Making Digi-Magic
Part 4: The Real Danger

Rumiko Nonaka and Zelda LeMond were hard at work on their glamorous photo shoot, both knowing this special shoot was going into a special magazine issue. The plan was to give the current-day supermodels a chance to salute the models that inspired them to take an interest in the career.
Renaldo the photographer was impressed with their poses in the highly stylish clothes given to them. "Wonderful, ladies, just wonderful! Now, turn to the left." He then took their picture together. "Beautiful! This will look great in the September issue of Superb Style. Let us keep up the good work, ladies."
However, as he was preparing for the next shot, he noticed something peculiar developing over the water. "What's going on here?" he whispered in concern. "I checked the weather forecast for today. There isn't supposed to be any fog anywhere, including here along the Grand Canal."
Rumiko noticed the photographer not taking any photos. "Renaldo, what's wrong? Why did you stop? We need to get this done so we can get to the next location." When she noticed his hands starting to shake, she turned around and noticed something very odd. "What on Earth…a fog bank?"
Back at the Magic Express, everyone realized how dangerous the situation was becoming, especially after Cosmo noted Rika's mother and Zelda being at the same location as the newly discovered digital field.
"No…Mom," said a worried Rika. "I…don't want her to get hurt. I know she and I don't agree on a lot of things, but she's still my mother. She wanted me to go to get my mind off Digimon and all the problems back in Japan."
Ace looked at the teenager with concern. "Rika, I want you to tell me everything that's going on where you live. Something tells me the information you and Renamon can give us may explain what's happening here."
Rika and her Digimon friend looked at each other and decided that telling the truth could be of help to them all.
Renamon spoke first. "When we returned from the Digital World, we didn't know that something terrifying called the D-Reaper had followed us back to Earth."
"The D-Reaper," added Rika, "wants to destroy everything in our world. The problem is…we don't even know what it looks like. All we've been able to see is a red goo-like mass. Now I know why Mom wanted to do the photo shoot. She wanted to get me away from the situation, but now she's in danger, and so is Zelda."
Cosmo knew Rika was right. "We've gotta get out there before they all get hurt."
Mishara was very concerned. "Please…Rumiko…"
Ace did his best to comfort her. "Mrs. Nonaka, don't worry, we'll get Rumiko and Zelda out of danger. Rika, do you have your Digivice with you?"
"Yeah. This can tell us exactly who we're dealing with."
"Good. We have to get to that digital field before it's too late to help them."
As they were leaving, Angie turned to Rika's grandmother. "You need to stay here. Don't worry, we'll make sure we return, with your daughter and Zelda."
"I believe you, Angie. Just…be careful, all of you."
"No sweat," said Cosmo in confidence. "We'll have everybody back by dinner!"
Ace and his friends took off from the garage in the Magic Racer while Rika rode on Renamon in her champion form Kyubimon.
In the back seat, Angie shook her head. "I don't understand this. I mean, no offense towards Rika or Renamon, but how in the world can I sense…data?"
The Magician replied, "Somehow, these beings from the Digital World are more than data…they're real beings themselves, only from a different universe. The Digimon must possess some special magic, but amazingly I can't really pick it up as well as you can."
"Why is that? I mean, you're more powerful than I am."
"True. I can also sense others' powers. However, your magic lies within the heart, which makes you far more sensitive. That explains why you've been able to communicate with a ghost and your deceased parents. Does that make any sense to you?"
"Yeah, I think so. Because my magic is emotionally driven, I guess I'm more aware of the gifts and powers of others."
"Exactly. Now, let's get to that area of the Grand Canal to help Rika's mom and Zelda."
As the two groups approached, Cosmo noticed a strange cloud. "I can't see a thing."
Kyubimon said, "That's the digital field. It will look like a huge cloud of fog, but there is a Digimon hiding in there somewhere. It's up to us to find it and stop it before Mrs. Nonaka and Miss LeMond get hurt."
