Author's Note: Here it is at last! The final chapter! I wouldn't have made it if it weren't from all of the support and encouragement from reviewers for me to keep going. So, I want to give a big thank you to melia2, Music Chick, and DarkJanet for reviewing and also Malalala11 for following. This means so much to me. P.S. Happy Odaiba Day everyone! Also P.S. to DarkJanet, while your story idea is interesting, I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel series.

Drowned Out

Chapter Sixteen

A bright white light was the first thing Matt saw. Squinting his eyes and looking away, he saw his younger brother sitting by his bedside with Tokomon fast asleep in the nearby chair.

"Matt!" T.K. beamed, "You're finally awake! Thank goodness!"

The blonde teen blinked sleepily, "W-where are we?"

"The hospital." T.K. replied, "Joe suggested that I'd take you here following the lockdown's lift, plus, he didn't have the right things to treat your burns."

"My…burns…?"

He looked down, surprised to see both of his palms loosely wrapped in bandages.

"Mom and Dad are here too," the Bearer of Hope continued, "and since they don't know that you got your voice back, how about we surprise them?"

Matt just stared while his brother continued. Why weren't they trying to stop Daemon's plan? Where were the other Digidestined?

"Okay but, what about the Dark Area's portal…?" Matt asked, steadily shifting to a sitting position, "I still need to close it!"

As Matt attempted to get out of bed, his younger brother stopped him.

"It's already closed, Bro," T.K. insisted, "You managed to do it!"

The older blonde looked confused.

"What?"

"You…don't remember? How could you forget?"

"You've really lost me, T.K. I don't know what you're talking about."

It was then that T.K. understood what Matt meant when saying, 'He is fine,' just before closing the portal. That was not Matt at the time and he was no longer in control. Instead, it was the vessel that was using his older brother as a medium to speak through to the Digidestined and to unleash that incredible power, in a similar vein to Kari.

"Don't worry about it, Matt," the younger blonde said, "It's over, Daemon's gone for good, the portal is sealed and you need to stay in bed and rest some more."

The Bearer of Friendship was about to object when they saw their mother enter the room, accompanied by a nurse.

"Matt! T.K.!" Nancy cried, rushing up to the hospital bed and hugging both of her sons at a time with her good arm. "You're both alright!"

T.K. smiled as he returned the hug, "We're fine, Mom. Matt just has some second-degree burns on his hands but-"

It was then that both Matt and T.K. saw their mother's injury.

"Oh, Mom! Your arm!"

"It's only a fractured shoulder," she reassured, glancing at her sling, "it will heal but I have some news regarding your father."

Both of the brothers grew tense. They knew from what Kari and Joe had told them that their father was severely wounded from LadyDevimon's attacks and they were already dreading to hear what their mother was about to say.

"Your father underwent emergency surgery for deep lacerations." Nancy stated, "He was able to pull through the procedure and the surgeons said that he should stay and recuperate so that his stitches can heal properly."

"Is Dad awake?" T.K. asked, worried, "Can we see him?"

"Mr. Ishida should be waking up soon," the nurse said, "and since you're his immediate family, you can see him."

The nurse then approached Matt's bedside and began to check his blood pressure. "You look like you've recovered well from your sudden faint and everything else is now at a normal range."

The older blonde gave a brief smile in response.

"As for those burns," she told him, "I suggest that you change the bandages regularly as well as continue to apply antibiotic ointment to prevent infection for the next few weeks. Also, try not to put a lot of pressure on your hands while they heal."

Matt nodded.

The nurse then turned to Nancy. "I believe your son is well enough to be discharged from the hospital."

"I think so too," Nancy agreed, "Matt, are you sure that you're feeling better now?"

With another nod, Matt got out of bed and stood up. He wobbled briefly but T.K. supported his older brother until the wooziness passed and Matt felt confident that he could walk on his own.

The nurse smiled. "I'll escort you to Mr. Ishida's room."

