Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Heroes of Olympus. But let me take you higher!

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

Reminder: I post all of my review replies on my personal forum topic found right here on this site. Just navigate to the little button at the top of the screen to Forum to Anime to Digimon to Digital Connections. The topic you are looking for is called "Blurring Boundaries: And so it begins..." Or you can go to my profile and use the direct link there!

Most fanfiction stories hit their crescendo and then immediately end. There might be an epilogue or a chapter to wrap everything up, but I think most stories just get to the point and then it's done. I totally understand why, which is why I'm a little apprehensive that I have a few wrap up chapters. I hope they're not too boring, and I hope you all enjoy them even though it's more talk and emotion than action. There's not going to be too many, but... just be patient. I think it'll all be worth it. I hope.

Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Two

Kari didn't remember much about the rest of the night. They told their story and answered a million questions from the Izumis and Tai, but Mrs Izumi finally saw how tired they were and ordered them to bed. Instead of returning to their respective homes, they all just found a soft spot on the floor of the Izumi apartment and passed out.

It felt so good to sleep in an air conditioned room and on a relatively soft carpet, and Kari was so exhausted, she crashed immediately. It spared her having to dwell on the fact that she and Matt had broken their promise; they had returned to the Real World without TK.

The next morning she woke in her sleeping bag, feeling reinvigorated. The sun came through the windows along with a pleasant breeze. It might've been spring instead of winter. Birds sang. The boys around the room snored. Breakfast smells cooked up by Mrs Izumi wafted from the kitchen – steamed rice, Miso Soup, and all sorts of wonderful things.

As everybody got up for the day, nobody made any moves to head home, and the Izumis made no pressure to get them out of their apartment despite how crowded it was. But Kari knew that she couldn't avoid real life forever. She watched Matt across the room as he spoke on his cell phone in hushed tones, but the tears in his eyes and the upset look on his face told Kari everything that she needed to know. They had all made it home safely, but their team still wasn't complete. There was still a mother out there who was going to be waiting for a reunion with her son that may never come.

When looking at the big picture, Kari's pain of missing her boyfriend of a few months seemed so small in comparison to the pain that the Takaishi and Ishida clans were going through.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Tai standing there. He looked great – mostly back to normal, with sparkling brown eyes, a bit of a one day old beard starting to show, his confident smile, and his newly washed hair that still managed to stick up in every direction imaginable. Kari was relieved, but she also felt a little sad. Back to normal on the outside didn't necessarily mean back to normal on the inside. She knew Tai was harboring scars that she couldn't see, and they were scars that only Tai could help heal.

"I think it's probably time we call Mom and Dad. What do you think?" he asked.

She wrinkled her nose. "Do we have to?"

He laughed. "Yes. Come on."

"Alright."

He grabbed her hand, and she let him lead him into Izzy's room. The room had a cluttered, cozy feel. Half of the room was covered with technology: a desktop in the middle of being rebuilt, old computer parts, a space for his laptop, and game consoles. Fliers and brochures from different computer conventions and colleges decorated the wall above and behind the desk. Kari hadn't heard of most of these conventions, but judging from the wear and tear, they must have gone back years. On the edge of the desk sat a CD holder with all of Izzy's favorite music.

The rest of the walls were plastered with photos of them, the digidestined, almost like a hall of fame. But Kari knew the real purpose. There had been a time that Izzy had placed computers over people, but those days were long behind him. Now, most of his life was taken up by his friends. There were snapshots of them all throughout the years, some with her in it and some without. Many of them had Izzy, Matt, Tai, and Joe. Quite a few had TK. In some of the newer photos, digidestined that Kari barely knew were featured: the Poi brothers, the digidestined of Australia, some girl from France, even Mina from India.

Tai pulled out his cell phone, and Kari settled herself on the edge of Izzy's bed. Well, she assumed it was still Izzy's bed. Takato's stuff was strewn across it, which made her think that the Izumis were encouraging him to make himself at home. Considering they still didn't know where else he could go, she considered that a good thing. Tai set the phone to speaker and sat down next to her. The phone rang once and then—

"Tai!?" her mother's frantic voice came over the speaker. "Is that you!?"

"Yes, it's me," Tai said, sounding a little embarrassed. "I've got Kari with me."

"Oh, thank god!" she cried. "Susumu!" She sounded muffled suddenly, like she was trying to cover the phone from her shouting. "Susumu, get in here! It's them! They're okay!" Then back into the phone she said, "You're okay, right?"

