Chapter 9 – The Weight of Leadership
...and his mind promptly went totally,
absolutely,
blank.
He froze in place, sitting utterly still. What was I about to say? he thought, fighting through a sudden fog of anxiety. How am I going to do this? How do I tell all the Digidestined in the world that they will lose their partners one day? Perspiration coalesced on his brow, and he resisted the urge to shiver. Long ago, Tai had joked to the others about being the leader of the global Digidestined. Now he was about to present himself before all the Chosen in the world and claim it for real. He'd thought he was certain about this decision after talking it over with Izzy and the others for most of the day, but now he was at the edge of the abyss waiting to take the plunge, and Tai suddenly began to second-guess himself. What kind of person just takes that kind of power for himself? Who am I to proclaim myself leader? The audacity, the sheer arrogance—what was I thinking?
Crippling doubt gnawed at him. Was it right of him to assume such a position of authority? Was he truly prepared to accept that mantle? The weight of leadership felt impossibly heavy on his shoulders in a way that it never had in the past; it threatened to crush him. Tai found it hard to breathe as raw, primal fear paralyzed him for the first time in many years.
As Tai grappled with his indecision, the first comments of the livestream began to pour in over the video feed. During the early days of INDICON, Izzy had licensed the most advanced automated language translation software from the top tech companies in the world and had utilized it to bring the members of the IDC together. Over the years, millions of interactions between Digidestined from different nationalities had served to improve the software, and hundreds of volunteer multilingual Digidestined had further refined the translations to where it now boasted a very high degree of accuracy, and even contained a robust vocabulary of Digimon-related terms in over a hundred languages. Izzy was currently in talks to sell the rights to his improved translation software back to the original companies (minus the Digimon vocabulary, of course). Therefore, even though the comments that came through the live video chat were from Digidestined who spoke in dozens of distinct languages and dialects, they all could read them in their native tongues perfectly.
[Corey365: Yo, what's going on?
[MeredithJD: Who is that? And what's with the goggles?
[NikitaC: Idk. He looks kinda familiar tho.
The moment's pause had grown long enough to become mildly awkward, and Izzy could tell something was wrong. "Psst! Tai," he hissed quietly from the side, "You're on! It's live right now!" But Tai still couldn't move or speak.
[IndigoSurfer: No way. Is that…?
[TJ-479: OH MY GOSH! GUYS, DO YOU SERIOUSLY NOT KNOW WHO THAT IS?!
"Tai, use your courage!"
Tai's clouded thoughts vanished with a jolt as a memory flashed through him: deep within the labyrinthine walls of an inverted pyramid he stood trembling before an electrified fence, prevented from going through by the same fear he was now struggling against, and his partner at his back encouraging him to go rescue his friend, who was held captive on the other side.
Agumon?, he thought. Tai closed his eyes and shook his head. It was like he had spoken directly to him, Tai had imagined his voice so clearly. A sense of calm flooded through him, and the doubts he had were brushed away like wisps of predawn mist in the presence of the rising sun. No, Tai thought, this isn't about me, or power. It's about what needs to be done. It's about what I need to do for them. I didn't choose this; I was Chosen for this. I was Destined for this. Looking back, it's like my whole life has been preparing me for this moment. I'm in the best position, the one best suited, and I cannot doubt myself any longer. My friends believe in me, and I haven't let them down. And as long as they are with me, together we can accomplish anything.
Tai raised his head up, and when he opened his eyes, he was in control again. Thanks for the reminder, Agumon. I'm ready now. He stared into the camera lens with an air of confidence, quiet and understated, but all the more profound because of it. He inhaled, relaxed his shoulders, and spoke.
"Hello, Digidestined, wherever you may be around the world. My name is Tai Kamiya. Some of you may recognize me from videos of the battle against Diaboromon on the internet." Tai shrugged self-consciously. "Then again, maybe not. That was a long time ago after all, and I was much younger then."
[AmyLeigh42: Wait, that's Tai? As in, THE Tai?!
[IndigoSurfer: Whoa, it is Tai! This is crazy!
[HandyHank944: Strap in, y'all, this is huge! The original DD never show up like this. Something big must be going down.
[CatherinetheGreat: bonjour, Tai! Greetings from France!
[SarahB: That's Tai? Wow...he's kinda hot… ;)
"I am the leader of the original Digidestined team that was chosen to save the Digital World," Tai went on. "I don't normally like to put myself out there like this—I usually let Izzy or Yolei handle this kind of thing—but my team has recently discovered some major news that will affect all Digidestined everywhere, and I felt the need to inform you of everything personally. First, I want to announce that the crisis of Digidestined being robbed of their consciousness is over. A digimon called Eosmon was responsible for these thefts; my team and I managed to track down and defeat Eosmon, and all the stolen consciousnesses returned to their owners."
