"I escaped here once! I can do it again!" Hiro growled as he rattled his cage, one much bigger and much sturdier than the first one. If last one was for a dog, this one was for a lion. That time too, Hiro had a collar- a way to mortify him? It was Momoi's way of a sick joke.
"We wouldn't want that happening now, so we won't provoke you anymore, will we?" Midori sternly said as she threw a glare at Aoi who just crossed her arms and turned away with a huff.
"I don't need to be provoked to escape here!" The young boy shouted.
"Oh yeah-" Aoi wanted to dare him, but was again stopped by the green fujita.
"Leave him be."
Hiro clicked his tongue as he glared at all three of them. If only he knew how to actually activate his own 'higher abilities' then he would be escaping the absolute nightmare he found himself in.
He was scared. He was terrified. Hiro was more than terrified. He knew he was trembling. Oh lord he was thankful he still had the courage to threaten those women when he couldn't even let go of the bars because those were the only things that grounded him, the same bars that imprisoned him, and the same bars that kept him like a neatly wrapped gift for Yokai.
He needed to escape.
Under no circumstances must he fall in that man's hands.
He needed to make the Fujitas understand that.
But they were villains too. Whether they hand him over to their client, or they use him for their own twisted scheme.
Hiro has to decide which outcome would have a better result.
"Yokai said he'll be here in two hours."
And he needed to decide fast.
XxxxX
"How are we going to go after him?" Asked Gogo first. She was the most injured but she was the most eager to get him back. A part of her felt extremely responsible for it, it was no wonder she wanted to act.
"Gogo, we're chasing after The Fujitas. A group we were equally matched with even when we had our suits. Do you really expect us to chase after him?" Tadashi asked her. He received a glare from the woman.
"So what? We leave him? We let him get taken away by that Yokai guy for more experiments?" Gogo Tomago wasn't a compassionate woman, at least on the outside, but you can tell that she cared for the young ravenette male a lot and that she really wanted to save him.
Everyone didn't want that for Hiro, they all wanted him safe.
But their resolve doesn't answer the question how. Without their suits they were technically powerless. Not only that, if they did charge, they would risk revealing their identities, endangering the peaceful everyday lives they live and everyone they cared for. Charging without a plan would be like surrender, suicide even. They were smarter than that.
"We are saving him." The raven haired woman stated sternly, looking all her friends in the eye.
"How? It took days to make the suits, and by the time we finish them, Hiro might already be gone." Honey Lemon said with such low confidence, holding her own hands as she tried not to cry at how hopeless their situation was.
"We finish it faster!" Fred exclaimed, trying to be positive.
"We can't finish it faster, Fred. All the coding and the assembling. It's just not possible." Wasabi threw off.
Their mood was nothing but heavy.
Tadashi tried to see pass through their dilemma, he tried to look for a way out, he tried to look for a new angle. 'Think,' he shouted in his mind, 'You're a Hamada. There must be something in my big brain to get us out of this mess.'
'Something that could get Hiro back with the minimum risks.'
Why, of all times, was his mind empty now?
'Think, think, think, Hamada!' He repeatedly slapped his head as he started to pace back and forth.
"Woah, Tadashi, don't beat yourself up." Said Wasabi, approaching him so he could calm him down, but he stopped when Tadashi spoke.
"I'm not. I just-" he stopped and sat on the side of the bed, and sighed in defeat, "-I'm just trying to shake things up. We need to save Hiro, but we need a plan."
His eyes fell on Baymax who looked at all of them with concern, as much concern as his black dots for eyes could give- which was surprisingly a lot.
"You are all under a lot of stress. My role as a healthcare companion is to keep you all healthy and happy. Also, Hiro's safety is compromised. I shall now display file name Hiro_Emergency1."
Tadashi and the others were confused by the robot's statement, even more so when a cyan screen started playing on his belly. Everyone, even the injured Gogo, inched closer to see what it was.
[Testing... testing.]
"Hiro?!" Everyone recognized the voice. They all went closer, Tadashi even putting both hands on the screen, to try and decipher his face in that static cyan screen, but no, it was just audio.
[Hey Baymax, are you sure you don't mind me using you as a tape recorder?]
[I don't mind, Hiro.]
[Thanks. Ahem- Now. I am experiment TK121 #40137, but my real name is Hiro. I apologize for my low tone of voice but I do not plan on being heard. This recording is for emergencies concerning my custodians.]
The college students couldn't help but look at each other. Emergencies concerning them? What did Hiro mean?
