[As heard on various news sources]

"...with it being Patriot Day, it is a shock to hear of a breaking story on one of our military bases. Lieutenant Andreas Karalis and University of Washington sophomore Amanda Keefe were victimized in a brutal attack at the Fort Lewis complex in Washington. Reports state that five masked men broke into military quarters around three a.m. this morning, and surprised the victims, tying them both up. Lieutenant Karalis was severely beaten with various weapons, and Miss Keefe was beaten, stripped nude and had numerous Bible verses carved into her skin with a knife. She also suffered some stab wounds. Medical experts say that the injuries of both victims, while severe, are not life-threatening. The female victim is pregnant, but mother and baby are both listed as being in stable condition. The military has chosen to release the report due to allegations that both victims are known reincarnations of figures in Greek mythology: the hero Achilles, and the Muse Erato, on the suspicion that other so-called 'godlings' may be targeted next..."

In light of recent events, I think it best I see my family. It has been many years, there are things we need discuss. Erato, respectfully I think you need join me.

Achilles? Don't forget, Mom and Dad are going to take us out to dinner after we get all my stuff moved back home from the dorm.

...I think we can tell them then, OK?

[It was hard for Achilles to not be as open with Erato. He couldn't treat her as coldly as he did before when he was the first person she came to with her powers restored for a day. He held nothing but his men's honor and they would follow him as the leader he truly was. Erato had rewritten his story, a new one, not only with her honeyed words, but the child she'd offered.

Now he could not get her out of his head. He would die protecting her.]

Erato, how are you faring, my delicate Muse?

Happy birthday, Achilles!

Hope it's a wonderful day. ♥

[That morning waking out of the barracks, Achilles felt his strength raise again. Not his mortal strength, but that of the demi-god he'd always been nestled under this mortal body for decades. Now he stood with a grace and power that none of his fellow soliders could understand. It was almost as if he glowed in the bright sun-light. His hair was golden, his skin a light bronze. The heel that Paris had used to bring him down was no longer sore or tender. It was sturdy.

His soldiers found themselves following him into a magnificent roar of voices, their fists pounding against their chests chanting a name they didn't know him by. 

"Achilles. Achilles. Achilles!"

One soldier that had missed his early morning cue came outside to the chant, confused by the scene and his Leuitenant. 

"Karalis?"

"No," Achilles said, his voice serious and forceful. "I am Achilles. Son of Peleus."

Confusing as it may be, it was still a name that many a soldier knew. Achilles was the song of grief, a valiant soldier of war that throughout the ages they would always relate to.]

[Achilles has remained quiet since the maenad raid, pouting more or less to cope in his own way. Blood is something that stains his hands from one life to the next, it is not unknown to him. Killing a maenad however only awakened an ancient anger he had not seen in centuries. A cruel and ruthless anger that cared not for the lives he took. The Achilles now while stern and strong, held some compassion for his fellow man. This, this ordeal was senseless, there was no reason to it, and in seeing Erato abused in such ways tore at him inside. It opened up a fresher wound than he thought was even visible. He had not expected the little Muse to sit so easily on feelings he had not experienced in this time. Now that was all too apparent, and Achilles had to hold himself back from her or he too would succumb to that anger again. She had those willing to take care of her in the way he could not right now.]

Something has awakened that is cold and familiar.

Erato, forgive an old warrior for his silent tongue and unwilling heart. I cannot accept this right now.

Hey, everyone! Brothers and sisters and all the rest!

Things are seriously awesome down here at the dorms! Everyone's invited! Can't wait to see you all here! ♥

[After a long day of training exercises, Achilles paused to feel a twisting sharp pain shoot through his heel. The more he put weight and pressure on it, the more inflamed and agitated it became. Heading back to the barracks eventually made him pause to catch his breath, his ankle finally giving way to bring him to his knees. He hadn't yet felt that in this incarnatation, not nearly as dramatic as the first time, but painful just the same. He picked himself back up, carrying himself with a valor that would not be brushed off due to pain.]

I am to stay off my feet for a few days. The doctor has not understanding that I simply cannot obey those orders. I will become restless in bed. This is not acceptable.

