Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Magic Story, Part 3: Prophecy of the Clow ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer:
This fic uses characters, places, themes from franchises that are the property of others. I do not own these franchises.

Special Thanks to:
Charles Xavier, Fanfiction.net author: For writing an awesome crossover with anime and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Suikosource website: for providing great information that made this fic possible.

The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny
By: RB3

Magic Story, part 3: Prophecy of the Clow

With Omnipotence's base under occupation, Izzy and Yolei were free to scan through their files for information. They were astounded by the information contained in the computers. Omnipotence had been responsible for crimes beyond those committed in the Red World. They were responsible for bombing the Zaibach Imperial Palace in Gaea as well as running arms through multi-world criminal fronts. With the reach and willingness to employ violence of such a vast organisation, the threat they posed to the Digital Nation and the other anime worlds was immense. They could not ignore these facts. They had to act before Omnipotence committed more crimes.

Izzy typed away at the computer, displaying the locations of all known bases to his friends. "Yolei, I'm sending the coordinates to Gennai."

"Okay, I'll tell Takuya and Takato," said Yolei.

"There are still more in this world too, we'd better tell Amelia and the others when they get back," said Tentomon.

"Tell me what?" asked Amelia as she walked into the room.

"Oh hi Amelia, we were just looking through the computers. You won't believe what we found," said Yolei.

Amelia read the opened windows on the screen. Her eyes widened in shock. "By Cephied! Do they really have this many hideouts?"

"Yeah, take a look at this," said Izzy as he brought up a map of the Red World. "This is a map of your world and we are here." Izzy pointed to a dot at the southeast continent of the world. "The other dots are enemy hideouts like the one we're in right now."

"Hey, there's one near Saillune!" remarked the champion of justice as she pointed to another of the dozens of dots.

"Is that so?" asked Izzy. "We'd better tell Naga too. In fact, we might as well let every kingdom know while we're at it. I'll just print up some copies..." After Izzy typed some commands, the printer began churning out copies and copies of the map. "...And we're done. Here they are." Amelia took the maps and left the room.

"We've got E-mail from Gennai," replied Yolei. "Okay, he knows about the bad guys. The Digidestined are going to get the bases. They are getting help from local Digimon." An envelope icon flashed indicating that another E-mail had arrived. "Hmm, Takuya sent me an E-mail. He says he is talking to the Great Angels now. He wonders how Koichi is doing."

"Tell him he's fine," said Izzy.

The final icon flashed after Yolei finished Takuya's reply. "It's from Takato. He says the Devas are mobilising a Digimon army. He and the other Tamers are joining it right now."

"Good, at this rate, it won't be long before we clean them out," remarked Izzy.

"That's good," said Yolei. "We've still got a lot of work to do.”

Having mined all of the information they could use, the magic team and the heroes and generals of the Red World gathered to hear Izzy's briefing. The two Digidestined informed their allies of everything to do with Omnipotence, from the existence of other bases to the illegal activities run by this organisation. There was outrage on the faces of people gathered at the assembly to discover how vast the enemy really was. Yolei and Izzy had already warned their friends in the Digital Nation as well as Amelia and Naga. Sakura had warned Clow Reed as well.

"What now?" asked Sakura.

"Same thing we did here; we're going to hit more bases," announced Koichi, as leader of the magic team. "Izzy, what others are there besides the ones you mentioned?"

"After calling our friends, we are left with three locations. They are Rogue Town of Great Blue, Ironia of Gaea, and Tokyo-3 of Evangelia," replied Izzy.

Izzy proceeded to describe each of the worlds that held the three remaining bases. The first, Rogue Town was in the world of "Great Blue" where the anime One Piece was filmed. It was a world of swashbuckling heroism and pirates sailing the seas for treasure. The people of that world were generally of a lower technological level than the Digital Nation, but higher than that of the Age of Exploration of the Real World. That world produced the rare and dangerous fruits known as Cursed Fruit. When consumed, these fruits granted amazing superhuman abilities and traits, but cursed the user with the inability to swim. They were poisonous to people that already had supernatural powers, so the team had to be cautious of what they ate while they there.

Izzy continued with a description of the next location, Ironia in Gaea. Gaea was the world of Escaflowne, an anime of giant robots called Guymelefs. There had been a war similar to the one depicted on the anime, but it had long since passed. Only the Zaibach nation was truly advanced, but its technology was steam-based rather than the electronics-based technology of the Real World or Sakura's home world. Ironia was a small nation south of Zaibach that was ruled by a dictatorship. It was likely that the government there would be hostile to the movements and activities of the magic team.

