Love and War (Rewrite)

*Here's the Chapter 7 rewrite. Chapters 8, 9, and 10's rewrites will be a lot more different from the originals by comparison, but this one still has a few changes as well, especially in terms of dialogue. Hope you enjoy it.

Goku continued following Artemis to Camp Half-Blood's training grounds. He curiously looked around the surrounding area, noticing the small piles of snow spread from one end of the camp to another. The Saiyan, of course, had never seen any type of summer camp before – let alone, during the wintertime – so everything about this place was unique to him. Its focus on combat practice and training probably would have appealed to him as a kid, in fact, so even by the standards of his own universe, it piqued his interest.

He saw that the camp's titular demigods were, at the moment, seated in some kind of mess hall. Each camper was around twelve to eighteen-years-old and sat at individual tables that represented the Olympian gods. A large bonfire was also situated in the center of this dining pavilion.

To Goku's aghast horror, some demigods were dropping large sums of their food into it. He gasped as each delicacy, whether it to be meat or fruit, was swiftly burnt to a crisp in seconds.

"A-Artemis, why are those kids wasting all of that good food?!"

The moon goddess glanced back at him and rolled her eyes. She was still a bit perplexed by Goku's compliment earlier. "Offering food is seen as a form of tribute to us gods. Demigods are expected to partake in this tradition before every meal, including a large dinner like this one. Calling it a waste isn't very respectful, Goku."

The man shrunk a little in slight embarrassment.

"O-Oh… alright then. But how does that work exactly? Don't you and the other Olympians have their own food to eat?"

Try as he might, his brain couldn't quite comprehend the concept of food being used for something other than eating. He assumed that other Saiyans, namely Vegeta, would think the same way.

"Of course we do. We just like the smell of mortal delicacies from time to time. In a way, it can help soothe us." said Artemis as she breathed in the refreshing scent of cooked meat.

Goku quirked a brow in response to the odd look Artemis had on her face.

"That's… weird."

The goddess of the hunt shook her head and lightly giggled at her captive's reaction. This further caught Goku off-guard, because from what little he's seen of her, Artemis didn't seem like the type to laugh very much. Even more bizarre was that her laugh, despite its short duration, sounded radiant and almost bubbly in tone. It didn't fit a cold, battle-hardened huntress such as herself, admittedly.

This short moment made Goku wonder if there was more to Artemis's personality than he assumed. To find that out, he'd need to learn more about her and vice versa.

"Hehe. I suppose I can't blame you for reacting like that. Us gods do have our own peculiarities and quirks like any other living thing." She proclaimed with a small grin. Her face then shifted back to its usual look of indifference midsentence. "We're not infallible, Goku. We can and do make mistakes sometimes. My father alone confirms that…"

Goku nodded his head.

"I guess that's normal then. The gods back in my universe weren't perfect either. Some of them were actually pretty dang weird, now that I think about it."

Apart from King Kai, he thought back to his first meeting with Supreme Kai back at the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. He was quite ominous during that time and, in some sense, he still was. Despite his benevolent nature, some parts about him and his past remained a mystery to this very day.

The brief mention of gods that existed outside the Greek, Egyptian, and Norse Pantheons caught Artemis's attention. Before now, she didn't believe such beings even existed.

"You've… interacted with the gods of your own universe?! What were they like?"

Goku lightly stroked his chin, trying to think of a way to put the Kais's mysterious existence into words. He then narrowed his eyes in concentration and slight puzzlement.

"Well, the closest thing I've come to meeting with a race of "gods" were the Kais. However, even now, I'm not sure if they could even be called that."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, the Kais are capable of performing some amazing feats. Heck, one of them helped me learn the Kaioken about thirteen years ago. They're just not as powerful as a god should be, in my opinion. I surpassed their strongest member, the Supreme Kai, Shin, pretty easily, believe it or not." He explained in further detail. "And based on what I've seen from Aphrodite's memories, some of you Olympian guys might be way stronger than them at full power too."

Artemis couldn't believe what she was hearing. Goku being able to surpass this Supreme Kai deity as easily as he did put his strength at an even greater level than she thought possible. It made her wonder how powerful this man could truly become in the next few years or so.

Learning that the Kaioken was a technique crafted by gods also explained a lot.

"How… were you able to learn techniques from a being like that?! Shouldn't that be impossible for mortals like yourself?"

