@robobro

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@robobro

[ He won't do it, he says, and so Hiro tells him, fine, he can sit this one out and let Baymax do it instead. And he forces the broken green chip, along with whatever's left of his brother, out of Baymax, because stupid Tadashi too nice for his own good the man let him burn he let everything burn and he doesn't care so Hiro has to be the one to make sure he pays, make sure he - he -

Hiro doesn't know, but he's so angry, he's seeing red - red chip, red armor, red eyes, red red red.

Gogo has to grab him and wrestle him to the ground before Honey can get the green chip from him, and Gogo plays dirty, she pries his helmet off and tears the neurotransmitter from his forehead so that his robotic arm goes limp and the chip tumbles to the floor. Honey gives him this miserable, disappointed look - and then she's gone, with the chip.

And then it's over, and Callaghan's gone too. Only Tadashi doesn't come back with the green chip. It's just Baymax, apologizing, mentioning something's gone wrong -

Hiro yells. You let him get away and you broke the chip, Tadashi's in there and how could you do this and thanks for nothing, he doesn't need their help, he'll fix it himself, so he leaves them standing there and flies Baymax up and out through the hole in the roof.

With flight, home is just minutes away. Hiro slams into the garage with the force of a hurricane, throwing things until he finds what he needs. Green chip's stuck, so he has to wire a connection between Baymax and the computer, which immediately informs him there are errors on the card. Hiro punches the key to repair hard enough that the keyboard skids back a couple of inches.

When it's done, he exhales sharply through his nose and spins around to face Baymax. ]

Well? Tadashi?

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[ The whole thing went to hell, Tadashi should have expected this. Track the guy, take his mask-- it sounded simple. After trying out their new upgrades and flying Hiro around San Fransokyo, they felt like they could do anything. If only it'd been that simple.

But it had to be Callaghan. The man Tadashi had spent most of his life looking up to. Who'd inspired so many inventions and told Tadashi time and again to keep at it. To do good. All this time... it had been a lie. It crushes him-- words don't even cover it, but revenge is the last thing on Tadashi's mind. All he can think is... why? What happened to the man he knew? How could he do this-- how could he have stolen Hiro's tech and left him to die?

Tadashi wanted answers. Nothing would bring his body back-- especially not revenge. He was probably saying something like that when Hiro did the unthinkable. The rest is just black. Every sense: nothing. Maybe that's what being dead feels like... whatever it is, Tadashi never wants to feel it again.

He comes back to awareness slowly, maybe partially into the repair process, though it's not enough for him to wake up fully till it's done. While he loads, Baymax's hard drive catches him up on what he'd missed. The fight with Callaghan, their friends having to stop him from... ]

Hiro. [ His voice almost sounds normal. Just for a second. ] What did you do?

[Hiro grips the edge of the desk so hard his knuckles turn white. The rage from earlier is still there; it's just morphed from a white-hot explosion to a dark, festering undercurrent, mixing in confusion and frustration and some other horrible thing that might be...grief.

Untangling it would take too much time, and he is single-minded in his determination to complete the obviously more important objective, which is: find Callaghan. Make him pay.

His eyes flick up and down Baymax briefly, making sure there's nothing else wrong he needs to deal with, and then he turns back around and starts shoving things off the desk.]

You're okay? Good.

[Next: neurotransmitter. That's not working right, either. Thanks, Gogo. Grinding his teeth together, he tosses it on the table and attempts to string back together delicate, frayed wires, at least for a temporary solution.]

I made a mistake, that's what. [Biting back the urge to yell on every syllable -] I never should've let them help. They let him get away, and they nearly broke the healthcare chip, which, you know, could have killed you -

[Maybe the possibility is in the back of his mind that he just as easily could've been the one to damage it when he forced it out, but reason isn't here right now. Just boiling anger and the need to lash out at something, preferably a certain masked man once he can get everything working right again -]

Hey, calm down. That doesn't matter, don't worry about me. How are you doing?

