Chapter 47, everybody! We're deep in it now, friends…and I'd like to thank the Internet for convincing me that "yeet" is an acceptable verb. XD

And of course I had to reference the theme song at some point what do you take me for? XD

I think in my writing up on this I might be getting close to having it entirely written out…might bump it up to posting twice a week once that happens but in the meantime know that we have updates all the way past this fic's first anniversary. :D

Continuing blanket disclaimer: I still have not finished Season Two. We're flying blind, boys. And again, I am still in denial of the end of "Countdown to Catastrophe" don't at me this is how I cope, okay? D:

Back to the chapter itself…we're talking stuff that happens immediately after Chapter 45 and then through stuff that happens during and after Chapter 46—had to find out what these guys were doing, after all. :) Did have to do a bit of reorganizing of the chapter so it made sense though (Tadashi's part was originally at the beginning of the chapter).

In Tadashi's case, part of it is that weird moment when you're kind of between sleeping and being awake and what you hear ends up in the dream. I've had more than a few of those, mostly because Mom wakes up before me and turns on the news. Also, they are making a reference to Lilo and Stitch—which is fair, I think, since in canon the creation of the Mayoi looks really similar to how Jumba made Stitch.

Once again, Tenku is Japanese for firmament, air, or ether, and felt fitting since it seems similar to Tengu, which are mythological Japanese bird-people. And can we talk about how 'Sycorax' is the name of a witch in The Tempest? You know, that play Professor Knox was quoting? I found that on a completely unrelated search one day and had to take a few moments before I started screaming at the computer. :O

Angelwings2002, thanks for the review! AAAAH YES! Yeah I still haven't gotten around to watching the pertinent episode(s) so that's actually interesting to know. XD And yeah! Why set up her and Honey Lemon getting buddy-buddy if we don't get to capitalize on it? Oh good I wanted her to be scary. And yes that is DEFINITELY coming up. :D

Hexyah, thanks for the review! No problem! Love an excuse to talk bird-genetics. :D Yes, good Karmi, use that big brain of yours!

Big Hero 6 © 2014 Disney

Ducktales © 2017 Disney

'Kase hadn't wanted to leave him—had grabbed Della and Dewey and yeeted them backwards at Carl with the intent of charging—had been in turn yanked back by the back of her shirt by Carl, busy gunning the motorcycle around before taking off—twisted around in the sidecar, saw those goons haul Tadashi into the back of a van—

"He's still alive!" she squawked, seeing him move—would have jumped out if it weren't for Carl grabbing her again. "Let me GO!"

'Kase, one of the bird-kids chirped—looked to see them all staring at her, trembling and upset—

Focused on hugging them, eyes closed against the wind and the wet—

"It's okay," she wheezed, not knowing if she was lying to them or not. "It's okay—I'm here—"

No it wasn't okay she hadn't realized how devastating the loss of Tadashi would be until she was being smacked in the face with it—not 'Dashi, no—he was the reason she was still fighting, why she hadn't given up ages ago and flown off—not her friend, not her rescuer—

Vague hazy memory of the guy who had gotten Momakase out of that prison, splintering with age and with fresher memories muscling it out—supercilious, arrogant, a man with a plan—

Tadashi in almost that exact same position, terrified and horrified and concerned with doing the right thing over what she could do for him—

"I figured he'd still be interested, wouldn't care about the feathers."

But Tadashi had been there, had stayed, had worried and fretted over all of them—

She couldn't lose him.

Was aware of the fact that they were stopped—blinked, looked to see that they were in a side alley, Carl half-off the bike and watching carefully….

Saw the van that had nabbed Tadashi drive by, turn a corner and vanish from sight.

Silence for a long time.

"Dah-shiiii," Huey whined, sniffling—hug the bird-kids close, pluck Louie off the bike and into the sidecar because she could see him starting to break too—was vaguely aware of Carl answering a phone call—too busy trying to assure the bird-kids that everything would be all right when she wasn't so sure of that herself.

"Hey."

Look up, eyes wet, to see Carl leaning over her with concern, hand half-covering his phone.

"Globby got to Big Hero Six," he told her. "We're supposed to meet them at Tenku Plaza." Look them up and down, taking her and the bird-kids in. "We'll get your friend back."

Couldn't help the shiver that went through her at that, the trembling—did she believe that? Really? That other people would help—

Someone has to help.

Nod finally, hugging the bird-kids close as Carl got back on the bike and drove away—hug them close and assure them that everything would be okay.

It had to be—she couldn't handle anything less at this point.


Fear, of the nebulous kind, mind swimming, ground not staying still, sucking at his paws—

"'DASHI!"

No—jerk, thrashing wildly, trying to figure out which way the cry had come—realized it was coming from all directions—

"No," he breathed, realizing that no matter where he looked someone he cared about was in trouble—"NO! No hang on I'm coming I'M COMING!" Try to wrench himself out of the shifting black ooze he found himself in, panicking at the sight of fire everywhere, fire and dark shapes angling for his loved ones—his friends, his family—

The dark shifted, yanked him down, microbots splashing up—couldn't get up, too dizzy….

Realized Callaghan was standing there with her.

"So this is the little toerag that caused all that fuss."

"Tadashi Hamada."

She looked sharply at Callaghan, not paying attention to his sluggish attempts to move. "Hamada? Are you serious?"

