Ari had two strong emotions running through her right now.
Which was shock and fear as she watched Fred shut down and turned into a cracker-eating zombie as he entered the robotics labs. At least he bought her the comics he wanted, but at what cost?
The fear was stronger than her shock, considering he revealed a major secret not only to her, but Richardson Mole of all people!
It jabbed her heart when she noticed the others' reactions as she trailed behind Fred as he continued to consume crackers.
"Oh no, he's eating crackers," Gogo commented.
"This is bad," Honey Lemon added.
"You have no idea..." Ari mumbled, she felt so awkward next to them. They were Big Hero 6! The superheroes who saved her life, saved the city, and then saved her life some more! How was she supposed to feel about that?! Her brain just kept filling puzzle pieces that explained their weird behavior, like the time everyone acted weird around something she said, or if anyone brought up the topic of Big Hero 6.
Wasabi was vacuuming the trail of crackers left behind by Fred, and Baymax waddled over to scan him.
The robot pinched his cheeks, "I detect heightened stress, indicated by cortisol and crackers."
"What's with the crackers?" Hiro questioned, she turned her attention to him. She should've seen it coming due to his constant time in the garage, how "Captain Cutie" recognized her, or heck! He was able to find information about Obake because he was the superhero who got that information! A part of her didn't blame them for not telling, but she was more worried about the other person who Fred spilled the beans to, she at least could keep it secret.
"He's a guilt eater," Wasabi rolled up the vacuum cord and turned to Fred, "what did you do?"
Fred turned to him with puppy eyes, "I told Richardson that I'm a member of Big Hero 6!" His confession got crackers all over poor Wasabi, who was disgusted by that.
"Ah! Crackers on my face! Crackers on my face!" Wasabi wiped them off and then realized what he said. "Wait, you what?!"
"Ari is right there!" Hiro pointed to her, she sighed.
"I was a witness guys," the others gasped, "I'm not mad, just processing..." Ari cleared her throat, "seriously it's secret for a reason, I'm not mad," then she turned to Hiro, "it explains a lot about you though… 'Mr. I spend too many hours in the garage;"
Hiro just sheepishly chuckled, "I did not expect you to learn that," he glared at Fred, "or at all."
"I know, I'm sorry, I broke superhero rule number one. I'm a disgrace and deserve to be punished!" He began hitting his head against the wall, Baymax brought up a hand to cushion his headbutting. "I don't deserve a cushion Baymax.."
"Can I get an explanation afterwards?" Ari raised a hand, "like..I will keep your secret, but I don't know if Mole would.."
"Sure kiddo," Gogo sighed.
"Fred, what exactly does Richardson know?" Hiro questioned his friend, who was still headbutting Baymax's vinyl hand.
"Oh I know a lot of things!"
They turned their attention to Richardson who had entered the lab, "If Fred's in Big Hero 6, that means so are you," he pointed to Hiro.
"You," he pointed to Honey Lemon who narrowed her eyes at him,
"You," Wasabi stared at him, uncomfortable at being pointed at.
"You," Baymax waved.
"Hello."
"And you!" Richardson spun to Gogo, "Dream Girl..." he swooned, "just got dreamier."
"Leave her alone, creep!" Ari tugged him away as Gogo also pushed him away.
"Ugh, dream on."
Wasabi gave a nervous chuckle, "yeah we're not… hahaha, you're not going to tell anybody right?!" he grabbed Richardson by the shoulders, desperation in his eyes.
"If people knew, it would be dangerous," Honey Lemon frowned.
"If people knew it would be dangerous!" Richardson mocked.
"Dude," Ari punched him on the shoulder, "take it seriously!"
Hiro nodded, "seriously Richardson, you have to keep it a secret."
"Sure, sure, a secret, my lips are sealed," he gestured, "but..."
"I knew there'd be a but!" Fred pointed. Ari facepalmed, and felt a deep anger boiling inside her, how dare this… gremlin child try to blackmail her brother and his friends!
"I want something in return," Richardson stated.
"What?" Hiro crossed his arms, as the annoying brat twirled over to Gogo again.
"To go on a date with-"
Gogo was having none of that, "no way. Not happening," she edged him away, "go ahead, tell everyone."
He sighed, "fine, it was worth a try," he then turned to Fred, "but.."
"I knew there'd be another but!"
"Oh there are a lot more buts, Fred," Richardson then pulled out a loooong list, "I want Fred's first edition of The Human Fist, his entire Captain Fancy collection, and his limited edition Dr. Slaughter action figure."
"No way!" Fred fell off his chair, "you can't-"
The others had different ideas.
"Done."
"Fine."
"Take it."
"Okay!"
He felt betrayed, "wait what?!'
