To Love a Shadow
Disclaimer- I don't own any characters except for Pitch Black. All other characters, names, etc. are property of Square-Enix. Basically they own everything except Pitch Black.
Authors Note- Okay, this takes place after the end of the game, but things are a bit different than they actually are in the game. Serge can still go between the 2 worlds, Kid is still following Serge around, all of the characters will make an appearance (eventually), and Lynx & Harle still exist. Serge isn't the main character of this story; so don't go getting angry if he doesn't appear in every chapter. Now this is my story so I can do what I want. Read and review, constructive criticisms are welcome, flames will be ignored.
Chapter 1-The Shadows Edge
A young man clad in all black, viciously attacked the Dodo Bird that had attacked him as he walked through Fossil Valley. The Dodo Bird fell dead after a few well-placed strikes from his halberd, Noctem Aeternus, and the young man smiled, "Death comes to all my friend, but to some it comes quicker than others."
His name was Pitch Black. He was about 18 years old, and deeply in tune with darkness. He ran a hand through his short dirty-blonde hair, and his bright blue-green eyes seemed to sparkle in the setting sun. He turned and continued his trek towards Arni Village. Pitch didn't have any particular reason for going there; it was merely the next town. Pitch enjoyed wandering; it was what he had been doing for as long as he could remember, though it seemed that some of his memories were fragmented and missing. Wandering from place to place, and being feared was all he could remember. His deep connection and understanding of darkness was how he got his name and it was also why he was feared. He could do strange things with shadows, as if they bowed to his will. But Pitch didn't care about his abilities, what he had always been searching for more than anything was to be loved. For his entire life he had been shunned and pushed away for his darkness, but he always wanted to find a place where he would be accepted and where he could find love. Pitch though about this and frowned but chuckled slightly nonetheless, "Who could love a shadow? How can someone care for that which doesn't exist?" Pitch said as he watched the last few rays of sunlight disappear over the horizon, as night slowly fell upon the world.
"Come on Serge. You promised that you'd do this last week." Leena said to serge annoyed that he had forgotten his promise to go stargazing with her at Cape Howl. "Now get up, or you'll see what monsters see after a Maiden Hand." She said raising her left hand.
Serge reluctantly got up and grabbed his swallow, "Okay, let's go, you should have reminded me before it got dark. We could have avoided walking around in the dark."
"You won't need your swallow. Cape Howl isn't that dangerous, we'll be just fine. And lets get going before it gets any darker." Leena said as she grabbed Serge's hand and dragged him out of his house and left the village towards Cape Howl.
They arrived at Cape Howl rather quickly, and Leena was holding tightly to Serge's arm. Leena pulled Serge along, and ragged him up to the stone where he had said in writing what he couldn't say with his voice, "Serge and Leena forever". Leena had always had a special connection to Cape Howl for that one reason, as did Serge. But Serge also had another connection to Cape Howl, because it was where he met Kid for the first time, when she stood up to defend him even though he was a total stranger.
Ever since then Serge's heart had been torn. He loved Leena because of her soft gentle caring attitude. But he also liked Kid for her iron will and of course for saving his life from the Acacia Dragoons. Serge didn't know what to do. He could never seem to tell either one how he felt nor could he decide whom he liked more. He knew he had to decide but he would wait until he had some time alone to think about it. Suddenly Leena tensed and gripped Serge's arm, and then he saw why. A young man around Serge's age stood in front of the stone, leaving nothing between him and a very long fall into the ocean. "Serge, what should we do?" Leena whispered not wanting to alert him to their presence.
"You should try to be a little quieter if you wish to avoid being noticed." Said the young man halfway turning to look at them, "But I don't mean any harm. I was merely enjoying the night. The stars are truly beautiful from here. My name is Pitch Black."
Only then did they notice the halberd across his back as he grasped it and swung it around holding it in a ready stance, "If you value your lives then don't move." Pitch said glaring towards them.
