Chapter Four: A New Threat

It was different without Tadashi, to say the least. Hiro stayed in his room for weeks, his head in a different world completely, and Vanellope actually went to school the day after the funeral. She had lost Tadashi in reality, but it felt like she had lost Hiro too.

The summer days came and went and September came. It was only when Vanellope found the courage to go to the Lucky Cat after school one day that she found someone more depressed than she was, besides Hiro, of course.

The sign on the café read closed but Vanellope slowly opened the door and went inside. The tall blonde girl was sitting in a booth, crying over a latte, with Aunt Cass comforting her. Vanellope recognised this girl. Aunt Cass looked up to see her and came over.

"What can I do for you, Vanellope?" she asked with a quiet voice.

"I just..." Vanellope wasn't even sure why she was there. "I just felt like coming by." She looked back over at the crying girl. "Who's she?"

"That's Honey Lemon," said Aunt Cass. "She is... was Tadashi's girlfriend."

"Oh," said Vanellope, looking down at her shoes. There wasn't much she could say to that, and nothing she could do to comfort the girl. Instead, she asked, "Is Hiro still in his room?"

Aunt Cass nodded. "Never comes out," she replied. "Sometimes he doesn't eat either."

Vanellope sighed. "I don't suppose I could go up?" she asked.

Aunt Cass gave her a wry but sad look. "You can try."

Vanellope slowly walked up the stairs, reaching Hiro's door. She lightly knocked, and waited for a response. She didn't expect to get one though. "Hiro?" she called, "It's me – Vanellope."

She listened for any noise inside. It was so quiet; it was like Hiro wasn't even there. "Look, I know you probably don't want to talk right now, but I just thought... I just thought maybe you might."

She leant against the door, pressing her ear against it. "I'm sorry, Hiro, I really am," she said softly, "I just-" she broke off, her voice cracking. "I just want you to know, Hiro, that I'm here for you," she said, her eyes welling up. Vanellope thought she was out of the crying stage. It had been weeks. But apparently, she wasn't.

"I have to get home or my Great-Uncle Kati will yell," Vanellope continued. "Just hang in there, Hiro. Please."

Vanellope rubbed her eyes and plodded back down the stairs and out of the café.

He opened his eyes, his viewpoint hazy. Bright lights flickered above him and the world seemed to spin. He reached a hand up to his head, where there was a nasty bruise. It was wrapped in soft bandages. His hands, though still stinging, were also wrapped in the soft white stuff. Where was he?

He unsteadily got to his feet. He had to shut his eyes to stop everything spinning, but when he opened them, everything was suddenly clear. He took a few steps forward and made it out of the room. He was suddenly stopped by a very blonde, smiley nurse.

"Oh no, back in there," she said. "You need your rest. You were badly injured."

"Where am I?"

"Arcade Hospital," said the nurse with a laugh. "Do you remember anything? About the accident?"

"Accident?" he repeated, letting her take him back to the hospital bed. "Arcade Hospital?"

"What do you remember?" the nurse asked again.

His eyes widened. "My name is Tadashi Hamada. I live in San Fransokyo. I'm an inventor." He started to raise his voice in alarm. "I need to get home, Hiro needs me!"

"I think you need to rest," said the nurse. "You obviously aren't mentally stable-"

"Shut up!" Tadashi snapped. "Let me out of here!"

"You will rest," the nurse said stubbornly. "That's my orders."

Tadashi stormed out, running as far away as he could. The nurse was soon out of sight, and he found himself wandering into a huge cavernous place. "Where am I?"

Everyone started to stare. He must've looked crazy, stumbling around in hospital clothes. Tadashi started walking, as fast as he could, to get out of there. In result, he only ended up walking straight into a very large man.

"Hey there," he said, looking down at him. "Where're you off to?"

"Sorry, I'm Tad... ashi..." Tadashi stared at him. "I know you! You're the officer's brother!"

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I think you need to get back to the hospital," said the man kindly.

"I'm not crazy," said Tadashi, "I just need to know where I am."

"Well this is Game Central, for a start," said the tall man. "You must've knocked that head of yours pretty bad."

"Why do people keep saying things about games and arcades?" Tadashi asked hopelessly.

