Prophetic Revelations

Now in a state of panic, Zoë hurriedly ran over to the Big House. She was spotted by Grover, whom, unbeknownst to her and the other Hunters of Artemis, had camped outside their cabin. The satyr rubbed some sleep out of his eyes and yawned.

"Huh. Why would Zoë be up this late?"

He quickly left his tent and trotted behind her. Afterward, he hid himself in a nearby bush once she reached the Big House. She would have tried knocking on the door if not for Argus, Camp Half-Blood's top security, standing in her way. Apart from having hundreds of eyes all around his body, he would have looked like any typical blonde surfer dude.

He crossed his arms and glared down at Zoë using more than a few eyes.

"Artemis is in trouble! I need to tell Chiron immediately!"

"No," The multi-eyed guard said. His voice was a bit gargled due to having an eye on his tongue. "Wait until the morning and go back to sleep."

"Don't thou understand? My lady is in serious danger and needs her Hunters more than ever. Please let thy make an excuse just this once."

"Lady Artemis is a powerful goddess. I'm sure that whatever trouble she's in, she'll get out of it one way or another. You Hunters should know that more than anyone, right?"

Zoë was now starting to lose her temper. She groaned in frustration, struggling to suppress the urge to shoot every single one of Argus's eyes with her arrows.

"Listen here, thou boil-brained lout! Thine lady went up against a threat that she has never once faced before. If nothing is done to save her right here and now, she may never be seen again. Imagine how thou would feel if the same scenario happened to thy lady, Hera!"

At the mere mention of his beloved creator, Argue choked back tears and narrowed all of his eyes simultaneously.

"That may be true, but it's still three in the morning! You can't boss everyone around and automatically get your way, you spoiled, entitled princess. That's not how things are run here at Camp Half-Blood."

The girl's eyes widened from shock. "W-What did thou just call me, thou putrid, disgusting—"

Before their argument could break out into a full-fledged brawl, Chiron opened the Big House's front door and walked outside. He was wearing pajamas and, bizarrely enough, curlers in his tail.

Grover had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing. He couldn't afford to give away his hiding place and face Zoë Nightshade's subsequent wrath.

Oh gods. The less people who know about that, the better.

He took a deep breath and continued listening in on the conversation. For some reason, he noticed that Chiron looked way more exhausted than usual.

"Enough, enough…" He grumbled. "I'm awake now. What is the problem, Ms. Nightshade?"

"Everything alright, sir?" Argus asked.

The centaur shook his head. "No need to be concerned. Our new counselor just so happens to be… well, a very, very loud snorer. It's been causing the whole building to shake for the past few hours or so."

Zoë cringed hearing Goku's obnoxious snores coming from within the Big House. She would have preferred if he was awake during this conversation, but then again, interacting with the Saiyan was something she preferred to avoid more often than not.

"Well, apologies for the interruption in thy sleep schedule, Chiron, but I fear it's an emergency! Artemis has been kidnapped by my… erm… the Titan General and three alien warriors near Mount Tamalpais!" The lieutenant shouted. "Please grant me and the Hunters permission to leave camp. I beg of thee!"

"Wait… Artemis has been what now?!"

Suddenly, a now-distressed Goku ran out of the Big House and stood next to Chiron. He was still wearing his orange gi from yesterday.

"Please don't tell me what you said is true, Zoë! Artemis couldn't have been—"

He stopped talking at the sight of Zoë holding back tears.

"I would not even dare joke about something like this, Son Goku. In a dream, I saw my lady be brutally beaten down by Atlas and his allies without the slightest hint of remorse. They apparently anticipated her arrival from the beginning and set up a trap for her." The Hunter whimpered as she tightly balled her fists and glared down at the floor. "Artemis didn't stand a chance…"

Goku stood there, looking completely dumbfounded. His body began to shake from a mix of rage, sadness, and regret all at once.

No. This is all my fault! I knew what Bojack and his men were capable of, yet I still let Artemis go out there all alone…

He then crouched down and slammed a fist on the ground. This would have leveled the entire Big House if not for him holding back his full power considerably.

"Ergh! Damn it!" He growled. "I'm such an idiot. I should have gone and helped her when I had the chance! Those cowards would have never been able to lay a hand on her."

Chiron sympathetically patted him on the shoulder.

"You don't know that for certain, Goku. Artemis was supposedly quite adamant about completing this mission alone, so these aliens were ready and willing to take advantage of that fact. You being there would have given them and Atlas what they really, truly wanted, I'm afraid."

