Clang! Clang! Clang!

The blades of a revitalized Takashi and Artemis collide during their sparring session. His progress is more noticeable as he's able to keep up with a quarter of Artemis' speed as they continue. Beads of sweat drip off his face. She goes to slam him, but his reflexes allow him to roll through.

The huntress then increases her speed to slam him. "You have gotten faster."

"Told you that I would close a gap between us", he winces with a jump onto his feet.

They keep sparring as Heracles and Echo look on. Beads of sweat drip off his 

Maybe it will work now. Try it. He imagines it in his mind. "Slow."

Everything else slows down, but he sees that Artemis and the others are unaffected.

"Play", he sighs.

"What are you trying to do?", Heracles asks.

"I thought being restored means I would access that power. To command what I want to be affected by my keywords. Maybe a keyword is needed, but which one?"

Artemis hits him, but he directs his aura into his arms to absorb the blow.

"If you have time to talk, you have time to fight!"

"Right."

You have really improved. It's amazing. It reminds me of...

"How about a break?", he pants after 20 minutes.

"Okay."

Echo gives him a cup of juice that he chugs down. Artemis' ears perk up as her two dogs come running back to her. She sees that one of them has a bag around his neck. She rubs their bellies to their joy. "My good boys! What did you bring back?"

In the bag is a note along with some metal appendages. "It's from Galen and Daedalus!"

Takashi comes over and reads the note out loud.

     "Dear Takashi, we just heard from Artemis what you needed and made this for you. I was surprised to see Daedalus the way he arrived. I heard about his wings, but never saw them in practice. Anyway, we got to work. Good thing that you made a handprint before you left Ithaca or else the finger sizes wouldn't be right."

Taki's mind remembers him doing a painted handprint along with the crew on the outer wall of the palace. He keeps reading.

     "The index, middle finger, and thumb are made from our most durable metals and with Daedalus' help, they will not feel strange after a while. I included instructions on how to connect them. That part will be painful because the nerve endings have to connect right. I know you will make it through. I updated Daedalus on your deeds and he said he knew you were capable of doing great things. We hope to hear more from you and wish you a safe return home.

-Galen

P.S. This is Daedalus. Icarus and I are doing well in Athens. People have been putting advance orders to the wings I made and I'm using my gifts to help them succeed. Icarus and Daphne have been courting each other as of late. We thank you that we got to this point. Be safe, friend."

Takashi puts away the note with a large smile. He examines the new silver fingers. Not a single blemish on them. "You guys did great."

Heracles steps forward. "Would you like me to attach these for you? Since-"

"Sure. I trust you."

He reads the instructions thoroughly and memorizes what to do. He fetches a thick piece of wood for Taki to sink his teeth into while he does the process. He sanitizes his hands before starting. Artemis and Echo lay hands to keep him still for the procedure.

Heracles finds the nerve endings with his aura and cuts into the stumps to begin the process. Taki bites down on the wood from the pain.

Heracles takes the metal middle finger and starts the attachment process. Snap. "Now onto the index finger...."

Snap. Snap. "It's done."

Artemis takes the wood out of Takashi's mouth and goes to heal his right hand, but sees that his self-recovery ability has kicked in. She applies some sanitizing solution which stings him.

He shakes his hand repeatedly. "Damn, that hurts. Not as much as the ceremony, but damn."

Taki stares at his new hand. A gasp leaves his lips that he can wiggle the fingers around. He points with his index finger and closes his hand. He smiles like a kid as he does more gestures with it.

"How does it feel?"

"Strange, but I like it. Thankfully, I only lost a few fingers and not a few limbs. I would have been a cyborg at that point."

They tilt their heads.

"A cyborg is a human that's part robot. More advanced than this. Oh, a robot is a thing made up of mechanical parts that can do specific tasks", he explains.

Artemis nods. "I get it. Hephaestus creates automatons that serve different purposes. Some are just as tall as a mountain."

"I came across one when I was with the Argonauts", Heracles adds before being silent. Since that memory concluded to a terrible end. Taki can't help but be sad despite not knowing the full story.

He thinks back and doesn't recall coming across a thing like that. He pushes it to the back of his mind. "I'm going to write a few letters before I start with you. Is that alright?", he asks Heracles.

