hey y'all! i'm sorry this chapter is so short but i promise you'll love it...i put in a pretty good plot twist i think! and tadashi is gonna end up being SO heroic in the next few chapters, i hope to make this as long a story as possible to showcase hiro's and tadashi's awesomeness! plz forgive short chapter!

thanks to silvie for reviewing!

—HIRO—

I see a flash of bright green light erupt out of the trees, and I realize that Bessie—the technology-disrupting bear—is trying to shoot us down. My brain goes into overdrive mode and I start freaking out, screaming at Baymax to go higher, to dodge the blasts of electricity, to get us out of there. I can't let Honey or her unborn daughter get hurt.

Baymax tries valiantly to dodge the shots fired at us, but on the fifth or sixth one, it hits him directly in the chest.

I let out an embarrassingly high-pitched scream as we plummet toward the woods, memories of the hurricane coursing rapidly through my mind. I crashed in Muirihara Woods on night patrol just before the storm, and that alone was pretty traumatic.

Suddenly, Baymax grabs both me and Honey off his back, flips over, and pulls us to his chest—trying to protect us from the impact. It probably won't offer total escape, but at least we won't die.

I hope.

We fall faster and faster, Baymax trying to guide us into a softer landing. The canopy races up and we break through it, twigs whipping at my face and arms—I didn't think I was gonna need my helmet or my gloves. Dang it.

The ground comes up faster than I thought it would, and Baymax slams into it. We actually bounce several times, first on Baymax's back, then on his side, then his other side, then on his back again. Finally, we skid to a halt in the dirt and I hear the unmistakable sound of Baymax powering off. I think I closed my eyes at some point, because I find myself opening them.

I tentatively raise my head, looking around the forest. We broke a heck of a lot of branches in our fall, and it's pitch-black apart from the moon and stars. I can barely see—this isn't good.

"Hiro?" Honey whispers. "Are you okay?"

"Probably. How 'bout you? And the baby?"

Honey pushes Baymax's arm off of her. "The baby's fine. She seems kinda irritated at the moment, actually—she's really kicking hard. And I'm just a little banged up—probably better than if Baymax hadn't protected us."

I wiggle out from under Baymax's arm and stand up, checking myself over. I can tell I've got a few small cuts and scratches on my face and arms, and my whole body feels sore, but there are no serious injuries. Thank goodness for Baymax.

"So," I begin. "What should we do now? We can't call the team, since our tech isn't working. Should we just hike out and tell the others we were shot down and that we need to come back for Baymax?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Honey agrees. "Let's—"

But she cuts herself off as a loud snap echoes through the silent woods. A small figure steps out of the trees, clothed in all black and holding something long and sharp—a knife. The figure emerges fully from the shadows and I discover that a second knife is clutched in their other hand, equally long and equally sharp.

"Hiro, Evangeline," the figure says, and I can tell it's a woman—and she sounds very familiar. "How nice of you to join me."

Honey's gasp shatters the silence that follows, but I never get to hear the reason behind it. The woman leaps forward and stabs some kind of syringe into Honey's arm, and Honey immediately goes limp. I back away as quickly as I can, not wanting to leave Honey but also not wanting the woman to tranquilize me.

It doesn't work—the woman grabs my wrist, pulls me toward her, and plunges another needle into my arm. I let out a yelp of pain as I feel the tranquilizer coursing through my veins, and the world slowly goes dark.

When I wake up, the first thing I'm aware of is the pressing darkness. It's pitch-black in here—wherever here is.

Trying to get an idea of my surroundings, I discover that I'm sprawled on a stone floor, and I can hear water dripping. It's really cold, too, and I'm not sure where I could possibly be. I've never been in a place like this.

I sit up gingerly, my muscles still sore from the crash. The spot on my arm where the syringe was stabbed in feels bruised so badly I can barely move it, and I feel dizzy and disoriented from the tranquilizer, but that's the worst of my injuries. I'm surprised—I'm usually hurt worse in this kind of situation.

Tentatively, I stretch my hand out, trying to figure out how big this place is. I can feel one wet, somewhat slimy wall behind me, and another to my side. I get to my feet and take a careful step forward, relieved when my head doesn't touch the ceiling and I don't run into a wall.

Keeping one hand on the wall I can feel, I cautiously take several more steps—and then I do run into a wall. I let out a small yelp of pain as my forehead, nose, and chest all hit the stone, and I stumble back, rubbing my nose. I need to be more careful in places I'm unfamiliar with.

My head is throbbing dully now, so I sink back to the ground. When I do, my fingers brush a limp hand on the floor. I freak out for a second before realizing it's Honey.

I fumble in my pocket for my phone and am amazed to discover that I still have it. There's no service—that's just great—but I can use my flashlight. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Then I wouldn't have run right into a wall and hurt myself.

