Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Thirty Nine: Our primary objective

Baymax activated his thrusters and they were soon on their way to the warehouse district. With the robot's enhanced boosters, they were there in no time at all.

They landed near the alley leading to the open front. From there, they moved cautiously forward. As had happened several lifetimes ago, Baymax kicked open the doors of the warehouse in question with a shower of splintered wood. But if Hiro was hoping to find anything there, he was sadly mistaken. Just to be safe, he had the robot scan the area, with no results.

"Strike one," he sighed, not sure if he was really disappointed or just mildly surprised. "Guess that means we head to the next stop, Akuma Island."

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Hiro had never traveled to the island at night. The last time he'd been there was almost at twilight, with the sun's light barely visible in the background. It made him doubly glad for Baymax's night vision and the added function on his own helmet.

Things were eerily quiet as they landed just outside the door Wasabi had cut through in the first time line. Having anticipated the possibility of having to do that again, Hiro had brought along a few tools, but they weren't necessary. Someone had already broken the bolt on the door and it hung open like a gaping mouth of some creature waiting to eat them.

"That doesn't bode well," Hiro gulped, wondering if they'd run into anyone or not. "Baymax, can you detect anyone around?"

Baymax looked into the open maw of the doorway. "This structure is interfering with my sensor," he informed.

Hiro almost smacked himself for having forgotten that detail. The walls were likely lined with lead, which would definitely cause problems. He pulled out the flashlight and turned it on. "Okay, let's just take a quick look inside, see if anyone's messed with things. You remember our primary objective?"

Baymax followed the boy as he moved inside. "Our primary objective is to secure the portal," he stated as he held one hand in the air, finger pointing up.

"Exactly." Hiro continued cautiously forward. Part of him wished he'd stayed on Baymax's back, but he wasn't about to complain. He wasn't really a fighter, just a genius with way too much time on his hands. But part of him felt he'd at least feel a little better about the whole situation if he'd stayed docked on Baymax's back. That way they could make a hasty exit if necessary.

Without realizing it, he began to hum the song Fred had made up the last time they were there. He stopped the moment he realized what he was doing, going silent. A dull ache filled his chest, almost winding him and he had to take a moment to catch his breath, pausing in the corridor.

Baymax paused the moment he realized Hiro wasn't moving. A quick scan indicated the boy was under emotional distress. "It will be alright," he reassured, correctly guessing at the cause.

Hiro licked his lips, his flashlight wavering. "Yeah. I just didn't expect for it to keep hurting this much. It shouldn't hurt like this. Not after all this time. Maybe I am doing something wrong."

The robot blinked at that, then turned to face a sliding door. "This is the entrance we used to reach the portal chamber," he reminded.

Pushing back the desire to cry, Hiro slid the door open. Upon initial inspection, the room looked much the same. The second portal lay in all its ruined splendor. The tracks were in the same state of disarray. And next to it...

Hiro went down to his knees with a dull thud. His eyes went wide in shock as he stared. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't possible. But it was. The portal was gone.

.......................................

Hiro didn't know how long he sat there, staring into space, mouth hanging open in shock. It wasn't fair. After all his hard work... After all he'd been through... Things were still not working out.

Baymax surveyed the room. "It would appear we came too late," he observed.

"You think?" Hiro slowly got back to his feet and turned to the control room to his left. Slowly, like someone who was at the end of their strength, he made his way up the stairs. He had to hold to the railing to keep the dizzy feeling growing at the back of his head from overwhelming him and toppling him back down.

More devastation waited inside the control room. Someone had removed several control panels from the front area. The only station left intact was the giant monitor at the back.

Almost hopefully, Hiro made his way to the screen and instructed the computer to rewind the tape. When he pushed play, he only saw the same footage from his original timeline. He fast-forwarded just to be sure. If the cameras had recorded anything after that, the data had been erased, along with any clue as to who had scavenged the failed experiment.

Hiro slammed his fists against the console. "No! It was supposed to be here! I was going to fix it! Now what am I supposed to do?"

Baymax reached his arms around the small boy. "You will think of something," he said. "For now, I suggest returning home and getting rest."

Head downcast, Hiro moved away from Baymax's arms and headed back to the platform in front of the destroyed portal. If he tried, he could imagine his friends fighting off Yokai as they tried to stop him from taking the last segment of the machine. Had Yokai beaten him there? Or had someone else scavenged the place before he'd had a chance? It didn't really matter. The portal was gone. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Besides, the event he was remembering had turned into a huge disaster. His friends had been injured, royally trounced by both the microbots and a berserker Baymax. Again, something that was his fault. Why did he keep making so many mistakes?

The ache in Hiro's chest tightened. Why had so many things gone wrong? And why did they keep going wrong? Why couldn't he do anything right? Even having Tadashi back was starting to feel wrong.

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The flight back to the Lucky Cat Café was a quiet one. Hiro didn't feel much like talking. Baymax was willing to let him remain silent.

As soon as they arrived back home, Hiro almost mechanically stripped Baymax of his armor, stowing it out of sight. He then proceeded to change back into his pajamas, stowing his gear alongside Baymax's. He wasn't sure if he'd ever use it again. What was the point anyway?

When he stumbled going up the stairs, Baymax gently took him in his arms and carried him the rest of the way up to his room. Once there, he put the boy to bed, then went to his charging station to wait for the morning.