Yamato the Vampire Slayer
Hope Vanquished
By the Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon or Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Tai opened his eyes feeling groggy, uncomfortable and very odd.
"Awake at last Sleeping Beauty?"
Tai stared at TK with some confusion. Why was TK there? And why was he on the floor? And where was he?
"TK?"
"Still half asleep," TK said, sounding disgusted "You'll work it out in a minute, then have a heart attack."
Tai blinked and rubbed his face, struggling with his sleepy brain. When he remembered everything he very nearly did have a heart attack but his pride made him force it down.
"What did that bitch do to me?" he snarled.
TK laughed. "Still as courageous as ever!" he said "She hypnotised you silly. Vampires are good at that, Drusilla especially so. You let me down actually, I had a bet with Darla that you wouldn't succumb so easily."
Tai shuddered. "What do you want with me?"
TK smiled. He leaned forward so his lips were right beside Tai's ear.
"Bait."
Tai twitched away angrily.
"Matt won't be able to resist running after you," TK said "In his...fear.....he's likely to make mistakes."
"You little creep!" Tai yelled at him "You're not TK!"
"You only just realised?" TK said scornfully "Stupid Taichi."
He reached out and stroked the side of Tai's face. Tai began to feel sick. He twitched away again and banged his head against the bars of the cage he was in.
"Don't be so afraid Taichi," TK said lightly "I'm not going to hurt you."
He frowned consideringly.
"Well....probably not anyway."
He reached out and caught Tai, pulling him close. Tai started struggling, kicking and punching. TK slapped him on the side of the head, making him see stars.
"Don't Tai," he said gently "Don't."
He pressed his face against Tai's neck, smelling him. Tai trembled.
"Don't you dare bite me!" he screamed "Don't you DARE TK!"
TK licked his neck lightly.
"Takeru, put him down," Darla ordered lazily "You're supposed to leave the bait in one piece rather than eat it."
"But he's so much fun to play with," TK pouted.
"I'm not saying you can't play with him," Darla said "Just don't eat him or permanently damage him."
Tai gulped. He tried to squirm away again. TK playfully ran his hand down Tai's body to rest it on his thigh. Tai stopped struggling, a block of ice dropping into his stomach leaving him trembling. He closed his eyes tightly and found himself praying.
'Please Matt, please find me, please find me Matt, please...'
* * * *
Matt sat, staring at the floor. He'd given up practising. Everyone else was sitting sombrely on the sofa. Even Akemi had shut up. They were waiting for Angel and Spike to return.
"What if they don't find out?" Davis asked "What if he's gone forever? What if...?" "Shut it Davis," Toshiki said quietly "Tai'll be fine."
Davis swallowed, trying to stay calm. He glanced at Matt. Matt wasn't saying anything but his face seemed to be flickering from scared to angry to bitterly miserable.
"I'm such a fool!" he snapped suddenly "I should have taken better care! I should have..."
"You're doing it again," Toshiki said quietly "Blaming yourself for things you can't control. You may have a destiny but you can't control everything."
Matt shook his head moodily but didn't argue. Toshiki got up and sat on the floor next to him. Matt remained quite stiff, his eyes glacier cold and blank. Toshiki found himself wishing the angry crying Matt was back. Seeing him so blank was far more scary.
"Where are those two vampires?" he muttered.
"Which two?" Akemi asked.
Matt didn't answer, just gnawed on his lower lip fiercely. Toshiki rested a hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt twitched away from him, his eyes still hard as stones.
The door was opened and Angel came in.
"Have you found them?" Matt asked instantly.
Angel nodded. Spike stood behind him looking slightly fed up.
"Holed up in a factory," Angel said.
"I knew that!" Matt snarled "That stupid vampire told me! I forgot! Idiot!"
He shook his head, his fists clenching.
"We need to get going," he said.
"Now wait a minute!" Angel said "Rushing straight in is not a good idea..."
Matt looked at him.
"I need to rescue Tai," he said "My brother is dead. I can't lose my best friend as well."
