NOTE: And this chapter will now tie in the inspired song "99 Red Balloons". X3 I know the song is supposed to be about a nuclear warfare...but while I listen to it, there was one verse of the song that stuck out to me the most and inspired the way in which I wrote this fic.

Just a quick little FYI (in case it doesn't read in the chapter): this takes place in August, but a year later. Also, the setting of this chapter is in a canyon/mountain like area.

I'd like to thank those of you who have faved and watched this story and so, in the same sense, I'd like to also give a huge thank you to all of you who have read this story from beginning to end! It's not easy reading angst, but I appreciate your willingness to read it. Thanks so much and I hope you all the best!

WARNING: BoyXBoy, angst, and character death.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tai or Matt or any other Digimon character in this story.

6. AUGUST

"Saved message:"

"Hey Matt! It's Tai. Just wanted to let you know that I got back from chemo just now. I'm pretty tired but if you still want to come over that'd be ok with me. So umm…oh yeah! I think I might have figured out what to put as the last few goals on the bucket list. It's kind of stupid, but I don't know…maybe you'll like it…Then again maybe I won't tell you. Ha ha! Kidding. Anyways, hope your concert went well and I'll see you in a bit ok? Bye…love you."

"To repeat this message: press one. To delete: press seven. To return the message sender's call: press eight. To save: press three. For more infor—"

Matt's finger automatically hit the number three button on his phone. He had kept that message saved on his phone for nearly a year now and he wasn't about to let it go. It was the last message he ever received from Tai.

It had been nearly a year since Tai's battle with cancer had finally come to an end. Despite what the doctors had told him previously, the brunette lived past his expected months and died peacefully in mid-October. The message safely guarded on Matt's phone was recorded a week before he had passed away. Even though the blonde had seen his beloved one last time before and they had spent an immense amount of time together, he still couldn't bring himself to delete the last precious memory he had of Tai.

'But maybe this will help out a little,' Matt thought to himself as he looked up into the evening sky. 'It's almost been a year…and he did tell me he wanted me to be happy…but how can I when he's not here?' Feeling the familiar sting coming from his eyes, Matt pulled out a slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes he kept in his pocket. Lighting one of the small cigarettes, he tried to justify his actions with the fact that it was the only way he could stop himself from losing control of his emotion. It was foolish and he didn't like the taste or feel of the stuff anyways. He knew Tai would have hated it too…but Tai wasn't here…

Matt turned his head towards the sound of a familiar truck rolling to a stop besides him. A beat up, red 1997 Nissan's ignition was cut off before two young teenagers hopped out of the truck. He smiled at his younger brother and the younger sister that had accompanied him.

"Hey Matt," Kari greeted happily. "Sorry we kept you waiting for so long."

"It's not a problem," the blonde shrugged and tapped the ashes off of the cigarette. "It's kind of hard to find this place anyways." Matt told the two younger teens to meet him at a place called "Chaucer's Cliff." The elder blonde walked over to a fence that blocked a deep plunging cliff and the area where visitors could park their cars. From there, he could see the city below him and still feel like they were in solitude. The mountain like area was an ideal spot for what Matt had in mind.

"The rental place was kind of suspicious to why we would need so many helium tanks," T.K. grunted as he started unloading the tanks. He gave his brother a suspicious look. "I'm kind of suspicious too you know."

"Don't sweat it," the older blonde grinned and offered to help his brother. "You'll figure it out soon enough." Before Matt was able to take one of the tanks from T.K., the younger boy moved it away and stared at Matt carefully. "What?"

"You wanna snuff that out before you heavy lift?" T.K. frowned. "I don't want you having another bad coughing fit."

"That was just once T.K.," Matt grumbled and took the tank from him anyways. "I haven't had anything like that happen since then." Kari watched as the two brothers finished unloading the helium from the back of the truck.

"How has your smoking been Matt?" Kari asked. Matt looked over at the young brunette girl. She wasn't judging the blonde or condemning him. She was genuinely concerned. The blonde looked down at the lighted cigarette in his fingers.

"I've been cutting down," Matt shrugged. "Used to smoke a pack every day, but now I've gone down to just two sticks a day."

"Wow, that's incredible progress," Kari smiled.

"Yeah, guess you finally remembered that smoking kills people through cancer," T.K. mumbled. Matt shot a slight glare at his younger brother and then shrugged once again. Once they finally unloaded the last tank, they rolled them over next to the silver 2007 Suzuki Reno. "So Matt, care to fill us in to why exactly you needed us to rent this stuff?" Matt pulled out a bag of red balloons he had bought earlier at a toy shop.

