It happened. The exhibit. The presentation. The fire.
Lily leaned against the laboratory doors, the wake still happening at the Hamada household. She couldn't face them. She couldn't face Hiro like this. When she got the news, when Tadashi wouldn't pick up his phone, when Aunt Cass had called her instead of him, when Hiro wailed and cried as he stood in front of the rubble of what used to be the SFIT showcase, when she saw his charred, mangled body scavenged out of the debris. Lily's world stopped.
She didn't utter a sound, not a tear not a moan. All she did, up until now, was stand behind the line. Behind Hiro, Aunt Cass, Gogo, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi, all of his relatives and classmates, not making a sound. She had no right. No right to mourn for him as much as they have. She didn't know him as long as they have, didn't make as many memories with him as they had, didn't share as many laughs, smiles and dreams as much as them. But god did she wish she had. She wanted as much time with him as they had. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!
Head on her hands, Lily screamed. She wailed, thrashed, pulled at her hair, bit her lips and just let so many tears fall. Hiro didn't deserve to see her like this. He needed a rock, someone there to support him. He had lost his brother, his best friend. If anyone deserved to scream as much as Lily was doing it was him.
She had taken it upon herself to be the one to pack up his things, nobody seeming to want to do it themselves, and had come to the deserted division of the laboratory which was Tadashi's. She hadn't stopped screaming, not for a while, in the safety behind closed doors. She had walked to her corner of the laboratory, looking at her faint reflection against the glass on the large window. Not escaping a sob, another round of shivers racked her body as she braced herself against the ledge that held so many memories of him as she lay on the floor, sadness consuming her.
Tadashi. Tadashi. Tadashi.
He was all she could think about. His presence, his kind voice, his loving embraces and his passionate kisses. "I love you! I love you so much!", she screamed, vision blurring, voice cracking, heart tearing, "You idiot! Stupid, selfish, bastard!" Lily cursed, pathetically writhing in the corner. "Why?! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU?!" It was too much, she thought, slowly crumbling away and breaking into tiny bits and pieces. Just too much.
The last draft of her dissertation sat atop one of the desks. Using what little strength she had, she stood up and walked towards it. It was what started it all, she thought. Hating how the memory of the kiss he gave her when she showed it to him gripped at her throat. In a fit of rage, she roughly grabbed the stack, fully intending to throw it against the wall or maybe even through Wasabi's plasma machine, not noticing the paperweight that held the documents together slip off the table, landing on her foot.
"Ow!" she yelped, dropping the stack. The sound of beeping was then heard followed by a certain vinyl-covered robot activating beside her. "Lily. I have been alerted to the sound of distress." Baymax stared at his creator's partner. "A slight bruise is forming on your left foot. You are also suffering from a laceration on your lip and an irritation in your scalp. Your neurotransmitter levels are also alarmingly low." Baymax announced, taking note of his creator's partner's distressed state of mind and body. "Lily. I am here to listen since talking about one's troubles improves one's emotional state."
A sob briefly escaping her, Lily did her best to hold back the tears. "Is my presence causing you distress?" Baymax said, almost sounding confused. "N-no. No, Baymax. I'm fine." Lily said with the best smile she could muster, not helping the image of a happily dancing Tadashi upon Baymax's first activation. "Thank you, Baymax. I am satis-"
"Is your distress caused by Tadashi?"
Lily stopped, looking incredulously at the robot. How did Baymax know that? Was he able to read minds? Clearly that wasn't the reason as she was there when Tadashi and her talked about his features. Heck she took charge of that segment in his documentation. "W-what?". she croaked.
"Is the cause of your distress Tadashi?" Baymax repeated, still standing completely still.
Unable to fathom how the robot found out about such data, knowing fully well you can't figure that out from a person with their biological readings alone, all Lily could really say was a weak "Yes."
"Playing." Baymax said before a light static emitted from his speakers. Lily couldn't make anything out of it, though. Not until the first verse begun.
"When I look into your eyes, it's I'm watching the night sky..."
Lily choked. It was that song. That song from the stereo that played that night at the cafe. The song they danced to. "B-Baymax. Wh-where did you get this?"
Baymax stood straighter being alerted to Lily's change of readings. "You neurotransmitter levels are decreasing, is the treatment not-"
"Where did you get this, Baymax?!" Lily screamed as she slammed her fists against the robot's soft chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Tadashi had stored this file in my medical database." Baymax said.
"What?" Lily croaked.