"Go ahead."

Taki is given some papyrus and ink by Echo and he writes away. Writing doesn't feel any different with the metal appendages. He has one addressed to Daedalus and another one addressed to Odysseus. In the letter meant for Odysseus, he underlines something important: "Do not go after Athena."

He gives the letters to Artemis' dogs, and she sends them off.

"What did Iphicles teach you so far?", the strong demigod inquires.

"Just focusing on the explosive aspects so I can be strong, yet quick."

"We are going to keep doing that, but at a demigod level. Pick this stone up like this."

Heracles walks over and gets into a bent over stance with feet close to the stone's diameter. Taki gets to the side to get a better look. Heracles makes his fingers wide and shifts the stone back and forth until it gets into his palms. Pulling it up into his lap, he squats up to put the stone on the platform. He then rolls it off down to the ground before repeating.

Takashi steps up for his turn.

Heracles sticks out his arm. "Before you start, you are not allowed to use any aura to help you out. Your energy will be stronger this way."

"Just to get a reference, how much does this weigh?"

Heracles is silent.

Treat like it's heavy then.

He corrects his form before he starts pulling to avoid any injuries. Veins strike across his arms, legs, and neck trying to budge it off the ground. But to no avail.

He tries again after a few minutes, but fails again. He backs away from the stone. "107 kilos is my max deadlift. What does this stone even weigh?"

"It's 136kg."

300 lbs?!

"And that's not even the heaviest stone I have."

He walks over to the biggest stone and lifts it overhead with one hand. "This one is 160kg", he speaks with ease.

350 lbs?! He isn't even close to using all of his strength.

Heracles drops the stone behind him which lands with a thud. "Your goal is to lift that 136 stone before two weeks' time. I will not allow you to leave Mt Olympus if you can't do this."

Artemis interjects. "Brother, that is a lot to ask for within a short amount of time. He-"

"I will lift that stone", he confidently declares to them and himself. "Teacher, I asked you for help and I won't let either of you down. I got this."

Heracles cracks a smile from his confidence. "In the meantime, let's build up your strength. Artemis, can you summon an animal for us?"

With a glimpse of her Olympian aura, a fuzzy lamb appears before them.

"Baaa."

Heracles walks over and picks it up in his arms.  "You will carry this animal on your shoulders as you walk up and down this hill. Hold onto its legs the whole time. I will tell you when to stop."

Heracles puts the lamb on Takashi's shoulders. His frame trembles from the surprising weight of the creature. He staggers his way up the hill. The lamb bleats while its being carried.

Get your mind off the weight. "I know. You're getting a free ride out of this. Don't make me eat you."

The lamb bleats out in response.

"Keep laughing", he grunts.

Echo laughs. "You got this!"

He makes it to the top of the hill and starts his way back down. He is extra careful since a misstep can make him stumble and fall over. He makes it to the bottom and Heracles points him to the top.

"No complaints. One more ride for you, little lamb."

Heracles has him repeat 4 more times. On the 3rd attempt, he struggled. On the final time up, his legs give out. He falls backwards and the lamb rolls down the hill. It gets up and bleats without injury.

"Damn, my legs are on fire", he breaths heavily.

Heracles picks him up with one hand.  "That was 55kg."

The lamb starts eating the grass near Artemis and Echo. The deities rub his wool.

"That was one heavy bastard."

"And we are going to make him heavier next time."

"Will we get to eat him at the end?", Taki jokes.

"He's off limits. Such a cutie!", Artemis dismisses.

The nymph rubs her face against the soft fleece. "And so soft!"

"Lucky! What's next?", he asks his coach.

Heracles takes him to the bench and gives him an easy curl bar. The weight isn't listed, but it feels moderate to him. He instructs him to curl until he tells him to stop......

Arms weigh like anchors to his sides from the curls and extensions. Both the heads of his biceps and triceps are enlarged from the pump.

"You are done for the day", Heracles tells him.

Takashi goes right into stretching his body. When it came to his legs, he did it gently. "Can we eat now?"

"Good thing that we have some leftovers. I will heat them up now", Echo lights up a fire using her skin as flint.

"I also overheard that you will treat me later?"

