Chapter 50, everybody! And THIS CHAPTER BROKE ME I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT. D:

Real talk I was writing these two up late at night in October and there were moments when I had to get up and walk about the house and some of the wham lines had me sitting there staring at the screen I have been EXCITED about posting these prepare yourselves.

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: Did watch the new episode though and…they're okay, just disappointing because the show's not going out on a high note. :\ As I said before, send all salt to Disney corporate every nastygram they get that represents fifteen people who couldn't be bothered so WRITE TO THEM.

And yes Tadashi did a big ol' reference to the Jurassic Park movie on purpose he's Hiro's brother they're both GINORMOUS nerds it was unavoidable. XD So in this chapter we also get a reference to the sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Also Tadashi too likes the 1998 Godzilla movie don't at me. And…I headcanon that The Emperor's New Groove is Tadashi's favorite Disney movie that he never grows tired of quoting.

So…back in the day when Season Two speculation was at its height, I considered having some of the monsters know American Sign Language (ASL) as a way to get around the communication barrier, since in one of my other BH6 fics (coming soon) the characters know it. This was also back when we all thought that the City of Monsters arc was going to last a whole season. And do bird-people taste like chicken? Let's not find out.

In other news I would like to thank modern internet for convincing me that yeet and its variations is a legitimate verb. XD

And then the scene—that scene—that scene wrecked me, spent a good chunk of that night writing a sentence or two before having to get up and pace in anxiety. BUT—if you've been following my Tumblr page…first or second post I did for it I outlined how the reunion would go and it's nice to finally have it officially written out. :D Presenting an exchange two years in the making….And Hiro's line there—technically, Chapter 52 comes at the end of February, but the day the fic was posted was 3/3/2020; next month will be a year. A surprising meta moment for something I had planned out back when I was first plotting out the fic.

Also—technically, Big Hero Six went up against Callaghan three times: the car chase, the island, and Krei Tech. Just Hiro and Baymax? Four times—add the incident in the warehouse.

Angelwings2002, thanks for the review! I KNOW! You should have been on this end, having to wait a week to post it—took all my self-control. D: And yes! Originally was intending for that to get solved offscreen but this was a crime against Aunt Cass I wasn't willing to commit. Hopefully…good news, Hiro will get both—and thanks! :D

Hexyah, thanks for the review! Ah thank you—bum-bum-bum!

SilverPhoenix, thanks for the review! *SIMILAR SQUEAKY NOISES* Yes please don't go breaking our hearts aaaaaaaaa—

Big Hero 6 © 2014 Disney

Ducktales © 2017 Disney

Okay, let's be real here, that thing, that thing he did, aping Dennis Nedry off of the Jurassic Park movie? That was petty. But worth it.

Of course, that was just a little blip on the screen compared to the fact that he was now dealing with a bunch of whale-dino-baby Gojira-monsters milling around like this was the lobby of Madison Square Garden.

"Okay, now what?" 'Kase asked him. "You let all the bird-eating monsters out, mister smart guy."

"Hey, bear with me," he said, tugging the chip out and looking around for the exit. "I'm kind of making this up as I go."

"Be honest, you've been doing that this entire time, haven't you?"

"I feel like the honest answer might make you mad," he said, running over to the other end of the room as fast as he could manage with bird feet, 'Kase behind and apparently them being followed by Tadashi's former next-door-neighbor, galumphing after them eagerly.

Tadashi had to consider it as they came to a halt by the door. "Fred, that's not you, is it?"

It shook its head, made a bunch of noises that sounded like it was trying to clear its throat—scratched at its head before looking back at the room and barking something.

"Okay, get the door open now," 'Kase said, tone sing-song and panicky as she flapped her wings nervously—a monster in the crowd raised a paw before making its way forward. "Before they find out we taste like chicken."

"I'm pretty sure we don't," Tadashi said, swiping the card—access denied. "Okay, that's not a surprise…maybe…." Plug the chip in, try to access—

Access denied.

You are a dead man.

Yeah, probably shouldn't have gone the petty route.

"Okay, not going out that way," he muttered, tugging the chip out—turned—

Jumped back against the wall 'Kase was already plastered against when he realized there were now a couple of monsters in their air space. "Uh, hi?"

His next-door neighbor waved, looked at the monster in the center of the little group, made a bunch of noises again—

Tadashi had to blink when he realized it was trying to communicate with sign language.

"Uh," he noised—flinched back when the monster looked at its paws and griped at one of the other ones, pointing out each of its three digits before pointing at empty space. "Uh, not that I don't appreciate the effort, guys, A for effort totally, but…I don't understand sign language, do you?" he asked, looking at 'Kase.

