Hello! Welcome to a fic that ventures into crack territory XD.
Got quite a few challenges tied to this one, including the 28 Days of Love Challenge, Digimon Bingo prompt "thanks for the memories", and, most of all, the Rule 63 Challenge! You all know what Rule 63 of the Internet is, right? :) If not, you'll soon find out!
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. And considering some of its possible worlds, that might be just as well.
Topsy-Turvy
"Ever notice how "What the hell" is always the right answer?" - Marilyn Monroe
Everyone learned upon subsequent trips to the Digital World that sometimes people underwent…reformatting in certain areas. For example, there was one sub-world where everyone got turned into little kids. It wasn't just a cosmetic change either: Takato became a crybaby, Rika became surprisingly cute, Ryo pretended to be a superhero, and Henry reverted back into a hyper little hellion. He was so reckless, in fact, that Henry ended up with a broken foot by the end of that little misadventure.
And that was why Henry was stuck at Hypnos headquarters instead of being out in the Digital World. Not that he wasn't doing anything: he was the one who was currently in charge of communications with Takato and Rika. It was a simple exploration mission, where Yamaki was trying to get information on all the sub-worlds within the Digital World.
…And Henry had absolutely no idea how to handle the present situation. Right now he was trying to get the visual equipment to work. It had malfunctioned as soon at they had entered this newest sub-world.
"How's it going Henry?" asked Ryo, who had just come back from a solo mission.
"Well…"
Ryo didn't wait for an answer. He strolled over nonchalantly, leaning to the speaker. "Hi, Rika!" he greeted, his voice practically dripping hearts.
The screen blipped to life, revealing a very amused, very male Rika.
"Hi, faggot!" Rika greeted with a non-sincere smile, mocking Ryo's earlier sugary tone. Her voice had gone three octaves lower.
…Admittedly, the way Ryo's smile stayed stuck on his face, while his eyes screamed bewilderment, perhaps even horror, was hilarious. This might turn out fun after all.
Though to be fair, it was quite a change. Her auburn hair was much shorter, with a wavy, tussled look. Her soft features were now sharper, her thin arms roped with well-defined muscles. Even her clothes had changed: instead of white shirt with a purple heart she had a black sleeveless shirt with a silver flame emblazoned on the front, and boots instead of sneakers.
…Actually, the pronoun "her" was probably not the most appropriate right now. But Henry couldn't help it: the Rika he knew was a girl. A strong, tomboyish girl, but still a girl. Despite Rika being a guy right now, it was still the Rika he knew…right?
"…I-Is the camera working now?" asked a softer, sweeter voice.
Oh boy, don't tell me that's… Henry thought.
A few moments later Takato timidly slipped into view. His hoodie and shorts had been replaced with a form-fitting sky-blue dress with white flower patterns at the bottom. The twin sweatbands on his wrists had become twin charm bracelets. He still had the golden goggles, but they had become slimmer and more effeminate. Much like Takato himself: he looked so frail next to Rika's sturdier, now-taller build. His brown hair was shoulder-length and silky, his rose-colored eyes now framed with longer eyelashes.
In fact Takato looked…really cute. Adorable even. Henry quickly shook himself to his senses, and hoped that no one caught his outright staring. That was Takato, dammit! He was…well, he was a girl right now, but still-
The sub-world itself wasn't very dangerous, all abrupt gender-flipping aside. It had no effect on their Digimon, who were genderless to start with. It was mostly green fields and colorful flowers, with the occasional tree or laser-shooting signpost. Oh well, it was the Digital World after all. Floramon and Cherrymon were plentiful.
So were the leering looks from Rika to Takato, and Takato's shy and flustered glances back. Rika and Takato at least somewhat liking each other wasn't anything new (the Parasimon incident helped a lot with that), but Henry felt uncomfortable watching it. These reversed roles…didn't make much of a difference, actually, considering their personalities.
But there was a difference, and it grew more apparent the longer Henry watched. Rika, always blunt to begin with, was much more forward now that she was a guy. What were once sly compliments ("You're pretty smart for a gogglehead.") became outright flirting ("Betcha look even cuter without the goggles."). Takato meanwhile was even more excitable and emotional than usual: when not being almost motherly to Guilmon, he was blushing like mad from Rika's brazen words and touches. Their Digimon observed it with mute fascination.
The scary thing was that Takato and Rika didn't seem to be aware of how odd they were acting. Did different hormones affect people like much? But what might have been scarier was the bizarre jealousy boiling up within Henry…No, stop that! What was wrong with him?
"But I love you, Rika," Ryo said, wearing an almost perfect smile.
Rika quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm a guy right now, you know."
"I still love you, Rika," Ryo replied, expression unchanged.
"…Fag."
…Well, at least Henry wasn't the only one thinking strangely. Then again, it was hard to tell if Ryo was being serious or being a troll. That guy was damn hard to read sometimes.
As if Ryo and Henry's own apparently perverse minds weren't enough awkward company, almost everyone else in Hypnos stopped by too. Kazu and Kenta laughed uncontrollably at the sight, before staying to see what happened next. Impmon would have laughed more if he didn't have to explain everything to a clueless Calumon. Jeri stared, much to Takato's supreme embarrassment, and soon left to save both her and Takato some dignity. Terriermon came back from eating snacks and kept asking why Henry's face kept turning red.
Yamaki came down to investigate the ruckus, took one look at the monitor, then sighed as he kept on walking. He soon came back with the entire Monster Maker team in tow, led by Henry's own father Janyu. The one time that Henry didn't want his dad around…but no, of course his dad and everyone else grilled him on the details of the situation. Not that he knew much about it in the first place, aside from the sex swap, but it made him feel even more boxed in. Not that he was going anywhere fast with his foot in a cast anyway…
But Henry sure wished he could run away when Rika suddenly pulled cute little Takato close and kissed him full on the mouth. What, did this sub-world make people hornier too? They knew everyone was watching them, including the adults! Luckily the others were too busy either cheering or chiding the kiss to notice Henry struggling to swallow his surprisingly strong anger.
But that wasn't even the worst part. Neither was it Rika and Takato's increasing affection for one another, or the raising frenzy of the others around him, or even the raising frenzy within himself he tried to keep harnessed. No, it was when Rika and Takato faced an actual threat in the form of two Puppetmon. So Takato and Rika BioMerged to Mega level (surprisingly their evolutions were normal), and the high-tech camera allowed them to see Rika and Takato within their Mega forms…in all their glowing, naked glory. Granted, they couldn't see too much because of the light, but even Ryo balked at seeing their changed physiques now fully exposed.
And for Henry, that was it. After finally tearing his eyes from the screen, he spun his chair around, hurting foot be damned, hopped to his crutches, and hobbled away as fast as physically possible. Which, of course, wasn't nearly fast enough, as everyone, including oblivious Takato, shot him puzzled questions and looks as he fled the scene.
IIIIII
A little while later, Takato and Rika returned to Hypnos headquarters, now returned to their right genders. Aside from headaches and slightly fuzzy recollection, they seemed to be fine. Ryo was back to stalking Rika again, and Rika was back to ignoring him. He apparently rebounded quickly from his trauma. As Takato followed Henry around, happily blabbering on about taking Henry and everyone else to his house later, Henry wished he had Ryo's mind of steel. He also wished that Kazu would shut up with his not-so-secret snickering. It was going to be a long time living this one down.
Thanks for the memories…thought Henry. …That I absolutely, positively do not need!
IIIIII
Well, that was fun XP. Hope you guys enjoyed it too!