Here we go with chapter four, which is actually the chapter that really introduces Alone and Cheshire as characters in this story. They've had a bit of a different fight on their hands than Shun and Kagaho had, but they're also different people. Anyway I hope you enjoy and feel free to review.

Chapter Four: Golden Prince

Alone's eyes narrowed. He could feel that something was wrong. In fact he knew something was wrong. His power of foresight had never failed him before. He had been born with the ability to catch glimpses of the future, and the scene he had seen had not comforted him. He had seen what could only be his brother and Bennu Kagaho as the Specter stepped forward to challenge someone who wore dark armor: the same armor that had been worn by the army that had attacked their homeland of the Underworld so many years ago. His electric blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

Alone had grown. He was no longer the tiny little infant that his mother had shown to his father all those years ago. Though he didn't know it, he and Shun were the same height and looked to be the same age though they were older than they appeared. He was also a young man that could only be called beautiful, except that Alone was far more dangerous than his brother. Alone also felt more comfortable wearing the colors of his father's house, so he wore a black t-shirt and jeans so that he would fit in more with the general crowd. He would fight if he had to, but he'd rather not get into any fights yet. He still had golden hair, and age had only managed to make it shine brighter. It was cut shorter in the front, hanging down and framing his face nicely, but in the back it was pulled into three long and thin ponytails that hung down to his waist.

Alone was standing quietly inside of a small home, which the owners had graciously opened to him and his traveling companion when it had started to rain. Thunder was threatening ominously overhead, and the house seemed silent, almost dead silent. The parents were out shopping, leaving their young son alone with the strangers. He was nervous of them and hiding but Alone didn't really mind much. He'd be gone as soon as the rain let up anyway.

Alone paused as he felt a thin crouched frame brush up against his leg. A small head laid against his leg, but Alone didn't flinch from the contact. He reached down and laced his fingers through the silver hair and looked down with a gentle smile towards the Specter that was even smaller than him. It was a tiny cat like Specter who had hidden his Surplice carefully. Alone was prepared to summon it for him if he needed it with a simple spell. As much as he loved Cheshire, he knew that he wasn't much of a fighter. He could fight, he just preferred to remain aloof from the situation, meaning he was out of practice with his Cosmos.

That hadn't been a problem until he'd been forced to flee the Underworld on the orders of Pandora and Hades with one of their sons in tow. On the surface he found that he didn't have the power he needed to protect him and had nearly gotten himself killed to keep the boy safe. Alone had quickly learned to fight on his own to keep them both safe, and the two had grown very close during that time. Sure, Cheshire wasn't the best fighter, but he was a good intelligence gatherer. Besides he'd been practicing here lately and he was steadily growing stronger.

Cheshire however didn't turn those golden catlike eyes towards the young Demigod, and he didn't purr in greeting as usual. He deeply loved the boy, however since the Specter had sensed the Cosmos of Bennu explode with such fury he'd grown very nervous. He hadn't sensed that Cosmos in a long time, and though the Specters were immortal and unchanging, it made him uneasy. Why was Kagaho fighting? What could have made him attack with such a huge force? Besides, he knew that Alone was very interested in it.

"The battle has stopped," Cheshire said quietly. "Kagaho is no longer fighting."

"Hopefully that means he won," Alone sighed. "He was fighting for a long time. It had to be a powerful opponent."

The thought made Alone bristle a little. He knew all about the Wakening and the fact that he and Cheshire had fallen in love because of it. His brother Shun and Kagaho had once had the exact same thing happen, and he knew that Cheshire wasn't ever going to leave him alone for long. So it was very safe to assume that Shun was with Kagaho. The battle also seemed to have fit with the premonition of his brother and Kagaho facing the man in dark armor which he had received in a dream three days ago. It had been bothering him for a while. He could only pray to Hades that they were both alright. He'd hate for something to happen.

After Cheshire had fled with Alone to the surface Alone had almost always agonized over the fate of his brother. He had no idea if he'd survived or escaped, if he was dead or badly hurt somewhere at the mercy of his enemies...his powers of foresight had done little to ease the frustration and fear either as he had never seen anything worthwhile about his brother's fate. It had been years since he had last seen anything of his brother in his dreams, until three days ago. Then this battle had begun. Alone didn't care why, but he knew he needed to go to his brother. They'd been the best of friends as children. They were twins after all. Yes, they would be different, but Alone had to see him again.

