Making Digi-Magic
Part 3: An Issue of Trust

Rumiko Nonaka and her mother Mishara discovered their relative Rika had disappeared from their room at the Sinsun Hotel and frantically left the room to locate the missing teenager.
Mishara took the situation relatively calmer than her daughter, as she knew her granddaughter was just being her rebellious self. I wish Rumiko would let Rika be. It was hard enough she didn't accept her decision to enter the Digimon Game world tournament. Rika had to get my permission to enter it the past two years. Rika, wherever you are, I hope you're all right.
Rumiko quickly went to the front desk to see the clerk. "Excuse me, Miss, but have you seen my daughter Rika? She's disappeared from our room."
The clerk tried to be as polite as possible. "Calm down, Mrs. Nonaka. I can understand you're worried, but panic won't help find your daughter. Now, no guest is ever allowed to leave the hotel between midnight and 6 a.m.—owner's rules. Perhaps she was hungry and came down to the all-night buffet. Why don't you check there first?"
Mishara calmly said, "Thank you, Miss. If she isn't there, we'll come back here immediately."
They went to the buffet area to see if she had somehow fallen asleep there. Sadly, they had checked the area twice to no avail. Rika was not there.
They quickly came back to the front desk, with Mishara taking over the speaking. "We didn't find her there. She must've found a way to sneak out of the hotel."
"It would be very difficult to do so, but considering she is a teenager, she probably snuck out through the window."
"I knew it, I knew it!" Rumiko shouted. "It's all on account of that friend of hers! When we find her, I'll—"
Zelda then entered the hotel. "What's going on? What's happened?"
"It's Rika. She's not in the room! She snuck out somewhere in the middle of the night."
"Whoa, hold it, Rumiko. You need to calm down. We'll find her. Let's get up to your room for now. I do have plenty of contacts here in Electro City I can call to check if anyone has seen Rika. We can't declare her as missing because it hasn't been 24 hours."
"What!?"
"That's the law here, Mrs. Nonaka," said the clerk. "Unless someone's been abducted, a person cannot be declared missing until 24 hours have passed."
"That's not what I need right now!"
Zelda took Rumiko's hand. "Miss, we appreciate all the help you can give us. You're only doing your job as best you can. I'll take Mrs. Nonaka back to her room and start making some calls. Charge them all to me, Zelda LeMond."
The clerk nodded in agreement. "Okay, and I hope you can find Rika all right."
The three ladies went back to room 228 where Zelda started contacting everyone she knew in the city.

Back at the Magic Express, Angie rested comfortably on the sofa in the living room while Ace and Zina had invited Rika and Renamon to join them in the practice room for a conversation.
Rika shook her head in awe. "This room is amazing. I guess this is where you and your friends practice the tricks you plan to use in upcoming shows, right?"
"Yes, it is," said Ace. "Oh, excuse me while I get out of my costume." He enveloped himself in the cape and spun around, changing his clothing into his standard everyday outfit, consisting of a dark sports jacket, white shirt, dark slacks with a yellow stripe down each side and black shoes. "I'm sorry if I frightened either of you in any way."
"That is quite all right, Mr. Cooper," Renamon stated. "You were only protecting your friend Angie." She then noticed Zina coming up to her hand. "It seems your panther has taken a liking to me."
"It sure looks that way. Zina would normally defend the Magic Express against intruders. However, you both did bring Angie home safely, and I appreciate that…very much."
Rika was curious. "Angie must be special to you."
"She is, but not in the way you think. Angie's a sister to both Cosmo and me. Ever since she joined us more than three years ago, she's always looked out for us. When she came along, I had no idea just how special Angie really was." He explained about the mysterious psychic bond the two shared very closely. "We were able to communicate with each other telepathically for over 15 years…without ever meeting face-to-face."
"That's amazing," said a very surprised Renamon. "The bond you and Angie share must be very strong."
