Chapter 25
Greetings viewers! I hope that all of you enjoyed the previous chapter!
I would like to thank Nice for your continued support!
Responding to Disco's review, yes, the previous chapter definitely was one of the darkest I have written but there was no other way in which I could have conveyed Achilles' grief. It was a bit gory but it portrayed the intensity of the previous chapter. Glad you liked it! Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank the guest reviewer who said they liked the story for your continued support!
In response to SonGoku76's review, well I am glad that I sort of muddled the heroes and villains in the previous chapter because that's what I set out to do. Thank you! Wow, I am really glad that you liked that it was based on the reader's perspective! I know it's important to have proper heroes and villains but sometimes, it's fun to mix it up and allow the audience to choose themselves! Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank the emoji using guest reviewer for your continued support!
I would like to thank John for your continued support!
In response to the guest reviewer (Itsyaboi325), first of, welcome back to fanfiction! I am thrilled you came back to binge this story and even happier that you liked it so much! Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to Paulsson's review, yes, I believe that Percy should at the very least, be as strong as Wonder Woman because their biology is kind of similar. He will probably not be as strong as Superman, which is not required anyway, but he will definitely not be weak. He would be one of the strongest members of the Justice League for sure. That's mainly because I don't want to write an underpowered Percy. However, he will definitely not be as overpowered as he is in this trilogy.
It may be a bit of a challenge to juggle how strong and how vulnerable he is because I don't want him to be overpowered because you already will have Superman. And I most probably won't give him invulnerability. As cool as that would be, it wouldn't be original. I want that story to be very different from this trilogy to give the readers a different experience. Glad you liked the story! Thank you for your support!
I would like to thank the Guest reviewer who allowed me to use the line for your continued support!
In response to the guest reviewer (the one who reviews every chapter), well I want my readers to know what they're getting into instead of just dropping it on them. Yes, the punishment is harsh from one perspective, but it's also justified from another perspective.
Percy will have a unique role, you will watch :) Percy was being a bit too hard on himself but honestly, he has to take some of the blame because he knew better more than anybody else what Achilles was capable of. But again, from another perspective, it doesn't seem like he is to blame. Well the little interaction with Thetis was there to give a small break from the gore and violence. Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to PowerSeeker7545's review, I am glad you liked the Infinity War quote! Thank you for correcting me! I am sorry for making such a basic mistake but I immediately made the correction! Thank you for your support!
In response to NiHaR OP's review, okay, they will not be turning Athena into a near-useless goddess because that would be very bad for this continuity. And besides, if you think about it, she didn't participate in this war on the side of the Greeks so they don't really have any reason to degrade her. Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank HellRaiderS for your continued support!
In response to Yohnos' review, yes, the nuke option is always a possibility. Who is this immortal? It can be anyone honestly. But I will drop a hint. It's someone from this pantheon because I won't be incorporating other pantheons in this trilogy because that would be too messy. Don't worry, you will find out soon enough :) Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to Ryan Fowler's review, I am glad you liked the way the previous chapter was assembled! Percy would certainly not be very pleased when that happens, that's true :) Thank you for your continued support!
In response to Gibson1014's review, that would be a good short series. That is, assuming Achilles stays alive :) Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to MegaRayquaza8121's review, glad to have you back! I hope you enjoy the rest of this trilogy! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to PyromaniacDuck's review, Percy's opinion on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? That would be something interesting to work with. Thank you for your support!
Responding to Perseus Foster's review, It's great that you think that way about Percy because from that perspective he does seem like a bit of a douchebag. Of course, he is an immortal who is partially mortal rather than the other way round. Even though he's sympathetic to the plight of mortals, he sees them more as lesser beings who need to be protected and guided. And he definitely does not see himself as a mortal even though he has a part of a mortal soul.
Also, while he doesn't have the pride or ego of an immortal, he definitely has the confidence of one. Achilles did step out of his limits but I guess what he did could be justified in a way. Again, it all boils down to perspective which is why I thoroughly enjoyed writing the previous chapter! Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to theonedevin's review, hard to say whether Achilles will die or stay alive but I don't want to spoil anything so I will stay silent. But let me tell you it could swing either way. Thank you for your continued support!
In response to OkBoomer147's review, honestly speaking, I never even considered a plot where Achilles turns to the other side because that would undermine what is fundamental to this trilogy – the concept of family.