"Yes, Mom, we're fine," Tai said.

"Kari?" their father's voice said suddenly, and Kari realized that their mother must have put them on speaker phone as well.

"I'm fine, too, Dad," she said, weakly. "We're… we're so sorry about worrying you and just disappearing…"

"You didn't even leave a note!" their mother said. "How could you do that to us? I was worried out of my mind! I didn't know what happened to either of you! After what happened to TK, I was just—"

"Yuuko," their father said gently.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice trembling. "We just… we were so scared until we called Davis and Yolei's parents, and we realized that you two had disappeared on another… Digi-Adventure! How could you do this to us?"

"We had to, Mom," Tai said, his voice surprisingly strong for how weak he had looked yesterday. "We had to find out what was really going on. It's what we do."

"Well, I wish you wouldn't!" their mother snapped.

In Kari's mind, she started the clock. She figured if their parents lectured them for at least a full minute, then they would be spared further lecturing when they got home. Hopefully, by then, they would have moved back to relief.

"It's what we do," she repeated. The word choice almost seemed funny to her for some reason.

"Is this about… about TK?" their father asked. "Is this why you had to go – to see if you could find out what happened?"

Maybe they could get away with only ten seconds of lecturing. Kari didn't want to feel ungrateful toward her parents, but she really didn't want to talk about this right now. But her father did sound sincere, like he really was concerned about her missing boyfriend. And maybe he was. TK was no stranger to the Kamiya household.

"Partly," she answered.

"There's a lot more to it," Tai filled in.

"Like what?" their father asked.

A chill went down Kari's neck. Blood sacrifice. Demon Lords. The destruction of all the worlds. Where should they start?

"It's Digital World stuff, Dad," Tai said. "It's hard to explain."

"Right, right, of course," he said. "Are you leaving again right away?"

"What?!" their mother shrieked.

"No," Tai said before their mother could start in on another tirade. "Not… not for a little while. We need to figure some stuff out first."

He sent an uncertain look toward Kari as he said that. He hadn't heard that information directly from Gennai after all, but Kari nodded to let him know that he had it right. As much as she wish he didn't. She'd give anything to immediately return to the search for TK, but she knew that it would be fruitless.

"Well, okay," their father said. "Are you coming home soon?"

"Soon," Kari said.

"Really soon," Tai added.

"Alright. Well, remember that we love you," he said. "And that we're so proud of you. Whatever you're doing, we know it's for a good cause. You'll keep each other safe, won't you?"

Kari blinked. She wasn't going to cry now. After all she'd been through, that would be ridiculous. "Of course. We'll do our best."

"Both of us," Tai added.

He put his arm around her shoulders, and Kari allowed herself to lean into his embrace.

"O-okay," their mother said. "Come home soon. We'll… we'll be waiting. However long it takes. And…"

"Yes?" Kari asked.

A subtle click of the phone signaled that she had taken them off of speaker. When she spoke again, her voice was clearer and closer to the mic. "I love you both so much. You are both so brave and so strong. And I know I don't say it enough, but I am proud of what you do for our world… and the world of your digi-friends… You both have done remarkable things, and you will both continue to do remarkable things. You outshine the entirety of Japan."

Kari tried to answer, but she was afraid she'd break down. She touched her fingers to her lips then to the phone, suddenly feeling very homesick.

"Th-thanks, Mom," Tai managed, sounding a bit choked up himself.

"We'll let you go now," their dad said. "Be safe."

"We will," Kari managed. "Love you."

"Yeah, love you, guys," Tai echoed.

The phone went dead.

Forty-five seconds? Maybe a full minute.

Oh well, Kari didn't mind. Their parents could lecture them again when they saw them in person. All Kari knew was that this was the first time that she was genuinely glad to be back.

x X x

In the kitchen, she found Davis leaning against the counter and staring out onto the balcony, a newly washed plate in his hands. He'd drawn the short straw on the shower order, so he still wore his three day old clothes and his hair looked greasy on top of his head. His various scars and bruises from their adventure were healing, probably quicker thanks to the time that they'd let the Digital World do its magic. The Crest of Miracles still hung around his neck, looking both special and unremarkable at the same time. He was so intent on staring at whatever it was that had his attention that he nearly dropped the plate when she came up behind him.

"Jeez, Kari!" he complained as he put the plate in the dish drainer. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She giggled. "Sorry." She looked toward the open balcony door. "What are you waiting for?"

