"You'll never get away with this!" the small winged digimon called as he was thrust into the darkness."

"Oh please Patamon, you're the weakest one."

X

Takeru emerged from the bathroom, but as far as anyone else was concerned, he was Yamato. Really, he wasn't sure what to do. He had left the bathroom without a plan, and now he just stood still in the middle of the hall. He felt awkward in his brother's body. His legs were longer and his hair covered a lot of his view.

"For the love of god," Takeru muttered to himself, "how does he manage to walk?"

He took a step toward his classroom, but quickly stopped. He couldn't go there, everyone would wonder why Yamato Ishida was in a younger class. And if word got to Yamato that he was in a younger class? If... if Yamato saw his duplicate? Would he believe it was his brother? The boy wasn't sure, but he couldn't just stand there all day. The boy formed a mediocre plan and once again walked in the direction of his class.

Hikari Yagami was still attentively taking down notes, attempting to hold a firm understanding on the information. However, she was sucked out of the lesson when she heard someone say her name behind her.

"Excuse me, is Hikari Yagami here?"

The brunette girl looked over her shoulder towards to door to see Yamato Ishida standing there looking very nervous.

The professor responded for her, "Yes, what's the matter?"

Takeru put a hand behind his head and stumbled over his words. "Er.. um.. Principle... principle Hirioshi has requested to see her right away!"

The professor raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy skeptically. "Do you have a note for Ms. Yagami?"

Takeru froze. He scrambled to figure out a good response, something that would be sure to get Hikari out of class. However, he couldn't think of anything. It wouldn't do any good to say he had a note, for the professor would want to see it. But, it wouldn't do to say he had no note either. It was a lose-lose situation, so the boy said the best thing he could think of. "No, I don't. The principle was in a hurry, she looked really er, annoyed."

The professor sighed, and Takeru's lungs clung to his ribcage. "Very well, just hurry." He waved at the young Yagami, and she picked up her bag and left.

Takeru bit his lip as he watched the girl walk toward him; she looked extremely confused, and extremely concentrated.

"I really hope she doesn't think I'm nuts."

The girl had to use all of her willpower to make it seem like something strange wasn't going through her mind. However, she couldn't help but wonder what Yamato was talking about. Why did he come and fetch her for the principle? Why would she think he was nuts?

When she finally was out of the classroom, Takeru closed the door and pulled her over. "Hikari, something weird's going on!"

The girl was clearly confused. She glanced down to where the boy's hand was held tightly against her arm and back up to his ice blue eyes. "Yamato, what in the world are you doing?"

"Please realize I'm Takeru. Please believe me."

Hikari's eyes opened wide. "W-what? Takeru?" She had once again forgotten not to speak. The boy that faced her hadn't said a word, yet she somehow knew that it wasn't Yamato who was staring at her with his pleading eyes.

Takeru let go of Hikari and took a half-step back. "How did you know it was me?" He asked.

A shiver went down the young girl's spine and she felt her entire body tense up. "I-I just.."

"It doesn't matter." Takeru said, quickly remembering his problem. "Look at me! I look like Yamato!"

Normally, the girl would have been very skeptical of what her friend was saying. People changing bodies? That was ridiculous. But, because of what was going on with her, she had no problem believing the boy. Admittedly, though, it still freaked her out. "You're really Takeru?"

"Yes!" The boy exclaimed. "It's me! Please believe me. Something weird is going on. Besides, if I really was Yamato, why would I take the time out of my day to come all the way down here to try and convince you I was my brother?"

Hikari had to admit, he had a point. "Then... how did you end up like this?" She looked the boy up and down. He certainly didn't resemble Takeru- well, besides from the DNA they shared.

"I don't know!" Takeru said, his eyes squinting with anxiety. "I was in the bathroom- one minute I was me, the next I was my brother! It's like I shape-shifted. I felt it happening to me."

"What is Ishida doing all the way down here?"

"What?" Hikari asked, looking at the boy. However, when she realized it wasn't his thoughts she had picked up, she turned around. Two boys were walking silently down the hall, they had just passed her. The girl grunted and turned back to her friend, who was now looking at her strangely.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Hikari forced a smile and replied to him cheerfully. "Of course! I'm fine. Besides, we need to worry about you! What will Yamato say if you run into him? What if people see you and your brother at the same time?"

"I don't know what to do." Takeru mumbled. "I'm going to be stuck like this forever! I can't be Yamato!"

"Okay, okay! Just calm down." Hikari said, putting one hand on his shoulder. She had to reach up much higher than she was used to and it felt awkward. Although she knew it was Takeru, everything she did made her feel like she was interacting with the older Ishida boy. "We just need to get you out of here. Forget the rest of class. Let's go before anyone sees you."

"What about my things?" Takeru asked, pointing to the classroom both of them had just come from.

"I'll get them later," Hikari replied, beginning to pull him along. "Now come on, let's go!"

