hello, my friends!

here is the battle, part one! I know it's a little short, but don't worry! part two is coming asap! i'm about halfway done with it...it might be the last chapter! and don't worry, we're gonna make the words requirement! seriously I'm so excited, you guys! please let me know how this is going!

I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! it's really epic so far i think :)

trigger warning: blood! blood! blood!

(there will be more blood in the next chapter though so prepare yourself if you're sensitive to that kind of thing)

yep there will be injuries and death...i mean this is a war, you know?

please, please, please everyone review! I DESPERATELY need feedback on how this is going!

thank you my friends!

peace out!

—HIRO—

The morning dawns cloudy and overcast, with faint smears of pink and orange on the horizon announcing the coming sunrise. It's fitting weather for a battle that will determine the fate of America.

I'm the first one up, beating even the sun. Climbing out of bed, I gather my armor and head into the bathroom, wanting to change into my suit.

I pull on my black shirt and cargo pants, tie my shoes, and then slowly put on my armor, starting with my knee and shoulder pads, then moving on to my breastplate and gauntlets. Last is my helmet, and then I stare at myself in the mirror, seeing nothing more than a scared kid who desperately wants to go home and hide under the covers.

But that's not who I am.

I'm a vigilante—a defender of justice. A superhero.

I'm Hiro Hamada, and I am not going down without a fight.

As everyone else starts to wake up, I go out to the beach one last time, wondering if I'll ever see it again. It's very plausible that I won't, so I take off my shoes and stand ankle-deep in the water, taking in the familiar sight for as long as I can, trying to remember those carefree days from long ago.

At least if I don't make it, I'll see Aunt Cass again.

"Hiro!" Meg calls from the back door of Basemax. "We're gonna leave!"

I put my shoes back on, then trudge back up the sandy hill toward the base. Meg smiles as I come in, and she leads me into the main room, where everyone else is gathered. I go to stand next to Tadashi, who pulls me into a tight hug and refuses to let go for several seconds. When he does, it's only to switch to a side hug.

Megan stands at the front of the room, dressed in her armor and looking absolutely beautiful, with her hair unpinned and hanging loose above her shoulders. She carries an air of great importance about her, and I realize she's probably about to make a speech.

"Is everyone here?" Meg asks, and we all nod.

"This is probably the biggest challenge any of us have had to face," she begins. "I know some of us have been vigilantes before, but I don't think you guys have had to go through anything like this. The battle we're about to fight will determine the fate of our nation—a nation in which we can be free. We're going to fight for that freedom, because we don't want to give it up. It's our job to protect the people of our country and make sure they still have that freedom, because that's what America has fought for in every war we've ever undertaken. In fact, that's what almost every country has wanted in war—freedom for their people. But we have something special, you guys. We have Big Hero 6—a group of superheroes who will do anything to save the lives of their people. I think the members of the original Big Hero 6 deserve a greater thanks than anyone else today, because they inspired us to do what we're doing right now. They had the courage to fight for peace when no one else was willing to, and now we're going to carry their legacy into battle.

"But more important than all of that is the fact that God is on our side. He will help us win this war, because He loves this country. I love this country. And I love all of you more than I can say. I've come to appreciate you guys more than I ever thought I could, and I can't believe how far we've all come during the war. It hasn't been a good experience, but it's shaped us all into who we are today.

"When we go to fight Obake, I know you guys will do everything you can to save this city. But I want you guys to know that even if we lose, we will keep fighting. We will always fight for peace, no matter what. If Obake takes San Fransokyo today, at least we'll have tried—there is no shame in defeat, as long as we gave everything we had to our country. And I know that you will give all that and more to America, because we're Big Hero 6. We are the resistance. And we can be America's saviors today if we have faith and trust in God. I know it with all my heart.

"It has been an absolute honor to work with all of you. I know I haven't always made the best decisions, but you guys have helped me come back from that, again and again and again. It's because of you that I stand here today, and it's because of you that this country can—and will—be saved. If we don't all make it back from this, I want you to know that I love all of you, and that we'll meet again one day. I promise."

Megan dips her head, and I see a single sparkling tear drip down her cheek. "Thank you."