Callaghan nodded. "I ran the DNA when he came in, showed similarities to one of the signatures the visitor scanner registered, did some digging. They're brothers."

"Well," she said, looking back at him with a smug look. "I guess you'll be seeing your brother again soon enough. I can't wait to play around with him some. Maybe I'll make him a little taller, not so cute."

"See, I like cute."

"Of course you do."

Didn't make any sense—but all he heard was that they were going to hurt Hiro—no—no—

Darkness engulfed him, sending him spiraling down into nothing.

It felt like ages when things finally stopped moving, when he realized the reason it was still dark was because his eyes were closed…try to move, groan when that hurt—everything hurt. Literally everything hurt. What was with that?

If I have somehow mutated further, I'm going back to bed, he decided, squinching his eyes shut tighter. I am not dealing with this. I am so done.

But he couldn't afford to be, couldn't risk it—his last clear memory was of protecting the kids, and he knew that meant they were still in danger—Hiro was still in danger, Nox was….

He had to get up.

Finally opened his eyes, groaning…well, at least it wasn't blinding light….

But something—a vague scent, the appearance, a general sense of foreboding, told him this wasn't good. He was in a dark room, walls steel and sloping, floor hard and unforgiving and cold—

Rolled enough to see behind him—

Cage.

No.

No no no NO—

Rammed the wall—hardlight or glass he didn't know, didn't care—ran to the opposite wall and tried again, screaming—beat against it, flailed, claws leaving sparking trails but no scratches—

"No," he gasped finally, sinking to his knees, then fully to the floor, despair taking over. "No…."

He was caught, was captured—she had him again, and now there was no way out—

No—no don't give up—there had to be—

But even a systematic examination turned up nothing, despair crushing him now…collapsed in the middle of the cell, trembling….

Finally started sobbing as the hopelessness of the situation sank in.

Nox is missing, who knows what happened to the others, any of the others….

Your family and friends think you're dead, and as far as you know they're right.

Curl up tight, sobs still wracking him, trembling under his wings, feathers plastered to him tail curled around him—forget feeling weird about those actions that didn't matter none of that mattered anymore what mattered was that everyone he cared about was in danger and he couldn't do anything.

He had failed.


She sunk into her chair once Chris had dragged the unconscious Karmi off—they'd deal with her later.

On a positive note….

"Let's see," she said, picking up the feather and twirling it. "No more annoying little brat sticking his nose in other people's business, and he most likely has one of my missing experiments to boot." Consider the glossy blackness of it, how the edge almost glowed pink in the lighting—"Maybe I could work with him—I heard you were obsessed with the boy, so there must be a reason." Probably just that he had a habit of nosing about where he didn't belong and attracted the wrong sort of ire.

But if not…little boys were much more tractable than hardheaded adults, and unlike him, this boy had people he cared about. He had no one she could threaten to make him behave—the Hamada boy did.

The Hamada boy had plenty of people he cared for, come to think of it—enough that she could bump off one to make a statement, keep the rest handy with that threat hovering over him. Matter of fact, one was here right now.

Chris was rubbing his hands together when he came back in. "Our little intern is sleeping like a rock right now—should come around in an hour or two."

"Good," she said, considering her options. Hmm, Karmi did protest too much at the mention of that Hamada brat…maybe she could use the two against each other. "In the meantime, station a team near the Lucky Cat Café, I'll be needing dear old auntie and her little cat soon. And—order something from there while you're at it," she said as Chris started backing out. "I want to try the place before it goes out of business."

He grinned with her. "Most certainly—be right back!"

"Good boy," she said, fanning out the information she now had on the Hamada family. Soon enough….

Soon enough she'd have this whole city right where she wanted it.


"We're here."

'Kase blinked awake, realized she had dozed off on the ride over, vaguely disoriented—

Gasp in surprise and alarm when she looked across the water, at the view that Tenku Plaza offered, at that perfect shot of the worst place in the world glowing a sickly green against the oranges of the setting sun.

Sycorax.

She herself had never before laid eyes on the place, only knew it from her original's memory—but it was the source of all their heartache, of everything, of her—

Of herself.

Should she be grateful, that her meddling and mucking about had resulted in her even being alive? Should she be furious because she was just an experiment? Because her quality of life was always going to be low because she was a monster? Because she had hurt people she cared about, kidnapped them and possibly killed them?

Yes. Furious was definitely the answer.

"Big Hero Six isn't here yet," Carl observed, oblivious to her inner turmoil. "They shouldn't be much longer though."

"And you trust the kiddie group?" she asked brittlely.

"I haven't had reason not to."

Fair enough. Glare at that monolith, debating….

Finally crawl out of the sidecar.

"Stay with Carl," she ordered the protesting bird-kids. "I have to go rip someone's face off and get 'Dashi back. Not necessarily in that order."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Carl told her, the bird-kids settling down in the sidecar in wide-eyed terror.

No, no it wasn't.

But she was very tired of just taking whatever was thrown at her. Maybe it was something she shared with her original, a burning fury and resistance to just taking life's lemons—her original had turned around, refused to take it anymore, and been proactive.

I swore I'd never let anyone make me feel weak again.

Someone has to help.

Deep breath—huff.

"I'll be back," she told them. Launch herself off the plaza, fortunately built up high enough that she could soar a bit before having to flap hard at her abbreviate primaries—

But she was getting Tadashi back.

She was not going to let her win.