It was supposed to be a regular trip to Muihara Woods. Instead, the former real estate king known as Ned Ludd transformed into the boogeyman of the woods: The Hibagon before their very eyes, and he was out for their blood.
"Intern, intern's friend, am I dreaming?" Krei whimpered. "Please say yes. Please say yes."
"No. This is very real." Hiro answered."Unfortunately." Gogo grumbled.
The Hibagon stopped howling and leapt at Krei, who yelped as he roared in his face.
"Not the face!" He cried out as a claw swung for him, Gogo managed to pull him away in time. The Hibagon's claws struck the dirt instead, grounding him.
"Run! We can lose him in the trees." She told them, and they all bolted for the thicker part of the woods. Hiro looked up as the Hibagon started chasing after them by leaping from tree to tree. He landed back on the ground and swung for Hiro, his foot nearly struck by the claws as he ducked under the dense trunks of the forest.
Hiro kept panting as he ran past the thick trucks, catching up to Krei and Gogo. "I think we lost him." He gasped, then picked up the pace as the Hibagon roared. "But let's keep running just in case!"
They ran into a fork in the road. "Go left!" Krei told them.
"No, we need to go right!" Gogo yelled at him. Hiro dragged Krei to the right side as Gogo ran ahead.
As she was running, she looked back at them. "Would you hurry up-AAAH!" Then yelped as she fell into some branches and hit cold water.
"We're going the wrong way!" Krei protested as they ran up to the ledge, but no sign of the engineer.
Then, Gogo's head emerged from the running river, gasping for air as the current dragged her away.
"Well, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so!" The CEO chased after her, Hiro narrowed his eyes before following suit.
"Gogo!" He called out.
She kept struggling to escape the water's hold, then heard rumbling as the waterfall was pulling her closer. "Well, this isn't good." And swam harder.
Hiro ran up to the river as Krei leaned on a tree, then grabbed a thick branch. Gogo clung to a boulder, but her grasp was slipping. Hiro tried catching her hand but when she reached, they missed and she yelped.
"Gaga! Grab onto this!" Krei ran to the mouth of the fall and extended the branch, she was barely able to catch it.
"It's Gogo!" She yelled at him. As the falls were about to drag Krei in, Hiro pulled him back onto shore by foot until he and Gogo were safe. They all panted, exhausted and soaked.
"I am so out of shape. I need a new personal trainer." Krei wheezed. "Or a standing desk."
"I hate this river." Hiro groaned.
"Why didn't you listen to me?" Krei asked Gogo. "Why did you go right?"
"Because the opposite of anything you say usually works."
He stood up. "The right part of the path had lush foliage, a clear indicator of a significant body of water nearby." Both students gave him weird looks. "What? I can know things."
"I thought the Hibagon was fake." Gogo said as Hiro pulled her up.
"Not anymore."
"Maybe whatever happened to Orso Knox and the villains happened to Ned." She pointed out.
"Yeah! At the dance, one second High Voltage was human then bam!" Hiro slammed his fist. "They mutated into eels in the blink of an eye!"
"Shh!" Krei shushed them. "Did you hear that?"
The Hibagon's howl echoed through the trees, it sounded close. "He caught up…" Hiro whispered.
"Okay, not fake. I get it." Gogo shivered, she then saw Krei smearing mud on his face and arms.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Hiro questioned.
"Masking my scent. Do you know anything?"
Hiro ran over to cover himself in mud as the howling got louder. "Gogo, come on."
But she hesitated. "I'm already freezing and wet. There is absolutely no way-" The Hibagon loomed over her, and she froze. "Okay, I'll just take those leaves, now. Thank you."
Gogo screamed as the Hibagon roared at her, she ran back into the forest. Hiro and Krei yelped as the Hibagon leapt after Gogo. A tree fell as the Hibagon pursued his prey. She ducked under another trunk as he leapt in front of her. She dodged his claws, and kept running as he climbed up the trees.