"I have to find him," Alone said aloud. "I have to find Shun."

As Cheshire heard this he made a purring noise deep in his throat, just like a cat would, and began to rub his head against Alone's leg like a cat. It wasn't entirely clear when Cheshire had picked up this behavior, but no one really cared either since he had always done his job. Part of it was probably his Surplice. He was the Cait Sith Specter, which was a mythical cat said to steal souls. It was also said they weren't good or either, which might have accounted for the fact that he was so laid back when it came to battling. Either way, Alone relaxed a little when he felt that and ran his fingers through the Specter's hair like he would pet a cat. Cheshire had always been able to calm the boy down when he needed it.

"We'll find him," Cheshire promised. "Until then, be patient."

"Thank you Cheshire," Alone said quietly.

Cheshire had never abandoned him, and Alone was glad for that. He desperately wanted to see his brother again. They had been separated for over twenty years, and that was far too long. But it had also been around the same amount of time that they hadn't seen their mother or father. In fact, the entire Underworld army had disappeared. He snarled a little as he thought of the other gods, though more of frustration than anything. They hadn't seemed to notice in the slightest, which was why their enemies were going to take them completely by surprise. He forced himself to take a deep breath to calm down. Worrying about it really wasn't going to help anything at this point. Once he found his brother he'd worry about the war that was probably going to erupt very soon now. He could only hope though that his father and his army would be ready.

He looked up and noticed that the rain was beginning to thin. Alone didn't really want to hang around one place for too long. That could prove to be dangerous for them, but mostly he was just worried about Shun. Out of the two of them, Shun had always been the gentlest. Alone doubted that had changed, and he wanted to see with his own eyes that he was alright.

He turned to Cheshire, and the cat like Specter quickly realized what he wanted and ran to the other room, returning with a small backpack that had the few things Alone actually carried with him. Most people were nearly instantly smitten with the boy, so food, clothing, bathing and other such things were almost always given free of charge to the young Demigod. Cheshire couldn't help but frown though and look towards the window. It was still raining, even if it was clearing up.

This bag carried few things, and they were by far the most important things he had. For one, he had a necklace that belonged to his father. It was a simple pendant that was roughly the size of his palm with a star in the middle of the circle with the words "yours ever" on it. Giving it to the boy had been the only way his parents had gotten the boy to leave them to safety.

Something else that he had was a pair of silver bracelets. They had been given to him and Shun when they were younger though they'd never fit them until they were older. Alone felt power coming from them, but he wasn't sure what they could be. They were simple silver bands that had their names on them. Since he and Cheshire had been forced to flee in a more silent and far less quick manner than Shun and Kagaho he had insisted on stopping by their rooms and grabbing them. It was the only thing that kept his brother close now.

The last things he had were far less personal. One was a simple sketch pad and a few pencils along with an eraser and pencil sharpener. He took good care of all of these, though there were several pages missing out of the front of it. That was because though he was a great artist and could capture the likeness of something in a few minutes, whatever he drew died. It was an odd power of his, though whenever he painted someone or something it seemed fine.

He never really understood why that was, but though what he drew would die instantly upon completion of the picture painting didn't have the same effect at all. He preferred to paint things anyway, the color was far more appealing. But he did keep the sketch pad because it was an easy way to use self defense without alerting to others to who is father really was.

He kept some painting supplies in the bag as well, but he had long gotten into the habit of not drawing whatever or whoever was the center of the painting so they wouldn't die. He had been practicing for a long time and was very good at it as well. Alone had no idea where this strange power had come from, or why it was only the black and white pencil drawings that caused death and not the lively colors. Maybe that was it: black was death, a never ending blackness. That's how people portrayed it right? While colors captured the life in a scene. Either way, he kept the utensils close. Painting had often calmed him down.

Alone slid the backpack's straps onto his shoulders and turned towards the door. Cheshire quickly stood and returned to walking like a normal person. It was better to not give away who he was either, or make himself look suspicious. They needed to get as close as they could without causing a panic or alerting their enemies to his presence. They'd remained hidden for a long time. They'd rather not give themselves away now. Besides, for all they knew, the other armies would hate them for just being from the Underworld. They'd rather not make anymore enemies than they needed to.

