Oct 28th, the next morning.

Flap...Flap...Flap

Takashi soars through the sky in his wings. He maintains altitude to avoid being spotted by the Hyrian guards. His eyes pay attention to some movement coming from the trees. He silently swoops down and lands on a sturdy tree branch for a better view.

The fifteen guards scour the area with crossbows ready to fire. One look tells him Stavros isn't among them. Still, tying them up would be a waste of time. Plus...I don't want to risk Ismene being exposed to Avgi.

He takes a pebble from his bag and chucks it. The guards jump from the sound that came from the left, alerting the others to join them.

"What was that?!"

Thud!

The arrows fly loose at the sound.

Thud!

"Defensive position! Those Trojans are planning something!"

They form a circle with their spears facing out. Some of them look up to see if anyone is hiding in the trees.

"Stop."

He delivers sharp jabs to the face and follows up with a kick below the belt for good measure. He confiscates the weapons and armor to rattle them with fear.

"Play."

Ten of the guards crouch over from the sudden pain. The other five jump with a fright from the feared foreigner with his drawn sword. They all reach for their weapons only to find they're right behind the stranger. Beads of sweat form on their exposed foreheads.

"Not a single move or it will get worse for you," he warns with a pointed sword. "I could have killed you just now, but I held back. My offer is this: leave to the west and never enslave another human or death," his darkened eyes tell them all that he had killed before.

"W-w-what about Stavros?"

Faint green wisps dance around his body. "I will take care of him myself," his eyes narrow. "If I ever hear about you mistreating another person, just know that I will rain down justice without any mercy. Now leave and don't look back!"

All of the men scramble to the west without looking back.

When they get out of his field of vision, Taki leans against a tree with heavy breaths. He slowly breathes in and out.

"I'm not going down that path again," he reminds himself. "It's just a bluff. Just a bluff."

With collected breaths, he flies upward and finds the camp. The sounds of whips hitting flesh has him grit his teeth. It will end tonight. I promise you all.

His eyes scan for Stavros. No one matches his description, but he does see the flammable substances Paris mentioned.

He flies off to the east to avoid being spotted before circling back to the others.

"I couldn't find Stavros, but I was able to reduce their numbers down. Just scared them away."

The wood of Paris' bow creaks from his grip. "Why did you let them go?"

"I chose the method that worked best for us. I won't stop you from doing what you want, but don't hurt your people as a result."

Helen holds his hand to soothe his anger.

"Tonight, Troy will be free again. But where will we go after this?" Briseis asks.

Ismene looks up to the sky. "There could be your answer."

The waterfowl lands on her right arm. Taki takes the scroll that's from King Aeolus. He reads the message to himself. In the end, he's smiling from ear to ear.

"What's going on?"

"I know where you will go where no one can hurt you. Have you heard of the kingdom of Aeolia?"

"W-what? How do you know of that place and King Aeolus?"

"I met Aeolus while I was with Odysseus' crew. He says his people will welcome you since they have plenty of space for you all until you are ready to leave at any time. This letter essentially grants you safe passage to his kingdom. He also mentioned that he didn't tell the other gods because of what I mentioned."

"We will also secure a ship and Taki also mentioned giving you his bag of winds to get you there quickly," the river nymph adds.

Briseis, Paris, and Helen cry tears of joy from the good news.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Briseis embraces Takashi with all her might.

"You will have a new home," Ismene explains to Avgi. The little Trojan hugs them both.

"Thank you, big brother!"

"Thank Ismene as well for delivering that message. You all deserve peace. No more bad dreams."

After they calmed down...

"How can we ever repay you two?" Paris asks.

"Just be happy and live out your lives," Taki replies.

"Same here", Ismene adds.

"Can you come with us to Aeolia?" The little girl asks the nymph.

"I wish I could, but I need to keep watch over my river. I'm sorry, Avgi."

She turns to Takashi, hoping for a good answer.

"I need to get back home and that starts at Mt Delphi. I miss my family and they miss me."

Avgi's eyes well up.

"They can escort us to the ship and we will make the most of it along the way," Briseis tries to lift her spirits.

"Will you do that?"

"We will."

She wipes her face. "Promise?"

"We promise," Taki scoops her up and throws her into the air a few times. Her laughter uplifts her mood. "There's your smile!"

After cheering her up, Paris and Helen practice their archery while Ismene and Taki focus mentally on their part of their plan. Briseis holds a peacefully sleeping Avgi in her arms.