While it would be a dark and innovative take, I don't know if it would really be that great because it wouldn't gel well with the rest of this trilogy. And of course, everyone likes a happy ending :) Yes, there is going to be a sequel to this story which will be the final installment of this trilogy. It will deal with the events from the Lightning Thief to the Last Olympian. However, it will deviate very significantly from canon in more ways than one. In between, this story and the next one, there will also be a few one-shots. Thank you for your continued support!
In response to IceFire99's review, yes, the previous chapter was very different from the others mainly in the way I planned and wrote the chapter. And I am glad you liked the way it worked! Thank you for your compliments! But honestly, you deserve some of the credit too for being such a supportive and motivating reviewer! And your insights have always been very useful! I know, it feels a lot lesser than forty weeks but it actually has been that long. So, thank you for your continued support!
Finally, coming to Gabe1234's review, ok I have a wild suggestion here, it may sound a bit crazy but here me out - What if I just bin Aquaman's character? I mean I thought about this a little and I realised that if Percy is going to get involved and if he is going to be as strong as Wonder Woman, what's the point of having Aquaman in the fanfiction? You are right, it may be a bit harder to have DCEU in PJO canon but even the other war round is not easy to incorporate without glaring plot holes and a total lack of continuity. Maybe Percy and Diana could be self-exiled?
Yes, Achilles sort of tore through them. That was just to highlight how he turns into a killing machine if he is full of rage. A primordial, now that sounds a bit far-fetched. I mean, sure there could be the possibility but aren't protogenoi too powerful to be subtle. At least by themselves? Maybe it could be someone else. Someone unexpected :)
Glad you enjoyed the fight between Hector and Achilles. I tried to make it as fun as possible for a non-divine conflict. I bet you didn't see Achilles' exile coming. That was neatly set up for the rest of this story, you will see :) Well, since the gods are kinder and more benevolent in this universe, it is a bit hard to prolong their involvement in this war without having them realise the error of their ways. Yeah that talk with Thetis was required to provide a breather after that intense chapter.
Okay, you have been reading this story from the very beginning so even without knowing what you are exactly insinuating I can tell that you may be partially right. But whatever it is, you will find out soon enough. If not in this story then definitely in the next one! I know that the previous chapter was dark but I guess the gravity and effect of the chapter would not be felt if I tried to do it in any other way. Glad you liked it! Thank you for your continued support!
Warnings for this chapter: Some action and some mild gore. Nothing as dark as the previous chapter though.
All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.
It had almost been a year since Achilles' talk with his mother and he had to admit, the talk with her had really been an eye-opening event. It had given him something concrete to work towards and that was - helping others.
The situation of the Trojans had drastically deteriorated in the past year. The city had completely run out of supplies for civilians a few months ago as all the remaining miniscule amount of supplies were now being wholly directed towards the Trojan army.
It had seemed imminent that hundreds of thousands of people would starve to death because the foolish Trojan royal family and the commanders refused to even entertain the notion of surrendering, despite him and Nestor extending that option more than a dozen times.
So, a few months ago, to at least save as many civilians as possible, he and Briseis had come up with a plan to use one of the Trojans' underground supply tunnels to safely and inconspicuously rescue civilians.
Of course, he had told the other Achaean commanders that he was secretly evaluating a way of using the tunnels to launch an attack on the Trojans and had been conducting this covert operation along with only Briseis and Cassandra.
He had taken both of them with the excuse that it was a responsibility handed to him by the General, which wasn't completely untrue. But in reality, he had brought them along so that their excellent understanding and navigation of the tunnels would help him evacuate the Trojan citizens.
Unsurprisingly, both of them and even the people of the mortal towns that used to supply the Trojans had readily agreed to help them. And for six months, they had secretly evacuated hundreds of people everyday.
The Trojan generals and the royal family however, didn't seem to notice this absence and they simply brushed it aside as people dying of hunger. And Achilles could not believe how callous the Trojan royal family had become.
Once upon a time, King Priam was renowned for his immense desire to protect his subjects but now, it looked like he was just a puppet in the hands of his second son. Achilles' thoughts were interrupted by Briseis surfacing from one of the tunnels.
"That was much longer than expected." Achilles mused.
"I happened to cross paths with a few people who in hindsight, I should not have met." Briseis stated with a wince.
