This was inspired by a link from my girlfriend. And the fact we've made it a game to find and create the most underappreciated, cracky or ridiculous pairings possible! This one falls under then 'underappreciated' category.
"All alone..."
Alone – Zed turned his head towards the darkening skies, eyes hooding as his limbs suddenly felt like stone – haven't I always been alone?
From the first moment, haven't I always been... alone?
The first time he could remember, the first time he'd been given the illusion of company, was the day Shen had found him in that dilapidated cardboard box. It had been raining, a cold November's evening, but the bite of the elements paled in comparison to the emptiness of his stomach. Gods, he was hungry. True starvation was the concept of a child considering eating the cardboard box he hunkered in. He hadn't heard Shen approach him, until the boy had greeted him. The warmth and shine of Shen's smile, and the offer of food and comfort, and a father, were all too great for him to resist. He went with them, he ate, he learned, he betrayed. And it was in this learning that he realised that, all along, he'd been alone.
And the darkness was his only salvation.
His shadow offered him consolation, an opponent to spar, a servant to kneel. He embraced the darkness as his one and only companion, the shadow in the blinding light – the shade in the burning sun.
"Yes," He attested to the blackness. "I am... alone. And yet I am not." He turned in the direction he'd seen Ahri run off to – she'd gotten away safely, blood staining her snow white tails – and he bowed to the dark. "I am yours, my shadows. As I have always been." There was quiet that followed, and slowly the light leaked back into the Rift. Zed rose to his feet, looking around curiously, then clenching his teeth as his summoner recalled him to the purple fountain.
The eternal nightmare scowled from a distant brush of long grass, watching the master of shadows vanish in a flash of white, leaving him seemingly alone in the forest. He hummed thoughtfully, before obeying his summoner and heading towards the golem.
"Embrace the shadow... or die in darkness!"
Nocturne tried to turn, but only felt cold steel cut through his chest. Blood did not spill, but the pain bloomed like ink in water, and he howled a horrific howl, his summoner flashing him a distance away. Zed stood up straight, expression unreadable but Nocturne got the feeling he was smiling.
No, not smiling. Smirking.
"Nocturne, the eternal nightmare," Zed addressed him, bowing as though he were a humble soldier. "It is my greatest pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Bunkum meat bag," He hissed, blades swinging into place by his fists. The master of shadows shook his head, raising his hands defensively, neither blade drawn.
"I mean you no offence."
"My physical being begs to differ." Nocturne reached to his chest, rubbing at the runes keeping his power in check; the pain was not lasting, his summoner having cast a healing spell during Zed's chatter.
"I wanted your attention."
"You have it. Undivided." Nocturne's eyes flared, and in a sudden burst of movement, he launched himself at the shinobi. "Now I shall divide you!" Zed effortlessly darted away, leaving the nightmare to catch himself in an instant, receding into a puff of smoke and reforming, arms held tight at his sides. Nocturne growled, tail lashing, then he launched duskbringer towards the human, but was once again evaded with Zed barely batting an eye lash.
"Please," The ninja huffed, raising one hand, the other resting on his hip as though his patience was wearing thin. "I don't have all day."
"Then hold still and let me kill you." Zed shook his head and tapped his foot, then produced his blades.
"Death mark...," He whispered, and all of a sudden he was in front of Nocturne. The nightmare reared back, startled to find a second Zed standing behind him, slashing towards his head in a vicious arch. He barely managed to evade the attack, before pain seared through him once again, and if he had knees, he would have fallen to them. The ninja sauntered in front of him, one arm akimbo while the other dangled in a nonchalant, almost bored fashion, watching Nocturne with only half interest. "Well...?"
"... You... have my attention..."
"Cut them from this world!"
Shen's golden eyes still glittered in the wake of Nocturne's paranoia, glowing with the raw power the eye of twilight possessed. They made Zed sigh, watching for a moment in silent appreciation, but his hesitation didn't go unnoticed. The nightmare appeared by his shoulder with a low growl, non-verbally urging him to attack. The ninja smiled and let his arm reach out to his side, gliding his fingers through Nocturne's ethereal trail. He then drew his blades and dashed at Shen, rushing his once-brother and causing him to retreat slightly.
