Perseus: Excidium Troiae

Twenty-Six

A.N: For those of you who think the 2v1 leading to Achilles' death was a bit unrealistic and didn't meet expectations, this is for you.

I see where you're coming from, but I got exactly what I was going for with that scene. The only reason it may seem as though Achilles did them more damage is because he was invulnerable at the time, and so basically sustained no injuries. If you read carefully enough, you would notice that had he been without his iron skin, he would have been dead before the fight truly began, due to being tag-teamed. And gentle reminder, Perseus might be immortal, but immortals can still be severely injured and disabled, like Hephaestus was, so, no I don't think it's wrong or unusual for Perseus to have lost his eye in the fight against his mortal enemy. And Aeneas, despite being a demigod, is also still very mortal, and with the blood loss from his wrist and the stab wound, let's be real here, he shouldn't have survived that. Another reminder, Achilles didn't walk away from that fight, despite his iron skin saving him from injury. Anyway, it's great that I'm hearing all your thoughts and it's great that you all enjoy the story so much. Appreciate the love!

-TripleHomicide.

AENEAS fiddled with the hem of the chiton which his wife had had tailored for him to cover his stump, thoughts racing in his skull like war horses. He was a bit anxious if he was being honest, and perhaps this had been a mistake. But it wasn't for no reason that one of the gods had kept him asleep for days and allowed him to see Helenus' torture session with the Greek king Odysseus. Whatever deity was playing at their side, he was grateful for the information.

Upon rising, he'd come to find that yes, Helenus had indeed deserted the city, and so that meant he'd been dreaming in real-time. He was glad to be alive, and glad that his wife and son had kept at his side for as long as they had. But, he also knew that he had had more rest than any of his comrades for the entirety of the war, and he was healed enough to hop back into action. If Helenus' prophecies were to be believed, they were in dire trouble.

His brother had been in to see him the morning he'd left, and the son of Aphrodite had barely escaped another coma-inducing hug. Aeneas frowned as he remembered catching Perseus up to speed about his dream and then falsely promising to let him handle it alone while he rested. But his brother should have known by now that Aeneas wouldn't be able to sit idle and leave all the stress on his shoulders.

He knew which of the prophecies Perseus would target first, and his guess had been right. His brother had ordered strict guard rotations around the citadel to guard the Palladium; then he had vanished from the Palace, eastward towards Skyros, probably to assassinate Achilles' spawn. Aeneas snorted to himself. Even dead, the Phthian was still a pain in the scrotum. With two of the prophecies being handled, he had launched into action to deal with the third—he knew the Greeks would not wait, and neither would he.

And so barely a day after waking, Aeneas had sought out the demi-titan Memnon and together they'd picked out a handful of Trojans, Ethiopians and Amazons and procured passage to the Island of Pisa from the other side of the harbour. The only people who knew about this top-secret mission were Priam, his trusted sons, and of course, Aeneas' own family. The fewer people who knew about these prophecies, the better for all of them. He couldn't bear to leave his wife and son once again, but with what was going on, this was just something that needed to be done.

His hand moved to raise the hood and place it over his face. His companions were already hooded and draped in cloaks over their armour, no doubt itching with anticipation of what was to come. The barge slowly ploughed on through the water, and Aeneas swallowed as the Island of Pisa came into view. He wasn't sure how exactly they were going to get the bones.

Hades, he didn't even know where they were buried.

They were pressed for time—the Achaeans had already had a head start, and Aeneas feared that perhaps they had already beaten them to the bones. But then again, most of their hastily constructed plan hinged on the Greeks finding the bones first and doing all the grunt work.