TJ dropped off the entirety of what he considered to be valuable from his home back at the New Republic's headquarters. He'd been assured by Raya's assistant, a Dirt tier man named George, that the room he deposited his things in would be left entirely alone and considered as his property. Then, after swinging by one of the labs where people were gathering to figure out who would party with whom, TJ found Sam and Mimi.
"I've spoken with a Blacksmith here in town, and he said I can learn from him when I've got time!" Sam grinned widely.
"Nice." TJ nodded. "Make sure you work with some high quality materials on that before you hit your next level of Crafter. You shouldn't be too far off of your next Skill, and you want to make sure that you get the highest quality you can manage as early as possible."
"Yeah, yeah." Sam rolled his eyes. TJ chuckled as he turned back to Mimi.
"You ready to be more and more on the frontlines? I bet, if you ask him nicely, Sam will get you some more armor once he's got some more practice with it."
"Yeah." Mimi muttered, keeping her head down. "I'm just a little… It's hard, you know?"
"I agree. I'm not too sure what specifically you're talking about now, but this all, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking sucks." He nodded, and when Mimi met his gaze, he smiled. "So, I'm going to be off to see if I can't kill some Coppers and bring back some good materials. Anything you want me to get while I'm gone?"
"Honestly, juice." Sam said. "I want more sweets."
"Do you have more oreos?" Mimi whispered while looking around for eavesdroppers.
"Yup." TJ chuckled. "Tonight, after I get back. After dinner."
"Ok." Mimi nodded and smiled.
Ready to move on, TJ fist-bumped both the teens and jogged back out into the city. Now that he didn't need to check on his house, though, he decided to go further north instead. He passed through all of ASU's campus, nodding at people who acknowledged him as he passed while avoiding conversation. It wasn't difficult, as a man running somewhere wasn't often interrupted, both in the old world and the new. Given that people could also Appraise him and receive absolute proof that he probably wasn't someone who should be messed with, that also helped his case.
Only halfway through the mass of buildings and offices, TJ saw where the perimeter was no longer maintained. A couple squirrels and rats that'd been blessed by gods TJ hadn't heard of fled as soon as he came close. Again, he didn't care to hunt down what would be good experience for the weakest people around. Thoughts about how he could protect someone in trouble outside of the territory of the New Republic filled his mind. After all, he wasn't too many levels away from getting some more Skills, and the more time he spent protecting other people, the more likely he would be able to get Father's Sacrifice, or something like it.
Two ideas solidified and rolled into one plan, TJ activated Divine Transformation. His Agility immediately doubled, and he slither-sprinted through the streets. He sniffed the air as he did so, a strange scent calling him forward with some urgency. He didn't pay attention to the dilapidated buildings nor the streets with wild grasses growing through the asphalt. Instead, he breathed deeply, using Wind Manipulation to carry more of the scent to him. This was the smell of a… not enemy, but not friend. A competitor, or rival.
A brother.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, TJ realized he was going after a Participant with the Xolotl Bloodline. Maybe Molly? But she was supposed to be in… Mesa, he thought. That was a neighboring city, but it would still be miles and miles away. Would she have returned to her family and then immediately fled? He couldn't imagine it. Though, it wasn't strange to come across multiple people with Mesoamerican heritage, given how close they were to the Mexican border.
"Hello!" TJ called as he turned a corner into the street where the smell was coming from. "My name is TJ. Just looking to help some people out."
Just as soon as he got closer, though, he could smell something else, something more familiar. Kukulkan's blood. His mind raced as he smelled the weaker, though spilled Kukulkan descendant's blood surrounded by that of Xolotl. Sam had been subject of this. The familiar sound of Mayan Lightning Dogs' snarling pulled TJ into a hissing challenge of his own. The petty brother's followers were trying to cut down one of his fellow Bloodline!
Three Lightning Dogs rushed towards him, bursting through the front of a house. Glass flew, though the bay windows had already been shattered. All three saw him and immediately changed their tunes. Their claws fought for purchase on the concrete pad outside of the run-down home, but the Coatl was ready to put them in their place. A pillar of wind smashed down from the heavens and laid them flat on the ground. Their ribs and legs snapped audibly as TJ Appraised them.
Lightning Dog, 20
Lighting Dog, 19
Lightning Dog, 20
"Call for me if you need help!" TJ shouted into the house. Only a faint cry that he could only barely hear answered him. A frighteningly weak and young one. His heart dropped and he rushed into the home, continuing to focus on the wind that held Xolotl's damned dogs down. The whimpering sobs made his heart ache and he followed their sound to their source. As he turned around a corner to the splintered remains of a door, he saw something that made him rage and want to cry in equal parts.
A father and mother's corpse lay in a room. The man had a makeshift spear in his hand, its head broken. TJ didn't doubt he'd find the rest of the weapon buried somewhere in one of the animals outside. His cause of death was obvious, deep cuts in his chest exposing a variety of organs that shouldn't have been there. Burns patterned his flesh where the lightning had seared him. Behind the father was his wife cradling their whimpering child, though TJ now realized wasn't quite dead.