"Matt, you need to consider the possibility that Tai is already dead," Angel said softly.
Matt stared at him. Then he shook his head.
"No," he said "I can't believe that. I won't. Tai isn't dead."
He swallowed.
"He isn't." He grabbed a bag and quickly began filling it with weapons. Everyone exchanged glances.
"Matt..." Toshiki began.
Matt shook his head.
"I'm going to rescue him," he said "I know that he's scared. I can feel it. He needs me."
"We'll go with you," Angel said, resting a hand on Matt's shoulder "Try to keep a cool head Matt."
"I'm cool," Matt said "I'm cold even."
"That's what scares me," Angel said "Matt..."
"Don't give me another lecture," Matt said "I'm all right. I'm prepared to do what I have to do. You and Spike can come if you like. But the others are to stay here."
"Now hang on a minute....!" Gendo began.
"Don't argue," Matt said "You're staying here."
"Yamato, you're still weak from the blood loss!" Ms Fuyutsuki said sharply "I think it unwise...."
"I'm fine. I was well enough to train," Matt said harshly "See you later."
He threw the bag onto his shoulder and walked out. Angel and Spike glanced at the others and followed.
"I'm not just sitting here!" Gendo said angrily.
"Me neither!" Davis said "We have to help!"
"Does anyone know where this factory is?" Toshiki asked.
"I do," Ms Fuyutsuki said "I mapped it as a breeding ground for vampire activity when I first arrived."
"Good. Then I have an idea..." * * * * Matt stood on tip-toes and peered through a crack in the boarded up window.
"Can you see anything?" Angel asked.
Matt shook his head.
"Listen," Angel tried again "I think we're acting fairly hastily..."
Matt ignored him. He reached into his bag and handed then stakes.
"We'll split up," he said "You go round that way. I'll go round this way. See if you can find a way in."
He moved away. Angel and Spike exchanged glances.
"This is going to be fun," Spike said dryly.
Angel glowered at him. Spike stared back.
"Up for it Angel-face?"
"As up as you are!"
Spike smirked. Angel had to admit that the remarks had sounded slightly wrong. But this wasn't the time to think about it.
"Come on," he ordered.
* * * * Matt slipped through the door, looking around. He couldn't see anybody. Gripping his stake tightly, he kept looking everywhere, keeping all his senses on alert. He could hear a faint noise somewhere. Stepping forwards, he looked around.
He could see a cage across the factory. Tai was lying hunched in a corner of it. His shirt had been removed and Matt could see marks on his chest and back.
"Tai!"
Breaking his cover, he shot over and dropped to his knees beside the cage. Tai's head snapped round. "Matt! Matt! I knew you'd come!"
He clutched at Matt's hands, his face grey. He looked exhausted and weak.
"Tai, are you okay?" Matt demanded, his eyes going to the locks on the cage.
"TK...he was...."
Tai suddenly stiffened, his eyes behind Matt. Turning, Matt looked at the crowd of vampires. On a balcony above them, he saw Darla, Drusilla and TK watching, looking amused.
"Hello brother," TK called.
Tai gulped from inside the cage. Matt loosed himself from Tai and slowly stood up, watching warily. The vampires were looking amused.
"That's the Slayer?" one of the vampires said mockingly.
"Isn't the Slayer supposed to be a girl?"
"Well, he's nearly a girl! Look at his pretty hair!"
Matt gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his stake. He spotted Spike and Angel moving in the background, staring at the minion vampires.
"If you're going to attack me," he said coolly "Get on with it. I'm not especially interested in banter."
"Aren't Slayers supposed to make witty come-backs?" someone asked "That was what I knew of the Slayers anyway."
"That was then," Matt said "This is now."
He lunged forward and jabbed his stake down. The vampire yelped, exploding into ashes. The other vampires lunged at him. Matt twisted, beginning his fight. He saw Spike lunge to join in and spotted Angel heading up onto the balcony to get the others. He ignored them all completely, focusing on the vampires he was fighting, trying to remember all the instructions that Ms Fuyutsuki had given him. Trying to suppress all his anger and stay cool.
