Khary Arc

Khary Arc

Khary Arc

Also, go read Heroes of Flowers by TheSparklyKitten BECAUSE the Ari Arc ain't over yet.


The gender reveal was strictly for family so that it didn't get overrun with middle-schoolers who ran in Luca's circle. Of course, family was a broad term. There were the expected guests, Damon and Crystal with Beckett and Wyatt as well as a slightly uncomfortable Khary, but the list stretched much longer than just biological family. Fred and Honey Lemon with her own cute bump were some of the first to arrive. Hiro and Karmi, proudly toting adorable little Kaida who was almost five months old now weren't far behind. Last but not least, Scout came with Aunt Cass. It wasn't a lot of people, but it was enough, and everyone was so happy to be there to find out the gender of the newest Tomago baby. Many of the same people had been together years earlier when GoGo and Wasabi tearfully discovered that they were going to be having a little girl and a little boy.

"Mabel," Reese said as she stood at the edge of the party with her brother.

"Mabel? Like from Gravity Falls?"

"Yeah."

"Why are we talking about this now?" Luca said with a laugh, more eager to mingle with the guests than Reese was, even though everyone here was family.

"Because this is our last chance to have a brother or a sister. In a few minutes, it will be one or the other. So I just wanted to throw out some last-minute ideas."

"I like Mabel. Mabel Elliot. It's pretty."

"Thanks."

"I like Griffin, too. Do you like Griffin?"

"It is a cool people name," Reese said with a shrug, "though I'm not completely sold."

"That's okay. After today we have 19 weeks, give or take, to think of a name for baby."

"Right. This is kind of exciting," Reese admitted.

"This is super exciting!" Luca loved babies. He loved everyone, but he was so, so, so excited to have a new little brother or sister.

"Okay, guys! Is everyone ready?" GoGo called over the crowd, standing a few steps up on their small deck, higher than the others. At 21 weeks she was showing a good bit more than Honey Lemon, but it was different for everyone. Honey Lemon and Fred had taken her advice and recently told their families about the baby, which was good since it was becoming a harder secret to keep. They'd been met with overwhelming support and would be able to find out the gender of their own child in less than a week, but now they gathered with the others to find out the gender of number three.

"Okay," Wasabi said, unable to contain his excitement, "When we pop this balloon, there will be colored confetti. Either green, for a boy, or purple for a girl! Is everyone ready?" Cheers erupted from the small crowd, with Reese and Luca cheering from the front. GoGo grinned as she held the little pin, Wasabi grinned as he held her, and they set to discovering the truth.

POP

Green confetti rained down and everyone let out a massive cheer.

"It's a boy!" GoGo said in an overjoyed surprise.

"We're having a boy!" Wasabi was trying his hardest not to cry happy tears. He was honestly just so happy that their family was expanding, he and the others would have been happy no matter what. But this new revelation made it feel so much more concrete and real. Like he could actually picture the future with his new son.

Reese handed Luca five dollars, "You called it."

"Sorry that you're not getting a sister."

"That's okay, I have a turtle. And I don't need a sister as long as I have you."

"You're totally a softie," Luca teased.

"Am not," Reese argued. They weren't the only ones arguing, though their argument was certainly more light-hearted than the one going on a few feet away between Khary and Scout.

"Please, sir… I just want to know if you know anything about my brother! Maybe you've seen him! It's been months and I'm so worried about him!" Scout pleaded, close to tears.

"Listen!" Khary snapped, "If Andrew hasn't made contact with you then he probably doesn't want to. Your brother doesn't care. Leave him alone. Leave me alone!"

"I know you know something!" Scout said, now hurt and angry.

"You don't know me, kid! You don't know what I know. You don't want to." Then Khary muttered congratulations to his brother and sister-in-law and stormed out of the backyard, seemingly not noticing Scout trailing behind.

But Reese and Luca noticed, and, without saying a word to their parents, ran to catch up with Scout, afraid of what he would do since he'd seemed so upset as he'd left.

"Your uncle knows something about Andrew!" Scout insisted, eyes wild and hands shaking in clenched up fists.

"We believe you, Scout," Luca said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder, "but what can we do about it?"

"We have to follow him."

"If you're sure, Scout… Then we'll help you," Reese said, deciding before Luca could protest. Fortunately, Luca agreed with her.

"Whatever it takes. Let's go." They followed their Uncle from a distance, slowly making their way to Good Luck Alley.

