"Great work, Dionysus," Apollo muttered, watching seriously. Perseus had to agree. But then, something else was gnawing at him.
"I think a Mad King is worse than an idiot one, Apollo," He told the god. "And more likely to kill my brother."
"Oh, you have such little faith, darling," Apollo grinned as he looked at him. "Dionysus' madness doesn't just hit you and leave you to your devices, no. Watch."
They focused their attention back to the Achaeans.
Ajax was storming away from Odysseus, slamming through the crowd. He was still muttering, biting his nails, running a hand through his hair. Men parted around him, uneager to be in his path of destruction. Perseus continued to watch as Ajax walked.
And walked.
And walked.
Until he was far, far away from the crowd of people. Until he stood before the large pen full of cattle—the Greek food store.
Ajax released another wretched scream. He wasn't himself. Perseus inhaled sharply as the man drew his large broadsword. "Oh, gods. This is devious, Apollo. You didn't tell me this part of the plan."
"Like it?" Apollo smirked. "Two pegasi, one spear. Ajax goes mad and destroys the Greek's food supply. Then we deal with Ajax." As if on cue, the giant King launched himself into the pen, and the slaughtering began.
Perseus watched, transfixed, as Ajax, roaring, butchered the animals. They were panicking, running around, impaling each other. But they couldn't escape. The man was a monster. He continued cutting through necks, muscles and tendons as though they were butter, wrenching off horns, driving his sword through dewlaps. He was a whirlwind of madness and destruction.
After what seemed like hours, the last of them fell.
Blood soaked the sand. The carcasses were spread over the entire pen. Piling. Perseus continued watching. Slowly, the men were appearing. Soldiers, commanders, and Kings were coming to see what all the ruckus and commotion were about. Their murmurs were loud, their shock apparent. They surrounded the pen, and horror had blanketed the entire Greek camp.
Ajax sat on his knees amongst the carcasses. He was panting, leaning against his bloodied broadsword. The man himself was covered in blood and matted in sweat. His hair had come undone. His eyes, were still crazed and unseeing.
And then, as though a switch had been flipped, he gasped.
He looked around, his own terror filling him. Perseus focused. Ajax let out a choking sound, as though he could not believe what was happening. He was looking around at the carcasses, at the men, and then his gaze slid to the blood on his hands. The King let out another wretched sound. His hand moved to his bloodied hair.
"What...have I done?"
Greater Ajax looked up to the heavens. Agamemnon was approaching the pen, looking completely appalled. It was definitely nowhere near what the giant himself was feeling. "Gods forgive me...I am...no longer worthy." He raised his sword.
"Is he going to..." He did not need to complete his sentence. Apollo nodded.
Perseus did not look away. He couldn't, really. His single eye fixed on the camp as Ajax fell on his sword. He did not blink as the king ran himself through. He watched, unfazed as the life left the Mad King.
Crisis averted. "Well," Perseus breathed. "That was something."
"Right," Apollo stood straighter. "Now, for the real reason I brought you here."
"I really should have seen that coming," The demigod grunted.
"You should have," The golden god agreed. "Now keep watching."
Perseus turned back to the crowd of Greeks, and Apollo's ultra-sight-and-hearing gift kicked in. A man was hobbling out of the throng of people, leaning on a staff for support. Perseus remembered him, from Aulis, so long ago. Calchas, the old seer.
"What's your lackey up to now?" He eyed Apollo. "What did you reveal to him?"
"Reveal?" Apollo frowned. "Perseus, that's not how this works. I don't control what the Lady Ananke and the Fates choose to show to me or to my acolytes. I am but a conduit, through which my priests can peer into the Master plan of the Morai. Does that make sense to you?"
"Of course, it doesn't," He rolled his eyes. They focused on the camp once more. Calchas was addressing the crowd, and Perseus tuned his ears to hear what was going on.
"I have seen it, the gods have revealed to me a great secret," Calchas announced to the Achaean people. "Troy and her allies will not fall."
There was a collective gasp from the people. Perseus found himself mirroring their actions. "But.." Of course, there was a but. Calchas ploughed on, "The city can only be destroyed if we recover the arrows of Heracles from Philoctetes on Lemnos. They will allow us to incapacitate the greatest of Troy's warriors. The arrows will give us victory." In the aftermath of Ajax's mad spree, the Greeks were scared. They were losing. And whatever Calchas was saying, whether true or false, it was a ray of hope, and they clutched on to it in a resounding and answering roar.
"Tell me he's lying," Perseus turned to his companion.
Apollo frowned, and shook his head, "I'm afraid I've seen it too."
"You could have just told me instead of dragging me onto the sun, Apollo."
"I wanted you to see for yourself," The god said. "Because I've seen a lot of futures, Perseus. None of them are great. But there's still hope. We can still save my city."
"We have to get the arrows first, then," Perseus summed.
"Glad you caught on," Apollo moved to take the reins of the chariot. "Took you long enough." He snorted. "Alright, we're done here. I'll drop you off?"
He nodded, his resolve hardening. It was time to hop back into action.
BREAK
He barged into the room he'd asked their small task force to meet in. Deiphobus, Helenus, Antainera and Paris all turned when the doors slammed shut. He didn't acknowledge the fact that Aeneas was still unconscious. Perseus moved to the head of the table and leaned forward, placing his fists on the varnished wood.
"Alright, guys, new mission. We're going to Lemnos."
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