Chapter 2: Rebirth
TK:
The angel was in heaven, the spirits of trees all around him. He flew through the tree spirits on his white dovelike wings, the sword of kings seethed on his waist. As he flew he saw another angel in the distance, a woman with a halo of twelve stars was around her head. She flew toward him, into the ghostly forest, something terrible behind her.
"Help me, oh knightly angel!" She yelled to him. "For the dragon seeks to devour my child!"
Then the terrible thing came into easy view of the angel: a hideous dragon flying toward her as fast as he could on his leathery bat wings.
"Halt oh royal mother!" the dragon cried "halt and be eaten with the whelp inside of you!"
The angel drew the sword of kings and it was engulfed by holy fire. He flew past the royal mother and charged her pursuer. The dragon blew forth a stream of black fire, but the angel dodged it easily. He reached the dragon, and with one slash of his fiery sword the dragon's wing was severed. It roared in agony as it fell from heaven toward the Earth below.
"Praise to you, my angel." Said the royal mother. She embraced him in her arms.
"I have only done my duty." The angel spoke. They then shared a passionate kiss.
The sound of TK's alarm woke him up. He shut it off and got up. Normally he preferred dreams to waking; waking was followed by school after all, but today was a different.
He walked out in the hallway. A woman was there, not the royal mother of his dreams but his real mother.
"Happy birthday TK!" She said. "I made your favorite breakfast."
"Thanks mom." TK replied. They began eating together.
TK and his mother were usual in his country, they were both Christians. Daughter of a French missionary and a Japanese convert it was inevitable Ms Takaishi would be raised that way, and with TK's father out of the picture, it was inevitable he would be raised that way as well. They were, however, they only ones of their faith they really knew. TK felt that gave them a closer relationship than most mothers and children.
She finished before he did. "I need to get some work done before I take you to school." She said rising.
"Okay." TK said. She left and he began to finish on his own.
He thought back to his dream as he ate. He had become more devout since his first return from the digital world; he thought it was a consequence of literally acquiring a guardian angel. That devotion had its own consequence. Though rare, it was not unheard of for him to have dreams with images from the Bible. This particular dream was strange though. When such dreams occurred it was usually on Sunday nights, after worship. Some variation of this dream, however, had come not only on Sunday night, but Monday and Tuesday night as well. Why was that? Apparently something about that sermon had resonated with him… Did he have some reason to dream of defeating a dragon and getting the woman it perused?
"It's the plot of every fantasy novel." TK said laughing to himself.
That was probably it. The more he thought about it the more since it made. Everyone had dreams influenced by the media. He was dreaming of being a knight and rescuing a princess. What else would you call a "royal mother" after all?
Davis:
The gogglehead found it almost strange to see his Rookie partner in the real world. Even stranger was the coffee pot in his hand.
"You sure you can hold this form for 24 hours, bro?" He asked.
"I kinda need fingers if I'm going to put the ring on without you." His partner said.
"It might be more than 24 hours actually," Davis said "if TB doesn't take off the ring until after then."
"That's why we took the whole pot."
Davis remembered what Izzy had guessed about the digimon regressing to In-Training in the real world. He said it was to conserve energy. It looked like he was right; a little coffee and the blue dragon had fingers again. Mom and dad were going to be furious when they found out he'd taken the coffee maker… At least he wouldn't be the one to hear it.
"Save the next drink until after the time limit is over. No need to hold this form in the mean time."
"Good idea!" Veemon said. He hid the pot under the bed. "You sure you can get Patamon to wear the other ring by then?"
"Positive." The gogglehead replied. "I'll look like his partner after all."
He turned to the door. "It's almost party time." He said. "See you when it's over."
"See you then." The dragon replied.
TK:
"Happy Birthday!" Everyone yelled as TK blew out the candles.
"Thanks everyone."
Most of TK's friends and family had amassed at his apartment. They all sat together around a long composite table. The birthday boy sat on one end of the table, cake before him and a pile of presents on his left side. His brother and parents sat closest to him. Beyond them were the other digidesitned sans faraway Mimi.
The cake was quickly eaten. Tai and Kari were the first to finish. Both of them loved it much more than what their mother had severed them on their birthdays, or most any other time. TK guessed as much as he finished his next. The thought of presents after the cake hurried his consumption. How strange, he thought, that Davis was right behind him...
"He must really want me to open presents." TK thought. He then laughed internally. "Nah Davis hates me; he just really likes food." This made him curious, however. What had Davis gotten for him? "Will rubber snakes explode from the box when I open it?" When the others finished their cake he went straight for his rival's gift.