The last location was Tokyo-3 in Evangelia. This was the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was a world that was outwardly similar to the world of the Clow magicians, Tarota, and the Real Worlds of the Digital Nations, but had higher technology. It too, was a world of giant robots, but they were organic in nature rather than mechanical. This was a world which suffered from occasional attacks by the alien beings known as the "Angels." A pair of disasters, called "Impacts," had brought turmoil and chaos to the world, resulting in the current situation there.

"Keep in mind that the bases in Tokyo-3 and Rogue Town aren't in the countryside like Ironia's," warned Izzy. "They're in the middle of cities so we have to be careful about how we go about capturing them. I personally suggest that we should go to the one in Rogue Town."

"Why that one?" asked Amelia.

"Rogue Town is the location with the lowest technology. They don't have computers or phones that we can use to call for help, so we pretty much have to take care of that one ourselves. We can call for help in Evangelia, so we don’t need to worry about that one. The Ironian one is a very interesting case. About a month ago, Omnipotence had bombed the neighbouring country, Zaibach. They probably don't know who was responsible, so I'll supply that information for them."

When the briefing was over, it was very late so the magic team turned in for the night. They made use of Omnipotence's facilities, which were meagre since it was meant for soldiers on duty, not for luxury. Later during the night, Sakura began tossing and turning in her cot. She found herself standing in the centre of a ruined cartoon city. She stood mouth wide open in awe of the devastation that was prevalent all around her. "Where am I?" she asked.

Chaos had descended on the city, where buildings had been smashed to rubble by devastating weapons. Potholes were everywhere on the street, strewn about randomly to give it the consistency of Swiss cheese. Cars and even trucks weighing in at multiple tons had been overturned by immense force. From everywhere around, she could hear the sound of panicked humanoid and anthropomorphic Toons fleeing for their lives. In the distance, she could hear the sound of gunfire and saw shots zing by in the sky. They raced towards creatures much like the ones described by Yolei and Koichi as the thieves of the Destiny Stone.

She looked around and saw the other members of her team surrounding her. However, they had several new faces with them, two of which stood out in particular. The first was a white-furred, anthropomorphic rabbit in red, clown-like suspenders. The second was a sultry, sexy woman in a sequined dress as red as her hair. A lone, massive robot barred their path forward. This great weapon of war was white with red highlights and brandished an equally gigantic gun menacingly. As the team prepared to battle this fearsome monstrosity, Sakura's consciousness faded into darkness as she awakened the next day.

---

That day, the magic team found themselves walking down rolling green countryside to Rogue Town. Yolei's D-Terminal, a device that functioned as a personal assistant, beeped to indicate the arrival of a radio message. It was from Izzy, who was offering instructions. "Okay, here's the next step. Omnipotence's base is hidden under the Blue Doubloon bar and restaurant at the south end of town. You're just there to scout the place out. Try not to make a scene," said Izzy.

The group travelled through the quaint mortar and plaster town until they came across the Blue Doubloon. There was a wooden sign above the doorway painted with the Blue Doubloon’s name. It had pictures of two blue coins replacing the "o's." Turning her back to an alley, Kero slipped out of Sakura's backpack and flew off in search of Omnipotence's Rogue Town hideout. Inside, it was a large, fairly boisterous establishment that served as a watering hole for people from all walks of life. Towards the front were tables of people eating down the delicacies of the sea from various types of fish to lobsters and crabs.

Though popular with Rogue Town's citizens, the Blue Doubloon’s biggest customers had to be sailors and pirates. At the back, these very sailors crowded around the bar and back tables as the bartender served drinks to the men and women. The men, who oozed machismo and bravado, bragged about their exploits and adventures in the sea. The audience lapped up every moment and minute detail of their stories. A few others flirted with the bar maids, with one boldly slapping his waitress in the butt. The waitress tittered as she went away to fetch some more drinks.

The magic team sat at one of the front tables and received their menus from a waitress. "Is anyone there?" asked Kero through the power of the Voice card.

"We're here Kero, we read you loud and clear," replied Sakura.

"Good, I found a secret door hidden behind a shelf in the storm cellar. It led me inside this long cobblestone tunnel. I think it leads to the place we're looking for," reported Kero.

"They didn't see you did they?" asked Shaoran.

"Nah, no one was there. Besides, a dose of Sleep card today will keep the guards away," replied the guardian of the Clow.

"Okay, keep up the good work," said Sakura.

"I will. Don't you forget my doggy bag," reminded Kero.

