Author's note: Sorry it's been so long. But I've had to deal with
- Severe writer's block
- A ton of work
- The fact that I'm moving house soon
As if that weren't bad enough I'll be off-line for 2 months after this because of the lack of an Internet connection! (Ugh!) But I won't keep Matt and Tai fans in suspense for all that time. So enjoy and please review!
Digimon: Final Reality
4: Forced Evolution
Mideel: 7 hours later
Sora had never felt so exhausted in her life and the others weren't looking much better. They'd spent the last 7 hours travelling by airship and worrying themselves sick about Tai and Matt in Mideel whilst trying to console a distraught Agumon and an even more distraught Gabumon. Gabumon was back to his normal self, as Cloud said he eventually would be. The shock of losing Matt had shaken him free of Sephiroth's control, which was practically the only bright spot in all of this. They'd arrived in Mideel, a small settlement that was unfortunately built right next to where the Lifestream broke to the surface, and had waited impatiently on the bank of the bright green lake for what seemed like years.
"Are you sure they're going to come out here?" she asked Cloud for about the fifth time.
Cloud sighed. "There's no other places that I know of where they could come out. If they don't come out here…"
Sora got the hint and shut up.
"You're being a bit hard," Tifa whispered to Cloud.
"What do you want me to do?" he hissed back. "Lie to them? Best they know and deal with it up front."
Tifa sighed and gave up. Cloud just wasn't strong on emotions.
Their train of thought was then derailed by a loud shout from Yuffie. "I'VE FOUND THEM!"
Everyone ran to the side of the lake to see Matt and Tai floating facedown in the middle of it.
"MATT!" TK was about to run into the lake when Tifa stopped him.
"You go in that, TK, and you'll end up the same way as they are!"
"I'll get them," Cloud said as he was putting on a rocket pack. "I'm already infused with Mako so it won't affect me so much. Wish me luck!"
With that, Cloud switched on his rocket pack and flew out over the lake. With his strength, he had no problem lifting out Matt first and then Tai. Once back on the shore they were quickly put on stretchers and moved to the airship with TK, Kari, Agumon and Gabumon close behind.
Reeve, Barret, Cid and the other Digidestined were talking frantically with Mideel's doctor, who wasn't looking optimistic.
"I'll be blunt," he was saying. "Their chances aren't good. I mean they're both just 11 years old and they've both taken in enough Mako to power a city for a night!"
"We know all that, Doc," Cid replied. "But we still need you anyway."
"Ok, fine," the doctor sighed. "Just don't expect any miracles like last time. I'm still not sure quite how that happened!"
"Last time?" Izzy raised his eyebrows.
"Cloud fell into the Lifestream before," Red XIII told him. "He ended up in a coma but he recovered on his own."
"But I already had Mako in my system when it happened," Cloud added. "And even then I nearly didn't come back."
"So what can we do?" Joe asked miserably.
"Not a lot except wait and hope," Tifa said.
As the others started to walk back to the airship Tifa, Cloud and Sora hung back a little.
"When I get my hands on that Sephiroth I'm going to..." Sora snarled.
"You'll have to stand in line," Cloud said coldly. "You're not the only one who wants his head." And my vendetta will be the one that comes first! Cloud thought darkly.
A hidden underground Shinra base
The old base that Sephiroth had taken over had been one of Shinra Inc's newest and it was to have been the staging area for another of the company's evil plans. However, one of the researchers had got cold feet before the plan was to start and had stolen one of the key components: the crystal that Matt had found and that Sephiroth had now. Cloud and his friends had then destroyed Shinra before they could do anything about it. Sephiroth smiled coldly as he thought about that. By destroying Shinra, Cloud had removed another obstacle to Sephiroth's new plan. The only other obstacle was now floating somewhere in the Lifestream. It was a pity that he couldn't have destroyed the rest of these 'Digidestined' but with their leaders effectively eliminated he should have enough time to finish his plans. Still smiling coldly, he placed the crystal inside the huge machine at the base's lowest level. "Soon…very soon…"
Highwind II
Matt and Tai were now in beds in the Highwind II's medical bay. Agumon, Gabumon, Kari and TK were at their bedsides: they'd simply refused to leave.
Everyone else was on the bridge trying to figure out what to do next.
"I've just been in touch with Reno in Junon," Reeve was saying. "Nothing to report from anywhere."
"No trace of him?" Cloud was incredulous.
"Isn't that good news?" Joe asked.
"With Sephiroth, no. It means he's got something up his sleeve again and he'll be ready to do more damage soon."
"As if he hadn't done enough already!" Mimi muttered.
"Is there nothing we can do for Matt and Tai?" Sora asked.
