“You are a disappointment.”
“You are a failure of a Titan.”
“You are not my Son.”
“You have betrayed my expectations.”
“You were supposed to kill them all.”
“You should never show your face to me again.”
“Be gone, you incompetent nobody.”
“Just die instead of wasting any more of my time.”
Voices and thoughts belonging to family he never knew plagued his mind. A single lone figure walks upon bone white remains. Corpses of clay span endlessly to a destination they can not see. The sword of bones in his hand scraped against the bodies of his failed iterations. Forever, Patroclus wanders towards his eternal penance as a Titan…
A rumbling of asphalt… A whirring of machinery… Something approaches from behind him…
Numbly, he turns to see…
A strange vehicle of locomotion, less advanced than the Titans’ technology, but… why was it here?
The dimmed window on the passenger side rolled down to reveal the vehicle’s driver.
A man in athletic purple sporting black shades.
“Greetings, the One who knows Achilles best. I noticed your sluggish energy and have decided to render my assistance.”
The engine ran as Patroclus simply stared at the man; his hazy mind was unsure what to make of it or the man’s extended aid.
The man simply sighs and smiles. “A certain Witch of Colchis and her goddess has told me about you. The goddess merely gave me the road to find you and here we are.”
Hek…ate? A bubbling fact emerged from his memories.
The man nods. “That’s right. The Goddess of Crossroads, but where are my manners? I haven’t even given you my name. Well… It’s not my real name, but I answer to it all the same.”
The passenger door opened, as if inviting in the Weapon of the Titans.
“My name is Sasaki Kojirou. Though I am aware of your own name, I’d like to hear it from your own mouth.”
He is…
“You are not Patroclus.”
He is…
“You were never Patroclus.”
He is…
“You are nobody.”
Nobody.
“Oh ho? A fellow Nobody? I greet you from one fellow No One to another.” An old man in admiral garb leaned in from the back seats. He saw a smaller person seated beside the old man, but they were fast asleep. “Captain Nemo, at your service.”
A memory of a captain faded… Odysseus?
The Old Man of the Sea laughed. “I am honored to be compared to that man, but enough of me. Why not rest your feet?”
His eyes glumly scanned the open seat before him. He looked at the man named Kojirou and found… no ulterior motives in his eyes behind the shades…
If it is the Will of the Gods, then…
The leather seat was soft as the car continued along the road paved with his failures.
“Mind sharing your true name, Mr. Nobody?” Kojirou offered, his eyes glued to the endless road ahead.
His eyes stared ahead. His mind was numb. His hands were unresponsive. His sword was in pieces on the carpet at his feet.
Patroclus.
A name he does not deserve.
“Oh?” A touch of concern from the captain. “And why do you think so, lad? What can I do to help?”
Patroclus cradled a hand on his forehead.
He… cannot tell if he is Patroclus or… just a shell who stole that name.
“Hm… A conundrum of Theseus then? I was informed of your plight and thought to compare the circumstances.” Nemo ruffled his mustache.
His eyes glazed with remorse.
“Do you remember why you are here, Patroclus?” Kojirou reminded his passenger.
Remember…
“Achilles…” The sole word that meant so much more to him than just a name.
A tear spilled from his eye, rolling down his cheek.
“Aye. The fastest man in myth. The one you perform this eternal trial for.” Nodded Nemo.
Another tear wetted the other cheek. The serenity of a muffled engine and the gently blowing air conditioner only lulled his eyes to flutter close.
“You look like you have held back your feelings for a long time, friend.” Kojirou observed both his passenger and the road. “Why not close your eyes and sort your thoughts out before we can help you in full?”
“Achilles…”
Whispered the Comet Runner’s other half before they drifted to the land of Hypnos…
---
The Gates of Elysium.
A single guard.
“Achilles!” A monstrous hand made of ashen bones reached out.
“Halt, monster! Elysium is barred to your kind!” A harsh voice.
“Achilles! It’s me, Patroclus!”
“Ha! Nice try, Titan!” The guard only laughed in his face.
“Achilles! Please! Remember! It’s me, Pat!” Eyes watered. His voice wavered.
“Don’t you DARE speak that name!” The guard growled offended.
“Achille-”
“I will send you back down to Tartarus myself!”
A green blur. A spear that can kill Gods.
His Heart that held an Eternal Love for the Comet Runner was-
---
His eyes fluttered open. Dark bags underneath his eyes. Dried water streaks on his face. The humming of a traveling car continued in his ears.
“He’s awake.” A girl reported.
“Ah, so he is.” The familiar voice of Captain Nemo confirmed.
Looking back, he saw a girl in a single black hoodie. RAT was written on the hood.
“Sup.” She grinned with a peace sign. “Name’s Shu.”
“She’s our little stowaway.” Nemo chuckled.
“I should mention that the Captain is riding alongside us because a fellow Captain asked him to.” Kojirou was still driving with a smile.
Odysseus.
“Aye. The man whose name derived the only word that can describe my journey called in a favor.” Nemo nodded. “Whereas this little one simply decided to tag along on her own accord.”
The girl smirked. “I heard from a couple of Greek great great cousins of mine that it was you who trapped them in cages while on the Black Fleet. You always secretly fed them and set them free on the next island you docked at. I have come to help you out after you helped my family out.”
