A Brother's Keeper

by Tadashinfj

Hiro and Tadashi are finishing the first term of college...and it's really stressful. When both of them come down with the flu, Hiro has to be his brother's nurse, which isn't fun. After a moped accident, Dashi's illness skyrockets to the worst and Hiro brings him to the hospital...but the hospital is really suspicious. Something isn't right, and it's up to Hiro to find out what.

6. Chapter 6

hey! this is either the second- or third-to-last part of this story...i hope y'all like it! i had so much fun writing this chapter!

this story has taken the place of After The Storm as longest to story, not in chapters but in pages in Microsoft Word...i'm at 56 pages now, so it'll be fun to see how much longer this story gets.

thanks to silvie for reviewing! i hope you enjoy this chapter...i tried to make it as action-packed and suspenseful as possible...hopefully this is a good read for you!

—TADASHI—

My mouth falls open and I stare at Hiro. "How do you know?"

"I don't," he mumbles. "I'm just guessing. But I'm absolutely certain that's what our parents were working on—that's why Obake would want me to work with him, because he thinks I know something about the energy amplifier."

As much as I hate to admit it, it makes sense. And Obake would want Hiro over me, because he's a lot smarter. But it's not like Hiro and I ever knew what was going on, since we were both really young and our parents wouldn't reveal anything about their experiment. Obake probably doesn't know that, though, so it does make sense that he would want Hiro to help him.

"Hiro, you can't go to him," I tell my baby brother. "He's never going to let you come back. Let me go—if he wants information about the energy amplifier, I can get that just as easily as you can."

Hiro shakes his head vehemently. "No, Tadashi. Obake doesn't want you, he wants me. And I'm not giving him anybody he doesn't want—he'll just kill you and probably everyone else if I don't show up."

I sigh. "Okay. But I'm going with you, and you're not allowed to do anything stupid."

"It's a little hard not to," Hiro says, smirking. "That's just how I am."

I laugh and ruffle Hiro's hair. "True. But just promise me we'll be careful and not rush things. And we're gonna try to get everyone out while we're there."

"Of course. When should we leave?"

"Whenever the rain stops…"

But the next day, the rain still hasn't stopped. Hiro and I decide that the only way to do this is to fly in the rain and try to make the thrusters waterproof.

Hiro, Honey, and I set off in the middle of the night, unbeknownst to Aunt Cass. She'd never let us leave if she knew what we were going to do, so we've opted to just not tell her.

We soar over the roaring ocean, struggling to fly against the slanting rain. I can barely see, even with my visor. Finally, we touch down outside Obake's base, and Hiro takes a deep breath. "You ready, guys?"

Honey and I both nod. "As we'll ever be," I say, putting a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "Let's do this."

"Yeah," Honey adds. "No better time than now."

Hiro takes another calming breath and calls, "Obake!"

The huge double doors immediately open, revealing Obake, the killer Baymax standing behind him.

"Well, hello, Hiro," Obake says softly, sounding mildly surprised. "I wasn't sure you'd make it."

"Of course I made it," Hiro growls. "You thought I'd leave my team behind?"

"No, of course not. I simply wished to…what is it they say? Get a rise out of you."

The villain claps his hands once, and Baymax steps out of the shadows, lunging forward and grabbing Hiro's arm. My baby brother lets out a tiny squeak of pain and tries to pull away, but Baymax is really strong. The robot pulls Hiro's armor off, piece by piece, and throws it on the ground. I surge forward, ready to attack anyone I need to, but Obake shoves me back. Then Baymax pulls my baby brother into the base, Hiro struggling furiously but unable to get away.

I can do nothing as the doors slam shut.

But before the anger can set in, a small window in the door slides open and Obake's face appears.

"I'm so sorry, Tadashi, I forgot to invite you in," he says, sounding almost polite. The doors open and Honey and I cautiously step inside. I'm still on my guard—Obake wouldn't just let us in without a purpose.