Ace stopped the car within 10 feet of the digital field, where he, Cosmo, Angie, and Zina all ran into it behind Rika and Kyubimon.
Rika then yelled, "Mom? Zelda? Are you both in here?"
Rumiko heard the screaming plea of her daughter. "Rika! We're in here! What's going on?"
"Mom, you and Zelda need to get away from here! There's a Digimon around here somewhere!"
Sure enough, a strange flower-like creature emerged from the digital field. It was a giant flower but by no means friendly. It moved around by its spiked vines, which had chomping flowers on the ends of at least four of the vines, and the main flower had 10 petals and one very mean face.
Ace looked up and could not believe his eyes. "What on Earth is that thing?"
Rika checked her Digivice for information. "Okay, here it is…Blossomon, vegetation data type, and ultimate level. Special attack is Spiral Flower. That looks like one nasty flower."
"You're right," said Angie. "Our first priority is to protect Rika's mother and Zelda. Once they're safely away, we'll take care of that troublesome Digimon."
"I'll get 'em away," said Cosmo as he started running. "Aw, man, I can't see anything. I'd better put the goggles on." He soon made his way past Blossomon and found Rumiko, Zelda, and Renaldo the photographer in shelter. "Come on, I'll get you outta here. Follow me."
Unfortunately, Cosmo had a hard time telling directions and soon discovered he led the others right in front of Blossomon! "Whoops…I should've gotten a map or something."
Angie saw they were all in danger. "Hang on!"
Kyubimon yelled, "I'll distract Blossomon. You get them away with your magic."
"Got it!" Angie put her hands forward and concentrated on levitating Cosmo and the others away from the perilous area.
The four-legged golden creature jumped into the air and shouted, "Dragon Wheel!" Converting into a wheel of blue flame, she focused her attack on the large flower creature.
The blue flame made a direct hit, but Blossomon just laughed. "Ha, foolish Digimon! Your pathetic wheel can't defeat me!"
When Rumiko found herself floating in the air, she gasped, "Please tell me I'm dreaming."
"Nah," said Cosmo, "it's real. Angie's doin' her part to get us out of trouble."
Zelda nodded. "He's right, Rumiko. Just trust her and her powers."
The female magician got Cosmo and the others to the edge of the digital field. "Okay, go straight ahead and get out of here!"
Rumiko, though, wanted to stay and help. "No! Rika's my daughter, I can't—"
Cosmo grabbed her arm. "Mrs. Nonaka, please…I know you don't exactly trust us, but you've got to believe me when I say your daughter is in the best hands right now."
Zelda took hold of her other arm. "He's right, Rumiko. Ace Cooper and Angela Jacobs are more than performing magicians. They've done more for this city than you can imagine. Place your faith in them."
Rumiko looked back at the situation. Zelda's right. My daughter is trying to help me…even though I've been so hard on her. I just wanted to get her away from all this Digimon mess, but it wouldn't have mattered if I took her anywhere in the world. Those creatures would've followed with or without her device. "You win. I'll go with you." She then yelled out, "Rika, be careful!"
I will, Mom, Rika thought in relief when she saw her walking out of the digital field with Cosmo and Zelda. Focusing back on Blossomon, she shouted, "They're out of danger! Let's knock out the flower power!"
"Right!" Kyubimon shrieked She got her tails straightened and loudly said, "Foxtail Inferno!" The small flames at the ends of the tails escaped and soon merged into one giant flame which should have been able to finish the flower monster off, but to no avail. "Nothing's working! It seems to be a stronger ultimate!"
"That's right, little horsy," Blossomon stated wickedly. "Before I got here to the real world, I had absorbed the data of at least 10 different Digimon!"
"Absorbed the data?" said Angie. "What does that mean?"
Kyubimon sadly said, "She has done what I used to do before. When one Digimon finishes another, the data of the defeated Digimon is downloaded to make the victor stronger."
"Wait a minute, you mean some will…destroy or kill Digimon just to download their digital life force?"
