[Hello once again! I am back with a new chapter, but before I go right into the new chapter, I would like to answer a few reviews.
I'll be honest: One thing I can honestly say that I HATE is when I think I can see the plot twist from a mile off. It kind of ruins the story for me. Now, I can see that this seems to be the case for a few people, so I'd like to put your minds at rest:
Yes, the villain does seem to resemble Tadashi in many ways. But the question we have to ask here is: what motive would Tadashi have to threaten Hiro and the rest of the team? Why would Tadashi go so far as even to murder police officers, just because he can?
I'm not trying to disprove these theories in any way, nor am I trying to turn your suspicions on someone else *hint*DORA*hint*. (That was a joke, I am fairly certain that Dora the explorer is not the Sukochi, however much of a plot twist that would be.)
But one thing that always kind of disappoints me is when I can see the end of a story before it happens. Takes the suspense out, you know?
Anyways, I do wish to kind of put your mind at rest, and say that, while I'm not necessarily saying that you're incorrect, I would like to point out that Tadashi would have had to go through a LOT in order to even THINK about killing someone.
Anyways, now that I have answered this, I would like to direct you to the story below: And thank you so much for your support! Please review and let me know how I did, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me!]
Seagulls are curious birds. They tend to be goofy and awkward, what with their relatively thin wings and larger bodies, their irritating and loud squawks, and their complete lack of coordination on the ground.
One thing they are, though, is free to come and go as they pleased. No one ever really found a reason to keep them(being 'curious' as previously stated), and no one ever really needed to shoo them away, seeing as—at least in this area of San Fransokyo—they didn't really bother anyone. A few people might even say that they envied the seagulls, and wish for their ability of flight.
Of course, Hiro was not one of these people, having already achieved flight several times. It was, as expected, incredible; the wind whipping in his hair and the simple feeling that everything else was so small made flying one of his favorite pastimes.
Even when he had what seemed to be the weight of the world on his shoulders, Hiro managed to find time to enjoy the simple freedom of flight. But not this time. For once, he was entirely focused on the strategic planning going on behind his eyes, closed to the resistance of the air in his face.
While Baymax flew ever closer to the abandoned warehouse that Hiro had once happily hustled seasoned botfighters in, his passenger was engrossed in how to get past the defenses the Sukochi had no doubt set up. He was obviously very intelligent, and it was probable that the masked villain was anticipating their arrival. The big question here was: How to anticipate his actions in return?
"Hiro, we have arrived at our destination."
The young genius opened his eyes, jarred out of his thoughts, and glanced around him. Sure enough, this was the location—he recognized it by scent only. Perhaps having a botfighting tournament next to a fishing wharf wasn't the best idea, hence the move. Potential funds avoided the area like the plague, rotten fish not being one of their favorite smells; and really, who could blame them?
Deactivating the enormous magnets, he slid off of the robot onto the ground, squinting as the sunlight flitered through his visor into his eyes. Glancing around for his team, he directed Baymax to an area where he was sure they wouldn't be seen.
Within moments, GoGo skidded around a corner on her bike, Honey Lemon hitching a ride. After pressing a button on the bike, it compacted into a small backpack that she quickly put on her back; picking up the two disks that had been the wheels, she suspended them on her ankles with the electromags built into her suit. After two or three seconds of scanning the area, Hiro quietly slid out of his hiding place.
"Hey, guys. Are Wasabi and Fred on their way?"
Honey Lemon piped up from behind her comparatively short companion. "Fred's jumping over, and Wasabi's in his van."
"Somehow that doesn't sound like a great idea," Hiro muttered to himself, making a note to install thrusters on everyone's suits.
"Well, it is his only method of transportation," GoGo replied, amused. Of course she would be, privileged as she was to have electromag wheels, but she, Fred, and Hiro were the only ones to have a reliable way of getting around—and Hiro only if Baymax wasn't currently busy.
It was a few more moments before Fred showed up, and about fifteen minutes until Wasabi finally pulled into the little alley by the warehouse. By now, Hiro was certain that, if they got out of this alive, he wouldn't rest until he had given everyone who needed them rocket thrusters—or maybe something that didn't involve flying, in Wasabi's case.
"Dude, what took so long?" This was GoGo, who had been going almost mad with boredom. Before Wasabi could reply, however, Hiro reminded them of the reason they were here, and they relented to leaving the conversation for later.
"Baymax, the masked man is still here, right?"
"My sensor indicates that the man known as the Sukochi is in this building. It also indicates that he is on the second floor of this structure."
Hiro tiled his head, looking at the robot. "You wouldn't happen to have anyone in your database who matches with your scan of him, would you?"
Baymax returned the look. "I don't believe so. I am incapable of retrieving a full scan of the Sukochi, due to an energy field that he seems to be emitting."
Honey Lemon frowned, catching up with the young genius and his marshmallow robot. "Energy field? What kind of energy field?"
"This information is currently unknown."
When they reached the front door, Baymax suddenly stopped in his tracks, unmoving. Unfortunately, Fred was walking directly behind him, and so strolled right into the metal armor of the nursebot. After a moment of muttering things that should not be said in front of small children or those who are faint of heart, he got to his feet to look at the robot.
"What's up, big buddy?"
