12 days left before the tournament....

In the temple at Mt Delphi, Orpheus readies his lyre for Apollo's training. The ends of the musical deity's white tunic flow from the wind passing through. If one listens closely, musical notes can be heard in the breeze.

Apollo materializes his lyre with focused emerald eyes. "You thought I taught you everything about music, but I was holding something back."

"What did you hide?"

"Music can also be used as a weapon, Orpheus. I didn't teach you that because I felt it wasn't needed. Now, times have changed. I need to teach you so you can live after this."

Orpheus understands. He had already risked his life helping Jason's crew survive their ordeal. He grips his lyre. "I won't let you down. I just hope Eurydice will understand."

"I did see her before I came to you," the deity confesses.

The demigod's eyes widen. "How-How is she?"

The nimble fingers of the short-haired Olympian strum his lyre to illustrate their conversation. Various musical notes visualize and form into figures. One figure has a string of wavy notes acting as the flowing hair of his beloved Eurydice.

"How would you feel if he joined this tournament?" Apollo spoke.

"I miss him, but I don't want Orpheus to die." Hearing her melodic voice makes Orpheus tremble. He fights back against the tears trying to break out. "If he died from the games, would that mean he wouldn't be accepted into Elysium?"

"According to Hades' rule, you are correct. He would have put himself in harm's way."

The figure places her hands into a prayer. "Please, keep him safe if he joins and tell him that I don't harbor any hatred for what happened. I still love him."

Tears of relief escape the demigod's eyes while the illustration ends. A boulder of guilt has been lifted off his shoulders. He can now go through the games knowing that Eurydice wants to be reunited with him. A newfound confidence awakens his light golden aura. "We will win because I won't hold back. I'm ready."

Apollo smiles while summoning various trees for target practice.

The god begins playing a familiar song and an a note flies out. It pierces into the tree. Orpheus' mouth drops. Apollo keeps playing the song and the rest of the notes fly out like arrows (d' e' g' a' b' d'' e'). All of them hit their targets simultaneously.

Apollo finishes the song by plucking the last note on the string. A wide arcing projectile cuts through the trees, leaving them in pieces.

The musical Olympian waves his hand. New trees take root while he lowers his weapon. "The good thing is that if you were interrupted, you can pick up where you last left off. It's all about your intent. Focus then act."

Orpheus summons his aura to envelop himself and his lyre. He plays a lively song that helped him a long time ago. The pebbles on the floor "dance" to the rhythm. A g' note flies out and cuts through a tree.

Beautiful music continues to send sharp projectiles. I will be reunited with you, my love. Nothing will stop me!

He finishes the song with an energy arc which slices through all the trees. Heavy breaths leave his lips from the offensive tactics.

Apollo steps forward. "Play this song with me."

The god plays certain notes which Orpheus copies. He finds his breathing is no longer exhausted. Instead, his energy has been reinvigorated.

He hugs his teacher. "I feel like I can win now. Thank you!"

Apollo smiles. "You are always welcome, my student. Keep playing. I know you will master this before the end of the day."

----

Meanwhile,

"Ugh!" Bellero grunts from getting jabbed in the nose. The bruises and cuts on his face a result from Theseus' training. Despite the pain, he rushes forward to throw a punch.

"That's the spirit, brother!" Theseus wraps him into a headlock. 

Bellero reaches for his inner leg and trips him.

Theseus falls backwards while maintaining the hold on the ground. "You remembered! What do you do now?"

Bellero elbows him in the ribs to break the hold. He quickly pops up to put distance between them. Theseus closes the gap quickly with a running slam. Locking his hands around his waist, he rolls while maintaining the tight squeeze.

The youngest son of Poseidon forces his arm in between the hold to breathe. Theseus picks him up with raw strength and attempts to slam him from behind. Bellero shifts his body weight and rolls forward into a transitioning side headlock while laying across his chest.

Ariadne smiles from her future brother-in-law's progress.

"Not falling for that again!' the fish-like demigod declares.

Theseus grunts. "Good move! But..."

He rolls his lower body up to lock his legs around Bellero's neck. He feels himself drying up so he taps his leg repeatedly. His big brother lets go and throws his brother into the lake to recover.

He pops up with his head out of the water. "I almost got you there!"

"You really did!"

"You were doing good, brother!" Ariadne yells.

Bellero blushes from the compliment and dives deeper into the water. He eyes the fish towards the middle of the lake. With aura-applied strings, he catches them with a net. When he jumps out onto land, some cold-water splashes on Narcissus and Georgios.

