Ellen: All right, I broke my resolution not to post until I've gotten five reviews, but I want to get this fanfiction done. I'm sorry to whoever it was that actually liked Takuya... I didn't know he had any fangirls... But anyway, I'll try to keep the Takuya bashing to a minimum.

Fwooshy: Aww, why?

Cheddar: Because some of us actually have morals!

Fwooshy: Mor... als?

Cheddar and Ellen: *Sigh*...

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon (darn it).

"blah" = spoken, 'blah' = thought, (blah) = author's note

When I woke up, the strange boy was still lying next to me unconscious. I could hear him murmuring something under his breath: "Ko...ji...Ko...ji..." Mentally noting this to question the boy later, I stood up, and thought while I took a look at the surroundings.

'Hm, where am I? I don't think I'm in Japan anymore...' Everything was black, except for some hazy spots of colored light in what I took to be the sky. I couldn't even really see what I was walking on; I just took for granted that there even was something like ground. 'What am I doing here, anyway? And what's with this kid? Why the heck did I try to save him...' These questions and many more just kept running through my head, and before I knew it, I was back where the boy was lying. As I walked up to him, he stirred, and sat up.

"Huh? Where... where am I...?" He looked around, and took a small gasp when he looked up and saw me. "Hey! Were you the one who tried to save me?"

"Yeah. I don't know exactly why... I just thought that I could help." I grinned a little, and blushed because I was kind of embarrassed. "I... didn't really mean to grab you or anything..."

"Oh, no! I appreciate the thought, but... now where are we?" He looked around again.

"I've been asking myself the same thing... er..."

"Oh, my name's Koichi Kimura." Koichi smiled. "What's yours?"

"My name's Auren Minamino." I tossed my waist-length brown hair behind my shoulders, and stuck out my hand. "Do you want to get up?"

"Oh," Koichi chuckled, "I guess so." I helped him stand, and then we started to explore. But before we could get very far, we spotted a pair of glowing yellow eyes rising in front of us in a shadow that was even darker than our surroundings. The shadow took the form of what seemed to be a big rabbit with a spiky collar around his neck. At least, we assumed it was a he by his deep, gravelly voice when he spoke.

"Greetings, young human children. What would you be doing in a place like the Digital World?"

"The Digital World?" chorused Koichi and I in unison.

"Yes. I am Cherubimon, master of this realm. Would you like to join with me? I can help you find who you seek." Koichi gasped, but I steered him away.

"Come on, Koichi. Something tells me not to trust him." However, the shadow glided in front of us once again.

"I do not take no for an answer. With the spirits of these Legendary Warriors in your possession, you could gain all the power you desire. For you, Koichi, I have the spirit of Darkness, and Auren, you may claim the spirit of Air if, and only if, you join me. You are lucky humans. I haven't offered this chance to anyone but you. You two are the only ones that the spirits approve of."

"Oh..." Koichi seemed entranced by the spirit of Darkness that floated in front of the shadow of Cherubimon. I knew how he felt; it seemed like the spirit of Air called to me, only it was a cry that was warped and distorted. 'Maybe if I take it I can... straighten it,' I thought. Before I had a chance to react to this thought, however, Koichi had walked over to the spirits, and touched the spirit of Darkness. Suddenly, Koichi and the spirit were covered in shadows, and within a few seconds, Koichi had been transformed into a strange black creature with eyes all over his body. He turned and glared icily at me, and I began to back away, but a shadowy hand came from behind and pushed me off balance, so that I had no choice but to flail for help and touch the spirit of Air. The spirit looked somewhat like a woman covered in black leather clothing with black bat wings sticking out of her back, and as I grasped the spirit's shoulders for balance, I could hear Cherubimon laughing, a deep, gravelly laugh. Before my eyes, the spirit glowed, and I was consumed by light. The light was so bright that I couldn't see any of the changes that were occurring to me, and I didn't think I wanted to. When the light disappeared, I was an entirely new creature, not just in looks, but in emotions. In place of my kind, caring, and compassionate nature was something entirely different: a mind and heart that were colder than ice, and thoroughly evil.

Fwooshy: Heh heh heh. Creepy.

Ellen: Yeah. I'm still not quite sure how this all will turn out, and
how fast it gets done depends on how many good reviews I get! Flames
make me depressed and give me writer's block!

Cheddar: *shiver* Stupid Cherubimon... Hey, has anyone else besides us
noticed that Cherubimon is the exact same Digimon as the evil Kerpymon
from the Digimon movie?

Ellen: If anyone has any thoughts, I'm all ears! Not literally, of
course.

Cheddar: Read and review, please!