Fly Soup, or the Stoutland Conference

Chapter Seven

Hiro had just given his presentation, to a standing ovation. Then Alistair Cray attempted to purchase his microbots. Tadashi waited on tenterhooks, afraid Hiro would make the wrong decision, as he had done hitherto. But Hiro didn't sell the microbots. He made both Tadashi, and Professor Callaghan proud, not to mention Aunt Cass.

Fred then convinced Tadashi to try some nachos on a refreshments table. Then Fred went to help hang up a Chinese dragon on the wall, which a pretty cheerleader was taping up. Being the school mascot, he saw the cheerleaders a lot, but they usually rebuffed him.

Then Gogo slinked in beside Tadashi. "Hey, Tad. Your brother did well."

"Thank you," Tadashi said. Then before he knew it, her lips were on his.

He broke away from her, startled. "Gogo, what's got into you? We're just friends!"

Then suddenly Hiro appeared. He looked shell-shocked, and Tadashi didn't know where he came from. "Tadashi, you're alive!"

"Um, yes, I'm alive," Tadashi said. He furrowed his brow. "Where did you come from?"

"I'm from the future," Hiro said. "I menant to go back to the night before you died…"

"I'm not dead, HIro. I'm not going to die. Not for a few decades at least," Tadashi said, grinning.

"Um, I think you did die. The night of my presentation."

"Very funny, Hiro. And nice time-travel ruse. Not sure Is this a game you planned to spring on me?"

"Game? Oh yes. Where's Honey Lemon?"

"Over there," said Gogo, pointing to a far corner of the room. Honey was looking through binoculars, searching for someone.

Hiro seemed to stare at Gogo for too long. She tore away from his gaze.

Then he whispered in Tadashi's ear. "You didn't kiss her yet, did you?"

"Uh, not intentionally," Tadashi said.

Then there was a loud crack and a pair of girls who looked exactly like Princess Anna of Arendelle and Queen Elsa appeared, falling on the ground.

"Uh, Elsa, did it work? Are we…in the future?"

"Hiro, explain!" Tadashi said, hands on his hips.

"Uh, I had to bring them here to save the future?"

"You discovered the Time String?"

"Time String?" Hiro asked. "What's that?"

"Never mind," Tadashi said. "But they shouldn't be here."

"They have to be, if the Gogo clone just kissed you."

"Gogo clone? What are you talking about?"

"Your little brother is having fun with his games," Gogo said, clamping her hand over Hiro's mouth. "Now if you'll excuse us…"

Then both Gogo and HIro disappeared.

Anna and Elsa stood there in the awkward silence.

"Tadashi, I've been looking everywhere for you," Honey Lemon said, coming through the crowd. "Your Aunt Cass is waiting for you to join the celebration party."

"I need to talk to these girls," Tadashi said, indicating Anna and Elsa.

"Oh…" said Honey."Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Anna squeezed Elsa's hand. "Don't hurt us, witch. My sister has ice powers."

"Ice powers? You mean she knows some means of manipulating ice for things like sculpture and stuff?" said Honey Lemon. "I've always been interested in the chemical balance of ice. Though I wouldn't mind learning ice sculpture from someone like your sister."

"She doesn't seem like the virtual reality version we met," Elsa said to Anna.

"Wait, virtual reality?" Tadashi said. "But…virtual reality didn't exist in the 1840's."

"Don't you remember?" Anna asked. "You gave us the VR headsets."

"I did what?" Tadashi asked. He racked his brains for whenever he had used Time String but was certain he hadn't…though he had a dim memory of using the key Abigail Callaghan had given him which allowed him to enter her apartment so he could retrieve and invention of hers and use it… "Wait, I time-traveled?"

"Yes. Don't you remember?"

"Not at all," Tadashi said.

"Are you sure we can trust Honey Lemon?" Anna asked her sister.

"If Tadashi thinks she's safe, I don't see why we should doubt it."

"I would trust Honey Lemon with my life," Tadashi said.

"Then," said Anna, glancing at Elsa, who nodded at her. "I'm going to trust Honey Lemon with the fate of the world."

Anna kissed Honey Lemon on both her cheeks.

"Why'd you do that?" Honey asked, feeling the spots where Anna's lips had embraced her skin.

"It's what you do in your old country, right?"

"Y-yes…"

Anna handed Honey a duffel bag. "Find Gogo and have her wear this."

"Wasn't Gogo with you guys a second ago? I saw her before I came here."

"She went off somewhere else," said Elsa. "You've got to find her."

Honey saluted and marched off.

"Will someone please tell me what is gong on here?" Tadashi asked.

"When you see Gogo in the garments we have brought, you'll remember."

It was ten minutes before Gogo arrived, with Honey in tow. She was wearing a yellow tutu and did not look happy.

"Tadashi, if this is some kind of joke…"

But Tadashi couldn't respond. Seeing her in that outfit brought back the nightmare, but also the real-time scenario of going back in time, giving Elsa and Anna the virtual reality headsets, and encountering Hans….

"Gogo, I think something sinister is underfoot. Be prepared for the worst," he said.

"Er, I don't know why you're going cuckoo on me, Tad, but I'm changing out of this." And with that, Gogo marched away.

"Do you remember now?" Elsa asked.

"I do," Tadashi said. "Is Hans coming here?"

"Er," Anna said. "We kind of think he already is here. Well, not in this building," she said, as Tadashi looked around hastily. "But in this future time. We think he's building an army to take over Arendelle."

"Then we've got to stop him."

"Yes," said Anna. "We do. But you've got to tell Hiro about time-travel first."

"Uh, doesn't he already know about it?" Tadashi asked.

"In a word, no. You must tell him."

"But…I just saw him and he knew about it! Said he got here via time-traveling."

"That was a future Hiro. If that makes any sense."

"About as much as him saying I was dead," Tadashi said. "Quite hogwash."

"Uh, actually, about that—" Anna began, but then both she and Elsa disappeared without a trace. They were standing there once second, and gone the next. Tadashi stared in shock.

"Oh, there you are," said his Aunt Cass. "We've got to go celebrate. And I think your brother is waiting to hear your praise."

"He might be," Tadashi said, barely registering her words. She led him to where the others stood. Gogo seemed exasperated by Tadashi. Hiro looked much happier than he had twenty minutes before. As if when he saw Hiro near the refreshments table he had more experience of life than this HIro.

Aunt Cass announced that they should go to the café. Everyone went except for Tadashi and got into a discussion where Tadashi said how great HIro was doing, that he made the right choices. He was just about to muster up the courage to mention time-travel when fire alarms went off from the building behind them. A woman informed them that Professor Callaghan remained inside. Hiro tried to prevent Tadashi from going, but it was no avail. Tadashi ran into the blazing edifice, dodging around embers in the hunt for the professor, whose life needed to be preserved.