"You're right. We're aware of each other's thoughts and feelings." He closed his eyes to mentally check on Angie. "She's still asleep. Her breathing is getting back to normal, though, so that's good." Opening his eyes again, Ace became interested in the situation. "Just what led to all this anyway, her meeting you, fighting a Digimon and all?"
"It kinda started with me," said Rika with slight embarrassment. "I dropped my Digivice on the ground." She then took it off her belt and gave it to Ace.
Examining it closely, he said, "If this went unfound, this could have easily been mistaken for a new toy Professor Lars was inventing. Where did you lose it, Rika?"
"In Daedalus Park yesterday afternoon. Angie found it a couple of hours later in the exact same spot."
"Of course. Angie's telemetric powers must have shown her you were the rightful owner of this device."
"Tele-what?"
"Telemetric powers, Rika," Renamon noted. "Angie has the power to touch an object and see the history of its owner. In the case of the Digivice, when she touched it, she saw visions of us together as a team. That's when I found her in the mindscape. At first I thought she was trying to steal it, but I was able to sense her kind and sincere heart. I knew she only wanted to get the Digivice back to you as quickly as possible."
"That is Angie…the empathic mage she's always been." Ace then handed the Digivice to Rika once more.
Rika, slightly confused, asked, "Empathic mage? What's that?"
"Angie's magic comes from within her heart, allowing her to feel her powers. Her heart guides her power, but her emotions can tap into her deepest powers in her soul."
While all this was going on, Cosmo was out for an early morning walk. He was very upset at Ace's decision to trust Rika and Renamon and allow them to stay in the Magic Express. However, he was concerned about Angie. "I…I gotta go back there. I still don't like what Ace did, but Angie…I can't just leave her like she is right now."
He quietly returned to the Magic Express and entered the living room, where Angie still lay asleep. He then sat next to her. "Hey, Ang. I'm glad you got back here safely, after what you did this morning. I, like, wish I could tell what you were thinking like Ace can. I know you're telling the truth, but seeing that weird fox brought back some scary memories for me. The first thing I thought about was Raptor XII, and that's probably one memory that'll like haunt me for life." Holding her hand, he sadly added, "Angie, you're the first person I've ever been able to call a real sister. You're always looking out for us, making sure we're okay. I just hope you're doing all right."
The female magician squeezed her friend's hand.
Cosmo gasped, "Angie?"
She slowly opened her eyes and noticed him. "Hi, Cosmo," she softly said with a smile on her face.
He was so happy to see her awaken he had tears in his eyes. "Angie…I'm glad you're okay." He then gave her a hug.
"Ow, take it easy!" Angie winced.
He quickly released the hug. "Oh, sorry. Forgot."
"It's all right. If it weren't for Rika and Renamon, I don't think I would be here right now."
"Renamon's that…what's it called?"
"She's called a Digimon. Why do you ask?"
"Because I yelled at both her and Rika. I thought they were trying to hurt you, so I kinda…lashed out at 'em. I didn't mean to."
"I know, Cosmo. You were just scared. I heard everything you said, and I wouldn't blame you in the least for being afraid of Renamon. She's also a creation of data…like that monster you had to deal with yourself."
"I owe them a serious apology, but what if they don't accept it?"
"There's only one way to find out. Can you help me up so we can get to the practice room?"
"Sure thing, Ang."
He helped her get to her feet and walked with her to the training room.
There, Ace continued talking with Rika and Renamon about Angie's powers. "Not too long ago, though, she completely lost control of her emotions and her powers. She buried her anger and pain for a number of years when she suddenly let out all her rage in one moment. She nearly killed someone with the combination of that rage and her powers being so out of control."
That sent a chill down Rika's back. "It was that bad for her?"
"Yes, it was," said Angie, standing at the door with Cosmo holding her up.
"Angie," Ace gasped, "you shouldn't be up yet."
