Hey y'all! This is a separate one shot, not a continuation of Soul…this one is most of why I rated it T, it gets kinda dark in Part Two, but this part is mostly scenes from the movie, from the SFIT showcase to the warehouse scene (repurposed.) Please review, like and follow! Enjoy!
-BH6ORBUST
HIRO
"Tadashi?"
"Yeah, little bro?"
"You ready?"
"Almost," Tadashi mutters, pulling his trademark blazer over a black muscle shirt. "You?"
"Beyond ready," I say, trying not to let my voice betray how nervous I am. I know my tech is awesome. But at the showcase, my invention will be compared to those of college kids, and I don't think I stand a chance.
Fred, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and GoGo meet us at the school, all of them reassuring me and telling me to loosen up. I try to, but all my muscles tense up again when a monotonous female voice comes over the speaker system.
"Next presenter: Hiro Hamada."
This is it. Honey Lemon can't resist a selfie before I go up, and I give my best attempt at a smile. Everyone disperses until Tadashi and I are the only ones left.
"All right, bro, this is it," Tadashi says, echoing my thoughts, as he holds up his hand for a fist bump. "Come on. Don't leave me hanging."
He sees my expression and his face falls. "What's going on?"
"I really wanna go here," I say quietly, not looking at him.
"Hey," he says, shoving me lightly. "You got this."
I give him a nervous grin and walk up the steps to the stage.
I stand silently with the microphone in hand for five long seconds before I speak.
"Hi," I say softly. "My name is Hiro—"
The microphone squeals with feedback and I instinctively hold it at arm's length. After the sound dies away, I bring the mic back toward my mouth.
"S-sorry," I stutter. "My name is Hiro Hamada and—I've been working on something that I think is pretty cool." I start to reach into my pocket, then change my mind. "I hope you like it."
I fasten the neural transmitter around my head and hold up the microbot. "This is a microbot."
A man in the audience takes one look at it and walks away. My resolve crumbles.
My gaze shifts to Tadashi, mouthing breathe to me. I take a deep breath and continue. "It doesn't look like much, but when it links up with the rest of its pals…"
The rest of the microbots flood onto the stage, arranging themselves into a tower.
"Things get a little more interesting."
My confidence returns and I go on to talk about how the microbots are controlled, their potential, and how they could be revolutionary tech. I finish to a swell of applause.
I jump off the stage and am immediately met by Tadashi's secret handshake and Honey Lemon's bone-crushing hug. The others surround me, telling me how amazing I was.
I leave the showcase with an acceptance letter. Aunt Cass announces that dinner is on her and everyone else rushes off. Tadashi tells her we'll catch up and leads me away.
"I know what this about," I say once we stop at a bridge on the grounds. I deepen my voice, mocking Tadashi. "I should be proud of myself, because I'm finally using my gift for something important."
"Nah, I was just gonna tell you your fly was down the whole show," Dashi says nonchalantly.
"Ha ha, hilarious," I reply sarcastically, then look down and see my fly is, in fact, down. "What?!"
I zip it up frantically and elbow Tadashi. He jerks away, laughing.
"Welcome to nerd school." Tadashi glances at me. "Nerd."
I give him a half smile. "You know, I—I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So…you know…thanks for not giving up on me."
He smiles, but is interrupted by the sound of blaring sirens from the direction of the school. He looks up, hesitates a moment, and runs toward it. I sprint after him, recognizing it as a sound I know all too well.
Fire alarms.
My foot catches on a rock and I yelp as the ground rushes up to meet me. I scrape my hands as I hit it and feel Tadashi's hands on my shoulders, pulling me to my feet.
We round the corner to see the building in flames, smoke billowing out the windows. Both of us stand there, shocked, then Tadashi rushes forward. I follow him.
Tadashi catches a woman stumbling out of the building. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," she gasps, "but Pr-professor Callaghan's still in there!"
She dashes off. Tadashi runs toward the burning school.
"Tadashi, no!" I shout, grabbing his elbow. He turns around.
"Callaghan's in there," he says, his chest heaving. "Someone has to help."
He tears out of my grasp and sprints up the stairs.
TADASHI
"Tadashi!"
Hiro collapses to his knees on the stairs, coughing. I stop, torn between saving Callaghan or my baby brother.
A rumbling sound fills my ears.
