Chapter Seven

I'm scared that they want him back. I'm not equipped to deal with it if they take him and moving him seems like a riskier procedure. We only started talking to one another in a way where I can understand him last night. I don't want them to take him away again. I look at him, studying the small paws, the small body, everything is so small and I pull him to my chest.

"You've always protected me," I tell him and it's true. Ever since our parents passed, Tadashi has been the person in my life to have cared for me the most. He has sacrificed so much because he's a kind hearted person and I can't help but get worried about him. Maybe if I crafted some armor for him, some protection that can go around the tiny body it'll be better. At least he'd be safe. "I'm sorry," I whisper. I know that's not enough but it's really all I can say.

"Hiro," Tadashi says to me as he headbutts my chest in hopes of making me feel better. "It's okay. Whatever happens, it'll be okay."

"I can't lose you again," I whisper. I don't think that he understands how much pain that put me through the first time. To think that I would never see my older brother again, to believe that I had lost him. I don't care that he's a puppy, at least he's here.

"I would rather give my life for yours than live an eternal life alone," he tells me and I pet his head as he sadly curls up in my lap. The change in dynamics is still weird for me but I have to keep the most important thing in mind. He's here. Right now, Tadashi is here and alive. No matter what body, he's here and alive.

"I won't let you do that, we're going to stay together," I try to promise him. "We're brothers, you'll always be my big brother even when I can stuff you inside of a bag." He looks at me and whines before looking away. Something is wrong with him. He's thinking of something, I can feel it in my body. I want to keep my eyes on him always but he's crafty and thinks tactically and I don't know how long I'll be able to protect him.

…

…

In this body I can't do that much to show my brother how much I care about him but hopefully with even the smallest gestures that I make, he'll be able to understand. I use my teeth to pull the blankets of the bed around him and tuck him in and then I make a weak heart with my paws and put a paw print underneath. It's not much but I hope that all the words that I want to convey are in that.

This is something that I brought into existence, something that I can't let my brother become involved in. I thought it was good to be together but there are still ways for me to protect him that no one else knows how to do. I rush to the window and push it up with my nose and my paws. I have to go back.

"Are you seriously giving up?" Mochi asks from behind me and I feel a pain stab in my chest. "I thought better of you. Surviving even when your body changes so drastically. You're seen as a leader, Tadashi, despite that body that you're in. I can't protect your image if you leave."

"I don't care about my image," I tell the cat who has become a friend to me whilst I'm in this body. "I care about my brother, my aunt, my friends. I'm a danger to them whilst I'm still here." I don't know if Mochi will understand, he doesn't have the same type of loyalties that I have. He never stayed with his mother or siblings for long and can a cat truly ever connect with humans in that same way?

"I don't think that Hiro will forgive you if you leave," Mochi tells me and I stare at him. What does he know!? Hiro will figure it out in the end. Hiro's so much smarter than anyone I have ever met and I knew some pretty intelligent people. I just want his safety. I need him to be able to grow up and be safe.

"I'll never forgive myself if he gets hurt through my staying," I tell Mochi before leaping out the window. I know Hiro wanted me to survive and I am very grateful for his acceptance but I am still his older brother and I still need to protect him.

As I make my way back to the labs, I see the man who is pretending to be me and I try to control my fear. I don't want to be back here but if he needs to continue those tests on me then so be it. I'll give him my body because Hiro knows the truth, he knows that it's no longer me.

"So you had enough of being with that boy?" he asks and I stare at him. I know that whatever noise I make is going to sound like barks to him but that boy is my brother. I feel his iron toed boot against my body as I crash to the ground and find it more difficult to breathe. No. Hiro. I'm doing this so that Hiro can be safe.

"I'm not done with you yet, mutt" he tells me before calling on two other people. He takes me by the scruff of my neck and throws me against the wall and it all feels dizzy. I feel blood on my body next to the pain and fight as I might, I can't keep consciousness. I need to survive. I need to stay awake but is it even worth it any more. All I can hope for is that Hiro doesn't look for me. He doesn't need to come here.

…

…

I feel cold sweat all over my body and I wake up gasping for air. I reach my hand out and feel something furry on the ground next to me. With my sleepy mind I feel that it's him for a moment but the texture of the fur is different, the body shape is different. I blink and turn on a light and see that it's Mochi beside me. Strange. Mochi usually doesn't come in here at night.

