hello friends!

sorry it's been almost four months!

I've just been so invested in Shurikens that I haven't been working on this story. Then I got a million ideas. But thanks for sticking with me!

also thanks from the bottom of my heart to booksandhooks, who's been reviewing all my stories! I can't reply to you in person bc you have a guest account, but thanks a million! I greatly appreciate it!

I've retitled this story to be Wasteland II: Beyond The Plains. I did this because next up is a fic where Pippin is the protagonist, and as Pippin is the one who sings The Edge Of Night in LOTR, I thought it was more fitting for our Pippin to get that title. So stay tuned for Wasteland III: The Edge Of Night!

thanks my friends! please read and review!

—TADASHI—

I go up to the NICU to check on Kusho, hoping he's doing okay. The baby's lungs are getting stronger, and I think he's almost ready to get the tubes out. Hopefully Kai and Pippin are back by then.

Saber has been sitting by her baby brother's incubator since her brothers left, only leaving to go home and sleep at night. I wish she could have grieved for her parents properly, but Kai and Pippin had to leave so suddenly…the funeral wasn't the same. But I think Saber is coping okay—her injured arm is healing, and she and Kusho have really bonded.

When I reach the NICU, I stop, staring at the door. The lock on the door…it's been hacked off. With a graphene blade, by the looks of it.

I cautiously push open the door and peer inside. The babies all seem to be in their proper places, including Kusho, who is sleeping soundly, his tiny thumb in his mouth. But the chair next to him has been knocked over, and a note is taped to his incubator. I pull it off and read it.

Be at the Capitol at three o' clock this afternoon if you want to see Kaiwan and Sabirah alive again. Bring all of Hiroshima Rising.

-AC

My eyes widen, and I realize that this note must be from Abigail—the new governor. She obviously plans to take revenge on us for killing her father and stopping his plan, but kidnapping children? Even Governor Callaghan didn't do that.

And if Abigail has Kai, what happened to Pippin? Surely he's not still out in the Wasteland—what if Abigail killed him? And how does she even have Kai?

My grip tightens on the paper, and it starts to crumple under my fingers. I need to call Hiro and Honey and figure this out—figure out how on earth Abigail can have possibly taken Kai hostage and what she's going to do to him and Saber. We also need to find out what happened to Pippin and whether or not Kona and Nora were still with Kai when he was captured. Could one of them have betrayed him? It doesn't seem likely, but I guess anything's possible.

I pull out my phone to call my little brother, but the device vibrates in my hand as Hiro calls me first. Swiping up to accept the call, I put the phone to my ear. "Hiro—"

"Tadashi!" he gasps. "We just got a call from Pippin—I'm still not totally sure of what happened, but it sounds like Nora tranquilized everyone and got into a helicopter with Kai—Momo and I are flying out to pick up Pippin and Kona—Tadashi, Nora has the ReBCO."

I gasp. "That's the thing that powers the robots, right?"

"Yeah—apparently she had a piece of it after the eruption."

"Wait—an eruption?! What happened?"

"I don't know exactly," Hiro replies. "Pippin said the volcano erupted and destroyed most of the superconductor, but that Nora somehow kept some of it—she must have some kind of pressure-sensitive temperature-controlled container for it. I didn't think Abigail had that kind of tech, so the rebels might be a little more advanced than we thought."

"Are the kids okay?" I ask urgently. "Did Pippin say?"

"He didn't sound like there was anything seriously wrong with him," Hiro assures me. "Kona sounded fine too when she talked. I don't know about Kai, but if he was awake to be tranquilized, he's probably okay."

"Do you want me to get Honey and Fred and suit up?" I ask. "I'd have to call off my appointments, but I think this might be a little more important—Hiro, I found a note from Abigail on Kusho's incubator. He's fine, but…Abigail took Saber, too. Someone broke into the NICU."

Hiro gasps. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Her chair was knocked over and the lock on the door was hacked off," I relay, the reality of the situation sinking in.

"Suits might be a good idea," Hiro agrees. "Momo and I have ours. Could you grab Baymax from the hospital and suit him up too?"

"Of course," I tell him. "Do you have someone watching Koji and Karu?"