"Normally, it would be, but things get a whole lot less impossible when you die and go to Other World. Haha." Goku chuckled, not even realizing how insane that statement sounded. "When I got to that place, I met King Kai, the lord of my universe's North Quadrant, and trained under him for about a year. He's a pretty funny guy once you get to know him, 'specially when it comes to telling bad jokes and puns. I was actually visiting his planet before… erm… that elevator came and took me here."

Artemis's brain checked out the moment she heard that Goku visited his world's version of the afterlife multiple times over.

"Hold on. Are you implying that you've… died before? And more than once?"

"Yep! About two times now. Both of them were done as sacrifices for the greater good, but I'll get into that later."

She scoffed in a mix of shock and denial, not at all believing in Goku's improbable claims. No matter how powerful he was, mortals like him did not have the luxury, or curse, of eternal and would inevitably pass away at some point.

"T-That's preposterous! No mortal should ever be able to escape death, let alone twice in a row. Either you're lying to me or you're exaggerating the circumstances behind these "sacrifices" as you've called them."

Goku sighed and sported a more serious grimace.

"Look, Artemis, I know what I'm saying might seem tough to swallow, but keep in mind that I live in a universe much different from this one. The standards of death back home are probably more lenient than it is here." He affirmed. "For one thing, we have magical objects called Dragon Balls."

Artemis titled her head to the side in growing curiosity.

"Dragon Balls?"

"Mmhm. They're seven orange balls created by a race of slug-like aliens known as the Namekians. Each of them have red stars that indicate their respective number, such as the One-Star Ball, Two-Star Ball, Three-Star Ball, Four-Star Ball, and so on." Goku continued from memory. "When someone collects all seven, that person will summon Shenron, the Eternal Dragon. He can grant any wish ranging from immortality, wealth, and, in my case, resurrection from the dead."

Artemis was amazed by the sheer power these Dragon Balls were implied to possess. She didn't want to think of what would happen if Zeus or an evil being like Kronos got their hands on them.

"I see. So you're saying that Shenron was used to wish you back to life?"

"For the first time, yes. My one friend, Bulma, is super smart, so she was able to create a special radar that could track the Dragon Balls's energy and identify where they were located on a map. Ever since I was about twelve-years-old, we've been going on adventures to find them and make sure they didn't fall into the wrong hands. This eventually lead us to the planet, Namek, once we found out the Namekians had their own set of Dragon Balls to find."

He smiled, nostalgically reminiscing about this past journeys with Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, and the gang. As images of his friends and family came to mind, Goku began to wonder how long it would take him to return home, or if he'd even be able to find a way to come back in general.

Artemis, meanwhile, was surprised by how much he's been through. Much like the heroes of old, it appeared that Goku, even at such a young age, was destined to fight and do good in his world.

Going on adventures at the age of twelve, hm? He's more similar to Hercules and other demigods than I first thought. A younger version of him wouldn't be that out-of-place amongst these campers. He would have fit in quite well here.

Being an alien, she rightfully inferred that Goku was stronger than the average human even before his training with Master Roshi began.

"Interesting. What makes these… Namekian Dragon Balls different from the ones you and your friends found on Earth?"

The martial artist shrugged.

"They weren't that much different, to be honest. While Earth's Dragon Balls only had the power to grant one wish at a time, Namek's, which were bigger in size, could grant up to three. However, a major setback my friends and my son, Gohan, had to deal with was that Porunga, the Eternal Dragon equivalent to Shenron, could only understand the native Namekian language and thus, had to be summoned by a member of that species."

The reference to Goku's son caught Artemis's attention, but she decided to discuss his family another time. After all, she could already see Camp Half-Blood's archery range within her line of sight.

"Gohan… I mean, go on." She muttered.

"The two do share some similarities, though. After all of the wishes are granted, both sets of Dragon Balls turn to stone and need to recharge for about a year. They will also permanently turn to stone if their creator is killed or passes away. That was one of the reasons why Bulma, Gohan, and my best friend, Krillin, had to travel to Namek after the Saiyans invaded Earth thirteen years ago."

Artemis's eyes slightly widened. "There were Saiyans… who invaded your planet in the past?"

His expression contorted into a regretful scowl. Even now, remembering the time Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta came to Earth was still somewhat difficult for him. The amount of death and destruction they caused wasn't something he could forget so easily.

"Yeah, they did."

"Did it have something to do with collecting the Dragon Balls for themselves?"

"Well, kinda. They only found out about them after me and Piccolo, a Namekian who used to be my greatest enemy back home, fought my older brother, Raditz. The other two Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa, listened in on our fight through a device called a scouter. They were in another part of the galaxy at the time." Goku murmured with a frown on his face. "It was Raditz who revealed that I wasn't human like I once thought."