I hit the flashlight button and shine the beam onto Honey. She doesn't look hurt, just unconscious. But Honey's super suit is gone, leaving her in a long-sleeved t-shirt and leggings. That's when I realize that my armor is gone, too—and I'm only wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt and capris. That's not good, because it's freezing and wet.

Shining the flashlight around the small, wet room, I can see that the ceiling is really high, but the walls are around ten feet apart, stone on three sides and metal bars on one. It's some kind of cell, but why is it dripping water?

Oh my gosh.

We're in a cave.

I've never been in a cave before, and I already know I don't like it. It's dark and cold and slimy—that last one is really nasty.

And you'd think a villain would put us in a more traditional cell. Why'd this one pick a cave when she could have chosen literally anything else? Who is she? Why does she need us? I don't get it.

Suddenly, I hear a faint moan from next to me. I look over to find that Honey is stirring, trying to sit up.

"Hiro?" she whispers, pushing herself into a sitting position. "What—what happened? Where are we? Are you okay?"

"You got tranquilized," I tell her. "So did I, and I didn't wake up until a few minutes ago—but I'm not hurt, don't worry. And we're in some kind of cave, I'm not sure why."

Honey looks around the room, analyzing it from all angles. But she looks really worried, and I don't think it's about the cave.

"What's wrong?" I ask, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Is the baby okay?"

"She's fine," Honey replies. "But…I know who the villain is. And you probably won't believe me."

"Why?"

"Well…she's supposed to be dead."

—TADASHI—

I glance down at my phone, looking at the tiny red dot that signifies Hiro's GPS tracker. My service is going to cut out soon, and I need to memorize Hiro's location before it does. All I can figure out is that Hiro is somewhere in Muirihara Woods, but not an area I've ever been to before. I'm seriously worried.

Just as I think I'm getting close, my phone's service cuts out and the thrusters on my wheelchair sputter. My eyes widen as I start to lose height, and my gasp quickly turns into a scream when my chair suddenly plummets toward the ground.

I pull up on the joystick as I fall and just barely miss the trees. I'm relieved for a moment, but then I start to sink through the canopy, if more slowly.

My wheelchair hits the ground with a jolt and I let out a yelp—but it's only a slightly bumpy landing and my wheelchair still works. But I'm gonna have to wheel myself out manually or use the emergency blasters, which only work for about five minutes before they fail. Hiro cautioned me to only use them as a last resort, so I don't fall from the sky and hurt myself worse.

Thankfully, the ground is fairly flat here, so I can easily keep rolling east to where Hiro and Honey are. One drawback of being in a wheelchair—you can't hike. It's not too bad, though. I'm more worried about my wife and brother—what if one or both of them is hurt or even unconscious? I wouldn't be able to carry them back easily.

The woods are dark and silent as I steer the wheelchair down the road. After about twenty minutes, the road ends at a dark hole in the face of the mountain, pitch-black and with a small stream flowing out of it. I think this is probably the location the GPS was showing, but I can't check. Since the road ends here, though, I think I can safely assume that this is the location the GPS indicated.

I push my joystick forward and slowly roll into the cave, hearing water drip off of the ceiling. After a few moments, I decide to turn on my headlights—it's so dark I can't see my hand in front of my face. The light reveals that the tunnel stretches deep into the mountainside, steep and dark. And the only way down the tunnel is—

Stairs.

I actually let out a groan of frustration. Why couldn't they make this place wheelchair accessible? Did they even consider that paraplegic heroes might need to get in here?

I steer my chair over to the stairs and peer down into the darkness. Maybe if I go slow—

My wheels go over the side and I'm suddenly rolling rapidly down the steep stairs. I yelp as I tumble down, remaining mostly upright but falling onto my side for the last several stairs. When the stairs are done, I skid to a halt on the stone floor and lay there, panting.

I'm glad I learned how to push my chair up when it falls over, otherwise I'd be stuck here, unable to do anything. I shove myself upright and realize my cheek is scraped and bloody from the rough stone. My wheelchair's a little scuffed, too, but that seems to be the worst of the damage. I can still go on through the tunnel, provided there aren't any more stairs—I'm gonna need the emergency blasters to get out of here.

My headlights still work, so I cautiously roll forward, listening to the dripping of water on the stone.

"H-hello?" I call softly, my teeth chattering. It's freezing in here.

"Hello, Tadashi," says a very, very familiar voice. "I'm glad you came. Your wife and brother could use some company."

I don't respond. I'm too in shock to make any sound.

"And I see you've…changed a bit, I suppose. I hope you'll feel some interest in helping me, along with my colleagues, in my cause." She pauses. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or have you realized who I am?"

I nod. She laughs. "Well, who am I? Tell me."

A single word escapes my lips, and I don't want it to be true, but at the same time, I want it to be true so much.

"Mom?"