I can't hold myself back. I step forward and hug my girlfriend as tightly as I can, never wanting to let her go but knowing I might have to. Still, for now, it is just us—Meg and I and Big Hero 6. I never want this time with them to end.

Tadashi joins the hug, and then Chief Cruz, and soon everyone is wrapped in each other's arms, tangled in a group hug. It almost feels like the comforting arms of Baymax, and I struggle not to start crying.

"Let's go," Meg mumbles, stepping back and wiping her eyes. "It's time."

And we file out of Basemax, walking down the street toward the center of the city, which is at the intersection right next to the ruins of SFIT. None of us speak during the twenty-minute walk, everyone completely wrapped up in their own heads.

We pass the piles of rubble that used to be my college and stand silently on the street, watching, waiting.

And then Obake appears, dressed in some kind of armor, sliding smoothly over the street with his tower of microbots. Following him are the remaining soldiers of North Korea's infantry, as well as what appears to be several hundred robots, all nearly as large as Baymax. With a pang of sorrow, I spot Baymax himself at the foot of Obake's pillar. Flying behind all of them are fighter jets, sleek and black and terrifying.

And we have nothing.

But then a faint roar starts to build up behind me, and I turn to see America's fighter jets flying through the air, along with the infantry unit stationed in San Fransokyo. They must have seen Obake's message, too—I mean, how could they not?

"Big Hero 6," Obake greets us, this time not speaking through the comm link. "Welcome. What is your decision?"

Megan steps forward, extending her wings, and glares up at Obake. "We will fight for San Fransokyo."

"Brave of you," Obake admits, but his tone is condescending. "But you know you cannot beat me. I have hundreds of robots, as well as infantry and fighter jets. What do you have? Nothing, Big Hero 6. You have lost almost half of the resistance, as well as many soldiers in the various battles we have fought. I do not believe that you can stand against me."

"Well, I do," Meg snaps. "And I challenge you for control of San Fransokyo, Obake. You have no right to take our city, and it's time it was returned to us."

"You wish to fight?" Obake asks, and his face glows purple. "Then we will fight."

And the battle begins.

A tendril of microbots shoots down at Meg, who powers up and shoots into the air, dodging it. The infantry behind us yells something unintelligible and charges at the North Koreans, who run to meet them head-on.

"I really thought there would be some kind of ready-set-go," Krei grumbles as he takes off.

I leap into the air, extending my wings and soaring up into the sky. I think I'll take the same approach as last time—try and take out the neural transmitter so Obake can't use the microbots. Maybe if I go invisible…

Pressing my phoenix button, I vanish from sight and dive toward Obake, stretching out my gauntlet to fire a magnet disk at the transmitter. But several robots on the ground immediately look up, and lasers shoot out of their eyes toward me. I yelp as several hit me in the breastplate, not seeming to cause any damage but still rather concerning. The robots must be programmed to sense heat signatures—Obake knows we can go invisible, and he probably wanted to come up with a way to combat that.

Okay, new plan. If I can get something else with a bigger heat signature to distract the robots, I can make them focus on it while I go in to take the neural transmitter.

"Wasabi, come in!" I whisper, dodging a laser.

"What's up, Hiro?" comes Wasabi's voice.

"I need you to fly over on Obake's left side—the robots can sense heat signatures. I'm assuming you have a bigger heat signature than I do—I need you to be a decoy, Wasabi."

"Roger that," he replies, and a few moments later, at least a hundred robots turn toward Obake's other side, shooting lasers at what must be invisible Wasabi.

"Hurry, Hiro!" Wasabi yelps.

"I'm hurrying!"

I fire up my thrusters and speed toward Obake, going as fast as I can. But just as I shoot a magnet disk out to grab the transmitter, a spear of microbots whips through the air toward me, and I barely dodge it. It slams into my wing, bending a feather a little but leaving it intact. Thank goodness I reinforced the wings.

I thrust out my gauntlet, shooting a second magnet disk at Obake. It locks onto the transmitter, and I pull back, trying to yank it off, but while the robots aren't watching, Obake is. He yanks the disk off the transmitter and sends several tendrils of microbots up toward me, and I gasp as one of them wraps around my neck.