The building is going to explode. I have seconds to decide between Hiro and my almost lifelong mentor.
I choose Hiro.
I reach Hiro just as the building explodes, placing myself between him and the fire as a human shield.
The only things I am conscious of are pain, then Hiro's screams, and then black.
The fire at SFIT scarred me for life. Not in the emotional sense, though it will take me a long time to get over the death of my beloved professor. I am physically scarred, third-degree burns lining the edge of my ribcage and parts of my right arm. The scars probably won't ever go away.
Hiro has burns too, the worst of them on his hip and left calf, but they won't scar. The doctors say my shielding him probably saved his leg, and maybe even his life.
Professor Callaghan's funeral is held on a dark, rainy day, cliché weather for the event. Hiro and I both go, since while he barely knew Callaghan, Callaghan took a liking to him and is even rumored to have accepted Hiro long before the showcase.
Hiro sits in a beanbag chair two weeks after the funeral, tinkering with his megabot. Both of us have come down with a severe case of survivor's guilt. I know I could have saved Callaghan, but I would have had to sacrifice Hiro, and I couldn't live without my baby brother. Hiro feels guilty that I saved him instead of Callaghan and insists he probably wouldn't have died, that his worst injury might have been the loss of his leg, but that at least we would all be alive.
He never says the last part, knowing it would crush me, but I know we are both thinking it.
Hiro stands up and paces the room as he tinkers, muttering under his breath. The bottom half of the megabot's body detaches itself and lands on Hiro's foot.
Hiro yelps in pain and stumbles back onto his bed, clutching his foot and groaning. I stifle a laugh, but a whirring sound cuts me off as Baymax activates.
Baymax slowly makes his way over to Hiro and says, "Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."
"Um…hey, uh…Baymax," Hiro says, sounding decidedly uncomfortable. "I didn't know you were still…active."
"I heard a sound of distress," Baymax informs him. "What seems to be the trouble?"
"Oh. I just…stubbed my toe a little," Hiro says. "I'm fine."
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"
"Zero? I'm okay, really. Thanks." Hiro slides off the bed. "You—you can shrink now—"
"Does it hurt when I touch it?" Baymax asks, reaching toward Hiro's toe.
"That's okay, no—no touching—" Hiro stumbles back, tripping over his toolbox, and falls into the space between his bed and his desk. I fail to stifle a laugh this time. "Ow."
Baymax stands over him. "You have fallen."
"Ya think?" Hiro mutters. He reaches up, grabbing his shelf to pull himself back up, but it collapses as soon as he puts weight on it. The robot on the end falls on him and he yelps. The rest of the shelf's contents soon follow.
"On a scale of one to ten—on a scale of—on a scale—on a—"
Baymax tries to ask the question but is cut off by Hiro's yelps of pain, who is slowly becoming less verbal. The last and largest robot hits Hiro and he lets out a strangled yell.
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Baymax asks.
"Zero," Hiro growls, struggling to free himself.
"It is all right to cry."
"No—no no no—"
"Crying is a natural response to pain," Baymax says as he pulls Hiro free, cradling him like a baby.
"I'm not crying!" Hiro scrambles out of Baymax's arms.
"I will scan you for injuries."
"Don't scan me."
"Scan complete."
"Unbelievable."
I grin at Hiro's use of my favorite word.
"You have sustained no injuries," Baymax informs Hiro. "However, your hormone and neurotransmitter levels indicate that you are experiencing mood swings, common in adolescence. Diagnosis—" Baymax holds up a finger. "Puberty."
I watch Hiro's discomfort triple.
"Wait, what?"
"You should expect an increase in body hair on your: face, chest, armpits, and—"
"Thank you!" Hiro slams Baymax's case down in front of him, and I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe.
"You may also experience strange and powerful new urges—"
"Okay, let's get you back in your luggage," Hiro says, jumping on Baymax and trying to force him inside.
"I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care."
"Fine," Hiro growls. "I am satisfied with my—"
He flies off Baymax and lands on the floor beside his bed. I laugh even harder. My gut aches, I can barely breathe, and tears of mirth are starting to form in my eyes.
Hiro's eyes widen suddenly, and he reaches under the bed, pulling out his hoodie. I stop laughing abruptly as he pulls out a single, violently squirming microbot.
The microbot moves across Hiro's hand as if trying to escape.
"This doesn't make any sense," Hiro mutters.
