Digimon: Conquering Middle Ground
Episode 7:
"Body Switching Fun"
By: Shmeilia Rockie
"So this is Galactic Bowling?" Matt had to practically yell over the insanely loud music. "It's more like a club! With bowling on the the side."
"Yeah, that's about the truth of it..." Ian glanced at the score before running in for another strike. He punched the air in victory.
Tyler frowned as he fell into second place. "This is as animated as Ian ever gets."
"Oh, this is so COOL!" Mimi looked down at her star shirt, not bothered at all by being in last place. "I love the whole black light thing! And the fog is neat too!"
"Yeah," Matt agreed with a grin. "But you can hardly see."
"Who cares?" Zeke tripped and slid half way down his lane. Everyone laughed, including him.
Overall, spirits were high that night. They had no idea what darkness lurked in the...Well, in the darkness. Demons circled outside the bowling alley, drawn to the auras of Sincerity, Friendship and Freedom from miles away. In fact, everyone there besides the Digidestined and the other two Haston brothers were possessed.
"So you do this every year?" Matt retied his bowling shoes while he waited for his turn.
"Yep, it's been my birthday tradition since I was nine."
Something moved behind the fog, sending that weird chill down Matt's spine. He gasped and turned quickly to get a good look at it, but by then it was gone.
Tyler threw a spare and came back pleased. He ran his fingers over the jet of air before noticing his friend squinting at something unseen. "What's wrong?"
Matt stood up, suddenly not in the mood for fun anymore. "I felt something familiar. Something dark."
"Oh come on, please don't ruin this for me! Can't I just have one normal day of fun?" He picked up his bowling ball for the last round, turned around and bumped into someone. At that moment, the person, who had really been a demon in disguise, knocked him to the ground. Hard. He hit his head and blacked out.
When he came around, he had a killer headache. He sat up and rubbed the sore spot. "Not again! This is exactly what happened last year." His voice had a weird echo to it. Looking around, he realized he was still in the bowling alley. There was a bunch of commotion going on all around him, but it seemed muted and distant. It must have been the bump he took. "That's funny, I expected to be in the hospital again."
Then someone moved, revealing himself. Or at least his body. Tyler's eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet. "What the -? I don't understand!"
"What's to understand?" A depressed, and definitely not human voice called to him. He turned to it to see two furry little, down-trodden monsters looking hopelessly at him. He felt some weird vibe from them, but it wasn't threatening. More like...Lost.
"Who are you guys?"
"I'm Garz," The many legged one said. He pointed to his buddy. "This is my brother, Zarg."
Zarg waved half-heartedly, his ears drooping.
Tyler frowned. "I've heard of you two. You're demons!"
"No! We're not! Honest!" Zarg flung his arms in the air. "We were misguided!"
"We thought we were demons." Garz retained his composure. "But we're not. Keesma told us so before she..." His eyes teared up at the memory. "She banished us here!"
Zarg calmed down and patted Garz on the arm. "We don't like Keesma anymore, 'cause she was just using us!"
"Where is here, anyway?" He looked around, accepting the two with ease.
Garz's three eyes wondered around as well. "The asterial plane, I think. It's some kind of other dimesion, anyway."
His eyes then turned to the thing now inhabiting his body. It looked back and smiled evilly, giving him chills. "How long have you been here?"
Zarg burst into tears. Garz yelled calmly over the wailing, "Almost a year now! Ever since our failure with the Digidestined-"
"Wait, Digidestined? I'm a Digidestined."
"You are?" Zarg zipped over to him. "That's great! I want to be the first to shake your hand!"
Tyler sweatdropped. These guys were weird.
* * * *
"You sure you're okay?" Zeke eyed his brother. "You took quite a fall."
"I'm fine." He dusted himself off.
Ian didn't like the tone in Tyler's voice. "What happened, anyway?"
"I slipped, okay?"
"Still, I think we ought to skip on out anyway, you know? And go put some ice on that bump."
Tyler smiled evilly to himself. "Fine. Let's go."
Matt didn't like that tone either. He leaned over to Mimi and whispered something in her ear.
She handed a piece of paper. "Call my cell phone if something funny happens, alright?"
Tyler drove home in silence. Everyone stared at him as though he would pass out again, but he acted like nothing had happened.
"So, uh, good game tonight, huh?" Zeke laughed nervously as they walked in the door.
"Whatever." Tyler started to go off to his room, but stopped suddenly.
Tigermon stood blocking his path, fangs bared.
"Woah, Tigermon. Whassup?"
"Don't act nice with me," he growled. "You're not Tyler!"
Everyone stared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"You know very well what I'm talking about, demon." The Digimon took a step closer.
"Hey, man," Ian waved his hand to catch his attention. "Tyler's just had a bad bump. He's been acting a little funny, but he's not possessed."
"That's right." Tyler folded his arms defiantly. "You must have just eaten some bad cheese fries."
Soon Tigermon found himself outside. He kicked the dog house in rage and stubbed his toe. "I don't believe this!"
* * * *
Matt should have been used to sleeping in strange beds, but it still made him uncomfortable. He plopped down on the guest bed and fluffed the pillow. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized he was being watched.
"Hello, Jenny," He called to her softly.
"Hi," she walked in timidly, blushing.
He smiled. Oh, the simple world of the young.
She climbed up next to him and studied him carefully. She gently touched his face, making him want to pull away. But he didn't. Something in her presence was soothing. "I like you."
"I'm sorry," He chuckled. "But I'm getting married soon."
"Married?"
"That means that I love someone so much, I've decided to spend the rest of my life with her. And only her."
"Oh." She didn't really get it. How could she? She was only three, right? She just went right on studing his face. Finally, when she did speak, she did so with surprising understanding. "Then can we just be friends?"
"Sure, Jenny." He ruffled her hair. "We can be friends."
"Excuse me, Matt, but have you seen-." Zeke stuck his head in the door. "Jenny?"
She pouted. "Go away, Zeke, you geek, we're talking!"
"It's way past your bedtime, little girl." He picked her up and she burried her face in his neck. "Sorry, Matt. She can be a bit clingy sometimes."
He waved. "No problem. Good night, Jenny."
