Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution

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.