Georgios laughs it off, but Narcissus bites his tongue before saying what's on his mind.

Just wait until after the games, brat.

Medea is smirking that Narcissus was caught off guard. Ariadne stifles her laughter, but some of it comes out. Theseus boldly laughs.

"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to do that," Bellero apologizes while grabbing a towel and bowing. "It won't happen again. Please, accept my apology. I also brought lunch."

"Well, we need more firewood," Narcissus points out.

The young demigod realizes that he just dampened the wood for the campfire.

Theseus walks over. "That's okay. This will be good practice for teamwork."

"It is?"

Theseus kneels beside his brother. "Together, we will make this dry and reusable. Do you believe me?"

"I believe you."

"Let's combine our aura into our hands."

The brothers summon their respective auras and start combining it in their joined hands. Theseus places their hands on the ground. The wet earth below the pit turns into mud and it starts drying up. The moisture travels into Bellero's scaly skin.

Ariadne and the others are amazed as it turns fully dry.

"That was amazing!"

Nice party trick, but how can it help us? the vain demigod thinks.

"Hmmm. What kind of use will that be out there?" Medea states.

"Since we can dry things up together, we can also do the reverse," the bandit killer answers.

"Like making a mud trap?" Bellero correctly assumes.

"Clever," Medea remarks.

"I also have more combinations in mind to get the upper hand."

Bellero's eyes light up with excitement. "Can we try after lunch?"

"Definitely. Ariadne, come with me to get the wood."

"Take my ax," Georgios hands over to Theseus.

Theseus and his wife walk several yards into the forest. He takes off his shirt which makes Ariadne bite her bottom lip.

"I know you like seeing this," he playfully boasts.

"Oh, I do," she says without shame.

With a hand of aura, he touches a tree to scatter the animals away from it. A few chops of the ax send it crashing with a thud.

After cutting up a big section, a shift of his feet replants the tree into new soil. Not even a bead of sweat on his face.

His wife embraces him from behind. "I know one way to make you sweat."

"You do?" he faces her with a smirk. As they lock lips, her fingers trace down his abs and go a little lower....

Theseus breaks the kiss. "We can't do it here. But once we find a secluded spot, I'm all yours."

Ariadne understands with a smile. She goes to walk back, but he gently pulls her in and softly touches her belly.

"Should we tell Bellero?" she asks him.

"Later when we're not around the others."

"He will be so happy once he hears the good news."

"He will. I love you."

"We love you too."

He kisses her on the belly and again on the lips. After putting his shirt back on, he raises his hands. A circle of earth levitates the firewood and follows behind them until he lays it close to the camp. The others, except for Narcissus, are more amazed by his earth powers.

"I will restart the fire this time," Georgios tells them.

Bellero walks into the lake and waits for lunch to be served. In the meantime, Ariadne seasons the fish for lunch. Theseus grabs some sticks to help her prepare lunch.

"It's ready!" after she checks them. She serves a plate to Bellero who shyly takes it.

The group takes a bite and they love it. Narcissus, though, didn't want to admit it.

"Really tasty."

"I could go more for this."

"My wife is the best cook in the world."

She lays her head on his shoulder in response to his compliment.

Medea turns her head away. A bittersweet memory bubbles in her mind. Her beloved who actually cared for her and now he's no longer around. Deep down, she wishes Theseus would win to bring him back to life. Even if he doesn't want to be with her anymore.

"Narcissus, don't you want to mention your fiancée?" Georgios brings up.

He coughs up his drink.

"Fiancée?" Ariadne can't believe it.

Medea and the rest of her group are surprised. Who would agree to marry someone like him?

The vain demigod almost glares at Georgios. "Sorry. Our engagement is a secret, but we are very much in love."

They still don't believe him.

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Echo. A mountain nymph and best friend of Artemis."

"Wow. So you must know Artemis well?" Bellero asks.

"She is my rival after all. She's the one I want to beat at archery."

"That will have to wait since she's a judge of the games," Medea comes out with it.

The group is shocked.

"How do you know that?"

"The privileges of being a coach. Athena sent me a letter about it. There are also two other judges that may be revealed before or at the games."

Bellero's eyes light up. "Brother, who do you think they could be? Could father be one of them?"

"I'm not sure. They say he rules Atlantis as king, so he may not show."

Bellero's eyes almost lose their brightness.

