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For Abigail-
I would much prefer if you were alive and well.
If you don't know about the Hamadas unfortunate story and you saw them disembark the Ferry to go to their new destination, 1513 Hurricane Lane, you might think they were bound for a new adventure.
But you would be dead wrong.
My name is Robert Callaghan, and it is my sad duty to tell the tale of the Hamada's tragic lives.
Wasabi, Tadashi, and Hiro took their things and got off of the boat that had taken them to a small town not far from San Fransokyo, Damocles island. With San Fransokyo hardly in view due to the horrible weather, the Hamadas already had a terrible sense of foreboding when they stepped onto the docks. Wasabi took out his umbrella and covered himself and the Hamadas.
"Well, the banking day had already begun," Wasabi sighed. "You'll be thrilled to meet your new guardian. The future is here, Hamadas! I didn't believe them either when they told me about who would be taking care of you next. Remember, you can always contact me at Mulctuary Money Management. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must leave you on this dark island to go to my day job. Your taxi will be here any minute."
"Our guardian isn't meeting us here?" Tadashi asked. He wasn't liking the sound of this; especially since they knew nothing about this guardian of theirs and had only gotten the address from Hiro after he came out of a maze shaken and afraid.
"Unfortunately, no, I'm sorry, Hamadas," Wasabi sighed again. "Which reminds me, I know you had a horrible time with that Alistar Krei. He's a thief and a murderer and has so far escaped captivity. But I have the thing that just might turn things around."
Wasabi excitedly pulled out a red and white striped paper bag, grinning at it in delight.
"Peanuts! Delicious peanuts! My second favorite food when I was little! You can eat them in the taxi. Cheers!"
And with that he was boarding the ferry again, grinning and waving at the boys as the ship took sail toward San Fransokyo. Hiro shook his head with a laugh, throwing his hoodie on and grabbing his suitcase.
"Do you think I should have told him you're allergic to peanuts?" Tadashi asked, chuckling lightly.
"It didn't seem worth mentioning," said Hiro. "We have a lot more important things on our minds."
"Like asking our new guardian is she can help explain all the weird things that keep happening to us."
"Taxi!" Hiro waved at a yellow cab passing by, gesturing Tadashi to follow him as the car skidded to a halt.
"This town doesn't seem very crowded," Hiro said, looking out the rainy, dark shops and buildings.
"That's because everyone's afraid of the new criminal runnin' around," the taxi driver sighed. "Haven't 'ya heard the news? Some dude is runnin' around tearin' buildings and such to shreds. Seems about right to not wanna be here."
"Well, we don't exactly have the privilege of reading the news," Tadashi sighed. "Erhm, do they have any idea where this guy is tearing buildings to shreds?"
"Nah, but don' worry," the taxi driver waved his hand with a laugh. "When I drop you off with your new guardian, you'll neva get hurt by this dude. Your guardian's a bit unusual."
"So we've heard," Hiro muttered. The boys looked out the window to see a navy blue house on the edge of a cliff next to the ocean, rain slamming into it obnoxiously. The foreboding returned to both of them when the taxi driver began pulling into the driveway. The man helped the boys take their suitcases out of the back before waving them goodbye and driving away.
"Thank you!" Hiro called with a wave, turning back to the creaky house. He sighed and turned back to his older brother. "I hope our new guardian really can answer all of our questions. There's so much we don't know."
Hiro rang the door bell, hugging himself due to the cold. Tadashi draped a protective arm around Hiro, making Hiro calm down and feel safer. Things would be okay. They would be happy here, he could feel it.
Hiro and Tadashi gasped when the door opened, staring in awe at what was standing before them.
A tall, white robot with two dots for eyes stood blinking at them, tilting his head and waving at them.
"Uh, hi," Hiro said, waving at the tall robot.
"We're looking for our new guardian?" Tadashi said, looking behind the robot for any sign of human life.
"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare assistant, and your new guardian," the robot waved, gesturing for them to come inside.
"You gotta be kidding me," Hiro said, eyes wide and mouth open in shock.
"With all due respect, erhm, Baymax, are you sure you're our new guardian?"
The robot simply nodded, grabbing Hiro's arm and pulling him inside and then grabbing Tadashi.
"Your body temperatures are low, please come inside," Baymax said softly, shutting the door behind them. Hiro and Tadashi could only look at each other in shock, then back to Baymax in shock.
"You're...a nurse?" Hiro asked.
"Your personal healthcare companion, Hiro," Baymax nodded.
"And you're positive you're our new guardian?" Tadashi asked again.
"Yes; the last time I spoke with a human, I was given thorough instructions as to how you should be treated and when. Your health is my primary concern, Hiro and Tadashi, and I promise you will be safe here."
Hiro and Tadashi shrugged, smiling warmly at Baymax.
"Baymax, I think the doorbell may have been broken," Hiro said, nudging his head to the door. "We had to press it a few times to get it to operate."
"It's disconnected. There is danger of electrocution. Also be careful not to bump into the telephone," Baymax pointed to a home phone, protected in a glass case. "I do not want either of you to be electrocuted."
"I've read quite a bit on electricity," Hiro said, "and I'm reasonably certain that doorbells and telephones are safe."
"Not in the case of a faulty pacemaker," Baymax shook his head.
"Does someone here have a faulty pacemaker?" Hiro asked in concern.
"No," Baymax said. "But my creator says you can never be too careful. Follow me."
Baymax began waddling to the next room, checking to make sure the boys followed. "Mind the rug. I wouldn't be doing my duty correctly if one of you were to fall and break your necks. Now, I am aware that you have many questions; my master has equipped me with answers. In my master's library, you will find all of the answers you need."
Baymax stepped to the side, telling Hiro to open the door. Hiro nodded, twisting the door knob and gasping at the sight of the library.
Every wall was filled with books except for one, a window that overlooked the ocean. Hiro and Tadashi entered the room, looking around in awe. Hiro walked over to the window, gulping as he looked over the 300-foot drop to the ocean.
"The Pacific Ocean," Baymax said, waddling inside after the boys. "I know every island in its waters and every cave along its shores. My master has a great fear of these waters."
"Does this have to do with our parents?" Hiro asked. Baymax shook his head.
"No, it has to do with my master's best friend, Fred Lee," Baymax said, pointing to a picture of Fred in the corner of the room. Hiro and Tadashi gasped.