But she'd already fallen asleep.
They left, leaving him in silence. He checked the clock - Was it only eleven? It seemed a lot later.
* * * *
The demon in Tyler's body opened Jenny's door slowly and walked over to her sleeping form. It brushed a strand of curly white-blond hair back behind her ear before scooping her up in his arms.
She squirmed in his arms. "Where are we going, Ty?"
"Shh, you're going to be a sacrafise for mistress Keesma's return to power. Go back to sleep."
"Okay." She relaxed again.
It smiled at Tyler's reflection in the mirror, knowing he could do nothing to stop it.
* * * *
Commercial break!
TK: *rounds a corner in a mall, wearing a suit under a black trench coat and talking on a cell phone. He stops suddenly.* Can you hear me now? Good! *You see him again wading in the middle of a lake with water up to his chin.* Can you hear me now? Great! *Then you see him in Walemon's mouth.* How about now? Good.
He stops in front of a movie theator where Yolei is yelling at Ken (who's leaning against the wall, arms crossed and pouting) while Cody, Sora, Tai, Kari, Izzy, and Joe stand wordlessly off to the left, staring at them with wide eyes.
TK: Is there a problem, ma'am?
Yolei: I'll say there's a problem! I told Ken here to bring enough pop corn for everyone, and instead he brings... *She throws her hands in the air and roars in total rage*
Ken: Look, I swear I heard you say 'A loud bullhorn and Jimmy Neutron', okay? How was I supposed to know that's not what you really said?
The camera swings to the right, revealing Jimmy Neutron holding a bullhorn and tapping his foot impatiently.
Jimmy: Believe me, this ain't a walk in the park for me either. I could be working on my hands free, self-propelled hoverphone, but *yells into the bullhorn* NO!
TK: *Shakes his head sadly* It's the static. Here... *He gives everyone a D-Terminal, including Mr. Neutron* Never use a cell phone. They're unreliable.
Joe: *points to the phone in TK's hand* Well, what about that?
TK: Oh, this? *sweatdrops and laughs nervously* I-I was just messing around. It's not even on!
Suddenly it rings.
* * * *
He'd just fallen asleep, and was about to that special place where he to talk to Gabumon, when a faint voice called his name. "Who's there?" He looked around, but saw only fog.
"Matt?"
He stopped again. "Tyler?"
"Hey, man..." His partner stepped out of the mist. "I need to ask you a favor."
He looked at the warm glow on the horizon, longing to be there instead of in limbo, or wherever he was. "What?"
"I, uh, need to borrow your body for a while."
Boink. "Excuse me?"
"Look, that thing that came home with you isn't me. It's a demon. And it's taken Jenny and is planning to use her as a sacrafise that will bring Keesma into our world. It would mean a new era of destruction and terror and darkness!"
This was something new. But Matt could tell Tyler was completely serious. "Well, Tigermon was right. I just have one question. What will happen to me?"
"You'll stay here. You know, I would have gone to one of my brothers, but you're a Digidestined, and I didn't want to get them involved..."
Matt slapped his forehead. "Go. Just go."
"Thanks, man!"
Tyler woke up and looked nervously around. "A dream. It was only a dream." But then he realized the voice he'd used was not his own.
He ran to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and almost screamed. "Ah! I'm Matt!" Not being able to resist, he leaned in close and wiggled his -ur, Matt's- eyebrows. "Hello, I'm Matt...Yes, I AM Yamato Ishida. I speak three different languages and play at least two different instruments. And who are you, you silly American? Who? Oh, okay, whatever. Excuse me while I step on your face on my way to the top...You say you've never had a girlfriend? Well, I'm engaged..." He stuck out his tongue.
Matt happened to be watching all this, and personally wanted to strangle the boy. "I DO NOT sound like that! I don't!"
But Tyler couldn't hear his plea. "I have INTERNATIONAL fame, and what about you? Oh, your popularity is plummiting? Well, that's just too bad... I'll put up with just as long as my contract makes me, then you'll get the boot!" He stood back and ran his hands through Matt's hair and winked at himself. "Boy, I feel better now. Sorry 'bout that man. I know you're listening, but that's been building up for a while."
Matt just crossed his arms and pouted.
Suddenly, Matt's cell phone rang. Tyler looked worriedly at it, before answering. "H-hello?"
June started rambling about something. Loudly.
He grimaced and held the phone away from his ear. "Woah, slow down! I don't understand Japanese."
She stopped abruptly. "Yama-chan?"
"Yama?" Tyler lifted an eyebrow at himself in the mirror. "Oh, you mean Matt! Sorry, he's not available right now. This is Tyler. I'm assuming you're his fiancée?"
"Funny," she said in a softly accented voice. "You sound just like Matt."
"Well, I'm kinda borrowing his body right now. It's a long story." He winced. Man, that sounded so lame!
"Is this some kind of a joke? Because if it is, I'm not laughing."
"No joke, ma'am. This is official Digidestined business. Now I really must go..."
"You know, you don't sound like him, now that I think about it. You have a weird American accent..." He rolled his eyes and shut off the phone.
He remembered watching that thing take Jenny out of her bed and decided to check just in case. He quietly opened her door, fully expecting her to be sound asleep. But she wasn't there. "Damn. I wasn't dreaming."
He bounded outside, only to discover the car missing. "Oh great, now how am I supposed to get there?" He didn't even know where 'there' was.
"Tyler?" Tigermon bounded happily up to him. "Why are you in Matt's body?"
He gave his best friend a hug. "You could tell it's me?"
"Of course! I know you anywhere! That's how I knew that thing wasn't you!" He frowned. "I tried to stop it. I attacked it, but it fought me off. It had your sister, for pizza's sake!"
"I know, I know! Did you by chance hear where he was taking her?"
"The bowling alley! He's taking her back to the bowling alley! So let's get going!"
"Going, how? I don't even have your Digivice."
"Guess what I stole offa him!" Tigermon tossed the Digivice to Tyler with a wink. "So come on!"
He held it high in the air. "Alright! Digivolve!"
"Tigermon Digivolve to...Sabermon!" Tyler hopped on his back. "And we're off!"
