Fred and GoGo met Wasabi halfway up to the command center. In fact, they almost ran right into him. "Hey, man, you okay?" Fred asked the physics student, who seemed more than a little wobbly on his feet. "Maybe you should, I don't know, sit down?"
"Mmm," GoGo agreed as she reached out a steadying hand. Wasabi looked like death warmed over, she thought, definitely not a good combination. Had something else happened while she'd been comforting Fred? Probably.
Wasabi nodded almost absently as he sank down into the stair behind him. "Yeah, sit down. Sitting down is good," he rambled. "I just need to sit down and calm my thoughts, take it all in and breathe it all out. Yeah."
Honey chose that moment to join them, looking more than a little concerned at Wasabi's state. "Did something happen to Wasabi?" she asked the other two.
Fred shrugged, not sure what to make of this odd behavior. "No idea. We just happened upon him on our way up to check on Hiro and the Doctors and found him like this."
His words seemed to give Honey a bit more energy than before. "The Doctors are back?" She couldn't help but smile hopefully at that. "Maybe they can figure out what's wrong with Hiro!"
Wasabi closed his eyes, one hand over his face now. "They already figured it out," he confessed. "Hiro has to reintegrate all the memories he shut out after repeating his time line trying to save Tadashi. If he doesn't, the universe as we know it will end."
GoGo couldn't help but pop a bubble as she stared incredulously at him. "Are you serious? How is that even possible? Are you sure you heard correctly?"
"No mistake," Wasabi confirmed as he bent to put his head between his knees. He still felt faint and a bit dizzy. Everything kept piling up, and while he knew it had to be a million times worse for Hiro, he didn't even want to contemplate what that might mean for the team as a whole if something really bad were to happen. Enough had happened already. "I heard it directly from the Doctors' mouths."
Honey couldn't help but let out a slight gasp at that. When she'd left Hiro and the others upstairs, things had seemed at least stable. Of course, now that she had a little more information, she couldn't help but wonder just how this had all happened. She was tempted to march right up there and demand an explanation but didn't. Wasabi wasn't doing so well and someone had to stay with him. It wasn't that she doubted Fred and GoGo would know what to do, but there were probably enough people around Hiro right now that they didn't need any more joining the party.
GoGo contemplated what they'd just heard. While Wasabi usually had a hard time with things not going in the expected way, she hadn't actually seen him quite like this before. However, she had her own problems to deal with, like defining a relationship. Not that Wasabi's concerns weren't valid, but everyone had to deal with their things in their own ways. "Fred," she turned to her companion, "weren't you going to go see the Doctors? I thought that's why Heathcliff told you they'd gotten here."
The otaku looked up sharply at that, reminded of his original destination. "Oh, right. Yeah, we were going to do that." He glanced over at Honey. "Hey, think you could keep an eye on Wasabi? I mean, I'm sure he's going to be okay and everything but maybe someone should stay with him until he calms down or something?"
Honey nodded. While Wasabi wasn't physically freaking out, chances were good he was having a hard time dealing with the information he'd divulged. And she knew if someone didn't keep an eye on him, he might go into a full out panic attack. It was always wise to have someone near at hand to talk him down if that happened. "I can do that," she affirmed as she took a seat next to the physicist. "You do what you need to, okay?"
With that taken care of, Fred and GoGo continued up the stairs. Both felt a bit of misgiving at what their friend had told them and neither wanted to see if it was really true or not. But they couldn't remain in ignorance forever. It was best to get to the bottom of the matter sooner than later.
...........................................
After some restless pacing, Captain Picard decided he couldn't just stand around and do nothing. Honey had left him soon after Deanna and he just hadn't felt a desire to sit back down at the table. He'd decidedly lost his appetite with everything that had happened. And even though it was getting late, he did want some answers.
Picard caught sight of Heathcliff in the hallways as the butler returned from informing his master of the Doctors' appearance. And, after asking the location of Worf and their prisoner, he went towards the room in question. Chances were good the butler hadn't known about Deanna joining up with that party so he hadn't bothered mentioning it.
