Chapter 6
Hiro, Gogo, and Wasabi were all gathered in Hiro's garage tuning their inventions and discussing their next move.
"How exactly do you plan to get Lucas' daughter back again?" Wasabi asked Hiro with a hint of doubt in his voice.
"Lucas said Jiro's clan was only big because of bot fights. So, we need to go to a bot fight," Hiro said watching Wasabi organizing his tools on his table.
"Hello! We don't have a bot to fight with," Gogo commented.
Hiro looked around his garage and spotted the crate that held his old Mega Bot that he used in his bot fights. His Mega Bot had been his inspiration for his Micro Bots and he hadn't picked it up since that whole incident. Then there was Baymax. He would be very big, but he could hold up in a fight with all his gear.
"What about Baymax?" Hiro asked.
"No way. You know fighting isn't in his nature," Gogo objected.
"He would be fighting robots," Wasabi commented, stressing his last word.
Hiro looked again at the crate as Wasabi and Gogo continued their banter. The Mega Bot would need some adjustments, but it could work again.
"Guys," Hiro said making his way to the crate.
"Baymax doesn't need to fight in mindless bot fights! He's not saving anyone!" Gogo continued her argument.
"You don't get to decide!" Wasabi argued back.
"Guys!" Hiro said finally, commanding silence in the room. They two stopped arguing and looked up at Hiro. He presented his Mega Bot. "We can use this!"
Gogo popped her bubble gum. Wasabi raised his right eyebrow. They both looked at the Mega Bot in silence. It wouldn't stand a chance in a fighting ring.
"That thing?" Gogo finally asked.
"Well, yeah. It was my inspiration for my micro bots," Hiro said.
"I guess it's worth a shot," Wasabi commented.
"It doesn't even have to win. We just need it to enter so we can hopefully see Yama," Hiro said.
"Yama?" Gogo and Wasabi asked together.
"Who is Yama?" Gogo asked.
"He's our contact to the Inagura clan," Hiro said.
"How do you know he's connected with them?" Wasabi asked.
"He always wears their symbol to the bot fights. Last time I saw him it was on the back of his jacket," Hiro said.
Gogo and Wasabi stopped their questioning and looked at Hiro. He still stood there in front of his friends waiting for more. Would the information he gave them be enough to convince them to help him? He wasn't hiding anything from his friends…but he wasn't sure if they would agree to this task. Bot fighting was deemed illegal – betting or no betting – so they were treading in deep water, should they choose to continue.
Gogo sighed. "We're with you, Hiro. All the way," she said.
Hiro relaxed a little and smiled at Gogo.
"Let's go then!"
"Maybe we should have waited for Fred and Honey Lemon before coming here," Wasabi said quietly to his friends. Hiro, Baymax, Gogo, and Wasabi had arrived at the Bot Fight and the memories came rushing back to Hiro. His mind kept replaying the last time he was at a Bot Fight and how his brother had rescued him from the gang. There would be no rescue this time. It was all or nothing.
Hiro glanced around the crowd, ignoring Wasabi's comment, scanning the people for Yama. He was a fairly large Japanese man, so he should have been easy to spot.
"Hiro, I don't see a guy like Yama here," Gogo commented beside him. She had her eyes peeled and received harsh glances from several people in the crowd. She thought she had dressed appropriately wearing shorts with black leggings, and a skin tight yellow tank with a white jacket, but she did not fit in with this crowd. If any of the group, Hiro blended in the most. She grabbed hold of Hiro's left arm and linked her arm around his. She did not want to be separated from him in this crowd.
Hiro glanced over to her and saw her concerned expression as she looked through the crowd. He suddenly felt bad for putting her out of her element. She always put on a tough façade, but he could tell she had a soft heart as they grew to be closer friends. He cared so much for her.
"We won't be long. As soon as we find Yama, we'll leave," Hiro said leaning down next to her. He grasped her linked hand with his free hand and rubbed circles on the back of her hand.
This made her feel a little relaxed, so she looked up and smiled at Hiro, showing him she was a bit more relieved as they treaded onwards.
The current fight was between two women. One bot, clearly faster and smaller than the other, had torn its opponent apart from the inside, out – a tactic that Hiro used to use during his fights. He saw the referee with the red umbrella and a closed pot. So they were still betting, he thought. He patted his inside jacket pocket and felt the wad of money he had rolled just in case there was a bet. He was glad they came prepared.
"Again! The winner for another round, Abbey!" the referee called offering the woman her winnings from the pot. "Who will be her next opponent?"
Many of the observers backed away from the ring with their bots, not wanting to have their fighting machines destroyed in one fight. Hiro's was unique though. It could come apart at will and be put back together easily.
Hiro looked at the woman called Abbey. She had black hair and brown eyes. Her face was very distinct, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he drew a blank and couldn't remember where he had seen her.
"I have a bot!" Hiro called out. The crowd parted for him to the ring.
"Hiro! No! We are here to look for Yama!" Gogo objected and yanked his arm down.
"I doubt Yama will show unless someone good enough wins to get his attention," Hiro said. He unlinked his arm from hers and left her standing next to Wasabi and Baymax.