"Yes. Apparently Blossomon made sure that 10 different lives were forever lost, which is why we must defeat that thing before it does serious damage to Electro City. Rika?"
"I'll see what card I can use!" She opened her packet to check her Digi-Game deck. "Let's see if this will work." Scanning the card through the Digivice, she shouted, "Agumon's Freeze Breath activate!"
Kyubimon felt her mouth growing colder but knew what was going on. "Got it!" Jumping high into the air, the golden four-legged creature screamed, "Freeze Breath!"
It seemingly froze Blossomon in place. Unfortunately, the nasty flower had something else in mind. "Nice try, sister, but not good enough! Spiral Flower!" Her four vines with the mean extensions were able to cut right through the ice.
"Darn," said Rika in frustration, "it didn't work! If only I had a blue card!"
She let her guard down just long enough for Blossomon to grab her by the vines! "Gotcha, little girl! Now you will suffer!"
"Rika!" Kyubimon did her best to help, but running up towards the flower monster did no good. She soon was trapped in the vines. "Ahhh!"
Blossomon laughed with true evil. "You think you can stop me, foolish human and foolish Digimon?" She started tightening the grip on both victims.
Ace and Angie both knew something had to be done before it was too late for Rika and Kyubimon.
Using her own magic, Angie made another game card appear in her hands. This card, though, was very different. "It's blue…and it's got a weird 'D' and a little dinosaur on it."
"I don't understand," said a very confused Ace.
"Wait…I see…something about…ultimate form…matrix digivolution?" In her telemetric vision she noticed Kyubimon changing forms again. "That's it! Ace, I need Rika's Digivice!"
"I have no idea what you're trying to do, but I've known you too long not to trust what you're doing." He put out his right hand, which soon glowed in a violet light.
Rika could not move but could feel her Digivice disappearing from her hands. "Hey, what the—"
Ace made the device appear in his hand and quickly gave it to Angie. "Now what?"
"Now Kyubimon's going to digivolve!" After scanning the blue card through the Digivice, she shouted, "Matrix Digivolution activate!"
Despite being trapped in Blossomon's grasp, Kyubimon felt herself becoming stronger. "She's…done it!"
The glowing light became too much for Blossomon, who quickly released the tamer and her friend.
"Kyubimon digivolve to…" Soon the four-legged creature was back on two legs again, but she became much taller than before. She had her one tail again while her face retained the same features. Also, her two feet became larger. Her outfit was a different story. She wore seemingly baggy purple slacks and her upper garb consisted of a strange outer piece with the yin-yang symbol on top and a strange symbol below. Her arm sleeves were longer than her arms as the upper arms extended further upward. On her head was a strange hat with a long black top and purple cover to keep her head from getting too hot. Standing tall was Renamon's ultimate form. "…Taomon!"
Ace could not believe what he had just seen. "Unbelievable…Renamon has a third different form or level, I guess."
"Yes, she does," Angie concurred. She then ran up to Rika. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I think so. But…how did you get Kyubimon to digivolve?"
"I scanned a blue card through the Digivice. I could sense the energy within it was necessary for Kyubimon to digivolve."
"That's amazing!"
Taomon shouted, "Now it's my turn to play with you!" She jumped into the air and cried, "Thousand Spells!" It almost looked like 1000 little spell cards came out from the sleeves in her outfit.
Ace jokingly said, "I wish I had a thousand tricks up my sleeves."
"Ace, she's just getting started!" said Rika excitedly.
Each of the spell cards that hit Blossomon made her weaker. "I don't believe it! You couldn't have digivolved!"
"Oh, yes, I can. You're no blossoming beauty. Now to send you back to where you belong!" Out of her right arm came an incredibly large paintbrush.
Angie's eyes widened. "Something tells me that brush is not gonna be used to paint colors all over Blossomon."
She looked like she was swinging the brush wildly, but in reality she set up for her best attack. "Talisman…of Light!"
A mysterious symbol appeared in blue light and soon made its way through Blossomon.