When he arrived at the specified room, he was met by Lieutenant Worf. "Captain," the Klingon greeted. "I take it you wish to see the prisoner."
The balding man nodded. "Yes, I would," he replied. "Is Counselor Trio already with him?"
Worf ushered his superior officer in with a grunt. "She has removed his restraints," he informed gruffly. "The butler and I were unable to get anything from him. Perhaps the counselor will do better."
Picard felt bemused by that thought. When they'd first taken the man into custody, he'd been inclined to believe the man a lunatic. But if that wasn't the case, and he wasn't a violent type, perhaps Deanna's methods would produce the best results. "Where are they?" he wondered out loud when entering the room didn't immediately show anyone else but his security officer.
"Through here," Worf replied, indicating the door leading to the back of the room. He refrained from going in himself as his presence seemed to countermand what the counselor was trying to do.
Having gone through the doorway, Picard had to take a moment to let his eyes adjust to the difference in lighting. What should have been the florescence of the overhead light was replaced by candles set out on the floor and various other niches. "What's going on in here?" he inquired, wondering if he'd entered a therapy session instead of an interrogation.
Deanna looked up from her position on a low chair she'd had Worf find for her. It was somehow a lot more comfortable than standing, towering over James, the man who'd kidnapped Hiro. Sort of. "Captain," she greeted, realizing he was staring not only at her but at their uninvited guest, who was sitting on a small love sack. "We were just discussing Mr. James' adventures."
Picard couldn't help but scowl. "Adventures," he said in a rather skeptical voice. "Oh, I'm sure his adventures have been many."
Troi gave him a look. "You shouldn't judge until you've heard the whole story," she admonished gently. "Why don't you sit down and join us? Maybe then you'll begin to understand why I don't think this was entirely his fault."
.................................
The dark fragments of matter were slowly growing less and less, Hiro decided as he took the opportunity to stand back and evaluate his progress. The last memory had decidedly not been a pleasant one. But at least it was over with, though he still shook from the shock of it.
"You're doing good," Tadashi encouraged. "I know I'm not the incarnation who was there for that one but I still felt everything he probably did. It makes it easier to understand why you tried so hard to save my life. I know I couldn't have lived that over and over again, failing time after time, watching you die over and over again. I honestly don't know how you did it."
Hiro couldn't help but stare at his brother's apparition. "You saw all that?! But I thought it was just me!"
Tadashi shook his head, an expression of long suffering on his face. "Hiro, how long is it going to take you to realize that I'm a part of you? What you see, I see. What you remember, I remember. The only difference is that since I'm a part of your mind, I don't get to experience them the same way you do. I'm just here to help you out, give you advice and comfort when you need it. I'm a part of who you are and there's nothing that can change that."
"I wouldn't want to," Hiro admitted. "I miss having you around. But, I also like being able to do my own thing and make friends and all that." He let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, so how many more of these memories do I have to go through? I kind of feel like I've got a bit of a second wind or something, you know what I mean?"
The older Hamada ruffled Hiro's hair. "That's because your friends have put you into a medical coma," he informed him. "Thinking about the implications, I tend to agree it was probably the best option, given the circumstances. Your brain's exerting a lot of energy, which causes the tissues to swell. Your friends are trying to help you out by giving your body the chance to focus on the task at hand without having to worry about other things."
Hiro couldn't help but look surprised by his statement. "I hadn't even thought about that," he admitted. "I mean I was too busy reliving my past to give it much thought. Is that really what reliving all these memories is doing to my body?"
"Afraid so," Tadashi confirmed, his arms now folded across his chest. "I didn't want to tell you, figuring you had a basic grasp of the risks, but I guess it's better late than never. You see, while you reintegrate each memory, it reconnects the broken fragments of time you created by going back over and over again. While you've been busy delving into your memories, I've been keeping tabs on what's been going on outside your body. I'm sure you'll be happy to know you're back at Fred's place."
