*Welp, here it is. The grand daddy of all chapters lol. Sorry for the wait, guys, but there was a lot of stuff I had to include in this one. Now, with this, the first story arc is finally finished. I hope you'll enjoy its extensive, fairly long conclusion.

*Also, some very cool stuff has happened in the past few weeks for this story. For one, this story is being fully adapted into a fan comic/manga! It's being drawn by the awesomely talented ANIMAYSON. His art style is a blend of 80s/90s Dragon Ball/Z and Genndy Tartakovsky, so his work looks very official. He also made a new cover page if you haven't noticed already. To check out his character designs and the comic pages, just search up Animayson on Twitter (I would paste a direct link here, but Fanfiction won't let me). Trust me, it'll be worth checking out.

Update (July 22nd): The first chapter has been fully adapted on the website, Artstation. Just go to Animayson's Twitter account and click the link there. I'm sure you guys will enjoy it! :)

Chapter 10: Trial by Fury

Ares' death brought upon a state of unrest throughout Camp Half-Blood. Not only was the Combat Arena left in ruins, but various trees surrounding it burned to a crisp from said war god's fallen Ichor as well. These trees were also completely unrooted beyond foreseeable repair, forcing nearby satyrs and dryads to work on putting them back in place. Unfortunately, due to 10:00 being just around the corner, cleanup duty would need to be postponed until tomorrow morning. There was a strict rule about all campers being in bed by 11, after all. Even a battle between Goku and Ares could not deter the Camp from its oldest traditions. Goku himself slowly walked out of the stadium with an evident look of sympathy on his face. He observed the entire campgrounds, remorseful for the amount of absolute chaos Ares caused during their fight.

"Aw man. Maybe I should have used Super Saiyan a lot sooner." Goku regretfully thought. He looked down at his torn martial arts gi, noticing the amount of bruises and scuff marks located alongside it. Additionally, some small traces of blood seemed to ooze out of his mouth with each syllable spoken. He wiped away most of it with his fist, studying the same bloodstain with a deep, saddened frown.

Following closely behind Goku were the forms of Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hestia. While Artemis exited with her Hunters in toe, Aphrodite's demigod children did the same with their mother. The two groups seemed to glare at one another, their contrasting perceptions of love being visibly demonstrated. Lacy, on the other hand, had her focus set on Goku in awestruck amazement. Despite being unable to view the fight against Ares' Divine Form, the short glimpse of Goku's Super Saiyan form already left a lasting impression on her.

Hestia, noticing the pure-blood Saiyan's look of discomfort, thought it best to help comfort Goku. She calmly walked over to Goku's side, and tugged on his still remaining, yet slightly torn pantleg.

"Don't look so down on yourself, Goku. A wide majority of this damage is Ares' fault, remember?" Hestia kindly reminded Goku. "You didn't do anything wrong."

She smiled at the downcast Saiyan, sporting a fiery, inviting gleam in her eyes. Goku scratched the back of his head, and attempted to return this grin.

"I know. But, I could have ended this fight earlier than it did. Guess I held myself back a bit too much." Goku sighed, pointing out the fact that Ares could have been beaten without much difficulty. In the grand scheme of things, Kaioken x20 really wasn't needed at all. Goku, to his current chagrin, only used it to make the aforementioned fight more engaging.

As multiple demigods departed from the Combat Arena, Dionysus and Chiron came into view. Primarily focusing on Goku's current location, both camp counselors approached him and the others. Dionysus took a final sip of his Diet Coke can and lazily tossed it over his shoulder. The satyrs and dryads were not pleased with this action one bit.

"Psh. If that was holding back, I don't think I want to even imagine this idiot going all out." Dionysus snorted whilst jerking a thumb at Goku's form. "He swatted Ares' Divine Form like a housefly." Chiron nodded, stroking his beard in deep contemplation. His horse tail seemed to erratically whip about in what could only be perceived as nervousness.

"Indeed. I find such a feat quite disturbing." Chiron hummed in growing dismay. Seeing his point, Artemis glanced at the centaur with a neutral expression.

"Disturbing doesn't begin to describe the half of it, Chiron. Ares was correct in assuming my father's willingness to…dispose of Goku. He did send the Hunters and I to personally capture him, after all." Artemis begrudgingly admitted. Aphrodite angrily scowled at the moon goddess, assuming that she would attempt to turn on Goku at a moment's notice.

"Tsk. So what then? You're going to be against Goku in this stupid trial?" Aphrodite accusatively questioned. Artemis just glared back at her fellow goddess's ever-spiteful attitude.

"It's not that simple, Aphrodite. While I do understand well enough that Goku isn't a personal threat to us, the same cannot be said for the other Olympians. Like Ares claimed before scattering, they will jump at any opportunity to scrutinize Goku's power and very existence as a whole. The Second Titanomachy's looming influence will not make this trial a fair one in the slightest." Artemis logically acknowledged. Ares' death itself will make things indefinitely worse for Goku. Such an improbable event would simply give Zeus more of an incentive to seal Goku away for eternity or stop all bodily function with a mere flick of his finger. In fact, minor reality warping was a category many Greek gods/goddesses, especially Zeus, had an advantage over Goku in. Even Aphrodite could be capable of such a power during times of great stress.

To Goku, this was the second time a full-blown war was mentioned in conversation. Although he caught a glimpse of two or three battles taking place in Aphrodite's memories, a current one was not fully unveiled up until now. Maybe it was because Aphrodite wasn't that involved in it just yet? The details were far too vague to really say for certain. Even the name, Titanomachy, was difficult to fully comprehend for him.

"Titanowhat now?" Goku confusedly inquired. The entire group broke into an uncomfortable silence at this. The fact that Goku didn't know anything about Kronos and his Titan brethren was quite polarizing. In a way, there were multiple pros and cons to this situation. For one, Goku would be less susceptible to Kronos' influence and thus, less likely of being manipulated by him in the future. However, Goku's existence could easily give Kronos the idea to pursue alternate universes for potential allies, especially his. That is, if Kronos hasn't already. Such possibilities would inevitably need to be discussed in further detail at the trial on Mount Olympus.

Artemis then tilted her head to study Goku further. She squinted her silver eyes in newfound interest, not expecting Goku's knowledge to be so limited. Given his prior interactions with Aphrodite, she assumed that the love goddess would try to reveal key information about this Earth to Goku for the sake of his own safety. But, to be fair, Aphrodite really wasn't in the right mindset during that moment. Even an oblivious idiot like Goku could tell what her intentions at the time were.

"I see. You really don't know much about this world, hm?" Artemis lowly questioned. Goku nervously chuckled in response.

"Yeah. I don't. Though, in all fairness, I've only been here for about a day. The only thing I really know about you, Aphrodite, Hestia, and the other gods was gathered from reading Aphrodite's mind earlier today." Goku recalled the events of his recent lunch "date" with Aphrodite. Just when Artemis thought Goku had a set limit to his abilities, this suddenly came into conversation. Her eyes slightly widened at the mere thought of Goku being telepathic.

"Y-You… you can read minds?" questioningly muttered Artemis. Goku enthusiastically nodded with a light tap of his noggin.

"You bet! Been able to do it since the trip to Planet Namek…uh…" Goku paused, attempting to childishly count with his fingers. "However many years ago that was. Hehe."

"And of all people, you used that power on Aphrodite? Hahahaha. You unfortunate bastard." Dionysus laughed at Goku's expense. Seeing all of Aphrodite's sexual encounters back-to-back would definitely be an uncomfortable, yet strangely hilarious experience. Who knows how much there actually were?

"Again, Dionysus. I'm still here!" Aphrodite growled in offense. Dionysus, not caring about Aphrodite's feelings, ignored her. This only made said love goddess even angrier.

"It wasn't a fun experience if that's what you mean. I've never read the mind of someone so old before, so it was pretty overwhelming." Goku informed. Krillin's lifespan was obviously far shorter than Aphrodite's, so her memories were much more abundant upon contact. Unfortunately, Aphrodite did not like being reminded of this fact. She audibly gasped with a look of hurt and outrage on her face.

"Goku! D-Don't call me old!" said Aphrodite as she indignantly puffed up her cheeks. Realizing his mistake, Goku waved both hands in an attempt to calm her down.

"Oh. Sorry, Aphrodite. I didn't mean it that way." Goku hesitantly apologized. He then studied Aphrodite's youthful appearance, trying to figure out something to say that would make her happy.

"For a thousand year goddess, you do look pretty good…I guess." Goku complimented. It was kind of weird for him to openly compliment someone about their appearance. Aside from Chi-Chi, he never really paid much attention to that type of stuff. Although, that could just be his obliviousness showing once more.

Aphrodite's heart practically skipped a beat in response. Her cheeks burned bright red whilst shakily pointing toward her own chest in shock. In that same moment, there appeared to be a glimmering sparkle in Aphrodite's emerald orbs as well.

"Me? P-Pretty good?" Aphrodite happily stammered. She then swooned, resting both hands along her left cheek. "Oh Goku…"

Zoë sneered disgustedly at this behavior, even if it was in Aphrodite's character to do so. She'd never understand the purpose of fawning over a male, especially one as mentally bankrupt as Son Goku. The immortal girl crossed both arms in evident pity, more towards this pathetic display of "affection" than Aphrodite herself.

"Hmph. I bet it was overwhelming for a typical male such as thee." Zoë grunted condemningly. "All thy men are just a bunch of perverted pigs, regardless of some minor differences."

Aphrodite furiously glared at Artemis' lieutenant. She wouldn't stand to see a man-hating shrew like Zoë insult her Goku without good reason. She confidently waltzed up to Zoë and pointed a finger straight into her face. The Persian huntress stepped back a bit, visibly irritated by Aphrodite's lack of personal place.

"Look, Little Miss Feminazi. Goku is the last person that should be called a pervert. If you want to insult him without any evidence to back up your reverse-sexist nonsense, then be prepared to deal with me!" Aphrodite passionately defended Goku's honor. Both eyes glowed a vibrant magenta as she haughtily raised her chin up. Despite this, Zoë was undeterred by Aphrodite's so-called threat. She flipped her braid back into place and disrespectfully scoffed at the amorous deity.

"Whatever. Goddess or not, thou is just another mindless bimbo that favors sexual pleasure over thy own self-respect. Why should I listen to anything thou say?" Zoë chastised Aphrodite's very personality and ideals. Aphrodite, in a rarely seen instance of un-lady like behavior, tightly balled her hands into fists.

"Errgh. You smug little—" Suddenly, Silena comfortingly place a hand on her mother's shoulders. She was accompanied by Drew and Lacy as well.

"Calm yourself, Mom. It's not like these "little girls" could even begin to understand what it means to love someone anyway." Silena openly snorted at the Hunters of Artemis. As the currently head of Aphrodite's Cabin, their careless denouncement of love was greatly disrespectful to her.

"Oh please. The love of milady is far more worthwhile than any a man could possibly give." Phoebe spat from the crowd. The other Hunters all murmured in unanimous agreement, including Zoë.

"Right. Like remaining virgins for the rest of your life is soooo worthwhile." Drew sarcastically grumbled. She rolled her eyes at the Hunters as if they weren't even worth arguing with.

"How dare you?! Our chastity is a privilege bestowed by Lady Artemis herself!" Phoebe fumed, suppressing the urge to punch Drew's smug lights out right then and there. Hestia stood in the center of each group, stopping this yelling session before it escalated into further levels of vitriol.

"Please settle down, everyone. We have more important matters to worry about." Hestia reminded everyone of Goku's ensuing trial. "Arguing over the purpose of love isn't one."

After a second or two, the two sides begrudgingly complied with Hestia's instruction. She was the other Olympians' peacekeeper for good reason, so demigods and young huntresses were really no different.

"But, Lady Hestia, aren't thee a virgin goddess too? Shouldn't thou be in direct support of our point?" Zoë asked in confusion. Dionysus was starting to find Zoë's method of speaking quite insufferable. Couldn't she have learned to update her English skills in the past thousand years? Then again, all of the Hunters were fairly ignorant to change. Maybe that stemmed from them being teenagers for all eternity.

"This thee, thou, thy crap is starting to get on my nerves…" Dionysus grumbled in annoyance. He massaged his aching forehead, praying to Zeus that Goku would leave for his trial soon. He had enough messes to deal with at Camp Half-Blood as it. Close by, Chiron stared at Mr. D's comment in disappointment.

"What?!" Dionysus threw his hands up in even greater irritation.

Concerning Zoë's logical question, Hestia shook her head in ever-so-slight disagreement. Her situation was slightly different when compared to both Athena and Artemis.

"While I may be a virgin goddess, that doesn't mean love is something I completely denounce. I just simply never saw an interest in pursuing marriage or motherhood myself. Overseeing the development of a potential family is what I'm best at. It's why Goku's close relationship with his sons and wife particularly caught my interest." Hestia unveiled the exact reasons behind her virgin status. Love wasn't entirely impossible for her to experience, even the romantic kind. There was just never someone she truly cared for beyond friendship or familial attachment. This factor especially applied to her former suitors, Poseidon and Apollo. Hestia's commonly seen child form mainly stemmed from her disinterest in pursuing romantic entanglement as well. However, Goku was, by far, the most interesting man she's ever happened to come across. In fact, getting to know more about him wasn't something she would be all that against. Goku's genuine love for his family and friends was definitely an appealing characteristic to keep in mind. The eponymous goddess of the hearth gestured to said Saiyan with a wave of her hand.

"Since it's his fate that's being determined here in the first place, try to save these trivial arguments for another time. Is that clear?" Hestia maturely lectured each group. Her warm, yet stern gaze produced a sensation of calming heat amongst the Hunters and children of Aphrodite. With this, Zoë, Phoebe, Silena, and Drew glared at one another before swiftly turning around in reluctant agreement.

""""Crystal."""" All four girls replied in unison. The other members of both groups also repeated the same phrase. Pleased with her work, Hestia proudly grinned in appreciation. Her orange eyes were now completely closed to match her sudden enthusiasm.

"That takes care of that. For now anyway." Hestia commented while resolutely smacking her hands together.

"Still not sure how I should feel about that. Being watched by so many of you is kinda weird, honestly." Goku whispered insecurely. He glanced from Aphrodite to Hestia, gathering that they've seen the most out of every other god or goddess present.

"Mmm I suppose it is, Goku. But, in all honestly, such a situation could be a lot worse." Hestia lightly chuckled at Goku's reaction. Even she had to admit that viewing the past events of another universe was a bit strange. In that same case, however, Aphrodite's circumstances were a lot more extreme and at worst, inappropriate.

"Yeah. I guess this trial thing is proof enough of that." Goku agreed, crossing both arms behind his head in contemplation. He then focused his attention on the entrance to Camp Half-Blood. It was mainly comprised of marble columns that were ensnared by vines and neighboring plant life.

"Should we start heading there now?" Goku wondered aloud. Judging by how Ares acted before and during their fight, he could tell the Greek gods were not exactly a patient bunch. The same could be said for Aphrodite too.

"Well, we could always try going in the mor—" The ear-splitting sound of a lightning bolt interrupted Hestia's thoughts. Camp Half-Blood suddenly experienced a massive downpour that drenched the entire area in mere seconds. A cacophony of thunder and lightning consumed the night sky, flashing ever brighter with each consecutive strike. Many demigods rushed to their cabins out of dismay and instinctual fear. There wasn't a storm this bad since Zeus' Master Bolt first went missing one year prior.

"Uh oh." Hestia muttered, gazing up at the massive storm clouds forming above. "That isn't a good sign."

"Just as I've suspected. It appears that father's patience has suddenly worn thin." Artemis glowered in concern. This was definitive proof that Zeus found out about Ares' defeat.

"That's grumpy old Zeus for you. Always complaining whenever things don't go his way." Aphrodite joked. Her insult was abruptly followed by another thunderbolt striking down somewhere nearby. She then girlishly shrieked, fearing that Zeus managed to hear her somehow.