Hiro turned to Richardson, "okay, you can have all of Fred's stuff as long as you keep our identities a secret."
"Wait!" Fred exclaimed as Richardson walked away.
"Goodbye," Baymax waved.
"No wait Fred," Gogo told him, "you make a mess, you clean it up."
He clenched his teeth, "ohhh I hate when you're right!"
Then to add to his misery, Richardson came back. "What else do you want?" Ari questioned, he then stared at the comics in her arms.
"Those comics," he demanded, which threw her for a loop.
"What?!"
"I want those comics back," Richardson crossed his arms, "anyone associated with Fred isn't allowed to touch my comics."
Ari felt anger roaring inside her, "there is something very, very wrong with you." But to her surprise, Fred stood in front of her.
"That's crossing a line Mole!" Fred demanded, "I bought those with my hard-earned cash! Let her have them!"
Richardson huffed, "fine, but she's not allowed to buy anything else from me ever again," he then walked away, finally leaving them alone for awhile.
Ari was relieved she got to keep her comics, but then remembered Fred couldn't, "hey uh… I'm sorry Fred," she told him, "if I didn't want to go buy stuff today, Richardson wouldn't have antagonized you and you wouldn't have spilled the beans."
Fred stared at her, then chuckled, "oh Ari," he ruffled her hair. "I was going to go the store eventually,"
"How come?"
"Well, I needed to do some research on how to beat High Voltage," he explained softly, "so they don't start their crime-dancing spree all over again."
Ari stared at him with her wide blue eyes, "do you have to…?"
Fred glanced at the others, who's expressions turned to mixtures of fear and worry, "I know you like Juniper and that's fine, but she's not a good person for doing all those crimes. And as Big Hero 6, we gotta stop people like her before anyone gets hurt, do you understand that?"
She sighed, no matter how much she loved the crime-dancer, there was no indication she was gonna change her ways, "I know..it sucks though," she mumbled.
Hiro walked up to her, "this probably feels awkward to you."
She held up her hand, "a little bit," Ari hummed, "like I think the back of my head suspected it but I never thought to put two-and-two together, besides I never was curious! The superheroes are..superheroes, I just like seeing them in action because it was cool," she giggled, "but I vow to never tell your secret until the day I die, in my honor."
Hiro sighed, "I didn't think you couldn't keep it, I just didn't want to burden you with that information."
"Because of the whole 'if supervillains find out there goes your loved ones' I am aware of the trope, unlike Richardson." Ari sneered, "I'll leave you guys be until you have the whole Mole thing figured out, I'd just make it awkward and I wanna ask stuff at a more appropriate time."
"You can do that," Wasabi nodded.
"Thanks for keeping it secret," Honey Lemon smiled.
"And we'll be sure to answer stuff once it's safe to," Gogo shrugged.
Ari smiled, "um good luck," and she began to exit out of the labs.
"Wait, where are you going?" Hiro questioned.
"To ask a friend for a favor!"
Fredzilla added TheLittleMermaid and 4 others to "Superhero Squad"
Fredzilla changed TheLittleMermaid and 5 other usernames
Ariel: Hey Fred what is this?
Flame Jumper: A superhero group chat! So we can talk about superhero things without any of the Fern kids or others picking it up!
Flame Jumper: You're included since you're a good secret keeper
Ariel: Awww : )
Chem Girl: I love my username! : D
Speed Queen: Why are we named after the names from Karmi's fanfiction
Flame Jumper: We haven't come up with codenames so we're using those ones! I love mine way more than "Lizard Guy" and it's better than saying our names while we're in superhero mode!
Chop Chop: He has a point
Chop Chop: Wait does that mean
Captain Cutie: Don't say a word or else
Ariel: XD, I am so sorry Hiro I tried stopping her from naming you that but there is no stopping someone and their crushing
Captain Cutie: Takes one to know one
Ariel: HEY!
Ariel: How come Baymax isn't in this chat?
Captain Cutie: I need to come up with a texting chip for him just for that
Captain Cutie: So he'd know to act
Ariel: You'd put memes/vines in that wouldn't you
Captain Cutie: Maaaaybe?
Speed Queen: Vine is dead Hiro
Captain Cutie: It's not dead in my heart!
"So, what is it that you need from me?" Rachel questioned, she had been enjoying a nice vanilla milkshake from Joe's Diner with Katie until Ari headed to her booth, asking for a favor.
"Oh, I actually need something from Katie, but I kind of need your permission," Ari rubbed her sleeve, "it's very important!"
Katie glanced at her, then back to Ari, her whiskers twitched with amusement.
"What services do you need Katie for and why?" Rachel slurped her milkshake, she saw Ari start to stammer and glanced around.
"I need Katie for tracking someone," Ari's cheeks began to turn pink, Rachel narrowed her eyes.
