Michio held his breath as he stepped in front of the mirror. Rather than the teenage girl he should have seen, there was instead an unfamiliar teenage boy. Well, maybe not that unfamiliar. The eyes were the same and, if he stared close enough, he could make out traces of his former female face. Though the growing fuzz on his chin made even that difficult.

His hair was the same; although, with his taller frame, the light brown mane just brushed the top of his shoulders. It was not that long, but was it too long for a boy? Should he try styling it? Would he just end up looking like a reject from a J-pop band? He glanced at the hair products on his make-up table and then back at his reflection. He imagined himself with Taichi's hairstyle. Probably a good idea to see a professional.

His father was reading the paper at the table while his mother busied herself at the sink. "Good morning!" Michio said.

His parents turned to him. "Oh, g-good morning," his father said. He folded the paper and got to his feet. "Um, I'd better be going."

He kissed his wife on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

Michio waited for the hug he gave him every morning. His father just stared and said. "Have a nice day, son."

Both he and Michio winced. "Um, I mean…"

Michio forced a smile. "No, it's fine. Um, have a nice day, Dad."

His father turned to the door but hesitated. He turned back. "I'm…sorry."

Michio tried to wave off the embarrassment but his father continued, "I know you're going through a lot but, well…" He glanced at his wife, "So are we."

Michio frowned. "Yeah, I know but I'm still the same person on the inside."

His mother ran over to hug him. "We know. We love you no matter what."

His father continued, "And whatever we can do to help you…"

"Well," Michio said, a glimmer in his eyes. "I do need some clothes…"

"What about your allowance?" his mother asked but his father silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"I'd say this is a special circumstance."

Michio grinned to himself.

"Here," his father said, handing him his credit card, "Just don't go crazy, okay?"

"I'll try," Michio said with a slight glimmer in his eyes.

"No, I mean it," his father said, "I'm gonna give you a spending limit, okay?"

Michio frowned to himself. Maybe playing daddy's little girl was not going to be as easy as normal.

Chapter 2

Taiko lumbered out of bed, fighting off the desire to fall back asleep on her feet, but the sight of the unfamiliar girl in the mirror on the wall snapped her awake. She rubbed her eyes as she lumbered to the bathroom.

Her mother was at the kitchen table. "Good morning."

Taiko plopped in her seat and reached for her bowl. "Yeah, good morning."

"I've already called the school and they'll send over school work starting this afternoon."

She blinked and pointed at her chest. "But how can I do school work at a time like this?"

"Girls manage somehow, I'm sure you'll do the same," her mother sighed, rolling her eyes, "But hurry up and eat. We're going to the mall."

"What? Mall?" she asked.

"Yeah," her mother replied, "You don't want to walk around in my clothes all the time, do you?"

She glanced at the cotton pajamas; the second set of clothes borrowed from her mother. "But…I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

Her mother laughed. "It's fine for me, I'm an old woman."

Taiko was going to protest but she cut her off, "But, I'm sure there are better fashions for a girl your age." She gave her child a sad smile. "I can only imagine how awkward and embarrassing this is for you, but if you, you know, look more like an average girl, no one would even give you a second glance."

Taiko stared at her food. Was her mother right? If she looked more like her female peers, then she could just slip into the crowd. Was she even getting that many stares? "Yeah, all right."

Her mother smiled. "Great. So, go ahead and finish up. We've got an appointment at the salon in an hour."

Taiko dropped her spoon into her miso soup. "Salon?"

"Hi!" Michio grinned, "Good morning!" He looked at the time on his phone, "Or, rather, afternoon."

Koshiro waved him into his apartment. "Hi, Mimi, um, I mean, Michio. Come on in. Thanks for coming over."

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner," he explained as he kicked off his shoes, "I was at the mall shopping for a new wardrobe."

Koshiro shrugged. "It's okay. I want to take a look at your digivice."

Michio raised an eyebrow. "What about Taiko's?"

"I want to look at yours since Taiko already used her's to evolve Agumon."

Michio frowned. Not even a comment about his new look. Koshiro even missed the hint about him being at the mall. He fingered the waves in his new, shorter hair. "Um, so how come the boys' fitting rooms were so empty?"

Koshiro blinked. "You mean at the clothing store?" He shrugged. "I don't know. When I need to get clothes, I just grab stuff off the rack."

Michio blinked. "You don't try things on?"

"Why?" he asked, "I know my size."

Michio rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Koshiro gestured to his laptop resting on the kitchen table, along with a microscope and what looked like a soldering iron. "Let me take a look."

