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

[The sign comes in the form of a fireball, a small comet zooming up into the air and popping with a tiny detonation. Nothing big, just meant to call him down towards one of the more secluded spots. A copse of trees surrounding a gazebo, shading the place and giving a quiet feel.]

[It's enough. He and Baymax follow the comet down and touch the ground leaving Hiro to dismount from the robot's back. The pair of them walk forward among the silence straight up to the gazebo, and even before he sees her he's already talking.]

You really didn't want anybody to find us, huh?

No, I didn't.

[Mars' voice is serious, a little deadpan even.]

Because I've got something to confess. Something I'd rather show you, and have kept secret. It's important enough, something related to this whole...superhero...thing. And this is as secluded and away from prying eyes as I can make it without being indoors...but I need fresh air.

Have a seat, it'll all make sense in a second.

Edited 2015-09-23 21:48 (UTC)

[That sure isn't ominous or anything. He gives Mars a wary look before he and Baymax both take a seat (Baymax outside of the gazebo and Hiro inside) even while keeping their eyes trained on her.]

Okay…what's going on? [He can take a guess, sort of, that she maybe has some kind of power he hasn't been made aware of or something. But she wouldn't act like this if it were just that, right?]

[Mars makes it a point to stand away from the entrance, giving Hiro some room. And making sure to stand where Baymax can get a look, too.

And then, with a ripple of light? Mars is gone. Replaced by Rei Hino. The fiery priestess from before.]

I...don't want to talk to you when I'm not being completely honest. Not after the raid. I hope you'll forgive the deception.

[And Baymax? Well, he'll definitely notice that she's suffering from a mild migraine, not an incapacitating one but one all the same. ]

[He shields his eyes a bit at the light but when he looks up that sure is Rei Hino standing there instead. He stares, cradling his helmet in his lap as he tries to register what precisely he's seeing before he opens his mouth and shuts it quietly.]

…you're Mars? [It…kinda makes some sense, but it's still baffling that it slipped past him. Baymax scans her and notices, lifting a finger to respond.]

It seems you are suffering from a mild migraine. Treatments recommended include acetaminophen and resting in a cool, dark place.

[He's a bit surprised by that, lifting an eyebrow.] We can talk about this later if you're sick, you know. [That's it. That's his first concern instead of the fact that Rei has a secret identity.]

I am Mars, yes.

[Rei looks to Baymax and nods in gratitude, giving the robot a small smile.] And yes, I am aware of the migraine. I took acetaminophen three hours ago, and there's a reason I wanted to meet you both in this location. Being Mars helps with the pain, but I'll be fine.

[Seating herself now, she looks across at Hiro. Her lips flicker into a forced smile, thanks to the elemental effect of the month, but it is fairly genuine. The concern is really appreciated, and she wants to make that known. Dipping her hand below the table and taking out a thermos, she sets it on the table.]

I'm alright. I've sat in bed too long. [A beat.] I have hot chocolate, if you'd like some. I'm having some regardless. It soothes my head a bit. And before you ask, no, it's not because of an injury. I made it through CERES HQ completely intact. The migraine is from overdoing it, but it's my own doing, and it's a familiar pain.

Please do not strain yourself, Rei. [With his job done (and used to being told "no" by a certain dark-haired brat), Baymax goes quiet again and monitors both Rei and Hiro.

Hiro's leaning forward though to have a better look, still partially blindsided by the revelation.]

If you're sure. [He's been in bed for the last couple of days but not exactly because of something serious like a migraine. The sight of the thermos causes him to blink, and he's letting his gaze linger a little too long to really not be interested.] I'll pass on the hot chocolate for now though. [He leans back finally, folding his arms over his chest. Good to know she made it out alive…it's more than could be said for some of their friends.]

What do you mean overdoing it? Overdoing being Mars? [A beat.] Rei, what happened to you guys while you were in there? We all got separated and I haven't really had a chance to talk to anybody else yet after Korra and I got out. [He'll come back to the whole...sailor scout thing after he's certain of a few facts.]

[Rei ignores the pass, and pours out two cups. His interest was obvious, even if he wasn't willing to admit it. With that done, she pushes it across the table towards him and takes a sip of her own before answering.]

No. Overusing my spiritual abilities. Mars doesn't affect me or strain me, but some of the things I do can just have...side effects sometimes. [She drums her fingers on the side of the cup, thinking how to answer that.]

When we fell, we landed on a broken down elevator. We broke through a door and ended up in one of the lower levels. [And here comes the hard part.] People...died. I was the only person of the six of us to make it out unharmed. One man, the samurai with one arm, was hospitalized. Everyone else died. I...didn't know their names until afterwards.

[Life is hard when you're a fourteen year old boy trying to be cool. He ignores the second cup for a moment…before casually drawing it closer and cradling it in his hands. He remembers Rei mentioning her spiritual abilities to him the first time they met and it makes him wonder what he couldn't feel when they were in the research tower. Side effects are never a good sign, he thinks, but if she has a handle on it there's nothing that can be done.

He winces a little as she describes the group's journey. If everyone else died besides Rei…and two people in their group died as well, and he doesn't even know about Jack's group yet…they were lucky. They had been incredibly lucky and the thought makes him sick all over again.]

…two of our guys--Masamune and Soramaru--they were killed, too. The floor in one of the rooms we were in was electrified and they fell from Baymax's back when we were attacked. And Terra was shot in the neck and arm. We weren't even sure we'd be able to get him to a hospital in time. [The hand not holding the cup comes up to scrub at his eyes and it's a little more clear now that he's more perturbed by the happenings in the tower than he's willing to admit.] I can't tell if CERES immediately knew we were actually in there, or if this was all just a huge coincidence.

