AN: Hey guys, thank you so much for the love and support on the story. I hope you guys are well. I just wanted to address a few comments. One talked about all stories have tragedies, so either Brisēís will give up Achilles or Apollo will force her to tell him, who knows, which will it be? Also, another comment said I should copy Anaklusmos14's chapters. If I could, I still wouldn't because I want to make it a little bit different, and also my story is branching off soon. They also said I was updating regularly, thank you so much. I am trying to update as much as I can during the summer, as during the school year I probably won't be updating as much. Also, if I didn't mention your review, I'm sorry, and I take every comment into account and I appreciate that you took the time to let me know your thoughts, and I thank you for that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
Recap:
After the Amazons finished loading all the gold onto their ship, Penthesilea offered her hand, which Perseus took with a smile on his face.
"Pleasure doing business with you Perseus," the queen said smiling.
"The pleasure is mine," Perseus said with a smirk.
The Amazonian Queen raised her eyebrow before heading back to her ship. As the plank was put back on their boat, Penthesilea gave a departing wave to Perseus, which he happily returned, watching the Amazons sail away with half of Agamemnon's war prizes.
Present:
Despite Perseus preventing the Amazons from entering the conflict, the Greeks were in a world of hurt. On the last day of Prince Hector's funeral, a deadly plague struck the Greek camp, killing many men while leaving more unable to fight. This plague was Apollo's doing, as it was in his domains and was obviously unhappy with Achilles' treatment of Hector's body.
Despite numerous offerings and prayers to the sun god, the illness still ran rampant in the Greek camp. Finally, Perseus and Achilles were able to gather enough healthy men to try and take the city before the plague got even worse.
The two sons of Thetis along with Odysseus and Ajax led a force of around five hundred Greeks against a defending force of around a few hundred Trojans. However, before the battle could begin, a man stepped out from the Trojan ranks. Everyone knew he was a god.
Perseus and Achilles left the Greek ranks and went to meet the god. Unfortunately, the look on the god's face was anything but friendly.
"I am Scamander, son of Oceanus and Tethys, god of the Scamander river. You two have choked my waters with all the blood you have spilled, and for that, you must die!"
Perseus' eyes narrowed, "You can't be here. You are an immortal, and are forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs. Now begone."
The river god glared at the demigod. "Perhaps, but not before I take my revenge on you for poisoning my river!"
Perseus growled and stepped forward. "You want revenge?" he asked the god. "Then take it! I am Perseus, son of Thetis, and I have killed more Trojans than any other Greek warrior, and have placed more bodies in your river than anyone else. If you want vengeance, then kill me."
Achilles' eyes widened. "Brother, we can fight him together."
Perseus shook his head. "No brother, you must lead our men, I'll deal with this lowly river god."
Scamander scowled. "I'll show you lowly, puny demigod. I will gladly let my river run red with your blood once I'm finished with you!"
"Go!" Perseus shouted at his brother as he drew his blade from his sheath and took his shield off of his back and got into a fighting position.
Right after Achilles left, Scamander charged. He made a sword out of water and hardened it into ice, bringing it down in a powerful overhead strike. However, Perseus blocked the strike, leaving him stunned. That second of hesitation allowed Perseus to go on the offensive, whirling like a hurricane, raining down strikes that the god was defensively blocked. Eventually, Perseus found an opening and kicked him in the chest, knocking the god back a few feet.
Scamander was shocked. No mere mortal had ever stood up to him, but the look on Perseus' face showed he wasn't giving up. Scamander attacked again, this time using his godly speed to his advantage. It was hard to keep up with, but Perseus blocked strike after strike, even landing a few blows to the god's chest plate.
Scamander was getting frustrated, and he began telegraphing his strikes more, allowing Perseus to block them more easily, causing the god to get more upset. Eventually, he tried to end Perseus with a vicious stab that would have gone straight through the demigod's heart.
However, as he went forward, Perseus stepped to the side and bashed the god in the face with his shield. As he raised his sword to send the god to Tartarus, he was blasted by a stream of water. He was momentarily stunned, but when he came to his senses, he deflected the water with his will, causing the god to look at him in shock.
"Who are you? No legacy of Thetis has that kind of power?"
Perseus growled while picking up his weapons. "You want revenge? Come get it!" With that, Perseus charged at the god, causing Scamander to block. Eventually, Scamander went on the offensive, trying to find a weakness in the demigod's form, but Perseus' technique was nearly flawless. Every opening was quickly closed, and he couldn't get inside the guard of the demigod even if he tried.
Scamander was furious. He pushed the demigod back, and was about to send a pulse of godly energy when he was pushed back by a spear through his shoulder. He looked up to find a piercing pair of grey eyes. "Lady Athena," he stuttered.
