And now we're getting deeper down this rabbit hole of mystery.
A sharp pain in his temple nagged him awake, a piercing agony that he couldn't keep at bay. Tadashi groaned, bringing a hand up to the swollen skin, feeling the sticky residue of what he was pretty sure was blood. Every part of his body ached and even sitting up required a Herculean effort.
The metallic taste of blood was present in his mouth and he winced, prying his eyes opened as he leaned up on his elbows. The world twisted and bent, vision tunneling before righting again, the dark colors coalescing into a solid form, bringing with it the image of a dark room.
He looked around, unsure of where he was. The walls were bare, the floor a granite grey that seeped coldness in his skin and in return, stole his warmth. Tadashi was in a cage of sorts, the faint hum of electric present in the air.
The humming seemed to be coming from the bars and he quickly scurried away from them, eyes wide in panic.
Tadashi gaped, the pain in his head forgotten as the last memories came rushing back to him.
Callaghan's office, a dark shadow, the force of a blunt object hitting the side of his head as his body rushed to meet the pavement, vision going black before his knees hit the ground...
Tadashi grimaced and his fingers drifted up to wipe the last of the blood off from his skin. His eyes darted around the cage, searching for a way out, mind rushing with a million possibilities.
He noticed that the cage was connected to wires above, a rather primitive cage, in his opinion. Connected to the wires was a small box where he knew would disable the electric current around the bars.
Question is: How would he do that?
Tadashi couldn't go near the bars as he knew it would electrocute him nor could he reach out and grab something to throw at the controller box.
He breathed in deeply through his nose and scanned the area again. There must be something that he could use to help him out of this mess.
A thought came to him and he rummaged his pockets, searching for his favorite plastic pen. The material would not conduct electricity and if he could just get it through...
His pockets turned up empty and he grunted in frustration.
Eyes darted around the room again.
"Come on, Hamada, you can do this," he muttered as he stood up, pacing around the cage to find a loophole for a way out of this.
He took a deep breath again, trying to calm his frayed nerves. Maybe there was something around here that he could use to get free.
The ceilings were a myriad of pipes, all connected to one another, leading to a different room closed off by huge swinging doors, the metal handles latched up with a huge lock and chain. Scaffolding jutted out randomly above, like a web of metal. Vents were placed sporadically and led out to various grills that were the only source of light illuminating the empty space.
Tadashi was so caught up studying the place that he missed the light footfalls that sounded from behind him. He turned around, hands lifting up in defense as he saw a hooded black figure walking over to him from the shadows. The figure took a step into the light and he recoiled back.
Dressed in a long black coat, the figure was blatantly a man judging from his height and broad shoulders. But that wasn't the only thing that caught his attention and apprehension.
The kabuki mask he wore was streaked with red paint, and if his memory served well, it was the color of revenge.
He stepped back, arm nearly swinging into a buzzing bar and he yelped, pulling his limb back.
The masked figure stopped and studied him, head tilted to one side.
"W-Who are you?" He demanded, cursing the stutter in his voice.
The silent figure didn't answer, recovering from his falter and approaching him. The figure walked over to the controls and flipped a switch. The humming died down, causing Tadashi to tense up with the sudden loss of the electricity.
The mask man opened the cage and Tadashi prepared himself to push the him away, maybe even getting a good kick in and fleeing the place as fast as his feet could take him.
It was as if the man could read his thoughts. He lifted his hand and a loud buzzing sounded behind him.
Tadashi's eyes widened and a terrified gasp left his lips.
It appeared like a black wave, drifting behind the man and positioning beside him, acting as a safety net in case he decided to escape.
Hiro's microbots.
"H-Hey," he said, the anger cresting in his chest. "That's my brother's! How did you get it?"
The man didn't answer, pretending as if he didn't hear. He fished around in his long coat and produced a packet of dry crackers, tossing it to Tadashi along with a bottle of water.
Before the young man could comprehend what had just transpired, the Kabuki closed the cage door, activating the electricity once more.
Tadashi sank down in a sitting position as he tried to wrap his head around this new twist.