"No! It's not possible…" The large flower monster disintegrated into little red pieces of light, which soon went high into the sky.
"Mission accomplished!" exclaimed Angie. "Blossomon's gone…she got what she deserved."
As the digital field disappeared, Ace came up to Rika. "Is it true…that for some Digimon to get stronger, they have to literally destroy other Digimon?"
"Yes. Renamon used to do that because I thought that's all Digimon were supposed to do. We both learned how wrong we were."
"That's right," said Taomon as she landed safely on the ground and reverted back to Renamon. "We realized that all we needed was each other for strength."
As soon as the digital field disappeared, ten different police cars came to the scene.
This time the charge was led by Captain Howard Friedrichs, the bespectacled chief of police. "All right, Cooper, I don't know what you're up to, but you are not getting off the hook." He then noticed Renamon. "What kind of weird…thing is that?"
"This 'thing' is named Renamon," answered Rika. "She's my friend."
"Then I guess you two are involved in this disturbance with Cooper and Jacobs. You're all under arrest for disturbing the peace and vandalism."
As the officers approached, though, Rumiko jumped in front of her daughter. "No! I will not allow you to arrest any of them, especially my daughter Rika!"
"And who are you?" Friedrichs asked sarcastically.
"I am Rumiko Nonaka. I'm a supermodel with an assignment here in Electro City. Zelda LeMond and I were in the middle of our photo shoot when we were attacked by a Digimon. However, this one standing here was not the one. My daughter and her friends saved my life, Zelda's life, and Renaldo's life. If it weren't for them, we probably wouldn't be here now."
"But don't you understand!? They damaged property—"
"Sir, if you value property over life, then maybe I need to report you to the chief of police!"
"I am the chief of police!"
Rumiko got right into his face. "Then maybe Electro City needs a new police chief! You arrest my daughter and I will sue!"
Lieutenant Derek Vega stepped out of the car and whispered, "Wow, a supermodel with an attitude to match…except this time for the right reason." He then came up behind Friedrichs. "She does have the right to do so, Captain. This could look bad for your reputation, arresting the daughter of a supermodel and creating an international incident."
Friedrichs gave in to the pressure. "Fine! I'll let them go this time, but if they cause problems again, I will not only have them arrested, but you as well, Mrs. Nonaka, for conspiracy!"
"Conspiracy of what? I've done nothing here, except protect those who came to rescue us. I mean it. You try to have any of them arrested, and I'll see you are no longer the police chief!"
"Vega, clean up here, and get me that report by 8:00!" The captain then left in his own car.
Vega then looked at Rika and her golden fox friend.
"Please," Rika pleaded, "don't put her in jail."
"Relax, young lady. I'm not putting anyone here in jail. You were able to protect lives, which accounts more to me than Friedrichs could ever understand. I'm Derek Vega, a good friend of Ace, Angie, and Cosmo."
After breathing a sigh of relief, Rika said, "Thank you. I'm Rika, and this is my friend Renamon."
"Nice to meet you, Rika. So, Renamon, you're a Digimon, huh?"
"Yes, sir, I am. I apologize for the damage we inflicted here."
"Damage to buildings can be repaired. When people get hurt, it's a different story." Vega then became serious. "Um, has something like this happened where you live?"
Rika sadly said, "It's currently happening in Japan. We came here in the hopes of getting away from the mess back home, but now it's followed us here."
Zelda and Renaldo, though, were extremely confused.
"Rumiko," said Zelda bluntly, "what is going on here? Why is your daughter the only one who can fight these…things? What is—"
"Zelda, it's a long story, and I'll explain everything later." She then turned to Mr. Cooper. "Sir, I…I want to apologize to you and your friends. All I wanted to do was to take Rika away from this Digimon thing…all the danger and everything, but I guess no matter where I would take her, problems were bound to follow."
The Magician simply nodded. "Mrs. Nonaka, Rika told us the same thing. You wanted to keep your daughter safe."