"You dare interfere in a mortal conflict? Leave now, or I will cast you into Tartarus myself," she ordered as she pulled out another spear. The river god quickly dissolved into mist without a word, leaving Perseus in shock at the sudden appearance of the wisdom goddess.
Perseus bowed, before addressing the deity. "Lady Athena," he said respectively.
"Hello Perseus," Athena replied with a tight smile. "My half-brother was also fighting for the Trojans when I noticed that slimy river god. The gods supporting Troy are getting anxious, as they know Troy is on its last legs, even with Apollo's interference with the plague. Finish the Trojans, and you and your brother will be in Greek tales for eternity."
Perseus' eyes narrowed before he nodded. "It would be my pleasure, Lady Athena."
Athena nodded towards the demigod before she too vanished from the battlefield.
Perseus then looked towards the battlefield and saw his comrades were pushing the Trojans back. He strapped his shield to his back and rushed towards the left flank of the Trojan army. The first Trojan to notice the demigod didn't notice quick enough, as he wasn't able to let anyone know and quickly fell to Perseus' blade. Perseus then rushed into the rest of the soldiers, cutting two more down with ease.
He pulled the shield from his back and blocked an attack from behind. He had never felt so aware, his senses never felt as sharp as they did currently. It was as if he could even hear a Trojan breathing from across the battlefield.
As the Trojans rushed him, he cut each soldier down with ease. He ducked and slashed and stabbed with his sword and shield, killing tens of men within minutes. He blocked another Trojan blade with his shield, before ducking another blade which hit the other Trojan, killing him. Perseus then stabbed the Trojan in the stomach and went onto the next Trojan.
Perseus was unstoppable. Every Trojan that went against him wound up dead. Perseus charged again at another Trojan, catching him off guard and stabbing him through the throat with his spear, and launching it into the chest of another soldier.
Perseus stood up, blood all over the battlefield, and the Trojans backed up, seeing many of their comrades get slaughtered by one singular Greek. The lapse gave Perseus a chance to look across the battlefield. He saw his Greek comrades continue to push the Trojans back, a multitude of breaks in the Trojan lines causing the men to enter a state of disarray, and the Greeks hit those spots hard, causing many deaths.
As he glanced around, he saw a flash of gold atop the Trojan wall. He saw the Trojan Prince, Paris, standing with a golden bow in his hands. However, what he saw next to the prince made his heart stop.
Next to the prince was a golden-armored man with blonde hair. Perseus cursed the Olympians for their continued involvement in the war, as while most couldn't see the sun god, Perseus could see him as clear as the sun itself.
He followed the gaze of the Prince, and saw its true target, and Perseus' heart stopped again. He saw his brother fighting multiple Trojans and still coming out on top, his spear skills beyond what any mortal had ever seen.
Perseus dropped his weapons and shield and raced towards his brother, calling out his name. Time slowed as Perseus ran to his brother, who was fighting off multiple Trojans. The Prince let the arrow fly, slowly making its way towards its target.
As Perseus got to his brother, Achilles jerked and fell over, an arrow sticking out of his left ankle. Perseus rushed over to his brother, whose life was nearing its end. "Hold on brother, I'll get some nectar and ambrosia"
He tried to stand, but Achilles grasped his forearm. "No brother, it is my time. Remember what the prophet Calchas said."
Perseus looked at his brother, tears forming in his eyes. "It was supposed to be me! Not you! I can't lose you!"
Achilles looked confidently at his brother. "No brother. I am sorry that I am dying now, but shit happens. You must life. Live your life and eventually, we will meet again and you will tell me of your amazing life and a wife that you will eventually have. Promise me brother."
Perseus looked at his brother, wanting to say no more than anything. He didn't notice the Myrmidon army protecting them as a brother mourned for his brother, friend, and ally.
"I won't brother, I promise. However, Troy must burn for this," Perseus said angrily.
Achilles smiled, then grunted as the pain racked his body. "Good. Finish what we started, and show the Trojans why they feared the sons of Thetis."
Perseus smiled as he gripped the forearm of his brother as he lay, dying.
"I have no regrets brother. I am grateful for that fateful day on the beach when I first met you, and my life has been exponentially better with you in it. Now, go live your life. Take my armor and shield so we continue to fight together, forever. I love you."
Perseus nodded slowly as he felt his brother go faint in his grip, and watched him close his eyes for the last time. Any grief he had was quickly replaced with rage. Perseus carefully laid his brother's body on the ground as he picked up Achilles' sword and shield. His eyes went to Eudoros. "No one touches his body until I return," he snapped.