"Katie?" she glanced to the blue, who had an evil grin.
The feline walked up to Ari, "let me guess," Katie purred, "you want me to sniff out your crush, don't you?"
"What-what-whaaa, noo way," she nervously giggled, her voice turning squeaky, "...just a little."
"Aww, you wanna have some time before the supehewoes put her back in jail," Katie mocked in a baby tone, "isn't wittle Awi's cwush adowanble?"
"Katie stop speaking like that," Rachel had a deadpan look.
"Sowwy!"
She sighed, "According to a witness from Krei-Tech, they took two micro battery prototypes, so both members of High Voltage have their electrical powers, granted it's perhaps not as strong as using their energy orb but still painful." Rachel warned her, "they might treat you with hostility, and to each other."
"That's why I wanna look for them!" Ari exclaimed, "I'm worried that something bad will happen because of their fighting!" she yelped and placed a hand to her head. "Owww my head..this headache grows the more I think about it!"
"Then stop thinking about it," Katie rolled her eyes.
"Why do you think something bad will happen?" Rachel raised an eyebrow, seeing something flash in Ari's eyes; fear. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah just..my head," Ari groaned, taking an aspirin pill and gulping it down with a water bottle, "I keep getting the reloop of yelling, red, fear, and now I keep hearing some banging noise but I don't know what it is!"
Rachel and Katie exchanged glances, concern growing on their faces.
"What..kind of banging noise?" Katie's ears twitched.
"Kind of sounds like, pew-pew! Pow! Bang!" Ari mimicked the sound, "kind of hurts."
She didn't notice the duo exchanging glances again, this time even more concerned.
"Well, if it makes your headache subside," Rachel nudged the blue cat close to Ari, "you can borrow Katie for tracking the hypothetical love of your life, her services will end at midnight."
"Yay!" Ari cheered, scooping up the feline, "I'll take good care of you Katie cat!"
"Hooray," Katie rolled her eyes.
The first place Ari went to was Krei-Tech, so Katie could sniff out the lingering scents of High Voltage.
"Arg! Who in this building smells like pineapples?!" Katie demanded, behind them, a certain mechanic coughed.
"Sorry," Steven mumbled.
"Well it's messing up my nose," Katie placed a paw over her nose, "find somewhere else Ari..."
"Okay, fine," Ari picked her up from the front desk.
Second location was the police station, where according to Rachel, one of the crime-dancers was snooping around there.
"I got a scent," Katie sniffed the air, "doesn't smell like Juniper… so it's probably Barb, which explains why the scent does smell a little bit like her." She noticed Ari staring at her. "Yes?"
"Uh, what exactly did Juniper smell like to you?"
"Creepy much?"
"Oh, don't you start!" she walked to the front desk, Detective Elio Rosemary was working there.
"Hey Ariel!" Elio greeted her, "you hanging with Katie?"
"Kind of," Ari chuckled.
"She's having me sniff out High Voltage," the blue blurted out.
"Katie!"
"Kids." Elio chuckled, not believing them. "Katie is a good tracker, I'd recruit her but I don't think the K-9 unit would like her."
"Because she's a cat?" Ari questioned, dogs and cats don't get along after all.
"No, she terrifies them."
"Ohhhh," she turned to Katie, "what did you do?"
The blue fiddled with her paws, "something that makes the vet a daycare compared to me."
Ari felt a chill go up her spine.
The good news of going to the police station was that Katie could follow the trail. However, it led back to Joe's Diner. The evening had passed and nighttime was rolling around, nine o' clock. Before she walked in, Ari felt her phone buzz, groaned, and accepted the call.
"Hey Ari!" It was Aunt Cass, "It's getting late, you should head back to the cafe soon."
"Oh uh, I will," Ari glanced at the feline on her shoulder, "I'm just hanging with Katie cat, remember we catsitted her?"
"Of course! Mochi loved her company!" Aunt Cass hummed, "they got along so well! Kitty love!"
Katie gagged, "oh great she's a shipper.."
Ari snickered, "I might be late, but at least I'm safe! Love you!"
"Love you too sweetie!" and the call ended, she sighed.
"Lying stinks, now I know how my brother feels," Ari grumbled, entering the diner.
Since it was night, the diner was mostly empty, the only person seeming to stick around was Joe, the manager himself. He was bringing a vanilla milkshake to the other person that was in the diner, sitting by one of the booths, Barb herself. The woman appeared to have a long day, drinking her sorrows away in milkshakes.
Katie puffed out her chest, "told you I'm a good tracker," she whispered.
"We went in a giant circle around town," Ari rolled her eyes, the blue hissed.
Ari exhaled, did she really want to walk up to her? The warnings of her friends played in her mind.