Hiro stopped to look at the armored balloon, then found himself taking several steps back as Baymax seemed to shake it off. "I apologize," he said after a moment, "I seem to be malfunctioning. Shutting down."
"What?!" Hiro's eyes grew wide as the armor turned into a small suitcase, his robotic companion nestled safely inside. "Baymax, you can't deactivate now! We're in the middle of apprehending a criminal!"
"Uh, Short Stuff? Speaking of which..."
Wasabi's voice cut through the confusion, and Hiro followed his gaze to the door, in which stood a figure in a dark cloak and mask. He straightened up, taking a few steps away from the robot. He stood there, eyes locked with the expressionless mask, then spoke a single word.
"Sukochi."
"Hello, Hiro." The young college student winced at the man's voice—it was even worse than Aunt Cass had described it, then steeled himself as the man continued. "It's about time you showed up. I've been waiting."
"What made you think I'd come here?"
"Because that's what heroes do," the Sukochi replied, amusement clear from his voice. "I knew you'd figure out how to track me soon enough. I also knew that your armored friend would be able to identify me, given the chance. So I took the liberty of... sizing him down a little."
"Why are you doing this?" Honey Lemon stepped out from behind Wasabi's protective arm—which he hadn't remembered throwing up. "Why go to all this trouble? Why do everything you can to get our attention?"
"I'll let you figure that out for yourselves," the Sukochi said quietly, then let the cloak slide off his shoulders—revealing gold-red armor, encasing every member except for his face. "Now, I need to get you out of the way. Permanently. Who's up first?"
Simultaneously, every member of the team raised their weapons to defend themselves(excluding Hiro, who had no weapons to speak of). This done, the Sukochi tilted his head slightly, clearly pleased at the turn of events.
"I was rather hoping you'd say that," he responded, two blades sliding from his gauntlets. He pressed a button on his forearm, and his boots sparked to life, increasing his height by about two inches.
Wasabi ran forward, his hands growing plasma swords and heading for the man's gut—until they were deflected by the knives that landed in the figure's hands. Moving with ease, the armored figure easily dodged the college student's strikes until he plunged one of the knives into the control panel on Wasabi's back—effectively shutting off his lasers and making him a considerably smaller threat.
Honey Lemon, Fred, and GoGo looked at each other at the same time, thinking the same thing—It's go time. Leaping into action, Honey Lemon, tossed Fred one of her chemical bombs, which he threw with surprising accuracy, flames licking the edges of the plastic ball. It hit the ground in front of the Sukochi, who had to move quickly to avoid it, running straight into GoGo, whose disk collided with his chest, temporarily knocking him backwards.
He regained his balance in seconds, however, and sent a dart of energy in Honey Lemon's direction, hitting the keyboard on her purse. As it began to spit out random chemical combinations, she moved aside, frantically trying to stop it. To compensate for his companion's inability to fight, Fred leaped forward, spitting flames—and felt his costume caught by one of the horns. With little effort, the Sukochi threw him into a wall, and he slid down, winded.
GoGo watched her comrade fall and, enraged, skated towards him faster than she had in a long time. She leaped over a box that was standing in the way, ready to leap on him, when he stepped calmly out of the way, catching one of her wheels as he did so, and leaving her with only one.
GoGo's eyes widened as she hit the ground, feeling the ground come up to meet her—and landed with one leg flying out from under her, and the other hitting the pavement at an unnatural angle. She hit the ground, sprawled on her back, and did something she hadn't done in a while.
She screamed.
What was Hiro doing in the midst of all of this? He was kneeling next to Baymax's suitcase, frantically trying to coax the robot out of his container. After extensive hacking into the container's interface, he finally gave up and resorted to mankind's basic hacking technique: He punched it, kicked it, and did pretty much anything he could to break it open. Then, just as he was on the verge of prying the tight lid off, he heard GoGo scream.
Improvising, Hiro grabbed a nearby pipe, and as the Sukochi turned to look at him, he swung. It was a long shot, he knew, but maybe, just maybe, it would break through.
It didn't.
The Sukochi's arm shot up, catching the metal pipe in his armored hand. Hiro felt his heart sink into his stomach as the pipe was wrenched out of his hands, and took a step back. He knew in an instant that he didn't have anything nearby to defend himself with, and got ready to run.
"Did you really think you could hurt me with this?" The Sukochi sounded more amused than angry, as if this whole disaster was simply a game to him.
"I thought it worth a shot," Hiro said quietly, backing away as the man looked him up and down.
Satisfied with this answer, the Sukochi made to drop the pipe and walk away, and Hiro felt himself relax, letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
He didn't even have time to react when the man suddenly spun, letting the metal pipe crack against the side of Hiro's helmet-shattering his visor and knocking him out instantly. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Thus, he didn't hear his team screaming for him. He didn't see GoGo trying to get to her feet(although one of her legs was clearly broken), crying out in pain all the while, or Wasabi and Honey Lemon running in without functional weapons, or Fred staggering to his feet, sprinting even though he could barely breathe.
And he didn't feel the Sukochi roughly pick him up off the ground from where he lay, sling Hiro over his shoulder, and take off, moving away faster than his pursuers could ever hope to run.
[Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me whether I need to fix anything, what I could do better, etc. Also, I am open to questions, so if you have any, please PM me! Thank you again for reading! Oblivious out! *throws self off of computer screen*]
