02x02 - The Sacrifice to Chacmool

[bunniefuu]

Then she said,
"I meant melon, not watermelon."

See you guys!

What's going on?

He's perky.

I have a guest coming over. Bye!

"Bye"?

He's over the moon.

I'm back!

Welcome home!

Oops. This place is a mess.

I'm getting my first assistant.

As an experienced mentor
guiding the ignorant newbie,

I must balance kindness
with occasional strictness.

Good!

Oh. I should get some tea and sweets.

She's here!

THE SACRIFICE TO CHACMOOL

Hello.

Come on in.

Thank you.

Where's your family?

I'm an "only child with working parents,"

so I'm in charge during the day.

I'll make us some tea.

Please don't bother. Actually...

I can't wait to start working.

Let's go to Paris
during the 18th-century revolution

and save Marie Antoinette!

You're such an amateur.

I don't want you to take Time Patrol
as something casual.

You have mountains of things to learn,
including Time Navigation Law.

Heavy responsibility, difficult job.

I don't know how many times
I ended up risking my life.

Is the job that hard?

Well, no need to worry,

because you have me, a veteran.

You just have to trust me and follow me.

I'll be counting on you, Bon.

Sure thing.

Okay, first things first.

Time Boat, come on out!

A time machine in a place like this?

It's "Time Boat."

It is equipped
with an automatic hide-and-seek feature.

It hides itself wherever you leave it.

How convenient!

And when you need it again...

It reacts to its owner's voice
and reappears.

That's right.

Awesome!

Hey, where's my Time Boat?

No boats for apprentices.

You need experience to become
an associate agent and have one.

That's how I got mine.

So, I must quickly become
an associate agent.

That's the spirit.

Something's here.

This part of the boat is
a space-time delivery tube.

We can order various items
from Headquarters.

-It's the Rescue Unit's new uniforms!
-Really?

Of course. There's one for you too.

Thanks!

I'll go change.

Now I'm a Time Patrol agent too.

An apprentice, that is.

Time Patrol Agent Bon!

The new uniform is so cool.

Well? How do I look?

You also look great.

Yeah, this is cool. And I'm so relieved.

I saw your old uniform the other day.

It didn't seem very stylish to me.

Hey, come on.

Looks are subjective,

but our uniform has many awesome features,

like breathing underwater...

Hello, Gayler.

You two look great in the uniforms.

We have a new mission for you.

This is my first ever assignment.

Hooray!

I think this case is suitable
for the apprentice's training.

Agent Bon, take good care of her.

Will do!

What are you doing?

Compressed Learning.

I'm stuffing my brain
with information about our mission.

Compressed Learning?

We need to know
our rescue target, of course,

but sometimes we also need to know
local history, customs, and the language.

I see. Understood.

I'll send an order to the Special Effects
Department at Headquarters.

You're done?

That's Compressed Learning.

Okay, let's go.

Hold on tight.

In 1978, at Chichen Itza in Mexico,

a tourist who came to see
the Kukulcan Pyramid ruins

died in an accident.

So that's our rescue target.

Hey there, you guys.

I knew you'd show up.

You're from the other day...

I'm Buyoyon, the hyper life-form
that transcends time and space.

So you really did become
an apprentice agent.

Then I'll watch over you as your mentor.

Thank you very much.

But...

Are you a Time Patrol agent, Buyoyon?

Oh, please! You're such a rookie!

Go ahead, Bon.

Tell her how great
of a Time Patrol agent I am.

Maybe some other time.

Are we there?

Where are we?

That's...

the ruins of the Mayan civilization.

And are we far from our destination?

Or are we close?

Let's go out and check.

You're as sloppy as always.

Whatever. Let's go.

Buyo.

What a gorgeous view!

My goodness, we landed
right on top of the Kukulcan Pyramid!

Is this the site of the accident?

Yes.

Just like this, Time Patrol agents must
always land on the most appropriate spot.

Wow, you're such a veteran.

He just got lucky.

Buyoyon, will you go look around?

Our rescue target is supposed to be here
early in the morning.

All right.

Look. There's a town beyond the forest.

Don't go too far on the edge.

It's fine.

Well, I'll get things ready
in the meantime.

You keep an eye out.

Okay.

Great. It's here.

All I need to do now is put this in...

I see people coming.

Okay. I'll go ahead and take some photos
up there, so please stay here, Sensei.

No, I'm climbing it with you.

But you're afraid of heights.

You're also not athletic,
so you better stay here.

What? You didn't hold back at all.

It's pointless to stay down here!

Okay, I've got it.

It's not that big of a deal!

That's definitely him.

It's Tarako Tarao,

the manga artist
who'll fall from this pyramid and die.

We must stop him.

Leave it to me. I have an idea.

That face looks familiar.

Master, want to take a break?

I'm fine!

Gosh, such stubbornness.

