~*Project: Moment*~
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 14- Through the Fire*~
"One more question," Joe said as Izzy closed the window where he'd been proudly showing them the finished program. "We need someone who can disarm that bomb? Know anyone?"
"I know plenty who *could*, maybe," Izzy said hesitantly, "but I'm guessing you want someone who can do it, no slips, first time?"
"We're not aiming to be incinerated right there in the operating room," Dr. Haiser said dryly, "so yes, we would like someone who fits that description."
Izzy looked oddly unsure. "Well...I do know someone who fits it like a glove," he said slowly. "But I'm not sure if she's up to it just now."
"She?" Joe asked, blinking at him.
"Yeah..." Izzy paused, and then stood up. "I'd better go find her on my own...this could be messy."
"You want her to do *what*?!"
"You want me to do *WHAT*?!"
Izzy swallowed, looking at the two faces staring back at him.
"Look, Yukiko, Davis, I know it sounds a little odd..."
"A little odd?" Davis said, staring even more disbelievingly at his friend. "Izzy, that's insane! A bomb with that kind of power? What do you want her to do, hit the off button? I don't know much about bombs, but that doesn't-"
"Davis," Yuki said quietly, resting her hand on his shoulder. In the short time they'd known each other, they'd become inseparable, and Davis had grown fiercely protective of her. Now, he froze, blinking at her.
"Yuki...?"
"Let me handle this," she said gently, and stepped around him to face Izzy. "What kind of bomb is it?"
"We're not sure," Izzy said, "but we've got some pretty thorough scans of it from Sora's examination last night. They're right here," he added, handing her a folder of magnified X-rays. She pulled it open, turning first one and then another in front of the bulb of a nearby table lamp whose shade she quickly pulled off. Her blue eyes narrowed with a sharp, professional look.
"Hmm...from the configuration, probably a small antimatter charge. Very powerful; potentially very, very messy." She looked up. "So what am I supposed to do about it?"
By now, Davis was looking from Yuki to Izzy and back to Yuki again with an almost amusing look of utter confusion and disbelief on his face.
"Well, as I've already said, we need you to disarm it," Izzy said calmly. Yuki crossed her arms.
"Izumi, I retired from doing bombs over a year ago."
"But you were far and away the best in Strike Team while you were still active," Izzy responded.
"I quit that kind of work when I got these, if you'll kindly remember," Yuki said, gesturing to her face with her scarred hand in a short, brusque motion. "I don't want to be around explosives of any kind."
"But you are around them," Izzy said firmly. "No matter what you do, you're trapped in the blast range of an explosive that is, in your own words, 'potentially very, very messy'. What are you going to do about that? Sit here and hide under the table when the clock hits zero? You have the steadiest hands in Strike Team. The best nerves, too, and most importantly, you have the know-how. But whatever you say, you'd better decide fast. We don't have much time here, in case you didn't notice."
Yuki hesitated, biting her lip. Behind her, Davis' jaw had practically hit the floor.
"You did bombs?" he whispered, staring at the girl as though she had sprouted a third ear. He'd realized that she was tougher than she looked, but...bombs?!
The sound of his voice seemed to decide Yuki. She set her chin determinedly.
"No. I *do* bombs." She extended her hand to Izzy, who shook it, grinning widely.
"Welcome back, Yukiko," he said warmly.
"Don't welcome me until we find out if I've still got it," Yuki said dryly. "So where's this disarming going to happen?"
"I'll show you in a minute. Davis? You coming?"
Davis relocated his jaw with a snap and nodded. "Uh, sure."
"Just let me go dust off my tools," Yuki said, and went into her room...
"Well, folks, this is it."
Joe looked solemnly around the circle of his companions. Dr. Haiser, Missy, Izzy, Spence, and Yuki (with a stubborn Davis in tow) all stood in a circle around the surgical table they had specially prepared for this unorthodox operation. Above them hung a silver half-globe, a good six feet across at the open, down-facing end. A large rectangular casing at the top held circuitry and programming chips, as well as helped attach it to the ceiling.
"All we have to do now is test it," Dr. Haiser said, reaching for the small scalpel resting on the table. Joe held up a hand.
"Hang on," he said, and Dr. Haiser froze, staring at him.
"Kido?" he said, confused.
"I'll do it," Joe said firmly. As his fellow doctor opened his mouth to argue, Joe cut him off. "James, she's my friend. And I'm the head of this ward. I should test this thing."
Dr. Haiser stared at him for a long moment, weighing his options.
"Time's a-wasting, Doc," Missy said, nudging him.
That seemed to make up his mind. He put the scalpel in Joe's outstretched hand with a brief grin that made his features even more fox-like, his black eyes bright.
"As long as you think you can handle the sight of blood," he said. The others grinned and nodded agreement with the choice before heading to their stations.
Joe sighed. "I've seen too much of it already in the last two days," he said sadly. "What's a little more?" Above him, the lights of the machine lit up as it hummed into life. Spots of silver light appeared on the table where the beams focused. Joe paused, looking over the scalpel, then nodded to Izzy. "Is it locked on to me?"
Izzy looked up from his readout panels. "Locked and ready," he confirmed.
"Then here goes nothing," Joe said, and slashed the scalpel quickly across his left palm, holding it over the table with his fingers outstretched. He gritted his teeth, letting out a little hiss of pain as blood began to well up from the long, shallow cut...
And then, every one of the silver spots of light veered over to focus on his hand. There was a soft buzzing sound from the machine, and the trickling blood slowed...then stopped. Then, impossibly, yet undeniably, the cut began to close. From the very bottom it knitted together, closing to become a thin pink welt, then a faint whitish line...and then nothing but smooth, untouched skin.
The machine switched off, at the touch of Spence's shaking fingers. There was silence in the surgery...
And then, Yuki let out a whoop of joy. Suddenly, everyone was smiling, shouting, whacking each other on the backs, bellowing congratulations. Izzy and Spence exchanged high fives; Joe and Dr. Haiser delightedly shook hands, grinning like Cheshire cats, before Missy danced in between them and gave them both enthusiastic hugs that nearly squeezed the breath out of them, her broken hand utterly forgotten; Davis caught Yuki around the waist and spun her in a giddy circle, both of them laughing with happiness and relief.
The next-to-last test had been passed; now the last phase could begin.
Tai was sprawled in an armchair in the side room of the ward when Missy wheeled Sora out of the changing room on the surgical bed that would carry her through the whole ordeal, dressed once again in white leggings and shirt. She was a bit pale, but her chin was set stubbornly, and the old fire burned in her eyes. Tai smiled, looking at her. Missy looked from him to Sora and quietly left the room.
"What?" Sora said, smiling a little in return as Tai came over to the edge of the bed. "What's funny?"
"Nothing," he murmured. He took a deep breath, and sighed. "So."