Dangerous…
Might get hurt…
Criminals..
BANG!
The loud ringing in her ears caused Ari to wince, she made up her mind. Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the booth.
"Uh…" Ari trailed off, not sure what to say, but then a stinging feeling in her arm made her yelp, "ow!" she turned to Katie, who had nipped her, "why?!"
Katie just meowed, oh great she's doing the dumb act again, but before Ari could speak up, her sudden yelp had caught Barb's attention.
The woman stared at her with tired eyes, "Ari? What on earth are you doing here?" Barb questioned, "shouldn't you be going to sleep?"
"Hey! I can stay out as late as I like!" she exclaimed, "I was looking for you." She then noticed the half a dozen empty milkshake glasses, "oh wow, that's a lot."
"It's been a long day for me Ariel," Barb replied, then noticed Katie, who jumped onto the table and began licking the glass, "is that your cat?"
"Kind of," Ari gestured, "but I want to talk to you!" She took a seat across from Barb, her headache still throbbing, she held a hand to her head.
"What's the deal, with you and Juniper?" she questioned, Barb glanced away.
"It's been an argument for awhile, but it's somehow gotten worse," the woman replied.
"Yeah but I need details!" Ari clapped, "why are you fighting?!"
"Ariel, it's really none of your business," Barb told her.
"What if it gets worse?!" Her outburst made Katie glance at her, the feline looked worried for some reason.
Barb also had a look of worry, "sweetheart, it's kind that you care." She pushed the empty milkshake glass to the side, "but…"
"But what?" Ari crossed her arms, "why can't you tell me?"
"It's not any of your business," Barb repeated.
She felt a stone weighing in her chest, that only fueled her anxiety, "I'm just..worried, for you and Juniper," Ari confessed, her head bowed down.
Barb's expression formed into a mixture of surprise and concern, "Ariel that's very sweet of you, but I'll be fine." Joe headed to the booth with another milkshake, and placed it on the table. Ari turned her attention to Katie and gave her a few pets while the woman enjoyed her drink.
However, as the jukebox played a pop song, Ari saw a familiar blonde standing on the other side of the diner.
Quick as a whip, Juniper shot a bolt of electricity that shattered the milkshake Barb was drinking out of.
"Hello, Juniper," Barb had a deadpan look on her face.
"Don't 'hello Juniper' me, where is it?" Juniper demanded, a look of anger was on her face.
Barb sighed, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tell me where it is, NOW!" Juniper stomped, sending an electrical surge around the floor of the diner, the lights and neon signs lit up.
Barb stepped out of the booth, "you wanna dance?"
"Ooh this is gonna be good," Katie whispered, "I wish I had a camera," Ari shoved the cat to the side. A bolt of electricity was sent to the jukebox, changing the station.
"You might think I'm done, you might think they've won," the jukebox ang, Ari slowly sneaked her way to the counter where Joe was.
"Let's dance," Barb started dancing and spinning electricity.
Juniper wasn't going to go down without a fight, "I think that song's a little tired, don't you?"
She zapped the jukebox, changing it to a more modern song, which Joe began dancing to. Ari just facepalmed as "When you try to say my name, you choke up on the phone. When you try to play my games, you end up all alone," started to play from the jukebox.
Juniper started dancing to the beat, and mockingly blew an electric kiss to her mother, who screamed and changed the song back. And Joe started cleaning the counter in a bored manner, while Ari hummed a little to the song.
"It's a classic!" Barb had electricity rolling off her hips as she danced.
"Classic's just another word for old, Mother!" Juniper changed the song back.
"Did you just call me old?" Barb was offended by the comment, she zapped the jukebox and the electricity broke Joe's pot of coffee.
"Hey!" he cried in offense.
"Mind your own business, buddy!"
"This is my/his business, I'm/he's Joe!" Both Joe and Ari pointed to the Joe's Diner sign. Then ducked as the electricity from the jukebox started spazzing out.
Juniper danced toward her mother, they both started circling each other as the station kept changing.
"If you think for one minute that I won't get to it before you, then you're wrong," Juniper declared, "so wrong!"
"It's cute that you think so, little girl," she screamed in offense at her mother's taunt, and began spinning and spewing electricity that blinded the diner, and broke every glass in sight. Ari yelped and jumped behind the counter, as the light faded and she looked up, Juniper was backflipping out of the diner in anger.
Barb panted and rested herself over the counter, Joe's head popped up.
"What a mess," he stared at the broken glass, "but what a performance!" He started dancing, somehow he enjoyed the dance-off, a small smile crept on Barb's face.
"This is fueling my concerns," Ari grumbled, bringing a hand to her head, "and my migraine, ow..."
Katie just meowed, staring at the mess. Well that was the most exciting show I saw, she thought, but then her fur ruffled as Ari jumped over the counter and stared at Barb with a look of terror in her eyes.
