Nov 7th

Beep, beep. Beep, beep

Takashi's alarm goes off without the disturbing thoughts nipping at him. Opening the flap of his tent, a chilly autumn wind pricks his arms. He throws on his dry hoodie as the others stir up.

He nods to his teacher and picks up his sword for his session.

During his training, Iphicles walks carefully into the forest, making note of the traps Heracles had left behind.

He knocks on the door to his hut. "Brother, it's me. Are you there?"

Footsteps. "It's not safe for you to be here."

"It's not the first time you told me that. I bought some flowers that Meg would have liked. Can we talk?"

Through the window, sky-blue eyes are fixated on the bouquet of white lilies. The door creaks open with him snatching it out of his brother's hand.

Heracles sniffs them before putting them in a vase. "She would have liked them."

"Maybe you can give them to her next time."

His brother's silence drops the painful subject at hand. He sits down on the wooden bench outside, while Heracles rests against the doorframe. The human sibling unwraps a fresh loaf of bread and puts it on the far side of the bench.

The demigod's hand slowly reaches before tearing off a piece to consume. The brothers eat in silence which Iphicles doesn't mind.

"How are things with you?", Heracles breaks the silence.

"The gym has been busy as usual. I've been coaching a new client and he's been making good progress. He's the second demigod I ever worked out with."

"Takashi?"

"He's doing well under the training of me and Artemis. But...he doubts himself. I know you won't help him, but could you give me some advice on what to say to him?"

He sighs. "Why does he doubt himself?"

"He feels he hasn't earned anything even though he did it. It's not humility. It's something else."

"He thinks he's an imposter", he guesses.

"That could be it. Do you have any words I can use to guide him?"

"Without knowing the reason, I wouldn't know what to say.....It's good that he's under your tutelage. He doesn't need me to progress."

"I don't know. I might not be of much help to him once he passes his limits. And that's co-"

"I won't help him if that's what you are asking."

Iphicles stands up. "He just wants to be home with his family. He longs to be with them. Can't you sympathize with that?"

"Our situations are different. Drop it", he growls.

Iphicles sighs. "Mom has been asking about you and she's worried. I know she tries to visit you.....Are you avoiding her too?"

Heracles crosses his arms. "You know why I have to. If that feeling ever came back.....You all should stay away from me."

"Although we have different fathers, we still came from the same womb. I'm not leaving you."

"How would you feel if I lost control and hurt your family? Would you still call me your brother?"

Iphicles' silence speaks volumes to the demigod.

Heracles slams the door behind him. "Feel free to leave whenever."

Iphicles stretches his arms. "Might take a nap on the grass. Those twins of mine keep me up and I'm expecting another along the way."

Heracles stands in place after hearing that. A slight grin from his brother's happiness.

Artemis is in the middle of cooking breakfast after finishing Taki's session.

"Anipsia (Niece), are you there?", a pleasantly warm voice calls out from the flames. Taki almost jumps from his seat from the confusion of it all.

However, Artemis smiles from ear to ear. "Theia Hestia! It's good to hear from you. How are you?"

"Keeping the hearth going, but everything is well. I'm sorry I couldn't come to visit you."

"It's fine. I feel better now. Thanks for checking on me."

"Oh, another reason I'm contacting you is that we have a meeting today at Mt Olympus."

The huntress rubs her temples. "Can I just send my dog in my place?"

"So sorry, but we need to show up in person. Except for Ares who will send his representative. I will be busy tending the hearth, so I'm excused."

"But I'm training someone right now."

"Go ahead. If he's going to be there in person, then show the letter", Taki encourages.

Artemis smirks as she catches on. Poseidon can't hurt him during the meeting.

"Was that your new student?", the flames crackle.

Taki walks over to where Artemis is and can partially make out a soft face.

"Hi, my name is Takashi and I just want to say that my wife loves you. You are her favorite goddess."

"Awww, thank you for that. What is her name so I can bless your home?"