Following the nurse down a few hallways, they stopped at Room 801 where they found Hiroaki lying flat on the hospital bed, half-awake as the anesthesia was wearing off, hooked up with wires attached to various machines monitoring his vital signs.

"He's doing well so far," the nurse said as she examined the heart monitor and reviewed some notes, "But remember, he needs a lot of rest from the surgery, so your first visit has to be brief. I'll give you ten minutes."

As the three approached the bed, Hiroaki groaned a bit as his eyelids slowly flickered open. At first, he couldn't make out the blurry figures standing over him but soon his vision became clear and he recognized them right away.

"Nancy…? T.K. and…Matt?"

T.K. smiled with relief. "We're all here, Dad."

Glancing down, Hiroaki saw that his shirt was missing and his chest was wrapped in surgical tape. He attempted to sit up but the nurse quickly objected, reminding him that his stitches were still fresh and that he shouldn't move to avoid accidentally opening them. She then took some notes and left the room, leaving the former family alone with only the beeping of the heart monitor as the only source of sound.

The silence would have gone on longer until Nancy at last, spoke up.

"Hiroaki," she said, a bit shyly, "I want to thank you for protecting me when we were attacked."

"No," the older man said, shaking his head, "I should be thanking you."

Nancy frowned. "I didn't stop that monster and it's all my fault that you're in this state."

"But you did stop her from finishing me off until help arrived." Hiroaki insisted. "You saved my life."

"And I'm so glad that all of you made it through this." He added, turning his gaze towards his sons.

"That's not all, Dad," T.K. said, gesturing to his brother which confused their parents at first but it soon turned into joy when Matt addressed them both.

With tears in her eyes, Nancy walked over and wrapped her eldest son in another embrace to which Matt returned.

"My baby! My baby can speak again…"

Hiroaki smiled. "We knew that you could do it, Son."

The moment Matt and his mother pulled away, a knock on the door was heard and the nurse reentered, telling them that their ten minutes were up but they could schedule to visit Hiroaki the following day.

As their sons exited the room, Nancy was about to join them when Hiroaki called to her.

"What is it?" she asked, approaching her ex-husband's bedside once more.

He said something in a very faint voice, that Nancy had to lean in close to hear him.

"Despite everything that happened between us," he whispered, "I don't think I'll ever find another woman as courageous as you."

Her blue eyes widened as they gradually started to water again. "And neither will I."

She placed a gentle hand on his but was surprised to see him place his own hand over hers in return. They stayed like that, lingering until with great reluctance, Nancy let her hand slip out from Hiroaki's grasp and before leaving the room, she looked directly into his eyes with a brief smile before closing the door behind her.

After discussing it over, Matt agreed to stay with his mother and younger brother until their father was discharged from the hospital. Matt quickly gathered his things back at his apartment with his mother locking the door.

The next day, a coworker dropped by to pick up Nancy for work while T.K. and Matt chose to walk with Cody and Yolei to school. But as the two brothers got ready to leave, their mother stopped them.

"Hold on, Matt!" she called, "I have something for you."

Curious, Matt followed his mother back into the apartment, while T.K. and his friends waited.

Going down the hallway, the blonde teen followed behind Nancy until she stopped in the office room, with a red folder in her hand.

"Open it." she said, offering it to him.

Matt did so and the moment he saw what was inside, his blue eyes widened.

They were his unfinished songs!

The same songs that he tore up the day he found out what was causing his sudden lack of speech. Each page had been taped together carefully and looking closer at the written lyrics, Matt saw that his mother even wrote additional lyrics to some of his songs.

"Oh, Mom, I…I…"

He wrapped her in a warm embrace, which took his mother by surprise when he held her close.

"Thank you…"

"Of course, dear," Nancy answered back, "you're my son and I love you."

The final school bell rang and Matt went to the music hall to meet up with his bandmates, who had something important to tell him while Tai, Sora, and Izzy stayed behind and waited for him.

The moment Matt entered the room, Yutaka opened his mouth to address him but Matt handed him a note first.

"'Sorry I'm late,'" Yutaka read, "'but I have a surprise for all of you.'"