By the time I've gathered enough sense to fire up my plasma blades—thank goodness I thought of that—and slice the microbots apart, Obake has thrown the magnet disk back at me with startling force. I manage to dodge, but then one of the robots fires its laser eyes at me. I yelp as they hit my arm, this time burning holes in my sleeve. The heat barely brushes my skin, but I'll be in big trouble if I get any closer to those robots.

Tadashi lets out a high-pitched yell from below me as several robots turn on him, firing their lasers. He blasts them with electricity, but they swarm over him, burning his exposed skin with their lasers.

I see red, and I spiral into a nosedive, shooting toward the ground. I do get hit by a few lasers, but they only cause a short-lived, stinging pain. I'll be fine.

Momokase gets to Tadashi before I do, hacking at the robots with her graphene blades and cutting their heads and arms off. I land beside her, flicking out my plasma blades again and slicing everything I can. After a few moments, Tadashi bursts out of the mass of carbon fiber, gasping. Blood is dripping from a cut under his eye, and his cheek has a few small burns on it, but he seems otherwise okay.

"We have to get to the neural transmitter!" I gasp, dodging a robot as it attempts to stab me with a small silver knife. "If we can take it out, we can—ow!"

Another robot nicks me in the ankle with its blade, and I take off again, hovering a few feet above the reach of the robots. "We can stop the microbots!"

"I will attack the tower," Momokase says calmly. "Tadashi, you distract the robots—get the others to help if you wish. Hiro, I suggest that you go for the transmitter. Break right…now."

Thankfully, I've learned what that kind of thing means now, and I zoom off to the right as Momokase and Tadashi take off, going invisible. I do the same and fire up my sonic waves, ready to send the largest pulse I can at Obake. Hopefully Momokase and I combined will be able to distract him.

Obake glances down to where chunks are suddenly being sliced off of his tower and starts firing spears of microbots at the invisible Momokase. Taking that as my cue, I send out the wave pulse, nearly knocking Obake off his pillar. Hurling a magnet disk at him, I manage to lock it onto the transmitter and yank it off his head, causing the tower to begin crumbling.

For a moment, I think we've gained the upper hand, but then I see a flash of silver, and I realize that Obake has pulled another neural transmitter out of some kind of compartment in his armor. He places it on his head, and the tower reassembles. Momokase shrieks in fury as Obake throws her, her suit's invisibility mode flickering out. Hopefully it's not broken—that would be a huge disadvantage.

I hover in the air for a few seconds, unable to think of anything to do, and then I realize—I have a neural transmitter.

I pull off my helmet and put on the transmitter, then cram my helmet back on. The transmitter is too big—it's barely staying on my head—but it works. I have control of the microbots—and I made these. I know better than anyone how to use them.

Struggling to keep the transmitter from slipping down, I concentrate as hard as I can on the microbots, willing them to throw Obake.

The villain lets out a rather unmanly shriek as the microbots fling him through the air, but he has no need to worry—I'm not gonna let him hit the ground. I bring a tendril of microbots up to grab Obake around the waist, and then I pull him closer to me, exiting invisibility mode so he can see me.

Dangling Obake about a hundred feet above the street, I demand, "Give up, Obake! It's over!"

Obake actually sighs. "I should have known you'd taken control of the microbots. No matter—I'll simply disable your transmitter."

Suddenly, the microbots drop Obake, and he holds up his trademark three-fingered salute as he's carried away on a wave of carbon fiber. Dang it.

I sigh exasperatedly as the neural transmitter falls down over my eyes, and I pull it off and throw it to the ground. As it disappears into the crush of robots and soldiers, it begins to rain, and I look up as lightning cracks through the cloudy sky.

Suddenly, a massive black blur flies up toward me, and I gasp as I realize it's Baymax. Pushing my thrusters to full power, I shoot upwards, the street getting smaller and smaller below me.

But it's not enough. Baymax's massive hand closes around my ankle, and the robot starts dragging me back to the ground, his grip so tight I think he might break my ankle if he squeezes any harder.

"Baymax, let go!" I yell, my voice lost in a sudden roar of thunder. "It's me! Hiro!"

