Chapter 11- Calm Before the Storm- Dave and Sara go on their date at her coffee shop. "It's nice to see that you're doing better." "Thanks, it was nothing really. So, do you have any other friends?" "Not many. Most of them I only talk to online." "I would like to introduce you to some of my friends." "How many are there?" "Oh, about five or so." "That's so great, I've never been able to make many friends." "What do you mean? You seem a fine girl." "I have a really hard time opening up to others. Most of the time I tend to just keep to myself. You're the first person in years to approach me." "You need to get out more. I can definitely introduce you to my friends some other time." "Hmm. Hey Dave, are you a Joutenger?" Dave spills his coffee. "Hmm?!" "Oh, I'm sorry, I just kind of thought," "What?" "Nothing, I'm sorry. I thought I saw it in my dream." "What did you see in the dream?" "I saw you using that phone over there to transform into a pink warrior. It looked good on you." "It did?" "Yeah. I find it cool how you are a superhero." "You must swear to never tell a soul who I am." "Relax, nobody knows who you are. Well, they know the superhero side of you." "They do?" "Yeah, online, the Joutengers have gone viral." "What do you mean? Joutengers got very popular?" "Yeah, the Joutengers were all over the news yesterday. People all across the internet are cheering for you guys. There's some dedicated fansites I can show you." "Ok, lets see." Dave looks at the websites and is about to click on 4chan but Sara stops him. "What is it?" "Don't look up that site, just don't." "Fine. I need to share this with my own friends later on." "I've got to get back on duty, it was nice hanging out with you Dave." "My pleasure." Sayo gets her hat back on as she goes to serve a man coffee. "I hope this newfound fame doesn't interfere in the mission. Who am I kidding, it's not like everyone cares about the internet."

Dave arrives to the team looking up themselves on the computer. "You guys found out too?" Miki replies "Not without Amy. She saw news stories online and put them on the screen." Shun remakrs "Yeah, so much for being under the radar, huh Miki?" "Shun please. It's not like this drivel matters." "Looks like they made a popularity poll online of you guys." "Popularity poll?" "Yeah, you know you're big when people have their particular favorite member." "How does anyone know who we are as people though?" "Lets see. For Dave, you have a 16%." "Hmm." "For Shun, 20%." "YEAH! I'm popular!" "For Demi, 19%. And for Miki, you have 5%." "WHAT! That can't be, that's impossible." "Kai has 45% of the vote." "Whatever." "This has to be rigged or something, how can I be the least popular? I am the leader." "Relax Miki, it's only based on what people see of you. I'm sure with a few more battles they'll see the real you and we'll all be 20%." Miki turns to Kai. "How the hell does a guy like you get 45%?" "Beats me. Maybe it's the fact that I ain't a bitch." "Shut up." "Umm guys, I have comments. People put them here. Let's see, "OMG BLACK IS SUCH A HUNK!" "Blu iz like da coooolest one there aha lolzomgtbh" "Green is a positive role model for us women everywhere" Miki, stuttering says "B-but I'm-" Demi humbly remarks "Oh, well I didn't really-" Amy continues reading comments. " "Pink is soooooooo charming. I wish my boyfriend was him." "Well."

" "Yellow is kind of uptight." "Huh?" " "Yeah, she's kind of full of herself." "Well!" " "She needs to cool it cause she's kind of catty." "I am not! GAH!" Miki's anger shocks the systems and they short circuit. "Thanks Miki, now I have to fix the systems." "I can't believe this." Shun asks "Why do you care so much what people think?" "I'm the leader, I'm supposed to be the one who people look up to." Kai laughs a bit. "What's so funny?" "Nothing, just the fact that a small comment has you all riled up." Demi gets angry at Kai "Could you at least be a bit more considerate." "Easy coming from Mr. Popular." "I make no effort to be the most popular member of this team, though I guess, I can be what the people want: Blunt and honest. You should try that sometime Miki." "I am honest you jerk. Am I guys?" Everyone kind starts staring in other directions. Shun says "With all due respect Miki, you tend to lie to yourself alot and it kind of sucks." "What do you mean?" Dave replies "What Shun is trying to say is that maybe you should be more open with your feelings and quit being something you're not." Demi says "You need to chill out big time girl. You have been on a tight wind ever since I met you. You too Kai." "Whatever." "Could you guys lend me a hand over here. This machine needs some more elbow grease than I have." Shun and Miki agree to help. "Of course Amy." "Right behind you." Shun then asks "By the way Dave, how was the date?" "Well, she kind of predicted the future." Everyone turns in shock as Amy asks "You mean kind of like a fortune teller?" "I don't know if it's like that. It was more like she had visions in her sleep of us. I don't know why. She also knows my identity." Miki asks "You didn't tell her, did you?" "Oh heavens no. She asked me if I was the Pink Joutenger then pointed out my Godchanger." Demi says while blushing "Well it's nice that you have found a girl to talk to and hang out with. I hope she's very happy with you." "Oh we are indeed. Look Demi, I think I want to take you to meet her. She's a very sweet girl. I'm sure you two could hit it off maybe." "I'll do that. Sure." "That's great to hear. KAI, would you mind coming with us?" "Nah, you ladies can enjoy your little girls day out." "Ignore him-" "It doesn't bother me. I know he's just joking around."

