I'm really hesitant about the second half of this chapter. I dunno... I felt that I needed to do some explaining. If you guys don't like it, tell me and I can re-write this chapter. The first part of the chapter, though, is fine to me. Tell me what you guys think about this AND THEN tell me about what you guys would think about a short-story filled story...? You know... Like the Demigod Files and Demigod Diaries? I could add it on to the end of this one if you guys would like, or I could add it on into the next one. FanFiction wouldn't allow me to make a whole new story just for that single purpose, to add a collaborative collection of short stories. So, tell me if that sounds like a good idea, okay? Great, enjoy this chapter or not. I've seen some of you un-favorite and un-follow. Don't think I don't notice...
Chapter 12
Wrath of the Avenger
Perseus wasn't eager to head back to the Myrmidon camp. He wished not to watch his student's rage.
Everyone looked flabbergasted and shocked that it hadn't actually been Achilles leading the Myrmidon forces but rather an imposter. Even Menelaus and Agamemnon looked truly sorry that Patroclus had passed on to the Underworld. At least they had gotten his body back. That was something that mattered as much as the armor. Patroclus would get the proper entrance to the afterlife.
It was horrible to think about, that Patroclus had stolen Achilles armor to lead the Myrmidons into battle. He should have known that Achilles would not turn back on his word. That thought he had about him returning to battle was improbable, yet he had believed it. Maybe it was because he wanted to believe it, but in either case he did.
Patroclus was a good man, a very close friend of Achilles. It was almost impossible to believe he was dead. But as he led the Myrmidon troops back to the carnage of the battlefield, where he ordered them to bring the dead back to the camp for funerals, he saw Odysseus and Diomedes exit the camp, shaking their heads.
Asking Eudoros to come with him, Perseus entered the camp to the center where Ajax was laying the body gently on a clean chiton.
"I'm sorry, my lord," Eudoros stuttered. "I followed his command without truly checking if it was Achilles. We all thought it to be him. For hours we fought, but in the end it is he who falls, not I. I am truly sorry, Perseus."
"Don't be," the son of Poseidon said grimly. "I, too, thought it was him."
He nodded, not saying another word as Brisēís and Cassandra emerged out of the tent, followed closely by Achilles. Some other captured slaves, mostly men, who were given freedom within the Myrmidon camp, came out from their tents and watched as Achilles' expression turned from shock to grief to rage. None of them dared ridicule the King of Aegina.
Perseus signalled for Eudoros to stay behind him as he approached Achilles. One look at Ajax and the King of Salamis knew it was his time to leave. Hastily, he bowed and walked away from the camp.
A woman seemed to shimmer out of the air and stood at the entrance to Achilles', Perseus', and formerly Patroclus' tent. Her face flickered. For a moment, she looked as a normal woman with short, curly black hair and dark eyes. The next, she looked like Heracles. (Which was odd on a female body…) After that, she morphed into Jason, and then Helen.
It was odd when she turned back to a normal woman, but he realized she had turned into someone he hated, someone he resented. He had killed Heracles, had been the last true connection to society for Jason inadvertently causing his death, and was planning to kill Helen. They were all people he had wanted vengeance on: Heracles for what he did to Zoë, Jason for what he did to Medea, and Helen for agreeing to this massacre of a war.
The name then came to mind. Nemesis.
He knew what she was here for and he knew the consequences would put them in dire situations.
"What is this?!" he roared, seemingly making the world shake. His voice echoed across the sky like an explosion of fury.
No one answered him.
Perseus stepped closer, but that choice was a bad one as Achilles immediately rounded on him. His eyes looked even more terrifying than when Brisēís had been captured. There seemed to be an endless storm swirling in them, rage and revenge pounding in his skull. It would have made anyone other than Perseus cower in complete fear.
Only Perseus knew that kind of rage. He had experienced it himself.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" he demanded. "TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"Achilles," Perseus started trying to keep his cool. "This is Patroclus' dead body. Hector killed him in combat earlier today when the Trojans ambushed the Greek camp with the Dardanians. It was a gruesome battle, yet everyone thought you had come back into battle."