"Her name is Penelope. I do want to let you know that she isn't from Gaia."

"What? Wait. Takashi? The man who saved the Trojans? And what did he mean by he isn't from Gaia?"

"I will explain to you while I'm there, aunt."

"Talk to you soon! Come by and I will have fresh honey cakes for you."

She licks her lips. "That will make the meeting bearable. See you soon."

The fiery face vanishes. The huntress gathers her bow and arrows before handing her totem to Helena.

"If anything happens, call me. If that doesn't work, use the dust and get to my temple."

"Okay."

Helena checks the pouch. Only enough dust for one trip.

Artemis sees the look on her face. "If Aphrodite is there, I will get some dust from her. Just be safe you two. Echo, I don't have to worry about you."

Echo is distracted as she thinks about the kiss that Narcissus gave her. White lillies drop to the ground in bliss. Artemis waves a hand in front of her. "Echo?"

The nymph shakes her head. "What? Did you say something?"

Artemis hugs her. "You silly lovebird! Have fun on your date and no sex until you get married."

"Hey! I'm not your daughter!" A shared laugh loosens her up. "I needed that."

"You will have fun on this date. Let me know how it goes. Helena's in charge until either of us come back", Artemis dictates before sprinkling the last of her dust to the opening of Mt Olympus. A swift cold breeze makes Taki and Helena shudder before the portal closes.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Echo quickly throws on a jacket over her dress. "That's my cue to leave. Stay safe, you two!"

"Have fun!"

"Get more kisses from him!"

Echo is blushing, but she doesn't hide it anymore. She smiles at them and leaves with her portion of dust. Checking the sun dial, she's five minutes early. She looks at the city map in the town square which features three gardens for citizens and tourists to enjoy.

Her eyebrows come together. Did he say which garden we were going to meet at?

She runs to the closest one. Couples and families are spending time together, but Narcissus isn't there. It's getting close to their scheduled time. She takes deep breaths to avoid overthinking. 

He loves me. He loves me.

The nymph focuses her energy into her feet to connect with the earth under the streets. She cups her ears to focus. Filtering out any noises to hear something from the vain demigod.....His footsteps which tell her he's on the opposite side of the city.

She forms a small pillar that launches her to that garden. She lands on her two feet that makes Narcissus almost jump back in alarm.

"Echo?!"

"Sorry about that. I had to-"

"You're late", he abruptly cuts her off.

She takes a half step from the sudden choice of words. "I shouldn't be too late. You said 1pm, right?"

He points at the sundial. "You are 1 minute late."

"Oh. Well, that means I can spend one extra minute with you to make it up."

He sighs. "I'm sorry to snap at you like that. I just want you to be right on time like me."

Her eyebrows lower against her volition. "But you didn't mention which garden we were going to meet at."

"But I did. Did you forget?"

Did he? I don't seem to recall.

"That kiss of mine must have made you forget. I'm sorry for that. I should have reiterated where we're going to meet. That's my fault."

She walks up to him with puckered lips. "Maybe I can make up for that."

Instead, he offers his arm to her. "I will kiss you later. I promise, Echo."

Echo puts her arm through his and they walk into the garden together. She loves the colorful flowers as they sit down for tea.

"Maybe for our wedding, we can arrange some of these flowers to be there", he suggests.

Echo daydreams about their wedding while holding these flowers. Her tossing the bouquet back and that one of her nymph friends would catch it. 

She lays her head on his shoulder. "So romantic."

Narcissus turns her head and looks into her eyes.  "Anything for you."

He kisses her and Echo kisses back. She's over the moon for him as she takes her time. His eyes look away the whole time before separating.

"Better than last time."

Echo is speechless as he caresses her face.

Just like a puppet. Just have to keep her occupied for a little while longer.

In the forest, Helena and Takashi are hunting for lunch with her leading the way.

"Helena, can Aphrodite help you with finding a husband?"

