Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

[zerotohiro]

'Busy, leave a message!
...oh, you've reached Hiro Hamada. Whatever. Still busy!'

Hamada art by D-Joel, found on tumblr

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[immobileyes]

[ He... can't?? ]

I will. I'll see you in a little bit.

[ Well. She won't "see" him, really, but she'll make her way there as best as she can. She trips about seventeen times, runs into three different objects, and paralyzes absolutely nobody on her grand expedition, before she's coming to a wobbly halt outside of the apartment and knocking.

... He said Baymax would let her in, so maybe she can open her eyes now? ]

[zerotohiro]

[Mary…

The knock alerts Baymax and as promised, the robot shuffles his way forward to open the door. The apartment looks as normal as possible and Baymax blinks down at her before waving.]

Hello Mary. [He's also scanning without warning because Baymax is Baymax.] You have mild bumps and scrapes. Do you require assistance?

[immobileyes]

I'm okay... I've kind of gotten used to it by now.

[ Terrible, but true. Even when not making herself blind, Mary's not exactly graceful. ]

Um, where's Hiro?

[zerotohiro]

Please watch your step. [She receives a pat on the head from the robot before he ushers her into the apartment, shuffling along into the massive living room where Hiro's sitting on the couch and seemingly staring at the television in front of him. It's in the middle of some animated something-or-other and even before Mary approaches he speaks up.]

How many people did you freeze on the way over? [He's trying to joke about it, but he also knows it's kind of a sensitive subject. But hi Mary.]

[immobileyes]

I didn't--! [ and immediately, she's pressing both palms over her eyes, shaking her head. ]

I was really careful not to look at anyone!

[ Or anything. ]

[zerotohiro]

[He's still not turning to face her, but he's actively listening and nodding along.] Sorry...bad joke, I know. I've been trying to figure out if this is because Mosley totally disappeared or if it's something else but I haven't been having a ton of luck. [There's a pause, and then, sullenly:] It's getting worse, too.

[immobileyes]

Worse...? You mean worse than people going blind and...

[ Well, she'll just step closer to him if he's not turning to look at her then, although her steps are very small and unsure (because she doesn't want to smack into anything). ]

[zerotohiro]

...worse like at least things stopped after a while. Now it's like it's permanent. [He turns his head where he can hear her moving on his side. He isn't directly looking at her, but he thinks he can pinpoint her.] I don't know how to turn it off again.

[immobileyes]

... Can you see me?

[ waiiiiit a second. ]

[zerotohiro]

...not exactly. It's not that everything's totally black, but it's not clear at all either. [So no, he sure can't see much.] It used to stop after a few minutes, but eventually it got longer and longer and now it's not coming back at all.

[immobileyes]

And Baymax can't do anything about it?

[ ... well, he probably would have by now if he could, she thinks, so she just sighs and moves to flop beside him. ]

[zerotohiro]

Mm-mm. [He shifts a bit to accommodate the extra weight, not at all minding the company. His head turns toward the sound of her voice again.] We keep running tests and he's been helping me get around when I really need it, but we haven't been able to fix it yet. I wanted to see if scanning somebody else might tell us how to fix everything.

[immobileyes]

Oh... so he's gonna scan me to see if it'll help?

[ Well, she doesn't mind. It doesn't hurt, after all. ]

[zerotohiro]

Yup. If that's okay. I'm thinking if Baymax can pick up some anomaly between the two of us I can start figuring out how to maybe recode ourselves to fix everything without getting CERES involved. What do you think?

[immobileyes]

Well, I don't mind... if you think it'll help.

[ Nothing bad will come from it, anyway. So she reaches out to pat his hand. ]

[zerotohiro]

I hope so. [He sighs, though his hand flips a little to curl around hers briefly. Truth be told he's a little scared of not finding results. Glitches happen a lot but they're getting bigger and more frequent. That's what he doesn't like.]

Baymax will scan you and get your stats, but I wanna see if you can freeze him, too.

[immobileyes]

Wh-- [ Well, there's Mary going absolutely rigid, fingers stiffening. ]

I don't want to! What if I do? If I freeze him and it doesn't wear off like it usually does--

[zerotohiro]

Have you ever been able to freeze a robot before?

[immobileyes]

Well, no... but I've always been able to control it before. Things are different.

[zerotohiro]

When you freeze people they always eventually unfreeze though don't they? [He tries for a smile.] It'll be okay. If it does freeze him then that means we've got a bigger problem to look at and solve. It's for science.

[Baymax even chimes in with an affirmative, reassurance that he's a robot and cannot be injured.]

[immobileyes]

... I still don't like it. [ It's an unhappy mumble, but she's not flat-out refusing, at least. ]

[zerotohiro]

I know. [He can't see but he can hear how upset she sounds and he's doing his best to be reassuring.] But you trust me and Baymax don't you? It'll be okay no matter what.

[immobileyes]

... Okay. [ Yeah, she's not happy, but she can recognize something's got to be done about this. ]

[zerotohiro]

Okay...Baymax, get in position. [The robot waddles out in front of the two of them, confirming he is "ready for action." Hiro lifts a hand and gestures in the vague direction of Baymax.] We're ready when you are.

[Hopefully she won't freeze him? Does the medusa gaze work on hyperspectral cameras? We just don't know. (Probably not though.)]

[immobileyes]

[ Mary... then, very slowly, peers at Baymax. Her eyes are a nice, blazing crimson instead of their usual pink, but she's counting on the fact that he's technically not a living being to keep him from getting petrified.

Which ought to work, at least. ]