Chapter 21 – Everything You Want
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The genius mind was again challenged. This time, it was a genuine feat. It wasn't like the same challenges he encountered as he ventured his way to the subjects he liked least. This one was about trying to push the boundary between the real and the impossible. No matter what the odds, the atoner would certainly do everything to correct the things he messed, or he believed he did.
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Hiro stood up and walked around, thinking every possible element that could enable GoGo to win despite her condition. Apparently, she would be slowed down to the extreme extent. Back and forth he went. The pressure of giving up creeped on him at occasions, but the junkie's peaceful face enticed him to continue. He took the sheets of paper and the pen that was on the nearby table, and went on.
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Cast. That's the first thing that ever crossed his mind. Getting those bones, or fragments of bones, held together was the main healing for them, yet it would hinder her from even joining the race. Rationally, the fracture must be held by a lightweight, yet relatively sturdy material. How was that even possible? Also, considering their commitment to Honey Lemon as her models, the said cast must be noticeable. Prosthetics could yield, but the same question still lingers.
"How in the world is that possible?", he murmured.
GoGo seemed to move, and it prompted him to comically cover his lips.
The boy slowly went back to sit beside the sleeping girl. Having the important variables in mind, he spent some hours designing a cast that was lightweight, sturdy, and unnoticeable. Soon, crumpled papers rained to the trash bin. One, two, three, then four… and so on. Eventually, the last fell also, and he's out of material. This, in turn, prompted him to rest and resume the designing some other time.
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The next morning, GoGo got released out to her home as per the doctor's go-signal. Well, it was partly due to the insistence of the patient herself. Add the siding of Hiro and the others, she got what she wanted. The ambiance of the gang altogether yet remained the same on the way to the Tomago residence, though Hiro's pretty unsure about the junkie. She's in danger of not making it to the competition, but since she's having a, well, good time, it could be that he's overconcluding.
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Later on, after the team helped out, they went on their respective ways. Save that to Hiro, who was left with the speedster. But, before they did go, the genius bade them to talk at the café by evening. Back to the room, he tended to the girl, who was currently lying down the bed.
"Hiro.", GoGo called up to him, as he was seemingly in deep thought.
"Y-Yes? Do you need something, GoGo? Does somewhere hurt?", he somewhat hysterically replied.
"Relax, nerd, I'm fine."
"Hey! You're a nerd too, remember?... Well, good thing.", he sighed.
"You better rest."
"Me? Rest? Come on. I'll accompany you. Besides, I'm not tired yet."
"Your eyes says otherwise.", she rebutted, pertaining to his obviously tired eyes.
"But how about you?"
"I'm fine. Mom's with me."
"Well, if you insist… Don't worry, I'll do my best to make you legible for that race… I assure you."
"Hiro, y-you don't have to overexert yourself…"
"I insist. It's my fault anyway…", but before he even finished the sentence, he got pinched by the cheek, which made him howl in sweet pain.
"Don't blame yourself, you self-destructive nerd… If you want to help me, I want you to rest and not make me worry, got it?", she bargained, though she knew that he'd be stubborn and still try for it.
Eventually, as the sun was about to set, GoGo went with the assurance. She could feel the guilt of the other one, despite her reminder not to take the blame. Knowing Hiro, he'll definitely do the entirety of his brain out to get her back to the pedestal.
"Thank you for being with me, nerd."
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Hiro then went home for good. It was already evening when he reached the café. It was closing, yet there's several shadows seen from the window, and one of them's plump. The team was there as he told them to be. The genius entered with a sigh and a smile.
"Hey, guys…", he muttered.
"Hiro! Mah man! What took you so long?", Fred greeted and pulled him to a seat.
"Just stuff… I mean, I can't just leave her behind."
"Well, good to know.", Wasabi replied. Meanwhile, Aunt Cass called for the "marshmallow" and bade it to save errands. Barista chip on the move.
"Uh… Are you guys okay?", Hiro asked after a moment of silence. He did so, really, when he saw Honey's sad expression. A cheery girl on a sad note? Something sure happened.
"Honey's planning to bail out of the contest once there's no one to substitute for GoGo…", Wasabi explained.
"What? No! Y-you can't!", Hiro interrupted, "I've got a plan in mind."
"A plan?", Honey implored.
"Yeah. We'll change GoGo's cast to a prosthetic one. It has to be light, so she could maneuver with it like it wasn't there. It also has to be like it's not there, you know, for the ramp purposes…", he tried to build his plan.
"But, Hiro…", Honey tried to interrupt.
"We can't just give up. If this won't work, there are other plans. If still not, there would be proxies for us?"
"Proxies for the two of you?", Fred asked.
"I'm not going without GoGo. And I'm certain we could pull this through."
"Okay… Hiro.", Wasabi sighed and explained, "I think it's not possible."
"It's not?"