"They're at the daycare," Hiro assures me. "Can your kids stay at home alone yet?"

"Nah. I'll take them to the daycare, too."

"Awesome. See you in a few hours—at like two o' clock. Momo and I, well, we kinda stole this helicopter—" Hiro seems to be able to tell that I'm opening my mouth to object, and he hastily continues. "It's the fastest way to pick up Pippin and Kona, Dashi. And we can't cross the bridge, so a helicopter was our only option. I promise we'll bring it back when we're done."

I sigh. "Okay, buddy. Just don't die, okay?"

"We'll try. But I'm pretty sure the real danger is gonna be at the capitol."

"For sure. Be safe, Hiro, okay?"

"I will. Love you, bro."

"Love you too—bye."

I hang up and rush to the hospital's lab, where Honey is working with our kids milling around her. Baby Rio is strapped to Honey's back, fast asleep, and Aiko and Luna are playing some sort of tag game. Kazuki is sitting at a counter, holding an eyedropper and dripping some kind of bright blue chemical into a murky substance in a beaker.

"Tadashi!" Honey exclaims, brushing her singed hair out of her face and planting a kiss on my cheek. "What's up?"

"Honey," I whisper, putting my hands on my wife's shoulders. "We have to go. Now. Something went wrong with the mission—Abigail's taken Kai and Saber hostage and left Pippin and Kona out in the Wasteland. Hiro told me that Pippin said Nora tranquilized everyone and took Kai somewhere—they must be coming back to San Fransokyo. Someone broke into the NICU, Honey—they took Saber, and they left a note from Abigail saying that we've gotta be at the capitol at three with all of Hiroshima Rising or Kai and Saber die. So Kai and Saber are hostages, Nora's a traitor, Pippin and Kona are stranded, and, well, Kusho is safe, but—we've gotta take the kids to daycare and then go get our suits, Honey, I'm so sorry—I know it's a lot to take in, but we have to go."

To her credit, Honey doesn't question me. I guess she's used to this, after all her time in Hiroshima Rising. She hurriedly gets all the kids in the car, and I tell the young doctors in their residencies to try and take over appointments for the day. I feel bad, but a hostage situation kind of demands my attention.

We grab Baymax and cram him into the car, then speed off to the daycare. The vehicle is a little cramped with four kids and a giant robot in the back, but we have a minivan specifically for this purpose.

I kiss my kids goodbye as we pull up to the daycare, and then Honey and I speed off, heading for home, where our suits are stored. Honey puts hers on quickly, but I struggle—I can't deny that I've put on weight since the kids were born. That's why I take the stairs instead of the elevator at the hospital, and why I try to eat healthy, but my job requires a lot of sitting on stools, so I've accumulated a little extra padding around my stomach. As a result, the underlayer of my suit is uncomfortably tight, accentuating my gut a little more than I'd like.

Honey giggles as I strap on my armor. "Your suit looks a little tight, sweetie."

I sigh as Honey walks over and gently places a hand on my stomach, running it over the slight curve. "I know it does, babe. Is it really obvious? Because I've been trying to work out more lately, but it's not helping as much as I'd like."

"I can barely tell," Honey reassures me. "Don't worry about it. You're still ridiculously handsome, I promise."

I laugh. "Thanks, Honey. I guess we'd better call Fred."

Honey pulls out her phone and does exactly that, hurriedly explaining the situation to Fred, who tells us that he'll be at our house as soon as possible and suggesting that we might even be able to intercept Nora's helicopter before it comes in with Kai.

As soon as Honey and I have our armor on, we jump in the car and rush to Hiro's house to grab some of his inventions, like his heat-sensing goggles and several of the disruptor cubes that we used over a decade ago during the revolution. We also grab a few of Momo's spare graphene blades, just in case.

After we have the necessary equipment, we speed over to Fred's house to pick him up. He leaps into the backseat, neglecting his seat belt entirely, and yells, "Tadashi, drive!"

I refuse to move the car until his seat belt is on, and when Fred finally buckles in, I step on the gas and speed toward the capitol building.