There was an almighty bang. Everyone looked round. Gendo's van had just driven through the doors. Matt couldn't stop his mouth dropping open. Davis leaned out of the back, brandishing a crossbow.
"Hey Matt!" he yelled.
Matt saluted him. Running forwards, he jumped on the top of the van, then onto the balcony.
"Good move."
He looked at TK. TK stared back, his eyes cool. He smiled.
"I'm impressed," he added "You still look too skinny to do stuff like that. Still, according to Darla the last Slayer was a stick insect and she could still pack a right punch."
Matt bit his lip. Pushing all his feelings away he bought his fists up into a defensive stance.
"Going to fight me, brother?" TK asked quietly.
"You're not my brother," Matt said coldly "I don't know you. You're nobody."
"Is that how you're getting through this?" TK asked.
"It's the truth," Matt said.
"Is it?"
"Yes," Matt said quietly.
He sprang at TK, kicking strongly. TK responded instantly. Matt blocked out everything else in his mind and simply concentrated on defeating the creature that now inhabited his brother's body. From what felt like a great distance, he could hear shouts and yells. But it all meant nothing. He had to stop this thing that was masquerading as his brother.
He couldn't let himself think of TK.
"Come on Matt, you can hit harder than that!" TK yelled mockingly at him "You could when we were tiny anyway! Remember when we used to fight? You weren't such a weak little pansy then!"
Matt ignored him. He wouldn't waste his breath by exchanging insults with a vampire. Not this vampire.
The two of them kept fighting, ducking and weaving.
"You can't kill me!" TK snarled at him "You know you can't! I'm your brother!"
"My brother's dead!" Matt spat "My brother died a while ago now! I was at his funeral! He's DEAD!"
His voice cracked on the last word. Abruptly, TK's face softened.
"But I still wear his face," he whispered.
He abruptly stopped fighting and stood there.
"Come on Matt. Kill me," he said "Kill me if you can. I'm defenceless."
Matt slowly removed the stake he'd carved and stepped forward. TK stood there silently, smiling. His face was filled with the innocence that Matt always associated with his brother. His eyes looked....TK like.
His brother.
"Well Matt?"
Matt gripped his stake harder. He forced himself not to see the innocent young boy standing in front of him, the Keeper of Hope. Instead, he made himself remember the kiss of those lips, the teeth in his neck, the feeling of his own blood trickling away down his own brother's throat. Ken and Davis clutching each other for support after finding the first corpse. Tai huddled, whimpering in a cage, locked up like an animal.
The marks on his precious Taichi's body...
Stepping forward, Matt brought the stake down, hard, through TK's heart.
TK's expression didn't change. He gaped at Matt, his eyes still filled with innocence, but now utter confusion too. His arms reached out, as though for a hug.
"Matt?" he whispered, his voice trembling with pain and betrayal.
Then he exploded into dust.
Matt sank down onto the balcony, his legs suddenly too weak to hold him up. Still gripping the stake, he stared at his brother's ashes.
"TK..."
Angel found him up there later. Lifting Matt carefully in his arms, he carried him down to the ground floor. Matt didn't resist. He didn't ask how the battle had gone either. Scanning his friends, he could see that they were all alive, albeit bruised looking and bloodied. Davis was supporting Tai who was still looking far too pale. Matt managed a wavery smile at them.
"I'm okay," he whispered.
He knew they didn't believe him and didn't care. All he wanted to do was remain safe in Angel's arms forever. Anyone's arms would do as long as they were safe and as long as he knew he'd be protected. He couldn't fight any more. He was spent.
"Take him home," he heard Ms Fuyutsuki order "Make some excuse about his condition. He'll be all right."
Matt wasn't so sure but he didn't know what to say and didn't want to speak. Closing his eyes, he snuggled deeper into Angel's arms, wanting to sleep.
"Matt?"
It was Tai, his voice scared and timid.
"Thank you."
"S'okay," Matt mumbled before sinking in a deep unconsciousness.
