Chapter 9: Hearing Voices
The sun was setting beneath San Fransokyo Bay as Tadashi came puttering up to the garage on his moped, Honey sitting behind him with her arms wrapped around his stomach. As Tadashi killed the engine, Go Go pulled into the driveway behind him on her motorcycle while Wasabi parked his van on the side of the rode, Fred hopping out as soon as the vehicle had stopped with Baymax's red charging station in his hands.
"Got a delivery here of one state-of-the-art medical robot here for you, Magic Man," Fred joked as he carried Baymax over to Tadashi.
"Thanks, Fred," Tadashi chuckled as he took the case from the young man.
"Why'd you lug him all the way back to your house anyway?" Fred questioned.
"I wanted to tinker with him some more tonight," Tadashi explained, "He's close to being finished, trying to make that final push, you know?"
"Speaking of which, how do you think Hiro's doing?" Wasabi questioned as he joined the others.
"He's making progress," Tadashi replied as they began making their way over to the garage.
"I would hope so," Go Go spoke up, "I mean, the Expo is only a few weeks away. He doesn't have a lot of time left."
"He'll be fine," Tadashi assured them as Honey reached down to open the garage door for everyone, "He's got everything figured out now so, barring some unforeseen setback, he's got plenty of time."
As Honey opened the door, she let out a yelp of surprise as she found Tip barreling towards them.
"Tadashi!" Tip cried out as she ran over to the young man, "You have to help!"
"Whoa, whoa," Tadashi said, a confused look on his face as he looked down at Tip, "What's the matter?"
"There's been an accident!" Tip explained, looking like she was on the verge of tears.
"Accident?" Tadashi questioned as he turned to look into the garage, "What are you…."
Tadashi trailed off, his face turning ashen as he looked at the scene before him, the sight of Hiro sprawled out on the couch and Riley laying limp in one of the chairs turning his blood to ice water.
"Oh my God," Tadashi whispered, almost dropping Baymax in shock as the others made noises of surprise and horror behind him, "Hiro!"
All but dropping Baymax to the ground, Tadashi rushed over to where his brother lay, Honey quickly following him. At the same time, Go Go and Fred ran over to Riley's side while Wasabi wandered into the garage in a shocked daze, his hands clutched to his scalp in a look of panic.
"He's out cold," Tadashi observed as he check over his brother, his eyes lingering on the burns on the boy's arms, "God, he's been burnt."
"How's Riley?" Honey asked, looking over at the others with a worried expression.
"It's like the lights are on but nobody's home," Fred answered, biting his nails anxiously as he stood over the girl while Go Go kneeled in front of her.
"Riley?" Go Go said, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's face while supporting her head with her other hand, "Riley, you there? Come on, kid, talk to me."
"Maybe if we-" Fred began to say as he reached for the neural transmitter on Riley's head.
"Don't!" Tip shrieked at him, causing Fred to instinctively pull his hands back as he looked frightfully at the girl.
"I-I…." Wasabi stuttered before he managed to collect himself and start fumbling around in his pockets, "I'm calling 9-1-1."
"Wait, you can't!" Tip shouted as she spun towards Wasabi, causing the young man to look at her in bewilderment.
"What?" he questioned in shock, "Tip, they need medical attention."
"You don't understand," Tip replied, clutching frantically at her hair.
"Then explain it, Tip," Tadashi pushed, turning away from his brother to look at her, "What's going on?"
"This is stupid," Wasabi grumbled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it before him, "I'm calling an ambulance."
"Stop!" Tip exclaimed before stepping over to one of the workbenches and reaching underneath it. With one hard pull, Tip pulled Oh out of hiding before sending the Boov rolling across the ground. Oh rolled for a few feet before he came to a stop in the middle of the garage. Sitting on the floor, Oh glanced around with an anxious look on his face.
The garage went dead quiet as everyone looked at Oh in shock, the phone slipping out of Wasabi's hand and clattering to the floor.
"Um….hello," Oh greeted meekly.
Oh's words seemed to break whatever spell had fallen over the garage as everything started happening very quickly.
"Holy shit!" Go Go exclaimed as she hopped to her feet and turned to face Oh, while Fred tripped over his own feet while stumbling backwards and fell to the floor, "What the fuck is that!?"
"Oh my God!" Honey shrieked, stepping behind Tadashi as the young man jumped to his feet.
"Holycrapholycrapholycrap," Wasabi muttered fearfully to himself as he instinctively fell into a fighting stance.
"Tip, what is that!?" Tadashi demanded as he looked to the girl for answers.
"I am Oh," the Boov answered.
"Holy shit, it talked!" Go Go exclaimed.