"So," Sora echoed, propping herself on her elbows with a sigh of her own. "Here we are."
"Yeah," Tai said, examining his sleeve.
There was a long pause. When they did speak, it was at the same time, a pair of sudden, jumbled blurtings.
"If I don't-"
"Sora, I think-"
They stopped, laughing weakly, and Tai gestured to Sora.
"Ladies first," he said, with a shadow of his old lopsided smile.
She blushed. "I...well, I was just saying that, um, if I don't come back all right from this..."
"But you will," Tai interrupted.
"I know," Sora agreed. "But if, by some freak accident or something, I didn't... Well, I wanted to tell you that...that it was worth it. To see you again, I mean."
Tai nodded. "Thanks... And I was thinking, well, my neighbor's been talking about moving someplace closer to where he works, in programming, so if you ever..." He trailed off, waiting. Sora sighed, her head and heart aching.
"Tai, please don't."
"But I just-" he began, looking hurt. Sora stopped him with a finger across his lips.
"I know. But Tai...that's too far ahead. This moment is all I'll got to call my own right now, and I can't think about the future until I know I have one. I can't take it. So, please, wait until I have more than this little bit of right-now to work with...and then, ask me again." Her eyes held his. "Maybe you'll get an answer you'll like."
He nodded again, sighing. That was as much of an answer as he was going to get just then, and he knew it. But he was willing to wait. He'd waited more than twenty years already...
"All right," he said, and reached over to take her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hang on tight to that moment of yours, okay? I'd kinda miss you if you didn't." He smiled. "We all would."
"I will," Sora said, sitting up to kiss him tenderly. When they parted, there was a long moment of poignant silence...
Sora broke the tension by reaching up to affectionately muss Tai's hair. He yelped and grinned. "Hey!"
"Don't worry about me, Taichi," she said with an impish half-smile. "I'll be fine."
"We're ready to get started."
The voice was Joe's, coming from behind the surgery door. Tai's throat caught with a nervous lump, as Missy appeared in the doorway, dressed in surgical scrubs and looking a lot like Sora did: anxious yet determined.
"All set?" she asked. Sora nodded.
"Raring to go," she responded, lying back down on the surgical bed. Tai gave her hand a squeeze.
"I'm not allowed in the surgery," he said with a touch of both amusement and worry in his voice. "Joe's afraid I'll get jittery and screw something up somehow. But I'll do my best to be the first face you see when you wake up, okay?"
"Okay," Sora said softly, and Tai felt a tug at his heart. Suddenly she looked so fragile...
*But she isn't,* he reminded himself. *She's strong, or she wouldn't have gotten this far. And I need to step back and let her do her thing.*
"See you in an hour or two," he said, reluctantly letting go of her hand as Missy began to push the bed into the room. Someone...it looked like one of Izzy's techs, a fellow he'd seen a few times but hadn't caught the name of...held the door open. Standing forlornly in the waiting room, Tai followed Sora with his eyes, and her gaze didn't leave his until the door closed behind her.
Tai thought he heard her call, 'See you,' in answer, just as the door shut, but he couldn't be sure.
* 'In an hour or two',* he echoed his own words in his mind. *God, I hope I'm right...*
"So how's this going to work?" Sora asked, trying to mask her nervousness with questions as Missy carefully centered the table-bed under the domelike machine, then snapped the brakes into place against its wheels, settling it firmly in its spot.
Izzy came over, his face hidden behind a surgical mask. His familiar dark eyes were the same as ever, though, and this relaxed Sora a little. She knew she was in good hands.
"Well, we've already established that we can't get the bomb *out* of you without major and extremely negative physical repercussions," he said with a sigh. "Not with our present technology, at least."
Spence spoke up from his place at the control panel. "In a few weeks, we should have this baby amped up enough to get that thing out of you and get rid of it for good," he said, jerking a thumb at the machine hanging from the ceiling.
"Here's hoping we live that long," Yuki chimed in from where she was scrubbing up near the door.
"So we're going to go in and try to disarm it inside you," Izzy continued. "With Yukiko's expert help, of course."
Yuki snapped him a salute and a grin.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Sora said quietly.
"Is anything *not* dangerous anymore?" Joe said, coming in all dressed for work. "Anything *we're* related to, that is."
"Good point," Sora said with a grin. "So, it's dangerous, but no more than anything else we've thought of, and a lot less so than most of it?"
"That's about the size of it," Izzy agreed. Missy piped up from near Sora's head.
"Yeah, we get to the little bugger, Yukiko gets rid of its teeth, and our super-gizmo here keeps you from hemorrhaging to death while she does it."
"Thank you, Misube, for that expert analysis," Joe said dryly. "Well, Sora, now that you've had your daily dose of happiness from my cousin, I think we'd better get started. If you're all ready to go?"
"Ready," the team chorused. Sora glanced around. Joe, Missy, Yuki, Izzy, and his most trusted tech...she was in good hands, and she knew it. With a small sigh, she leaned back and rested her head on the small hospital pillow as Joe came over with the anesthesia mask that would keep her under for the duration of the disarming.
"Okay, Doc," Sora said, smiling lopsidedly. "Let's get this thing declawed."
~~~
The soft darkness lasted for hours or minutes, she couldn't be sure. She floated, calm and only vaguely thinking. Blessed silence and lack of feeling...she half wished she could stay this way forever. But eventually, gradually, she drifted into normal sleep.
And the darkness faded into colors, as the familiar dream began.
"I have to talk to you..."
Sora looked up. It was Tai, standing in the doorway of her rented house. Smiling, she dusted flour from her hands onto her apron-she'd been making bread when he'd arrived-and dashed to the door.
"Tai," she cried cheerfully, about to hug him hello...but the look on his face stopped her, and she halted in front of him, twisting the hem of her apron in her hands nervously. "Tai?" she whispered, her voice was hesitant, uncertain...
He held up an envelope. "Remember these?"
Sora blinked at it, and then her face darkened. "Those? Oh, don't tell me you're all torn up over that again. Those guys are nutcases, Tai. You know that."
"No," he murmured, looking down at her with solemn, worried brown eyes. "I don't know that..."
She frowned at him. "What? Tai, what's wrong with you?"
"They telephoned me," he said, not quite meeting her gaze now. "They told me...never mind what they told me. Sora, this is serious. Deadly serious."
"But..." Sora whispered, afraid of the weight his eyes already carried. "Tai, you can't be planning to..."
"We all are," he said evenly. "Joe, Izzy, Davis, TK, and Kari. They called me this morning, and we got together and made our decision."
"But...Tai..." Sora cried, disoriented, unsure of what to do. She'd spent the whole morning in a delighted dream, on an emotional high from their kiss the night before. When she'd woken up that morning, the world had seemed perfect...and now it was crashing down around her ears.
