'Allo. Shmee heyuh. It's about quarter past one in the morning on a school day and I can't sleep. So I whipped this up, which has been an idea in my head for quite a while and I just haven't had the time/will to get it down. So mind you, I will come back to edit this when I'm a little more awake. For now, read and enjoy. I'd like to hear your thoughts/opinions/critique, so don't hold back (assuming it 'aint insulting /)

Toodles.

"Quick, he went that way!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"Catch him!"

Slowly, the cries of the guards faded and much to my amusement, they'd left my target unguarded. I scoffed as I stepped out of the shadows of the large pillar I'd used to hide my form. With a quick visual sweep of the room, I was able to confirm that the guard stationed here had all gone. Wizu had provided a worthy distraction to get the guards to leave their posts and the treaure they were supposed to protect all alone. Things were just too easy these days.

Our current target was some antique, miniature sculpture that had recently surfaced in the art world. It was a sculpture of a cat done purely in marble. It was a pretty valuable peice and I was aware that the museum had paid a lot to have it displayed here. But those who cared to look deeper into the sulpture's background, it's known to be quite the killer.

An urban legend around the statue is that late at night, when all the humans in the house were asleep, the cat would wake up to hunt. It would prowl through the halls until it found it's owner, unseathe it's marble claws and stain them with the blood of it's master. Just before it's human target was about to pass, the feline would steal their life energy and take it for itself, slowly enabling it's change from stone to flesh to lengthen with each life taken.

So when the Niwas had heard the treasure was in town, a notice was sent out the very next morning.

'Tonight, at 11:30 p.m, I am taking the Marble Cat.

Dark.'

Of course, the fact that so much security had been set up around such a priceless artifact only made the job more entertaining for me. Even if the security was rediculously easy to bypass and the whole thing was relatively predictable, at least it was better than nothing.

The Marble Cat, as I knew it would be, was sitting on it's padestal, staring forward with opal eyes. I walked right up to the thing, bringing my face close to it's muzzle in order to examine it. I folded my arms behind my back and put on a critisizing expression. I dimly wondered whatthe conditions for it's tranformation were. I certainly didn't want to have to drag a screeching, clawing, angry cat all the way home.

I lifted a hand a prodded it's nose as a test. The statue wobbled but didn't fall, nor did it jump up and attempt to claw my face off. I prodded it again, only harder and making it wobble more. No reaction. With a slight smirk I stood straight and swiped at the cat, grabbing it's small stone neck in one hand.

Usually, I'd be a little more hasty in taking the treasure. But it had already been proven to me that the security tonight wasn't at it's best, despite the vast number of guards. Besides, I was sort of hoping for someone to stumble on in and notice me, then I could rub it in their faces when I escaped -unharmed- and with my target in hand.

'Dark, we shouldn't waste too much time' As if on cue, my younger self butted in to play the up-tight mother role. I scrunched up my nose in slight dissaproval and turned away, propping a fist on my hip and juggling the Marble Cat in my other. I stuck out my tongue as I wondered forwards, deliberatley taking my time.

"Yes, mother." I said, sounding degraded. I stepped out into the hall after casting a quick glance up and down the empty corridor. "Wizu..." I called. There was a slight flash of light before a white blurr came streaking at me. My small familiar settled on my shoulder.

"Kyuu!" He declared. I ignored him and jogged away from the way he had come. I hesitated at a fork in the corridor, before taking a random guess and continuing down the right one. Needless to say, my other half caught on to the fact that I'd hesitated.

'Dark...' He nagged. I resisted the urge to mock him by using a hand to make a mock mouth as he talked. 'You don't actually know where you're going, do you?' I grinned and shrugged my shoulders, taking another random turn.

"Not a clue!" I responded, hearing an angry huff inside my head. "But what does it matter? The security is as slow as shit today, I haven't met any resistance whatsoever and I don't feel like going back home yet! Let me stall in peace, dude." I took another random dark corridor, no longer hesitating to make a choice. "Besides, one of these has to take me outside." To be honest, I'm sure if I tried I could find the right and the quickest way out in no time at all. But I felt like 'playing' with the security, at least until they got smarter which I didn't think would be anytime soon.

'Dark...I have a bad feeling about this' Daisuke murmered, the worry evident in his voice.