"But maybe he will show. Anyway, anything else we should know?" Theseus accuses the witch of withholding further information.

"Fine. I will let you know as soon as I get her message. Happy?" she lets out an exasperated sigh.

"A little. Back to Echo, what is she like?"

The vain demigod imagines something to make himself smile. "To me, her eyes dazzle and I can get lost in them forever. I love how she says my name. It's so sweet to my ears."

Theseus doubts his love since his statements all referred to him in some way. But he doesn't want to stir up anything that would hurt their teamwork, so he bites his tongue.

Ariadne rubs her husband's back. "That's wonderful. When will you get married?"

"I told her when I reach my goal of number one archer, which will be soon."

"Is that what you will wish for?" Bellero wants to know.

"That would be a waste of a wish because I know I can do it. It's personal to me so I won't tell you."

"I know what I want. Just don't laugh" Bellero mentions.

"What is it?" Theseus inquires.

"I......want to go to the top of Mt Olympus."

Narcissus hides his face and stops himself from laughing. What a stupid wish.

"What do you hope to do when you're up there?" Georgios asks with genuine curiosity.

"I always wanted to see the sights from up there. It must be an amazing view from the highest mountain in Gaia. Maybe.....I can spend time with my father there too."

Ariadne smiles from hearing that. "I hope you win so you can be up there with him. But what about seeing him in Atlantis? You are a great swimmer as far as I can tell."

"I-I don't know how to get there. I tried-tried looking in scrolls, but I-I think only the gods know where."

"It's also forbidden for mortals to enter the city without permission from King Poseidon. Even if he finds the location, he may not be able to enter," Medea informs.

"She's right. Mt Olympus is my best chance."

"That is a great wish to have, little brother. I will help you get it."

"Do you also want me to include you all in my wish? To see the sights together?"

"That's nice, but Ariadne doesn't like heights."

"I'm good with low ground," she confirms.

"It really is an amazing sight, Bellero. My grandfather, Helios, took me up there one time and they say you can see most of Greece from the peak," the witch opens up.

Bellero's fisheyes light up. "That sounds great. I can't wait to win. Wait, you're the granddaughter of Helios? The sun god?"

"I'm proud to be a part of his lineage. Not the child of immortal parents, but his divinity helped me with learning magic."

"Amongst other things," Theseus adds on. Medea ignores that comment.

"Coach, what are the wishes of the other teams?" Bellero inquires.

"I already know that Orpheus would wish his lover back. Probably to redeem himself. I don't know about the other teams since they are keeping quiet. This Takashi person is a mystery. What would he want?" she stares at Narcissus for an answer.

"He wants to be home with his loved ones. His name is weird because he's not from here at all."

"What do you mean?"

The vain demigod informs them that Takashi comes from a different world where technology has advanced. Theseus asks if he was kidnapped or had stumbled into their world. All Narcissus knows is his goal.

"I remember what he did before. He saved the Trojans and before that, he helped King Odysseus and his crew get to Ithaca safely. To be honest, he was the one who also killed the Minotaur," Theseus comes out with the truth.

Ariadne already knew, but the others' mouths dropped.

"What? All of Athens is praising your name for what you did," Georgios mentions.

He told them that the beast was already dead with a piece of its horn missing. When he returned to Athens, the council gave him credit since Takashi didn't want it. Narcissus hides the fear that Taki is more dangerous than he had previously thought. 

Medea questions why he didn't want the credit.

Theseus shrugs his shoulders. "With how he said it, he just wanted to go home. They say he's humble to a fault."

"He sounds like a good man. I don't think my wish is sufficient since I haven't done any heroic acts like that," the fish-like demigod speaks with shame.

"Don't pity him. He is your enemy. He would view you the same way. Don't you want to win that wish?" the witch asks him.

"I do, but his wish sounds more noble compared to mine."

"Remember this: all wishes are selfish in some way. There's no such thing as a selfless wish."

"What do you mean?"

"If a mother wishes for her child to do well in life, it also helps the mother in some way since the child would pay her back. There's a degree of selfishness in a wish so don't feel bad about yours. You shouldn't be ashamed of what you want."

These words sink into Bellero's mind. He doesn't like the fact it came from Medea, but she's right in some way.

"Will there be a chance that we would cross paths before the games?" Theseus questions.

"I hope so. We can see what we would be up against, since their final member slot hasn't been filled in yet."

Bellero hops out of the water. "I'm ready to spar again, Theseus."