"Don't worry, Kero, we won't," replied Sakura in exasperation.

As the magic team ate, Kero traversed the lengthy hallway underneath the Blue Doubloon. It was a dark, dank place that few people ever frequented. It was the perfect place to hide such unscrupulous people like the thugs of Omnipotence. At the end of the hallway was a single wooden door. Kero called upon the Through to card to generate a temporary hole to enter without triggering alarms by opening the door. Now, his exploration became more dangerous. He could feel the presence of guards throughout the rooms and drab white hallways of the base. He could see a security camera rotating around above and several alert lights and speakers lining the hallway's roof.

At his left and slightly in front was a hallway with another door at the far left facing down the hall. Kero could hear the sound of boisterous cheering from several men. Apparently, the men were watching a sporting event of some kind as they cheered over the voice of an announcer doing commentary. Further down the hall away from Kero's entry point was a door on the left side. He snuck down the hallway, being careful not to be spotted by cameras. He found a ventilation shaft which used to break into the room. Inside, the sight of racks filled with rifles greeted him. There weren't as many compared to the base they captured, suggesting that there were fewer men posted to this hideout.

Suddenly, Kero smelled the sweet scent of cake fill the air. Kero followed the scent through the vent and into another which led to the kitchen. Through the grating, he could see several cooks toiling in a kitchen. Just to the left, he could see several thuggish men eating at tables, which made Kero hungry. Like a gift from the heavens, a cook placed several plates with cake slices just below his vent. Such a feast was too great a temptation for him to resist. Once no one was watching, Kero darted over and snatched one of the slices.

The cook returned and gazed at the plates in puzzlement. One of the cakes had gone missing with only the crumbs remaining on its plate. "Hmm?"

Inside the vent, Kero chowed down on the cake, unaware of what transpired in the security centre elsewhere in the hideout. In the monitor filled room, a guard noticed something shoot out at a cake in the kitchen. "Hmm, what was that?" asked the first guard.

"You must've been imagining things. I didn't see anything," dismissed the second.

The first rewound the recorded video feed and replayed it in slow motion. Although blurred, he was able to make out what looked like a rat snapping up a slice of cake in the kitchen. "Hmm, looks like some kind of rat," remarked the first.

"I've never seen a rat like that before..." Becoming suspicious, the second guard moved his radio to his mouth and held down a button. "All personnel; there may be an intruder in the compound. Please be on high alert."

From within another ventilation shaft, Kero watched as the guards patrolled the hallway with a noticeably greater frequency. Their aura indicated state of higher alertness than before. He was beginning to regret eating that cake. "Great... Nice one Kero! You HAD to eat that cake, didn't you?" he chided to himself.

Kero worked his way through the vents and came upon a sideways extending hallway with a door. Beside the door was a keypad for entering the special password needed to unlock the door. After ensuring that the coast was clear, Kero slipped into the room with the Through card. The interior was that of a simple storeroom with metallic, reinforced walls. There were shelves along the walls filled with unusual items, some that Kero had never seen before. All of these items radiated supernatural powers of various types from familiar magic to other types.

This array of strange items fascinated Kero to no end. Each item had a tag that identified it. His curiosity brought him to a chunk of silvery ore abandoned on a shelf. Its tag identified it as "Escudo ore," something Kero had some familiarity with. It was a magical substance from Cephiro, a world where a person's beliefs had a profound effect on the world for good or for ill. Escudo was generally used to make magically enhanced weapons and armour. Apparently, Omnipotence was studying it to find ways to employ the magical mineral for whatever their nefarious agenda was.

Kero heard some stirring at the door. He quickly hid himself behind a tin-like object and watched as an Omnipotence officer entered the room. The man looked over the shelf and picked up a ruby from the shelf. After examining it for a brief moment, the man walked to the door and Kero peeked out to watch him leave. However, the man suddenly turned around instead, having forgotten to collect something else. Kero darted behind the tin, but not before the man noticed his motion. The man walked over to investigate.

"Hmm?" he asked as he moved the tin out of the way.

Kero darted to a lower level of the shelf, but the man noticed it in the corner of his eye. "I saw you! Come out!" The man moved a statue to get to Kero, but the guardian of the Clow bit him in the finger. As the man stumbled around in pain, Kero made a beeline for the door and passed through it with the Through card.

In his haste, Kero had exposed himself to a pair of Omnipotence officers passing through the hall. "What is that thing?" asked the first.

"Get it!" cried the second.

Kero felt like kicking himself. He had botched the infiltration and jeopardized his mission. The alarm began to blare with red lights flashing across the hallway. "Sakura! Are you there?"