A sudden lunge, and Achilles was at his throat. "How dare you speak so calmly about Patroclus' death?" he growled angrily. "I bet it was your fault. Did you help him lead the Myrmidons in battle?"
"No, he didn't," Brisēís said. "I saw him in the midst of the chaos. Patroclus stole your armor and—"
Achilles struck her across the face hard. She fell to the ground holding her cheek. Cassandra bent down to help her, sending a shocked and angry look at Achilles.
"Patroclus is dead!" the son of Thetis screamed. He shoved Perseus back and turned on the two women. "I couldn't care less about my armor. What do you think matters more? Petty armor or my cousin's life?! You could have stopped him if he was wearing my armor! Does the shield around a person define them? No!"
"My lord," Eudoros spoke up. "Do not hurt them. It is not their fault!"
Achilles stopped and turned to his second-in-command. "Not their fault? Of course. You are right. It is not their fault. Maybe the blame should be on someone who followed him in battle!"
"I... we thought he was you," he said. He moved next to Perseus and went on one knee. He bowed his head in a sign of shame. "Hector cut his throat, though there was an arrow caught in the back of his leg. The Trojan archers had caught him from behind."
The son of Thetis looked down upon the bowing second-in-command and scowled. He then kicked his chest and stepped on his throat, attempting to suffocate him. Eudoros' eyes bulged and he gasped for air. He glanced up at Perseus with a pleading look. Help me!
"Achilles stop," he ordered.
He obliged but threw a punch at the older demigod's face. Then he kicked him to the ground. The Myrmidon soldiers were beginning to arrive. Many saw the son of Poseidon being beaten to the ground. None of them moved to help him.
Perseus rolled to get up, just as Achilles meant to stomp on his face. "Calm down!"
The son of Thetis growled and leaped at him.
Knowing how the curse worked, Perseus pulled out Anaklusmos and side-stepped as Achilles lumbered past. Then, he smashed the butt of the sword into Achilles' neck as hard as he could. The sword rattled off the skin as expected, but hitting the very nerve that could make a regular mortal fall unconscious, Achilles was stunned and fell to his knees.
"This is not my fault, Achilles!" Perseus shouted. "Do you think I would have agreed to let Patroclus lead the army? I was too busy mulling over whether it was you or not that I was stabbed from behind by a son of Venus. I would have died as well had it not been for my demigod nature. You need to stop over-thinking and face the facts. Patroclus died at Hector's and Apollo's hands."
Not a single word was spoken by the crowd around the campsite. Everyone was staring at either Achilles or Perseus, wondering what was about to happen next. Achilles raised his head and glanced at Nemesis. She gave him a brief nod before she dissipated from view.
The son of Thetis stood up and turned to face his teacher. Eyes swirling darkly, he said, "We need to speak to Agamemnon. Now."
"So now you come to me for help, is it?" Agamemnon asked.
Achilles said nothing. He merely gave the king a cold look.
"Dardanus is their last city," Nestor said at his side. He gave Achilles an approving look. "It would prove disastrous for the Trojans."
"Why have we not done it before then?" the king asked. "If it proves disastrous, why haven't we thought of it yet? Why have we sat here and taken blow after blow from the Trojans?"
No one had an answer to that question because Agamemnon was right. Why hadn't they thought of it before? Menelaus stood on the opposite side of Agamemnon staring at Achilles inquisitively.
"But then again, why should we help you?" he said, countering himself. "You did leave us to die when you withdrew from battle. You said you couldn't care less of the Greeks' demise. In fact, you said you would pray to Zeus that the Greeks would have a disadvantage in battle. That really does not make me want to help you."
"We... we need your help to capture the city," Achilles said reluctantly, as if the words were poison. "There aren't enough Myrmidons to take the city and hold it. There will be no more Myrmidons to stay here to fight with you. There are only fifteen-hundred left. Many have perished in this war."
"So I say, let the gods play their hand, and we'll see if it is time for the Myrmidons to fall or to hold."
"I knew I was wasting my time with you," muttered the son of Thetis.