"What are you going to do with Hiro?" I growl, my fists clench. "Swear you won't touch him or you'll wish you'd never been born."

Obake laughs. "Don't worry, Hiro won't get hurt if he cooperates. Even if he doesn't, it won't be too bad. Just enough to make him agree to my demands. I do not intend to kill your brother, Tadashi. I promise Hiro will be safe as he can be. You, however…you may not. But I'm sure you'll be entertained."

He claps his hands again, and I hear soft whirring. Dark shapes step out of the shadows, and I realize with a shudder that they're the robots modeled after Big Hero 6—as well as Dr. Armstrong and Ellie.

"Good luck," Obake says softly, and he vanishes into the darkness.

The robots step forward, their eyes glowing red. I raise my fists, ready to shoot electricity at them.

"Tadashi?" Honey whispers. "If we don't make it…I love you. I would have married you."

"We'll make it," I say, trying to sound determined. "But…yeah. Me too, Honey."

We stand back-to-back, ready to fight. I take a deep breath and activate my blasters.

The robots lunge. So do Honey and I.

This is for Hiro.

—HIRO—

I struggle against Baymax's iron grip, but he's not going to let me go anytime soon. I'm pretty sure my arm is going to bruise, and I've probably pulled my shoulder again trying to wrench myself free. Stopping might be a good idea—I'm already hurt, and I can't afford to get any worse.

Baymax throws me onto the floor in a large room filled with screens. I let out a small yelp of pain as the cut on my side protests, but I scramble to my feet and bolt for the door. Baymax's arm hits me in the stomach and throws me backwards, and I smack the back of my head on the metal floor. The impact dazes me for a few seconds, and that's all Baymax needs to wrestle me back into his arms.

I continue struggling, but it's fruitless—Baymax is too strong. I fall limp in his grasp, mustering my best scowl as Obake walks into the room.

"So sorry we had to meet this way, Hiro," he murmurs, shaking his head. "I would have preferred you cooperate…but as that is evidently not going to happen, we'll simply discuss the terms now, before you have time to be any more irritating than you already are."

I glare at Obake, my eyes narrowed. "I will never help you."

"We'll see about that. Now, did you visit your parents' lab?"

"We didn't need to. I know they were working on the energy amplifier."

Obake smiles cruelly. "Clever boy. Yes, they were working on the energy amplifier, in fact trying to beat me to the solution. Pity it killed them before they got there…I wish I could take credit for their deaths, but no. It was simply a miscalculation in their work that caused the amplifier to explode. I was triumphant, though—my rivals were dead, and the report given to me said that the whole family had been killed.

"Imagine my anger when I learned that their two young sons had been found in the wreckage of the lab, injured but very much alive. I had hoped that no one would be able to discover the Hamadas' secret of the amplifier, save myself alone. But I soon discovered that the boys knew nothing of their parents' ill-fated experiment, and I breathed again.

"Then one day, as I tinkered in my lab, the news came on behind me. And on it, I saw a young boy now renowned for his genius-level intelligence quotient, the son of the famed inventors who had perished years ago. I realized that there may still be clues as to the amplifier's blueprint…and that Hiro Hamada may be the key to unlocking the secrets."

Obake finishes his monologue and stares at me. "Do you have any plans or blueprints for the amplifier? It would be wise to not hold anything back."

I shake my head. "I was three when my parents died. Do you expect a toddler—especially one that was injured and in shock—to remember where his parents could have hidden a bunch of blueprints?"

"No, I don't expect you to remember. However, I am certain you at least know the location of the lab and can help me find the blueprints there."

I stare at the ground. I do indeed know the location of the lab. But it's not like I'm going to tell Obake that.

"I'm not gonna help you," I mumble. "I can't put that much power into your hands. Actually, I'd prefer to put no power into your hands at all. That's my final answer."

Obake sighs. "I thought you were smarter than that."

