Hiro knew it was morning when he opened his eyes. He knew he'd slept. He also knew there was something he should have done but hadn't, though he couldn't remember for sure what it was. He felt incredibly hot. His skin felt raw. And if that wasn't enough, his throat was as dry as a desert.
Sitting up, he felt as though his body was comprised of boulders grinding together. Perhaps this was what a hangover felt like. He wasn't sure. What he was sure about was when he looked over towards Tadashi's side of the room, he didn't see Tadashi.
Something painful tore in his heart as too many realities overlapped. But when he blinked, it seemed the world had gone out of focus, like someone had placed two or more overlapping images in front of him, each wavering and circling around the others so that nothing fit together correctly. It left him feeling nauseous and weak.
"Tadashi," Hiro croaked. Something was wrong, very wrong. He didn't know what just yet, but it was. The room seemed to heave as he slid his feet to the ground. Almost drunkenly, he staggered into the swivel chair in front of his computer.
Wincing, the boy tried to stand upright but couldn't. The world was spinning and he was spinning counter to it. But he wasn't about to give in. He pushed away from the chair he'd been holding on to for balance, a precarious thing at best as it kept moving, but it had been something.
Hiro blinked, trying to clear his vision. Where was Tadashi? Where was Aunt Cass? Baymax? Anyone? He stumbled forward once more and managed to run into the dresser before sliding to the floor. The piece of furniture shook with the impact, sending the lose items on and around it tumbling to the floor, some hitting against his body.
A soccer ball bopped Hiro on the head and he winced again. A choked sob escaped his throat as he slowly pushed up from the floor. He would beat this. Whatever it was, he would beat it. But he was oh so dizzy, and his head felt like it wanted to implode. Or was it explode? It was hard to tell.
Somehow, he managed to claw his way back up, using the dresser he'd bumped into to get back to his feet. Some of the drawers were slightly open, making that point a bit easier. Had he been drugged? Was this what it felt like to be high? If so, he felt sure he never wanted to do it again. Ever. But he had to find help, any kind of help. And that meant going downstairs since no one was in his room.
But the stairs looked so far away. In reality, they were only a meter or two distant from where he stood. But, in his current state, they might as well have been halfway across the planet. He tried to reach them anyway.
Moving like someone who had barely anything left in them, Hiro staggered in a manner that might be considered comical if it wasn't so serious. Bent half over, his arms went out at all angles, his legs threatening to buckle under him at any moment. He was so engaged in trying to reach his goal he didn't realize there was something else in his way until it was too late. He didn't even have enough in him to realize what it was, a discarded box.
Almost instinctively, Hiro curled his body into a modified fetal position as he went down. But the momentum didn't stop there. Instead of landing just short of the stairs, he tumbled down them. Luckily, his arms and legs were tucked in enough that he didn't sustain too much damage, but the sound he made coming down seemed to echo throughout at least the one level as he came to a rather grinding halt at the bottom, his face planting firmly into the floor of the second level. He had no idea how long he lay there, unable to breath from the impact.
Footsteps pounded from the floor below, slowly growing louder. In reality, they came faster than his brain could currently fathom, but that didn't matter as he saw not one pair of legs, but two.
"Hiro!"
Two voices called out his name, one male, one female, but his vision swam too much to tell who the voices belonged to. They could be anyone and he wouldn't care so long as they could somehow help him.
"Honey, help me!"
The male voice was frantic as Hiro felt strong hands touch his raw skin. He couldn't help but let out a cry of pain as he was gently rolled onto his back. His breath came in short gasps, trying to recapture the air that had been knocked out of his lungs only moments before. "So dizzy," he complained, his hands involuntarily going to his head. "Can't. Stop. Spinning." He coughed. He couldn't help it. His throat felt so dry. "It hurts."
"Here," the male voice commanded, though Hiro doubted it was directed towards him. "Prop him up."
Then there was the feeling of someone pressing something cold against his forehead. Hiro couldn't help but try to look up at whoever was hovering near his head. But his vision continued to swim and tears leaked from his eyes. "I'm so thirsty," he complained. "So thirsty."
"Tadashi, he's burning up. We should take him to the hospital."
Was that Honey Lemon talking? But why was she there? Hiro couldn't process. His brain felt like it was melting. "So hot," he complained, weakly trying to lift one arm to tug at the collar next to his neck, as if that would help ease his discomfort.