"Challenge me, Shen... you shall not be an orphan long!" With that, he launched several shuriken at the blue clad ninja, all being easily blocked with rigid movements of his Ninjatō, soaring off in various directions.
"You're already dead, you just haven't caught up yet." They locked blades, the cry of steel and flash of sparks marking the moment, before Zed planted an under-handed boot into Shen's stomach, using the force to push himself into a back-flip, unleashing yet more shuriken to rain upon the other ninja.
Darts of red, blue and gold caught every single metal star, slicing them each in half. Zed landed beside Nocturne once again, growling bitterly at the unfurling circle of cards appearing beside Shen. Twisted Fate appeared, hat tilted suavely down, spinning on the ball of his foot to face their enemies. A disgusting smirk marked the card shark's face, and Zed so desperately wanted to slice it off.
"Drip drop, the sound of blood..." Twisted Fate's expression changed quickly, spinning out of the way of Nocturne's umbra blades, landing elegantly and only needing to slightly adjust that blasted hat of his.
"Fate, you're supposed to be helping Teemo!," Shen hissed, soundlessly stepping beside his team mate in a hunched stance. The card master chuckled, glancing at the ninja, then back to their enemies.
"Lil' runt don't need my help more 'n you do, doc," He retorted, arming himself with an array of cards between each finger.
"The shadows have enlightened me."
He sat perfectly still, each finger and thumb tip pressed together, elbows resting on either arm of his throne. One leg was resting sideways on the other's knee, his crimson eyes shut for the moment, listening to the distant sobs and cries of thousands of dreamers, whistling as the tail circled round and round. Nocturne was growing bored, he could tell, from the way he'd been effectively pacing around him in circles for the past ten minutes. He did not mind, the nightmare's restlessness assured him he was ready to act, but he was no stranger to the torture of boredom.
"Do you wish to play a game, my dearest Nocturne?" The nightmare stopped, scowling at him over the corner of his head rest.
"A game?," He growled, not moving to hover in front or beside him. Zed nodded once, eyes still shut and posture the same, but he had a certain relaxed aura to him. It didn't ease the nightmare's paranoia any. "What kind of game?"
"Any game you wish, if it will ease your tension, my friend." Nocturne stared at him for a moment, then began pacing once again, thoughtfully. He did not stick to one direction this time, changing from clockwise to anti-clockwise, and back to clockwise once again.
"... I have heard of a game... one the monkey king plays with whoever is unfortunate enough to be in his company," He began at last. Zed did not look at him, or move in the slightest, but Nocturne knew he was listening.
"What is it called?"
"Truth or dare, I believe." Zed finally reacted, opening one eye and slightly tilting his head. Aside from the apparent fact that Nocturne often eavesdropped on several other champions, the idea that he was intrigued by a children's game was almost laughable. He remembered playing truth or dare with Shen when they were young, getting themselves into all kinds of trouble. "I do not entirely understand the rules, but I have seen enough to know how to play."
"Really..." Zed closed his eye again, raised his head and chuckled, causing Nocturne to move back slightly, uncomfortable with being laughed at. "Well I'll happily teach you, my penumbra." The nightmare hesitantly hovered closer, by Zed's left, waiting for the ninja to move, yet fascinated by the complete stillness of this single human. The master of shadows then inhaled slowly, before asking, "Truth or dare, Nocturne?"
"Are you my nightmare, or am I yours?"
Every balanced, silent step he took captivated and terrified him. How one man, one human, could enchant him so easily was lost to him, and Nocturne didn't like it. He tried to distance himself, tried to stay away from Zed, even on the battle field. But he could never stay away for long. The creatures and meat bags around him made his proverbial skin crawl, but Zed was the only being he could tolerate. And the ninja seemed to enjoy his company as well.