Baymax steps forward, rubbing his hands together. I stiffen as I realize what he's about to do, and I try to get out of the way. But Baymax lunges forward and closes his huge hands around my chest, then defibrillates.

I let out a yelp of pain at the sudden shock, and Baymax releases me. I fall to the ground, clutching my chest, and curl into the fetal position. Baymax's hand comes down on my shoulder, and he shocks me again. This time I scream, the sound shattering the air. But I grit my teeth and growl, "I will—never—help you."

Obake frowns. "You brought this upon yourself."

I lose count of how many times Baymax shocks me. I'm screaming in pain, but also in fury—I'm not going to let Obake mess the world up.

Finally, it stops, and I realize I'm crying. Silently, but still crying. That's embarrassing.

"What is your decision, Hiro?" Obake asks softly.

"No," I gasp. "Never."

Obake's face hardens. Baymax wrestles me to my feet, and through blurred vision, I can see his access port. That's my goal.

In one fluid motion, I pull out a copy of the chip, press the access port, and shove the green chip inside.

Obake lets out a scream of fury as Baymax blinks and starts to fall over on top of me. I manage to yank the Obake-engineered chip out and Baymax stands straight up, uttering one word.

"Hiro."

I fling my arms around the robot, and he does the same, his scanner whirring. "My scan shows that you have been the victim of several electric shocks. I will begin treatment now."

"Thanks, Baymax," I mumble, my momentary rush of adrenaline gone. My head spins and I feel tingly all over, though the sharp pain is gone, reduced to a slight ache.

"You haven't stopped me, Hiro," Obake says threateningly. "I will allow the robot to accompany us into the amplifier room, but he must not interfere."

"I will not interfere unless there is danger to my patient," Baymax says, scooping me into his arms and placing a cold compress hand on my forehead. I try to struggle, but I kinda feel like I'm about to pass out, so I let him carry me into a room filled with purple light.

In the center of the room is the energy amplifier.

—TADASHI—

I fire a bolt of electricity at the Wasabi-bot, burning a hole in its torso. It falls and I feel a momentary sense of triumph, then the Fred-bot jumps on my back and starts pummeling me. I thrash furiously, trying to throw it off, and it plunges a fist into the small of my back. I yelp and dive to the floor, now rolling around and punching the robot. Finally, I manage to get the Fred-bot off me with a ball of lightning, then spin around to help Honey with the GoGo-bot.

We manage to take it, the Dr. Armstrong-bot, and the Nurse Ellie-bot down, but the last one is obviously the hardest to defeat.

It's Baymax, but a copy. And it's only the skeleton, no vinyl attached. The size has been increased and the new Baymax seems to be a lot more deadly. He has rocket fists, of course, plus what looks like laser eyes. That's really scary.

Honey fires a chem ball at the killer Baymax, slowing it down slightly but not stopping the huge robot. The skeleton points a fist at me and powers up. I throw myself to the ground and the fist streaks over my head, ricochets off the wall, and hits Honey, knocking her over.

"Honey!" I scream, standing up and running over to her—maybe not the best idea, because I immediately feel the killer Baymax's other fist crash into my side.

I let out a scream of pain as I fall to the ground, hot sharp pain coursing through my ribs and hip. But I am not going down that easily. I stumble to my feet and face the Baymax skeleton, then sprint over to it, circling around and leaping onto its back. The laser eyes burn all over the room as it tries to throw me off.

With a guttural scream, I yank open the robot's control panel and fire a blade of electricity into the center.

The killer Baymax collapses, and I slide down the side of the robot, falling limply onto the metal floor. My head is spinning and everything hurts. But I have to get to Honey.

And Hiro.

I push myself to my feet, one arm wrapped around my rib cage. The bones are definitely bruised, and some of them are probably broken. My hip and my stomach both feel bruised pretty deep, and smaller injuries like cuts and scrapes cover everything unprotected by my armor. My goggles have a huge crack in them—I'm gonna have to get Hiro to fix them when this is all over.