Artemis observed Goku from head-to-toe with a steely, yet sympathetic gaze. His story was starting to sound more tragic than she expected.

"I see. He went to Earth looking for you then, correct?"

"Yeah. Before he came, I've lived on Earth for most of my life. I'm not sure how I ended up there, but I was raised as a human by my grandpa, Gohan, on Mt. Paozu and didn't think I was anything else besides that. All those adventures with Bulma, Krillin, and the others were done believing that I was born an Earthling… just like them." Goku recounted as he walked at a slower pace than usual. "I became a martial artist to get stronger, no doubt about it, but I also did it to protect those closest to me. And because, well, Earth was my home, so I wanted to keep it safe from all those evil jerks trying to take it over."

He then balled his fists and growled just thinking of Raditz's sinister, cocky smirk.

"Then out of the blue, this… this scumbag shows up and claims that my sole purpose for being sent there was to destroy it; to conquer it for some race I didn't even know anything about! He even kidnapped my son and ordered me to kill hundreds of innocent people if I wanted to see him alive again. And do you think I was just going to let him waltz into my home and say that garbage without putting up a good fight first?! Heck no! I didn't even care if he was my brother at that point. He needed to be taken down, just like all the other bad guys I've fought and beaten in the past."

"I see…" Artemis replied in a soft voice.

Goku's lack of fear and cautiousness in that situation was, admittedly, quite admirable. It truly seemed like he valued the fate of his friends and family as far more important than his own, even under circumstances where Raditz, for example, had the clear advantage in terms of power. It was something only a true hero would say and do.

Goku… Artemis thought. Maybe there is something that makes you different from other males I've come across in the past. What exactly that is, I'm not certain, but finding that out may turn out to be my next hunt.

She squinted her silver eyes and grinned at the Saiyan's face for a short moment. She then remembered her initial goal: seeing a demonstration of both the Kaioken and the Kamehameha Wave on full, interrupted display. This caused her to place a hand in front of Goku's face as a sign for him to stop talking.

"You don't have to explain everything to me, Goku. Certain information should be kept… confidential until the time is right to say otherwise."

"You sure? The past doesn't really bother me all that much. I mean, Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans and the leader of that group I just talked about, is one of my best friends now."

At the utterance of Vegeta's name, Artemis grew skeptical about some warrior prince being described as a "friend".

"Is that feeling mutual between you two? He was an enemy to you and the rest of Earth, after all." She said matter-of-factly while placing both hands on her hips.

Goku chuckled at this question. She had no idea what him and Vegeta had been through since then.

"He might not admit it, but I'd say so! Even the worst people can change for the better in some ways, Artemis. To be honest, most of my closest friends have been enemies beforehand, Vegeta included. Heck, even Krillin, my best friend and a fellow student of Master Roshi's, didn't like me at first! Haha!"

Artemis rolled her eyes at Goku's childish laughter. She stopped in place to examine Camp Half-Blood's archery field upon reaching it.

"As much as I'd like to know the exact circumstances pertaining to the start of that friendship, it'll have to be saved for another time. We've reached our destination."

They looked to see ten individual wooden targets that were evenly spread throughout the field. Each one was occupied by the Hunters of Artemis who weren't injured or knocked out by the hydra. They all stood in multiple single-file lines, patiently waiting for their turn to practice shooting arrows.

Arrow after arrow whizzed by without any sort of delay or error. Their speed, in fact, was even somewhat difficult for Goku to keep track of in that moment.

However, the fastest and most precise shots, by far, were being fired by the newly recovered Zoë Nightshade. To his surprise, she placed five arrows in her bow at once and prepared to fire them.

She took a deep breath and squinted her brown eyes in deep, unperturbed focus. Then, after slowly pulling back the string of her bow, she fired and aimed each arrow at their own separate targets.

"HYAAH!"

With expert marksmanship, all five arrowheads pierced through the bullseye in union. They were perfectly imprinted into the targets' wooden surface, eliciting a huge round of applause from the other hunters and even Artemis herself.

Goku, meanwhile, just stood there dumbfounded by what he saw. He's never seen anything quite like it before.

"Amazing as always, Zoë." Phoebe said while softly patting her on the back.

Artemis's lieutenant smiled. "Oh, it was nothing. Thou art just as exceptional as I am. The same can be said for the rest of our sisters."