Matt watched them ride away. "This has disaster written all over it." He floated back inside the house, and into Zeke's head. "Hey, I need to ask you a favor..."
* * * *
"I'm still having a hard time swallowing that you're really Matt." Ian opened the garage door and threw a glance at his brother. 'Zeke' stood there with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. "Okay, never mind. Tyler doesn't know I have my own car. Of course, I don't have a license, so if I get caught..."
"Well, let's not get caught. It's not that far away, anyway. I guess we could walk, but if we want to stop world disaster, this is probably best."
"Now I know you're not my brother." They climbed in the car and buckled their seat belts. "Say, why don't you do the Digivolving thing too? It would be faster."
"It would tire me out. If there's going to be as big of a battle as I think there will be, then I'll need all my strength. Now get the lead out."
"Yes, sir."
The real Zeke sat in limbo eating a bag of chips as he watched them pull off. "This should be really interesting!"
"Yeah, I'll say!" Zarg plopped down next to him, scaring the living daylights out of him. They screamed for a solid minute, in which Zeke tossed the chips all over himself and they both shook like leaves. Then they stopped at the same time and stared at each other with wide eyes.
"W-what are you?"
"D-dunno, some k-kind of monster I guess."
"Yeah," Garz popped up on the other side of Zeke. "We're having a bit of an identity crisis right now."
"I'm Zarg, that's my brother Garz."
He'd already warmed up to them and smiled like they were old friends. "Brothers? Boy, you two are as different as me and my brother Ian! Are you Digimon?"
They laughed hysterically. "Us? Digimon?"
"No way!"
Zeke's smile faded. He snapped his fingers. "And I was hoping I might become a Digidestined like Matt and Tyler."
Zarg leaned on his arm. "That's okay, you can be a pseudo-Digidestined! And I'll be your non-Digimon!"
"Cool!" A wide grin spread across his face. "Wait. You ARE good guys, right? I mean, you're not in league with those demon things, are you?"
"Not anymore!"
He raised an eyebrow suspeciously. "Anymore?"
They sweatdropped. "Uh, that's a long story."
He gave them the evil eye. "Do I look like I'm going anywhere?"
* * * *
"So bursting in here without a plan wasn't a very good idea." Tyler struggled against the rope that bound him to the top of the pinball machine. He twisted his head to see a little more of the scene. He could just barely make out Jenny's limp form in the center of the bowling alley, surrounded by hundreds of demons. Tigermon was nowhere to be found. "Okay, I admitt, it was a stupid idea. I really need to start thinking with my brain instead of... Not using my brain. Might help, Stupid. Great, now I'm talking to myself."
Suddenly he felt his ropes loosen. He quietly jumped down and exited. None of the demons noticed because they focused all their attention on some ritual.
Once outside, he turned to his liberator. "Thanks...Man..."
"You're welcome," Mimi winked and added, "Matt."
"I'm not-"
She slapped him hard on the back, causing him to loose his balance. "I know, Tyler, I know!"
He coughed out, "How?"
"You called me 'Man', something Matt would never do...Plus, someone shut off his cell phone! He knew we need to stay in contact, but you didn't! And besides, you have a Kansas City accent."
This girl had more brain power than he'd given her credit for. "So now what do we do?"
"Well..." She put a finger on her chin and looked up at the night sky. Tyler could practically hear the gears grinding. Finally, she shrugged. "Dunno! I could try Morph Digivolving, or I could 'Orb' your sister to me..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Orb?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Sheesh, don't you watch Charmed?"
"Not really... I don't have time for television."
"Oh, nevermind!" She opened her mouth to yell the command, but a hand closed over it. Her eyes went wide and she rammed her elbow into her attacker's stomach. Only it wasn't an attacker...
It was Matt. He doubled over onto the grass.
She put her hands over her mouth. "OHMIGOSH, I'm so sorry! I thought you were a demon!"
"Hardly!" He moaned quietly. Ian bounded up, getting genuinely excited about the happenings. He looked at them questioningly. Matt rolled over onto Ian's shoe. "I'm okay, really. Don't help me up."
"Okay...I won't..." He looked up at Tyler. "Woah, he wasn't joking! Now I'm confused... Is that you, Ty?"
"No, it's the Easter Bunny." He rolled his eyes. "Duh!"
Matt stood up and looked at the boy inhabiting his body. He still held his side in pain. "That sounds like something I would say (except for the 'duh'). I think I'm rubbing off on you."
"I hope not. Now... WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT JENNY?"
"SHH! Idiot!" Mimi smacked the side Tyler's head, making him see stars.
Matt wrinkled his nose. "Careful what you do to my body, Mimi. I plan on resuming it later."
*Sweatdrop* "Sorry, Matt. I forgot."
"So lets go in there and kick some demon butt already!" Maybe a little Zeke was rubbing off on Matt too..."Morph Digi-"
"Wait!" Matt fell over, mid-word. Tyler crossed his arms. "I already tried that, and they tied me to a pinball machine."
He assumed a 'this is the most obvious thing in the world' tone of voice. "Yes, but you're only one person and we are many."
Mimi sighed. "Okay, guys, stop arguing. Are we going to charge in there recklessly or not?"
Ian raised his hand as if he were in class. "How about a third party decides this?"
That gave Mimi an idea. She slapped her fist into her palm. "Speaking of third parties, you know who I wish was here? The Key!"
Matt and Tyler exchanged glances. Poor Ian remained clueless. "Can you transport him all the way from Japan?"
"I'm not sure. Let's find out!" She held out her hands and called distinctly for the Key. At first nothing happened, but she closed her eyes and concentrated with all her being. A white light flooded the area.
POP! Ken tumbled onto the grass. He jumped up, alarmed. "What's going on? Where am I?"
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE KEY!" Mimi grabbed his shirt and shook him angrily. "Turn into him! NOW!"
"But-it-doesn't-work-like-that! Stop!" She let go of him. He straightened out his tie and glared at her. "I need to come in contact with demons before I can even think of turning into the Key."
"That's why I called you here! This place is crawling with demons!"
He looked at Matt, or at least who he thought was Matt. "Where is here, anyway?"
"Kansas City. In the US."