[Digi-n00b113: Wow, that's so amazing!
[GotsuGirl: Whew! That's a relief!
[Poi-3: I remember that! Me and my brothers were there in the Neverworld! Thanks for saving us! (p.s. Tell Kari I said hi.)
[DietrichPXR: My gf was in a coma! Thanks for bringing her out man, I owe you one!
[NumeNumeGuy: First!
After Tai's introductory statement, the traffic on the website exploded. Izzy, who was monitoring the feed, watched as it grew at an exponential rate, his face growing more and more concerned until at last he leapt up from his table in alarm and sprinted out of the room, yelling something about crashing servers.
"However, there's a lot more to the story than that," Tai continued in a more somber tone. "We discovered during our investigation that Eosmon wasn't a natural digimon at all, but a man-made digimon created by a woman named Menoa Bellucci."
[Randy2319: What? But that's impossible! You can't just create a digimon!
"Miss Bellucci is a Digimon Researcher from New York; she was the one who made us aware of Eosmon in the first place. She came to us to ask for our help in rescuing the kidnapped Digidestined, but we found out later that was just a ploy to steal Izzy's database of Digidestined so she could imprison us all."
A few moments later, Izzy returned from the hall appearing quite pleased. "Yes, yes, of course, Satoshi-san," he spoke into his phone, laughing quietly. "Thank you so much. I'll see you Thursday. Goodbye." He ended the call before returning to his chair, glanced at his laptop, then threw his head back and loosed a relieved sigh.
Cody leaned close beside Izzy and whispered, "What was that all about?"
"The servers couldn't take all the heavy traffic coming in to the website and were moments away from crashing," Izzy explained. "So I called in a favor to a media mogul friend of mine who owns his own server farm, and I was able to temporarily borrow the use of it to boost INDICON's bandwidth. It looks like it's holding steady for now, so I think we're okay."
"Ah, I see," said Cody in a tone of polite neutrality, knowing better than to ask for further details and risk Izzy giving him a computer lecture that would just make his eyes glaze over. But Izzy had already forgotten Cody. His brows creased in concentration, hand on chin as he mused to himself, "I knew the broadcast would draw lots of people to the site, but I didn't think it would grow this quickly. Hmm. I'll have to make some upgrades..."
Meanwhile, Tai was leaning forward closer to the camera, his expression grave. "What I am about to tell you will be upsetting, but I urge you to brace yourselves, stay calm, and not panic." He looked up and to the side for a moment as he tried to compose his thoughts. "When we first met Menoa, she had no digimon or digivice with her, so we had no reason to believe that she was a Digidestined. It was only after my friend Matt did some digging that we discovered her secret."
[Dien-o-saur: Why would a Digidestined ever want to do something like this?
"When I confronted her about it, she told me that she'd lost her partner years ago. Through her research, she found that digimon are able to digivolve through the potential of their Digidestined. This is why digimon are paired with children, who are full of untapped potential. But as we age, the choices we make use up the potential that we had in the beginning, and one day we will reach the end of it. When that happens, the bond we have with our digimon is broken and they disappear. This will happen to every Digidestined when he or she grows up, and it happened to Menoa when she was just fourteen."
[ChloeM: Hang on. What is he saying? He doesn't really mean that...right?
[PaoloT: Can someone help me? I'm Filipino, and the translation I'm getting can't be right. It sounds like he's saying we're going to lose our digimon. Please help!
[JamalKG: Yo, is he punking us?
[Nguyen: It's gotta be a lie! We would know if that was the case!
Tai could see the people in the chat beginning to become frantic. "Wait—stay with me, guys! I know it sounds crazy! But please let me finish. I know how you're all feeling, I reacted the same way. I didn't want to believe it either. But...then it happened to me." Tai's voice had gradually shrunk to barely more than a whisper, and there was a moment of silence as the stream of comments ground to a halt.
"I wish I could tell you guys it's not true. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news and ruin everyone's day. But I know it's true because...my partner...Agumon—" Tai choked out his name and paused, blinking back the tears in his eyes. "...is gone."
[MinaPatel: Oh no…
[CatherinetheGreat: I'm so sorry, Tai.
[BakoAdebisi: That is awful news, my friend.
[RoanK: Ugh. How pathetic.
The chat began to flood with an outpouring of sympathy comments, a few of the more hot-headed members promising to make Menoa pay. Tai held up his digivice to the camera. "This was my digivice. I know it looks different from most of yours; this is the original model. It turned to stone when Agumon disappeared. The bond I had with him is broken. I…" he took a deep, shuddering breath. "I can't feel him anymore—and I know you know what I mean. So, this is for real, guys."