"I would watch what you say, Aphrodite. You're already going to be in hot water once the others find out about your escape, especially Hera." Artemis coolly forewarned. Aphrodite, after fixing up her hair and dress, scoffed at such a possibility. She was already on bad terms with the other Olympians, so she really didn't have anything to lose.

"Tsk. That hag can try whatever she wants. With my darling Goku here, she can't touch me." Aphrodite lovingly proclaimed. She placed herself next to Goku's side and gently rubbed against his arm. Goku, of course, didn't know what to feel about this action besides confusion.

"Why do I even bother?" Artemis sighed distastefully. Even with Aphrodite being more remorseful towards what she did to Goku, the love goddess still didn't bother to take anything seriously. Facepalming, Artemis then tightly secured her bow and quiver of arrows. Her orange pony tail flapped against the winds of Zeus' storm as she looked upon Goku. In the nighttime darkness, Goku noticed that her silver irises glowed an even brighter, more translucent silver. They almost resembled miniature full moons at first glance.

"I'm afraid we can't postpone this meeting any longer, Goku. Will you be able to bear your injuries until then?" Artemis asked, pointing at the small bruises scattered along Goku's skin. After thoroughly checking over each wound, Goku gave her a small thumbs up.

"Sure thing. This stuff is only a scratch compared to what I've been through." Goku exclaimed in recollection of his past battles. His battle with Piccolo during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament was, by far, his worst beatdown yet. Him getting his bones crushed by Great Ape Vegeta wasn't all that pleasant either.

"I suppose that's not too surprising, given his insane durability." thought Artemis. She pondered whether or not Ares' punches in Divine Form even did much damage at all. Could Goku have been exaggerating his pain the whole time? He did split out blood, but besides that, nothing else really happened from a physical standpoint.

"Very well then. Myself, Hestia, and…ugh… Aphrodite will help escort you to Mount Olympus in a few minutes." Artemis informingly told. "Expect the trial to begin shortly after your arrival, alright?"

"No problem, Artemis. I'll do my best to understand Zeus and the others' points about…well, me I guess." Goku replied. Rectifying Ares' murder would need to involve some mutual respect between him and the Olympians anyway. If Goku truly was stuck here for the time being, he didn't want to make any more enemies in this universe.

"I'll have your word on that." Artemis quietly nodded in minor sympathy. She still needed to apologize for her unreasonable actions earlier. Whether she actually had the strength to do so was difficult to say for certain, but knowing Goku, it couldn't be all bad. Goku didn't really seem like the type of person to hold grudges or seek justice for past wrongs. At least, as far as she knew. There was still so much she didn't completely know or understand about him.

"It won't be entirely bad, Goku. Who knows? There might be some Olympians who support your arrival here." Hestia acknowledged the fact that Goku wasn't void of any support. Despite her indirect peacekeeping status as a fellow Olympian, she might even do her part to assist him as well.

"Wait, really? Huh. Wonder who those gods or goddesses could be." Goku thought in newfound interest. He gently cupped his chin, trying to gather direct reasons for why the Olympians, minus Zeus and Hera, would want him around.

"You'll have to wait and see." Hestia mischievously giggled. She then momentarily paused to look back at Dionysus.

"You coming along, Dionysus? This trial technically requires your opinion as well." Hestia asked curiously. She did give up her throne to Dionysus, so input from him was indeed required in this mess of a trial. Said wine god snorted in a mix of boredom and complete carelessness.

"Meh. I'll sit out on this one." Dionysus gruffly replied. "I'm not interested in seeing a one-sided yelling session on the gods' part. Especially with Okug being the center of it."

He tightly stretched both arms, giving his aunt a look of notable exhaustion. Yawning, Dionysus glanced up at the ensuing storm in minor annoyance. He honestly didn't care if Zeus chewed him out for not attending the trial. It simply wasn't worth the hassle and potential misfortune.

"However, if dad asks about me, just say I vote for both sides. Whether he stays or leaves this universe, I don't really give much of a crap either way." Dionysus grumbled in brutal honesty. Hestia expected as much from Dionysus, so she didn't really see a purpose in persuading him to go. He had a tendency to make up his mind quite fast and often.

"Fair enough then. I'll let you know how the results go as soon as I get back." Hestia stated with a small smirk.

"Works for me." Dionysus grunted back. "Oh and another thing…" He raised up his finger, and deadpanned at Goku right afterwards.

"If you do somehow win my old man's favor, this mess is yours to help clean up. Got that?" Dionysus demanded, directly gesturing toward the mass wreckage caused by Goku's bout with Ares. Goku blinked a few times in response to this request.

"Uhhh…sure. I guess I am partially responsible for it." Goku agreed to follow Mr. D's authoritative order. Nodding, Dionysus stuffed both hands in his pockets and passively spun around.

"Great. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some much-needed shut eye." Dionysus said, waving farewell to Goku and the rest with a backwards wave of his hand. Before fully departing for the Big House, he glared at both the Hunters of Artemis and Aphrodite's remaining demigods.

"All of you brats better get to bed soon! That includes you and your group as well, Katniss Everdeen." Dionysus snapped crabbily. Zoë and the Hunters grew concerned by this prospect. Residing in a contemptable place like Camp Half-Blood was something they did not want to do.

"Go to bed? Here? That's out of the question, Dionysus! And what in the world is a Katniss?" Zoë stated in aghast horror. Being thousands of years old, she didn't exactly get the character Dionysus was referencing. He just looked over his shoulder with little care for Zoë's frustration.

"Look it up." Dionysus simply replied. Without another word, he shuffled toward the Big House and went in. He roughly slammed its cabin door shut, leaving Chiron behind to deal with the rest. Dumbfounded, Zoë pleadingly looked to Artemis for guidance.

"Art thou going to leave us behind, milady?" Zoë asked in chagrin. Artemis closed her eyes, confirming Zoë's assumption with a curt nod.

"I'm afraid so, Zoë. You and the girls aren't permitted to visit Mount Olympus. The Empire State Building's elevator isn't really big enough to fit all of you as well." Artemis calmly affirmed the strict policies of Mount Olympus.

"But, milady. We have just as much of a right to know about Goku's fate as thou. Can't thy trust us this once?" Zoë tried to convince Artemis that her and the Hunters' company wouldn't be all that intrusive. Sadly, Artemis did not fall back on her decision.

"That's just how things are on Olympus, Zoë. I can't go against them, even if it is concerning someone important like Goku." Artemis reminded her lieutenant. She thinly smiled, resting a hand on Zoë's shoulder in order to help comfort her.

"For tonight, you and the Hunters can sleep in my cabin. The others should still be healing in there. I promise I won't be gone for much longer. Alright?" Artemis calmly assured Zoë of her eventual return. After smiling back, Zoë kneeled downward in the form of a respectful bow.

"Understood, milady. I'll patiently wait for your return." Zoë loyally promised. She was closely accompanied by Phoebe performing the same pose.

"I will too." Phoebe added. Artemis couldn't help, but feel proud of them for this action.

"As expected of my Hunters." Artemis commented pleasantly. "Follow Zoë and Phoebe's instructions while the trial is taking place, girls."

On command, the remaining Hunters all collectively bowed in perfect synchronization. Some even drew their bows as a physical sign of respect for their mistress.

"Yes, Lady Artemis." The huntresses replied in unison.

"Wow. What a bunch of kiss ups…" Drew mockingly snorted. She observed the Hunters' actions with a haughty smirk of amusement. She didn't expect egocentric, love-hating feminists like them to suddenly stoop so low.

"You could show some loyalty like that for a change." Aphrodite humorously muttered. Drew deadpanned, clicking her tongue in revulsion of such a possibility.

"No offense, Mom, but I'd rather throw up." Drew scoffed, pointing at her mouth in an over-the-top gagging motion. Expecting a remark like this, Aphrodite just sighed in minor disappointment.

"Can't really say I'd be shocked if you did." Aphrodite lightly chuckled. Rolling her eyes, Drew brushed her hair back in an attempt to rid it of excess rainwater. Getting soaked was definitely one thing she despised with every fiber of her being. That and girls who foolishly claim to be prettier than her, especially Silena.

Amongst the group of Aphrodite's demigod offspring, Lacy was brave enough to step forward and address Goku. She stood directly in front of him, feeling particularly small when compared with Goku's taller than average height. The blonde girl shyly peeked up at Goku in nervousness.

"Hey…um…Mr. Goku?" Lacy hesitantly questioned. Goku locked eyes with the pigtailed demigod in slight puzzlement.

"Yeah? What's up, little girl?" Goku replied curiously. The Saiyan kneeled downward, so Lacy and him could speak face-to-face. Feeling anxious, she rocked herself in place while avoiding direct eye contact with Goku.

"I…I just wanted to wish you luck for the meeting coming up. It's not fair what the other gods are planning to do to you." Lacy proclaimed remorsefully. Suddenly gaining more confidence, she beamed at Goku with a wide, passionate grin.

"So, I hope you come back unharmed! I really want to see more of that Super Saiyan thingy you used on Ares! It was super cool!" Lacy complimented with an enthusiastic thumbs up. Appreciating Lacy's kind words, Goku reciprocated the smile in genuine appreciation.

"Aw thanks…erm…" Goku trailed off, unable to keep proper track of each demigods' names.

"Lacy. I'm one of Aphrodite's daughters." Lacy properly introduced herself. Aphrodite suppressed the urge to squeal girlishly at Goku's interaction with Lacy. The fact he was good around kids made him even more desirable to her. That much could be seen with Goten back in his own universe.

"Well, Lacy, I can definitely see the resemblance. Taha." Goku kindly laughed. Lacy's eye lit up at the comparison between her and her mom appearance wise. She always thought her braces would get in the way of that.

"Really? You do?" Lacy asked in pleasant surprise. Goku nodded while affectionately patting Lacy's head.

"Yep. I'll be sure to show you my Super Saiyan form again real soon, so look forward to it." Goku happily promised. He then removed his hand from her head, causing Lacy to practically jump for joy.

"I will! Good luck again, Mr. Goku! Hehe." Lacy giggled. Her cheeks burned a slight tinge of red in reactionary delight.

"There's no need to be so formal, Lacy. Just call me, Goku." Goku simply advised.

"Okay...Goku." Lacy nodded, running back to her fellow siblings in giddiness. She had a slight spring in her step mid-stride. As usual, Drew found this "display" hilarious and quite worthy of contempt on Lacy's part.

"Remember, Lacy. That guy could be our new stepdad soon." Drew jokingly repeated Aphrodite's words. Glancing at Drew's smug expression, Lacy narrowed her eyes in irritation.

"Hmph. Shut it, Drew." Lacy spat, not in the mood to tolerate Drew's insulting remarks.

"Ugh. What did you say to me, brat?" Drew questioned in anger. Lacy smugly grinned whilst folding one arm over the other.

"You heard me." Lacy hummed in knowing sass. Drew seethed, shakily raising up a clenched fist in outrage.

"Errrgh. You are so going to get it, brace face!" Drew scornfully threatened her half-sister. Lacy, undeterred by such a baseless threat, smirked at her in mock sweetness.

"Say what you want about my face, but at least my makeup isn't bleeding all over it." Lacy pointed out. Drew suddenly gasped in horror, dabbing a few fingers on her drenched face to see if this…terrifying claim was true. Unfortunately for her, some mascara was dripping along the sides of her cheeks as Lacy told.

"W-What did you sa—" Drew mumbled in steadily rising infuriation. Before another pointless argument could ensue, Silena scooted Lacy and Drew toward the direction of Cabin #10.

"That's enough, Drew. Like Mr. D said, we're all going straight to bed once we get back to the cabin." Silena maturely instructed. While Lacy and the others immediately followed her orders, Drew still felt obligated to act difficult and passive-aggressive.

"Tsk. Whatever you say, Ms. Beauregard." Drew sarcastically whispered. She then flicked her hair backward and begrudgingly departed for Aphrodite's cabin. The other demigods did the same while Lacy waved back at Aphrodite and Goku one last time.

Silena scrunched up her beautiful face, feeling particularly frustrated with Drew's unruly behavior. She didn't even want to think of the possibility that Drew could become head counselor someday. After breathily sighing in exasperation, Silena fixed her blue eyes on Aphrodite.

"Best of luck on Olympus, Mom. Hopefully their sentencing on Goku doesn't end up too harsh." Silena sent her regards. Aphrodite glumly nodded, unable to fully predict how Goku's would pan out. She smiled at her daughter with a strained, slightly downcast grin.

"We'll see, sweetie. We'll see." Aphrodite uncertainly murmured. After a moment of contemplative silence, Silena left Goku, her mother, and everyone else to their own devices. She then opened the door leading into Aphrodite's cabin and shut it.

"So, are we leaving then?" Goku inquired to Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hestia. The latter nodded her head in confirmation.

"I'm afraid so. If we postpone this trial any longer, Zeus will throw an even bigger tantrum." Hestia inferred from prior experience with Zeus' anger.

"He's that impatient, huh? Hmmm…" Goku deeply pondered to himself. Thinking over the fastest possible method of travel they could use, an idea suddenly dawned on the carefree Saiyan's mind.

"I've got it! Instead of walking all the way back to that Empire State whatever, how about I just use Instant Transmission?" Goku helpfully suggested.

"Oh right. That's the teleportation technique you used to fight Ares with." Artemis evidently recognized. She supposed that would be less time consuming than walking back to New York City on foot.

"Yeah. Since that desk lady's presence didn't seem human, she should be pretty easy to track down. I'll just need to focus." Goku recalled the Mist's effects on mythical creatures. He then placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose, trying to locate the aforementioned woman's ki signature. Amidst the various occupants of Manhattan, Goku successfully managed to pinpoint the lady's energy and exact location.

"Ah there she is!" Goku stated in relief. "Grab any part of my body, guys!"

Artemis grabbed ahold of Goku's shoulder while Hestia securely latched onto his back. Aphrodite, on the other hand, took Goku's wording a bit too literally. She squinted her eyes, and mischievously studied Goku from top-to-bottom.

"You said any part? Mmmm." Aphrodite mused. She then leeringly stared at the crotch area of Goku's, causing said Saiyan to feel a bit uncomfortable. The fact that she began suggestively licking her lips didn't help much either.

"Uh… anywhere above the waist I mean." Goku awkwardly rephrased his previous statement. Aphrodite disappointedly pouted at this correction.

"Hmph. You're no fun, dear." Aphrodite playfully grumbled. Smiling, she then securely wrapped her arm around Goku's free one. Goku, of course, didn't really show that much of a reaction.

"How deplorable of you, Aphrodite. But, then again, I wouldn't say I'm shocked." Artemis chastised Aphrodite's inappropriate attitude. Glaring at the moon goddess, Aphrodite puffed up her cheeks in firm annoyance.

"It was just a joke. Lighten up, stick-in-the-mud." Aphrodite deadpanned. Artemis narrowed her eyes, having a low tolerance for Aphrodite's lack of restraint. She obviously had remorse for bringing Goku here, but aside from that, Aphrodite still took everything around her with a grain of salt. This could especially be applied to her previous "relationships" with Ares, Adonis, and other men she slept with. Artemis didn't know why, but she felt concern for Goku in this situation. After tragically losing his wife, he was, by far, the last person who deserved to be Aphrodite's play thing or one-night stand.

"This is a serious situation, Aphrodite. And one you inadvertently caused in the first place." Artemis fervently reminded the love goddess.

"Let's save this kind of talk for the trial, girls. We can't afford to waste any more time." Hestia called from behind Goku's shoulders. Her small body was practically glued to Goku's gi, using one of his shoulders as a makeshift handlebar.

"Why are you sitting on me like that, Hestia?" Goku asked, darting his eyes toward the homely goddess. Hestia shrugged with a short smile on her face.

"No reason in particular, really. It's just more comfortable this way with my child form." Hestia explained. She gestured to her short arms and legs as further emphasis.

"Guess that works for me." Goku replied. "Hang on tight, everybody!"