"Kero, what's going on?" asked Sakura.

"The guards saw me! They're trying to get me!"

Back at the restaurant, the magic team prepared to move. "Okay Kero, we'll be there as fast as we can. You heard him! We have to move!" demanded Sakura.

"I haven't finished eating yet!" objected Amelia.

"Doggy bag it! That stuffed animal won't last long against those guys," exclaimed Shaoran.

"Hey, I heard that!" objected Kero.

Koichi tossed several coins on the table as payment and followed the others as they scrambled out of the restaurant. As the magic team ran into an alley, Koichi transformed into Duskmon. Hawkmon assumed his Sincerity form, Shurimon, a ninja garbed in white and leaves with shuriken for his hands and feet. Duskmon smashed down the door of the Blue Doubloon’s storm cellar and then through a stone door hidden behind a shelf. As the group ran down the hallway, they could hear screaming as well as the other sounds of a commotion.

Kero, in the form of a great winged puma, smashed through the door leading to the hallway. Several gunshots rang out a split second later and streaked past the opening. "Kero, are you okay?" asked Sakura.

"I'm fine," he replied as he returned to his smaller form. "We have to get out of here!"

Some of the guards stormed into the magic team's hallway, but Amelia was one step ahead of the pack. She raised a barrier of magic which halted their advance flat. The guards opened fire, but the shots merely bounced off the translucent globe. As the group retreated into the storm cellar, Shaoran summoned the Loop card. It brought a band of looped ribbon into being which shined its magical light on the hallway. The men fired on the team only to have their own bullets mow them down from behind. More men flooded into the hallway only to be returned to the hideout entrance when they attempted to enter the storm cellar.

As the team scrambled onto the city streets, half a dozen pirates descended on their location. With preternatural speed, Duskmon dashed through the group. After a brief moment of stasis, all of the men collapsed from lacerations. "This way!" called Amelia.

More Omnipotence men entered the scene from alleyways and side streets. Amelia leapt over a vendor's fish-filled cart as she raced down the streets of Rogue Town. The men behind her crashed into the cart while others shoved it out of the way to continue the chase. The magic team ran towards the square where a scene from One Piece was being filmed. There were lights and cameras everywhere and a three-story gallows at the centre with a crowd gathered around it. A crane raised a camera up to the top where a clown-like pirate held a cutlass to the neck of a young man wearing a straw hat.

As the magic team bust in, the film crew, actors, and extras were startled. "Who the hell are those guys?" asked one of the actors, a green-haired swordsman.

The swordsman’s smoking companion watched as the team stopped in the centre and looked around. "They're ruining the take!" complained his companion, a blond in a suave black suit.

Despite scanning in every direction, all that the magic team could see were Omnipotence thugs closing in on them. "We're trapped!" cried Kero.

"Get ready!" warned Shaoran.

Omnipotence's men opened fire with handguns and assault rifles while others fired bolts of elemental energy from their bare hands. Once the bullets and blasts started to fly, the crowd began to panic. Amelia raised a barrier which kept her, Yolei, and Shaoran safe from incoming fire. The bullets deflected off of the shield while the streams of fire and ice scattered and abated. Shurimon shot into the air and tossed shuriken into the chests of the attackers. The panicking crowd ran randomly through the streets, trampling several Omnipotence agents on their way out.

This was the magic team's chance to get away. "Now's our chance. We'll get away through the sky!" stated Duskmon, who transformed into Velgamon. "I'll cover you. Make a break for it!"

The great dark vulture circled the square and rained beams of destruction upon any of Omnipotence's men who dared to expose themselves. The thugs immediately turned their attacks onto him, taking the pressure off of the magic team. Wasting no time, Shurimon transformed into Halsemon and carried Yolei into the air on his back. Next to retreat was Sakura, who summoned the Fly card to grow wings on the Clow sealing wand. After Shaoran hopped onto the staff, it raised the two magicians to the sky like a witch's broom.

"Amelia, you're the only one left," muttered Velgamon.

Velgamon fired Dark Vortexes into any Omnipotence soldiers who attacked her. After removing whoever threatened Amelia, the only enemies remaining were those focusing their fire on him. Amelia cast the "Raywing" spell, which lifted her body into the sky in a swirl of wind. The princess flew past Velgamon towards the others as he rained Dark Vortexes into the enemy. "We're all here, let's move it!" cried Yolei, who frantically entered a desperate message into her D-Terminal. "Come on Izzy, move it! We don't have all day!"