"There will be more days like this, little sis," she whispers.

With the aid of Taki's telescope, the group moves closer to where the slave camp lies in view. Paris and Takashi wear the same armor as the guards for extra protection. The prince's arrows are primed for the long range kill.

Helen ties a new string to her bow to provide her support where Briseis and Avgi will be.

Her husband approaches her. "In case things go wrong, I-"

Helen interrupts Paris with a long kiss. "You will save your people, my king."

"Thanks, my queen," he kisses her again for good luck.

"I will be down there with them, Avgi. I will come back to you," Ismene reassures her. The river nymph gives her a big hug before Briseis holds her back.

"We will signal you once it's over," Takashi informs the priestess. He goes to step away, but she grabs him by the wrist. He turns back to her.

"I know you aren't that religious, but may I pray for you?"

"Of course," he bows his head and closes his eyes.

She lays a hand on his head. "Gaia, keep us safe during this night. May the People of Troy be liberated and bring our warriors back to us safely. May we be oppressed no more."

"Thanks. And hey, we overcame fate," he smiles.

The Trojan smiles back, hoping that he's right. The men make their way to the outer edge of the camp to enact the initial phase. Ismene splinters off to do her part.

As the sun is setting, Briseis hopes that her premonition doesn't come true. She would like to be wrong this time.

----

A cloudy night blocks out the moon as if to help the heroes with their plan. Two guards at the door hold torches to keep watch with two more standing above them. Their eyes are as vigilant as hawks due to hearing their comrades running away from the foreigner.

"Stop."

Taki flies up to the guards on top. The blunt side of his sword smacks their faces like a club. He positions them to fall into a hay pile nearby to make less noise. Someone grabs his full attention.

A bloodied young Trojan is hanging by a rope in the middle of the camp. He cuts the rope to get him to the ground. As he orients him, a terrible glimpse pops into his mind.
This teen was the reason Avgi escaped.

The time traveler controls his rage from bubbling up to the surface. He drapes his cloak over the corpse to pay his respects.

He takes away all the weapons of the closest guards and throws them into the coal carts. After removing the cover off the flammable substances, his watch tells him he has time for the last part.

He knocks out the remaining entrance guards while taking a torch away. "Play."

Paris sees the four guards have been knocked out. They move on with the next phase.

One of the inside guards notices the lack of lighting from the ramparts. The missing guards cause him to draw out his sword, but it's not there. His eyes almost pop open that his fellow comrades are the same as him. Another guard notices something moving in the sky.

He squints his eyes due to the lack of moonlight. It almost resembles a giant bird with long legs. Something bright ignites before flying out.

Boom! Fwoosh!

Embers fly onto the tents of the guards. Everyone wakes up including the Trojans to this peculiar event.

"We are under attack!" THe guards yell.

They rush to fetch buckets of water, but they quickly collapse to the ground. The Trojans in custody recognize the arrows that plunged deep into their backs.

"The son of Priam has returned!" An elder woman cries out.

The prince of Troy rolls onto the ramparts and fires arrow after arrow.

The guards who were on the other side get their bows ready.

"Stop!" Taki pushes them off the ramparts to the outside. "Play!"

Time resumes. Multiple thuds are heard outside the camp.

"The foreign demigod is here!" One of the guards yells.

The prisoners murmur about the stranger. No one had heard of him and yet his presence drove fear into the slave traders.

As soon as he finds an opening, Paris runs over to the barbed wire fence to break the lock. Helen, from outside the camp, fires one arrow after another to give him cover. The projectiles plunge into the heads of the guards with pinpoint accuracy.

"We will get you out of here!" The prince announces to them.

At the same time, the guards who fell on the outside see a woman who strikes them down before they could make another sound.

The river nymph absorbs their blood and taps into the anger that she had been building up against Stavros and his men. Her eyes turn white with her body becoming more fluid than solid.

"YOU WILL NOT HURT THEM AGAIN!" Ismene rises up above the camp. Her hands rise up, lifting all the water from the well. With a swiping motion to the right, the water pushes the guards away from Paris.

Her arm turns into a crossbow. Hydro arrows go through the heart of each guard she sees.

Helen's jaw drops watching all of this from Taki's telescope. What Ismene said earlier to Avgi pops in her head. "We can't play by the lake since you can't swim yet."

