Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Shuffle ❯ Courageous Love ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The Shuffle

Chapter Fourteen - Courageous Love


The concept and characters of Digimon belongs to Toei Animation and Akiyoshi Hongo. They are used without permission or the intent of profit.


Who's who:
While most have been changed back, Taichi is still in Sora's body, Sora is in Taichi's, Iori is Takeru, Takeru is Daisuke, and Daisuke is now Iori.

Reminder, I will be referring to the characters per the body they are in. Sora may be in Taichi's body, but all reference any action Sora does in it will be as a boy. Just as Taichi in Sora's body will be referred to as a girl.

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Takeru's Journal:

After Yamato, Ken and even Mimi won their fights, it would seem a given that we would all succeed. That wasn't the case. Daisuke being injured at the start of battle, Takeru intentionally losing and Iori winning with an adult: the three of us might never again be in the body we were born in.

Now two remained in the Digital Labyrinth, and when they finish the challenge, win or lose, Piemon will become our next opponent.

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Takeru somberly approached his teammates with Patamon flying behind him. "I failed."

"You're not the only one," Daisuke replied. "Guess you're going to have to get used to being 'Takeru,' Iori."

Takeru frowned. "You failed too?"

Daisuke laughed. "Actually, I intended to 'lose.' I saw Hikari and Jyou win their challenge and what happened when they got cured. If Piemon was to attack them now, they'd be defenseless. I ended up with a bigger victory, making a former enemy a friend." He then patted Takeru on the back. "And it's a good thing you failed, Iori. If any one of us could defeat Piemon, it's you and Holy Angemon."

Takeru nodded slowly. "I guess. Piemon certainly tried to make sure Patamon was dead and I failed. He even tried to get the trapped digimon to help fight us, only they knew the Labyrinth better and used me to show them the way out."

"That's great. You got to help others," Daisuke asserted.

A loud explosion echoed from the maze.

"Looks like Taichi and Sora are at their exit," Yamato commented with a slight grin, yet holding his ribs tenderly. It was good to be in his real body even with the pain.

They remained silent as a couple more sets of explosions rocked the maze. They were unsettled when they heard Sora scream in anguish, but then a firestorm erupted from within the labyrinth and the battle continued on. They felt impotent with frustration as members of their team fought for their lives and there was nothing they could do to help.

Hikari stared through the maze, wishing she could help her brother. Her hands wrapped tightly around her digivice, wanting to send him any help she could through it. She wasn't surprised when her partner suddenly evolved to Plotmon.

With a final scream of pain followed by short-lived demented laughter, silence descended over the area.

"The battle is over," Gryphomon confirmed, hovering above the Chosen. "I shall lead your friends here."

Takeru nodded. "Thanks."

Minutes later Sora and Taichi were finally seen walking towards the group. In each of their arms was their partners in the youngest baby stages, Nyokimon and Botamon respectively.

Yamato dashed off toward them and immediately hugged Sora. "It's great that you succeeded."

Sora pulled back fiercely, breaking the embrace. "No, Yamato. We didn't." Her deep frown now evident as she reluctantly opened one of her hands, revealing a shattered crest.

Taichi avoided eye contact with everyone as he also produced a blacken and cracked crest.

"What happened?" Hikari questioned in shock.

The pair shifted nervously. Taichi bitterly spoke up. "I'd want to know the same question from you. Who is who?"

Daisuke smirked. "I'm still Takeru, Iori is still stuck in my old body, and Daisuke is now in Iori's."

Sora blinked in surprise. "Mimi won her challenge?"

"With 'his' own hands, apparently. Seems Mimi evolved Wormmon to Perfect to fight a digimon inside the maze, and Piemon let that count seeing as she killed her opponent herself," Jyou explained in a worried tone, not once taking his eyes off the injured girl.

"Ouch," Taichi muttered.

"Now are you going to tell us what happened?" Yamato demanded.

"I guess we have to," Sora sighed with a touch of sorrow and regret. "We were incredibly lost in the maze. We spent much of our time going nowhere..."