"She could, but I don't know what I could want. Maybe you can help me with a list of some kind?"

"Hmmm. Someone who's patient and understanding of your past. He gives you genuine compliments. He encourages your talent of making fur clothes. I know Artemis appreciates that."

"To tell you the truth, I was working on a fur dress for Artemis to wear if she would have married Orion. I was still surprised she told us her involvement, but I guess a part of me wanted that for her."

"That's another thing to add to your list. Someone who appreciates how thoughtful you are."

Helena blushes as she tries to calm her mind down.  He's just helping me out.

"So, we took care of the inner qualities. How about age? How old are you?"

"I'm 25, so maybe around or older. But how old are you? For reference?", she quickly adds on at the end.

"I'm going to be 30 on December 15th."

"You look go- I mean young for 30."

He laughs. "I probably got that from my mom. She's in her 50s but looks 30. How about height wise?"

"I wouldn't care if he's around my height or a few inches taller."

"Do you want any kids or mind if he has a few?"

"I would love to have kids of my own, but I wouldn't mind marrying into a family."

She realizes that she's describing Takashi indirectly. She tells herself not to use him as a reference.

"I think I know the guy you would like."

"Y-You do?", she worries that he pieced it together.

"I know someone from Ithaca who might be your best match. He used to be a soldier in the Trojan War, but he's a good man."

Helena internally sighs a breath of relief.  "What is his name?"

"His name is-"

He then feels a disturbance of some kind, directed at him. It's moving at a fast pace. Crimson iron penetrates his nostrils. He turns to the smell....

A large creature shrouded in divine aura lurks from behind a tree. Red eyes focused on its target. A severed human arm is hanging from its jaws with blood dripping down.

"Run, Helena!", he shouts as the arm drops from its jaws. Bared teeth aiming to rip him apart. 

He jumps out of the way and runs behind a tree. He ducks a swipe that tears the tree horizontally. He avoids the falling piece by scrambling away. 

ROAR!

Despite wanting to run, his feet are glued to the ground. His pupils tremble along with his body. His mind only focused on one word: thunder.

Helena swings her staff at the creature, but it doesn't even turn to face her. It goes to lash out at Takashi, but she fires off an explosive arrow---

BOOM!

Helena's action forces him to move away from the remaining shrapnel. ROAR! The thunderous roar freezes him in place.

The monster stands on its two feet, casting a nine feet shadow over him. It raises its paw.

"RUN, TAKI!"

Taki manages to move out of the way, but he winces from the shooting pain on his leg. He tries to summon energy to defend himself, but it putters out. He limps away with the creature stalking him down.

Helena fires off more explosive arrows, but the aura has them explode outside the creature's body.

She grabs the totem of Artemis to contact her. "MOM! Come back! Taki's in danger!"

A dim light appeared, but it goes right out.

Taki's demigod status kicks in to help him run like hell. Despite making swift maneuvers around branches and trees, the four-legged monster cuts him off to lead him in a certain direction.

"MOM! Anyone out there! HELP!!", she desperately screams while firing away.

He's confused as to why it's leading him to Heracles' hut. A quick idea comes to mind that he decides to risk it. He passes the marked tree and jumps over the trap!

It hits the pile of leaves and falls into the pit. Thunderous roars of pain echo throughout the forest. Taki peeks from a distance to see it trying to claw its way up from the spears that skewered through it. The paw then slumps down the ledge as Helena rejoins her friend.

The energy surrounding the creature fades along with its life. Taki could have sworn he saw a symbol right before the energy vanished.

The star marking on its back shocks the pair. Astro.

"W-Why is he here?"

"I don't know. This doesn't make any sense." His lips quiver in guilt for leading him to his death.

Helena latches onto him with tears in her eyes. "I almost lost you!"

He rubs her back. "It's okay. I'm safe. Where's Artemis?"

"She's not responding. She always answers."

Taki realizes something. "I think Astro was possessed. I thought I saw a fan with holes all over."

