Disclaimer: Do I need one? Nothing from "Troy" is mine, the Hittite gods belong to the ancient Hittite people, and the Hittite villains belong to Halo and me.

A/N: Hey! I'm back! Omg, I just had the weirdest experience of my life! I was taking the bus home from my summer gym thingy and ended up downtown like I was supposed to so I could transfer onto the bus to get me home. Well, I couldn't find my bus, and the next thing I knew, they all left. I was freaking out because now I was stranded downtown without any money to call my mom or pay for the next bus ride, and my transfer to the next bus would have expired within the hour. I thought it was going to be a half hour wait, but it turned out that it was actually going to be an hour wait! I had no idea what to do!!!!! Luckily, the guy who ran the Transit system was nice enough to call my mom on the phone inside the building where the cable cars and what not were kept that wasn't open to the public, but I still had to wait there for the hour because we can't drive our car until my friend's dad looks at it and all of my other relatives were working. I thought that it was going to be the most boring hour of my life, but I knew it was better than waiting outside in the heat. But I was wrong… way wrong. I actually had fun! The guy there was one of the nicest that I've ever met, and I actually learned a lot about the history of our town. The hour went by fast, and then I went home. I'm lucky to be updating today! Lol. Okay, onto the A/N… Thanks to all of you for your wonderful reviews! Welcome back to HospitalHorror. I hope you had a great time! Thanks to Halo for help with this chapter (and making me change the way I hold my pencil… I still do that! Thanks a lot… lol!). I hope this chapter makes sense! There is going to be a Patroclus dream sequence in it, which will be in italics. I just hope that it shows up… If it doesn't, well then just blame the computer that hates me. Enjoy!

Chapter VII

"We must have been misled." Hector muttered to himself as he watched them near the land of Greece. "We went in the direction that the messenger told us."

Achilles angrily watched as they neared the land, angry at the messenger for leading them in the wrong direction. He knew that Patroclus had better be all right… Then, he looked up at where the two gods were steering. "Athena, land the boat!" he commanded. "We're stopping in Greece!"

Hector was startled by his command. "Land the boat? Shall we not turn around?" he asked. "We have clearly gone in the wrong direction."

"No, Prince of Troy." Achilles answered as he turned to face the prince. "We need accurate directions to find Hattusas. We cannot go on a whim."

"And I take it that you know someone who can give us those directions?" Hector said.

Achilles grinned as he gently fingered the seashell necklace that hung around his neck.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Thetis opened the door and was shocked by who she saw looking back at her. "Achilles!" she exclaimed as she pulled him into an embrace. "What are you doing here, my son? The war is not over yet, is it?"

"No, Mother." Achilles replied as he looked back at her. "It is a long story…"

"Come on it." Thetis said, gesturing inside. "You can explain while I make tea. Who is your friend?"

"I wouldn't say friend, but this is the prince of Troy…" Achilles began.

"Hector. Only Hector." the prince cut in, giving her a slight bow. "It is an honor to meet you, my lady."

"The honor is mine, Prince Hector of Troy." Thetis replied, beaming. Then, she turned to her son. "Your companion is a very respectful, well-mannered young man. You could learn some things from him, Achilles."

"Mother!"

"It's true. You never were the most polite child." Thetis told him with a small smile. "Zeus willing I may still have time to positively influence Patroclus before he turns into you." She looked in the doorway behind Hector, expecting to see the youth's face brighten up as he laughed at Achilles' misfortune. But he did not.

"Where is he, Achilles?"

Achilles looked away from his mother's eyes and sighed. "I'm afraid that I've come with bad news…"

Xxxxxxxxxx

Patroclus swung his sword out at his cousin, watching as Achilles rose his own and blocked it. The great warrior pushed forward a little, the youth trying to block it to the best of his ability.

"Never hesitate." Achilles told him.

The youth had heard these words before, and he took those words to heart as he swung out at Achilles again. As he exchanged blows with his cousin, Patroclus found that he was feeling warmer than he normally did when he sparred with the great warrior.

Achilles watched his cousin carefully as he blocked one of his swings. The young warrior was beginning to slow down, his breath coming heavily as moisture began to appear on his brow. "Patroclus, are you all right?" he asked with concern.

Patroclus nodded, swinging his sword out sloppier than he normally did. He was unsure of why his arm felt like it was going to give out on him. Why was it so hot?

He backed up when he saw Achilles' sword point coming at him, but then he stumbled a little over his feet. That had not happened since he had first begun training with the great warrior years ago. What was happening to him? The sun's heat had never felt so intense before…

Suddenly, he gasped when his head suddenly felt as if flames surrounded it, and his vision began to blur as tears began to form in his eyes. He hardly felt the hilt of his sword slip from between his fingers…

"Patroclus!" Achilles shouted, dropping his sword as well as he rushed toward the youth.

Patroclus heard his name being called, but the sound only made his head throb worse. A few of the tears feel from his eyes as he closed them as he suddenly had the feeling that he was falling…

Achilles was horrified when he saw that Patroclus was falling toward the hard ground. The great warrior put on a burst of speed and reached his cousin, catching him in his arms before he could fall too far. "Patroclus!" he cried anxiously. "Patroclus!"

Patroclus felt the great warrior's arms around him, but he did not open his eyes. "Achilles…" he tried to call back. "Achilles…"

Why couldn't his cousin hear him?

"Patroclus!"

The youth heard his name, but why couldn't Achilles hear his? He opened his mouth to try to say his cousin's name again, but a nauseating feeling came over him as he lost hold of his consciousness…

"Patroclus!"

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Thetis covered her mouth in horror as her face paled when Achilles was finished telling his tale. "He has been captured?" she asked in a whisper. "And you only have six days remaining to find him? What happens if you do not find him in that time?"