[ Tadashi knows Hiro could have very well hurt him, and truthfully a lot of this is his fault. But as his big brother, this comes first. He's responsible. He should have been there, but Hiro didn't let him.

Hiro is going to be so dead once Tadashi scans him and makes sure he's okay. Even if it means waddling over to his workstation and putting his hands on Hiro's shoulders. His vitals are shot, and the limp arm on his side is clearly weighing on him. ]

Slow down. You're hurt.

Edited (oops) 2015-02-10 04:28 (UTC)

[Tadashi may as well have triggered a detonator, because the second Baymax's hands touch his shoulders he snaps back violently, batting him away, spinning around and shoving even though Baymax in armor is immoveable and he ends up beating a small, useless fist against his chestplate in vain. Now he's yelling.]

I don't care! I don't - care -

[He paces, running a hand through his hair, ends up throwing the neurotransmitter and kicking a can of bolts halfway across the garage in frustration. And then he rounds on Tadashi again, picking up the limp prosthetic with his good hand and letting it drop again.]

He's responsible for this! [And again, he pounds a fist against Baymax's armor again, not caring if he bruises his hand or splits a knuckle -] And this. And he's still out there, right now. Does that even matter to you? Do you want to stop him, or not?

[ Tadashi remains still, letting Hiro get it all out before disengaging his armor. Hiro shouldn't be hurting himself like this, and he has a lot to answer for, but he's still just a kid. ]

Hiro. I know. And I do, but this...

[ Once the armor from his arms falls away, Tadashi pulls Hiro into a hug, pressing him into his chest. ]

Hurting Professor Callaghan won't undo this. It won't help anyone.

[Hiro doesn't want hugs or platitudes, he wants to do something, he wants..he wants...he isn't sure what he wants. He struggles against Tadashi's grip until it's clear he's not letting him go anywhere, and then he sags into it instead.

He worries his forehead against the vinyl, swallowing a lump in his throat and shedding honest to god tears for the first time in weeks.]

It's - not - fair. It's not right. He did this, he -

[chokes]

I hate him...

I'm still here.

[ Tadashi pulls him close, shutting his eyes as he runs a hand through Hiro's messy hair. He could focus on all the bad, all the pain Callaghan's actions have caused, or they could do something. They could be more. ]

Even with everything he did, all that hurt he caused... we shouldn't be putting more of it out there.

[Hiro doesn't feel better, by any means, but at least Baymax's fingers carding through his hair gradually soothe away some of it, calm him enough while he's forced to stand still and accept the gentle care that he doesn't feel so much like a bottle rocket about to go off in a shower of sparks.

Still bitterly hurt and upset, though. He leaves smudges of wet tears on the vinyl and clutches his one good hand to his chest, because somewhere in the fit of throwing and hitting things of course he hurt it. He mutters quietly, in voice that cracks and trembles like a child's.]

I don't see how you can s-say that, after everything he took from you. If it weren't for this freak accident, you'd be dead for good. And he just...he just...

[- his mistake. the thought alone is enough to make him seethe and grind his teeth.]

I don't understand how you're not angry.

Honestly, I'm...

[ How can he put it into words? He doesn't feel as much? He was too busy worrying about Hiro to think about it? When Hiro pulled out his chip, he was too busy being really dead to be angry? ]

I'm just grateful to still be alive.

[ It could be so much worse. He just has to make sure Hiro sees that, too. ]

When I first started making Baymax... it felt like it was impossible. I failed again and again-- so many times, that I almost quit.

[ He pauses, searching his data banks for his recordings. He has the video, but it might be better to hear it from him. ]

But I didn't. You wanna know why?

[Silence. Hiro exhales slowly, waiting for Tadashi to get to the point; and maybe he'd be more curious, but it's been a miserable night, he's frustrated, and he doesn't really understand at first what the point is, telling this story.

But he's being prompted, and so, reluctantly, he lets his faint curiosity get the better of him - scrubs his tears away on the back of his sleeve and looks up, brows knit together and frowning.]