"A fan?"

"I'm not sure, but there must be a god-"

Bushes rustling. 

Taki brings out his sword with a trembling hand while putting Helena behind him. He lowers his sword from Iphicles coming out.

"I heard screaming. Is everyone alright?"

"A-A god possessed a bear to attack Taki ", Helena shakily informs.

His eyes widen. "I'm-I'm glad you're okay. Heracles is on his way to check things out", he places calming hands on both of them.

As Heracles makes his way over, Taki questions whether Poseidon or Athena could have been responsible. 

The mighty demigod comes out wearing his lion armor.

"I know I'm not supposed to be here, but..."

As soon as blue meets brown, the mighty hero clutches his head with both hands.

"Brother, are you al-"

Golden aura spikes tremendously, pushing everyone away. Taki grabs Helena before she could fall into the pit and throws her to the side. Helena's bag falls into the pit.

The wood of Heracles' club creaks from his grip.

His sky-blue eyes pierce right through Takashi's soul. "I will make you pay!"

He charges at him, but Iphicles tries to hold him back with his torso.

"Get out of the way, brother! He's going to kill you too!"

"Heracles! What are you talking about?!"

A swat of the hand sends him through a tree! The demigod's eyes are still fixated on the other demigod.

His club swings downward. Taki, on instinct, puts some energy into his feet to jump back. The earth shakes from the force of the blow.

Heracles goes for a side swing faster than the last strike. Taki ducks down, but his forehead gets grazed from the blow.

He shakily raises his sword as golden iron crawls down his face. "I'm not your enemy!"

"LIAR!"

Heracles fires off a powerful energy jab that knocks Takashi through several trees!

Helena's pupils shake in fear. "TAKI!"

He scrambles to get up as he had used some divine energy to defend himself. *Cough cough cough*

Blood ejects onto the ground near him. Taki grabs some dirt and throws it in Heracles' eyes. He wildly swings his club. Taki jumps back some yards away to fire off a 40 Winks arrow to put him to sleep---

The arrow bounces off to his horror. A sudden memory with Penny crosses his mind. The skin of the Nemean Lion is impenetrable.

Taki runs to the side and stops abruptly to fire an arrow to graze his face. 

Snap! The broken arrow clatters to the ground.

He side jumps while turning his torso to evade another energy jab. He winces as part of it cuts across his obliques. He fights through the burning pain to charge divine energy into his right fist. He runs in close.

Heracles swings his club downward. Taki jumps on the downswing to plant one square in the left cheek. Heracles doesn't even move back an inch. Within a second, the hero chokeslams him to the ground! The trees tremble as a crater is left from the impact.

Heracles picks him up and hits him in the ribs with his club.

Multiple cracks.

His body collides with a tree. Helena runs over to Takashi. She sees him clutching his ribs and coughing up a puddle of golden blood. His blurry vision takes note of the broken bow and arrows.

Helena fires off arrow after arrow, but Heracles turns his shoulder to deflect her projectiles.

Takashi thrusts his sword. Snap!

The handle is left with a small portion of the blade. The mighty demigod thrusts the broken half at him---- Taki gets pushed to the ground.

He jerks up since he felt hands---

Sharp exhale.

Heracles pulls out the weapon from Helena's chest. She slumps to the ground in pain as anger rises up within him. He picks up the broken explosive arrow and stabs it directly into Heracles' breastplate.

Boom!

The dust settles with a staggered Heracles in place, but his target is no longer there.

Iphicles stumbles to his feet using a tree for support. Taki returns to him with a bleeding Helena in his arms.

"Get her to Artemis, Iphicles! Don't die on me, Helena!"

She tries to grab him. "No, I won't-"

Taki removes her hand and takes off his hoodie. He ties it tightly around her wound to slow the blood from blossoming any further.

"The pouch of dust is in her bag. It should be in the pit. Take her straight to Artemis!"

