They couldn't believe what they had seen yesterday. It had to be fake.

If I could have stopped him, this wouldn't have... He would be...

Hikari shook her head to reread the pages of the lab report she copied. There had to be something she's missing.

The report mentioned a possible weapon used in the stabbing incident.

"Due to the nature of the attack, it wasn't multiple stab attempts that occurred. The best hypothesis is a blade with three sharp points that entered the victim's body simultaneously."

She swallowed her disgust to muster onward. Numerous tabs littered her screen for any blade that fit the criteria.

If I can pinpoint the weapon and cross reference with past articles, I can find out who did it and report them to the authorities. Could it be a gang member or someone crazy?

While this happened, Penelope's daughter wouldn't stop wailing. Her grandpa and grandma had been taking turns trying to soothe her, but nothing worked.

Penelope stared at the turned off TV thinking about the news. The tote bag had his blood on it. No way of ever knowing if he's alive or dead...

Misha wrapped a blanket around her best friend and held her for the longest time.

"Mom? I want to hold my girl," she finally spoke.

"Let me get her from your dad."

Delphine brought Penelope her daughter who's still crying her lungs out.

Penny rocked her back and forth. "I know you miss your dad, precious. I miss him too. He's just away, but he will be back to us. I promise you."

The comforting words of her mom soothed her frustration. She's finally quiet.

"We just need to be strong for a little bit longer. I'm going to put her down," she told Misha.

"Okay."

As Penny came down the stairs, she overheard a conversation among the clinking of dishes in the sink.

"I can't believe it," Nicholas said.

"I don't want to," Deplhine placed away a washed dish.

"Should we admit that he's no longer here?"

"Don't say that, Nicholas! We don't know if he's still alive out there," his wife scolded in a hushed voice.

"I know. But those holes and his blood. I don't want to say it, but he could be-"

"He's not dead!" Penny stormed in with a yell.

Nicholas and Delphine quickly turned to her. Her voice alarmed Misha and Hikari to walk over.

"He's not dead! I refuse to admit that!" Penny repeated.

"Paidi mou, sooner or later, you have to face the truth that he-"

"SHUT UP! He promised to be here for me and our child! He wanted to be the great dad that his father wasn't. To tie her shoes and fend off boys. That he would protect her from the world. That he would see her off to college. And that we would grow old together," she broke down into tears.

Nicholas approached his daughter, but she stepped back. "Do you think I'm happy to admit the truth? I lost a son today!"

Tears streamed down his face that Penny couldn't ignore.

"I refuse to give up on him! I could still feel him in my heart. He's not dead until they find his body!"

Her feet stormed upstairs to be with her child. Delphine held her husband's arm from following her.

Misha followed after her friend. She opened the door to find her crying into a pillow to avoid waking her daughter.

"Are you going to say the same as my dad?"

"Not at all," she assured.

"You are right, Penny," Hikari chimed in.

Penelope sniffled as she saw the dark bags under her sister-in-law's eyes.

"I can't rule him out until they say otherwise. That bag isn't enough. I did something bad," Hikari twirled the ends of her bangs.

"What do you mean?" Misha asked.

"I copied the lab report from Sgt Garcia's computer."

Penny sat up quickly. Misha's eyes almost popped out. It wasn't like her to do something that egregious.

"You really did that?"

"I can't just sit by and wait. I don't care if I committed a crime. I will find him."

"What did you find?"

"It wasn't much. The weapon used...I can't say."

"Tell me. I need to know so I can help you in some way," Penny grips her hands.

"They think it is a blade with three sharp edges for one attempt. It wasn't three separate attempts."

"What? That doesn't make sense," Misha scratches her head.

Something came to Penelope's mind. "A trident."

"Penny, that can't be. Who in the world would use a trident as a weapon?"

"It's the only thing that came to my mind. Maybe a handheld version of it."

"Okay. I believe you. I will compile that with the notes I made and hand them to you," Hikari assured her thoughts.

"Thank you, sis."

Hikari walked over to rub her back. "I'm on your side."

"Me too. I will help and back you up," Misha joined in the embrace.

Penelope felt her spirit lifted from this support. "Thank you."

"Let's try to get you some sleep. At least close your eyes," her sister suggested.

Penelope moved to the middle so Misha could tuck her in. She slept on the left side while Hikari slept on the right. They hoped that tomorrow would bring some good news.

---Oct 13th, current time

The Florakis' house gets a knock on the door. Hikari quickly hides her phone, thinking it's the police.

Nicholas opens the door. "Oh, hello, Aiko."

Hikari sighs in relief. She comes down the stairs to see her ravenette mom. Long black hair that goes past her shoulders. Despite being in her 50s, her face retained the youth of her 30s. Her emerald dress with the short v neck flutters from the breeze.