"It's all right, Ace. I'm well enough to finish this story. It was horrible for me that day. The anger exploded out of me, and I couldn't control my rage. I was too scared to accept my own darker side for a long time. I thought if anyone saw me become embittered, I would lose my friends forever. Ace had to stop me from running away to make me realize just how wrong I was. I had to understand that all human beings—excuse me, I mean all beings in general—have a darker half. I was just afraid to face that fact."
"Sounds like what I went through with Raptor XII," whispered Cosmo.
"Who?" asked Rika and Renamon simultaneously.
"Um, a computer-generated character…like you, Renamon."
Ace knew how painful the memory was for Cosmo. "Do you want me to tell them the story?"
"Nah, I think it's best if I do it, so I can, like, explain my actions from earlier."
Rika still had some resentment for Cosmo, but she decided to give him a chance to clarify what he had done less than an hour ago. "I have heard of the game, but isn't that for adults?"
"Yes, it is. Raptor XII is the game, and the central character in the game. At the time I was playing it, I was 17 years old. I had lied to Ace about not knowing anything about the game. Then one day, I was playing the game while Ace worked on a holographic program for a new show. In the middle of a severe thunderstorm, lightning, like, struck the Magic Express and somehow fused the two programs together, causing the character to come into reality. Ace and I struggled to get him back to the computer world he came from. When I saw you, Renamon, I thought Raptor XII was coming back for me…through you." He then put his face down in shame. "I couldn't deal with seeing another character created from data of any kind."
Renamon nodded in complete understanding. "I'm sorry if I frightened you, Cosmo. You must have been suffering nightmares after your ordeal with the character."
"Yeah, I did. I also wanna apologize to both you and Rika. I didn't mean to jump all over both of you the way I did. I didn't know you were helping Angie. I'm sorry."
Rika walked up to the young man and said, "I understand, Cosmo. I used to think Digimon were just data, not beings with thoughts and feelings. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel."
"No hard feelings?"
"No hard feelings." She then extended her hand outward and smiled. "So we got off to a rocky start. We'll just start over again. I'm Rika Nonaka."
He shook the hand of his newest friend. "A pleasure to meet you, Rika. I'm Cosmo."
Renamon also came up and bowed to him. "I am Renamon. It is nice to meet you, Cosmo."
Cosmo blushed in a little embarrassment. "Aw, Renamon, you don't have to do that with me. I'm not royalty or anything."
Everyone laughed happily as peace was finally found between everyone in the room.
"I'm glad we've all come to an understanding," said Ace, his tone beginning to turn serious. "Now, I am a little concerned. If LadyDevimon showed up here, could other Digimon appear here in Electro City as well?"
"It's very possible," said Renamon. "As far as I can tell, this is the first time we've ever had a Digimon show up in a place other than Tokyo. I wonder if the Digimon noticed us in the digital plane and followed us. If they have, we may have planted troubles for you and the people of Electro City."
"It's not your fault, Renamon. Something or someone wants to make sure you and Rika are not at peace."
Rika agreed. "I know. I don't know if you're going to believe me when I say this, but Renamon and I went with some friends to the Digital World itself to learn that it was under attack by something called the D-Reaper."
"Wait a sec," said Cosmo with widened eyes, "you mean there are others like you two?"
"Yeah. There's Takato Matsuda with his partner Guilmon and Henry Wong with Terriermon. They're all back in Japan right now keeping a close eye on things. They also wanted me to stay out of trouble. So much for that idea."
"Afraid so, Rika," said Ace. "I guess we need to figure out—"
Just then, the holographic dodecahedron appeared. "Ace, you have a phone call from Zelda LeMond."
"This early in the morning? Oh, well, patch it through here, Angel."
"Right away, Ace."
Zelda then appeared on the screen. "Ace, I need your help. Rumiko Nonaka's daughter Rika has disappeared from the room here at the Sinsun Hotel. Have you seen her?"
