Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Thirty: It's okay. You're okay.

In a moment of panic, Hiro had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was sitting on his bed while leaning against Tadashi's side. The next thing he knew, he was running as if his life depended on it.

His breaths came in panting huffs as he navigated a maze of blank walls, with no indication of the right way to go. There was always another corner to turn, another impossible decision to make. And somewhere behind him, something loomed, ready to devour him if he stopped.

It was in the shadows, just out of sight. He didn't even know what it was, just that it was there. And if he even paused to rest, to try and catch his breath, it caught up to him. And that was bad, very bad.

Overhead, the sky was dark, if it was sky at all. He could have been indoors or outside. There were no stars. No lights, just the dimness around him that made it difficult to see more than a few meters in any direction.

Up ahead, a sliver of light seemed to beckon to him and he put on a burst of speed, hoping to finally find the exit. But, instead of finding a way out, he almost fell into a pit of venomous vipers. He backpedaled for all he was worth. His chest heaved as he frantically looked around for a way around, any way around. But there was nothing. He was trapped.

And from behind him, down the long stretch of darkened alley, that something he'd been running from slowly crept forward. Like a seeping blob of hot tar, it seemed to bubble as it oozed towards him. And each popping bubble held the sound of laughter, the kind that said whatever was behind it knew Hiro doomed.

He was on his last leg. He had nowhere to go. Before him sat his greatest childhood fear, something he still hadn't gotten over. And behind him, the unknown in all its inky darkness.

In a desperate bid to escape, Hiro tried to scale the brickwork walls, but only ended up sliding back down with a thud. The walls were covered with slime.

You betrayed us, Hiro, he heard GoGo say.

You left us behind. That came from Honey Lemon

How could you even begin to think things would work out like this?

But why? Why Wasabi? How could he say something like that? He hadn't done anything! He'd only tried to make things better. To fix things. Only they were worse, much worse.

We believed in you, but you let us down.

Coming from Fred, that hurt, hurt a lot. And Hiro couldn't help but allow himself to slide back to the ground as his body shook with sobs. How had he gotten things so wrong?

And ever closer, the thing in the dark loomed, a creature of blackest night. Slowly, it rose in height, ready to devour the exhausted teen the moment he closed his eyes...

Feeling something he couldn't see touch him, Hiro screamed.

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

Something grabbed a hold of Hiro's arm and he fought against it. He wasn't going to die. Not again. His foot impacted with something solid and he heard a grunt of pain as he continued to struggle against whatever held him.

Fabric twisted around his body, tightening with every move he made. And then there were those grabbing hands again, trying to restrain flailing arms. His breathing came in even shorter pants as he tried to fight off whatever was holding him down, his back against something firm.

"Hiro!"

That one word barked out like a slap to his face and he lay there, chest heaving, lost in a daze. Even with open eyes, he saw nothing. But he knew the voice that had cracked like a whip. And it didn't belong to nighttime monsters, or the disappointed version of his future friends.