"This has to stop!" Ari demanded, "please just apologize whatever argument caused you and Juniper to bicker-please!" her eyes were starting to rim with liquid.
Barb herself was shocked to see Ari's panicked expression, "Are you okay?"
"I am fine!" Ari yelled, "what's not fine is that you and your daughter's arguing cause-" she pointed to the mess, "this!" She then yelped and collapsed to the floor, shocking everyone in the diner, including Katie.
Oh noo...Katie whimpered, she's remembering...
Barb kneeled down to inspect the shivering girl, "Arie, are you okay?" she held out a hand, but Ari slapped it away.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ari screeched, and before anyone could react she bolted out of the diner. Joe hid behind the counter again.
There wasn't a word spoken once Ari had left, Katie's whiskers twitched, she began walking towards the exit.
"Wait," Barb's voice stopped her, she turned to the woman, who's facial expression screamed motherly concern. "Please look after Ariel, I am guessing you're aware of her amnesia?"
Katie gave a slow nod, so I guess she told them, she must trust them a lot.
"She must be remembering something bad," Barb sighed, "you can go now, but make sure nothing bad happens to her."
Katie meowed, signalling she'd do that, and then sped out of the diner, hot on Ari's trail.
"How did she run so far?" Katie mumbled, it wasn't hard to track her down, no the problem was Ari had apparently ran all the way to Good Luck Alley. A place that was nowhere safe for a small girl, she saw her duck into the alley and Katie followed. She found Ari curled behind a trash can, whimpering and sniffling.
"Ari!" Katie padded up to her, "don't run so far!"
"Sorry," Ari sniffled, "just… my head keeps hurting and my thoughts are swimming," the girl looked like a wreck.
"I know," she curled into her lap, "but can we have a meltdown in a less stinky alleyway?"
"Sorry," Ari stood up, picking up the cat, "let's go home." She looked like she was about to collapse, a rotten scent crept up on Katie's nose, she curled her lip.
"Uhg! What smells like garbage?" she sneered.
"Well that isn't a nice thing to say kitty cat," she looked behind Ari's shoulder and saw a group of thugs emerging from the alley.
"Hey isn't that the talking cat?" one of them pointed to her, "she'd sell for a pretty penny!"
"Buzz off buzzards," Katie hissed, "Ari let's go."
"Got it," however as she tried to exit to the streets, another thug blocked their path.
"Where are you going kid?" the thug mocked.
"Nowhere?" Ari squeaked, "I'm not feeling well, can we do this another day?" the thug scoffed and knocked her into the ground.
"Hey!" Katie growled, "go away or else!"
"You're in no position to make demands," the leader thug grabbed her by the collar, she yelped. "So why don't you behave like a good kitty-ACK!"
In an instant, she was dropped to the ground, Katie saw a bright flash and the lead thug dropped the ground, static pinning him down.
Then, the others followed, being kicked, zapped, and pushed to the ground. Katie caught the scent of their rescuer, followed by a blur of fluffy blonde hair.
Ari let out a sharp gasp, barely able to keep consciousness, "...June?" she squinted, seeing a very familiar pair of cocoa brown eyes, slightly darker than her mother's.
"Hey Ari," Juniper smiled, then turned her attention to the twitching thugs, "if you ever… ever take one more step against my friend, I will zap you to kingdom come!" she barked, staring to channel electricity to blast at them, which caused the thugs to whimper and scramble back to the alley.
Katie purred, that was a close one! But unfortunately Ari had run out of energy and passed out, Juniper gasped and picked her up.
"Oh no," there was a look of concern on the crime-dancer's face, "is she okay?" Juniper turned to the cat, who shrugged.
"You're not helping my case buddy," she grumbled, lifting Ari over her shoulder and carrying her away from the dangerous alley, with the feline trailing behind.
Superhero Squad group chat:
Captain Cutie: Ari hasn't come back to the cafe yet and I am starting to get concerned
Speed Queen: She's probably still chilling with Katie
Chem Girl: How do you know that?
Speed Queen: Because I ran into Rachel and she told me Ari had "rented" Katie for something
Flame Jumper: I hope I'm wrong in my prediction on what that was
Captain Cutie: She could at least message us!
Chem Girl: Her phone battery probably died
Speed Queen: Or she's ignoring you
Flame Jumper: I mean she did learn that we're Big Hero 6 so..
Captain Cutie: Which was your fault
Flame Jumper: I said I was sorry!
Flame Jumper: At least she's not blackmailing us like Mole did! My poor comics! In his filthy, disgusting hands!