[The Big Hero 6, my custodians, rescued me from a female trio called The Fujitas a day back. In the process, they had to abandon their suits. Therefore I have developed a simple coding for emergency weapons they could use to protect themselves when danger comes and their new suits are still not available.]
Four different codings then appeared in Baymax's belly, codes that all of them could barely understand. Simple coding their butt, that was pure logarithm and binary system combined. There were even unfamiliar symbols! It was amazing that Hiro made such a complicated code.
[It can be made within an hour or so that is if you are willing to sacrifice a few specific gadgets I saw you always have in the lab. Please use it responsibly.]
[And Baymax-]
[Yes, Hiro?]
[If the emergency is to save me, don't show them this record.]
[Why?]
[-sighs- You know why.]
The recording ended with smoothly as everything disappeared from Baymax's belly.
Tadashi led the healthcare companion to his PC and placed its hand on it, with that, the file started to transfer. There was one irrelevant thing in Tadashi's mind at the moment though: Did Hiro just really upload weapon codes in Baymax's healthcare chip? He was sure to talk to him about it when they get him back, but for now he'll have to work with it.
"One last question, Baymax." The ravenette said, gripping his jeans "Hiro said not to let us hear the audio if it was to save him. Why did you show it to us?"
"Hiro is my patient. I know what is best for him and I do it for him."
Tadashi opened Baymax's disk port and stared at the healthcare chip that had his name on it.
Was it still the same chip he programmed roughly two years ago?
XxxxX
"Listen to me!" Hiro shouted but none of The Fujitas actually gave him notice. He did notice how they would cringe every time he shouted which meant they heard him, but refused to listen.
Hiro has finally decided that falling in the hands of the Fujitas, who knew less about his powers, was safer than being returned to Yokai, who already has plans for him.
"Are you sure you want to return me to Yokai? I'm telling you I cost a lot in the Black Market." He repeated, trying to sound believable.
"Do you even have the slightest idea how much Yokai is paying us to fetch you?!" Finally someone answered him. Aoi looked at him through the side of her face, keeping her crossed arm crossed leg sit on top of the crates.
"I can cost so much more." He said, emphasizing the 'more' part.
"Yeah right. No one will believe that a cutie like you is a weapon of mass destruction without your files, and those files are in our phones. Where are our phones? Somewhere in the bottom of the sea. Why? You sent them there." Momoi reminded him, a little angry that she remembered the loss of her prepped up phone.
Hiro forgot about those. He could've sworn he held on to them, but maybe he did let go of them when they fell into the water.
"W-well, you know what I can do right? Don't you have any use for me?" Hiro sounded so desperate, but he didn't care.
Midori finally jumped off her crate, and squatted until she was in Hiro's eye level, "We do have some use for you, lab rat."
For a moment, Hiro felt so relieved.
"And that's to get you back to that bastard, Yokai, get our money, and get the two of you out of our miserable lives."
But all his hopes were just crushed.
Momoi signaled, "Yokai is going to be early. He says he's on his way."
XxxxX
Tadashi finished the upgrades as fast as he could. He has never done anything faster in his life. It did cost Honey's phone, Gogo's portable CD player, Wasabi's chargeable laser pointer and Freddie's remote controlled dinosaur.
Honey's phone can now produce any compound through letter and number codes, and it would emit smoke through the speakers. It wasn't much of an offense, but it would help if they needed cover, or escape.
Gogo's CD player was now an unlimited shockwave dispenser, or rather, it gathers up dangerous shockwave as it spins, and when it's stable enough, the disk player opens and sends it flying, possibly cutting whatever comes it way.
Wasabi's laser pointer turned into an actual laser. The harmless red ray has turned itself into a much more concentrated violet laser that can melt and cut through anything. Wasabi can fiddle with its concentration levels, stability and length just by turning the switch - which previously just had on and off as choices.
Fred remote controlled dinosaur can now breathe fire, shoot laser from its eyes and act as a bomb. It could also act as a decoy and as a bot for bot fighting. Out of all the upgrades, Fred's had the most new features, and the blonde male was pretty excited to try them all out!
Tadashi was tired, but their work was far from over.
"All we need to do now is find Hiro." He said, holding his chin.
"Hiro has been located." Baymax announced, and everyone just turned to him surprised.
"How?!" Tadashi was the most shocked of them all.
"Hiro has also upgraded my scanners. I can now scan the whole area of San Fransokyo, but it requires energy. Luckily, I am currently charging. I need to stay charged to continue giving you his coordinates."
"That means Baymax can't come with us?" Honey Lemon was worried. "How are we going to track him down then?"
"They aren't moving, we can just ask the big guy to screenshot it or something and he follows us." Fred suggested.