* * * *
"Has he woken up yet?"
"Not since that friend of his - Angel wasn't it? - bought him back last night. I've tried but he won't."
Matt snuggled deeper into his pillows. He didn't want to wake up but he could hear his father and someone else whispering outside his door. He wanted them to go away so he could stay asleep. "Can we try anyway? We want to talk to him."
"You can try. He ought to wake up soon."
"Thanks Mr Ishida."
Footsteps. Then people sitting around him.
"Matt?"
"Matt, are you awake?"
"No," Matt muttered.
"Hey Matt."
A hand touched his shoulder.
"It's me. Tai."
"And us!"
"Sorry," Tai said "The rest of the Digidestined are here too."
"And the band!"
Istu's voice.
"We've explained everything to the Digidestined," Ken said quietly "We didn't think you'd mind any more."
"And we needed to," Davis said "They wouldn't leave us alone."
"Matt?"
Sora's voice.
"Matt, we're all really sorry," she said gently "We'd have been so much more sympathetic if we'd known."
"How could I tell you?" Matt mumbled thickly "Tai...thought I was crazy. You'd have done too."
"I'm sorry."
Tai's voice.
"Matt, I am so sorry," he whispered "You know I am."
"I know."
Matt forced his eyes open and stared up at the faces around him.
"I know," he said again, smiling when he found Tai's anxious dark eyes "I know how sorry you are Tai. It's all right now."
"Ms Fuyutsuki says you can rest for a few days...," Gendo said. "Wonders will never cease," Matt said.
"..but then you're back on a whole new far more vigorous training programme," Gendo finished.
Matt giggled faintly, then coughed.
"Want something to drink?"
"No," Matt said "Just want sleep I think."
He snuggled down deeper in bed.
"Thanks you guys...for coming....Talk more soon."
He heard them get up. The door was just opening when he thought of something that he wanted to say.
"Don't go out at night..."
"We promise."
Feeling reassured, Matt sank back into his peaceful, safe darkness.
End of Part 13.
This isn't the end! There is more to come!
Hope Vanquished
By the Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon or Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Tai opened his eyes feeling groggy, uncomfortable and very odd.
"Awake at last Sleeping Beauty?"
Tai stared at TK with some confusion. Why was TK there? And why was he on the floor? And where was he?
"TK?"
"Still half asleep," TK said, sounding disgusted "You'll work it out in a minute, then have a heart attack."
Tai blinked and rubbed his face, struggling with his sleepy brain. When he remembered everything he very nearly did have a heart attack but his pride made him force it down.
"What did that bitch do to me?" he snarled.
TK laughed. "Still as courageous as ever!" he said "She hypnotised you silly. Vampires are good at that, Drusilla especially so. You let me down actually, I had a bet with Darla that you wouldn't succumb so easily."
Tai shuddered. "What do you want with me?"
TK smiled. He leaned forward so his lips were right beside Tai's ear.
"Bait."
Tai twitched away angrily.
"Matt won't be able to resist running after you," TK said "In his...fear.....he's likely to make mistakes."
"You little creep!" Tai yelled at him "You're not TK!"
"You only just realised?" TK said scornfully "Stupid Taichi."
He reached out and stroked the side of Tai's face. Tai began to feel sick. He twitched away again and banged his head against the bars of the cage he was in.
"Don't be so afraid Taichi," TK said lightly "I'm not going to hurt you."
He frowned consideringly.
"Well....probably not anyway."
He reached out and caught Tai, pulling him close. Tai started struggling, kicking and punching. TK slapped him on the side of the head, making him see stars.
"Don't Tai," he said gently "Don't."
He pressed his face against Tai's neck, smelling him. Tai trembled.
"Don't you dare bite me!" he screamed "Don't you DARE TK!"
TK licked his neck lightly.
"Takeru, put him down," Darla ordered lazily "You're supposed to leave the bait in one piece rather than eat it."
"But he's so much fun to play with," TK pouted.
"I'm not saying you can't play with him," Darla said "Just don't eat him or permanently damage him."
