A wolf-like humanoid Digimon walked into a dark room and approached a throne and kneeled with his left leg supporting his body, bowing his head down, he waited for his master to acknowledge him. When he did, he looked at his master and began to speak. "We have a problem," he grated.

"What is it?" said a deep voice.

The wolf shivered, despite the room being a bit too warm. His master had a way of doing that to Digimon. "Hercules­Kabuterimon started to destroy the wrong house," he said, not sure how to put the remainder of his report.

"HerculesKabuterimon wasn't hired for his wits. You said 'started.' And you didn't mention the deceased red-head's house," The Wolf shivered again. His master also had ways of looking through lies.

"It appears my younger brother didn't exactly get things done with her." he winced, waiting for his master to kill him.

"And Rika returned home, did she? And her friends threw a party in her honor. And we were unlucky enough to send Hercules­Kabuterimon the same night. Hmm. If the situation wasn't that serious, I think it would be rather amusing." The wolf remained silent. The thought that his master might have a sense of humor sent his blood on a chilling spree! "Still, we must go forward with the plan, with or without these wrinkles."

The wolf's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "B-b-but I thought…"

The wolf could feel his Master's eyes on him, and promptly shut up. "You truly know nothing. Rika's death would have helped our plan, but she could still be of some use to us."

I thought you said she was stronger than her own good. Thought wolfie.

"She is strong. If we can use that strength to our advantage, however…" Their was a hint of a smile to the Master's voice, which gave Wolfie large goosebumps and uncontrollable shivering. The fact that he read his mind didn't help matters, either.

"What is thy bidding?" he finally asked, wishing he could cuddle into his favorite blankie.

"Nothing, at the moment. We shall wait for her to put all the pieces together, then approach her. You are dismissed," the Master said, dismissing him with a gesture.

Wolfie bowed to his master, then got up and walked out of the presence of his master. After closing the door behind him, he almost ran outside. Why did my ancestors have to swear allegiance to him? Why?

Rika woke up with a start. She was in her bed. How did I get in my… Renamon. She smiled. I must have fallen asleep sitting against the wall. Getting up and stretching, she yawned and swung out her legs… only to realize she didn't need to. Stupid raised beds! I don't know why Americans like them so much. She looked for her alarm clock, but couldn't find it. Of course! It's still at the stupid school. Getting up, she went to her door and opened it, almost walking into a makeup- and coat-less Renamon. "Good morning!" Rika said, startled.

"Rika, we need to talk." Renamon said.

"What's this about? Have you found a new tamer?" Rika smiled jokingly, more or less forgetting last night's phone call.

"No; I think it's more serious than that. I think a Digimon might be having plans to take over the real world." Renamon said, dead serious.

"What do you mean?" Rika asked, a little scared. This is the things that only happened in the movies. Except the Parasimon incident, there hasn't been one Digimon with thoughts on world domination. Renamon came into her room and sat Indian-style on the floor and Rika knelt beside her.

Closing her eyes, Renamon began her tale: "It was just about three months ago…"

…And I was on campus still looking for you. I don't know why I couldn't find you; it seemed, to me, that you were trying to shut yourself off from me. I didn't understand it. I still don't understand it. There was a Digimon close by that was bio-emerging. I went over to the area, hoping I could take care of it.

It ended up being a Garurumon, but he seemed… different, somehow; Strange. He looked at me as if I didn't belong there. He then glared at me and said "Who dares defy the will of the Dark Sovereign?"

"Dark Sovereign? I thought there was only four" Rika commented.

"Dark Sovereign?" I said. "There is no such Digimon. I have spoken with all of the sovereigns and know each one, and none consider themselves the Dark Sovereign."

Garurumon just laughed and said "Your insolence and ignorance will be the death of you and your parter." He seemed to be gathering energy to him, but it was… dark. When I looked at him again, he was twice as big and had an evil glint to his eyes, and his normally white fur was a bit grayish.