Cheshire took Alone's hand and Alone gave the small Specter a smile. They knew that they were just leaving without any notice to anyone, but it was a lifestyle they were used to by now. It was safer for everyone this way, considering that their enemies suspected something about Alone and had been chasing him since they had left the Underworld all those years ago. Quietly they opened the door and left, shutting it behind them and hurrying off down the streets of the small town until they began to leave it behind. It had taken a lot of running, but they had eventually ended up in Japan and that's when Cheshire had sensed Kagaho's cosmos. They were closer to Shun than ever, so they were trying to make their way towards them as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure though that its-" Cheshire began.

"Come on," Alone said. The Specter frowned.

It didn't take them long to leave the edge of the small town behind them and they turned their attention instead to making their way down the side of the road towards the direction that the battle had taken place. A small forest was on either side of them, and the road cut straight through it. They trudged through the rain which was beginning to lessen as the minutes passed. However Cheshire couldn't help but glance up at the Demigod whose hand he was holding. Cheshire wasn't much of a problem since he was an immortal Specter, but Alone was a different problem all together. He glanced up at him.

"Are you sure we should have left so soon?" he asked again, shivering a little in the rain. It was freezing. "You'll catch a cold like this. I'd hate for you to get sick. Besides how are we supposed to find Shun if you get yourself sick?"

Alone hardly glanced down at the Specter at first. He'd much rather keep going. He felt fine, but this was the attitude that worried Cheshire. Like his father, he was one to ignore any pain or discomfort until the task at hand had been completed. It was a flaw that the two of them shared. Hades had become a well respected god with that attitude, and he was known for being loyal. He supposed that Alone was loyal in the exact same way. Be he hated it because the boy often didn't know his own limits and got himself hurt because of it, or sick. Cheshire couldn't help but worry over him.

When the Demigod continued to ignore him and didn't respond Cheshire wrapped both his arms around Alone's arm and ground to a halt, forcing the blonde boy to stop as well. Alone was a little bit annoyed at the Specter, and turned to tell him so. But he couldn't help but pause a moment when he saw his downcast face. Cheshire was waiting for the earful that would most likely come. Alone had always been one to speak his mind, and he didn't really seem to care if he was kind or not about it. It wasn't that he was a cruel person, but he didn't hold back either.

Alone was definitely the more brash of the twins. While Shun was always smiling and polite Alone was calculating and straight forward. There was still something endearing about the boy though, something that either pushed your buttons or made you like him. He was kind enough, just not with the same constant happiness that Shun had. He was much more indifferent about people's feelings than his brother, but he wasn't cruel by any means. Either way though, Cheshire knew his personality well and was waiting for the boy to give him a piece of his mind as usual.

However Alone couldn't help but pause as he saw Cheshire's face. Alone knew for a fact that he had been high strung lately, and he hadn't been sleeping well. That in turn had worried Cheshire nearly frantic, and no matter how the Specter tried to hide this fact, Alone had always been good at reading people. Alone had been caught up so much in finding his brother that he'd been ignoring the silver haired Specter. Cheshire's face was both sad and worried, and Alone hated to see that face. He let out a sigh and looked forward, glancing towards the Specter with much gentler eyes.

"You're really that worried about it?" he asked. Cheshire just nodded. Alone ran a hand through his hair with another sigh. "Fine. We'll go sit under a tree or something until it clears up completely. Is that better?"

"Yes," Cheshire quickly replied, frowning up at the Demigod.

"Come on then," Alone said.

Alone turned and left the road, stepping under the trees. Cheshire followed much happier to keep up with the Demigod now that he knew he wasn't going to wear himself down to the ground. Alone silently moved through the trees, aimlessly picking a path. They finally came to a tree that was larger than the others in a small clearing. The canopy was much thicker and the rain hadn't been too thick so the ground under the leaves was really rather dry. Satisfied that this would do Alone perched on one of the roots that was sticking just a little way out of the ground. Cheshire plopped down beside him where it was dry and began to purr happily.

Alone couldn't help but give the Specter a little smile as he sat there, pulling his hand out of his to run his hand through the silver hair. This made the Specter begin to purr louder. Cheshire was just too adorable for Alone to ignore. He was one of the few people who'd ever be able to get Alone to just take a breather like that. Alone was far too driven to keep himself still for very long. Some people called that impatience, but Alone wasn't one to attack without a plan first. Still, he was glad that the Specter had seemed to relax a little.