He turned around and gestured toward the tent entrance. "Come, Percy. Looks like we'll have to wear down the Trojans little by little until Hector falls. Until he is able to show his cowardly face, I will not rest. Any Trojan warrior I see will die."
"Wait!" said Menelaus as Achilles came to the entrance. Perseus had still yet to move. "There must be a compromise. There may be a way to finish off Dardanus and not have to garrison soldiers there."
Achilles didn't move but said, "I'm listening."
Agamemnon stared at his brother in a flabbergasted manner. "What are you doing? You're helping the man who left us to die at Trojan hands? Are you mad?"
Ignoring him, Menelaus turned to look at Perseus. "Make the citizens flee or burn them. Dardanus does not have to stand. She can fall much like Argos can fall in a siege of Mycenae or Sparta. If you are able to torch the city, the citizens will have to take refuge in Troy. I say let them. Let the Trojans drain themselves of resources. The allies from faraway lands will have to bring more resources. Their travel will halt to an agonizingly slow pace."
"And those who stand and fight?" asked Achilles.
"Kill them. It is war. They will die an honorable death, at least, in Trojan eyes."
"There is no glory in death," Agamemnon snapped. "Death is not glorious at all. What kind of stupid beliefs do those stupid Trojans have?"
"There is glory in death," Perseus interjected. "Not the glory that everyone expects, though. What matters is that you are known by those who love you, not those who idolize you for what you did. If you think I am speaking out of my ass, then you do not know true friendship and family. Dying on the battlefield is honorable to the Trojans because they seem to believe that you are fighting for who you are and for the independence of your people. It is about serving your country willingly. I don't think I know a single Greek who completely wishes to follow your command in battle deep down in their souls."
He turned to Menelaus. "But we are burning innocent lives. The gods will punish those who sack the temples."
"Sacrifice in those temples," Menelaus replied. "You are a son of Poseidon. Conjure up water and wash the burnt remains of the city away. But if the city is uninhabitable, you have done your job. Lead the Myrmidons and destroy the city."
They stared at each other for a long moment. Perseus could tell that man was being purely honest in trying to help them. He truly seemed to want to get this war over with. Menelaus really wanted his wife in his hands so he could kill her. He couldn't blame the King of Sparta for wanting revenge on his ex-wife for what she did.
This war was truly a god-driven war, though. He knew that the immortal deities were to blame. But the gods would send for his execution if he dared to try. Zeus was the true source of the Trojan War. Had he allowed Eris to come to Peleus' and Thetis' wedding, she would not have tossed the golden apple into the party, and Paris would not have chosen Aphrodite as the fairest goddess, who allowed a war just because of love.
Perseus would not deny it. Sons and daughters of Aphrodite could be particularly dangerous when they chose to be. Most would not... but some would. Love was a powerful element, and in a way, Aphrodite was the eldest Olympian, borne from Ouranos' genitals in the sea. Physically, however, Aphrodite probably would be the laughing stock of Olympus.
He remembered Aeneas and how he had called him a son of Venus instead of son of Aphrodite. He remembered the warning about Veneris and Mavros. He could already tell that Veneris was transforming into Venus from Aphrodite.
He remembered Hector on the battlefield, disarming Diomedes and Odysseus with slick ease and nearly killing them. All Hector was doing was to fight for his country. He had his own purpose, just like Agamemnon and Menelaus and Achilles and even himself.
Pandora had truly let loose the evil spirits on the mortal world, on the humans. If there was one thing this war had made Perseus realize was that all humans were demons, and the gods controlled them as if they were attached to strings. The evil spirits had taken their holds on mankind... revenge, glory, power, ambition, lust, anger, love, idiocy, greed, ignorance... there was so much he could describe. All of those little attributes and qualities linked with one another, some leading to others. The true nature of a human could be anything but good.
Men and women who think they live in a good world with fortune are just misguided, blind, ignorant people who have been lured into the trap. Humans are forced to do the gods' bidding for their own personal pleasure.
But that was the way the world worked. One had to either deal with it or head to the Underworld.
The good is a twisted bad.
"Achilles," Perseus said at last. "What do you think of King Menelaus' idea? Are you up to burning a city down?"