He did not find rubber snakes as he opened the box. Instead wrapped by velvet he found… a ring?
"Why yes Davis," he said picking up the ring. "I do!"
"Ha, ha, TS" Davis said. "I thought a valuable gift would be great help with a new friendship like ours."
Jokes aside TK was flattered by the gift. He examined the ring more closely as he slid it on. The gem looked like real ruby, though he thought that did clash with the blackness of the ring itself. "It looks like a gothic wedding ring." He thought further. "Yeah, I'm not wearing it again. It might be worth something resold, though." He then saw Kari in the corner of his eye. "Or maybe regifted."
"Thank you Davis" he said, moving on to the next present. The googlehead smiled.
"You're very welcome."
Kari:
Kari and her brother were the last to leave the party, even after Matt and his father. Tai had volunteered to help clean up, and, well, things still seemed to be awkward between TK's divorced parents. With Tai and Ms. Takashi tidying the kitchen, she and TK were alone together, lounging in the den. Kari was expecting Davis to protest as he left, but for once the new leader seemed fine with them together. It was great to see.
She remembered when her brother first introduced her to the Davis. He had been some underclass kid on Tai's soccer team. The boy just seemed so happy to be with Tai, and then to be with her. No one had ever been as nice to her as he was then. How could she not appreciate that? They were friends almost immediately. They still were friends now, but ever since TK returned...
"I wish I was the leader." Kari lamented inside.
Could she put a stop their fighting then? She didn't know, but she always felt like it should have been her anyway. She was Tai's sister. Shouldn't that have made her his heir? She knew it was irrational; it's not like they were a royal family or anything, but she just couldn't seem to shake the thought. She knew why her brother had picked Davis over her. If the smartest kid was meant to be the leader it should have been Izzy in the first place, not Tai. Tai had seen his charisma in Davis, the same charisma that he held the group together with four years ago. Heck, even applying the logic that says "the smartest one should be the leader" would probably put Yolie in charge of the new group rather than her…
"How do you like the scarf I gave you?" She asked TK as much for herself as him.
Summer would soon start but TK was still warring the scarf. "It's great!" He said. "I don't usually like getting clothes for birthdays, but, somehow, getting one from you seemed to make up for it."
Kari blushed. "Thanks." That made things a lot better.
"You wanna watch a movie?" She asked. "Yolie gave you that space film didn't she?"
"I don't think we have time." TK said. "There's probably something good on TV though."
"Okay" Kai siad.
As they watched she asked another question.
"What was your favorite gift? It doesn't have to be mine."
"I don't know." TK said. He slipped off the ring Davis gave him and held it up. "It probably ought to be this ring. I didn't expect anything that valuable, especially not from Davis of all people, but it would feel kind of awkward to wear it."
"Why's that?" Kari asked.
"I just don't feel right wearing a betrothal token from another guy," he replied "especially not Davis. I know that's not what it is but still… Do you want it? I know your birthday is in a few weeks. You can think of it as an early present."
That did excite her. "You don't have to do that TK." She said politely.
"I insist." He handed her the ring. "It will look great on you."
"Thanks a lot." Kari said taking the ring. She examined it closely. Black wasn't her color, but she did like the ruby. The fact that it came from TK also seemed to make it nicer. She slipped it on her finger. "I'll wear it tonight."
She heard a chuckle behind her. Turing around they saw Tai.
"We got the kitchen clean." Tai said. "You ready to go?"
"It is getting late." Kari said she turned to her host. "'I'm sorry."
"That's fine." TK said. He showed them to the door. "See you tomorrow at school."
As they began walking home Kari asked a question of her brother. "What was so funny?"
"Nothing." He said "I can't help but think of old times when I see you younger kids, and it's just kind of ironic to me."
"Ironic?" Kari asked. "How so?"
"Maybe that's not the right word." Tai replied. "I just think you and TK remind me a lot of Sora and Matt in the old days."
What did that mean? It made sense for TK to remind people of Matt; they were brothers after all, but what about her was like Sora of all people? She was about to inquire when something… strange happened. Was it this dark a second ago? Okay, now it's all bright. Wait what?
She wasn't looking at Tai anymore but at a pair of hands, the right over the ring finger of the left. She felt fingers touching each other. Why… where her hands that big before?
She stepped back and felt her back hit a wall… was she in a bathroom? That was very much what it looked like. What? Wasn't she outside? Yep, she was definitely in a bathroom now; there was a toilet to her left and a shower to her right. Was that Davis in front of her…? Davis what… was that a sink? Was that… a mirror…. Oh god… it couldn't be.