"Mother…is she okay?"
"She's at the Magic Express and perfectly fine."
"Thank you," breathed Rumiko in relief. "Rika, I know I shouldn't have done this, and I'll understand if you're angry with me."
"Mom, it's not your fault. I knew you were trying to get my mind off the mess back home, but I should've realized they would follow us here somehow. Now we have to deal with Digimon here in Electro City, too. Oh, and Mom?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Thanks for standing up for us against that creepy chief."
Vega said, "Believe me, Captain Friedrichs believes property is more important than protecting lives at times. Mrs. Nonaka, you're one of the very few people willing to stand up to him."
"I know she and the others saved my life, and that counts for more than all the damage done here. It's messier back in Japan."
"So," said Zelda, "what do we do now?"
Angie suggested, "We need to return to the Magic Express and assess the situation. Blossomon's the second Digimon to appear here through a digital field, and she probably won't be the last one."
Vega noted, "Digital field? That explains the electrical disturbance we picked up at the station earlier. Apparently we have a lot of information to discuss back at the Express."
"Agreed, Vega," said Ace seriously. "Something tells me the real danger's still to come."
In a matter of minutes, everyone left the scene in at least four different vehicles to return to the Magic Express and talk more about the strange situation involving Digimon appearing in Electro City.

Meanwhile, in another dimension, a huge mass of red ooze had created much damage to a certain world, as it was out to completely destroy it. Out of nowhere, a strange voice spoke. "That human and her Digimon thought they could escape me," it said angrily. "She thought she could just leave her problems behind…wherever she goes, I will send others to find her and her Digimon. Humankind and Digimon were meant for nothing but destruction. However, the human and her partner have joined forces with two unusually powerful humans. The female human was able to inflict damage to one of my best warriors, and she has her own ability to sense Digimon without any device. Something must be done where they all are, and now! I will start sending mega-level Digimon to that particular area. For now, though, I do not have enough energy. I used most of it with LadyDevimon and Blossomon." It then sent out for a larger Digimon. "Milleniummon!"
In a desolated area, the beckoned Digimon was extremely large. It appeared to be a six-legged creature, but in reality it had four arms and two legs. Its top left arm had one red talon. There was also what seemed to be a cover over it, a cover of pure flame. On top were two large cannon-like machines, obviously used to destroy anything which stood in its way. "The D-Reaper calls," said the mega-level monster. "You have summoned me?"
"Yes, Milleniummon. I have already exerted too much energy of my own in trying to stop that little human subject Rika and her Digimon partner Renamon. They have befriended a pair of powerful humans."
"Do you have any information on them?"
"Yes, I was able to get that from LadyDevimon and Blossomon before they were destroyed. They have demonstrated powerful skills of…magic. I did not put that into the human factor. One can sense our presence in the real world with no use of any device. We need to know more about this pair of humans, but also their friends around them. Whatever happens, I want no one to interfere when I come to the real world and destroy it."
The Digimon monster asked, "What do you wish of me?"
"You have power only second to my own here in the Digital World. Send two of your best mega-level Digimon to Earth. I want more information on this pair who can do magic through their wills. And, see if you can obtain any other useful data that may be of help to us."
"I shall do my best, Master. I will not fail you."
"See to it you do not. If they fail, you will be the next to travel to Earth! The place that little girl and her Digimon have gone to…it must be destroyed!"
Milleniummon bowed in respect. "Yes, Master." He then looked around and shouted, "Boltmon! Come here at once!"
Approaching from the horizon was a Digimon almost half the size of Milleniummon, but powerful nonetheless. He looked like a reject from a roller derby, just no skates. He had attached bolts like Frankenstein would at the two sides of his neck. The bolts, though, were all over him. He wore buckled pants like he were Michael Jackson. He also wore a funny-looking helmet and had a large metal ax within the sheath on his back. Despite being green-skinned, Boltmon knew he had a job to do. "You summoned me?"