While Hector's death had temporarily caused a very big rift in their relationship , they had gotten over it after his earnest and heartfelt apology to her. And in that moment, Briseis could see that under all his rage and power, Achilles had a gentle and noble soul. Besides, Hector's own actions had been anything but ethical and Achilles was already serving his punishment.
"Why? What's the matter? Did someone catch you?" Achilles worriedly questioned and his fears only compounded when Briseis nodded her head.
"Who was it?" Achilles asked.
"Aeneas." Briseis revealed a bit hesitantly without meeting Achilles' eyes and was visibly surprised when Achilles breathed a sigh of relief.
"That is fine. Aeneas is the only reasonable one left in Troy. At least he's the only one who's still batting for a surrender so that this bloodshed can end. I was worried that you ran into Paris." Achilles stated but what he didn't notice was that Briseis flinched when he took Paris' name.
"Yes, he did not give me too much trouble. He was not very pleased but he let me go. But I don't think we can continue doing this. He told me that some of the generals are starting to notice that people are going missing. We are already using one of the oldest tunnels that was abandoned long before this war. It will only prolong the war if the Trojans find out about this." Briseis grimly stated.
"But we have only evacuated a fifth of the population. We cannot just let the others starve." Achilles argued.
"If Paris finds out about this, he will start killing his own citizens by labelling them as traitors. Do you want that to happen?" Briseis shot back.
"What is wrong with him? What sort of a prince kills his own citizens for trying to live?" Achilles questioned with an aghast expression on his face.
"He is not the same man he once was Achilles. Once upon a time, he was a very kind and honourable prince but now, he has turned into a cruel, vain and arrogant barbarian. That is what this war has done to people." Briseis stated with a disappointed sigh.
"I assume Aeneas told you about Paris." Achilles stated and Briseis looked at him with a small bit of shock.
"How did you find out?" Briseis asked, with a bit of a stutter.
"Well you told me that you ran into Aeneas and from the way you spoke about Paris, I gathered that you must have had a conversation with Aeneas. Must have been nice to talk to a family member after so many years." Achilles stated with a small smile.
"It was. Until then, I didn't know how much I had missed them." Briseis stated with a distant look in her eyes.
"Briseis, you don't need to stay with me. I will find a way to reunite you with your family. Besides, that would probably be better for you anyway. I am cursed to roam around like a nomad until my exile is overturned. And that may take years, decades, centuries or even millennia. I have seen many of my close comrades dying but I don't know if I will ever be able to live through your death after spending a lifetime with you." Achilles honestly confessed. He had been wanting to say this for almost a year.
"What are you saying Achilles? Are you asking me to desert you just because you are not a member of the House of Poseidon anymore. So what if you are a nomad. I will roam the earth with you until my last breath." Briseis stated after reaching out and holding his hand.
"Monsters will come after me Briseis. Enemies of the gods. Enemies of my uncle. I will have to hunt all of them and in turn, even they will try to hunt me down. It will never be a stable life. We can never settle down. Not until I serve my punishment and I don't know how long it will last. Assuming that we find a way to save your immediate family, this means that you will never be able to visit those close to you as well because then, we will be putting even them in danger. Tell me, is this the life you want to live? Because this is all I can give you." Achilles stated with a resigned sigh.
"Achilles, let this war end. After that, we will have plenty of time to plan the future." Briseis calmly stated while stroking his cheek.
However, Achilles could see a hint of nervousness and fear in her eyes but he brushed it aside. These were uncertain times. She was bound to be a bit afraid.
Achilles tensely nodded at her but did not complain. She was right. Now was not the time to have this discussion. They had an entire city full of innocent civilians to save and he also had to eliminate a certain cruel prince who did not deserve his title.
Achilles was in the battlefield for what he hoped would be the last time. He had come here because there were reports that Paris would be leading one final charge against the Achaeans and Achilles was here to defeat Paris and end this war for good.
That did not mean that he was going to kill Paris. He would only capture Paris and force the Trojans to surrender, thus bringing this dreaded war to an end. And for that, he had donned the armour gifted to him by his uncle.
"Sire, our scouts say that the Trojans are ready. The attack can be expected at any moment." Eudoros stated from next to him.
