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cerealia here

ruby and i were following a lead back in our world
and we cant do that while we're here

not that i dont wanna be here

sorry i didnt mean to ramble...
is ruby doing ok?

This is probably the least rambly I've seen you. And the lead for Cinder? Maybe it's not something you guys can follow here but if this place really does know about our worlds maybe we can figure something out. She's going to be okay, I think. I'm trying. Shouldn't I be asking YOU that though? Ruby told me everything...

yeah i thought she would
ruby was the one who saw everything

[ Ruby was there and Jaune wasn't, so he doesn't know how to talk about it yet. Somehow, focusing on his goals or other people's problems seemed easier for now. ]

hows my booster going? when can we test it?

I figured...I hate that.

[But Jaune doesn't need to know that Hiro would burn the world down if it meant Ruby's safety and happiness. Jaune also doesn't need to know that Hiro's low-key worried about him, too, since he has to wonder if it's a leader trait. Not talking about things. He does it, Ruby does it...it's possible. He doesn't know the guy well enough to wrestle things out of him so he can only answer the next question.]

Whenever you're ready if you really wanna know. I kinda worked a lot of hours the last couple of days, figured it was a good time to finish everything up. We could do it today if you really wanted to.

wait you really worked on it?
even with all this stuff going on?
while i was missing?

[ Whoa! ]

…yes?? Why's that such a surprise dude? It kept me busy and I know I don't have to be totally focused on booster-boots since I've made something similar in the past. I wanted to have them done because I was really hoping you guys would come back soon.

[ Aw, Hiro... ]

hey thanks for checking up on me
and not giving up either
it means a lot

you're right though
no time like the present
the sooner we test it the better i'll be

ps. do you want food

I'm not a huntsman or anything and I probably never will be, but I can at least be helpful for the people who are. Besides, we're kinda friends aren't we? Sorta comes with the territory.

[He'd call Ruby and Yang friends, definitely. Weiss...not so much. But he likes Jaune and the territory's a little foggy but he'll at least claim him as one of his own without too much of a struggle.]

If you're really up for it today come meet me in the park in the residential district. I can grab the boots and we'll see how much air you can clear. And I think I remember something about jelly doughnuts when we were first brainstorming these...that option still on the table?

deal!

[ Of course the jelly doughnuts are on the table, because an Arc never goes back on his word! Sadly, he gave him that word before he was sent home, and purchasing them this time isn't as pleasant a memory as it used to be. But still, Jaune makes good on his promise and meets Hiro in the park with a bag of said goods. ]

I... I don't suppose I should have some before we experiment with this, right?

[Goddamnit that is actually depressing, thanks Adi. But anyway by the time Jaune gets to the park Hiro's there with Baymax (no armor today, though the armor's stowed off to the side in what looks like a cart) and he's sitting on a bench doing a few minor tweaks to the rocket boots. There's also what appears to be a black gauntlet at his side. He looks up upon hearing Jaune and he smiles slightly even if he's carefully examining him.

He still went through some pretty traumatic stuff, too, even if he won't say so. It's troublesome.]

I mean I probably wouldn't until you get used to controlling these things. Do you usually eat before you test stuff?

Heh. More like I don't usually test things.

[ Wow, that sounded kind of dumb out loud. He only means that this is his first time beta testing a totally awesome invention. ]

I-It's alright, I'm not that hungry anyway. --So! Wheeere's my jetpack?

[ It's not a jetpack Jaune, HE ASKED YOU FOR YOUR SHOE SIZE-- ]

That...sounds like a really bad plan, dude. [Dude?? You're the leader, why would you--oh wait okay, he gets it. He glances up, tightening one last strap before he grins and gestures to the boots in his lap and on the bench.]

Jet boots. These are going to be way easier to control than a jetpack since you'll be using them to move. How good are you at multitasking?

Ack! Hiro! What did I say? I said jetpack! I thought I-- w-wait, are those-- i-is that them? They... whoa. They look kinda cool. Yeah, boots, that's... yeah, good call. I can do boots! Jet boots!

[ SERIOUSLY, they look AWESOME!! ]

Sorry, what was the other question? -- Oh, oh yeah. Multitasking. Yes.

[ That's not exactly a clear answer... ]

[Just. So much of this look.]

Who's the expert here? [Trust him.] If you're using them for jumping and falling you want something you can control independently and not a jetpack that'll shoot you across the field. These ones should fit you just fine.

[That's why they're testing, it seems.] Baymax is on stand-by in case you somehow do get launched into a tree. [There's a grin and he offers a boot to Jaune.] Here, try these on.

Eh, I wouldn't worry, I'm pretty used to getting stuck in trees. [ Jaune takes the boot and starts inspecting it, admiring it from every angle until he abruptly pauses to clarify something: ] --I mean. .......... It hasn't happened in a while.