" 'Dashi?" I yawn before seeing the card. Strange that he drew me a heart with his paw. I look at it and blink trying to figure it all out. I look over to the bed and see that he's neither on top or underneath the blanket, maybe he's on the floor again. "Hey, I don't care if you're angry at me or worried about you. Can you please come out?" I whisper and Mochi looks at me.

I turn to check underneath the bed, in any open drawer or behind any open doors and I'm not finding anything. This is terrifying me. Maybe he just needed some food. That's entirely possible, just some nourishment. "Tadashi!" I call out again. I can usually feel him when he's close to me but this time it's as if there's a block as if he's not here. No. I can't…I can't let myself fall into this trap. He's here, somewhere, I just need to find him.

He has to be safe. I can't have failed him. "Tadashi! Whatever the problem is we'll figure it out together. Just come out. I don't care if I annoyed you, be mad at me, just be here," I beg but I can't find him. He wouldn't scare me like this, he knows how I would be terrified about this. I take a shaky breath as I remember how he had run into the burning building and how I believed the fire had taken his life.

He has a chip in his body, he can be tracked. I jump onto the computer and run the test to see where he is and my heart stops, I can't breathe. He went back there!? What does he think he's doing going back there!? I don't care that I'm in sweat pants and a t-shirt or that my hair is a mess. I have to go to him. I have to rescue him and talk some sense into him. I have to get Baymax.

…

…

I hate to admit that I'm scared. I've been in this place before but somehow the sound of those puppies barking is causing my skin to crawl. They probably used to all be people as well who have had their identities stolen. I'm a real jerk to not be helping them right now but the tracker says Tadashi is still here. I have to talk some sense into him.

I hear some deep growls and barks that remind me of attack dogs. I'm glad I'm wearing the crime fighting outfit. I might need to get physical to save him and I'm scared that he couldn't talk to me. I try to glimpse into the darkness and figure out what's going on when the light turns on, half blinding me.

I blink slowly and see the imposter Tadashi has been waiting for me and hear pants. I look up and I see an injured Dalmatian there but he's not Tadashi, he can't be. Tadashi was turned into an innocent puppy. This dog looks rabid and angry and is not one of those small puppies you can take everywhere but a larger dog around a year old.

I swallow as I see that the dog has all kinds of machinery on him and that the collar he's wearing has spikes which are digging into his skin. He looks violent. It can't be him.

"So, you like what I did with my mutt?" the false Tadashi says as he grabs a needle and sticks it into the side of the dog who makes a sound showing how much pain he's in. "I thought that I'd let him do the honors of killing you. The last memories you will have is of your precious brother ripping out your throat."

He kicks the Dalmatian and I can see in the dog's eyes that something terrible and nightmarish has befallen my brother in only a few hours. What happened here? "Kill him, you damn mutt!" the false Tadashi says and I see him kick him hard, another painful bark but I get down. I kneel down knowing that I'm exposing weaknesses.

"Tadashi," I whisper as he snarls and I try to maintain eye contact with him. It's like that movie Cujo where that family dog turns into a killer because of rabies. "Tadashi, let's go home," I tell him and he barks again, snapping at me and I just take slow breaths closing my eyes. Maybe the last thing I remember will be Tadashi force to rip out my throat.

"I'm here," I whisper prepared to take the pain because no doubt he's feeling the same pain with what they have done to him. "I'm here," I repeat and struggle to stay composed. He barks again before his bark turns into more of a whine and I feel him touching me. His nose is touching my chest but he's whining and just rubbing his head against me.

"Kill him," the false Tadashi tells me and I open my eyes and see the Dalmatian has turned around and is fighting through the pain to protect me.

"Hiro, don't move," he whispers and I can hear the pain in his voice. He's changed, they changed him, but he still remembers me. He's still risking his own life for me. I watch in pain as he goes towards the false Tadashi and attacks him. As I see the blood and the way that his wrist tendon has been ripped. I grab the real Tadashi by the collar. I don't know what made him like this but I hate seeing it.

Despite the way he's acting, I wrap my arms around him which stops him from furthering the attack. "I've got you," I whisper feeling guilty for this. "It's okay, I've got you."

End of Chapter Seven

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