Serge then noticed a black glow forming around Pitch, a tell tale sing that he was charging a black element. And then the glow hit its peak, and he was fully charged, Serge closed his eyes, and awaited the impact of whatever element was being used. "Shadows Edge!" Pitch yelled as he flew towards serge and Leena passing right between them attacking the Beach Bum that had snuck up behind them.
He swung the Noctem Aeternus twice sending out waves of dark energy that hit the beast with two diagonal slashes and then Pitch landed in form of the monster and hit it a third time with a vertical slash. Serge and Leena both turned in shock as the saw the beast fall to the ground dead. Serge couldn't believe how strong Pitch's attack was, or how he was able to avoid hitting him and Leena with it. "You two should be more careful. It's rather foolish to travel around unarmed. You never know when something is going to attack you from behind." Pitch said as he rested the halberd across his shoulder, "But I can see that you two want some time alone, so I shall find some other place to enjoy the night. Fare thee well." He said a she walked into the darkness, seeming to disappear into the shadows.
Pitch walked out of shadows on Opassa Beach, and he looked up at the moon for a few seconds before sitting down and setting his halberd beside him. "A dark yet calm night. That is how you gained your name," he said as he looked to his halberd. "Noctem Aeternus, the eternal night." He said before laying back on the beach looking up into the sky. He listened to the sound of the waves, he felt the cool night air, and he could smell the salt of the gentle sea breeze. All of these senses must mean that he's alive. Pitch frowned, how could a shadow be alive, it was only darkness unable to exist within light. "A shadow can never find love or happiness, for always does it exist within darkness." Pitch said to himself sighing, "Never shall love touch my frozen black heart with its warm gentle embrace. I am to be alone for eternity."
Leena and Serge had stayed at Cape Howl after Pitch left. But Leena's mind kept wandering back to the young man who saved them. She tried to only focus on her and Serge, but the dark young man kept invading her thoughts. "Oh, I can't handle this any longer." She said annoyed, which confused Serge.
"What did I do? Or was it something that I didn't do?" Serge said hoping he hadn't angered Leena by any of his actions.
"Its not you Serge. But I can't stop thinking about Pitch, the guy who saved us. We didn't event hank him, and then its almost like we forced him away." Leena said as she looked towards the shadows.
"He left of his own accord before we could thank him. We didn't do anything. But if it's bugging you that much we can try to find him, to thank him for saving us." He said as he stood up, "But first, we head back to town to get armed. I'm not going to risk getting attacked and not being ready for it."
So they two headed to Arni village, each grabbing a weapon and then heading out to find Pitch. "Fossil Valley and The Hydra Marshes, are only places fools would go in the middle of the night, so there's only one place left." Leena said as the left the village.
"Opassa Beach. I hope this trip there is less eventful than the last one." Serge said remembering how he was dragged into the Another World.
Several minutes later they were at the entrance to Opassa Beach, Hoping to find Pitch in order to thank him for his help. The walked onto the beach but Serge avoided walking to close to the portal, not wanting to raise any questions about it. And they found Pitch lying down on the beach looking up at the night sky. Leena walked over to him, approaching him first before Serge followed her, "Hey there. Pitch, right? We just wanted to thank you for what you did back at Cape Howl. You saved our lives."
"Don't expect it to happen a second time." Pitch said flatly, "If you guys get attacked heading back to the village, don't think that I'll be able to rush in and save you."
Leena gave him a dirty look, "We were just being grateful. Besides we are armed now, we wouldn't need any help."
"Good, cause I'm getting ready to leave this place." He said as he stood up, "Do you two have any idea what Opassa beach is?" Pitch said and received confused looks from both of them, "Angelus Errare, 'where angels lose their way'. I am merely another wayward angel." Pitch said as he walked to where the dimensional portal was, and it opened beneath his feet. Serge and Leena were shocked and then suddenly Pitch disappeared.
"Serge did he just..." Leena said, still in shock.
"Yes, he just traveled through the dimensional distortion. He can travel between the dimensions." Serge said as he stared at the blank sand where Pitch had stood only moments before.
To Be Continued...
A/N-Yay! Chapter 1 is finished. It will get better in later chapters. I hope you enjoyed it, because there is more to come.