"Yeah. Reducing the mass of the cast might also reduce its ability to hold the broken leg together. So, to maintain the hold, GoGo must not move with her natural speed."
"Umm... I got something.", Fred butted in.
"What is it?"
"How about she use boots in the fashion show?", and it was both senseless and brilliant for an idea.
"That actually solves one.", Hiro replied.
"But she can't race, still…", Honey added.
"What's the plan now? Hiro's not that feasible, and Fred only solved one.", Wasabi asked, "We still have to reduce the cast's weight as to make it not hinder her pedals."
"But my idea of boots was brilliant, wasn't it? Much more if we could adjust the designs to fit with the boots.", Fred said.
"Let's just clear this: we're not dropping anything off. I'll try to find a way about GoGo. You guys continue what must be done. Agree?", Hiro verified.
"Agreed.", Wasabi and Fred answered.
"Thanks for all your efforts, Hiro. I'm sure GoGo would be so happy to know about you.", Honey said to the genius.
Sometime later, after a set of snack and some hot chocolate, the team dispersed on their way home. Hiro immediately went upstairs to his room, but after grabbing his dinner on the kitchen. Baymax and Mochi followed him, albeit "slowly".
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The boy spent the entire late night researching about a solution. He even implored Baymax to help him by scanning the entire "scannable" Internet. They got some possible solutions, but it could only solve one and diversely contradict the other problem.
"That is not feasible for both of the problems.", Baymax declared for the n-th time since they started brainstorming.
Hiro threw himself to the bed on despair. As he's lying down, he searched for a microbot and was looking for it. Then, he sat up, saw the nurse-bot, and got a lightbulb moment. The idea of baymax' skeleton being so firm and sturdy struck him. An idea of a bot-based stealthed cast got on his mind. If only he could reduce the size of the microbots to enable a form of stealth, then it won't be a problem. On a second move of thought, he realized that it was done already. The supervillain they chased employed it.
"Of course, I can do it…", he murmured and looked again to Baymax.
"Are you okay, Hiro?", the nurse-bot asked due to Hiro's eureka moment.
"How could I ever forget that?! I redesigned you!", he happily exclaimed, pertaining to Baymax' skeleton. Looking things on a different angle, indeed.
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The next day came in swift wings. It happened to be a Sunday, and somewhat unfortunately, the day before the finals. Still, the determinator was not taken aback. After a succulent ham, for breakfast, he went at the front of his PC and sent the go-signal for everyone to mobilize. Via email, he bade Wasabi to start working on the bike modifications or resume if have started on it. At the back of his mind, he's relieved that the finals week came, as it would give them a breathing room to train GoGo's new cast and eventually solve the dilemmas. He then went to work on the cast. In layman's terms, he fused the idea of Baymax' skeleton, his microbots, and the stealthy nanobot technology observed from the enemy. Big brain worked for love.
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The said day went fast. The genius was busy on the engineering, and its reverse, of the cast. All the skipped meals and snacks were not in vain as he finished rebuilding it. All that he need was GoGo to test it, and it won't take long for that. Time check: 5 in the afternoon.
"What do you think, Baymax?", Hiro bragged the item to his robot-nurse.
"Congratulations, Hiro.", it replied.
"Hey, nerd, what's up?", a voice was heard after the door creaked open.
"Nothing much. Just a cast for you… GoGo? What?! Why are you here? It's already late.", Hiro replied. It was GoGo, and she's on a crutch.
"I'm just checking on you. Besides, it's just five."
"I should be the one checking on you."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure, why are you even…", he said.
But, before he could finish, GoGo slipped her step and might have a bad fall. The nerd swiftly pulled her by a hug. Baymax caught him by the sleeve, since he's falling down with her.
"A-Are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy or something?", he worriedly asked.
"Aw. The nerd missed me."
"Ha-ha. Very funny.", he replied nonchalantly in a comical change of mood.
"So, you're working on a cast?", she asked as the nerd helped her sit down on his bed.
"Yeah. And with this, you'll be able to race on the upcoming… race.", he explained, much to the surprise of the junkie.
"Hiro…"
"You will win the race. And we'll win the ramp, too. Trust me.", he assured her with a tone of excitement. All that she could do was smile lovingly.
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Notes:
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Finally, I'm up to write the chapter before the penultimate. After a lot of struggles too get out of the writer's f*****g block, I made it through. :)
Time to finish the unfinished business.
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Also, concerning Special Chapters, I've decided to include at least three! Yes, not one, not two, but least three. And one of them will be some sort of homage to a certain Chapter 9. *ehem*
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Feel free to follow, favorite, review, suggest, and share! And vote on my poll at the profile page also!
To all who have waited for this, thank you very much! I salute you, guys and gals!
P.S.: Good luck to the Philippine National Team (Gilas Pilipinas) in the 2015 FIBA Asian Championship. (That's basketball by the way) ;)
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