"We march for Dardanus tomorrow morning," Achilles said, and with a swift exit, he was gone.
"Agamemnon," the son of Poseidon said. "Split the force. Ambush the Trojans with small-scale and ferocious attacks. Make them hesitant to face the Greeks in battle. Fighting unpredictably will help. If you do that, you will lose fewer men. But you must know when to pull out."
He, too, walked out of the tent, as a balked king put a hand to his forehead.
"I know you want to vent your frustrations out and you want to kill Hector, but you will feel no remorse. There will be no joy in killing him. Patroclus is dead and you have to deal with that fact. I am sad as well, and I do admit killing hundreds of Trojans, but you must keep your rage in control. You know I cannot do the same."
Achilles threw the cup to the ground. "I don't care. Hector will pay for what he has done. You and I both think alike... mainly because you have taught me to think like you. But in either case, we know men are demons. I will make sure Troy regrets ever having killed my cousin."
Perseus sighed as Achilles picked up his cup and filled it up with some more wine. "You cannot destroy Troy single-handedly."
"I will not destroy Troy single-handedly," replied the son of Thetis, who took a swig of wine. "I will kill Hector single-handedly. He is my target, and nothing will stop me from achieving my goal."
"Do not be so arrogant," he countered. "You are not invulnerable. You can still be killed. You know that very well. Hasn't it been driven into your mind enough times?"
"I am not being arrogant," Achilles said hotly.
"Then tell me, why attack Dardanus instead of Troy itself. Hector is not in Dardanus."
"You said Aeneas attacked you. He is a Dardanian, am I right?"
"I can fight my own battles, Achilles. You do not need to interfere with anything regarding anyone who attacks me. You know very well how cautious I am."
"And here goes your arrogance! You seem to claim that you are wise and extremely powerful. I've seen it over the years... telling me how to do nearly everything. Just because you've met women with bad experiences doesn't mean that every woman is like that. And in a war, holding back from killing is a bad thing. Get the slaughter over with as soon as possible. That way, there is less time for suffering and more time to sacrifice to the gods."
Perseus took his cup of wine, which had yet to be drunk, and poured it into the fire crackling inside the center of their tent. He could tell the wonderful smelling odor that signified that the gods accepted the small sacrifice.
They were silent for a while, both just listening to the background sounds of sleeping soldiers. The funeral for Patroclus had ended not long ago, and the two women of the tent were both fast asleep.
It was Perseus who broke the silence.
"The Trojans don't deserve to die."
"Men are demons, like I said."
"Why did I attack Zoë?"
"You tell me."
Putting a hand to his face, he groaned. He said, "I felt something in my gut. There was a feeling... something that I didn't really notice until after the fact, when I was sacrificing to Artemis. It almost seemed to me that I hadn't broken my promise to Zoë yet."
Achilles seemed to ponder on this. "Do you remember the exact words you said to her, the words you promised? Maybe the Fates and Lady Styx have taken those words literally instead of to heart."
Perseus tried to remember. "It's a little hazy, but I remember promising that I would never treat women badly."
"Well, I don't think knocking her unconscious is treating her right either," snorted the son of Thetis.
He chuckled along for a little bit before turning solemn again. "What would you do?" he asked. "Would you rather burn an entire city down that is full of innocent women and children, or would you rather leave the city and wait for it to hunt you down like wolves to their prey?"
"Burn the city down."
"Do you ever think that maybe... in the heat of the moment, you would ever change your mind and go from destroying a city to realizing what you are doing before turning on your own men and killing as many of them as you can?"
"No." It wasn't spoken as a blunt answer but it wasn't spoken as a hesitant answer either.
"The gods want this war more than we do," spoke the son of Poseidon. "If the gods hadn't interfered with Menelaus' and Paris' duel nine years ago, Helen would be dead, the Trojans would be left without a prince, Patroclus would not be dead, and I would not feel so terrible for taking so many lives. Uncle Hades must be mad at me right now."
"Well, the Trojans still would have had Hector, Helenus and Deiphobus, not to mention Cassandra would still be in there. Everything would just change back to normal. But only Menelaus', Paris' and Helen's names would live through history. No one would ever know me."