"No talking!" Tip snapped at Oh before turning to Tadashi, "This is Oh. He's a Boov, a-an alien."
"I can see that!" Tadashi replied sharply, pointing at Oh as he talked, "What is he doing in my garage!?"
"We found him," Tip explained quickly, "Hiro, Riley and I. We thought he'd be safe here until we figured out what to do."
"Safe!?" Wasabi questioned in shock, "Safe from what!?"
"Krei Tech!" Tip shouted back.
"Okay, okay, I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and calm down!" Fred declared as he picked himself up off the floor. As he saw everyone begin to calm down, he smiled and turned his attention to Tip.
"Okay, Tip," Fred said with a calm and controlled voice, "Tell us what happened."
Nodding, Tip quickly went over the details of what had happened the previous night and that afternoon before the others had arrived.
"Okay, so you finished the work on the neural transmitter?" Honey questioned, addressing Oh.
"Yes, I dids," Oh answered with a nod.
"But why is she like this then?" Tadashi pushed indicating towards Riley before looking towards Hiro, "And what happened to my brother?"
"I am not knowings for sures," Oh prefaced nervously, "But, I perhaps did not take the differences between Boov and human physiology into the accounts."
"So, your neural transmitter isn't compatible with Riley's brain?" Go Go questioned as she crossed her arms and glared at Oh.
"Exactlys," Oh replied as he turned and pointed at Go Go, the excited smile on his face falling away as he found the young woman glaring at him, "I-I think that because of this, there has now been a feedback loop in the device. Instead of projecting outs, it is projecting ins."
"So, it's feeding her thoughts back into her own brain?" Wasabi questioned in shock.
"Yes," Oh replied with a nod, "And because of this, I believe the power system is being overtaxed and, well, you sees what happens."
"We need to fix this," Honey insisted with a worried tone.
"I am not knowing hows," Oh replied with a helpless shrug.
"I still think we should bring them to a hospital," Wasabi stated, "This is serious stuff. Hiro's hurt and who knows what that thing is doing to Riley's head."
"But what about Oh?" Fred questioned.
"What about him?" Go Go retorted sharply, still glaring daggers at Oh, "He's the cause of this. I say we hand him back to Krei Tech. Being experimented is exactly what this little slimeball deserves."
"Yuri, we can't do that!" Honey gasped, aghast as Oh turned a bright shade of yellow.
"Why the hell not?" Go Go snapped, "Why should we stick our necks out for him? For all we know, he's lying about everything!"
"He's not," Tip spoke up.
"How do you know that?" Go Go questioned with a gentler tone.
"Because he turns green when he lies," Tip replied with a sigh.
"He does?" Fred asked in surprise.
"Tell them about your non-existant laser eyes," Tip said as she turned her attention to Oh.
"I dooz sos has the laser eyes," Oh replied defensively as he turned a bright shade of green. Tip turned back to Go Go, quirking an eyebrow at the young woman as she motioned towards Oh.
"Fine," Go Go relented with a roll of her eyes, "Maybe he's not lying."
"Whatever the case, we have to figure out a way to help them," Wasabi said with a serious tone as he gestured to the unconscious children, "Just by looking at her, I don't think Riley's going to get better on her own."
"What do you think, Tadashi?" Honey questioned worriedly as she turned towards her boyfriend.
"I think I need a second opinion," Tadashi stated grimly before walking over to where he had laid Baymax's charging station down, "Ow."
The station beeped in reply to Tadashi's words and a few moments later, Baymax was stepping out of it.
"Hello," Baymax greeted with a circular wave, "I am-"
"Skip the intro, Baymax," Tadashi interrupted, holding a hand up to get the robot to stop, "We have an emergency on our hands."
"What is the nature of this emergency?" Baymax questioned.
"See for yourself," Tadashi replied as he stepped aside.
Looking away from Tadashi, the processors in Baymax's head whirred as he scanned the room.
"I am detecting two individuals in need of medical attention, Hiro Hamada and Riley Andersen," Baymax commented, "I am also detecting life signs that do not match any in my databases"
"Ignore the anomaly," Tadashi ordered, "Concentrate on the others, Hiro first."
Wordlessly, Baymax walked away from Tadashi to where Hiro lay on the couch. Oh looked up at Baymax as he passed, a look of wonder on the Boov's face.
"What is that?" Oh questioned as he looked over at Tip.
"That's Baymax," Tip explained as she watched the robot anxiously, "He's a medical robot built by Tadashi. Hopefully he can fix your mistakes."
Standing over Hiro, Baymax looked down at the boy as he lay sprawled out on the couch.
