"Oh, nothing much," the Hypnotist responded. "Tell me, how do you feel? What was it like going under hypnosis?"
Ruby thought about it for a moment. "It felt really weird," she admitted. "But it also felt really--"
The Hypnotist decided then to test his triggers. "Freeze," he commanded. Ruby instantly stopped talking and froze in place, unmoving and unblinking. Nodding in approval, the Hypnotist addressed the audience again. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a trigger in action."
The audience burst into applause. Ruby heard none of it; she simply remained in place, unmoving, unblinking. The only evidence that she was even alive was the subtle rise and fall of her stomach as she breathed.
"She could be faking," Weiss spoke up, not looking fully convinced.
"I don't know," Yang admitted. "Have you ever known Ruby to not be moving?"
"Good point."
"Oh, she's not faking, ladies," the Hypnotist assured them. He waved a hand in front of Ruby's face. Her eyes didn't even register the movement, remaining fixed in place. "In her mind, she's nothing more than a statue. When I say the trigger to start her up again, she'll just continue on like nothing happened." To demonstrate, he stepped back from Ruby and said, "Unfreeze."
"--good," Ruby finished, stirring to life again. She didn't even seem to realize any time had passed.
"That's nice, Ruby," the Hypnotist said, playing along. "Why don't you go have a seat?"
"Okay." Ruby moved to go sit down.
"Freeze," the Hypnotist ordered. Ruby froze midstep on her way back to her seat.
"Okay, she's not faking," Weiss gave in. "There's no way anyone can stay that still."
"Oh, it gets better than this," the Hypnotist said with a smile. He walked over to Ruby's motionless form, gripped her hand, and moved it up onto the top of her head. The limb moved effortlessly without any resistance. The audience once again applauded, some of them cheering.
"She doesn't even realize that's happening?" Blake asked.
"Nope," the Hypnotist replied. "She might be a little confused that her limbs are suddenly in different positions when she wakes up, but otherwise she'll be able to be positioned any way you want." He stepped away from the frozen girl and told her, "Unfreeze."
Ruby sprang to life again, but it didn't take long for her to realize something was off. "Uh, what's going on?" she asked, taking her hand off her head. "Why is my hand up here?"
"I don't know," the Hypnotist replied with a knowing wink to the audience. "Maybe it just decided to freeze up there." Once again, Ruby froze in place, the look of confusion stuck in place on her face. The Hypnotist grinned, then lifted Ruby up from under her arms and gently carried her to the front of the stage. He set her down and positioned her arms and hands to make it looked like she was waving, to the delight of the audience. Once he was satisfied, he told Ruby, "Unfreeze."
Ruby woke up and startled. "What?! What's going on? How'd I get here?" The audience broke into another round of applause.
The Hypnotist took Ruby by the shoulder and gently led her back to her seat. "That, Ruby, is the power of hypnosis. And I think it's time you see it in action on someone else. Don't you agree, folks? Or would you rather me work with Ruby a little more?"
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