Baymax started heating up, emitting a soft orange glow from his insides. Lily felt the robot circle its arms around her, enclosing her in a chamber of warmth, companionship and soft music. "I have been programmed to care for the sick and injured." Baymax started as Lily held on to him harder, more tears escaping her. "But," he continued, "I also want to take care of Lily."
Lily was shocked. How much of a genius was Tadashi, really? He could have programmed it into him as well for all she knew but feeling Baymax's arms grow tighter around her, gently pushing her against him, urging her to rely on him, she calmed. "Lily is my creator's partner." Baymax said, noticing Lily's levels slowly steadying, "With out his partner, my creator could not have created me. Lily is also my creator."
She shook. The young woman in Baymax's arms crumpled to a useless mess as she sobbed and mourned for the loss of her lover. For the loss of a friend. For the loss of a brother, a nephew, a great man. Baymax stayed with her, not saying anything more as the song he played continued to echo around the small laboratory where he was created.
O—O
Not long after, Lily had finished packing everything Tadashi personally owned at the laboratory, their friends helping once in a while when she'd let them. They were kind to her, always considering her feelings and always making it an effort to cheer her up. She hadn't shed a single tear since that day with Baymax. She would be strong, she decided. Tadashi wouldn't want her to just waste away. No, she was going to live. Both for his memory and for Hiro and may heaven and hell move, she was going to make his dreams come true. She was not giving up on that.
She had dropped Baymax, among other things, in Tadashi's room, passing Hiro's slumped form by his desk. Thinking it was best for him, Lily took Tadashi's cap which was discarded roughly by the hamper, and gently placed it on Hiro's head with a sad smile. "He believes in you." She whispered before quickly exiting the room, fighting down an onslaught of tears. A few weeks later, she heard that Hiro had activated Baymax and were running around town together, catching him and a woozy robot outside the police station. The following month after was a ride. Being chased by a madman, discovering the true reason of the fire, helping Hiro and the gang patch up after a rough tussle at one of the abandoned islands, discovering Fred's apparent wealth, having her house almost sucked into a makeshift portal and riding atop Baymax with Hiro one evening to enjoy the city lights. Oh how much she had wished Tadashi was there with them.
Lily had went on to continue her studies, finishing with honors on her graduation day, eventually founding a charity foundation she named after Tadashi, in memory of what they had and what they could have made together. She had eventually specialized in medical technology, finding herself with Hiro in his garage more often than not, thinking up new inventions they could make to help the sick and disabled. Hiro and the gang had racked up a storm, constantly out and about fighting bad guys around the city and keeping everyone safe. She had her reservations about using Baymax as a combat bot but conceded after seeing how happy it made Hiro. Lily ended up being the Big Hero 6's secret doctor, as they didn't want anyone else to find out why they had cuts that needed sutures and broken bones that needed casting. Even though Baymax worked wonderfully with taking care of Hiro and the team, he could only do so much when he got damaged in battle or ran out of supplies. As Hiro got older and as his inventions got wilder, it was difficult to keep up with the ins and outs of the city. It was then that Lily suggested to him to support the local police department, as it was their job to keep the city of San Fransokyo safe anyway. Hiro thought it was a great idea.
A good number of years down the road and Lily was a mother of three, leaving it Hiro's honor to name his first son "Tadashi". The pain had dulled over the years but it would never truly disappear, she admitted as she had walked down the aisle as a bride to a good man. Her husband would never ever be able to fill the void Tadashi had left in her heart, and he knew that. It was that accepting nature that had led her to love him in his own way and agree to marry him. She thought of Tadashi sometimes, when left alone with her children. What it would have been like to have a family with him like the one she had now. What their children would have looked like, how silly a young Hiro could have looked in a tux. They were only short musings though before a cry from one of the children would claim her attention and roughly bring her back to the reality of her life.
Lily passed away at the age of eighty-two. She had left a legacy that she had worked so hard to achieve. She had inspired people to do better, to work harder, to never give up and to always help others. She had helped Hiro set up his company, making it rise all the while doing her best to keep him on the right path as Aunt Cass and Tadashi would have wanted him to. She had raised good children, with a loving husband, who went on to help lead her foundation and help support the Hamadas' endeavors for years to come. But most importantly, one could note, was that she had loved. With her whole being from when they first met to when it was time to pass, she had loved Tadashi Hamada and only wished to see him again as she closed her eyes, one last time.
O—O
San Fransoyko was as lively as it has every been the past sixty years. From the rise of the Big Hero 6, to the city's numerous accounts of almost-eradication, and from the greatest technology tycoon human history couldn't have ever imagined: Hamada Programming Systems. Crime rates were the lowest they have ever been the past century, with majority of the city's security systems and police force in tip-top shape thanks to the cooperation between the San Fransokyo Chief of Police and the then university student turned Hamada Programming Systems Founder and CEO eighty years ago.