The two of them began to walk quickly down the hall. They didn't run- they didn't want to attract any extra attention, but they certainly didn't take their time. They had very little time to get out before the bell rang and classes changed. The duo had made it about halfway down the hall when they saw students begin to crowd the doors. They knew the time was coming, and they still had to reach the front of the school. They had reached the front foyer- they were almost out. However, just before they began the final stretch, the bell rang, and students came flooding out from everywhere.

"Shit!" Takeru muttered under his breath. Near the front of the school, it was a mix of younger classrooms and older classrooms. Students walked by who Takeru knew were friendly with Yamato. They waved at him, and he waved awkwardly back.

"Just stay calm." Hikari whispered, beginning to walk slowly towards the door.

Luckily for them, nothing major happened, and they were able to escape the building without running into anyone they knew. However, they still had to get across the school yard, and that was flooded with students, too.

"Let's just go quickly, don't make eye contact with anyone." Hikari instructed as she walked with the boy. With their heads down, they crossed the yard and neared the fountain and the front gate, but it was inevitable. Someone had to notice them, and that someone had to be Jyou Kido.

"Hey!" He called from the other side of the fountain. "Hikari! Yamato!"

"Oh god." Takeru muttered under his breath as he watched the boy approach them.

"It's alright," Hikari responded, trying to reassure the boy. "It's alright. It's only Jyou, we'll just tell him we have to leave." She then turned to the older boy and greeted him, making sure it sounded like they were in a rush. "Jyou! It's good to see you, but we have to go!"

"We really can't talk now!" Takeru called over his shoulder as Hikari dragged him away. "We're in a hurry!"

"A hurry? I was just going to ask when he wanted to finish our project... I'm always stuck doing all the work."

For a moment, Hikari felt bad, but they really had no time to waste.

"I'm sure we'll talk later! Whatever you were about to tell me make sure you tell me once you see me!" Takeru shouted again.

Hikari tried to muffle her laughter as the two ran off the school grounds.

"That was... strange.." Jyou said to himself. He leaned back on the fountain and stared up at the sky. It was a beautiful day out, everything seemed to be going well. Really, he just didn't want to be stuck doing the project by himself. Although Yamato was one of his best friends, he hated being partners with him. It wasn't that the boy didn't want to help, it was just that he had other priorities. Jyou always enjoyed having his work done on time while Yamato would do it little by little between band practice and other things.

"Jyou!"

The boy brought his attention back to the school grounds and looked around. He swore he heard someone call his name, but the voice sounded so faint and so tiny, yet so familiar.

"Gomamon?" Jyou asked, quietly as well. He knew it couldn't be his friend from the digital world. He had left him behind there long ago.

"Help me!"

The boy looked around again, this time more urgently. He stopped leaning on the fountain and stood up, making sure to cover every area of the yard he could see. No one was paying any attention to him, so he assumed no one had called to him. Still though, he couldn't have been making the voice up, could he?

The boy looked back towards the school and noticed something that caused everything he had just worried about to leave his mind. Through the crowd of students coming out of the school doors, Jyou could pick out one blonde in particular. He blinked and rubbed his eyes a few times just to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

"Y-yamato?" he stuttered, nearly falling backwards. The boy looked back towards the school gates where Yamato had just left moments ago, and then back to the school, which Yamato was currently leaving. He straightened out his glasses and let his mouth hang wide open.

"I'm going nuts." Jyou concluded. "Look, now I'm even talking to myself."

The boy was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice his digivice beeping in his bag, and he didn't notice the water in the fountain behind him that began to bubble.

X

Mimi Tachikawa had stayed home from school that day. In the morning, she was running a slight fever, but it went away quickly. There was no use going to school now, as it was almost over, so the girl sat restlessly on her couch flipping through channels on the television.

"Ugh." she groaned. "Nothing good's on during the day. This almost makes me miss school."

The girl let the remote drop from her hand as she let out a sigh of frustration. "I wish something interesting would happen. I'm so bored!"

She yawned and leaned back on the couch, letting her head rest on the back of it so she looked up at the ceiling. If Palmon were here, Mimi was sure she wouldn't be bored. Oh, how she missed her. The girl's eyes began to droop and she felt her body begin to relax. Sleep was coming, she knew it. At least it would be an escape from boredom. However, just before her eyes shut, the girl heard a faint beeping from her bedroom. Thinking it was her cell phone, the girl got up to answer it. However, her cell phone sat silently on her bed.

"What is that?" Mimi asked to herself. She clearly had forgotten the sound of a beeping digivice.

The girl dug through her drawers and pushed everything from notebooks to dead plants on her desk aside to search for whatever was making the noise. She was incredibly messy and always regretted it when she had to look for something. Finally though, in the back of her middle drawer, she pulled out the source of the beeping.

"My-my digivice?" she asked herself once again. Mimi held it up close to her face so she could investigate it. It was beeping out of control and glowing bright green. Mimi let out a shriek as the light covered her and caused her to lose visibility. "Palmon!" she called out, forgetting she was no longer with her friend. "Help!"

