Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Heroes of Olympus. But for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do...

Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "limit".

Also written for July's Camp Nano. This chapter brings me to 15,363/40,000. After the action packed chapters we just all came from, I expect this chapter will feel a little lackluster. It sure did to me, but transition chapters - amirite? We have to get to point A to point B somehow. I do think this chapter could have been more interesting somehow; I just didn't know how to do it. That being said, it is what it is, and there will be a few more transition chapters before we get to the last arc. Exciting!

Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Six

Getting off of the mountain was easy… Getting Tai to go back to the Real World was not.

AeroVeedramon wasn't able to carry everyone all by himself, but with a little teamwork they were in the air in no time. The seven humans and three digimon rode on the backs and in the arms of AeroVeedramon, WarGrowlmon, Aquilamon, and Stingmon as they soared down the side of mountain toward the village where they had left Elecmon behind. Kari rode on AeroVeedramon's back. She needed Davis's help to keep Tai steady enough so that he didn't fall right off the side and to his death. Fortunately, Agumon's strength had been returned through Davis's crest, so he was riding with Yolei and Aquilamon just fine. That was at least one less thing she had to worry about.

It broke Kari's heart to see her brother like this – pushed just to the edge of his breaking point. He was trying to stay strong, but she could see something new in his eyes – a sign of torment that he was probably never going to share with anyone. She didn't know what Barbamon had done to him exactly, how the Demon Lord had worked to shatter his spirit and remove his fight, but she didn't think she would be able to handle it if she ever found out the truth. In a really selfish way, Kari was almost glad for his silence.

They landed on the outskirts of the village. Rookie digimon stared agape up at the two large ultimate digimon, but Kari was too tired to reassure them that they weren't there to hurt them. Luckily, Elecmon came right over and shooed everybody away while they all dismounted to the ground.

"What now?" Cody asked.

Kari realized that everybody was looking at her and Tai. Even now, he was having to use her body to remain on his feet. She could see that he was trying to hide how bad it was from everybody else, but she could feel how much of his weight he was placing on her. If she were any younger or any weaker, she probably would have crumbled beneath his weight long before now. But she couldn't even think of doing that; she had to be strong for him.

But with everybody's attention on her, she felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to be in charge, but for her brother's sake, she had to appear confident. Even when she had no plan. Unless they had run out of time, they still had another battle they had to walk right into. Today was the solstice. Sunset was quickly approaching. They had to save Gennai. They had no idea where to go or if they were already too late. But how could she leave her brother in this condition?

"First thing," she said, her voice shaking, "I—I have to get Tai home. I'm sorry, guys."

Their faces fell.

"Oh," Davis said.

"No, absolutely," Takato said, though he sounded as disappointed as Davis. "He needs you right now."

"They're right," Yolei said. "We can take it from here."

"Kari, no." Tai had been leaning against her with his eyes shut, fighting the exhaustion that was threatening to consume his body, with a blanket around his shoulders that Cody had pulled from his backpack. But now he was glaring at her. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you."

"Tai, you can't be serious!" she protested.

"She's right, Tai," Armadillomon said. "You need to sit this one out."

"Have you seen a mirror lately?" Gatomon asked. "You aren't looking too good."

"You won't do Kari any good if you go and get hurt again," WarGrowlmon said.

Tai growled. "Well, I don't need a babysitter!" He glared around the group. "I… might need to go home, but Kari…" His expression softened. "Your place is here. With your team. You can't leave them."

"I can't leave you," she protested.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'll take Agumon with me. I'm not the only one that needs a rest."

Kari stared at him. Her brother was the last person she ever expected to agree to sit out of a fight willingly. "Really?"

"I hate this," he said. "But I know I'll only be in the way. But tell Matt that if he lets anything happen to you, I'm kicking his ass. That goes for you too, Davis."

"Hey," Davis said, but it was a weak protest.

"But…" Kari's eyes stung as if she were back in the forest fire. "Tai…"

He turned in her arms, and she hugged him. He felt frail. He was trembling so much, it scared her.

Ken tugged on Davis's sleeve. "Let's give them a minute," he said, and the others followed him further into the little hut village.

"I'm so sorry, Kari," Tai said. "I failed you."

"No, Tai!"

"I'm your older brother. I'm supposed to protect you, and here you are, having to save me instead…"

"No," Kari whispered. She forced an assuring tone into her voice. "No, we're supposed to protect each other. This time it was just my turn."