As the magic team sped away, Velgamon sensed several objects trailing them. "Careful guys. We have company!"

Streams of flame and electricity streaked by, unnerving the magic team as they banked away. "Hurry up, Izzy! What's taking so long?" muttered Yolei.

On the grassy field below, a circle of light opened. Within its boundaries was an image of the portal room in the captured Omnipotence base. "Look, it's open!" cried Amelia.

The magic team dodged enemy fire as best as they could. Sakura banked right, narrowly evading an incoming stream of flame. Velgamon intervened with a flap of his wing, sending the attacker crashing into the ground. Amelia dove under a bolt of lightning and fired a bolt of flame, the Flare Arrow spell, at the attacker. As he was reeling from the attack, Amelia bolted for the open portal. An airborne pyrokineticist dove at Yolei only to be blown back by the winds generated by a gesture of her hand. With the enemy hurtling away through the air, Halsemon swooped into the safety of the portal.

The Clow magicians came under heavier attack now that fewer targets remained to draw fire. It forced Shaoran into raising the Shield card to protect themselves as they made a descent into the portal. Velgamon rammed into the attackers and sent them hurtling around through the air. "Thanks Koichi. We're all safe. You're the last one," cried Sakura.

The enemy turned their full attention onto the dark vulture, but he was the toughest of the magic team yet. Velgamon accelerated to top speed and crashed into the attackers, hurling them in every direction. He flew away from the portal and set up for a straight run at top speed. Moments before going in, Velgamon transformed back into Duskmon with his back to the gateway. Streams of flame and lightning streaked by him, as he fired beams of negative energy in retaliation. The beams went back and forth until he landed on the ground inside the base.

The crew inside took cover as the blasts of elements came roaring into the room. The magicians threw spells into the portal as the super soldiers attempted to fly in. The leader neutralized the spells, forming a wall of plasma that acted like a shield. The leader dropped his shield and threw balls of flame at the magicians. As the leader attempted to pass through, Tentomon lashed out with streams of lightning while Izzy did the same using the power of the Crest of Knowledge. This attack surprised the leader, causing him to stumble backwards. As the leader tried to force his way through the arcing electricity, insects emerged from Izzy's body. To help their master drive the enemy away, they channelled more electricity at the leader.

"Yolei, close the portal!" cried Izzy. She desperately punched in the proper commands into the console. The portal fell dead immediately.

"Phew, that was close," said Yolei, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Yeah, what happened over there?" asked Izzy trying to catch his breath. "How did you end up with the whole base chasing after you?"

"Kero got into trouble at the base. We had no choice but to bust in and save him," replied Yolei.

"Arrgggh! I thought I told you not to make a scene! No wonder they came after you like that." Izzy sighed. "Well, get some rest. We'll see if we have better luck with the others later."

---

Koichi walked into the lounge and plopped onto a couch. "Hard day?" asked an Agumon who was eating popcorn while watching a movie.

"Yeah, we screwed up a big mission," said Koichi sheepishly.

"Oh, the Omnipotence base? Guess this means I won't be having fun any time soon..." lamented the Agumon.

"Yeah," replied Koichi. "Say, what's that on TV?"

"That? It's just a Pokemon movie. It's the new one, 'Destiny Deoxys.' It just came out on DVD a few days ago. Why don't you watch with me to get your mind off of the mission?"

Later on, Sakura was in her room, seated on her bed with a pensive gaze. "Sakura, you seem like something's on your mind. What's up?" asked Kero.

"I had a strange dream last night," she admitted.

"Hmm... I'm not sure if you remember, but I've told you that dreams can give you a glimpse of the future. Can you tell me what happened?"

Sakura described the strange location her dream took her; a ruined cartoon city. It was not like the anime cities they had encountered before. This city was a Toon city, one where Western-style Toons lived. Even in its ruined state, the city maintained the sense of whimsy and bizarreness in its nature. Even the sun was had this whimsy, but during her dream, it was shocked and horrified at the events that had occurred. The city was under attack by an unknown military force and the magic team was in the middle of the action, fleeing the city with some others. Sakura's dream ended with the team preparing to battle a giant robot that had blocked their way.

"Interesting," remarked Kero. "I think maybe we should consult Clow."

"Oh yeah!" said Sakura, moving her pin closer to her mouth. "Master Reed, can you hear me?"

"Hi Sakura, I was just thinking of calling you," came Reed's voice through the pin.

Sakura narrated his dream to Clow Reed. "Hmm... Can you describe what the city looked like in more detail?" asked Reed. Sakura described what appeared to be a zany, colourful Toon city which was ruined in her dreams. "Sakura, I had the same dream. So did, Madison, Meilin, and Tory. They came to ask me about it yesterday."