"Oh, great," whispered Rika to Renamon. "Mom's probably going through the roof right now while Grandma's keeping her head."
Ace was a little confused about the situation. It looks like Rika isn't exactly too thrilled about her mother, but I can't just leave her here. Perhaps it's best for now that I send her back to the hotel. No, that would create a scene. I'll let her family come here to pick her up. This way if there is a scene, there won't be any reporters around. "Zelda, Rika's here at the Magic Express. Could you bring her family to come pick her up?"
"What!?" Rika shouted angrily. "Why are you letting them come get me!?"
Ace quickly turned to her. "Rika, I don't want your mother to suffer a stroke worrying about you right now. For the best, you need to be with your family until we can figure all this out."
"But I don't want to go back right now! Mom'll have me on lockdown for sure!"
Cosmo said, "Hold it, Rika. We'll all have time to figure out something soon enough. Just don't worry about anything right now. If I know Ace, he's got some kind of trick in mind."
"I think Cosmo's right," agreed Renamon. "We know there will be more Digimon soon enough. We'll be able to team up again. Just be patient for now."
"Okay, Renamon. I'll take your word for it. Sorry, Mr. Cooper."
"It's all right, Rika. And just call me Ace. Mr. Cooper sounds too formal, especially since we're all going to have to be on the lookout for more Digimon to appear in Electro City."
With a nod she said, "Okay, Mr. Coo—Ace, I guess we can all be on guard."
"Okay. Let me get back to Zelda." He then faced the younger model on the screen. "Zelda, we'll be waiting for you here at the Express."
"Thanks, Ace. Rumiko will be glad to know she's all right. But…how did she get all the way to your home?"
"It's a long story, Zelda. Just trust me."
"Very well. I'll see you in about 20 minutes." The screen then went black.
In the hotel room, Zelda looked at Rumiko with a relieved smile. "Good news. Rika is safe. She's currently at the Magic Express."
"Ace Cooper's home?" said Mishara in surprise. "She sure went to a lot of trouble to see the Magician, didn't she?"
"I don't care about that!" Rumiko screamed. "Let's just get over there and pick up Rika."
The three women soon went to Zelda's car and took of from the hotel to meet up with Rika at the Magic Express.

The 20 minutes soon passed, with everyone meeting outside the Magic Express. Renamon waited just on the inside, since only Zelda did not know of her existence.
Rumiko was first to rush out of the car to get to her daughter. "Rika, thank goodness!" She hugged her tightly. "What on Earth were you doing out so early in the morning!? I can't believe you brought that thing with you!"
Mishara whispered, "Stop it, Rumiko. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone except Zelda knows about the Digivice and Renamon."
"Look, I am her mother, and she will do what I tell her, understand!? Now, Rika, I want you to apologize to this group of people immediately for the trouble you caused."
Ace tried to reason with Rumiko as best he could. "Mrs. Nonaka, with all due respect, she didn't do anything wrong at all. Rika's been pleasant company here."
"Listen, Mister! She is my daughter, and I will not have her going around with strangers! Besides, I know her friend's here, too! As far as I'm concerned, your friend Angela started all this trouble! It wouldn't have happened if that girl just stayed out of the way!"
Rika became very angry about that remark. "That's a lie, Mom! Angie is my friend now, and so are these two people, Ace and Cosmo! Besides, she brought my…device back after finding it in Daedalus Park where I dropped it yesterday afternoon."
"You are friends with these troublemakers!? Not anymore." She then looked angrily at Ace. "Whoever you and your friends are, I want you to stay away from my daughter, understand!? Let's go."
Rumiko grabbed Rika's left arm and dragged her back to the car.
Mishara felt very humiliated by her daughter's attitude. "Mr. Cooper, I'm sorry. Rumiko tends to be very overprotective of Rika."
"I understand. However, she needs to allow Rika to have some type of space." He then whispered, "Besides, we may need her and Renamon's help again, since LadyDevimon showed up very early this morning."