"What's going on, Helen?" Briseis asks.

"...It looks like the plan is working. Paris is freeing your people as we speak. Ismene and Taki are fighting off the guards," she prepares another arrow.

"Are they okay?" Avgi asks with concern.

"Yes, sweetie."

"Everything will be alright," the priestess reassures.

Paris breaks the lock with Ismene guarding him. She sweeps her hands, trapping some guards into a whirlpool and forcefully throws against them the back of the camp. The wooden South wall falls down. The guards are left motionless and blue.

The prince leads everyone out of there while Taki keeps a lookout for Stavros. As he flies, something yanks him down to the ground!

His back connects with the harsh ground. He slips out of the wings to find a scythe embedded in the right wing. The scythe whip then gets pulled back.

Stavros' fingers twitch from all the trouble they caused him.

"Stop!"

His emerald aura freezes time, leaving Ismene unaffected. Takashi rushes forward to the slave master. He charges up every ounce of anger and throws the punch.

His fist is caught. Ismene's and his eyes pop open. Stavros' punch to his gut expels the air in his lungs. The breastplate cracks with a hole in place. Taki rolls along the ground to put space. Time resumes to his fear.

Stavros throws his scythe whip, this time, at the Trojans.

"Slow!" Taki sharply exhales.

He ignores the pain to cut off the blade of the whip. He pushes it down to the ground.

At the same time, Ismene grabs the whip with her hand. The nymph pulls forward, but the man refuses to budge. The slave master's battle shout brings crimson wisps from his body.

Aura?! Taki's fear forces time to resume.

The menacing air of Stavros stops the Trojans and Paris from escaping. Helen, Avgi, and Briseis hold each other close from feeling this energy before.

Helen shakily aims her arrow at Stavros, but her courage is weak. Briseis and Avgi hold her bow so she can get a good shot. Helen sees her chance and fires away.

The arrow gets close but gets caught by Stavros' hand. The cruel monster glares in their direction. The women tremble from reliving the night Troy was ransacked. Their screams lift up to the sky.

Ismene fires off hydro arrows with more of her fury. He dances around them with inhuman speed. She tries to blast him with water, but the crimson aura evaporates the water before any contact. With amplified force, he grabs the whip and slams the nymph against the structure of the camp.

Taki stops his right foot from tapping. There has to be a way! Think, think, think!

"Rew-

The end of the whip wraps around his throat. He tries to speak, but he can't get a word out. Stavros pulls on the whip tighter and tighter. The foreigner's eyes turn bloody.

Rewind, he thinks to activate that ability. But it doesn't work. Does-Does this mean that it only works verbally?!

Paris prepares an arrow to make Stavros let go of his friend. The slave master uses Takashi as a shield. The prince aims low. The arrow lodges into Stavros' foot. The cruel man lets go of his weapon.

Taki throws the whip off to catch his breath. He sees from the reflection of the scythe that Stavros has his sword. With cat-like speed, he grabs the blade to deflect the strike. Sharp pain rings in his head from the gash across his ribs. Ismene stops the finishing blow with a blast of water to push the cruel man away.

"Rewind!" Taki's wound closes up. "Play."

Stavros grabs a spear from outside his tent and throws it. The nymph slows it down with a wall of water to use as her own. She thrusts multiple times and swings it, but he keeps evading her with his speed. He swings his sword to deflect her wild attacks.

During the distraction, Paris tries to get his people out, but they are too terrified to move. He gets in the line of sight of an elderly man. "Get out of here! Freedom is right there!"

His words aren't making it through to them. Paris bides his time with an arrow. Taki sees the whip and has a plan.

Come on, aura. He needs to be stopped! "Back up, Ismene!"

Ismene steps away. Stavros feels a rush of emerald aura coming from Takashi. He throws his sword like a throwing dagger, but the foreigner sidesteps and grabs it by the handle. Paris shoots his arrow and Stavros breaks the arrow with a chop. He didn't expect a second arrow to pierce the right side of his ribs.

Taki latches the whip around the master's left ankle. With his rage fueled power, he lifts Stavros off his feet and slams him repeatedly against the sides of the camp. A final slam puts him through the tent. He glances at Ismene to approach their enemy carefully.

The Trojans snap out of the paralysis, allowing Paris to escort them out.

A spike in red aura freezes them. A battered Stavros stands up with twitching fingers. Taki quickly pulls the whip, but the man escapes the grasp of the whip with something in his hands.

