I don't own -Man, or Pandora Hearts. I'm not profiting from this, although it brings joy to my heart. As I have mentioned in my previous Pandora -Man story, this one also features Cheshire and Alice. It has no relation to Forever (other story) at all. It is not a sequel, prequel, none of those. Please enjoy~!

~Together~

The moon was high in the sky, bathing the world in a silver light. Shadows reached from the houses, whispering to each other through the night. A low wind swept over the valley, rustling the grass and rattling the windows. Each house was separated by a shabby fence, every one worn down and decrepit. The wind threatened to topple every one, but they held strong. Atop one particularly shabby fence sat a small cat, as black as the night surrounding it. He curiously looked off to the distance, beyond the mountains. He knew something was strange in the air. He just couldn't imagine what.

As he bounded off of the fence, the bell around his neck jingled lightly, piercing the night air with its soft, delicate sound. Giving a last peek over his shoulder, he climbed through the window of the small house that lay before him. Nimbly landing on the creaky, wooden board floor inside, he took joy in the sound of his master's breathing. Jumping up on her bed, he snuggled into her neck, sleepily rubbing his forehead against her skin.

He loved his master dearly, for she had taken care of him since he was but a kitten. He had been discarded to the streets, unwanted by his previous owner. He had seen her walking along the sidewalk, and had mysteriously been called to her. He had felt such a strong feeling that she would be his new master, he immediately stuck by her side. He hadn't left it since. She must have only been 6 years old then, and what 6 year old wouldn't resist a poor, neglected cat? Of course, Alice had begged her mother continuously until he was allowed to stay.

Although they weren't living the lavish life, all a cat really needed was a loving master and he would be set. He could have always left, to find a cozier place to call home; but he stayed with Alice through everything. They were always together.

Broken away from his flashback, the cat was disturbed by his master shifting groggily in bed. She opened her eyes, and smiled when she saw him cuddled into her neck, although she was shivering.

"Cheshire, you're freezing…" she whined, pulling the cat into her arms. "Let's warm you up." He gratefully relaxed in her grip, sinking into her bed sheets as the night whisked them both away to a faraway place.

O 3O O 3O O 3O OE O OE O OE O

"It's warmer today than yesterday." Alice mused, walking along the sidewalk. Cheshire followed her obediently, dodging the patches of ice. Alice was on her way to school, as she was almost every day. Cheshire would always follow her to the doors and wait nearby for her to come home. Sometimes he didn't like the idea of school, because it kept Alice from him.

"See you this afternoon!" she called as she was swept into the hallways of the small school house. Giving a small mew, Cheshire retreated to the small bushes nearby, where all the mice hid for warmth. Crawling under the shrub, he began flicking the rocks around until a nice spot was made. Curling up into a ball, he lay in the spot where he would wait for Alice. Sometimes, he didn't feel like a cat. He always understood what Alice had said to him, and he was sure she always understood him. They would have conversations at night, about the dreams they had, or the luxuries of high class living. He felt like another human, just smaller.

As the day went on, and the mice flooded in, Cheshire crawled out of the bush, the thistles catching in his black fur. Alice left the school last, and started walking over to the bushes. She always knew where Cheshire hid during the day, and had always found him there. Picking him up, she giggled at the twigs sticking to his side.

"Cheshire, you're all dirty!" she giggled, picking the leaves off of him. "Where you rolling around in something?"

No, I was just making myself a nice spot. There were lots of mice today, too. Of course, cats can't speak, so all he said was a short string of meows. Alice always u8nderstod what he said to the fullest, as if he were speaking plain English.

"You'd think those mice would stay away, with all the time you spend under there. Come on, let's go home." She said, patting his head. He nimbly climbed up to her head and sat on her shoulder, one of his favorite perches. He always sat on her shoulder when they walked together, and not once, had he fallen off. It was as if he were glued to her.

Opening the noisy door to Alice's small shack, she walked into the kitchen, where her mother was slicing a loaf of bread. Alice and her mother never really got along. There was barely any food on the table as it was, let alone another mouth to feed. They both basically ignored each other, Alice ding her thing, and her mother doing hers. Sometimes Alice was sad because she felt she didn't have a mom anymore, but Cheshire did his best to comfort her.

Although one day, everything seemed to change. Alice and Cheshire were going to school, as usual, when they were stopped by a man in a black and gold coat. He seemed quite intimidating, for his hair was as scarlet as blood, and a white cloth with a cross on it covered one of his eyes. A cigarette poking out of his mouth, he looked down at Alice and Cheshire curiously.