"Great. Just great." Ken rubbed his eyes wearily. "I was in the middle of teaching class. How am I going to explain to those kids what happened to me? And more importantly, HOW AM I GOING TO GET HOME?"
Everyone looked at Mimi, who sweatdropped. "You know, I hadn't thought about that. I guess I can't send you back, can I?"
"There won't be any need for that," a voice called. They turned to see the demon that possessed Tyler's body wearing a menacing smirk.
Ken crossed his arms, beginning to get very impatient with the whole situation. "Okay, now I'm confused."
"Our ritual's almost complete. Soon Keesma will enter this world and crush you pathetic Digidestined!" He clapped and hundreds of demons sprang out of the ground.
Ian glanced at the real Tyler over his shoulder. "Boy, this just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"Welcome to my world."
"Your world?" Matt turned and smacked Tyler with total disregard towards his own body.
The demons attacked and Ken instinctively put himself between his friends and the creatures. No sooner had he shoved them out of the way when one of the beasts mauled his arm. He clutched the wound and smiled, the pupils of his eyes changing shape. "You shouldn't have done that. Now I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."
A blinding flash eminated from him, causing everyone to jump back and sheild their eyes. The demons around him disentigrated instantly.
Mimi managed to open her eyes and to find Matt. "He's gotten a lot better at this, hasn't he?"
"Way better."
Tyler was impressed. "Yeah, kinda beats the pants offa my power, don't it?"
The flash died away, leaving only the demon in Tyler's body. "Impressive. They weren't exaggerating your power. But it won't be enough to stop us!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched shreik peirced the still night air. Tyler recognized the sound immediately and burst through the door. "Jenny!"
A strong hand pulled him back outside. "Careful, Freedom! Use your head, you'll never beat them all by yourself."
"But he isn't alone, he has us!" Mimi held her hand in the air. "Come on, Matt, let's Morph Digivolve!"
"Let's do it inside, otherwise we won't fit."
As those two ran inside, the Key turned to Tyler. "Get your body back."
Ian felt really out of place. "What about me?"
"Stay out of our way!" Then he joined Matt and Mimi inside.
"Give my body back, demon filth!"
The demon folded its stolen arms, its grin widening. "You didn't say please."
Tyler tackled it before it even knew what had happened. He plunged his hands into his head and poured out his cleansing power. "Give up, or I will seriously kill you." As the demon left, he felt himself pulled into the vaccum it created. Suddenly he was looking up at Matt. Or at least he hoped it was Matt.
Whoever it was blinked several times and looked at his hands. "What's going on, Ty?"
Tyler scrambled to his feet. "Zeke, is that you?"
"I think so, but..." He stood up and noticed for the first time that he was the same height as his oldest brother. "Woah! I'm tall! Cool! Dude, I'm Matt!"
"No, you're Zeke no matter who's body you're in. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to save Jenny and I NEED you to stay out of my way."
He rushed inside.
Zeke turned to Ian. "Well!"
"You know, this is exactly why the band broke up..."
Inside was chaos. (No, not the Dark Digidestined! *wink*) Tyler looked around, hoping to see Tigermon so he could help kick butt. Not that the Key really needed help kicking butt, he was certainly capable of defeating all of them. But he cared only about one thing right at that moment: Stopping Keesma from coming through the portal the demons had created. Which happened to be COMING OUT OF JENNY'S STOMACH! Tyler wanted to charge over there and do something rash, but he put his hands on his head and told himself the Key had it covered. The task at hand was to find his Digimon. After frantically scanning the entire bowling alley, he discovered two sets of fingers clinging to the inside of a ball return thingie. He reached in and pulled his buddy out.
"How in the good Digi-World did you get in there, Tigermon?"
Tigermon sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Can you Digivolve?"
"I think so..."
Across the room Matt kicked a couple of demons into the wall. "You know, they really ought to change the name of this place from Kansas City to Demon City!"
Mimi shook a demon off of her leg and flew high out of their reaches. "I know! And here I thought this place was quaint! Flower cannon!"
"I hope Mr. Key does something soon. I don't think I can keep this up for much longer."
'Mr. Key' did something, alright. He drew his scythe and plunged the handle into the portal, making Jenny cry out in fear. Again that flash of golden light flooded the area, this time with such intensity it could be seen as far away as St. Louis. All demons within the city limits vaporated instantly.
When he drew the scythe back out hole vanished, leaving Jenny alive and well. He leaned heavily on the staff of the weapon, drained, and panted. "Well, I'm glad that's over."
Everyone else stared at him in absolute silence, that glow still burned into their eyelids.
Finally, Tyler spoke. "Dude, that was awesome."
The Key closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. "It feels a lot different without the Power Orb, but I knew I could do it. The Powers always watch over me. All credit goes to Them."
Zeke and Ian wondered in. Zeke raised his hand sheepishly, "Excuse me, sir, but can I request something from you?"
He nodded for the boy to continue.
"Could you switch me and Matt back? I don't know how to do it."
The Key stood up straight and waved the staff and the two immediately found themselves back in their own bodies. Then he smiled slightly, "And there's something else you wish to ask of me, isn't there?"
Zeke rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah...Um, I met some, uh, things...In that dimesion that I was in. They've been wrongfully imprisoned there and I was wondering if you could..."
"Bring them here? As with any other living creature, Garz and Zarg desirve forgiveness and a second chance. If you were wondering- and this goes for you too, Matt -those two have joined our side. I think they will make Ian and Zeke lifelong companions, and will protect this city from future demonic invasions."
He waved again, and the two monsters fell into their new friends arms. Of course Ian hadn't seen them before and could only stare wide eyed at Garz, who wiggled until he fell out of Ian's arms and pouted. "Chill man, I'm not going to eat you! Sheesh!"
Mimi de-Digivolved. "So what will you do now, Ken?"
"I think I'll go home and try to think of some clever way to explain to my students how I disappeared in front of them." He winked at her.
"So you can get home on your own? Are you strong enough for that?"
He nodded and ran his hands through his hair. "You the worst part of all of this? I'll have DE hair for a week!"
Mimi and Matt burst out laughing. Everyone else stared, confused.