Tai gulped. He tried to squirm away again. TK playfully ran his hand down Tai's body to rest it on his thigh. Tai stopped struggling, a block of ice dropping into his stomach leaving him trembling. He closed his eyes tightly and found himself praying.
'Please Matt, please find me, please find me Matt, please...'
* * * *
Matt sat, staring at the floor. He'd given up practising. Everyone else was sitting sombrely on the sofa. Even Akemi had shut up. They were waiting for Angel and Spike to return.
"What if they don't find out?" Davis asked "What if he's gone forever? What if...?" "Shut it Davis," Toshiki said quietly "Tai'll be fine."
Davis swallowed, trying to stay calm. He glanced at Matt. Matt wasn't saying anything but his face seemed to be flickering from scared to angry to bitterly miserable.
"I'm such a fool!" he snapped suddenly "I should have taken better care! I should have..."
"You're doing it again," Toshiki said quietly "Blaming yourself for things you can't control. You may have a destiny but you can't control everything."
Matt shook his head moodily but didn't argue. Toshiki got up and sat on the floor next to him. Matt remained quite stiff, his eyes glacier cold and blank. Toshiki found himself wishing the angry crying Matt was back. Seeing him so blank was far more scary.
"Where are those two vampires?" he muttered.
"Which two?" Akemi asked.
Matt didn't answer, just gnawed on his lower lip fiercely. Toshiki rested a hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt twitched away from him, his eyes still hard as stones.
The door was opened and Angel came in.
"Have you found them?" Matt asked instantly.
Angel nodded. Spike stood behind him looking slightly fed up.
"Holed up in a factory," Angel said.
"I knew that!" Matt snarled "That stupid vampire told me! I forgot! Idiot!"
He shook his head, his fists clenching.
"We need to get going," he said.
"Now wait a minute!" Angel said "Rushing straight in is not a good idea..."
Matt looked at him.
"I need to rescue Tai," he said "My brother is dead. I can't lose my best friend as well."
"Matt, you need to consider the possibility that Tai is already dead," Angel said softly.
Matt stared at him. Then he shook his head.
"No," he said "I can't believe that. I won't. Tai isn't dead."
He swallowed.
"He isn't." He grabbed a bag and quickly began filling it with weapons. Everyone exchanged glances.
"Matt..." Toshiki began.
Matt shook his head.
"I'm going to rescue him," he said "I know that he's scared. I can feel it. He needs me."
"We'll go with you," Angel said, resting a hand on Matt's shoulder "Try to keep a cool head Matt."
"I'm cool," Matt said "I'm cold even."
"That's what scares me," Angel said "Matt..."
"Don't give me another lecture," Matt said "I'm all right. I'm prepared to do what I have to do. You and Spike can come if you like. But the others are to stay here."
"Now hang on a minute....!" Gendo began.
"Don't argue," Matt said "You're staying here."
"Yamato, you're still weak from the blood loss!" Ms Fuyutsuki said sharply "I think it unwise...."
"I'm fine. I was well enough to train," Matt said harshly "See you later."
He threw the bag onto his shoulder and walked out. Angel and Spike glanced at the others and followed.
"I'm not just sitting here!" Gendo said angrily.
"Me neither!" Davis said "We have to help!"
"Does anyone know where this factory is?" Toshiki asked.
"I do," Ms Fuyutsuki said "I mapped it as a breeding ground for vampire activity when I first arrived."
"Good. Then I have an idea..." * * * * Matt stood on tip-toes and peered through a crack in the boarded up window.
"Can you see anything?" Angel asked.
Matt shook his head.
"Listen," Angel tried again "I think we're acting fairly hastily..."
Matt ignored him. He reached into his bag and handed then stakes.
"We'll split up," he said "You go round that way. I'll go round this way. See if you can find a way in."
He moved away. Angel and Spike exchanged glances.
"This is going to be fun," Spike said dryly.
Angel glowered at him. Spike stared back.
"Up for it Angel-face?"
"As up as you are!"