"Where's Reese and Luca? Where's Scout?" Wasabi noticed, looking around the party frantically. The confetti had barely settled when the panic started.

"They probably just went inside, Wasabi. I'll go check." GoGo ducked inside and came back a minute later, shaking her head, worry etched over her face, the joy of just minutes earlier now dampened by concern.

"They're not inside… Hey, has anyone seen the twins?" GoGo called out to their guests. Damon pushed to the forefront of the party with an observation of his own.

"Khary's not here either, maybe they're with him?" Wasabi cursed under his breath. He'd tried to ignore it, but he'd noticed Scout and Khary arguing.

"We need to get to Good Luck Alley… Party's over, I'm sorry everyone. Thank you all for coming. I have to find my kids. GoGo, you should stay here, in case they come back."

"I'm not staying here," GoGo snapped, "these are my kids too!"

"I understand that, but we have another kid to worry about, darling. I need you to sit tight for now. I will call you if I need backup, okay?"

"Okay. You better call."

"I'll go with you," Damon offered. Fred and Hiro also offered their support, leaving the women and children behind. GoGo was anxious and frustrated. She didn't like sitting idly while her babies could be in danger.

"They'll be okay," Honey Lemon tried to soothe, but it wasn't helping much.

"Just be ready to be backup," GoGo muttered.

Wasabi and the others didn't go completely unarmed, either. Damon, per usual, had a concealed carry. The others had something better. They had armor, unlockable at the ready. It had been years since Big Hero 6 had assembled, but if that's what it took to make sure that Reese, Luca, and Scout were safe, then they would don their suits once more.

"I'm sure they're fine," Fred said, trying to sound encouraging. He was worried about his niece and nephew as well. He'd been worried about a lot of things lately.

"Right," Wasabi agreed, not really buying it, "they're smart kids. They have good heads on their shoulders. I'm sure they'll be safe."

"Of course," Hiro agreed, "it'll be okay." Wasabi broke at that.

"I failed them," he whispered, "I failed them again." Damon put a hand on his shoulder.

"No no no, bro, it's okay. You didn't fail them. It's not your fault. Parenting is hard. Do you think Beckett hasn't run away and gotten hurt before? Do you think he hasn't yelled at me that I'm not his dad? That doesn't mean I failed as a parent, and you didn't fail because of this. Things happen, Wesley. Sometimes things fall apart. But you didn't fail. This isn't on you. You're doing a good job with them. And we will find them."

Reese, Luca, and Scout were holding on to each other as they walked through the dangerous part of San Fransokyo. None of them were prepared for this, so clinging to each other was the only way they could feel secure.

They didn't walk that far behind Khary now, but he either didn't see them or was pretending he didn't for their sake. At one point he stopped at an alley near the theatre and they stopped too, huddled together and quiet, listening for the smoking gun, reluctantly ready to convict their uncle, who was apparently not what he seems.

"Are you ready, Ginger?" A voice asked from the dark. Scout's eyes widened and he broke away from the others.

"That's Andrew!" He said in a loud whisper.

"Shh!" Luca said, trying to pull Scout back, but it was too late.

"Who's there?" The voice said as a greasy-haired blond stepped from the shadows. Though Scout was more cleaned up and presentable, the resemblance was clear. Similar to the resemblance between Khary and his niece and nephew.

"Andrew!" Scout said, stepping forward. The blond grimaced, his dark eyes narrowing.

"You weren't supposed to find me."

"An-Andrew… Why did you disappear?" Scout said, close to a breakdown, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Escape, little brother. Escape. And justice. You wouldn't understand. You're of no use to me." Without warning, Andrew's left hand raised, holding a thick and heavy remote, which he cracked across Scout's skull. Luca lurched forward as Scout fell.

"Hey! You can't do that! You can't hurt him like that!"

"One of yours, Ginger?" Andrew asked, looking between them as Reese tried to pull Luca away, tried to run while they still could, while Scout lay on the concrete, bleeding from his head.

"Don't hurt them, Andrew," Khary begged, "they're my niece and nephew, they have nothing to do with this."

"They would have nothing to do with this if they hadn't already seen too much. I'm not paying you to stand around and look pretty, Ginger. Make yourself useful." Andrew clicked one of the buttons on the remote and there was a ringing bell sound. Every time a bell rings, an Angel gets their wings. Luca hadn't believed that there was anything more horrifying than seeing his friend laid out bleeding on the concrete but he'd been wrong. He couldn't help but stare, mouth agape, while Uncle Khary changed before their very eyes. His hands became like claws, and wings forced their way through his shirt. His eyes turned a wild yellow and he looked through them instead of at them. Luca screamed, frozen in place.