Noticing how kind and considerate Zoë was amongst her peers, Goku couldn't help, but wonder why she detested him so much. She was aggressive towards him before their little "fight" even took place. Maybe she had a problem with outsiders or something along those lines.

Despite this, Goku had to give credit where credit was due. Her skills in archery were definitely topnotch.

"Wow. She's pretty good…"

Artemis nodded her head enthusiastically and displayed a proud grin.

"Yes. Zoë Nightshade has been my lieutenant for centuries now. I couldn't ask for a better person to lead the Hunters in my absence."

The goddess's happiness was infectious in that moment. It felt like she was addressing Zoë like a mother would to one of her daughters. It made Goku wish things weren't so awkward between him and the once-mortal girl.

"Do you think she's still mad about me? You know, for knocking her out earlier?" He whispered.

Unfortunately, his voice was still loud enough to garner the attention of Zoë, Phoebe, and every other Hunter of Artemis in that area. At the mere sight of him, the former's warm smile twisted into a cold, contemptible sneer of pure annoyance.

She narrowed her brown eyes and piercingly glared over at Goku's now-fearful expression. There wasn't an ounce of positivity left in them, much to his chagrin.

"G-Guess that answered my question. Hehe."

Artemis, already expecting this type of vitriolic reaction, cleared her throat and attempted to quell Zoë's short temper.

"I see you've recovered just fine, dear one. Did you rest well?"

Her mood slightly improved upon seeing her mistress in-person. "Of course I'm alright, my lady. That blow to the neck was merely a lucky shot and nothing more."

Her tone was calm, yet notably condescending. Out of spite, she was going out of her way to downplay Goku's strength and his attack's effect on her.

This behavior, admittedly, was something Artemis partook in herself. The difference was that she could swallow her pride and accept defeat while Zoë could not.

"Arrogance won't do you any good, Zoë. I didn't bring Goku here to start another fight we can't win. After all, it was us who had the lucky shot, not him, remember?"

"Then why is this… alien even here?! He's still thy prisoner, my lady. Him being able to kill that hydra doesn't change anything!"

Her fellow Hunters of Artemis nodded along in unanimous agreement. They all continued to glare at Goku with equal amounts of scorn.

"She's right. Son Goku shouldn't even be allowed to roam free."

"We should just deliver him to Lord Zeus and be done with it. This man's been around far too long for my tastes."

Artemis shook her head in response to these foolish, needlessly hateful remarks. She sighed as her silver eyes radiated with divine, moonlit energy. As her gaze glowed more profoundly by the second, the moon itself also shined the same way and became much brighter than before.

Goku probably would have transformed into an Oozaru right then and there if he had his tail back.

"ENOUGH!"

The Hunters of Artemis were swiftly silenced by their mistress's sonic boom-like voice. It released an invisible shockwave of divine energy that sent chills down the spines of each girl in attendance, especially Zoë.

This temporary outburst of Blutz Waves, as they were called, even extended over to Camp Half-Blood's demigods. They looked up from their meals with immense confusion before going to back to eating like nothing happened.

Afterwards, Artemis paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and emotions. She glanced from right to left, disapprovingly grimacing at her followers in a maternal manner.

"That's enough. Son Goku may be my prisoner, but from now on, no hostility should be shown towards him without any good reason for it. Whether you girls like it or not, Goku – as I've come to realize myself – only attacked us in self-defense." The moon goddess explained. "And even in spite of our unjustifiable actions, he still risked his life to destroy that hydra and make sure it didn't bring any further harm to us. That is why I preferred to talk with him instead, as any good hunter would to gain information about their prey."

The glow of Artemis's eyes and the moon began to subside alongside her prior agitation. Zoë bit her lower lip, struggling to come up with a good retort for the goddess's argument.

"B-But… he…"

"Look, I realize that he humiliated you, Zoë, and your confidence is waning because of that. But being incessantly bitter about one single loss won't help you improve any more than you already have these past thousand years." Artemis gently clasped her lieutenant's shoulder and made themselves eyelevel with one another. "Just please hear what I have to say and you won't need to worry about understanding Goku's power any longer. Is that understood?"

Thinking over her surrogate mother's words, Zoë closed her eyes and begrudgingly nodded in agreement. Even she couldn't deny that her knowledge of Goku and his abilities was practically nonexistent.

"Y-Yes, my lady. I understand. Forgive me for jumping to conclusions."

She then bowed her head in a visible display of shame. Smiling at this, Artemis turned her head away from Zoë to survey the remaining hunters.