"I'm leaving tonight," Tai said, and the words hit Sora like a sledgehammer. She reeled, as Tai kept on talking, unaware of the effect he was having on her, or maybe not even caring... "I wanted to come by and ask you to change your mind about the Project...to come with me..."
"No!" Sora wailed, darting forward to bury her face in his shoulder, clutching his shirt. "You can't go, you can't leave...!"
Tai held her, rocking her gently. "You can come with me," he murmured in her ear. "We don't have to be separated. Come with me, Sora."
She pushed away then, her eyes suddenly cold. "You want me to...come with you? To just pull up stakes and leave, just like that? Maybe that's your style, Tai, but it's not mine."
"Sora, I'm not asking a lot-" Tai began, but Sora interrupted, staring at him.
"Not asking a lot? Tai, you're asking for everything!" She didn't understand him! To leave, maybe for years, or forever...and to expect her to just go along with him, like it was no big deal?! "How can you stand there and...command me to come? Did you think I would just nod and go with you, like some kind of...of pliant zombie?! I can't leave my entire life behind because you want to run off and play hero again!"
"Sora-"
"Tai, don't do this! They don't need you there!"
"They need us more than anyone!" Tai exploded, losing his patience. He caught her by the shoulders, giving her a little shake. "You don't understand that, do you? If you'd heard half the things I heard...people are dying out there, Sora, and I can't sit here and let that happenin! I have to do something about it!"
Sora's eyes were angry and hurt. "And how do you know they're dying?" she snapped back. "Did your friends on the telephone tell you? How come it's not on the news?"
"If it got out to the public, there would be panic in the streets!" Tai shot back. "You've got to understand this, Sora-"
"All I understand is that you're jumping on some lame excuse to run off and leave me stranded so you can go on some dumbass *mission* and get killed!"
"Sora, I can't back out of my responsibilities! I can't fail these people!"
"And since when is Taichi spelled G-O-D?" Sora snapped. "Ever since we've been kids you've been like this! You see conflict and you throw yourself into it without stopping to think!"
"My duty-" he started to say, but the holier-than-thou tone of his voice was too much.
Sora's voice was harsh, raw with loss and anger. "Duty my ass! I think you just can't stand to sit by while other people have 'fun' adventuring!" He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away from him, whirling on him in fury. "Well, fine! I could care less how you waste your life! If your so-called duty is all you care about, go die for their goddamn stupid cause! Just don't expect to ever see me again!"
Tai fell silent, staring at her, their faces so close they nearly touched, in a cruel parody of their kiss the night before. Then he pushed her away from him, not hard, but firmly, with a cold strength. She stumbled, looking up at him with eyes full of sudden remorse as she realized what she'd said, realized she'd lost control...
"Fine."
Sora felt like she was choking on her own words. "Oh, my god...Tai, I...I-I'm sorry..."
"Don't be." His voice was so cold... It was like a knife, sharp and cruel. Tai had been pushed past the point of no return. "I'll go. And I don't need your permission to do it. I'll go alone...and happily so. Screw you, anyway."
He turned, and walked out the door.
"Tai!" Sora cried, taking a running step forward... "Tai, I'm sor-" The door slammed in her face.
She let out the tears then, and slid down to huddle against the doorframe, sobbing hopelessly...
But the dream was kind enough to end there, and she was back in the darkness again. The fight had been the last time they'd spoken in three years, until they'd come back together here at the HQ. Looking back, she saw the grief in Tai's eyes that she'd been too angered and betrayed to see at the time...and recognized the sadness and frustration and fear that had driven them to those cruel words against each other. If only...
*If only I'd kept a hold of my temper, or he'd kept a hold of his. If only we weren't both so stubborn. If only we hadn't had that talk before, when the letters first came, and ended it on a sour note then as well. If only we'd made better decisions...
*But then, where did our decisions take us? This is as low as we can get, just waiting to live or to die...but somehow it's worth it to be together again, at peace again. Tai saved lives while he was here, and changed in a lot of positive ways; he finally grew up. I got to spend another three years with my mother, learning from my mistakes..not to mention getting to see the beginnings of what will undoubtedly be the cutest baby ever born. We're both older, wiser, and ready to start over.
*So maybe we didn't screw up so badly, after all. Hasn't the best steel been passed through the fire? We sure went through hell together...but now we're stronger than ever, our relationship better than ever. Two decades of friendship came through for us, even after the worst of fights. It even managed to turn into something...more.
*If only I can pull through...then things may just work out after all.
*And you know what? It's about time.*
~~~
When Tai got back to his apartment, it seemed strangely empty. He sighed, almost smiling at himself. *She's only been back for a few days...and yet it seems like she's been around forever. It's crazy...
*But then, sanity was never a major part of my life to begin with.*
He did smile then, and it made him feel somehow better. Taking a deep breath, he went over to the kitchen and began to fix himself some lunch: a TV dinner. It wasn't Kari's cooking, that was for sure, but he needed to eat, and it was better than nothing.
"Of course, 'need' and 'want' are two very different things," he murmured as he sat at the table watching his meal slowly rotate in the microwave. Whether it was his worry over Sora or the dinner itself, which was starting to bubble unattractively, he didn't feel much like eating at all. The microwave timer went off, and he stood and took the tray out, setting it on the table. He looked at it for a long moment. Then he sighed again, and went to rummage through a drawer for a fork and a napkin.
There weren't any napkins. Eager to stall lunchtime, Tai headed toward the hallway, planning to grab one out of the dryer. He was halfway across the living room when something crinkled under his foot. Hesitating, he looked down.
A crumpled piece of paper lay on the floor. He didn't need to be told what it was. Slowly, he reached down and picked it up, smoothing it out to finish reading it as he sat down on the edge of the Hide-a-Bed.
Dear Tai-
I can't put into words how hard this is...it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I know you don't deserve to have this happen to you, but I can't stay here...
Life hasn't been kind to us, has it? We never seem to get it together in the right place at the right time. You don't know how much I want to stay with you, Tai--if it were just you and me, I would settle down here in a heartbeat. I want you to know that.
But it isn't just you and me, is it? You have the strongest pull on my heart, but there are a thousand other little strings tugging at me, too. My mother, who needs me like I once needed her as she gets older. Mimi and Matt, and the baby they're going to give so much love to...how can I not be there to help?
And then there's the fear. It blots out almost everything. This place is hard, Tai, and it's cold. You're so strong to stay here; you and everyone else at the Project. You make your own warmth, but I don't know if I can be as strong as you.
If I stay here, I can't turn back...and what if I freeze in this dangerous cold? I can't expect you to be there for me, no matter what. That's not fair to you. You shouldn't have to take care of me. You never asked to have me dumped into your hands; I can't live off your good graces forever.