"You trying to get a point across, dork? I 'aint gonna split just because you have the heebie jeebies." I heard footsteps ahead and felt another grin tear across my face. "Oi, I've got an idea." I heard a grunt of unease from my partner, though he didn't say anything more. "Watch this!" I grabbed at my chest, drew a ragged breath in a hit my knees; letting out a cry of pain as I did. It echoed through the halls and I heard the guard's attention shift in my direction

'Dark!'

"I heard something!"

"Over there!"

"Quick, before he moves!" As the group of guards tore around the corner, I fell forward onto my stomach, completely limp. Wizu lay sprawled across my back as my wings, slightly cramped from the small width of the corridor.

"What?" The guard sounded surprised to see me 'passed out' on the ground. "What happened?"

"Do you think another squad got at him?"

"I don't know...check him for any injuries..." As one of the guard's footsteps came closer, I tensed, careful to keep it well hidden.

"Be careful." One man warned. Almost as soon as he'd said the last syllable of that word, I pumped my wings and shot upright. The man who'd been standing just in front of me jumped up and yelped, grabbing at his heart in pure shock. I let out a mocking laugh and gave my wings another strong flap, creating a slight gust and propelling me past the small troop of guards and deeper into the shadows of the museum. My laugh followed me all the way down the hall.

At the pace I was travelling, it didn't take long for me to burst out into the night sky, coming flying out the doors at a near blinding pace. Instantly, the spotlight whirled and focused on me. I narrowed my eyes and grinned again, flying higher into the air and playing 'tag' with the light. I knew by Daisuke's occaisonal huffs, hums and haws that he didn't find my games nearly as amusing as I did.

'Dark, I-'

"Dark this, Dark that!" I said, cutting him off with a dismissive wave of my hand. "Lighten up, I won't get caught. Not by these idiots, anyway." I gestured down to the scrambling police force on the ground. I turned away, ready to fly off and leave the police behind me wondering where I'd gotten off to, when a low whirring caught my attention. "Eh?" I turned back to look towards the ground, seeing nothing of interest down there. Instead, I turned my attention to the forest on the horizon. I narrowed my eyes, seeing a faint light in the distance. It was still too early for the sun rise...so...

'Ack! Those are helicopters! They're sending helicopters after us!' At Daisuke's panicked voice, I couldn't help but to grin. They were gonna try and take this fight to the sky? What idiots. They should know better, the sky is my domain, not theirs. They were just gonna get sent home crying.

"Guess we might be a little late coming home, Dai-chan." I said with a teasing smile. "I can't just let the follow me back..." With that, I took off towards the choppers with a confident grin in place. I still gripped the Marble Cat tightly in one hand, aware that seeing as I didn't really know (nor did I care) how it worked, I'd have to be careful that it didn't decide to 'wake up' and claw my face off.

'Nononononono!' Daisuke was repeating in my head, I tuned him out and focused on the first helecopter, which was probably about thirty meters away from me. I stopped in mid-air as it fired a gun at me. I crossed my arms in front of me, expecting a single bullet to miss or at least do a very little amount of damage. However, instead of being hit by a bullet like I'd expected, a thick, heavy net blasted into me.

"What the-" I grimaced as the net tightened, pulling my wings close to me as I began to plummet down towards the forest below. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist. "Do they seriously think I'm gonna be held in by a net?!" I declared, the ground still rushing to meet me. "I feel so underappreciated!" I began to struggle to free myself from the tangle. Without warning, the net's fibres buzzed to life, sending a jolt of electricity into my veins. "Argh!"

'Darkdarkdarkdark! Ground incoming!'

"Working on it!" I flipped myself around so that I faced towards the rapidly approaching earth. "Sorry Daisuke, this might hurt a bit, but it's better than becoming ground pancake!" I gathered my energy in my arms and slashed outwards, sending jolts of my own magic to cut through the rope. I flared my wings to break myself, the toe of my shoe just barely touching the ground. I glared upwards at the twin helicopters circling above me. "Payback time."

I pumped my wings hard and shot back up into the air. I rose just about as fast as I'd fallen, if not a little slower. I braked hard right beside the pilot's window of the helicopter that had shot the net at me. I tapped on the glass, the pilot turning towards me and his face twisting to one of shock. I ripped open the door and pull him out of his seat by his collar. Without a pilot, the helicopter spun towards the forest, hitting the ground and going up in a sea of flames.