"Alright. Eudoros, one more thing, once this war ends, I want you and the remaining Myrmidons to relocate to Pylos. I have spoken to King Nestor and he has very graciously agreed to resettle all of you. That way, you may at least live the rest of your life peacefully." Achilles stated.
"But sire, how can we just desert you?" Eudoros questioned.
"You will not be deserting me Eudoros. This is my choice. All of you have served me with unwavering loyalty and have steadfastly stood behind me regardless of whether I was right or wrong. But no more. I have to face my own future." Achilles stated with a weary sigh.
"Sire, then at least let me join you. Even if I die in your service, it would be an honour." Eudoros stated after kneeling. He was surprised when Achilles placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Rise Eudoros. You Eudoros have already done me a great service. Your loyalty is unquestionable. But my friend, you don't deserve to suffer for my mistakes. The road ahead is very difficult for me but I am certain that I will find a way. So be free and live your life. Don't let the chains of conflict ever wrap themselves around you again." Achilles stated with a poignant smile.
Before, Eudoros could reply, they heard the footsteps of the charging Trojans. They nodded at each other before wearing their horse plume helmets. The battle had begun.
"MYRMIDONS! CHARGE!" Achilles bellowed and charged at the Trojan ranks. Instantly, the Myrmidons and even the other Achaean contingents charged behind him to meet the Trojans. But Achilles' focus was only on a certain Prince of Troy.
A few moments later, the two sides clashed in the middle of the battlefield in a clash that would be forever immortalized in the history books. And Achilles found himself crossing blades with Paris.
"This war needs to end Paris. Enough people have died already. It's not too late to surrender even now." Achilles offered. He was surprised that Paris had enough strength to even lock blades with him.
"Never. For what you did to us, I will not stop until all of you are dead. Even if you capture, torture or amputate me, I will kill myself before allowing you to use me as bargaining chip to force my people to surrender." Paris declared with his eyes glazed over.
"What kind of a monster are you? Don't you see the suffering around us. People are dying everyday." Achilles roared and tried to overpower Paris but he was surprised once again when Paris held his ground.
"You are the last person who should be talking about suffering. What a monster I am? Look at yourself. You are a monster more horrible than I could ever be." Paris shouted and pushed Achilles back.
Realising that he could not reason with Paris anymore, Achilles head-butted him and sent the prince skidding backwards. He then dashed towards Paris and brought his sword down in a overhead strike but Paris blocked it before using both his legs to kick Achilles away.
Achilles used his shield to come to a halt and barely managed to deflect Paris' horizontal slash with his sword and then attempted to slam his shield into Paris' side. But to his surprise, Paris agilely blocked it with his own shield, the clash causing bright yellow sparks to temporarily erupt.
Achilles was then hit by an unusually powerful right hook that caused him some temporary disorientation. Not wasting any time, Paris struck Achilles with a series of blows but like his brother before him, he found out the hard way that his blade just recoiled and bounced off Achilles' skin.
Eventually, Achilles overcame his disorientation and started to block and evade Paris' strikes, allowing the Prince to tire himself before launching an offense with a slash on Paris' shoulder. And instantly, Achilles burst into a ferocious barrage of attacks that caught Paris off-guard.
Paris' nose was broken with a loud crunch courtesy of a left hook from Achilles. He then had the air knocked out of his lungs when Achilles slammed his knee into Paris' chest, leaving him kneeling and gasping for breath.
"I didn't want to end it this way but I cannot allow you to willingly sacrifice more people. Goodbye Prince Paris." Achilles soberly stated and brought his sword to give Paris a quick and painless death but he was blindsided by a spear hurled at his chest.
The sheer power behind the throw caused a scratch on Achilles' armour and sent him flying dozens of feet backwards where he tumbled to a rough landing. A tall, bearded man covered in teal blue armour and wielding a spear materialised a few feet in front of Achilles, away from all the fighting. Immediately, he knew that this man was an immortal. And he proved to be right.
"Son of Thetis, I am Scamander, the son of Oceanus and Thetis and the lord of the river Scamander. You have polluted my river with the bodies of those you have horrendously killed and for your travesty, you have to die." Scamander shouted and flung his shining Celestial Bronze spear at Achilles' head.
Achilles covered his head behind his shield and braced for impact but it never came. He peeked out to see what had happened and lo and behold his uncle, the great Perseus Diaboles was standing in front of him and was casually holding the river god's spear between the index and middle fingers of his left hand, with the blade only a few inches from his face.
