Yamato Ishida (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
angry_friendship_wolf) wrote2021-02-26 03:13 am
angry_friendship_wolf) wrote2021-02-26 03:13 am
[tri OOM] Seeing more and understanding less
The next morning, Koushiro leads Miyako, Jyou, and Ken to the Gate, and Ken prises it open with the power of the Dark Digivice. All four vanish in a flicker of light, and the Gate slams shut behind them.
“Think they’ll be back in time?” Taichi asks, arching an eyebrow as they turn to start walking back to the safe house.
“Nothing’s ever that simple,” Yamato mutters in response. “They know the time limit. If something delays them, we’ll just have to hold the line until they make it.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Taichi replies. “What’s the strategy?”
“Nishijima and the Bureau are evacuating Odaiba. Nishijima’s doing his best to keep soldiers away too, even though everyone’s chomping at the bit to surround the island with boats and tanks,” Yamato says. He doesn’t have to go into why thousands of soldiers and their hardware would be more of a hindrance than a help, how it would just be dead weight that they would have to protect. “When the Dark Chosen come through, we’ll bait them to areas where we can minimise damage.”
Taichi cocks his head. “You and I are playing bait, obviously. Who else?”
“Takeru, Hikari, and Daisuke,” Yamato says. “None of the stolen prototypes are designed to counter any of them, so they’ll have an advantage. Magnamon, Seraphimon, and Angewomon all compliment each other, too.”
“Leaving Sora, Mimi, and Iori to deal with any other forces,” Taichi says. “Sora and Mimi guarding the Gate itself, and Iori patrolling the waters?”
“It’s going to make things pretty boring for Iori, but someone has to do it, and Jyou’s not here,” Yamato says. “That’s about the long and short of it for now. You know there’s a question I have to ask, though.”
Taichi falters at that. He peels off, settling against a railing overlooking the sea, and pointedly not meeting Yamato’s gaze. “Yeah. I know.”
“Omegamon,” Yamato says, settling against the opposite railing. The path between them seems to yawn wider, until it feels like Taichi’s separated from him by one huge, impassable gulf. “We might need him. And right now, I don’t know if -- …”
“You think the fusion will collapse again. Like it did against Alphamon.”
That battle feels long ago now, back when they barely knew what the Infection was, when Alphamon had dropped from the sky and set out in pursuit of Meicoomon, for reasons none of them could figure out.
“Can you give me your word it won’t?” Yamato asks. “Because we can’t risk -- …”
“No,” Taichi says sharply. “No, I -- I can’t promise that. It’s … I can try but I don’t know that …”
“This isn’t -- …” Yamato gives a frustrated growl, shaking his head. “What’re you so afraid of? What’s so bad that you’ll risk this invasion spilling out into the rest of the city if we can’t stop it? C’mon, what’s so much worse than -- hundreds, thousands of people dying if we fail that you won’t even let me see -- ...”
“You don’t need to see it. You don’t need to link with me or fight me or anything like that to figure it out, you already know,” Taichi snaps. “What, do you just want me to say it?”
“Yeah, I want you to admit it. Out loud. Tell me to my face that you’d rather -- …”
“You wanted to know if we can form Omegamon? We can’t,” Taichi shook his head, pushing off the railing. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’m … that I’m hesitating, that I haven’t met your expectations, that I’m terrified that one day I’ll make a mistake and someone will -- and you’ll …”
“Fine. I’ll build our strategies around not having Omegamon on our side,” Yamato says flatly.
“Yeah. Good.”
They walk in silence after that. When they reach the safehouse, too crowded, too noisy, even without Koushiro and Jyou, Yamato finds a quiet corner away from the others and gets to work.
“Think they’ll be back in time?” Taichi asks, arching an eyebrow as they turn to start walking back to the safe house.
“Nothing’s ever that simple,” Yamato mutters in response. “They know the time limit. If something delays them, we’ll just have to hold the line until they make it.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Taichi replies. “What’s the strategy?”
“Nishijima and the Bureau are evacuating Odaiba. Nishijima’s doing his best to keep soldiers away too, even though everyone’s chomping at the bit to surround the island with boats and tanks,” Yamato says. He doesn’t have to go into why thousands of soldiers and their hardware would be more of a hindrance than a help, how it would just be dead weight that they would have to protect. “When the Dark Chosen come through, we’ll bait them to areas where we can minimise damage.”
Taichi cocks his head. “You and I are playing bait, obviously. Who else?”
“Takeru, Hikari, and Daisuke,” Yamato says. “None of the stolen prototypes are designed to counter any of them, so they’ll have an advantage. Magnamon, Seraphimon, and Angewomon all compliment each other, too.”
“Leaving Sora, Mimi, and Iori to deal with any other forces,” Taichi says. “Sora and Mimi guarding the Gate itself, and Iori patrolling the waters?”
“It’s going to make things pretty boring for Iori, but someone has to do it, and Jyou’s not here,” Yamato says. “That’s about the long and short of it for now. You know there’s a question I have to ask, though.”
Taichi falters at that. He peels off, settling against a railing overlooking the sea, and pointedly not meeting Yamato’s gaze. “Yeah. I know.”
“Omegamon,” Yamato says, settling against the opposite railing. The path between them seems to yawn wider, until it feels like Taichi’s separated from him by one huge, impassable gulf. “We might need him. And right now, I don’t know if -- …”
“You think the fusion will collapse again. Like it did against Alphamon.”
That battle feels long ago now, back when they barely knew what the Infection was, when Alphamon had dropped from the sky and set out in pursuit of Meicoomon, for reasons none of them could figure out.
“Can you give me your word it won’t?” Yamato asks. “Because we can’t risk -- …”
“No,” Taichi says sharply. “No, I -- I can’t promise that. It’s … I can try but I don’t know that …”
“This isn’t -- …” Yamato gives a frustrated growl, shaking his head. “What’re you so afraid of? What’s so bad that you’ll risk this invasion spilling out into the rest of the city if we can’t stop it? C’mon, what’s so much worse than -- hundreds, thousands of people dying if we fail that you won’t even let me see -- ...”
“You don’t need to see it. You don’t need to link with me or fight me or anything like that to figure it out, you already know,” Taichi snaps. “What, do you just want me to say it?”
“Yeah, I want you to admit it. Out loud. Tell me to my face that you’d rather -- …”
“You wanted to know if we can form Omegamon? We can’t,” Taichi shook his head, pushing off the railing. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’m … that I’m hesitating, that I haven’t met your expectations, that I’m terrified that one day I’ll make a mistake and someone will -- and you’ll …”
“Fine. I’ll build our strategies around not having Omegamon on our side,” Yamato says flatly.
“Yeah. Good.”
They walk in silence after that. When they reach the safehouse, too crowded, too noisy, even without Koushiro and Jyou, Yamato finds a quiet corner away from the others and gets to work.