He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. "Jeez, Kari, you're making me feel totally useless." At first, Kari thought he was trying to rub at his face because of a headache, but then she realized he was wiping away tears. "You're all grown up now, and saving the world without me." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Kari. Stay safe, alright? Or else Mom and Dad will never let me hear the end of it."

She gave a watery laugh. "I promise. I love you, too, Tai."

The others returned with snacks and beverages provided by the village, and they walked Tai and Agumon to the TV they had originally come through. Kari used her D-3 to open the portal, and with one last hug, he was gone. She hoped Mr and Mrs Izumi didn't hate her too much for dropping her emotionally damaged brother in their laps, but she knew that they were probably the only ones who would understand and know what to do. Her parents were more likely to have a heart attack, if they hadn't already.

"I guess I should get going, too," Elecmon said as he looked at the portal with distaste. "Primary Village needs me."

"They'll be glad to have you back, Elecmon," Cody said.

"Tell Bearmon hi for me," Davis said.

Elecmon straightened up and glared at the group. "You lot take care of each other, you hear? I don't want to hear about another one of you going missing. And you find out where TK and Patamon are so that I can give them a piece of my mind!"

"You got it, Elecmon," AeroVeedramon said, giving a toothy grin.

"We'll find them," Armadillomon promised.

Kari gave the rookie digimon a hug. "Thanks, Elecmon. Protect Primary Village."

"I will," Elecmon assured them. "Be safe."

Yolei did the honors this time to send Elecmon back to Primary Village. When the light faded from the digi-port, Kari started to cry. She'd been holding it in too long, and she just couldn't do it anymore. She'd hit her limit. Before she knew it, Yolei was hugging her while the boys all stood uncomfortably nearby. Cody fished some Kleenex out of his backpack and awkwardly handed it over.

"Tai's okay," Yolei reassured her. "We did it. He's okay!"

Kari sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. She allowed herself to be comforted for six deep breaths. Seven. Then she couldn't indulge herself anymore. They needed her.

"Thank you guys, so much," Kari said. "I… I don't know what I would have done if…"

She wanted to tell them how much they meant to her. They'd sacrificed everything, maybe even Gennai, maybe even Takato's memory, just to help her. She couldn't repay them, couldn't even put her gratitude into words. But her friends' expressions told her they understood.

Then, from somewhere to Kari's left, a strange beeping started to sound. At first Kari thought she was imagining it, but then she realized it was coming from Davis's pocket. It was his D-Terminal signaling an incoming message.

Davis fumbled for his D-Terminal and pulled it out. "It's a message from Izzy!" he announced. "He says they found Gennai. He wants to know where we are."

"Tell him we're still at Mount Blue Screen, but that Tai is safe," Ken said.

"And ask him if Gennai's okay," Stingmon added.

Davis quickly typed it out, and they all impatiently waited for a reply. "He says that he and the others have met back up with our old friends the Fangmon, and they're holding them off, but they're quickly getting overrun. They need backup. They can't get Gennai out, because of some fancy lock that's keeping him in his cage. He thinks only Cody and Yolei can open it. Gennai told them that sunset is when the sacrifice will be complete and the Demon Lord will wake up. He says… he says it's not looking good."

"Okay, but where are they?" Yolei asked impatiently.

Davis's fingers flew as he typed out the very brief message. It didn't take any time at all before the beep signaled a reply. "Um…" He swallowed. "Myotismon's castle."

Kari gave a shaky gasp while Gatomon's eyes widened, but it was Takato's reaction that caught all of their attention – he looked like he'd just been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and caught himself on WarGrowlmon's side.

"Yo, dude, are you alright?" Davis asked as he closed his D-Terminal. "Have you been there before?"

"N-no," Takato said. "But I know it. Intimately. I've only seen it a hundred times."

"What are you talking about?" Yolei asked.

Takato shook his head quickly. "It doesn't matter. It's located on Server, right? Can we take the digi-port there?"

Yolei crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. "One day, you're going to tell us all your secrets, Takato. Just you wait."

Takato gave an uncomfortable laugh.

Ken looked between the two of them before he answered, "There are only a few digi-ports on Server, so we don't have many to choose from. Which one would be closest?"

"As far south as you can get us," Gatomon said.

Davis pulled out his D-3. "You heard the cat. To Southern Server we go."