He handed over his digivice and Koshiro put it beneath the microscope. An enlarged image of the device appeared on his laptop monitor. The shattered monitor looked like a million spiderwebs woven together. Michio shivered. "That looks so bad."

"Maybe not," Koshiro said, "Taiko's started to repair itself after she evolved Agumon, so I wonder if yours will do the same with Palmon."

"Is that a good idea?" he asked, "I can't even open a Digital Gate."

"I'll open one for us," he said.

"Will I be able to go through it?"

"You should," he said, "After you fought d'Arcmon the first time, she damaged your digivices, right? They were still damaged when you came back to Earth, right?"

He blinked. "Y-yeah, I guess you're right."

Koshiro frowned, "But you two switched genders after your digivices were damaged. There has to be a connection."

"There is?" Michio gasped, "Why didn't you say something before?"

"I wasn't sure, but now I'm almost positive."

Michio snatched back his digivice; sometimes his friend made him want to strangle him. Koshiro used his digivice to open a gate. "Takeru and Hikari are waiting for us. Ready to go?"

"Not Taiko?" Michio asked.

"Hikari said she was still shopping with their mother."

Michio considered his own experience shopping in the men's section compared to the women's. He stifled a laugh, the boy turned girl was in for a rude awakening.

Daisuke greeted Mrs. Yagami before walking into Taiko's room. "Hey, Taichi. So whaddya want to…"

Taiko was studying herself in the mirror. "Hey, Daisuke. Do you think I look like Hikari?"

He had to remind himself not to stare too much at Taiko's tight blue t-shirt or how her tight brown khaki shorts showcased her curves. This was Taichi, damn it! "I…I don't…"

"Maybe if it was shorter." She pulled her hair behind her head and frowned. "No."

"Um, why do you care so much?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'd rather look like my sister than my mother. So, what do you wanna do?"

Daisuke stared at her chest. "Could I…um…" he swallowed, "see them?"

Taiko blinked and then huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "No! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Right!" he said, shaking his head, "I just got, um…How about we finish Mortal Kombat?"

She grinned. "Yeah, all right."

"All right. I'm gonna avenge my loss from the other day."

Taiko snorted as they walked into the living room. "Yeah, right! You're about to get your ass beat by a girl!"

Michio, Koshiro, and their partners met up with Hikari and Takeru at the base of a mountain trail that snaked up into the mountain.

"Hi, Michio," Hikari said, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," he said with a shrug, "I don't really even notice it until I start thinking about it."

"I like your hairstyle," she said.

Michio tapped the gelled spikes on his head. "Yeah, I figured my hair was too long for a boy's style. Besides, since the length didn't change when I turned into a boy when I turn back into a girl, it'll be just long enough to style."

He scanned the mountain trail. "What are we doing here?"

"There's a church on top of the mountain," Koshiro said, "d'Arcmon was spotted there a few days ago. It took a while for the rumor to get to us, but I think we should check it out."

"What about testing my digivice?" asked Michio.

He gestured with his hand. "Go ahead."

Michio and Palmon shrugged at each other and he held out his device. Palmon took a breath and shouted, "Palmon evolve to…"

Only silence filled the air. Michio stared at the digivice and then at Koshiro. "It's the first time you've been in the Digital World since it was damaged. Maybe you need to spend some time here like Taiko did yesterday."

Michio frowned but then forced himself to smile. "Yeah, okay. Wanna go check out that church?"

Palmon nodded. "Yeah, let's do it!"

Michio hung near the back as they walked up the path. He found his eyes drifting towards Hikari, focusing on the younger girl's rear.

"Mimi are you okay?" Palmon asked, "Well, I mean besides the obvious."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he said, adjusting his pants for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

After ascending the path for the better part of an hour, they reached a vertical rock face, complete with a rope ladder. "I guess we climb," Koshiro said. He heaved himself up with Tentomon hovering beside.

Michio looked to Hikari. "Maybe you'd better go next, just in case you fall or something. Me and Takeru'll be able to catch you."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Michio grinned and flexed his muscles. "Yeah, I'm a lot stronger now."

Hikari shook her head. "That's not what I meant. What if you or Takeru falls?"

"One of us has to be at the bottom," Takeru said, "I'll just have to take my chances."

Hikari continued to protest to the point where Michio had to push her onto the ladder. As Michio started to climb, he realized that he was trying to look up Hikari's slightly baggy shorts. He blushed and twisted away.