Takashi grew curious. "What is it, Matt? What's the surprise?"

The Bearer of Friendship smiled. "I can sing for the band again."

While Yutaka and Takashi's mouths hung open in surprise, Akira on the other hand, practically exploded with joy.

"MATT CAN TALK AGAIN! IT'S A MIRACLE!" he cried, grabbing his blonde bandmate by the shoulders and shaking him a bit too hard for his liking.

"Y-y-yes, I can!" the blonde teen stammered, "But p-please stop, let me go, Akira!"

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm just so happy for you, dude!"

Takashi rolled his eyes. "That's an understatement."

"Anyway," Yutaka began, clearing his throat, "We just wanted to tell you that we're all so sorry about what happened at the concert, Matt. We should've done something to help you."

"It's okay you guys," reassured the blonde, "besides, I know that nothing could've been done when that bucket spilled its contents on me. If I hadn't left while the lights were still out, I'd be the laughingstock of the whole school right now."

Akira agreed. "Yeah, man, it could've have been a lot worse! What if it was fake blood that was dumped on you instead of maple syrup and chicken feathers?"

The other two bandmates glared at Akira, unamused.

Akira shrunk back ashamed. "Sorry."

"Oh, and but that's not the only reason why we wanted to meet up with you," Takashi said, pulling out an envelope and handed it to Matt, "This is what we wanted to tell you about."

Taking the envelope, the blonde teen opened it and read the letter.

"It's from the talent scouts," Matt exclaimed, "and they said that even though the concert ended in disaster, they were impressed with what they saw, but they would like to see us actually perform our songs in a future show and to contact them ahead of time."

"Then we better start practicing again," said Takashi, "did you bring your guitar with you?"

The Bearer of Friendship shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't practice with you guys for a while." He said, showing them his bandaged hands.

"Dude, what happened?" Akira asked, quite shocked, "Did you accept a dare or something?"

"No," Matt lied, "I was just careless while cooking and accidentally burned myself. But once my hands are fully healed, I'll join you guys."

His bandmates all agreed and the four dispersed from the music hall to head for home.

"So, what did I miss?" Matt asked when he caught up with his friends in the school's main hallway.

"Well, Donzo transferred schools," Tai answered, "but let's just say that his bullying ways are over."

"Of course, they are," Izzy pointed out, "He's not here to bully Matt or anyone else."

Tai agreed, "That's true, but let's just say before Matt's concert was to start, a silent witness caught them all on tape while they were setting up the prank."

"You mean the surveillance camera?" Sora asked.

"That's right! And when the school Donzo was transferring to found out about it, it had completely tarnished his reputation."

"Plus, his goons are paying for it too," the Bearer of Courage added, "serves them right for what they did to you, Matt."

While Tai laughed over Donzo and his gang getting their just desserts, Izzy focused his attention onto Matt. He couldn't stop thinking about the incredible powers that he and the others witnessed that were now lying dormant within his friend and so many questions were overflowing in his mind.

Is the vessel's power just a one-time thing? The Bearer of Knowledge wondered, Or is there a chance that we might see it reawaken again in the future? Then, there's the fact that the vessel actually spoke to us through Matt, so it seems to be more than just a power boost and T.K. told us that Matt has no memory of what happened after the vessel overcame him.

Izzy began stroking his chin as he continued pondering.

Perhaps Gennai might know something about the vessel and maybe he can explain why Matt was only one chosen to house the vessel as its host, over Kari and the rest of us.

"Say, Izzy, is something wrong?"

Hearing Matt's voice broke the redhead genius from his train of thought.

"Huh? What?"

"You were looking at me quite intensely," the blonde said, examining his green jacket, "do I have something on my clothes?"

"No, you don't!" answered Izzy rather quickly, "I was just thinking about something, that's all. I didn't mean to stare at you."

"It's fine." Matt said. "Don't worry about it."

As the blonde turned away, it was then that Izzy saw Matt's eyes briefly flash a deep blue. The Bearer of Knowledge held back a gasp, seeing his friend stand still momentarily before Matt blinked and started to rub his temples.