"Yes." Achilles answered heavily as he ran his hand through his golden hair, an action that he did only when he was stressed. "We wound up here because we were misled. I do not know what will happen to him if we don't arrive in six days. I can only presume the worst…"

"The messenger must have panicked after Achilles broke his arm." Hector added. "I do not think that he gave us the wrong directions purposefully."

"You broke a man's arm, did you?" Thetis muttered, casting a disapproving glance to her son. Achilles gave her an exasperated gesture in return, and the goddess sighed. "Arnuwandas is the new king of the Hittite people, am I correct? I will have to fine one of my maps to guide you back in the right direction. But I still have the tea going…"

"I will watch the tea for you while you look for the maps if you would like, my lady." Hector said as he got to his feet.

"Why, thank you for your kind offer, Prince Hector." Thetis replied with a smile.

Hector returned it. "Please, just call me Hector."

Thetis nodded. "All right then, Hector. Your help would be much appreciated."

The prince nodded and headed to the kitchen. The goddess watched him leave with a smile on her face, then turned to her son. "I like your friend, Achilles." Thetis told him. "As I said before, you could really learn something from him."

"Mother!" Achilles said in an exasperated way. How could his own mother like the prince of Troy, his enemy?

Thetis gave him a smile, her eyes shining as she left the room. Achilles sighed as he found himself alone. The great warrior leaned back against the chair that he was sitting in, closing his eyes as he thought about one thing.

"Patroclus… please hold on. I will be there as soon as I can. Patroclus…"

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"Achilles… Achilles…"

Paris gasped as he opened his eyes, realizing that he must have fallen asleep even though he had not wanted to. He rubbed his tired eyes as the morning light hit them, taking a deep breath as he tried to wake himself a little.

"Achilles…"

The young prince looked down on the youth before him when he heard the great warrior's name being called again, and he saw that Patroclus had pushed off both of the blankets that had once been covering him. He was stirring in his fevered sleep as he called out for his cousin.

"Please, Patroclus. Wake up." Paris muttered, placing his hand lightly on the young warrior's shoulder. "You are having a dream."

But he did not wake. Instead, Patroclus turned away from him when he felt his touch, wincing. Paris sighed, realizing that the great warrior's cousin must have thought that he was one of the men that had captured them.

Suddenly, the prince turned his head to look over his shoulder when the loud sound of the bolt sliding out of place reached his ears and when the door that lead below deck opened. He watched as two men entered, squinting in the bright light. "We are going to be approaching Hattusas tomorrow morning." Telipinus said as he looked down on Paris. "We wanted to alert you so that you would be prepared to greet King Arnuwandas."

"Hattusas?" Paris asked. "I thought that the Hittite people had dwindled out of existence. What does your king want with us?"

The larger soldier's face darkened angrily. "Your questions will be answered when we arrive." Mursilis answered. Then, his eyes landed on Patroclus, who had calmed slightly. "He is still asleep. I will wake him…"

Paris put himself between Patroclus and the large soldier, hoping to provide some protection. "No! Let him be!" the prince begged. "He is ill…"

"Oh is he? Well, that makes all the difference." Mursilis muttered, pushing Paris out of the way as he approached Patroclus with Telipinus. The young prince of Troy watched with horror as the larger soldier grabbed onto the youth's hair and pulled him forcefully to his knees. Then, both soldiers began to land kicks on his side, stomach, and back, laughing a little as he whimpered in protest.

"What have I done?" Paris thought sadly as he watched them torment Achilles' cousin with mounting fear, closing his eyes and turning away when he heard Patroclus' pained cries.

Then, the commanders dropped him back to the wooden floor, the youth curling in on himself in a small effort to try to protect himself from any more attacks that might come his way. "Get well soon, boy." Mursilis taunted with a laugh as he walked away from him. Telipinus followed, but stopped by Paris.

"We will return later to check on you." he said, kicking the prince in the side and pushing him into the side of the ship before following the larger soldier back up the stairs that led above deck. The sound of the bolt being slid back into place echoed around the small area.

Paris then moved over to Patroclus' side, his hand on his own throbbing head. "Patroclus, are you all right?" he asked anxiously. "It's all right. You are safe now."

Hearing his name, Patroclus' eyes fluttered open as he looked up at the prince. But then, he gasped and winced when his beaten body protested to the movements. The prince put his hand on the youth's shoulder to steady him.

"I am so sorry, Patroclus." Paris muttered. "I should not have told them that you were ill."

Patroclus looked back up at him, trying to give him the most reassuring smile that he could muster. "It's not your fault…" he said in a voice hardly above a whisper, tears still falling from his eyes because of the pain. "You didn't… know… what would happen…"

Paris sighed, knowing that he would have to do better at watching over the youth than he had been. "How are you feeling?" he wondered.

"As if I had been trampled by a horse." Patroclus replied with slight humor in his voice.

The prince smiled a little, but then it vanished when Patroclus began to cough. But he was pleased to hear that it wasn't as forceful as it had been the previous day. The little sleep that he had gotten must have done him some good… He set his hand on the youth's brow, seeing that his fever had at least lowered a little.

"It seems that you are doing better today." Paris commented with relief. "At least a little…"

Patroclus nodded in agreement, feeling better than he had been aside from the beating that he had just received. "Thank you for your help, Paris."

Paris smiled, trying to hide the fear that he felt about their approach to Hattusas… and trying to push back the wonder if they were going to survive.

A/N: Thanks for reading! As I said before, I hope that the italics show up for Patroclus' dream. If they don't… I blame the computer. Lol! Thanks again! Your reviews are much appreciated! Talk to you later!