Inbox: Mask or Menace

[megabytes]

"You've reached the comms device of Megaman.EXE. I'm not available at the moment, so please leave a message and I will respond as soon as I am able! Thank you!"

Comments

[megabytes]

Okay. Was kind of sick for a while but I'm better now.

I don't like being sick.

[microbrobotics]

sick? you can get sick?

[megabytes]

Kind of? We're programmed to act sick sometimes if something's wrong, so humans can tell. I don't like it. I don't like being human sick either.

[microbrobotics]

which one were you

or both

[megabytes]

Both. I felt kinda buggy in the cyber world and sick in the real world.

I really am better now, I promise.

[Physically. Mentally, on the other hand...]

[microbrobotics]

so you dont mind if i come see you?

[megabytes]

If you want to? I don't know if I'll be up for much yet.

[microbrobotics]

we can just hang out in the comm together. i like that a lot.

or we can talk like this

[megabytes]

Comm is fine. I won't make you text if you want to hang out.

[microbrobotics]

i just ...

i want to ask you something

i think we shouldnt talk about it in just text

[megabytes]

[It takes a while for Megaman's reply to come - which is probably an answer in and of itself, really.]

okay

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro doesn't send another text message, and it's a little while before he sends anything at all. In the end Megaman just gets a blank email with that beacon tracker - his choice if he opens it or not. ]

[megabytes]

[There's another short wait before Megaman opens it, but open it he does. He's just. Quietly hoping he's being overly paranoid about this. Plus he can't really think of a good reason to say "no" anyway - he already blew his shot at "I'm not feeling well."]

[microbrobotics]

[ A few moments later, Hiro turns up in Megaman's comm. He looks around to see if the navi is inside his comm or outside the viewscreen... ]

Megaman?

[megabytes]

[He's already inside; he has been the entire time, honestly, now that enough of the toxin is out of his system to not cause bug alerts anymore. Much, much better than being in the real world and dealing with all the physical effects. He's already had his lifetime's worth of tachycardia scares, okay.]

H-hey. [He feels so awkward right now.] How are you feeling...?

[microbrobotics]

[ That makes it simple, at least. He's still a litlte unsure though, given the subject he's about to broach on top of everything else...

He responds to that question with a diagnostic readout - everything okay. ]

Better. Much better. You?

[megabytes]

[He does genuinely smile at that, at least. He's relieved that Hiro's doing so well, relatively speaking, especially with everything that happened to him. That had been scarier than he'd ever wanted it to be.

He pings back with diagnostics of his own - no bugs, no glitches, no errors.]

Same. I'm glad you're okay.

[microbrobotics]

[ It helps that nothing really compares to trying to murder Callaghan ... he's already lived through his own private hell. So as terrible as this all was, he's not doing so badly now.

He sighs a bit in relief when he sees there aren't any errors. ]

It wasn't so bad, comparatively. And I had you.

[megabytes]

...I still should've been with you sooner.

[microbrobotics]

You're with me now.

[megabytes]

But I wasn't when you needed me.

[microbrobotics]

Megaman ... I'd have gotten in trouble no matter what.

[megabytes]

Yeah, but I could've kept you from getting hurt.

[Sorry Hiro. You're his operator now, and that means taking care of you is one of his primary functions - one that Megaman doesn't handle messing up at well.]

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro hesitates for a moment. Then he reaches out to hug Megaman gently, pinging status: okay over and over again. ]

I'm okay now. And I know you're gonna keep looking out for me.

[megabytes]

[Megaman silently leans into the hug, wrapping his arms around Hiro and squeezing tight. He's okay, Hiro's okay and he has a chance to fix things. He can be better next time. He will be better next time.

He waits until there's a gap or pause in those status pings, then sends some data of his own: speaker's surrogate operator == speaker's operator, and a flurry of emotion data, worry and stress and anxiety and fond exasperation.

I swear, you're just as bad as he is.]