When we reach the capitol, I park in a lot a few blocks away so our car won't get blown up if something explodes. Then we sit there, unsure of what to do, as it's not three o' clock yet and won't be for a while.

All we can do is wait.

—KAI—

The world swims back into focus, and I cautiously open my eyes, feeling some kind of resistance around my wrists, which are pulled behind my back. I'm lying on a hard floor, my cheek pressed against the cold surface, and my head throbs painfully, probably the result of my concussion. The spot on my neck where Nora's dart hit aches too, feeling bruised and tender.

I glance up at the ceiling, realizing that it is very, very high above me, and that the towering wall nearby is adorned with small screens, surrounded one immensely large one. All of the screens are powered off, and the only light filters through a small skylight in the center of the ceiling, which seems to swoop up into a dome.

I'm inside the capitol building. The very center on the top floor, to be exact.

The only thing that's missing is the governor.

"Kai, you idiot," whispers a familiar voice.

I roll over onto my other side, then onto my stomach, since it's a more comfortable position. Blinking the haziness out of my vision, I see a dark-skinned face, surrounded by tangled blond hair, come into view.

"Saber!" I gasp. "What—what happened? Why are you here? Did Abigail kidnap you? If she hurt you—"

"She tranquilized me," Saber says dismissively. "So no, I'm not hurt. They took me from the NICU, I don't know if Kusho is still there. What happened to you?"

"Nora…she kidnapped me," I whisper. "Wait, is it kidnapping if she's not an adult?"

"I don't know about the legal details," Saber hisses, struggling against her bonds, which I can now see are made of rope. "But whatever else, she took you hostage. That's clearly not legal."

Suddenly, the door flies open, and two figures stalk into the room. Well, one of them stalks—the other slinks a few feet behind, head bowed, dark hair falling over her face. That's Nora.

The first figure pushes her long brown hair back, and her brilliant blue eyes come into view.

Abigail.

The governor wears a pristine white bodysuit, which looks almost like armor. In her hand, she carries a shining white graphene blade, and pinned to her suit is an ID badge that reads Governor Abigail Callaghan, ENFJ.

I feel a twinge of surprise. Abigail, ENFJ? Like me?

"Hello, Kaiwan," Abigail says softly. "I apologize for the way we brought you here, but know that it was necessary to ensure your safety. I do not plan to hurt you—yet. After all, you did know of our plans, but now everyone does, so no harm done there. No, the only thing I plan to use you for is leverage. Hiroshima Rising will never agree to stand down unless I have something more important to offer them—and what better than their little spy? There is no way they won't agree to my trade. After all, my father was able to use you against your sister during the revolution—who's to say it won't work now?"

My heart sinks. Of course her plan will work—Momo is too protective of me for her own good. I mean, from what I've heard, last time she was dead set on killing my uncle Hiro because the previous Governor Callaghan threatened me.

"You have nothing to fear," Abigail tells me. "I have decided that holding you hostage is a better way to retrieve information about Hiroshima Rising than torturing it out of you—after all, you were only a child during the Eternal Flame Revolution, I do not expect you to know everything about them. However, if the Rising refuses to cooperate, you may be subject to considerable pain."

I gulp. That doesn't sound good.

"As an incentive, Kaiwan, I'd like you and your sister to act as much like frightened, desperate children as possible," Abigail requests, kneeling down beside me and cupping my chin in one hand. "After all, we wouldn't want Hiroshima Rising to underestimate the severity of your situation, would we?"

"Quit touching him," Saber snaps. "You're a terrible person, you know that? Kidnapping kids to get their relatives to behave. Well, if they're smart—and they are—then they'll fight you before you can do anything to us. You can't win, Governor."

"Oh, Sabirah," Abigail whispers, her voice silky sweet. "I already have."

With that, the governor leaves the room, locking the door behind her.

"Quick," Saber hisses, pushing herself into a sitting position. "We've gotta find a way to get these ropes off."

I roll over onto my back, struggling to sit up. Eventually, I accomplish it and glance uncomfortably down at the ropes wound around my ankles. In addition to my wrists being tied, my arms are tied to my sides, the rope bound tightly around my stomach. Now they're just being mean—whoever tied this evidently intended for me to suffer. My gut is really sensitive.