"Baymax, who created you?" Tadashi asked.
"My creator is Aiko Miyazaki," Baymax replied. Tadashi and Hiro looked at each other confused.
"We don't know who that is," Hiro sighed.
"She answers to both Aiko and 'Honey Lemon,'" Baymax clarified.
"Oh," Hiro said in shock. "Why was she afraid of the water?"
"My creator has a phobia of water, known as aquaphobia, due to the death of Fred Lee. Fred Lee died from drowning in a pond, located in his own front yard. My creator was devastated at the news and couldn't bear to stay here on the island. She is currently trying to put Alistar Krei in jail as well as capture the villain tearing buildings apart on this very island."
"Wow," Tadashi huffed. "Baymax, what do you know about this villain?"
"I know that it is a man and that he has built a very powerful portal-like machine, which he uses to suck buildings. He has not yet been identified, and I believe he and Alistar Krei are one and the same."
"Really?" Hiro scoffed, impressed by how smart the robot was. "How come?"
"He shares a strange resemblance to the wanted to criminal, and they are both wanted criminals."
Hiro and Tadashi both laughed lightly. A clock chimed from the kitchen, making Hiro and Tadashi jump.
"It is time for lunch," Baymax said, waddling out of the room. "Do you like soup?"
"Yes," Tadashi and Hiro said in unison, not realizing how hungry they were until now. Baymax led them into the kitchen; an olive green room with a fake scented candle lighting the dark room. Tadashi and Hiro didn't know he could, but Baymax sighed.
"The power has gone out again," Baymax said, pulling chairs out for the boys at the dining room table and bringing in a tray holding two bowls of chicken noodle soup. "It is hot; please do not burn yourselves."
The boys graciously took the soup, thanking Baymax and nearly devouring it they were so hungry.
"I am sorry I did not feed you sooner; I should have scanned you beforehand to see if you were hungry."
"Scanned us?" Hiro asked. Baymax stood looking Hiro up and down for a brief second. Hiro raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Tadashi.
"Uh, Bay-?"
"Scan complete," Baymax said, his stomach lighting up to pull up what looked like a statistic graph for Hiro's body. Hiro and Tadashi gasped in awe.
"You have slight abrasions on your left eye and on your hand. Your body temperature is also low; I will heat your soup."
Baymax sat down and out his hands around Hiro's bowl. Baymax's hands began glowing orange, and Hiro's soup boiled slightly before he took his hands away and put them on Tadashi's.
"Hiro, may I ask how you acquired those injuries?" Baymax asked, finishing Tadashi's soup and sitting back down.
"Uh, yeah," Hiro said, still laughing at how well Baymax worked. "Yeah, um...Alistar Krei gave them to me."
Tadashi cleared his throat and his fists clenched from under the table. Oh, how he hated that man...
"I am sorry," Baymax said, tilting his head. He rose from the table, going next to Hiro and patting his head.
"There, there; you will be all right," Baymax cooed, making Hiro and Tadashi laugh again.
"Thanks, Baymax," Hiro said, smiling up at him.
Baymax nodded, returning to his seat, which was far from the table; he couldn't fit if the chair were too close.
"Baymax," Tadashi said, "had Honey Lemon ever thought about moving somewhere else? It seems if she lived so close to the water, she might want to be somewhere else."
"My master said that these living headquarters were perfect for planning missions; though I full-heartedly agree. This house seems unstable and unsafe. Honey Lemon insisted you would be safe, so I must follow my master's commands."
Hiro and Tadashi nodded, continuing on with their soup.
I'm sure you know there are two kinds of fears: rational and irrational. Or, in simpler terms, fears that make sense and fears that don't. For instance, the Hamadas had a fear of Alistar Krei, which makes perfect sense because he is an evil man who wants to destroy them. But if they were afraid of lemon meringue pie, that would be an irrational fear because lemon meringue pie is delicious and has never hurt a soul. Being afraid of the man destroying buildings is perfectly rational because the man is quite sinister and destructive. But a fear of the water, or a pond to be more specific, would be a rational fear in this instance.
A man sweeping the inside of a burger restaurant whistled while he worked, happily flipping the "closed" sign to "open" and pulling out his umbrella to observe the busy island of Damocles. People were rushing into grocery stores and then back out, evidently afraid that the horrible villain reining havoc on their city would return and hurt them. The man sighed, eyes stopping when he realized another man under an umbrella was staring at him from nearby.
Alistar Krei stood under his umbrella, glaring at the burger shop owner while rain ricocheted off of his umbrella. The man gasped at the sight of him.
"Alistar Krei," he shuddered. "I didn't think I'd see you again after all that unpleasantness with Mr. Callaghan."
"What are you doing here when a villain is destroying these parts of town?" Alistar asked.
"Thanks to a helpful real estate agent, this restaurant is under new management," the man snarled, clutching his umbrella tighter.
"New management? Don't make me laugh."
"The Hamadas are safe and sound and learning everything they need to know about our secret organization."
"Oh?"
"They should have started training years ago, but it's not too late. Their new guardian is the creation of our most fierce and formidable member."
"Wait, not Callaghan?"
"What? No. Isn't he dead?"
"Is he?"
...
...
"It doesn't matter. All your silly codes can't save you."
"Oh?" the man snarled, glaring at Alistar harder than ever.
"The Hamada boys will be destroyed, and their fortune will be mine. You and your ridiculous comrades will be swept away."
"We'll see about that."
"Yes, we will."
"You can push me around all you want-"
"Thank you."
"But Aiko will stop you! Tadashi will stop you! Hiro will end you! They have incredible gifts!"
"Aiko?"
The man covered his mouth before Alistar shoved him to the ground, where he was carried away by Alistar's employees.
"I know Honey Lemon's home isn't the warmest."
The boys shivered on the couch as Baymax poured them both coffee. The windows kept blowing open and the rain continued seeping through every crack in the house. Baymax was worried that the boys might hurt themselves somewhere in the house, so he seated them on the warmest couch with several blankets. They thanked him and hugged each other tightly to keep warm.
"I am sorry about the temperature; Aiko says my duty as your guardian is to keep you safe, so I must insist that you spend as much time in a blanket and away from the windows as possible."
The boys nodded, shivering as another breeze blew in. A beeping sound from Baymax made him slouch slightly and tilt his head.