The eldest sibling glances away. Aiko has the same milk chocolate eyes as her little brother.

The Watanabes embrace each other deeply. "I missed you, mom."

"Me too."

"Hi, mom," Penny greets while holding her daughter.

Aiko wraps her arms around them. "Congratulations. She is so lovely. What is her name?"

Her name is mentioned.

"So cute. May I hold her?"

Penny hands her over. Aiko gently rocks her grandchild.

"I see you have my son's brown eyes, little one. So bright and gentle. I love you," her grandmother adores. The baby coos while grabbing a part of her hair to pull on it. "Ow. You have that supergrip. Forgot about that part."

Hikari goes to help her, but Aiko takes out some toy keys and jingles them in front of the baby's face. She lets go and grabs the ring.

Hikari briefly smiles but remembers that she has to tell her mom the truth. "Mom? There's something we need to tell you. Please, sit down."

Penny takes her baby and she cries. "I will be right back. Probably needs a change."

"I got it this time. You stay," Misha tells her. She nods and Misha takes her baby upstairs.

Aiko feels a somber mood in the room. Her shoulders almost hunch over. "What happened? Please?"

Her daughter retells what had happened. Aiko breaks down into tears while clutching her heart. Hikari and Penelope hold her.

"It isn't confirmed yet. He can still be out there," Penny gently speaks.

"She's right. Taki is not one to give up. Nothing can put him down."

"I know, but still. He's my son. I can't bear to lose either of you. And you must have gone through this pain before I got here. I wish I was here sooner," she speaks with a past regret bubbling up. They comfort her through her sobbing.

Taki's best friend, Greg, also stops by later... The stunning news leaves him breathless. He pushes his hand through his blonde curly hair.

"I-I tried to look for him. I thought he was at the bar we frequented or the places we hang out. If only I was there with him."

"It's not your fault, Greg," Hikari places a hand on his shoulder. "I failed to keep him safe," she wants to take the burden off of him.

"He will be found," Aiko embraces her. "I will stay close by in the meantime."

Penny hands her the spare key. "You can stay at our place."

Nicholas gets up to make coffee for everyone. He sighs that his own daughter refuses to look at him.

Hikari does a head tilt to Greg so they can speak alone.

"What is it?"

"I want to see if you are able to find something on your end," she mentions what she did.

Greg leans forward from the information. After agreeing, she hands him a USB that he puts it in his pocket. He gently hugs her before leaving.

He looks at his best friend's baby and tickles her feet. "You have his eyes."

Greg leaves the house with sharp emerald eyes. He won't rest until he finds his friend.

--------

Sniffling follows a liquid hitting the ground. A voice stumbles out.

"Where are you?"

Takashi turns to the voice of his wife. His bronze goddess is sitting with their child, but his daughter's face is blurred out. His mother, sister, best friend, and in-laws are holding each other close.

"I'm here, Penny!" He runs to them, but an invisible wall stops him in place. He bangs on the wall. "Hey, I'm right here! Look at me!"

"Where are you, Taki?"

No matter how loud he gets, his loved ones can't hear him. The time traveler then feels something wet hitting against his ankles. Water rises up past his calves. He pounds on the wall hoping to break it.

"Penny! Hikari! Mom! Greg! I'm right here! I'm right here!"

The water overtakes him. A sudden pain is felt in his chest. Golden iron muddies the water. A rough hand turns him around. Poseidon withdraws his weapon to pierce through his head–

He wakes up in a sweat and screams. Eurycleia enters the room after hearing it.

"Are you okay, Takashi?"

"I-I will be okay."

After realizing it was a nightmare, he holds his breath and lets it out in intervals. His breathing becomes steady as a faint orange pours into the room.

"Just had a nightmare. Sorry about waking you up."

"Don't be sorry. Besides, you weren't the only one who had a nightmare. Our king just had one too."

"Is he okay?"

"I can't say. Maybe it's from the long war he went through. Our queen has got him back to sleep. Would you like some tea to sleep?"

"No. I can't sleep now. I...need to get moving. Can you take me to the armory so I can practice?"

"You don't need my permission. My king's home is your home too. You know where it is."

"Thank you."

He gets up from bed and throws on some casual clothes from his tote bag. He takes his sword and goes to the tree of many nicks. His sword screeches out with a low strike. The foreigner's prior nightmare forces his precise swings to be reckless.

Sweat drips off his face but he continues. I need to get stronger! Stronger than a god! Stronger than whatever Gaia will throw at me!

He blacks out from the point of exhaustion. A servant notices and wakes him up with smelling salts. He coughs and finds himself in bed.