"If you can get my knots undone with your teeth, I can untie you," Saber tells me. "Come on, scoot over here."

I wiggle like an inchworm, carefully maneuvering myself over to Saber. She maneuvers her wrists so they're in front of my mouth, and I carefully take the knot in my teeth and begin to pull gently.

Miraculously, the knots aren't too tight, and the one I'm untying begins to loosen. Heartened, I pull a little harder, and suddenly, the rope falls away, freeing Saber's wrists.

"If you could get the one around my arms, that would be great," Saber whispers, and I grab the other knot in my teeth. This one takes a little more pulling, but eventually, it slips free.

Saber lets out a small hiss of pain as she rubs her wrist, which looks raw and red even with her dark skin. The other hand is obscured by the black cast she still has from when we jumped out the window during the fire.

"Are you okay?" I ask, worried. "That looks painful—how long have you been tied up? Wait, how long have we been here?"

"I've been here at least seven hours," Saber tells me. "I'm pretty sure they brought you here almost four hours ago—they had to keep tranquilizing you so you wouldn't wake up. It's two-thirty pm. And yes, I'm fine."

She carefully unties the rope around her ankles, then scoots over and motions for me to give her my hands. I awkwardly turn around, and Saber quickly unties my hands, then the rope around my arms. Breathing out a "thanks," I pull the rope off my ankles and stretch, allowing blood to rush back into my hands.

"How do we get out of here?" I whisper, looking around the massive room. "The only window I can see is at the top of the dome."

"Then we're gonna have to find a way to get up there," Saber says determinedly. "We have these ropes—if we could find a way to get them up there, we could climb out."

"There's a heating duct over there," I add. "That might be easier to get out through."

"I don't think you'd fit," Saber informs me. "Speaking of which, though, it looks like you've dropped a few pounds."

I don't know whether to be flattered or offended, so I just shrug. "Walking through the Wasteland for a week and a half can do that to you, I guess. Any idea of how we could get the grate off that duct? Do we have anything even resembling a screwdriver?"

"Nope," Saber tells me. "We'll have to find one or get out some other way."

I stand up shakily, my legs a little bit wobbly but able to support me. Glancing around the room, I search for anything that could be used as a screwdriver, but before I can do anything, the door bursts open.

My uncle Tadashi, his wife, Honey, and my uncle Fred are shoved into the room, dressed in their Hiroshima Rising suits. Fred's cheek is bleeding, and Honey's glasses are cracked. Tadashi seems unharmed for the moment, but when Nora, Abigail, and several other people who must be member of the Onyx Rebellion come in behind them, I know that none of us are going to be unharmed for much longer. I quickly shove my hands behind my back, hoping Abigail won't notice that Saber and I are untied.

"You have some visitors," Abigal drawls. "They attempted to sneak in to rescue you two, but they were swiftly caught. I fully expect the rest of Hiroshima Rising to come, so we will wait for them. Then we will begin negotiations."

"Are you okay?" Tadashi whispers to me and Saber as Abigail and her entourage leave again. "Did they hurt you?"

"Not badly," I reassure him. "I mostly got hurt in the volcano eruption, but I'm okay. I think Saber is fine, but Abigail tied her up for a while and her wrists are all scraped."

"I am fine," Saber insists. "We have to find a way out of here before the others arrive. I don't know about the rest of you, but I do not want to take part in any negotiations."

Tadashi, who thankfully hasn't been tied up, examines the bruise on the back of my head, gently probing the tender area. I wince as he does so, my headache exacerbated.

"You've got a concussion," he tells me. "But it doesn't seem serious. Once we get out of here, you'll have to take it easy for a while. No screens, no bright lights, and a lot of rest. I'll give you as much time as you need off from work."

"Thanks," I whisper. "Are you guys okay?"

"We tried to rescue you," Tadashi replies as he gently takes Saber's hands in his, examining her wrists. "Abigail caught us, and we tried to fight. I'm not hurt, and Honey's vision is a little impaired right now, but otherwise, we're okay. Fred got hit with something, but he's only got a surface wound."

"I am okay!" Fred says cheerfully. "Anybody got a screwdriver?"