"My battery appears to be low. I must go charge for an hour. This means you boys will be alone for a short time. Is that alright."
"Yes, thank you, Baymax," Hiro said with a smile, sniffing and pulling his blanket further over himself. Baymax nodded, waddling upstairs to his charger. Hiro continued sniffing, snuggling into Tadashi's shoulder. Tadashi draped his arm around him and felt his forehead, which was alarmingly warm.
"Woah, buddy, do you have a fever?" Tadashi sat up straighter, brushing Hiro's bangs out of his face.
"No, 'Dashi," Hiro said sleepily, brushing his bangs back and immediately falling asleep. Tadashi frowned in concern, laying down with a huff. His mind wandered to the answers he was promised from Honey Lemon; he'd only been given a fraction of the answers he'd wanted from Baymax, and he still didn't know how the Lee family was connected to Alistar Krei.
Tadashi wasn't tired anymore and decided to look around the house. Besides, if Hiro was getting sick, he needed to watch him; when Hiro got sick, he got very ill. Standing up to stretch, he walked back to the library to check on the storm. Rain pounded harder and harder on the large window, making the room shake just slightly. Tadashi wasn't surprised, the whole room was the only section of the house hanging off of the cliff. He made a mental reminder not to let Hiro go anywhere near the window.
Taking a sip of his coffee, he turned to leave the room, before something caught his eye.
One of the bookshelves on the right side of the room was moving as the room shook, opening to reveal a wall with a built in safe. Tadashi's eyes widened and he set his cup down to further examine it. He pushed the bookshelf away, crouching down to open the safe only to find it locked.
Drat.
Unhooking his hat from his belt loop, he secured it tightly on his head, taking a deep breath and looking at the lock closer.
The lock is a four-number code; it's Honey Lemon's lock, it has to be something that's meaningful to her.
Fred.
Tadashi quickly dialed the numbers, 3733, and the safe opened with a click. A stack of old photos and envelopes sat in the center, and Tadashi immediately pulled them out. The first thing he saw, making his mouth drop in shock, was a photo of Stan Lee in a superhero suit. It was clearly old, and Stan Lee was flying in the air above San Fransokyo. Tadashi flipped to the next photo; a picture of Honey Lemon modifying Baymax in what looked like a lab. Tadashi flipped to the next to see an unopened envelope from Fred to Honey Lemon. The date on the back read 14/7/28.
That was a week ago...
Not wanting to open the letter, Tadashi flipped to the next paper; a photo of his parents smiling with their thumbs up next to Honey Lemon. Tadashi's eyes widened, taken aback by how close the Lees, the Miyazakis, and even the Hamadas were.
The sound of Baymax's squeaking vinyl made Tadashi gasp, shove the papers back into the safe, and push the shelf back into its place. He then rushed back to the couch and sat down next to Hiro, throwing a blanket over himself and draping an arm over his brother. Baymax entered the room and tilted his head at the boys.
"Scan complete," he said, pulling up a screen of both boys. "Tadashi, you appear to be experiencing headaches. It is suggested that you rest. Hiro is experiencing beginning stages of a fever and should also rest."
"Thank you, Baymax," Tadashi said, holding Hiro tighter as Baymax waddled to the front door.
"It is time to check the mail," he said, shoving himself out of the front door and to the mailbox. Tadashi laughed, listening to Baymax waddle down the sidewalk, until...
"Hello, my name is Bay-"
Before the robot could finish saying whatever he was going to say to whomever, a horrible clicking sound followed by an odd sound from Baymax came from outside caused Tadashi to sit bolt upright to see what was the matter. A low laugh echoed, and Baymax walked back into the house, rushing to the kitchen and starting a new batch of coffee. A man followed after him.
Alistar Krei. In costume. Again.
This time, Alistar's costume made him look like a sailor. He wore a long, navy blue jacket, a red and white striped scarf, and a dark red sweater. His left leg was replaced by a wooden peg. Tadashi did nothing but stare and stutter in horror as Krei followed Baymax into the kitchen and Baymax made him coffee. Tadashi took action after he realized what must have happened.
Krei must have done something to Baymax so that he wouldn't think he's Krei...
"Uh, Baymax?" Tadashi asked, glaring at Krei.
"Yes, Tadashi?" Baymax asked, pouring cream into Krei's coffee.
"This man isn't a sea captain; you know that, right? This man is Alistar Krei."
"Krei!" Alistar roared, slamming a fist on the table. "I'm offended, young man! How dare you compare me to such a horrible man!"
Baymax said nothing, handing Krei his cup of coffee.
"But-he has a tattoo on his left ankle!" Tadashi cried, pointing at his leg.
"Son, my leg was devoured during my duties as a sailboat rental agent!" Krei sneered, referring to his wooden leg. "My name is Captain Sham, and my home is the sea!"
"This is Tadashi," Baymax said, putting his large hand on Tadashi's shoulder. "That boy over there is Hiro."
"Ah, yes, the famous Hamada orphans. I've heard so much about you two. I'd love to take you on a boat ride sometime! Maybe even very far away!"
Baymax, again, said nothing, waddling away to the next room. Krei turned to smirk at Tadashi.
"So, long time no see," Krei grinned, going around the kitchen and examining the house.
"You'll never get away with this," Tadashi sneered.
"Get away with what? I'm just an innocent sea captain."
"You're not a sea captain."
"Oh, you're just full of facts, aren't you, Tadashi? But none of them do you any good. Just like your poor old uncle, Stan. And your parents; may they rest in ashes."
"Stop it!" Tadashi growled, fists clenched as he stepped in front of the couch his brother slept on. "Leave my family alone!"
"Ah, Hiro!" Krei said excitedly, rounding the counter to get a closer look at him. "The poor boy looks like he's getting pneumonia or something dangerous, wouldn't that be unfortunate?"
"Over my dead body he gets pneumonia," Tadashi glanced back at Hiro while he spoke; what if he did get really sick? What would he do? Was Baymax equipped enough to take care of him? "Just get out of here! What did you do to Baymax?"
"Nothing that can't be undone, but enough to make him unable to scan anyone. He won't be able to tell who I am, and I can take you away. But later, orphan, I have things to do in town. I'll be back, don't wait up."