So I guess there's only one decision left to make, isn't there? It kills me to do this, Tai...it's killing me right now, as I write this, but it's the only way. You have to see that. I hope you won't forget me, and that maybe when this is over... No. That's not fair to you, either. You've waited a long time, and I shouldn't ask you to wait any longer.
Forget me, Tai. Forget me and go on with life, and be happy. I was the one who was too afraid to stick it out, the one who ran away.
I don't deserve you.
But I'll never forget you...and I'll love you for the rest of my life.
-Sora
As he finished the note, Tai's hands were trembling. He went back, read it again, more slowly, then carefully folded it and tucked it into his pocket. The words of the note continued to circle in his mind.
'If it were just you and me.....I don't know if I can be as strong as you.....I can't turn back.....I don't deserve you.....I'll never forget you......
'I'll love you for the rest of my life.'
*Did she mean it?*
The thought was sudden, and charged with a strange, powerful excitement. *She'll love me forever...did she mean it?!* The words of the letter were from a day and yet a millennia ago; since they were written, both Tai and Sora had been through the worst day, the worst stress and pain and fear, of their respective lives... But Sora had made it through.
She *was* strong.
And now she knew it.
Somehow, that changed everything.
Humming with that newfound, powerful energy, Tai pulled the note back out of his pocket and unfolded it quickly, reading it over with an intense gaze as an idea formed in his mind. It was crazy, it was impossible, and it was probably the most impulsive thing he'd ever done in a life of impulsiveness...but it just might come out right.
And if it did, it meant that Sora's plan *wasn't* the only way...and with a touch of luck, they might just get their own little bit of happily-ever-after, after all.
Jumping up, Tai left the unwanted dinner to go cold in the kitchen, and went to talk to Kari.
When Sora awoke, her head was aching slightly, and her back more than slightly...but she was alive. She lay there for a minute, eyes closed, just savoring the feeling of her own body going through its normal paces. Her breathing went in and out, her mind wandered, her heart beat steadily...
A hand touched her arm, and her heartbeat sped up a notch. She opened her eyes.
"Tai?" she whispered, as his face came into focus above her. He smiled.
"Good morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?"
"You kept your promise," Sora murmured, somehow touched. Tai nodded.
"Yup." He paused, looking her over. "You look good... Does your back hurt? Do you want anything to eat?"
Sora smiled. He looked so concerned, it was almost funny...and very endearing.
"I'm fine, Tai," she assured him. "Just a little sore...how long have I been out?"
"A couple hours," Tai said, checking his watch.
"A couple hours?!" Sora echoed, quite shocked, as she tried to sit up. "What time is it? Why did Joe put me down for that long?"
"Easy, easy," Tai soothed her, trying to get her to lie down again. "Trust me, for post-surgery, that was barely a nap. You need a lot of rest, even with that machine of James's."
Sora reluctantly lay down. Her back *did* hurt, just below her left shoulder blade. She wouldn't have admitted it, but she probably wouldn't have done well just then trying to get up, anyway.
"So what time is it?" she asked. "You could at least tell me that."
"About four o'clock," Tai said. Sora blinked.
"Tai, that's nearly five hours I've been asleep..." She paused. "What were you doing all that time?" she asked, out of curiosity.
Tai glanced down. "I kept busy," he murmured evasively.
Sora blinked again, but decided not to push the point. "Well, two hours or so to go," she said, almost cheerily, instead. "And then we'll know if this all worked...or find out real quickly if it didn't. How's the team?"
"You mean the surgery folks?" Tai asked. "They're fine. Joe and James went off for a stiff drink once you were all sealed up and done with. Spence went with them; from the color of his face, I think he needed it. I don't think he's ever been in a surgery before. And Izzy is Izzy; nothing ruffles him." Tai shook his head admiringly.
"Davis was stalking all over the complex muttering about how Yukiko shouldn't have been going through all that right after the attack...but when I talked to her afterward, to see how it went, she seemed just fine. Maybe better than she's been in a while. I think this helped her face her fears; you know, heal a little. Try telling that to Davis, though." He laughed, and Sora laughed with him.
"What about Missy?" she asked after a moment. Tai shrugged.
"Off pestering Joe by now, I suppose. Not even a broken hand slows that one down."
"I'd noticed," Sora agreed, wryly. "Well, I hope she's up to helping me out to the courtyard at six...unless you want to volunteer for the duty?"
Tai frowned.
"You actually expect to go out there?"
"Hey, *you* actually expect me to sit quietly in here and wait for Armageddon? I don't think so, Taichi. You know me better than that." She grinned, and the old Sora was back again in force with the confidence of that smile. "I'm going out and watching the clock count down the last few minutes, and if you or Missy won't help me, I'll commandeer a wheelchair and go by myself."
Tai shrugged, easily defeated. He *did* know Sora better than that, and had expected just such a request...or a demand, really. He'd already talked to Joe about it, and the MD had agreed that they owed Sora that much. Still, there hadn't been any harm in trying for another option.
"All right."
"Hm?" Sora said, frowning at him in surprise.
"I said, 'All right'," Tai said with a smile. "I figured you'd want to stare doom in the face with the rest of us, so I asked Joe, and he said he'd get his people working on a way to get you out there...but only if you're up to it."
"I'm up to it, I'm up to it," Sora said eagerly, sitting up again with less difficulty this time. "When can we go?"
"Whoa, slow down," Tai laughed. "We've got a few hours to wait, Sora. Joe says you should take another nap, and eat something...Kari's going to send over some miso."
"Don't bait me, Taichi Kamiya," Sora groaned, putting a hand to her stomach. "If I thought I could eat I wouldn't be still sitting here, I'd be over at Kari's already, demanding a bowl of that stuff."
Tai grinned. "So, are you glad you took our advice? It would be even worse if you hadn't."
"Worse?" Sora moaned, making a melodramatic face. "It could get worse? My back hurts, I'm hungry, yet too seasick to eat, and I've got a good chance of going boom in the next two hours, and you say it could be worse? I don't know whether to call you an optimist or a pessimist, Tai."
Tai laughed, and sat back in his chair to wait.
__________________________________
Coming soon- Chapter 15: Faith and Fortune
(AN) Well, ladies and gents, we're getting toward the end of our little epic. Only the one chapter remaining, and then the epilogue, and then...Project: Moment will be over! Finis! Owatta! *sniff* I'm gonna miss it...
That's the bad news. The good news is...well, I'll leave that until the real end. A bit of a surprise, shall we say. M_~* Ah, I love the power of being an author! Mwahaha...ahem.
Anyway, that's pretty much all I had to say, except for two things. 1) Aren't you glad I finally cleared up the issue of why Tai and Sora were so miserable at the beginning? And 2) Basic instructions for fanfic continuation: Open reviewing window, insert review, receive final chapters! Kudos, and good night! -Bandit O_o
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 14- Through the Fire*~
"One more question," Joe said as Izzy closed the window where he'd been proudly showing them the finished program. "We need someone who can disarm that bomb? Know anyone?"