Goku shook his head in growing frustration.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? You're basically implying that those bastards only captured her to get to me. It makes me wonder if letting that Kogu guy go free was a mistake, after all…"

Zoë snorted. "Tch. It was, but now is thy chance to rectify that severe lapse in judgement. Thou can leave camp with the Hunters and I, and help us rescue Lady Artemis!"

The centaur stroked his beard and sighed.

"That, unfortunately, is something I cannot permit, Zoë."

"WHAT?!"

"The Titan Army has amassed a slew of powerful, highly dangerous allies since mid-June. It would be suicide for you and the Hunters to fight them in your current condition." Chiron warned. "Artemis advised you to train with Goku at Camp Half-Blood until the winter solstice on December 21st. I suggest that you continue to follow your lady's orders and stay here."

Zoë couldn't believe the absolute drivel that was being spewed from Chiron's mouth right now.

"B-But those orders were given before she was captured! How are we to get any more orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?!"

Goku, now realizing the truth in Chiron's words, sighed and narrowed his eyes.

"He's right, Zoë. Artemis wouldn't want you, Bianca, or any of the other girls to risk your lives trying to go rescue her. Take it from the guy who could actually rival Bojack or Atlas in terms of power…" He proclaimed in an honest, more serious tone. "You girls aren't ready for that kind of fight yet. There's still plenty you have left to learn."

Zoë got up in Goku's personal space and glared him down.

"The Hunters were placed under my leadership, not yours, Goku! Why should I listen to what thou have to say?!"

For just a fraction of a second, an irritated Goku used his aura to push Zoë away from him. She abruptly fell onto the floor from surprise and slight fear.

"Because Artemis told me to look after you girls. My training is to key to your survival, whether you like it or not!" The Saiyan snapped. "Now, go back to your cabin and get some rest. We're gonna have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Zoë picked herself up off the ground and snarled in newfound rage.

"Hmph! This isn't over!"

She then ran back to Cabin Eight while a less than inconspicuous Grover hurriedly followed after her. Goku wondered what the satyr was doing there, but he didn't bother say anything about it.

He was too distracted by his thoughts of Artemis and her current condition.

"Don't you think you were a little too harsh there, Goku?"

"Maybe a little, but I meant what I said. I don't intend to break my promise to Artemis or anything." Goku replied. "As a friend, I owe her that much, at least"

"Well, remember, that you also promised to serve Olympus by working as this camp's counselor and personal trainer." Chiron noted. "I know you may want to save Artemis right this moment, but training our demigod students will have to come first, unfortunately. Hope you can understand that."

The martial artist grimaced. Normally, he would have disregarded the centaur's lecture and went straight for Artemis, but deep down, Goku understood that the moon goddess wouldn't have approved of such a foolish action. He didn't want to risk worrying Aphrodite or Hestia either.

"Yeah, I do…" He muttered. "Goodnight, Chiron."

"Goodnight."

Right before he could walk through the doorway, Goku curiously pointed at Chiron's tail.

"By the way, what's with those funny-looking things on your—"

"Don't ask," Chiron glowered in slight embarrassment. "Just pretend you didn't see anything, okay?"

"Your secret's safe with me. Hehe."

The two of them then went back to sleep while Argus continued keeping watch over the Big House.

Meanwhile on Mount Tamalpais…

Within a matter of minutes, Atlas and the three Hera brought Artemis over to their base. Her injuries were starting to heal, but at such a slow rate that it didn't ease her pain at all. She struggled to stay awake as Bido carried her over to the mountain's peak.

Atlas looked highly pleased by the goddess's broken, battered state. He smirked and gestured to a random spot near his feet.

"Drop her."

The goateed Hera tossed Artemis like a sack of potatoes, causing her body to smack against the ground. The Titan General then placed his foot atop her head and put a little pressure on it.

"Tell me, Artemis. How does it feel to be someone else's prey for a change?"

The goddess glared up at him in pure revulsion and anger.

"I-I'm not afraid of you, Atlas. You may have broken my body, but my spirit will remain unbreakable."

"Hmph. We'll see about that." He sneered. "I remember saying the same thing before your bastard of a father forced me to carry the heavens all those years ago."

He then pressed his foot even deeper into Artemis's head, causing her to wince from sudden, indescribable pain.

"Perhaps I should return the favor… with his own flesh and blood."

Unfortunately for him, Atlas was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Bojack. He crossed his arms and looked down at the goddess with little interest.

"This is the so-called Goddess of the Hunt, huh? Thought she'd look a lot more fearsome than that." Bojack grunted. "Guess fighting her would have been a waste of my time, after all."

Artemis shivered at the sound of his voice but thought it best not to say anything. It was obvious that this man was far stronger than the three Galaxy Soldiers she previously fought against.