Krei limped out of the room, waving a taxi to a stop down the road and getting in the back. Tadashi stared at the ground in silence.
What the hell just happened?
Either way, Tadashi had to follow Krei into town; find an adult and make them stop him from doing any more damage. He grabbed his blazer from a coat hanger next to the door.
"Baymax, watch Hiro! I'll be right back."
"Okay."
Before Tadashi could make it 10 feet away from the porch, Krei's employees were pulling up to the house in an old car; the windows rolled down. Tadashi gulped as they all stuck their heads out, grinning at him.
"Going somewhere?"
"You really shouldn't be going anywhere this late; there's a very dangerous criminal wandering around this town."
"Go back inside with your brother; it's safer."
Tadashi rolled his eyes, marching back to the house and slamming the door.
Maybe there's another way out...
"We have to go."
Tadashi whipped around to meet a pale-faced Hiro throwing his blanket to the ground and standing up to put his red hoodie on.
"Hiro, no. It's not safe, and you're sick-"
"I just woke up when Krei's employees got here. There has to be another way out. We can climb out the library window; it's a 300-foot drop but not a dangerous climb-"
"Hiro..."
"Then, we call the cops. We take Baymax out of this place. We go off the map, stay in an alleyway somewhere-"
"Hiro, stop!" Tadashi yelled, grabbing Hiro's shoulders and bending over just slightly so that they were at eye level. Hiro closed his eyes and squinted at Tadashi's loud voice, dropping his shoulders and walking to the library. It had gotten dark outside, but the sky was still a dark purple and lightning still struck rapidly in different areas. Rain pounded harder and harder against the window.
"Tadashi..." Hiro sighed, walking to a chair next to the window and holding his head in his hands. "We have no one. Honey Lemon is God knows where, Stan is dead, our parents are dead, and Baymax has been hijacked. Krei is gonna kidnap you and then I'll end up in the system and we'll never see each other again. We'll never live in a world with no Krei."
Tadashi's eyes wide at Hiro's sudden words, licking suddenly dry lips and going to sit next to Hiro.
"Hiro, you know I'll never let that happen, right?"
"Don't Tadashi. Don't reassure me like some kid. I'm only two years younger than you; I'm fifteen. I don't need that. I need answers; I need closure, I need to stop Krei."
Tadashi said nothing, grabbing Hiro's hand and sinking into his chair with a heavy sigh.
"Hiro, we'll be separated by Krei over my dead body, all right?"
Hiro groaned, laying back and falling back asleep.
"Now, lead me to this robot!"
Tadashi woke up with a start, whipping around to see Krei walking into the house with Wasabi. He gasped, running into the main room to see what was going on.
"Wasabi, what are you doing here?" Tadashi asked in a panic. Wasabi waved his hand, looking around the house in disgust.
"I've got a complaint from this man, a close neighbor of yours, that says your robot guardian has not been functional. I had no choice but to come here immediately to see what exactly is wrong."
"He's upstairs!" Krei insisted, leading Wasabi up the steps toward Baymax's charger. Tadashi cursed under his breath, taking the steps two at a time and following Wasabi and Krei.
"There he is!" Krei pointed at a red suitcase, rushing over and clicking a button on its side. At once, Baymax inflated from the center of the box, rising and waving at Wasabi. Wasabi pushed Baymax off of his charger, walking around him with his hand on his chin.
"Hm, let's see, vinyl, hyperspectral cameras, carbon fiber skeleton...Baymax, scan me."
The robot did nothing, blinking at Wasabi and tilting his head.
"A glitch in the robot!" Wasabi exclaimed.
"How on earth could that have been placed inside of this poor robot?" Krei asked dramatically, putting a hand to his forehead. "This robot is damaged beyond repair; these boys may have to stay with me for the time being, or maybe even longer given the circumstances."
"I couldn't agree more!" Wasabi nodded, pressing another button on the side of Baymax's head and causing him to shrink back into his charger. Tadashi scoffed.
"Just like that? You're handing us to our neighbor? Wasabi, that's Alistar Krei!"
"Tadashi, get it together," Wasabi rolled his eyes. "Krei is probably far from this place by now, running from the law. Why would he return just to see you? That's selfish thinking, really. This man's name is Captain Sham. Not Alistar Krei."
"That's right," Krei beamed, shaking Wasabi's hand.
"We'll just go over some paperwork over at that hamburger shop in town," Wasabi said, going back down the steps. Krei shot Tadashi a smirk as he followed.
"What is going on here?" Hiro asked, coming out of the library looking greener than ever. Tadashi, Krei, and Wasabi grimaced at him.
"I'm your new father!" Krei cheered, stepping in front of Wasabi with his arms out to Hiro. Hiro raised an eyebrow in confusion, glancing over at Tadashi.
"I'm sorry-what?"
"After some very thorough paperwork, yes, Captain Sham will be taking care of you boys," Wasabi confirmed, smiling at Krei. Hiro's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"You're kidding."
"Grab your coats, boys; we're going out to lunch to go over paperwork."
"We aren't going to lunch with that villain," Tadashi said, walking to stand next to his brother.
"Oh, yes you are," Wasabi scoffed. "I wanna get out of this town as quickly as possible, what with that mysterious man tearing all that stuff apart. Let's go!"
Tadashi and Hiro rolled their eyes and groaned, grabbing their shoes and jackets and going out to the car with Krei and Wasabi.
You probably know of a plant called the Venus flytrap which grows in the tropics and in the apartments of certain lonely people. The top of the plant is shaped like an open mouth with toothlike spikes around the edges. When a fly attracted to the smell of the flower lands on the Venus flytrap, the mouth of the plant begins to close, trapping the terrified fly, who slowly, slowly, slowly dissolves into nothing. As Hiro and Tadashi arrived at their lunch with Krei and Wasabi, they felt as helpless as a fly as Alistar Krei's scheme closed around them. Sadly, they would not learn for a long time that someone was there, desperately trying to help them.
Honey Lemon.
"Welcome to the Friendly Cow Restaurant, I'm Larry, your waiter."
Tadashi and Hiro's frustration grew at the fact that their waiter was one of Krei's employees in another disguise.
"I can see that we have a whole family dining with us today, so allow me to recommend the Family Appetizer."
"That sounds fantastic!" Krei said excitedly. "Family Appetizer for a special family."