"Divine interference is forbidden. You will be punished for this." Percy stated in a low, authoritative tone.
"I don't take orders from you boy. Do you know who is backing me?" Scamander threatened. Instead of feeling threatened, a curious twinkle made its way to Percy's eyes.
"No but, I would very much like to know who is backing you. You see, I am very displeased with your master. Play nice and I will grant you amnesty." Percy calmly offered.
"Ha! How foolish and ignorant of you? I am nobody's servant. I only have a very helpful friend. And now, I will first smash you to a pulp before killing the exiled brat behind you." Scamander overzealously proclaimed.
Less than a second later, he cried out in pain when his own spear was embedded into his shoulder. In the blink of an eye, Percy had crossed the distance between them and buried his fist into the river god's gut, reeling him in.
"That exiled brat is my nephew. I will not tolerate some foolish insecure non-entity insulting my nephew." Percy declared with a scowl before sending the god flying with an elbow to his head.
"Thank you for your help Lord Perseus." Achilles stated with a bow but he didn't even try to hide the beaming smile on his face.
"It isn't necessary to thank me. I only did what I was supposed to do." Percy stoically stated but a ghost of a smile could be seen on his face.
He had seen and was very proud of the transformation in Achilles' life. The way his nephew had dedicated himself to save the lives of other people gave him hope that in a few years, he could bring Achilles back to Atlantis. Of course, he could not tell that to Achilles now lest all this development was undone.
"So, is it the same immortal who powered Paris then who is backing this river god now?" Achilles questioned.
"Seems like it. Focus on the matter at hand. You were right in targeting Paris. He is the key to ending this war." Percy couldn't help but drop one last piece of information before disappearing in a blue mist. With much needed confirmation, Achilles sprinted back towards the area where Paris was to finish what he had started.
A few hundred feet away from Achilles' last position, Scamander had barely registered Percy's previous attack when Percy rematerialised in front of him.
"Salamander was it? I will give you another chance to come clean. I normally show restraint while dealing with others, even if they are enemies and unless they are monsters. But, I can gauge that you and whoever is backing you are a threat to the cohesion of my family and I have no qualms with neutralizing such threats. So talk or else I will force it out of you." Percy stated in a crisp voice.
"You will have to beat that information out of me." Scamander declared.
"Fine with me." Percy nonchalantly replied before dashing forward and landing a bare-handed chop at Scamander's neck.
The precision and strength behind the chop caused Scamander's eyes to temporarily roll over but he was given no respite as he was sent flying once more with a hard roundhouse kick. And his flight came to a painful halt only after he was smashed through a dozen trees.
"Still not willing to talk?" Percy casually asked him. His relaxed and unarmed posture showcased just how outclassed Scamander was. But rather than giving up, Scamander summoned a large square of Ambrosia and consumed it before attacking Percy with his shield and spear.
He went on a brilliant offensive, channeling his millennium of experience and skill but unfortunately for him, all his traits, skills and strength were insignificant in front of Percy's exalted power and Percy weaved through his attacks in a smooth, flawless way.
Once the river god had spent all his energy trying to execute a fruitless offensive, Percy struck him with a barrage of bare-handed blows that flowed one after the other, reminiscent of a rushing stream and in only a few minutes, Scamander was on his knees, bleeding and marred with bruises, torn muscles and broken bones.
"What type of an unbeatable monster are you?" Scamander hoarsely croaked out.
"The one that is the architect of your nightmares." Percy frighteningly announced and tried to use the river god's weakened state to break his mental barriers and read his memories.
To his surprise, he was blocked by a very strong metaphysical mental barrier. One only someone who at the very least, was on the power level of an Olympian could erect.
"Well, would you look at that. It seems like your friend is no pushover. Who is this secret instigator?" Percy commanded with a hard edge to his voice. But before Scamander could reply, Percy sensed something that caused him to pale in fear.
"You sensed it didn't you? I came here only to distract you and now you have failed to-" Scamander started but his sentence was abruptly stopped when Percy blew his head apart with a seismokinetically enhanced punch that sent ichor splattering everywhere. And a second later, Percy disappeared in a blue mist.