"Yep. There's a great restaurant in Thebes. Don't worry about the price, just eat what you want. After what you went through, you earned it", Artemis warmly smiles at her uncle.

He bows to everyone. "Thank you for all your help. I promise to repay you all."

"No need to. You're family after all."

"Just continue your best. I'm proud of you", Heracles admits.

"Thanks, nephew."

The savory scent of stew lures his footsteps over. On each step, his quadriceps pinch from his hard work. "Ow. Ow. Ow."

Artemis stifles her laughter, but it comes out.

"Yeah, yeah. Very funny. Laugh at my pain."

Echo walks over with a big bowl of stew for him. He uses his right hand to pick up the spoon and he is amazed as if things didn't change. The only difference is that when he flicks the bowl with his right index finger, it makes a clinking sound.

Clink. Clink. Clink. "Neat", he chuckles.

"Stop playing with your food", Echo laughs.

"Okay, mom", while eating a spoonful. After lunch, he rests his body on the soft grass. Clouds pass overhead while Helios rides his sun chariot through the sky.

He thinks about how to access his powers that way he wants to. The goddess knows what's on his mind.

"You're thinking about that way?"

"How did you know?"

"You can be pretty stubborn about letting things go", his niece jests.

"So true", Echo chuckles.

"It's one of your best qualities though."

Taki laughs with Heracles joining in. It's been a while since he had laughed like this. The others are happy to hear some joy from him.

Taki covers his eyes with his hand from the overhead sunlight. A lightbulb goes off in his head.

"Artemis, Helios pulls the sun right?"

"He does. Why?"

"Is it correct to assume that as he pulls it, nighttime follows afterwards in some areas before the others?"

"That's right. What are you getting at?"

He sits up quickly with a smile on his face. "Back home, we have time zones for different areas. For example, the west side of my country is 3 hours behind the eastern side. So the eastern side will have nighttime first while my side still has daylight. I think I can exploit that once I know the keyword."

"How will you exploit it?", Echo asks with a tilted head.

"More training if I can skip the rest period. Reversing my wounds without affecting anything. I can be more useful in those ways and possibly more."

"That could be helpful, but what if there are some side effects?", Artemis crosses her arms.

"It will still use some of my energy, but I'm willing to risk that if it will get me home. Safely of course."

"What would be the keyword then?"

"Let's see. Draw a small circle around me, please. It will help me with imagining it."

Artemis draws a small circle around her uncle with a knife. Takashi is clearing his mind and imagining what he wants to do.

"Okay, I'm ready. Just going to do something small as a test. Echo, give me my ball from my bag. Artemis, place the lamb in front of me. I'm going attempt to stop only the ball without affecting the lamb."

Echo also grabs his phone to record the session.

"I'm ready now." Taki thinks of the keyword as he drops the ball. "Time zone. Stop." He sees that the ball has stopped in mid-air and that the lamb is frozen by what he said. "Play." 

Time resumes and the lamb bleats while he catches the ball. 

"Let's try synonyms." He drops the ball. "Area. Stop."

The same thing happened. Takashi isn't frustrated as he tries again. The others stay quiet so he can focus. He thinks back to the night that he saved Ismene where nothing else was affected by his rewind ability. That night no longer haunts him as he takes it moment by moment. There was a word right before he said rewind.

He tries to imitate the sound his mouth made. One syllable. One word. A vibration on the first letter. He focuses on his intent. With a raised arm, he drops the ball. "Zone. Stop."

The ball stops in midair while the lamb tilts his head in confusion.

Milk chocolate eyes shine. "Yes! Yes! I did it!"

Echo jumps with large blooming flowers on her head.

"That's my uncle!"

Heracles claps proudly.

"Play."

He catches the falling ball and wants to try something out. He puts his left hand on the lamb and drops the ball with his right.

"Zone. Stop." The lamb is frozen in time and the ball is heard hitting the ground. "Alright! Play. Zone, Rewind."

The ball "falls" in reverse going back to his hand while everything else plays out. The lamb's eyes grow wide as it tries to understand what it is seeing.

He rubs his wool. "Thanks for doing your part. Oh, niece. shoot off an arrow in the sky and have it come down."

Artemis fires off an arrow.

He points. "Zone. Slow!"