*A/N: Boy, this turned out a lot longer than I expected it to. I hope you liked it!*
Episode 7:
"Body Switching Fun"
By: Shmeilia Rockie
"So this is Galactic Bowling?" Matt had to practically yell over the insanely loud music. "It's more like a club! With bowling on the the side."
"Yeah, that's about the truth of it..." Ian glanced at the score before running in for another strike. He punched the air in victory.
Tyler frowned as he fell into second place. "This is as animated as Ian ever gets."
"Oh, this is so COOL!" Mimi looked down at her star shirt, not bothered at all by being in last place. "I love the whole black light thing! And the fog is neat too!"
"Yeah," Matt agreed with a grin. "But you can hardly see."
"Who cares?" Zeke tripped and slid half way down his lane. Everyone laughed, including him.
Overall, spirits were high that night. They had no idea what darkness lurked in the...Well, in the darkness. Demons circled outside the bowling alley, drawn to the auras of Sincerity, Friendship and Freedom from miles away. In fact, everyone there besides the Digidestined and the other two Haston brothers were possessed.
"So you do this every year?" Matt retied his bowling shoes while he waited for his turn.
"Yep, it's been my birthday tradition since I was nine."
Something moved behind the fog, sending that weird chill down Matt's spine. He gasped and turned quickly to get a good look at it, but by then it was gone.
Tyler threw a spare and came back pleased. He ran his fingers over the jet of air before noticing his friend squinting at something unseen. "What's wrong?"
Matt stood up, suddenly not in the mood for fun anymore. "I felt something familiar. Something dark."
"Oh come on, please don't ruin this for me! Can't I just have one normal day of fun?" He picked up his bowling ball for the last round, turned around and bumped into someone. At that moment, the person, who had really been a demon in disguise, knocked him to the ground. Hard. He hit his head and blacked out.
When he came around, he had a killer headache. He sat up and rubbed the sore spot. "Not again! This is exactly what happened last year." His voice had a weird echo to it. Looking around, he realized he was still in the bowling alley. There was a bunch of commotion going on all around him, but it seemed muted and distant. It must have been the bump he took. "That's funny, I expected to be in the hospital again."
Then someone moved, revealing himself. Or at least his body. Tyler's eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet. "What the -? I don't understand!"
"What's to understand?" A depressed, and definitely not human voice called to him. He turned to it to see two furry little, down-trodden monsters looking hopelessly at him. He felt some weird vibe from them, but it wasn't threatening. More like...Lost.
"Who are you guys?"
"I'm Garz," The many legged one said. He pointed to his buddy. "This is my brother, Zarg."
Zarg waved half-heartedly, his ears drooping.
Tyler frowned. "I've heard of you two. You're demons!"
"No! We're not! Honest!" Zarg flung his arms in the air. "We were misguided!"
"We thought we were demons." Garz retained his composure. "But we're not. Keesma told us so before she..." His eyes teared up at the memory. "She banished us here!"
Zarg calmed down and patted Garz on the arm. "We don't like Keesma anymore, 'cause she was just using us!"
"Where is here, anyway?" He looked around, accepting the two with ease.
Garz's three eyes wondered around as well. "The asterial plane, I think. It's some kind of other dimesion, anyway."
His eyes then turned to the thing now inhabiting his body. It looked back and smiled evilly, giving him chills. "How long have you been here?"
Zarg burst into tears. Garz yelled calmly over the wailing, "Almost a year now! Ever since our failure with the Digidestined-"
"Wait, Digidestined? I'm a Digidestined."
"You are?" Zarg zipped over to him. "That's great! I want to be the first to shake your hand!"
Tyler sweatdropped. These guys were weird.
* * * *
"You sure you're okay?" Zeke eyed his brother. "You took quite a fall."
"I'm fine." He dusted himself off.
Ian didn't like the tone in Tyler's voice. "What happened, anyway?"
"I slipped, okay?"
"Still, I think we ought to skip on out anyway, you know? And go put some ice on that bump."
Tyler smiled evilly to himself. "Fine. Let's go."
Matt didn't like that tone either. He leaned over to Mimi and whispered something in her ear.
She handed a piece of paper. "Call my cell phone if something funny happens, alright?"
Tyler drove home in silence. Everyone stared at him as though he would pass out again, but he acted like nothing had happened.
"So, uh, good game tonight, huh?" Zeke laughed nervously as they walked in the door.
"Whatever." Tyler started to go off to his room, but stopped suddenly.
Tigermon stood blocking his path, fangs bared.
"Woah, Tigermon. Whassup?"
"Don't act nice with me," he growled. "You're not Tyler!"
Everyone stared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"You know very well what I'm talking about, demon." The Digimon took a step closer.
"Hey, man," Ian waved his hand to catch his attention. "Tyler's just had a bad bump. He's been acting a little funny, but he's not possessed."
"That's right." Tyler folded his arms defiantly. "You must have just eaten some bad cheese fries."
Soon Tigermon found himself outside. He kicked the dog house in rage and stubbed his toe. "I don't believe this!"
* * * *
Matt should have been used to sleeping in strange beds, but it still made him uncomfortable. He plopped down on the guest bed and fluffed the pillow. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized he was being watched.
"Hello, Jenny," He called to her softly.
"Hi," she walked in timidly, blushing.
He smiled. Oh, the simple world of the young.
She climbed up next to him and studied him carefully. She gently touched his face, making him want to pull away. But he didn't. Something in her presence was soothing. "I like you."
"I'm sorry," He chuckled. "But I'm getting married soon."
"Married?"
"That means that I love someone so much, I've decided to spend the rest of my life with her. And only her."
"Oh." She didn't really get it. How could she? She was only three, right? She just went right on studing his face. Finally, when she did speak, she did so with surprising understanding. "Then can we just be friends?"
"Sure, Jenny." He ruffled her hair. "We can be friends."
"Excuse me, Matt, but have you seen-." Zeke stuck his head in the door. "Jenny?"
She pouted. "Go away, Zeke, you geek, we're talking!"
"It's way past your bedtime, little girl." He picked her up and she burried her face in his neck. "Sorry, Matt. She can be a bit clingy sometimes."
He waved. "No problem. Good night, Jenny."
But she'd already fallen asleep.