"Luca," Reese said urgently, "Run!"

"I… I can't leave Scout! I'll fight!" Tears stung at his eyes. He was petrified. He couldn't fight.

Andrew scoffed, "There's no running. There's no fighting. Let's get down to business, Ginger!" Another ringing bell. Uncle Khary's monstrous form lunged at them, ripping into their skin as he lifted them from the ground by their arms and flew off with the two screaming, struggling teens. Luca sobbed and thrashed.

"Let us go!" And then, angrily towards an ever-shrinking Andrew, "Let him go!" Reese, meanwhile, had succumbed to a dark truth. This was not going to end well.

Wasabi heard the screams before he saw anything. He didn't know where the twins were but he saw blood on the pavement. His heart nearly stopped as he ran up to Scout. The perpetrator hadn't had time to run when Wasabi found him, furiously pushing him up against the wall.

"Where are my children?!" He roared, about to beat the living daylights out of the man.

"You might want to ask your brother that," Andrew said with a taunting smirk, "Good luck getting a response out of him, though." He waved the remote cockily.

"What did you do to my brother? What did you do to my children?" Wasabi wrestled the remote away from Andrew, a sinking feeling in his gut.

While he forcefully interrogated Andrew, Fred and Damon knelt next to Scout, trying to lessen the blood flow while Hiro called 911.

"Damon, you need to stay with Scout while we go after the twins," Fred instructed, his nerves replaced by adrenaline. Things were going down. Soon the paramedics were on their way, as were the police, and Wasabi had gotten all he could out of Andrew, leaving a fair share of bruises. Everything was happening at once. Sky-Max was on its way to deliver their suits, GoGo and Honey Lemon were on their way as well, and Wasabi was briefing the boys on his theory.

"I think this is another city of monsters. Scout's parents were arrested years ago for trying to restart Di Amara's destructive experiments. I think this remote is controlling Khary. I think… I think that Khary isn't himself right now, and I think he has the twins."

"Wasabi, I'm so sorry," Hiro said, full of sympathy.

"No time for sorry, Hiro. I need you to see if you can reverse this remote, and maybe if you could use it to track him. We need to contain the problem, we need to change Khary back if the worst comes to worst. But if you can't hack this, then we're going to need Karmi. She was the first person to be able to turn someone back from a monster."

Hiro nodded, "Backup is on its way."

"Good. Let's go save our kids."

Big Hero 6 suited up for the first time in forever, laying aside who they were now, laying aside all doubts and fears and logical reasons why they should let someone else handle this. One child had already been seriously injured. Wasabi's baby brother had been turned into a monster, and his kids were in danger. This was a catastrophe and they were going to fight back. They were going to make things right, no matter what. No matter what it took.

It wasn't the easiest thing to don armor at 21-weeks pregnant, with your back aching and your unborn son kicking at the sudden change of pace. But GoGo was quick to follow Wasabi and the others when they found out how critical things had gotten. GoGo was frantic, unable to be calmed down as she rushed to rescue her children, dragging Honey Lemon along with her.

Within a few minutes, the girls met up with the boys. Karmi was still on standby, still taking care of Kaida but willing to leave her with Aunt Cass if it became necessary. Everyone was considerably nervous.

"Is Scout going to be okay?" GoGo asked as they walked towards Khary's apartment, where Hiro had tracked him to. She had her fingers intertwined with Wasabi's and was squeezing his hand nervously, both of them having a hard time staying positive.

"I don't know…" Wasabi admitted, looking down at his feet, "It was bad. Andrew could be in jail for a long time based on that attack alone. I'm… I'm scared to find out what happened to the twins." GoGo squeezed his hand again.

"We just have to trust that things will be okay. That they'll be okay. Our kids are tough." Wasabi tried not to break down again. GoGo was doing the same. A little bit back, Fred and Honey Lemon walked together, both nervous for their niece and nephew and Khary. Both nervous for the two unborn babies who had no way of knowing what was going on. Just a little further back, Hiro and Baymax walked together, Hiro trying to figure out the remote. Many onlookers stopped and stared, trying to figure out why Big Hero 6 had come out of retirement. What was the significance? Was the city in danger, or was the threat much more localized?

