"Girls are gross!"
"No, boys are gross!"
"Girls have woodworm!"
"No, boys have woodworm!"
"Dolls are stupid!"
"Boys are stupid!"
The argument was not new. Puppetmon and his twin Puppetgirlmon often had this argument. One day the male might notice how stupid his siblings name is, provoking a different kind of argument that may have an actual winner.
But the source of today's argument was. Digidestined. Specifically the younger ones.
"We're not capturing a girl to play with! That boy looks more fun!"
"Poopy! You two will just run around playing War and I'll be something stupid like a princess to save."
"That's all princesses do! Get saved!" Puppetmon said smugly.
"Yeah, and all War thingies do is get killed and stuff! It's better to play with toys!" Puppetgirlmon shot back.
"What, like stupid dolls?"
"No, like stupid puppets for you!"
Puppetmon thought for a second, a record.
"Why don't we bring them both here, make them into toys, and we can prove what's best - I bet you wouldn't be able to make a good puppet out of the boy!"
"And I bet you couldn't make a good doll out of the girl!" Puppetgirlmon challenged.
"Fine! Wait, no, we wont judge each other fairly!" Puppetmon responded.
Puppetgirlmon though for a few seconds, not a record as she was not as impulsive.
"We bring them as judges and pick a different boy and a different girl!"
"Fine! Let's go move them around then."
In the toyroom, the figures of the Digidestined were moved around a small map. The map had been made more detailed at Puppetgirlmon's demands, with a dish of water now the pond and another dish of mud a swamp.
"Okay, so, we take these two as judges..." Puppetmon said, picking up TK and Kari's effigies to swap their positions.
In the forest, TK suddenly stood by Sora, while Kari was now beside Matt.
"And.... I pick that girl for you to make a doll with!" Puppetgirlmon pointed at, and nudged, Sora.
Out in the forest, a bewildered Sora who had just saw Kari replaced with TK felt someone punch her in the shoulder.
"...Not the girly one?" Puppetmon frowned, dropping said girly one in a pond.
Mimi screeched as she splashed down, cursing her dress being soaked.
"Nah. That means you pick my puppet!"
Puppetmon flicked Tai in the stomach, causing the real one in the forest to double over in pain from the hammer blow.
"Him."
"Easy..." Puppetgirlmon said, dropping Izzy into the water as well, before taking both dolls and dropping them in mud instead.
Mimi and Izzy both screeched in shock at this event.
The two Puppet digimon played around some more, before bringing their targets closer to home. And dunking Mimi and Izzy one last time for good measure. Then trying something with a hairdryer to harden the mud up.
Out in the forest, a muddy pair were startled to find themselves turning into mud-statues as the gunk caked all over them rapidly hardened. Only two pairs of startled eyes and their general shape betrayed the two unfortunate Digidestined encased within.
Mimi however soon figured out her skirt had protected her legs and so deliberately toppled over at Izzy's suggestion, freeing herself, and then him. The two puppets did not noticed the hard mud flake off the effigies.
TK, Kari, Tai, and Sora were all startled to find themselves so close to the Puppet mansion. All four were even more startled to have balls of string shoot forward and cocoon them - Red from Puppetmon, Pink from Puppetgirlmon - from toe to nose.
The girls struggled with their red bonds, which also gagged them, and the boys fought too.
"Trussed up like..." Puppetmon began.
"That's not what trussed up means!"
"Yeah it does!"
The two bickered for a while as the Digidestined tried to escape.
"...And Inuyasha is stupi... Hey, they're trying to crawl away!"
Puppetmon caught all four with his strings.
"...Now they're not. But Inuyasha is your show, why were you saying it's stupid?!" He pointed out.
The four Digidestined were unceremoniously dragged to the mansion.
TK and Kari were left tied up in the playroom, hung up on coat hooks to prevent escape. Tai and Sora meanwhile were taken to the two rooms of the Puppets.
"Hm.... Making a puppet from you is easy!" Puppetgirlmon beamed, looking over Tai's still-tied up form.
In the other room, her brother thought the same.
"I guess I can try change your clothes and hair at the same time. It can't be hard, she can do it..."
Both puppets made to change their targets. Puppetgirlmon raised two wooden crosses that shot out pink strings, while Puppetmon simply shot more string to cover a squirming Sora up entirely.
Puppetgirlmon's strings slid past the pink cocooon, striking Tai's own skin, causing the boy to squirm and try to shout. The cocoon bar that over his mouth fell away, but as he was freed, his ankles and wrists already had strings attached - and had already become ball sockets. He stared at this for a moment.
Inside the cocoon, Sora was shrinking, and the cocoon with her. She protested and squirmed, but movement was getting harder. She felt stiffer, and her clothes felt... softer...
Tai's transformation continued. Much of his arms and legs were flesh-painted wood now, with knees and elbows only moving one way, but joins nearby allowed them to pivot slightly. As it spread, the connection between his neck and head became able to move in the same manner, but all the joints were unable to go a full three hundred and sixty degrees.
Sora's change was similar, but more widespread. She was now unable to move at all, unable to speak. Her knees, elbows, hips, waist, neck, shoulders, ankles, wrists and even above her abdomen were all now ball joints with movement slightly restricted by a fake rubber "skin" over the joints to conceal them. Her fingers stuck together, her nails elongated, and became painted. Her clothing had changed too - Her shirt had expanded into a dress, very frilly, and very pink. Her jeans meanwhile became a pair of large frilly bloomers. Sora didn't see this however.
Both figures undergoing transformation however gained rictus smiles frozen in wood or plastic, glazed painted eyes, and horse-hair... hair. Sora had her hair grown out to be about mid-back length.
Both transformed Digidestined were unwrapped, and held up for inspection.
"Best puppet ever!" Puppetgirlmon beamed at the grinning wooden figure Tai had become,
"This must be a great doll, it's girly and stupid!" Puppetmon grinned, holding Sora up by the hair.
The two Puppet Digimon took the toys to be judged.
TK and Kari just stared in shock
"See? My puppet's so awesome they're stunned to silence!" Puppetgirlmon beamed
"Nuh-uh! They think my doll is the best so they can't do anything but stare!"
There was smug silence from both until the penny dropped.
"...Or we forgot to ungag them and tell them to judge which one was best." Puppetmon finished.
"Oh. Yeah."
This was done.
"Okay, so you pick the best one, that's the doll, and then we play!"
"No, the puppet's best! You pick that one!"
The horrified younger Digidestined looked nervously at the two elder, transformed Digidestined.
"Um..." Kari stuttered.
"They're both equally good!" TK blurted.
Kari then nodded in agreement.
"...Hm. This didn't work." Puppetgirlmon realised.
"Yeah. I don't think it did either. And I don't think they'll be that fun to play with after all..." Puppetmon sighed.
"Try again?"
"Sure."
Mimi nervously lifted the cup in Kari's hand to her face, while Izzy carefully tried not to tangle Tai's strings.
"Good, you're getting it!" Puppetmon beamed as he made TK dance.
"Shouldn't we offer Sora some more cucumber sandwiches?" Puppetgirlmon said in a sickly sweet voice.
Mimi simply nodded, not having spoken since proclaiming that Sora and Kari were the best. And still feeling a little disgusted at having done it.
Izzy meanwhile was just glad the two Puppet Digimon had let him know they hadn't wanted a draw this time. He was trying to think of a way to convince them both it would be more fun to have six playmates rather than two puppets, two dolls, and two "friends"...