"Hiro has suffered a macroshock that has caused first degree burns on both arms," Baymax observed, looking over at Tadashi as he talked, "I estimate that the shock was twenty milliamperes and two hundred volts in power. Internal damage appears minimal and the nervous system is unharmed. I recommend applying burn ointment to the tissue damage suffered and that he be observed for any further complications."
"Okay, Baymax," Tadashi agreed with a nod, "Proceed with the treatment."
Wordlessly, Baymax turned back to Hiro and gently took one of his arms, holding it up and rolling the sleeves down. Holding Hiro's arm with one hand, Baymax held a finger over the boy's skin, the tip of which began to drip an ointment that the robot carefully spread across Hiro's skin. After he was done, Baymax produced linen bandages from a compartment at the center of his palm and wrapped them around Hiro's arm. Baymax repeated the process with Hiro's other arm before turning his attention back to Tadashi.
"The treatment is complete," Baymax declared, "The macroshock has knock Hiro unconscious, though he appears to have suffered no neural, nervous or cardiac damage."
"Thanks, Baymax," Tadashi replied with another nod, "Why don't you have a look at Riley now?"
With that, Baymax made his way over to where Riley sat slumped in the chair. Leaning over her, Baymax looked Riley up and down before focusing in on her face. Holding up one of his hands, Baymax extended a finger, a bright light shining from the tip of it. Baymax shone the light directly into one of Riley's eyes before shining it into another. After that, Baymax shut his finger light off before holding his hands next to either side of Riley's head. A low buzzing sound came from Baymax's hands, lasting a few moments before he lowered them and turned his attention back towards the rest of the group.
"Riley appears unresponsive to external stimuli," Baymax observed, "In addition, her brainwave patterns are….abnormal."
"What do you mean by 'abnormal?'" Go Go pressed.
"Precisely that," Baymax answered simply, "Riley's brainwave patterns do not match up with any similar patterns that I possess in my databanks. Riley's brainwave patterns are consistent with REM sleep, but she is not showing signs of the rapid eye movement the state entails."
"What do you suggest, Baymax?" Tadashi questioned.
"There does not appear to be any medical procedure for this situation stored in my databanks, nor do I believe I would discover one through research," Baymax commented as he looked down at Riley, "My suggestion would be to remove the device Riley is wearing as soon as possible, as my scans suggest it is the likely cause of her current condition. Additionally, I would recommend disabling the device in some way first, in order to prevent any unnecessary neurological damage."
"Could you turn it off, Oh?" Tip questioned as she looked at the alien.
"I believes so," Oh confirmed nervously, "But if I touch its, I will get a shocking much like Hiro."
"I don't see the problem," Go Go snorted as she glared at Oh.
"If I may," Baymax spoke up, drawing everyone's attention back to him, "It is my understanding that the device is giving off a dangerous electrical discharge, correct?"
"That's right," Wasabi confirmed with a nod.
"I am equipped with a defibrillator unit connected to the palms of my hands," Baymax went on, holding up his hands as evidence, "They are designed to safely run a charge between my hands and my batteries. As such, I should be able to divert the charge from the device to some grounded location, such as the floor, using my defibrillator system as the conduit."
"That's brilliant, Baymax!" Honey said happily, clapping her hands with excitement.
"Thank you," Baymax replied before turning his attention towards Tadashi, "Shall I proceed?"
"Do it," Tadashi confirmed with a nod, a serious look on his face.
Turning from Tadashi, Baymax moved towards Riley before sitting on the floor in front of her. Reaching up, he placed one hand on Riley's forehead while placing the other upon the garage floor. There was a low hum as he did this, but otherwise Baymax appeared unaffected.
"The device should be safe to touch now," Baymax informed them, "However, I would refrain from coming into physical contact with me until the device is disabled."
Nodding, Tip turned towards Oh before motioning for him to approach. Nervously, Oh walked around Baymax to get to Riley, the robot watching the Boov with clinical curiosity as he passed.
Standing next to Riley, Oh hesitated for a moment as he looked up at the neural transmitter sitting on her head. Slowly reaching out a hand, Oh gingerly touched the transmitter before sighing as he felt no shock. Sticking his tongue out in determination, Oh began to fiddle with the transmitter, opening panels and rearranging wires and chips.
After a moment, there was a spark of electricity that caused Oh to let out a startled yelp and jump backwards, shielding his face with his hands. As he did, Baymax blinked and removed his hand from Riley's forehead, revealing the light on the front of the transmitter had turned off.
"It would appear the device has been deactivated," Baymax observed as he looked back at the others. As he spoke, Riley began to stir, prompting the others to gather around her as Oh carefully took the transmitter off of the girl's head.