"But what if The Fujitas decide to move Hiro to a new hide out? We need Baymax's scanner functional." Tadashi argued. "Someone has to stay behind and update us on their location. In addition, the Fujitas has already seen Baymax with us, if they see him, they'll figure out our secret identities."
"But who stays?" Wasabi asked.
Simultaneously, their heads fell on Gogo, even Baymax's did.
"WHAT?!" The woman was shocked, "Oh no, I am not going to stay here and sit around, not doing anything! I'm the reason Hiro got kidnapped, I'll help search for him." She growled.
Tadashi knew how she felt, but it didn't change the fact that she was injured and still not fit enough to join such a dangerous mission.
"Gogo, give me the disk player." Said Tadashi, opening his hand in front of her.
"You are not stopping me, Hamada."
"I suggest not joining the mission, Gogo." Baymax spoke up, doing his signature 'making a point' gesture, "You're body is still not fully functional because of the food poison. If you move too much, you will experience nausea and headaches, or worse, it could ruin your stomach even more which may lead to highly dangerous outcomes."
"I don't care." She shot back, bowing her head and balling her fists, not wanting to face any of her friends for wanting to make such a decision.
"Gogo, please." Honey approached her and sat beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder and holding her hand with the other. She then looked at the guys, "Can you give us a second?"
The boys looked at each other in confusion but with concern, nodded and walked out of the room, letting the girls talk.
"Poor Gogo," said Fred as he leaned on the wall, looking at the dinosaur in hand. "She really wants the kid safe."
"We all do, but it's too dangerous for her to come, especially when she can't fight in that state." Tadashi stated out of concern.
"We don't have to end up fighting though, right?" Wasabi asked unsure. "We can knock them out and get Hiro, as easy as that."
"I hope that was the case, Wasabi," said Tadashi, as he leaned on the wall himself too, letting out a sigh that sounded almost like a growl, "But after the last time, I don't think it'll be that easy anymore."
After ten minutes, Honey Lemon came out and she handed the disk player to Tadashi. "She's staying," she said, but not all too happy, "But we keep her updated okay? And once we get Hiro, we immediately let her talk to him."
The boys nodded. "Let's say goodbye-" Fred was stopped by Honey Lemon who shook her head.
"She said we should leave immediately and she'll just tell us the coordinate through call. She said Baymax detected him near the East side. Let's get our masks, change our clothes, and save Hiro."
It's not all the time that Honey Lemon is serious, she's usually the positive one, but it just shows how serious this mission was.
The boys nodded again, and all four of them headed off.
Inside the room, Gogo was intently staring at Baymax's belly, waiting for the coordinates to finalize.
"This is for your own good." Said the healthcare companion.
It didn't make the woman any happier, "I know, you marshmallow. Just- find Hiro."
XxxxX
"Please, listen! You can't let Yokai take me away!" Hiro finally resorted to begging. He was out of tricks under his sleeves, but he needed to escape no matter what.
"When are you going to give up, kid?" Aoi snapped. "You've been at it for a whole half hour now. Haven't you gotten it in your thick skull that we will not, under any circumstances, set you free?!" She gave him a mouthful, glaring at him from a far. He was honestly getting on her nerves to the point that she wanted to kick his cage again, and torment him through those bars, but Midori had set boundaries and she had to follow them.
"You don't understand, I-" Hiro tried explaining again, but he was cut off by the green Fujita.
"And we don't plan on understanding." She looked at him sternly and mercilessly, the young ravenette couldn't help but flinch.
"But Yokai's got something really horrible planned-!"
"Does it look like we care?" This time, it was Momoi who cut him off, "Look sweetie, in case you haven't figured it out, we're villains. We're no different than Yokai at all. So stop trying to get our pity and prepare yourself. Your master is already here."
The color in Hiro's face drained when he heard one loud foot step, followed by little scattering sounds that soon turned into a large tidal wave. The young boy turned around, only to see his worst nightmare: Yokai.
XxxxX
"His exact location is at an abandoned building at the boundary, on the far east. The exact address is-"
The team listened attentively as Gogo gave them the information of Hiro's whereabouts. They were using Wasabi's car, and they were in black camouflage clothing with Japanese animal-style masks- Aunt Cass' collection, but she has been trying to find a way to get rid of them for a while.
"You need to hurry, guys." Said Gogo, "Other than Hiro and the Fujitas, there's another person. I have a bad feeling that it's Yokai."
Wasabi suddenly hit the brakes.
"What?" Tadashi was confused, "Why did we stop?"