"You...," He hissed, barely above a whisper, as he glared at the pale, scarred face against the black pillow. Zed's unmasked face lay bare to him; chiselled chin, scarred lips and snow white hair, trimmed short so not to catch in his helmet. Long, light eye lashes stayed still, closed and hiding the scarlet irises behind sleep. His scored chest rose and fell slowly, sheets only covering his lower half, just beneath his naval, one hand twisted into the black blankets, the other limp on the pillow by his nose. "What... are you?" Zed's head turned, revealing the scar that earned him his name, the Z shaped mark over his right eye. He didn't know where it had come from, unlike the rest of the ninja's scars, but it had something to do with his parents. His real parents. It was a subject Zed didn't like to talk about, even with Nocturne, and the nightmare didn't pry.
He made a single circle around the bed, observing the human from every angle. "Why do you haunt me, and yet I do not phase you?" The thought of the ninja plagued him, with every dark mite of his soul tainting him. Nocturne revelled in that soul, but the welcoming embrace it offered him frightened him, so he drew away for as long as he could stand. But here he was, standing over someone he feared like he was some kind of guard dog. "You are... my worst nightmare," He breathed. There was a long moment of pause as Nocturne followed this train of thought, before he nodded and reached over Zed, hovering just above his prone body. "Yes, you are my worst nightmare," He repeated, face inches from the ninja's. No breath would have blown over his skin, but Zed stirred nonetheless, and the eternal nightmare darted to the farthest corner of the room. The master of shadows sat up, looking around tiredly.
"Nocturne...?," He mumbled, almost calling into the dimly lit shadows. He hesitated, but quickly melted out of the blackness beside the bed.
"I am here... what is it?"
"I... thought I sensed someone..." Crimson eyes narrowed, scanning the room suspiciously as the red glow of the candles flickered.
"Nonsense. Go back to sleep, no one will harm you while I am here." Zed looked at him, seeming surprised, but gave a peaceful smile and lay back down, sighing in relief when his head hit the pillow.
"It's a pity you do not sleep."
Nocturne stared at the half naked human for a moment, before responding. "Why?"
"I'd ask you to sleep with me, if you could."
"None escape their shadow."
Nocturne followed him tirelessly. Through the Rift, across the Abyss, down corridors and streets, in broad daylight. Anyone else would find it disconcerting, even terrifying, but not Zed. The master of shadows could appreciate that the eternal nightmare was simply having trouble expressing anything other than hatred for a human being. Like kids in the school yard, Nocturne followed Zed like a lost puppy, and the ninja found it... cute. He couldn't bring himself to turn the nightmare away – why would he? – Nocturne had done nothing to earn his contempt, all he had done was demonstrate a fondness for him, and Zed quite liked that idea.
The idea of the eternal nightmare, trapped in the mortal realm by the beings he sought to slaughter, had fallen in love with a human who accepted the darkness completely.
Again, he found it sweet; the way Nocturne refused to leave his side, leave him unguarded. Since he'd started circling around his bed at night, Zed's nightmares had vanished. Perhaps they were too afraid of Nocturne.
Seated in his throne, he dozed between sleep and awake, but was still aware of his friend pacing near and around him. His fingers were interlocked, elbows on the armrests and legs crossed lazily, head slowly nodding from side to side as he began to hum a gentle lullaby to himself. Nocturne stared at him from behind a pillar, then was suddenly at his right, watching closely. Zed didn't flinch, merely smiling beneath his helm, then released his right hand and reached out. Unlike with any other human, Nocturne did not recoil nor slice his arm off. The nightmare stayed still as his gloved hand reached up, patting and petting his semi-solid head affectionately.
Before he could withdraw his hand, Nocturne grabbed it, holding the almost delicate looking appendage in his monstrous, black paw. It looked dainty by comparison, in all honesty, and he was reluctant to let the human hand go. But he did, watching it slowly drift back to meet with the other. Zed smiled once again through his mask, then closed his eyes and leaned his head back, drifting into a peaceful slumber.
Hail to the princess, baby!