They left, leaving him in silence. He checked the clock - Was it only eleven? It seemed a lot later.
* * * *
The demon in Tyler's body opened Jenny's door slowly and walked over to her sleeping form. It brushed a strand of curly white-blond hair back behind her ear before scooping her up in his arms.
She squirmed in his arms. "Where are we going, Ty?"
"Shh, you're going to be a sacrafise for mistress Keesma's return to power. Go back to sleep."
"Okay." She relaxed again.
It smiled at Tyler's reflection in the mirror, knowing he could do nothing to stop it.
* * * *
Commercial break!
TK: *rounds a corner in a mall, wearing a suit under a black trench coat and talking on a cell phone. He stops suddenly.* Can you hear me now? Good! *You see him again wading in the middle of a lake with water up to his chin.* Can you hear me now? Great! *Then you see him in Walemon's mouth.* How about now? Good.
He stops in front of a movie theator where Yolei is yelling at Ken (who's leaning against the wall, arms crossed and pouting) while Cody, Sora, Tai, Kari, Izzy, and Joe stand wordlessly off to the left, staring at them with wide eyes.
TK: Is there a problem, ma'am?
Yolei: I'll say there's a problem! I told Ken here to bring enough pop corn for everyone, and instead he brings... *She throws her hands in the air and roars in total rage*
Ken: Look, I swear I heard you say 'A loud bullhorn and Jimmy Neutron', okay? How was I supposed to know that's not what you really said?
The camera swings to the right, revealing Jimmy Neutron holding a bullhorn and tapping his foot impatiently.
Jimmy: Believe me, this ain't a walk in the park for me either. I could be working on my hands free, self-propelled hoverphone, but *yells into the bullhorn* NO!
TK: *Shakes his head sadly* It's the static. Here... *He gives everyone a D-Terminal, including Mr. Neutron* Never use a cell phone. They're unreliable.
Joe: *points to the phone in TK's hand* Well, what about that?
TK: Oh, this? *sweatdrops and laughs nervously* I-I was just messing around. It's not even on!
Suddenly it rings.
* * * *
He'd just fallen asleep, and was about to that special place where he to talk to Gabumon, when a faint voice called his name. "Who's there?" He looked around, but saw only fog.
"Matt?"
He stopped again. "Tyler?"
"Hey, man..." His partner stepped out of the mist. "I need to ask you a favor."
He looked at the warm glow on the horizon, longing to be there instead of in limbo, or wherever he was. "What?"
"I, uh, need to borrow your body for a while."
Boink. "Excuse me?"
"Look, that thing that came home with you isn't me. It's a demon. And it's taken Jenny and is planning to use her as a sacrafise that will bring Keesma into our world. It would mean a new era of destruction and terror and darkness!"
This was something new. But Matt could tell Tyler was completely serious. "Well, Tigermon was right. I just have one question. What will happen to me?"
"You'll stay here. You know, I would have gone to one of my brothers, but you're a Digidestined, and I didn't want to get them involved..."
Matt slapped his forehead. "Go. Just go."
"Thanks, man!"
Tyler woke up and looked nervously around. "A dream. It was only a dream." But then he realized the voice he'd used was not his own.
He ran to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and almost screamed. "Ah! I'm Matt!" Not being able to resist, he leaned in close and wiggled his -ur, Matt's- eyebrows. "Hello, I'm Matt...Yes, I AM Yamato Ishida. I speak three different languages and play at least two different instruments. And who are you, you silly American? Who? Oh, okay, whatever. Excuse me while I step on your face on my way to the top...You say you've never had a girlfriend? Well, I'm engaged..." He stuck out his tongue.
Matt happened to be watching all this, and personally wanted to strangle the boy. "I DO NOT sound like that! I don't!"
But Tyler couldn't hear his plea. "I have INTERNATIONAL fame, and what about you? Oh, your popularity is plummiting? Well, that's just too bad... I'll put up with just as long as my contract makes me, then you'll get the boot!" He stood back and ran his hands through Matt's hair and winked at himself. "Boy, I feel better now. Sorry 'bout that man. I know you're listening, but that's been building up for a while."
Matt just crossed his arms and pouted.
Suddenly, Matt's cell phone rang. Tyler looked worriedly at it, before answering. "H-hello?"
June started rambling about something. Loudly.
He grimaced and held the phone away from his ear. "Woah, slow down! I don't understand Japanese."
She stopped abruptly. "Yama-chan?"
"Yama?" Tyler lifted an eyebrow at himself in the mirror. "Oh, you mean Matt! Sorry, he's not available right now. This is Tyler. I'm assuming you're his fiancée?"
"Funny," she said in a softly accented voice. "You sound just like Matt."
"Well, I'm kinda borrowing his body right now. It's a long story." He winced. Man, that sounded so lame!
"Is this some kind of a joke? Because if it is, I'm not laughing."
"No joke, ma'am. This is official Digidestined business. Now I really must go..."
"You know, you don't sound like him, now that I think about it. You have a weird American accent..." He rolled his eyes and shut off the phone.
He remembered watching that thing take Jenny out of her bed and decided to check just in case. He quietly opened her door, fully expecting her to be sound asleep. But she wasn't there. "Damn. I wasn't dreaming."
He bounded outside, only to discover the car missing. "Oh great, now how am I supposed to get there?" He didn't even know where 'there' was.
"Tyler?" Tigermon bounded happily up to him. "Why are you in Matt's body?"
He gave his best friend a hug. "You could tell it's me?"
"Of course! I know you anywhere! That's how I knew that thing wasn't you!" He frowned. "I tried to stop it. I attacked it, but it fought me off. It had your sister, for pizza's sake!"
"I know, I know! Did you by chance hear where he was taking her?"
"The bowling alley! He's taking her back to the bowling alley! So let's get going!"
"Going, how? I don't even have your Digivice."
"Guess what I stole offa him!" Tigermon tossed the Digivice to Tyler with a wink. "So come on!"
He held it high in the air. "Alright! Digivolve!"
"Tigermon Digivolve to...Sabermon!" Tyler hopped on his back. "And we're off!"
