Disclaimer: There is some mildly detailed sexual content in this chapter. Nothing graphic or worth any near an M rating but the warning is there just in case that bothers you in which case you can just scroll down past it.
I hope you enjoy the chapter
Chapter Nine: Step One - Who Will Rebuild San Fransokyo?
Katherine Skylark was a woman of unyielding will. If she wanted something, she would move Heaven, Earth and Hell in order to get it. She would never be denied what she felt what she was owed.
Which is why she was currently in a submersible that was rapidly descending to the bottom of San Fransokyo's harbour. Did it bother her that her actions would lead to the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands of people? Not for a single, solitary second. She knew that with every breath that she took, around the world, many would take their last, so what did it matter if it happened to be because of her doing? People were going to die anyway, so why not the people of San Fransokyo?
Tap.
She could feel the small impact as her aquatic craft made contact with the ocean floor and smiled. Back in the previous century, during the 1920s… or possibly the 1930s (in all honesty, she was never really that attentive in modern history class), massive earthquakes and tsunamis absolutely annihilated the entire city of San Francisco. That's what you get for building a major city on a major fault line, she thought to herself. Reconstruction was only possible due to the massive number of Asian immigrants who stepped forward to help and the city was renamed as a gesture of both gratitude and fraternity, joining the two cultures together and ending much of the senseless hatred and bigotry that had existed previously. With the flick of a switch, she released the submersible's cargo.
As she watched it move into position, she idly wondered who would help rebuild the city this time around.
"My money's on the Russians," she said out loud, "After what happened to Moscow, they need all the good press they can get."
"What was that?" Howard asked over the radio.
"Ah, don't worry about it," she replied, "Just thinking out loud. Now let's do this thing."
~o~O~o~
"You're up early." Wasabi looked up from his work to see Fred swagger into the sitting area.
"Couldn't sleep," he replied, "So I thought that I'd take another crack at Sentinel. I know that I'm close, really, really close but there's just some small bits of code that I… just… can't… get to work."
"Dude," Fred said sympathetically, "I wish I could help."
"Don't worry about it," Wasabi replied, "I'm sure that I'll figure it out eventually. It's just the fact that I'm so freaking close that's getting to me." Fred looked at his watch. 6:14 a.m.
"Okay then," he said, "I've got an idea then. You're gonna get it eventually, we all know that so why not put your mind to a more pressing matter?"
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that we're at the Swizz Alps and we just built a humongous ski ramp last night that's in dire need of being tested," Fred answered, "Plus the fact that we're not meeting with those watch people until midday meaning that we have hours to kill." Wasabi's face lit up at the suggestion.
"You know what?" he said, "That's not a half bad idea."
~o~O~o~
There was something different when Hiro woke up. Among other things, he realised that he normally didn't go to sleep in the nude but that wasn't all that was different. He was still a little drowsy so it took him several seconds but, after slightly lifting his head up from his pillow, he noticed that he was not alone. Someone else was in the bed with him. Or, more accurately, his arms were currently wrapped around a rather small person with short dark hair with a streak of purple running through it. Suddenly, it hit him like a thousand volts of electricity.
GoGo was in his bed. GoGo Tomago was in his bed. The amazing, smart, cool, incredibly confident, sexy, sarcastic GoGo Tomago was in his bed. She was in his bed and he was naked. A quick glimpse under the covers revealed that she was in the same state of undress. He stole another quick peak at her and then suddenly the entire night came flooding back.
He, Hiro Hamada had just had sex with GoGo.
His head collapsed back against the pillow and he let out a small laugh, quiet so as to not disturb… GoGo. Yes, he wasn't dreaming, she was still there and she let out a small, sleepy yet contented sigh.
He could remember it all, his near crippling nerves, the way that her half gentle teasing/half affectionate smile had put him at ease, the heat of her lips, the sensation of her tongue in his mouth, the excitement he felt as her clothes were slowly peeled off one layer at a time, the way that the firelight had danced across her bare skin, the weight of her body atop his, her skin against his, her wetness, her warmth, the sounds of her breathing, her quiet gasps and moans, her collapsing atop him and finally the feeling of contentment as they slowly drifted to sleep, their bodies intertwined.
All in all, he concluded, it had been a pretty good night. Whilst he had theoretically understood the basic mechanics of it all, putting it into practice was another thing entirely. GoGo had been very patient with him as he figured it all out with only the occasional instruction or word of encouragement. Basic stuff really, where and how she liked to be kissed, what felt good for her, what felt good for him, where and how he liked to be kissed… He liked that bit.
She stirred, letting out another sigh and her eyes slowly opened. She smiled drowsily at him and said, "Hey."
"Hey, yourself," he replied, gently caressing the side of her face with two fingers.
"Sleep okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied, "Very, very okay. You?"
"Very, very okay," she echoed before leaning in for a kiss that went deeper and deeper and before too long they had moved so that she was lying flat on her back with him on top her, a complete reversal of the previous night. She grinned up at him. "This is a nice change of pace from last night," she teased, "You seem a bit more confident. Although don't get too cocky, Casanova, that was only your first time."