[But CERES definitely knew. Mosley's appearance made that loud and clear.]

I...[Rei's hands clasp around the cup, pressing into it for warmth. She didn't want to think about how those other people had died. Grell especially. That had been horrific. Namur at least had passed quietly. But Hiccup and Toothless...]

The security in our way was pretty vicious. Strange, though. Carnivorous plants, and...some sort of creature. Along with electronic locks rigged to electrocute anyone that came into contact with them. The creature I killed, but it was what injured the samurai, and ultimately poisoned the dragonling. Toothless. He made it out, at least. But he died from the poisoning shortly after.

[Her face crumbles a bit at that statement, the eager creature had been so eager to help, so...peaceful. She'd made it a point to tend to him, see that when he passed it was well fed, warm, and surrounded by attentive caretakers. One hand rubs the side of her neck uncomfortably, her eyes still staring down at the liquid chocolate. She understands, Hiro, or she wouldn't be this down. This bothers her, quite a lot.]

What do you mean by that?

[He didn't want to think about it either. Watching Soramaru and Masamune fall from his reach and die right before his eyes brought up a whole world of issues that he hasn't really had a chance to unpack since he came face to face with his older brother. It's just another thing to feed into the idea of failure. He hates it.

He listens, but his face falls immediately upon hearing about Toothless. Hiccup and Toothless both died. Carnivorous plants? He mumbles something under his breath that sounds like "venus flytraps?" but he keeps it to himself. It seems as though CERES loves their electrocution methods. He's grateful they didn't deal with the poison, but he shudders.

CERES had been screwing with them way too much.]

I'm so sorry. [It's what he says first. Sorry that it happened, sorry that she witnessed it.] I didn't know what else was waiting for us in that tower. [He bites his lip, fingers digging into the side of the cup.]

...there's something I've gotta tell you. We weren't alone the other day. That tower wasn't entirely abandoned but I'm not sure if they were there the whole time or if they showed up after we were inside.

Nobody did.

[She shoves that thought aside though, her eyes shooting upwards to look right at Hiro, burning with sudden intensity. what was he saying? ]

Wait, what? You weren't alone? Who? What?

[There's a small pause...and he sighs, rolling his eyes a bit.]

Okay look, I know this probably sounds crazy, but...somebody from CERES actually helped me and Korra. We went further and further into the tower and we found...her.

[The Bridge. They found her, and he's waiting for Rei's reaction before he continues. Sorry he's somewhat dramatic.]

...

[She stops and her eyes go wide, head leaning forward with interest. The hands around the cup tighten, knuckles going white.]

You mean...the missing spirit? [She'll get to the whole other thing first. But if they found the bridge. If they set her free...]

Is she...[Okay? Free? Rei's not sure what to say, so she trails off, looking at Hiro expectantly.]

Yes. [He finally pauses to take a sip of the hot chocolate. It's comforting, at least.] And yes, she's okay. Korra and I helped her get out of the tower and Maris and Caeli came for her. She's safe with them now. I don't know what CERES will do when they realize she's gone, but she'll be okay with them.

[Rei sags forward now, a hand flying down to steady herself against the edge of the table. Letting out a breath, a ragged one she didn't even know she'd been holding, she bites her lip to hold back a torrent of questions.]

Then...it wasn't for nothing. [Closing her eyes, she fights back tears of relief, not wanting to show any sort of breaking. But that?] That's...the best news I've heard from anyone. That was the goal. At least, mine and Jack's. To find her. Thank the gods someone did.

[She wasn't sure how many people Jack had made aware of that fact, after all.]

[It's a lot to handle, he knows. He watches her quietly for a moment, shoulders tense as he ponders that. He hadn't initially known Jack's goal, nor had he known it was Rei's.]

They still had her locked behind a door in a cage...the cage was unlocked, but we needed somebody to actually unlock the door. [A beat.] That's where CERES came in. Kinda weird, huh?

[Her eyes open again, slowly. Calm returns for the moment, though there's a kind of nervous excitement in her now.]

Please. Go on.

...after Soramaru and Masamune were killed, Terra opened a portal inside the hall. We sent Baymax with him to take him out of the tower and to the hospital and Korra and I kept going. We ended up finding the cage they were keeping the Bridge and a CERES representative showed up behind us and actually helped us unlock the door and escape the tower. We didn't run into any kind of security on the way out or anything. Guy said he was going to cover for us and make it look like the Bridge escaped herself.

[Rei blinks, taken completely off guard by the statement.]

Which representative? They were gone, I thought? And why? Did he say?

Yeah, they're all still gone, but Mosley really didn't give us any sort of indication why he was doing this other than he needed something to do.

It was Mosley?

[Okay. This rabbit hole is pretty damn deep.]

You know, I don't even know why I'm surprised anymore. Some of the things I ran into were just insane, and made just as little sense.

Yup. First time I ever met the guy. [Shrug!] What else did you guys run into that makes little sense?

[Well, now Rei frowns again and sits back, fidgeting a bit.]

Aside from the carnivorous plants and the shadow monster? We...found a holding pen. It had cages in it that were containing ghosts. Spirits, bound up. And they were angry. So, so angry at...something. Not me, or Hirari-san, or Toothless. But CERES. All they could think was "murderers" over and over again, when I reached out to them.

I'm positive that with how that room was set up? It was to contain them. The walls were so reinforced I couldn't blast through them.

[A beat, and she looks up with a truly nasty smile. All sharp angles, and quirked lips]

But I set them free. All of them.

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