At the top of the cliff, the Chosen took a moment to catch their breath. Hikari was panting, and even Takeru was breathing heavily. Only Michio was fine. As a girl, he knew he would have been as tired as Hikari but now he was barely winded. How could being turned into a boy have changed him that much?

Before them stretched a long path that was boarded on either side by twisted rock formations. At the end was the church, looming like a menacing monster. "This is like a horror movie," Tentomon buzzed.

Takeru swallowed and pushed open the rotting doors. The inside was empty save for a crumbling stone altar and a mural painted into the wall, displaying a large shadowy creature. "What is this place?" Hikari asked.

Tailmon pointed to the mural. "And who's that?"

Koushiro twisted his laptop around to snap pictures with his webcam. "I'll have to look into this, but…"

He was cut off when a loud growl filled the air. A familiar digimon charged them from the left.

"Deltamon!" they cried.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"We're just looking around," Takeru said.

"You are trespassing!" he roared, "This place has been claimed by d'Arcmon of Terminal! Prepare to die!"

"Die?" Tentomon gasped, "Don't you think that's a little harsh?"

"Too late," he growled, "You cannot tell anyone what you've seen here!"

He smashed his skull-head arm into the ground, sending up a shower of rocks and dirt. The digimon scattered while the humans dove for cover. Michio hit the ground but rolled along the grass before jumping back to his feet. He looked over his body to see if he was hurt and frowned at the large rip in the side of his jeans.

"I just bought these!" he growled. He pulled out his digivice, ready to order his partner to evolve but the words caught in his throat. His device was damaged.

"Mimi," Palmon frowned.

"We'll handle it," Koshiro cried, "Go, Tentomon."

Michio watched Tentomon and Patamon evolve and then frowned as he squeezed his digivice. He felt so useless.

Deltamon roared as he swung his serpent-headed arm into Kabuterimon's stomach, dropping the insect to the ground. Angemon unleashed his Heaven's Knuckles into Deltamon's back. He growled as he fell to his knees with Tailmon jumped up from the ground with his fist ready.

"Neko Punch!" she cried, punching Deltamon square in the nose. His head flew back with a groan before he swung back, head-butting Tailmon into the ground.

Kabuterimon shot back into the air and readied his Mega Buster, but Deltmaon showed surprising speed for his side and chomped down on the insect's leg with his skull head. "Skull Fang!"

Kabuterimon winced but was still able to fire off his Mega Buster, blasting Deltamon in the shoulder. The synthetic digimon still clung to the insect and swung him into the incoming Angemon. "That hurt!" he screamed.

Tailmon leaped up from the ground, ready for another Neko Punch. Deltamon fired a blast of energy from his three heads in unison. "Triplex Force!"

The blast threw Tailmon into the ground. "Tailmon!" Hikari cried, rushing to her partner's side.

Michio watched as Deltmaon charged towards Hikari and Tailmon. As Mimi, she would have ordered Palmon to evolve to protect the younger girl and her partner with a feeling almost like a mother lion; now what fuel him was a desire to avenge Tailmon, save her and Hikari.

He felt heat in his hand. His digivice was glowing! He grinned and pointed it towards his partner. The device crackled with energy and vibrated with the familiar rush of energy. Palmon leaped into the air and cried, "Palmon evolve to Growmon!"

Michio took a step back at the sight of the towering red dragon, watching in awe as he spewed out a blast of flame that struck Deltamon in the face. "Exhaust Flame!"

"G-growmon?" he gasped, "W-what happened to Togemon?"

The dinosaur dragon shrugged. "How should I know?"

Angemon smacked his staff into Deltamon's head. "We can worry about it later!" he cried.

Michio nodded at Growmon. "He's right. Help them out."

Growmon snorted. "You got it." He twirled, smacking Deltamon in the side with his tail. "Dragon Spine!"

Deltamon clamped down on the appendage with his skull arm but left himself open for Kabuterimon's Mega Buster. The attack struck Deltamon in the wound on his shoulder, causing him to roar. He released his grip on Growmon's tail and the dragon trotted to safety.

"Tailmon!" Hikari cried.

Michio turned in time to see Tailmon running from Hikari and back into the fight. "I'm fine!" she cried, jumping into the air, "I just need to pay him back! Cat's Eye!"

Deltamon caught Tailmon's hypnosis attack and froze in mid-stride. "Now!" Michio shouted.

Growmon charged, blades emerging from his arms. "Plasma Blades!" With a quick swipe, he separated Deltmaon's main head from his body. His data exploded and showered the area before vanishing.