"You passed out. Please be careful next time," Eurycleia warns him.

"I'm sorry," he bows his head.

"My dad taught you some of those skills?" Telemachus walks into the room with food.

"He did. Is he up?"

"I will get him for you. Eat up in the meantime."

The plate of grapes, cheese, and meat quickly goes down his gullet.

"Don't eat too fast. You will get sick that way," the nurse scolds him.

He tries to slow down, but that nightmare is drilled into his head. His watch displays Oct 14th, 12 pm. It has been several days since he got to Gaia. He knows what he would have to do to speed things along, but he wants to talk to Odysseus first.

The Ithacan king is guided by his son and helped into a chair. "Taki?"

"I'm here, Odysseus."

He turns in the direction of his voice. "I heard about your training session. You wanted to get started right away?"

"I couldn't go back to sleep. I had a bad dream," he clenches the sheets.

"What was it about?"

"I saw my loved ones, but I couldn't reach them at all. Poseidon then attacked me. You probably think I'm not a warrior anymore."

"There is no shame in telling a nightmare. My men had told me their nightmares since the end of the Trojan War. We have lost close friends over there and did unspeakable things against the people of Troy. Things we want to forget."

He can feel the shame and regret behind the king's words. He considers himself fortunate to have not gone through a war like that.

"Will the nightmares go away?"

"They don't. It's how you live with them that matters."

"You have me and mother, dad. Don't forget your men who love you too," his son took his hand into his.

"You are wiser than your age. Did you get that from your mother?"

"Probably," he jokes.

His father smiles at him. "I am truly blessed. Oh, Taki. Telemachus and the others will teach you how to camp and some survival skills before you leave Ithaca."

"That's good. I know that I said I would spend some time learning that stuff, but I can't stay normally. I need to speed things up. Is it okay if I fast forward through time? If something-"

"Go ahead."

His eyebrows raise. "Really?"

"I don't know how long your journey will take, so go ahead and use that fast forward power. You need to be home."

"Thank you, old friend."

"Old friend? I like that."

"How does that fast forward work?" Telemachus asks.

"To you it may seem like a month has gone by, but it will be less time for me. 6 days to Aeolia was 10 minutes in my world. So with that math in mind, I'm guessing it will take 2 hours or 4 months' worth of training. I will retain everything that has been taught to me."

"Wow! That's incredible!"

"I don't know if I have to imagine the next 4 months, so give me some scrolls to study.

Telemachus runs off to get the scrolls.

Odysseus is silent while Takashi takes deep breaths. He imagines himself getting smarter and stronger than what he is now. The day that he would leave Ithaca prepared for any obstacle.

Telemachus quietly drops a scroll in front of him and he opens his eyes.

"This is a scroll on basic medicinal herbs in case of injury."

"Alright, see you in four months' time," he focuses his intent while reading.

"You got this," Odysseus encourages.

"Fast Forward."

His watch clicks and his surroundings instantly blur. All of his actions intermingle with each other before settling down...

The time traveler stumbles forward on a brown surface as things become clear. He looks down to find himself on the dock wearing a travel fur tunic that covers his bicep peaks and large triceps. A sheathed sword rests on his left hip.

The warmth of the sun hits him as a crisp breeze blows by.

He finds most of the prior green trees of the island have turned brown and bright orange to reflect the new season.

"Taki, are you okay?" Odysseus asks after hearing his shuffling steps.

He whips around to see him along with everyone else he had met. He checks his watch and he's right. 2 hours have passed on Earth. He clutches his head from the residual pain of the settling memories.

He massages his temples. "Fast forwarding isn't so easy with the side effects. Can you help remind me what I learned the past 4 months?"

The men don't question him since their king told them about it.

"I taught you how to set up camp when you are in the woods and I made that tunic because it's almost autumn," Damian informs.

That piece of the puzzle settles in place.

"I taught you some exercises like pushups and squats. Also, how to ration your food," Sander adds.

"Do you remember the scroll of medicinal herbs?" Telemachus asks.

"Mint can be used for muscle pain, saffron to boost immunity, and a little mandrake for snake bites," he now speaks with ease.

"That's good. I put those herbs into pouches and they are in your knapsack."

"We also gave you plenty of drachma for more food and travel. My servants have also packed some bread and fruit for you," Queen Penelope mentions.

"Also prepared a small boat for you and it has Aeolus' bag of winds on your mast. According to the map, go east and you will be in a narrow river," Damian instructs. "Stop at Cyparissus and head north. Delphi will be straight ahead. Just follow the signs."

Takashi's eyes water from their help. He bows to them. "Thank you all! I appreciate everything you have done to help me."