His appearance and his aura made me remember a myth I once heard. It involved a very dark Digimon delving into dark arts, trying to become one of the Sovereigns. The Sovereigns, noticing what was going on, stopped this Digimon before he could do any serious damage. I can't remember the name, and if I remember correctly, there are many variations to the tale, with the Digimon being a Rookie to a Mega; from being weak enough that Impmon could beat him, to a rival of the Sovereigns' power. The same thing could be said about him that was happening to Garurumon; They looked like they had a dark look to them, and radiated a dark aura.

"Did you…" Rika swallowed, fearing that her partner got hurt "fight him?"

One thing at a time, Rika. I had a very bad feeling that I could only beat them if I was Kyubimon. However, I didn't know where your classes were, so I couldn't ask you for your help. Rika, it's Okay. I don't have any hard feelings about this. Seiko said that your education was important. I was, however, willing to stop Garurumon from harming anyone, especially you. I had a feeling that you were the target.

"Probably because he mentioned 'Your tamer'" Rika mumbled

Actually, I said, 'Partner,' but yes, he did say 'Tamer.' He charged at me at an alarming speed: I barely had the time to roll out of the way. He charged straight after I landed, I again barely had enough time to get out of the way. I immediately jumped into the air, getting ready to attack. I was hit by Garurumon's "Howling blaster" attack on my chest. The attack was stronger than anything I was expecting. It felt like a sledgehammer had hit a chunk of pointed ice into my body: It was that cold and forceful.

Rika touched the place on her middle sternum, the same place Renamon was touching herself. "So that's why I felt pain there that one day."

I felt myself going beyond; I knew I was dying, that only a miracle could save me. My only regret was that I didn't see you before going. Then, Garurumon's attack stopped. When I was able to look up, I saw Michael and Alisha– you haven't met Alisha yet, have you?– with their partners: SaberLeomon and Pixiemon. I had met them before-

"But you didn't say the name of your tamer." Rika stated a little darkly. You could have been with me earlier! Why didn't you say my name. She asked silently.

I didn't know what they would do when they found out whose partner I was. Rika, I didn't want to get you into trouble. However, last night's phone call does bring to suspicion as to how true Yamaki's contact and information were.

But I digress. Michael and Alisha were there to stop a Bio-emerging Digimon. Apparently, from what they said, they had a good battle. They said that whatever Garurumon did increased his strength dramatically. When they analyzed the data they collected with their Digivices, they found that he was a virus type: Most Garurumon are data. They think that the thing that gave Garurumon his extra energy was some form of a virus that modified him.

Rika got out her digivice and looked up Hercules­Kabuterimon. It was listed under "Vaccine." So the guy I fought didn't have this thing in him. That's a relief.

And thus concludes my story.

"It's time to eat" Renamon stated, opening her eyes and getting out of the sitting position she was in and walking to the door. She opened the door, waiting for Rika to join her.

"Renamon," Rika said "when did you meet Michael? And when did you get to the U.S.? And how did you get to the U.S.?" All Renamon did was stand there, looking at the wall and saying something about talking about it later. "Renamon," she said with just a touch of sternness.

Renamon was about to disappear but thought better of it. If I disappear without answering her questions, she won't talk to me for a long time. Sighing in resignation she bowed her head and closed her eyes. Renamon decided to give Rika the answers to her questions: "The day I got to the U.S.; a month after you left; and Seiko lent me some money." Renamon waited for Rika to decipher what she was just told.

It didn't take long. "Renamon!" Rika shouted, shocked. "Did you…!"

"I did not steal anything. I merely asked her for some money for a 'present.'"

"And that present was supposed to be you," Rika surmised, getting up and walking to the door. "Did grandma know?"

"I believe she guessed what I had in mind, because she gave me more than I asked for: more than enough for two flights, at least. She then said-"

"'Make the gift a special one.'" Said Seiko, startling Rika and Renamon. "Well, are you going to eat breakfast, or was your meal you had last night enough to tide you over until lunch?"

Rika smiled, looking past Renamon where Seiko was waiting. "Sorry, grandma. I just wanted to know how Renamon was doing." Seiko smiled, perfectly knowing what they were doing: telling each other stories.

"That's alright, dear. Why don't you two come for breakfast? Your mom made it."

Great. Wonder what we're having: Toasted French toast or fried pancakes? Rika looked at Renamon and was surprised to see a look of… shock on her face.