"Are you alright, Matt?" Sora asked, "Do you have a headache?"

Matt shook his head. "I-I'm okay, I just zoned out for a second."

"So, Sora," Izzy said, quickly changing the subject, "you mentioned that a friend of yours was coming for a visit today."

The Bearer of Love beamed. "Oh, he is! And he gave me this necklace!"

She then took the accessory out from her pocket and put it around her neck to show them.

"Isn't it lovely?"

Tai was about to answer when he and the others heard the entrance doors open. Sora quickly turned around and smiled. "Oh, there he is and right on time!"

The three turned to see a tall, fair-skinned teenaged boy, dressed in a dark blue school uniform, walking towards them.

Matt immediately recognized him as the same boy who gave Sora the gift earlier and now seeing the gray-eyed teen up close for himself, the blonde could see why Sora was so excited.

Despite being trying to be happy for Sora and her new boyfriend, Matt couldn't help but feel jealous.

"Guys, this is my old friend, Hiro Shizuki." Sora said.

Hiro smiled warmly at the trio and waved.

"Hello. Sora's told me a lot about you three and I see that she's still one of the guys after all these years."

The Bearer of Love made an annoyed sound. "Oh, stop it, they're some of my best friends."

Tai and Izzy each greeted Hiro back but Matt was silent before briefly addressing Sora's friend with a curt "Hello."

"So, Hiro," Izzy began, "how do you and Sora know each other?"

Hiro grinned. "Sora and I go way back."

Sora nodded. "We were neighbors at Highton View Terrance and his mom was my mom's best friend but when we both moved, we lost contact with each other until now!"

Izzy spoke up again. "Sora mentioned to us that you like to cook."

"Oh, I do!" Hiro said proudly, "What I like to make most of all is dessert! Cookies are my specialty! But when I'm not cooking, I'm helping my soccer team score big during the matches!"

Hearing that piqued Tai's interest.

"You play soccer?" the bushy-haired teen exclaimed, "I want to see how good you are! Sora and I used to help each other out practicing for a big game before she dumped it all for tennis!"

Sora made a face. "Hey! I may play tennis now but I'm still a soccer girl at heart!"

"Then, let's put those skills to the test, shall we?" Hiro challenged, "I'll be waiting at the soccer field and I hope you haven't gotten too rusty over the years, Sora!"

Tai gave a cocky grin as he watched Sora's friend leave to wait for them outside. "We'll catch up with you in a minute!"

"You were right, Sora," Izzy said, "Hiro is a great guy."

"Uh-huh, he really is!" she responded, unaware that Matt was the only one not impressed with Hiro.

Tai agreed. "Yeah, but I've got a question regarding him, Sora."

"Oh, like what?"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Wha-? No!" she cried, quite taken aback, "Hiro's not my boyfriend!"

"Well," Tai stated, "the way you were gushing about him plus the necklace, I just assumed that you two were an item."

"It's a friendship necklace." Sora explained, "Hiro and I are just friends. Honestly, Tai, you're so quick to jump to conclusions."

Tai's not the only one. Matt thought, blushing a bit with embarrassment. But, this means I still have a chance with her!

A small smile spread across his face and his once broken heart felt whole again.

"Well, I better head on home." Izzy said, "I need to do some research."

Tai became curious. "Hm? On what?"

"Just some stuff I wanted to talk to Gennai about."

As he headed out the door, Izzy took a brief glance at Matt, eager and hoping that their digital mentor can provide him information that he was seeking.

"Well, we better not keep Hiro waiting," The Bearer of Courage said, "Come on, Sora, let's show him what we're made of!"

Sora grinned. "I plan to!"

Tai quickly dashed out of the hallway through the double doors with Sora following close behind. She was just about to exit the school when Matt called out to her.

"Sora! W-wait!"

The auburn-haired girl turned around, surprised. "Hmm?"

"There's s-something I want to tell you!"