Meanwhile, as the Joutengers grow closer together, Asteria arrives at the site of Typhons death and collects the pieces. "I sure hope this works. Chronos will be mad at me if I fail." As Asteria is gathering his pieces, Tetsu on the Parnon is having a difficult time evading the Quadrigas stampede. "Return when your soul is whole again, you're no match for a true warrior as myself." "Never. You are my strongest tool to get what I desire." "So blind. A warriors only desire is to fight the good fight, not be motivated by emotions." "True, a warriors emotions leave once battle has commenced. That is why I am the perfect soldier. You'll help me get revenge on my father, trust me." "Are you sure it is the path you desire most child?" "Yes it is. For my whole life it's been that way. There's no way an oversized horse like you could ever understand it." "Regardless, I know of your ability, and it is useless against me. Come back when you've realized your true self. This is not you." "What would you know about me? I will be your master, and you will do as I say or I'll simply kill you." "I'd love to see you try human. The smell of blood on your hands is truly intoxicating. It makes me want to trample you under my hooves." Tetsu starts thinking to himself. "I don't need to be challenged on my desires. It's very simple, I kill all the demi gods, I find my father, kill him, and me and my mother have a very happy life together forever. No more Japan, no more military, just me and her living our lives someplace else, where she can love me forever. A place no army could ever reach. I know it will be hard to find such a place but for me and my mother, nothing is more important than our love for each other. There has to be a way to overcome this beast." "Thinking of a plan there human? It will never work on me, I have the same ability as you, I know every trick in the book."

As Tetsu keeps dodging the Quadriga the best he can, he starts getting exhausted. "C'mon body, I need to hold out longer. Curse this human body and its limitations." "I see your anatomy is getting the best of you human. Here I thought you were a true warrior." "Shut up." "A true warrior fights until he is cut down, never giving an inch until he does so. Your conflicted soul is betraying you. Leave now and return when you are ready." "I already told you no. I have almost nothing to lose. I will tame you, or be killed trying. You're my ticket to true happiness, and I will lay my life on the line to get that happiness back." "You're truly a stubborn one human. The wickedness in your heart has grown exponentially. You're father would be disappointed." "I don't care what my father thinks. He lost all my respect the moment mom died. He abandoned us when we needed his help the most. All because he is a coward on the inside. And he has the audacity to call himself a God of War?" "Enough. I will not have you insult my one master. Fact is you have no sense of yourself, you're extremely confused, you don't know what you want or how to do it." "I DO KNOW WHAT I WANT! You're the one who doesn't you dumb horse." The Quadriga starts getting more aggressive and stomps out Tetsu in one of his jumps. "You know, I have a problem with disrespect. You insolent little humans should know to never cross the mount of a god. Know your place. I won't say it again, leave now or get smashed under my hoof."

As Quadriga goes for one big stomp on Tetsu, Tetsu jumps out of the way and starts grabbing onto the chariot. "No human has ever been able to grab my chariot." He starts thrashing about in a rush to try and get Tetsu off, but Tetsu holds for dear life as he tries to climb the chariot through its ornations. "I've gone too far to quit now. It's do or die." He starts losing his grip as he gets to the top of the chariot and Quadriga is worried. "Drats, that little punk is getting close to my reins," and starts Galloping like mad to try and shake him off. Tetsu gets knocked off and lays on the floor, battered and bruised. "You put up one hell of a challenge boy, but you are no match for me." "You're wrong." "Why must you insist on continuing, you're going to die." "Here I come." "Very well." Tetsu tries once again to climb the chariot as Quadriga resumes his galloping. Tetsu manages to reach the reins in time and cracks them. "GAHHH!" "Y-yes, I-I've g-got you, y-you big, dumb, horse." Tetsu, exhausted and wounded, is happy and overjoyed. "That was hard but fun. This beast was one hell of a challenge, I'm glad its over. Now it's time to rest up, when I return to Mt. Olympus, we'll plan our next attack." "You did well human. It turns out your conviction was strong enough. Would you like a ride to Olympus?" "I would love that, thank you." They stampede their way through the clouds to Mt. Olympus where Quadriga retreats to his stone holding.