Based on his energy alone, I can tell he'd be more than a match against Goku in his Super Saiyan form. If only I knew what Bojack's exact goals were. What could Kronos have offered for his services in this war?

He looked away from Artemis to inspect his subordinates' injuries. His eyes widened at how severe some of them were, especially Zangya's.

"What gives? You three are way more banged up than I expected."

"We express our sincerest apologies for that, Master Bojack. The goddess's Divine Form, as they call it, proved to be quite troublesome in combat." Bujin explained.

Zangya anxiously rubbed her arm and nodded. "Yeah. She was shooting light from the moon and doing all sorts of crazy things with that form…"

"But as soon as we unleashed the Psycho Threads together, her Divine Energy was as good as gone. Her defeat was imminent from that point onward." Bido added. He then burned holes into the ground from frustration. "I just wish we could have pulled it off sooner. The sheer humiliation she dealt upon us was unforgivable…"

Bojack paused for a moment to contemplate his followers' words.

"Well, serious injuries aside, you three still did much a better job than Kogu. Good job."

The three Hera bowed their heads in gratitude. They really thought he'd be angrier at them than this.

"Thank you, Bojack." Bujin said.

"Speaking of your swordsman, I believe we've found a fine replacement for him, don't you think?" Atlas suggested. He gestured to Artemis's almost motionless body and grinned from ear-to-ear.

Bojack raised an eyebrow. "You really think that'd be painful enough for her? From what you've told me, goddesses can heal and regenerate from any injury."

"Lifting up the heavens is as much of a burden for us immortals as it is for mere mortals, I assure you. She's already struggling to recover from the injuries myself and your men have given her, so shouldering a massive amount of weight at the same… will be nothing, but sheer agony." Atlas proclaimed in a sadistic tone. "Especially since she won't stop until that fool, Son Goku, comes here to rescue her."

"What do you want from him, anyway?"

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me. What do you really want from Goku? If you wanted to fight him so badly, you would have gone out there and pursued him immediately." Artemis growled. "Yet you didn't. You opted to stay here on Mount Tamalpais while everyone else fought and captured me as… bait for him."

"Tch. This one's got a bit of a mouth on her, doesn't she?"

"You don't know the half of it." Atlas grumbled. He then lifted Artemis off the ground and stared at her face-to-face. "I have no obligation to explain anything to you, Artemis. All I can say is that Son Goku is the key to everything in this war. From the Labyrinth and Bojack's arrival to even that confounded elevator in the Empire State Building, Lord Kronos has foreseen and manipulated all of it for the sake of acquiring Goku's power alone."

"The elevator…" Artemis's then gasped in sudden realization. "A-Are you implying that those visions Aphrodite had of Goku's world… were given to her by Kronos himself?!"

The Titan wrung his hand around her neck, much to Artemis's clear chagrin. She tried her best to loosen his hold on it, but to no avail.

"Like I said, I don't need to explain or elaborate anything I tell you, Goddess. I'm just stating the facts." He said. "And the fact that you're still running your filthy, Olympian mouth is something I don't wish to tolerate any further!"

"Ah, lighten up, General. The poor goddess deserves some sort of answer to her questions, at least." Bojack chuckled sarcastically.

Within the blink of an eye, he successfully freed Artemis from Atlas's grasp and slammed her head against a nearby pillar. He smiled and punched the section right next to her head.

"You see this ring?"

She darted her eyes to see a white ring wrapped around Bojack's index finger. An infinity symbol presided in its center.

"Yes…"

"This is what is known to both my and Goku's universe as a Time Ring. They are special little trinkets that allow Supreme Kai to observe future events without producing alternate timelines." He explained. "I got my hands on one of them by killing all the Supreme Kai from my timeline. Those bothersome Kais tried to seal me inside some star beforehand, but it proved to be a more temporary prison than they expected."

Artemis remembered Goku mentioned the Kais back at Camp Half-Blood. Their status as gods made Bojack's statement even more disturbing.

"Y-You've killed your universe's gods… just to get a simple ring?"

The space pirate snorted and tried his best not to laugh.

"Pfft! Gods? Those pathetic excuses for "creators" don't even deserve to hold such a title! A majority of them got themselves wiped out by Majin Buu while the other one barely does anything to repopulate the universe with new worlds. They're nothing, but complete jokes, I tell you."

He narrowed his eyes and gestured to the Time Ring once again.