The Hibagon knocked down another one as he concerned her. Gogo tried to run but he grabbed her as the boys ran into the clearing. Hiro ran on top of the fallen trunk and leapt at the Hibagon. He missed, but pulled a branch back and when he landed back on the ground, the branch struck the monster and dropped Gogo. She landed on her ankle, clutching it in pain as the boys brought her behind a boulder.
The Hibagon growled as he got up, then sniffed the air for them.
Gogo sighed as she leaned on the boulder, then frowned as Krei tossed a bunch of mud on her. The trio stayed silent as the Hibagon sniffed the air on top of the boulder, growled, then walked away.
"What have we learned about masking our scent?" Krei asked her, she glared back at him.
Hiro poked his head from behind the boulder. "I think we lost-"
"Mochi! Mochi! Where are you, Mochi!?" It was about night, Fred, and the robotic duo had yet to have seen the calico anywhere.
Baymax and Mini-Max looked into an alleyway. "Here, kitty, kitty."
"Show yourself you calamitous cat!"
"If we don't find Mochi, Aunt Cass is gonna freak!" Fred placed his hands to his head, then a lightbulb went off in his brain. "Wait, wait! Maybe we can dress up Mini-Max in a cat costume!" He scooped up the small robot. "How's your purring?"
"Mini-Maximum cat impression!" He exclaimed. "Purr, purr! In the name of all that is cute. Purr!"
Fred bit his lip. "Hmm. She might not buy it."
Mochi felt his tail fluff up as the trash can rocked. "Um. Can we get down now Katie?"
The blue laughed. "No! Just stop twitching your paws." They had spent most of the day in the park, looking at various stores and street performances. Now they were thinking of going to the Torii Gate Bridge, since Mochi had never been there, even in a car.
"What's the bridge like?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Pretty cool, you can see the bay out the window. It's a beautiful place." Katie chuckled.
"Mochi!" Both of their pelts bristled, behind them was Fred, Baymax, and Mini-Max. "Wait, why is Katie there? Nevermind!"
"I will get him!" Mini-Max leapt at the trash can.
"Nope!" Both of them jumped on top of canopies to escape the small robot.
"Sorry Fred, but I'm not done with my tour!" Mochi mewed, both of them were balancing on a street light now.
"A fall from that height would be hazardous." Baymax warned them.
"You don't say?" Katie retorted. "Good thing cats land on their feet!"
"The height of your fall can affect your ability to land safely." He blinked. "It is better to be safe than sorry."
Fred nodded in agreement. "Look Katie, I know you like hanging out with Mochi, but he needs to go back to the cafe. Like right now."
"Hmm." She pondered his words as a bus started heading down the street. "Do you wanna go home Mochi?"
"Nah!" They both jumped onto the roof of the bus, chuckling as they saw the trio get further away.
Fred held out his hands in shock. "Well, then, I guess there's only one choice." It was on, furballs.
"I shall ready my furry disguise!" Mini-Max stated.
"Actually, what I meant was…" He pulled out his phone to call Skymax.
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Fredzilla: Mochi has become a gangsta
Honey Lemon:
Wasabi:
Sienna Kline:
TheLittleMermaid:
Mikan Ferns: Explain plz
Fredzilla: This boy
Fredzilla: Just jumped on a bus with Katie to escape us
Wasabi: Oh great Katie's involved
TheLittleMermaid: If Mr. Sparkles pops outta thin air to kidnap the cats I'm fining you Fred
Sienna Kline: What are you doing now?
Fredzilla: Going to my house and using the superhero hotline
Honey Lemon: oh!
TheLittleMermaid: Fred don't say that in chat. Megan is looking over my phone and she's gonna bug you if she finds out you can speed dial Big Hero 6
Fredzilla: She already knows
Mikan Ferns: Wait, who's Megan again?
Honey Lemon: Tell you later
TheLittleMermaid: When?!