"I know plenty who *could*, maybe," Izzy said hesitantly, "but I'm guessing you want someone who can do it, no slips, first time?"
"We're not aiming to be incinerated right there in the operating room," Dr. Haiser said dryly, "so yes, we would like someone who fits that description."
Izzy looked oddly unsure. "Well...I do know someone who fits it like a glove," he said slowly. "But I'm not sure if she's up to it just now."
"She?" Joe asked, blinking at him.
"Yeah..." Izzy paused, and then stood up. "I'd better go find her on my own...this could be messy."
"You want her to do *what*?!"
"You want me to do *WHAT*?!"
Izzy swallowed, looking at the two faces staring back at him.
"Look, Yukiko, Davis, I know it sounds a little odd..."
"A little odd?" Davis said, staring even more disbelievingly at his friend. "Izzy, that's insane! A bomb with that kind of power? What do you want her to do, hit the off button? I don't know much about bombs, but that doesn't-"
"Davis," Yuki said quietly, resting her hand on his shoulder. In the short time they'd known each other, they'd become inseparable, and Davis had grown fiercely protective of her. Now, he froze, blinking at her.
"Yuki...?"
"Let me handle this," she said gently, and stepped around him to face Izzy. "What kind of bomb is it?"
"We're not sure," Izzy said, "but we've got some pretty thorough scans of it from Sora's examination last night. They're right here," he added, handing her a folder of magnified X-rays. She pulled it open, turning first one and then another in front of the bulb of a nearby table lamp whose shade she quickly pulled off. Her blue eyes narrowed with a sharp, professional look.
"Hmm...from the configuration, probably a small antimatter charge. Very powerful; potentially very, very messy." She looked up. "So what am I supposed to do about it?"
By now, Davis was looking from Yuki to Izzy and back to Yuki again with an almost amusing look of utter confusion and disbelief on his face.
"Well, as I've already said, we need you to disarm it," Izzy said calmly. Yuki crossed her arms.
"Izumi, I retired from doing bombs over a year ago."
"But you were far and away the best in Strike Team while you were still active," Izzy responded.
"I quit that kind of work when I got these, if you'll kindly remember," Yuki said, gesturing to her face with her scarred hand in a short, brusque motion. "I don't want to be around explosives of any kind."
"But you are around them," Izzy said firmly. "No matter what you do, you're trapped in the blast range of an explosive that is, in your own words, 'potentially very, very messy'. What are you going to do about that? Sit here and hide under the table when the clock hits zero? You have the steadiest hands in Strike Team. The best nerves, too, and most importantly, you have the know-how. But whatever you say, you'd better decide fast. We don't have much time here, in case you didn't notice."
Yuki hesitated, biting her lip. Behind her, Davis' jaw had practically hit the floor.
"You did bombs?" he whispered, staring at the girl as though she had sprouted a third ear. He'd realized that she was tougher than she looked, but...bombs?!
The sound of his voice seemed to decide Yuki. She set her chin determinedly.
"No. I *do* bombs." She extended her hand to Izzy, who shook it, grinning widely.
"Welcome back, Yukiko," he said warmly.
"Don't welcome me until we find out if I've still got it," Yuki said dryly. "So where's this disarming going to happen?"
"I'll show you in a minute. Davis? You coming?"
Davis relocated his jaw with a snap and nodded. "Uh, sure."
"Just let me go dust off my tools," Yuki said, and went into her room...
"Well, folks, this is it."
Joe looked solemnly around the circle of his companions. Dr. Haiser, Missy, Izzy, Spence, and Yuki (with a stubborn Davis in tow) all stood in a circle around the surgical table they had specially prepared for this unorthodox operation. Above them hung a silver half-globe, a good six feet across at the open, down-facing end. A large rectangular casing at the top held circuitry and programming chips, as well as helped attach it to the ceiling.
"All we have to do now is test it," Dr. Haiser said, reaching for the small scalpel resting on the table. Joe held up a hand.
"Hang on," he said, and Dr. Haiser froze, staring at him.
"Kido?" he said, confused.
"I'll do it," Joe said firmly. As his fellow doctor opened his mouth to argue, Joe cut him off. "James, she's my friend. And I'm the head of this ward. I should test this thing."
Dr. Haiser stared at him for a long moment, weighing his options.
"Time's a-wasting, Doc," Missy said, nudging him.
That seemed to make up his mind. He put the scalpel in Joe's outstretched hand with a brief grin that made his features even more fox-like, his black eyes bright.
"As long as you think you can handle the sight of blood," he said. The others grinned and nodded agreement with the choice before heading to their stations.
Joe sighed. "I've seen too much of it already in the last two days," he said sadly. "What's a little more?" Above him, the lights of the machine lit up as it hummed into life. Spots of silver light appeared on the table where the beams focused. Joe paused, looking over the scalpel, then nodded to Izzy. "Is it locked on to me?"
Izzy looked up from his readout panels. "Locked and ready," he confirmed.
"Then here goes nothing," Joe said, and slashed the scalpel quickly across his left palm, holding it over the table with his fingers outstretched. He gritted his teeth, letting out a little hiss of pain as blood began to well up from the long, shallow cut...
And then, every one of the silver spots of light veered over to focus on his hand. There was a soft buzzing sound from the machine, and the trickling blood slowed...then stopped. Then, impossibly, yet undeniably, the cut began to close. From the very bottom it knitted together, closing to become a thin pink welt, then a faint whitish line...and then nothing but smooth, untouched skin.
The machine switched off, at the touch of Spence's shaking fingers. There was silence in the surgery...
And then, Yuki let out a whoop of joy. Suddenly, everyone was smiling, shouting, whacking each other on the backs, bellowing congratulations. Izzy and Spence exchanged high fives; Joe and Dr. Haiser delightedly shook hands, grinning like Cheshire cats, before Missy danced in between them and gave them both enthusiastic hugs that nearly squeezed the breath out of them, her broken hand utterly forgotten; Davis caught Yuki around the waist and spun her in a giddy circle, both of them laughing with happiness and relief.
The next-to-last test had been passed; now the last phase could begin.
Tai was sprawled in an armchair in the side room of the ward when Missy wheeled Sora out of the changing room on the surgical bed that would carry her through the whole ordeal, dressed once again in white leggings and shirt. She was a bit pale, but her chin was set stubbornly, and the old fire burned in her eyes. Tai smiled, looking at her. Missy looked from him to Sora and quietly left the room.
"What?" Sora said, smiling a little in return as Tai came over to the edge of the bed. "What's funny?"
"Nothing," he murmured. He took a deep breath, and sighed. "So."