"I just want water," Hiro said, and Tadashi requested the same. Krei waved the waiter off.
The waiter went back into the kitchen, chuckling as the other employees threatened the tied-up restaurant owner.
"Do as we say, or we'll throw you to the criminal!" one employee snarled.
"You'll never defeat us!" the man spat. "You can threaten us and break us, but you'll never tear us down."
The employees laughed, shaking their heads and starting on the burgers.
Meanwhile, back in the dining area...
"I want to emphasize straightaway that the Hamada fortune will still be under my supervision until Tadashi comes of age."
"What fortune?" Krei asked innocently. "I don't know about any fortune."
"The Hamada parents have left behind an enormous fortune that the boys will inherit when Tadashi is old enough."
"Oh, I have no interest in an estate. I've got my sailboats."
The waiter returned with their drinks, rushing back into the kitchen right after. They all shrugged, taking out their straws. Tadashi and Hiro scoffed.
"Wasabi, this is Alistar Krei!"
"Who, the waiter? He did seem odd-"
"No, Captain Sham!" Hiro insisted. "He's done something horrible to Baymax. He's scheming to get our fortune."
"Hiro, I've been more than patient with you. I understand the emotional effect this whole ordeal had had on you, as I imagine it would have on many people. I've done the best I can to find a suitable home for you, but nothing I do seems to be good enough. And now, faced with a perfectly legal last will and testament that will place you in the care of Captain Sham, you start to sprout these wild accusations. Now, please, end it now."
The waiter returned with their food, and Hiro, glaring at Krei, whispered something in the waiter's ear. The waiter nodded, rushing back to the kitchen. Krei watched him go in confusion, as did Tadashi.
"If we could just go back to Baymax's house," Tadashi started, "Hiro is feeling sick, and-"
"Now, Captain Sham, I have some papers in my briefcase that I need you to sign."
"And then the boys will be mine?"
"You'll be caring for them, yes."
The waiter returned with the bill on a tray, peanuts placed on top of the receipt.
"Take your time," he assured them. Tadashi glanced at the peanuts but rolled his eyes, taking a swig of his water. Hiro, however, grabbed a peanut.
Everyone is allergic to something. Whether it is gluten, injustice, dark chocolate, corruption, pollen, or common decency. Hiro was allergic to peanuts. His allergies were notoriously quick-acting and powerful. Of course, if you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly is the things is cats. But Hiro knew this was an emergency. So while Mr. Wasabi began to tell a very boring story, Hiro cracked his peanut and placed it in his mouth.
Wasabi continued on with his story laughing for about five minutes until he noticed a large, red blotch forming on Hiro's wrist, which he itched at tirelessly.
"Hiro, you look terrible!" Wasabi said. Tadashi raised an eyebrow, turning to Hiro and gasping. His eyes darted down to the cracked peanut shells in front of his brother. Hiro turned and winked at Tadashi.
"I've had an allergic reaction," Hiro said, his voice raspy. "I think my throat is swelling and I'd like to go home."
"Excellent idea," Wasabi said, rushing around to feel Hiro's forehead. "And a fever, poor thing. Go home and rest while we work this out!"
Tadashi bolted up from his seat, taking Hiro by the arm and thanking Wasabi. He rushed out of the restaurant with his brother and began on the route home.
"Hiro, what the hell were you thinking?" Tadashi cried, running through the pounding rain. He waved off a taxi and led Hiro into the car.
"What elth wath I thuppothed to do?" Hiro asked, covering his mouth in shame at his lisp. "It'll go down, but we have to thave Baymaxth."
Tadashi rolled his eyes. This was a horrible idea, but Hiro was right. They had to save Baymax and get out of here before Krei took them away for good. He shrugged, looking out the window at the intensifying rain pouring down the window. Before he knew it, they had arrived home, and they rushed to the library. Tadashi took Hiro by the shoulders.
"Hiro, I'm going to go see if Baymax has a cure for your reaction. In the meantime, I need you to look for any clue you can. Whether it be a sign of a break in from Krei or a note from Honey Lemon, search around. We don't have much time."
"Okay, can you asthk Baymaxth if he hath any medithine for a fever?"
Tadashi sighed but nodded in concern, rushing upstairs. Hiro immediately began looking around the room until a rolled up piece of parchment caught his eye. He unrolled it and laid it out on the table in the center of the room.
They were blueprints for Baymax.
Hiro grinned, looking at every little detail that Krei could have possibly been smart enough to hack.
Jackpot, he grinned, pointing at Baymax's chest. An access port was built into his left side, containing all of his information and memory in a chip or multiple chips. Krei must have added a chip to Baymax that stopped him from scanning and identifying patients.
"Hiro, Baymax had some medicine-"
CRACK
Suddenly, the whole library itself began to creak and tilt, making Hiro sway and fall to the ground. The room tilted and Hiro grabbed the door frame just in time.
Tadashi stood at the end of the hallway, horror struck.
The house is falling apart.
"Tadashi, the medithine!" Hiro insisted with his hand out. Tadashi threw the bottle of medicine into Hiro's hand. He drank it quickly before rain began pouring into the room and he lost grip of the slippery door frame. The rug underneath him slid, bringing Hiro with it as he glided down the tilted library and toward the drop to the ocean. The room tilted back to normal suddenly, and Hiro got to his feet and ran to a terrified Tadashi before it tilted again and Hiro went flipping through the air and in front of the large broken window. He landed on his stomach, a picture of his parents and Stan Lee caught on a torn glass shard. Hiro's eyes widened as he grabbed the photo, rain pounding harder and harder on the house. Hiro pulled out his glasses desperately to protect his eyes-
In one swift movement, the rug underneath Hiro flipped over and caught on a torn glass shard, throwing Hiro out of the house as he dangled helplessly over the 300-foot drop to the ocean. He looked down in horror to see a large portal forming out of a whirlpool from the ocean, just like the portal Baymax described the dangerous criminal had used. It sucked large chunks of wood from the house and the rug Hiro held onto began to rip.
"HIRO!" cried Tadashi. Hiro whipped his head to the side to see Tadashi sticking his head out from the side of the house. He was screaming for Hiro and cursing loudly through the storm. A man in a black trenchcoat emerged from the water, protected by several microbots. He threw his hand out and in an instant a stream of microbots shot out at Hiro and grabbed his ankle, furiously yanking Hiro into the portal. Hiro yelled and held on to the rug tighter, trying to climb back inside of the house. Tadashi continued screaming from inside in dread as he watched Hiro struggle to come back inside.