"Because we're in one," said the man. "Look, I think you need a hand. My brother can take care of you. Come back to my game."

"Which one's that?" Tadashi asked uncertainly.

"Fix-It-Felix Jr.," said the man. "I'm Ralph. Come on, there's food and a warm bed waiting for you in the penthouse."

"Alright," said Tadashi. He did know the guy after all. He followed him down into a small train, which took them into a dark area that was lit up by a huge flat.

What was even more daunting was the fact that when Tadashi looked up, he could see an enormous screen, and an arcade through it. "I'm actually in a game," he muttered.

"Yep, buddy, where else would you be?" Ralph laughed.

Tadashi could only murmur, "Hiro would love this," before he fainted and collapsed to the floor.

A few weeks later, Vanellope decided to drop by the café again. She kept telling herself it was on the way home from school, and she wanted a snack, but really she wanted to see if Hiro was up and about. But by the time she got there, The Lucky Cat was closed and it was dark. Vanellope had underestimated the time it would take to walk there. She wished she'd brought her board.

Vanellope sighed. She would have to drop by on her way to school the next day. But as she saw a figure creep out the front door, she slipped round the corner into the shadows to watch. It was Hiro. Vanellope watched him as he looked around cautiously and made his way along the road, followed by a large marshmallow-like figure.

Vanellope frowned. What was Hiro doing? She pulled her jacket more tightly around her and decided to follow him. It was only when they reached the canal that Hiro and the marshmallow slowed to a stop. Vanellope hid behind a crate as Hiro looked out into the darkness of the canal, appearing to be searching for something.

Suddenly, Hiro and marshmallow ran behind another crate. Vanellope crept further behind, hoping they wouldn't see her. It would be weird if Hiro found out she'd followed him. But Hiro looked over and spotted her.

"Van?" he hissed. "What are you doing here?"

Vanellope opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of one answer that wasn't, "I was stalking you." She took a few steps forward into the light but Hiro ran over and pushed her behind the crate again.

"There's something out there," he whispered, "And I think it's really dangerous."

"Dangerous is good," Vanellope replied. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," said Hiro, peering out again. Marshmallow was waddling over to them. "Baymax, no!"

That was when a figure rose out of the gloom, mounted on a wave of tiny black pieces of metal. And then he came for them.

"What are those things?" Vanellope asked, staring at the man in alarm. "Wait, are those microbots? Your microbots?"

"Yeah," said Hiro. "Baymax, get him!"

Suddenly, a car pulled up and the scene was flooded with light.

"Hiro? What's happening?" said Honey Lemon, getting out of the car. That was the first time Vanellope had seen her doing anything but crying since Tadashi's funeral.

"Who is that?" GoGo asked, looking at the dark figure in confusion.

"Baymax can fight him," said Hiro. "Baymax-"

The figure raised his hands and sent a huge stream of microbots their way.

"We've got to go, Hiro!" said Wasabi from the driver's seat, "Now!"

"Everyone in the car!" Fred ordered.

They all piled in the car and Wasabi said, "Everybody, buckle up."

"Just drive!" GoGo yelled and Wasabi put his foot on the pedal.

The man and the microbots chased them through streets and alleys, until they drove straight into the ocean. And then they started to sink.

A cloaked figure made her way up a set of stairs, her bright pink, patent stilettos clicking with every step. She opened a door and went inside. The room was large, with every wall covered in screens. Each displayed a different place, with different people. The woman clasped her hands together, her nails as pink as her shoes, looking at one screen in particular. The camera centred down on one man, who was sleeping.

"Yes," the woman purred, drawing out the word, "He'll do very nicely."

A/N: Hello again! I've had really bad writer's block for this story recently, which is the reason I haven't uploaded in something like four months. Sorry. I'[ve got loads of ideas now though, after getting through this shorter chapter. I think updates for this story will be on Saturdays now (UK time) as I'm hoping to get into a regular update sort of pattern. Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed this story! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, at least a bit anyway, and please leave a review below if you want to. Feedback is much appreciated :)

Also, I have put some of my other stories on a temporary hiatus, not this one thankfully, to focus on just a few stories to get those finished. Hopefully this story will go well and I hope you like it :)

Ginger xx