[Piotr34: You're serious, aren't you? You really did lose your partner. And that means one day, my Kamemon…
[Kang-Dae: So then...how long do we have? And what will become of our digimon?
[SophieN: I don't know what I'd do without Labramon!
[XL920: What will happen to Neemon after that? Where will he go?
"I can't tell you when it will happen for you, since it seems to be different for everyone. But we think for most of us it will be at some point during our early twenties, usually when we reach some sort of milestone of becoming an adult. You'll know when it starts: if you're in a battle, your digimon won't be able to maintain their digivolution and will revert to their In-Training form. If that happens, alert your team and get to safety as soon as possible. Also, a ring of light will appear on your digivice. That tells you how much time you have left with your digimon and how you know that your bond is beginning to break. You should have—" Tai cut off suddenly, leaning out of frame and motioning to get Sora's attention. "How long after the light ring was it before Biyomon disappeared?" he whispered. She mouthed something in return, holding up three fingers.
"You should have about three-and-a-half days after that, before you and your digimon part ways", Tai announced, returning to his position. "But you should also know that digivolving past the start of the countdown will speed up the process, so you should only do so as a last resort. It's a lot to take in, I know. I'm still processing it myself, and there's a lot that we don't understand yet. Anyway, after we defeated Eosmon, Menoa was taken into custody by the FBI. We've nothing to fear from her anymore."
[Deltamon-dude: Good riddance! Let that witch rot in a cell forever!
[Kenzie4k: Serves her right. That'll teach her to betray us like that!
"But now I, and my friends Matt and Sora, have all lost our digimon, and the rest of my team will likely lose theirs in the coming months and years."
Tai paused, looking down and bobbing his torso back and forth slightly with nervous energy. Raising his head again, he said, "I owe you all an apology. We—that is, my team and I—we were chosen to defend the Digital World, and we have for many years now; but we never considered the possibility that a day would come when we wouldn't be able to do that anymore. Yet here we are. And the threats aren't going to stop just because we can no longer fight."
Tai sighed, shaking his head. "I should have done this a long time ago," he muttered to himself. Then: "I always felt like it was up to us to save the world, that no one else could do it. And maybe that was true in the beginning. But I should have realized how much help we have with all of you around the world now, especially after the battle against MaloMyotismon. Instead, I never stopped feeling like it all depended on me and my team. I guess that was pretty arrogant of me. I've failed you all."
[Ibrahim: No, don't say that! You're too hard on yourself.
[AthdaraO: You've done an amazing job protecting both worlds!
[Derekdownunder: Don't sweat it, mate. You shouldn't have to carry all that on your own.
"I should have helped you all to be protectors too, rather than taking everything on myself. But I want to do that now. I'm sorry to ask this of you...but we won't be able to guard either world much longer, and we need your help." Tai looked directly into the camera lens. "You will have to replace us one day."
Messages of encouragement and support poured into the chat:
[EmmaRae: We're here for you, Tai!
[SandorSB: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Sign me up!
[Liwanu: Just say the word and I'll follow you!
[VoletaG: Me too!
[Qiang Li: And me!
[Stargazer4ZD: And me!
[EmlynT: I don't know...what if Poyomon gets hurt?
[GarrenF: We've got your back, just like you've always had ours!
[Britchardthe1st: You're a right decent bloke. Elecmon and I would gladly fight with you any day.
[SonyaZaitsev: Anna, Yuri, and I will make sure Moscow safe is kept. Please, give to Sora my condolences.
"Thanks, guys. That really means a lot. But we won't leave you to do this alone. We want to help however we can. In fact, I've spent most of the day with Izzy and the rest of my team trying to figure out the best way to do that. And here's what we've come up with."
Tai stood and motioned somewhere off-camera. "Izzy, since this is really your baby, would you like to come help me explain our proposal?"
Izzy, caught somewhat off-guard, scrambled to his feet and hurried to Tai's side, and Cody took the liberty of zooming the camera out so that they both fit in the frame. "Uh, well—yeah, I suppose I could." Muttering under his breath, he added, "Though a little warning would have been nice." As the primary admin of the site, Izzy was the most active member of the original Digidestined on INDICON, and so when he entered the frame the chat exploded once again.
[VioletEntropy: Wow, Izzy's here too!
[RufusG9: Yooooooo, that's my boy!
[Mechamaniac: Izzy in da hizzooouuuse!
[IlariaLeone: YES!
[DanteFuego: Woot woot!
[AndrewH: Holy Cow!