"So," Sora echoed, propping herself on her elbows with a sigh of her own. "Here we are."
"Yeah," Tai said, examining his sleeve.
There was a long pause. When they did speak, it was at the same time, a pair of sudden, jumbled blurtings.
"If I don't-"
"Sora, I think-"
They stopped, laughing weakly, and Tai gestured to Sora.
"Ladies first," he said, with a shadow of his old lopsided smile.
She blushed. "I...well, I was just saying that, um, if I don't come back all right from this..."
"But you will," Tai interrupted.
"I know," Sora agreed. "But if, by some freak accident or something, I didn't... Well, I wanted to tell you that...that it was worth it. To see you again, I mean."
Tai nodded. "Thanks... And I was thinking, well, my neighbor's been talking about moving someplace closer to where he works, in programming, so if you ever..." He trailed off, waiting. Sora sighed, her head and heart aching.
"Tai, please don't."
"But I just-" he began, looking hurt. Sora stopped him with a finger across his lips.
"I know. But Tai...that's too far ahead. This moment is all I'll got to call my own right now, and I can't think about the future until I know I have one. I can't take it. So, please, wait until I have more than this little bit of right-now to work with...and then, ask me again." Her eyes held his. "Maybe you'll get an answer you'll like."
He nodded again, sighing. That was as much of an answer as he was going to get just then, and he knew it. But he was willing to wait. He'd waited more than twenty years already...
"All right," he said, and reached over to take her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hang on tight to that moment of yours, okay? I'd kinda miss you if you didn't." He smiled. "We all would."
"I will," Sora said, sitting up to kiss him tenderly. When they parted, there was a long moment of poignant silence...
Sora broke the tension by reaching up to affectionately muss Tai's hair. He yelped and grinned. "Hey!"
"Don't worry about me, Taichi," she said with an impish half-smile. "I'll be fine."
"We're ready to get started."
The voice was Joe's, coming from behind the surgery door. Tai's throat caught with a nervous lump, as Missy appeared in the doorway, dressed in surgical scrubs and looking a lot like Sora did: anxious yet determined.
"All set?" she asked. Sora nodded.
"Raring to go," she responded, lying back down on the surgical bed. Tai gave her hand a squeeze.
"I'm not allowed in the surgery," he said with a touch of both amusement and worry in his voice. "Joe's afraid I'll get jittery and screw something up somehow. But I'll do my best to be the first face you see when you wake up, okay?"
"Okay," Sora said softly, and Tai felt a tug at his heart. Suddenly she looked so fragile...
*But she isn't,* he reminded himself. *She's strong, or she wouldn't have gotten this far. And I need to step back and let her do her thing.*
"See you in an hour or two," he said, reluctantly letting go of her hand as Missy began to push the bed into the room. Someone...it looked like one of Izzy's techs, a fellow he'd seen a few times but hadn't caught the name of...held the door open. Standing forlornly in the waiting room, Tai followed Sora with his eyes, and her gaze didn't leave his until the door closed behind her.
Tai thought he heard her call, 'See you,' in answer, just as the door shut, but he couldn't be sure.
* 'In an hour or two',* he echoed his own words in his mind. *God, I hope I'm right...*
"So how's this going to work?" Sora asked, trying to mask her nervousness with questions as Missy carefully centered the table-bed under the domelike machine, then snapped the brakes into place against its wheels, settling it firmly in its spot.
Izzy came over, his face hidden behind a surgical mask. His familiar dark eyes were the same as ever, though, and this relaxed Sora a little. She knew she was in good hands.
"Well, we've already established that we can't get the bomb *out* of you without major and extremely negative physical repercussions," he said with a sigh. "Not with our present technology, at least."
Spence spoke up from his place at the control panel. "In a few weeks, we should have this baby amped up enough to get that thing out of you and get rid of it for good," he said, jerking a thumb at the machine hanging from the ceiling.
"Here's hoping we live that long," Yuki chimed in from where she was scrubbing up near the door.
"So we're going to go in and try to disarm it inside you," Izzy continued. "With Yukiko's expert help, of course."
Yuki snapped him a salute and a grin.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Sora said quietly.
"Is anything *not* dangerous anymore?" Joe said, coming in all dressed for work. "Anything *we're* related to, that is."
"Good point," Sora said with a grin. "So, it's dangerous, but no more than anything else we've thought of, and a lot less so than most of it?"
"That's about the size of it," Izzy agreed. Missy piped up from near Sora's head.
"Yeah, we get to the little bugger, Yukiko gets rid of its teeth, and our super-gizmo here keeps you from hemorrhaging to death while she does it."
"Thank you, Misube, for that expert analysis," Joe said dryly. "Well, Sora, now that you've had your daily dose of happiness from my cousin, I think we'd better get started. If you're all ready to go?"
"Ready," the team chorused. Sora glanced around. Joe, Missy, Yuki, Izzy, and his most trusted tech...she was in good hands, and she knew it. With a small sigh, she leaned back and rested her head on the small hospital pillow as Joe came over with the anesthesia mask that would keep her under for the duration of the disarming.
"Okay, Doc," Sora said, smiling lopsidedly. "Let's get this thing declawed."
~~~
The soft darkness lasted for hours or minutes, she couldn't be sure. She floated, calm and only vaguely thinking. Blessed silence and lack of feeling...she half wished she could stay this way forever. But eventually, gradually, she drifted into normal sleep.
And the darkness faded into colors, as the familiar dream began.
"I have to talk to you..."
Sora looked up. It was Tai, standing in the doorway of her rented house. Smiling, she dusted flour from her hands onto her apron-she'd been making bread when he'd arrived-and dashed to the door.
"Tai," she cried cheerfully, about to hug him hello...but the look on his face stopped her, and she halted in front of him, twisting the hem of her apron in her hands nervously. "Tai?" she whispered, her voice was hesitant, uncertain...
He held up an envelope. "Remember these?"
Sora blinked at it, and then her face darkened. "Those? Oh, don't tell me you're all torn up over that again. Those guys are nutcases, Tai. You know that."
"No," he murmured, looking down at her with solemn, worried brown eyes. "I don't know that..."
She frowned at him. "What? Tai, what's wrong with you?"
"They telephoned me," he said, not quite meeting her gaze now. "They told me...never mind what they told me. Sora, this is serious. Deadly serious."
"But..." Sora whispered, afraid of the weight his eyes already carried. "Tai, you can't be planning to..."
"We all are," he said evenly. "Joe, Izzy, Davis, TK, and Kari. They called me this morning, and we got together and made our decision."
"But...Tai..." Sora cried, disoriented, unsure of what to do. She'd spent the whole morning in a delighted dream, on an emotional high from their kiss the night before. When she'd woken up that morning, the world had seemed perfect...and now it was crashing down around her ears.
