hey everyone! part five is here...the next chapter will be the last. I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far!
thanks to silvie for reviewing!
and before anyone asks any questions about what gogo does in this chapter...she would have done it. if she loved wasabi at all, she would have done it. she really cares about him.
also i needed more people to die so...XD
peace out! happy reading!
The warehouse looms up in front of me, and I skid to a halt in front of it, panting. I take a moment to catch my breath before I limp inside, trying to be as quiet as possible.
The whole place is completely silent—until the cry of a baby shatters the still air. Teddy. At least he isn't the one Obake killed.
But who is it? Was he just bluffing to get me to come here faster, or is one of my friends or family really dead? And Obake obviously wrote that note right after the explosion, and I don't know how long I was passed out, so he could have killed more of them. I hope I wasn't unconscious for long.
I don't see anyone on the floor of the warehouse, so I climb the staircase to a catwalk, making more noise than I would like. When I get to the top, I see Obake's face shining through the darkness.
"Welcome, Hiro," he says mockingly. "This time I knew you'd come."
"Of course I did," I say through gritted teeth. "Where are they?"
Obake gestures behind him into the darkness. "Right here." He turns and flicks on a switch, and light illuminates the room.
My team and family are tied up against the wall, all of them except little Teddy, who is unrestrained. Either Obake has a heart or he didn't have rope small enough. I count everyone feverishly, praying that Obake hasn't followed through on his note.
But he has. Aunt Cass and Wasabi are both gone, though this doesn't indicate if they're dead or not. Obake still might be bluffing. Though knowing him, he could just as easily be telling the truth.
"What do you want from me?" I challenge Obake, my voice trembling more than I'd like it to.
"Simple. I need your energy amplifier back."
I finger the device, still in my pocket. "No way. Just let them go, and run away. Far away. And never come near us again. Then we'll never try to come after you, either."
"I thought you'd say that," Obake sighs. He pulls out a pistol. "So I suppose you may need a little…persuasion."
He points the gun at Tadashi and fires.
I scream, Tadashi screams, Honey screams, and Teddy lets out an earsplitting shriek.
Honey shoves Tadashi, who is holding their son (as best as he can while tied up), out of the way of the bullet. Tadashi's head smacks into the floor and he goes limp. Honey's tied up, too, so I'm really impressed at her being able to save Tadashi. As well as scooping up her son on her knees as blood pours from her shoulder.
I can't stand it anymore. I tackle Obake, clawing and kicking and scratching and not even caring what happens to me. I think I'm a match for him—he's not a very big man. Neither am I, I guess—in fact, I'm a short, skinny, underfed, injured boy, but whatever. I can take him down if I have enough adrenaline.
Obake tries to throw me off, but I hang on as tightly as possible. Which isn't very tight, but I'm strong enough and at a good enough angle that he can't reach me. I can hear the others screaming and probably trying to work their bonds off. At least two people are sobbing and Teddy is screaming the house down.
Then, thrown off balance, Obake stumbles backwards toward the railing, and I know we're going to fall over it. I try to jump off his back—which works, but I land on my stomach on the railing and get all the wind knocked out of me. Unable to hold on, I tumble to the floor of the warehouse with a scream.
I land squarely on top of Obake and roll off him onto the floor. My back is not happy—the pulled muscle is screaming at me—and neither is my knee, which is probably twisted worse, but I'm not hurt. I shakily stand up and look down at Obake, who seems to be half-conscious.
"Do you surrender?" I whisper, shaking violently. "Do you? You can't beat us now."
"I will…return…one day…" Obake groans. "I…will…"
Suddenly, he leaps up and slams a fist into my face. I yelp and fall over, landing on my tailbone, clutching my face. My nose is bleeding now and my cheek is going to bruise. Awesome.
I try to get up, but Obake puts a foot on my chest and presses down. I gasp as he glares down at me.
"You—" he begins.
But his sentence is never finished as a yellow blur drops from the catwalk above with a guttural scream. GoGo slices at Obake with her disks, finally holding one to his throat.
"This—is for—Wasabi," she growls, and slits his throat.
Then she draws back and pulls the disk across her own.
Both of them fall to the ground, dead.
I lay on the ground, panting and rubbing my bruised sternum. Obake has really hard shoes. I sit up, trembling, and can fully see the bodies of GoGo and Obake, motionless and bleeding. And now, beyond them, the bodies of Wasabi and Aunt Cass. Both shot through the heart.