"Nothing. We'll just have to hope they recover on their own." The tone of Cloud's voice certainly didn't inspire much confidence.
"Might as well head back to Junon until we can figure what to do next," Cid decided.
"Can't we go to Cosmo Canyon instead?" Red XIII asked. "I need to see if everything's all right there and our new friends will probably like a change of scene."
Cid looked at Cloud, who shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me," he replied.
"Cosmo Canyon it is then."
Cosmo Canyon
"Prodigious! I think I could get to like this place!" Izzy said as he saw the space telescope on top of the settlement in Cosmo Canyon. It was a weird sight for the Digidestined. Cosmo Canyon was a settlement literally built into the canyon walls with a space observatory at its peak.
"Yeah, we figured you'd like it," Barret said. He had a thing for Cosmo Canyon himself.
"We'll go stay at the inn for the night," Red XIII said. "Since I'm supposed to be the guardian of this place I think I can arrange it."
"Good!" Gomamon said. "Maybe we can get something to eat."
"Again?" Yuffie said. "Gawd, that's the third time. Do these guys do nothing but eat?"
"Pretty much," Joe said.
"Any luck?" Mimi asked Cloud as he brought up the rear.
"None," Cloud said grimly. "Short of knocking them out and dragging them away I don't think I can get them away."
TK, Kari, Agumon and Gabumon had stayed in the airship with Tai and Matt and had refused to move no matter what.
"Why don't you go on ahead?" Cloud said. "I'll go back and wait with them."
"I'll go with you," Tifa offered. "It's not as if I'll be missing anything here."
"We'll catch you up later," Cid said. "If there's any news, make sure you tell us."
Highwind II: medical bay
"It's all my fault!" Gabumon sighed for about the tenth time since he'd got back. He was still staring blankly at his comatose Digidestined partner.
"No, it isn't!" Cloud said forcefully as he entered. "The only one to blame is Sephiroth, who will pay dearly for this once I see him again. I'll see to that!"
"He's right, Gabumon," Kari added. "It wasn't really you who attacked us. We don't blame you!"
"I don't mean to be rude but can you take this outside?" the doctor asked. "Things are still at a delicate stage and I need my full concentration. If anything changes I promise you that you'll be the first to know."
Cloud nodded. He knew what the doctor meant. "Alright. Let's go get something to eat. We'll come back later, ok?"
It took a lot of convincing from Cloud and Tifa to get them to leave but they eventually gave in.
"If anything happens, we can come right back," Tifa promised as they left.
In the end, they all ended up on the bridge.
"Shouldn't we join the others at Cosmo Canyon?" Tifa asked.
"No. It took everything we had just to get them out of the room. We'll never get them off the ship," Cloud replied.
As if to reinforce the point, Patamon and Gatomon soon joined them, having realised that TK and Kari weren't going to leave the ship and their brothers.
"How much longer is this going to last?" Tifa whispered to Cloud.
"We should know whether they'll pull through any time now, if my memories are accurate." Cloud winced as he remembered his own 'forced evolution'. A sudden thought then struck him. "I'd better call Reeve and ask him to…"
"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!"
"What was that?" Agumon asked, nearly choking on the food he'd been chewing on.
Gabumon and TK started running for the medical bay as soon as they heard the scream. They knew who it was. "MATT!"
Sephiroth's base
Sephiroth smiled coldly at the 3 chemical tanks in front of him. The life forms inside were growing well, thanks to the crystal's power and the Mako he had added to the tanks. This little side-show should distract Cloud and his friends for long enough so they wouldn't see his real plans; at least not until it was too late. Sephiroth looked inside the tanks again. The 'things' inside looked somewhat human but they were rapidly losing most of their human attributes, as their hands were becoming claws and their skin was hardening into reinforced carapace.
"Soon Cloud. Soon we'll play by my rules again…"
Highwind II: medical bay
The medical bay was absolute pandemonium when everyone piled in. The doctor was struggling to hold down Matt who was screaming in agony.
"Matt!" Gabumon was frantic by now.
"Gabumon? Is that you? I can't see!" Matt replied through clenched teeth. He was in intense pain.
"Matt, I'm right here!" the wolf-like digimon was right in front of Matt, but Matt didn't seem to be focusing on anything.
"It's only temporary," Cloud tried to reassure him. "Your system's adjusting to the Mako you took in. Your sight will come back in time."
"Matt! Where does it hurt?" TK asked through tears.
"AAAAAGGGHHH!!! Everything! It feels like I'm burning up from inside!"
"It's the Mako in his bloodstream," the doctor explained. "That should pass too in time."
"IN TIME?!" Matt screamed. "I can't stand this!"