Reese and Luca were clinging to each other, bound in Khary's apartment, stuck together, though there was no chance they would have pulled apart on their own. Luca was drowning in tears, sobbing as their Uncle paced and snarled. He wasn't sobbing for himself, though his arms were scratched and bruised. He couldn't get the images of his friend bleeding on the ground out of his head. He was worried about Scout, he was worried about Uncle Khary, he was worried most of all about Reese. Though he was hurt and traumatized he cared more about the others, and his stomach ached from the sobbing. Reese, meanwhile, was quiet, processing. She too was sick from horror, she too was scratched and bruised, but she was quiet. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew it would be so much scarier if Luca isn't there. She wished she could offer him some kind of comfort but she had no trust in reality, really didn't see any hope in the depths of the dark apartment.

Then, there was a pounding knock at the door.

"Khary? Luca? Reese?" Their dad's voice called out over pain and panic.

"Dad! Dad!" Reese screamed, straining against the bonds, Luca was unable to answer, his voice drowned out by his sobs.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Wasabi turned on his plasma sword, cutting the door down swiftly and barging in. Khary roared at his brother, internally struggling against the monstrosity he had become. Usually, Andrew would have resuscitated the real Khary by now. Instead, the demon he had become persisted, wings beating in anger as he stared down at the face of an enemy who should have been family.

"Khary! This has to stop!" Wasabi roared. GoGo rushed over to her children and gently began to free them, gathering her babies into her arms and letting them cry against her.

"It's okay, sweetheart… It's okay, mama's got you… It's okay…" GoGo said, crying too as she tried desperately to comfort them.

"Is Scout okay?" Luca blubbered, crying against his mother.

"He will be," GoGo promised, though she didn't know if that was the truth. Luca just cried harder, perhaps detecting the hesitance in her voice.

"I'm so sorry, Reese, Luca… I'm so sorry I let this happen to you…" GoGo murmured as she clung to them. Baymax joined the three, scanning Reese and Luca and doing his best to treat the scratches.

"Khary, listen to me!" Wasabi shouted as he wrestled with his brother, reminded of the times they'd dueled with lightsabers when they were younger, wishing it could be that simple again. Khary roared in response, the part that could listen unable to respond, the part that was in charge only able to see red.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, Khary. I'm so sorry that I couldn't help you through this. I'm sorry that it came to this. I need you to come back so that I can understand, Khary. I just want to understand. I love you, Khary. Please, listen to me." Wasabi threw a shield up before Khary could slash through his skin, not as successful the first time Khary had pulled that stunt but able to block now.

"Wasabi, I think I can trap him if you get out of the way!" Honey Lemon called, her fingers already remembering the combination as if it had been just yesterday, not years since she'd been called on making a chem-ball. Wasabi gave her a silent nod and kicked Khary away from him, wincing at the winged beast's pained roars.

"I'm so sorry, Khary," Wasabi whispered as Honey Lemon trapped Khary to the ground. The monster howled in anguish now, trying miserably to slash at one of its captors. Wasabi stepped away from him, continuing to mutter apologies.

"Hiro?" Wasabi snapped, nervous and heartbroken as he watched his baby brother suffer and heard his children and wife cry. Everyone he cared about was hurting now and he felt like he had failed.

"I'm working on it, Wasabi, but I don't think this remote is going to do any good…"

"Then you need to call Karmi! We have to fix my brother! Before it's too late!" Wasabi was shouting and desperate, tears streaming down his face.

"M-mom?" Reese said, looking up, trying to stop crying.

"Yes?"

"W-what are you wearing?" GoGo glanced down at her superhero getup and let out a pained laugh.

"Your dad and I will explain everything in a bit, darling… But right now we have to make sure your uncle is going to be okay."

"I'm sorry we followed Uncle Khary," Reese said quietly, "I'd understand if we were grounded until high school."

"I don't know if we're going to punish you, baby… But right now we're not concerned about that. I'm just glad that you're okay." These were just surface scratches, mainly. Bruises and scratches that would heal over time. Maybe some of the scratches would scar. The scars on their brains would be worse. Reese had just started seeing someone, now, probably, a trauma counselor would be required for both of them. Luca hadn't stopped crying. Luca hadn't said anything after asking about Scout. He felt sick and if there had been much in his stomach he would have emptied it. The cake that they had bought for the celebration would go wasted, as no one was in a celebrating mood. The joy they'd had only hours earlier was wasted as well.