She'd been nearly disemboweled from behind, her spine and back ripped through with vicious indifference. Her breaths were so shallow that their child's cries had drawn his attention. Her face was screwed up in terror as she saw him, and TJ deactivated Divine Transformation.
"Hey." His voice cracked. "I'm here to help. Hold on."
She tried to nod, but couldn't do more than twitch. TJ cut his palm and, as quickly as he could manage, set about activating Ritualistic Transfer. Praying he was quick enough to save her life, he fumbled through the requirements for the Skill to activate. Before the required minute had ended, though, she stopped her wheezing breaths. As he anointed her head with his blood, she sagged and let her infant fall from her arms. When TJ completed the ritual after anointing the baby's head, he saw, definitely, that she wasn't living.
TJ, shoulders shuddering, filled the little girl with enough of his Stamina to ensure that there weren't any wounds that remained. She was, at most, a year and a half old, and her eyes were wide and confused as she regained the strength necessary to start screaming in earnest. Coated with her mother's blood, TJ hadn't seen the wounds, but it was obvious from her tiny reserves of HP that she'd been hurt in the fight that took her parents' lives. With his shoulders shuddering from the horror of what he'd just witnessed, a question occurred to him.
"How did Copper die to three Dirt tiers like that?" He asked the System, angry and confused, only to be more confused once the System answered.
These people were not Copper tier.
"If they weren't, how did their child end up here?"
All Participants were given the opportunity to bring their children into the Integrated world at the end of their Tutorials. Those who had not reached the Copper tier did not have the ability to ask additional questions such as you did at the time of the Tutorial's completion. These two individuals made the decision to bring their daughter into the Integrated world.
TJ ground his teeth, but saw his MP still falling. He gathered the child in his arms, a thought occurring to him. She screamed and struggled, obviously dealing with stranger danger, but he held her as gently as he could as he gently bounced and shushed her. It didn't do much, but she wasn't screaming quite so hysterically once he got her out of the front door. Then, walking outside, he saw that the monsters were still prostate on the ground. Good.
For the first time, TJ Appraised the little girl.
Participant
Didn't have a Class or Occupation. Unsurprising, that an innocent child wasn't a damn fighter. TJ shook his head and gritted his teeth. Maybe he could help her with that… Thinking about it with even the smallest part of his rational brain, TJ felt insane for even entertaining the thought. Even so, if this worked, it would help this poor child and Junior in the immediate future. He pulled the Wendigo Blade out of its sheath on his belt and tried to figure out how to get this child to do what he wanted.
"Hold this?" He asked. She didn't respond.
"Hold." He signed, a trick he'd used on Junior when he was a baby. No dice, but she seemed curious.
"Um… Aqui." He tried in Spanish. She seemed to get that, or maybe she was just curious enough to reach out for the weapon. Maybe an Item that granted Attribute Points in Strength would be better, but the spear he had was just too big and heavy, even with the additional Strength. She wouldn't be able to do a thing with it. The Blade should be enough to cut through Dirt tiers, though, and TJ said, hoping not to freak out the child said, "Serpiente. Yo… serpiente." He finished lamely, but she looked at him before hissing cutely.
Worried, but unable to do anything else to make sure she could do this safely, TJ activated Divine Transformation. Seeing that she didn't run away and the drain on his MP dropped, he wrapped himself completely around the lowest level monster. Then, with his tail, he pulled her closer. She didn't seem to understand as, with his tail guiding her hand, he made her stab into the whimpering Lightning Dog's eye.
Lightning surged up the blade and made her drop the weapon. Thankfully, TJ had continued using Ritualistic Transfer, and he flooded her with more HP than she knew what to do with. She screamed in pain and fear again, and, after cursing himself for his stupidity and deciding it wasn't worth the trouble, TJ decapitated the other enemies with a thought. He dropped out of Divine Transformation and gathered her in his arms. She didn't seem to resist nearly as much now, and he whispered, again and again, "Lo siento. Lo siento." She calmed down but pushed to get out of his arms.
She made a series of babbles, almost speaking, but not enough to be understandable. After thinking about it, TJ decided to let her go inside the house once they got past the front room filled with shattered glass. The little girl, whose name he didn't know, immediately toddled off in the direction of the room where her parents had just died. He walked in front of her and herded her towards a different room, one filled with family pictures. She grabbed his finger and pulled him towards one as TJ asked the System one more question.
"What were her parents' names and what's hers?"
Due to her age, the child's name will be provided. Due to their status as deceased, the child's parents' names will be provided.
Juan Guillermo Sanchez Romero
Elenor Paz Martinez Castillo
Luz Sanchez Martinez
Luz. Light. TJ swore to her parents right then that he'd do his best to make sure she continued to see light in this world as he pulled a picture of the three of them from the wall and reverently put it in the empty backpack he wore.