Achilles found Paris dueling with Eudoros and saw that the Prince of Troy had managed to gain the upper hand in that clash. He could see that Eudoros was on his last ropes and just before Paris could land a fatal blow, Achilles used his enhanced speed to barrel into Paris.
"Barbarian, I won't let you get away this time." Paris roared and swung his sword at Achilles. Achilles blocked the strike but was pushed back due to the strength behind the attack.
"You are being powered." Achilles hissed. Realising that Paris was getting a hefty power boost.
"What in the name of Thanatos are you talking about? Distracting me won't save you." Paris stated through gritted teeth and the two of them engaged in a vicious clash of swords and destructive duel of shields.
Under normal circumstances, Paris shouldn't have even been a match for Achilles but due to the untraceable power boost he was getting, his strength was on par with Achilles while his speed, stamina and agility were greater than Achilles'. But the odds were evened by Achilles' durability.
Thus, the momentum of the battle swung back and forth with Achilles and Paris alternatively gaining the upper hand. After some time, Achilles made use of his experience to spot a minor mistake in Paris' offense and pounced on it.
He distracted Paris with a feint to his left collarbone but switched directions and impaled his sword into Paris' right collarbone instead. The effect was immediate, Paris lost hold of his sword, fell to his knees and coughed up blood. He could sense that the end was near.
"Despite all your flaws, I cannot help but feel sympathy for you. Your only mistake was kidnapping the woman you loved who unfortunately happened to be another man's wife. That is not something that warrants death. Nor is it something that should have caused this much death and suffering. You should have never returned to Troy. Both of you should have ran away, some god, some sympathetic immortal would have sheltered you. Nonetheless, goodbye Prince Paris. I hope you are reunited with your brother at least in death." Achilles solemnly stated. For a moment, Paris' eyes regained their human shine and a flash of guilt could be seen in his eyes. But it was gone as fast as it had come.
"Tell me Achilles. Is sympathy enough to save your life?" Paris asked in a distorted voice.
Before Achilles could answer or react, Paris unsheathed a hidden danger and making use of his proximity to Achilles' heel, he struck the small chink in the greave covering Achilles' left foot. He could only squeeze in a light wound, one that was even less than an inch deep. But that was enough.
As soon as the dagger hit its mark, Achilles' vision became blurry and he lost control of his muscles, collapsing in that spot in a heap, unable to move a single muscle. But oddly, he couldn't feel any pain, his leg felt numb and the blood was pouring out of his leg like small stream of water.
A second later, he felt a powerful presence materialise next to him. And once he could see this newcomer's face, he could decipher that it was his uncle.
"NOOOOOO!" Percy screamed in anguish, falling to his knees and immediately placing Achilles' pale, sweaty head on his thighs. And instantly, the battlefield fell silent.
"Hello uncle…" Achilles feebly greeted.
"Stay with me Achilles. I will take you Olympus. Apollo will heal you." Percy frantically stated.
A second later, Athena and Achilles' parents materialised behind him. Their own eyes marred with grief. But Percy did notice any of that. All he cared about was saving Achilles.
A large jar of Nectar materialised above Achilles' leg and immediately, Nectar was poured on Achilles' profusely bleeding hell. Percy even channeled multiple of beams of healing energy through Achilles and covered Achilles' leg in a layer of water condensed from the air. But all this did was slow the bleeding.
"No….uncle. Both of us know that.…this cannot be….stopped. I can only….thank the Fates for this….opportunity to….to….talk to you before….I die." Achilles rasped out.
"Don't say that Achilles. Conserve your energy and for the last time, you are not going to die." Percy bellowed with watery eyes.
"Thank you for….everything. You gave me….a life….a family….a future….ideals….you gave me….so much. I could not have….asked….for more. But I….I failed you. Again and….again. Please forgive me….uncle." Achilles hoarsely whispered.
Achilles could see his entire life flashing before his eyes. Watching whales while sitting on his uncle's shoulders and being enthralled by his uncle's tales of valour. He remembered his bubbling excitement whenever his uncle taught him a new trick or took him to a new place.
The wise advises, the cheerful jokes, the serious training, the solemn concern, everything made him realise just how lucky he had been to have his uncle in his life. And now, as he gazed his uncle's swirling sea green eyes he remembered that this was the same position in which his uncle had held his head when his uncle had held him for the first time.