The brothers lock up to start wrestling again.

"I will practice some archery elsewhere. I will be out for a while," Narcissus tells them.

He takes his crossbow and enters the forest. He gets a good distance away so that he won't be heard. He fires off a few energy arrows to make it seem like he was training while checking through his enchanted ring.

-----

Inside the castle in Thebes,

Takashi is preparing different arrows and takes his time with a particular poison. He carefully moves his fingers with a purpose. Echo is silent so he can focus.

He dips the arrowhead and puts it on a small towel to let it dry. After careful movements, he prepares the fiery, explosive arrows.

10 explosive arrows and 10 normal. He takes the normal ones with him as he and Echo go outside to an archery range right outside the castle. Heracles is already there firing arrows while moving from cover to cover.

He finishes up and retrieves his arrows to let Takashi take point. Taki gets into the stance and imagines himself in the games.

The arrow hits the bullseye. He slides down behind a small wall while preparing another arrow. After jumping over, he releases the projectile. The arrow hits the target close to the bullseye. He keeps repeating this tactic until he runs out of arrows.

9 out of ten have hit their targets with the last one hitting the castle wall.

The mountain nymph claps her hands. "Great job. That was intense!"

Takashi retrieves his arrows before walking back. "Thanks. I'm going to try something out," while tapping a prepared arrow. "Zone. Slow." He fires the arrow which flies at a slower rate.

He readies another arrow and taps it. "Zone. FF."

The second arrow goes faster as it hits the target. The first one is slowly making it there.

"Zone. Rewind," he points at the first arrow.

The first arrow reverses back to his hand. He smiles from the new capabilities. Confusion and retrieving ammo from a distance.

"It's time for lunch!" a royal servant announces.

They eat together with Alcmene and the family.

Takashi is eating his meal as if he won't eat again tomorrow.

"Slow down, Taki. Enjoy your meal," Echo advises.

"I'm just excited about sparring with Heracles again."

"Has he landed a hit on you yet, brother?" Iphicles wonders.

"Not yet but he was really close."

"Wow!" the twins exclaim in unison.

Heracles ruffles the hair on their heads as he received closure from seeing Meg and his kids. Taki and the others are happy for him that he changed for the better.

"I promise to make you take a step back," Taki vows in front of everyone.

"All in due time. Finish your meal and let it settle."

Taki tries, but a shadow of concern for his wife and daughter is casted over his mind. The upcoming tournament only added to that stress. He figures he has to get stronger than anyone he may come up against. He can't afford to worry them any longer.

After lunch, he and Heracles go outside. Iphicles and the others watch with Echo as the referee. The nymph drops her hand to start.

Taki taps his chest. "Zone-" He drops down to avoid getting hit by a rushing lariat. "FF!"

His body vibrates with prickled hair to the surprise of the other mortals watching.

Takashi throws a quick energy jab, but an uppercut forces it into the air. During that moment, he rushes to hit him in the right oblique, but a simple jab forces him to block with his arms. The strength almost lands him to a low wall. He shakes off the stinging pain to re-focus.

With a dash, he drops low to slide between Heracles' legs again, but a hand around his ankle throws him into the air.

Taki lands on the ground safely. "Play." He leans against a wall to catch his breath.

Iphicles claps for him. "That was great!"

Taki almost bangs his hand against the wall. Still not fast enough. If I can't progress, I will hold my team back. 

Heracles notices the anger stirring inside him. "You will get there, uncle. You did better than before. Don't push yourself too much."

"Right."

Echo hands him a cup of water that he gulps down. She can also sense his stress. Not only physical, but emotional and mental too.

His deep breaths are shaky at best. His erratic heart rate has Heracles takes charge.

"Do what I'm doing."

The strong demigod sits down and crosses his legs. Takashi imitates him with Echo joining in.

"Close your eyes. Breathe in slowly. Exhale slowly."

Takashi follows his instructions, but his doubts gnaw at him.

"Just listen to my voice. You have gotten stronger. You made it this far. You will be with your family soon. It's okay to rest."

The steady cadence cracks through the rock of stress as a stream of water.

"When you're ready, open your eyes."

Takashi opens his eyes.

"How do you feel?"

Taki's hands have stopped shaking. "A little better. Where did you learn that?"

"My trainer, Chiron, taught me this. It was the starting point of controlling my strength. Listing off positive facts reduced my frustrations and helped me with what I needed."

"He must have been a great guy. What happened to him?"