"Did you bring the envelope Kari?" the elder blonde asked, ignoring his brother's question. Kari nodded and pulled out a small envelope which she handed to the blonde. After nearly a year of avoiding it, Matt was returned one of the items Tai had left him. Hesitantly, he tore open the seal and removed the contents that were inside. As expected, it was all there. What Matt wasn't expecting was a small piece of paper that held one last note from Tai:

May our memories never die.

"Matt?" T.K. spoke up. The elder blonde looked at the two younger teens carefully, then looked back down at the small note.

"Almost a year and a half ago," Matt started. "Tai was diagnosed with leukemia and was given six months to live. Not wanting to waste the little time he had, he created a list of one-hundred items he wanted done before he was no longer around. So together, we went through the whole list and completed each one before time ran out." Matt flashed the envelope to the younger ones. "That is what's inside of this envelope."

"Why did he leave it to you?" T.K. asked.

"I thought it was some sort of sick joke he had planned for me," Matt drew the last puff of smoke from his cigarette before tossing it on the ground and stomping on it. "But I'm not so sure now." The elder blonde looked at the package of red balloons. "Somehow…I think this is going to help me understand."

Matt tore the package of red balloons open and laid out the deflated ones neatly on the trunk of his car. He then handed the list over to Kari and smiled.

"Start reading them out loud, but not so fast, ok?" Matt told the younger girl. Kari nodded and took the list from him. Matt picked up one deflated balloon and waited for her to start reading.

"One: Go back and experience the 80's," Kari read off slowly. The memory of the 80's party Matt had been dragged to replayed in his mind as he inflated the balloon, tied it, and then released it into the sky.

"That was the first thing we did together on the list," Matt told the other two. He picked up a new balloon and looked up at Kari. "Next?"

"Two: Win the high school soccer championship," Kari continued. She looked up from the list and smiled at Matt. "I remember the look on his face when they won. It was priceless." Matt nodded as he released the newly inflated balloon into the sky. "Three: Learn how to dance."

"I remember seeing you two at the gym one time," T.K grinned at his older brother. "You guys were in the dance studio and Tai was kicking your trash when it came to dance moves."

"He can move, I can sing," Matt glared playfully at his brother before releasing the new balloon.

"Four: Have my first kiss," Kari slightly giggled. Matt smiled at the bitter sweet moment the two shared in June. Though the outcome afterward had been a crazy roller coaster of emotion, Matt was glad that it happened. He was happy to be Tai's first kiss, and he was glad that Tai was the first boy he ever kissed.

"So you don't forget," Matt whispered to the red orb in his hands. He gently kissed the balloon and then allowed it to follow the previous ones before it.

As T.K. and Kari switched off reading precious memories that were contained on the list, Matt continued inflating and releasing the red balloons into the sky. By the time they reached the forties in the list, they started to notice a few by passers who had gathered around. While T.K. did most of the explaining to the new comers, to why there were red balloons floating up into the sky, Kari and Matt continued on their process. Each time Matt looked towards the crowd, he could have sworn that there were at least two new people gathered around.

"There are only five goals left off to read Matt," Kari informed the elder blonde after a long while. Matt looked up at the girl and then towards the group that had gathered. It was a small group, but they were all still fascinated with the red balloons that were floating up into the air. Children were sitting on top of their parent's shoulders and adults were murmuring excitedly to one another about how marvelous this idea was. Among the crowd, Matt saw the familiar faces of their friends, a few players from Tai's old soccer team, and Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya. Matt smiled shyly at the sudden audience that had grown from a simple idea he had before turning to the brunette girl.

"What are they Kari?" the blonde asked, ready with the next balloon.

"Ninety-Six: Learn to shoot a rifle," she read out in a bit of astonishment. "I didn't know you guys went and did that!"

"Scariest afternoon of my life," Matt chuckled, remembering the crazy instructor they had been settled with. The old grumpy man made both of them so nervous that they both accidentally shot at the man's Jeep. Tai led the retreat back to his old pick-up when the instructor came chasing after them with a stick. As the blonde released the balloon, he quietly mimicked the sound of a rifle being shot.

"Ninety-Seven: Sleep under the stars," T.K. read to his brother. He stayed quiet for a moment then looked up suspiciously at Matt. "There's two smiley faces next to this one Matt."

"…It was a fun night," Matt grinned at his younger brother, not bothering to give much detail as he sent the next balloon into the air. "Next?"

"Ninety-Eight:" Kari took control of the list once again. "Watch The Godfather."

"We both fell asleep through that the first time we tried watching it," Matt told the two younger ones, and slightly informed the crowd as well. "But after the second or third time we got through the whole thing."

'That's when he started to get tired more often,' Matt added to himself as he let the next balloon out of his hands. 'He couldn't help falling asleep. He'd just lay his head on my shoulder and in a matter of seconds, he would be asleep.' He smiled at the memory of having Tai resting against him.