It was ironic yet satisfying. The man who had been the first person to hold him when he was born was also the last person who would hold him before his death. A man who he had come to see as a father. Someone more involved in his life than even his biological parents.
This signified that his life had completed a full cycle. He had accepted his fate. He knew that this was his punishment for all the killing. His only regret was that even in his death, he had disappointed his uncle. But nevertheless, he was content that he could at least see his uncle one last time. And thus, Achilles gave his uncle a painful yet content smile before taking his last breath.
"No nephew. You did not fail me. I was the one who failed you." Percy stated in a broken voice, closing Achilles' eyes before hugging his body tightly, still in denial of the fact that Achilles had died.
The pin drop silence continued. Those who were witnessing this scene were either to grief-stricken or were too terrified to say anything. But the long silence came to an end when Percy let out a draconian roar and with it, a wall of crushing force.
Less than a second later, the already mortally wounded Paris was vapourized by a blast of pulsating sea green energy. Not even a hair remained but Percy was not finished, he was just getting started. He gently covered Achilles in a layer of condensed water before rising to his feet.
"This, all of you caused this. You mortals dragged my nephew into this useless, horrendous war. All of you corrupted my noble, virtuous nephew with your hated and malice. And all of you will die for that. I will kill each and every single one of you." Percy declared in a quiet whisper but the unstoppable rage in his voice was as clear as day. And that was when Percy lost it.
He was enveloped in his armour and his eyes changed to dangerously glowing bright green, with a blank, cold look in his eyes. He now had only one purpose. Seek and destroy.
Instantly, he was surrounded by a mini hurricane. And much to the surprise of the immortals present there, Percy's aura seemed to balloon to a level even greater than his aura at full power.
"Percy stop! I know you are in pain but this is not the way to deal with it." Athena shouted but her words fell on deaf ears.
Percy did not even acknowledge her presence. Instead, he raised his swords into the air swung them down. Everyone braced for a shockwave but to their surprise, nothing happened. That was until they noticed the gargantuan tidal wave behind them.
It was two hundred and fifty feet tall monstrosity. Filled with destructive energy that was no doubt capable of destroying all of them and the city of Troy out of his existence forever. That was when the panic set in and all men, Trojan or Achaean, commander or foot soldier, ran for their lives.
Athena thought of erecting a barrier but quickly dismissed that idea. It would drain too much of her energy. Thankfully, her uncle materialised on the beach fully armoured and slammed his trident on the ground.
To her absolute shock, he seemed to struggle immensely to overpower Percy's control over the water. Percy noticed that someone had interfered with his vengeance and dashed towards Poseidon while he was holding back the tidal wave.
However, before Percy could reach Poseidon, he was tackled mid air by Ares who managed to take him away from the mortals. But with only a bit of struggle, Percy broke free from Ares' grip and punched the war god with enough force to send him flying into the sea.
Realising that Percy's wrath had overrode all his conventional wisdom, Athena flashed her armour on and rushed towards him in an attempt to get close to him and break him out of his wrath.
He effortlessly blocked a strike from her spear with one of his swords and slammed her away with unbelievable speed. But this had given Poseidon enough time to dissipate the tidal wave and he launched a very powerful beam of energy at Percy, intent to knock him out.
To his astonishment, Percy carved through the beam like a hot knife through butter and charged at him with two destructive overhead slashes. Poseidon blocked the slashes with his trident in the nick of time but was unable to believe just how powerful Percy was. His son's aura seemed to be equal to his own.
"Son, snap out of your rage. Achilles would not have wanted you to rampage around like this." Poseidon gently stated.
Percy's eyes seemed to flicker with realisation for a moment but rather than breaking out of his rage, Percy's eyes glowed with even more grief and anger and he head-butted his father with enough power to launch him backwards.
He then sent a large linear shockwave at Poseidon but that was neutralized by Poseidon's sea green beam of energy. Deciding that the only way forward was to knock Percy out, Poseidon charged at Percy and the two of them dueled across the sky and the ocean.
For a moment, Athena could only marvel Percy's strength. He was fighting his father, the strongest god on equal footing and at times, even seemed to gain the upper hand. Of course, her uncle was not trying to land any fatal blows but Percy's true potential was terrifying.