But my robot pays no attention, simply dragging me down into the reach of Obake's microbots. Twisting around—ow, my back—I activate my plasma blades and start sawing at Baymax's fist, struggling to pry him off me as we sink to the ground.

Finally, the blade cuts through the carbon fiber, and Baymax releases me. But his other hand immediately comes swinging up, and it grabs me around the chest, snapping several pieces off the bottom of my wings and squeezing until I can hardly breathe. I struggle furiously, but he doesn't let go, just increases the pressure until my ribs feel ready to break.

Gasping for air, I whip my graphene blade out of its sheath and stab down, plunging the knife into Baymax's head. His grip loosens slightly, and I push the knife in farther, trying to get to his battery. If I can stab that, he'll stop trying to kill me. Probably.

Finally, I manage to hit the battery, and Baymax's fist loosens even further, but he still doesn't let me go. I push down on the knife with all my strength, stabbing it deeper and deeper until Baymax goes limp.

And then we're falling.

I try desperately to fly, but Baymax's fist just about crushed my wings—there's no way I can stay airborne, and we're more than a hundred and fifty feet off the ground. I can't survive a fall like that.

I'm sorta-saved by a chem ball—Honey throws one, but she catches Baymax, not me. I slam into the robot, bounce off, and then fall the last ten or so feet to the rubble, sliding down it onto the broken asphalt of the street.

Thankfully, I'm just winded, and I only feel bruising all over my torso and ankle—no broken bones—but I still don't get up. I curl into a ball, trying to shield my head as Obake's robots stampede over me. When the wave of bots passes, I get to my feet and brandish my plasma blades, determined to fight even harder while confined to the ground. If there's any way I can fix my wings on the field, I have to do it—I'm just about no use to my team if I can't fly.

Several robots come at me, and I slash at them furiously, chopping their arms off and sending them flying with sonic waves. Their laser eyes are more painful the closer you get—one slices across my neck, and I hiss in pain.

Soon, the robots surround me, and one of them leaps at me, knocking me over and pinning me to the ground. I manage to throw it off, but its fellows surge forward and shove me down again. I struggle, but the robots are too strong.

Obake, his face glowing brighter than I've ever seen it, comes into view above me, raising what appears to be a massive fist of microbots. I slash at the robot pinning me, but two others grab my arms, holding me in place for Obake to crush.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but then they're pulled open again by a chopping sound—a helicopter.

Since when does anyone have battle helicopters?

And then I see the name emblazoned on the side of the black chopper, and my eyes go wide.

Painted on the helicopter's side is the name Frederickson.

And leaning out the door, dropping down a rope, is a very familiar face, one I never thought I'd see again.

Heathcliff.

Obake looks up, distracted from killing me by the superhero butler come to save my life. While he's looking away from me, Momokase comes sliding down the rope, wielding her graphene blades. She slices Obake's microbot fist in half, chops the arms off the robots pinning me, and then yanks me to my feet. "Grab the rope!"

I don't question her. I dash up a pile of rubble and leap for the rope, just barely managing to grab the end of it. Momokase follows, snatching the rope just as Obake, with a yell of fury, sends microbots shooting towards us. Heathcliff flies higher, and Momokase shouts, "Hold on, Hiro! Don't let go!"

Of course I don't let go—I don't really want to fall to my death. But Obake hits Momokase with a tendril of microbots, knocking her off the rope.

I hear a high-pitched shriek from above, which I think comes from Tadashi. "Momo!"

But then I feel a hand clasp my ankle for the second time today—and this one's grip is almost as tight as Baymax's. Winding the end of the rope around my hand, trying desperately not to fall, I look down to see Momokase dangling beneath me, clinging to my ankle as if her life depends on it. Which it does, I guess.

"Pull them up!" Tadashi screams, grabbing the other end of the rope. "You guys, help!"

Wasabi comes to his aid, as does Megan, and then we're being pulled up toward the helicopter. I can feel my hands slipping by the time we reach it, but then Tadashi grabs my hand and pulls me inside. I barely get a glimpse of the rest of the resistance before both of us collapse to our knees and my brother flings his arms around me.