"Yes. When the next chance comes, I want you to go to the real world and find a little human girl and her Digimon partner named Renamon. Be warned, however. They have joined forces with two humans who have powers we do not understand. One of them can easily detect our presence without the use of any machine, as if she knows we have something more than just absorbed data. Try to get as much information on them and any of their friends as possible. The master wants the Digimon destroyed…by any means necessary. Do not fail."
Boltmon bowed. "I understand, Milleniummon. It's about time I saw some action!" He then stood up and left, hoping he could find the next tear in the dimensions and get to the real world.

Back in the real world, everyone arrived at the Magic Express, much to the relief of Mishara. "Rumiko! Rika! You're both all right!" She ran up to them and hugged them very tightly.
"Yes, Mother," said Rumiko in content. "We all made it back safely, and I owe my life to Rika's new friends."
"I'm glad to see you do trust them after all."
"I do, especially considering they thought about our safety first before attacking that killer flower." She then became angry. "The nerve of that man, Captain Friedrichs, thinking he could arrest my daughter!"
Mishara was appalled by this development. "What!? The police wanted Rika arrested?"
Vega stepped up and answered, "Actually, ma'am, only Friedrichs wanted Rika and Renamon arrested, along with Ace, Angie, and Cosmo for destruction of public buildings. Rika's mom, on the other hand, did something not too many people are brave enough to do…get in the captain's face and tell him off."
"That's my girl," said Mishara. "Tells it like it is without sugarcoating anything. Same as Rika."
Zelda and Renaldo threw themselves onto the couch, after all the excitement they went through earlier.
"I thought killer flowers were only seen in the movies," said Renaldo, panting in exhaustion. "Just what was that thing anyway?"
Zelda stood herself up and said, "That's what I want to know."
Rumiko sat next to them and said, "That flower monster you saw was a Digimon. It's short for a Digital Monster. However, Renamon, the golden fox standing over there next to Rika, is by no means a monster, right, sweetie?"
"Right, Mom. Renamon and I are partners and more importantly, friends. We've been fighting Digimon ever since I met her last year. At first we thought the sole purpose of Digimon was to absorb data and make Renamon the strongest of them all. In the time we've been together, though, we learned we needed each other, not the data."
"Rika speaks the truth," said Renamon. "Our friendship and trust have allowed us to be stronger within ourselves."
Angie smiled. "Sounds like what I went through here when I first met Ace and Cosmo. Unfortunately, we don't quite have time to exchange stories. We need to figure out how to stop any more Digimon from messing up Electro City."
Everyone agreed with Angie's assessment.
Vega said, "Then let's get down to business. We know that so far, there have been two of these Digimon appearing through something called a digital field. At the police station our trackers have been noticing strange signals. The first signal was at Daedalus Park early this morning, and then came the one near the Grand Canal with that flower creature. How is it they're coming here?"
"May I answer?" asked Renamon. After Vega nodded, she said, "They have apparently found dimensional tears in locations other than Japan. It seems where we go, the Digimon in the Digital World can tell. Some of us have a unique…frequency. Angie must also have a special frequency within herself."
"Which explains my theory," Ace interjected. "I am more powerful than Angie, but her heart gives her the ability to sense those with unique powers, like you, Renamon. You're not data. You are a real being who may have some real magic within yourself."
"An interesting theory, Mr. Cooper. One that may hold the truth. We know so far that Angel's sensors, Rika's Digivice, the police's tracking equipment, Angie, and I can all detect the presence of Digimon here. We now face a couple of problems. Lieutenant Vega, I can tell you right now that the police is no match against Digimon. The military back in Japan learned that the hard way."
"Really?" asked the lieutenant.
"Yeah," answered Rika. "There's this large red goo-like thing growing back home, and it's causing a lot of damage in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. I really wish we didn't have to leave at such a critical time. I just wonder if Takato and the others are doing all right."
"They haven't launched an all-out attack against the red goo," Renamon noted. "I think it's waiting for just the right moment. However, I think that thing wants to challenge all of us together, so I think the D-Reaper's trying to force us to go back to Japan."