"Puberty can often be a confusing time for a young adolescent flowering into manhood," Baymax offers.
"I'm not flowering into anything!"
I laugh and stand up. "Sorry, guys. I gotta meet Honey in ten minutes. Have fun."
I grab my hat and my jacket and leave the room. Hiro should be entertained.
HIRO
"Your tiny robot is trying to go somewhere," Baymax announces.
"Really," I mutter distractedly. "Well, why don't you…find out where it's trying to go."
"Will that stabilize your pubescent mood swings?"
"Uh-huh." I barely know what he's asking. "Absolutely."
A second later, I hear the café bell. I glance up and see no sign of Baymax.
"Baymax?" I stand up. "Uh…Baymax?"
A car screeches to a halt outside. I freeze.
I cautiously go to the window and see Baymax crossing the street, narrowly avoiding being run over about five thousand times.
"What?!"
I put on my hoodie and shoes in record time and sprint down the stairs.
I run across San Fransokyo, dodging cars and bikers as I chase Baymax through the streets. My asthma is not helping this. I can barely breathe by the time I catch up to Baymax outside a large, abandoned warehouse.
"Are you crazy?" I pant, bent over trying to breathe. "What are you doing?"
"I have found where your tiny robot is trying to go."
"Told you," I gasp, "it's broken! It's not trying to go—"
I break off as I catch sight of the microbot in his hands. It is trying to go somewhere.
I grab the padlock on the door, then let it fall. "Locked."
Baymax looks up. "There is a window."
"Please exercise caution. A fall from this height could lead to bodily harm."
I manage to grab the windowsill and pull myself through the window, collapsing onto a rickety metal catwalk. I stand up and look around.
The warehouse looks empty, full of obsolete junk. Lots of boxes, loose beams. The only light is from holes in the ceiling.
The sound of vinyl on iron startles me and I whirl around to see Baymax wedged in the window.
"Oh no."
I splutter frantically, trying to form words but panicking too much. Baymax is really loud, and I do not want to be found here.
"Excuse me while I let out some air." Baymax starts to deflate, a high-pitched whine filling the warehouse as he does.
"Are you done?" I whisper when he stops for a moment.
He deflates for another second or two, then stops. "Yes."
I pull Baymax onto the catwalk.
"It will take me a moment to reinflate," he says.
"Fine, just—keep it down," I say as I start down the metal stairs.
I try not to make any sound as I walk around the warehouse. As I tiptoe around one of the boxes, the bluish glow of light catches my eye and I turn to see a closed-off area with dark shapes moving inside.
I retreat back behind the box and grab a broom, figuring I should have something to defend myself, before I go on.
I press my nose to the frosted glass, but all I can make out is the shape of machines working with swift, automatic movements. I circle the walls and stop at the end of a conveyor belt, where tiny shapes roll off the end into a barrel.
I grab a handful of the shapes from the container, realizing what they are.
"My microbots?" I whisper.
I let them fall back into the barrel as I look up to see row upon row of more.
"Someone's making more."
More microbots.
"Best not to scream," breathes a man's voice behind me.
A hand covers my mouth and a muscular arm wraps around my chest, pinning my arms at my sides. I open my mouth and bite down hard on the man's hand.
He hisses in pain, releasing me, and I make a break for it. But I barely get ten feet before something wraps around my torso, slamming me into the ground.
The microbots.
The robots drag me back toward the man, holding me upright in front of him. His face is covered with a kabuki mask and he wears a long black suit. He's also much taller and broader than me, but everyone is, so that's not out of the ordinary.
The man takes a roll of duct tape from inside his suit and tears off a piece, then presses it over my mouth. I glare at him.
He points down, and the microbots pin me to the ground again. The man kneels on my chest and pulls out a syringe filled with neon green liquid. I struggle, but he grabs my hair, holding my head still, and injects the liquid into my neck.
My vision slowly blackens and I fall limp.
BAYMAX
Tadashi had programmed him to deal with countless situations, but never one that involved his patient being taken away by a mysterious masked man.
"Excuse me," Baymax said to the man. "I must ask you to release my patient."
"Make me," the man said nonchalantly.
"My programming prevents me from injuring a human being," Baymax replied. "But I will need my patient back."
"You can't have him."
"Please release Hiro."
"I think not."
Baymax could do nothing as the man took Hiro and left the warehouse.