Kronos (Book One)

The Remnants of Troy

Back on Earth, Penelope and the others are losing hope. Each day Takashi isn't found means he is getting further away from him.

Aiko is playing peakaboo with her granddaughter to let Penelope unwind.

"I'm going to go upstairs for a nap", Penny tells her.

"Go ahead. I got her."

Penelope goes upstairs, but not to the bedroom. She opens a door and inside is an entertainment room where everyone gathered to sing karaoke and watch movies with them. She dusts off the soundproof panels that laid dormant. A memory haunts her mind.

Her husband singing while wearing his rocker jacket with band patches on the torso and little spikes on the shoulders. He wasn't great, but he always had fun with her. He could just let loose after a long week of work which made her happy. Now it is different.

She opens the closet in the room and finds that jacket. She takes it off the hanger and sniffs it deeply for his smell. She finds his scent and holds the jacket close to her.

She then wears it and turns on the microphone. She doesn't pick a song because it would just remind her of her missing husband. Her mind reminds her of the company's phone call about his benefits and the police's failure to find him. She takes a deep breath and screams into the microphone for a while to release all of her frustration and pain. She holds a note before her voice gives out.

Tears ran down her face as her body sinks to the floor. "I'm trying to be strong, Taki. For me and our daughter. I don't know how long I can do this. Don't be dead. My heart wouldn't take it."

She wraps the arms of the jacket around her body and cries herself to sleep.

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Greg throws another empty energy drink into the trash, but it bounces off from the full bin. He rubs his eyes as it has been several days since he looked for his friend.

"I will find out what happened to you, Taki. I won't rest until you are found. Everyone wants you back home."

Meanwhile, Hikari is still looking and this time using her company's software to find out anything weird. She looks into the time and day he disappeared to see if there are any abnormalities. She inputs the following data into her laptop and notices something peculiar.

The time leading up to Taki's disappearance reflected sudden shifts in atmospheric conditions. She checked the weather reports of that day and they all said that there would be scattered thunderstorms around certain locations.

However, the hospital they were at wasn't one of the listed locations/counties to be affected. Yet a storm appeared around the time he was taken. There was also a spike of energy right on the dot of 2:15pm and quickly vanished a second later. At that time, only one camera was affected: the one at the waiting room where her brother sat. She checks the map of the hospital and no stairs were nearby where he could have walked through.

Despite the amount of data presented, it still doesn't answer where he could be. She takes screenshots of this information and compiles it. She then sends it to Gregory who can better make use of this information. The cops wouldn't believe her theory, even though she doesn't. She needs more evidence just to make sure.

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Gaia 

Takashi is flying with his man-made wings to get to Delphi. With this, he should be at Delphi in no time. He looks forward to getting the answers from the Oracle and how to get back home.

"Almost there, my love. I promise to make up for the time lost. I won't leave you ever again. I hope you know that."

He flies over the rest of Attica and sees a sign marker that says: "Welcome to Thebes."