Cheshire was content to curl up beside Alone and rest his chin on his knee like a lounging cat as he pulled his hand away. Alone pulled the backpack back off and unzipped it, sitting it on the ground beside him. He then proceeded to pull out the bracelet that belonged to his brother (since he was wearing his own) and the necklace that had belonged to his father (which he still wasn't sure who'd given it to Hades). He looked at them closely, and Cheshire couldn't help but frown a little at the lonely look he gave them. It was the same lonely look that had given him his name.

How long had it been since he'd seen his father and mother? Many long years, and though they hadn't seen him grow up and hadn't gotten to raise him like they had wanted he missed them terribly. Like all Demigods and gods their younger lives were very clear to him, and he could remember every detail of it. He knew his parents well, the Underworld. It was all fresh in his mind like it had happened recently. He missed that whole life, and he wanted to see all of the people who had been, and still were, so important to him. That's also what drove him to find his brother so badly.

He looked at the bracelet with his brother's name on it next. Yes, he remembered everything, like he knew Shun would as well. He knew his brother well and even these long years couldn't really keep them apart. They would recognize each other instantly. Shun had always been happy and had managed to make him smile, and right now they all really needed that. But he also knew that his brother (like their father) wasn't one to ignore others in need, and he'd been going to help the other gods fight the Titans and their army as soon as possible. That's why he needed to find him really quick. Shun was going to need their help, and Alone would be fine as long as he wasn't alone without his brother any more.

The sound of a twig snapping suddenly alerted the two of them to the fact that they weren't alone. Alone quickly shoved the two items into the bag, especially wanting to hide his father's necklace before it was seen. Any involved with the gods would know that necklace by sight, so he'd rather not have it discovered. Explaining how he'd gotten it wouldn't be easy. Though Alone could use any lie and his unflinching demeanor could be used to effectively hide those lies coming up with a believable one of how he'd gotten that necklace would be something beyond even his skills. Cheshire began to bristle and Alone looked up carefully.

Three young men stepped forward, and the grins they gave the two boys was one that instantly told Alone that they weren't here to chat. They had something far more nefarious in mind. He looked at them carefully, realizing that they were wearing some sort of small armor, black armor. Foot soldiers of some kind? But for who? Alone reached into his bag and found a pencil and his sketchbook. He could never be too careful.

"Finally found you," one of the three said. "You're one of those Demigods that's been running around."

"It's really not safe for you to be going around on your own boy," the second said.

"Just come with us quietly," the third said with a dark chuckle. "Nobody gets hurt, at least not yet. We'll be rewarded for this, and the gods won't stand a chance. They've always been too gentle with their children."

Alone closed his eyes and pulled the sketchbook and pencil out of the bag. He supposed that this answered his question then. They were with the Othrysians, and they were wanting to capture him. Alone had no intention of letting that happen at all. Cheshire paused when he saw the Demigod flip open to the first page and look up at the three, beginning to draw as he watched them. His eyes never left them as he drew, which was very unnerving to say the least. The three foot soldiers of the Titans paused as they watched him.

"What are you doing boy?" the first growled. "If you want to live you'll come with us now."

"We could always make him," the second threatened. "Neither of them look like they'll be a problem. We could always kill the silver haired one."

"What's it going to be boy?" the third growled as he stepped froward, making Cheshire bristle more in defense of Alone. "Are you going to come quietly, or do we have to break you and your little friend first?"

"Tell me," Alone said, his gaze never wavering. "are you only foot soldiers? What did they promise you when you joined them? Becoming one of their warriors? Unlike the Othrysians you're mortal. You're expendable, and that means you can die. Which means you made a wrong choice in trying to capture me alone."

"What was that?" one of them growled.

However Alone looked away as he removed his pencil from the page and carefully placed it back inside the backpack. They all froze suddenly and gasped, gripping at their chests. Cheshire continued to snarl at the three of them, but now they were no longer threatening. Utter terror crossed their faces as they doubled over in pain, gasping for breath. Alone simply tore the page out and held it up so they could see it. On it was a nearly perfect likeness of them, shaded vaguely with crosshatching and everything. However looking at it they knew it was them on the paper.

"W-What did you do?" the second of the three asked.