Daddy!

It's dangerous!

Hey, Daddy!

If you fall, you're gonna die!

You'll be in trouble if Mom sees you!

Stop with the nonsense and come back down!

This can't be. My sons should be in Japan!

They're gone.

Anything wrong?

Yeah, well, just now...

Look, over there.

Watch out, Sensei!

I'm dizzy, and my legs are giving out.

You haven't even climbed that high yet.

I can't move an inch.

Shall we go down?

Who were those boys he saw?

They're Tarako's sons
shown by the holographic projector.

I had the Special Effects Department
create the images using their data.

Master, we've reached the ground.

That was scary.

So now, Tarako can return to Japan safely.

Indeed, a veteran.

Actually, this was too easy.
I'm almost disappointed.

I just remembered!

He's from the ruins of Knossos!

What? Don't scare me like that.

That Tarako Tarao is the tourist
we met on the island of Crete.

Oh! You're right.

Right?

We snatched
a mercury battery from him, and...

You did what with a battery?

Oh, it's nothing. Never mind that.

We've just asked for his help before.

But he shouldn't remember it
because of the Forgetter.

Wow.

So he saved you before,

and then you saved him today?

Something like that.

But that's not important.

Chichen Itza has
tons of fascinating ruins to explore,

so how about sightseeing?

I'm in!

Let me show you around.

Awesome!

Follow my lead.

Mentor Bon, pull yourself together.

Yeah, I know. But...

my knees are shaking so hard.

I just can't stop them.

He's useless.

What's this place?

It's a ball court.

They played games using a ball.

Was it a sport, like soccer?

No.

It was part of a ceremony
related to agriculture and warfare,

a special ritual.

A ritual?

Do you see how this is built
in an open field?

This means that the game was held
in front of a big audience.

They brought in prisoners of w*r,
criminals, and traitors,

and made them play
against the king's team.

Competing against the king's team

implies a rigged game
with a preset outcome.

What happens if you lose?

The losers were beheaded as a sacrifice.

That's awful.

The game was rigged,
but losers got beheaded?

All of that was part of a ritual
dedicated to gods.

That's the way
to show off the king's power.

They must have been very barbaric people
without any developed civilization.

Not necessarily.

When it comes to astronomy,
they were extremely advanced.

The ancient Mayan calendar
had 365 days in a year like we do.

And they even knew that they needed
to offset a full day every four years.

In the era with no telescopes or clocks?

For them, with such advanced civilization,

human sacrifice was
just another common practice.

There were various sacrificial practices
depending on the ceremony.

For instance,

that stone statue.

The one with a plate on its stomach?

I saw similar statues in other places too.

The collective term for this
is "chacmool."

The name came from a British explorer
in the 19th century.

It was also an altar
where they offered sacrifices like hearts.

Hearts?

These stories were later uncovered
through interviews with them

and were written in
The Report of the Affairs of Yucatan

from the mid-16th century.

Wow. You really know quite a lot.

It's Compressed Learning.

But that doesn't mean
you can misuse it for schoolwork.

Who would even think of such cheating?

Well...

Hey, there's a pond nearby
where they drowned the sacrifice.

Let's check it out.

We walk away from the Kukulcan Pyramid,

observing the Warriors' Template
on the right,

and there's a cenote ahead.

A cenote?

It's a sacred spring.

It looks deep.

It's creepy.

Were sacrifices really thrown
into this pond way back then?

It was thought to be a legend
for a long time,

but in 1885, the U.S. Consul Thompson

dredged the mud at the bottom of the pond.

Among the golden and copper ornaments
he pulled out were a lot of human bones.

They went on to investigate

and found traces of many human sacrifices
being made to this pond for decades.

Why would they do such a cruel thing?

The sacrifices were for Chaac,
the god of rain and thunder.

Agriculture was intensive here,

and they needed rain.

You still can't believe it, can you?

Well...

It's just right.

Let me show you the Viz-Plate.

Viz-Plate on!

We use Viz-Plate to communicate
with Headquarters or other agents,

but it can also show
the past or the future.

I'm pretty sure human sacrifice
was a thing about 1,000 years ago.

What is this road?

This is where we are right now,
but 1,000 years ago.

It is?

It's a sacrificial procession.

That girl's the sacrifice?

Did she do something bad?

That's the difference in views and values
between modern people and ancient Maya.

To keep this world going,

they believed they needed
to appease the gods' hunger.

To achieve this, animals and plants,
and even the king's blood

were sacrificed to the deities.

Among all things,

the supreme offering for them
was a full, live human.

That's how they showed
their gratitude to the gods,

so this practice is rooted
in reverential awe of the gods.

But that girl,

she looks unhappy.

It has started.

See? She doesn't want to!

Oh no!

If the sacrifice returned in three days,

they were honored as a divine messenger.