Another face swam before his vision. "It's going to be okay," the face said. "Honey, I need you to tip his head back so I can give him this."
Something yellow and green glinted like a jewel in Hiro's vision. He had no idea what it was. It almost reminded him of a wavering glow stick because of the way it seemed to move.
The other person leaned forward. "Tadashi, are you sure about this? I mean, I know you said you think you trust him, but do you really?"
The frustration rolling off of the male was obvious. Who was he again? Hiro felt he should know but couldn't bring up a name. It hurt to think. "We don't have a choice," he heard the male say. "Please!"
There was a moment of hesitation, then Hiro felt gentle hands cup around his scuffed up face, though it left his skin feeling more like it was on fire than anything else. Then he felt his head tilt back against his will. And that sensation made the dizziness worse. He couldn't help but close his eyes to try and keep out the twisting reality before him.
Mouth partially open as he panted, Hiro almost gagged as he felt something wet slide under his tongue. But he was parched and somehow knew he needed water. He swallowed without thinking, and then he did gag.
Hands pushed at the hair around his face, almost as if they were trying to press everything back together that Hiro knew was flying apart. Even with that small insight, he couldn't help but cough. The liquid they'd put in his mouth was vile. He couldn't help but shake with the motion either, almost convulsing.
"Come on, little bro," the male said and he felt arms sliding underneath his body as he was picked up.
That was not a good idea and Hiro made it known with a cry of shock and pain.
"Are you sure you should be moving him?" Honey was decidedly nervous. He could hear it in her voice.
The world moved as he was lifted into the air, tilting at odds with everything in his head.
"We have to. I can't risk Aunt Cass seeing Hiro like this. She should be waking up soon. Besides, I promised I'd take of things and I'm going to."
They began to move. Each step felt like an earthquake, sending anguish through Hiro's body and mind. He cried out in pain once more.
"I still think we should take him to a hospital," Honey insisted, decidedly following them up the stairs. Her footsteps sounded like throbbing drums beat too loudly.
"No," the other voice countered. Tadashi, wasn't it? "Not yet. Wait. We need to wait."
Hiro felt himself move at a downward angle as the person carrying him tripped over the box he'd stumbled over only minutes earlier. It was almost worse than being picked up. If he really was that far gone, why wasn't Tadashi the one insisting they take him to the hospital? This wasn't like him. It wasn't like him at all.
But his brother didn't say another word as he continued on towards the bed, setting his brother down on the cool sheets. He pulled away, almost as if insure of himself.
Pain tore through Hiro at that moment, unendurable pain, right through his head and heart, like someone had pierced him through with liquid flame. He couldn't help but let out a scream.
..................................
Tadashi stared at his brother with large eyes as he lay there on the bed, his entire body trembling. He didn't think this was how things were supposed to go, but he had to believe that what the Doctor told him was true. This was going to help his brother. Maybe he just hadn't had enough serum yet. He was about pull the bottle out again when his brother let out the most awful sounding scream he'd ever heard in his life.
He fluttered uselessly over Hiro as the boy spasmed and jerked on the bed, sweating up a storm, his breathing neigh unto hyperventilation. This couldn't be healthy. If something didn't happen soon to calm this raging turmoil, he knew his brother's heart would explode from the strain. "Please!" Tadashi begged. "Please work!"
The sad thing was that if it hadn't been for the tumble Hiro took down the stairs, Tadashi wouldn't have realized just how far gone his brother was. It was almost a blessing, if they'd gotten there in time. He'd been so worried about figuring out what had happened to Baymax that he'd almost forgotten to check in on Hiro. That and he'd been oh so tired. It had been nice to let himself doze off while sitting next to the girl he loved.
Hiro's back suddenly arched, like someone had shot a jolt of electricity through him. He let out another partial scream, though nowhere near as loud as the one before. He'd clenched his jaws together, cutting it short, making Tadashi wonder if he wouldn't either bite his tongue or crack his teeth. Then he was on his side, arms and legs bending behind him as he continued to arch his back as if in agonizing pain.
"I can't watch this," Honey Lemon sobbed as she turned away, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
For the briefest of moments, Tadashi wished he'd brought Baymax back up with him, but the diagnostic protocols were not quite finished. If he'd unplugged the robot now, he'd have had to start all over again. "Come on, little brother," he urged, his entire body tensing as he waited to see what would happen next. "You can do this. Come on!"