"Please don't ask me anything right now," she whimpered.

"Aw, she's such a toughie," he teased, glancing nervously at the mobs of large monsters with sharp teeth and big mouths. Pretty sure this wasn't bird-nervousness either, he would have panicked if he were without feathers too. Lift his head up—

There, the other end—

Another door.

"Come on," he said, grabbing 'Kase's wrist and tugging her around the debating monsters—his monster, that he decided he was going to call Fred until proven otherwise, spotted them, cantered after them, houghing and hawing as they went.

"I don't know, do you understand them?" he asked 'Kase.

She made a face at him. "Imagine like someone's holding your head underwater and then playing a tape with a lot of static and buffering that's also in another language and asking you to translate—you kind of got what I'm getting right now."

"So nothing?"

"Maybe two words," she said as they reached the other end of the room. "General gists. This one strikes me as a nerd, same as you."

"Are you sure you're not Fred?" he asked the monster. "By day school mascot, by night also school mascot?" The monster nodded. "All righty then."

Trying that door didn't work either.

"Okay," he huffed, pocketing the chip. "So we graduated from small cage to large cage."

"With roomies," 'Kase said, backing up as a larger monster came over, huffing at them—looked at Fred-the-Monster as he filled it in, looked around, up—

"Hough," it noised, pointing. They looked up—

A grating, looking like it fed direct into the next room, and big enough for him and 'Kase to fit through.

Not the monsters, though.

Look back down at it, noticed it was favoring a hind limb. "I mean are you sure?"

It nodded, Fred-the-Monster bouncing up and down next to it, barking excitedly—

Tadashi wasn't sure about Fred-the-Monster offering to give them a boost, definitely didn't like getting grabbed and then yeeted up to the rafters—scrambled, caught on, heard furious hissing and spitting before 'Kase was up there with him, scurrying onto the beams and hissing back down. Look down, saw the one monster slapping Fred-the-Monster upside the head.

"Thanks!" he called, hauling himself up. "We'll see about breaking you guys out in a bit!"

The one monster waved them off, turned to the others and barked, pointing—

The monsters at the other end of the room all scurried away from the door, several pawing at the ground and tossing their heads before charging the metal—Tadashi winced at the resounding impacts—

Winced further when he realized those impacts had made dents in that door.

"Oh wow," he muttered, staring as they retreated and charged again.

"Yeah, wow," 'Kase said, shoving at him. "Let's head in the other direction, okay?"

That sounded like a plan—scuttle along the beams, get to the grating, look it over—the corners had screws, worked at them until he could get a nail-claw fitted in, start turning it—

"Work on the other side, will you?" he asked 'Kase, gritting his teeth at the way that pulled on the nail bed ow

"With pleasure," she muttered, still shooting glances at the big monsters beneath them. Some were still working on the doors, while others, like Monster-Fred, were busy watching them and muttering to each other and something toothy staring at you for prolonged periods was just nerve-wracking, okay?

"Okay!" he gasped, when the second screw fell to the floor. "Now we just—"

"Got it!"

Tadashi tried to catch the grating as it went sideways, jerked his hands away when he felt it start to yank him along with it, 'Kase catching him by a fistful of feathers—"Head's up!"

Several monsters skittered away, more started as the grating clanged against the floor, making his ears ring—their monster looked up at them, made a noise that was probably the monster equivalent of dude.

Tadashi shrugged, wincing and apologetic—

Blinked when it looked like sparks danced across the monsters' eyes, forcing them wide while the pupils pinned tight—

Flinched back when the room started shrieking.

"What the," he gasped—flinched again as the monsters started rampaging, slamming into everything and attacking each other. "What—"

"I…think that sound means it's time to go," 'Kase said, easing backwards into the open vent. "Let's go, Tadashi."

"Why—how—" Couldn't make heads or tails of this behavior, not when they had been perfectly reasonable—

Decided 'Kase had the scope of things when one of the monsters leaped for the rafters and started trying to scramble onto it. Scurry in after her, glance back—

Yelp and throw himself to the side just before the monster leaped in, slamming through the other side and into the room beyond.

"Let's not go that way," 'Kase squeaked before scurrying off—Tadashi nodded, throat tight as he followed her.

"I don't get it," he said after a terrifying minute of scrambling, constantly checking over his shoulder and expecting one to come barreling after them. "Why did they—they were perfectly fine—it wasn't the grate, was it?"