Fredzilla: That one time Hiro, Megan, and I ordered a lot of pancakes at the Lucky Cat
Wasabi: You guys ate so many pancakes I got Kirby vibes
Night had fallen over Muihara Woods, too scared to move, the trio had stayed behind the boulder.
Hiro had gotten tired of trying to scrub the mud from his hands, they were now caked in dirt and other leaves. I need a long shower after this. He thought, then helped Gogo up. "Can you walk?"
"Ow!" She gripped the ankle she fell on. "My ankle's messed up." Gogo groaned in pain. "What are you doing?"
She was glancing at Krei, who was fiddling with sticks, vines, and mumbling something. The two exchanged looks as he continued to tinker. "And there we are. Ta-da!" He showed off… something to them.
"It's a…?" Hiro paused.
"It's a walking boot that I made just now. Whatever. Put it on." Krei tossed it to Gogo, he plucked a stick while she placed the boot on.
Gogo took a few experimental steps. "That's actually not bad, thanks."
Krei smirked. "How do you know all this stuff?" Hiro asked him.
"Every summer, when I was home from boarding school, my parents would ship me off to Fire Scout camp."
"Fire what?" Hiro blinked in confusion.
Krei imitated the salute. "Who's a Fire Scout? I'm a Fire Scout. Fire!" Then went back to explaining. "I didn't really have any friends there, so I spent most of my time in nature, by myself." He tossed the stick into the woods. "I guess it's why I still love it out here and don't mind that I don't have any friends."
Hiro smiled up at him. "Thank you for telling me-" He froze as there was rustling. Was it the Hibagon? He questioned.
Krei walked up to the rustling foliage. "Who's there?" He questioned.
A shaking hand reached out as someone crawled out of the foliage. "H-help…" Rachel coughed out. The scruffy brunette looked worse for wear. Claw marks on her chest and neck, as if something tried strangling her to death.
"Rachel!" He ran to her, and picked her up. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be better before I'm married…"
Gogo's eyes darkened. "How did you get away from the Hibagon?"
"No I-" Then she froze, the gears whirring in her mind."Gaga, you don't interrogate a traumatized child." Krei scolded her. "You'll make her cry."
"For the last time, it's Gogo!"
"He tried choking me on a bear's territory, the bear got mad and attacked him." Rachel blurted out. "He tried chasing m-me. But the bear distraction helped me escape." She hugged her chest. "I don't wanna die…"
"You're not going to die." Hiro comforted her. "Shhh. It's okay, it's okay." Then at the worst time, his phone buzzed. "Uch, I don't have time to check my messages."
"Wait. You got a text out here?" Gogo checked her own phone.
So did Krei. "It's working."
"Mine, too."
But they were deep in the woods, Bessie was the reason their phones didn't work. Wait. Bessie. "So, what happened to Bessie, then?"
"She's gone…" Rachel mumbled. Then they heard distant roaring, and a few trees knocked over.
"Uh-oh." Gogo stated.
"Definitely uh-oh!" Hiro started to back away from the foliage. He ran to Gogo and pulled her with his spare hand, Krei looked to be in thought.
"Do you guys trust me?"
They looked at Krei. "Is now really the time?" Gogo narrowed her eyes.
A shadow jumped in front of the group, they all yelped.
"Do you guys trust me?"
"Fine. Yes." Hiro answered.
"Thank you. That means a lot to me." Krei started to walk away from them, and then ran.
"Did he just ditch us?" Rachel questioned.
Gogo turned to the teens. "For the record, I didn't say I trusted him."
The Hibagon then burst out of the bushes and loomed over them, roaring and howling with rage.
HONK-HONK!
An SUV pulled into the clearing, the smoke dazing the Hibagon for a moment. Hiro placed Rachel in the back of the car first, then helped Gogo get inside before buckling up in shotgun.
"I figured if our phones work, our car would work, too." Krei explained. Then he stepped on the pedal, swerving around the Hibagon. "Told you to trust me." He drove out of the clearing, leaving the boogeyman of the woods behind.