"The same dream," muttered Kero. "I don't like the sound of that. Since so many of us had the same dream, I think whatever happened is going to come true very soon. I wonder if the kid had one too… In any case we can't let the vision come true. If only we knew when and where this was going to happen."

Sakura and Kero left their room to consult Izzy, the Digidestined of Knowledge. Being the intellectual amongst the team, Izzy was in the best position to find more information about the dream and prevent its events from occurring. They found him looking through the Omnipotence files in the command centre of the base. Sakura repeated everything she had learned from her dream and her conversations with Kero and Clow Reed. Midway into her explanations, Shaoran showed up unexpectedly. He wanted to consult Izzy like the others.

"Sakura, did you have a strange dream within the last few days by any chance?" asked Shaoran.

"Yeah," replied Sakura. "I talked to Kero and Master Reed about it. The master had the same dream too. It seems like everyone had the same dream."

"So all of you had the same dream?" asked Izzy.

"Yeah," replied Kero. "You see, Clow Reed, Meilin, are all magicians like Sakura. Their dreams are a vision into the future. They'd like you to use your computer to help them figure out where their dream happened."

Izzy agreed and typed up some commands into his laptop computer. As he showed various computer generated models of anime and Toon cities, Sakura and Shaoran dismissed each of them as being incorrect. It was not until half an hour later that one of the cities caught their attention. "Stop," commanded Shaoran.

Sakura pointed to an intersection that was barely visible on the screen. "Move over to the area at the upper left." Izzy did so, but the view was still overhead, whereas Sakura was on the street in the dream. "Can you make so it looks like we're standing in the middle of the street?" Izzy rotated the view around with his trackball until it was as if a person was standing in the middle of the street. Izzy rotated the view all around. "Stop!" Sakura took a good look at the location for several seconds. "That's the place!"

"Where is it?" asked Shaoran.

"It's in Toontown. It's on the eastern section of Comedy Lane, three kilometres past Highway 47," informed Izzy.

"We need to go there. We can't let our dream come true. Please get the portal ready while we tell the others," requested Sakura.

Within moments, the magic team found itself in Toontown, the zany city of slapstick Toon characters. "So you're saying Omnipotence is going to attack this town?" asked Yolei.

"Yeah," replied Sakura. "They're going to attack Toontown. We have to stop it."

The magic team based their search at the local library, the largest bank of information on virtually any subject. The Clow magicians and Koichi searched through several newspaper articles for anything that would suggest Omnipotence activity in Toontown. Yolei browsed through the Internet for anything, even a rumour, which could lead them to Omnipotence's attack on Toontown. So far, all they could find were reports on natural disasters, missing people, and a few wars in other nations. There was nothing that suggested an operation by Omnipotence.

Meanwhile, Amelia spoke with a clerk about accommodations for her team. They may be here for quite awhile, so they stay until they had dealt with the attackers. Since the team would be at the library for awhile, Amelia decided to eat her dinner in the adjoining restaurant. When she had wolfed down the last dish of a ten course meal, it was around nine o'clock in the night. After paying for her meal, she decided to head over to the library to check up on her friends. As she travelled along the street, she heard what sounded like a scuffle.

When she went to check, she spied an attractive red-headed woman being mugged by a pair of hoodlums. One of the men held a knife to her throat. "Give me all your money if you know what's good for ya!" demanded the thug.

"Stop, evil doer. Let the woman go!" demanded Amelia.

The thugs looked up to see Amelia standing at the top of a fire escape railing. "Says who?" asked the armed thug.

"Says me, Amelia, champion of justice," announced Amelia.

"Hey Carl, look at that! Some kid thinks she some kind of Superhero!" said the second mugger through laughter.

"Yeah, go home kid before you get hurt," said the armed mugger.

Miffed at the insults from the muggers, Amelia chanted a spell. An aura of magic rained over the group like flakes of snow gently falling from the sky. Both men and the woman began to feel their eyelids drooping until they collapsed on the ground in a deep sleep. Amelia descended from the top of the railing, crashing into a pile of trash on the way down. "Eeeew, yuck!" she grumbled as she threw away a discarded banana peel. She picked up the red-haired woman and spirited her away to her hotel.

When the woman awoke, she found herself in a strange bed in an unknown hotel. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in the Smiling Rabbit hotel," replied Amelia.

"How did I get here?"

"That was me," replied Amelia. "I used magic to put them to sleep. You were too close, so my spell got you too. I carried you here so you could recover."

