Set in the universe of Aftermath of a Battle, my other BH6 fanfic. It's not necessary to read it, but there are some callbacks and continued storylines.
I can't do this.
But I have to.
Hiro stared down at the scene unfolding below him, heart pounding. To the untrained eye, it was a routine thing for Big Hero 6- a villain beating the police's butts, and they would have to help out. But Hiro knew something they didn't.
He was going to relive his nightmares.
They'd started the day after Baymax- the original one, not the one standing next to him- had died. Flashes of clouds in colors he'd never seen before or since, of Baymax's shell staring up at him as he rocketed out of danger's way, sacrificing Baymax to save his own life. In the waking world, Hiro knew it was the right choice for Baymax to make- and he had Baymax back now- but in his dreams… in his dreams it was always his fault.
Adjusting his red-tipped purple helmet, Hiro took a few steadying breaths. I have to be ready for when Sirque makes her move. Panic was rising in his chest, heart beating wildly under his thin chest plate. It didn't help that the crippling nightmares had returned the night he'd figured out Sirque's plan- use the same tech that had killed Baymax and almost killed Hiro as a cheap getaway plan. These new nightmares had gone far beyond his old ones- memories of Tadashi running into the fire at SFIT, sometimes never coming out, sometimes emerging scarred and grotesque, sometimes a body found in the rubble.
Last night, Tadashi had died in Hiro's arms.
Needless to say, Hiro had woken up screaming his brother's name, tears sliding down his cheeks through clenched shut eyelids. Aunt Cass had come running as fast as she could in her fluffy cat onesie, cradling Hiro and checking him all over. How desperately Hiro had wanted to let all of the torment and fear and mind-wrenching grief out on his loving aunt- but he couldn't. He said he was fine. Just… missing Tadashi.
Like he'd said the day after Baymax died. Hiro didn't care that the bot was just scraps of metal, that he could be rebuilt- that bot was a part of him, a part of his brother.
And he was about to travel back to that place. The place Baymax died.
Of course, his friends didn't know that. Other than Megan, they didn't even know he was considering chasing Cirque through her unstable, nightmarish portals. But what other choice did Hiro have?
I don't have another choice. Hiro decided firmly, clenching his thickly gloved fists. Cirque was almost through with the small police dispatch- normally Hiro would try to stop her from hurting anyone, but the police were after his team too. And they deserved a chance to see just what crime fighting was like without the heroes to back them up. You said superheroes attract supervillains. Well, they're here now, and you can clean them up. Hiro muttered internally, visor zeroing in on one cop in particular.
Suddenly a figure flipped into frame wearing a tight-fitting black, white, and red unitard. Sirque. He didn't hate her, persay. Just the little orbs she was hiding in her pockets. She made quick work of the chief of police, Hiro noted with satisfaction. Megan, thankfully, couldn't see her dad get knocked out by a clean roundhouse kick to the side of the head.
Oh yeah, his friend was the daughter of the chief of police. And she was going to write an article exposing him and his whole team.
In Wasabi's words- "We can't go to jail! We have midterms!"
Focus. She's coming. Hiro stepped down off the bottom of the G of the "Noodle Burger" sign and turned to his team, taking a deep breath. "We need to stop Sirque and stabilize that portal." If he didn't… he might have to relive half the city getting blown up by one of Keri's stupid inventions. One of his best friends lost…
Oh, and their identities would be revealed and they would probably get locked up.
No pressure.
"I couldn't agree more!" Wasabi commented next to Hiro, checking a monitor on his green plasma blades. "Any ideas?"
Now or never. Hiro pulled the sleeves of his new black and purple gloves up, making sure they were on tight. "I'm going to follow her."
Fred scratched one horn on his cyclops suit. "Where?"
"Into… the portal."
No turning back now, is there?
Hiro should've expected his friends' reactions. Gogo, of course, reacted first, punctuating her remark with a slash of her magnetized disks. "No. Way."
Honey Lemon nodded. "You'd have to go back through… there."
At least they all know the stakes.
"Wait- what happened last time?" Megan asked worriedly, standing at the edge of the little group, brown eyes flashing worriedly. Hiro shrugged. Or most of them know the stakes. I guess I forgot the whole city doesn't know about some of the most important moments of our lives, especially now that we're on the news all the time.
"Oh, not much." Fred deadpanned, flipping the middle eyes of his ultra suit up so they could see his face. "Except Hiro almost died!"
Wasabi, standing next to him, nodded grimly and crossed his arms. The bright green plates clanked. "And Hiro lost Baymax."
Flash.
"Tadashi's Baymax."
The building bursting into flame.
The portal shaking, changing color as more and more was sucked into it.
Tadashi's hat floating to the ground.
Hiro's vision, wobbling and shaking from tears and the shockwave of the rocket-
Focus. Unless you want to relive that.
"This is the only way." Hiro resolved in a low, heavy tone. "Someone has to go."