Spike smirked. Angel had to admit that the remarks had sounded slightly wrong. But this wasn't the time to think about it.
"Come on," he ordered.
* * * * Matt slipped through the door, looking around. He couldn't see anybody. Gripping his stake tightly, he kept looking everywhere, keeping all his senses on alert. He could hear a faint noise somewhere. Stepping forwards, he looked around.
He could see a cage across the factory. Tai was lying hunched in a corner of it. His shirt had been removed and Matt could see marks on his chest and back.
"Tai!"
Breaking his cover, he shot over and dropped to his knees beside the cage. Tai's head snapped round. "Matt! Matt! I knew you'd come!"
He clutched at Matt's hands, his face grey. He looked exhausted and weak.
"Tai, are you okay?" Matt demanded, his eyes going to the locks on the cage.
"TK...he was...."
Tai suddenly stiffened, his eyes behind Matt. Turning, Matt looked at the crowd of vampires. On a balcony above them, he saw Darla, Drusilla and TK watching, looking amused.
"Hello brother," TK called.
Tai gulped from inside the cage. Matt loosed himself from Tai and slowly stood up, watching warily. The vampires were looking amused.
"That's the Slayer?" one of the vampires said mockingly.
"Isn't the Slayer supposed to be a girl?"
"Well, he's nearly a girl! Look at his pretty hair!"
Matt gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his stake. He spotted Spike and Angel moving in the background, staring at the minion vampires.
"If you're going to attack me," he said coolly "Get on with it. I'm not especially interested in banter."
"Aren't Slayers supposed to make witty come-backs?" someone asked "That was what I knew of the Slayers anyway."
"That was then," Matt said "This is now."
He lunged forward and jabbed his stake down. The vampire yelped, exploding into ashes. The other vampires lunged at him. Matt twisted, beginning his fight. He saw Spike lunge to join in and spotted Angel heading up onto the balcony to get the others. He ignored them all completely, focusing on the vampires he was fighting, trying to remember all the instructions that Ms Fuyutsuki had given him. Trying to suppress all his anger and stay cool.
There was an almighty bang. Everyone looked round. Gendo's van had just driven through the doors. Matt couldn't stop his mouth dropping open. Davis leaned out of the back, brandishing a crossbow.
"Hey Matt!" he yelled.
Matt saluted him. Running forwards, he jumped on the top of the van, then onto the balcony.
"Good move."
He looked at TK. TK stared back, his eyes cool. He smiled.
"I'm impressed," he added "You still look too skinny to do stuff like that. Still, according to Darla the last Slayer was a stick insect and she could still pack a right punch."
Matt bit his lip. Pushing all his feelings away he bought his fists up into a defensive stance.
"Going to fight me, brother?" TK asked quietly.
"You're not my brother," Matt said coldly "I don't know you. You're nobody."
"Is that how you're getting through this?" TK asked.
"It's the truth," Matt said.
"Is it?"
"Yes," Matt said quietly.
He sprang at TK, kicking strongly. TK responded instantly. Matt blocked out everything else in his mind and simply concentrated on defeating the creature that now inhabited his brother's body. From what felt like a great distance, he could hear shouts and yells. But it all meant nothing. He had to stop this thing that was masquerading as his brother.
He couldn't let himself think of TK.
"Come on Matt, you can hit harder than that!" TK yelled mockingly at him "You could when we were tiny anyway! Remember when we used to fight? You weren't such a weak little pansy then!"
Matt ignored him. He wouldn't waste his breath by exchanging insults with a vampire. Not this vampire.
The two of them kept fighting, ducking and weaving.
"You can't kill me!" TK snarled at him "You know you can't! I'm your brother!"
"My brother's dead!" Matt spat "My brother died a while ago now! I was at his funeral! He's DEAD!"
His voice cracked on the last word. Abruptly, TK's face softened.
"But I still wear his face," he whispered.
He abruptly stopped fighting and stood there.
"Come on Matt. Kill me," he said "Kill me if you can. I'm defenceless."