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"It's a good thing we're fire-type digimon," Piyomon groused, fussing with a few burnt feathers on her arm.

"Wish we were fire-type," Taichi muttered. That firetrap had come far too close for his liking.

Sora glared. "We're going in fucking circles."

Taichi groaned seeing the now exposed fire trap in front of them when they had passed it minutes ago. "Which way do we go now?"

Sora huffed. "You've been the one choosing directions so far. We're probably no where near the exit."

"If only I could fly above the walls." Piyomon rubbed her head where she hit the invisible ceiling.

"Can't you sniff your way out?" Taichi asked his partner.

Agumon's nostrils flared, taking in the scents floating in the air. "It's all fresh air."

"Maybe we can find a digimon and ask directions," Piyomon suggested.

Taichi laughed. "If they knew the exit, would they still be here?"

They soon found they were much closer to the exit than they had thought. Relief that their long walk had come to an end was short lived upon viewing who their opponents were.

"Ah, my test subjects have arrived." Nanomon rubbed his hands greedily.

"I don't plan on leaving enough of them to be tested on," Mega Dramon groused.

The hairs on the back of Taichi's and Sora's stood up hearing those unmistakable voices. This wasn't going to be easy, facing two of their worst enemies at the same time. As one, they focused upon their digivices.

Their partners called out their own names to evolve, but that was quickly followed by Mega Dramon and Nanomon unleashing their attacks. The evolution pillar was struck by numerous missiles launched by the Perfection digimon, sending Agumon and Piyomon sprawling.

"Agumon! Piyomon!" Sora cried out.

"We can't let them win!" Taichi growled. "Don't give up."

Their partners struggled to their feet and called out to evolve once again, but were struck down with another barrage of missiles.

Taichi ran towards Agumon, desperate to help the small dinosaur. If they didn't succeed, he would forever be a guy, and he couldn't bear to let that happen.

Mega Dramon sneered. "I think now would be an excellent time to exact my revenge. Genocide Attack!"

Sora screamed watching the missiles streak towards Taichi and Agumon and explode. Her cry of despair echoed with her digivice. Her fake crest shattered.

The digital bird's eyes snapped open. "Piyomon Warp Evolve!"

"Shit!" Nanomon cursed as the bird shifted forms faster that he was prepared to stop it. He still launched his missiles, but they exploded harmlessly on the giant golden bird hovering before him.

"Hououmon!" the newly evolved Ultimate called out her own name. "Flames of Rebirth!" she added, engulfing everything in fire.

Nanomon and Mega Dramon were both surprised that they weren't dead. In fact they felt healthier than ever. Realization quickly washed over them. Taichi and Agumon were also unhurt, healed by the phoenix's powers.

"If they can do it, so can we!" Taichi announced, clutching his crest tightly. He could already tell Hououmon was certainly powerful, but in a completely defensive sort of way. Mega Dramon and Nanomon couldn't defeat the phoenix, but neither could the bird defeat them. He wasn't about to stand back and let others do his work. He would defeat them, with his bare hands if need be.

The fake Crest of Courage burst into flames.

"Agumon warp evolve!" cried out the little dinosaur.

Mega Dramon and Nanomon tried to prevent the evolution from finishing, but that proved impossible with Hououmon moving in front of their target. When the giant phoenix hovered back up, a golden warrior stood behind her.

"War Greymon!" the newest evolved digimon announced viciously.

Mega Dramon hovered backwards. He was all too aware of the power that digimon held. He then scowled darkly. "Piemon's challenge was for you to defeat us. I will not let that happen."

War Greymon sneered. "And how will you stop us?"

"Like this." Mega Dramon turned and pointed his arms. "Genocide Attack!"

Nanomon's eyes went wide. "Noooooo!" The surprised turn left him defenseless as his so-called ally fired missiles at him, killing him.

"You monster," Hououmon spat.

Mega Dramon chuckled coldly. "Victory is merely changing the rules to suit you. Enjoy your cursed lives."