Gogo smirked as she looked out the back window. "Just so you know, I trusted you." Hiro rolled his eyes. Sure…
"Um, thank you, Gaga." Krei smiled. "I'm touched."
"Mm-hmm. Gogo."
Hiro looked over to the back seat. "Is there first aid there?"
The engineer lifted a box. "Yep." Gogo looked over to Rachel. "She's been quiet-oh."
The scruffy brunette was sleeping peacefully leaning on Gogo, tuckered out from such an exhausting day. "Poor thing." Krei noted. "How could Ned do that to her?"
"Yeah." Hiro nodded. Seeing the wounds on Rachel darkly reminded him of when a different monster hurt his sister. "I'm glad we're all okay."
"Me too." Gogo smiled as she applied bandages to the claw marks. "Me too."
But none of them looked behind them, as a snarling figure hitched a ride on the hood of a truck, following them out of Muihara Woods.
In San Fransokyo, Baymax flew overhead. Fred and Mini-Max were on his back calling for Mochi.
The healthcare companion scanned the city. "I have detected Mochi and Katie on the Torii Gate Bridge."
"Nice work, Baymax! Let's go get them!"
"Salvation is near!" Mini-Max exclaimed. "Small carnivorous mammal known as Mochi." They flew to the bridge, Mochi and Katie were curled next to each other watching the cars on the highway.
"Meow?" Mochi noticed them first, and Katie stood up.
"Oh my god. They called the superheroes on us." She stretched her legs. "Maybe we can run for it"
"Meow, meow!"
"Wishful thinking."
"We have found Mochi." Baymax then stared at the highway. "Also Hiro. Also Gogo. Also Rachel. Also Alistair Krei."
Fred squinted and saw a dark furred figure on top of a truck, with big feet and a dark chocolate brown mane. "And the Hibagon!" He screamed. "It's real!"
"The what?" Katie squinted. "Wait… Ned?"
"Who?" Mochi blinked.
Gogo stood up, seeing something fly in front of the SUV. "Wait a second. Is that Baymax?"
"And Fred and Mini-Max?" Hiro added.
"Watch out behind you!" Fred yelled at them.
Hiro turned around and saw the Hibagon on the truck, he roared and leapt on top of the SUV. They all screamed as the Hibagon pressed his face against the front window.
"Well, now in front of you!"
Krei hit the brakes and the Hibagon was flung onto the highway, people stopped their cars and started running away from the monster. The car alarm chirped as Krei locked the car, then stood protectively over the kids, Gogo was still leaning on Hiro but both of them were carrying the sleeping Rachel, who was somehow still asleep after all the screaming.
A wall of fire stood in the Hibagon's path, Fred leapt in front of the group with Baymax and Mini-Max. The small robot charged at the monster. "Prepare to shake hands, foul beast!" The Hibagon grabbed Mini-Max and tossed him over the bridge. "Avenge me..!"
"No!" Fred wailed. "For Mini-Max!" He leapt at the Hibagon and the two tustled. Fred landed on his feet as the monster tossed him onto the ground. "Mr. Hibagon, I know we're in the middle of a battle, but I just gotta say, I am a huge, huge fan." The claws grabbed him and tossed him over the bridge.
Mini-Max caught him by the tail. "Now I will avenge you!" The cats watched the small robot lift Fred up the bridge.
Hiro turned to Baymax. "Rocket fist!" The healthcare companion fired a rocket fist at the Hibagon. He was knocked back a few feet before deflecting the rocket fist back at Baymax.
"Oh, no." He crashed into a car. "Ba, la, la, la, la."
The Hibagon stomped towards them. "Intern, if this thing eats me, tell Assistant that deep down I knew her name was Joanie." Krei whimpered.
"Judy." Hiro corrected, his grip on Rachel tightening.
"I'm pretty sure it's Joanie."