"You do know about the Digimon."
"Yes, thanks in large part to Angie. If we need Rika and Renamon, can we—"
"Of course. She can meet up with you and your friends. Thanks for keeping an eye on her for us. I don't want her hurt, either, but she does need some freedom to move around. So long."
"Take care." When the car finally left, he turned to Angie. "Can you still sense Renamon?"
"Yes. She stays close to Rika at all times, but I can still make contact with her, just not with Rika. My wavelength isn't exactly the same as Rika's."
"Good. We need to be prepared for the possibility of more Digimon showing up around here."

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Electro City Police Department, Lieutenant Derek Vega tried to file a report as best he could to his superior about the unusual disturbance in Daedalus Park. "I don't get it. Some kind of fight took place there, but I don't see any blood. What could've happened there?"
His secretary, Miss LeSage, came into the office. "Problems, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Miss LeSage. There was a situation in that park, and Ace said Angie was somehow involved in the mess. I'd better get in touch with him about this." He then used his own videophone to contact his longtime friend.
Just as Ace and the others went back inside the Magic, Angel made another appearance. "Lieutenant Vega for you."
"Thanks, Angel." When Vega appeared on the screen, Ace said, "Derek, what's going on?"
"About the situation this morning at Daedalus Park. You said Angie was mixed up somewhere by your bond with her. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Angie could tell you, but I don't think you'll believe it at all."
"After knowing you for so long I've learned that anything's possible. Angie?"
"Hi, Vega. If I tell you this story, you have to promise two things: Not to laugh about it and not to tell Friedrichs."
"I think I can manage. What happened?"
The female magician told her incredible tale of danger against an ultimate-level Digimon in the park, and being assisted by another Digimon. "That's the truth, Vega. This isn't another case of Raptor XII. Somehow, these beings have found their way here to Electro City from the Digital World. I can also sense the presence of Digimon on my own, no computers or any gadgets. It's like they have a sort of magical energy in their data."
"Angie, I honestly believe you. Your powers are always intriguing, ever since the discovery of your telemetric powers a couple of years back. So, what should we do in the meantime?"
"Watch for electrical disturbances around the city. Angel's been able to pick up one already, so don't be surprised if there are more to come."
"Okay. Maybe it's better if I don't tell Friedrichs about this. He'd think I belonged in some kind of institution or something."
"He'd better not!" said Angie angrily. "I'm liable to make him levitate 100 feet in the air if he does anything."
"Take it easy, Angie. You know how he is, though."
Just then, the chief of police stormed into Vega's office. "What is going on here, Vega!?" said the bespectacled Captain Howard Friedrichs. "Where is that report for the incident this morning? I wanted it more than 30 minutes ago!"
"I'm almost done with it, Captain. Can you give me about 10 more minutes?"
"And why are you talking with that troublemaking magician and his friends? Do they have information to hide as usual?"
"No, sir. They were all at the Magic Express when the incident took place."
"Whatever, Vega. You'd better have that report in 10 minutes, or I'll have you demoted to Lost and Found!" Friedrichs then walked off and slammed the door.
"You're right, Angie," said Vega. "I won't say anything to Friedrichs about this Digimon stuff."
"Thanks, Vega. Besides, it's only one so far. We're anticipating more to come. We just don't know when yet."

Back at the hotel, Rumiko was visibly upset with her daughter. "Rika, why did you bring that thing with you!? You know it's only going to create problems!"
"Mom, I didn't want to leave Renamon behind. She's my best friend—"
"And a source of nothing but trouble. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if your new friends are troublemakers themselves!"
Mishara quickly stepped in. "Rumiko, I'll have you know Ace Cooper is not only the best magician in the world but also a wonderful man period. He always contributes to charities with his performances and cares for others. All you see in him is his physical aspects and automatically assume he makes trouble. If you could see him for who he really is, you would know he's not a troublemaker, and neither are his friends."