War Greymon sprang forward, but was too late to prevent the evil dragon from blowing his own head off. He stopped short of the deleted particles now flying in the air. "Coward!"

The battle had not gone unobserved. Piemon groaned at Mega Dramon's betrayal. The ass had to have picked something up from his brief merger with another digimon to consider that as a reasonable solution. Now there were two Ultimate digimon before him, and only one had used any powers. Hououmon might devolve in the next minute or so, but with healing powers the two might be able to remain at that level indefinitely.

"Get your fucking ass out here, Piemon!" Taichi demanded. "Change us back!"

Piemon slowly materialized before them. "Now why would I do that when you've lost your challenge? You neither evolved to Perfection nor managed to defeat your opponents yourself," the demon clown chastised.

"We'll make you change us all back," Sora vowed.

"And just how will you do that?" Piemon taunted. "You kill me and you're stuck that way. I switch you all, and you little babies will be defenseless."

Taichi and Sora paled. If they were changed back, Piemon would kill them. If they weren't switched, they'd forever be the wrong person.

Piemon grinned dementedly. "Ya know what? I think I will grant you request." He held up two cards.

Taichi glanced at Sora who nodded to the unvoiced question. "War Greymon!"

The cards were launched through the air, but War Greymon sliced them into pieces before they could find their mark.

Piemon laughed dementedly. "So, you've made your choice. Just so you know, others have failed."

"If you can switch bodies, others can as well. We'll undo what you've done eventually," Sora promised.

"You wish." Piemon stuck his tongue out. "Trump Sword!" The clown pulled out four small swords and threw them.

War Greymon blocked the attack with his armor, but the blades still bit deeply into him. A second volley quickly followed the first, and the damage increased.

Hououmon hovered closer to the golden warrior and called out, "Flames of Rebirth!" This time the fires were much more contained and only affected War Greymon.

"That's hardly fair," Piemon whined, but then he grinned. "I'd like some keychains. Clown Trick!" He pulled out a handkerchief and tossed it at the teenagers.

Sora pushed Taichi out of the way as the white cloth enveloped her body.

Hououmon glared. "Flames of Rebirth!" The cloth burnt away and Sora remained unharmed.

"That is really getting annoying," Piemon spat. He vanished from sight only to reappear above the phoenix and slammed swords down into her back.

War Greymon leapt at the demonic clown but only sliced through air with his claws.

"I can keep this up all day. Can you?" Piemon teased.

The evil bastard had to go. He inflicted pain for fun and his own enjoyment. There was no way he could be left to continue on, even if it meant accepting a curse. Taichi and Sora gripped their digivices tightly, sharing the same glare at the demon clown.

"What?!" Piemon cried out upon seeing War Greymon's and Hououmon's bodies disappear into their heads, which grew and moved parallel to each other. A brilliant white warrior formed between the two heads.

"Omegamon!" The evolved royal knight pointed his new arm at the demonic clown. "Your evil ends now. Houou Flames!"

Piemon shot out of the way, but then felt a strange sensation in his gut. He looked down and saw his enemy grinning at him.

"Grey Sword," Omegamon hissed, yanking the blade in the clown's stomach straight up and cutting off the demon's right arm in the process.

Piemon floated backwards, his body slowly breaking up into data. "Enjoy living your lives in the wrong bodies." His demented laughter followed him into death.

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"I'm stuck like this?!" Iori cried out.

"Do you think I like this any better than you?" Sora shot at the little boy. "Until we find something that can switch our bodies, I'm a fucking girl!"

Yamato folded his arms. "This is really going to mess things up."

"What are we going to do now?" Takeru questioned. "Which families should we go to?"

Hikari sighed. "Unless we can get this fixed soon, by blood relation. Your soul may have been born in Iori's body, but you've got the memories, body and blood of Takeru. The longer the switch continues, the more the body takes hold."

"It would also make things easier. You're older now. You can't go to fifth grade the way you are now," Jyou added.

Sora closed her eyes. "It does make sense. Guess I'll have to get used to being called 'Sora' until we can get this fixed."