"No one needs to know you, Achilles. I tried stopping you from going into this war. You would find a beautiful woman, know true love, watch your children grow up and your grandchildren begin to grow up. They would know your names. But it is true that your name would have faded through generations."
"And I originally came here for that everlasting glory." The son of Thetis sighed sadly. "I feel no glory in knowing I killed men. You can't enjoy every duty you have, though."
"I should have let the Hunters through. Zoë would have trusted me enough to let me free. I really messed things up."
"Well, I should get some rest. We have a big day of killing to do that is arriving soon. Dardanus will fall soon. I am sure of it. And once they are gone, Hector will have no choice but to fight me because if he wants his people to stop suffering, he will have to sacrifice himself."
Achilles didn't even wait for an answer. He went into his portion of the tent and collapsed on his bed next to Brisēís.
Perseus continued sitting there for a little while though. He knew every warrior had a flaw; every person, in fact, had a flaw. Achilles' was his own pride, and that would be the same for Odysseus. Agamemnon's fatal flaw would be his ambition... yet... Perseus didn't know his own fatal flaw.
Perhaps it had something to do with being over-protective of everyone. Maybe it was the fact that he did not feel that death was an answer to everything. Maybe it was that he wished he didn't have to kill other people to get what he wanted. Despite still wanting to kill Helen (the feeling had slowly deteriorated as the war went on), he didn't want the Trojans to have to die for her. Perseus knew he should have broken his oath to Chiron and the gods instead of the Styx and Zoë.
With those prophecies whirling in his mind, he couldn't help but feel that his fatal flaw had something to do with him "to be forever dented."
He could still be killed. The only thing he could hope for was that he found out his fatal flaw before it was too late.
As for Dardanus... Perseus hoped they would all surrender. He didn't want to have to send any more souls to Hades.
With another depressing sigh, he went to bed.
"Let him go, Achilles!" Perseus shouted, chasing after the exploding son of Thetis. "This does not have to turn violent!"
"He killed Eudoros while his back was turned!" he screamed. "I will kill that king Anchises!"
Gritting his teeth, he turned back to the Myrmidons, who were burning down the city like crazy, the army having gone to help the Trojans at Troy. Perseus knew he had to keep the fire at bay, summoning waters from the not so far away ocean to sprinkle its waters so the temples would stand tall.
"Phoenix! Do not start anymore fires until I get Achilles back! Rout the citizens until there are none left!"
Phoenix was Achilles' third-in-command, a soldier better at duelling than Eudoros, but not as good in big battles and in commanding. Still, he was a good man and understood Perseus' orders completely.
"Stop the fires!" he shouted the order down the Myrmidon line.
Perseus summoned more water and doused the fire, knocking Dardanians and Myrmidons over alike. He was sorry, but he needed to move quickly. As soon as the fire was gone, he burst after Achilles, who had gone on a rampage off in the other direction.
"Achilles, stop!"
By the time he reached the ashen courtyard, the son of Thetis was already kicking the beheaded head of the king like a toy.
"What did you do?!" exclaimed the horrified son of Poseidon.
"I killed Anchises, the murderer of Eudoros," Achilles seethed. "This is the final straw. Burn Dardanus completely to the ground. Troy will be next, and I will be sure that I lead that charge holding Hector's head on my spear. I will show the Trojans no mercy. Two of my closest friends have passed on to Hades. Now the Trojans will know what it feels like to have your closest, dearest friends to die. Except it will be their prince."
"You could have let him go free!" countered Perseus. "He would have brought fear into the Trojan ranks that Dardanus has been captured!"
"Holding back from killing is your weakness, you fool," snarled the nearly invulnerable demigod. "You know what your problem is? You think that any single person, man or woman, that you choose can survive because they do not need to die. You are like a woman, weak and pitiful."
"Women are not all weak and pitiful," growled the son of Poseidon. "You have taken this too far this time, Achilles."
"You killed the king of Lyrnessus, that old town!"
"Because we had to, to prevent him from spreading the word of the Greek plan across the countryside."
