Bones

9. It's Been Too Long

(The gif at the top or side is Nathaniel Buzolic >Alpheus Archer<

"Well, We've got a brother who decided to come home."

I looked at Nik excitedly. I was going to meet one of my brothers?!
"Wait, You have another brother?" Piper asks I nodded "A few actually." I said as I retrieved a long-sleeve black shirt and my black Hades t-shirt with a pair of my black jeans. I got dressed inside the closet while Piper and Nik waited on my couch. I stepped out after finishing getting dressed and sighed as I threw my dirty clothes into my hamper.
"Ready?" Nik asks I nod
"Good luck, Hopes he's nice." Piper says as she hugs me goodbye.
"I'll come by your room later, Maybe we can hang-out." I said she nods
"Sounds fun. You know the room number right?" She asks I shook my head
"It's six seventy three." She said I nodded she turned and walked down the hall.

***

"Do you think he's going to be nice?" I asked as we approached the hill we had first met the gods on. Nik shrugs and puts an arm around my shoulders.
"Promise me one thing though.. If you like him more don't trade me in." He said I laughed and shoved him away. Nik was the first to step into the area. The gods all turned their heads to look at us.
"Good morning, my sons." Hades greets us. We nodded to him saying a good morning.
"So, Is he still here or is he gone already?" Niklaus asks. Poseidon's eyebrows raise in amusement. Hades nods "He's still here." He assures us.
"Then where is he?" Niklaus asks
"Try having a little patience, Brother.." a voice said behind us causing us both to flinch and turn around. There he was, smirking. He leaned agaisnt a tree. For being over one thousand years old I thought he'd look a bit more.. I don't know aged? He looked like he'd be maybe 19 or 20. He looked a lot like Hades. I saw a lot of myself in him too. For starters, our hair looked similar both style and colour and we both had dark brown eyes and a chiseled face.
"Alpheus, Be nice to your brothers." Hades says. Alpheus.. He smirks
"Of course, father." He had a british accent which seemed fair since Hades had one. Alpheus eyed Niklaus and smirks.
"Nice to see you Niky. It's been a while." He says I look over at Nik just in time to see him shake his head at Alpheus and make a sign with his hand instructing him to stop. Alpheus raises his brows.
"Doesn't the baby know?" He asks pointing to me without looking at me. Baby?
"Alpheus, this isn't the time or place." Nik says Alpheus smirks, clearly amused.
"Father, I'm surprised at you the most. Keeping this a secret for so long." He says
"Alpheus, enough." Hades says firmly. Alpheus holds his hands up in surrender.
"Alright, I won't say anything. But, sooner or later you have to tell him or he might find out." He says and then finally looks at me.
"Nice to meet you, little brother." He says holding out his hand I took it. Heat surged through me. I looked up into Alpheus' eyes and images surged around me. Images of the Underworld, different parts of the world, pretty girls. I marvelled at the images.
"You like that?" He asked I nodded
"You've seen so much." I said he chuckled
"Oh, this isn't my past, little brother. This is your future." He said I looked at him in complete shock.
"Alright, don't show him too much Alpheus." Hades says Alpheus drops my hand and the images fade. He turns to my father and approaches his throne.
"Father, it's been many years." He said making a fist in one of his hands and placing it over his heart. The way he spoke and acted you could tell he was old.
"Yes it has. I have to say, it's good to see you my son." Hades says. Alpheus nods
"And how is your little brother, Alcaeus?" He asked Alpheus shrugs
"He hasn't talked to me in years. Like I haven't to you." He says Hades nods. Alpheus puts his hands in the pockets of his dark black jeans.
"I guess our last argument pissed him off more than I expected. Didn't seem that bad to me." He says Hades raises his brows.
"Your fight ended up killing over 300 people." He points out. Alpheus shrugs once more
"Well, we all know how Caeus(Chaos) is.. He likes to Y'know, make a spectacle." Alpheus says with a small mischievous grin and a raise of his eyebrows.
"He may never forgive you, Alpheus. You know that right?" Hades says Alpheus nods.
"That's the thing about being immortal right father? Centuries fade to decades. He'll get over it eventually." Alpheus says
"Are you immortal like the gods?" I asked Alpheus turns to me and smirks.
"Well, all sons of Hades have a chance to be immortal but it comes at a price.." He says slowly walking towards me.
"You have to sell your soul to him. Feed it to the beasts that guard the throne of the Underworld. Sacrifice your ability to love, to feel.." Alpheus says I feel my heart drop. Of course I wanted to be immortal but it seemed to come at a high price. Alpheus begins to laugh.
"I'm just joking! If you want to be immortal just ask. You're 18 now. Either you chose to be immortal and stand by father and the gods for eternity as long as you both shall roam the earth or, you can live a boring mortal life and be father to normal boring mortal spawn." Alpheus says
"You must be forgetting that you're half human." I said he chuckles.
"I'm not half human. I'm half witch." He said
"Witches exist?" I asked wondering if it was just another joke.
"I'll give you a bit of advice now, little brother. Believe that everything is true unless proven otherwise." He says. He reached me and grips my shoulders. "Anything is possible. Everything is real." He said I nodded
"Except for plastic surgery and fast food burgers." He says I smirk. I liked him. He was a bit intense and kinda strange but I really did like him.
"So, Immortal or Mortal?" He asks my face dropped. He wanted me to decide now? Right here with no time to think?
"Alpheus-" Nik tries but gets cut off
"You already made your choice a long time ago Niklaus. Let him decide without your moral judgement jamming up his brain." Alpheus says keeping his eyes locked with mine.
"What do you mean he already made his choice? And how long ago is a long time ago? I'm feeling seriously out of the loop." I said
"Tobias, don't answer. You have to think about this." Nik says
"Nik, if the kid wants to be young and handsome forever you have no right to change that for him." Alpheus says
"Don't do this to him now, Alpheus." Niklaus says I was actually getting kind of pissed off. I thought it was both Nik and I's first time meeting Alpheus but clearly they've met and from what I heard "a long time ago" how out of the loop was I?
Nik and Alpheus were arguing and Hades was arguing with Zeus about something. There was no way I was going to get any of their attention. I felt my face get red with anger. I balled my fists and gritted my teeth trying to contain the rage that seemed un controllable.
Artemis and Athena were giving me weary looks. Ares was smirking probably amplifying my anger. Dionysus even looked interested as the sons of Hades bickered. I had enough. I went blind with rage.
"Enough!" I yelled stomping my foot. The whole hill shook and shuddered. The torches surrounding us went out as a gust of wind swept over the lands. Silence fell. Alpheus and Niklaus stopped bickering looking over at me. Even Zeus and Hades stopped.
"And here I thought temper tantrums were my thing.." A new voice joined us. Alpheus' face showed a look of loathing and also astonishment maybe a little bit of fear or guilt as he looked over my shoulder. He let go of Niklaus' shirt collar.
"Alcaeus."