Izzy cleared his throat and launched right into lecture mode: "Hello, everyone. It's nice to see you all here. Our current objective is to set up a system that will ensure the safety of both worlds once all of the original Digidestined can no longer fight. This means that we need to make sure there are always ample Digidestined who have the training and experience necessary to face any threat, no matter how dangerous. Many of you have some experience fighting digimon, and our team has fought alongside some of you during the control spire crisis around the globe on Christmas Day eight years ago, or when we all fought MaloMyotismon together. However, according to my data the vast majority of you don't have any experience in combat or working together as a team. We aim to change that."
"We want to help prepare you for the fights that lie ahead," Tai picked up, "not because we think we're somehow better than any of you, but because we have the most experience and we want to share what we have learned with you."
"Exactly," Izzy agreed. "We want to offer you all of our collective knowledge and experience that we've gathered throughout the years so that you will be ready to face new threats when they come, as well as equip you to train the newer generations of Digidestined to take your place when your digimon are also gone. We realize this is a huge undertaking and obviously will pose unique challenges to reach such a large and diverse group of people scattered throughout the Real World. But I am confident that if we all work together, it is certainly achievable. After all, I created INDICON to bring us together as Digidestined in one unified community. With your cooperation, we can become more integrated than ever before."
"So what is this going to look like?" Tai asked rhetorically. "Well, in the next couple of days Izzy's going to upload a document with advice on all sorts of things, like how to form and organize your team if you're not part of one already, and if not I highly recommend getting with a group of other Digidestined in your area."
"Absolutely," Izzy added, "the old saying about there being strength in numbers is especially true when it comes to Digimon battles. The document I'm working on won't just cover individual team tactics, which will be different for every team since each will consist of unique individuals with a unique team dynamic—though there will be several general guidelines that most every team should fall under—but it will also be a primer on how the IDC should operate as a whole. Kind of like The Art of War for Digidestined, ranging from individual human and digimon pairs to the entire Coalition."
"Not only that," said Tai, "We plan on hosting in-person seminars in the Digital World on a semi-regular basis where you will get to meet us in person and ask us questions. Just keep in mind we're only a few people, we have busy lives too, and there are a lot of you guys out there. Plus, you most likely live in a very different time zone than we do and it could take a long time before we have one that is convenient for you, so please bear with us as we try to get this going. But…ah..." Tai faltered for a moment, seemingly embarrassed. "This will only work if you let it. We can't teach or help you guys if you don't allow us to. We need you all to be receptive and listen to what we have to say, take it to heart, and follow our guidance. So, ah...w-will you…um...?"
Tai stalled, so Izzy broke in. "What Tai is trying to say, is that for this to work, we need you to accept our leadership, but he's too humble to ask. And let me assure you, this isn't a grab for power, or recognition, or fame or anything like that. To be honest, I think we all would be more comfortable staying on the sidelines and not taking on this responsibility." He looked at Tai and put his hand on his shoulder before facing the camera again. "But we know we can't do that. We've been through too much to stand back and do nothing when we know we're needed. The fact is, we are responsible for what happens next, because we have the knowledge and experience necessary to equip you for the battles that lie ahead. But if you're to learn from us, you've got to follow our guidelines, especially if we're to adopt standardized methods of operating as an organization. So I ask you now: will you allow us to mentor you? Will you accept our leadership?"
The response that came from the chat was a resounding, "Yes!" Most were very enthusiastic about being under the tutelage of the original Digidestined. Some expressed confusion, saying they had assumed that they were already. Others were more hesitant, but agreed to go along for now. Only a few voiced open skepticism, and even fewer outright refused. In the end, the overwhelming majority pledged their allegiance as Digidestined to Tai and the others.
Tai had been sort of cringing nervously away from the computer screen as Izzy posed the question. But as the responses rolled in, the small smile that began at the corners of Izzy's mouth spread into a wide grin, and he swatted Tai on the arm, who peeked one eye at the screen before both eyes shot wide open in surprise at the near-unanimous answer.
"Well, then," Izzy said proudly, "let's get to work. As I said before, we strongly encourage you to join a team of other Digidestined near you, and we have some suggested guidelines about that based on our own team—and this will all be in the document I'll upload within the next day or two, but I want to cover a few things right now. Each team should consist of 5-12 Digidestined-and-Digimon pairs, one of whom will be chosen as the leader. Each team should also appoint from among its members a Medic and a Tactician. For example, I am our Team's Tactician, Tai is our Team leader, or 'Captain', and our friend Joe is our Team Medic. For ease of identification, your team name will be based off of your local area of influence in the Real World: our team will be known as 'Odaiba-1', because we're all from Odaiba in Tokyo, and we are the first Digidestined team in this area."
