Disclaimer: All I own is Ava. Thanks and enjoy Angel On Your Shoulder. (Yes, I know that's the story's name, but it's also the name of the first chapter. Get over it.)

Angel On Your Shoulder

A strange little girl

Between Heaven and Hell

Knowing what she knows

Never can end well

She's the angel on your shoulder

She's the devil that it fights

She's that little blazing fire

You see in endless nights

Centuries ago she awoke with naught but a name. Ava, she knew. She wandered the world for years before she realized why no one could ever see her. Ava was a spirit, and an unusual one at that. Every spirit but her was created to be good or evil. She didn't have that luxury.

Ava was both and neither at the same time. She discovered that her special purpose in life was to give the humans choice and the will to make their decisions. Ava was both the angel and the devil on the people's shoulders, helping them along their chosen paths. But Ava soon realized that being both good and evil meant something very strange.

A strange little girl

Cloaked in white and red

She watches as you go

And rest your weary head

She's the devil on your shoulder

She's the angel by your side

In the light she'll play

And in the shadows she'll hide

Ava discovered over the years that she existed differently in the light and the dark. During the day and in the light of the full moon, Ava was good. She would play with the children and help them to make kind choices. But at night and in the darkest shadows, Ava became the devil on their shoulder, helping them to make nasty decisions that might hurt others. She tried desperately to stay in the light as much as possible; who wanted to be cruel?

For almost four centuries it worked. Ava would hide away at night, unless it was a full moon, and she never ever went into a dark shadow. The few spirits that did see her only saw her good side. They saw the innocent blonde girl with the trusting green-blue eyes, not the devilish little trouble maker with the mischievous dark irises.

But then Ava met Pitch Black.

A strange little girl

Halo askew on her head

Tattered wings and a pitchfork

White dress stained red

She's the angel on your shoulder

She's the devil in disguise

From the clouds of Heaven she'll fall

From the depths of Hell she'll rise

It had been by pure accident, really. Ava had been flying along when something knocked her bright red pitchfork out of her hands. Even though it landed in the shade of a huge tree, Ava didn't think twice about soaring down to pick it up. But the second her hand wrapped around it, Ava was swallowed by the darkness.

When she came to, she was in a gloomy place she didn't recognize. The fallen angel could feel the shadows transforming her kind nature into something dark, but she knew that the only way out was to explore. So after clutching her pitchfork tightly –the points could skewer anything they needed to –Ava set out on foot.

The place she was in was definitely creepy, but in her darkened state Ava didn't mind. Massive cages hung from the ceiling, and some of the floors seemed to tilt at an odd angle, as though they were only there to confuse people. Ava was about to soar off through one of the skylights she noticed when she felt the pull of an indecisive being. She spread her grey tattered wings and took to the air, now intent on finding the poor soul she had to help.

When she finally found him, she was startled. The man standing in front of her was even darker than the shadows around him. His skin was the same shade as her wings, his hair and robes darker than a moonless night, and his eyes . . . His eyes were a piercing gold that seemed to stare right into Ava's soul. That's when she realized something: he could see her!

"Who are you?" the man questioned, as though he didn't care but was just asking to be polite. Ava was a bit wary, but answered anyway. She was trespassing, after all.

"I'm Ava, the spirit of choice," she introduced herself with a twisted smirk.

The man gave a thin-lipped smile. "I believe I have heard of you before, Ava, once long ago."

"Who are you?" Ava asked, curiosity starting to overwhelm her.

"I am fear itself. I am the source of every nightmare and unsettling shadow in the dark. I am the fierce Nightmare King. I am Pitch Black," he stated proudly.

"Never heard of you," Ava told him.

Pitch sighed. "Perhaps you have heard of the boogeyman?"

Ava grinned. She'd heard of him! He was supposedly the one who scared little kids. "That's you? Cool!"

The Nightmare King frowned at the childlike spirit. "Why are you not afraid? Why can I not sense any of your fears?"

Ava laughed, earning her a glare from Pitch. "I've never been afraid of anything," she admitted. "The dark doesn't bother me, neither does the light. I don't care about being seen, I'm not afraid of heights or drowning or being buried alive. I'm just not afraid."

Pitch had never heard of anyone, spirit or otherwise, who had never feared something. How could she have gone so long without fear? Everyone had to fear something, did they not? Maybe not, Pitch admitted. If she really was what she said she was, then it was plausible she would never need to fear anything.

But now Pitch was faced with the task of getting rid of the girl.

A strange little girl

Dancing in the fires

Living with the Nightmare King

Family is all she desires

She's the devil on your shoulder

She's the angel in the light

Granting people choice

And the will to make it right

Ava came back to visit Pitch every day for almost three months before he realized he was never going to be rid of her. But instead of feeding her to the nightmares, which he had tried once –it hadn't worked and resulted in the lead nightmare being stuffed into a tutu –Pitch decided he might as well keep her around.

The next time Ava came to visit, Pitch ushered her to a room with a swirling A carved onto the door. When Ava opened said door and walked into the room, she realized that it was a bedroom. Ava glanced back at Pitch, who nodded just once. Pitch had given her a room. He was offering her the chance to have a home! Ava scooped the Nightmare King into a tight hug before darting into her new bedroom to explore.

And if Pitch happened to be smiling kindly at her, Ava didn't notice.

Okay, this wasn't even supposed to be a oneshot when I first wrote it. At first it was just a poem, but then I thought about how the character would get along with Pitch since she's not evil but she isn't good either. Then I thought about how she could annoy Pitch. And then I started coming up with a thousand different ideas for this, so it's now a series of related oneshots! I know, I need a life. Oh, and this'll start updating about once or twice a week, but there might be some weeks I don't update. I'm just warning you. Thanks for reading!

~C