Between Two Worlds

Part 2

Funny thing, dying. Almost like it happens in stages. First comes the pain, then the delusion, the fight for consciousness, and eventual blackness that never seems to end. It wasn't exactly terrifying, just...strange.

Hiro hardly registered falling back into GoGo's arms. By then, his vision was swimming with black spots, and he really just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep. It was GoGo's voice, her commanding tone as she spoke to the others, that kept him awake. Maybe it was just the delusion brought on by heavy bloodloss and pain, but her voice calmed him, even if she sounded demanding.

He felt his armor being pulled, leaving him in the loose clothes he wore underneath. He shivered from the feeling of cold that spread across his body, awakening the pain in his arm and kicking the notch up to eleven. He could hear Baymax's voice in the back of his head, On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain? Yep, definitely an eleven.

Baymax...

That was the last thing in Hiro's mind before everything went dark and silent.

*****

As quickly as it went dark, it lit up again. White, blinding white replaced the black, and Hiro had to cover his eyes with his arm so his eyes could adjust. When they did, he lowered his arm and looked around.

It looked like a large, white room. The odd thing was, there were no walls. No ceiling supports. At least, not that Hiro could see. There didn't seem to be a ceiling either. Just an endless expanse of white. Hiro turned in a circle, looking around. He was alone.

Or so he thought.

"Hiro?"

Hiro froze mid-circle. That voice...no, it couldn't be. That...that wasn't possible. Unless...

"Tadashi?" Hiro said as he slowly turned around, looking up at his brother's smug face, the elder's arms crossed like they always were when he was about to play the big brother card on Hiro.

Instead of reprimanding him, like Hiro had expected, Tadashi broke into a grin and opened his arms. Hiro ran into them immediately, wrapping his own little arms tightly around his brother's middle. Tadahsi dropped down to his knees so he was more on Hiro's height level and wrapped his little brother into a tight embrace. When Hiro's body started to shake with fought-back sobs, Tadashi hugged him tighter, and the boy stopped.

Hiro was the first to pull back. "Why are you here? What is this place?"

Tadashi stood back up, looking around at the massive, endless expanse of white that surrounded them. "I guess you could say this is the place between worlds."

"What worlds?" Hiro asked, confused.

Tadashi looked his brother in the eye. "The worlds of the living and the dead."

Hiro took a step back. "Wait, so...you're saying I'm dead?"

"Dying, yes." Tadashi gestured to the side, and a TV screen-like vision appeared. The images shown were from the Callaghan battle and the aftermath. Hiro's arm being sliced; him falling back into GoGo's arms; being loaded into the ambulance; a scene--that must be happening now--of Hiro laying on an operating table, multiple doctors bustling around him with various equipment. At one point, one of them brought in a defibrillator, but the vision cut out before Hiro could see if they used it.

"So that's it then," Hiro said softly. He sighed, staring at his feet. "I knew I should have said something to Baymax when I had the chance. I just...I didn't know it was that bad. I was too wrapped up in stopping Callaghan...I-I didn't...I lost Baymax...it's my fault--"

"No." Tadashi knelt down again and put his hands on Hiro's shoulders, drawing the younger boy's attention away from his own feet. "Hiro, listen to me. You are not at fault here, understand? Yes, you were selfish at first, until you realized Callaghan's motives. You sacrificed yourself and Baymax to bring Abigail home, and you got her back safely. I'm not angry at you for letting Baymax save you, not at all. And I am so proud of you for doing the right thing."

Hiro sighed, looking down again. "But it got me killed in the end."

Tadashi smirked. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Hiro looked up at his brother, confused. "You just said I was dying. Those doctors brought in the defibrillator. The vision cut out before we could see what happened."

"Exactly."

"Dashi...what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you have a choice." Tadashi stood up, Hiro's eyes following him. "Yes, your heart's stopped. The doctors are trying to bring you back. But you don't have to. You can go back and continue your life, or you can come with me, into the afterlife."

Hiro looked back at the vision screen, frozen with the image of the doctors shocking Hiro back to life. He looked down at his feet, thinking over his options. Going with Tadashi meant he could meet his parents, spend his afterlife with his brother. But going back meant he could...do anything, really. He could rebuild Baymax. He could keep crimefighting with his friends. He could go to school at the Nerd Lab.

He looked up at Tadashi. "I think you know my answer."

Tadashi smiled. "I had a feeling you were gonna say that."

Hiro smiled a little, and was once again enveloped in a hug by his older brother. They held each other close, neither one wanting to let go. Hiro's shoulders shook as he tried not to dissolve into tears. "Will you wait for me?"

Tadashi pushed Hiro back and looked him in the eyes. "Of course."

Hiro smiled, a lone tear rolling down his cheek. Tadashi smiled back at him, then everything went black.