Okay. Why?

I knew he was gonna help people. I wasn't ever giving up on him.

[ Tadashi goes ahead and pulls up some of that footage, the failed tests and missed attempts. It was frustrating, but Tadashi never lost hope. ]

You can't move forward if you just quit. And I don't want you to give up either, Hiro. No matter what people do, or what Callaghan did. I know you can do great things, you just have to focus on what's important... even if people let you down along the way.

[ Yeah, Tadashi is more upset at Callaghan than angry. He must have had his reasons... but doing something so careless isn't like him at all. Maybe he didn't know him as well as he thought. ]

[Oh.

Hiro goes quiet, watching video footage of his brother - his brother in a real human body, alive and breathing and emoting in a way Baymax could never quite reproduce. He hasn't looked at old photos or videos of his brother since the fire, hasn't even looked of the ones he has of himself, because they remind him of all that was lost. Watching this now hurts enough that the tears start free-flowing again, and he curls in on himself, hugging his arm close to his chest.

And even after the video goes dark, and Tadashi stops talking, he doesn't say anything right away; he needs a second to process, and let the tears run out, and when they do he sniffs softly before speaking.]

What if - maybe I let somebody down along the way. Somebody who never gave up on me, even when I probably wasn't worth it. [Guilty, he fixes his eyes on the floor.] Maybe I'm a work in progress, like Baymax. But I got a little lost, and confused, and did some things I shouldn't have. And now I'm so sorry.

You think he'd forgive me?

You didn't.

[ As long as Hiro kept going, and kept fighting, he could never let Tadashi down. Sure, Tadashi had a lot to deal with, but somehow Hiro being left behind is even harder. He took that burden on himself when he didn't have to, but that's just so Hiro that Tadashi can't really say he's surprised.

He rubs his hand over Hiro's head, letting his vinyl soak up the tears. ]

And he would.

[ Tadashi never gives up on the things he loves. Even when they do a few things they really shouldn't do. ]

I forgive you, Hiro. [ And here he ruffles his hair for good measure. His voice actually sounds a bit soft. ] Just try not to be such a knucklehead next time, alright?

Edited 2015-02-21 08:03 (UTC)

[Hiro's not sure he deserves forgiveness so easily, but he's still grateful for it, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth as he ducks under Baymax's hand. He rubs at still-watery eyes and tries so hard to keep his fragile emotions from shattering into a million little pieces again, opting instead for a half-hearted little laugh to keep from crying again.]

I'm always a knucklehead. Just, maybe I can try to be less of one, but no promises.

[Through blurry vision, he manages to cast about until he finds the neurotransmitter he threw earlier; he regrets it now, if only because he's afraid he might have broken it for good. Uncontrolled anger can do a lot of damage. He's finding that out the hard way.

He looks at the neurotransmitter in his hand, and then at Tadashi, and - sort of awkwardly, because he's only got one working arm right now and on top of that he just plain feels bad, attempts to hug his brother. And not cry.]

Are you sure you're okay?

[ Tadashi lets Hiro cry, holding him while he calms down and pointedly not acknowledging the fact that he's crying. Too much. Tadashi has his own hang-ups about the events from the past few hours, but most of all-- ]

Just don't do that again.

[ It was like dying, being torn out from Baymax's chest and forced back in there. He only knows everything thanks to Baymax's recordings, but... it's not good. He could have done something if he had been there. ]

No more messing with my data chips, okay? We still don't know how this works.

[ Don't worry, Hiro. He's more scolding than angry, now that he's had some time to see Hiro deak with his guilt. ]

[Hiro at least still has the good grace to look absolutely mortified, now that he's calmer and can actually look at his own actions objectively. It's kind of scary, realizing he did all that, but then at the time - he was angry. He only cared about one thing.

He pushes a hand through his hair anxiously, setting the neurotransmitter on the table while he looks for some tweezers, some electrical tape and a few other things.]