That really did give Hiro pause, everything slowly catching up in his thoughts. "Wait. Did you say they put me in a coma?" While, logically, it made sense, he still had a hard time processing the idea. "And I'm back at Fred's place? How'd that happen?"
Tadashi shrugged. "I guess your kidnapper had a change of heart or something. I don't know what he's thinking, just what you are, remember?" He tapped his brother on the forehead for emphasis.
Hiro looked a bit sheepish at that. "Yeah, forgot about that. It's sometimes hard to believe you're just in my head and not out there, somewhere. You know, alive."
"Yeah, I know," Tadashi sighed. "But dwelling on that isn't going to help get things done. Why don't we check off what you've already accomplished?"
That idea caused a moment of unease as Hiro wondered if thinking about the reintegrated memories would trigger the initial symptoms associated with them reconnecting. But he supposed it was better to get it done and over with than worry about the potential outcome. "Okay, I've already been blown up, burned to a crisp and suffered anaphylactic shock. What else is there?"
Tadashi had to think about that for a moment. "From the sounds of things, you have three more to go. And, if I'm not mistaken, they all take a while, especially the last one before this current timeline."
"Don't tell me I have to relive all of that one!" Hiro groaned. "I mean getting shot and cracking my ribs was fun and all that," he continued with heavy sarcasm, "but I'd really rather not live through that again."
His brother chuckled as he ruffled his hair. "Relax, you big baby. There's no need to relive that one. It's already firmly integrated. The bad news is there's no knowing how long each memory integration is going to take. Just because one part may shorter than another doesn't mean it will go as quickly as another."
Hiro couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, at least until I heard the last part. As much fun as that had been, he really just didn't want to have to relive almost sixteen years of life just to reach the finishing line. "Seriously? You had to tell me that now?"
"I just want you to know what you're dealing with," Tadashi shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not even sure how much time out there in the waking world has passed. It could be hours, minutes, days..."
Hiro had to wave him off right there. "Days? Are you kidding me? You mean to say this could last indefinitely, regardless of how many I've already done? How is that even remotely fair?"
Tadashi rolled his eyes. "Since when is life fair?" he asked. "It's not about what's fair and what isn't. It's about how long it takes for everything to work itself out. Some rides are smoother than others. And while you may have integrated fragments of previous time loops already, that doesn't mean you got all of them. Being in segments like that makes it take longer simply because your brain has to work double-duty to figure out where all the pieces go. It's not all going to go in order. I thought you'd figured that out by now."
There was no point in arguing. "Okay, so what's next?" Hiro asked instead as he looked around. The fragments were indeed getting fewer, which meant he'd have to start moving around to get to them.
"Why don't you find a fragment and see?" Tadashi inquired with a hint of amusement in his tone. He watched his brother carefully walk over to the next available tendril of memory, reluctantly holding out a hand to touch it. "You got this," he encouraged when his brother hesitated.
Hiro couldn't help but flinch a bit, hoping beyond hope that just once he wouldn't end up in agonizing pain the moment he touched another strand. But he knew there was nothing for it but to do it so he reached out once more. "I got this," he said as he firmly grasped the tendril in his hand.
...................................
"Vitals remain stable," Baymax reported as he observed his small patient. Perhaps it had been a good idea to induce the coma after all. It seemed to be helping. And though Hiro's temperature was still above normal perimeters, it had decreased enough he no longer feared any complications from it. Another point in favor of the treatment was that his brain also seemed to be returning to a better state, despite the continued activity manifested on the EEG readout. He didn't need to look at that monitor to know Hiro's brain was still quite active despite the drug.
Both Doctors nodded, one folding his arms as he observed. "Steady as she goes," the bow-tied one said as he moved closer to the examination table. He closed his eyes for only a moment before opening them again, a goofy grin on his face. "Looks like we've got another crack sealing itself."
Q watched the two Doctors with a curious expression on his face. "You can actually see the cracks in the space/time continuum?" He looked mildly impressed.