Groaning, Riley blinked few times, her blue eyes coming back into focus as she brought a hand up to her head. As her eyes focused, Riley looked around at the others before smiling weakly.
"Hey, guys," Riley greeted, "What's up?"
"I'll tell you what's up, you dumbass," Go Go said with a relieved smile as she pulled Riley into a hug, "You scared us half to death."
"Sorry," Riley replied as she returned the hug, her expression turning pensive as she did, "I….think?"
"Do you remember what happened?" Honey questioned, her tone concerned.
"Not really," Riley admitted as Go Go pulled away, "I remember putting the transmitter on and then….then I was somewhere else."
"Somewhere….else?" Wasabi questioned, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Yeah," Riley replied, running a hand through her hair, winding her fingers through her purple locks as she tried to collect her thoughts, "It was like….a control room. But it was a control room for me."
"...What?" Tip asked in confusion, "A control room?"
"Yeah, I-I guess," Riley answered, growing more agitated as she tried to piece her thoughts together, "There were like….people. They said they were my emotions. And they had a control panel and all these orbs that had my memories and-"
Riley hissed and clutched her hand to her head in pain.
"Whoa," Tadashi said, laying a hand on Riley's shoulder in an effort to get her to calm down, "It's alright, Riley. It was just a dream."
"A-A dream?" Riley questioned in confusion as she lowered her hand.
"Yeah," Tadashi confirmed, motioning towards the robot standing behind him, "Baymax scanned you while you were unconscious. He said the transmitter put you into some weird form of REM sleep."
"I was….dreaming?" Riley asked, not fully believing the answer.
"Yeah," Tadashi answered with a chuckle, "A pretty crazy dream at that, apparently."
"Yeah….pretty crazy," Riley agreed with a half-hearted chuckle before a confused expression spread across her face as she glanced around, "Where's Hiro?"
Everyone's expression turned concerned at the question, causing fear to creep into Riley's chest.
"W-What happened?" Riley questioned with a worried expression.
"He-He tried to pull the thing off of you after you put it on," Tip explained, playing anxiously with her hands, "But it shocked him and…."
Moving aside, Tip allowed Riley to see Hiro laying on the couch. Riley gasped in shock before hopping to her feet and running over to Hiro's side. For a moment, Riley stood over him, covering her mouth with her hands in shock.
"Is he….?" Riley began to say as the others walked up behind her but stopped, the overwhelming feeling of fear and guilt constricting her throat.
"He's fine," Tadashi assured her as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "He's a little banged up but Baymax said he should be fine. He'll probably wake up any moment now."
"This is all my fault," Riley groaned as she ran a hand across her face, "If I had been smart enough not to put the transmitter on, none of this would have happened."
"Hey, you can't blame yourself," Honey tried to reassure her.
"Yeah, especially when we have someone else we can blame," Go Go added as she glared pointedly at Oh, the Boov wilting under her gaze.
"Oh!" Riley exclaimed in surprise, noticing the Boov for the first time since awakening, "Oh God guys, we can explain!"
"Relax," Tip reassured her, "I already did."
"You did?" Riley questioned in surprise, earning a nod from Tip, "Then what-"
"As you may have imagined, this is a lot to take in at once," Tadashi said as he took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, "I don't think we've really decided what to do about your friend here. For now though, I think we all agree to keep this on the downlow."
Riley smiled and nodded in reply before hissing as she felt a sharp spike of pain cut through her head while a soft, indistinct voice seemed to whisper in her ear.
"What?" she questioned as she looked around at the others, who glanced at one another in confusion.
"No one said anything, Fargo," Go Go replied, a look of concern passing over her features, "Are you feeling okay?"
"I-I don't know," Riley replied, anxiety rising in her chest.
"As your condition is unique, I would recommend some bed rest, followed by further tests at a later date," Baymax spoke up.
"Baymax is right," Tadashi agreed, "We should probably get you back home. You should get some rest."
"I can walk her back," Tip offered.
"That sounds like a good idea," Honey concurred.
"But what about-" Riley began to say as she looked back at Hiro.
"Hiro will be fine," Tadashi assured her, "I'm sure he'll wake up any moment now."
As Tadashi spoke, Riley felt a strange tingling sensation in her head, directly between her eyes. Along with this was a feeling of confusion, but one separate from her own. As it continued, Riley began to feel so confused that she could barely think straight, the sounds of her friends saying her name sounding muffled and far away. Looking over at Hiro, Riley gasped in surprise as she saw the boy groan and start to sit up.