"Ninety-Nine:" T.K. interrupted the older blonde's thoughts. "Learn to play one song on the guitar."

"That's what you two were doing the last few weeks he was here, wasn't it?" Kari asked the blonde. Matt nodded sadly before Tai's voice echoed in his head. That was the reason why the brunette had left the message in the first place, to see if Matt would come over and teach him how to play a song on the guitar.

"I taught him how to play 'Collide,'" Matt muttered as he tied up the balloon. "He wanted to learn how to play 'Heat of the Moment' but it was really complex and I had no idea how to play it myself." The strum of the familiar chords echoed in Matt's head as he watched the balloon fly up into the sky. Even though Matt could no longer listen to the original song, he still faintly remembered the way Tai played the guitar as he sang the words to it.

Matt paused for a moment and looked up at the sky. 99 red balloons could be seen soaring up into the air. While some were barely in view, others were still dancing along with the wind and slowly making their way into the atmosphere. With each red balloon that floated in the sky, a precious memory of Tai flew with it. In some way, Matt felt like he was sending some of his memories back to Tai.

"That was ninety-nine," Matt said. "So what's the last goal on the list?" He turned his attention from the sky back to his younger brother and Tai's younger sister. Kari and T.K. stared down at the list and said nothing for a long while. Kari finally looked up at Matt, and smiled slightly. The water starting to form in her eyes concerned Matt and he tilted his head slightly to one side.

"I think you should read this one," T.K. muttered, handing the list over to it's now rightful owner. Matt took the list and his eyes immediately went to the final goal.

100. Survive…so that I can be with Matt.

A lump formed at the top of the blonde's throat when he read the last goal Tai had. It was a goal that the brunette hadn't filled out until the day before he passed away. Matt looked up at T.K. and Kari, who both smiled sadly at him. He didn't smile back however. He simply folded the list back up and placed it back in the envelope. After placing the list back inside his car, he took the last red balloon and filled it up with helium. He carefully carried the last balloon towards the edge of the cliff and stared down at it.

Some would have thought that Matt shouldn't release the final balloon since Tai didn't survive the cancer and passed away. But he did survive. Tai was no longer here physically, but the memories that the two boys shared were still alive in the blonde's memory. He'd never let them die. Not a single one.

Now Matt understood why Tai had left the list with him and written that last note to him.

"You did survive Tai," Matt whispered to the balloon. He placed it over his heart and then gently kissed it. "You survived…"

Slowly, he released the last balloon into the air. The polite applauds coming from the small crowd behind him sounded distant as thousands of memories of the bushy haired, 80's loving brunette rushed into Matt's head. The blonde knew that as soon as that last balloon would disappear into the sky, the absence of Tai would hit him harder than ever.

Matt's eyes started to sting from the tears that he had held in for so long. His fingers made their way into his pocket to retrieve his last cigarette and lighter. Before he placed it in his mouth however, a gentle hand touched his shoulder. Matt glanced over and saw that the hand belonged to his younger brother. T.K. smiled, trying to offer some comfort to his hurt older brother. To the other side of Matt, he felt someone give him a gentle hug.

"Thank you for making my brother happy," Kari murmured to the older blonde. "It means a lot to me and my parents…and even more to him." Kari smiled up the taller blonde. Matt stared at Kari for a moment then looked down at the cigarette he held in his hand.

"I should be the one thanking him," Matt mumbled. Letting out a deep sigh, he dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it underneath his shoe. Kari gave Matt another hug as T.K. gave his brother a caring rub on his shoulder. Matt kept his focus on the last red balloon. Only once it disappeared in the dark blue sky did he allow the tears he kept bottled up for a year to fall freely down his face.

END

"99 dreams I have had

In everyone a red balloon.

It's all over and I'm standing pretty

In this dust that was a city.

If I could find a souvenir

Just to prove the world was here

And here is a red balloon

I think of you and let it go..."

-"99 Red Balloons", Nena

A/N: My heart goes out to all of those who know somebody with cancer or who have lost somebody to cancer...

Well, on a slightly lighter note, I'm going to be posting a poll in which I will ask you, the readers, what sort of story you'd like to see next from me. I have an idea of what I am wanting to work on next but I'd like to see what you guys would be interested in reading too (And don't worry, the idea I have is no where near as angsty as this story (this story was almost too depressing for me to even handle X3 )). So pop by and let me know if you so desire...but before that, I'd like to know what you thought of this chapter. Yeah I know, Tai is dead and it's super sad, but I'd also be interested to see what your thoughts about this story over all has been. I know that it's made me think a lot while I wrote it...maybe it did the same for you?

Well, anyways...thank you once again for reading this story! Until next time...Love often, play hard and seize the day!

-PW