He immediately looked guilty. "I'm not waiting for anything."

She raised an eyebrow at him and stepped to the side to get a better look out onto the occupied balcony. Yolei stood next to Ken as they watched the world far down below. Kari didn't know what they were seeing, but she liked to imagine that it consisted of cars and birds and people walking hand-in-hand as they lived their life, oblivious to the troubles of another world. Today was just another normal day to the people of Japan.

But why Davis would be watching Yolei and Ken watch traffic wasn't immediately clear.

"What are you doing?" she asked, this time crossing her arms over her chest, trying to channel Yolei. She doubted it was working.

He fidgeted under her gaze for a moment before he finally spoke again. "Do you think Ken and Yolei are going to… get together?"

She blinked and dropped her arms. "I don't know. Maybe. Why?"

"Just wondering…" he murmured.

Kari wanted to push for more of his thoughts when Takato entered the kitchen. "Hey," he said, as he pulled a glass out of the cabinet. "How'd it go?"

It took her a second to realize that he was asking about the phone call to her parents. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. It was fine. They were worried."

"So was my mom," Cody said, as he joined them, moving to wash his empty plate. His hair was still wet from having just gotten out of the shower, but it was more than that catching Kari's attention. Hanging from his neck was his newly acquired tag and crest – the Crest of Justice. The bronze little trinket glinted in the sunlight. "But I think my grandfather understood."

"Dude, your grandfather is like a psychic," Davis said.

Cody smiled slightly.

Kari gave Takato a once over. He'd been at the front of the line for a shower, so he looked far cleaner and refreshed than Davis did. And yet, he somehow managed to look worse at the same time.

"Get any sleep?" she asked him.

He looked at her as if she'd been reading his thoughts. "Not much. Dreams."

"About your past?"

He nodded.

She didn't push him, and Davis and Cody didn't jump in to do so either. If he wanted to talk, she wanted to listen, but she knew he'd already been through a lot. He didn't need people pressing him for information about his past every five minutes, especially since none of them knew how good or bad the information coming back to him could be.

Takato poured himself a glass of juice. "It's not—it's not all good," he warned. "My memories – they're not all bad, but what is bad… is, well, bad."

Kari was pretty sure he'd been about to reveal something specific that would turn her whole world upside down, but she decided not to dwell on it. When he was ready, he would tell them, and they would worry about it then. But not today. Not on a sunny winter day like today.

"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out," she promised.

"Together," Cody agreed.

"Yeah, and hopefully it will all make sense for once," Davis groaned.

Takato looked at the three of them hesitantly, like he wanted very much to believe them. "There's… There's somewhere I want to go, before I say anything. I just… I need to see something for myself to… to be able to confirm that what I'm remembering isn't wrong. I thought we could go soon."

"Why not tonight?" Cody asked.

Takato's eyes widened. "Tonight?"

Davis nodded. "Yeah, why not? We all gotta head home tomorrow before our parents kill us anyway. This might be the last time we can all get together before we're all grounded for a century."

"Sounds good to me," Kari said.

She fiddled with a dishtowel folded over the drawer by her left hand. She knew there were dangerous things in store for all of them. This sense of safety was only an illusion, and the threat of grounding wasn't anywhere near as terrifying as what was waiting for them. Whatever Takato's past had in store for them could end up tearing them apart. There was no guarantee that they were going to survive their war against the Demon Lords. But right now, they were all alive, and they could afford to live in the moment.

Takato studied them warily. His goggles glinted in the sunlight streaming through the balcony doorway. "Okay. I just… I don't want to ruin our return with bad news."

"Bad news can't bring us down," Davis said. "We're the digidestined."

"How can you be so confident?" he asked.

"Dude, I just said it. We're the digidestined."

"I think what Davis is trying to say," Kari cut in with an amused smile, "is that no matter what you have to tell us, and no matter how bad it is, we'll figure it together. As a team."

Takato smiled sadly, like she'd just reminded him of something that he was quite fond of. "A team. Yeah. Alright." He downed his juice and then dropped the dirty glass into the sink. "Then why don't we go right now?"

Davis clapped his hands. "Works for me. Kari, you coming?"

She smiled. "Wouldn't miss it."

Davis walked over to the balcony doorway and called out to Yolei and Ken. "Oi! You two! Stop making googly eyes at each other, and c'mon! Takato's got something he wants to show us."