"Rumiko made breakfast?" Renamon asked, confused and surprised. It almost tasted too good to be made by her. Almost.

Seiko smiled. "She's been improving her cooking ever since you left. Her food is even passable to my cooking on my worst days." Turning around, she started walking to the dining room. Rika shrugged and followed her grandma. Renamon was about to follow, but noticed that Rika left her cell phone in her room. She picked it up it up and it started ringing. What do I do? Give it to Rika. Mentally cursing her mental block, she left the room and began to catch up to Rika.

"One moment, grandma." Rika said, turning around to get her cell phone. She stopped when she saw Renamon come out of her room. "Renamon?" Rika took the phone, looking at Renamon, wondering why did she get the phone. The three continued their journey to the dining room with Rika talking on the phone. The caller ended up being Kazu, of all people.

"Uh, hi Rika. Uhhhh, have you checked your messages?"

Rika opened her mouth, about to ask why he cared, but thought of a better thing to say: "No, I haven't. Mind asking me why I should?" she asked coldly.

"Uh- heh, there's a message there from Takato that you might find… interesting." he ventured.

"Mind telling me what it's all about?" asked Rika, noticing she was getting close to the dining room.

"Uh, no, I really think you should…"

"Just spare me the time and tell me what it says!" she demanded.

Pause. "You listened to it, didn't you? You just want to beat me up! Well, I won't take the bait, even if the message says 'I love you–'" Kazu stopped abruptly, realizing what he said and to whom.

Rika smiled, knowing he was cornered. "Mind repeating that?" she said in her normal tone, which was a bit too icy and emotionless for most people.

"Uh, n-no–"

"Because you know if you don't tell, I'll beat it out of you. Is this the only reason you called, or do you have something important to say?" She asked, smelling the delicious food. When Kazu continued to stutter, she gave her phone to Renamon, asking her to wait for the idiot to deliver his message. Renamon accepted the phone (She had already ate enough to sate her for the morning), and put it close enough to her ear as was possible and still be able to get her input.

It took a good ten minutes for Kazu to calm down enough to say that Yamaki wanted to talk with her. Having finished eating, Rika was talking about her experiences in college to her grandma and mom.

"…And this guy, the same guy that picked me up at the airport, looks at me and says 'You're the Digimon Queen?' as if he didn't recognize me at the airport. The expression on his face: Priceless. I don't know what to call it: a mix between shock, awe, adoration, respect… It wasn't until two weeks after the party that he could talk to me without stuttering like a loon. Anyways, his look-alike girlfriend comes up to him and says 'Mikey, It's not nice to stare,' while she pulls him by the ear away from me."

"He then got extremely reprimanded by his sister," Renamon added, remembering the story.

Rika blinked. "How do you know about this, Renamon? Did Michael tell you?" she asked a little bit darkly.

"No, I learned it from Alisha, his sister. She just told me that he was 'ogling a supermodel wannabe.'" Renamon smiled.

"She thinks I'm a supermodel wannabe?" she asked, silently vehement. When I get my hands on her…

Rika's tone wiped Renamon's smile from her face. "It's frightening how similar Alisha and Michael Mclaud look." Renamon noted, avoiding the question.

Rika thought about it, then asked "Black hair, a bit tan, blue eyes, about the same hight as Michael?" Renamon nodded. "Twin?" Renamon shook her head. "I'm surprised we weren't introduced to each other. So tell me," Rika said, the conversation away from the painful memories of college. "what did Dumb want?"

"He said that Yamaki wants to talk to you."

Rika glowered at the wall. "How does he know I'm here?" she gritted.

Rumiko looked at her watch and got up. "Oh dear, it's time for me to leave. Bye, hunny," she said, walking over to Rika and hugged her. It took a second for Rika to hug her back. After disengaging from the hug, Rumiko ran to the door and outside. Seiko began clearing the table, letting Rika and Renamon talk.

"I don't know." Renamon finally said. "Perhaps you could ask him." Renamon added, smiling and giving her the cell phone. Rika accepted it and dialed the number that she remembered as being Hypnos's phone number. She was surprised to find someone she knew on the other end.

"Hello, Yamaki's office. Hen-"

"Henry?"