Matt watched them ride away. "This has disaster written all over it." He floated back inside the house, and into Zeke's head. "Hey, I need to ask you a favor..."
* * * *
"I'm still having a hard time swallowing that you're really Matt." Ian opened the garage door and threw a glance at his brother. 'Zeke' stood there with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. "Okay, never mind. Tyler doesn't know I have my own car. Of course, I don't have a license, so if I get caught..."
"Well, let's not get caught. It's not that far away, anyway. I guess we could walk, but if we want to stop world disaster, this is probably best."
"Now I know you're not my brother." They climbed in the car and buckled their seat belts. "Say, why don't you do the Digivolving thing too? It would be faster."
"It would tire me out. If there's going to be as big of a battle as I think there will be, then I'll need all my strength. Now get the lead out."
"Yes, sir."
The real Zeke sat in limbo eating a bag of chips as he watched them pull off. "This should be really interesting!"
"Yeah, I'll say!" Zarg plopped down next to him, scaring the living daylights out of him. They screamed for a solid minute, in which Zeke tossed the chips all over himself and they both shook like leaves. Then they stopped at the same time and stared at each other with wide eyes.
"W-what are you?"
"D-dunno, some k-kind of monster I guess."
"Yeah," Garz popped up on the other side of Zeke. "We're having a bit of an identity crisis right now."
"I'm Zarg, that's my brother Garz."
He'd already warmed up to them and smiled like they were old friends. "Brothers? Boy, you two are as different as me and my brother Ian! Are you Digimon?"
They laughed hysterically. "Us? Digimon?"
"No way!"
Zeke's smile faded. He snapped his fingers. "And I was hoping I might become a Digidestined like Matt and Tyler."
Zarg leaned on his arm. "That's okay, you can be a pseudo-Digidestined! And I'll be your non-Digimon!"
"Cool!" A wide grin spread across his face. "Wait. You ARE good guys, right? I mean, you're not in league with those demon things, are you?"
"Not anymore!"
He raised an eyebrow suspeciously. "Anymore?"
They sweatdropped. "Uh, that's a long story."
He gave them the evil eye. "Do I look like I'm going anywhere?"
* * * *
"So bursting in here without a plan wasn't a very good idea." Tyler struggled against the rope that bound him to the top of the pinball machine. He twisted his head to see a little more of the scene. He could just barely make out Jenny's limp form in the center of the bowling alley, surrounded by hundreds of demons. Tigermon was nowhere to be found. "Okay, I admitt, it was a stupid idea. I really need to start thinking with my brain instead of... Not using my brain. Might help, Stupid. Great, now I'm talking to myself."
Suddenly he felt his ropes loosen. He quietly jumped down and exited. None of the demons noticed because they focused all their attention on some ritual.
Once outside, he turned to his liberator. "Thanks...Man..."
"You're welcome," Mimi winked and added, "Matt."
"I'm not-"
She slapped him hard on the back, causing him to loose his balance. "I know, Tyler, I know!"
He coughed out, "How?"
"You called me 'Man', something Matt would never do...Plus, someone shut off his cell phone! He knew we need to stay in contact, but you didn't! And besides, you have a Kansas City accent."
This girl had more brain power than he'd given her credit for. "So now what do we do?"
"Well..." She put a finger on her chin and looked up at the night sky. Tyler could practically hear the gears grinding. Finally, she shrugged. "Dunno! I could try Morph Digivolving, or I could 'Orb' your sister to me..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Orb?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Sheesh, don't you watch Charmed?"
"Not really... I don't have time for television."
"Oh, nevermind!" She opened her mouth to yell the command, but a hand closed over it. Her eyes went wide and she rammed her elbow into her attacker's stomach. Only it wasn't an attacker...
It was Matt. He doubled over onto the grass.
She put her hands over her mouth. "OHMIGOSH, I'm so sorry! I thought you were a demon!"
"Hardly!" He moaned quietly. Ian bounded up, getting genuinely excited about the happenings. He looked at them questioningly. Matt rolled over onto Ian's shoe. "I'm okay, really. Don't help me up."
"Okay...I won't..." He looked up at Tyler. "Woah, he wasn't joking! Now I'm confused... Is that you, Ty?"
"No, it's the Easter Bunny." He rolled his eyes. "Duh!"
Matt stood up and looked at the boy inhabiting his body. He still held his side in pain. "That sounds like something I would say (except for the 'duh'). I think I'm rubbing off on you."
"I hope not. Now... WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT JENNY?"
"SHH! Idiot!" Mimi smacked the side Tyler's head, making him see stars.
Matt wrinkled his nose. "Careful what you do to my body, Mimi. I plan on resuming it later."
*Sweatdrop* "Sorry, Matt. I forgot."
"So lets go in there and kick some demon butt already!" Maybe a little Zeke was rubbing off on Matt too..."Morph Digi-"
"Wait!" Matt fell over, mid-word. Tyler crossed his arms. "I already tried that, and they tied me to a pinball machine."
He assumed a 'this is the most obvious thing in the world' tone of voice. "Yes, but you're only one person and we are many."
Mimi sighed. "Okay, guys, stop arguing. Are we going to charge in there recklessly or not?"
Ian raised his hand as if he were in class. "How about a third party decides this?"
That gave Mimi an idea. She slapped her fist into her palm. "Speaking of third parties, you know who I wish was here? The Key!"
Matt and Tyler exchanged glances. Poor Ian remained clueless. "Can you transport him all the way from Japan?"
"I'm not sure. Let's find out!" She held out her hands and called distinctly for the Key. At first nothing happened, but she closed her eyes and concentrated with all her being. A white light flooded the area.
POP! Ken tumbled onto the grass. He jumped up, alarmed. "What's going on? Where am I?"
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE KEY!" Mimi grabbed his shirt and shook him angrily. "Turn into him! NOW!"
"But-it-doesn't-work-like-that! Stop!" She let go of him. He straightened out his tie and glared at her. "I need to come in contact with demons before I can even think of turning into the Key."
"That's why I called you here! This place is crawling with demons!"
He looked at Matt, or at least who he thought was Matt. "Where is here, anyway?"
"Kansas City. In the US."