Did it hurt?

[If he was just trying to gather information on what happened, there would be better ways to ask, but foremost on his mind instead is oh god, what if I hurt you and it gnaws at the edges of his thoughts, making him glance pensively Tadashi's direction.]

No.

[ Tadashi answers, more on impulse than anything. He doesn't want Hiro to feel too guilty. As his big brother, Tadashi is supposed to take a few hits at his expense. But still... ]

It was more like... being knocked out.

[ Which sounds a lot better than 'dying,' of course. As long as it never happens again, they're cool. ]

Waking up kinda hurt. Probably cause of the damage to the port. It felt kinda weird.

Edited 2015-03-02 22:50 (UTC)

[Hiro pauses in the middle of trying to thread thin copper wires back into a receptor on the headband, frowning not at it but at his brother. Tadashi's so much harder to read like this; he might've been an open book, once, but he has the advantage of a robotic voice synthesizer and a vinyl face not made for human emotion on his side now.

And Hiro sort of hates that. Tadashi could lie to him with impunity now, if he wanted to.]

You don't have to pretend, you know. If there's more to it, you should say so. If you're mad just say so.

I'm not mad.

[ He raises a hand, though it probably doesn't do much to pacify Hiro. The truth is... complicated. ]

Not anymore, just... I was gone. And now I'm back. I still don't really know what to feel.

[ Talking about life and death isn't exactly easy, much less when you're transmitting from inside a nurse-bot. ]

We don't know how this works, how I'm here or anything. [ He doesn't wanna blame Hiro, of course, but if Hiro wants him to be honest, then... ] What were you thinking?

[In spite of himself, Hiro winces at the pretty clear emotion that makes it through the voice synthesizers. He reminds himself he earned this, and he asked for it, so he owes an explanation.]

To be honest...I wasn't.

[He shrugs, eyes on his shoelaces, avoiding looking at Baymax now. He focuses on the headband, instead; on getting it running again, shoring up the damage with electrical tape until he can find a better fix.

When he puts it back on, he's able to move his robotic arm again, though the response is sort of sluggish and stuttering at first; twitching fingers and an odd angle where it bends at the elbow.]

No, that's not right. I was thinking. I knew what I was doing. I just didn't care, I guess, because all I really wanted to do was...hurt him. I forgot about everything else after that.

Yeah. You do that a lot.

[ But he sounds amused, if that's possible. He'd be smiling, but all he can do is look down. Tadashi can't say he's surprised. Hiro's always been really driven. Sure, he takes a bit to get started, and sometimes it can be hard to get him motivated, but once he gets an idea and start running with it, everything else takes a back seat to whatever's in his head. If his friends hadn't helped he and Hiro build the microbots, Hiro probably would've forgotten to eat. ]

But you don't have to do this alone. I'm here for you; Baymax, the guys, Aunt Cass... We're always here to bring you back.

[ He pauses, then holds out his arm and makes a fist, almost as if to show him how it's done. He knows that's not how it works, but it's as close as he can get to the real thing. The sentiment is still there. ]

Don't worry, okay? None of us are ever giving up on you.

Edited 2015-03-20 03:08 (UTC)

[Hiro flexes his prosthetic fingers experimentally, testing to see if they'll do what he wants them to do; then he curls them into a fist and returns the gesture with a careful hesitance, bumping against Baymax's fist.

The drawback to the prosthetic is he can't feel anything; he can register the resistance when his fist meets vinyl, traveling back to where shoulder meets carbon fiber and pushing against him. He can register the extra weight on one side of him. But there's no sensation, no touch, which means he could bang it up against something or lose the whole thing and not notice until he looked.

Which is, he supposes, how Tadashi feels all the time now. Except it's all of him, not just one part.]

Don't ever let me do that again. [He grimaces.] Even if you gotta hold me down or knock me over the head, stop me. You have my permission.

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@robobro

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yells and finally does the thing

oh noooo

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