"Thank you. Who are you?" asked the woman.

"I'm Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, princess of Saillune Kingdom, and champion of justice!"

"Ah! I thought you looked familiar... It's an honour to meet you, your majesty! I'm Jessica Rabbit. I'm surprised that someone like you would come to such a rough neighbourhood."

"I'm on a very important mission with some friends. You really shouldn't be out by yourself so late. It's not safe."

"I was out looking for my husband, Roger. He told me he would be home by six but it's nine now and he hasn't called back. I'm very worried."

Jessica heard something from a TV set in the neighbouring room. "...Police have identified the hostage as Roger Rabbit, an actor in such cartoons as Baby Herman's bottle."

Jessica bolted out of her bed and glued herself to the TV, which was being watched by the other members of the magic team. She watched as the news followed a dangerous high speed car chase play out in Toontown's highways. Apparently, the crooks were arms runners who were evading capture by the police. They had taken Roger hostage when he accidentally crashed into their warehouse on his way home. Roger was dangerously close to sliding out of the truck's open back door. Another bump would send him into the street, possibly into the path of a squad car. At their speed, the cars would hit Roger, being unable to stop soon enough. Luckily, a female police officer came to the rescue, carrying Roger out of harm's way and back to her car.

"Phew, what a relief! He's safe!" Indeed, Jessica was relieved to see that her husband had made it to safety. "I don't know how to thank you for saving me. Oh, I know! Amelia, why don't you and you and your friends come over and visit. I'll even let you stay over for the night. My home is much nicer place than this hotel."

"That's nice Ms. Rabbit, but we can't trouble you like that," replied Amelia. "We're very busy too, so we can't impose."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," dismissed Jessica. "We don't have guests over too often so it would be a nice change of pace."

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess it wouldn't hurt," said Amelia.

"Great! Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Jessica Rabbit."

The magic team introduced themselves before agreeing to take Jessica up on her offer. They escorted her home to her mansion at 1947 Disney Boulevard. Since Jessica lived in such a large home, it was obvious that she was from a wealthy family. As the wife of a famous actor and being a famous singer herself, Jessica lived a luxurious life. Her home was grand with a beautiful flower garden for its front lawn. The building itself was an immaculate white, concrete structure, and its interior was large and spacious like its exterior. Two young rabbits with white fur and red hair huddled around Jessica.

"Mom, you're home! Dad just called before you came back," informed the girl rabbit, Rena.

"What did he say?" asked Jessica.

"He said that the police wanted to ask him about some bad men. He will come back when he's done," replied the boy rabbit, Ricky.

"That's good, I saw the police save him on the TV," said Jessica. "Hey kids, I brought over some guests so be nice, okay?"

"Okay mom!" said the kids in unison.

The magic team made themselves comfortable in Jessica's home. She gave Koichi a tour of the mansion. In particular, she showed him a room filled with memorabilia and mementos from her and Roger's work in cartoons. They included a picture of Roger and his cartoon co-workers after a successful season of television. There was a baseball from a game where Roger had thrown the opening pitch. One picture in particular caught Koichi's attention. It was that of a real life gumshoe. It had his signature on it and had the years of his life, 1917 to 1997, printed on the bottom.

"Hey, who's that?" he asked.

"Oh that's Eddie, Eddie Valiant," replied Jessica. "My husband, Roger was framed for murder many years ago. Eddie was the detective who cleared his name. He was a good friend. Roger was devastated when he died. Toons like us can live forever, but humans have such a short life."

"I'm not a normal Toon actually, I'm an anime Toon, but I understand what how you feel," replied Koichi.

"Anime toon... So you're like Amelia, aren't you?" asked Jessica. "Normally, anime Toons tend stay in their worlds and don't mingle with us, but she said you were on a special mission."

"That's right, Yolei and I are chasing a group of thieves who stole an artefact called a Destiny stone. That theft caused us a lot of problems back in the Digital Nations. After chasing them, we discovered they were more than just thieves. They were terrorists and they're called Omnipotence. They caused so much trouble that Sakura, Shaoran, and Amelia had to help us to fix things back in their worlds. Before we came here, Sakura and Shaoran had dreams that predicted they would attack Toontown too, very soon. We're here to stop them and to get back the stolen stone," informed Koichi.

"You must have had quite an adventure. You're just like our Superheroes," remarked Jessica.

"Yeah, we did," admitted Koichi. "Listen, these people are very violent. None of us know when they'll attack, but we're sure they'll come sooner or later. I think it would be a good idea to somewhere else just in case."