"Maybe we should…?" Tifa looked at the doctor.
"Be my guest!" the doctor replied.
In a glow of green, Cloud and Tifa both cast Sleepel attacks. Matt closed his eyes and slumped back onto the bed.
"Why didn't you just sedate him?" Cloud muttered, remembering the pain of his transformation.
"I was about to when he woke up," the doctor said apologetically. "I've sedated the other one already though. You won't get a repeat performance, I promise."
"All right. When should they wake up again?"
"If all goes well they'll be up in a few more hours. If all goes well, that is," the doctor emphasised.
Cloud nodded. "Ok, let's go." He led everyone outside again with a big grin on his face.
"What are you so happy about?" TK asked through tears.
"Because things are looking promising!" Cloud said. "I know it wasn't pretty to watch but the fact that he had that reaction means he'll probably live."
"You went through the same thing, right?" Tifa broke in.
"Yeah. Forced evolution. Painful as hell and I had painkillers when I was in the tanks too. I can only imagine what Matt is going through. Still, it means his system's accepted the Mako. It would have poisoned him by now if he hadn't."
"So, he's going to be alright?" TK was almost afraid to ask.
"I'd stake my life on it, TK."
"What about Tai?" Kari and Agumon asked together.
"Since he's still alive, probably the same."
"YES!!!"
"Why don't you go back to the bridge and celebrate there?" Cloud suggested. "And eat something while you're at it. We'll be along soon."
Tifa waited until they were gone. "Was that the truth? Are you sure about that?"
"It's the truth as far as I know it," Cloud said. "They should be through the most dangerous stages by now."
"I hope you're right."
"We'd best call Reeve and give him the good news. We'll have to wait for them to wake up before we can do much else anyway."
Medical bay: 5 hours later
"Urrrghhh…" Matt had woken up with a real bad hangover or something akin to a hangover, but at least the searing pain he had felt before was gone. He didn't know if he could have stood much more of that. As he climbed out of bed slowly he suddenly remembered all that had happened and that he was free! He could move and think for himself again, something he hadn't been able to do since his encounter with Sephiroth on the ice fields. He was wondering what to do next when he saw Tai in the bed next to him.
"Tai! Are you ok?" Matt rushed over to him quickly but Tai was still out cold. Matt's face contorted in rage. Sephiroth had played him like a puppet and now Tai was…! "Tai! Wake up!"
"Ohhh…Matt? Is that you? You're back to normal, right?" Tai asked hopefully. He didn't feel like picking up where they'd left off.
As Tai opened his eyes Matt lurched back in surprise at what he saw. Tai's eyes were glowing! Not only that but his muscles seemed to have doubled in size!
"Don't worry, I'm me again but what happened to you? Have you been working out or something?! And what's with the eyes?"
"Like you can talk, Matt! Have you looked in a mirror lately?"
Matt hadn't of course. If he had he would have seen that his eyes were now a shining bright blue and he had put on considerable weight as well.
"Uh oh. I was afraid this would happen!"
Matt and Tai turned to see Cloud, Tifa, TK, Kari and their digimon staring at them in shock.
"Wha…have they digivolved?" Agumon managed to blurt out.
"What's happened to them?" Kari spluttered.
"Yeah, can someone fill me in here?" Matt asked, looking at himself in a mirror on the wall. "We look like we've been on steroids!"
"I'll explain everything when we meet up with the others," Cloud said, grinning. "I don't want to have to explain all of this twice. But simply put, you've got a lot more power now and I think Sephiroth is going to regret what he's done to you two!"
"Sephiroth!" Matt snarled. "Where is he?"
"We're not sure yet," Tifa said.
"Well, let's go find the others. My fist has got his name on it!" Tai growled.
"I missed you, Matt!" TK hugged Matt around his waist.
Matt returned the hug forcefully. "It's good to be back, TK."
"Mmmph, Matt, you're crushing me!" TK groaned as he tried to wriggle out of Matt's grip.
"Sorry!" Matt had forgotten about his new strength.
At this, Cloud's grin grew even wider. Sephiroth, you have just made your last mistake. I'm going to enjoy helping these two to beat you to a bloody pulp!
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's 2nd note: As I said before I'll be off-line for awhile until I get a new house with another Internet link (grrr!). Sorry about that. But I will be back sooner or later to finish this fic. To answer your review questions:
- Psychodigiman: this is a crossover of Digimon and Final Fantasy VII (I know it's kinda confusing if you haven't played that game.)
- No, I don't think I can bring the Predators into this. Not in this fic anyway. The next one perhaps. But you'll have to settle for Mega Tai and Mega Matt until then, sorry!
I'll be back on-line ASAP!
Scorpion