Fully closing in on Phyllis' ki, Goku and the three goddesses dematerialized into thin air. They all collectively vanished, leaving no trace of them whatsoever. Zoë and Phoebe, while slightly taken aback by this bizarre spectacle, led the other Hunters to Artemis' cabin without another word. Seeing this, Chiron felt somewhat relieved by Goku's departure. With him gone, hopefully Camp Half-Blood could be built back to some form of normalcy. However, the Combat Arena would, no question, require the most extensive refurbishment. The wise centaur trotted in a circle, attempting to spot any sign of foreseeable damage.

"Hmm it's going to take a while for this camp to be back in working condition." Chiron muttered in dismay. "That Goku character is indeed an anomaly."

While ponderously stroking his beard, Chiron spotted something within his field of vision. He tilted a portion of his body to unveil who this mysterious person, object, or creature was. Concealed behind some of the Combat Arena's shrapnel was a shivering, visibly furious Clarisse La Rue. She tightly held Maimer in both hands as it glowed with red bolts of static electricity. Her teeth were tightly clamped together, appearing as if she were infuriated with a task she let slip away.

"Any particular reason why you hesitated, Clarisse?" Chiron questioningly addressed. Clarisse widened her eyes in sudden shock. She didn't think her hiding place could be so easily revealed. Cursing herself, Clarisse quietly stepped out of the shadows, so she could talk with Chiron.

"How did you know I was there?" Clarisse bitterly questioned. She roughly crossed her arms and stuck Maimer into the ground.

"I've trained heroes for quite a few millennia at this point. It doesn't take much effort to spot a hidden attacker, even when their presence is concealed." Chiron knowledgably explained. He perused Clarisse's appearance and body language, noting she was currently under a lot of stress and anger.

"Plus, judging from Ares' humiliating defeat, your hatred of Son Goku is quite noticeable." Chiron identified Clarisse's lust for vengeance against Goku. To be fair, all of Ares' other kids probably felt the same way. Just hearing the accursed name, Son Goku, was enough to make Clarisse's blood boil.

"What else should I feel?! That damn bastard literally scattered my dad and his pride into a million different pieces! By the time he reforms, he'll be the absolute laughing stock of Mount Olympus." Clarisse furiously hissed. She knew that Ares' reputation would be ruined just as much as the arena he fought in. Because of Goku, the other cabins would no longer feel any sort of fear or respect for Ares'. They'd just laugh and insult the war god as if he were nothing. Beyond any shadow of doubt, that was a prospect she would not dare to stand for.

"I wanted revenge the very moment my dad dispersed. That Goku prick needed to experience just as much pain as he inflicted. That's why I planned to sneak attack him with my spear after leaving the arena. But…" Clarisse hesitated, clenching her fists in bitterness. She looked down at the grass in firm resentment of her own cowardice and, most baffling, fear.

"…I hesitated. It wasn't because of Aphrodite, Artemis, Hestia, or the prissy Hunters being there. No, I hesitated to fight him myself… because… because…" Clarisse choked angrily, trying her hardest to prevent tears from shedding. She fell to her knees and powerfully slammed a fist on the ground.

"I'm too damn weak to do anything… against someone like him! What kind of pathetic excuse for a daughter am I?!" Clarisse shouted in frustration. Maimer's arrowhead became more electrified in response to the frantic emotional state of its wielder.

Chiron could only look upon Clarisse in great remorse. This was one of the only times where Clarisse truly felt powerless and broken beyond belief. She was never really the type of person to get truly emotional, so this moment of weakness was quite rife for concern. It seemed that her father's hopeless fight with Goku was not a battle she expected to witness firsthand. Sure, Percy Jackson allegedly bested Ares in combat about a year ago, but not to the point where he would be stuck reforming in Tartarus for months on end. The centaur tried his best to think of an action that could aid in remedying Clarisse's sorrow.

"I realize your father's defeat is difficult to grasp, Clarisse. Goku is an entity we and the Olympians themselves were not fully able to comprehend at first. This trial is being held within good reason, after all." Chiron sympathetically understood Clarisse's frustrations.

"There's just so much we don't know about him yet. His power, his origins, his home, his friends, his enemies, and most importantly, what exactly he even fights for to begin with. That is what makes him a formidable, yet surprisingly fascinating individual. Who knows? As much as I don't want to think this, he could lead to either Kronos' eventual rise… or fall." Chiron proclaimed, acknowledging the fact that Goku had as much of a chance to be a potential ally as a foe. Snorting, Clarisse picked herself up and firmly parted Maimer from the ground below.

"Tsk. I don't give a rat's ass about any of that. All I care about is Zeus tossing Goku into Tartarus to give him his just desserts. Maybe then, my dad's honor as a warrior will be kept intact." Clarisse vitriolically hoped that Goku would face punishment for his recent "crime". Chiron just hummed at this response with slight interest.

"Hmmm well, if you are so passionate about preserving Ares' dignity, I suggest improving yourself in terms of strength. A true hero always knows when to better themselves, even when it seems like there is nothing left to work on." Chiron wisely advised.

"Yeah, yeah. You're acting as if I wasn't doing that stuff already." Clarisse grunted with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"That's not what I was implying, Clarisse. In fact, you could say I have a proposition that requires said strength enhancement." Chiron subtly offered. The daughter of Ares paused to glance at Chiron suspiciously.

"What are you getting at, Chiron?" Clarisse asked with a quirk of her brow. Chiron scanned the entire campgrounds, making certain that every demigod and Hunter of Artemis was in their respective cabin.

"We can't discuss it out in the open like this. It's a secret scouting mission that concerns the safety of Camp Half-Blood itself." Chiron lowly whispered. "I'll talk to you about it in the Big House alongside Mr. D. He mas meaning to ask you about it for some time now."

Clarisse's interest in this proposition suddenly grew at the mention of "secret" and Mr. D. If he was the one who came up with this mission, then it must have been a pretty big deal. Dionysus was never known as one to hand out quests without good reason or well, even have the interest in giving them out to begin with.

"Alright then. You've got my attention." Clarisse ultimately accepted Chiron's request. She then followed Chiron to the Big House with Maimer in toe. Upon walking up the Big House's steps, Chiron approached a wheelchair that was set alongside its doorway. The centaur ran into this wheelchair, magically transfiguring his horse body into that of human legs. He then slowly opened the door, and entered it.

"Could you at least say where this scouting mission will take place?" Clarisse questioned. She quietly marched up the Big House's stairs, using Maimer as a makeshift walking stick.

From inside of the administrative building, Chiron addressed Clarisse with a serious, momentarily disparaging gaze. He closed his eyes for a moment before motioning for Clarisse to walk onward.

"Tell me, Clarisse. How much do you know about the Labyrinth?" Chiron curiously asked in a grave whisper. Clarisse, both eyes widening slightly in recognition, walked into the Big House's main room and shut its door behind her. If this mission somehow involved Daedalus' Labyrinth, there was definitely trouble brewing.

Empire State Building Lobby

Being late at night, the Empire State Building's lobby was practically empty. Each of the businessmen and women that worked there all went home a few hours prior, so its elevators were now completely vacant. The only occupants left in this skyscraper were security guards scattered throughout each story and Phyllis, the desk lady Goku encountered hours earlier. She typically didn't take the night shift, but due to Mount Olympus being in a substantial crisis, desperate measures needed to be taken. In fact, Phyllis herself was personally tasked with being on the lookout for Artemis and this Son Goku character. Unfortunately, both of them never bothered to show up. She didn't know whether to feel impatient or slightly relieved. From the first moment she witnessed Goku coming out of Olympus' elevator, she knew there was something…unusual about him. There was, of course, the gravity-defying porcupine hair, but his martial arts uniform and general demeanor were a bit more puzzling. Despite his innocent expressions and nature, he was far from being characterized as such. He unquestionably had the eyes of a fierce warrior willing and able to fight. It was her main reason for reporting him to Lord Zeus, after all. Even so, the portly nymph wished that something interesting could happen. Sitting at a desk all day long wouldn't really be considered her or anyone's idea of fun. Yawning, Phyllis rested her elbow on the desk in complete boredom.

"Just great. The trial of the century is about to start, yet here I am doing pointless deskwork!" Phyllis sighed heavily. She slumped down into her seat and checked the time.

"Like come on. It's 11:30 right now. It's not like something's gonna pop out of—" Out of nowhere, Goku teleported into the front lobby with Artemis, Hestia, and Aphrodite surrounding him. This caused Phyllis to girlishly shriek in absolute surprise.

"SWEET MOTHER GAEA!" Phyllis horrifyingly screamed. She flinched, causing her to painfully fall out of her seat. This scattered paperwork and miscellaneous items all over the place, much to Goku's immense confusion.

"Owwwww." Phyllis groaned. She struggled to stand up straight, sporting a look of irritation. "Stupid human disguise…"

After regaining her lost composure, Phyllis was met with the concerned stares of Artemis, Hestia, and Aphrodite. She practically grew speechless, shocked to see so many Olympian goddesses at the same time. Mouth agape, the female lobbyist sporadically pointed from Artemis to Hestia and Aphrodite in quick succession.

"W-What the… L-Lady Artemis? Lady Aphrodite? Lady Hestia?" Phyllis recognized in shock. She was then further startled by the presence of Goku. Said Saiyan nonchalantly waved at her as a sign of greeting.

"You?!" gasped Phyllis.

"It's Goku by the way." Goku attempted to remind the nymph. Phyllis took a deep breath, suddenly replacing her previous nervousness with neutral indifference.

"I'm fully aware of who you are, Mr. Son. Lord Zeus has been waiting quite a while for your arrival." Phyllis huffed, crossing her arms in disingenuous contempt. Goku waved both hands in front of him as a way to show that he understood.

"I know, I know. Let's just say we experienced some…erm…" Goku stammered, unsure of how to describe everything that happened in between his first arrival and now. From eating lunch with Aphrodite to "killing" a god of war, this was truly an eventful day to spend in this new universe.

"Technical difficulties. Very big, time intensive difficulties." Aphrodite finished off Goku's sentence with a nervous grin.

"I see. That still won't be a good excuse, though." Phyllis exclaimed whilst clasping her hands together.

"We are well aware of that. Now, may you grant us access to Mount Olympus?" Artemis politely requested use of the elevator. Beaming, Phyllis happily complied with the moon goddess's order.

"Of course, Lady Artemis. Here's the key card." Phyllis said, handing a golden-black card to Artemis. The Greek letter Ω was imprinted directly in its center.

"Thank you." Artemis expressed her thanks. She then lightly bowed in appreciation before walking past the elevator's security gates.

"Thanks for the help, Phyllis." Goku happily waved at Phyllis. She grew puzzled once more, wondering why this alien was acting so calm and well, friendly.

"Sure thing?" Phyllis replied in bewilderment. Her eyes followed Goku's blissfully unaware path as he parted for the elevator. She then shook her head and began picking up papers.

"I think you can get off of me, Hestia." Goku told Hestia. He gradually slowed down his pace to gaze at the hearth goddess's orange eyes.

"I was kind of planning to stay like this until we got to Olympus, but if you say so." Hestia shrugged in slight disappointment. She then lightly hopped off of Goku's back and began walking herself.

"Yeah, sorry. You were just getting a bit heavy." Goku sheepishly apologized. While this might have offended her in any other situation, Hestia found Goku's way of saying it pretty comedic.

"That's not something you should say to a woman, Goku. Hehe." Hestia playfully scolded. Her child-like giggle of amusement was practically contagious for the Saiyan.

"Oh right. Whoops. I made that same mistake when Chi-Chi was pregnant with Gohan." Goku fondly recalled in embarrassment. He massaged his neck, almost feeling the impact of Chi-Chi's trusty frying pan from entire universes away.

"She didn't take it very well." Goku chuckled in melancholic remembrance. Chi-Chi's fiery temper was quite dangerous at times, but he still loved that aspect of her personality, regardless. It was honestly kind of Saiyan-like in a weird way.

Aphrodite felt disheartened by this casual mention of Chi-Chi. She understood it would take far more than just one day for Goku to move on from his wife, but that didn't make it any less frustrating of an experience. Her intense adoration for Goku was simply too overwhelming. The love goddess bit down on her lower lip, trying to figure out some form of strategy for winning Goku's heart. Although it may take months or potentially even years, having Goku's love and respect all to herself would be well-worth the hassle. That is, if Artemis and Hestia didn't keep butting in!

"With Chi-Chi still on his mind, I'll need to step my game up. But, keeping it more subtle than outright flirtatious is key for someone like Goku. He may be grieving inside, but a little push in the right direction wouldn't hurt him at all. Hopefully." Aphrodite thought over a method of gaining Goku's attention. If possible, a genuine friendship with the Saiyan would need to be established beforehand. Then, in a best case scenario, feelings would naturally progress from that point onward.

"You don't mess with a woman when she's pregnant, Goku. I know that well enough from helping my younger sister, Hera, give birth." Hestia shivered in vivid recollection. She had quite a few horror stories to tell about Hera's pregnancy with Ares.

Goku's face grew somewhat quizzical at the mention of Hera. "Oh yeah. She's the Queen of Olympus, right? Wonder what she'll think about me being around."

All three goddesses suddenly avoided eye contact with Goku. This produced an uncomfortable silence that Goku did not see coming.

"What? Was there something I said?" Goku puzzlingly asked, turning his head from Aphrodite to Hestia. While walking down the hallway, Artemis side-glanced at Goku with a stern expression.

"Sorry to discourage you or anything, Goku, but Hera will probably hate you the most." Artemis coolly forewarned. Hestia and Aphrodite nodded their heads together in unanimous agreement.

"Most likely, yes. She doesn't take kindly to outsiders." Hestia added in minor sympathy. Goku lightly gulped, not expecting Hera's hatred of him to be this extreme. He wondered if her temper could be just as bad as Chi-Chi's was, if not worse. Maybe Ares inherited such a fearsome trait from Hera due to being his mother and all.

"Oh…well, I'm sure it won't be too bad, right?" Goku asked with an optimistic grin. This was followed by an ever greater stint of awkward, foreboding silence.

"Guys?" Goku attempted to garner each of the goddess's attentions once more. Aphrodite comfortingly rested a hand on Goku's shoulder.

"You'll see for yourself eventually, Goku. It's just a matter of time." Aphrodite almost regretted to inform. She didn't want to be chewed up and spit out by Hera either.

All four individuals then continued walking toward the Empire State Building's main elevator. Standing beside it was the same security guard Aphrodite "persuaded" into helping her bring Goku to this universe. The guard nervously adjusted his spectacles, observing the premises in frantic anxiety. It appeared that the guilt of being involved in such a serious crime was beginning to consume his psyche. The recent announcement of a trial on Olympus didn't do much to help his erratic mental state. Groaning over his unfortunate luck, the inexplicable sight of Aphrodite, Artemis, Hestia, and a spiky haired buff dude made it even worse. He broke into a nervous sweat, startled by the fact that all of them were coming this way and fast.

"Don't look at her. Don't look at her. Don't look at her." The security guard thought. He stood in a posturized military position and darted his eyes away from Aphrodite.

"Bring us to the 600th floor, please." Artemis commanded. She held out the key card, waiting for him to grab it.

"Y-Yes. Right away, milady!" The young security guard stuttered. He shakily took the key card and inserted it into a slot built into the wall. With a click, the elevator doors leading to Mount Olympus opened. Like before, it seemed to glow with an otherworldly sheen of gold.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a tight squeeze." Aphrodite sourly stated. She observed the elevator's interior design, confirming that four people could not really fit in there all at once.

"Not that I have a problem with that." Aphrodite suggestively added. Taking notice of the security guard's discomfort, she mischievously winked at him. This wink caused the guard to squirm in even further discomfort.

"Gods, they don't pay me enough for this job." The guard sighed whilst shaking his head. "Actually, now that I think about it, do I even get paid at all?"

As Artemis motioned for Goku and her fellow goddesses to follow, the security thought over his average salary or lack thereof. Deciding not to dwell on it, the security ultimately shrugged and got back to work.

"Eh whatever. At least Lord Zeus didn't find out I was involved in that Goku guy's arrival." The security said in relief. His eyes then widened at sound of the thunder roaring from outside. The Empire State Building's lights ever-so-slightly flickered in response to said storm.