I limp over to Honey in a sort of half-crouch, trying to take pressure off my injured side. It really hurts. Nevertheless, I keep going, knowing that I have to help my girlfriend, my brother, my team, and my healthcare providers—and I might be the only one who can.

"Honey?" I whisper as I finally reach her. "Are you—are you okay?" Man, my ribs hurt.

"D-dashi…" Honey whispers. "I'm okay…just h-hit my head…"

I gently brush a hand over her skull and am horrified to find a depression under Honey's hair—just past the hairline, so I can't see it, but I can feel it.

Pulling Honey's limp body into my arms, I gently stroke her hair. "Honey, please don't panic…you have a skull fracture."

"I f-figured…that out…you bonehead." Honey gives me a weak smile. "Just…l-leave me here…g-go save Hiro…"

"I'm not just gonna leave you, Honey—"

"You have to…it's f-for the g-greater good, Dashi…" She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I'll be okay…please, Tadashi. I w-want you to go help Hiro…j-just promise you'll come back…"

My heart breaks. I don't want to leave Honey, but I know I need to help Hiro. If I want to save San Fransokyo, I'm going to have to.

"I'll come back," I whisper, kissing Honey on the forehead. "Try not to die."

Honey laughs weakly. "I won't die…I promise…"

I gently set her down, all my boyfriend instincts screaming at me to not leave her behind.

But I do.

I broke my promise.

I left someone behind.

I limp down the hall, still clutching my side. "Hiro?" I whisper, trying to make my voice work, but my ribs throb every time I talk and I can't get any louder.

A faint purple glow shines at the end of the hall, and I limp faster, curious. What is that?

Upon closer inspection, it's the energy amplifier. And Hiro, Baymax, and Obake are all standing around it—well, Baymax and Obake are standing. Hiro is curled in Baymax's arms, completely limp. But his eyes are open, and he notices me.

Go, Hiro mouths. I shake my head vehemently, wincing as it throbs painfully. I can't go.

Baymax has also noticed me, and he presses his comm link. I hold mine up to my ear, realizing that Hiro must have reprogrammed him somehow.

"Hello, Tadashi," Baymax says over the link, not speaking out loud. "I believe Hiro is asking you to find and free your friends."

"I can't just leave him," I whisper.

"He will be alright. My scanner shows that your friends are being held around the corner in the largest cell. It is locked with very sophisticated programming. I advise that you disable it quickly and alert us when you do, then begin the flight back to San Fransokyo."

"Promise me you'll protect Hiro."

"Of course, Tadashi. He is my patient."

I give Hiro a tiny wave, and he smiles weakly at me. Feeling like I've betrayed him somehow, I set off down the darkened corridor, looking for the largest cell.

As I limp nearer to the door at the end of the hall, I can hear soft voices coming from behind it. This is indeed the cell that everyone is in.

I tap on the door softly, trying not to make too much noise. "Hey, guys, it's me."

"Tadashi?" comes Dr. Armstrong's voice. "Is that you?"

"The one and only," I tell him. "I'm going to break you guys out, okay?"

Aiming a small, concentrated beam of electricity at the panel that houses the locking mechanism, I fry the circuitry in the cell, and the door slides open.

Five pairs of eyes stare back at me, all ringed with dark circles. I'm sure I look worse, but they're so happy to see me I don't even care. Suddenly, everyone envelops me in a group hug—even GoGo, who's not much of a hugger, and Ellie, who I don't even know very well. The embrace nearly crushes my ribs, but I don't care. I care that I managed to rescue my friends.

"We've got to get out of here, guys," I whisper when they finally stop. "Honey's injured, and Obake…he doesn't exactly have Hiro, but he and Baymax are in the same room as Obake and it'll be hard to get them out of there."