"Normally, this thing would have sent me back to where I came from, but thanks to both me not being a Kai and Kronos's supposed corruption of the timestream, I'm able to travel to whatever timeline I please, including this one." Bojack said in vivid recollection of his past exploits. "Sometimes I stole rare materials and sold it in another timeline, sometimes I killed the strongest warriors a universe had to offer, and sometimes I watched over alternate versions of myself to see what they were like."

He then glared at Artemis and smiled from ear-to-ear.

"And all of that Time Bandit nonsense was done for the sole purpose of getting stronger. Strong enough that I'd be able to vanquish the great Son Goku and prove that the Hera race do, in fact, deserve to be respected." He said. "Kronos enlisting us into his army was a good start, though."

Artemis grit her teeth. "You're insane! The only kind of validation you're seeking is through fear, not respect! That much was proven by the needless slaughter Kogu brought upon Westover Hall's staff and students…"

Bojack gently held up the goddess's chin with his hand.

"Tell me something. Is it insane to knowingly hold Goku's friend captive, so he can be more inclined to fight me at full power? The Saiyan idiot wouldn't have a personal vendetta against me if he didn't, now would he?"

Artemis, not appreciating the level of condescension in the Hera's tone, boldly spit in his face. This action caused him to stop smiling.

"Your little scheme won't work, Bojack! Underestimating Goku will be—"

Without any hesitation, Bojack slammed his fist into Artemis's abdomen at speeds exceeding light itself. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt far more pain than any of Atlas's attacks had previously given her.

She hacked up a stream of golden Ichor and fell to her knees from sheer agony. The Hera clansman looked down upon her in disgust.

"I underestimated nothing. I know more about Son Goku than you could ever possibly imagine, Olympian." Bojack snarled. "So I'd recommend thinking twice about mentioning anything about needless slaughter in my presence. Believe it or not, it's something that hits quite close to home for both me and my men."

Artemis clutched her stomach, looking confused. "W-What do you mean by—"

She was interrupted by Bojack mercilessly grabbing her by the ponytail and dragging her along the floor. He ignored her cries of pain and reconvened with the Titan General.

"What did you mean by that, Bojack? I thought you weren't that familiar with the Saiyan." Atlas asked in slight suspicion.

Bojack rolled his eyes and scoffed. His expression appeared to be more annoyed than usual.

"Like I said, those Time Patrollers that tried to stop me wouldn't shut up about him. Figures that their leader is a Kai of all things. The multiverse would be a much better place without those pests interfering with everything." He grunted while lifting Artemis off the ground a little. "Now shut up and get Kogu out of there. He's had enough suffering for one day."

"Choosing to show mercy now, huh?" Atlas grunted.

"Hardly. It's called maintaining loyalty. My Galaxy Soldiers work best as a team, so Kogu continuing to be the weak link isn't something I wish to tolerate much longer. Even if he did fail his mission…"

"Hmph. Fair enough, I suppose."

They then dragged Artemis over to where Kogu was carrying the sky. His wounds from prior his fight with Goku were still present, causing the Hera to struggle with standing up and breathing. He had to rely on the strength of his Full Power transformation just to keep himself alive.

Zangya, Bujin, and Bido found this whole scenario really hard to watch, but neither of them admitted it out loud. They just looked upon Kogu's battered frame in pity-laden silence.

"Please… Master Bojack…" He choked out. His eyes were completely void of life as he looked at the Galaxy Soldiers' leader. "I-I can't take much more of this. Please…"

"Oh, quit your sniveling, Kogu. You're free to go."

As soon as the swordsman rolled free, Bojack yanked Artemis's hair forward and tossed her underneath the sky.

"Your turn."

Black rocks began to fall on top of her as she held it up using as much strength as she could muster. Due to Artemis's still-healing injuries, the strain was almost immediate.

"ERRGGH! N-NO!"

Kogu collapsed onto the floor and fell unconscious. His body was covered in all sorts of grime, blood, and sweat, but he was, thankfully, still alive.

"Now what?" Bojack asked.

"We'll wait for Castellan to return with Kogu's sword, I suppose. Then we can try to decipher the Bane of Olympus's current location." Atlas surmised. "But knowing our luck, Goku and those demigod brats might just deliver it to us themselves."

"Tch. Right. If they're even able to find it before us, that is."

"We'll see." The General replied. "For now, let's make sure our little guest doesn't collapse from all that weight she's carrying on her shoulders. Haha."

Artemis couldn't say anything to defend herself. The ceiling of darkness above her head continued to collapse further and push her against the ground.

"Ergh! D-Damn… it… all!"

While relishing in the goddess's anguish, Bojack rested a hand on the deep scar in between his eyes and grimaced. His fight with Goku couldn't come soon enough.