Iphicles scrambles and picks up the bag. "I can't leav-"

"ENOUGH! I can't let anyone else get hurt again because of me!"

The thought of a crazed Heracles attacking Thebes served as extra motivation for him to stall. He hands Helena over so he can try to strategize his next move.

"Don't die on me. Please, don't", his voice breaks at the end.

His ears perk up from Heracles' footsteps. Iphicles takes the pouch and sprinkles the dust. Only a little comes out for a one-way trip. He runs with Helena in his arms through the portal. Helena reaches out for Takashi as he engages Heracles.

Dark green energy spikes as Taki catches the club with both hands. The impact of it makes him kneel to the ground, but he punches him in the gut. The hero coughs up some saliva before being hit by a more powerful energy jab that has him land near his hut.

Taki winces from standing up. He feels his ribcage is repairing internally, but the pain lingered. A head-on fight would end his life sooner than expected. He quickly puts on the wings and flies into the sky.

Heracles throws a divine energy fist at Takashi, but he dodges it with incredible speed. From above, he sees the same symbol as before above Heracles. It wasn't a fan with holes. It reminded him of an animal that he once saw at--

Heracles jumps up high and thrusts his club at him.

Taki throws a divine jab to knock it out of his grasp. He goes for another attack, but the hero goes to swipe down with the claws.

The adrenaline forces him to move out of the way......which results in him falling into the bushes. His groan is cut short in horror. Most of the left wing had been cut cleanly. Heracles pounces after landing close by. 

He taps more into the divine energy into his feet. The lifting stones and workout equipment of the demigod breaks into pieces as Taki dodges. A leg sweep knocks him down to the ground. A left claw swings downward like a lion!

He rolls to his left, but he screams out in pain. His index, thumb, and middle finger are missing from his right hand.

He fires off several divine energy jabs to fend for his life. Heracles gets knocked back a few feet, but he still presses onward. Taki fires off another one and uses it to propel himself away. The claws of the lion armor glow golden before firing off. He drops down with beads of sweat escaping his pores.

Like a giant chainsaw, a huge part of the forest is cleared out. Dead animals lay in pieces.

Heracles' anger rises along with his intimidating aura. Taki digs deep and tries to put himself back in the powerful state that helped him defeat Stavros. Resetting will be his last resort.

His energy spikes, but it is nowhere close to that one night. He just hopes it's enough to last with a charged beam attempt. The son of Zeus casually runs through the attack and makes another swiping motion.

Taki uses some of the aura to push away it into the clouds above him.

Heracles rushes in with a downward attack, but Taki's energized state avoids it. The strike hits the ground and leaves a large crater in its place. He quickly makes a hole in the ground with a punch and channels energy.......Heracles falls backward from the improvised uppercut!

The son of Zeus stomps his foot to regain ground. The emerald wisps leave their host into a state where he's kneeling on the ground with nothing to give.

"Heracles! Get a hold of yourself!", he begs him to stop.

The energy fist resembling the face of a roaring lion answers him---

Before it's disrupted from an energized arrow from the side!

The possessed hero is confused. In his vision, two copies of himself stand in front with the corpses of his family lying on the ground. He charges forward, but Artemis pushes him away with one hand. He crashes through his hut and lands on the backside of it.

"Artemis!"

She looks at Taki and notices he is missing some fingers, but they are healed in the missing spots.

"Iphicles told me as soon as he arrived. Aphrodite wasn't there so I had to run on foot. Helena is okay, Taki. She's going to make it."

"That's good", his heart almost settles down.

Artemis sees Heracles getting back up while Taki senses a homicidal intent in her body. Fur develops over her body just like when she had Narcissus by the throat.

"Wait, Artemis! Something's wrong with Heracles!"

"I know. But he can't hurt anyone else. If he doesn't snap out of it, he will have to die", her words send chills down his spine.

He goes to reach out to her, but she runs towards Heracles. "Don't kill him! Just knock him out!"