Rumiko put her face down in shame. "I just made the entire situation worse by trying to take Rika away from all this. How could I have been—"
"Mom, stop." Rika sat next to her mother. "I know you were only looking out for me, but I guess being a Digimon Tamer is a destiny I can never get away from. Somehow, Takato, Henry, and I were chosen to protect Earth from this menace. I have to accept my fate now, no matter what."
Zelda then asked, "Rika, there are others like you?"
"Right. Takato Matsuda, Henry Wong, and I are the three main tamers. We also have other friends with their own Digimon helping out. It seems right now the D-Reaper doesn't want to do anything unless we're there, like it's toying with us. Why else would it have sent weak Digimon here to Electro City of all places?"
Vega nodded in agreement. "I believe Rika's right. We need to figure out how to stop these Digimon from making more of a mess while at the same time making sure Friedrichs doesn't screw things up on his end."
"No kidding," said Cosmo. "Friedrichs has a great way of messing things up, particularly about things he doesn't understand."
"I'm going to see if I can be the…head of this investigation. This way, you'll have no doubts. If Friedrichs oversees it, we're going to have problems."

Little did they know that Friedrichs went straight to the top at City Hall. He went to see the "mayor" of Electro City, Senator Evan Dobbs. "Sir, I know we're having some rather strange situations going on, but—"
"I don't care, Captain!" shouted the mayor, standing up in anger. The stout little man was very chubby for his size, yet he had the voice of authority…despite having a less-than-stellar performance rating on the job. "Do whatever it takes to put an end to these weird disturbances around the city! We've already had two sightings of strange fog banks, and then inexplicable damage to buildings near the Grand Canal and in Daedalus Park!"
"I know, sir. We're doing everything we can to figure out what's been happening."
"That's not good enough, Friedrichs! The report Vega made is too vague and doesn't give us enough information! I want him and everyone associated with him checked out immediately! If there is some kind of conspiracy against me, then have them all behind bars!"
That order gave Friedrichs a reason to smile. "Yes, sir. I'll take care of that right away."
When Friedrichs left Dobbs's office, Dobbs sat back down in his chair. "I don't know what kind of plot someone's trying to pull, but I'll make sure that gets stopped. After all, this is an election year."
Friedrichs drove off in his car, but not for police headquarters. "I want 10 units surrounding the Magic Express in 10 minutes. I know Vega's been up to something, and now I'm going to expose it!"
At the Express, all were discussing how to solve this strange problem before things could get worse.
Unfortunately, in the middle of the conversation, there was a loud knocking on the door. "Open up!" shouted Friedrichs through his megaphone. "The Magic Express is completely surrounded! Come out of there and give yourselves up!"
Zelda could not believe what she heard. "You've got to be kidding! I didn't do anything!"
"None of us did," said Vega. "Of course! Friedrichs got Senator Dobbs to make him the head investigator. I never was a favorite for either of them."
Angie became visibly upset over this situation. "The nerve of Friedrichs! He's got no proof that we did anything wrong! Stand back, everybody. I'm gonna handle this one." Her eyes started glowing in light blue.
Ace gently held her shoulder. "Wait…what are you going to do?"
"A little hypnotic suggestion, that's all. I'm not going to physically do anything to them. Renamon, stay here. The last thing I want is Friedrichs putting you behind bars just for looking different."
"I understand, Angie. Be careful, though."
"Don't worry, I know how to protect myself."
She stepped outside where Friedrichs yelled out, "Okay, Miss Jacobs, you're coming with us down to the police station so you can explain your actions on those buildings earlier today, as well as the incident in Daedalus Park, since you obviously have something to do with it."