"It's a red light," said the bigger guy, "It's the law to stop."
"Are you serious?!" Gogo screamed from the other line, "I swear to God, Wasabi! I will- uugh!" She was obviously regretting her decision of staying.
"Out of the way," said Tadashi, quickly exchanging seats with the bigger guy, and then hitting the accelerator. They speeded as fast as the car could go.
"W-WOAH!" All three of his friends exclaimed, "Tadashi, be careful, man." Said Wasabi, very concerned. The last thing he wanted was to get an accident while doing a mission.
"Don't worry guys; I know what I'm doing-!"
Tadashi frantically turned the wheel because he almost missed their turn, but they got to it just in the nick of time.
"Please try your best not to mess this up!" The frustration of the ravenette woman on the other line was evident.
Hopefully the mission ends better than the way it started.
After what seemed to be Tadashi's first time driving a car, they finally arrived at the abandoned... barn? The Fujitas owned all sorts of things; from food trucks, to storage houses, to barns. They wouldn't be surprised if they had a hideout in a zoo.
All four of them snuck in through an open window at the second floor. Tadashi took a mental note that other than them practicing with their suits, they also needed to train their bodies. They really had a hard time climbing that barn wall.
When they got in, they were worn out, but the adrenaline still kept them going.
Like what Gogo said, it was Yokai who was the extra person, and with his microbots too. Tadashi couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Your job is done. I have no use for the three of you anymore. Take your money and go." The distorted voice of Yokai came as his microbots moved and handed the three skater girls, huge brief cases, all of which they cautiously took.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Said Aoi with a scowl.
"Please never contact us again." Added Momoi as she stuck out her tongue.
"Let's move out girls." Ordered Midori, and in sync, all three of them skated out of there.
"Should we chase after them?" Asked Honey. Tadashi only shook his head.
"We have bigger problems."
Yokai approached the cage, and even from the second floor and with the masks on, the gang could clearly see how Hiro cowered away to the farthest he can- which wasn't far at all.
"Hello, Hiro," greeted Yokai as he leaned down to the young boy's eye level, "Those are nice clothes you're wearing. I see you found some good captors."
Hiro could only squeak a reply, "D-Don't hurt them. Please, they have nothing to do with this."
"I never planned on it, Hiro." Yokai sounded calm, even with the distortion in his voice. "But if they stand in the way of my vengeance, then I'm afraid I will have to use threats. They would be much safer if they never associated themselves with you in the first place."
Tadashi wanted to pounce at Yokai, pull off his mask and punch the living daylights out of him. But he knew he couldn't do that. Not with the microbots around him.
He gave silent instructions to his team. They all understood and started moving out.
"Why can't you just let me go?" The young ravenette's voice started to crack, "I never did anything to deserve this." Phosphor tears started to flow from Hiro's eyes.
It made the gang's hearts clench at such a sight and all of them were just holding in their emotions. Tadashi's plan was good enough to work, and they weren't going to let their anger ruin their chances.
"So did my daughter." Yokai said harshly, standing back up again, he then pulled something out of his pocket; a switch.
Hiro's eyes went wide in fear. "NO! N-NO! PLEASE! PLEASE! A-ANYTHING BUT THAT!"
Tadashi and the other were frozen in shock and confusion.
Yokai held the switch up, and said, "It's easier to transport a machine when it's turned off."
He pressed the switch.
XxxxX
Gogo watched the screen on Baymax belly, looking specifically at the coordinates of her friends, Hiro, and another person, she was sure it was Yokai.
Then poof.
Just like that, one dot disappeared.
She tensed up and looked closely at the screen, even wiping her eyes just to see if she wasn't imagining things. But no, there were five dots left.
"B-Baymax, what's the meaning of this?" The ravenette asked the healthcare companion out of concern.
Baymax stood still, not answering for a few seconds, and those eerie seconds made Gogo's nerves worse.
Finally Baymax faced her and answered.
But it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.
"Hiro has been deactivated."
XxxxX
Don't kill me please.
Reply to Reviews:
Shooting2stars: Thank you so much! I really plan on finishing it. I never abandon a story, as long as I have an ending, and I have an ending for this. After this chapter, do you think they'll succeed?
Guest (NOV 7): Aaaaah, such kind words! Thank you so much! I will try my best in college and in this story too :'D
Teengens: I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! And I have to say, you do have a point about Baymax's learning ability. I don't know why I ever forgot about that certain info. But to stay constant all through out the fic, let's say he's a little slow in the learning department and Hiro kind of improves his learning skills :3
Kayla103849: Here's the update :3 Hope you enjoyed it.