"We already thought of that," Saber tells him. "And we don't have one. Or anything else that would serve the same purpose."

"Dang it!" Fred laments. "What if I super jumped up to the skylight?"

"That might actually work!" I realize. "You'd have to jump up with us one at a time, but it could work."

"But how are we going to break the skylight without anyone hearing?" Honey wonders. "Abigail will come back and take our suits so we can't use them."

"We could make some other not-suspicious noise to cover it up," Tadashi suggests.

"Excuse me, but what noise would be not-suspicious?" Saber interjects. "I'm pretty sure Abigail would still come to investigate if she heard us doing anything."

"I'll burn a hole in the wall!" Fred decides.

"But then we might set the whole capitol on fire," I worry. "And we don't wanna burn it down, right?"

"Preferably," Tadashi affirms. "So that probably won't work."

"You guys," I whisper, rubbing the back of my head as my headache intensifies. "I don't think there's a way out of here. Not without getting Abigail's attention."

"We might just have to wait for Momo and Hiro," Honey agrees, putting a hand on my shoulder. "They'll be here soon—they're on their way. Until then, I don't think we can do anything."

Fred sighs. "Okay, fine. But I want to burn something down today."

And we sit there in silence, waiting for help to come.

Suddenly, Tadashi's phone vibrates, lighting up with Hiro's contact photo. Tadashi hastily swipes up, taking the call, whispering, "Everyone just talk like normal—pretend I'm not on the phone!"

As I stage a normal conversation with Saber, I catch snippets of Tadashi's call.

"…in the capitol…yeah, she got us too…be careful, you guys…I'd say leave Pippin out of it, he's too young…well, of course he'll want to, this is Pippin we're talking about! No…tell him I said no…seriously, Pippin, no!"

I stifle a laugh. My little brother must be on the phone now.

"Okay, fine," Tadashi whispers. "Just hurry—and they're expecting you guys, so please be careful, okay?"

He hangs up, saying as quietly as possible, "They're a few minutes away, and they're gonna try to storm the capitol. Pippin wanted to crash the helicopter into the dome, but I told him no."

"For good reason," Saber adds. "The boy can be such an idiot sometimes."

I shoot her a glare, and she shrugs. "What? He is. And he's not even here."

"But we shouldn't insult people just because they're not here!"

"You guys!" Fred whisper-shouts. "I hear a helicopter! They're coming!"

Saber and I shut up, and we hear the faint sound of a propellor, presumably the one attached to the helicopter, passing over the capitol building.

"There they are," Honey breathes. "Now we just have to wait for them to storm the capitol."

I can't help but worry about Pippin and Kona. Pippin's too small to storm anything, and he and Kona are both hurt, though I think Kona's injuries are more severe. Neither of them are in any condition to fight an evil governor and her rebellion—or the robots that will undoubtedly show up, since Abigail now has the ReBCO.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoes through the capitol, and I stiffen. That sounded like something huge fell over—probably two massive doors crashing onto the stone of the entrance hall, cut down by glowing blue and white graphene blades.

Tadashi's eyes are shut tight, his lips moving swiftly. Fred has gotten up and is staring at the door, bouncing up and down. Saber and Honey are both gazing straight ahead, terror in Honey's gaze, determination in Saber's.

As for me, a cold, hard knot is forming in the pit of my stomach. What if we can't escape in time? What if something happens? What if people—on one side or the other—are killed? I couldn't let that happen.

Suddenly, the door flings open, catching Saber's shoulder and sending her flying. I gasp and leap up, and there's Abigail, standing in the doorway, one hand grasping Pippin's bright yellow hood. My little brother—my little brother—is kicking and flailing, still covered in ash.

"Put him down," I hiss, drawing myself up to my full height. "Now."

A look of shock flits across Abigail's face, but it's quickly replaced with a grim smile. "Oh, no, my dear Kaiwan. Peregrin is my hostage, just like you and your sister. But fear not, he will come to no harm—as long as Hiroshima Rising accepts my terms."

"And what are those terms?" Tadashi demands, his voice trembling.

Abigail's smile stretches wider. "Unconditional surrender."