Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't any of the characters. Except for the villains, which are mine. And Halo's since she helped me get their identities…

A/N: Yay! Thanks for all of the reviews, guys! Much thanks to Halo, jimmy-barnes-13, Ingu, mychemicalromancefreak29, lozvamp, and FastFuriousChick for the reviews! I hope you like it! Halo, I know you will. Thank you for all your help! Lol. Enjoy!

Chapter III

"His cousin?" Priam asked as he watched his pacing son. "That is what he came here for?"

"Yes." Hector answered with a sigh. "He believes that we have taken him."

The old king shook his head. "I did not even know of this man before he came to our walls." Priam replied as he sat back down in his large chair. "Why would he think that we have taken his cousin?"

Hector's expression darkened. "Because we are the ones he is fighting against. He needs someone to blame."

Priam sighed. "Have you heard word of Paris?" he said.

The older prince looked out of the large window at the small forest that was nearby as the sun began to set over the city. "He should have returned by now." Hector muttered, turning back to look at his father. "He left soon after Achilles did. It has been a long time…"

Priam's face clearly showed the worry he was feeling, and that was enough for the prince to make a decision, besides his own worry for his younger brother.

"I will go out and search for him."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The forest grew darker around them as the sun sank lower in the deepening sky. Hector led the way down the narrow path, holding out a flaming torch to guide him. Apollo walked next to him, and the prince found himself yet again feeling relieved for the god's presence, even though he alone could see him. A half dozen guards followed behind him, prepared to defend their prince from any position if necessary. The man was tense, feeling nervous as he continued down the path, wondering what he was going to discover.

"There is something ahead."

Hector glanced in the direction of where Apollo was, and then looked back ahead of him. In the dim light of the flickering torch, he could see the faint outline of something lying on the ground on the edge of a small clearing…

One of the soldiers then stopped Hector by placing his arm in front of him. "Let us go ahead, my prince," he said, "so we can make sure that there is no danger."

Hector sighed and reluctantly handed the soldier the torch, watching as all of the soldiers then ran forward to investigate the clearing. "What do you think they will find?" he asked quietly to the god he knew was there.

"I do not know, Prince Hector." Apollo answered, looking into the forest intently. "I do not think that-!"

"Prince Hector!"

Without a second's hesitation, Hector ran forward to the clearing with Apollo close behind, hoping that they had found some sign of his brother, yet dreading it at the same time…

The prince was horrified by what he saw.

The guards that he had brought with him were standing by the dead bodies of the three soldiers that his brother had brought with him, their throats slit open. But there wasn't any sign of Paris… What had happened?

Many theories ran through Hector's mind as he slowly walked around the clearing, none of them pleasant. Then, the prince's heart nearly stopped when he saw something that sent a cold chill through his veins.

The bow that Paris always used after Hector had gotten it for him as a gift years before was lying on the forest floor near a large tree on the opposite side of the clearing. Hector moved over to it, then knelt down on the grass as he carefully picked it up, looking over it. He barely acknowledged one of his solders as the man came up behind him.

"My prince?" he whispered.

Hector continued to look down on the bow, but then he slowly raised his head. He was startled to see that a single arrow was sticking into the bark. The older prince slowly got to his feet, grabbing onto the arrow shaft and yanking it from the tree. He studied it carefully, recognizing it to truly be his brother's arrow.

Apollo came up behind him and placed his hand on the warrior's shoulder in a hopefully comforting manner. "Prince Hector," he said in a voice that he knew only the prince could hear, "I am not sure who has done this, but-!"

His sentence was cut off when Hector looked up from the arrow, his eyes blazing with unleashed fury. He said one word with such vehemence that it startled Apollo, though it was barely audible to the rest of the guards since it came out as a forced whisper.

"Achilles…"

xxxxxxxxxx

Athena sighed as she sat on a rock by the water's edge, hardly able to see her reflection against the moonlit sky. Never before had she seen Achilles as upset as he was now, but she knew that his cousin had never been missing before. The great warrior loved the young boy deeply, and it must have hurt him terribly to know that he was in danger.

"Is this some sort of sick game of yours, Athena? One man's cousin goes missing, and now you take Hector's brother, a prince of Troy?"