It was only then that would he be able to reclaim his lost honor… and avenge the planet lost to that scythe-wielding monster who called himself a god. That moment, after all, was what motivated him to seek out the Time Ring in the first place.

A naïve imbecile like that shouldn't achieve such power. I need to stop him before that moment comes… with or without these Titans' help.

His eyes narrowed into one of anger and, surprisingly enough, grief before he cast those feelings aside, and acted like nothing happened.

Back at Camp Half-Blood…

Despite what happened with Zoë, everything went by rather smoothly in the morning. Goku still felt guilty about Artemis's capture, so he sat alone during breakfast and tried to mask his feelings through food. Hestia wanted to talk things over with him, but she was wise enough to understand that the Saiyan needed some time to process what happened. This didn't stop her from providing him with pleasant, comforting aromas and dishes, however.

The Hunters were also upset, but in a much more aggressive, vitriolic sense. Some of them didn't even bother showing up at the Dining Pavilion, because Chiron refused Zoë's request to search for Artemis a few hours ago. This didn't seem to bother most of the demigods since to them, the less Hunters there were, the more peaceful it would be at camp. Nico, especially, supported this kind of mindset.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, on the other hand, were discussing what happened at the Big House. They all sat in a meadow watching satyrs chase wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs chose to transform into trees whenever a satyr attempted to kiss them.

"Remind me again how you knew about Zoë going to the Big House?" Annabeth asked.

He twirled his leg fur and blushed. "I… um… was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."

Annabeth and Percy both gave him a weird look.

"To do what exactly?"

"Just to be, you know, near them."

Percy deadpanned. "You're a stalker with hooves."

"I am not! All I was trying to do was get them to like me a bit more. Is that so bad?"

"That's pretty much what a stalker would say, Grover." Annabeth said.

"Oh, whatever, guys. Let's all just pick on the goatboy!" The satyr bleated in slight annoyance. "Anyway, I followed her to the Big House, hid in a bush, and watched the whole thing take place. She got into this big argument with Argus and called him a boil-brained lout… which I'm guessing is a bad thing. And then he called her—"

"You can skip over that part. We know all about Zoë getting into arguments with people." Athena's daughter grumbled. "Just get to the most important parts."

"Erm… right. Well, eventually, Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tails in curlers and—"

"Grover!"

"He wears curlers in his tail?" Percy asked.

Grover covered his mouth, knowing that he revealed something that shouldn't have been mentioned.

"Sorry," He said. "Go on."

"Well, Zoë said she needed permission to leave camp immediately and Chiron refused. He reminded her that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And then she said…" Grover gulped. "She said that Artemis was captured by the General and three aliens similar in appearance to that Kogu guy who… um… punched me in the stomach earlier."

Annabeth gasped. "Captured?! How is that possible?"

"I guess they were expecting her arrival at Mount Tamalpais and ambushed her. Even a powerful, beautiful, selfless, independent, smart…"

"Grover…"

"Sorry. Even a goddess as powerful as Artemis couldn't take all four of those guys at once. Her kidnapping was inevitable, unfortunately." He murmured in a sorrowful tone. "And Goku obviously was taking it all that well. He came out and started blaming himself for what happened."

Annabeth frowned. "Aw, poor guy. Did it have something to do with him letting Kogu go free?"

"Pretty much. Unlike Zoë, though, he acknowledged that training her, the Hunters, and everyone else here was more important than rescuing Artemis. And considering what kind of power that Kogu freak had back in Maine, I have to agree with him."

"Yeesh. That must have been difficult to admit." Percy sighed. "Gotta admit, I don't think I'd be able to do the same thing in this kind of scenario. Especially if it was you two, Tyson, or my mom who was kidnapped."

"Well, keep in mind that Goku has a lot more responsibilities here, Seaweed Brain. He wasn't made a camp counselor for no particular reason."

Percy waved his hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, I know. With great power, comes great responsibility and all that."

Annabeth rested a hand under her chin in thought.

"Still, it makes me wonder. What could these guys want with Artemis? Are they trying to instigate Goku somehow or something else?"

Grover shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Zoë didn't get to share every single detail from her nightmare."

Percy stood up from his seat and frowned.

"We might need to talk with Zoë then. Maybe Goku too if he's in a better mood."

"Well, Annabeth already had some stuff to talk with Zoë about, so I guess that works out okay."

Annabeth suddenly glared at the satyr, causing him to cover his mouth.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

The daughter of Athena sighed and pulled out a brochure from her pocket. On the front, it read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! and included pictures of young maidens shooting arrows, chasing monsters, and other activities inside. Some images included captions like HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and, to Percy's chagrin, A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!