The man had his brother's microbots... but how? He thought that Hiro's inventions had all been destroyed in the fire. If so, who was controlling them now?
Tadashi didn't know, and for once in his life, the thought that he had no idea scared him even more than his current predicament.
~~O~~O~~
Two days he was gone. Two days of Ayako not sleeping in peace, constantly tossing and turning, emerging in the morning more tired than when she left for bed.
Masaki was starting to notice her daughter's lethargy and for the first time, Ayako volunteered information for her, telling her that Tadashi was missing.
Her mother wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders, squeezing lightly. "He will be okay," she said, and Ayako had to smile at that.
It was a small gesture, but that was progress to her.
In school, news of Tadashi's disappearance started spreading, connected to her once people found out that she was his girlfriend. Lucy was the first person whom she told of Tadashi and her friend had gasped, horrified.
"Where do you think he went?"
"I don't know, Lucy," she said, running a shaky hand through her waves. "I wish I did."
The red head sat down next to her, ignoring the busy bustling of the cafeteria. Other students passed by her, some of them oblivious, others sparing her a short glance, curiousity written all over their faces.
"Ignore them," Lucy said tersely, twisting her hair with her index finger, something she recognized as her friend only doing when nervous.
"When did you find out that he went missing?"
"Two days ago. His aunt has already filed a report."
"How are you doing?" Lucy asked, compassion flooding the space between them. Ayako shrugged, listlessly tugging on her cardigan sleeve. The material reminded her of Tadashi's favorite gray cardigan and a wave of longing and anguish crashed into her.
Mike siddled up next to her, along with Keiro and Miko, each of them giving her looks of worry and sympathy.
"Lucy told us," Miko said, patting her hand. "Are you all right?"
"I don't know," Ayako said, mustering a small smile. Keiro and Mike shared a glance.
"He'll be okay," Mike reassured. "We know that he would never leave without a reason."
"I don't think he left, to be honest," she muttered.
"What do you mean?" Miko asked, tugging her eyebrow piercing. Ayako shrugged, growing despondent with all the attention on her. She didn't know what to do when people were worried about her.
"It means that we think he might've been taken. Since he's a legal adult, the police are hesitant to say that he was kidnapped. They say that he's missing instead."
Miko grimaced. "Yeah, that's what my dad told me." She offered, "if you need any help from my dad, or my amazing hacking skills, you could always ask me."
It was no secret in their group of friends that Miko was an accomplished hacker and learned the best from her brother who was a government specialist trained in the field of infiltrating websites.
Ayako couldn't believe it when she heard the story, thinking that it sounded too James Bond for real life. But she'd grown used to Miko's tales of her legendary brother and felt a sliver of jealousy at how close they were.
Typical only child syndrome.
"Nah, I don't want you to get in trouble with your dad," Ayako said, gently squeezing her hand that had yet to leave hers.
Miko retracted back her touch, and gazed at her in compassion. "If there's any police procedure you're not so sure of, I'll be glad to help."
"Thank you," Ayako said, staring at each and every one of them. A rush of affection welled in her heart at their concern. "Really. Thank you, guys."
Lucy grinned. "What are friends for?"
~~O~~O~~
The days dragged on sluggishly with no news on Tadashi. She had been informed by Miko that once the golden week passed for missing person's cases, the police would cool down their searching.
It was with a terse tone that she told the same thing to Hiro.
"That's unfair," the teen bit out.
"I know," she said, lounging on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes felt heavy yet she couldn't find it in herself to go to sleep.
"We have to do something."
"The police are doing all they can."
"No, I'm not talking about the police, I'm talking about us."
Ayako sat up from her position and crossed her legs under her. "What do you mean?"
"I had an idea when I took a look at Baymax's schemes. Tadashi left them around."
She frowned, urging him to continue.
"Come along to the lab, I'll tell you more there." She stood up and reached for her cardigan.
"Okay, give me a second."
A/N: Dun dun dun. So I'm pretty sure most of you can guess what's happening now. The next chapter would focus on Tadashi's POV and more upgrades to the team.
Thank you all for your lovely reviews and leave one if you would!