The Rubik's cube hit the floor with a crash that echoed through the wooden cabin. JJ quickly picked it back up and sighed.
"Here you go, Kaon. That's the only one I had left. Take care of it, will you?" She smiled as she gave the cube back to the baby.
Jay yelped and took it back, but he couldn't unsee what he saw in the basement.
Either the system was being a bitch or it's something important. Armani Wolfwood was still inside the basement; her body was barely recognizable because her limbs bent like the trees outside, and she's somewhat physically connected to the cabin by her flesh turning into hard wood and melted into the concrete walls of the basement. Most of it was underwater, but the System really wanted him to see it.
Jay doesn't know the purpose of why the System showed the gruesome sight to him, but he couldn't make his concerns known to his caregivers.
However, what he could do was cry. His wailing echoed throughout the cabin, and his caregivers flinched.
"Ssssh... Kaon, hey, Kaon..." The Red King cooed at him and began rocking him side to side. "It's okay, buddy. Are you hungry?"
No, he's not hungry, he wants to get out of here. This place is creepy as fuck, and there's a literal corpse in the basement.
Despite his crying, the two teenagers set up camp inside the cabin anyways. They closed the front door and moved some furniture in the living room to create a decent sized living space where they could lay a clean plastic banner on the floor. The curtains were also opened to let in some sunlight, which made the place look grimer than it already was. At least it's warmer than the freezing outside.
JJ went out of the boys' sight for a while, and she returned with a set of fresh clothes on herself.
"The sink's running, but we have to filter the water before drinking." She reached out to get her partner's water bottle, and the Red King only nodded in agreement. She disappeared again with all their water bottles.
Jay sat down on the floor next to his male caregiver, and his Rubik's cube isn't far away. The baby was also given a metal spoon, his metal spoon, to play with his food. The fun momentarily distracted him from the fact that they're living in a cabin with a corpse in the basement.
The Red King seemed to be deep in thought while he's chewing some meat jerky. His deep red eyes looked up at the empty wooden ceiling until baby Jay patted his leg for attention.
As best as he could, Jay pointed at the front door, hoping that the teenage boy would get the message that he wants to get out of here.
"You wanna go outside?" Red King gave the baby a smile, and he gently shook his head. "Not yet, little guy."
Okay, time to bring out the big guns. Jay pouted at the teenage boy, and his little hands slapped the boy's leg. Then, he pushed himself up into a stand.
"Aaah, eat your lunch first, okay?" The Red King chuckled and picked up the baby food. "Come on, now. You need to grow up big and strong before you can go out there!"
That's not the point! They need to get out of here now! The longer Jay stays idle in here, the worse the creepy sensation gets!
All that came out of his mouth as gibberish, and the Red King laughed even more.
"He's trying to talk. Say something back!" JJ's excitement joined her partner's laugh as she sat down in front of them. She put down their water bottles, now filled, on the floor. "Hey, Kaon! What do you want?"
That's his chance! Baby Jay pointed at the front door again. His lips tried to form words, but all that came out was the typical baby babble, not forming any actual words.
"You wanna go outside?" JJ smiled down at him, and she looked at the door, then back at him. "Alright!"
Finally, the girl stood up. Jay was waiting for her to pack up, but she instead leaned down to face him. With both of her hands out, she opened and closed her palms.
"Come on! Kaon, let's walk to the door." Her deep blue eyes were shining at him, and Jay blinked up at her.
Fine. Fine. Fine. He'll learn how to walk. Any distractions from the creepy vibe were welcomed.
With both of his little hands in hers, JJ led the baby towards the door, step by step. Once they're at the door, his little baby legs were tired already. He thought toddlers were supposed to have infinite energy or something.
Instead of opening the door, the teenage girl turned around and led him to the kitchen. Jay followed with hesitation, but the girl kept giving him encouraging words. Walking past the basement door made Jay's entire body shiver. He doesn't know whether it's because of the cold or the vibe. Definitely both.
"That's enough for now." JJ grinned and picked him up by his armpits. "In no time, you'll be walking with us!"
"We should teach him how to say his first words." Red King piped up from the living room floor. Since Jay was distracted, he has some papers and maps laid out on his lap.
"I thought he already called Lady Red 'momma'." The girl sighed as she sat down on the floor. Jay was held firmly in her arms, but at least he got a free comfy cushion by sitting on her.
"He did, but he'll need to speak eventually." The Red King gave a toothy grin at the baby before blowing raspberries at him.
The silly action was enough to make Jay laugh, momentarily blocking out the creepiness of the whole cabin.
"Also, I found these." The teenage boy reached into his pockets and pulled out the gold coins he got from upstairs. The shiny coins caught Jay's attention, and he reached for it, only for the Red King to lift them out of the baby's reach. "Oh, no, that's not for you, Kaon. Jay, can you duplicate them? The more authentic, the better. If you can recreate them, we can find a place to live in the city."
"We're not going back to the city." JJ ran her hands through the baby's hair, but her voice was stern.
"Do you miss having running water and electricity? Hell, eat real food?" The teenage boy argued back. "It's only temporary. One day we'll find somewhere safe to settle down and give Kaon a proper life, Jay."
The girl opened her mouth to argue back, but she closed them at the last minute. She seemed to be deep in thoughts for a few moments before she snatched the coins out of her partner's hands.
"These are real gold." The girl commented as she lifted the coins up to inspect them in the sunlight. "We're keeping the original. I'll make several more of these."
"Do you have enough energy to do that?" Colossal hands picked up Jay from the comfort of the girl's lap, and the baby sat down on the Red King's thigh.
"I can try one by one." JJ put the coins back down on the floor. Her deep blue eyes were glowing a little brighter than it was a moment ago. "Play with Kaon. I'll start now, and maybe we'll have a few by the time we go to sleep."
Then, she got up from her seat and rushed into the kitchen where there's a some rusted cutlery in the sink. Instead of pulling them out of the sink, JJ pulled open on of the drawers. The transmigrator lifted his head up as best as he could, trying to see what got the teenage girl grinning.
"They have silverware?" Red King asked as he repositioned Kaon to sit more comfortably on his right thigh. "Silver is close enough to gold right?"
"We hit a jackpot." JJ smiled as she walked back to her seat with several spoons and forks in hand. While she's talking, her fingers fiddled with a spoon. "Silver isn't gold, but it's close enough. I can turn them into gold. Counterfeiting the designs on those coins shouldn't be too hard. No one really check the serial number anymore."
Jay watched in amazement as the coins started floating up from the floor. The teenage girl's deep blue eyes glowed brighter until her eyes were nothing but white. Her hands surrounded the coins, but not touching them. The rest of the silverware was dropped on the floor, right in front of baby Kaon.
The three floating coins stayed in mid air for a moment before Jay noticed a small speck of gold joining them. Meanwhile, the spoon in JJ's hand slowly turned into dust. The small speck of gold gradually got bigger until it was the size of the coins. Then, it began taking shape, copying the designs down to every single detail.
That's JJ's superpower: conjuring and manipulating matter.