Alone stood, dropping his sketchbook into the bag and crumpling up the paper as he dropped it. He then zipped the bag closed and threw it over his shoulders. Cheshire quickly leaped up to join the young Demigod, who walked over to the three men as they fell to the ground and curled up into a ball to protect themselves from the invisible attack. This defense utterly failed. Alone looked down at them, his eyes narrowing dangerously as a darkness seemed to pass over his face.

"I-Impossible," the third of the three gasped. "Y-You're the son of Hades!"

"And you're dead," Alone replied darkly. "I can't leave any witnesses, not yet. You were foolish to get between me and my goal, because I do not feel like being merciful today."

With that, the three terrified soldiers died, and Alone turned away. Death was something he was very used to by now, and he didn't really care if some foot soldiers in the other army died. They were the enemy, and they wouldn't have given him any mercy, so why should he extend the same courtesy? Besides, he had somewhere he needed to go now. Shun was the one with all the mercy. Alone was the one that would attack. Together would be different. Shun would be more willing to attack and Alone would be willing to show mercy. However now, Alone wasn't going to rest long.

Cheshire frowned as he ran forward and took Alone's hand again. He knew that the Demigod wasn't evil, he was just darker. He was kind, but to his enemies he showed no kindness. It would be different if he could be with Shun, which was why the Specter wanted to get him near his brother as soon as possible. Around Shun Alone would be the kind of person that the other gods would accept the personality for. He wouldn't be so ready to kill, which would be something the other gods would not tolerate. However near Shun the Specter knew the boy would open up and be less distant and uncaring. He probably wouldn't change that much, but it would be enough.

But it was still raining. Cheshire shuddered a little in the cold rain, which Alone seemed perfectly fine ignoring as he had before. But even though Cheshire was still worried about Alone getting himself sick and pushing himself too hard, he didn't want to stay around here anymore. He didn't want to find out if there were any other members of the Titan's army anywhere close.

"I changed my mind," Cheshire growled. "I think a walk in the rain sounds lovely. Let's go now. I don't want to stick around and see if someone else shows up."

"Cheshire," Alone said quietly. "Do you think that I'm...too dark?" Cheshire paused, then nuzzled his face gently into the Demigod's arm.

"Of course not," he said. "You're a little warlike, but if you have some other company and open up your heart then I know you'd be a much happier and gentler young man."

Alone wasn't quite convinced. He knew the extent to which he was...well like his father had been in the first signs of the Holy Wars. As a child, though Shun had spent time playing and laughing with the dead or near their mother, Alone had always been near the Specters and his father. Perhaps he had just grown up different. They had not too long ago finished their Holy Wars and were still very sad, always talking of battle. But Alone had always been a bit of a loner and hung back. Though he loved his brother and had played with him, there had been times when he had even avoided Shun completely. He couldn't help but wonder if Shun loved him as much as he loved him.

Cheshire nuzzled his face closer to Alone's arm, making the boy snap out of his thoughts a little. When he turned his eyes towards the Specter though, they were the same lonely eyes as always. Yes, the boy had grown up differently, but Cheshire knew that deep inside him there was a gentler soul. If anyone could bring that out, it would be Shun. Cheshire needed to get Alone to Shun and fast. He couldn't stand to see those lonely eyes. Cheshire purred gently to him.

"Don't worry," Cheshire said gently. "We'll find Shun, and you won't have to worry about this any longer. I know Shun will be glad to see you too." Alone blinked at the Specter a moment, and then a gentle but still lonely smile touched his face.

"Thank you Cheshire," Alone said quietly. "What would I ever do without you?"

Alone closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked up with a new determination in his eyes. He just had to concentrate on one fact. He needed to get to Shun. Everything else didn't matter. He'd just have to trust that Cheshire was right, and that Shun would be able to break through his lonely and dark demeanor. He turned and began making his way forward with Cheshire still holding onto his arm and purring comfortingly.

This is a much sadder version of Alone. He's not evil by any means, he's much more like his father, and he grew up differently than Shun even though they're twins. This Alone is much more like his Hades Alone counterpart than the Alone of Lost Canvas before he became the god of the Underworld. I thought it was more fitting to have a darker twin than two that acted exactly the same. Hope you guys don't mind. Either than or he's kind of like Ikki was in a way.

O.O That's a scary thought...

Anyway, next chapter will center on Alone as well, and we'll get to see some more of what he's up to. And after that we'll get to see Hades and Pandora. I hope you guys enjoyed and feel free to leave a review below!