Taichi nodded, a frown etched on his face.

Their attention was shifted as Mimi moaned loudly.

"Are you okay?" Ken questioned.

Mimi looked at her hands and quickly felt her chest. "I'm really me?"

"Yes, you've been changed back," Jyou affirmed.

Mimi curled up into a ball and began crying, remembering just what she did to get back to her real body.

"Mimi?" Ken called to her.

"I want to go home," Mimi sobbed.

Koushiro pulled out his laptop and began hacking the nearby television portal. "I can set up a portal for her, if she's healthy enough to go."

Jyou nodded. "She should be fine now." 'Physically' he wanted to add.

Ken and Hikari both moved to help Mimi stand and walk over to the television, and with a flash of light those three were gone.

Yamato sighed, knowing he wouldn't be leaving for home until after Hikari and Ken returned. His girlfriend and his first love were in each other's bodies. Trying to continue a relationship with either would be rather awkward. Had Sora succeeded, he could probably count on having sex that night. Now he wasn't certain if there was a relationship left to have.

"What are we going to do about our partners? Chibimon and Patamon may be fine with their new partners, but what about the rest of them?" Miyako wondered.

Jyou adjusted his glasses. "Likely what we did last time. We'll leave them in the Digital World somewhere safe until they've rebonded to us."

"I hope we get our digimon back," Yamato groused. "I don't like the idea of playing musical digimon."

"Is that a game?" Pandamon questioned.

Sora and Taichi stared at the Perfection digimon in shock, realizing just who he used to be.

"Not what he meant. But we can teach you a game using music later," Daisuke told him.

"You made friends with HIM?!" Taichi questioned.

Daisuke nodded. "All he ever wanted was friends to play games with, he just needed to be taught how to play fair."

Sora looked rather skeptical, but didn't say anything.

"I'm going back to fifth grade. This sucks!" Iori spat.

Daisuke shrugged. "Think of it this way, you be top of your class easily and blow away the placement tests next year."

"Ha. Ha," Iori groused. "Have fun dealing with Jun."

Daisuke shrugged. "I always wanted a sister."

"Where are we going to keep our partners?" Miyako questioned, trying to get everyone back to what should be important.

"File Island would be the best bet," Koushiro replied.

The other Chosen and some of their digimon nodded.

"What about securing our partners?" Miyako pressed.

Koushiro shook his head. "We'll need to talk to Gennai about that, once he recovers."

"We need to come up with some sort of plan!" Miyako almost ranted.

Koushiro scowled at her. "The only plans I'm worried about at this point is trying to figure out how switch back the others and what to do with our forced engagement."

"Do you have any leads?" Sora wondered a bit desperately.

Koushiro frowned deeply. "With Piemon out of the way, Qinglongmon MIGHT be an option. Otherwise we'd have to track down and ask just about every Ultimate in the Digital World hoping either one knows how or at least a potential method."

"How long would that take?" Taichi groused.

"Qinglongmon would be the fastest route. Possibly done within a day. If we have to search, it could take years," Koushiro warned.

"I should've revived Piemon just so I could kill that asshole again," Sora spat.

"We all would love a shot at killing him, even if it means staying like this," Iori growled. "Gah! Fifth grade all over again! That fucking bastard!"

"Do watch your language," Takeru advised. "Mother is not kind to such talk."

Iori glared at him.

Hikari and Ken reappeared with a flash of light.

"Let's get over to File Island and then we can figure out our next step," Koushiro advised.

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Coming Next:
Not entirely sure. I know specific events, but the third arc has yet to be fully plotted. While I hope to have chapter 15 sometime soon, it may take a while.

To get a little help, I'd like to put a few plot points to a vote:

Who is Tailmon dating? She IS dating someone, and that was what 'Hikari' was trying to tell Wizarmon where the Digital Necropolis and Digital Labyrinth meet. And it's a singular individual possibly to the point of being lovers. The possible choices are NOT limited to Patamon or V-mon.

Should Koushiro and Miyako's forced engagement stand and the two of them get married?