"How should I know?" she asked, pausing at an intersection, glancing every which way before turning. "I think we go this way."

"You think?" he asked, feeling claustrophobic as he followed her.

"I didn't come in this way, okay? And the direction we're supposed to go has monsters in it."

These were fair points—glance back again, follow her through several more turns, the world outside the ducts growing quiet—

"Ah," she noised, stopping at a vent set into the side of the duct. "This seems promising."

"Great—so how do we—seriously?" he demanded, as she started kicking against it.

It was difficult, but she managed to contort herself to give him a disbelieving look. "You're really worried about vandalizing this place."

"It's important to be the better person."

"After that whole thing that you informed me was another stupid movie quote?"

"Er…well sometimes you have to make a point too—"

"And I'm making a point," she declared, kicking at the vent again—it finally tore free, went crashing down to the floor. "And my point is I'm really petty and angry." Back up, stick her head through, ears perked—"Sounds empty enough—come on, it's better than cramped and winding."

He doubted it, but he wasn't about to argue—being stuck in the ductwork had been making his wings itch and can we once again discuss how weird that was to be aware of that?

Just a few more hours, he promised himself, dropping down after 'Kase, flaring his wings several times and still ending up sprawling on the floor. Few more hours and then…he couldn't say for sure. Hopefully it'd all be over.

"You still suck at this," 'Kase told him as he picked himself up.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he wheezed, dusting himself off. Look around, trying to pick out a likely exit in the dim lighting. "Come on, let's—"

Cut off when one of the doors slid open, light spilling in—not touching them, thank goodness, gave them a few moments before detection—automatically moved to put himself between 'Kase and the…thing he didn't know what that was but it was huge and three-headed and weird oh help—

And then it pointed right at them.

"Tadashi is: over there."

Huh?

Couldn't even register the fact that the thing knew his name before part of it launched forward, tearing across the space between them and shrieking 'DASHI!—

"Nox!?" he gasped, mind making the connect right before the little bird-kid collided with him at full speed, sending him crashing to the ground before attempting to squeeze the life out of him, sobbing hard in relief.

Tadashi felt the same way, hugging him tight as he struggled to a sitting position.

"What are you doing here, huh?" he demanded through gritted teeth, trying to keep the emotion down, barely registering Nox's one wing in some sort of bandaging. "How'd you find me, huh?" Nox didn't answer, of course, Nox was too busy crying and rubbing his face against Tadashi's hoodie and clinging so tight he could feel it through the fabric and the feathers and dangit he was trying to keep it in too and he could see 'Kase was as well he was so going to tease her for this later—

"Hhh—'Dashi?"

Froze, ice water soaking him—that—that wasn't one of the bird-kids, wasn't any of the bird-people—

Look up nervously, nothing wanting to work, ears pinned back at the sight of a little armored figure halfway between them and the big thing, right on the edge of the light—watched as it ripped the helmet off, staring into the darkness, trying to see with wide eyes—

Familiar eyes, out of a very familiar face.

"T-Tadashi?"

No.

Nonononono what was he doing here he couldn't—he wasn't—he wasn't ready yet he wasn't sure he had to be sure first because that look—that look of absolute heartache and desperate hope was the reason why he couldn't—and how—how could he be here—don't—not here—not—

But he was here—they both were—and even if he wasn't, even if he wasn't the genuine article…he couldn't stand that broken look.

Not on him.

"Hey, little brother," he managed finally, voice cracking—wincing, mind running ahead to all the worst-case scenarios—

Hiro's expression changed, like hope suddenly wasn't a four-letter word anymore, like something in him was about to explode out—

And then it did.

"'DASHI!" he yelled, throwing the helmet aside as he ran for him—Nox squeaked, dodged to the side, leaving Tadashi's arms free to hug him tight as Hiro crashed into him, clinging and sobbing as bad as Nox had—

Tadashi wasn't much better, he knew, could feel the wet leaking out his eyes as he hugged the very, very real Hiro hanging on for dear life, body shaking—

"I'm sorry," he choked out finally. "I'm sorry I—I had to know first—"

"I don't care," Hiro gasped. "I'm just glad you're back."

Back—but of course you stupid idiot the last thing—the last time Hiro had ever seen Tadashi Hamada had been when he had run into a burning building to save a man who hadn't needed saving.

Oh no….

"Hiro," Tadashi tried—had to clear his throat and try again, patting Hiro's back. "Hiro listen—about Callaghan—"

"He's an evil jerk," Hiro sniffed. "We know. We took care of it."

Well that was—hold it.

