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"Six tickets to the 7:45 ride, please. First class." Hiro looked past the glass. The ticketeer appeared annoyed, not really wanting to deal with him. The others had left him in search for food. So much for helpful friends. Meanwhile, his surroundings looked mostly empty, besides from a few people and the shops. Most wouldn't start arriving until the afternoon.
"Move along, kid. I don't have time for your games."
"But-"
"Go!"
Hiro sighed, taking out a handful of slightly crumpled cash Fred had given him. He slid it across the counter. "Will this be enough?" The man's eyes widened. Without a word, he tore off six tickets. Hiro took them.
"Thanks!" he said with a smile. He turned, walking away.
Several minutes later, he found everybody in a small frozen yogurt shop. It wasn't hard; he just had to follow the loud laughter in the middle of the quiet station.
"Yo, Hiro, want some froyo?" Go Go called out, almost kneeling over from laughter. Her face was red from excitement. He walked over to them, sliding into the large, round booth. Baymax just sort of stood there, not moving.
They were quite a sight, wearing their suits and backpacks. The employees at 'San Fransokyo's Finest Froyo' (Hiro shuddered at the name as he walked in) tried to hide out of sight, but he could see them sneaking a peek at the motley group; Fred was enthusiastically gulping down about 20 ounces of the treat topped with chocolate, chocolate chips, and basically everything that had to do with chocolate.
He checked the time. "7:14," he announced. "We need to board the train at 7:35. Everybody got that?" They nodded.
"Hey, Hiro, want to see Wasabi eat 35 ounces of frozen yogurt in less than 4 minutes?" suggested Honey Lemon. He groaned.
"Nah," he replied. Wasabi perked up, looking relieved. "I think Wasabi and Fred should have an eating competition. First to eat 35?"
"I bet 5 dollars on Fred!" called out Go Go. Hiro grinned.
"I bet 5 on Wasabi!"
"You're on!"
Stepping into the car after giving the conductor his ticket, Hiro had to admit it was pretty awesome being first class. Theirs was more like a fancy hotel room, save the bed : a mini fridge stocked with snacks and drinks, soft, red couches, and windows outlined with gold panes. Go Go slipped onto a couch, laying down and stretching.
"I could get use to this," she commented, eyes glinting.
"Thanks, Fred," Hiro said gratefully. His friend nodded modestly.
While the six got settled in for the four hour ride, he approached Baymax, stationed in the corner.
"How are you, buddy?" he asked.
"Fine. I'm a robot, however, so I cannot truly feel emotions or pain . . . obviously." Hiro sighed, looking around him.
Go Go appeared to be taking a nap. Honey Lemon sat across from her friend, reading a magazine. Fred and Wasabi were in the corner, talking in a tone that sounded like they were making a conspiracy theory. Outside, there were trains, trains, and more trains - big surprise.
Hiro began examining the back of Baymax's suit. His 'wings' were dented and hung off the robot like a pair of wilting leaves.
"Baymax, deflate a little." The robot did so. Hiro took off the armour. He located the rocket thrusters, taking off the paneling. His jaw dropped; the wires were in a messy tangle - some were even cut - which would take quite a while to fix.
The train began moving slightly, getting ready to take off. Sitting down, motioning Baymax to go somewhere else so he could concentrate, Hiro took out his tools and spare equipment from his backpack. And of course, Gummi bears for himself. As he began to tinker with the broken thrusters, the train rolled out of the station, heading for Biraben.
Hiro fell back against the floor, exasperated. It was worse than he thought - instead of just replacing the wires, he had to completely rebuild the thrusters, in addition to straightening out the wings. All that had to be done back home or in the 'Nerd Lab.' So basically, the only use the armour had for Baymax was what armour is supposed to do : protect. Which was pretty important, considering he was basically the only thing keeping them alive, but . . .
By now, Wasabi and Fred had fallen asleep, both of them curled up in a little ball on the floor. Go Go still lay sprawled across the sofa, the painkillers taking their toll. Baymax . . . well, Hiro had no clue what the healthcare companion was doing, as per usual. It looked like he was still petting his brown mouse friend, talking to it in a soothing tone; how he had managed to sneak it in, Hiro had no idea.
Honey, however, was calmly staring out the window, watching the landscapes of bright, busy cities going by. He walked over, sitting down next to her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked in a joking manner. She shook her head.
"Whoever came up with that expression is seriously mistaken," Honey replied. "Clearly, thoughts from me are worth a lot more than a penny." Hiro glanced out of the glass - they were at another train stop, and people were getting on.
"How's she doing?" He gestured to Go Go.
"Fine, I suppose. Without Baymax's help, she wouldn't have been able to walk or stand for a while. She's strong, though. She'll recover fast." Hiro groaned.
"I really don't want you guys to come," he confessed quietly. "That only increased when she was stabbed. What if you or Fred or Wasabi were seriously injured on this mission? I wouldn't be able to live without guilt." She regarded him closely, a small frown on her face. But somehow it wasn't mad or sad. Just… something. Maybe… concerned.
"And did it ever occur to you that we are here to make sure you're not hurt?" Hiro was stumped at that; in fact, it hadn't, considering he was too focused on saving his brother on his own - aside from Baymax, of course.
"No," he admitted, "that hadn't crossed my mind."
"Hiro . . ." He looked into her intelligent green eyes. "You can't insist on being, well, the big 'hero' all the time. We're a team, us six, and a team can't function if someone tries to be the leader and protect everybody else. Chances are, that mistake will lead to them all to failure. And some failure, well . . . some are permanent, if the team's job is fighting crime." He gulped a little, taking in her words, then nodded slowly.
"So, basically I shouldn't be a stuck up idiot who thinks he can do everything on his own instead of accepting help?"
"Essentially." He nodded again. They didn't talk much again, she gazing out the window and he trying to stay still.
"So," Hiro said in falsely cheery tone, "what are your thoughts on Tadashi being alive?" Immediately he knew he had hit a sore subject.
"I'm glad he's alive," Honey Lemon said cautiously. "And I can't wait to get him back."
"And?" She didn't say anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her eyes tearing up again. He didn't push it anymore; it would basically earn him a death wish. And Honey rarely gave people death wishes.
So he changed the subject. "How's your prototype for your new project going?" Her eyes lit up.
"Oh! I tested it again just yesterday - it mostly works, it just needs some stronger stabilizers in addition to . . ." she went on for a while, explaining it.
He sort of spaced out, the words of the girl slowly drowning into a blurb. He fiddled with Nightblade, turning it in his palms.
"Still haven't figured it out?" she questioned.
"No, and I probably never will, unfortunately." He could almost feel her smiling.
"Hey, guys?" Hiro and Honey looked over in the direction of the voice. Fred and Wasabi had awoken; the former waving a deck of cards in the air. "Wanna play?"
"Sure," Hiro replied, slightly relieved that he had the opportunity to end their chat - he always found it slightly hard to carry a conversation with Honey. He stood up and walked over, sliding onto the floor, criss cross.
"Are you gonna join us, Honey?" asked Wasabi."
"Nah, I'm good."
"So, what are we playing?" the teen wondered. Fred shrugged.
"Oh, the usual. Go Fish, Garbage, BS. Take your pick." Hiro glanced back at Honey Lemon uncertainly. She looked wistful, as if going through old, painful memories. Her green eyes were unfocused, yet he could still see the spark of intellect in them, as he always did. He turned to Fred, eager to do something besides sitting around.
"BS sounds absolutely wonderful. Prepare for your doom."
Next post : Friday. Kindly R&R. Thanks!
-DragonFire0102