She shook those thoughts out of her head when she saw an opening in Percy's guard and immediately made use of it by materialising above him and wrapped her legs around his extended arms, momentarily startling him. But that was enough to allow her uncle to disarm Percy.
Percy tried to resist but he was stopped by Ares holding legs in position and soon they dragged him to the ground. He still thrashed around and while he was capable of using other elemental attacks, this rage-driven version of Percy was not as tactically brilliant as his cool headed counterpart.
"Percy, dear, it's me Athena. Please calm down. I know you are in pain but let us help you." Athena gently whispered into his ears while massaging his temples in an effort to calm him down. Her soothing voice and gentle touch seemed to significantly reduce his anger.
"Achilles." Percy groaned with grief and rage. His eyes gained a half-dazed, half-conscious look and slowly, the tension started to leave his body.
"All is not lost Percy. We will find a way to heal him. I promise." Athena lied, hugging his head to give him some warmth.
She absolutely detested lying to Percy but right now, calming him down and ensuring that he didn't injure himself was more important than being truthful with him. In these times, he needed someone who could share his emotional pain, not a fact checker.
"I trust you." Percy stated even though he was still not back to his senses and powered down completely.
However, before they could sigh in relief, the emotional toll of losing Achilles and the physical toll of exerting himself well beyond his current limits caused Percy to give in to exhaustion and his body went limp as he became unconscious. Athena instantly shifted her position and sat on her knees as she cradled Percy's head in the crook of her neck.
"Hasn't he suffered enough pain for a lifetime? The Fates are indeed heartless." Poseidon stated with a sorrowful sigh.
"I agree with you uncle, it is always only those who are the most noble that also suffer the most. The world needs him but it doesn't deserve him. It never has." Athena bitterly stated.
"Maybe we should have let him wipe out all these pests. After all they have done, they deserved it." Ares stated with a scoff.
"I don't disagree with you. These soldiers are living on borrowed time. But then, even innocent civilians would be caught in this onslaught. And we did not want Percy to regret his actions in the future." Poseidon revealed.
"He needs rest." Athena stated.
"Yes, this day has taken a very heavy toll on him. He will need us. He will need you." Poseidon replied.
"Apollo just informed me that he's already set up the infirmary. It doesn't look like he's sustained any injuries but he told me he wanted to conduct a scan. And he told me that even the others wanted to see him." Ares informed.
Athena nodded at him and disappeared with Percy in a grey light. She was soon followed by both of them. When Percy woke up, they would be there for him, just like he had always been there for them.
Hey guys! Ok don't hate me for killing Achilles. I know he was a favourite and it seemed as though he had changed for the better but this needed to happen.
In my defense, I want to say that this was something I included at the last moment and until writing this chapter, I had even made notes for how to develop the trilogy with Achilles being alive. But after a huge amount of intense deliberation, I decided to take this route because it provided much more opportunity to further the plot and build character development in a meaningful way.
Of course, it is always nice to have the good guys stay alive and have only the bad guys die but it doesn't always work like that. While this story is set in a landscape of idealism, there are these moments of realism that somehow parodies the idealism.
Yes, Achilles was not a bad guy but his actions are a very big smear on his character, at least in this universe. I will elaborate more on this the next chapter but I just wanted to convey why this needed to happen.
It may seem like I am going closer to canon with this story but the thing I want to highlight is that this is a fate that could have been easily avoided. This was the absolute worst case scenario but still happened. Why? Because no one, not even Percy, fully comprehended the severity of the situation. That doesn't mean he turned a blind eye towards the problem like the others but let's just say he wasn't as thorough with his policing.
It may seem cruel to just kill characters off after giving them so much character development but that's what makes the sting even more painful. It makes this one count and that's what I have tried to highlight with Percy's rage.
He does not know who he is angry at and the loss is so immeasurable for him that he completely loses it. And yes, he is as strong as Poseidon in that rage-driven state.
It also showcases his own hypocrisy for calling out Achilles. Yes, it is very understandable how much grief he felt but the way he dealt with it was not the best of ways. This was done to show that even though Percy is a paragon of virtue in this universe, he still is far from perfect and has his own flaws.
It may feel like he's even stronger than Poseidon but like I explained in the chapter, Poseidon, Athena and Ares were only trying to restrain him while he was fighting them like they were his enemies.
Read and review, I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter! Have a wonderful day!