Speed Queen: Stop whining and woman up
Flame Jumper: : (
It hurt her so much to see poor Ari unconscious and suffering in her sleep, as Juniper got back to her little hideout and laid the girl on a comfortable sleeping space, she grabbed the softest blanket and covered her with it. The feline Katie, who had been following along, meowed and curled herself next to Ari, offering herself as a furry pillow.
"Hey um," Juniper spoke to the cat, "can you get me when Ari wakes up?"
Katie meowed in response, nodding her head, "okay, thanks."
She was able to breathe a sigh of relief once Ari stopped squirming and cuddled up against the blue cat. Ari might get thirsty when she wakes up, I should probably get her water or something. Juniper got up and walked to the kitchen, she quickly poured a glass of water and set it on the table for her friend. Katie stared at her with sharp blue eyes as she set the glass down.
"I hope you're not judging me or something," She narrowed her eyes at the cat, who's gaze softened, "it's hard to stay mad at just a cute feline."
Katie purred, but she didn't get up, preferring to snuggle the sleepy Ari, however her tail kept flicking over to Ari's pockets. Meowing as if she was trying to tell her to check the pockets.
"Do you want me to check her phone or something?" Juniper raised an eyebrow, weird cat… cute, but weird.
"Mrow," Katie purred, twitching her whiskers in amusement.
"Guess that answers that," Juniper mentally apologized in advance and swiped Ari's phone from her pocket, "she really should put a password on this." And found the reason why Katie wanted her to check the phone.
Ari had about several dozens of messages from her phone, most of them being from the "Hiro" she mentioned once or twice. However there were a lot of messages coming from a group chat.
"Okay first of all who names a group chat 'Ferns and Nerds', second, why do you want me to inspect Ari's phone?" Juniper turned her attention to the cat, who just purred.
"Meow," Katie lifted a paw and imitated typing with it.
"Oh, you want me to type that Ari's okay to her friends, right?"
"Mrow!"
"Okay then..." Juniper clicked onto the group chat, sorry Ari... she apologized in advance
Mikan Ferns: For the last time I did not kidnap Ari!
Mikan Ferns: Why would you suspect me of that?!
"I feel bad for this person," she commented.
"Mrow," Katie apparently felt indifferent.
Hiro Hamada: She is never this late in responding to messages!
Hiro Hamada: Either her phone is dead or something bad happened to my sister!
Sienna Kline: Maybe she's busy
Rachel Rosemary: Like stealing my cat for dumb reasons
"Oh, that's your owner," Juniper turned to Katie, "her name sounds familiar." The cat glanced away, "better message before someone else gets accused."
TheLittleMermaid: Nothing bad happened
Sara Ferns: SHE LIVES
TheLittleMermaid: I am just running late
Hiro Hamada: Why are you typing weird?!
"Oh no he's onto us," she facepalmed, "also who gave Ari that username?"
"Meow," Katie shrugged.
"Your input is not helpful."
TheLittleMermaid: I have no idea what you are talking about
Fredzilla: Ari got her phone stolen by an imposter!
Rachel Rosemary: By Katie
Rachel Rosemary: Only Katie types like this
"You steal phones?" Juniper narrowed her eyes at the cat, "and you know how to type?"
"Meow!" Katie purred, licking her paw and rubbing her ears.
"Not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess."
TheLittleMermaid: Oh no you caught me
TheLittleMermaid: Yes because Ari fell asleep on the bus
TheLittleMermaid: She will be the death of me
Sienna Kline: Oh god the world's ending
Sienna Kline: What's next? Giant killer fish?
Fredzilla: I think you mean eels
Hiro Hamada: Yep Katie stole her phone
Rachel Rosemary: What's your evidence
Hiro Hamada: Everytime someone mentions eels Ari goes "not in my house!" because she haaaates them
Mikan Ferns: I think they're cute!
Sara Ferns: "You think killer robots are cute" -David
Fredzilla: Oooh burn
Rachel Rosemary: Katie put the phone down, wait till Ari gets up at least
TheLittleMermaid: Alright, see you.
Juniper gave a sigh of relief as she turned off the phone and placed it back into Ari's pocket, "I am never doing that again."
"Mrow."
"You're not helping Katie," she sighed, but stretched her hand over to give the blue a few scratches behind the ears. "I bet you're wondering why I went along with that, right?"
"Meow," Katie mewed, it sounded like a "maybe" to her.
"Well, Ari's my friend," Juniper explained, "I really enjoy her company and sending her letters, so it's the least I could do, I don't really have any friends… not anymore, so might as well help the one friend I got left."
The cat whined, Katie crawled over and began nuzzling her arm. "Aww, I guess you can be my friend too, two friends are better than one."
"Mrow," Katie nodded, the feline's sandpaper tongue started licking her arm, the rough sensation caused her to jerk back.
"Ouch!"