"Aggh! Don't drop me please! Don't drop me!" I held the guy by the collar of his shirt, scowling down at him. I was rather tempted to drop him into the small crater his helicopter had created from this height, but I wasn't about to. That might soil my somewhat clean reputation.

Instead, I whirled towards the second helicopter, which was flying towards me at an alarming pace. Keeping my grip on the pilot with one hand, I dove downwards, the helicopter following slowly. As soon as I felt it was low enough, I let go of the pilot, letting him fall into the lake below. I curved upwards, this time coming up on the passenger's side of the helicopter. I hated to be repetative, but I'd lost my will to 'play' with these 'birds' as soon as they'd used and electric net on me. I grabbed the pilot by his arm and pulled him roughly out, his helicopter slowly decending to the ground, avoiding the lake in order to crash land somewhere nearby where the other one had.

"D-d-dark-s-sama..." The man stuttered. I frowned down at him.

"Tch. Bye bye!" I let him fall, though not so carelessly as to make him miss the pond. He too splashed semi-harmlessly into the water below. I hovered above the lake, unsure what to do now and honestly expecting more helicopters to come soaring out of nowhere. The museum I'd taken the Marble Cat from was a few hundred meters from where I hovered in mid-air.

'Hey Dark?' Daisuke's voice seemed so much quieter now that the whirring of helicopter blades, explosions and pilot's screaming had died down. I itched absently at the back of my head.

"Whaddaya want?"

'Can we go home now?' This made me snort, but I did turn towards the direction of home.

"Too much excitement for you, Dai-ch-" Suddenly I was thrust forward, feeling as if a large rock had just pegged me from behind and sent me sailing forwards. I tried to stop myself, but was aware that I was being pushed by whatever it was that had slammed into me. The Marble Cat slipped from my grasp and plummeted to the ground, but there was nothing I could do about it. "Gah!" I felt a hand grip tightly at the hair near the back of my head, before I was whirled around and tossed higher into the air.

Gritting my teeth and letting out a low growl, I flipped myself around and faced downwards towards where my attacker would be. Surprisingly enough to me, I met sly golden eyes, narrowed and accompanied with a smug, winning grin. He'd caught me off guard and we both knew it.

"Krad?!" His hand shot up and gripped my neck tightly, whirling my around once again and sending me hurtling towards the ground. I struggled to flare my wings and drift upwards, craning my neck back to locate where my white-winged attacker had gone off to this time. By the time I'd registered where he was, he was in mid-dive and about to slam into me.

Like a matador at a bullfight, I wove aside and my blonde-haired rival dropped right past me. I let out a laugh, despite being caught unawares and that I wasn't the one to get the first hit, seeing my rival dive blindly towards the ground was as amusing as ever. However, just as I'd caught myself, it didn't take long for his wings to open and carry him back up to my altitude.

"Dark!" He declared, a sinister smile curving out on those thin lips of his. "I've finally..." He paused, running his hand through his hair and taking a breath in. "I've finally figured out a way to get rid of you... Once and for all." For a moment, I was a little taken back. This was very unusual of him. Usually, he only came out when Hiwatari was in life-threatening danger or if he'd gotten too weak to fight him off. But this was the first time he'd every randomly shown up on his own in quite a while.

But once I focused on what he was saying, I was careful to choose my reaction. If I let so much of an inch of fear or doubt show, it would be taken advantage of and Krad would know he's got the upper hand. However, the idea of him finally finding a way to get rid of me was laughable. So that's exactly what I did. I threw back my head and laughed. I didn't miss the look of shock on my enemy's face, before it turned into a loathing at being so openly mocked.

"You dare mock me?" He hissed, clenching his fists. He didn't charge yet, I noticed. He seemed to value our conversations somewhat. Or perhaps waiting until the conversation had come to a pause to attack was the polite thing to do.

"Yeah, I do, Krad." I said, propping a fist on my hip. The action reminded me that I'd dropped the Marble Cat and that after I was finished with this nutjob I'd have to go on a stupid scavenger hunt to find it. "As I was pretty certain if there was ever a way to get rid of me, you woulda found it long before now." I said, really just making up what I was saying as I went along. "And I never guessed you'd just come right out and tell me. Would'a thought you'd set up some sort of high-tech trap or something to catch me first. But high-tech isn't your style, is it? Okay, so just some sneaky trap then. Point still stands."

