Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Forty: A difference in perspective

Tadashi woke to the sound of his alarm going off. He was so tempted to just hit the snooze button but didn't. He had classes to get ready for. That and he had a few things to take care of at the lab. He couldn't let his classmates or his professors down.

Groaning, the older Hamada got up and showered. The hot water woke him up, though he was still more than ready to head back to bed. He decided he'd have to catch a quick cup of coffee on his way out.

"Good morning, Tadashi," Baymax greeted from his charger as the man finished dressing. "You do not appear to have received the recommended amount of sleep."

Tadashi pulled on his shoes and reached for his hat. "Probably not," he sighed as he glanced over at Hiro who was out like a light. "But I have things to do. Professor Callaghan has me working on a special project for him. That and with all of my classes... well, it doesn't leave much time to do much of anything, really."

The robot stepped from his case as Tadashi neared the stairs. "If you have time, I would like to talk to you about Hiro," he announced. "It is important."

Hearing that, Tadashi paused, hand halfway to his helmet on the wall. "What about Hiro?" He glanced back at his sleeping brother, wondering if something else had happened. "Did something happen?"

"You spoke to the Doctor about Hiro's attempts to change certain events," Baymax reminded, getting a nod in reply. They'd danced around that topic when the robot had told him about his encounter with the alien entity. "Hiro is becoming more confused about what he needs to do in regards to this matter. I do not believe he can withstand much more. Something must be done soon or he will revert back to his previous state."

Tadashi released a sigh. The Doctor had already told him as much. And he still hadn't figured out a way to tell Hiro his quest to save him was doomed to fail. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea. No one liked being told they had to die, no matter how good the cause.

"Would it help if I were to give you more information?" Baymax inquired with a tilt of his head.

The inventor stared at Baymax with a partially open mouth. He took a moment to process what the robot was offering, then nodded. If he was going to make time for anything, he would make time for that. "Yes. Yes, I would. What do you know?"

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

It was noon by the time Hiro woke up. He pushed back the covers, wondering if it was worth the effort. He still felt the same hollow sort of ache in his chest from the night before. Sleep had not lessened it at all. And his dreams hadn't helped either.

When he got up, he realized Baymax's case was empty. The robot wasn't in the room either, which left him wondering. Pausing to take care of some rather urgent business, Hiro headed downstairs to the main living area. There, he found Baymax sitting on the floor with Mochi the cat in his lap.

"Good morning, Hiro," the robot greeted as he petted the cat. "How did you sleep?"

The boy gave an absent nod as he headed back to the kitchen area. "Okay, I guess." Once in the kitchen, he scrounged around until he came up with some fruit and a muffin. He wasn't sure he could handle more than that. His stomach felt too out of sorts to contemplate really eating anything but he knew he needed to eat something.

"Your aunt requested that I tell you to bring down your laundry," Baymax related, still entertaining the cat.

Hiro carried his food to the table and sat down. "Okay. Laundry. Sure." He picked up the muffin, crumbling it up between his fingers with such an air of distraction that he didn't even seem to realize what he was doing.

Baymax stood, causing Mochi to protest, but the robot didn't heed it. "You seem to be unusually preoccupied. Would you like to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about?" Hiro shrugged, his fingers paused in their work of destruction. "Everything I do ends up going wrong. Every time I try to change things, I make an even bigger mess. It's like the universe is laughing at me, daring me to keep going. And I'm stupid enough to accept. I just don't know what to do anymore."

The robot shuffled towards the table, stopping a meter or so away from the piece of furniture to better observe his patient. "Admitting you do not know what to do is the first step in finding what you are supposed to do. It allows your mind to open up to other possibilities."

After having talked with Tadashi earlier that morning, Baymax had come to some hard conclusions. First, Tadashi was in no emotional state to help Hiro. And second, if someone didn't, Hiro would only continue in a downward spiral. And there was no guarantee that the Doctor's serum would help him out of it a second time.

Hiro gave half a snort before resting his elbows on the table, head cradled in his hands. "What other possibilities? I'm stuck in the same cycle of trying to save Tadashi, failing, then starting all over again. It never ends. I can't keep doing it. I can't make myself stop. I mean, part of me thinks maybe it was a bad idea to begin with. But another part of me can't help but try, knowing I was given the opportunity and that I have to see it through, no matter how much it hurts me in the long run."

The younger Hamada turned his head so he could look at Baymax. "Does any of this even make any sense? I just feel like I keep going around in circles. Maybe the universe is laughing at me."

Baymax leaned to once side so he was more at eye level with Hiro. "Do you remember asking me if your wish had been granted by the alien entity?"

Hiro sat up a little straighter at that question, wondering where his robotic friend was headed with this. "Of course. You said the entity told you I needed a companion."

"That is correct. It told me you would figure it out but that you might need a companion to help you," Baymax continued. "However, I am not sure I am qualified to help you with this task. It is an impossible scenario."

A sigh escaped Hiro's lips and he picked up the fruit, a strawberry, only to put it back down. "I take it whatever is I'm supposed to be figuring out doesn't include a way to save Tadashi's life."

"I can neither confirm nor deny this theory."

The boy flopped back against the chair. "Thanks a lot. The sad thing is I'm still not any closer to figuring out what it is I'm supposed to be figuring out than I was when I was trying to figure it out the first time!" He threw his hands up in frustration. "And now I sound like I'm going crazy. Maybe I should just call it quits."

Baymax returned to his normally upright position. "You are not going crazy," he corrected. "You are, however, confused. This is not uncommon for individuals who have suffered recent trauma."

"Boatloads is more like it," Hiro griped. "More than anyone deserves, in fact."

Mochi chose that moment to twine himself around Hiro's legs. The boy picked the cat up and let him sit on the table. The feline licked at the crumbled remains of his muffin. Hiro did nothing to discourage him either.

"I do not believe muffins are an acceptable dietary choice for felines," Baymax observed.

Hiro couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle at that. "No, not really, but I'm not going to eat it, so why not?" He got up from the table, taking his plate to be rinsed off, much to Mochi's disappointment. "Maybe I'm just looking at things the wrong way. Maybe I need to look for a new angle."

The healthcare robot waddled after his young charge. "A difference in perspective may bring clarity of thought. Might I suggest a change in your environment? Sometimes it is helpful to change one's location in order to gain a different perspective."

"Not a bad idea," Hiro had to agree. "A change in my surroundings."