"Hello, Mr. Hamada," comes a silky voice—a tone remarkably like Obake's, but infused with kindness and familiarity the villain will never have.

"Hey, Heathcliff," I reply, pulling back from Tadashi and mustering a weak smile. "Where've you been?"

"I have been hiding in Master Frederick's secret bunker," Heathcliff tells me, pressing some kind of button that puts the helicopter on autopilot and standing up. "Along with his robot companion."

"It is I, Mini-Max!" a loud voice declares, and then Mini-Max is standing on Heathcliff's head. "Where is Fred?"

"Yes, where is Master Frederick?" Heathcliff adds. "I have not seen him since the war began."

All of us stare at him, eyes wide, wondering what on earth we should tell him. How do you explain to the man who practically raised your best friend that your best friend is dead?

"Heathcliff," Wasabi mumbles, his voice breaking. "There was a battle—GoGo was gonna throw a grenade—Fred stopped her, but Obake…" He trails off and ducks his head, staring at the floor of the helicopter.

"He is gone, then," Heathcliff murmurs, and I can see tears shimmering in his eyes. "Heartbreaking."

"Fred?" Mini-Max asks, his normally exuberant voice dampened somewhat. "Fred."

The little robot sits down on Heathcliff's shoulder, staring at the floor, and I feel a fresh pang of grief for Fred and GoGo. They should have been here, helping us fight Obake. Now they're gone.

A loud boom echoes through the air, and Heathcliff turns back to the helicopter. "Excuse me. I must avoid the shots of the North Koreans."

His voice is trembling slightly, uncharacteristically tremulous, as he sits down. Mini-Max looks downcast and sad, and I feel really bad that he didn't get to see Fred again. Poor little guy.

"Do you have, like, weapons or something?" Meg asks. "Because that would be really great."

"I do have several grenades available," Heathcliff tells her. "Boss Awesome enjoyed having an arsenal in case of attack, as we were occasionally in peril when Master Frederick was young."

He presses a button on the dashboard, and a small explosion echoes from below. Wow—Heathcliff is hardcore.

"We have to get back in the fighting!" Krei exclaims. "I mean, I appreciate the lift, sir, but we swore an unofficial oath to protect our country…"

"Of course, Mr. Krei," Heathcliff says. "Where would you like me to deposit you?"

But before any of us can answer, an incredibly loud voice echoes through the city—Obake. He's obviously noticed we're gone.

"Big Hero 6!" he thunders. "Are you such cowards that you will run from me? Very well, then—if you do not wish to fight, perhaps we can negotiate some kind of peace."

"He's on the ruins of SFIT," Tadashi observes. "Heathcliff, can you take us down there, please? Then you can keep dropping grenades if you want."

"Of course," Heathcliff agrees again. "I do not believe landing is safe, so I will lower you those of you with damaged wings down. The rest of you may fly, if you can."

Amazingly, I'm the only one who can't fly, so Heathcliff only has to make one trip. We all land on the wreckage of SFIT, the rain pouring down around us as Obake approaches, with Baymax walking behind him. I suck in a breath—I thought I destroyed him. But I guess Obake must have added some kind of upgrades.

"So you've come," Obake says softly, suddenly speaking into the comm link. "I wasn't sure you would. I believed you cowards—perhaps that is what you are, though."

"We're not cowards," Meg hisses, her face screwed up in anger. "If you want to negotiate peace, Obake, then you'd better not insult us while doing it. Besides, you're one to talk—your face pollutes the view here."

Obake laughs, his face glowing again. "You're a fiery one. Very well—what are your terms for peace?"

"You leave the city," Meg tells him. "We stay. You go back to North Korea and promise never to harm America again, and we rebuild the city and promise never to attack North Korea. Those are my terms."

"I am afraid," Obake whispers, "that I cannot accept those terms."

"You wanna keep fighting?" Meg challenges. "Then we can keep fighting."

"So be it," Obake says, and purple light bursts out of his face, so bright it blinds me for a second. By the time my vision returns, we're surrounded by microbots and rain, and Baymax's eyes glow brilliant white through it all, searing themselves into my vision until I can't see anything else.

We may be away from the major battle, but I know this is going to be the fight of my life.