"Hiro! Hiro! HIRO!"
The house flipped back to normal again and threw Hiro back through the window, slamming him on the wooden floor. He rushed to his feet and ran to the hallway where a crying Tadashi was. Hiro grabbed Baymax's box from the foot of the stairs and ran outside with Tadashi and they threw themselves to the ground as the rest of the house felt apart and into the ocean below.
Tadashi made sure Hiro and himself were far enough away from the house before he pulled Hiro into a bone crushing hug, running his shaky hands through Hiro's soaking wet hair.
"What the hell-the house fell apart-you almost got sucked into a portal-who was that?-what is going on?-we need to get as far away from here as possible-Hiro!"
Tadashi sobbed into Hiro's shoulder. Hiro held on to Tadashi as if he were a lifeline, coughing and sputtering helplessly. He looked over at the ocean from the cliff to see the portal being sucked back into the water and the masked man following after it. He looked on in shock, resting his head on Tadashi and breathing heavily.
"'Weather permitting.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It means the ferry isn't running at all!"
"Then how are we supposed to get out of here?!"
Hiro and Tadashi argued in the pouring rain next to the docks, cursing in failure at the fact that there was currently no safe way to get across this part of the ocean and to San Fransokyo. Hiro looked around frantically until he noticed a line of rowboats next to a restaurant. Hiro grinned, nudging Tadashi's shoulder and pointing at the boats.
"Pirate style," he said, grabbing Baymax's box and jogging over to the boats.
"We're gonna steal a sailboat and sail over the waters where a mysterious man tried to kill you ten minutes ago?! Absolutely NOT!"
"We're stealing these too!" Hiro said, tossing Tadashi a blue raincoat from a hook on the wall and taking one for himself and one to cover Baymax. He hopped in the boat and untied it from the dock, looking up at Tadashi hopefully.
Tadashi sighed in defeat, stepping inside the boat and walking over to the sail as Hiro pushed the boat away from the dock.
Sailing across a large body of water during a storm offers a plethora of challenges. Your boat might be tossed into a whirlpool or dashed to bits on a large rock. And even if you were lucky enough to spy the faint purple beam of the Lavender Lighthouse, it would be an outright miracle if your boat were not destroyed.
Hiro stood near the sail while Tadashi stirred the boat from the back. The boat shook violently at the rising waves and hammering rain. Eventually, the water calmed down, and Hiro and Tadashi sighed quietly in the rain, sitting down next to each other with wide eyes.
"Wow..." Hiro said, catching his breath and rubbing his eyes. Tadashi put an arm around him, looking around for any sign of land.
"Hiro, look, a cave," Tadashi pointed toward a large cave to the right. "San Fransokyo is too far away right now, but we can stay in that cave until tomorrow. We'll rest and let Baymax make sure we're safe, all right?"
Hiro, feeling rather ill, nodded gratefully.
Tadashi nodded back, steering the boat toward the large cave. Once they hit land, Tadashi grabbed Baymax and Hiro hopped out of the boat. Before they entered, however, they stopped at the sound of a woman whispering from inside of the cave. Tadashi stepped in front of Hiro, walking cautiously toward the sound and gasping at what he saw.
"H-Honey Lemon?"
Indeed, Honey Lemon turned around from a fire she had built, looking at Tadashi and Hiro in shock.
"Hiro? Tadashi? What are you guys doing here? It's not safe," she rose from the ground, walking toward the boys. She wore a large yellow sweater that went down to her knees with a navy blue shirt on underneath and yellow leggings, though they were dirty. Her hair fell down to her waist and her glasses were also dirty.
"What are you doing here?" Tadashi asked. "We thought you were supposed to be stopping Krei."
"Yes, well, as you can see, my plan failed. I'm sorry I couldn't save you guys. I tried everything I could but Krei is a lot smarter than he looks. Come on, sit by the fire. You brought Baymax!"
Honey Lemon excitedly took Baymax's box from Tadashi, setting him on the ground and activating him.
"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. Hello, Aiko."
"Baymax!" Honey Lemon grinned, hugging the large robot in relief and leading him over to the boys next to the fire.
"I shall scan you all now."
...
...
...
"Scan complete. Aiko, you appear to be starved and your body temperature is low. As goes for Tadashi and Hiro, though Hiro is catching a dangerous fever. Rest is suggested."
Tadashi nodded, covering Hiro in his red hoodie and letting him rest next to the fire.
"Honey Lemon, if you don't mind me asking, what's going on? What happened?"
"It's not good, Tadashi," Honey Lemon sighed, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "My assistant, Gogo-erhm, I mean Leiko-was supposed to get back to me weeks ago on Krei. I'm afraid something horrible has happened to her. Plus the sudden death of my colleague has put almost everything on hold. He was our key to putting Krei behind bars. Stan has been compromised, my own home was compromised; I watched it fall from the cave. That Alistar Krei is definitely the man destroying buildings with portals, if not someone else I know, but that theory is kind of ridiculous. I have reason to believe Fred may still be alive, but I have little to go off of. And Hiro is right; Alistar's plans for you aren't good. He plans to kill Hiro and take you away. I took his journal; he was planning to kill him over lunch today."
Tadashi gasped, putting a hand to his mouth in horror. Over lunch? Kill Hiro?
"Oh my god," Tadashi mumbled, eyes fixed on Hiro's sleeping form. "Is Alistar the reason he's sick?"
"Yes. He created a serum of some sort. he must have put it in him when you weren't looking or ordered Baymax to give it to him. Either way, he was going to spike Hiro's drink with the other half of the serum and that would have killed him. It was a good thing Hiro thought about the peanuts, though. Smart kid. I watched it all from my surveillance recorder," Honey Lemon pulled out a large tablet from behind her. Tadashi put his head in his hands, trying to comprehend what he had just been told. Hiro's life was almost taken today-well, in more ways than one-just because of how careless and clueless Tadashi had been.
"I don't believe it..." Tadashi moaned, rubbing his eyes. This whole ordeal was giving him the biggest headache.
