Achilles and Nikolaos are welcomed by the Indian king Poros, at the Hydaspes River. But Alexander is already waiting for them, having already captured the two women of the group.
An Unexpected Ally At The Shores of Hydaspes
Achilles stood in front of the rushing river. The smell of the swap hit his nostrils with a small annoyance. Although he spent a lot of time in the countryside, he couldn’t stand the smell of mud, mixed with other… earthly substances. Especially when two armies had made camp at the two sides of the river.
Although he couldn’t be certain, Poros turned out to be a welcoming man. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” he said to the team. Achilles explained to him that they were mercenaries, leaving out the fact that he was a demigod. Also, he said that they were seeking Alexander because he kidnapped two members of their team. Poros, more giant than man, with a smile always painted on his face, reassured them that he would do everything to help them. He offered them food and shelter, while they were waiting for Alexander to attack. But this attack never came to be.
The king of all Greeks was moving his army up and down the stream of the river, forcing Poros to move alongside him. This was time consuming and nerve-wrecking for the Indian army. Poros was thinking that this movement was made because Alexander wanted to find a good spot to attack, which would be in vain, as Poros had said laughing. The whole region was a swamp. It was near impossible for Alexander to pass with his phalanx and cavalry intact.
But that night was different. Alexander hadn’t move and his banners were in full view, at the opposite side of the riverbend. The message was clear. He wanted to talk. Achilles, slowly walked towards the banks of the river. Although he expected it, rage filled his chest, when he saw the girls as captives at the hands of this maniac.
Confrontation
“So” started Alexander. “I have to thank you!”.
Achilles was ready to burst into flames, even though his father’s element was the water.
“The Bow, although I could, I never had the chance. As a king you see, I have many responsibilities. Too high of a risk. But you, a lowlife like you, had nothing to lose on this”.
“This isn’t over!” shouted Achilles, clenching his fists.
Anthea noticed that the water started moving faster and made circular moves in front of Achilles. She looked at Thalestres that nodded too. But both the men didn’t seem to notice.
“Oh, but it is! You think you can escape me now? I know you. I know that you will stand here and fight! Because we are the same! Aren’t we… brother!”.
Everyone, from Nikolaos to the last soldier of Alexander gasped at this revelation. Achilles did not move a muscle. Alexander started laughing.
“So, you know!” he said. “And now here you are! To give me the power I needed to conquer this wretched world. To unleash the Cleansing, to make everything new!”.
“Are you insane? You think Hades cares for your welfare, or your ambitions? I think not!”.
“Does this matter? With all the three of the weapons I will seal him once again, gaining unimaginable power!”.
He stepped away from the two women and approached the river.
“And then, I will march at your precious home and avenge my father, by putting everyone you knew and loved to the sword!” he roared. “Starting from these two!”.
Achilles had enough. His limit had been crossed. The power of Poseidon awakened inside him. A primal feeling and a powerful one. He was the sea. Right now, he was the God of the Oceans.
The Rage of a Demigod
Clouds started gathering around the Hydaspes. Alexander looked around him in wonder.
“What is happening?” Nikolaos asked, but he got no answer from Achilles.
He was concentrated, his eyes filled with fury and hatred towards the man who had to call brother from now on. Achilles didn’t care that many of Poros’ soldiers were shouting for him to stop, or that the earth started shaking violently. Nothing else mattered to him. He just needed to see Alexander to bleed. A war cry came from within his lungs, his voice sending chills down to everybody’s spines. And then the unthinkable happened. The river stopped at its entirety. Achilles raised his hand and jets of the water rose violently from the Hydaspes.
“And now” he said to Nikolaos, who was trying to brace himself from the strong winds. “Now the fun begins”.
The young priest looked at his friend with wonder. Achilles had transformed right in front of him. There was drops of water all around his blonde hair and his right eye was dark as the ocean. His hands were covered in a strange blue flash, that allowed him to control the Hydaspes river as it seems. Suddenly, everything stopped. Achilles was standing there with his hands flashing energy and eyes full of hatred.
“You are mine!” he screamed, and the strong wind threw everyone to the ground.
The Hydaspes opened In two, while water daggers took out the surrounding soldiers of Alexander. The king of the Greeks threw the girls on the ground and drew his sword.
“This is who you are, huh? A trickster? Come down here and face me like a man!” he shouted, trying to overcome the noise that the rage of Achilles had made.
But Achilles couldn’t care less for the proposition of Alexander.
The Battle of Hydaspes
Anthea and Thalestres looked in horror at the new form that Achilles had taken. He was not human. He was at least 50 foot tall, covered with water and rocks. Alexander, although unfamiliar with this certain emotion, he felt fear in his heart.
“What is this power?” he asked himself.
Achilles’ scream was so loud, that the earth shook even more violently. Some trees fell down. The camp of both armies was in shambles. Poseidon had grant him his own power, although Achilles could not understand it. His father had given him the form that he had, when he, Zeus and Hades managed to defeat the Titans.
“GO!” he shouted to the girls. “I CAN’T HOLD IT ANY LONGER!”.
Anthea grabbed Thalestres from her hand and dragged her alongside her. Some horsemen tried to follow them, but the giant fist of Achilles smashed them to the ground, creating a mass of blood and bones, both horse and human.
“Shoot this monstrosity! Shoot him down!” cried Alexander, giving orders right and left.
Some ballistae were in place and fired on the giant. Most of them just tun through Achilles, other were crushed on the armor of the sea rocks that were covering him, but one managed to find him. Achilles’ body was at the back of the neck, and from there he controlled his giant form. He gritted his teeth in pain, as he felt the warm blood run red from his thigh.
“DAMN YOU TO HELL!” he cried again, with the deep and horrific voice of the giant, as he sent a huge wave crushing down the war machines that Alexander had built.
“There, over there! Shoot him right at the neck!” shouted Alexander, whilst he was trying to find his way around the rays of water.
Destruction
Achilles felt it in his hand. He was losing his power. Poseidon was a God, with ichor in his veins, and maybe that was the reason he could take up this form whenever necessary. But he still had his human side. With his eyes searched for Alexander. The young king was surrounded by soldiers. Achilles let out a shrieking scream and was about to dive into the enemy lines. But then, suddenly his powers went off. There was a tremendous watery explosion, sending rocks and tons of water on Greeks and Indians alike. Achilles was thrown back and fell with a heavy thump on the muddy ground, in front of the scared eyes of his friends. Nikolaos immediately rushed to his side.
The Spartan brothers went right on the shore to see if Alexander was preparing for an attack. But instead, they saw that the army was in disarray, with many of their equipment destroyed, due to Achilles’ actions and many soldiers lie dead. They secured the two women and helped them up. Anthea was panting.
“Where is Achilles?”.
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