I never thought I'd have to do this again.
"I'll go."
"No, I'll go!"
"Woah, woah, whoa!" Fred interrupted as Hiro fired his hand thrusters experimentally- and to cover their tempting offers. "If anyone's going, it's me!"
Hiro sighed again and turned, clapping his thrusters together as the purple flame disappeared. "We don't have time to argue!" He shouted, silencing their protests and his. "It has to be me. I built this suit specifically for this." And I can't bear to lose any more of you to that thing.
"Your suit is- not field tested." Baymax pointed out, raising one red and black metal plated finger. Part of Hiro wanted to take Baymax with him, so he didn't have to fly into that place alone with untested gear. But the thought of having to leave Baymax behind again, no matter how low of a chance that might be… I can't take that risk. Hiro decided, repeating the words he'd said while brainstorming. That's why I made this suit, the night after my first recent nightmare.
I can't lose anyone else.
Determination bolstered, Hiro strode to the edge of the building, staring down at where Sirque was looking around for her next target. He waved, and the movement caught the painted performer's eye. She began to flip up the building as Hiro tried to squash the growing pit of fear in his stomach. Honey Lemon saw the approaching villain and realized their time was up. She used their remaining few moments- "Just please be careful, Hiro." The hero gave her a wan smile. "I will. You ready?"
Hiro's smile grew just a little as his friends- team? No, family- assembled, each giving him their signature stare. Gogo popping her ever-present piece of bubble gum, Fred giving a somewhat dull holler, Wasabi flashing his blades, Honey Lemon prepping a few of her pink chem balls, even Megan gave him an encouraging grin. I really do have the best friends. Hiro thought with a startling sense of finality. Will I even see them again?
He instantly chided himself. Get ahold of yourself, Hiro! Of course you're coming back. Your tech is perfect. You'll be fine.
Maybe I should tell them anyway.
But he didn't get the chance. He heard a soft thump and whirled to see the white-haired woman standing behind them. "Big Hero 6!" The woman cried in a thick French accent that made the 'six' sound more like 'sux-eh', placing one hand on her hip. "You enjoying the show?" Gogo rolled her eyes, done as ever. "That would be a no."
"Oh!" Sirque replied, sounding legitimately shocked. Can we just get this over with? Hiro thought. "We can change that!"
Cirque did some acrobatics move which Hiro ignored. "Tough crowd, ah?" The performer mused. "Well then! No encore for you!"
Here we go… The second Sirque flipped over the edge, Hiro was speeding after her, firing his thrusters and leaping off the edge with not a second thought. Another time flashed in front of his eyes for a split second as he reoriented his thrusters with a frightened yell- except this time it wasn't KreiTech and Hiro actually had a means of flying. Sirque disappeared in front of him. The portal wavered. Hiro gave one last massive push.
The portal closed right as he vanished, leaving the others staring at an empty sidewalk.
Just like last time.
Hiro had his eyes clenched shut, afraid he would splat on the concrete. When he felt no impact, Hiro opened his eyes… and immediately wished he hadn't. He was hurtling through the ethereal- and then he was through, barely finding his feet on the other side. Heart racing, head pounding, nightmares flashing before his eyes- but he'd done it. Once. Hopefully I don't have to do that too many times. Hiro begged silently, finally finding the actress he was looking for padding away in front of him. Cocky.
"Still here…" Hiro called. The woman turned. "Wha?" With that, Cirque was off, speeding through the city as Hiro followed, determined to make this as quick as possible. She rounded a corner, swinging off a lamppost and Hiro followed, ignoring the developing bruise he got from slamming into the side wall. The next obstacle was a television being moved, then out into the street where Sirque was already standing smugly atop speeding trolley car. She had an escape route planned. Hiro realized as he latched onto the metal roof of the same yellow trolley and pulled himself up. She's smarter than we thought. Their chase continued, over cars and through busy intersections, until finally Sirque threw her magnetic orbs again. Hiro dived in front of an eighteen-wheeler, having no time to prepare as he threw himself into the portal just seconds before being hit.
Colors Hiro had only ever seen in one place. Hurtling through those same clouds, that same place, arms outstretched to catch the villain who'd suddenly disappeared-
Hiro was alone.
Then he was through, tumbling out onto the plush blue carpet of Fred's living room. Not giving himself time to think, Hiro lunged at the uniformed woman in front of him, chasing her around the large space. She's trapped in here, if I can just- But she was gone, through yet another portal. And of course, Hiro followed.
The next time was different. Hiro had been beginning to think that he may have been wrong- maybe Sirque had fixed Krei's faulty invention, maybe the portals were safe, maybe he had nothing to worry about. But no. This time instead of popping smoothly out, Hiro felt a strange, uncomfortable pulling sensation. The field. It's reaching in.