He… thinks he remembers doing that. He thinks.
The Constellation giggled. “You don’t need to worry about remembering it when I can vouch for you instead.” She crossed her arms atop of the passenger seat’s shoulder and perched her chin on it.
“So. What’s got you crying in your sleep, big guy? You were whispering your boyfriend’s name over and over like it was your last words.”
“It reminded me of my time alone on the Nautilus with only my books for company.” Nemo nodded.
Boyfriend…
“I am…”
Disdain. Disgust. Disappointment.
Those eyes in his dreams…
“Scared.”
“Of?” The Rat girl rocked her head along her forearms.
His empty Heart was heavy…
“I… changed.”
“Ah… I see.” Kojirou understood as he expertly traversed a series of hairpin turns without even rocking the stability of the cabin. “Your service here in Tartarus has deeply affected you.”
“Everyone changes, lad.” The Captain said sagely. “Whether it happens in between a moment or an eternity, everyone changes. I was only a mere prince before my journey in the abyss changed me into the man I am.”
Shu hummed in delight. “I was just a rat chosen out of all of my family. And in a split-second, I became the First Zodiac sign.”
“As for me…” Sasaki Kojirou smiled at a memory only he saw. “My training has molded me into the man you see now. We are the collective results of all of our life choices, but… I suppose you are worried about something related to that.”
He nodded.
“I don’t remember if…” His frustration cuts off his sentence. “I can’t tell if…” His teeth gritted. “I just… Am I Patroclus?”
“Yes?” Kojirou said plainly.
“Well of course, you are.” Nemo answered truthfully.
“What kind of question is that?” Shu only raised a brow.
“I…” Patroclus can only shake his head. “Sometimes… I remember. Sometimes I feel as if I-”
“Don’t belong anywhere in the World?” Nemo finished the sentence for him. “Even less, by the side of Achilles?”
“Feel like you did not earn your place in the World?” Shu awkwardly coughed. “Like you only bluffed and cheated your way through?”
“Felt as though you do not deserve your name?” Kojirou wistfully mused. “As if you are an imposter who stole his name?”
Patroclus could only stay silent as he realized who his company was.
“I…”
Two mousy hands placed themselves on his shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s all okay. We get it.”
“That is a question we have all asked ourselves once.” A captain who carries the deaths of his lost crew silently mourns.
“Sometimes I had wondered if I had truly existed beyond a wraith.” The driver can only chuckle. “But… then I say, “What a silly question.” I exist now. So that was that.”
Dejection stared at the ceiling.
“So… then what is the point of performing this… war for the Gods? Killing my family over and over. Dying over and over. Trying to reach for a Dream that doesn’t belong to me? Trying to perfect the idea of Patroclus?”
The Swordsman who reached the pinnacle of his swordsmanship only chuckled. “I think that is the wrong question. What you should ask yourself is not “How can I make myself Perfect for Achilles?”"
“It should be, “Is my Love for Achilles true?”” Nemo continued. “I could have mastered every skill in the World and I will still be far from Perfection.”
“If you really love him, then everything else shouldn’t matter to you.” Shu grinned. “Perfect didn’t win me that race.”
“I don’t think Achilles wants the most Perfect Patroclus at Elysium.” Kojirou shook his head. “My own technique is far from that man’s idea of Void.”
“I think he just wants to see his Pat again in Elysium.” Shu shrugs.
The car slowed to a stop. Outside the window was the next iteration of the Trojan War.
The next iteration of the Titanomachia.
Another chance at Elysium. The River Lethe’s waters made waves that washed along the shores of Troy.
Patroclus simply looks on at the carnage…
And saw a single shining star far above in the sky.
“Achilles…” He muttered. His Heart flickered with an eternal ember.
His eyes closed. The smile from his beloved overwhelmed all his doubts.
Without a word, his hand opened up to his driver. Six bones the size of knuckles sat on his palm.
“My fare.” He said.
“Ah, I only did this for-”
“I insist.” Patroclus forced his gratitude to the Swallow Driver.
With an understanding smile, he took his passenger’s fare.
“Thank you. All of you. I will repay you for this kindness in the future. I swear to you on the Styx.”
The sounds of war filled the cabin. The passenger door closed. The Comet Runner’s Better Half has attempted another chance at Elysium.
“There he goes.” Shu said. “Think he’ll make it this time?”
“He will make it eventually. He will arrive at that distant isle.” The Captain of the Nautilus nodded so surely. “Just as I have.”
Their host and driver cleared his throat. “Now… How do we wish to divvy these up? I see you two just as deserving of these as I am.” Referring to the six bones in his hand.
“Just one is enough to satisfy this old man.” Grinned Captain Nemo, taking a single piece.
“Second place doesn’t sound so bad…” Giggled Shu, taking two herself. “But first place will be mine someday. Legitimately. Just you wait.”
Closing his hand on the last three, Sasaki Kojirou humored the Constellation. “Of course, Goddess. Whatever you say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!?”
The laughter of the two men meshed well with the complaining of the goddess as the car drove off into a cut in reality…
Off to start another race.
Originally Posted by Ismail2002
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