"Hold it—what do you mean we?" he asked, pulling away a little to frown at him. "And what do you mean we took care of it? Hiro what did you do?"

The heartbroken and overfull of emotion expression he had was starting to twist a little, like it did when he knew he was about to be caught doing something he shouldn't. Again. "Er…so we…me and your friends…we…might have gone after Callaghan."

There was a sort of sound in the back of his mind like tinkling shattered glass as he tried to process that. "You what? Tell me you didn't fight Callaghan."

"Eh…kinda did. Like…twice…."

"Twice?"

"Might have been three times, actually."

"Three times?"

"Maybe four—hold on, let me think."

Tadashi stared at him, trying to process this—nope has stopped working, please press any key to continue—

A familiar waddling noise snapped him out of staring blankly at his brother who had apparently fought his erstwhile professor enough times that he lost count—looked up, flinched back at a big red thing looming over them—

The big red thing blinked at them. "Hello, Tadashi. You are in: good health." Blink. "It is good to see you."

"Baymax!?" Tadashi squawked. "What—how—"

"Oh—uh, I…may have upgraded Baymax a little," Hiro admitted, waffling a hand. "Remember the thing about the batteries—"

"The batteries Hiro please tell me you did not turn my healthcare robot into a battlebot."

"My primary function is still to be a personal healthcare companion," Baymax announced. "Fighting crime improves my ability to help people."

"Fighting crime what do you mean 'fighting crime'—"

'Kase flicked him in the shoulder, leaned over a bit. "Don't look now, but I think your little brother and your old school buddies are Big Hero Six."

"Uh, yeah," Hiro said. "So…look, we didn't set out to become superheroes—"

"Didn't—when did this happen how long was I gone?!" Tadashi demanded.

Hiro's expression was brittle and watery as he swallowed, had to take a moment before he answered. "Next month would have been a year."

Inside felt like someone had thrown a bowling ball through a big window—a year. Nearly a year everyone must think he was dead—

They were probably right—

Pull Hiro back into a hug, squeezing his eyes shut tight against the fresh tears that threatened—Hiro hugged back, tears soaking Tadashi's neck—

"I'm sorry," Tadashi muttered—twitched his tail away from 'Kase pinching it. "I was an idiot."

"Yeah," Hiro muttered back. "Think it's a Hamada brother failing."

Couldn't help the little quirk at the end of his mouth. "So you admit you're a knucklehead?"

"You're the knucklehead you already admitted to it."

"Hey—"

"'Dashi-Hiro."

They looked at Nox sitting there, holding up the helmet that had gone bouncing away—

"Ah," Hiro noised, taking it back, scrubbing absently at a little dent on the side where it had hit the floor. "Y-yeah, still need that…."

"Still need—go back to the bit where you turned my robot into a battlebot and got—who else did you get in on this whole…superhero business?" Tadashi demanded, trying to keep his wild gesturing to a minimum.

"Uh…well, you know, Fred, Gogo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi—"

Oh good gravy he was going to get them all killed—wait.

Point at him. "Fred put you up to this, didn't he? This was totally Fred's idea—"

"Actually…well it was mostly my idea but Fred helped with the inspiration—"

"Fred being the underwear guy?" 'Kase asked. "Kinda think that would disqualify him from being consulted on any major decisions."

"Fred is actually a surprisingly solid guy," Hiro said, squinting at 'Kase like he didn't know what to make of her. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"No."

"Hiro, 'Kase, 'Kase, Hiro," Tadashi said, gesturing between them. "Now back to you—what is this how is this even HOW are you even superheroes what are you doing here."

"How am I—how are you even here you're supposed to be dead!"

Despite everything, Tadashi couldn't help the twitch of his mouth that that line prompted. "Well," he said, ticking things off on his fingers. "There was the expo, the explosion, a woman who was horrendous beyond all reason, ended up with extract of bird instead of poison, was taken out of town to finish the job, ended up in a cart belonging to a guy who sounds like John Goodman, cross-country hijinks ensued, bugs were eaten, no the hills didn't sing—"

"What are you even talking about?" 'Kase demanded.

"Also she needs to watch The Emperor's New Groove when this is all over," he added, hooking a thumb at 'Kase.

"Ugh another stupid movie reference."

"Excuse you Emperor's New Groove is a cinematic masterpiece."

"Are you sure I don't know you?" Hiro asked her.

"I'm still going with the short answer of no," she said, waving him off. "We don't really have time right now for the long answer."

"No, you don't."

A bolt of pure ice ripped through him, even before Nox's wailing—

Her.