Tears start to stream down my face. We managed to save the city. But now, everything is lost again.
I hear pounding footsteps and look up to see Dashi scrambling down the catwalk. "Hiro! Are you okay?"
I sniff, wipe my eyes, and nod. "I—I'm okay."
Tadashi, supporting Honey and holding Teddy at the same time, sinks to his knees beside me. "Are you sure?" I shake my head, wincing as my headache pulses. "They're dead, Dashi…and it's my fault…"
"Hiro, look at me."
I tilt my face up at him, struggling to see through my tears.
"Hiro," Dashi says gently. "This wasn't your fault. It was never your fault. You came as soon as you could, and Obake is the one who fired the gun on—" His voice cracks. "On Wasabi and Aunt Cass. And GoGo died because she wanted to be with Wasabi, and she took Obake down with her. None of this is your fault, Hiro."
I bury my face in my hands. "But if I'd run faster—woken up sooner—not searched for you guys—I could've saved everyone."
Tadashi smiles sympathetically. "I'm sure you ran as fast as you could, and you know, if you were unconscious, then there's no way for you to control that."
"How long has it been?"
"Around three hours. You were probably passed out for a while. Is your head okay?"
I touch the bruise on the side of my head, wincing slightly. "It hurts a little, but it was the shock wave that knocked me out, not the impact. So I guess I have a bruise but not a concussion." I give Tadashi a weak smile. "I'm okay. Just a little beat up." I pause, then add, "What about you?"
Dashi looks like he would rub the back of his neck if he weren't carrying his wife and son. "I'm fine. We got out of the explosion in time, and Honey didn't let that bullet get me. But I feel so bad about that."
Honey, slumped on Tadashi's shoulder, mumbles, "I would do it again, so don't feel bad."
Dashi gives her a kiss. "I'm taking you to the hospital, okay? You too, Hiro. And Fred, get down here!"
Fred super jumps over the railing and lands beside us. "Do you guys need a ride?"
We actually manage to get to the hospital and get treated by the doctors there, and the four bodies are removed from the warehouse.
I don't actually cry until we get home, when I trudge up the stairs and collapse onto my bed. The fact that Aunt Cass didn't come home with us is killing me. I sob into my pillow for what must be hours, until the pillowcase is soaked and my eyes are red and puffy. My head throbs worse and my whole body is shaking.
No one else is home—Tadashi dropped me off and then ran back to the hospital with Teddy so he could see Honey after her surgery, so I'm all alone.
All alone.
I lay facedown on my bed, still shaking and sniffling a little, my stomach growling for sustenance. I don't remember the last time I ate, but at least now we should be able to get food shipped into San Fransokyo. We won't have to starve for much longer.
Suddenly, my phone buzzes so loudly that I fall off my bed, landing—hard—on my back on the floor. I let out a yelp as the muscle I pulled earlier protests, and I lay on the floor for a couple seconds, unable to get up.
"Ow," I groan, sitting up and rubbing my back. "Ow, ow, ow. Whoever is texting me better have something important to say."
Still on the floor, I reach up to the desk and grab my phone. It's Tadashi.
hey, little bro. the surgery's over and she's gonna be okay. heading back now. do you want me to pick up baymax on the way back?
Oh my gosh!
Baymax is still out there!
I hurriedly text Dashi back.
yeah, that'd be great. do you need my help for it?
no, just stay there and rest, hiro…seriously
i'm fine, dashi!
I bet you have a headache…and a backache...seriously, just rest and I'll be back soon
ok dashi :)
I put my phone back on the desk and drag myself downstairs to grab a rice sock for my back. I've been working on a sort of portable microwave, which will hopefully work for heating up rice socks.
Shoving the sock into the microwave for two minutes, I collapse on my bed again, tracing patterns on my blanket and thinking. I wonder what I look like at the moment. I can't look any better. But I feel like it's impossible to look any worse than I already did.
I get up again and go into the bathroom, stopping in front of the mirror. I let out a small gasp at the sight of my face. The cut on my cheek has stopped bleeding, as has my nose where Obake punched me, but that doesn't mean my face isn't covered in blood. My other cheek is bruising, and my whole face is covered in dirt and smokestains. Add that to the dark shadows under my eyes and the chips of rock littering my tangled hair, and I am an absolute wreck.