As the Hibagon was about to swipe his claws at them, a shriek was heard in the distance.
"GET AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Mochi screeched, leaping from the bridge and onto the Hibagon, Katie staring at him, frozen in shock. He landed on the Hibagon's face, his claws unsheathed, he ran around in circles scraping fur and dodging claws. The group stared in shock.
"Go Mochi!" Katie yowled, and tried to get down from the bridge, Mini-Max saw her attempts and picked her up.
Mochi then saw something purple on the Hibagon's neck, he grabbed it off and landed back on the ground seeing how the green veins on the monster's neck faded. The calico then bounced up to Baymax. "Good kitty." Mochi purred at the praise.
"Let me see that." Hiro held out his hand. Mochi padded up to him, letting him take the purple patch, his eyes widened with horror as he recognized what it was. Then scooted away seeing the Hibagon crawl towards them, but he was shrinking, claws and fur fading until the hand that grabbed Hiro's was Ned's.
Ned groaned and shook his mane. "Where in the blazes am I?" He looked at his surroundings. "What's going on? Who won Squirrel Wars?"
"You've been through a lot." Krei told him. "But you're safe, you're with Krei."
Ned stared at him. "Krei. Hmm. I knew a fella named Krei." He glared. "Cheated at golf."
Fred and Mini-Max landed on the ground, dropping Katie, the blue then bolted to Rachel. 'What happened to her?!" She shrieked.
"Hibagon." Gogo pointed to Ned.
"I will scan you for injuries." Baymax told the former real estate guy.
He recoiled in disgust. "Scan? I don't want to get scanned by a robot."
"Well, it sounds like Ned's back to normal." Gogo commented, Katie just hissed at him.
Baymax then scanned Ned. "You have sustained minor abrasions, but are otherwise in good health." He stated. "Would you like a lollipop?"
"Yes, I would!" Hiro and Gogo gave Ned a weird look. "What? I got a weakness for sweets."
Hiro smirked, then saw Krei looking out into the bay. He excused himself and walked up to the CEO.
Mochi dropped down from Baymax's shoulders, and nudged the unconscious Rachel with his nose. "Wow, she's passed out." He commented, then looked at Hiro and Krei talking on the bridge, and saw Krei playfully ruffle Hiro's hair. "What are they talking about?"
"Krei decided not to build in Muihara, I guess he can be decent." Katie mewed, then looked up at Baymax. "Can you help me get Rachel home?"
"Of course we can!" Fred gently picked up Rachel. "C'mon Red Panda, her parents must be worried sick. Are her wounds severe?"
"Although the claw marks around her neck and chest are treated, I detect signs of strangulation around her throat." Baymax explained. "The consequences of strangulation may cause difficulty breathing, raspy or loss of voice, coughing, nausea, dizziness, change in behavior, and more. To treat the strangulation, I will need to place a cold pack on the area, with a thin cloth around the ice."
"I have one." Fred pulled a pack out of his suit. "I keep this thing cooled so it doesn't get super hot with fire breath." He wrapped a cloth around it and placed it on Rachel's throat. "Now let's get her home, and then Mochi home."
Katie gave a sigh of relief, her friend would be okay.
Meanwhile at the Lucky Cat Cafe…
It was closing time, and Honey Lemon was helping one last customer. "That'll be three dollars and twenty-one cents." She handed a man his spare change, as he left he put the change in the tip jar. "Thank you so much! Have a wonderful night!" The door closed.
"Phew." Sienna changed the sign from Open to Closed. "It felt weird serving people again."
"It was cool." Megan added. "At least I got some work experience." She then batted her eyes at Ari. "Do I still get paid?"
The sweater girl rolled her eyes and handed her a wad of cash. "Here. This is some stuff from my own pocket, don't spend it all too quickly please."
"I won't."
Wasabi gasped at the swelling jar. "Another tip!" He beamed. "Today has been super easy, and fun!"
"And we've made so many new friends!" Honey Lemon giggled.