"How bad is Honey?" Dr. Armstrong asks. "I can check her out."

"I think her skull is fractured." I mumble. "And if you don't mind, my ribs are probably broken."

"That is bad," Dr. Armstrong mutters. "I'll take a look. Do we have transportation out of here?"

I try to remember all our transportation methods. "Hiro's thrusters and armor should be somewhere near Honey, and Honey's got hers—someone else is gonna have to use them, though, since she can't. And Baymax will work, too—if we can get him and Hiro away from Obake."

"Me and Wasabi and GoGo can try to get Hiro and Baymax out," Fred volunteers. "We are superheroes, after all. Maybe the doctors and Honey should get out of here?"

That's actually a good idea. That way, we won't all leave at once, so Obake won't be able to attack our group as a whole.

"Good plan, Fred," I tell him. "Members of Big Hero 6 will get Hiro and Baymax away from Obake, with the exception of Honey Lemon. Dr. Armstrong, Ellie, you two need to get Honey back to the mainland and get her treated. You can take Hiro's thrusters if you need an extra set—just make sure to get the rest of his armor, I don't want him to have to make more. I'll stay here and help rescue Hiro and Baymax. Sound good?"

There's a general murmur of assent, and I nod determinedly. "Alright, then. Let's head out."

Dr. Armstrong and Ellie silently tiptoe down the hall, passing the amplifier room without incident. A few minutes later, waiting in the silence, I hear the double doors slide open and then shut again. They're on their way. I let out a sigh of relief and turn to GoGo, Wasabi, and Fred. "You guys ready?"

They all nod.

I take a deep breath—and then have to clutch my ribs since it really hurts to breathe—and step into the amplifier room. "Obake?"

The villain turns, and behind him, Hiro's eyes widen.

"Tadashi," Obake says softly. "I confess I'm surprised you made it out. But no matter…I can easily take you down. I have backup, you see."

"I'm not going down easily," I growl. "None of us are. And you're about to learn that for yourself."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll put up a fight," Obake agrees, his voice silky-smooth. "But I will ultimately prevail. Big Hero 6 is no match for me, and I am about to prove it."

Baymax gently sets Hiro down—my baby brother's knees almost give out, but he stays standing—and turns to face Obake. "I would advise that you come into custody without a fight. Violence is not necessary."

"Sometimes it is, robot. Sometimes it is. And I wonder if you've noticed you're not capable of karate anymore?"

Baymax looks as confused as a robot possibly can, then attempts a palm-heel strike. His hand simply flies through the air, nearly knocking over Hiro.

"What did you do to him?" Hiro whispers, his voice weak and scratchy. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out earlier," Obake laughs. "I simply transferred his fighting data to the chip you pulled out. His karate chip is useless now—and what did you do with the other one that you removed?"

Hiro pulls the broken pieces of the purple chip out of his pocket and stares down at them, a look of horror dawning on his face.

"That's right," Obake says softly. "He can't fight. And soon, you won't be able to either. I never imagined it would be so easy to eliminate Big Hero 6."

He steps out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

I completely disregard this, instead flinging my arms around Hiro and stroking his hair. Hiro actually starts crying, burying his face in my shoulder, and we sink to the ground.

"Are you okay?" I whisper.

"He…he s-shocked me," Hiro rasps. "With Baymax's defibrillators. Because I wouldn't help him."

"Oh, Hiro. I'm so sorry." I can't believe anyone would do that to my baby brother. "We'll take him down, I promise."

"Hate to break up the brotherly moment," GoGo cuts in. "But Obake left something in here. And he locked the door, so it's not like we can get rid of it."

I look up as she points to the energy amplifier. It sits on its pedestal, looking as harmless as it possibly can while being a deadly device that could take out the whole city.

But underneath is a timer. It reads 5:00. Then it ticks to 4:59.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up as I realize what's going to happen.

The amplifier is going to explode.

With us inside the room.

We are so, so dead.