Michio dropped to his knees, studying Growmon as he marched over. "Well," he said with a grin, "I think you're stronger than as Togemon."

"Maybe," Growmon said with a shrug, glancing over his back, "I'm not used to having a tail though. I'd better make doubly sure no one sneaks up on me."

Koshiro studied the images on his laptop before sliding the computer into his backpack. "I'll need to examine those pictures more, but let me see your digivice."

Michio handed it to him. "Yeah," Koshiro sighed, "Just like I thought. It started repairing itself."

The girl-turned-boy blinked and took it back. The screen was still damaged but the cracks had started to vanish. "This is bad?" he asked, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Koshiro frowned. "No, I don't think it is." He sighed, "Let's get Taiko and I'll explain."

Taiko and Daisuke met the others at Koshiro's apartment. "What's going on?" she asked.

Hikari took her sister's hand. "I think it's bad news."

Taiko looked at Koshiro and then at Michio. "What?"

Michio shrugged. "I don't know. He won't tell me anything either."

Koshiro finished typing on his laptop. "I just had to ask some of the other Chosen if they know anything about the pictures on the stain glass windows." Taiko opened her mouth but Koshiro cut her off, "We'll explain later. Right now, let's talk about your problem."

He took a breath, "Okay, here's what I think happened. You two fought d'Arcmon and she damaged your digivices. When you escaped back through the gate, your digivices connected with each other somehow and because of that, the two of you swapped data, specifically the data that retains your gender and sex. Think of it like you switched your XY chromosomes."

"Wait," Taiko asked, "You mean, we could have switched bodies?"

"Possibly," Koshiro shrugged.

Michio shivered. "Ugh. No offense Taiko, but it would have been freaky enough being in your body."

Taiko nodded. "Yeah, switching genders is one thing, but being in another person's body…" She rubbed her arms.

"So," Michio said, "Is that why, even though I look like my twin brother, if I had one, I've got more muscle all of a sudden?"

Taiko held up her hand, showcasing the long nails on each finger. "And I've got these?"

Koshiro nodded again. "Yes. In addition to the XY chromosomes data, you also switched other data, like appearance and…" He swallowed, blushing slightly, "…personality."

Hikari studied her older sibling. "So, they're going to start acting like each other too?"

Koshiro hesitated again. "Y-yes, probably."

They both gasped and shared a glance.

"No worries," Takeru said, "We just get them to swap data again, right? If they go through the gate together…"

"I don't know," Koshiro frowned, "It could swap them back, it could make it even worse, or nothing at all could happen, and I'm leaning more towards that. This was most likely a one-in-a-million occurrence."

Michio tried to ignore the growing panic erupting in his chest. Taiko, apparently, fully embraced it. "You have to fix us, Koshiro!"

Koshiro sighed. "I…I honestly have no idea how. What I do know is that when you evolved your partners, your digivices started repairing themselves. My guess is that if you continue to evolve your partners, your digivices will completely repair themselves and you'll be stuck as you are."

Michio stepped back into his apartment and kicked off his sneakers, Koshiro's warning still in his mind. He had not wanted to think about it before, but what if he never turned back? What if he was stuck as a boy for the rest of his life?

His parents still were not home, so he reheated leftover curry and tried to ignore the growing worry in his mind. It was still there as he lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What would life be like as a boy?

His hand crept to his waist, his body moving on autopilot. He ran into the bathroom; emerging moments later with an expression of terror on his face. There was no doubt about it now; he was a boy. What he had just done…if he had been with a girl…he could even be a father!

Taiko slid into the water in the bathtub, letting the fragrance fill her nose. Hikari suggested a bubble bath might help her relax. As if taking such a girly way to bathe would help. She still did it, though, something else she would never have done as a boy.

Once again, she stared at a form that was alien to her. She held her breath as she lathered up her chest, her hands going over her new orbs.

She exhaled but knew the worst was yet to come. She used the washcloth to lather up her legs, but once her hands reached her waist, goosebumps exploded over her body. She had been used to something there, but now there was nothing. No, that was not right, there was something there, just an alien thing in an alien place.

As she washed her new equipment, those goosebumps grew even stronger…

She emerged from the bathroom in her new silk pajamas, her face different shades of red. What she had just done in there…if it had been with a guy…she could even be pregnant!

That night, both gender-swapped teens struggled to sleep; their minds a swirling mixture of what their lives would be like.

They both gave a silent prayer that they would find a way to swap back.

To be continued…