"That's right, Mom. If Angie hadn't stepped in like she did, Renamon and I probably wouldn't be here right now! She came to our rescue."
"How did Miss Jacobs know about Renamon and your Digivice? No one outside Japan has ever seen a Digivice."
"I dropped it in the park by accident, but she found it a couple of hours later."
"She probably wanted to steal it."
Renamon then appeared in the room. "That's not true, Mrs. Nonaka. I thought Angie wanted to steal it, but her heart is noble and true. She wanted to give Rika back the Digivice. She and her friends now know of my existence and the incident this morning at Daedalus."
"Great, that's just what we need, an international incident with those Digimon things!" She then faced Rika. "Until further notice, young lady, you are confined to this room. Unless you're going with me, you are not to leave this room for any reason, understand?"
"But Mom, what about—"
"No buts, Rika! None of this mess would've ever happened if you had left your Digivice back in Japan like you should have before! Now, I have a shoot to go to with Zelda. Mother, I want you to stay with Rika and make sure she doesn't leave the room."
"Now wait just a minute. Rika would like to get to see the city some, so I'll take her with me."
"Oh, do whatever you want, Mother. It seems everyone's turned against me anyway."
"It wouldn't be that way if you would just let me be myself instead of in your shadow all the time!" yelled Rika. "I'd like to see my father again, if that's possible."
"Why would you want to spend time with your negligent father!? He was never there for us."
"Yeah, well he didn't go jumping all over the world for a stupid fashion shoot!"
"How dare you make fun of my profession! Isn't that what you want to be in life?"
"No, it is not! I have the right to decide for myself what I want to be. A fashion model isn't it. I have plenty of time; let me choose my own path, my own destiny."
"If you're going to be like that, Rika, then you can stay here in the room!"
"Rumiko, I am not going to allow you to be like this towards your own daughter," said Mishara. "She has permission to go around the city with me. Go to your fashion shoot, but leave Rika alone!"
"Fine!" Rumiko grabbed her jacket and abruptly left the hotel room.
In the parking lot, Zelda was a little concerned about Rumiko. "What's taking her so long?"
Mrs. Nonaka ran up to her. "Sorry, Zelda. I got tied up with my mother and my daughter. It seems my daughter doesn't want to stay in her room."
"Rumiko, your mother can keep an eye on Rika. If Rika wants to go around the city, let her. She's never been to America, and it won't help her if she stays confined to the room. Now let's go. Renaldo's going to be furious if we're even one minute late for the shoot."
"Right. At least I know my daughter will be safe."
The two women took off in the car for the fashion shoot.
Mishara looked at the very disgruntled Rika. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I know how much you miss your father."
"I do. I just wish I knew where he was now. I don't want to go on one of those talk shows trying to find him. I haven't heard from him in a couple of years."
"Listen, I have an idea. How about you and me take a tour of the city? Get your mind off some things, even if just for a little while."
The teenager looked at her grandmother and smiled. "I guess…okay. I shouldn't worry about so much right now. Thanks, Grandma."
"You're welcome, Rika. I trust you, but your mother apparently doesn't trust anyone, especially those new friends you made."
"I know. I definitely like Angie. She's a great person and a powerful magician, especially after what she did to LadyDevimon this morning."
"What did she do?"
Renamon answered, "She gave LadyDevimon a surprise attack of her own, and also was able to use the Digivice and game card."
"What was really amazing," added Rika, "was that she had never seen the card before and couldn't translate the Japanese."
"Yes, yet she was able to feel the energy within the card itself and figured out exactly what it was. She managed to get my best attack into use just before she got hurt."
"Is she all right?" asked a worried Mishara.
"Yes. She is just about fully recovered from her ordeal. She has a wonderful group of friends who care for her very much, including that young man Cosmo."