"Da.. Davis?" She said. "Is that you?"
The boy in the mirror mimicked her mouth movements. She heard a voice that couldn't possibly be hers…. She stepped forward and touched her hand to the mirror. The boy in the mirror touched his hand to hers. She felt glass against… her hand.
"Oh god."
She saw the mouth in the mirror begin to open… then it was dark again.
"Davis!"
A split second later she saw an older girl standing over her. She felt her back on the wall and her legs on the floor.
"Davis!" The girl shouted.
"I.." Kari stuttered. "I.. what's happening?"
"I heard you screaming and came to see you on the floor." The girl said. "What's wrong?"
"Daisuke, Jun what's going on?"
Kari looked over and saw two adults standing in the doorway. Were they Davis's parents? Wasn't that girl his sister? Yes, Jun, that was her name… why are they here… why had she called her "Davis?" Oh god.
"I… I'm him." She said… "I'm Davis."
"Dais… Davis what's wrong?" Mrs Motomiya asked.
"I… can I be alone?"
It was several minutes before they actually left her alone… They kept asking her questions. "What happened?" "What's wrong?" "Why did you scream?" What could she possibly tell them? "I'm not your son I'm his best friend's sister and I just arrived in his body?" They would never believe that. She kept assuring them she was fine. She was physically… wasn't she? Eventually she decided to say she had seen a big spider. That didn't seem to satisfy her new family but they stopped asking questions. Had they just realized questions weren't going anywhere? They left, but Kari suspected they would be back.
She stepped out of the bathroom. Was this Davis's room? She saw a blue mass emerge from beneath the bed… DemiVeemon.
"What just happened? He asked.
More questions.
"I'm as lost as you are." She said. "Can we please not talk about it?"
The tiny dragon frowned. "All right." He said. He looked over at the door. "Can you close that? They might see me."
After hearing their son scream and seeing him faint Kari doubted Davis's parents would want a door blocking their view of him… crap could they see them now!? She looked through door and saw no one…
"Could… could you hide under the bed some more?" Kari asked
The digimon did so nodding.
His new partner sat down. "Calm down." She thought. "Let's think this through…"
Was there any rational explanation for what happened? What was she doing before? Walking home with Tai? Was there anything there that explained why she became Davis… no… Hang on, if she was Davis who was he? Was he her? How could that be? What was the alternative? If Davis wasn't her then where was he? Had she possessed him or something? How would that hap…
She ran back to the mirror.
"Davis if you're in here I'm sorry." She cried at the glass. "I… I didn't mean to steal your body, honest. I'll give it back… once I figure out how."
She tired thinking about leaving this body…. That didn't work. Could she move her spirit like moving a body part? She stuck out her tongue… how did that apply to spirits? …If she was a spirit what did that mean for her body?
"I'm so so sorry." She said again.
What now?
"I need to know what happened." The current gogglehead thought… she needed to see her body. If nothing else that would tell her whether she had switched would Davis or possessed him or something else. It would tell her the "something else" option, right? Would it actually explain what that something else was? Would it actually explain any of the above? "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Could she get to her old house from here? She knew the way… no, the Motomiyas would never let their son walk several blocks after seeing him faint. What else could she do… telephone. Was there a telephone in here? Her eyes darted frantically…
"YES A PHONE!" She blurted out seeing one. "Okay clam down…"
She walked up to the phone and dialed her own number.
"If no one picks up they're fretting over my dead body."
The phone rang several times…
"Kamiya residence."
Kari recognized her mother's voice.
"Hello," She replied. "Is… Kari there?"
"Oh hi, Davis." Mrs. Kamiya said, apparently recognizing her new voice. "Kari isn't back from the party yet. I can take a message."
What should she say? "Actually, I am Kari" Would her mother believe it? Would Kari believe it herself if wasn't happening to her? She didn't think she would.
"Just have her call me back when she gets home."
"Okay Davis," her former mother said. "See you later." She hung up.
Well… she wasn't dead right? Wait… she was walking home when this happened. Would mom know if her body was okay? Kari tried dialing her own cell phone… no response…. That wasn't a good sign.
She sat down and waited. How long would it take her to get home from TK's? Maybe 15 minutes? Okay. If Davis were in her body would he just walk home casually with Tai? How would he react to becoming her? How would Tai react to that?
She sat down and waited. It was all she could do…
What would she do if the call didn't come?