"Rika! Uh, did Yamaki call you?"

"No, some idiot who goes by Kazu called and said that Yamaki wanted to talk to me."

"Did he mention anything else?" He asked hesitantly.

"Why do you ask?" she questioned coolly.

"No reason. Yamaki isn't here today. I can give you his home phone number."

Yamaki's not there? I'm surprised. It's not like to to be off work. "O.K. One- oh, thanks Renamon." she took the pen and paper that Renamon gave her. "I'm ready." Henry told her Yamaki's home number. Rika verified that she heard the number correctly, then asked a question that was bugging her ever since Henry answered the phone: "When did you start to work for Hypnos?"

There was silence on the other end. "Well?" she finally demanded.

"As part of my grant to go to college, I get to work at Hypnos part-time."

"That's nice." she said dryly. "When do you think the others will be off of their work? I want to meet everyone again. It's been a long time since I saw them last, and last night wasn't the best meeting."

"I think that tomorrow everyone but Ryo has the day off. We could then, if you don't mind Ryo's absence. Where do you plan on going?"

"Guilmon's hideout." she said. I bet everybody knows where that is.

"Uh, that might be a bit of a problem. It's sort of turned into a museum. You would be amazed at how many people come over in a day to look at the old hideout. Why don't we meet at your house? Will that be OK?"

"I'll check." she said, smiling. Putting her hand on the receiver, she called out to her grandma and asked "Is it alright if Henry, Takato, and the rest meet up with me here tomorrow?"

"Yes dear, it's fine with me" answered Seiko.

Rika smiled her thanks to her grandma and went back to the phone. "Yeah, you can come here." She looked at her watch and was confused until she realized that it was still on California time. "I need to call Yamaki. Bye."

"Bye" Beep.

She dialed Yamaki's home number, expecting for him to pick up. He didn't. Her call was answered by an answering machine. She was further surprised by whose voice was used to make the recording.

"Hello, You have reached Riley and Mitsuo Yamaki's residence. Sorry that we couldn't come to the phone, but we would like to-"

"Hello?" said the voice of Yamaki, panting.

"Yamaki," Rika said simply. "Kazu said that you wanted to talk to me."

Yamaki smiled. "That's right: Riley just had a baby boy."

Rika smiled with him. "Congrats. May he be as stubborn and hardworking as his father." She heard Yamaki chuckle. "So, when did you and Riley get married?"

"Five years ago." he said, confused. Her mom didn't tell her? Our marriage was in the newspaper. "We didn't exactly want two specific Tamers coming to the reception: We, uh, feared that they might cause chaos if let loose."

Rika nodded, knowing perfectly well whom he was talking about. "Yeah, I know who you mean. Kenta's not that bad by himself, but Kenta and Kazu: bad mix." She thought about what would happen if Kenta was invited and not Kazu, and frowned. "But if you only invite Kenta, he would tell Kazu about it and invite him himself…"

"And Takato would invite both, and Henry would invite Takato… It was safer not to invite any of the tamers. No offense."

"None taken. So how did you know I was coming over? I more or less told everyone but my grandma that I was staying."

Yamaki smirked "I think you forgot to tell me about your plans. I merely assumed you would be coming home soon after graduating."

"Speaking of college: it seems that one of my American friends is a Tamer, and he said that Digimon weren't listed as pets. I just learned this last night when I called him."

"Was this person's name Timothy Robinson?"

"No. His name was Michael McLaud, though it sounded like he did work for Robinson. Do you mind telling me a little about him?"

"Robinson? He seemed ancy. Not sure of himself, loud, and annoying."

"Sounds like my roommate," She muttered.

Silence. "I guess I could always call and find out why he said those things. It seemed as if he didn't want your Digimon over there."

Rika was silent for a while, then said "It has been a pleasure talking to you. Uh, I need to make another call, so… bye." beep. Rika glared at the phone. Somehow I doubt that he only seemed to want Renamon here: He probably wanted Renamon to stay. The phone started ringing. She recognized the number as Michael's.

Yamaki looked at the phone, turned it off, and set it back on the charger, surprised. That was the most civil conversation that I had with her for a long time.

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