"It'll be okay," GoGo soothed as they stood. Fred and Wasabi held onto a currently incapacitated Khary who continued to scream in protest. The real Khary, inwardly, was grateful as they brought him to get help, throwing him into the back of the car. Everyone else took the trolley, except for Fred, Wasabi, and Khary.

Hiro had called ahead and soon they were all at the clinic. Karmi threw her arms around her husband before setting to work. The remaining staff tended to Luca and Reese, who GoGo continued to hold onto. Wasabi paced the whole time, wincing at every scream, wondering if his brother could be saved. Wondering if his family could be saved. He didn't allow himself to feel secure in the fact that his babies were okay, that GoGo hadn't been hurt, that none of his friends had been hurt. Someone offered to look at a slash Khary had put in his cheek but Wasabi wasn't receptive to treatment. They gave everyone a scan out of caution, but Wasabi clearly wasn't calm enough for anything more. Finally, when the twins had drifted off into an uneasy sleep, GoGo came over to smack some sense into her husband.

"Wasabi, your cut can't go untreated."

"I'm fine," he snapped. He was not fine.

"Wesley Payton Tomago!" GoGo snapped in return, "Our kids nearly died today! We all nearly died today! This obviously sucks! I'm freaking out too, Wes. I feel sick thinking of what could have happened and I feel sick thinking about poor Khary. You're not alone in your wallowing. But what kind of example are you setting for our children if you refuse to let someone help you? Just let someone treat the cut."

Wasabi nodded tiredly, sinking onto a bed next to GoGo and accepting the help.

"I failed them," he whispered.

"We didn't fail anyone," Gogo replied, rubbing patterns into his back. They held onto each other, both too tired to cry anymore.

"I should have been watching them. I should have been there for Khary. If I hadn't kicked him out…"

"No, Wasabi. Khary made his own decisions. He might have been manipulated, we don't know the full story yet, but you didn't do that. That isn't your fault."

"Besides," she said, "Khary is going to be okay." Wasabi sighed and nodded, resting his head on her shoulder.

"We're going to have a boy," he whispered, remembering.

GoGo smiled, "we're having a boy."

"That's one good thing to hold onto," he said.

"Yep." It had been quiet for a while. Maybe Khary had been sedated. Maybe Khary was cured. No updates yet.

"I need to call Damon. He deserves to be updated on Khary and I'd like to know what's going on with Scout." GoGo nodded.

"I'm going to go check on them," GoGo said, creeping over to her sleeping children.

Wasabi sighed as he dialed the number, wishing he had better news for his brother, hoping his brother had good news for him.

"Wesley!" Damon said, loud enough to startle a very weary Wasabi.

"Are the twins okay?"

"Yeah, just some scratches and bruising, though the psychological damage is going to be worse. Damon… H-he turned Khary into a monster! Some winged demon, Damon! I had to fight against my own brother, had to see Khary in agony. It was sickening. Right now Karmi is doing her best to treat him but I don't know if he's even human right now."

Wasabi could hear Damon's voice shake over the phone, "Th-that's horrible!"

"We just have to hope for the best. How's Scout?"

"Not doing so great. There was obviously some head trauma. The kid has stitches in his head and a pretty bad concussion. I remember hearing from Thanksgiving that he played football? That's not super likely for the rest of the semester, possibly longer. He's resting right now, I'll update you if anything changes."

"Thanks, Damon. I'll do the same." Wasabi closed the call and returned to pacing until a door opened and Karmi slipped out.

"He's sedated right now, and human. I think we're going to keep him here for a few days, run some tests, make sure that there's no chance of a relapse, make sure that he's entirely there. I imagine the next few days are going to be very difficult for your brother, Wasabi. I imagine that they'll be quite difficult for your whole family. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Karmi. Thank you so much for your help. I'm sorry for taking up your time."

"No, no, I'm happy to help. One of the bots will monitor Khary for the rest of the night. I think it's time for everyone to go home." Wasabi nodded, hesitating only a little before going over to GoGo. One at a time he carried his twins to the car, not as strong as he had once been. He and GoGo were silent on the drive home, too tired to talk. They didn't talk about it, but they both knew that they would be sharing their bed that night. They didn't talk about it, but they would deal with the green confetti and uneaten cake tomorrow.

A few times in the night, Luca woke up crying, and Reese couldn't stop shivering in her nightmares. Wasabi just held his family closer and tried to banish the heartache. They would deal with the pain tomorrow.


It actually made me emotional to write the kids getting hurt. I felt so bad, especially, when Scout was being assaulted.

Now... For the aftermath.