"And so I cannot avenge my fallen comrades?"
"You cannot desecrate Hector's body the way you plan to! That is barbaric, cruel and unjust!"
"And what about Patroclus? Do you wish not to avenge him? You killed hundreds of Trojan soldiers to get my armor back. Yet now you say give Hector's body back when he is killed?"
"What would you want with my body?"
"Before, maybe I would have wanted it back, but now, now that you have disgraced Patroclus and Eudoros, I couldn't care less about what happens to your body. I thought you were supposed to be on my side. You are my master! My teacher!"
Perseus shook his head. "What has Nemesis done to you? All you are now is a revenge-crazy imbecile. I taught you better than this."
"Not everyone can be like you," Achilles sneered. "Not everyone can be perfect little Perseus, can they?"
"I never said I was perfect!"
"Then why don't you stop controlling me and allow me to grief over my fallen friends in rage and war!" bellowed the furious demigod. His voice seemed to resonate over the entire city, and for once, Perseus was stunned.
"I thought you were my friend," said Achilles quietly, his voice breaking. "I thought you would back me up when our friends died. But it was all just a lie. You know I am going to die in this war. I've figured it all out. Beware of the curse and of the prophet. I know how I am going to die, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Not even if you could read the minds of the gods. Apollo is the prophet, and the curse is also my blessing. The god of the prophecies will be the one to end me, and there is nothing you can do to stop it from happening. But if I die, I plan to take as many Trojans as I can with me. You aren't Zeus. Stop trying to save everyone from death... because death is inevitable for every mortal. It is only a matter of time before the Fates cut one's strings... whether it is thirty years after birth... or three thousand years. Thanatos is unavoidable."
The son of Thetis walked away, back toward the Myrmidon army, which seemed to have halted in their tracks. The screaming of the fleeing Dardanians seemed to have died down, and Perseus was alone again.
Right from the beginning, he knew that either he or Achilles... or any other demigod that sailed to Troy, would die. The fact was that he himself was willing to die. But he wasn't willing to let any others die.
Was he cruel? He remembered Achilles speaking of how Cassandra prophesied her own death and how he had passed that off as merely nothing. He had accepted that she was going to die.
Yet... when it came to battle, he wished not for carnage. He remembered years ago when Medea had tricked her own brother into a trap and how Jason had cut him into pieces before tossing them in the sea. Back then, he had been bitter about that killing. He remembered Zoë and how he made it his mission that she survived and became a Hunter, that there was no other option when he could have allowed her to choose between loving him and becoming a Hunter. He didn't even care that much about how she felt about it. And now, he had betrayed her trust and attacked her.
Perseus looked down at his trembling hand. His vision flashed and he saw a knife. He could drive that into his chest and it would all be over. He wouldn't have to feel the pain of life anymore. What did Elysium matter when you had no one to be around? Then again, if his mother was there... His vision flashed again and the knife was gone.
Not his time yet to descend.
But it wasn't his time to die, was it? The Fates wanted him to endure more.
Only one word can be fragmented, though both have fated him to be forever dented.
Men are demons.
YOU MAY HAVE THOUGHT YOU LOST JUST A WIFE TODAY, BUT YOU HAVE ALSO LOST EVERYTHING! YOU LOST HERA'S FAVOR AND YOU WILL DIE ALONE! No one will ever care for you again. Everyone you once knew will leave you, even those closest to you. You will never find Chiron again.
"That's a dangerous promise," Zoë warned. "Like all men, you're bound to mistreat women."
Elpis stays in Pandora's pithos, holding onto humans tightly. If all hope seems lost, set her free.
Keep positive. That's what you always told me.
This is war. Death is necessary.
Perseus grabbed hold of himself and stared blankly at the headless corpse of Aeneas' father. He had to decide what to do now. Could he live with himself now that he knew how selfish he was?
Only time would tell.
Hey everyone,
Hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember to tell me if you like it or not.
I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above and if any historical facts are actually wrong. I have spent my time looking through different websites, and even a couple of books, but the story that will continue may have incorrect historical info. Still, I believe it just adds to the effect.
Thanks a bunch,
SharkAttack719