"O-Or did he?" The security meekly gulped. Maybe his chances of being fried by Zeus' Master Bolt weren't so farfetched after all. The guard then stood straight, praying that he wouldn't have to find out for himself.

"That doesn't matter right now. We're in a hurry." Artemis snarled at Aphrodite's joke. Once her, Hestia, Aphrodite, and Goku entered, the elevator tightly shut behind them. The inside was a lot more compact than Goku remembered it being. Just standing in the middle was enough for Artemis, Hestia, and Aphrodite to accidentally squeeze against him.

"Well, you're right about this being tight, Aphrodite. You guys are all smooshing me." Goku said. Hestia climbed on top of Goku once more while Aphrodite and Artemis leaned into each of his shoulders. While Artemis found this mildly annoying, Aphrodite felt the exact opposite.

"Told ya, sweetie. Don't worry, though. I promise to be gentle." Aphrodite seductively whispered. She then snuggled into Goku's side, much to the visible disgust of Artemis. Scoffing to herself, she pressed the command module's 600th button and stood back.

"Brace yourself." Artemis simply warned. The elevator then uncontrollably shook from side to side, shining with a golden aura. After a few moments of rabid vibration, the elevator shot up to the Empire State Building's peak. The number of floors went from 1 to around 500 in mere seconds time. As 600 was finally reached, the elevator suddenly dematerialized in a flash of divine light. Reality distorted around Goku and the three goddesses while teleporting, making the laws of time and space difficult to comprehend. Their limbs seemed to squash and stretch in various, near-impossible positions, causing Goku's eyes to spin around from dizziness. Thankfully, due to his mastery of Instant Transmission, this similar variant of teleportation wasn't too difficult to adjust to. Then again, he already experienced part of it when first arriving here.

Finally, in a sonic boom of erupting photons, the elevator's ascent came to a sudden halt. Any sort of shaking and unrest it experienced was now done with. While the trip felt much longer to Goku timewise, it only took about 1 second flat in actuality. That's how insanely fast Mount Olympus' elevator truly was. However, it still paled in comparison to the full capabilities of Goku's Instant Transmission. That didn't make it any less of a mental strain for Goku to experience, though.

"Man. Even after a second time, it still makes my head spin." Goku commented dizzily. The elevator doors opened up, unveiling a staircase made out of white clouds. He tentatively placed a foot on the cloud, surprised to see that it could maintain his bodyweight. It somewhat reminded him of the Flying Nimbus, but much more widespread.

"We've all been there, Goku. In fact, Aphrodite got motion sickness the first we started using this elevator. And by motion sickness, I mean the very bad kind." Hestia informed with a rub of her stomach. Aphrodite placed both hands on her hips in embarrassment.

"TMI, Hestia! TMI!" Aphrodite growled. Hestia placed a hand over her mouth in amusement. The love goddess was just far too easy sometimes.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist." Hestia chuckled. Artemis, being to the first to exit the elevator, gazed at Olympus' peak in concern.

"Anyway, let's officially get down to business…" Artemis grunted. Looking at Goku, she gestured to the entire mountain with her hands.

"Welcome to Mount Olympus, Goku." Artemis formally introduced her and the entire Greek pantheon's central domain. Goku marveled at the sheer scope of such a structure, looking at each temple and inhabitant with child-like wonder. His attention was particularly drawn to the mountain's tip, noticing that 9 energy signatures were gathered in one location. This must be the place where his trial was going to be held.

"Wow. It's a lot bigger than Aphrodite's memories made it out to be." Goku observed in awe. Expecting this response, Artemis shut both eyes and flipped her pony tail backward.

"To be fair, everything is a lot smaller from the perspective of Aphrodite's mind." Artemis said.

"Joking about me being dumb? Gee. How original." Aphrodite sarcastically deadpanned.

"I'm just telling how it is. Your shallow, self-centered view of the world and universe is what brought upon this mess." Artemis hatefully slammed Aphrodite's intent once more. Aphrodite, on the other hand, didn't really care what she had to say at this point.

"Says the man-hating feminist." Aphrodite smugly retorted. "But, you've got a good point. Everything is a lot smaller compared to myself."

She proudly puffed out her chest, emphasizing the sheer size of both breasts. Adding further insult to injury, Aphrodite then gestured to Artemis' comparatively smaller ones. This action caused Artemis to cover herself in pure rage. For a split second, her cheeks also had a faint shade of red to them.

"Grrgh! You putrid harlot!" Artemis fumed, both eyes glowing a moonlit silver. Her teeth bared in a state reminiscent of carnivorous fangs.

"Sexist prude!" Aphrodite snapped back. The two goddesses got into each other's faces, almost suppressing the urge to fight mono e mono.

"Girls. Hello? We've got a trial to attend, remember?" Hestia calmly reminded the two goddesses. Artemis turned away from the love goddess with a vindictive, yet neutrally serious frown.

"Right. Pardon that minor setback, Hestia." muttered Artemis. She darted her eyes toward Aphrodite at the mention of "minor" in said statement.

"Hmph." Aphrodite hummed indignantly. Afterwards, she crossed her arms and stood beside Goku.

"As I was saying, just follow up these stairs, Goku. They lead directly to the Hall of the Gods." Artemis instructed Goku, pointing to the very top of Olympus. "I'll personally escort you there."

"Alright then. Sounds good to me." Goku agreeably complied. The group of four then walked one step after the other, making a slow, evenly paced trek throughout Mount Olympus. In the process of walking, Artemis looked back at Goku with a sense of guilt.

"Well, this is as good a time as any. Not sure how to exactly word this, but I'll try my best." Artemis tensely pondered. Apologizing to someone, especially a man like Goku, was quite a difficult task for her to accomplish. "My honor as a huntress and warrior hinges on it."

She analyzed Goku's face, wondering how such a troubled mortal could still look so happy and enthusiastic on the outside. He's been through so much, yet still managed to strive forward regardless. Despite the strict oath her and the Hunters had to follow, Artemis still couldn't suppress the slight admiration she felt for Goku's bravery in this moment. This only made the so-called "apology" to Goku even more difficult to pull off!

"Tsk. Even so, this will definitely go against my views of men. But, I suppose there are always exceptions to the rule… like he used to be." Artemis morosely sighed. Remembering the only man she grew to respect was quite painful for Artemis, even thousands of years after his demise. The fact Goku and him held some similarities with one another didn't do much better.

"Here goes." Artemis took a deep breath, gaining the courage to speak with Goku man-to-goddess.

"Goku…I…" stammered Artemis. Mentally cursing herself, Artemis was then met with the curious eyes of Goku.

"Yeah?" Goku asked.

"I just wanted to…erm…apologize for what I've put you through in the past few hours. After getting to know you a bit better, I realize that what my Hunters and I have done was wrong. A kind-hearted man…no, person like yourself didn't deserve that kind of treatment." Artemis showed regret for her past actions. For a few seconds, a glint of remorse seemed to appear in her eyes.

Goku, Hestia, and especially Aphrodite were taken aback by this statement. Artemis wasn't usually one to fall back on her decisions so easily. Due to how genuinely sorry Artemis appeared to be, Goku gave her a carefree smile.

"Don't sweat it, Artemis. You were just doing what was best for your home. If someone weird showed up on my planet all of a sudden, I probably would have done the same thing." Goku admitted with a small chuckle. Artemis' silver eyes widened in response.

"Y-You're not upset by it?" Artemis stammered.

"Of course not. Remember, I agreed to attend this trial. Getting to know more about you gods and them me is the most reasonable option. After what happened with Ares, fighting back is the last thing I want to resort to right now." Goku explained, seeking to form a compromise with the Olympians. He then clenched one of his fist in battle-ready anticipation.

"Cause if I did, the opportunity for you guys to get stronger couldn't happen. I want to see you girls and even Ares improve to a point where you can all fight well! It'll be loads of fun, no doubt! Hehe." Goku happily expressed his interest in fighting the other gods and goddesses someday. While such a claim was quite absurd to the say least, Artemis couldn't hold back a smile of amusement.

"Heh. You really are a strange one, Goku…" Artemis muttered aloud. She lightly giggled, much to Goku's confusion.

"Strange? What do you mean?" Goku asked. Artemis, reverting back to her stern self, just shook her head dismissively.

"It's nothing. Let's just keep walking." Artemis scoffed. After a few seconds, the four continued making good distance up to Mount Olympus' peak.

"You are indeed strange, Goku, but that's what makes you so fascinating compared to other men I've met in the past." Artemis thought in minor admiration. Based on his demonstration of the Kaioken, training with Goku was definitely something she would need to partake in soon.

"Maybe this trial won't go as badly as I've predicted. Although, only Goku himself can be the judge of that." Artemis pondered from a more optimistic viewpoint. As she carried herself up the stairs, the Hall of the Gods' likeness became more visible.

"Would you want me to get stronger too, Goku?" Aphrodite shyly questioned.

"Sure, Aphrodite. From seeing your memories, I can already tell you have loads of untapped potential. You were able to hold off Ares pretty well, after all." Goku complimented with a light pat of Aphrodite's back. Her cheeks immediately reddened in response to the slightest touch of Goku's hand.

"T-Thank you, sweetie! Hmmm I'll definitely keep that in mind…" Aphrodite wondered whilst stroking her chin. In her eyes, getting closer to Goku through sparring didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Aside from food, strength training might be the true key to his heart." Aphrodite mentally assessed. She grabbed onto her hips, thoroughly examining each portion of the body,

"I have been meaning to get more in shape anyway." Aphrodite mentally recalled. "After this dumb trial is over, I'll see what I can do."

After widely smiling at Goku, the Saiyan brought up a question he was meaning to ask Aphrodite since they first met.

"Why do you keep calling me sweetie and those other names all the time?" Goku asked in slight befuddlement.

"No reason. It's just how I show affection to people." Aphrodite whispered. "Do you not like it?"

She frowned, feeling somewhat saddened by Goku's questioning of her little pet names. Such a downcast reaction from the love goddess caused Goku to immediately backpedal on what he said.

"Nah. I'm alright with it. It's sort of…weird for me." Goku muttered in puzzlement. "Not because of you or anything. It's just that the last person who called me stuff like that was…you know…"

Aphrodite, Hestia, and Artemis were all smart enough to know who he was referring to. This caused Aphrodite to suddenly feel self-conscious and apologetic for her prior actions. Her eyes grew half-lidded as she looked down at the ground.

"Oh. I understand." Aphrodite lowly whispered. She then cupped her hands together and kept walking at a slower, more even pace.

"I'm certain Chi-Chi is in a better place, Goku. After the time you've spent together, she deserves to." Hestia comforted Goku with a light tug of his pant leg.

"Yeah. I hope so." Goku uttered hopefully. In spite of her short temper, Goku knew for certain that Chi-Chi ascended to his universe's equivalent of Heaven by now. Hopefully he'd be able to see her again someday.

After walking a few more feet, Artemis placed a hand in front of the other three. They were now standing before the Hall of the Gods itself. It was a massive palace akin to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, but nearly thousands of times larger. Goku and the rest were merely specks in comparison. Extremely realistic statues of each Olympian, including Hestia, were also placed along the staircase leading into said temple. These marble sculptures were accurately proportioned and sized as well.

Directly above the temple, a massive storm cloud in the shape of Zeus' face presided. It fiercely glared, sporting vacant eyes that glowed electric blue with each consecutive strike of lightning. Noting its near-identical facial features to Zeus, Artemis observed this construct of her father in progressive chagrin. How would she even begin to excuse her poor timing?

"Well, we've arrived. It's now or never." Artemis briskly announced. Without another word, she motioned for Goku to follow her inside.

"Don't worry, Goku. I'll try to help as much as I can." Aphrodite promised while brushing a hand down Goku's shoulder.

"That is, if my father even allows you to participate." Artemis said.

"Psh. Even Zeus won't stop me from defending Goku's honor." Aphrodite proudly remarked. She placed both fists on her hips in a pose reminiscent of Wonder Woman or any other female heroine.

"Thanks for the support, you guys. I appreciate it." Goku thanked each goddess for their assistance. While Aphrodite and Hestia smiled back, Artemis sighed in dismay. She really didn't want Goku to go through all of this drama. Even she couldn't handle some of their petty arguments at times.

"I would say that after this trial is officially over with, Goku." Artemis quietly suggested. The four then collectively approached the temple, awaiting the very trial that would decide Goku's fate in this universe. If they were lucky, Goku would somehow manage to win Zeus' favor. Such a prospect was quite hard to swallow, however.

Within the Hall of the Gods…

Zeus tirelessly drummed his fingers on his throne's armrest, still waiting for Artemis to bring Son Goku before him. Hera, on the other hand, ground all ten fingernails unto her throne's surface in pure rage. On top of humiliating her favorite son in combat, Goku making her and the other Olympians wait was simply inexcusable. The urge to toss Goku into Tartarus' pit had never been stronger during that same moment. As her nails left deep indents in each armrest, Hera scowled angrily.

"This is a waste of time, dear. We all should have just attacked him at the same time and be done with the accursed mortal!" Hera grumbled in frustration. Zeus slumped down in his seat, resting his fingers together in a thoughtful gesture.

"That may sound good on paper, but remember who we are dealing with here. From we've gathered, he has about three other forms at his disposal. Each of which are far stronger than the last." Zeus informed. The fact Goku could exponentially raise his power at will only made the Saiyan even more threatening to Olympus' safety. In a way, it was like Goku had three Divine Forms at his beck and call.

"As much as it infuriates me to no end, ganging up on Goku will only spell disaster for us and Olympus itself. If Ares was vanquished from only a fraction of his power, what do you think could happen to the rest of us?" Zeus reluctantly affirmed. He glared at Hera with newly glowing blue eyes and a serious expression.

"I suppose that's reasonable judgment. Even so, I still want to see the brainless ape punished for all that he's done." Hera snapped furiously. Poseidon quirked a brow in surprise, not seeing Hera quite so angry in a few hundred or so years.

"Patience is a virtue, Hera. Artemis has never failed in her duties before. This occurrence should be no different." Poseidon trusted in his niece's abilities. Hera just sniffed doubtfully.

"Right. Leave the words of wisdom to Athena, brother." Hera grumbled, resting a fist against her cheek in impatience.

"Sheesh. No need to be so cold about it." Poseidon muttered whilst rubbing the back of his neck. Comparing him to his greatest rival didn't make Hera's insult any less hurtful.

Due to having heightened senses, Athena herself noticed that four figures were preparing to enter the temple all at once. She squinted her gray eyes and addressed the other Olympians that were currently present.

"He's here." Athena blankly uttered. This caused the remaining gods and goddesses to sigh in relief. Hell would eventually break loose if they had to wait another minute or longer.

"Hmph. About time that infernal alien showed himself." Hera huffed tirelessly.

"I wonder what Goku could be like in person…" Athena pondered with intrigue. Based on what was shown in the Iris Message, Goku had two sides to his personality: the thick-headed, goofy side and the confident, combat-oriented side. The latter is what definitely drew her attention to Goku, by far. On the battlefield, Goku appeared to be an absolute mastermind of the highest caliber.

"Woaahh! This place is huge!" Goku shouted in childlike awe. The sound of Goku's voice managed to startle a sleeping Apollo. His head spun around in various directions, trying to remember exactly where he was and what was happening.

"Gah! I'm up, I'm up! What's going on?" Apollo asked in shock. While the Olympians stood speechless at Goku's outburst, Artemis bared her teeth in embarrassment.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Artemis fumed, bonking Goku on the head as hard as possible. Goku just grabbed ahold of his hair in reactionary pain.

"Owww! That hurt, Artemis!" Goku whined.

"Good. Maybe you'll heed my previous warnings now." Artemis coolly stated with a cross of her arms. She then turned around to loyally bow before Zeus' throne.

"Hello again, father. I apologize for the delay. There was a slight change of plans back at Camp Half-Blood." Artemis explained the reasons behind her late arrival. Zeus stroked his beard in contemplation.

"Understandable, Artemis. You did a fine job as usual." Zeus said. He then gestured to the throne next to Apollo's with a wave of his hand.