The arrow's descent slows while everything else is moving normally. Echo and the others are amazed.

"Play." The arrow regains its original momentum and plunges it into the dirt. "Do it again but use aura."

Artemis fires off a divine energy arrow which goes to land.

"Zone. Slow."

The divine arrow is unaffected as it crashes to the ground. Echo's large flowers being to shrink from his failure. She thought he would be able to stop Poseidon's attacks.

Instead, he smiles from knowing his limitations. She grins from his optimism.

"Try out a divine fist for comparison", he tells Heracles. He fires off a fist into the sky.

"Zone. Slow."

His energy fist is slowed down to the same degree as the regular arrow.

"Play."

Time resumes for the energy to disappear into the sky.

Taki smiles knowing his capabilities. "Just have to plan around that when we face Poseidon."

"It won't be easy, but it might be possible."

Taki then thinks of how to test his fast forward ability for scale. He looks and hears a bird flying by. "Zone. Fast forward." The bird's wings flap faster than before. "Play." The bird goes back to its normal flying rate. He considers this enough for the day.

Echo "sends" the video and turns off the phone. "You came a long way."

"Tomorrow, I will do more with this. This is another reason to celebrate tonight." Thinking of his memories triggered a question.  "Does there happen to be a god or a goddess of memory?"

The Huntress thinks, but no one comes to mind.  "I should know this, but I can't recall that deity's name. Why do you ask?"

"I think being a deity of memory means that being would keep track of everything. Maybe they can help solve this mystery."

The goddess smiles. "We can finally arrest the murderer and bring them to justice. What is their name though?"

Taki fights to get up to his tote bag. He flips through Penelope's notes to find something.....

"The goddess of memory is named Mnemosyne. She lives in the Underworld but has a temple in Boeotia. She's also the mother of the Nine Muses and one of Zeus' lovers."

"Boeotia? That's not too far from Thebes", Heracles informs.

"The Nine Muses? I remember them since they work with Apollo, yet why not her?", Artemis questions.

A terrible thought crossed their minds like barbwire. Could Kronos' killer have gotten her too?

Artemis refocuses and sends one of her hunting dogs to the city. Its four feet glide across the ground to get there quickly. The four hope for some good news.

The goddess punches Taki in the shoulder to bring him back. "We are still going to celebrate the progress you made. The killer would be stupid to confront all of us at once."

------

Outside of Thebes,

Narcissus sees their conversation via the enchanted ring he gave to Echo. He grips his knees and silently curses Taki's existence for surviving the ritual. He thought it would be enough to take him off the board.

He quietly takes the totem to report what he had seen to Hera. "Goddess, are you there?"

"What have you found?"

"That Takashi bastard had his energy levels restored and Heracles is training him. There's also talk about a goddess of memory in Boeotia. That she can solve a mystery?"

"I know of the mystery they speak. Someone killed Kronos and took a portion of his power. The suspect wants Takashi dead to take the rest of his powers. I don't know what that being is planning to do."

"I don't really care about that. As long as the killer doesn't interfere with my plans, he's free to kill Takashi. He's below me."

"If he is below you, why did you cheer for him to die during that ceremony? It sounds like you care", Hera throws back a petty remark.

These words sting his ego. A question on his mind haunts him. "H-How did you know?"

"I'm the one who made that ring and I wasn't busy at the time."

Shit. She's keeping tabs on me too. "I don't want him to succeed over me. I will not let that happen."

"But he's not concerned with being the number one archer. You are."

Narcissus bites his tongue to avoid angering the goddess. "He's an outsider, yet he has gained the trust of people around him. Who is he to deserve that? I seek more than being the best archer. Just say the word and I will take care of him. And you would best reward me when I do it."

"Interesting. I don't think the killer would like that one bit. You are going to have to deal with a being you have no clue about. Plus, that brute and that dog would like their piece of flesh too."

It doesn't take long for the potential regret to settle in. "I take that back. It doesn't concern me, is what I said."

"Let me know if anything interesting happens."

"Yes, goddess."

The totem light goes out and he throws it back in the bag. He goes outside his tent and Georgios is tending to the fire with empty eyes.

"Michaelis wouldn't want us to continue being sad. We need to be strong for him", the demigod "encourages."