"You really think I would let you go, People of Troy?! I, Stavros, son of Ares, will never let you go!"

Everyone's heart skips a beat from the Olympian's name.

That's why he's able to resist my time powers? He's a demigod?!

To the former priestess, it doesn't make sense. Stavros never displayed any hints of being a demigod, but the crimson energy proves otherwise.

Taki raises the whip-

Rumbling. Paris and Ismene look up. A storm is forming.

"Father! Help us!" Helen cries out to the storm cloud. Briseis prays the deity behind the clouds would help them out. But there's no response.

"Get Taki out of there!" Briseis screams out to Paris and Ismene.

The rumbling thunder makes his heart want to escape its calcium prison. He crouches down to his knees with his arms by his head. His pupils shake. His right foot taps.

Not now. Not now. Not now.

"Taki! Get up!" Paris yells.

"Get him out of here!" Ismene commands while providing cover with her spear.

The prince rushes over, but Stavros throws something that makes Ismene jump in the way. A black and sticky substance covers her torso.

Stavros grabs a torch and throws it.

Fwoosh.

Ismene's screams fill up the sky. Briseis holds Avgi back from running there. "ISMENE!"

The nymph tries to summon her protective aura, but the pain won't let her. Rolling along the ground doesn't smother the flames. Taki's trauma stops him from helping her out.

Paris fires off several arrows at the slave master, but all of them get deflected. "Ismene, get to the well!"

She crawls, but Stavros stabs his sword through her! He bends the handle to pin her to the ground. The agony makes her beg for her father.

Helen shakily fires arrows to save her new friend. Stavros blocks them with the spear he picks up from Ismene. He aims at the reason for the Trojan War. The prince's arrow lodges in his neck. The demigod scowls from the annoying pest. He lets go of the spear to rip the arrowhead out. The red wisps come out to heal his neck.

Paris draws another arrow. The son of Ares cuts the distance. A sharp kick sends the prince through a section of the remaining wall. Paris exhales while coughing up blood.

Helen's eyes waver. Briseis takes over for her and fires several arrows at Stavros. The slave master just dances around the projectiles without looking back. The priestess screams for Takashi to come back to his senses.

Stavros' footsteps lead him to the perfect target.

He walks past the crouching foreigner. Bottles break behind him.

GET UP! GET UP! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!

The thunder rumbles louder than before. A flash of crackling lightning shows Stavros with a whip behind him. The slave master wraps it around his neck and lifts him by the cord. The fists covered in glass shards interrupt his gasps for air.

His golden blood splatters onto the ground.

"You thought you could help them? How foolish. I thought you would learn from the last time, you stupid slaves! This is what happens when people play hero," he tightens the whip.

Taki's eyes become bloodshot red. His fingers scramble to find an inch around his throat to breathe. He tries to kick off Stavros, but the cruel man raises him higher with a scarlet aura.

Briseis shoots off another arrow, but the aura blocks it. Ismene can't get herself out of her trap and the Trojans are too frightened to take action. The former prince of Troy can only watch with his possibly broken ribs.

A light drizzle from the dark cloud falls down on the camp.

"This will be the last thing you see, Taki," Stavros mocks.

Tears rush down Briseis' face. She thought the light in her premonition was the morning sun. It was actually the lightning in the night. His death will be her fault.

"TAKI! DON'T GIVE UP!" She screams to reach him.

Taki grits his teeth. Reset is the only way to save them! He gets some fingers between his neck and the rope. "Re-

A slice near his spine cuts him off. The pain makes him unable to say another word. His arms and legs flail around. His vision blurs.

Someone help-

Snap!

Stavros lets go. Takashi Watanabe's body falls lifelessly to the ground. The slave master jovially laughs from the sight of dilated eyes.

—

1:00am California

Penelope startles awake to her heart breaking in pieces. She grabs her pillow and sobs into it. "Don't let it be true. Don't die. Don't die on me, Taki! We need you!"

His loved ones also felt a sharp pain in their hearts. Greg throws his table over and sinks to the floor. Misha and him hold each other.

Hikari on her laptop sees a change in energy that drops down to 0%. Like she lost someone. Even though it didn't make sense, her tears hit the keyboard. "Baby brother."

Aiko is wailing from the deep loss of losing a child.

Penelope's daughter cries for her father.