He flipped through the pages of the brochure in growing confusion. "Where'd you get this?"

"While we were waiting for Apollo to show up, one of the Hunters put this in my backpack. I started reading some of it and—"

Percy's eyes widened, now realizing what Annabeth was about to tell him.

"Wait a minute. Were you seriously thinking about joining them? Right after we just saw Bianca abandon Nico to be one?"

Grover nervously played with his hair and said, "I mean, thinking about it isn't the same thing as actually agreeing to it, right?"

"Stay out of this, Grover," Annabeth grunted. "You need to calm down, Seaweed Brain. I didn't ask for them to put this in my bag. The Hunters tend to scout girls around my age and they pass out these brochures to do just that. Even if I did hypothetically want to join them, it'd be my decision, not yours."

Percy scoffed. "How do you expect me to be calm about this? I almost lost you back in Maine and now there might be a chance that I could lose you forever? Because of some eternal maiden crap that you just learned about a day ago?!"

She didn't expect him to get this upset by the situation. She pursed her lips and tried to reach out to him with her hand.

"Percy, I didn't mean to—"

The demigod crumbled up the brochure and threw it on the ground.

"I need to be alone for a while."

He then walked away, leaving Grover and Annabeth alone in the meadow. They both looked incredibly guilty about what just happened.

"Me and my big mouth…" The satyr muttered.

A few hours later…

Percy walked around camp to keep his mind away from Annabeth and her supposed interest in becoming a Hunter. A part of him wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time, but they had enough things to worry about as is. That, however, didn't stop one of them from getting into a heated argument with Silena Beauregard at the pegasus stables. He thought best not to get involved with that particular conversation and instead, decided to sit around in the empty chariot stands.

Sulking, he looked around to see what else was going on. Chiron seemed to be conducting target practice at the archery fields while, at the top of Half-Blood Hill, Mr. D and Argus were feeding the baby dragon responsible for protecting the Golden Fleece.

Seeing those two made him wonder what Goku could be up to. He was, after all, an official camp counselor now, so Chiron must have given him some task to complete.

"Wonder if he's still upset about Artemis being kidnapped." Percy muttered.

He quickly left the chariot stands and headed over to the Big House. As expected, Goku was sitting outside with a contemplative look on his face. Hestia took it upon herself keep him company and give him some emotional support.

She grinned upon seeing Percy walk up to them.

"Hello, Percy Jackson. Run out of things to do around camp, hm?"

The son of Poseidon shrugged. "Guess you could say that. I just wanted to see how Goku was holding up after… well, last night."

Goku sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to feel. I don't know if I should be mad at myself for letting Artemis go alone or mad at that Atlas guy for kidnapping her."

"Maybe a little bit of both?"

"Yeah, that's probably it! I'm just… frustrated by this whole situation, Percy. I wish I could go out and save Artemis right away, but unfortunately, I can't. This counselor job is something I promised to do for Zeus." Goku grumbled in frustration. "Not to mention my other promise to help train Zoë and the other Hunters."

Percy frowned. "I mean, I get that you have a whole lot of stuff on your plate right now, but couldn't you just fly to where Artemis is, rescue her, and then go back to being a counselor? I'm sure you're fast enough to pull it off."

"He could, yes, but the presence of Bojack and his men complicate things. As soon as Goku shows his face at Mount Tamalpais, those aliens will be waiting to both fight and potentially kill him." Hestia replied in a grave tone. "And there's no telling what type of power they could accrue if the Ophiotaurus is sacrificed successfully."

The Saiyan martial artist raised an eyebrow in response.

"That's another thing I can't wrap my head around. What does this Bane of Olympus thing even do? Is it like a walking Zenkai Boost or something? Maybe a bomb?"

Percy made a funny face and scrunched up his nose. "Um… Zenkai what now?"

"Long story." Hestia said with a casual wave of her hand. "The truth is that no one, not even the gods, know. Burning the Ophiotaurus's innards can grant a person the power to destroy Olympus and the gods, but since it never actually happened before, that particular power remains a mystery."

Goku narrowed his eyes and grimaced. That wasn't the type of response he wanted to hear.

"Which means that we need to keep it as far away as possible from both Atlas and Bojack."

Hestia pursed her lips. "I'm afraid that's easier said than done, Goku. With Artemis in captivity, they might be deciphering its current location as we speak. It'll only be a matter of time until the Bane of Olympus is within their grasp."

Percy glanced over at the Big House's entrance and came up with a potential solution to this problem.

"If that's the case, Hestia, then maybe a prophecy will help us get in their way."