The younger Doctor gave him a mysterious smile. "It's what we do," he answered. "Speaking of which, it would seem we are no longer quite alone." He glanced over at the open doorway where Fred and GoGo stared into the medical room. "Why don't you two come in and see for yourself instead of just standing there, gawking?"
Looking a little chagrined, Fred sauntered into the room. "Hey," he said by way of greeting as GoGo followed in behind him. "So we ran into Wasabi on the way up and he was saying something about how Hiro has to reconnect all the memories of his past lives or the whole universe would go up in a cloud of smoke or something."
GoGo gave him a rather skeptical look. That wasn't exactly how Wasabi had put it but she supposed it was close enough. Besides, it was just like Fred to interpret it that way. "What he said," she added with a bit of a shoulder hitch to indicate her friend.
The blue-clad Doctor pushed away from the counter he'd been leaning against, hands in his pockets. "You might say something like that," he confirmed. "Though I don't' know about the whole cloud of smoke bit. More like the whole universe will shatter into a million million little pieces. But who's actually counting?"
The silence his comment brought out was shattered when GoGo loudly popped a gum bubble. "Sounds intense," she replied. "So, while we're waiting for him to put everything in his head back together, what are we doing to get that guy," and she pointed at Q, "his energy back?"
The two Doctors exchanged looks with each other, not sure what to say to that. Finally, the bow-tied Doctor spoke up. "We can't," he said slowly, holding up a hand when it looked like GoGo was going to let out another spat of chatter. "What I mean to say is we can't until Hiro has finished what he's currently doing. You see, we believe that Hiro is the medium through which all of that energy can be stored so it can be returned to Q. However, in his current state, he can't exactly do that. What will eventually need to be done is not figuring out a way of gathering that energy, but on how to transfer it back to Q."
Fred couldn't help but blink at that. Not only was it a bit confusing but he was starting to feel the exhaustion of overexertion kicking in. It was getting quite later after all. "So, wait," he stifled a yawn. "You mean until Hiro's finished with his memory thing, there's pretty much nothing we can do but sit and wait?"
"That's precisely what I'm saying," the younger Doctor confirmed. "But that doesn't mean my companion and I won't be doing our best to try and come up with a solution to fix that once the time comes. The best thing to do right now is rest and try to figure out what the person who kidnapped Hiro has to say about things."
GoGo let out a heavy sigh. "I think we've got that covered already," she admitted. "Worf will probably get out of him whatever we need. But you're probably right about rest. It is getting late." She glanced pointedly at Fred, who, despite his best efforts, was starting to droop. "Maybe we should all call it a night."
Data looked up from observing their patient. "I will remain here in case Baymax needs further assistance," he asserted. "As I do not need sleep, I feel this to be the best course of action. Those who do need sleep should retire for the evening. Would one of you please escort Q to his room?"
Q glared at the android. "Are you trying to banish me like some kind of recalcitrant child? If so, I warn you it won't be easy. I plan on staying right here until we get to the bottom of how to fix all of this."
GoGo looked like she was about use force, despite her smaller size, when Fred spoke up. "Just leave him be," he said. "It's not like he'll get into too much trouble with Data there to watch him, right?"
The android contemplated that for a moment. "I suppose you are correct," he admitted. "I should be able to incapacitate him should he do something unadvisable."
The blue-clad Doctor clapped his hands together, rubbing them. "Then it's all settled. Go ahead and tell the others we're going to just hang tight for the night and see how things go. We'll look at things again in the morning. Until then, we should all try and get some sleep." He gave GoGo a knowing look.
"Fine," the adrenaline junky agreed, though it was reluctantly. "Let's go, Fred." She grabbed her friend by the arm and steered him out of the room.
The Doctor turned to Q. "And don't think we won't be keeping an eye on you. We can always ask Baymax to give you a sedative if you cause any trouble."
Q put his hands in the air. "I wouldn't dream of it," he retorted.