At my words, that upset frown slowly began to curve upwards into a sinister and sadistically pleased grin. I felt my insides wrench at that expression, knowing it could never mean any good for me. As the white-winged monster flew forward at me, I knew I was right. I dove backwards, tumbling out of his way in mid air. Without hesitating, I opened my wings and took a direct path away from him. He followed behind me, gaining on me steadily and clearly trying to surpass me. I slowed slightly, expecting him to shoot right by when I did so. Instead, I felt a painful tear at my shoulder blades as he'd grabbed my wing and continued flying.

"The hell?!" I hissed, swiping his hand aside with my arm and flipping back, moving away once more. But with unlikely, blinding speed, I was cut off and forced backwards a few paces. I snarled and prepared to launch myself forwards at my enemy and make him regret taking me so likely. However, as I did, I felt a strangely cold and chilling feeling crawl up my wings. The wind picked up around me, pulling at my clothes and my hair. I tried to move, but found myself frozen in my place in the sky. "Krad!"

"It...It worked?" He sounded shocked, but that sinister smile was growing ever larger and even more twisted as the seconds ticked and I was bound to place. A whirlwind began to form around me, whipping my clothes and hair this way and that though my body didn't move an inch.

"What...What the hell are you..." I felt a burning pain sear from my chest to my head, filling my vision with dark blotches. I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head to clear it. When I re-opened my eyes, there was a young boy floating directly ahead of me, inbetween Krad and I. He had no wings, simply suspended in mid-air by his own force. I took a moment to study him through narrowed eyes.

He didn't look a day over 10, though his vacant blue eyes bored into me and gave me the impression he acted a lot more mature than he looked. Short blue hair fell straight around his head, brushing into his eyes. The most notable thing about him was the large, circular blue Gem protruding from the center of his chest, around a strange looking uniform that matched his sapphire colour scheme.

"Dark Mousy..." The boy said, his breath coming out visible, as if he was out in the cold. The very tone of his voice dripped with an icy force. He lifted a hand, eyes unfocused as if possesed. He flicked his wrist and a cold feeling shot through my back, making my counterpart cry out in glee at my cry of pain. I looked back, only to see my wings encased entirely in ice. I had only a second to panic, before they broke apart and fell to the ground as tiny shards of ice.

"Wizu!" I called, alarmed. My familiar did not shoot back up.

'Dark...' I heard the frightened voice in my mind. I'd almost forgotten about Daisuke.

"Who the hell are you?!" I turned, ready to deck the kid in the face only to find I still couldn't move – and despite lacking in wings I still was suspened in mid-air.

"Someone has decided..." The boy continued, making a sideways gesture with his hand. The wind picked up, whipping me with such force. I gritted my teeth and held in the urge to cry out. Krad was circling with glee as my arms were forceably pulled by the invisible force of the win, held out at my sides. A flash of colour drew my attention to my left side. Another figure had appeared, this one clad mostly in green, green hair and eyes with a cheerful grin and a slight wave. He looked a little bit older than I did and like the boy, he had a large gem coloured in green and embedded in his shoulder.

"Your time..." He said, flicking his hand as I felt the pull on my arms intensify.

'Dark...' Daisuke's voice got louder in my head, stronger and more forceful. I gritted my teeth, unable to reply at the noise of the wind screaming around me and the cold feeling gripping my skin. Another flash, this time to my right. A girl that could pass as Daisuke's classmate hovered there, scheme revolving around the red gem perched just below her neck. Red hair whipped around with the wind, a confident grin set in place.

"...Is up!" She finished, throwing her hand upwards. I felt a burning pain shoot from my chest once again, noting that both the boy and the other man had done the same. I heard Krad's sadistic laughter over the screaming of the wind and the searing pain hissing in my mind. Without warning, everything stopped and was still. I felt disbalanced, still suspended through feeling as if I were about to fall. The young boy took a few steps forward so that he stood directly in front of me.

"Sleep, demon." He hissed, before everything went black and I plummeted towards the ground.

'DARK!'