Heracles channels aura into a jab punch, but Artemis side steps easily and grabs Heracles by the chin. She backward slams the mighty demigod into the earth. Taki trips from the vibrations of her attack.

Heracles tries to swipe at her, but she hits the pressure points of his right arm. She steps away while putting her bow behind her. Heracles charges and Artemis uses her quick speed to remove the lion armor----

Left arm. Chest. Abs. Left Leg. 

Heracles drops into a kneeling position while breathing heavily.

"This isn't like you. Just relax and things will get better", she nears him with glowing hands.

Heracles' rage skyrockets his demigod aura which catches them off guard. He miraculously stands up with his power overriding the blockage of energy Artemis had used on him.

"You have hurt them for the last time!", he yells.

His speed is almost on level with Artemis as she leads them away from her student.

Heracles swings both fists in one move but Artemis catches them. The force of the attack leaves cracks in the ground where she stood. She taps more into her godly strength to hit him in the windpipe--

He tucked his chin and slams her multiple times against the ground. Artemis fights free from his grasp. She's not badly hurt, but her eyes are welling up.

She gets on all fours and growls like a wild dog. She vanishes. Slash! Slice!

Heracles' breastplate falls to the ground, leaving a large gash in its place. He spins and connects with a cross punch that floors Artemis to the ground. Taki's eyes almost shoot out of their sockets. He had never seen anyone do that to her.

Heracles goes to stomp on her, but she touches a tree stump. A wall of tree stumps wrap around him, but his rage is helping him break through it. Artemis' bow shines as she charges up an arrow to take him out permanently. Tears run down her face.

"May you finally have peace", she whispers.

Heracles breaks out of the hold and fires off his most powerful energy fist attack yet. The attacks collide into a large explosion with shockwaves almost reaching Thebes.

The dust begins to settle.

Heracles and Artemis are still standing. Heracles had broken Artemis' most powerful projectile with just his attack. However, two arrows are seen with one through his left leg and one in his right arm.

Taki's heart sinks to his stomach that Heracles and Artemis might end up killing each other.

Heracles goes to tackle Artemis to the ground, but she jumps over him only to get caught again. He goes to slam her again, but she twists her foot on purpose to break out of it. She rearranges her foot structure back in place. Heracles' anger is still there as he doesn't want to give up.

"STOP! Heracles, you are fighting your sister! You're not fighting an enemy!", Taki yells.

Heracles has a moment of confusion on his face, but he shakes his head while firing off energy jabs in random directions.

"LIAR! You killed them!"

"Hera is responsible! She cursed you with madness!", Taki continues.

Heracles is right in front of Takashi with a fist raised. His life flashes before his very eyes. Artemis grabs her knife for the quick kill to protect him.

Heracles throws a fist but stops it in the middle.  There's a sudden change as Artemis takes the knife away from his throat. His wrathful aura is subsiding.

"Hera?"

Taki stomps his foot to regain his courage. "She did that to make you suffer because Zeus had an affair with your mom. She holds grudges against those born outside her marriages."

Heracles clutches his head and yells out. The symbol of the peacock feathers appears and disappears.

His sky-blue eyes see all the destruction he had caused. He remembers everything he did.

He looks at his sister. "A-Are they okay?", he asks with guilt.

Artemis puts away her knife. "They are. I healed them once they arrived. Ares has sent a soldier to protect them."

The mighty hero sees what he did to Takashi. Missing a couple of fingers and badly beaten up. Artemis heals his wounds and his ribcage is fully repaired, but his hand doesn't regenerate the lost fingers.

She goes to heal Heracles, but he gently swats her hands away.

Heavy tears hit the ground. "I almost killed them! Your daughter, your student, and my own brother! Even if Hera did that to me, I deserve punishment."

Taki doesn't know what to say. He's still mad at himself for letting Helena get hurt.

"Point your arrow and kill me", the mighty demigod demands.