The Goddess of Wisdom gasped as she looked behind her, seeing that an angry Apollo was standing a few feet away. She was surprised, yet impressed. She hadn't heard him coming up behind her…

"I do not know what you are speaking of, Apollo." Athena said, slowly standing up on the rock. "I did not know that a prince of Troy was missing. If he is gone, that is not my doing."

Apollo looked at her for a long moment, then reached out his hand toward her. Athena took it, allowing him to help her to step down from the rock, taking the action as a sort of apology. She smiled slightly, the cool sand feeling refreshing against her bare feet.

"Your wisdom is great, dear Athena." Apollo replied, giving her a small smile. "How do I know that you are not trying to deceive me?"

"Because I know that the Trojans did not take Achilles' cousin." Athena told him, crossing her arms in front of her defiantly. "Since that is the case, Achilles has no reason to take the brother of Prince Hector."

"So, this is all about Achilles, is it?" Apollo asked. "Is he really what even the most fearless men speak of? Did he win the beach nearly on his own?"

"He is that and more." Athena answered with a slight laugh. "He is an able warrior. I believe that he will make a difference in this war that we are facing." The goddess sighed. "But not now. Now, he is a man stricken with grief for his lost cousin who will risk everything to return him home safely."

Apollo smirked. "That is why you favor him?" he said.

"Do not start that game with me, Apollo." Athena replied, glaring at him. "Why is it that you favor Hector over other men?"

The god shook his head. "All that aside, I fear it seems that we only have one option before us if we want to return the prince and Achilles' cousin safely. I hate to say it, but I think that we will…"

"…have to work together." Athena finished with a sigh. "I know. Normally, I wouldn't accept help from you, but I cannot help Achilles on my own." She cast her gray eyes to where the Myrmidon had set up their tents.

"I only hope that Achilles will accept your help."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Achilles sat on the floor on top of his blanket in his tent, staring blankly down on the broken seashell necklace in his hands. He had tried to repair it, but he didn't have the same skill as his mother had. He couldn't repair it, but that was not going to stop him from trying.

Odysseus stood by the entrance of the tent, merely watching his friend. The warrior was going through a difficult time, and he hoped that merely being there would help him at least a little. He sighed. "Achilles, you have been working on trying to repair that since before the sun went down." Odysseus remarked. "Please, take a rest. I am beginning to worry about you."

The great warrior sighed and waited a moment before setting the broken necklace down. He didn't look back at the Ithacan king, but he only continued to stare down longingly on the seashells that lay before him. "You sent a troop to search for him, did you not?" he asked.

The king of Ithaca knew that this question was coming. "There are few men that we can spare, but yes. I have sent as many as I could to try to find your cousin." Odysseus answered. "Agamemnon was angered enough with the few men that I have sent. I wish I could help you more, but there is only so much I can do. I have not heard word from them, but they are trying."

"I should be out there with them." Achilles muttered, getting to his feet. "I should be searching for my cousin…"

"Hold on, Achilles." Odysseus said, holding up his hands to try to stop him. "You are thinking too rashly-!"

"Stand down, Odysseus!" Achilles shouted, interrupting him. "Do not get in my way!"

Normally when Achilles was in a rage, the Ithacan king would have gladly stepped aside. But not this time. "No, Achilles." Odysseus replied. "You are thinking too rashly! I know that you want to help your cousin, but what help will you be to him if you do not even know where he is? If we do not get word from the solders by morning, then you man think about leaving."

Achilles looked back at him, but then he turned away and picked up the seashell necklace. "I am leaving first thing in the morning, and you will not stop me." he muttered, putting it safely away in his pouch.

Before Odysseus could reply, the flaps of the tent opened and Eudorus stepped in, looking anxious. "There is someone here to see you, my lord." he said.

The great warrior exchanged a look with Odysseus before following his second-in-command out into the night air with the Ithacan king behind him. Achilles walked through the crowd of Myrmidon who were gathered on one side of the fire they had built. He went to the front of the group, and stopped in surprise when he saw who was standing on the other side, the anger on their face reflected in the light of the dancing fire.

It was Hector. He held a sword horizontally out in front of him, one of his hands resting carefully on the blade. This action showed that his intentions were peaceful, at least for now.

Achilles' eyes narrowed as he looked at him across the fire. "What has brought you here, Prince of Troy?" he asked, seeing that he was alone.