Back at the Titan's lair, Asteria is putting Typhon back together with his pieces. "I hope this works out." She uses enough magic to invoke tatoos to appear on her body and glow, with two bright lights emanating from her palms. "Please come back to us you big fool." With a lot of magic, Typhon emerges from the stone pile. "I can't believe it, ALIVE AGAIN! When I get my hands on those Joutengers, oh how I'm gonna, wait," He turns to Asteria who is utterly exhausted. "ASTERIA! Were you the one who did this to me?" "No it was Tetsu, YES IT WAS ME YOU OAF!" "Y-you brought me back to life?" "Well, um, yes. Only because we are comerades in this war, and nothing more." "I don't know how I could ever repay you." "Well, urgh." "Are you alright Asteria?" "I need some rest myself. Reviving a being with as much power as you takes a lot of energy and magic." "I'll carry you to the main chamber then." Asteria resists a bit. "I don't need your help you big fool." She reels a bit from her missing energy. "I appreciate the concern though." The two walk to Chronos, Chronos offering his throne seat to Asteria. "She needs to be well taken care of. Typhon, I want you to know something." "What is it sir?" "You have not only come back to life, Asteria would have had no problem bringing you back as is. She actually brought you back with nearly twice your strength, that is what caused the huge energy loss." "She made me stronger? She didn't have to do that." "She was so willing to do it for the cause. I told her how dangerous it would be but she didn't care, she said "We need as strong of warriors as possible Lord Chronos. If Typhon comes back the incompetent fool we know him as, what is the point?" Also, she talks nicely of your loyalty behind your back and your dedication to the job." "S-she really did all of this for me? That's so, wow. Don't worry Asteria, I will be your protector." Tetsu arrives. "Where have you been human?" "I just got finished taming a Quadriga 20 times our size with my bare hands. I need to rest up as well. Mind taking my boots for me?" "Why all the nerve, you little stain, I'm gonna-" "Do as he says. He is your superior Typhon. With that new weapon he got, we have a leg up on the Joutengers. We have a weapon that can rival OlympicKing." "Yes. Soon the world will once again tremble at the name Typhon."

Back at Olympi, Miki goes outside for some alone time as Shun and David follow her. Shun asks "Hey there Miki, why you feeling more down than usual?" "It's nothing." "Don't tell us it's nothing. I can sense it really is something." "Doesn't your power have an off switch or something?" "Not exactly. Anyway, what has you down?" "It's just, I have a hard time accepting the fact that I apparently mean nothing to people across the world. I'm just a tightwad and a jerk to the internet." "Who cares what some basement dweller on the internet says? Who cares what anyone says on the internet at all? The internet is simply a tool for information, you shouldn't be taking peoples opinions as facts." Dave replies "Yeah, most of the people who comment on the internet have a tendency to be a bit immature. They'll never get the real you based on what they see on the news." "Besides, who need some dorky guys thinking you're the bees knees when all that matters is how the people around you feel about you. You're much more than an uptight bitch to us." "I am?" "Sure, to us you're honest, hardworking, sincere, trusting, dedicated, and no one is more selfless than you. A bit rough around the edges, but it's amazing how you aren't perfect. Life sure would suck if everyone was if you ask me." "Indeed. Perhaps we should go back inside." "Well, I got to go get Gou, Ms. Daimonji wants to go out with her husband and I have to take him out." Dave suggests "Hows about we get everyone together and have a nice day at the park?" Shun says "Sounds lovely." "Sure, I'm down for it." "We could have ourselves a nice friendly game of soccer and enjoy some poetry and the beauty of nature." Shun remarks "Besides, a nice day of relaxation is what you need most Miki, trust me." "Well, ok. Yeah, a day off does sound nice." "Besides, we haven't had an attack yet today, so that has to mean something."

