A/N: This is my first Big Hero 6 fanfiction, so please tell me if I slaughter characterizations. (Especially Hiro. I've got Voltron on the brain, so he might come out kind of "fight me!" XD)
Originally, I wasn't going to have this prologue. But, since I'm starting on April 1st, I'll mess with you with my favorite kind of prologue: the flashforwad! XD
San Fransokyo was in a state of disaster. Cars were in parks, on sidewalks, everywhere that they shouldn't have been. Every light in the city was out, casting alleys in darkness and causing confused residents to pour out of buildings. People ran all over, confused by the earlier fight that had put the city into such a statee. The campus…
The sight of the campus, now a massive circle bare dirt where cement and metal had once towered and surrounded by collapsed buildings, made Hiro want to throw up.
The rest of the team, standing beside Hiro atop a badly damaged building, wasn't much better. Wasabi looked like he might actually throw up. Fred was wide-eyed and quacking. Go Go had vanished at the first sight of the collapsing city, racing off without a plan other than to get people to safety. Only Honey Lemon, eyes flickering as she searched out the places that her chem-balls would be most effective, and Baymax didn't seem so shaken.
"We have to help them."
The firm voice shook the team out of their stupor. They turned to their leader.
Even covered in dust and smoke, blue armor scratched, and bruised, Tadashi stood confident as he scanned the destruction. He gave a short nod, then looked at the team.
"Go Go's working freeing people furthest from here. Wasabi, start freeing those trapped in vehicles and buildings that with the worst damage. Fred, go with Wasabi and see what you can do about the fires. Honey Lemon, take Baymax and help the injured. Hiro, you're with me. We'll clear the buildings."
Everyone voiced affirmation, calming under Tadashi's steady leadership. Baymax flew Tadashi, Hiro, Wasabi, and Fred to the ground, while Honey Lemon jumped onto a squishy platform from a chem-ball.
Tadashi studied the platform, then caught Honey Lemon's attention before she could leave. "Can I get some of those?"
Honey Lemon nodded and made a dozen of the chem-balls. She handed them over to Tadashi, then ran toward the sound of pained voices with Baymax waddling behind. Wasabi and Fred pulled down their visor and hood, then ran toward the largest flames.
"So far, most of the buildings are intact, so we'll split up to cover more ground," Tadashi said to Hiro. "We'll mostly be dealing with confusion and no lights inside. Just keep everyone calm, and get them outside. Call if you need help."
Tadashi was about to sprint off, when he realized that Hiro hadn't moved. The younger boy was staring blankly ahead.
"Hey." Tadashi crouched in front of Hiro. "I know this is scary-"
"I'm not scared. Ex-bot fighter, remember?," Hiro interrupted with a brief smirk. He sobered. "Not… not of this. But… how?"
"If I could answer that one, bro, I would. But the only one who can explain is, well..." Tadashi shook his head and gave Hiro an encouraging grin. "We'll sort it out later. Once this is all fixed."
"We can't," Hiro said.
Voices from above distracted Tadashi briefly. "Look, now isn't the time to get discouraged, okay? Can you handle the rescues? I understand if you don't want to."
Hiro blinked, coming back from wherever his thoughts had gone. He focused on Tadashi with a startling intensity.
"This is my fault."
Hiro turned and tried to bolt, but Tadashi caught the collar of his armor and dragged Hiro back to face him again.
"What? No, no! This is-"
Hiro didn't let him finish again. "I can fix this, but I… I just can't!"
"Woah, slow down, Hiro." Tadashi lightly shook his brother. "We'll do it together. What do you need to do?"
"Get to the university. My project will fix this," Hiro said blankly.
Tadashi stared at him. "Did you know this would happen?" Hiro shrugged. "How?"
"The same way I knew we needed our suits." Hiro shrugged helplessly. "I just did."
"We can figure this out later," Tadashi decided. He lifted his wrist. "Team, Hiro and I are going to go and fix this. Until we get back, Go Go's in charge."
"Aw, man!" Wasabi protested.
"No arguments," Tadashi said, then closed the comms and turned in the direction that Hiro had started to run. "Okay, Hiro, let's go."
"Wait!" Hiro grabbed Tadashi's wrist. "I-if we do this… the same thing that told me that we needed our suits and to start on my project..."
"Yes?" Tadashi said gently.
"I-I think that… that if I fix this…" Hiro shook his head. "Tadashi, I think that it means you dying!"
Tadashi jolted back, expression briefly showing shock before determination. "We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to get to the university."
The boys looked in the direction of the university, where a roiling mass of microbots was headed.
Tadashi lightly slapped Hiro's shoulder. "Come on, we have to get there while the university still has power."
"But-"
"We'll figure it out," Tadashi said firmly.
Hiro frowned, but nodded. "Okay, just don't do anything stupid."
Tadashi laughed as he started to run. "I think I should be the one saying that to you!"
"Huh, funny," Hiro drawled, following Tadashi.
Continuing the banter, the brothers ran through the darkened city.