"I'll go to the hospital." Kari thought. That's where Tai would take her body if something were wrong with it. Surely she could convince the Motomiyas to take "Davis" there after he fainted… How long should she wait? …Thirty minutes. That allowed Davis freak out time before heading back to her house…
"Yes that will work."
She sat anxiously…
Twenty minutes later the phone rang. Kari picked it up as fast as she could. Absolutely no one else could answer it.
"Davis, please tell me that's you!" She pleaded into the phone.
The reply was a weak "Yes… are you… Kari?"
It was how her voice sounded in recordings.
"Yes…" She said… they had switched. "Are you okay?"
"Well… I think so." The reply sounded confused. "Does the body switch count as not okay?"
"That's an excellent question." Kari responded "Do you have any idea how it happened?"
"Not a clue." The former gogglehead spoke. "I just finished washing my hands then I'm walking outside with Tai."
"Did you try to convince anyone who you are?" Kari asked.
"Tai thought it was a weird prank." Davis said. "I didn't bother with your parents. You think they would believe it?"
She didn't.
"You can try." Kari said. "You think anyone in your family would believe it?"
"Not in a million years." Her own voice replied.
"What are we gonna do?"
"Maybe it we'll switch back as suddenly as we switched in the first place." Davis suggested.
"Is that how it works?" Kari asked.
"It does in the movies." Davis said. "Usually after the switched people learn some new lesson about each other."
Was this really all they had to go on…
"Are you suggesting we just live out each other's lives and not tell anyone?" She asked. "That's also what happens in the movies."
"What would you suggest instead of that?"
She really didn't have a better idea…
"Just meet me before school tomorrow so we can trade locks and schedules." Kari said. It was the first complication she thought of. "If I can think of a better plan before then I'll call you."
"Okay." Davis said. "Anything else?"
"I'm sure I'll think of something before tomorrow." Kari said. "But for now I guess see you then."
"See you then." Davis said hanging up.
Kari hung up the phone… in the corner her eyes she saw the bathroom mirror though the open door… and Davis right then.
"I'll be seeing you a lot before then won't I?" She thought… looking in the bathroom she realized something else...
"Oh god." Kari thought. "I have to pee."
Davis:
Davis looked at himself in the mirror… was it "himself" anymore? He was Kari. He was… a girl.
He hadn't realized it at first. He'd just assumed TK was talking with Tai when he first landed in Kari's body. His idol had been staring at him waiting for a response. A simple "never mind" was enough and then they were walking… toward Tai's house. Then he received a call on Kari's cell phone… which was among her clothes… next to her pink digivice… it took all of his will power to walk "home" with a straight face. Tai's mother had told him "Davis" had called. He went straight up to her room to reply. Now…
He groaned at the mirror. "At least I'm not looking at TK."
Somehow he liked seeing the image of Kari saying those words.
"Davis I love you." "Kari" went on to say. "TK sucks. You're the only man for me, the most handsome man I know."
Yes that did please him. He moved his lips in to kiss her… His lips met with the glass…
Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad day after all.
"What do I do now?" The former goggelhead thought. "Is is possible to keep to the plan? No, even if I can get TK to wear the ring, Kari will know about the switching; I won't be able to make her think I'm him."
"Damn it TK." He growled. "Why didn't you wear my ring?"
Seeing Kari speak those words displeased him.
Davis turned away from the mirror and left Kari's room. He resumed thinking in his new living room.
"Can I at least forget it and switch back in 24 hours? Will she still be wearing the ring in 24 hours?"
It wouldn't matter, he quickly realized. Even if Kari didn't take off the ring she would have to move the jewel for it to work…
"I should have told her about the ring." He thought. The thought of telling her the truth scared him both now and before. Part of the truth, after all, was what he had planned to do with her and TK. When he spoke with Kari on the phone he lied impulsively, and now, because of that he couldn't tell the truth. Even if he did not reveal his original plans he'd still have to tell her he lied over the phone. He really did not want to do that… but how could he avoid it now? He thought…
"I'll just tell her I 'figured out' the ring might be involved." Yes that would work… in fact he really liked it. He'd come to her after the 24 hours were over and remark how the jewels used to be the other way then "discover" their power with her as they switched back. He'd have to share the power with her then, but the more he thought about that, the more he liked it too. Surely they could bond over that, an amazing power only they knew about. It was how the digidestined had bonded after all… he'd just have to keep the others out of it, especially TK…
What about Veemon?