They go back inside and Shun tells them what they're going to do. "When I go pick up Gou, we'll all go down to the park for some nice springtime fun." "I'll also bring a soccer ball and some pen and paper for some poetry." Demi says "I could go pick up some foods." Miki says "I have a spare blanket in my house for a picnic rug." Amy asks "Hey dad, do you have something to bring to a picnic?" "I got a lunchbox." Demi asks "Well, what are you going to bring Kai?" "Don't really have anything." Shun jokingly replies "Relax, he'll just carry everything. Hera, you want to come with?" "Umm, well, sure. I could use a day of no stress." "PERFECT! Everybody is coming." Kai says "Leave me out." Dave pleads "Please Kai, you need to come." Demi also pleads "Please, for me?" "Fine, if only to stop you two from getting dramatic about it." Shun happily replies "Let's not waste any more time." The team goes to the Daimonji house to pick up Gou. "You ready for a fun day Gou?" "You bet Shun. Hey guys." "Hey." "No hard feelings, right?" "None Mr. Kai." "Stop calling me that." "Umm sure." Hera asks excitedly "Who's ready for some fun at the park?" Shun and Gou enthusiastically say "We are!" The two high five each other as the team goes to the park. Amy is looking a bit sad as they sit down and eat. Shun asks "Hey, what's wrong Amy? It's a lovely day, and you're with your friends." "I know, it's just, you guys are going to be doing all these fun games that I can't play." "Wow, I never thought of it that way. I'm sorry we didn't bring anything with us." "It's fine, I'm totally used to it." Gou says with good intent "Hey, why don't you go play with one of the old guys over there playing chess?" "Yeah, but I would be apart from you guys." "I know what we could do." Shun uses his water powers to make makeshift legs for Amy. "It won't hold for long, but it should last a few rounds of soccer." Miki says "That's great, right Amy?" "Yeah." Amy hugs shun hard. "This is the nicest thing someone's ever done for me. Thank you so much Shun." "I'm surprised I can even do it. I hope we can all have some fun. Alright, we'll split into teams for soccer. Me, Miki, Amy, and Gou will be one team, Dave, Demi, Kai and Hera on the other team."

The two teams square off on the field, Dave and Shun acting as goalies. "Ready, begin!" The two teams start off strong, an impressive defense from Hera and Demi blocking Miki and Amy's kicks and kicking them to Kai as he lands a goal against Shun. "Impressive." 0-1. The teams go on till it comes to a tie: Dave does a very impressive block with his body as Demi catches the ball in bounce and kicks it to Hera who builds momentum with Kai to eventually kick it past Amy, who is desperate to try and stop it, but fails. "And its 5-4. Good game everyone." Dave enthusiastically asks "Who's ready for some poetry?" Everyone is kind of looking the other direction. "I see. Who wants to go for a jog in the park?" Everyone except Kai nods yes but a nudge from Demi gets him to nod yes. Amy's legs suddenly give out and she collapses, Shun helping her to her Wheelchair. "Ah man, I'm so sorry Amy, I couldn't keep the water legs going any longer." "It's ok Shun, I'll just go fast with my wheelchair, it builds upper body strength." "Ok, sounds good to me, ready everybody, get a few minutes of rest than it's running." The team enjoys a bottle of water as Dave approaches Kai. "You weren't half bad out there Kai." "I guess." "Is there any sport you're interested in?" "To be honest, I rather enjoy roller skating. I think it's pretty cool how fast people can go." "Who knows, maybe one day you could learn how to do it." "Yeah right." "Could you teach me how to fight Kai?" "If you had asked me this before yesterday, I would have probably said no, but after seeing you yesterday, I think you could be a great fighter." "Thank you so much. Now I won't be as much a burden." "Please. I'm more of a pain than you to this team. We'll start after dark." "Ok." "By the way, could I live in your mansion?" "Sadly not, my father is angry at me enough as is, why not live with Shun at the Daimonji's house." Amy approaches Gou. "Hey Gou, how you doing in school?" "You guys helped me out a lot on my homework. I can't wait for the school play." "School play?" "Oh yeah, erhem. Gou over here wants to be an actor, so he wanted to try out for the school play production of Beauty and the Beast. He asked me if I wanted to be a stagehand so I said sure and his mother said it was ok as long Gou was being looked after." "Thats about the size of it. I get to hang out with Shun even more after school." "Yeah, it also means that I won't be able to hang much around Olympus for a while. You guys have my number if anything happens." "Yeah. Good luck boys." "No worries, Gou over here will make a fine Beast." Miki asks "You got the part of Beast?" "Yeah, it turns out I'm a fantastic actor according to the director anyway." Dave says "That's interesting." Shun says "Sure is, maybe one day you will win an emmy, or a tony, or an oscar!"

As the team is jogging into the sunset Hera reflects a bit harshly. "I hope they enjoy today's pleasures, because tomorrow will probably be horrible for them. There is never this much calm unless the storm is brewing." Miki gets concerned and asks Hera whats up. "You alright? I'm having fun, why aren't you?" "It's nothing, its just, this is the first time the Titans have allowed us this rest. I have this fear something awful is coming." "I can feel a bit of it too. I'm concerned but we can't let it ruin today. As Shun would say, lighten up a little." "You're right. Thanks Miki." Hera thinks to herself "It's amazing how much they've grown from when I first met them. It will be a long road ahead, but with a little guidance we can stop the titans."