Hector looked back at him, his head held high to show that he wasn't afraid of the Myrmidon as they gathered closer around him with their weapons drawn. "I have come to speak with you."

The great warrior glanced around at the soldiers that were making their way towards the prince. "I should have you killed for daring to intrude here." Achilles said.

But the prince didn't back down, and he didn't move his sword from the peaceful position he held it in. The men moved even closer with their swords held high, on larger soldier standing behind him and putting his sword in front of his throat. But Hector still continued to stare at Achilles, ignoring the soldiers and their weapons.

The Myrmidon leader looked back at him, a smirk growing on his face. "Tell me. Does prince blood make good fuel for a fire?" Achilles asked. "Or does it stain the ground like everyone else's when it is spilt?"

Eudorus sighed and shook his head. Why did Achilles have to be so over-confident? Hector still did not respond to the men around him or even raised his sword to defend himself. He had come for a purpose, and he was going to complete it.

"You should have stayed behind the safety of your walls, Prince of Troy." Achilles said in a whisper, surprised that Hector wasn't even flinching. He looked at the rest of the Myrmidon, his loyal men. "Do with him what you please."

The soldiers laughed as Achilles turned his back on the group, moving in closer to the prince. Odysseus watched in horror, wondering how is friend could be so cold-hearted. He hadn't even heard the prince out when he came in a peaceful manner! He was about to intervene, but Hector beat him to it.

"You have not found your cousin, have you?"

Achilles froze, then slowly turned back to the large group behind him. After a moment, he ran back over to the fire out of the shadows. "Stop! Lower your swords!" he commanded.

The Myrmidon looked slightly disappointed, but they backed away like their captain had commanded. Achilles walked around the fire and approached the prince. "Come." he muttered simply, walked past him toward the darkness away from the tents. Hector followed him, gladly leaving the other soldiers behind.

The two warriors walked along the sea's edge in silence, heading toward a small clump of trees. The light from the full moon reflected off of the water's surface, lighting their way. When he thought that they were far enough away, Achilles stopped and turned to face Hector.

"If you have done something with him, I promise you that I will spill your blood with my own hands."

"I have told you already, Achilles, I have not done anything with your cousin." Hector replied. "But I am here to ask you what you have done with my brother."

"Your brother?" Achilles asked. "I did not know that there was another prince of Troy. What are you-!"

The great warrior suddenly stopped and his eyes widened when he saw an arrow coming at them out of the dark.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Patroclus shivered against the cool night air after another wave hit him. He coughed as he tried to get the water out of his mouth, but then he began to cough harder. His forehead burned as his coughing finally ceased, and he closed his eyes in exhaustion. He wanted to slip away, to escape from the men that held him captive, to return to his cousin's protective arms…

The seventeen-year-old slowly opened his eyes when he heard footsteps approaching, and he saw the soldier named Telipinus standing above him. He winced when the man roughly grabbed his chin and forcefully pulled his head upward so that he could look him in the eyes. "We had orders to bring you to our king alive, but we had not expected you to kill some of our men." he said. "That is punishable, boy."

Patroclus cringed as Telipinus roughly shoved his head away, then cried out when he was kicked forcefully in the side. He began to couch violently again as the feeling rose up in his chest, and his forehead burned even more. He cried out again as a thin cut appeared on his cheek from the strand of a whip, and he fought to hold back tears. It felt like the flames of Hell itself were surrounding his head, but the rest of him was so cold…

Then, he whimpered a little when the soldier roughly grabbed onto his hair and moved his head up toward him. "Do not worry." Telipinus whispered into the boy's ear. "Soon we will have our second captive, so you will not have to suffer alone. For now, this should teach you not to step out of line again." He laughed as he then pushed his head back down against the rock.

Patroclus closed his eyes, exhausted. His forehead continued to burn, and the next wave that came and splashed up against him didn't cool him down. "No, Achilles… no…" he thought desperately. Then, his head dropped down to his chest as he finally lost hold of his consciousness.

A/N: Well, hope you liked it! I hope it was enough for you, Halo. And, no. Athena's feet are not trying to eat her. Lol! Sorry, I just had to say that, Halo! Anyway, believe it or not, expect some humor in the next chapter. Yes, humor. Thanks again for all of your reviews. I love them all! Talk to you later!