"Yeah. Cosmo and I didn't exactly start off on the right foot, but after he talked about his own brush with death at the hands of a different computer-generated character, I understood why he reacted angrily at us being in their home."
"So, after you and Renamon took care of LadyDevimon in the park, you brought her back to the Magic Express."
"That's right," Renamon noted. "As Rika said, things did not start off well right away, but we do trust each other now. So far, Mr. Cooper, Cosmo, Angie, and the beautiful panther Zina know of the incident."
"Good. The less number of people that know, the better. No offense, Rika."
"It's okay, Grandma. None taken. Only thing is, if we're going on a tour of the city, how will we do it? We don't know our way around."
"No," said Renamon, "but Ace Cooper and his friends would."
"How do we get in contact with them?"
"Through the rapport I share with Angie."
"You can communicate with her?" asked Mishara in obvious surprise.
"Yes, I can. She is an empathic mage, able to feel her powers. Maybe I can ask her." The golden fox Digimon closed her eyes to make psychic contact. Angie, it's Renamon. Can you hear me?
Back at the Magic Express, Angie had just finished breakfast when she heard Renamon's voice in her mind. Renamon? What's going on? Is there another Digimon?
No, not yet. Rika and her grandmother wish to take a tour of Electro City. Is there any way you could, well—
Let me talk to Ace about that, okay?
Angie walked into the practice room and talked to Ace. "Um, Ace, listen, Renamon's asking me if we could take Rika and her grandmother on a tour of the city. I know it's a bit much, but, well…"
Ace shook his head and simply smiled. "Angie, of course we can take them. Tell Renamon we'll pick them up at the hotel in about an hour. Just remember, we have to be back by about 3:00 for practice. The show's in just three days."
"Wait, I have an idea. Why don't we invite them over for lunch anyhow? Save us a little time, right?"
"Sure. Okay, it's a go all the way around."
"Thanks, Ace." Renamon, tell them to be ready in one hour.
Very well, Angie, and thank you.
"It's all set."
"Angie, sometimes I wonder about you. Your powers are developing far faster than I would have ever imagined. Even I didn't do it so quickly. You've been able to communicate with a ghost, a girl in another dimension, an empath—"
"My darker shadow," she interrupted.
"I know you're still coming to terms with that right now. It's okay. That part will need a lot of time. Now, how about we get ready for that tour of the city for your—I mean, our—friends?"
In the hotel room, Renamon looked at Rika and Mishara with a smile. "We're good to go. She said be ready in an hour. Mr. Cooper will bring his friends to pick us up."
"Great!" said an excited Rika. "I can't wait for it!"
An hour later, Ace and Zina arrived in the Magic Racer while Cosmo and Angie rode behind on the Magic Bike.
Rika could not believe the size of the car. "This is your car?"
"Yes, it is, Rika. Cosmo and Angie are riding the Bike because there isn't enough room in here for all of us. Now, we're having practice at 2:00, but you're welcome to come over for lunch and to watch us practice for the show on Thursday."
"Come over? You mean you hired a cook?"
Angie giggled and said, "Nope. I'm the cook."
"And I'm warnin' you now," joked Cosmo, "once you start eating her cooking, you won't be able to stop."
Angie then noticed that Renamon was not around. I guess this is just a precaution for you.
I'm afraid so. Last thing needed is a panic in the city. However, if there is a Digimon present, I will appear in a hurry.
I won't be surprised if another one does show up here. Let's just hope it's not too soon.
"Shall we get going, everyone?" said Ace dryly. "We have a lot to see in a short amount of time."
Rika and Mishara joined Zina in the back seat of the Racer as Ace took the driver's seat. Cosmo and Angie then put on helmets and mounted onto the Bike. Soon, Rika and Mishara were on a real first-class tour of Electro City with its star celebrity being the tour guide.
Mishara had a pocket camera with her and wanted to stop at every building they could see to get a photo of herself with Rika and her new friends. "I'm sorry, everyone. I can't help this right now."