Hiro continued to writhe in intense agony, his teeth all but grinding together under the strain. Whatever was in the serum the Doctor had given him, it was certainly doing something. Tadashi just wasn't sure if it was something good.
"I'm going to call for an ambulance," Honey stated as she pulled out her phone. But just as she was about to dial, Hiro gasped like a drowning man taking his first real breath once back on dry land, then his body went still. She turned as her fingers paused over the keypad, the hand holding the phone slowly lowering to assess the situation.
"Hiro?" Tadashi reached out a hesitant hand towards his brother.
Hiro had rolled onto his back again and was staring at the ceiling, his chest not quite heaving. But there was a look in his eyes that Tadashi couldn't identify. It was almost as if he saw a different reality, or like he wasn't staring at anything at all.
Still not sure if his brother was back to normal or not, Tadashi continued to inch forward, his hand outstretched to gently touch him on the shoulder.
The bed seemed to erupt as Hiro somehow flipped to a crouching position. "Don't touch me!" He slapped Tadashi's hand aside. "Don't you dare touch me!" He growled, baring his teeth.
Tadashi stared in shock, his hand stinging from the blow. Something was decidedly wrong. "Hiro." He reached out his hand once more, not quite bringing it as close as before. "I'm not going to hurt you."
But Hiro didn't seem to listen as he backed up against the window behind him. "I said don't touch me!" He looked almost feral as he stared first at Tadashi then at Honey. "Leave me alone!"
Tadashi couldn't help it. Moisture misted up in his eyes as he looked at Hiro with disbelief. This was not his brother. His brother would never act like this. "What have I done?"
A funny sort of giggle escaped from Hiro's lips. He had an almost giddy look on his face now, even though he was still crouched like he was ready to spring. "What have you done?" He laughed again. "You were supposed to die! That's what you've done! You didn't die! Why didn't you die?!"
Honey edged closer to Tadashi, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Tadashi..." She bit her lip, phone still in one hand. "Just what was in that formula you gave him? Because I think it may have made him go crazy."
Tadashi reached back with one hand, taking hers into his. "It's going to be okay," he said slowly, trying to keep his voice calm. "I was warned this might happen. We just have to wait it out." But, even as he spoke, he edged away from the bed, backing towards the far wall like he wasn't sure just what his brother would do next.
"That's right!" Hiro almost crowed. "Back up! Way up! Don't come near me!" Another nervous laugh escaped his lips. "Don't come near me," he echoed, more quietly this time. "You're supposed to be dead. You should be dead..." Then a giant sob tore from his throat.
Tadashi almost moved forward again but held back. He wasn't sure just what stage his brother was going through. He might still be considered dangerous, not that Tadashi thought Hiro could actually hurt him, though it was possible. At least he couldn't hurt him seriously. The older Hamada was twice Hiro's size, which helped, but he didn't want to press his younger brother any more than he had to.
"You should be dead!" Hiro sobbed. His limbs seemed to suddenly lose the ability to hold him up and he fell forward onto the bed, looking more like a bundle of sticks than a human boy. "I saw you die!" His entire body shook as giant tears wet the bed like rain. His hands clenched around fistfuls of bedding. "I saw you die! I saw you!"
Realizing the worst was over, Tadashi let go of Honey's hand and slowly approached his emotionally broken brother. "It's okay," he soothed. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure it out."
As Tadashi moved towards his brother, and gathered him into his arms, Honey Lemon put her phone away. She couldn't help but stare at the spectacle before her. It was all just so bizarre. Hiro had literally gone through the extremes of emotion right before her eyes, and in only a matter of minutes.
"I'm sorry!" Hiro continued, now sobbing into his brother's shoulder. "It's all my fault! It's all my fault!" His body shook with each in-drawn breath. "I'm so sorry!"
Tadashi tried to smooth his brother's hair as he held him tightly with the other arm. "Shh, it's okay," he soothed again. "It's okay. We'll work it out. We will. I promise."
His brother curled up in his arms, like he used to as a much younger child after a really bad dream. "I thought you were dead," he whispered, his body spasming with a hiccup.
Gradually, Hiro's tears slowed as Tadashi gently rocked him back and forth. "It's okay," he hushed. "It's going to be okay." It took him a moment to realize Hiro had fallen asleep in his arms.