing to say but because it didn’t seem as though it was in any rush to interrupt them while they were planning how to repair it.

Having help was a good idea when there was so much work to be done. Here, on the Moon. Probably on Reims, too.

“I will stay here on your Wonder,” it answered. “I have no physical form beyond this by which to help you restore it, but I can attune with the magic that flows her. I can grant you and your Wonder the strength to protect itself, and heal, in time. All you need to do is find somewhere safe where I will be protected in your absence. It doesn’t have to be somewhere fancy, just somewhere protected. As you clear out more of this place, I am sure you will find better locations. This doesn’t have to be permanent, just a starting off point. While you are gone, I will keep an eye on your Wonder. If there is danger, I will call you back to it. But you can come and go as you please.”

He was glad that he didn’t have to find a place to put his own piece of the Code at this mysterious Wonder named Reims on the world of Ganymede (apparently), but he knew he would eventually have to go and find the piece. Although he didn’t know what he would do other than look at it or chat with it. Would it talk back? He wasn’t sure. It seemed chatty now, but that might change.

Reims was a little disappointed when Cynthus asked how they left. Yeah, she asked how they could get back once they did get back to Earth, but did they really have to talk about leaving so soon?

Maybe he should be careful about going to his Wonder. He might not want to leave. But he also didn’t know anything about it.

He looked down at himself again in his dark clothes with the charms in the shape of hearts broken with lightning.

Reims didn’t know what any of this meant. Not really. He could feel the power, he could hear everything the Code was telling them. He knew Cynthus agreed to be magical as well, but what were they really getting into…?

And yet… he couldn’t help but think it would be better than whatever else was going on in his life.

“Can we come back whenever we want?” he asked, although he knew it was Cynthus’s Wonder. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to go to his own alone.