"Great. Just great." Ken rubbed his eyes wearily. "I was in the middle of teaching class. How am I going to explain to those kids what happened to me? And more importantly, HOW AM I GOING TO GET HOME?"
Everyone looked at Mimi, who sweatdropped. "You know, I hadn't thought about that. I guess I can't send you back, can I?"
"There won't be any need for that," a voice called. They turned to see the demon that possessed Tyler's body wearing a menacing smirk.
Ken crossed his arms, beginning to get very impatient with the whole situation. "Okay, now I'm confused."
"Our ritual's almost complete. Soon Keesma will enter this world and crush you pathetic Digidestined!" He clapped and hundreds of demons sprang out of the ground.
Ian glanced at the real Tyler over his shoulder. "Boy, this just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"Welcome to my world."
"Your world?" Matt turned and smacked Tyler with total disregard towards his own body.
The demons attacked and Ken instinctively put himself between his friends and the creatures. No sooner had he shoved them out of the way when one of the beasts mauled his arm. He clutched the wound and smiled, the pupils of his eyes changing shape. "You shouldn't have done that. Now I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."
A blinding flash eminated from him, causing everyone to jump back and sheild their eyes. The demons around him disentigrated instantly.
Mimi managed to open her eyes and to find Matt. "He's gotten a lot better at this, hasn't he?"
"Way better."
Tyler was impressed. "Yeah, kinda beats the pants offa my power, don't it?"
The flash died away, leaving only the demon in Tyler's body. "Impressive. They weren't exaggerating your power. But it won't be enough to stop us!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched shreik peirced the still night air. Tyler recognized the sound immediately and burst through the door. "Jenny!"
A strong hand pulled him back outside. "Careful, Freedom! Use your head, you'll never beat them all by yourself."
"But he isn't alone, he has us!" Mimi held her hand in the air. "Come on, Matt, let's Morph Digivolve!"
"Let's do it inside, otherwise we won't fit."
As those two ran inside, the Key turned to Tyler. "Get your body back."
Ian felt really out of place. "What about me?"
"Stay out of our way!" Then he joined Matt and Mimi inside.
"Give my body back, demon filth!"
The demon folded its stolen arms, its grin widening. "You didn't say please."
Tyler tackled it before it even knew what had happened. He plunged his hands into his head and poured out his cleansing power. "Give up, or I will seriously kill you." As the demon left, he felt himself pulled into the vaccum it created. Suddenly he was looking up at Matt. Or at least he hoped it was Matt.
Whoever it was blinked several times and looked at his hands. "What's going on, Ty?"
Tyler scrambled to his feet. "Zeke, is that you?"
"I think so, but..." He stood up and noticed for the first time that he was the same height as his oldest brother. "Woah! I'm tall! Cool! Dude, I'm Matt!"
"No, you're Zeke no matter who's body you're in. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to save Jenny and I NEED you to stay out of my way."
He rushed inside.
Zeke turned to Ian. "Well!"
"You know, this is exactly why the band broke up..."
Inside was chaos. (No, not the Dark Digidestined! *wink*) Tyler looked around, hoping to see Tigermon so he could help kick butt. Not that the Key really needed help kicking butt, he was certainly capable of defeating all of them. But he cared only about one thing right at that moment: Stopping Keesma from coming through the portal the demons had created. Which happened to be COMING OUT OF JENNY'S STOMACH! Tyler wanted to charge over there and do something rash, but he put his hands on his head and told himself the Key had it covered. The task at hand was to find his Digimon. After frantically scanning the entire bowling alley, he discovered two sets of fingers clinging to the inside of a ball return thingie. He reached in and pulled his buddy out.
"How in the good Digi-World did you get in there, Tigermon?"
Tigermon sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Can you Digivolve?"
"I think so..."
Across the room Matt kicked a couple of demons into the wall. "You know, they really ought to change the name of this place from Kansas City to Demon City!"
Mimi shook a demon off of her leg and flew high out of their reaches. "I know! And here I thought this place was quaint! Flower cannon!"
"I hope Mr. Key does something soon. I don't think I can keep this up for much longer."
'Mr. Key' did something, alright. He drew his scythe and plunged the handle into the portal, making Jenny cry out in fear. Again that flash of golden light flooded the area, this time with such intensity it could be seen as far away as St. Louis. All demons within the city limits vaporated instantly.
When he drew the scythe back out hole vanished, leaving Jenny alive and well. He leaned heavily on the staff of the weapon, drained, and panted. "Well, I'm glad that's over."
Everyone else stared at him in absolute silence, that glow still burned into their eyelids.
Finally, Tyler spoke. "Dude, that was awesome."
The Key closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. "It feels a lot different without the Power Orb, but I knew I could do it. The Powers always watch over me. All credit goes to Them."
Zeke and Ian wondered in. Zeke raised his hand sheepishly, "Excuse me, sir, but can I request something from you?"
He nodded for the boy to continue.
"Could you switch me and Matt back? I don't know how to do it."
The Key stood up straight and waved the staff and the two immediately found themselves back in their own bodies. Then he smiled slightly, "And there's something else you wish to ask of me, isn't there?"
Zeke rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah...Um, I met some, uh, things...In that dimesion that I was in. They've been wrongfully imprisoned there and I was wondering if you could..."
"Bring them here? As with any other living creature, Garz and Zarg desirve forgiveness and a second chance. If you were wondering- and this goes for you too, Matt -those two have joined our side. I think they will make Ian and Zeke lifelong companions, and will protect this city from future demonic invasions."
He waved again, and the two monsters fell into their new friends arms. Of course Ian hadn't seen them before and could only stare wide eyed at Garz, who wiggled until he fell out of Ian's arms and pouted. "Chill man, I'm not going to eat you! Sheesh!"
Mimi de-Digivolved. "So what will you do now, Ken?"
"I think I'll go home and try to think of some clever way to explain to my students how I disappeared in front of them." He winked at her.
"So you can get home on your own? Are you strong enough for that?"
He nodded and ran his hands through his hair. "You the worst part of all of this? I'll have DE hair for a week!"
Mimi and Matt burst out laughing. Everyone else stared, confused.
*A/N: Boy, this turned out a lot longer than I expected it to. I hope you liked it!*