"We're also going to add a place to INDICON where you can register your teams," said Tai. "Now don't worry, we're not going to institute a draft or anything like that. This is strictly voluntary, and you don't have to do it if you don't want to. Plus, that information won't ever leave the site, so only other members of INDICON will be able to see it. The purpose for this team registry is so that we can have an easily accessible database of you guys, what teams you're part of, the area you are in charge of, and the kinds of digimon that are in your team. We want to do this so that we can better help each other out. For example, say you're in a battle in the Digital World, your team is pinned down somewhere and you need a certain type of digimon to deal with the threat: let's say there's a fire and you need a digimon that can shoot water. You could send out a request for backup in INDICON with your location and what you need, or you could look up the closest Digidestined with a water digimon that can help—odds are somebody out there will be there to help out in no time. It's all to try to make us more flexible as one global team so that we can help each other out and keep everybody safe."
Izzy nodded. "We want to encourage more cooperation and friendship between individual teams, whether that's the team one neighborhood down from you or across the ocean. Now in regard to ranks, though we are not a conventional military, we do have to adopt behaviors and methodologies similar to a military in some ways if we are to keep our organization...um, well, organized. Particularly now that we are the size that we are. There has to be a clear and recognizable chain of command for the IDC. I've collaborated with some Digidestined friends who recently joined the U.S. Army—thanks guys by the way, you know who you are—and together we came up with a ranking system that, though incorporating many terms familiar to the average soldier, are repurposed and organized in such a way that I hope it will not be easily confused with a specific Real-World military. Now as I said earlier, Teams are led by Captains, and that honestly is as far as we'll likely have to go most of the time, though a team that is large enough may split its forces into distinct squads with their own leaders; in fact, we operate kind of like that, with Tai being the Captain of the overall team, but the younger members frequently fight by themselves in a squad of their own, led by Davis—on such occasions, their Squad will be known as Odaiba-2. But for larger-scale threats, we may have to temporarily form Regiments composed of multiple teams led by a Regional-Commander. And in extremely dire or massive conflicts, an army may be formed of multiple regiments led by a General. But such a thing would only occur in tremendously dangerous situations like the battle against MaloMyotismon, and it is my hope that will never be necessary."
"These are all the major units and ranks that will be utilized by the IDC, except for the very highest-level leaders. Now…", Izzy said with a gleam in his eye, "are you ready to meet them?"
The anticipation that had been building in the chat reached a crescendo.
[SeikoKe: No way! Are they all here?
[AaronGP: Awww, snap!
[NaomiC80: Here we go!
"Ladies and gentlemen, Digimon and Digidestined of the IDC," Izzy crowed, sweeping his arm around the room and exhibiting more showmanship than anyone would have expected, "may I present for the first time ever, the leader of the International Digidestined Coalition, Master-General Taichi "Tai" Kamiya!" The other Digidestined in the room broke into cheers and applause, though they were still behind the camera, and the livestream chat started going crazy.
"And now, we have his second-in-command, Lieutenant Master-General Yamato "Matt" Ishida!"
This time Tai joined in clapping as Matt rose with a start and hurriedly made his way around to Tai's left side, wrapping one arm around Tai's shoulders. "Hey, guys," he said, flashing a dashing smile to the camera.
"Too cool," Tai mumbled to himself, giving his friend a teasing sideways glance.
[SuzukoMi] Isn't that the lead singer of The Teenage Wolves? OMG, I used to LOVE them!
Mimi nudged Sora anxiously from where they were watching. "Is he going to call all of us out there?" she whispered, looking down at her attire and pulling absentmindedly at the hem of her oversized sweatshirt. "I'm not ready to be on camera!" Sora gave her a friend a sympathetic look. "It's all right. Here, I'll help you," she said, digging a makeup bag out of Mimi's purse.
Behind them, Hawkmon quipped to his partner, "Now are you glad I brought you some clothes?"
"Zip it!" Yolei growled.
Tai stepped forward and announced, "Since he shouldn't have to introduce himself, it is my honor to present the 2nd Lieutenant Master-General, as well as Master Tactician of the IDC, Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi!"
At his partner's introduction, Tentomon floated over to Izzy and hovered behind his left shoulder. Izzy bowed modestly and allowed the applause to continue for a brief moment more before quickly moving on. "From here on out, every rank is the same: that of General-Commander, though several of them also have special positions of their own according to their areas of expertise. Next we have the Commander of the Aerial Fleet, General-Commander Sora Takenouchi!"
"Huh?", Sora blurted, startled. She'd just finished brushing Mimi's hair while Kari helped her with mascara. "Ohhh!" she groaned in exasperation, aggressively running the brush through her own hair twice before shoving it into Joe's hands as she weaved her way to the front. "Hi, everyone!" she said, waving at the camera as she came to join Matt, earnestly hoping no one could see the puffiness in her eyes from crying earlier.