Slam!
Everyone looked at the door as Fred came in, panting as he held Mochi with one hand.
"We finded the hairy baby!" Baymax slurred, stumbling into the cafe with Mini-Max perched on his head.
"I love him so much!" Mini-Max added.
"Wow." Megan blinked at the sight.
Fred handed Mochi to Honey Lemon before collapsing on a chair, Mini-Max flopped onto the table. "So, I take it your day was…"
"Draining." The comic fan told Wasabi. "Not as drained as them, though." He pointed to the low battery robots.
"I just realized!" Baymax gasped, looking at Mini-Max. "You're like me, only mini!"
The small robot laughed. "Ha-ha-ha! It's true! Everything finally makes sense…" He poked Baymax. "You are the best."
"Bist fump!" They tried fist bumping but fell over. "Hey!"
Sienna turned to Ari. "You might wanna charge them."
"I know!"
"We're almost there." Hiro told the group, Gogo was driving Ned back to his treehouse after he turned back to normal, his mind was still clouded by the whole ordeal.
"I feel like a complete dum-dum." Ned mumbled. "I can't remember a lick of what happened."
"It's over and you're safe. That's what's important." He was partially glad Ned wasn't on the list of people stuck as monsters.
"You're not right about much, kid, but…" Ned then realized something. "Wait a second. Why isn't Bessie stopping your vehicle from doing vehicular things?!" He jumped out of the car and ran to the treehouse, quickly pulling up the lift.
Gogo and Hiro exited the car, the teen pulling out the purple patch to show the engineer. "Look, a transdermal patch."
"Someone turned Ned into a monster." Gogo commented.
He squinted at it. "I think I know why." The patch was so familiar, he remembered seeing patches like it used to help defeat Orso Knox. Only one person could've made it, and her invention was under the hands of someone truly evil. "And I know who."
"Bessie?!"
They looked up, seeing Ned show a detached name tag. "Bessie's gone!" There was a look of horror in their eyes, as the meteorite was now in the grasp of someone dangerous, someone who caused Ned and all the other's mutations, someone who Hiro knew was in San Fransokyo.
"Bessie, nooooooo!" Ned's voice cried into the night.
And in the dark, dark… sub-levels of Sycorax, Liv stared down at her bruised assistant with anger. "What do you mean she got away?!"
"I tried to get rid of her but there was a bear…" Chris explained. "She slipped from-" He got cut off.
"You idiot! Rosemary now is aware of us and she could tell people! Our plans could be ruined!"
Chris placed a hand to his chest, where the bear had given him a few injuries during the scuffle. "She won't say anything unless she wants to live." He coughed. "One more threat will get her to shut up. Trust me on this!" He yelled as Liv was getting closer.
"Fine. But clearly I will have to have someone competent for the job." She glared.
He sighed, grabbing a notebook. I don't blame her for being upset. Even with all the cash we're still stuck. Then he looked at Bessie, who was on one of the tables.
"Okay. The stolen rock is floating. Now what?"
"I'm thinking makeover." Liv pressed a few buttons, the meteorite whirred and the outer shell broke. Inside Bessie was a concentrated green glowing energy, the fragments on the shell floating around her.
"Huh." Chris scribbled it down.
"Ooh, pretty." She smirked. "But when I'm done with you, Bessie, you'll be beautiful."
AN: And we're at the end of Muira-Horror, and onto some of the good stuff!
Rachel is mostly fine... I wasn't going to kill her off at this point, but you'd be surprised what you can live through, but depends on if she'd tell the tale despite her living it.
After-all, Knox didn't tell people what "Liv" did to him since he was under the threat of getting mutated...
I feel so bad doing that to my poor child, dw it'll get better soon
Sidenote was that it was fun writing Mochi esp in this ep when he threw hands with the Hibagon.
QOTW: Scale of 1-10 how worried were you about Rach in this ep? Considering how she almost got character-death'd offscreen