That's what
The Report of the Affairs of Yucatan says.

But how could someone return
after three days?

This was too harsh for an apprentice.

Let's go save her!

You're not human
if you weren't moved to save her!

I get how you feel.

Bon!

Back when I first joined Time Patrol,

I used to trouble Ream the same way.

Right, you did.

But you see,

we can't just save people left and right.

But isn't Time Patrol's job
to save people?

Changing history is strictly forbidden.

Since humanity first emerged,

countless people
have experienced countless events.

Let's say each of those events
makes a single block.

Then human history is like a delicate wall
made of those blocks of events.

And we are currently

standing at the top of this wall,
so to speak.

Among these many blocks,
some are poorly made.

Time Patrol's job is
to replace such blocks.

But what if we forcefully take out a block
that's firmly attached to other blocks?

What will happen?

All the history that came after that
will be erased.

All the people living on the future blocks
will be gone.

That's why, in principle,

we, the Rescue Unit, can only help ones
assigned by Headquarters for missions.

Do you understand?

But you said "in principle."

In case of a death,

there might be a way to find out whether
altering a person's fate is okay or not.

Please!

Fine.

Hey, Bon!

The Kukulcan Pyramid looks so new.

They're over there.

Time Lock on!

Saving without orders
is against Time Navigation Law!

That's why I'm using the Check Card first
to see if I can change her fate.

She's clear.

Great!

Let's go, then!

-Hey!
-That's a no-go!

You're making the sacrifice
vanish into thin air during the ritual.

In Time Patrol, you need to find a way
to make things look more natural.

Then what should I do?

Think about it.

It's your apprentice training.

I hope it works.

Don't worry,
I have a backup plan if it doesn't.

Time Lock off!

Oh, hear me, Chaac,
god of rain and thunder.

We ask that you accept
the sacrifice we brought for you!

Please accept.

We ask that you protect us and this world
and guide us!

Please guide us.

Come, chosen one.

Be with the god.

I'm scared.

What did you say?

I...

I want to live longer.

You dare refuse the god's calling?

Don't raise your voice.

I believe your name is Neesh, correct?

Yes.

Neesh, there is no need to be afraid.

This cenote is a sacred spring,
and what lies beyond is a paradise.

You are going to serve close to the god.

No! I don't want to die!

I want to live!

You're so stubborn!
We don't have time for this.

Throw the sacrifice in!

No! Don't! Stop! Please!

Help me!

So it's true we can work underwater.

Buyo.

Great. She's okay.

Well done.

Amazing work for a first-timer.

Okay, let's go home.

Wait.

I think we're missing one final push.

I'm worried about what comes next.

Turn your Forgetter on.

What are you doing?

I want to hear it from her.

She's awake.

You're safe now.

What happened to me?

And you are...

Hey, I want you to tell us

what you wish to do.

Yes. Thank you very much.

All set.

Bon, take us to three days later.

Sure, but why three days?

We're going to follow
The Report of the Affairs of Yucatan.

How much time has passed since?

Three days, sir.

It's noon.

No sacrifice has ever returned
in the past.

Let's go.

Sir?

Sir, please wait!

Take a look!

Lord Chaac!

You fools.

Do you assume gods would be pleased
with human sacrifices?

My Lord.

She's back.

We offered her back then!

It is indeed Neesh.

The return of the sacrifice.
This must be the god's will.

I will not tolerate this happening again.

My Lord.

Everyone, please raise your heads.

Neesh!

I am entirely at your disposal.

There is only one wish I have.

To return to my home.

The rain of mercy.

It's a blessing from Lord Chaac.

I see. The rainmaker device.

Fitting for a god of rain and thunder.

That was some thorough aftercare.

Great attention.

Yeah.

I hope this will make them
stop sacrificing people.

No. The practice of human sacrifice
continued during the Mayan civilization.

What? But didn't they just...

Unfortunately, history is already built,
and it won't change so easily.

That's why the Check Card said
it's safe to save her.

Let's go home.

All right.

But before we go...

Time Patrol leaves no trace
in anyone's memory in any way,

but their smiles and tears
are your reward.

What we can do may be small,

but Time Patrol's job is...

I think it's an amazing job.

I'm glad you get that.

Bon.

You've matured.

Okay. Let's go home.

But it sounded familiar...

I remember! That's what Ream said before!

I didn't expect you to reenact
The Report of the Affairs of Yucatan.

That was quite an inspiration.

Thinking with the values of the time
in mind.

You taught me that.

How did I do on my first assignment?

You did pretty well.

Really?

I'm glad to hear that!

Thanks, and I'll see you later, Bon!

Wait a minute.

That returning after three days described
in The Report of the Affairs of Yucatan...

Could it be that the record was
actually based on what we did today?

Oh boy.

Instead of me supporting her,
she might overtake me if I don't step up.