"Believe it," Honey Lemon groaned. "I was being sloppy, that's how I ended up in this cave to begin with. Krei caught me in the act, knocked me unconscious. Next thing I knew, I was here, with no way back to Damocles and no way to communicate other than my surveillance recorder. I tried everything to get to you guys. Nothing worked. But thanks to you, we'll get back to shore together. You won't stay with Krei and you'll come to live in San Fransokyo with me. We can put a stop to Krei and find you guys somewhere to stay that isn't suggested by Wasabi. I want you to stay with me, but I'm not old enough. Your parents wanted to raise you quietly, away from the fiery injustices threatening us all, even me when I was young. They were trying to keep you safe. Maybe we'll work something out, but in the meantime, we should rest; we have to sail all the way to San Fransokyo tomorrow and we won't have much time to waste."
Tadashi sighed but nodded, laying down next to Hiro while Honey Lemon nestled up next to Baymax.
Within seconds, Tadashi was fast asleep, haunted by nightmares of Hiro's funeral or a birthday spent with Alistar Krei.
"Tadashi, Hiro, we have to go."
Tadashi woke with a stir, sitting up at Honey Lemon's call. She was packing Baymax up and gathering her other things. Tadashi shook Hiro's shoulder. He sat up, looking around in confusion before memories of last night flooded in. Hiro understood, going outside to get the boat ready.
"Wear your raincoats," Honey Lemon called out. "It's still raining outside."
Honey Lemon and Tadashi threw their hoods on. Honey Lemon used the raincoat Tadashi and Hiro used to protect Baymax while Baymax's case was wrapped in Honey Lemon's sweater. Tadashi made sure Hiro was safe in the boat before helping Honey Lemon on and pushing the boat away from the cave.
"Head north," Honey said, pulling out a compass and holding it in front of Tadashi. "If the winds pick up we should hopefully be there by lunch. Let's just hope the rain stops."
Tadashi had honestly gotten so used to the rain he had forgotten it was even raining. He quickly began taking his coat off to put it around Hiro.
"No, Tadashi, stop," Hiro groaned, shoving the jacket in Tadashi's lap. "You won't do us any good if you get sick too. Put it back on."
Tadashi looked at Hiro in uncertainty but nevertheless draped the jacket back over his shoulders.
After sailing for about thirty minutes, San Fransokyo became clearer and clearer, besides all of the rain. But then, it happened.
The microbots that had attacked Hiro yesterday at the house were circling them in the water, getting smaller and smaller around the boat.
"Uh-oh," Honey Lemon shrieked.
"We'll be fine," Hiro said hopefully, pulling out an oar from the bottom of the boat. "We just have to distract them."
Hiro put the oar in the water, but the second it touched, the microbots lurched forward and snatched the oar right out of Hiro's hands, chopping it into little pieces.
"Uh-oh," Hiro mumbled. Tadashi gulped, hoisting the sail further out in hopes of quickening the boat's pace. It hardly did anything.
"What do we do now?!" cried Tadashi, grabbing the other oar and trying to push the microbots away. Honey Lemon helped him.
"Fire alarms," Hiro said.
"What?"
"Fire alarms. We need a light and we need something to make noise with. Like a fire alarm. We need to signal for help."
Tadashi nodded and Honey Lemon pressed a button on the side of Baymax's carrier. The carrier began making the sound of a wailing siren.
"In case of emergencies," Honey Lemon winked. A stream of microbots shot out in the center of the boat, making all three of them scream in terror as the gaping hole in the center of the boat filled with water. Hiro nodded, breaking off a piece of wood from the sail.
"Honey Lemon, I need your scarf," Hiro said, his hand out. Honey Lemon hesitated but nodded, taking off her scarf and tossing it to Hiro. Hiro wrapped the scarf around the stick.
"How are we gonna light this thing?" Tadashi asked, crouching down to help Hiro. Hiro closed his eyes in concentration.
"The scientific principle of the divergence and refraction of light," Hiro mumbled, staring down at the stick. He looked over at Honey Lemon, who held a handbag to her chest. She looked at him and then her bag, taking it off and handing it to Hiro. Hiro took out a pair of binoculars. "If I can catch enough light from the Lavender Lighthouse beam...it just seems unlikely."
"Try your best," Tadashi said, grabbing his shoulder. Hiro nodded, pointing the binoculars at the stick and the scarf and waiting for the beam to hit their way.
"It's not working, the angle is wrong!" Hiro cursed under his breath as the boat sunk further into the water. Suddenly, the beam hit the binocular glass and the scarf and stick lit on fire, dancing viciously.
"You did it," Tadashi laughed. Hiro grinned, going up to the sail and noticing pegs on the side. If he could climb them then someone would see him easier. Nodding to himself, he climbed the pole and waved the stick frantically.
"Help!" he called as Honey Lemon raised Baymax so that his siren would be heard. The roar of a horn caught their attention and they all whipped around to see a large ferry emerging out of the fog. Hiro smiled in satisfaction, climbing down the steps only to miss one and be caught by Tadashi. The sound of the ferry caused the microbots to swim away quickly, and the boat moved next to the ferry and lowered a set of stairs. The three teenagers climbed the steps in confusion, looking around for any sign of human life. Hiro skipped a few steps ahead of the other two to investigate.
When he turned the corner, however, he wished he hadn't.
Krei stood grinning at Hiro, his large dagger pointed at Hiro's throat. Hiro gulped, glaring at Krei fiercely as Tadashi and Honey Lemon also turned the corner. Before they could reach out to help Hiro, Krei's employees were grabbing Honey Lemon and Tadashi and ripping Baymax's case away from them.
"You can stop faking your death or whatever it was you were planning to do," Krei scoffed, grabbing Hiro and facing Honey Lemon and Tadashi. "I've had to ferry around these godforsaken waters searching for you."
"Parenting is exhausting," an employee said.
"You're not out parent and you never will be!" Tadashi growled.
"On the contrary," Krei smirked. "Mr. Wasabi is putting the finishing touches on your adoption papers this very moment. In a few hours, you will become Hiro and Tadashi sham, though I never intended for the both of you to join the family."
"That's right," Tadashi bellowed. "You nearly killed Hiro over lunch yesterday, Honey Lemon told me all about it. You're a monster, and once we tell Wasabi that you tried to poison Hiro, he'll shred those papers into a thousand pieces!"