However, just as soon as the light took over, it receded. The beeping stopped and all was silent in her room. Mimi collapsed to the floor, letting the device fall from her hands. Her body felt weird, as if someone had just shocked her. Her arms felt numb and her head felt heavy and weighed down to the floor. She eventually willed herself to get up, though, and grabbed hold of her desk to help her stand. As she grabbed, though, she knocked one of the dead plants from the surface and sent it flying towards the floor.

"Shit!" Mimi exclaimed as she reached out to try and catch it. However, she was a bit too slow, and the plant shattered on the ground, sending bits of pot and soil everywhere. Mimi groaned once again as she tried to scoop up little pieces of the mess in her hand.

As her fingers went through the soil, the little dead flower began to twitch. Mimi let out a gasp of surprise and jumped back, disconnecting herself from the plant. Instantly, the flower drooped once again to the ground.

"W-what..." The girl stuttered, reaching out her hand once more. She touched one of the flowers crinkled petals and watched as it came back to life. What had a few seconds ago been a shriveled, brown plant was now a soft, pink tulip. The girl bit her lip and her eyes grew wide. In a second, she was running about her room, bringing back all her dead plants to life. She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but something strange had just happened to her. Whatever it was, though, gave her some wonderful gift. As she laughed and ran back and forth touching plant after plant, the few clouds in the sky outside quickly disappeared.

X

"Why is your face so red? Are you sick?"

"No, Sora, I don't know why my face is red. Is it bothering you?"

"A bit."

"Sucks."

Sora Takenouchi and Taichi Yagami walked back from school together. Their apartments were in the same general direction which allowed them to walk together for a little bit until they had to part ways. They had just recently split from Yamato who lived a few blocks east of them, closer to the school.

Moments before, Taichi hadn't felt hot. In fact, he was able to drink water and not sweat through his shirt. But ever since Yamato left, his strange symptoms came back once again. Sora looked at him with worried eyes. She had asked a number of times if she could at least feel his forehead, but the boy refused, remembering what had happened to Hikari when she touched him.

"Taichi, you really don't look well. Stop joking about it and let me see if you have a fever." Sora pleaded once again. "Look, you're sweating."

Taichi looked down at his shirt in disgust. Along the lines of his chest, sweat began to seep though his shirt. Sora, really, it's just hot out. Come on, leave it alone."

The girl grumbled something Taichi couldn't hear but stopped bothering him about how hot he looked. It made him happy, so he decided not to care about whatever Sora had said. The two walked along in silence for a little bit, with Taichi feeling hotter and hotter, and Sora feeling awkward herself. She couldn't pick out what was wrong, but her entire body felt tingly. The hairs on her arm stood on edge as if a constant cool breeze was sweeping across her skin. It felt nice, but it made her terribly aware of herself.

Sora was about to ask Taichi what his plans were for later that day, but as they turned a corner, they ran into something that caused both of them to stop dead in their tracks. In front of them, a large man stood in a trench coat, blocking their way. His body took up most of the sidewalk and his face was blocked by a large, black fedora. All the two could see were his teeth as he grinned at them. He was uncomfortably close to them, too, as if he had been waiting for them to arrive in that very spot.

"Well, if it isn't young Yagami and Sora Takenouchi."

Taichi felt a large bead of sweat drip down his back. His body tensed up, and he could feel the girl standing next to him breathing heavily.

"Who are you?" He asked. "How do you know our names?"

The large man chuckled in response. "Children, I know much more about you than your names. You might say a little birdy told me about you." he finished, turning his attention to the awe-struck girl.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, her voice a bit shaky.

"Oh come now," he said, smiling once again. "You can't tell me you don't remember Piyomon?"

"Piyomon?" Taichi asked, his voice now strong. "What do you know about Piyomon?"

The figure began taking steps towards the two teens. "You know," he cackled, "I don't really think you two are in a good position to be asking questions."

Taichi stepped forward as well, but just a bit. He really only put one of his feet in front of Sora in order to block her from the giant man. He was sweating profusely now, whether it was because of the heat, or because he was scared, he didn't know. However, everyone knew Taichi wasn't one to back down, even if it was to a man much larger than him who was obviously very threatening.

"Leave us alone!" he exclaimed, clenching his hands into fists.

"That's a shame, you don't want to play?" the man said sadistically as he formed a small fireball in his hand. "I'm just getting started, and I'm sure you're dying to find out what I can do."

Sora and Taichi looked at the fireball, stunned. They were both afraid, but neither of them would show it. Taichi stood his ground and Sora looked at the man menacingly. "You're a digimon..." she said slowly, as if she was forming her thoughts at the same time she said them.

"Well, well," he said, as the fireball in his hand grew larger. He tossed it up and down and eyed the girl, "we have a winner. Looks like you're first."

Sora gasped and Taichi gritted his teeth, preparing for whatever was about to come.

-surflilu.