Chapter 13

"You're... you're..." Maximus tried to say.

"Achilles" the man completed with a slight nod.

Maximus couldn't believe his eyes. But standing before him was one of the greatest warriors in history, Achilles. The hero of the Trojan War, the invulnerable warrior, killer of Hector, a true legend among men.

"But you're supposed to be dead," Maximus said.

"So I have heard. Can you walk?" he answered.

Maximus nodded, and got to his feet. And now that he got a good look at him there was no mistaking it. It really was the great Achilles. Maximus had seen pictures of him before, even an old video of a fight of his during the Trojan War. Heck his bunkmate in the army had a poster of him hanging on their room wall. This was definitely him. His hair was black and had the same almost military style cut as Maximus. He didn't have a beard but he did have stubble growing. Guess he didn't have time to shave between plotting to take on a military convoy or something. It wasn't hard to see that he was good looking. His features looked like they were sculpted and his body seemed like it was carved from metal. Maximus remembered a female soldier named Cindy once telling him what a pity it was that someone so handsome had to die in war. Well, I guess Cindy was wrong, Maximus thought. He was definitely still alive. He even had the scar above his right eye. The one he had got in his legendary fight to the death with Hector. Which Achilles won, of course.

And the armour – Maximus couldn't believe that he hadn't recognized it at first. It was almost as famous as Achilles himself. 'The armour of Styx', a legendary armour forged by the smith god Hephaestus, made from a rare black metal only found at the bottom of the powerful river called Styx that flowed in the underworld. It was said to invulnerable to almost any form of attack. Maximus was looking at a piece of history itself.

Achilles walked up him and asked, "Are you alright?" to which Maximus nodded. "I apologize for breaking away from battle for a while. But I needed time to charge my attack," Achilles continued, "and in my tired state it took longer than expected." Maximus wanted to respond, but he was still a bit too awestruck to form eligible words so he just nodded again. Achilles then walked over to Rex who was still unconscious. "You might want to find a way to wake him up," Achilles said. "I don't think carrying him is an option. Then get out of here as fast as you can, the soldiers will be back with reinforcements. The transport was carrying a high profile target."

Maximus realized he was talking about the old man. He still didn't understand how he fitted into the picture or why he was a high profile target. "So what are you planning to do?" Maximus asked, finally able to pull himself together.

"I have to find him before the soldiers do." Maximus thought about this for a moment, and he came to the conclusion that he might be safer with Achilles than the soldiers. Then he said, "Then um ...sir, Mr. Achilles, I think we can move together. The old man you're searching for is most probably with my friend, the sprite." Achilles looked at Maximus, his expressions were still as stone-faced as ever. "Do you have any idea where they might be?" Even though they hadn't planned it, Maximus had a pretty good idea where Hedger would be headed. "There's a cave not far from here. Its entrance is hard to find unless you know it's there, so it's safe from most animals and monsters. We sort of use it as our camp between long scavenger hunts."

Achilles nodded at this and said, "And your name?" holding out his arm. Maximus realized that he still hadn't introduced himself. He shook his hand "Maximus, sir, and that's Rex, by the way," he said, pointing to his still unconscious friend. Well, despite everything that happened to him at least he could say he shook hands with Achilles.

It took a while to get Rex back on his feet again, but some water from a nearby stream finally woke him up. When he got up his first words were "Are we dead?" Maximus responded with a grin and said "No, but the manticore sure is."

"How?" he managed to mutter, and Maximus just pointed at Achilles.

"Who's that?" Rex asked.

"Remember the hooded guy?" Maximus said, and Rex nodded. Maximus was about to say more but Achilles cut him off. "If he can walk then we should get moving." Maximus nodded and began leading the way with Rex closely at his shoulder. Achilles followed a few feet behind.

After half an hour or so Rex had finally regained whatever strength he could and his head was feeling better, too. When he was sure Achilles wasn't near enough to hear he murmured to Maximus, "You know, now that I get a good look at him he kind of looks like..."

"He is," Maximus said.

Rex let out a snort and said, "No listen, the guy I'm thinking of is dead."

"Well he's not," Maximus replied "That's him all right, with the scar and armour and everything."

Rex turned back to look at the man again this time more wide eyed than before. "What makes you so sure?"

Maximus merely shrugged his shoulders and said, "cause he told me." Maximus wasn't sure if Achilles had heard them or not, but even if he did he didn't show it.

After that Rex fell silent. Maximus guessed that the new piece of information must have made his head hurt again. After all he still couldn't believe it himself. After a few more minutes they reached the entrance of the cave. And when they went inside, Hedger was waiting for them with the old man, just like Maximus had predicted.

"You're alive," Hedger said with joy, "how the heck are you still alive?" Hedger started flying in circles around his friends.

"Thank him," Maximus said towards Achilles. Hedger looked at the great warrior and said, "I don't get it, you guys got rescued by a male super model?" Of course, Hedger was never in the army so he wasn't exactly familiar with what Achilles looked like, but Maximus was sure even he had heard of his name. "Hedger that's Achilles," he said.

It took a few seconds for Hedger to let what he had heard sink in. "Achilles," he said, "as in the Trojan War hero, Achilles." Maximus nodded, and he had never seen Hedger's mouth so wide open before. This was saying something as he rarely shut his mouth.