Festivals and recreational centers have never been as popular as virtual reality simulations and state-of-the-art robotics rule the market with Hamada Programming Systems pioneering the technology responsible for it's success. Recently, the company had reached it's peak with gross sales reaching billions a year. To celebrate their success, as quoted from it's CEO, "Hamada Programming Systems could not have risen as high as it had without the people under it's wing, the community and all who look for the good in the world." He said with pride, "In celebration of our company's success, the board and myself have decided that it is high time that we go back to the company's core. It's heart: To help people."
Partnering with the company's sister organization, the Tadashi Hamada Foundation, it aims to provide free state-of the art aid and healthcare in all under-developed countries of the world releasing hundreds of shipments to selected countries to assist with it's medical and healthcare needs, further assisting volunteers, under-staffed hospitals and even nursing homes. In these shipments contained Hamada Programming System's prized product, under production and perfection since the company was founded. They called it, Baymax.
In a small run-down clinic not far form the city center, a patient sat on her sickbed. She was now blind and paralyzed from waist-down due to a nervous system failure she had since young with many other complications. Many of the patients in the small facility could not afford the medical treatments that were needed to cure them of their condition. Despite that, many of the facilities in the clinic were up to date with at least two Baymax units and a few volunteer doctors and nurses constantly monitoring it's residents. The staff were having their regular rotations with other facilities much like this today, many of whom were fresh graduates.
The patient heard the door open and close, signaling the entrance of her supposed new doctor.
"Maemi Takachiho?" The doctor said as he approached her still form.
"Yes?", she said facing her healer's general direction. Maemi had gotten used to the facility's protocols, having been a resident for far too long than she should have been. She was thankful to the foundation for taking her in. Her family was not that rich, living in a world still full of hardship, despite it's apparent perfection. This was just another introduction, she guessed.
"I'm Doctor Tomeo and I'll be in charge of your recovery from today onwards." He said cheerily. "Unless they decide to transfer me again though. B-But I'm not saying you're not going to heal in time. Which you are!"
The doctor's babbling was new to Maemi, making a small laugh escape her slightly chapped lips. "I get it, Doctor. I've been here long enough to know my recovery won't come too soon.", she ended with a sad note.
Recovering from his undoubtedly unprofessional rambling, the doctor stood shocked at his patient's negativity. This young woman had never seen the beauty of day, the feel of the floor on her feet, the spice of life. Doctor Tomeo softened. Nobody deserved to stay like this. He didn't blame her for the dourness of her reply. If fact, it only fueled his desire to help her even more.
"Well, not with an attitude like that, you're not.", he harrumphed, grinning to himself as the surprised look painted itself on his patient's face. "You are going to get better. Maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow but, as long as you are under my care, you will walk and see again. That is a promise!"
No doctor had ever been bold enough to make a promise as grand as that to her. His statement shocked Maemi. What shocked her even more though was the amount of trust and fondness she felt for this doctor. How she suddenly believed, with all her heart, that he could heal her. That he could fulfill his promise. The feeling was so foreign and unexplainable to Maemi that she couldn't utter a single sound to the doctor, only able to face his general direction and gape.
Docotor Tomeo himself didn't believe, for the life of him, how he could have made such a far off almost impossible promise. He stared back, letting the gravity of his statement sink in to his consciousness. What made him do that? He thought, looking back at the young woman who was his patient. She was frail, as expected, but her eyes, as blank and plain-looking as they could be, held a soul. A soul that reached out to him. That touched him. That wanted him to be a part of this person's life, no matter what the consequences. To never give up.
Snapping out of his reverie, Doctor Tomeo couldn't help but ask: "I'm sorry to suddenly jump this on you but, have we met before?"
Maemi paused, thinking about the odd question her doctor just asked her after such an audacious proclamation. Something told Maemi, though, that the question held more meaning to it then she thought it did. And that was why she answered: "I don't believe so. But your voice is oddly... familiar."
Shaking his head and apologizing for his odd question, but not for his even odder proclamation, Maemi noted, the young doctor gently took her small hand in his, emitting a warmth that Maemi didn't at all mind. "I look forward to working with you, then.", he said.
An odd picture formed in her mind. Of someone's smiles, she thinks, as odd as the strange images were, considering she hadn't seen anything in a long time. Brushing off the peculiar but familiar feeling, she stretched her lips and made a smile of her own.
"I'll be in your care, Doctor."
This story cannot deactivate until you say, "You are satisfied with your care."