"Now, go sit on your throne. We'll need everyone gathered for this trial to start." Zeus calmly ordered. Artemis stood up and nodded.

"As you wish." Artemis replied. Before everyone's eyes, she changed her size and attire. She now wore a long gray dress that covered her legs and entire lower body. Her hair was also fully let down, revealing auburn locks that extended beneath the shoulder area. A royal tiara made of silver was placed atop the moon goddess' head as well. Currently towering Goku in size, the now giant Artemis marched toward her respective throne with bow and arrows in toe.

"Tsk. Like she even needed to change her outfit." Aphrodite thought bitterly. In contrast, Goku was amazed by Artemis' new appearance. It was completely different from the ski jacket she usually wore.

"Woah. I didn't know you could wear a dress, Artemis." Goku gaped in surprise. Artemis stared at Goku with disinterest, setting aside her weapons while doing so. Her bow and quiver leaned against either side of the divine seat once put down.

"This is just how I appear as the goddess of the moon, Goku. Don't be foolish." Artemis grunted. She gracefully sat down, resting both arms on the throne's armrests. Additionally, the entire chair glowed a brighter silver in response to its owner's presence.

"Hey there, sis. Did the girls miss me at all?" Apollo greeted with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Artemis took a deep breath, not having the endurance necessary to tolerate her twin brother's attitude.

"Now's not the time, Apollo." Artemis irritably murmured. Apollo sniggered at his sister's abrasiveness, placing both hands up in mock surrender.

"Just trying to make conversation. Gotta warm us up for the serious talk we're about to do, you know?" Apollo asked. Artemis deadpanned at Apollo's "joke" with an unamused frown.

"Oh, you're trying to make puns now? How very versatile of you." Artemis sarcastically stated. Shrugging, Apollo kicked back in his seat with a cocky smirk.

"Eh. I try." Apollo stated, purposely deciding not to pick up on Artemis' sarcasm. Artemis simply rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Idiotic as ever." Artemis murmured observantly. With Artemis seated, Aphrodite's time to be called out by Zeus came up. The sky god pointed directly at Aphrodite with a dead serious grimace.

"The same applies for you too, Aphrodite. I don't know how you managed to escape Ares' captivity, but as an Olympian goddess, you'll still need to be involved in the final sentencing of this trial. Is that clear?" Zeus questioningly demanded. Not taking any more of Zeus' crap, Aphrodite puffed up her cheeks and went along with his "order" for the sake of helping Goku out.

"Yeah, yeah. I get the picture." Aphrodite brushed off Zeus' attempt at intimidating her. Lovingly batting her eyelashes, she kissed Goku's cheek for luck. This time, however, she wouldn't give Goku the proper opportunity to wipe it off so easily.

"Best of luck, Goku." Aphrodite stated in pure devotion. Mirroring the transformation Artemis experienced, Aphrodite's hair became a long, smoother blonde when gigantic. The blue-black dress she once wore became a silky, somewhat revealing white dress as well. Her wrists were also adorned with golden bracelets that shined with magenta energy. Strangely enough, her eyes stayed the same emerald green as they were before. As she suggestively sashayed toward her designated throne, more of her legs were left uncovered by the see-through dress. Whether or not this was done to intentionally gather Goku's attention couldn't be said for certain.

"Oho kissing another man in front of me this time, Aphrodite? You wound me so." Hephaestus heftily chuckled. Aphrodite pursed her red lips, feeling dismay at the first sight of her sorry excuse for a husband.

"What else is there to wound, oaf?" Aphrodite spat in revulsion. Hephaestus held a hand over his heart in exaggerated offense.

"Damn, honey. That's just uncalled for." Hephaestus snorted, smacking a hand against his knee. Goku just looked from Hephaestus to Aphrodite in growing confusion.

"Just like our so-called marriage." Aphrodite sourly groaned. Having Goku find out about this predicament would definitely be uncomfortable for her.

"Wait. If you two are married, why did I see Aphrodite spending more time with Ares and a ton of other guys in her memories?" Goku asked in puzzlement. Hearing this question, Hephaestus and the other gods awkwardly stared at the Saiyan. Was he being serious?

"Goku…um…about that…" Aphrodite stammered, twiddling her thumbs out of embarrassment. Before she could finish, Apollo burst into uncontrollable laughter. He knew Goku wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but this fact straight up baffled him.

"Bahahaha! Man, the poor guy doesn't even have a clue." Apollo hoarsely chuckled. "And you think he can be an enemy to us?"

While Artemis facepalmed at her brother's laughing fit, Aphrodite felt progressively more embarrassed with herself. The love goddess began to fear that Goku would lose all interest in her after hearing about the previous love affairs she participated in. Since Goku only loved one woman his entire life, would he feel personally disgusted by her? Such a possibility depressed her to no end. Loving Goku was the best thing that could have happened to her, and thus, she would not let this once-in-a-lifetime chance to be with him slip away.

"Am I missing something here?" Goku questioned, growing even more puzzled by the Olympians' reactions. Hera hatefully glared down at Goku as if he were a bug just asking to be squashed.

"What you're "missing", Son Goku, is the fact that Aphrodite is a manipulative, sex-crazed whore. The sanctity of marriage and long-term relationships in general are completely foreign to her. All she cares about is fulfilling her sick desires with any man she can come across, whether that be god, mortal, or in your case, alien." Hera brutally insulted Aphrodite's personality. Not wanting Goku to hear this, Aphrodite growled at Zeus' wife in anger.

"Ugh! What did you just call me—"

"Silence, wench. Let me finish!" Hera hissed at the love goddess, raising a hand to emphasize her authority. Wishing to not instigate Hera's foul temper even further, Aphrodite pouted in reluctant compliance.

"You shouldn't call Aphrodite something like that. It's not right." Goku firmly defended the love goddess. In spite of her vindictive gaze, Goku continued to stare down Hera with no fear whatsoever.

"Gotta admit, sis. Goku has a lot of balls for standing up to Hera like that." Apollo nudged Artemis' shoulder. Ignoring Apollo's crude term of phrase, Artemis clasped both hands together and set them in front of her mouth.

"I suppose he is quite courageous." Artemis muttered in agreement. Despite fighting against her, the hydra, and Ares, Goku showed little of sign of hesitance or fear in battle. In fact, his attitude was quite the opposite.

Hera's eye ever-so-slightly began to twitch. The fact Goku so carelessly talked back to her, the Queen of Olympus, was absolutely unacceptable behavior. She then coolly scowled at the Saiyan in disgust, anxiously waiting for a point where she could make him suffer.

"Hmph. There's nothing I else can call her." Hera seethed temperately. "Aphrodite has been doing this type of thing for thousands of years at this point. Why do you think Aphrodite has so many demigod children? Or even wished to here you here in the first place?"

Goku took a slight step back, finally connecting the dots about his arrival here. While he understood that Aphrodite was touchy-feely and overly affectionate when around him, Goku was far too bothered with Chi-Chi's recent death to really pick up on or even reciprocate the love goddess' true feelings. The emergence of Mount Olympus' elevator in Other World suddenly made a whole lot more sense.

"She…brought me here to fulfill her own needs?" Goku asked, realizing that Aphrodite was interested in far more than just friendship or getting to know him. But, to be fair, he supposed that unsettling image of them in bed together doing…erm…things should have been abundantly clear.

"Yes. You, being the naïve fool you are, didn't realize Aphrodite's true intentions. Like my son, Ares, beforehand, she used you as a mere toy to satiate her erotic fantasies. That's why Ares ended up being led astray and was…" Hera explained the sheer doom Aphrodite inadvertently brought upon Ares. The god of war was wrapped around Aphrodite's little finger for thousands of years now, so immediately moving to someone from another universe entirely was just absurd. Since Ares and Aphrodite had multiple children together, Goku couldn't really complete aside from power and general kindness. It only made Hera more infuriated by Ares' crushing defeat.

"…k-killed by me in a fight. Oh." Goku finished in a low whisper. Despite being a violent, sadistic jerk, Goku still felt a bit more guilty for what happened to him after their fight.

"Precisely. And like any toy, once she grows bored of you, you'll be cast away like yesterday's trash. She may appear to seek genuine friendship with you, but that's far from the case." Hera scathingly proclaimed. Aphrodite, having enough of Hera making constant assumptions about her love for Goku, slammed a fist down on her armrest. Her instinctively radiated with divine power, producing a shockwave that dented small portions of the throne.

"That's not true, Hera! My feelings for Goku are so much more than that!" Aphrodite shouted defiantly.

"Like I've said before, that is utter nonsense. Were your feelings genuine for Ares? Or Adonis? Or any of the other mortal men you slept with?!" Hera yelled whilst steadily raising her voice. Aphrodite grew somewhat hesitant at the mention of her past lovers. There was no denying that she held some form of love for them at some point, but right now, Goku was the person she truly desired above all else. Her heart simply yearned for his attention more than anything else, even Ares'. Unfortunately, with Goku knowing more about her prior tendency of sleeping around, she feared that the Saiyan would lose all interest in her beyond friendship. Concerning someone as strong and kind-hearted as Goku, simple friendship was not going to cut it for her.

"I…" Aphrodite stammered, attempting to put her love for Goku into words. Before she could attempt to embarrass herself, Artemis suddenly stood up from her throne.

"That's enough, Hera. You're openly distorting the truth." Artemis interrupted Hera's baseless critique.

"Artemis…?" Aphrodite uttered in shock. Given their history, Artemis was the last person she expected to defend her.

"While Aphrodite may have indeed brought Goku here for her own selfish endeavors, Ares was just as much, if not more so, at fault. He challenged Goku to a fight, endangered the lives of Camp Half-Blood's inhabitants, and most importantly, attempted to kill Goku without even putting him on trial. So, in the end, Goku only fought Ares in self-defense. His death was only a by-product of that factor." Artemis reminded Hera of Ares' partial guilt. It wasn't logical to blame a single person on what took place. Zeus, Aphrodite, Ares, and even herself were all responsible for escalating the situation with Goku's arrival to intense extremes. If she and the Hunters reasoned with Goku instead of foolishly attacking him, this very trial could have happened hours ago and be far less dramatic.

"Distorting the truth? Ha! I'm only painting Aphrodite as the manipulative shrew she really is. Ares would have never fought Son Goku if his jealousy over Aphrodite didn't come into play first." Hera surmised, believing Ares would not fight without good reason. Obviously, she didn't know her son as well as she claimed.

"That's just baseless assumption. While defending Goku wasn't my intention at first, I know for certain that Ares would have tried to fight Goku, regardless. He is the most bloodthirsty of us, by far." Artemis said matter-of-factly. She glanced at Goku's form with an empathetic frown, viewing this defense as the least she could do for him.

Hermes sat up from his goatskin seat, nodding along with what Artemis had to say. He tilted his winged helmet to look upon Hera completely. Held in one of Hermes' hands was the caduceus, a wooden staff with wings sprouting at the top. Two snakes, one male and one female, also coiled around it in a double helix formation.

"She has a good point, Hera." Hermes said supportively. "Ares has always been a ticking time bomb. Goku, in comparison, only kills when necessary. We've seen that with his fights against Cell and Majin Buu."

Goku winced at the direct mention of his past enemies. While Cell was powerful to a point where he needed to sacrifice himself just to stop Earth from being blown up, Buu was definitely the most challenging opponent he ever fought. He casually slaughtered the entire human race twice over, once with the aptly named Human Extinction Attack and a second time using his Planet Burst technique. If Goku wasn't able to gather enough energy for the Super Spirit Bomb, the entire universe would have been doomed without question. It honestly made the Saiyan want to get even stronger, so he would actually stand a fighting chance against someone just as strong, if not stronger than Kid Buu himself. However, time spent in this universe would most likely make such a goal more complicated.

"Besides, we're all a bit guilty of sleeping around in that regard. Especially dad there." Hermes said, slyly jerking a thumb toward Zeus.

"I suppose there's no grounds to argue with that." Zeus hummed, not even bothering to excuse the hundreds upon thousands of women he's cheated on Hera with. Hera glared at her husband in rage, personally resenting any reference to Zeus' infidelity.

"Quiet, Hermes! Who's side are you on?" Hera accused. Hermes nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Hey, I'm just being honest here." Hermes explained, leaning unto the back of his throne. "Aphrodite may be a notorious sex maniac, but even gods like us can change. She seems to be a lot nicer around Goku anyway."

"Oh come on, bro. This is Aphrodite we're talking about. She's only kind to people she wants to sleep with." Apollo jokingly reminded the messenger god.

"This time it's different, Apollo! Goku is a special case." Aphrodite retorted in frustration.

"Right. I'm sure that's the only reason you like him so much." Apollo snorted, rolling his eyes with a sarcastic air. Aphrodite piercingly glared at the sun god for insulting her.

Before more snide remarks could take place, Zeus repeatedly tapped his Master Bolt on the ground like a judge's gavel. Each tap was strong enough to produce a loud, electric sonic boom that reverberated off the Hall's surrounding architecture.

"Enough dawdling, everyone! We haven't even started the damn trial yet." Zeus growled irritably. He narrowed his eyes at each Olympian, causing them to all fall silent. In that moment, Goku felt surprised by the amount of authority Zeus seemed to exude.

Seeing that her fellow Greek gods were agitated in some way, Hestia walked over to a gigantic fireplace. Known as the Hearth of the Gods, this magical flame was an object she tended to during meetings like the one currently in progress. Located in the Hall of the God's center, it glowed a warm, powerful orange, signifying the Olympians' sense of unity and power when together.

She then engulfed her hands in fire and placed them near the Hearth. Resisting the heat with relative ease, Hestia gradually emitted a trail of smoke from within the fire's very core. This cloud of calming vapors encircled around each throne and Olympian respectively.

"Here." Hestia announced while manipulating the smoke's path. "This should help calm everyone down."

Much like the campfire at Camp Half-Blood, the gods embraced the aroma of Hestia's fire with positive euphoria. Any sort of irritation they might have felt was quickly replaced with calm serenity. Even Goku himself take a whiff of the smoke before it dissipated.

"Kind of smells like Chi-Chi's cooking a bit. But, how is that possible?" Goku recognized in confusion. While this familiar smell did put a smile on his face, it was also fairly bittersweet at the same time. Anything somehow related to Chi-Chi did, to be fair.

"That actually helps a lot, Hestia. Thank you." Demeter kindly expressed her gratitude. She took in the pleasant aroma, causing more flowers to grow around her throne.

"No thanks are necessary. That's what the Hearth is here for." Hestia acknowledged with a small shrug. Zeus, after getting over the odd, yet arousing smell he just inhaled, cleared his throat, and looked down at the small goddess.

"Now, since you've decided to show up this time, where is Dionysus?" Zeus asked about the wine god's whereabouts.

"Dionysus decided to stay back at Camp Half-Blood. He did, however, count his vote for both sides of the argument." Hestia informed. Zeus sniffed irritably, expecting Dionysus to neglect his duties as a god like this.

"Tsk. Typical of that lazy bum." Zeus grumbled to himself. Making a mental note to punish Dionysus later on, the sky god then relaxed in his seat with a small frown.

"Very well then. I suppose that's a good enough point to start from." Zeus stated. He tilted his head downward to look upon Goku's patiently waiting form.

"Now, allow me to introduce ourselves properly, Son Goku. As my daughter and Aphrodite have probably revealed to you, I am Zeus, king of the gods and Olympus itself." Zeus formally introduced himself. Goku lightly waved at the Olympian king as a sign of greeting.

"Yep. Kinda already figured that from your lightning bolt there." Goku replied, pointing to the Master Bolt that was held in Zeus' hand. Zeus stroked his beard, examining the electric weapon in thought.

"I see. How astute of you to notice, alien." Zeus laxly grunted. Goku wasn't used to being referred to as simply "alien".

"No problem…I think." Goku confusedly stroked the back of his head. Zeus breathed inwardly, staring at Goku's reaction with neutral indifference.