Sander appreciates his thanks with a headlock for old times' sake.

"Let go, you brute!" He laughs.

"Be safe out there."

Telemachus runs up to him and draws his wooden sword. Taki's instincts kick in. The short sword screeches out. Metal pushes against wood before he side steps with ease. Another memory piece falls in place. The sword training from Sander to Telemachus was embedded into his muscle memory.

The son of Odysseus grins with pride. "Good reflexes!"

"You are definitely ready to go, friend. May the gods be with you", Odysseus's cane taps as he walks towards him.

Taki walks up and gives him a tight embrace. "I won't let what happened to you go in vain. I will make it home."

"You better. Besides, I have gotten used to it with this stick. No one will ever get one over the King of Ithaca," he lets go.

The foreigner briefly chuckles while patting his friend's shoulders. "Be well."

The time traveler undoes the rope and hops into the boat. He waves his second support system a final goodbye with heavy tears. "Thank you for everything!"

Cheers of encouragement follow him as he rows away from the dock. Their words push him towards the small Echinades Islands where their cheers become faint.

Taki gives himself a small break to leave a voice message for his bronze goddess. He notices the numerous photos he had sent to his loved ones. Memories that will last a lifetime.

"I'm on my way, Penelope. Odysseus gave me a boat and I'm heading to Mt Delphi. I hope to find a way back to you and everyone. I love you so much," he blows her a loud kiss.

The foreigner checks his map and directs his boat accordingly. He stands up and slowly loosens the silver cord of the bag. The small gust gets him past the whale shaped islands close to the entrance between Calydon and Ellis.

Traveling through here will get me to Cyparissus and then a walk to Delphi. Let the currents take me when I'm on my breaks, his thoughts swell with hope.

He sits down to row again. His right foot taps against the floor.

Alarm bells ring off from his nervous tell. His boat rocks from side to side as if it was going to flip over.

His heart skips a beat. The shadow of a tidal wave approaches him!

The nightmare he had pops up in his head.

"S-Stop!" He stutters out.

The wave stops the same time his watch clicks. The familiar emerald tint colors his surroundings.

Takashi frantically rows to get out of the wave's path. He turns his head for any glimpse of Poseidon. He is halfway past the middle of the wave until something stops the boat.

"You have somewhere to go?"

The foreigner jumps to his feet with a shaky hand on the hilt of his blade. The Earthshaker is at the bow with one finger stopping the boat.

"L-Let me go, Poseidon! Odysseus made that deal with you! I didn't do anything to insult you."

"I know of that deal, mortal. But your powers have intrigued me for some reason. Stopping time itself is a rather unique ability," he speaks condescendingly.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Taki's right foot speeds up.

"I-I will give you anything if you just let me go."

His trembling right hand echoes in his blade. I beg of you. Let me go.

"You have too much power to stay alive," he speaks with the ice of a frozen river.

The threat along with the nightmare shifts his fear into action. Taki's sword screeches out as he rushes the sea god!

Poseidon swiftly blocks with his trident without moving back.

Taki swings downward to his right. The Olympian's trident pushes his blade up.

His firm turquoise hand grips the mortal's right hand. Multiple snaps.

A slight delay before his pain receptors respond with an agonizing scream. His short sword clutters to the floor. The time traveler staggers backwards.

The deity of the seas notices the mortal's refusal to fall.

His left hand on the side of the boat keeps him up.

Faint green wisps form around Taki's body. His heart races from the newfound adrenaline. He clenches his teeth with a focused rage. "I won't let you get in my way!"

The emerald energy air moves into his left fist. A jumping left hook connects with Poseidon's jaw!

The Olympian slightly backs away. He rubs his right cheek in amusement to Taki's fear.

The tidal wave drops straight down as time resumes.

Time can't affect him. Time can't affect him! Don't! Use that left fist and break his jaw!

Before he can try again, Poseidon flicks a small white wisp at him.

The force of a gut punch knocks the air out of his lungs. What just happened?!

The steps of the sea god on the boat tilts the aft side up.

Taki forces an inhale. He goes for a straight jab, but the Earth Shaker catches his fist.

Crack! The sea god muffles the mortal's screams with his left hand.

The time traveler kicks to escape, but it was like kicking a wall. He shifts his head to bite down, but Poseidon won't let him. His chocolate eyes notice recent bite marks on the god's right hand.

Could he-

"Then again, maybe you are better off alive," Poseidon interrupts his thoughts. A controlled flick to the forehead knocks him out.

Taki's body drops into the boat. The sea god hops off into the water. With the swing of his trident, a summoned wave pushes the boat southeast and off course from Delphi.

"Let's see what you will do next, hero."