Despite how disheveled she felt, no one in the livestream seemed to notice.
[EllenK] Aww, she's so pretty!
[TiaraN] Wow, she's beautiful.
[YuriBorstov] Hello, Sora!
[Aaliyah] I don't remember her. Was she in the battle on the internet?
Izzy went on. "General-Commander of the Digidestined in New York City, Mimi Tachikawa!"
"Oh, that's my cue! Come on, Palmon!" Mimi said brightly, all concerns of her appearance instantly forgotten. She brushed past Yolei, smoothing the folds of her shirt, and strode regally to the front of the camera with all the confidence of a movie star, Palmon in tow. "Hellooo everyone!" she exclaimed, blowing a kiss to the audience as she took a position by Izzy's right, lightly hugging his side.
[MichaelW] Yeah, go Mimi!
[SteveL] Awesome!
[MariaC] NYC, represent!
Next, Izzy declared: "General-Commander, General Medic, and High-Admiral of the Maritime Fleet, Joe Kido!" Joe got up from his chair and calmly walked over to Mimi's other side, with Gomamon sliding across the floor next to him.
"Good evening, everyone", Joe said with a small wave as Mimi wrapped her other arm behind his back the way she had Izzy. Gomamon held up a flipper-like appendage as high as he could and grinned comically. "Hiya, fellas! Nya-ha!" He greeted, laughing.
[LillianM] That digimon is sooo cute!
"Next up we have the two Commanders of Holy Division, Arch-Generals Takeru "T.K." Takaishi and Hikari "Kari" Kamiya!"
T.K. took Kari's hand and led her to the center, starting a new row in the front on either side of Tai. Patamon settled on T.K.'s head, and Kari picked Gatomon up from the floor and hugged her to her chest where she could see the livestream.
[Poi-2] Hey, it's Kari! She's here too!
[Poi-1] Back off, I saw her first!
[Poi-2] You already have a girlfriend. Leave some for the rest of us, Da Ge!
[Poi-3] I think the guy with the Patamon might have beat us to it. :'(
[CaraE] Whoa, the two blonde guys have gotta be related. They look just like each other!
[TheoA] Wow, T.K.'s got a Patamon just like me!
"General-Commander, Captain of Odaiba-2, and Commander of Armor Division, Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya!" Izzy yelled.
Davis and Veemon bounded into the frame like pro wrestlers into a fighting ring, with Davis coming up by T.K. and giving him a hearty slap on the back. "'Sup, dudes!" he called exuberantly.
[HaileyQR] Davis looks like a younger version of Tai.
[DonnieP] Seriously though! He even has a pair of goggles! LOL.
"General-Commander, Senior Tactician, and Lt. Commander of the Aerial Fleet, Miyako "Yolei" Inoue!"
Yolei and Hawkmon took positions by Kari. "¡Hola, amigos!" Yolei greeted. Hawkmon merely gave a stiff bow.
"General-Commander Ken Ichijouji!"
Ken and Wormmon came up beside Davis. Ken bowed slightly toward the camera. "Hello. Wormmon and I look forward to working with you all."
Wormmon nodded. "Yup, that's right."
Izzy wound up for the finish. "And finally, we have General-Commander, and Admiral of the Maritime Fleet: Sub-aquatic Division, Cody Hida!" Cody and Armadillomon approached Yolei on the right; she hugged him from the side and he wrapped his arm around her back. "We're pleased to meet you all," Cody said politely, inclining his head. Armadillomon stood on his back legs and waved a stubby arm in the air. "Howdy, y'all!"
Twelve Digidestined and nine digimon filled the frame, all the members of the original and second-generation teams who had saved both worlds, some of whom had never revealed themselves publicly before now. The chat was in an absolute uproar.
[QuinD] Ahhh! So awesome!
[RodrickG] Bruh, this is off the chain!
[Kenny146] You guys rock so hard!
[VinceAO] I can't believe I'm seeing this right now!
[Xiuying] Thank you all for everything you've done for the Digital World!
[AtlasJ9] Digidestined, salute!
[BobbyB] *salute.
[JavierD] *salute.
[NickT] *salute.
[JulietteS] *salute.