Sora walked back over towards Matt, standing only a few inches of space between them.

"What is it?" she asked.

Matt opened his mouth to respond but his throat went dry while the color in his cheeks rapidly changed from pink to dark red.

Come on, Matt! Say something! He thought to himself, What's holding you back?! Tell her!

Finally, after calming his nerves, Matt took a deep breath and said,

"Thank you for being there and believing in me. I don't know what I could've done without the love from you, Tai and everyone else."

He waited for a response, but the Bearer of Love said nothing and just looked at him.

Matt smacked himself mentally. No! That's not what I wanted to say! I-

His thoughts were cut short when he felt Sora wrap her arms around him, resting her head against his chest.

"Anytime Matt," she said sweetly, "It's so wonderful that you can talk again. I really missed hearing your voice."

From hearing those words, the blonde's face heated up and the blush returned with a vengeance, its redness spreading all the way down his neck that Matt was practically glowing red and with Sora being so close to him, his heart was pounding so hard that it was threatening to burst free from his chest.

But Sora remained completely oblivious while she continued to hug him. Matt wanted to return the gesture, but his arms stayed stiff at his sides, preventing him from doing so.

How could you not see? Matt thought, feeling Sora tighten her hold, Maybe one day, I'll be able to tell you.

As T.K. and Matt walked home together, they were discussing about how they were going to help out their parents once their father came home from the hospital.

Upon entering the Takaishi apartment, the brothers were greeted by an excited Patamon.

"Hi T.K.! Hi Matt! Welcome back!"

"Hi Patamon!" said T.K., "How are you feeling?"

"I feel so much better after taking a really long nap!" replied the bat-winged Digimon, "I feel like a freshly hatched Digimon!"

Freshly hatched Digimon… Matt repeated in his head and it was then when a sudden realization set in.

"Gabumon's egg!" the older blonde gasped, horrified, "It's still over at Dad's apartment!"

"We can get it back," T.K. said, grabbing a key from off a nearby hook, "Here's the spare key."

With Patamon joining them, the brothers quickly made it to their father's apartment where to their relief, Gabumon's digiegg was still there in Matt's room but now, it was restored to its vibrant blue colors.

Matt was about to reach out and take it when the egg started to shake.

"I think the egg's finally gonna hatch, Bro!" T.K. said, growing excited. "Gabumon's finally coming back!"

Patamon hovered close to the older blonde, eager to witness the hatching.

With a nod, the Bearer of Friendship picked up and held digi-egg in his hands, and despite his eagerness of having Gabumon finally hatch, Matt felt a bit nervous. The egg wiggled a bit more and then a small crack appeared. Then another. And another. The cracks grew more numerous until the shell broke apart and fell to the floor.

From out of the blue egg, came a small red creature with three little nubs on his head. After glancing around the unfamiliar surroundings, he looked at Matt with curious eyes.

"G-gabumon?"

"Pu…ni?" the little Digimon squeaked.

"Hey!" T.K. cried, "I recognize that Digimon! My team encountered a village full of them when we were rebuilding the Digital World!"

"Uh-huh! That's Punimon, Gabumon's baby form." explained Patamon.

A small smile spread across Matt's face.

"Oh, Gabumon, you're back!" Matt said, his blue eyes welling up with tears. "You're back."

Patamon became confused seeing the older blonde's reaction.

"Why is Matt crying? I thought Gabumon's digi-egg hatching would make him happy."

"He is happy, Patamon," T.K. reassured, "those are tears of joy. Crying doesn't always have to mean sadness."

"Oh, okay then."

Patamon then flew back into T.K.'s arms as they watched the scene happily. T.K. felt his own eyes start to water, overjoyed that his brother was able to reunite with his Digimon partner.

Matt held Punimon close and nuzzled the tiny Digimon against his cheek. Punimon cooed in response but they quickly turned into annoyed grunts as Matt's tears started to rain down on his head. But Matt didn't mind and after enduring a long set of tragedies and trials, things were now finally looking up for him at last.

-The End.