[In the weeks past Achilles had been the dutiful soldier to the young Muse under his protection. No, not because the Sun God asked it of him, but for his own peace of mind. Achilles did nothing except for those he held dearly. He was not a puppet to be used on a whim. He made his own choices, took his own leads and followed no other man but himself.

Over the course of this time his heart had opened up to the little Muse, unleashing something within her. She felt herself in love, though those were not easy words for a hardened man as himself to profess. He would not profess them simply. For now he would be a strong embrace and she a calm energy upon his sometimes restless soul.]

The nightmares have but stopped, yet I believe it not the end of their corruption. I know too easily what it means when the waters calm. Something lurks in the darkness to claw away at sanity.

[Apollo]
Your Muse is safe.

[The God of Prophecy was used to having dreams that were a little too real. They happened often enough, usually enough to tip his favor one way or another on something. To most people, it seemed like uncanny intuition. But, when those dreams turned dark, the Sun could become more dangerous than most realized.

His Muses were in trouble. He wasn't sure why, or from whom, but he sensed the darkness coming over them. Slowly, insidiously, like the plagues of old he sent when people had insulted him. It settled over them, gentle as a lover's caress at first. Dimming things slightly. Hiding their brilliance, like a tarnish. And then it broke them. Made them weep and scream.

No one hurts his Muses. No one.]

[Filter: Muses]
Are you all right? Tell me you're all right. Tell me right now if anything--anything at all--is wrong.

I'm coming to see for myself. I have to see that you're both all right with my own eyes. Urania, I'll ensure you're taken care of. Erato, you do whatever Achilles tells you to do.

[Filter: Achilles]
My Muses are in danger. I'm going to Laramie to see to Urania, but I can't be in two places at once. Erato trusts you, so I'm trusting you with her. I need you to watch over her. In person. Starting now. Don't let her out of your sight for so much as an instant.

I mean that. Not even for an instant. If she goes to class, you go with her. If she eats, you eat with her. Studying? You're there with her. Sleeping? I want you beside her. Lavatory and shower--I don't care how awkward it might be, I want you there, and no excusing yourself from her side either to take care of your needs. Do whatever you have to, come up with any necessary excuse. Just make sure you're with her at all times.

Don't fail me.

[It wasn't unlike Achilles to have nightmares. They were common when he'd thrust himself through battle with each new life. He knew no different, and mentally it was unstable. While his nightmares generally were of carnage, visions of his past lives, the blood he'd spilled, women did not often corner into the base of his mind.

Since meeting that little Muse, Erato had sneaked in. This time when he awoke from a clamoring dream it wasn't with the face of a dying comrade, but the sullen eyes of the blond innocent that had professed her love for him just weeks ago. Her face however was not with that budded pink hue that grew on her cheeks, her hair dull and lifeless, her skin was just as lacking with color. On a war torn wasteland she was in the middle of it, in his arms covered in blood with hardly a breath left.

It jolted him. He sprang up from his bed drenched in sweat, looking down to a lap that was inhabited by nothing more than his bedsheets. He looked to the clock. It was 3 a.m.]

Disturbed by the past, present and the future that has yet to come. If my dreams have any sort of dark forecast, I do hope in fact they are false for once.

[Filter: Erato]
You are safe are you not?

I did it! I survived my first day of college!

I can write my name in Attic Greek now, and I successfully read a few sentences in Latin without needing to look anything up! ^_^V

[Filter: Achilles]
And Achilles... Just... ♥♥♥ Love you.

Ah, my little girls are getting so big. Both had their first days of school today. Emily's now in the second grade, and my little Haley is a brand-new kindergartener.

I'll have to decide what I want to do to celebrate when she turns five in a couple weeks.

...Okay, that was just weird. One of my dad's associates came by to pay for the script my dad wrote--one of the side jobs ones--and told me I was pretty enough to be in pictures. ...I just don't know if I'm really the sort to be in front of the camera for that sort of thing.

Kind of makes me glad tomorrow is move-in day at the dorms.

[Filter: Achilles]
When can I see you again?

Fess up! Of the lovely ladies, who is the most do-able? Yes, and why!

A strange revelation indeed. Emails I cannot get rid of and a board full of others not unlike myself. Introductions are necessary. Lieutenant Andreas Karalis, US Army.

Better known as Achilles, son of Pelius and nymph Thetis.

I am but a lion and you will hear me roar.