Tai moved between T.K. and Kari and crouched down closer to the camera for a more intimate shot, surrounded by all of his teammates behind him. "We are the original Digidestined chosen to save both worlds," he said, "and we present ourselves to you now as friends and mentors." Tai gestured to the figures gathered around him. "These are my family, my brothers and sisters. They trust me with their lives, and I trust them with mine. We want to extend our family to include all of you. The life of a Digidestined is not an easy one—I'm sure you all know that by now—and we will be facing some hard days ahead. There will be struggles, and you will have to say goodbye to those closest to you. But know that we are always there for you. If you need help, please reach out. Even if you just need someone to talk to. And if you have already lost your digimon, or have any information about someone who has, please contact us. We are still trying to find everything we can about this process and how it works. We're also going to put some resources together in the coming days to help those of you whose bonds with your partner are broken and how to deal with that. For the rest of you who still have your partners, enjoy every moment you have left together. Don't...don't take them for granted, like I did." Tai grew misty-eyed for a moment, and behind him Sora and Matt squeezed his shoulders in support.
"The time you have together is precious," he went on. "Use it wisely. But don't fear the future: we are Digidestined! We fear nothing! We must move forward courageously together, trusting in the love and friendship that we have for each other, and always keep the light of hope alive in our hearts! If we can do that, then I know we can make it through anything." The Digidestined behind him all nodded their agreement. Tai's voice shook with the strength of his conviction as he delivered his final encouragements: "So be strong. Don't ever give up. We're with you, and we'll never give up fighting the good fight."
And with one last determined look into the camera, Tai leaned forward and ended the broadcast.
Tai rocked back on his heels and plopped onto the couch with a heavy sigh. I did it. It's over. It was so quiet he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. A wave of relief washed over him, quickly tempered by doubt. Did it work? Was it enough? Should I have done it differently? He looked around at the others, who appeared to be in a similar daze. "Well," he asked, "How'd I do?"
The others stood speechless for a long moment, until: "Tai," Mimi began slowly, scrabbling for words, "that was simply…Presidential."
Yolei sank into a chair, flashed him a thumbs up and winked. "Per-fecto," she said.
Tai let out another relieved breath. "Really?"
"It was well done," Izzy agreed.
Someone began a slow clap, which was quickly joined by others, growing in volume and fervor until every person and digimon in the room were applauding him earnestly. Davis cried out, "Let's hear it for Tai, leader of the Digidestined!"
Cheers rang out from the assembled voices in celebration. Tai drank it all in quietly, and there was a strange surreal feeling to it all. Then at last, he felt a measure of peace settle within him for the first time since everything began three days ago. Slowly, a contented smile spread across his lips. I think I finally have an answer for you, Agumon. This is what I did today. I wish you could see it; I hope you would be proud of me…
"I'm always proud of you, Tai!"
Tai gave a jolt as if someone had just doused him with ice water. He whipped his head left and right, looking and half-expecting to find his partner among the group surrounding him. Agumon? Where are you?! It had been so clear, almost tangible. But he knew, judging from the lack of response from the others, and from what he knew in his own heart, that he alone had heard the voice because it existed now only in his mind. He slumped down a little more in melancholy, and yet even though he had imagined it, he was comforted.
Kari caught his eye; she gave him a knowing look while the others continued cheering. "I know, brother," she said in a small whisper.
"Know what?" he asked.
"Agumon," she said simply. "He would be proud of you." She lay her head on his shoulder. "And so am I."
Tai resisted the impulse to flinch a second time. How did she…? Her intuition could be uncanny at times. He wondered briefly if she could read his thoughts.
The applause gradually dwindled. Izzy dropped onto one of the couch cushions and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Mimi stifled a yawn.
"Well, I guess that's it, then," Davis said. "Things are going to be very different now."
"Yeah," said Cody, looking pensively down at Armadillomon. "Things are already different. I never would have guessed what would happen when I woke up today."
The room grew silent as everyone contemplated all the revelations they had endured that day. "You all should go home," Tai said suddenly. "We're done here, and I've unloaded a lot on you all. Go home, spend time with your partners, and get some rest. I'm sure we all could use it. I know I could." There were several murmurs of agreement, but Izzy was shaking his head. "Not me. I can't rest yet, I've got so much work to—"
"That goes double for you, Izzy," Tai interrupted, turning to face the red-haired boy. "You're probably more exhausted than all of us. When's the last time you got any sleep?"
Tentomon buzzed agitatedly by his side. "I think you should listen to him, Izzy."
Izzy rubbed the back of his head and gave an embarrassed grin. "Does being put into a coma by Eosmon count?" he asked.
Tai's eyes narrowed. "That's what I thought. Go get some sleep, Iz. And not on the couch in your office. In a real bed. Everything else can wait a few hours. Okay?"
Izzy shifted uneasily. "Well…"
"That's an order. I can give those now," said Tai, half-joking.
That forced a tired chuckle out of Izzy. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I have no choice. Thanks, Tai."
One by one, the Digidestined began to disperse; they all said their goodbyes to Tai, offering a hug and some final condolences or other words of comfort about Agumon, and that if he should need anything to not hesitate to ask. They filed out until the room was empty except for Tai, Izzy, Tentomon, and Matt.