No. Hiro remembered this. Very clearly. The slightly uncomfortable sensation as he'd entered the portal the first time had only strengthened as it destabilized. As atoms began to be pulled apart instead of together. Hyperspace turned to hypersleep.
His nightmares.
Hiro hadn't even considered that- what if I go into hypersleep in here? But then he was through, and desperate to stop Sirque from continuing. The second he caught a flash of red and black, he was after it. "You are getting very annoying!" Sirque yelled back, leaping off cargo crate and disappearing into yet another portal.
No no no no- Time seemed to slow down around Hiro as the portal flashed reddish-pink. It's destabilizing. It's happening. But he couldn't stop, and so he was through.
This one was even longer, time stretching as Hiro felt his body stretch and lengthen. This must be what it's like to travel close to a black hole. Hiro thought.
No.
Oh, no no no.
There's no way this thing could make a black hole if it imploded, right?
Surrounded by deep clouds of smoke and specks of light, Hiro tried to think past the stretching sensation. It sucked everything in, it was eating mass but never growing bigger because it was held together by the frame. But… Hiro gasped slowly, finding any movement difficult. His body felt… weirdly heavy. The frame was coming apart. If it had no boundaries… this has no frame. If it implodes- some part of him still couldn't believe his theory, but he reminded himself- a star was born in San Franskyo Bay twice, so anything can happen.
I really have to stop this thing.
Not just for him and his friends now- no, for the whole city.
Maybe even the whole world.
Suddenly time sped up and Hiro felt himself return to normal, only to be thrown against a wall of crates as he appeared inside one of the storage closets of… the news station? Every bone in his body screamed in protest- from the impact of the metal crates or the hyperspace travel, Hiro wasn't sure. Ignoring the pain, Hiro jumped up and pelted after Sirque, yelling her name as he chased her relentlessly through the station's shooting room and over the edge of the balcony.
Into yet another zapping portal.
Panic blurred the edges of Hiro's vision. This time it felt almost exactly them same as- but then he was through. It's unstable! He hadn't thought of it in the context of a black hole. That means it'll stretch and shrin- "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Hiro screamed, all other thoughts gone as he realized what was happening. We're falling! We're falling we're falling we're- as the ground hurtled towards them Hiro let go, followed by Sirque. It was all very disconcerting to say the least.
Letting go didn't help much.
Hiro hit the ground hard. He thought he heard something crack as he made impact, scream cut off as the teen was sent sprawling across jagged pieces of metal ready to be compacted. Agony flashed across Hiro's side and arm, but Sirque stood and so did Hiro. "Que'est que passé?" She muttered. The young hero didn't know what that meant, but he could guess. Pointing angrily to the flashing, crackling energy field behind them, Hiro retorted. "Your portal's unstable!"
"Impossible!" The physicist replied, leaping away yet again. Groaning, Hiro set off after her, trying not to imagine how bad this would hurt once the adrenaline wore off. How is she not down yet? But she wasn't, and so neither was he.
There was too much at stake.
So he hit the ground running, although his hand thrusters were sputtering and every tense muscle was begging Hiro to stop. He rolled and continued off after Sirque- only to be blown back by a massive gust of air. Hiro hit the ground face-first, chest and face stinging as they clapped against their armor. Thank goodness I have armor. Hiro thought groggily, pushing himself slowly to his feet. Gotta keep going.
The sight in front of him gave him all the strength he needed.
This portal was more than unstable- it was about to blow. A pinkish glow was shining from the vaguely circular shape, pulsing with some unknown energy as the orbs struggled to maintain frame. I can't let them break away. It's the only thing keeping this wack piece of tech from blowing.
So Hiro stood, muscles straining as he straightened only to duck under a massive plank being sucked into the lifelike energy mass. "You have to stop it or it's going to explode!" Hiro yelled to the villain in front of him, voice rough. That's not quite the right word for it. Sirque glanced at the sucking vacuum, then back at Hiro, eyes widening under her red and black face paint. "No! My show must go on!" Hiro lunged for her only to hit the ground again as she disappeared into the massive hole, still radiating an eerie light.
My show must go on? All of this is for a show? Whatever the motive, Hiro knew he needed to stop it. But-
If he went in this time, he might never come out.
The portal was already unstable, and it looked like it was about to go. Hiro dodged yet another large piece of debris, grateful for his visor to keep him from the dry gusting wind whipping around him into the portal, almost strong enough to knock Hiro off his feet. I barely made it out the first time. What if…
No. I have to do this. For my friends. For Aunt Cass. For the whole city.
For Tadashi's memory.
Author's note: What did you think? I think it's a little more realistic to have Hiro be legitimately freaking out- and getting hurt. I mean... he fell like thirty feet. He should get hurt. It's called gravity... right? Idek anymore lol. Anyways, please R+R and give me some constructive criticism! I would really appreciate it.
Side note: I just hit 100 subs on my YouTube account (TheStoriedLife). I'm uploading a video about fanfiction soon so make sure you check it out!