"Ah…so this is the innocence I've been sent to collect." He had said menacingly. Alice protectively held Cheshire in her arms, although Cheshire wasn't afraid of the man. He almost felt there was something in common between the two.

"E-Excuse me?" Alice squeaked, quite frightened by the stranger. "What do you mean by 'innocence'?" The man seemed confused for a moment, before recollecting himself.

"So you don't know?" he asked. He chuckled rather mockingly, before plucking Cheshire out of Alice's arms, holding him by the scruff of the neck. Cheshire wriggled and hissed, his bell chirping against his neck, but the man wouldn't let him go.

"Let my friend go!" Alice shouted, reaching for the cat. Laughing, the man held Cheshire higher and higher until the Alice couldn't reach.

"Hehehe…you see, I've been sent her to collect this here 'cat'." He said, examining Cheshire like a demented doctor. "He's very important to my career."

"No! Don't you dare! Give me back Cheshire!" Alice screamed, drawing attention nearby. Tears dotted her eyes as the man just laughed.

"Why, is he your friend?" he asked, none too kindly. "Sorry, but little kitty needs to come with me." Alice ran up to the man, pounding her fists against his chest.

"You can't do that! He's my cat! Let him go!" she screeched, tears rolling down her cheeks. "He's my only friend! You can't take him away!"

"Hmm…well, you might actually be an accommodator. This innocence here seems to be connected to you somehow, so that might be it. My, I've never seen a living anti-Akuma weapon before." He mumbled, giving the hissing cat back to Alice. "You better come with me."

"What? But…" she whispered, wiping her cheeks as Cheshire continued hissing, his ears drawn back. "Where?"

"To the Dark Order, girly. Now come on, there's no time to waste." He said, dragging her kicking and shouting down the street, cat in hand.

=^._.^= =^._.^= =^._.^=

Alice was exhausted by the time they reached the elevator of the Dark Order. Cheshire on the other hand, had locked himself to the man's hand, sinking his sharp teeth into his skin. He had hung there for quite some time, reattaching himself every time he had been brushed off. By now, the red haired man's hand was torn and bloodied, although he made no motion to do anything about it.

As the elevator doors closed, the man dropped Alice, leaving her sitting against the elevator walls.

"Mister…what is this place?" she asked weakly, grabbing Cheshire into her arms once again.

"It's the Dark Order, where the Exorcists stay." He answered.

"…..what's an Exorcist?" she asked, her eye lids drooping.

"Exorcists are put on this Earth to fight Akuma, mechanical weapons created by a man called the Millennium Earl. Exorcists are each equipped with an anti-Akuma weapon, which is made of Innocence. Innocence is in the form of fragments that are scattered all over the world, in which Exorcists are sent to collect. The Millennium Earl's wish is to create a world full of Akuma, where there's no Innocence. I've brought you here because you may be an Exorcist, girly, so get used to it. Believe it or not, but that cat right there might even be your weapon." He explained, not looking at her.

"What? But…Cheshire doesn't kill Akuma…I've never even seen one…" she whispered, Cheshire snuggling into her jacket for warmth.

"That's because your Innocence is in a dormant state. It's still Innocence, but it's not in the right mode for killing Akuma. Komui will take care of that." He said. Before she could ask who Komui was, the elevator doors opened, and Alice was being dragged once again through the doors.

Now, she was being taken through a hallway of pillars, each wound around the cylindrical frame of the giant building. She heard hushed whispers as they saw her, and a shrill voice pierced her ears.

"General Cross? Why are you dragging that girl?" a woman shouted, although Alice couldn't see who it was.

"She's an accommodator. I'm bringing her to the Dark Order, just as I'm supposed to." He commented snidely.

"Yeah, but you don't have to drag her!" the voice yelled again, as hands lifted her from the ground. "I'm sorry about him. He can be an ass sometimes." A teenage girl stood in front of her, her greenish hair done up in twin pony tales. She was wearing a uniform much like that of the Cross guy, but it was silver instead of gold.

"Who are you?" Alice asked, sleepily.

"Oh, where are my manners! My name is Lenalee Lee. I'm an Exorcist here at the Dark Order. What's your name?" she asked, sweetly.

"Alice…" Alice mumbled, holding Cheshire tighter.

"That's a nice name. Oh, what a cute kitty!" she said, scratching Cheshire on the head with a finger. Cheshire mewed contentedly, his ears flicking back and forth.

"The cat's the innocence." Cross commented rudely. "Take it to Komui."