The thought hit him like a ton of bricks. Veemon would attempt to take the ring and put it on his own finger when the 24 hours were over. How would Kari react to that? He had to stop it! Could he just tell Veemon not to? How? Call Kari in his body and ask to speak with DemiVeemon? No, that wouldn't work, not after he'd told Kari they should pretend to be each other…
He began pacing up and down the living room floor. After several minutes an escape route still hadn't occurred to him…
He heard a voice behind him. "You okay partner?" it said.
The pacer turned around and saw Gatomon behind him…
"Oh I'm fine." He said. "I'm just um… taking a walk." It was immediately obvious just how unconvincing it was.
"Indoors?" Gatomon asked.
"Yes." He ran with it.
He cat stared at him for a moment, as if trying to decide what she thought, but then her eyes focused on Kari's hand…
"That ring…" She started. "Where did you get it?"
This could not end well…
"I… TK gave it to me." Could telling the truth work? That was the truth right? "What about it?"
"Oh… I'm sorry." She replied. "For a second that looked like my old tail ring… I guess I just really miss it."
"I'll um, ask TK were he got it next time I see him." Davis replied.
"Thank you Kari." The white cat said smiling very wide. "I'd really love that." She turned and began to walk away.
"I just told her I'd try to get her a ring like this!" Davis thought as she left. "At least I know I was right not telling Kari anything."
This lie seemed to have worked out though. Gatomon looked as though she had forgotten all about her current partner's bizarre behavior. What had that "tail ring" meant to her that a could-be replacement would take over her thoughts like that? Davis decided to count his blessings and not press it. Still… it showed he needed to act more like Kari, if only for the next 24 hours. He couldn't attract more attention than necessary… What would Kari do in her own living room? He looked around and saw a GameCube hooked to the TV… that would work well.
He turned it on along with the TV. Super Smash Brothers Melee came on. "Cool" Davis thought picking up the controller. He did not have this console at his own house but he had played it many times visiting Tai. "Time to check out singe-player." By the time he reached Master Hand he had almost forgotten where he was.
When the hand died Davis could swear he heard the sound of clapping behind him. He turned around… and saw Tai there.
"Congrats sis." He said. "I haven't seen you play smash in a long time, any special occasion?"
"Uh.. none." "Kari" replied. "I just want to play smash… that's okay right?"
"Of course," Tai said. "that's why the console's in the living room. I just haven't seen you do it in a while… I was actually coming to collect some more trophies."
"I wouldn't dream of keeping you from it." Davis said those words without hesitation. He began to hand Tai the controller… but then saw him reach for another.
"You wanna do two player?" Tai asked. "Smash is better for that anyway."
Davis smiled. "I'd love that." He said.
The first battle was very different than most Davis had played with Tai before. They were both using their usual characters; Tai Marth and Davis Roy, but somehow Marth was taking a lot more damage than usual. It wasn't until he had almost won that that Roy's player realized Marth's had been holding back. As his victory scene played Davis looked over and saw Tai in disbelief….
"What have I done?" Davis thought. He should have realized Kari would lose if she hardly played the game! Now Tai would be suspicious and… wait… was he smiling?
"Wow Kari." He said. "I don't know what's gotten into you but it's awesome!"
They continued to play for several more matches. Tai won most of them, more than normal Davis felt, but yet, he also felt as though he were having more fun than he'd ever had playing this game. Somehow, he felt Tai was too.
Eventually Tai's mom came claiming it was midnight and that Kari should be in bed. At first Davis didn't believe her… but the clock seemed to back her up…
"Can… we have a few more minutes?" Tai asked. Davis really hoped she would say yes…"
"You know better Tai." Mrs. Kamiya said. "Both of you have school tomorrow."
That seemed to be enough to silence him… within minutes Davis was back in Kari's room escorted by her mother. Gatomon was there to greet both of them.
"Hey Mrs. Kamiya." The digimon said. "Time for Kari's catnap?"
She laughed. "Yes it is," and reached down and petted the white cat. Gatomon purred in delight.
"Veemon would die for my mother to do that to him." Davis thought. "This must be what's it's like to be one of the first digidestined… wait I forgot about Veemon! "
Wait…
A devilish idea came to him… no, surely that couldn't be done anyway… then as his new mother left, he recalled how Gatomon had reacted to seeing the ring…
"You know this means you'll be stuck here for at least another day, right?" He could hear himself thinking. The reply was. "Is that such a bad thing?" Could he do it? Would Veemon be okay with this? "Didn't he say he wanted us to go together?"
He slipped off the ring and slid the jewel. "Hey Gatomon," he said. "You wanna borrow this?"