Her eyes glowering with anger, she said, "I wouldn't bet on that, Captain Friedrichs." She then put her arms forward and waved her hands in a circular motion, creating a light strobe effect. In a matter of seconds, everyone in front of that light became transfixed and hypnotized. "Mine is the only voice you can hear," she spoke in a low tone of voice. "You will not arrest anyone here in the Magic Express. We have done nothing wrong. Friedrichs, you will accept Vega's reports about the strange anomalies in any terms he uses. Also, there are no suspects within the walls of the Magic Express. We have a dangerous situation on our hands, and it is best that you do not know the truth. Doing so will create panic. Now, you will all return to police headquarters and carry on as if nothing had ever happened, except for an incident of strange fog. My hypnosis will wear off the moment you step into the building, with no memory of what you have done here."
They all left in a trance-like state in their vehicles and returned to police headquarters.
Ace came outside and could not believe what happened. "Angie, you hypnotized at least 20 people, including Friedrichs! Have you ever done mass hypnosis before?"
"No…something just came to me. I knew everyone here was innocent, so I had to do something to get them off our case in dealing with the Digimon. Like Renamon said, the police can't do this one. It could get more difficult though, if the Digimon start going to public places."
"Yeah," agreed Rika. "It'll be enough of a headache without the police on our case. Uh, no offense, Lieutenant Vega."
"None taken, Rika," chuckled Vega. "Friedrichs has always wanted me out somehow, some way. He even had me arrested once for something out of the past."
"That man has no sense, whatsoever," said Rumiko. "Never mind that now. What should we do in the meantime? I mean, we know not all of us can go find the Digimon."
Cosmo suggested, "Let's make the Express a control center, to keep tabs on things in terms of the Digimon."
"Good idea," said Renamon. "When action calls, the only ones going will be myself, Rika, Ace, Angie, Zina, Vega, and Cosmo. We have the best chance of getting things done. The rest of you need to stay away, since it'll be too dangerous."
Rumiko understood the situation. "You're right. All of you are more battle experienced than we are. I trust all of you."
Renaldo, Zelda, and Mishara all smiled, showing their faith in the group.
"Um, just one thing," said Renaldo, "what about our photo shoot?"
"It's simple. We go ahead with it. I'm not going to let some renegade Digimon stop Zelda and me from getting those shots. When danger comes around, we'll just move to a different location out of harm's way."
"I like that," Zelda stated calmly. "We just have to trust them and make sure we can finish our job in time. Oh, and Rika, that casual shoot's still on for Saturday."
"Sounds good, Zelda. Thanks."
Ace then said, "Okay, we've had our share of excitement for one day. Let's all go home for the day and rest. I know it's hard to do in this situation, but we mustn't panic about anything right now."
Knowing how right the Magician was, they all left the Magic. Vega left back for his office at police headquarters and Rika left with her family, Zelda, and Renaldo for the hotel. Soon, only the regular residents of the Express remained.
Angie breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Man, I can't believe what I had to do to get Friedrichs off our back."
"That was so cool, Ang," said Cosmo excitedly. "Least now we don't have to put up with the captain against the rotten Digimon."
"Right. I'm so worn out, though."
Ace simply said, "Get some rest, Angie. We can handle dinner for now."
"Thanks, guys."

Later that night, Rika, unable to sleep, stood out on the balcony of her room.
Renamon appeared to her. "You're troubled, Rika. Tell me, what's wrong?"
"Renamon, do you really think we can stop the Digimon here in Electro City?"
"Yes. We have each other, help from our new friends, and the support of your own family and friends. We must have faith in ourselves to defeat the D-Reaper's minions."
"Yeah, I know. It's just that…I actually thought we could get away from all the problems back home. I guess that was just a lie, huh?"
"An unintentional lie. No one here could have foreseen the appearance of Digimon here in Electro City. We're very lucky to be allied with two powerful magicians who can help us as best they can. However, there is one person I'm a little concerned about."
"Who?"
"Their friend Cosmo. I mean, he explained about his incident with a digital character, even though Raptor XII isn't a Digimon. I wonder if, accidentally, we have given him recurring nightmares as a result of the Digimon being here."
"Hmm, I never thought about that."