Hiro took a seat across from Abbey. She had her robot lined up and controller out as she fished out the money for the bet. Hiro placed his bot in the ring, took out his controller, and placed an equal bet in the pot.
"Two bots enter, one bot wins," the referee announced, spinning the red umbrella between the opponents. "FIGHT!"
The fight sprang into action. Abbey's bot was already on the other side of the ring, coming at Hiro's Mega Bot from behind. Hiro spun the parts of his bot around so it faced the bot head on. Her bot was made of some flexible material – aluminum perhaps – with talons that ripped and a fist that could punch. The legs had a bending ability, making it possible for it to move fast. It was the same size as Hiro's bot. Two small bots with a big fight, Hiro thought to himself. Oh how he had missed this. The adrenaline rushing through his veins brought out a new side of Hiro. He became very determined and focused as he concentrated on the fight. He spread his bot's parts around to corner Abbey's bot, but she was too fast. Her bot would slide its talons under each part and attempted to fling the parts out of the circle, but Hiro was too quick and attracted the parts back to each other.
Hiro stole a glance at Abbey and saw the same determined look in her face, and that was all of a distraction Abbey needed to once again fling Hiro's bot parts out of the circle. Hiro saw her plan at the last moment but was unable to stop it as he watched his Mega Bot being flung out of the ring.
"Disqualified!" the referee announced.
Hiro slumped his shoulders and picked up his bot. Abbey grinned and plucked the cash from the pot, but turned her gaze to look at Hiro again. He gave her a nod of approval and she smiled in return. He turned and walked off the ring to his friends in the crowd.
"See anything?" Hiro asked Wasabi and Gogo.
They both shook their heads.
"Unstoppable for three rounds! Who will be her next opponent?" the referee asked the crowd.
"Three opponents is a lot. Yama still hasn't shown," Gogo commented.
Hiro nodded in agreement. He glanced behind and watched the bot fight. Abbey was facing a snake-like bot. It constricted itself around Abbey's bot and the fight came to a swift end and it crushed its body. The crowd sighed and he watched her opponent taking his share of the pot.
"Come on guys, let's go. There's one more fight happening in a warehouse across town," Hiro said, steering his friends away from the crowd.
"Wait!" a female voice called from behind them.
The friends turned around and saw Abbey coming at them with her bot in hand.
"Wait! Hiro," Abbey said as she neared them. She stopped in front of them and placed her hands on her knees and heaved her exhaustion until she finally caught her breath. "I knew you looked familiar!"
Hiro cocked an eyebrow at her, "I do?" He pointed a finger at himself.
"Yes, it's me! Abigail Callaghan. You rescued me a couple years ago," she said excitedly.
"Abigail! Yes, I remember you! What are you doing at a bot fight?" Hiro asked.
"Oh, I love it! The crowds! The adrenaline! The victory!" she spread her arms and gestured to the atmosphere around her.
"And the defeat?" Gogo said interrupting her.
"Ah, yes, well, that…I don't lose too often," Abigail said growing solemn. Hiro gave Gogo a harsh look for her comment, but Gogo turned her head, ignoring him. "What are you doing at a bot fight?" Abigail asked.
"I was hoping I would run into another bot fighter," Hiro said.
"Oh, I take it you didn't find them?" she asked.
"No, we were just about to check the other bot fight," Hiro replied.
"Well, who were you looking for? I've been doing this a while, I know some people," she said.
Hiro glanced at his friends wondering if they should trust her, but he got shrugs from Gogo and Wasabi, so Hiro decided for himself to see if Abigail knew.
"We're looking for Yama."
At the mention of his name, both of Abigail's eyebrows shot up.
"The Yama?" she asked.
"Well, I didn't know he was all that important, but yes, Yama," Hiro replied.
"Well, you're at the wrong kind of fight," she said.
"What do you mean, wrong kind of fight?" Gogo asked folding her arms across her chest.
"Yama doesn't do petty bot fighting anymore," Abigail said.
"Wait, there's another style of fighting?" Wasabi asked holding a hand out to stop Abigail from continuing.
"You didn't know?" Abigail asked looking between the group. When no one answered her she sighed. "Well, about two years ago, Steel Wars began popping up. They are like bot fights, but bigger."
"Bigger?" Hiro asked.
"Yeah, bots twice the size as humans and they fight each other with a human controller," she said.
"Woah," Hiro, Gogo, and Wasabi all said together.
"You want to find Yama? I'll take you to the next Steel War," Abigail offered.
"Thank you, when is it?" Hiro asked.
Abigail grinned, "Friday night. I'll pick you up at the café around 8. But, I can't get you all in. I don't have enough tickets. You have to earn your seats. I have two saved up."
"Hiro, I don't like this. You can't go there alone," Gogo said pulling Hiro aside and whispering to him.
Hiro sighed and looked in her brown eyes.
"I'll be alright, I promise. I won't do anything reckless. I'm just going to talk to Yama. No fighting," Hiro whispered, trying to reassure her.
Gogo frowned but sighed. She nodded her head and they turned back to Abigail.
"See you tomorrow night then," Hiro said, shaking Abigail's hand.