Georgios solemnly gets up.

"I will become the number one archer. He would have wanted me to keep going. Give me some targets."

He sets up the targets as Narcissus taps into his white aura. He summons energy arrows into his crossbow and fires one after another. The arrows tear through their respective bullseyes.

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but..."

"Out with it."

"What about Echo? You told us about your future engagement, but why not have her around with us? She's really nice." Georgios appreciates her comforting company.

"Are you trying to steal her from me?", he glares at him to make him uncomfortable.

"Not-Not at all. She can give us some comfort and you need it as well", the man stammers out of fear.

"Although I love her, distance is what we need. We can't cling to each other this soon. Our love needs to thrive." It also gives me more information to use against her.

"I-I understand. Sorry for asking."

Narcissus turns his back to him. "I do miss her company."

The frown on his face shows otherwise while firing another bolt arrow.

-------

That night,

Takashi, Heracles, Artemis, and Echo are dressed elegantly for the fancy dinner they promised him. One look at the menu startles him. No prices are listed. He looks at the goddess in concern.

"Whatever you want, no limit", she assures him.

"Okay. I want the roasted chicken, fish, and this lamb chop."

"Each dish comes with a side of potatoes and a salad", the waiter informs.

"Could you mix the potatoes into a bowl? Same with the salad?"

"Certainly. And to drink?"

"Water is fine."

All the ordered food comes out at once. Their mouths salivate from the smells and looks of the food.

Artemis clasps her hands together. "May my pupil's stomach be filled with all the nutrients he needs and may answers come to us. Have some as well, Hestia."

"Itadakimasu."

A portion of the food goes to Hestia's hearth. Taki savors every bite with a shimmy in his shoulders.

"Are you trying to finish this in one setting?", Echo asks with amusement.

"Yep! My muscles need every bit."

"That's my brother's teachings for you. Eat well, uncle."

Heracles raises his pitcher of beer and Taki clinks his glass of water against it.

He eats all of his food and slumps into the chair. "Take me now, itis."

"Is that another goddess?", the huntress asks.

"Nope. Itis is the sleepy feeling after a good meal."

"I like that word!", Echo exclaims.

The waiter returns to check on them. "Would you like any dessert?"

"How about some baklava to share?"

"Can you even make room for that?", the nymph wonders.

He pats his belly. "There's always room for dessert."

The waiter walks away as Heracles laughs at his remark.

"That's something my sons would say."

"What were their names? If you don't mind."

"Ophites and Therimachus."

"Those are good names for your boys."

"I think you mentioned that you have a daughter. What's her name?"

Taki sighs. "I wish I knew. Penny kept it a secret from me, but knowing her, she would have picked a Goddess name. Maybe Hestia?"

"Hestia Watanabe. That has a good ring to it", Echo mentions.

"My aunt would be so happy to have her name passed on", Artemis adds.

"If you were to name her, what would it be?"

"After my sister, Hikari. She's one of the strongest people I know."

Artemis understood the underlying bittersweet meaning. Heracles and Echo can see a short version from Taki's aura that tells him everything. They get mad at certain parts, but they calm down.

"She truly is a strong person. I'm sorry about what happened to you and your family."

"Thanks. It still hurts, but not as much as now."

Echo pats his back. The baklava comes to their table and they eat up before they leave.

---

Artemis' dog makes it to Boeotia. It begins to whine.

Rubble. Scattered corpses. Blood stained debris.

It was like a terrible earthquake destroyed the land. It runs over to investigate. The dog emits Artemis' aura to sense for any life, but none was found.

Artemis gets a sick feeling before she goes to sleep. She starts seeing through the eyes of her dog and is horrified by the same sight. Heracles and the others comfort her.

"How can this be? Find Mnemosyne, right away", she directs her dog.

The dog nods his head and sniffs around. Because of Artemis, it can smell a faint divine scent. It runs over to what used to be a temple and starts digging. Artemis holds her breath.

The dog uncovers a body. Dressed in a elegant green tunic with long brown hair. The former goddess of memory.

Before the dog can finish digging her out, its ears perk up. It growls from the new presence. It then stops growling.

Artemis' eyes widen from seeing the figure.

 "F-Father?!"