"And who is Mr. Wasabi going to believe? The owner of a lakeside rental agency, or two runaway boys who go around stealing boats?"
"We only stole that boat to get the hell away from your schemes and we found a friend along the way," Tadashi said. Krei snapped his way toward Honey.
"Is this true?"
"Yes, it's true," Honey Lemon glared. "And it still is. I'm taking these guys away from this place."
"After everything we've been through together?" Krei smirked, closing in on Honey Lemon. "Even after I murdered your poor friend? What was his name-Fred?"
Honey's anger flooded her senses and she threw the employee's arm off from around her waist.
"Yes! I was going to take them away! These boys have been fierce escaping your clutches, and what have I done all these years? Nothing but hide in sewers and track you down! Well, enough of that. I've had enough of your schemes! I've had enough of your plots-"
Suddenly, from the waters below, the portal that had sucked Honey Lemon's house the day before came from the water, causing a whirlpool of glowing purple and pink to swirl to the right side of the boat. Everyone gasped, backing away from it.
"Bloody hell!" Krei cried, snatching himself and Hiro away from the railing of the ship. The boat rocked at the unevenness of the waters, and almost everyone fell to the ground. Baymax inflated at the sounds of distress, causing Krei to smirk.
In one swift movement, Krei tossed Hiro to one of his employees and threw Baymax toward the whirlpool.
"NO! Baymax!" Hiro cried, running after him and grabbing his large, fluffy hand.
"Hiro?" Baymax looked around, taking in what had just happened and tilting his head. He dangled over the ship's railing and flailed around in the wind as the portal became brighter and brighter underneath him. A thought popped into Hiro's head and out of pure panic he put it into action. Hiro pressed Baymax's access port, the one he had researched about before he fell out of the window. Two key chips were in the access port, a green and a purple. Hiro noticed the Krei Tech K on the purple and threw it into the portal. He took out the green one and pocketed it.
"I'll see you again, Baymax!" Hiro said, letting go of Baymax and watching in dread as he was sucked into the portal. Hiro looked back at a relieved Honey Lemon.
"Good thinking, Hiro," she said with a smile. Tadashi smiled too. Krei, however, did not.
"Fools!" he growled, grabbing Hiro again and pulling out his knife. "My plan will work whether you like it or not!"
Krei smirked again as he grabbed Hiro by the throat and dangled him over the portal.
"Any last words?" he whispered in Hiro's ear. Hiro said nothing, the rain pouring down his head in what felt like gallons. He heard Tadashi scream in the background and Honey Lemon weeping. He even heard some of the employees yelling at Krei. But Hiro said nothing. He knew this was going to happen. He knew about Alistar's scheme. He just wasn't entirely sure it would really work. But it did. And for some reason, he was rather fine with it. Why was he okay with this? Instinct slowly kicked in and he fought to get free, but to no avail.
Krei let go.
The horrible feeling of dropping overcame him, but when he looked down, the portal had gone, and he fell into the ocean, sinking deeper under the large waves of the storm before swimming to the top and gasping for air. He looked up at the ship. Krei threw Honey Lemon in after him, and she fell into the water right next to him.
Tadashi screamed, looking over the ship and reaching out for Hiro desperately. Krei covered Tadashi's mouth and dragged him away.
Wait...
"NO!" Hiro cried, realizing what had just happened. Krei had tried to kill Hiro again and kidnap Tadashi and this time his plan actually worked. The ship honked and began to sail away. Hiro swam after it. "No! No, no, no! Tadashi! No!"
"Hiro-stop!" Honey Lemon yelled, swimming and sputtering after Hiro. Hiro saw Tadashi near the railing of the ship. An employee was tying him to a chair at the front. Tadashi continued screaming for Hiro.
"HIRO!" Tadashi yelled, fighting off the employee and trying to jump overboard. The employee was too strong and forced Tadashi into the chair, twisting rope around the chair and keeping him still. "NO! You can't do this! I need my brother! He needs me! I can't leave him!"
"TADASHI!" Hiro yelled again, still swimming after them. The ship picked up speed and Hiro saw the employee tape Tadashi's mouth shut.
"HIRO-MM!"
"NO! STOP!" Hiro kicked and thrashed after the ship only to be stopped by Honey Lemon. She held onto him tightly and Hiro saw with one last glance Tadashi's wide eyes looking on at him as the employee pushed the chair away from Hiro's view. Hiro floated in the water, mouth open and eyes wide, watching his brother sail away.
"We'll get him back," Honey Lemon reassured him, gasping for air in the large waves. "We will. You'll see him again, I promise. I promise."
Hiro did nothing to indicate that he was listening or that he even heard her. Instead, he shook Honey Lemon off and swam to find shore. Seeing as they were right next to a small island anyway, Hiro paddled to it, collapsing on the sand. Honey Lemon followed suit and they rolled on their backs.
"I should have fought back," Hiro stammered, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I should have fought for him. I should have held on to something. I should have kept swimming."
"That ship was heading toward San Fransokyo, most likely Krei Tech," Honey Lemon said. "We just get to San Fransokyo and track him down. We rebuild Baymax. Make him stronger. And then, we fight Krei. We put him in jail and we get your brother back. He'll be okay, Krei won't hurt a hair on his head."
"How do you know?" Hiro said, voice cracking. "He's tried to kill me countless times. Who's to say he won't hurt Tadashi? Or kill him too?"
Honey Lemon said nothing, grabbing Hiro's hand and squeezing it. They sat watching the clouds and the storm roll away, the stars underneath the clouds revealing themselves and shining brightly for everyone to see. Hiro smiled slightly, as did Honey Lemon.
The calm was soon interrupted.
As if on cue, a pair of headlights and the sound of a motor running made Hiro and Honey Lemon sit bolt upright. It was a boat, sailing right their direction and skidding to a halt on the shore of the island.
Two figures stepped off, both wearing masks. One took her's off; a woman with short black hair, a purple streak, a leather jacket, and torn jeans walked toward the two, followed by the other figure. This one stepped in front of the boat's headlights, taking off his mask and tossing it in the boat.
It was Stan Lee's son, Fred.
Fred smiled at Honey Lemon, walking towards the two and sticking his hand out.
"Let's go."
hope you guys like this chapter. i tried to update quick because there's only one more chapter left probably and school starts again in a few days. also yes, fred is alive. get pumped XD