"Anyway, since you've already been "acquainted" with Artemis, Hestia, Aphrodite, Dionysus, and…my other son, the others will proceed to do the same." Zeus pronounced, thinking it best to start the trial with equal knowledge on both sides.

"Sounds alright to me." Goku said, shrugging his shoulders in agreement.

"Good. We'll go from throne to throne, starting with the one closest to mine." Zeus explained with a nod of his head. He then directed Goku's attention to his brother and fellow Big Three member, Poseidon.

"Greetings, Goku. I am known as Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses." The sea god proclaimed. His cerulean eyes were far less steely and piercing than Zeus'.

"Woah. You control the entire ocean?! You must be pretty powerful then!" Goku whooped in awe. Not predicting Goku to compliment his power, Poseidon quirked a brow at said Saiyan's outburst.

"I guess I could be considered powerful from a certain point of view. But, in comparison to your feats, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to slightly faltering there." Poseidon humbly admitted. "The sea's influence, while vast and ever-expansive, isn't unlimited, after all."

Goku, while agreeing with the logic behind this statement, ultimately shook his head in a small thinking position.

"Eh. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure there's some stuff you can do in a fight that I couldn't even think of pulling off." Goku wisely expressed. He figured that Poseidon's elemental manipulation over water, if used correctly, could be capable of some terrifying results.

"Hm. Can't argue with you there." Poseidon affirmed. He then grew silent, giving Demeter the opportunity to talk next.

"Hello. My name is Demeter, goddess of the harvest, fertility, and agriculture." Demeter said with a slightly forced grin. Even hours later, the environmental damage he, his friends, and enemies caused was still on her mind.

"So, you're a farming goddess then?" Goku asked with interest.

"That's what agriculture means, yes." Demeter deadpanned without much amusement.

"I knew this man was uneducated, but not by this much. What kind of person did that Grandpa Gohan character raise him to be?" Demeter expressed in appalment, unable to see how Goku could be so uneducated for this long. She would have never let this slide with Persephone or any of her other children.

"Neat! I actually tried a bit farming back home." Goku happily recalled. Demeter, not seeing this particular event projected on Zeus' Iris Message, suddenly became intrigued.

"Really? What kind?" Demeter questioned, resting both hands along her green dress.

"Radish farming. After I defeated Kid Buu, my wife, Chi-Chi, decided to make some money by growing radishes in our front yard. Then these two alien guys came and it sort of went downhill after that." Goku sheepishly chuckled. "It was fun while it lasted, though. Hehe."

Demeter became visibly unnerved by this fact. Any damage to a person's crops was something she would not begin to stand for. Well, if it wasn't her who caused that level of destruction anyway.

"Messing with someone's farm work is no joke, Mr. Son. I hope those aliens were properly dealt with somehow." Demeter growled in resentment.

"Oh they were! Then Abo and Kado, those were their names I think, started liking the radishes too. It was kinda weird at first, but still funny all around." Goku fondly recalled that bizarre adventure. That was one of the last moments Goku spent with Chi-Chi before her death, so he would try to cherish it for as long as possible.

"I can see why. That seems to be a pattern back in your universe." Demeter astutely observed. For some reason, Goku seemed to experience one strange event after the other on a near-constant basis. Fighting an absurd being like Majin Buu was the cream of the crop in that regard.

"A pattern? How so?" Goku inquired absentmindedly. Demeter just waved Goku away with a passive flex of her hand.

"Never mind." Demeter muttered. Realizing that she wouldn't elaborate, Goku fixed his eyes on the throne positioned next to Demeter's. Seeing traces of human skulls and skin tissue, Goku immediately suspected who the owner of this throne was.

"Oh. That's Ares' throne, right?" Goku guessed. Hera glanced at both the throne and Goku in vitriolic spite.

"Yes. And it would have been occupied if it weren't for you." Hera seethed furiously. Goku just raised his hands up, not understanding where Hera's instant hatred came from. Maybe Artemis, Hestia, and Aphrodite did make a good point about her attitude.

"I was just asking a question. Why are you so angry with me?" Goku wondered in genuine confusion. This response made Hera's even more livid than before.

"Why?! Are you absolutely braindead?!" Hera shouted, shaking uncontrollably in her seat. She stood up from her seat as both eyes changed from chocolate brown to glowing purple.

"You've got a lot of nerve asking that, mortal! Maybe I should just make things simpler by turning you into the brainless ape you really are." Hera intimidatingly threatened. Goku just blinked a few times, already being used to this type of exaggerated anger from firsthand experience.

"Stop this at once, Hera. Let everyone finish first." Zeus sternly lectured. Hera, slightly buckling from Zeus' fierce demeanor, sat back down in absolute reluctance.

"Fine. Let the damned murderer get to know us some more." Hera begrudgingly grumbled under her breath. She pouted, crossing one arm over the other.

"Won't make his inevitable sentence any different…" The marriage goddess haughtily chuckled. She acted if Goku was a person that could be disposed of quite easily. At least, that's what she foolishly wished to be true.

"Inevitable?" Goku questioningly frowned. Smirking, Hera brushed her black locks back with an air of superiority.

"Hmph. You'll know soon enough." Hera cryptically forewarned. Goku was, unsurprisingly, off put by Hera's misplaced coldness. Even Aphrodite herself suppressed the urge to strangle Zeus' wife right then and there.

Goku then nervously turned his back around, preparing to talk with Athena next. Judging by her armor and helmet combat, Goku already knew Athena was a goddess that shouldn't be messed with. Her storm gray eyes were quite reminiscent of Artemis' from their intimidation factor alone.

"I'm pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Goku. My name is Athena, goddess of wisdom, battle strategy, defensive warfare, and skill. I also serve as the progenitor of what you mortals like to call arts and crafts." Athena said in a cool, yet collected voice. Her eyes attentively scanned Goku's body and facial features, making the Saiyan feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Um…the pleasure's all mine?" Goku responded with uncertainty.

"Why so hesitant? You have nothing to be afraid of here. Judging from your prior battles, you are definitely someone who excels at battle strategy and quick-witted resourcefulness. Unfortunately, that same level of genius doesn't apply for your own mind." Athena observantly assessed. Despite it stinging a bit, Goku knew full well that this remark couldn't be denied. He was far from being the sharpest tool in the shed, that's for sure.

"Knowledge isn't really my strong suit, no. That's where my first son, Gohan, usually comes in." Goku acknowledged that strong intelligence wasn't his strong suit. "I am said to be smart where it counts, though."

"Smart where it counts, hm? I'm assuming you mean your expert knowledge of martial arts?" Athena asked, interestedly resting a fist along her helmet.

"Pretty much. I may not be smart, but making split decisions in any fight is something I do quite a lot. That has to be somewhat of an even trade-off." Goku pointed out that he was more knowledgeable about fighting than any other subject.

"I agree. Your fighting style is quite interchangeable. From Earth to Namek, your skill did not waver in the slightest." Athena expressed her respect for Goku's sheer affinity as a martial artist. "That's requires the knowledge of a true warrior."

She then narrowed her eyes, icily glaring at Goku in sudden remembrance of his more noticeable faults. One such fault was his very presence here, even if it wasn't exactly done on purpose. Due to being at war with Kronos and the Titans, having Goku suddenly appear made circumstances even more stressful for her and every other Olympian in attendance. Getting rid of him, at first glance, just seemed to be the most logical option they had.

"However, don't think my compliments make you any less of a danger to us. I'll still need to further assess my thoughts about you during this trial." Athena proclaimed in serious, fairly strict tone. Her icy glare did not faulter at all, somehow becoming even frostier by the second.

"That's understandable. This trial thing hasn't started just yet, so take as much time to think stuff over as you need." Goku considerately recommended. Though a bit miffed by Goku's lack of nervousness, Athena's expression momentarily softened at the kindness said Saiyan still managed to share with her.

"I plan to do just that, Goku." Athena murmured. She pursed her red lips, patiently thinking over the pros and cons Goku may bring to this entire universe. He's saved his own world time and time again, so would his presence end up resulting in similar effects? She supposed her father's final verdict would be the judge of that. That is, if Zeus managed to successfully control his temper and pride.

Artemis observed her fellow virgin goddess in growing ire. Given their similar personalities, the moon goddess feared that Athena would somehow make a lapse of judgement like she did at Camp Half-Blood. Athena has seen far more of Goku's exploits and personality than she has, however, so it was difficult to say for certain.

"I assumed Athena would view Goku's arrival that way. Being a war-based goddess like myself, she's not the type to take considerable risks. And Goku, sadly, is the biggest risk of them all." Artemis connected Athena's opinions on Goku to her own. Despite Goku not being her favorite person at the moment, she would still attempt to make sure that he was fairly treated and given the proper opportunity to defend himself. He deserved that much.

"Name's Hephaestus. And, I have to say, I'm fairly impressed, Son Goku." Hephaestus gruffly proclaimed.

"Impressed by what? My power again?" Goku asked the bearded inventor.

"Well, there's that, of course, but no. I'm impressed by the fact that you haven't followed up on my cheating bimbo of a wife's not-too-subtle advances. That's definitely a first for her. Bahahaha!" Hephaestus guffawed mockingly. Some traces of resentful bitterness could be heard as well.

"Grrggh! You malformed freak!" Aphrodite growled temperately. Goku raised a hand in front of Aphrodite's throne, giving her the signal to stop yelling.

"Stop, Aphrodite. He's only joking around." Goku soothed Aphrodite's current frustration.

"But he—" At the sight of Goku's smiling face, her tentative interjection came to a sudden halt. Aphrodite's cheeks lightly flushed, causing her to lightly smile in return.

"Alright, Goku. I'll stay calm." Aphrodite promised in a low whisper. Seeing how fast Goku was able to calm Aphrodite down, Hephaestus jerked a thumb at her.

"See? As much as I used to love her, I could never even dream of doing that. She obviously has a big thing for you." Hephaestus humorously told Goku. "Isn't that right, honey?"

"Oh pipe down! It's not like I hid it all that much to begin with…" Aphrodite muttered whilst puffing up her cheeks in embarrassment. Even Hephaestus had to admit Aphrodite was cute when she did that.

Goku sighed, tousling clumps of his black hair in bewilderment. Having another woman be attracted to him so fast just wasn't something the poor Saiyan wanted to deal with right now. Especially considering the fact that Aphrodite, for all intents and purposes, was his interdimensional stalker.

"Look, guys. I know Aphrodite likes me. With her being the goddess of love and all, even I'm smart enough to recognize that." Goku admitted that he wasn't completely oblivious. He still knew jack all about romance or women in general, but being with Chi-Chi for so many years helped him become more…aware of certain social cues. Being longtime friends with Bulma didn't hurt either.

"Ha. That's news to me…" Apollo quipped amusedly. Being seated right next to one another, Aphrodite and Artemis both glared at the sun god with equal contempt.

"What?" Apollo asked. For the life of him, he couldn't tell what was wrong with what he just said.

"I just don't see an interest in pursuing "love" or whatever that even is right now." Goku shared to each of the Olympians, including Aphrodite. She, while feeling saddened by it, sort of knew this fact to be true. However, that wouldn't stop the love goddess from changing Goku's feelings toward her. It was only a matter of time until Goku learned to let go of Chi-Chi and officially moved on.

"I mean…it's not like I didn't notice before. I just didn't really see any reason to go through with mushy stuff like that. We haven't even known each other for a day, you know?" Goku elaborated on his lack of awareness towards Aphrodite's affection. He simply wasn't in the right state of mind earlier that day.

"But, regardless of that, I still see her as a friend of mine. Without her and that weird elevator, I wouldn't have gotten out of this funk over…" Goku trailed off, still struggling to share the circumstances behind Chi-Chi's death.

"Over what?" Hephaestus questioned.

"Over my wife's passing. She died a few weeks ago now." Goku murmured sorrowfully. Aside from Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hestia, the others Olympians suddenly grew speechless at this reveal. They didn't see that one coming.

"Oh…" Hephaestus whispered, scratching the back of his head in discomfort.

"How did this happen? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Demeter asked in what could best be interpreted as sympathy.

"The doctor said it was from a hereditary disease or something. I wasn't sure what that word meant at the time, but apparently it had something to do with her family. I guess her mom died from the same illness many years ago." Goku recalled the origins of Chi-Chi's illness. Her mother passed away when she was just a little girl, so it must have taken awhile for Chi-Chi to fully contract it. Strangely enough, Ox-King showed no signs of this strange virus, indicating that it originally came from her mother's side of the family, after all.

"By the time we got to the hospital, Chi-Chi was already out of commission and losing blood fast. There wasn't enough time to do proper treatment on her, so all I could do was say goodbye before…before…" Goku began to choke up, holding back tears with much difficulty. Doing that in front of the Olympians wasn't exactly ideal for him.

"…she was gone." Goku continued, staring down at the ground in sadness.

"But, didn't you have the Earth and Namekian Dragon Balls to fall back on? Why couldn't you just resurrect her and be done with it?" Hermes wondered in confusion. Goku tightly clenched his fists, glancing at the messenger god with further glumness.

"Not sure how much you've seen of my past…um…Hermes, right?" Goku curiously recognized.

"Yup. That's me. I'm the messenger god around these parts. I also specialize in trade, thievery, athletes, and other active, social stuff, but that's beside the point." Hermes responded informingly. Goku gave him a light nod in understanding.

"Right. As I was saying, I'm not sure how much you've seen of my past experiences, Hermes, but both Dragon Balls have set limitations to them. One such limitation is not being able to revive someone who dies of natural causes, including diseases. That's why Future Trunks brought the Heart Virus' antidote from his timeline So I wouldn't permanently die from it." Goku explained the Dragon Balls' inability to revive certain people. Hermes frowned, realizing the implications behind this factor.

"So, what you're saying is that Chi-Chi…"

"Yeah. She's gone for good. No wish from the Dragon Balls can fix that this time around." Goku depressively whispered. He grimaced, emitting traces of white ki from his entire body.

"N-No matter how strong I got; I still couldn't protect her…" Goku seethed in considerable regret. "I'm sorry, Chi-Chi."

Hera was absolutely dumbfounded. For the life of her, she couldn't even begin to understand how Goku was this depressed over Chi-Chi's recent demise. Wasn't this the same man that neglected her wishes in favor of growing stronger? It honestly didn't fit with the negative image of Son Goku she wished to depict him as.

"H-He's that affected by his wife's death? Him?! That man who didn't even know what marriage was as a child?!" Hera stammered in shock. She gripped the sides of her head, trying to ponder what this revelation could mean for the trial going forward.

"This…this changes things. If Son Goku actually cared for his wife like any other husband, would I even be in the right for punishing him?" Hera thought, fearing that her status as the marriage goddess would be deemed quite hypocritical. She strongly gripped each armrest, crumbling the adamantine material into smaller, dent-filled pieces.

"No! I can't think like this! Swift justice must be brought for Ares' humiliation! Even if Goku was quite faithful to his wife, that doesn't excuse his absence in those Gohan and Goten boys' lives." Hera growled with reinforced conviction. Even though Ares could be a pain to have as her son, anyone who dared make a mockery of his pride would dearly pay, including someone "righteous" like Son Goku. In fact, Goku's apparent goodness only made Hera dislike him even more.

"But, then again, are Zeus and the others any better with their demigod bastards?" "Damnit…I shouldn't be thinking this way!" Hera sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in anger. "I'm the queen of Olympus! What happens with Son Goku should mean absolutely nothing to me."

Next to her, Zeus glared at Goku's spout of sadness in complete disinterest. While knowing what it felt like to lose a lover, the sky god simply didn't feel any remorse for Goku's dilemma. He found the sight of such a powerful warrior moping around quite pathetic, actually.

"That's enough, Son Goku. Compose yourself." Zeus ordered with misplaced authority. Goku, recognizing Zeus' royal status just this once, took a deep breath and rubbed some moisture away from his eyes.

"Right. Sorry about that." Goku apologized, bowing down as short sign of respect. Instigating a fight then and there was not wise, considering that Zeus was already one step away to revealing his own Divine Form. Such an image honestly intrigued Goku to no end, but he didn't show it outright.