At that moment, Jessica heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it!" Jessica opened the front door and found Roger standing on the other side. "Oh Roger! I'm so glad to see you!" She took Roger in a big bear hug.

"It's good to be home, honey," replied Roger. He turned to the officer who drove him home and waved. "Thanks Ross! Catch those crooks for me!"

"Sure Roger, have a good night," Ross called back. He raised his window and set his car into motion.

"Hey! We have guests," remarked Roger as he looked at Koichi.

"Yeah, it's a long story, honey. Sit down and let me tell you everything..." said Jessica. Husband and wife sat at the dinner table while she explained everything.

"Wow," remarked Roger. "They're looking for Omnipotence too? Those were the guys who kept me hostage. The cops told me they got away during the chase. If they're looking for them too, they might want to ask Ross about it tomorrow."

"Sure I'll tell them," promised Jessica. "Listen sweetie, these people told me that Toontown was going to be attacked by these guys, but they don't know when."

"They said that?" asked Roger. "I don't know who they are, but Ross told me a few things about the guys who held me hostage. He told me they were moving weapons around; things like guns and bombs. That's why he was chasing that truck. He was trying to catch them, but didn't get them."

"I'm starting to believe them, more than ever now," admitted Jessica. "They said we should pack up our things and go somewhere safer. I think we should listen to them."

The next day, the attack foretold by the Clow magicians occurred with a vengeance. The morning came with thousands of Toons commuting to their place of work. It seemed to be a regular day until a great flash of light consumed Toontown as far as the eye could see. When the light subsided, those closest to the source discovered half a dozen giant robots standing in its place. Without wasting any time, the robots raised their weapons and opened fire on Toontown! The robot's beam seared its way through a towering skyscraper, puncturing a massive hole within it. The top portion of the building, a bank's offices, came crashing down to the streets below.

The robots split up to spread the destruction throughout the city. On the roads, each car sped randomly to get away, but their disorganized escape only served to cause a blockage. One of the machines stomped a hapless car flat, just moments after its occupants abandoned the vehicle. It fired a beam into the jam, annihilating several cars in a single swoop. These callous acts brought sheer terror to the hearts and minds of the Toons. Throughout the city, hundreds of Toons ran for dear life to escape the mechanical marauders. An anthropomorphic dog scooped up his daughter and fled as the robots marched down the street in the background. With each step, the machines' a hydraulic clinking would be forever etched into the minds of their victims.

END OF CHAPTER

New Stars of Heaven/Heavenly Leaders:
#9 Tenei, the Heroic Star: Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
#46 Chibun, The Learned Star: Koshiro "Izzy" Izumi & Tentomon (Digimon)
#89 Chizen, The Finished Star: Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

Spotlight: Cardcaptors

Cardcaptors focuses on a young girl named Sakura Avalon. She is descended from a powerful magician named Clow Reed, who created a new kind of magic, represented in the form of the Clow cards. One day, Sakura accidentally unsealed the book of Clow, unleashing these magical, tarot-like cards upon the world. The guardian of the seal, Keroberos, tasked Sakura with resealing the cards. If the cards were left unchecked, they would cause untold devastation. Over time, Sakura gained more friends to help her in this quest.

Origin:
In the anime, only Sakura, Shaoran, and Clow Reed were capable of using Clow cards. However, outside of the anime, there are more people who can use Clow magic, such as Sakura's brother, Tory. Nevertheless, Clow Reed was the one who taught all of them how to use the magic of the cards, as well as other things related to magic.

Powers:
Cardcaptors has modern day scientific development. However, the main supernatural powers of Cardcaptors is Clow magic, the invocation of the magical cards named after Clow Reed. Each Clow card represents a force of nature or concept that can be called upon should the user choose. As such, Clow magic specializes in summoning. Sakura has all of the original cards, but anyone can summon their power even if she isn't around.

Each magician has affinities for certain cards. These are the ones they tend to use more frequently, efficiently, and effectively. Sakura has affinity for the Windy, Fly, Sleep, and Watery cards. Shaoran has affinity for the Time, Sand, Freeze, and Dash cards. Kero has affinity for all cards that aren't related to the elements of wind and water. Clow Reed has affinity for all of the cards since he was their creator.

Virtually all Clow magicians develop an affinity for the Shield card, due to its incredible defensive usefulness. From their magical training, Clow magicians learn much about magic in general, as well as items of supernatural power. Their training gives them resistance against attempts to possess or influence them mentally or spiritually. Their dreams are also known to have a prophetic quality to them.