Matt paused at the doorway, then turned and looked back to Tai. "Hey. You did good today."
"We did good today, Matt," said Tai. "Thanks for coming. I'm not sure I could've gone through with it without your help."
Matt smiled wearily and shrugged. "What are friends for?"
Tai closed the video player on his phone. Menoa stared silently, absorbing everything she had just been shown. Then her stoic facade cracked, and she abruptly broke into a fit of giggles.
Tai was surprised. "What is it?" he asked. He hadn't expected her to react quite like that.
She gave him a sardonic look. "'We'll never give up fighting the good fight?' " she quoted, recognizing his words to her in the Neverworld. "Really? That's what you close with?"
Tai shuffled his feet. "Well...I thought it was a good line."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, it is a nice line," she admitted. Then she pinched her thumb and forefinger together and squinted one eye closed. "But just a little on the cheesy side."
Tai harrumphed.
"But seriously," Menoa said, a touch of awe and new respect in her voice, "that was incredible. I've never seen anything like it."
For some reason, Tai found her praise to be as uncomfortable as her ridicule. "Uh...thanks," he said.
"So what happened after that?"
Tai straightened. "That video went absolutely viral. A few hours after the broadcast, copies of it began to pop up on several social media sites. It spread like wildfire, and all the major news outlets got hold of it—it was kind of a nightmare, to be honest. We really only intended a lot of that information for Digidestined, and we've had to fight a lot of misinformation to the public since then."
Tai sighed heavily. "In any case, pretty much everybody knows about the breaking of bonds now. And our attempt to rally all the Digidestined under our leadership seems to be working; Izzy told me yesterday that 68% of Digidestined on INDICON have registered their teams so far. Something like 2,600 teams."
"Wow. Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you."
Tai rubbed his head. "Yeah, I guess so," he said with a chuckle.
"Have any more Digidestined lost their digimon yet besides the ones on your team?" Tai caught the quiver of concern in her voice. "Yes," he replied, "unfortunately. We've found six others whose bonds have broken so far: one in Hungary, one in Brazil, two in India, one in China, and one in Israel. Those last two only lost their digimon in the last couple of weeks, and all of them were geniuses like you who lost their digimon younger in life, but we didn't know about them until now because without a working digivice, they had no way to log onto INDICON. Izzy's working on a fix for that right now."
"I see. Is there—?" Menoa began, but was cut off by the door opening. Light flooded in, temporarily blinding them both.
"Time's up, Kamiya!" Sergeant Groeneveld barked gruffly.
"This way, sir," Corporal Klaasen beckoned.
Tai looked back to Menoa. "I'm sorry. I've got to go."
Menoa nodded in resignation. "I understand."
"Well...goodbye." He turned to go.
"Tai, wait!" Menoa blurted.
He paused and looked back. Groeneveld started tapping his foot noisily to signal that his patience was running out.
"Would...would you come back and see me sometime?," she asked, eyes to the floor. "I don't exactly get many visitors."
Tai flashed her a half-smile. "I will. I promise." Then he turned and was gone. The door clicked shut, and Menoa's prison cell was again enveloped in darkness.
A/N: [Edited slightly 09/12/2024] Hey guys. I know this chapter was essentially just a repetition of the last one, and I hope it wasn't too boring as a result. But I felt that both this and the previous chapter were necessary for their own reasons. The last one because we needed to see the other Digidestined hear about and react to the breaking of bonds, and how they would rally around Tai, Matt, and Sora. This one because the news needed to get out to the rest of the world, and I wanted to see our group having a proactive role in preparing the worldwide network of Digidestined for what's coming. And also to see Tai and the others (but particularly Tai) step up into leadership roles.
For anyone who's wondering, 99% of the usernames in the livestream chat are completely random and made up, though a few of them should be recognizable as Digidestined that we have met in 02. But if there are any eagle-eyed readers who are fans of Kale's Takari saga from waaayyy back in the day (and which have been faithfully archived by Eowyn the Fair), you may have spotted an Easter egg homage to his works among them.
With the end of this chapter, we have completed what was intended to be the end of Part 1 of this tale. However, the content of what will be the next [three] chapters were not originally planned, and will take place before Part 2 properly begins. So we will be entering into a brief sort of transition period between the immediate aftermath of Last Evolution and the next stage of this story.
Digimon episodes referenced: s1, ep. 20, "The Earthquake of Metalgreymon"; s2, ep. 39, "Dramon Power"; s2, ep. 40-42, "Digimon World Tour, parts 1-3".
Next time on Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution—Chapter 10. Love and Courage.