"W-What happened?" Hiro groaned before his eyes shot open and the alien confusion Riley felt was replaced by a sharp pang of fear that made the girl jump in surprise, "Riley! She-"
Hiro trailed off after looking wildly around the room when his eyes fell on Riley who was looking at him with equally wide eyes.
"Riley!" he exclaimed happily and the fear clutching the girl's heart was abruptly replaced a soaring feeling of relief and happiness. Hiro quickly leapt to his feet and rushed over to Riley, hugging her and picking her up. Riley yelped in surprise before her own feelings of joy mixed with the alien one, causing her to giggle excitedly and return the hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Hiro declared with a laugh, causing Riley to laugh louder, earning confused looks from some of the others.
"I'm happy you're okay!" Riley replied.
"God, what happened?" Hiro questioned, "I remember-"
His eyes lighting up in remembrance, Hiro touched his arms and was surprised to find bandages around his arms. Riley also felt surprised, then immediately confused as she knew Baymax had tended to them.
"Who-?" Hiro questioned as Riley was momentarily blinded once more by the combined confusions.
"Well, after you two managed to knock yourselves out, Tadashi showed up with the cavalry here," Tip said as she walked over and pat Baymax on the stomach, the robot looking down at her before looking at Riley and Hiro.
"Thanks bro," Hiro said with a smile, causing Riley to smile as well, before he turned his attention towards Baymax, "And thank you, Baymax."
"No thanks are necessary," Baymax replied, "I am merely performing according to my programing."
"Thanks are always necessary, Baymax!" Riley declared, the gratitude welling up in her chest so strong that she couldn't stop herself from running across the garage and throwing herself at the robot, wrapping her arms around his inflated stomach. The others looked at Riley in shock and even Baymax seemed to be taken aback for a moment before he reached down and returned the hug, resting his head on top of Riley's.
"Riley seems a little…." Hiro paused to fish for the right words as Riley pulled away from Baymax, blinking in confusion, "Emotional."
"Yeah," Tip agreed, a look of concern on her face, "Hey, Riley, why don't we head home, okay?"
"Y-Yeah," Riley agreed hesitantly, "Let's do that."
"See you later, Riley," Hiro said as the girls departed, the others joining in as the two of them left the garage, before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Man, this has been a heck of a day."
"You are tellings me," Oh grumbled as he flopped into the beanbag chair, "I is the pooped."
Hiro chuckled at the Boov before his eyes shot wide open in horror. Slowly looking over his shoulder, Hiro found Tadashi looking back down at him.
"Yeah, I found out about your alien pal," Tadashi commented, a serious look on his face, "You and I have a lot to talk about."
All Hiro could do was sigh and run a hand through his messy hair again.
Later,
Night had fallen across San Fransokyo and Riley Andersen lay in bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars attached to the ceiling. Riley knew she needed to get some sleep but her head was refusing to cooperate, her mind abuzz with a sensation she had never experienced before, punctuated by occasional spikes of pain. She was glad that her emotions seemed to be in check once more though. For the time being in least.
Suddenly, she heard a soft whisper that sounded like it had come from right next to her. Sitting bolt upright, Riley quickly switched on her bedside lamp and looked around wildly.
She was alone.
Slowly, Riley's breathing calmed, her fear replaced by confusion.
"...do that?" Riley heard a voice whisper again, sounding louder and clearer this time.
"Who's there?" Riley demanded, throwing over her covers and hopping to her feet, looking around her room for any sign of who was talking.
"...don't hear anyone," a voice, different this time, said. It sounded so loud to Riley she was sure the person was right next to her. No, closer than that. Like they were speaking right in her ear.
"Who's talking!" Riley snapped, clenching her hands into fists as she glared around the room.
"I don't understand," a male voice said, high-pitched and panicked, "Someone's talking, but I can't figure out who!"
"Is something wrong with us?" a morose, female voice questioned, "What if this has something to do with what happened to us today?"
"It's okay guys," a different female voice said reassuringly, "We'll figure this out."
"Wait," the male voice said as Riley realized she recognized the voices, a sharp pang of fear slashing through her heart, "Oh no…."
"What is it?" a gruff, male voice asked.
"I think…." the first male said hesitantly, "I think the voices are us."
"What are you talking about?" a snooty female voice inquired.
"I think Riley….can hear us," the first male explained.
There was a long pause as Riley felt the blood drain from her face as a cold sweat began forming on her brow.
"...Riley?" the happy female voice questioned, sounding nervous, "Can you hear us?"
"J-Joy?" Riley questioned, her breathing short and shallow, her legs shaking underneath her.
"I think…." Joy paused as she thought over her words, "I think we have a problem."
A/N: Not much to say about this one. Fun chapter to write, hope you guys enjoyed it. As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!