"Prophecy? What do you mean?" Goku asked. He looked a bit more intrigued than outright confused.

"In the Big House's attic, there's an Oracle that always gives out prophecies concerning quests and missions that us half-bloods are tasked with completing." Percy explained. "I've gone on two already, so maybe… the next prophecy will involve rescuing Artemis from Mount Tamalpais and retrieving that Ophiowhatever."

"Ophiotaurus." Hestia chimed in.

"Yeah, that."

Goku wasn't too sure what an Oracle was or looked like, but Percy's explanation seemed quite promising, nonetheless. Artemis also mentioned something about prophecies back on Olympus, so maybe this option was the key to bringing her back safely.

Having nothing left to lose, Goku smiled and got up from his seat with much more enthusiasm. Hestia was glad to see him in a better mood, even if it was temporary at best.

"Sounds cool, Percy! Can you show me where it is?"

"I don't see why not." He said. "Just make sure Mr. D doesn't see us. You're supposed to be training some of the campers right now, remember?"

Goku winced. "Way ahead of you. I don't want to be forced to fill out more paperwork if we get caught."

He then turned around and looked down at his divine acquaintance.

"You want to come too, Hestia?"

"Go on ahead, you two. I'll keep watch in case Chiron or Mr. D do come back." She said. "After all, someone's got to come up with an excuse for your absence."

The goddess of the hearth winked one of her fiery orange eyes and shooed them away. Goku then gave her an appreciative thumbs up and followed Percy into the Big House.

"Thanks a bunch! I owe you one, Hestia!"

Upon entering the building and running up the stairs, Percy opened a trap door in the ceiling. He and Goku then cautiously entered the attic, revealing a dark, dusty room that was filled with broken shields, bent swords, and the stuffed remains of dead monsters.

It was small and cramped, but rather unique from Goku's perspective. He wondered if Fortuneteller Baba had something similar back at her palace.

"Huh. Neat."

"Wait until you see the Oracle." Percy murmured.

Seated on a three-legged stool was the mummified remains of an old lady. She was wearing a tie-dyed dress that wouldn't be too out of place in some hippie's own wardrobe. Her shriveled remains stood in front of the attic's circular window.

Goku walked up to the mummy and inspected its features. To his and Percy's confusion, the Oracle seemed to be completely lifeless.

"Is she… meant to be still like that?"

"No. Normally, her eyes glow blue and green mist shoots out of her mouth." Percy recalled. "Why she's not doing it now, I have no idea. I'm still confused by some of this stuff and this is my third time at camp."

Goku waved his hand in front of her. "Uh… yo! My name's Son Goku. Is anyone in there? Anybody home?"

Percy deadpanned. "That's not how you talk to an ancient Oracle, man."

"Well, how are you supposed to talk to it?"

"No idea. She's supposed to give out prophecies randomly."

Both of them waited a few more minutes to see if the Oracle would wake up on her own. They, unfortunately, had no such luck.

Some sunlight beamed through the attic's window, lighting up the small balls of dust floating in midair. Goku looked over at a table filled with souvenirs to pass the time.

Many demigods used the attic to store all sorts of different items and knickknacks. These could include quest trophies that no longer fit in their cabins or possessions that held painful memories. He scanned these items until one of them caught his eye.

It was a pink silk scarf with a tag that read, SCARF OF THE GODDESS APHRODITE – RECOVERED AT WATERLAND, DENVER, CO., BY ANNABETH CHASE AND PERCY JACKSON.

"Wow. I didn't know you guys found something that belonged to Aphrodite. Was that during one of your quests?"

Percy looked at the scarf in surprise.

"Yeah. Two years ago, we had to go to some abandoned waterpark called Waterland to retrieve Ares's shield. We also found that scarf since him and Aphrodite used to go there as a secret date of sorts… before Hephaestus intervened." He then winced upon remembering Goku's current 'relationship' with Aphrodite. "Sorry you had to learn about that like this, by the way."

"Eh, it's fine. Aphrodite's been with Ares for a long time, so that stuff doesn't bother me at all." Goku assured him. "I just hope she's doing alright."

"I actually saw her in an Iris Message I had with Tyson. Apart from having some screaming matches with Hephaestus and whining about the elevator thing, she's fine."

The martial artist winced. "Screaming matches? It's still that bad between them?"

"Do you really need to ask that question?"

"Yeah, yeah. Point taken."

Percy took a closer look at the scarf. Before now, he just assumed that Annabeth had thrown it away and forgot about it. Why had she stashed away in the attic like this? Was it really that important to her?