Letting out a sigh, I turn on the faucet, just out of habit to see if it'll work.
It does. Furthermore, the lights in the bathroom come on when I flip the switch. We haven't had electricity or water for months.
I wash my hands—when was my skin ever that color?—and then decide I should just take a shower. I have never been so happy in my life to take a simple shower. It's blazing hot, but I don't care. I stay in there for at least an hour.
When I finally get out, a towel wrapped around my waist, I look at my reflection again. I'm amazed at what I see—the bay isn't really adequate for washing myself. All the blood and dirt is gone, and my hair, while still messy and tangled, is at least clean. The shadows are still there, but they seem less pronounced with all the dirt gone. My skin is almost pink, which is pretty cool. I can't remember the last time I was actually clean.
My stomach growls again, wanting donuts. I sigh, get dressed, and head downstairs to where Tadashi is dragging Baymax inside. "Hey, Hiro—"
He stops and stares at me. "Did you take a shower?"
"Yeah," I say, my face practically glowing. "The water's back on! And so's the electricity!"
Tadashi yanks Baymax through the door and turns to me, panting. "That's great! I'mma go take a shower after I get this guy upstairs." He reaches out and cups my face in his hands. "You look better, but your face just…Hiro, we've gotta get you more food. You're too skinny."
"Haven't I always been that way?"
"Well, yeah, but your cheeks are all hollow now and I need you to have chubby cheeks forever so I can tease you about them."
I laugh and swat his hand away. "And you need to go take a shower, bro. You stink. I'll get Baymax upstairs."
Tadashi smiles and goes upstairs to take a shower. Getting Baymax up a flight of stairs proves immensely difficult, and with my strength depleted, I find myself simply collapsed over the robot, my back aching from straining to pull him across the room. How is Tadashi so strong?
I finally just shove Baymax into the garage and go outside, where Honey is still in the car, nursing Teddy. They finish as I come out, and Teddy lets out a little coo that I hope means he's happy to see me.
"Hey, Hiro!" Honey exclaims. "You look better—did you take a shower or something?"
"Uh-huh. The pipes are back on. How'd the surgery go?"
She fingers the bandage on her shoulder. "It wasn't that bad. They just tweezed the bullet out, stitched it, and wrapped it up. I know you wouldn't like it—there was kind of a lot of blood. How are you doing, Hiro? After the…you know, the warehouse? And the explosion?"
I stare at the ground and mumble, "I'm okay."
"You're not, Hiro. You've been crying."
I didn't know anyone could tell. That's not good. "I'm fine, Honey. I will be, at least."
Honey smiles sympathetically. "Dashi and I are here for you whenever you need us."
She kisses me on the cheek and goes inside. I struggle to keep tears back. I don't want to cry again.
The next day, Tadashi actually manages to find ingredients for donuts. He brings them back to the café and makes a batch of maple donuts—my favorite.
I eat at least six donuts. Which probably isn't good, but I'm so hungry I could eat the whole box. I leave some for Dashi and Honey, though. I would feel bad if I didn't.
I regret the donuts about an hour later, curled into the fetal position on my bed. My stomach is distended and I have cramps. I forgot you're not supposed to eat a lot after being deprived of food for a long time.
Dashi comes upstairs, stopping when he sees me. "You okay, Hiro?"
"No," I groan. "I've got stomach cramps."
Tadashi sighs and sits down on the bed. "Didn't I tell you to go slow?"
"Yeah, but they were donuts."
Dashi laughs and puts a hand on my midsection, massaging it. "I'll get you a rice sock. It'll go away if you just rest."
"I feel dead," I moan, gazing up at Tadashi. "How do you not feel sick?"
"I didn't eat six donuts. I ate two, which isn't nearly as many as you did. Don't worry, Hiro, you'll feel better soon."
He leaves and returns a few minutes later with a rice sock, which he places on my stomach. "Just go to sleep, Hiro. The funeral is tomorrow, so we've gotta get up early. Good night." He kisses my forehead, just like our mother used to do, and goes into his room.
I almost forgot about the funeral. But I haven't forgotten everyone who died, and I miss them so much it almost hurts physically.
I pull the covers over myself and try to sleep, glancing out the window before I drift off.
I wish I could see the stars.