"What? But that's impossible…you can't have living Anti-Akuma weapons…" Lenalee wondered. "May I see him?"

Alice quickly turned away, determined to protect the small cat from further contact. She was already sick of other people touching her cat. After Lenalee conversed with Cross, Alice was being led down a hallway to a laboratory-like room.

After some waiting, a man with a tray of cups and fruit walked into the room, a beret perched upon his head.

"Ah! So this is the young accommodator!" he said warmly, setting the tray down. "The one with the living Innocence!"

"Yes, Nee-San. Be careful, though, Cross did a good job of scaring the life out of her." She said, picking up a mug from the tray.

"Ah, yes. Now, may I see the Innocence?" Komui asked, kneeling in front of Alice. She turned away, clutching the cat even tighter. "It'll be okay; I just want to see him for a second." After much persuasion, Alice finally handed over her pet to Komui, who proceeded to place him on a testing table. He left for a moment to get a bulky looking machine, and returned with it in hand.

He hooked it to the table, and upon flicking a switch, a beam of light landed on Cheshire. Alice looked startled for a moment, but seemed to calm down after seeing it was only light. She became even more startled when she saw her cat was transparent, so much so you could see right through him.

"Wonderful! It is indeed true; your friend is an Anti-Akuma weapon!" Komui yelled loudly. Everyone in the room looked aghast, especially Alice. Taking a closer look at the trembling cat, Alice could see a tiny, glowing box inside him.

"Is that…the Innocence?" Alice asked, pointing at the box.

"Indeed it is!" Komui celebrated, and then took out a large, heavy-looking drill. "Now to turn him into a weapon!" His eyes sparkled darkly.

Quickly snatching Cheshire from the table, Alice coiled her arms around him as Komui set down the drill. "No, no drills! Don't you dare hurt my kitty!" she yelled, backing away from the table.

"Alice, don't you want him to be in his true form?" Lenalee asked, kneeling on the ground. "I bet it might be painful to be squished into such a tiny body. He'll feel much better when he's in his right body."

Alice still seemed reluctant to do it, but she gave up her cat to strangers once more. Being directed to a row of chairs at the back of the room, she helplessly watched as they strapped her cat down to the table, Komui powering up his drill.

As Komui lowered his welding mask, an enormous beam of light erupted from the table, as Alice heard Cheshire crying out in pain. She made a move to get up, and run to her friend, but a hand stopped her. Lenalee was holding her back, trying to tell her that it was normal, but it was no use. Alice gazed at the horrifying scene, unable to do anything. As she listened to her cat's cries, they started to become more human, as if there was a human being tortured on the table.

When it was done, several groups of scientists had flooded in to see the spectacle, the one living Innocence. Alice hustled through the crowd, screaming orders that it was her friend and she needed to see him. Stopping at the side of the table, she felt a wave of confusion swathe over her. Her cat was gone, replaced by a cat-like boy lying huffing and weakened on the table. A pair of fuzzy ears sat atop his head, his hands the size of tennis rackets. Claws dotted each of his pointed, black fingers as a long tail sprouted from underneath him.

"But…that's not my Cheshire…" Alice whispered, her breath caught in her throat. The scientists began squabbling over whose hypothesis was right, and how this could have happened. As they were arguing, the boy on the table slowly opened his eyes.

They were red, piercing eyes, but Alice knew they were the same as her cats. His eyes locked with hers, and he began to smile. He reached up one of his enormous paws to most likely bat at her face, but he recoiled when he saw his own hand. Skittering off of the table, he slammed into wall at the back of the room.

Breathing heavily, he stared, shocked and exasperated at his new hands. He seemed even more confused than she had been. He whimpered slightly as he reached up and felt his face, accidentally making a long scratch mark down his cheek. Even though he had previously been a cat, he seemed to know how to speak English and everything.

"Alice…what…what's happening to me…?" he called out helplessly, trying to lift himself off of the floor using the wall. Standing in an upright position, he tried to walk towards her, but tripped on his own feet and fell on the floor. Feeling that he was still her Cheshire, she ran to his side, helping him into a sitting position.

"Cheshire…this is apparently your true form…" Alice whispered, holding one of his paws. "It'll be okay."

Although he had been over 30 years old in cat years, the boy that sat before Alice looked to be her own age. He looked so helpless as he held up his hands, each one shaking uncontrollably. He suddenly crawled into Alice's lap, awkwardly pressing his face against her neck, shivering as if he were feverish. She held him in her arms as scientists brought in testing trays and food for the new Anti-Akuma weapon.