His blue eyes darken. "He was helping me with my arrows and one arrow with Hydra venom fell on his foot. He didn't make it."

"I'm-I'm so sorry."

"I do miss him, but he's in Elysium now where he doesn't have to worry about that pain.....I know you're worried about what's happening in your world. It's okay to be concerned, but too much would worry them."

To him, it makes sense. If he could sense their stress, it could be vice versa.

He takes his time getting up. "We did a lot today. We will start again tomorrow."

"Good thinking. Would you like me to-"

"It's fine. I just need some alone time. I will be better afterwards."

Taki walks to his room in the castle and lays on the bed. He puts his hands on his chest and thinks about his loved ones while touching his evil eye necklace.

"I wish I knew what was going on back home. I know you would want me right there with you. I'm going to be strong for both of us, Penelope. Daughter, I'm not too far away. Daddy is on his way home. It won't be too long now."

He falls asleep while extending good thoughts to his loved ones.

---

Throughout the day, Penelope has been checking on her daughter's fever. Some relief that it's below 100 degrees, but her baby is still fussing. She picks up her child to rock her for a bit. She and her daughter then feel a good sensation calmly cover over them. 

She turns her head, expecting her husband to have returned home. He's not there, but they feel his presence.

Aiko rushes upstairs. "Did you feel him too?"

Their daughter stops fussing.

"You feel that? That's your daddy. He's letting us know he's right here with us" she smiles.

Her baby coos as her grandma hugs them.

"He's praying that we are doing well, and I know he wishes for you to feel better soon. He hasn't seen you yet, but he loves you so much. You're our strong daughter and you will be well soon. We love you, Takashi."

"Make it back home safely", his mother "tells" him.

Greg, Misha, and Hikari also feel his presence. They almost cry as if he was right in front of them. This gives them the peace and strength to keep going. They respond back with words of encouragement.

A grin cracks on Taki's sleeping face from feeling their presence. He extends more good thoughts to give them relief throughout the day even into the late of night. 

-----Nov 18th (9 days until tournament)

Takashi wakes up feeling ready to take on the day. Heracles and Echo are the first to greet him outside his door.

"You look refreshed, uncle."

"I sure do. I'm ready to seize the day."

"Alright. Let's jump rope and get going."

He jumps rope while the sun rises with his best effort. Without his distracted mind, the exercise gets easier for him to perform. After a full ab workout by drill instructor Echo, he does some clapping pushups until failure.

Iphicles watches from a distance to avoid breaking his focus.

Taki sees him as he takes a break. "Iphicles! Good morning!"

"You were doing great that I couldn't interrupt", before giving him a bear hug.

"You can let go now," he groans.

"Sorry."

After his short break, he goes to spar with Heracles again with green wisps steaming around his body.

"Ready? Start!"

Heracles rushes in with a right cross, but Takashi ducks and directs a divine energy jab to the ground to launch himself in the air. Heracles jumps in the air and goes for a backslap, but Takashi uses his arm to pull himself down.

Before he lands on the ground, he taps his chest. "Zone. FF."

Takashi dodges Heracles' next attack without being grazed. He lands a clean hook to the ribs and jumps back to avoid being grabbed.

The mighty hero sees that his energy level hasn't gone down considerably. "Now, go faster!"

Heracles taps into his aura and throws a hook before Taki can blink. He goes to dodge, but he's pushed through a part of the rock wall. Fortunately, his defenses kept him safe. He thinks of how to keep up.

Something comes to mind. He taps his chest again. "Zone. FF2."

His body vibrates twice as fast. Everyone else, except Heracles and Echo, thought their eyes lied to them.  Two steps got him within close space of Heracles. Heracles grins as he has to increase his speed to match Taki's speed to dodge his attacks.

Not as fast as Artemis. But he's now at 40% of her true speed.

Heracles swings a punch, but he stops suddenly. Everyone's pupils shake as Takashi has fallen down to the ground. His body is back to normal, but he has gone unconscious.

Echo and Heracles' eyes widen in fear. His energy level has greatly reduced and it's slipping as time goes by. Echo quickly hits pressure points that will stop the drop in energy. Although she did it right, the energy is slowly dropping.

"Taki! Wake up!"

Heracles thinks of someone and throws love dust. He picks him up and they run through it to save his life.

Back on Earth, his loved ones shudder as if something bad just happened. Hikari and Greg's eyes widen from the plummeting energy levels, reaching towards zero.