"Duly noted," he replied, repositioning himself between her legs when…
Suddenly the adjoining door swung inward.
"Are you two knuckleheads decent?" Honey-Lemon asked as she glided in to the room. GoGo immediately threw Hiro to the side and grabbed the partially discarded blanket to cover herself. Despite her firm, unyielding grip, Hiro managed to pull some of the blanket to protect his modesty. "Still at it?" she noted dryly, "Passions of new love and all that I suppose."
Resigned to the fact that since Honey-Lemon was present any possibility of continuing their… previous activity, Hiro asked her, "Is there a reason that you're here or did you just feel like chatting?"
"Oh don't be so embarrassed," she said, laughing at his discomfort, "I've been roommates with both of you at some point so it's nothing I haven't seen. Anyway, I thought you should know that any minute, Fred and Wasabi are going to come up the stairs and start banging on your door as they want you to you to come check out their, and I'm quoting here, "totally bitchin' ski ramp." I just assumed that you'd rather not have that conversation in flagrante delicto."
"Quit showing off your education," GoGo grumbled, "Let them know that we'll be down soon. Do not let them come up here." With a bit of a mocking wink, Honey-Lemon quickly left the way that she came. Hiro groaned in irritation before climbing off the bed and searching for his clothes. "What do you think you're doing?" GoGo asked.
"I suppose I'm getting dressed," Hiro replied.
"Not likely," she said sternly, throwing off the covers that had previously been concealing her, spreading herself across the mattress quite provocatively and giving him a very pointed look, "I told her to tell them that we'd be down soon. Soon as in later. Back here, now."
"Yes, ma'm," he said before walking back towards her.
~o~O~o~
It was an act of pure hubris to build a major city on top of a well-known potential disaster. After Pompeii, all of mankind should have learned a very simple lesson: stand to close to the fire and you will get burned. Sadly, collectively, humans are not the quickest of learners when it comes to potential disasters. After all, if something can potentially happen, it could potentially not happen as well and why waste time trying to prevent something that might not happen?
The device that had been discreetly placed at the bottom of the San Fransokyo bay silently activated.
It was subtle at first but suddenly the tremors started to increase in strength and violence.
Once they were done, the waves started.
~o~O~o~
"I didn't think it could get better before," Hiro said, lazily tracing his fingers along GoGo's spine, causing her to sigh softly in satisfaction, "But, wow, that was pretty good."
"You've seen nothing yet," she mumbled into the mattress before rolling over onto her back so she could face him, touching her fingers to the side of his face. "I really don't want to be the voice of reason here," she said, "As much as I'd like to go for another round, we really do need to get up. We have a busy day ahead of us."
"It's probably for the best," Hiro agreed, "I don't think I could do another without a blood transfusion anyway." He kissed her on the lips. "There's just one problem."
"What's that?" she asked.
"We have to get up," he said simply.
"That is a problem," she replied before, for the second time that morning, the door swung inward.
"Get dressed," said Honey-Lemon sharply, her previous levity gone, replaced with something that Hiro could only describe as dread. He and GoGo both retreated for the safety of their blanket, covering themselves.
"What's wrong?" GoGo asked, noting the rather dramatic change in her friend's demeanour.
"You need to see this," Honey-Lemon said, turning on the room's television which suddenly displayed a scene of pure, unbridled carnage.
"… we're still receiving information but we have at least five hundred deaths, almost certainly more. For those just tuning in, this is San Fransokyo, eleven-fifteen p.m. local time. What we're looking at right now is where the Golden Gate Bridge used to stand. There's one of the support columns… Oh my god, there's someone down there."
"What the hell's happened?" Hiro asked in shock, no longer caring about Honey-Lemon's intrusion.
"San Fransokyo was hit by a huge earthquake," she replied, pausing, still not fully able to process what had happened, "It was followed by a series of massive tsunamis. A… Oh God… Ah, a huge portion of the city is lost."
"Aunt Cass!" Hiro shouted in horror, "She's in town!" Not caring about his lack of clothing, he sprinted over to where his phone was charging.
"I already tried," Honey-Lemon interrupted, "Nothing's getting through, all of the towers have to be down."
"Oh, god," Hiro breathed.
"Baymax is there," GoGo said firmly, "He'll look after her."
"We have to go," Hiro said urgently.
"Denise has already cancelled the meeting," Honey-Lemon informed them, "The plane leaves in just over an hour so get dressed."
~o~O~o~
Cass slowly attempted to push the rubble off of her but the weight of it all was simply too much for her to support.
She was hurt, that much she knew. Part of the Lucky Cat Café's ceiling had collapsed onto her as had a support column, pinning her to the floor. She was also fairly certain that both of her legs were broken and her right arm wasn't in much better shape. She violently coughed out a mixture of dust, blood and spit, the motion causing the debris to further dig into her side.
"Help me," she managed to gasp, "Is anyone there?"
Her vision started to dim.
~o~O~o~
Please remember to review.