Thinking of Annabeth again just made his heart ache a little. He'd probably need to talk with her about what happened earlier and reconcile.

Goku turned away from the souvenir table and stretched. He was getting a little too anxious waiting for this Oracle to wake up.

"Welp, maybe we should try listening to this prophecy later, Percy. I need to get some food in my stomach soon."

"Yeah, we probably should. Sorry if I interrupted your counseling duties or anything, man."

"Not a problem. It was cool to learn more about your past adventures." Goku beamed. "We should swap stories one day. I've seen plenty of weird and crazy stuff back when I was your age."

"Hehe. I wouldn't doubt it."

Before they could leave, Goku approached the Oracle and examined its physical features one last time. He crouched down to stare at it face-to-face.

"Though, I have to admit, I've never seen anything like this Oracle lady before. I wonder how much energy it takes to tell those prophecy thingies."

"It must be a lot. Prophecies are fairly accurate visions of the future. I don't think any prophecy has been proven false yet, believe it or not." Percy informed.

"Seriously?! That's insane!"

Squinting his eyes in heightened curiosity, Goku placed some energy into the Oracle and attempted to sense their own ki, or whatever it could be considered.

"Let's see if I can—"

Making contact with the Oracle's flesh turned out to be a bad idea. Upon receiving Goku's ki, her eyes glowed bright blue and the entire room lit up with ominous, green light.

"WHOA!"

Goku jumped back and stood protectively in front of Percy. They both watched as the Oracle stood up from her stool and limply shuffled towards them. Murky green mist billowed from wherever her feet stepped.

"She's awake! What'd you do, Goku?!" The demigod hissed.

"Nothing! I just gave her a tiny bit of my energy! That's all!"

The Oracle moved closer and closer until she was exactly a few feet from where Goku stood. Her raspy voice then invaded his and Percy's respective subconsciouses, causing them to clutch their ears from slight fatigue.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the Oracle said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

She stared at Goku with her cold, dead eyes and, for a moment, remained completely silent. Afterwards, she raised one of her decomposed limbs and pointed at him.

Son Goku, hero of another cosmos, seek what you desire most and ask.

"What I desire most?"

Goku momentarily glanced over at Percy before clearing his throat and standing up straight. He had a feeling this statement had something to do with the Ophiotaurus.

"What should I do to rescue my friend, Artemis?"

The Oracle opened her mouth and released a large cloud of green mist. This cloud projected the image of Artemis atop a mountain's peak. She was now currently wrapped in chains and forced to kneel underneath near-bottomless piles of rock. As she recoiled from pain, Bojack and Atlas could be seen reveling in her torment, much to Goku's sheer disgust.

Then, as this image continued playing, the Oracle spoke yet another prophecy.

Seven shall go west to the goddess in chains,

A new ally shall be found in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus unbound by fate,

Campers and Hunters will unite before it is too late,

The Titan's Curse must one withstand,

And one shall hold the future in their hand.

As Goku and Percy tried their best to decipher the prophecy's contents, the mist swirled around like a green serpent and was slurped back into the Oracle's mouth. She then took a few steps back, sat on her stool, and fell unconscious once more. She didn't even give either of them enough time to ask questions.

An awkward silence then permeated throughout the attic. Goku was the first to slowly, but gradually speak up.

"I'm… very confused." He muttered.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. These prophecies are written to be vague on purpose. You can blame ol' Apollo for that." Percy quipped. He then patted Goku on the shoulder and smirked. "On the bright side, at least you have an excuse to go and look for Artemis now."

"That's true. We'll have to tell everyone right away."

"Dinner would probably be the best time for that. We were supposed to have a Capture the Flag game with the Hunters after that, but this is more important, even if it would be pretty fun to upstage those entitled girls…"

Goku ignored the last part of Percy's response and headed for the attic's stairway. As they walked down the steps, the two of them were interrupted by Thalia. She had an annoying, almost angry look on her face.

"There you are! You mind telling me what you said to Annabeth to make her look so bummed out? If you did anything to hurt her, Percy, I swear I'll—"

"You can argue with him later, Thalia. Something big just happened." Goku interjected.

She quirked a brow. "Something big? Like what?"

Percy closed the attic's door and jerked a thumb up at it. He didn't have much of a personal stake in this quest, of course, but being involved in another quest could still be interesting, nonetheless.

"We just received another prophecy from the Oracle. And oddly enough, the recipient… was Goku of all people."

Since prophecies were usually only received by the demigods of Camp Half-Blood, Thalia widened her eyes in sock and ran off to get Chiron without another word. It looked like their annual game of Capture the Flag would have to wait this time.