Matt slowly removed the stake he'd carved and stepped forward. TK stood there silently, smiling. His face was filled with the innocence that Matt always associated with his brother. His eyes looked....TK like.
His brother.
"Well Matt?"
Matt gripped his stake harder. He forced himself not to see the innocent young boy standing in front of him, the Keeper of Hope. Instead, he made himself remember the kiss of those lips, the teeth in his neck, the feeling of his own blood trickling away down his own brother's throat. Ken and Davis clutching each other for support after finding the first corpse. Tai huddled, whimpering in a cage, locked up like an animal.
The marks on his precious Taichi's body...
Stepping forward, Matt brought the stake down, hard, through TK's heart.
TK's expression didn't change. He gaped at Matt, his eyes still filled with innocence, but now utter confusion too. His arms reached out, as though for a hug.
"Matt?" he whispered, his voice trembling with pain and betrayal.
Then he exploded into dust.
Matt sank down onto the balcony, his legs suddenly too weak to hold him up. Still gripping the stake, he stared at his brother's ashes.
"TK..."
Angel found him up there later. Lifting Matt carefully in his arms, he carried him down to the ground floor. Matt didn't resist. He didn't ask how the battle had gone either. Scanning his friends, he could see that they were all alive, albeit bruised looking and bloodied. Davis was supporting Tai who was still looking far too pale. Matt managed a wavery smile at them.
"I'm okay," he whispered.
He knew they didn't believe him and didn't care. All he wanted to do was remain safe in Angel's arms forever. Anyone's arms would do as long as they were safe and as long as he knew he'd be protected. He couldn't fight any more. He was spent.
"Take him home," he heard Ms Fuyutsuki order "Make some excuse about his condition. He'll be all right."
Matt wasn't so sure but he didn't know what to say and didn't want to speak. Closing his eyes, he snuggled deeper into Angel's arms, wanting to sleep.
"Matt?"
It was Tai, his voice scared and timid.
"Thank you."
"S'okay," Matt mumbled before sinking in a deep unconsciousness.
* * * *
"Has he woken up yet?"
"Not since that friend of his - Angel wasn't it? - bought him back last night. I've tried but he won't."
Matt snuggled deeper into his pillows. He didn't want to wake up but he could hear his father and someone else whispering outside his door. He wanted them to go away so he could stay asleep. "Can we try anyway? We want to talk to him."
"You can try. He ought to wake up soon."
"Thanks Mr Ishida."
Footsteps. Then people sitting around him.
"Matt?"
"Matt, are you awake?"
"No," Matt muttered.
"Hey Matt."
A hand touched his shoulder.
"It's me. Tai."
"And us!"
"Sorry," Tai said "The rest of the Digidestined are here too."
"And the band!"
Istu's voice.
"We've explained everything to the Digidestined," Ken said quietly "We didn't think you'd mind any more."
"And we needed to," Davis said "They wouldn't leave us alone."
"Matt?"
Sora's voice.
"Matt, we're all really sorry," she said gently "We'd have been so much more sympathetic if we'd known."
"How could I tell you?" Matt mumbled thickly "Tai...thought I was crazy. You'd have done too."
"I'm sorry."
Tai's voice.
"Matt, I am so sorry," he whispered "You know I am."
"I know."
Matt forced his eyes open and stared up at the faces around him.
"I know," he said again, smiling when he found Tai's anxious dark eyes "I know how sorry you are Tai. It's all right now."
"Ms Fuyutsuki says you can rest for a few days...," Gendo said. "Wonders will never cease," Matt said.
"..but then you're back on a whole new far more vigorous training programme," Gendo finished.
Matt giggled faintly, then coughed.
"Want something to drink?"
"No," Matt said "Just want sleep I think."
He snuggled down deeper in bed.
"Thanks you guys...for coming....Talk more soon."
He heard them get up. The door was just opening when he thought of something that he wanted to say.
"Don't go out at night..."
"We promise."
Feeling reassured, Matt sank back into his peaceful, safe darkness.
End of Part 13.
This isn't the end! There is more to come!