"Of course my lord," Eudoros said quickly, seeing the rage in the sea-green eyes of the demigod.
Perseus walked through the stunned Greeks as he looked at the battlefield in front of him. He saw the Trojans battling the Greeks, but when he looked up at the city walls, he almost snapped. He saw Paris' pale white face and saw Apollo smiling at the death he had just caused. However, when Perseus' eyes bared into the god, Apollo's smile fell, and as the stare grew more intense, Apollo flinched, then disappeared.
Perseus' rage grew, as he rushed forward into the Trojan lines. He wielded his brother's blade, not just as a weapon, but as an arc of destruction. He hacked and sliced and stabbed and slashed with his brother's blade, causing Trojan after Trojan to fall to it. Bodies kept piling up as Perseus kept going, his rage growing with each death.
However, he was too lost in his own rage that he failed to notice the whipping rain and winds that came onto the battlefield. The Trojans began to flee, but Perseus pursued them. Eventually, the rain got so intense that the Trojan army could barely see ten feet in front of them and the retreat horn sounded.
However, Perseus surged forward, trapping a hundred Trojans in front of the walls as the gate closed, denying him access to the city.
One brave Trojan vanished into the rain, trying to get back to his city, but seconds later, his head came back to the rest of the army, causing them to back away a few feet.
Immediately after that, Perseus rushed forwards, not allowing the Trojans a second to prepare, and began decimating the small force outside the gate. The Trojan soldiers inside the city could only listen as screams of their fellow comrades filled the sky as the grieving prince sliced through them. The Trojans could only listen, as they didn't want to risk leaving the city and the archers couldn't support them, as the rain was too thick to see through.
Eventually the rain stopped, allowing the Trojans to see what was left of their army. When they looked, they were horrified. Each man was dead, and an army of Greeks stood behind an enraged son of Thetis as he picked up a severed head and scanned the wall.
Once he found his target, he launched the head, and it bounced off the chest of the pale-faced Prince.
"For killing my brother, you have condemned Troy to its death. Troy will be burned to ashes, and all that will be left of your people will be charred remains and the tale of how an idiot Prince doomed his father's kingdom for the love of one slut. Enjoy living Trojans, as your final days are coming to a close," Perseus bellowed.
The Trojans raised the bows to attack, but Perseus stomped his foot, causing puddles of water to emerge from the surface. He waved his arms, causing the water to sweep across the wall, knocking out every bowmen on the wall. When the Trojans recovered, the Greeks were already out of range.
Perseus made his way to his brother's body and quickly dissolved into mist, ending up on the beach, where he fell to his knees, his brother's body still in his arms. With that, the son of Thetis broke down, the grief too much for him. He sat on the sand, weeping into his brother's body when he felt the warm embrace of his mother. He wasn't sure how long they stayed in that position, but he didn't care.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "It should have been me, not him."
The next thing he felt was a stinging pain on his cheek. He looked up to see his mother staring at him angrily.
"Don't you dare say something so foolish. I've lost one son today, and I won't lose another. We will grieve properly, as he would have hit you if you said anything like that. He loved you more than anyone else."
Perseus nodded, but the pain in his heart was still there.
"Don't give your life away for a quest of vengeance. I had two perfect sons. Unfortunately, one is gone now, but the other must not throw his life away in his grief. We will grieve together, then you will lead your men and burn Troy to the ground in honor of your brother."
Perseus slowly pulled away from his mother, his emotions more in check. "I will mother, I swear. I will burn Troy to the ground and will kill that cowardly prince personally. That cursed son god will also pay."
Thetis nodded, anger burning in her eyes for the actions of the god.
"Stay here, son. Don't leave until you are ready. Keep grieving as long as you need to. When you are ready, return to camp and get ready to burn Troy to the ground. When the war is over, we will have a proper funeral for your brother and we will discuss your next steps in life. Survive, not just for me, but for your brother," Thetis said softly before planting a kiss on her son's head before turning into mist.
Perseus sat back down on the beach and saw his brother's armor. He took his mother's messages into account and stripped off every piece of his armor and replaced it with his brother's. Once he wore his brother's armor, he sat back down on the beach, grieving for his brother and dreaming of was to kill Paris.
AN: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much for your reviews and your thoughts about the Apollo situation. I have an idea for it, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Anyways, in the future, I want Thalia to be close with Perseus, but it will be Perzoe. Also, there is going to be an OC child of the prophecy, a son of Poseidon. I want Thalia to be older than the kid, so should I change Thalia's age so she doesn't turn into a tree? I want to make Thalia lieutenant of the Hunters, but maybe Perseus will save her? Do you know what I mean? Anyway, please let me know. Thanks so much and please review!