Heh. [ All jokes aside, Jaune resumes the examination of cool lights and buttons of which he has no idea what they do. ]

...Hey Hiro. I was thinking about that time I saw your memory, y'know, the mirrors and all.

[He wants to say something like "that's really promising" or just make a stupid joke, but he doesn't get that far before Jaune brings up something pretty surprising. He can sort of guess why just based on his conversation with Ruby, but it's not something he was expecting from Jaune.

So he pauses, looking at the gauntlet and pretending to tweak it one more time.]

Oh yeah? What about it...?

It made me wonder what I'd do if I were to see Cinder again. It's easy to say you'll do the right thing, but...

[ ...but it's another thing when you're faced with that choice in the moment. He doesn't want to kill people, he signed up to protect all lives. But who's to say he won't act out like Hiro did? Jaune has always been an emotional thinker first. ]

-- she was here, once, did you know that? Acting like our friend...

--Cinder was here? [He and Naoki had kind of talked about figuring out if she'd been here. Jaune apparently answered that question.] When? Why? Nobody said anything--!

[He's not cool with that. He doesn't have as much of an investment to confront Cinder as Jaune and Ruby do, but…she's still someone who hurt people he cares about. That doesn't answer Jaune's real question though and he sighs, looking at the gauntlet again to adjust its settings.]

…I always wonder what I'd do if Callaghan showed up, you know? Especially with Tadashi here. He's in jail back home. We arrested him after we saved his daughter and he was still there when I got here. Callaghan knew he was responsible for Tadashi's death but he absolved himself from the guilt by staging his own death, too.

When it comes down to it? You gotta think about other people. I know I could never hurt Callaghan without a reason because Tadashi wouldn't want me to. Tadashi's the reason I didn't kill him in the first place. [A beat.] What would Pyrrha want from you? What would she do if the situation was flipped?

Pyrrha knows I'd do the right thing. She was always like that, y'know? She believed in me, even when I didn't-- [ Jaune suddenly shakes his head and steps forward, away from Hiro, because if he finishes this sentence he'll probably choke up. Better move on from that!! ]

Cinder was here, yeah. She took an interest in Pyrrha and Ruby, which... y'know, I didn't find that weird at the time. [ Because why not? Pyrrha and Ruby are amazing people. ] She didn't pay that much attention to me, though. Guess I wasn't all that important... [ Which is also par for the course, but Jaune will use all that underestimation to his advantage one day. Especially now that he has jet boots!! ]

Heh. I'm ready to try these.

...Yeah, I get it. [Jaune trails off, but he does get it. Tadashi was that way for him as well. Instead he listens about Cinder, eyes narrowed the longer he thinks it over. So it's what he thought. Nobody would have suspected her at all and it made it easier for her to strike.

He also seems to understand that Jaune's used to being overlooked, but he's unsure of how to approach that. So he does what any true bro would do and he ignores it completely, nodding and handing Jaune the gauntlet.]

Cool. Slip those on and put this on your non-dominant arm. That thing's gonna control how fast and slow you're falling. Think you can handle that?

Non-dominant arm, huh...

[ He supposes that makes it his shield arm, which would be pretty handy since that's where he used to keep his Scroll, too. Jaune does as instructed! He struggles for a few seconds when he can't figure out which one is the left or right boot, but that's only a brief moment and now he's ready to test them. ]

Jet boots, how do you come up with this stuff, heh... --okay, ready!

[ Jaune hops a few times to get a feel for the new footwear. ]

So far, so good. [ Jaune that's just your normal strength. ] What's the highest I can go with them anyway?

Probably a couple of thousand feet. [All said so casually like he does this every day. On the other hand he's keeping a close eye on Jaune to make sure he doesn't suddenly bite the dust.] The boots are programmed to work in sync with the gauntlet, so when you activate them with the gauntlet they'll fire up and you'll be airborne. [And to make it easy he even labeled the button with a nice, big "ACTIVATE" sticker. There are also smaller stickers for thrust and slow so Jaune can figure out how to use the gear.]

T-That's a lot of feet... [ Jaune hopes his stomach can handle it if he ever needs to go that high all of a sudden. They're about to find out, as he sees the activation device on the gauntlet and presses it.

This is gonna be so cool-- ]

[ Think again. ]

WAUGHHH!

[ Jaune's feet shoot up unexpectedly, which makes him fall on his back, and with the boots still propelling him, he's just... spinning on the ground like a bottle. ]

H-Hang on, just-- I got this--

[ He presses another button as he spins, which now boosts him along the ground and straight into a trash bin. ]

This is fine! It's-- I... I meant to do that.

[Anything's better than Jaune throwing up mid-air while Hiro's supervising, let's be honest. He can't help but wince when the boots backfire though, watching Jaune spin before slamming into the bin. At least the boots aren't damaged.]

Think you can mean to shoot upright next time? [He's mostly joking but really, that looked like it hurt. Baymax is already on guard as well to make sure Jaune stays safe.] Turn it off for a sec!

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