"Ugh. Don't you have a heart, Zeus?!" Aphrodite hissed in aggravation. Zeus narrowed his eyes in irritation, projecting blue electricity from both pupils once more.

"This is a council meeting, not a pity party! I personally don't care about the fate of Goku's wife. All I care about is maintaining the stability of our reign as gods." Zeus fumed in brutal honesty. Thunderbolts shooting out of his throne in varying directions, Zeus angrily pointed toward Goku's position.

"And this man right here serves as a potential hindrance to that!" Zeus reminded everyone in the room. Whistling at the emergence of Zeus' lightning, Goku calmly remained silent. The other Olympians did so as well.

"Now, Apollo. Give the final introduction to Goku and we'll get on with this trial." Zeus commanded his son.

"Will do, dad." Apollo nodded before lazily waving to the Saiyan. "Sup, Goku? As you've probably guessed, I'm Apollo, god of the sun, healing, light, poetry, reason, prophecy, blah, blah, blah. All the awesome stuff, basically."

After smugly showing off, Apollo leaned over from his throne to wrap an arm around Artemis. The moon goddess was obviously not happy with this non-consensual show of affection.

"And if it's not obvious enough already, I'm Arty's big bro!" Apollo sniggered happily.

"Twin brother, Apollo. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Artemis groaned, rolling her eyes at Apollo's ever-obnoxious nature. She roughly tugged on Apollo's hand in order to be freed from his firm hold.

"Aww don't be like that. You're still my baby sister at heart! Hahaha." Apollo laughed, patting Artemis' shoulder in amusement. Artemis piercingly glared at Apollo with her luminescent, silver eyes.

"Grrgh. Get your hands off me!" Artemis said, smacking her brother's hand with excessive force. "Don't make me and the Hunters use you as target practice again!"

"Oh please. I can shoot circles around you girls." Apollo snorted doubtfully. He wriggled his eyebrows at Artemis, adoring the moments where he could elicit anger in the typically composed huntress.

"Ahem." Zeus loudly coughed. Artemis suddenly froze, replacing her irritation with calm composure.

"Sorry, father. I don't know what came over me." Artemis said, successfully parting herself from Apollo's throne.

"Heh. No regrets." snickered the sun god. Goku found this argument between both siblings a bit funny, all things considered.

"Do you guys fight like that all the time, Artemis?" Goku asked in curiosity.

"Only when he annoys me." Artemis admitted with a grimace. "Which is sadly, quite often."

"Psh. Whatever. You still love me, sis." Apollo passively uttered.

"Love is a strong word. Aphrodite should know all about that." Artemis replied in a belligerent grumble.

"At least, I can experience love." Aphrodite mocked, upturning her nose in offense. Artemis furrowed her eyebrows, feeling quite bothered by the love goddess' ridiculous statement about love.

"Care to repeat that?" Artemis threatened in the form of a question.

"A-HEM!" Zeus coughed even louder. He darted his eyes from one goddess to the other, waiting for them to stop their senseless argument.

"Now…with that out of the way, let's begin." Zeus finally announced. Without further ado, he crossed both arms in a stern pose.

"If you may, Hestia." Zeus requested with a wave of his hand. Hestia, still standing next to her Hearth, went along with Zeus' signal.

"Already on it." Hestia stated. Utilizing her mastery of pyrokinesis, Hestia absorbed traces of flame from the Hearth. She then used the fire like paint, tracing a large diagram in mid-air. This diagram was separated into two sides that each had one orange-red tick mark.

"So, here's the scoreboard I guess. Being the eldest Olympian here, I'll serve as a tiebreaker of sorts. The current score is 1 for keeping Goku around and 1 for "eliminating" and/or trapping him somewhere. Both of which are from Dionysus, of course." Hestia explained the purpose for forming this diagram. She placed it right next to her side, making the process of vote tallying much easier.

"Wait. Isn't there someone missing here?" Goku wondered, scanning the entire Hall of the Gods for another, yet-to-be-seen god.

"Yes, Dionysus. We've already established that he's a lazy, good-for-nothing drunk." Hera grimaced in disappointment.

"Well, he only drinks Diet Coke now." Demeter pointed out. Dionysus' drunken tirades were all, but a thing of the past at this point. She'd honestly want to keep it that way for Camp Half-Blood and the entirety of Olympus' sake.

"Drunk on wine, drunk on caffeinated beverages, the point still stands either way." Hera gruffly rebutted. Goku shook his head, denying Dionysus as the obvious answer to his question.

"No. Not him. There's someone else that you guys didn't mention." Goku reminded the Olympians. "Where's Hades?"

Each god and goddess suddenly grew uncomfortable with this question. It wasn't everyday someone bothered to care about Hades' involvement in things, especially a mortal man like Goku.

"Hades doesn't have a throne on Olympus like we do." Zeus groaned informingly. "His resides in the Underworld, the domain he rules over."

"Isn't that kind of unfair, though? Shouldn't he have a say in what goes on here?" Goku asked, wondering why such a powerful god wasn't informed of this trial.

"That's not how it works here, Goku. While Hades may be equal in strength to Zeus and I, he doesn't have a place on Olympus for…erm…let's just say "personal" reasons." Poseidon nervously acknowledged. He scratched the back of his head, trying to think of a better excuse for why Hades wasn't considered Olympian material.

"Tsk. Serves that creep right for stealing my angel of a daughter from me!" Demeter hissed in resentment. Even thousands of years later, the harvest goddess still wasn't over Persephone's forced marriage.

"For Olympus' sake, Demeter. Just let it go! That happened thousands of years ago." Hermes proclaimed in annoyance. "Persephone's perfectly happy with Hades, so let them be."

"Excuse me if I'm not alright with their so-called "marriage". Eating that pomegranate was the worst mistake of her life!" Demeter wailed sorrowfully as fresh tears began to build. "Now, look where she is! My beautiful little girl wasting away in that fiery hellhole Hades calls home."

"To be fair, Hades didn't really ask to live there. He kind of got the short end of the stick." Apollo expressed in minor sympathy. Due to how depressing of a place the Underworld could truly be, he understood why Hades would grab an absolute bombshell like Persephone for himself.

"So what? That still doesn't change the fact that he kidnapped her. Is a mother being concerned over her child's wellbeing so wrong?!" Demeter inquired, throwing her hands up in outrage.

"No, Demeter." Hera said, turning her head to glare at Goku. "It isn't."

"Geez. Reminds me of the looks Chi-Chi used to give me when I got home from training super late." Goku gulped, shivering at the mere recollection of Chi-Chi's wrath. During the times he accidentally skipped out on their dates, her fury was always at an all-time high.

"Will everyone just shut up about Hades already?! Gods." Zeus roared in outward hostility. He ground his teeth and burned figurative holes into Goku's head.

"All you need to know about Hades, Son Goku, is that he has his own duties to attend to. I rule Olympus, Poseidon rules Atlantis, and Hades rules the Underworld. End of story." Zeus abruptly dismissed any consideration of Hades' thoughts.

"Okay, okay. Forget I asked then." Goku took the hint, waving his hands down in order to calm Zeus' temper.

"Besides, Hades has a place on Olympus during more dire situations. This one just wasn't important enough." Zeus informed, pointing to a heavily broken down chair made of stone. Goku suddenly realized why Hades didn't want to come here.

"Or…you just didn't want to speak with him." Poseidon muttered offhandedly.

"Like your any different, Poseidon." Zeus grunted back, not even bothering to look Poseidon in the eye.

"Point taken." Poseidon said. Zeus then hummed to himself, stroking his beard in thought.

"Where was I?" Zeus pondered for a moment or two. "Ah right. Though we've already discussed it somewhat, we should probably address the elephant in the room."

Goku, not understanding Zeus' term of phrase, absentmindedly looked around the entire Hall for this "elephant" in question.

"What elephant? I don't see one anywhere." Goku asked in obliviousness. Hearing this, Artemis roughly facepalmed herself with a firm smack.

"…he has to be mocking me." Zeus thought. His eye began to twitch at Goku's most recent display of stupidity.

"It's a figure of speech, Goku." Athena informed.

"Ohhhhh…" Goku nodded with an obvious look of confusion. "I don't get it."

"How can one be so dense?! He referring to Ares' death, you imbecile!" Hera screamed in highly exaggerated anger.

"Oh. That." Goku remembered with a slightly downcast expression. "I'm still confused by what the big deal is."

"Explain yourself, Goku." Zeus ordered fiercely.

"While I'm confused by this "scattering" stuff Artemis told me about, it shows that Ares isn't really dead. I may have beaten him up quite a bit, but after a few months or so, he should be fully reformed. Am I right?" Goku logically assumed that Ares' fate shouldn't need to be avenged. This made Hera's livid reaction all the more baffling.

"That is how we function, yes. But, neither of us have really experienced scattering firsthand. For all we know, it could take many years before Ares is back to normal." Athena replied in uncertainty.

"That's why your fight with Ares is so rife for concern. Even if he was an overly hostile idiot like usual, defeating Ares without much effort must be put into question." Athena defended her and the other Olympians' course of action.

"I understand that, but…not putting much effort into our fight would be an understatement, Athena." Goku regretted to inform. The goddess of wisdom quirked a brow, curious to know what Goku meant by this.

"An understatement? In what way?" Athena asked.

"Don't get me wrong. Ares was far from being a joke in terms of power. Years ago, his Divine Form definitely would have given me a run for my money strength wise. But, if I really wanted to, I could have beaten with just the Kaioken." Goku acknowledged Ares' most notable strengths and above all, weaknesses. "The use of my Full Power Super Saiyan form was only to make it more interesting."

"It shouldn't be surprising, though. You've seen what Majin Buu was capable of. He was destroying planet after planet in mere seconds. Could any of you pull off stuff like that?" Goku asked, thinking that the gods were not yet up to par with Perfect Cell and Majin Buu, even considering their unseen Divine Forms.

"What kind of blasphemous drivel are you—" Zeus outstretched an arm in front of Hera's face, stopping her rant before it could even begin.

"No. He's somewhat correct in his assumption." Zeus reluctantly agreed with Goku's logic. "Us Olympians, including myself, can create and destroy planets if we really wanted to. Our Divine Forms exponentially increase our power and might enough to do so."

"However, such feats take a ton of divine energy out of us. Destroying worlds as fast and efficiently as Buu is simply not feasible at the moment. There are, however, deities from this same universe who can." Zeus gravely unveiled. In a universe inhabited by many mythological pantheons, the extent of power and influence was quite skewed.

"Really? There are?" Goku asked in a mix of interest and excitement. Maybe there would stronger opponents to fight here, after all.

Zeus gazed up into the heavens above, contemplatively thinking over the entire universe's collective of powerful deities, himself included.

"Yes. The cosmos is vast and nearly endless in terms of divine jurisdiction. Among them, there are the Titans, and our distant ancestors, the Protogenoi, primordial entities who have existed since the dawn of time itself. Since Chaos' own birth billions of years ago, to be more specific." Zeus explained how the Titans and Primordial Gods could rival each Olympian in terms of sheer power.

"Chaos? Sounds pretty dangerous." Goku wondered, narrowing his eyes intriguingly.

"Woah. I never thought this universe could be so massive." Goku whistled in reactionary awe. "It makes things a lot more exciting, honestly."

"Don't be too excited, Son Goku. There's so much you have yet to understand here, including our own enemies." Zeus lectured in a serious, no-nonsense tone.

"Oh right. You're talking about that current…erm…"war" with the Titans and Kronos, right?" Goku questioned in discomfort. War wasn't something he was particularly used to. Unless his confrontations with the Red Ribbon Army when he was younger counted as such.

"Like it or not, my father, Kronos, is slowly reforming. Monsters, demigods, and loyal Titans alike have all banded together to reclaim his right to rule. That is why your triumph over Ares couldn't have come at a worse time." Zeus divulged his skepticism over Goku's arrival. He may have done good in the past, but that was for his own world, not theirs. What reason would Goku have for fighting alongside them?

"Save your breath, Zeus. Given his small brain, he's just a walking puppet waiting to be controlled by Kronos. Or, should I say, a weapon." Hera spitefully denounced the option of trusting Goku.

"Eh. I don't know about that one, Hera. That Vegeta guy resisted Babidi's mind control pretty fast." Apollo reminded her. It appeared that Saiyans, particularly strong ones, had the power to resist brainwashing after sometime.

"Yeah. After he killed hundreds of innocent mortals in cold blood." Hera stated with little change in her viewpoint. Despite being a much better husband, this Vegeta person was even worse than Goku. Gods knew what would happen if he showed up instead.

"Well said, Mom. If you ask me, Bulma deserves far better than a ticking time bomb like him." Hephaestus grumbled enviously. He wished that he could have married someone like her instead of Aphrodite. To him, brains were far more appealing than simple beauty.

"You're only saying that cause you got the hots for her." Apollo laughed. Hephaestus scowled at the sun god in fiery anger.

"I do not! I'm just…interested in her genius-level intellect." Hephaestus claimed defensively. "I'm still a married man, after all."

"Hopefully, not for long…" Aphrodite grumbled. If she weren't married already, her chances with Goku would skyrocket without question. Goku, being married to one woman all his life, would never be alright with her adulterous tendencies. It's something she somewhat admired about him in a way.

"What was that?" Hephaestus asked, mockingly placing a hand over his ear.

"I know it may seem hard to believe, but you guys have nothing to worry about. I won't try to mess with Olympus." Goku kindly assured the group of gods and goddesses.

"How can we know that for certain?" Hera scoffed in further doubt.

"You've seen most, if not all, of my previous battles, Hera. During any of those fights, did I ever do something wrong or morally questionable?" Goku asked. Hera caught her breath, feeling uncertain of how to properly answer Goku's question.

"Throughout the years, all I've ever done is fight to protect my friends and innocent people. When my brother, Raditz, asked me to kill people in exchange for Gohan's safety, did I do it? No. I sacrificed my life, so Piccolo could use his Special Beam Cannon. From him to King Piccolo to Majin Buu, I always seem to battle against those who are considered evil or have done bad things in the past. This includes Vegeta too." Goku explained his most important reason for fighting and growing stronger.

"I know I'm not perfect. I've made some very big mistakes in the past. Making Gohan fight Cell in my place was one of them. That's where the Saiyan side of my mind couldn't help, but appear at times. Sometimes I just can't control it during my most exciting battles." Goku expressed his biggest regrets, attributing each one to Saiyan mentality and overall selfishness.

"However, even when I'm overcome by the instinct to have a good fight above all else, I still don't want anyone else harmed in the crossfire. That's why I went out of my way to deflect Ares' attacks away from your kids at Camp Half-Blood. If it weren't for me, they would have been killed by him without remorse. That was how dangerous Ares became in our fight." Goku frowned, remembering Ares' lack of consideration for his kids and others. Hera grimaced in sudden understanding.

"I see. It appears that Ares' bloodlust ended up being his own downfall, not you." Hera finally began to see reason and understand Artemis' points. That didn't stop her from continuing to despise Goku, however.

"Yeah. I think so." Goku agreed with a nod of his head. "I'm glad Artemis' hunters and demigods ended being alright in the end. From what I've seen, they all have a lot of potential to grow stronger. Maybe someday, they might even be stronger than you."

"A lot of potential in them, hm? Interesting." Zeus wondered. Considering this factor, a sudden idea began to take form within Zeus' mind.

"That kinda came out wrong. Hehe." Goku nervously chuckled. In hindsight, saying that half-bloods could match literal gods in power was not wise.

"Don't apologize for your comments, Goku. Thank you for protecting my children." Demeter said in genuine gratitude.

"Aw. Don't mention it, Demeter. The campers all reminded me of my own sons, so it was only the right thing to do." Goku shrugged happily.

"Your argument seems…surprisingly reasonable, Goku. I suppose you could be considered a hero in your own right, so such reckless hostility was…erg…"wrong" on my behalf." Zeus reluctantly apologized for his foolish actions. The other Olympians gasped, not expecting Zeus to admit that he was "wrong" about something.