"Meow!" The feline frowned, headbutting her sides.
Juniper giggled, "aww you're so needy for affection," she petted the cat's sides.
As she waited for Ari to wake up, petting the blue kept her distracted. A part of Juniper wished she zapped those thugs harder, how dare they attack Ari! This is my mom's fault, she shouldn't have let Ari run off! Yes, she noticed the fluffy brunette in Joe's Diner as she argued with her mom. But as angry as she was with her, it wasn't her mom's fault. Something had been bothering Ari lately, she could just..tell.
Maybe her mom knew what would help the poor girl, oh what do I do… Juniper groaned, what if Ari has some sort of fatal disease and it's finally won!
Before she could imagine any hypothetical worse-case scenario, Ari stirred. She let out a sigh of relief as her friend woke up, but there was a haunting look on her phase.
"Ari?" she tapped her shoulder, Ari stared at her, she winced at the heart wrenching sadness in her blue eyes. "Um, you passed out and I brought you to my hideout, and Katie followed," she gestured to the blue cat, who was giving them a pitiful look.
"June?" Ari squeaked, her voice sounded broken.
"Yeah? Is it your head?" Juniper questioned, "I-"
All of a sudden Ari burst into sobs, burying her face into her chest, "I-I remembered that-" she sobbed.
"Ari?"
"My p-p-parents," her eyes widened, Ari only mentioned her parents once, and a dark feeling festered as her friend wailed.
"T-they-" Ari sniffled, "The-they're gone!"
"Gone?" Juniper gasped.
"Gone! They're gone!" she wailed, "th-there was a loud shot and they th-I miss them I w-wan them back!" The tears streamed down Ari's cheeks, she shivered and sobbed and her cheeks got puffy and her voice screamed of a poor child that just wanted her parents back.
"I want my mo-mom and dad, but they're gone..." she sobbed, and Juniper held her close.
"Ari..I'm here," she rubbed her back, "I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you."
It felt like an eternity passed as Ari's sobs subsided and brushed the tears off her cheek, Katie had brought a box of tissues so the girl could wipe the sadness of her face.
"Sorry for getting your clothes all wet," Ari gestured to her shawl, which was covered in her tears.
"It's fine," Juniper shrugged, "If it helps, I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Yeah," Ari looked down, "since I first remembered them, I just kept hoping and wishing they'd come back and I could see them again and then I'd tell them about Hiro and his friends and everyone else..but now I can't." she sighed, "I'm all alone..."
"Hey, you mentioned your friends, you have them," she pointed out, "they're your family then."
Ari crossed her arms, "yeah… hey uh June?" she turned to her, there was a strange glint in her eyes.
"Yes?" Juniper stared back, "is there any-"
"Please don't hate me for this," Ari bowed her head down, then she started to lean in, moving close to her face.
"Umm," Juniper nudged her back, "what are you doing? You are way too close for comfort."
Ari's eyes widened, her entire face turned red, "umm… nothing?"
"Wait why were you-" then it hit her, "were you trying to kiss me?!"
"No!"
"Oh my god you were trying to kiss me!"
"Wha-no I wasn't!"
"Your face is red!"
Ari placed two hands on her cheeks, "It's sweat!"
"I have heard that excuse too many times!" Juniper exclaimed, "How long have you had a crush on me!? Is that why you talk to me?"
"No! I like talking to you because you're a fun person but also kind of hot!" Ari grabbed Katie and buried her face into the feline's fur, "at least I'm not sad anymore.."
"I'm-I'm not mad," Juniper shook her head, she was going to pretend she did not that last thing Ari said, "but uh.." she really didn't want to do this but leading her friend on was worse, "I just care about you as a friend..."
"Oh," Ari's head bowed down, it hurt her heart to break Ari's but.
"It's just, you're a lot younger than me,"
"You're only a few months older than one of my friends, and she's sixteen," Ari grumbled, "I'm almost fourteen, it's a few days away."
"Yeah but… I can't force myself to feel feelings for you, I'm so sorry Ari," Juniper sighed, "you're a great person, but… I just can't."
"It's fine," Ari huffed, "c-can we still be friends?"
What kind of question was that? "Of course!" she chuckled, "you'll always be my friend."
"I'd like that," and that smile was back on Ari's face.
"I started feeling things since I first saw you, but I guess it started when you saved my life," Ari explained, "and I couldn't stop thinking about you, so when I just kept visiting and sending letters," she kept staring at Katie, petting the feline's soft fur as she rambled, "and I felt more things to care about you. How smart you are, the way your eyes twinkle, and that smirk you have on your face, it just.." she giggled, "even if you don't feel the same way, I'd still like to be part of your life."
"Wow," Juniper hummed, "you really…'fell' for me,huh?"