"I'm leaving tonight," Tai said, and the words hit Sora like a sledgehammer. She reeled, as Tai kept on talking, unaware of the effect he was having on her, or maybe not even caring... "I wanted to come by and ask you to change your mind about the Project...to come with me..."
"No!" Sora wailed, darting forward to bury her face in his shoulder, clutching his shirt. "You can't go, you can't leave...!"
Tai held her, rocking her gently. "You can come with me," he murmured in her ear. "We don't have to be separated. Come with me, Sora."
She pushed away then, her eyes suddenly cold. "You want me to...come with you? To just pull up stakes and leave, just like that? Maybe that's your style, Tai, but it's not mine."
"Sora, I'm not asking a lot-" Tai began, but Sora interrupted, staring at him.
"Not asking a lot? Tai, you're asking for everything!" She didn't understand him! To leave, maybe for years, or forever...and to expect her to just go along with him, like it was no big deal?! "How can you stand there and...command me to come? Did you think I would just nod and go with you, like some kind of...of pliant zombie?! I can't leave my entire life behind because you want to run off and play hero again!"
"Sora-"
"Tai, don't do this! They don't need you there!"
"They need us more than anyone!" Tai exploded, losing his patience. He caught her by the shoulders, giving her a little shake. "You don't understand that, do you? If you'd heard half the things I heard...people are dying out there, Sora, and I can't sit here and let that happenin! I have to do something about it!"
Sora's eyes were angry and hurt. "And how do you know they're dying?" she snapped back. "Did your friends on the telephone tell you? How come it's not on the news?"
"If it got out to the public, there would be panic in the streets!" Tai shot back. "You've got to understand this, Sora-"
"All I understand is that you're jumping on some lame excuse to run off and leave me stranded so you can go on some dumbass *mission* and get killed!"
"Sora, I can't back out of my responsibilities! I can't fail these people!"
"And since when is Taichi spelled G-O-D?" Sora snapped. "Ever since we've been kids you've been like this! You see conflict and you throw yourself into it without stopping to think!"
"My duty-" he started to say, but the holier-than-thou tone of his voice was too much.
Sora's voice was harsh, raw with loss and anger. "Duty my ass! I think you just can't stand to sit by while other people have 'fun' adventuring!" He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away from him, whirling on him in fury. "Well, fine! I could care less how you waste your life! If your so-called duty is all you care about, go die for their goddamn stupid cause! Just don't expect to ever see me again!"
Tai fell silent, staring at her, their faces so close they nearly touched, in a cruel parody of their kiss the night before. Then he pushed her away from him, not hard, but firmly, with a cold strength. She stumbled, looking up at him with eyes full of sudden remorse as she realized what she'd said, realized she'd lost control...
"Fine."
Sora felt like she was choking on her own words. "Oh, my god...Tai, I...I-I'm sorry..."
"Don't be." His voice was so cold... It was like a knife, sharp and cruel. Tai had been pushed past the point of no return. "I'll go. And I don't need your permission to do it. I'll go alone...and happily so. Screw you, anyway."
He turned, and walked out the door.
"Tai!" Sora cried, taking a running step forward... "Tai, I'm sor-" The door slammed in her face.
She let out the tears then, and slid down to huddle against the doorframe, sobbing hopelessly...
But the dream was kind enough to end there, and she was back in the darkness again. The fight had been the last time they'd spoken in three years, until they'd come back together here at the HQ. Looking back, she saw the grief in Tai's eyes that she'd been too angered and betrayed to see at the time...and recognized the sadness and frustration and fear that had driven them to those cruel words against each other. If only...
*If only I'd kept a hold of my temper, or he'd kept a hold of his. If only we weren't both so stubborn. If only we hadn't had that talk before, when the letters first came, and ended it on a sour note then as well. If only we'd made better decisions...
*But then, where did our decisions take us? This is as low as we can get, just waiting to live or to die...but somehow it's worth it to be together again, at peace again. Tai saved lives while he was here, and changed in a lot of positive ways; he finally grew up. I got to spend another three years with my mother, learning from my mistakes..not to mention getting to see the beginnings of what will undoubtedly be the cutest baby ever born. We're both older, wiser, and ready to start over.
*So maybe we didn't screw up so badly, after all. Hasn't the best steel been passed through the fire? We sure went through hell together...but now we're stronger than ever, our relationship better than ever. Two decades of friendship came through for us, even after the worst of fights. It even managed to turn into something...more.
*If only I can pull through...then things may just work out after all.
*And you know what? It's about time.*
~~~
When Tai got back to his apartment, it seemed strangely empty. He sighed, almost smiling at himself. *She's only been back for a few days...and yet it seems like she's been around forever. It's crazy...
*But then, sanity was never a major part of my life to begin with.*
He did smile then, and it made him feel somehow better. Taking a deep breath, he went over to the kitchen and began to fix himself some lunch: a TV dinner. It wasn't Kari's cooking, that was for sure, but he needed to eat, and it was better than nothing.
"Of course, 'need' and 'want' are two very different things," he murmured as he sat at the table watching his meal slowly rotate in the microwave. Whether it was his worry over Sora or the dinner itself, which was starting to bubble unattractively, he didn't feel much like eating at all. The microwave timer went off, and he stood and took the tray out, setting it on the table. He looked at it for a long moment. Then he sighed again, and went to rummage through a drawer for a fork and a napkin.
There weren't any napkins. Eager to stall lunchtime, Tai headed toward the hallway, planning to grab one out of the dryer. He was halfway across the living room when something crinkled under his foot. Hesitating, he looked down.
A crumpled piece of paper lay on the floor. He didn't need to be told what it was. Slowly, he reached down and picked it up, smoothing it out to finish reading it as he sat down on the edge of the Hide-a-Bed.
Dear Tai-
I can't put into words how hard this is...it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I know you don't deserve to have this happen to you, but I can't stay here...
Life hasn't been kind to us, has it? We never seem to get it together in the right place at the right time. You don't know how much I want to stay with you, Tai--if it were just you and me, I would settle down here in a heartbeat. I want you to know that.
But it isn't just you and me, is it? You have the strongest pull on my heart, but there are a thousand other little strings tugging at me, too. My mother, who needs me like I once needed her as she gets older. Mimi and Matt, and the baby they're going to give so much love to...how can I not be there to help?
And then there's the fear. It blots out almost everything. This place is hard, Tai, and it's cold. You're so strong to stay here; you and everyone else at the Project. You make your own warmth, but I don't know if I can be as strong as you.
If I stay here, I can't turn back...and what if I freeze in this dangerous cold? I can't expect you to be there for me, no matter what. That's not fair to you. You shouldn't have to take care of me. You never asked to have me dumped into your hands; I can't live off your good graces forever.