"Well, calling me a hero wouldn't be correct either. I'm just a martial artist who wants to maintain peace the best I can. That's all." Goku denounced his identity as a hero. If anything, protector was probably a bit word to describe him.

"Fair enough. Let's get to the voting then, shall we?" Zeus announced in relief. Hopefully his splitting headache would go away after this was over. Then again, one outcome might end with Hera screaming like a banshee, so maybe not.

"As always, you may provide an explanation for your vote, but it's not required. Now then…" Zeus cleared his throat, signaling for Hestia to begin tallying stuff down.

"Be prepared to mark these down, Hestia." Zeus said. Hestia positioned the board in front of her, giving Zeus an affirmative thumbs up.

"I've got you covered, Zeus. Carry on." Hestia gave Zeus the go ahead to move on.

"Welp, guess this is it." Goku anxiously sighed. "Wonder what I should do after this is over…"

"All in favor of banishing Goku to Tartarus?" Zeus boomed, raising a hand up. Hera, Demeter, Hephaestus, and surprisingly Athena all responded with their own hands. This might have been the only instance where Hephaestus partially agreed with his mother.

"I apologize for this, Goku, but there are too many risks involved with your stay here. As shown with Cell, you seem to be a magnet for opponents of extreme power and hostility. Who's to say our own universe won't be any different?" Athena explained her decision to vote against Goku's stay. The Saiyans, Frieza, and Cell were all tied with Goku's past in some way, so what if another villain of the same caliber and magnitude came to battle him? The entirety of Olympus and Earth itself would be levelled beyond belief.

"There's no offense taken, Athena. A few hours ago, some hydra was attracted to my power, so I can see where you're coming from." Goku understood Athena's viewpoint.

"Right. I hope there's no will if this sentencing doesn't end up in your favor." Athena noted in momentary regret. Her storm gray eyes lost some of their coldness for a few moments.

"There won't be. I'm usually not one to hold grudges." Goku responded in all honesty. Athena nodded, accepting Goku's promise to remain neutral and composed.

"Goku's being is such an anomaly. He's a determined, fierce individual in combat, yet so kind and…well, unintelligent outside of it. It makes me curious to know how his mind functions…" Athena expressed her fascination with Goku's mindset and personality. It was almost as if he had a split-personality during times of need.

"No offense, Goku, but there's just too many hurdles to my marriage as is. Hope you get where I'm coming from." Hephaestus grunted with no sort of ill will.

"Again, understandable. Losing a wife can be hard at times." Goku stated empathetically.

"Well said." Hephaestus nodded with a small smirk.

"But, Goku…I didn't even agree to marry him. Can't you realize that…for me?" Aphrodite thought, longingly reaching out for Goku's awareness of her feelings.

"My vote comes from maintaining this planet's natural stability. Your power just doesn't seem safe for all of its plant life out there." Demeter proclaimed, fearing that a stray energy blast could destroy the entire planet in seconds.

"Hmph. I have nothing more to say, mortal." Hera huffed, indignantly turning away from Goku. With that portion of the voting over with. Afterwards, Hestia drew four additional tick marks with her fire.

"That's 5 vote for "banishing" Goku then. I honestly thought there would be more, but oh well." Hestia calmly read off of the scoreboard.

"Stop putting quotes air-quotes on banishing, Hestia!" Hera yelled, slamming a fist on her armrest. Given the time they spent together at Camp Half-Blood, she had a feeling Hestia would be biased toward Goku.

"No need to bite my head off, Hera. I'm just keeping Goku's strength in mind." Hestia defended herself in amusement. The hearth goddess repositioned the diagram, nodding her head as a sign for Zeus to continue.

"All in favor for having Goku stay here until he finds a proper way back to his own universe?" Zeus uttered powerfully. With that, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, and after a few moments of thought, Artemis collectively raised their hands.

"Wait a minute. Aphrodite's vote shouldn't even count! She caused all of this to begin with!" Hera argued, accusatively pointing at the love goddess.

"That's bull crap! I'm an Olympian too, so my vote should count regardless!" Aphrodite lashed out against Hera's faulty point.

"True, but shouldn't Ares' count too? Given his humiliating defeat, I'd say he would definitely want to vote against Goku staying." Hephaestus said, figuring that Ares, wherever he was, would be royally pissed off by now.

"Fine. To make this easier, let's put Aphrodite as "for" and Ares as "against". Does that make everyone satisfied?" Zeus asked impatiently.

"Yes." Hera replied with a smug smirk of victory.

"No! That's so unfair." Aphrodite cried out.

"Just get over it, Aphrodite. It's not as if the results will be made any different." Artemis sighed, trying to maintain the trial's progression without any more interruptions. Aphrodite's incessant complaining was not something she wanted to hear right now.

"Well, by counting Ares' vote, it's a straight tie for 6 and 6. So, that leaves your final verdict, Zeus." Hestia shared the current results for both sides.

"Shouldn't you be able to vote too, Hestia?" Goku asked, wondering why Hestia and Hades were both left out.

"Like I've already said, Goku, I usually calm everyone down when arguments become too overblown here. But, if I did vote, there's no question I'd want to support you." Hestia explained her typical role as an Olympian. She then brightly smiled at Goku with a twinkle in her orange eyes.

"So, you are biased. Figures." Hera groaned.

"I didn't deny it." Hestia reminded the Olympian queen with a neutral expression.

Zeus, thinking over Goku's strength and interest in Camp Half-Blood, came to a sudden realization about his potential use in the war. In the end, he was far more beneficial as an ally than enemy, especially based on what happened with Ares earlier. Swallowing his pride for just this once, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but…" Zeus sighed, wiping a hand over his entire face in exhaustion.

"…you can stay here, Goku. I'll ultimately allow it." Zeus decided Goku's final sentencing. Hera's looked like it was on the cusp of blowing to smithereens.

"WHAT?!" Hera screamed ferociously. Purple energy exploded from every end of her throne and eyes, much to Goku's shock.

"Let me finish. I'll allow it on one condition." Zeus continued, raising his voice to drown out Hera's anger.

"A condition? What kind?" Goku asked.

"Since you've spent a lot of time at Camp Half-Blood, I'm requesting that you become a counselor alongside Chiron and Dionysus. That way, you can help our demigod children become stronger and better prepared for the inevitable war with Kronos. Sound like a fair compromise?" Zeus shared his unique, yet extremely bizarre "punishment" for Goku. Even Artemis didn't expect Zeus to feel this way.

"I didn't see this one coming. Zoë and the other girls definitely won't be pleased by it." Artemis pondered in dismay. They already despised Camp Half-Blood to begin with, so who knows how they would react to Goku's new position.

"Huh. I guess it doesn't sound too bad." Goku agreed, figuring that getting a job like this would be what Chi-Chi would have wanted. "Is it okay if I ask for something in return?"

"I suppose you could. What is it exactly?" Zeus sourly inquired.

"Would it be okay if Hephaestus begins fixing the elevator to Mount Olympus? I think it can't travel to my and other dimensions like before. It sort of got busted from King Kai's car…um…crashing into it." Goku requested Hephaestus' assistance in fixing the elevator he came from.

"So, that's why there was a huge dent in it…" Zeus muttered in realization.

"Yeah. King Kai didn't press on the brakes in time. Sorry about that." Goku apologized, goofily scratching the back of his head.

"Hmm. What do you think, son?" Zeus questioned, darting his eyes toward the blacksmith deity.

"Eh. It shouldn't be that much of a hassle. It may take a few weeks to fully fix, though. I'll have to test out the kinks for dimensional travel, teleportation speed, etc." Hephaestus listed off all of the issues he'd need to test.

"That's alright. Take your time, Hephaestus." Goku said, giving him a grateful smile. Hephaestus nodded, clasping a hand on his prosthetic knee.

"Will do. In the meantime, do as Zeus says and you'll be alright for now." Hephaestus helpfully suggested to the Saiyan.

"I'll try my best." Goku remarked passively. After Hestia sent her fire back into the Hearth, Zeus tiredly looked at each Olympian.

"Any other objections? No? Good. This meeting is adjourned." Zeus formally dismissed everyone. He clasped his hands together, producing a loud clap of thunder that echoed around all of Olympus. The massive storm clouds surrounding the area completely dissolved, leaving a clear, night sky in its place.

"Oh and Aphrodite…" Zeus interjected, stopping the Olympians from officially departing to their temples.

"What is it, Zeus? You going to lock me in my temple again?" Aphrodite moodily asked. Being a love goddess, she obviously held more grudges than Goku did.

"Tsk. With that attitude, I'm considering it." Zeus snorted. "No. Due to all of the stuff you've inadvertently caused, you'll be joining Goku as a part-time counselor at Camp Half-Blood. Sort of like Dionysus' situation, but more restrictive."

"Wait. A-Are you serious?!" Aphrodite stammered in pleasant surprise. Subconsciously, she jumped in absolute delight.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! This is my golden opportunity!" Aphrodite, thinking of this as the perfect moment to spend more time with Goku.

"Sort of. But, as further punishment, you'll be helping Hephaestus out with the elevator…in his forge." Zeus smirked deviously. Making Aphrodite suffer sort of helped calm his mind of things.

"No, no, no, no, no! Damnit, Zeus! There's always a catch with him!" Aphrodite cursed angrily. Being alone with Hephaestus and some disgusting Cyclopes was not something she had in mind.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Aphrodite asked with a false sense of hope.

"Nope." Zeus replied in a low chuckle. Aphrodite slumped her shoulders in severe defeat.

"Oh poop…" Aphrodite whined quietly. Hephaestus then leapt off of his throne, shrinking down, so he could lecherously smack Aphrodite in the butt.

"Consider this the honeymoon we never had, sweetheart. Hehehe." Hephaestus sniggered at the love goddess' expense. Aphrodite protectively placed both hands over her butt in anger.

"If you know what's good for you, don't ever touch me there again." Aphrodite hissed angrily. She then sported a perverted grin while looking at Goku.

"Only my Goku has the permission to do that." Aphrodite whispered lustfully. The thought of Goku pinching there honestly made her feel hot and bothered.

"Did you say my name, Aphrodite?" Goku asked in puzzlement.

"It's nothing. N-Nothing at all." Aphrodite stuttered in embarrassment. Zeus just rolled his eyes, having enough of all this yelling for tonight.

"Now, since it's late at night and Camp Half-Blood has already closed down, you can sleep over at Artemis' temple for now." Zeus stated, jerking a thumb toward the twelve temples scattered throughout Olympus.

"Of course father would do something like that." Artemis sighed, expecting Zeus to single her out amongst the other goddesses. She then reverted back to her original size, winter coat and all. Tying her orange locks back into a ponytail, Artemis motioned for Goku to follow her down the stairs.

"Very well then. Come along, Goku. I'll show you there." Artemis ordered, grabbing ahold of her bow and quiver as she walked onward. Goku nodded with an enthusiastic, yet slightly off-put grin on his face.

"Ok then." Goku complied with the moon goddess' instruction. As they prepared to make an exit, the other Olympians went back to their own temples as well. Athena, in particular, slowed her pace to observe Goku's form with ever-increasing interest.

"I'll definitely be keeping an eye on you, Son Goku. Especially if you happen to come in contact with Annabeth sometime soon." Athena pledged, wishing to see more of Goku's immense strength on full display. She then adjusted the position of her spear and called it a night.

"Have fun with that, Arty! Hehe." Apollo chuckled amusedly, sprinting away before Artemis could properly retaliate.

Aphrodite, narrowing her eyes, speedily ran next to Goku and Artemis' side. She mischievously beamed, leaning into the archer's ear as close as possible.

"Looks we're having a little slumber party then, huh?" Aphrodite whispered in an almost desperate, pleading tone. Artemis was not playing along with any of Aphrodite's games.

"I'm not letting you into my temple, Aphrodite. Goku needs rest after all that's happened." Artemis muttered back in irritation. Aphrodite huffed, placing both hands on her hips.

"What are you implying? I'd never take advantage of Goku like that." Aphrodite promised assuredly. Artemis, not believing anything the love goddess said, just deadpanned at her while continuing to walk.

"Don't give me that look!" Aphrodite growled irately. Goku looked from Aphrodite to Artemis, unsure of how to exactly calm them down.

"Stop, girls. There's no need to argue." Goku pleaded. After Hestia closely trailed after them, the Hall of the Gods was only occupied by Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon. Hera was a volcano just waiting to spontaneously erupt as she muttered ancient curse words under her breath.

"So, brother. During all of this, how do you think Goku's presence will affect the Great Prophecy?" Poseidon wondered in grave uncertainty. If the Great Prophecy already spelled doom for Olympus, how would Goku, someone far more dangerous and unpredictable, change that.

"It'll change without a doubt. Whether or not your brat will still be affected by it is hard to say for certain, though." Zeus grumbled, personally carling less if Percy Jackson lived or died. Him and Goku would be quite an annoying pair to deal with later on.

"With Goku around, I agree that the course of Percy's quest will definitely take a drastic turn. The question is how much." Poseidon thought in deep contemplation. "Maybe Thalia will come in contact with Goku as well."

Hearing the name of his once thought to be dead daughter was somewhat disheartening for the sky god. While her recent revival was nice to hear about, Zeus feared that Thalia's role in the prophecy would bring even further danger upon her. He only wished that he could have been a better father to her in the past.

"Thalia…" Zeus thought in remembrance. The king of Olympus sighed heavily, trying to take Thalia off of his mind for the time being.

"We can dwell on that later. For now, I have more important matters to address." Zeus grumbled. As he slowly turned toward Hera, said marriage goddess fully unleashed as much infuriation as she could muster. Her black hair stood on end, erupting with massive bursts of purple energy.

"ARE YOU A DAMN IDIOT?! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT MORON ROAM FREE AFTER—" Hera continuously yelled at Zeus for his idiocy and incompetence as a ruler. Zeus slumped downward in his seat, trying to drown out Hera's yelling frenzy.

"Ugh. This is going to be a long night." muttered Zeus. As he facepalmed, Poseidon parted from his throne with a look of sympathy. His wife, Amphitrite, could be the same way at times, especially when Percy was first born.

"Good luck." Poseidon bade his brother farewell. After Zeus weakly saluted him, the sea god walked away from the Hall of the Gods like everyone else. He then paused, spotting Goku, Artemis, Hestia, and strangely enough, Aphrodite all walking toward the moon goddess' temple. He squinted both sea green eyes in semi-fascination.

"Percy and Goku meeting one another? Hmmm. I wonder if I should do something about this for his benefit." Poseidon considered. Goku was a nice enough person, so maybe requesting him to keep an eye on Percy could work out.

"I can wait until morning. Hopefully Amphitrite doesn't chew me out for staying over until then." Poseidon ultimately decided, proceeding down the stairs toward his respective domain. From then on, the course of Goku's adventure in this new universe would drastically change. Goku, now being an indirect ally of the entire Greek pantheon, was about to experience a journey he's never once seen before.

*Wow. I can't believe this story was first posted a year ago already. That's really crazy to think about, honestly lol. I'm especially grateful for all the support you guys have given me during that time. 404 favorites and 486 follows is absolutely amazing, so I hope everyone continues to read this story as each chapter comes out. With that being said, how was Chapter 10 and the first story arc as a whole? There's some stuff I probably could have improved on, but in the end, I think it turned out pretty well. There weren't a lot of fights this time (it was mainly just Goku vs. Artemis, Goku vs. the Hydra, and Goku vs. Ares), but I think I included enough character interaction and plot development to make up for that. There was a lot of foreshadowing for the next arc in this chapter, especially lol. So, if you want to, leave a favorite, follow, and/or review to tell me what you think. The events of The Titan's Curse book will officially be taking place from Chapter 11 onwards, meaning more character development for Artemis, Zoe, and the other Hunters. I'm planning to have lots of fun writing that. By the end of next year, hopefully I'll be able to complete the second and possibly third story arcs at a much faster rate. I'll have to see based on my college and work schedules.

As for the poll, it seems like Hestia is on top now. Not sure if Athena will overtake her after this chapter, but who knows? I personally like Hestia and Artemis the most as of now.