Rika laughed and said, "Not a problem, Grandma. At least I'll have proof I've actually had a good time so far. What I can't wait for is the candid shoot with Zelda on Saturday."
"Aw, that's gonna be fun," said Cosmo. "You get to basically be yourself while Zelda takes the pictures. Your own photo shoot without that funny-accented photographer tellin' you, like, how to pose."
"Yeah, and I get to wear this outfit!"
"That broken heart looks really cool on you."
"Thanks. Well, we'd better finish up here, since we've got lunch coming up soon."
Within 30 minutes, the group returned to the Magic Express, where Angie quickly whipped up a chicken casserole for all to enjoy. "Lunch is on. Oh, and Renamon, you're welcome to join us. It's safe."
The golden fox appeared and said, "Thank you, Angie. I was getting hungry."
"Here you go."
Renamon could smell how good the food was going to be. One bite of the dish had proven it beyond reasonable doubt. "This is delicious, Angie. You are such a good cook."
"Yeah," said Cosmo. "Ace and I found that out when Angie first came here. She cooked up the best homemade chicken noodle soup I had ever eaten, and it was all to help me fight the flu."
"Very interesting. Angie, do you ever use magic to cook?"
"Only if it's part of the act. It's a lot tougher since I'm used to the two hands, not the magic."
"Ah, a hard worker in general."
"Right. My parents raised me to believe in a good work ethic, not try using shortcuts."
"Your parents did raise you well."
When they finished lunch, Ace invited Rika and Mishara into the practice room to watch him and Angie train for their upcoming show.
"We always try to improve our illusions and tricks," he said, "making them more difficult and at times more dangerous. There are a lot of rival magicians out there who will do anything to steal tricks for themselves."
"I had no idea about that," said Mishara.
"Most of us in the magic community are friends of one another, but some only want to steal the tricks just to make themselves better, not cooperate with other illusionists. In some cases, some magicians are so dangerous we have a special list called the Universal Magician Alert, a list of practitioners who only use their magic to steal or lie."
"I never knew there could be people so horrible like that."
"Yes, there can be, like one we had to deal with before named Darlena Lowland. She wanted to be my apprentice and wanted Angie out because she started at a surprisingly older age. When I said no, she tried to have us all killed. She's basically in the minority of all practicing magicians around the world." He then turned to Angie. "Okay, ready to try the fireballs again?"
"Sure am. Let's go."
They both magically created fireballs to juggle.
"Aren't those dangerous?" Mishara asked with some concern.
"It's okay, Mrs. Nonaka," said Angie. "Ace has taught me how to control them skillfully. Okay, Zina, are you ready?"
Zina growled in content because of her importance to the act. She jumped through Ace's hoop without any problems.
However, as the panther was starting to go through Angie's fire hoop, a powerful feeling overcame the female magician. "Ohhh, not again," she said as she slumped to the ground.
"Oh, no, Zina!" shouted Rika.
Zina did manage to land on the ground without a scratch.
"How did she—?"
"Manage to land with no burns?" finished Ace. "We never use real fire. We use a special fire powder that's completely harmless. All Angie and I have to do is manipulate it. My concern right now is Angie." He then came up to her. "What's wrong?"
"I…feel something…is here again."
Suddenly, Rika's Digivice sounded an alarm. "I don't believe it! There is another Digimon here in Electro City."
"I can feel it, too," said Renamon.
Finally, Angel made an appearance in the room. "Ace, my sensors are picking up a new electrical disturbance."
"Well," said Ace, "it must be that digital field you and Renamon talked about earlier. Angel, what's the location?"
"The digital field is located 10.3 miles west of here, along the Grand Canal."
"No…not there," said a concerned Cosmo.
"What's the matter, Cosmo?" asked Renamon.
"Zelda gave me a schedule of her photo shoot with Mrs. Nonaka. The first part of the shoot is exactly where that digital field is…"