So I guess there's only one decision left to make, isn't there? It kills me to do this, Tai...it's killing me right now, as I write this, but it's the only way. You have to see that. I hope you won't forget me, and that maybe when this is over... No. That's not fair to you, either. You've waited a long time, and I shouldn't ask you to wait any longer.
Forget me, Tai. Forget me and go on with life, and be happy. I was the one who was too afraid to stick it out, the one who ran away.
I don't deserve you.
But I'll never forget you...and I'll love you for the rest of my life.
-Sora
As he finished the note, Tai's hands were trembling. He went back, read it again, more slowly, then carefully folded it and tucked it into his pocket. The words of the note continued to circle in his mind.
'If it were just you and me.....I don't know if I can be as strong as you.....I can't turn back.....I don't deserve you.....I'll never forget you......
'I'll love you for the rest of my life.'
*Did she mean it?*
The thought was sudden, and charged with a strange, powerful excitement. *She'll love me forever...did she mean it?!* The words of the letter were from a day and yet a millennia ago; since they were written, both Tai and Sora had been through the worst day, the worst stress and pain and fear, of their respective lives... But Sora had made it through.
She *was* strong.
And now she knew it.
Somehow, that changed everything.
Humming with that newfound, powerful energy, Tai pulled the note back out of his pocket and unfolded it quickly, reading it over with an intense gaze as an idea formed in his mind. It was crazy, it was impossible, and it was probably the most impulsive thing he'd ever done in a life of impulsiveness...but it just might come out right.
And if it did, it meant that Sora's plan *wasn't* the only way...and with a touch of luck, they might just get their own little bit of happily-ever-after, after all.
Jumping up, Tai left the unwanted dinner to go cold in the kitchen, and went to talk to Kari.
When Sora awoke, her head was aching slightly, and her back more than slightly...but she was alive. She lay there for a minute, eyes closed, just savoring the feeling of her own body going through its normal paces. Her breathing went in and out, her mind wandered, her heart beat steadily...
A hand touched her arm, and her heartbeat sped up a notch. She opened her eyes.
"Tai?" she whispered, as his face came into focus above her. He smiled.
"Good morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?"
"You kept your promise," Sora murmured, somehow touched. Tai nodded.
"Yup." He paused, looking her over. "You look good... Does your back hurt? Do you want anything to eat?"
Sora smiled. He looked so concerned, it was almost funny...and very endearing.
"I'm fine, Tai," she assured him. "Just a little sore...how long have I been out?"
"A couple hours," Tai said, checking his watch.
"A couple hours?!" Sora echoed, quite shocked, as she tried to sit up. "What time is it? Why did Joe put me down for that long?"
"Easy, easy," Tai soothed her, trying to get her to lie down again. "Trust me, for post-surgery, that was barely a nap. You need a lot of rest, even with that machine of James's."
Sora reluctantly lay down. Her back *did* hurt, just below her left shoulder blade. She wouldn't have admitted it, but she probably wouldn't have done well just then trying to get up, anyway.
"So what time is it?" she asked. "You could at least tell me that."
"About four o'clock," Tai said. Sora blinked.
"Tai, that's nearly five hours I've been asleep..." She paused. "What were you doing all that time?" she asked, out of curiosity.
Tai glanced down. "I kept busy," he murmured evasively.
Sora blinked again, but decided not to push the point. "Well, two hours or so to go," she said, almost cheerily, instead. "And then we'll know if this all worked...or find out real quickly if it didn't. How's the team?"
"You mean the surgery folks?" Tai asked. "They're fine. Joe and James went off for a stiff drink once you were all sealed up and done with. Spence went with them; from the color of his face, I think he needed it. I don't think he's ever been in a surgery before. And Izzy is Izzy; nothing ruffles him." Tai shook his head admiringly.
"Davis was stalking all over the complex muttering about how Yukiko shouldn't have been going through all that right after the attack...but when I talked to her afterward, to see how it went, she seemed just fine. Maybe better than she's been in a while. I think this helped her face her fears; you know, heal a little. Try telling that to Davis, though." He laughed, and Sora laughed with him.
"What about Missy?" she asked after a moment. Tai shrugged.
"Off pestering Joe by now, I suppose. Not even a broken hand slows that one down."
"I'd noticed," Sora agreed, wryly. "Well, I hope she's up to helping me out to the courtyard at six...unless you want to volunteer for the duty?"
Tai frowned.
"You actually expect to go out there?"
"Hey, *you* actually expect me to sit quietly in here and wait for Armageddon? I don't think so, Taichi. You know me better than that." She grinned, and the old Sora was back again in force with the confidence of that smile. "I'm going out and watching the clock count down the last few minutes, and if you or Missy won't help me, I'll commandeer a wheelchair and go by myself."
Tai shrugged, easily defeated. He *did* know Sora better than that, and had expected just such a request...or a demand, really. He'd already talked to Joe about it, and the MD had agreed that they owed Sora that much. Still, there hadn't been any harm in trying for another option.
"All right."
"Hm?" Sora said, frowning at him in surprise.
"I said, 'All right'," Tai said with a smile. "I figured you'd want to stare doom in the face with the rest of us, so I asked Joe, and he said he'd get his people working on a way to get you out there...but only if you're up to it."
"I'm up to it, I'm up to it," Sora said eagerly, sitting up again with less difficulty this time. "When can we go?"
"Whoa, slow down," Tai laughed. "We've got a few hours to wait, Sora. Joe says you should take another nap, and eat something...Kari's going to send over some miso."
"Don't bait me, Taichi Kamiya," Sora groaned, putting a hand to her stomach. "If I thought I could eat I wouldn't be still sitting here, I'd be over at Kari's already, demanding a bowl of that stuff."
Tai grinned. "So, are you glad you took our advice? It would be even worse if you hadn't."
"Worse?" Sora moaned, making a melodramatic face. "It could get worse? My back hurts, I'm hungry, yet too seasick to eat, and I've got a good chance of going boom in the next two hours, and you say it could be worse? I don't know whether to call you an optimist or a pessimist, Tai."
Tai laughed, and sat back in his chair to wait.
__________________________________
Coming soon- Chapter 15: Faith and Fortune
(AN) Well, ladies and gents, we're getting toward the end of our little epic. Only the one chapter remaining, and then the epilogue, and then...Project: Moment will be over! Finis! Owatta! *sniff* I'm gonna miss it...
That's the bad news. The good news is...well, I'll leave that until the real end. A bit of a surprise, shall we say. M_~* Ah, I love the power of being an author! Mwahaha...ahem.
Anyway, that's pretty much all I had to say, except for two things. 1) Aren't you glad I finally cleared up the issue of why Tai and Sora were so miserable at the beginning? And 2) Basic instructions for fanfic continuation: Open reviewing window, insert review, receive final chapters! Kudos, and good night! -Bandit O_o