"That was terrible, you're terrible," she groaned, "um… this isn't sounding weird is it?"
"Nope. Why would you say that?"
"Because I'm a girl and you're a girl. It's not weird to me but it might sound weird to you," Ari's cheeks flustered with embarrassment.
Juniper shook her head, "no! I feel the same way you do, but uh, where I used to live, it was treated as a taboo subject."
"Yikes," Ari frowned, "at least San Fransokyo is one of the better places to live for people like us, and most of my friends know what it's like and are rather supportive!"
A part of Juniper felt envious of Ari, but she brushed it away, "at least you have that."
"What about you?" Ari tilted her head, "did you at least have someone supportive?"
"Yeah, my mom," Juniper huffed, "I don't wanna talk about her..."
"Anyone else though?" her friend persisted, "like maybe your dad or someth-ack!"
She stopped talking the moment seeing Juniper give her the most livid glare she ever saw. "Sorry sorry sorry!"
Her gaze softened, "not mad at you but..." she shut her eyes trying to block out the bad memories, "we don't talk about that person for a reason."
"Oh.." Ari caught on, "I'm sorry you had to deal with that."
"It's fine, I'm over it, kind of," she rubbed her wrist, "you feeling better?"
"A bit." she hummed, her eyes went wide all of a sudden, "oh no..."
"What?"
"My brother is going to kill me!" Ari exclaimed, "What time is it?!"
She stared at the clock, "oh uh, almost eleven." she hummed.
"Oh god I am so dead!' she groaned.
"Don't worry," Juniper placed a hand on her shoulder, "I um… might've borrowed your phone to message you were heading home."
"Why?" Ari frowned.
"Katie told me to," her friend then glanced at the cat.
"Oh did she…?"
"Mrow!" Katie chirped, her ears perked up.
"Yeah, she's pretty good at gestures," Juniper chuckled, "like she's a human in a cat's body!"
"You don't say..."
"Meow!"
After wishing her friend goodbye, Ari started sprinting back to the Lucky Cat Cafe. Katie, the blue-furred traitor and pain in her neck, meowed "adios" and ditched her! The nerve of that furball! To be fair Ari rented her services until midnight, and it was half-an-hour to midnight when she got back to the cafe.
Mochi was the first one to notice her, he meowed loudly to alert Cass and Hiro. The two of them had dug into the cafe's pastries, the latter was eating a donut when she walked in but dropped it at the sight of her.
"Ari!" In a flash he sped to her side and squeezed her into a hug, "I was so worried!"
"Didn't I give you a text?" she raised an eyebrow, technically she didn't but he didn't know that.
"It was an hour ago!" he continued to hug her, Cass and Baymax walked over and pulled her into a hug.
"Ari, are you alright?" Baymax questioned, "your eyes are puffy, an indication of crying."
Cass leaned to look at her, "oh no did someone make you cry?"
"Or hurt you?" Hiro cracked his knuckles.
"No I..." she told them what she remembered, they both gasped.
"Ari oh you poor thing!" Cass squeezed her into a hug, "you don't deserve that."
Hiro also hugged her again, "we're here for you."
"There, there, you will be alright." Baymax also hugged her, she almost cried from the warmth of their hugs.
They really do care about me..she sniffled. They really do care.
They really are my family..aren't they?
AN: hahahahah...
ahahhahah
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sucks to be Ari right now- *sweats as angry reader holds me at knifepoint* OKAY OKAY chill it gets better! She's got an emotional support blanket of friends, so she has some form of comfort.
Anyways, the gang knows Ari knows, awkward...
Good thing Katie was there to supervise stupid choice #15 bc who knows what would've happened by herself. Just kidding, not like Juniper would've hurt her at all. Except don't leave your phone w/o a password Ari! You're part of a superhero group chat now, don't leave your phone unprotected from supervillains!
And yeah, superhero group chat. I had to.
Idk what's worse, Ari remembering here parents are mcdead in front of her villain friend, or getting friendzoned by said villain friend. (I feel so bad for my readers who ship it). And now Juniper knows, hmmmmmm. And yeah, she and Katie are friends, it's canon now. (Much to Ari's distaste lol, she can't win)
Question time
AgentofAngst: is Ari gonna forget Big Hero 6's identity like Richardson or is she gonna remember?
Oh boy if she does forget Fred better kick her from the group chat ASAP X'D. Well there's no danger of her knowing so far, I mean she's not gonna snitch on them, but do you think I'd make the amnesiac girl lose her memories again?
Question of the Week (QOTW): Favorite scene in this chapter? Or if you can't pick one, just rant which one tugged your heart a lil n.n
See you next week for the end of Big Hero 7 *sigh*, and then next canon ep I'll mandatory write HV will be... *wince* y'know.