"Now, with all that being said, please heed my words and treat Goku with respect, girls. He is going to give a demonstration of the two techniques he used to fight us and the hydra earlier."

The Saiyan pointed toward himself in confusion before waving at the group of teenage girls with his usual goofy grin. Rather than greet him back, they crossed their arms and frowned in displeasure at the mere sight of his spiky black hair.

"And what exactly are these techniques, Lady Artemis?"

"Goku's first technique broke through my defenses and struck me while the other caused that blue explosion of energy which, supposedly, erased the hydra from existence."

Another hunter rudely pointed at the martial artist in sheer exasperation. "But how could some… man be capable of such feats?! Do all mortals have the potential to unlock such powerful abilities?"

The Hunters of Artemis then started chatting amongst themselves about either the same concerns or similar topics related to Goku. Their mistress pursed her lips and held up a single hand to quiet them down.

"Settle down, everyone. All your questions will be answered once Goku has a chance to speak. Gather behind me, so he has enough space to do so." She ordered while motioning for her Hunters to step away from the archery field's targets. All of them, including Zoë and Phoebe, did as their goddess commanded and huddled together into one large group.

Now, Goku, not exactly knowing what to do next, stared at his viewing "audience" with a nervous expression. Despite being far stronger than the Hunters of Artemis could ever dream of being, their looks of disgust and hatred were still quite intimidating. They thankfully didn't compare to Chi-Chi's infamous death stare, at least.

"Um…"

"Go ahead, Goku. As I've already said, my Hunters won't try to attack you last time, so you having nothing to worry about." Artemis then gave her followers the stink eye to make sure that point was made clear. "Right, girls?"

"Right…" The huntresses grumbled in unison. They pouted resentfully and waited for Goku's so-called "demonstration" to start.

Slumping his shoulders in relief, the Z-Fighter cleared his throat and prepared to speak.

"Okay then… thanks! Hmmm… how do I phrase this without making it sound too complicated?"

He cupped his chin in a deep thinking position and stood there for a few moments. Shortly afterwards, he raised his finger in a sudden moment of eureka.

"Oh, I know! Have any of you – besides Artemis – heard of ki before?"

The Hunters of Artemis whispered to each other in puzzlement before Zoë took it upon herself to answer this question.

"Isn't that a term describing the energy from which all lifeforms are composed of? I believe it is a concept common to Chinese culture and the study of martial arts. Other names for it include qi or chi."

Goku nodded. "Not sure what a Chinese is, but that's right, Zoë! Nice one!"

Artemis's lieutenant deadpanned at the man's misuse of the term describing people who live in China.

Is this man serious? If such a country is unknown to him, then how different is his world from ours? She thought in disbelief, wondering if Goku's original home was even an alternate version of Earth or not.

Then again, he could just be another idiotic male who doesn't pay attention to his surroundings. That wouldn't be much of a surprise to her.

"You see, ki is a part of everyone and everything. People, animals, plants, even the Sun itself; all things that exist in this universe and mine are driven by one comprehensive form of energy." Goku explained. "Heck, I think even that hydra and Greek gods like Artemis have it."

The girls gasped at this surprising revelation.

"R-Really?!"

While far less startled by this information, the moon goddess was still interested in hearing what he had to say about her divine powers.

"And what makes you say that, Goku?"

"Well, back home, the strongest martial artists can acquire the ability to sense the ki signatures of other people and everything surrounding them. Being one of these people, I was able to detect where you girls were in the forest a few hours ago. It's how I could tell you girls were following me." He replied knowledgably. "But, for some reason, I couldn't do the same thing with yours, Artemis."

The goddess of the hunt quirked a brow in newfound curiosity.

"Hm, strange. I wonder why…"

"Not sure, to be honest. I don't know how to describe it, but you and Aphrodite both had this type of ki I couldn't sense at all. Although I can see your auras and their colors, your presences are… almost invisible to me. Might have something to do with you being goddesses, I guess."

This explained why Aphrodite's energy completely vanished when traveling back to Mount Olympus and how Artemis's tranquilizer dart was able to pierce his neck without him being able to dodge it.

"I suppose that is rather odd, yes. However, us gods and goddesses are quite different from mortals in many ways, so it'd make sense that we'd have a different ki signature. Perhaps those Kais you mentioned were capable of using a similar type of divine energy."

Goku had never thought about that before, but she could be right. There were certain times where he couldn't sense Shin, Kibito, or Old Kai's energies at all. Majin Buu, in a sense, was somewhat the same way.

This new type of ki made him wonder if there were more powerful beings in his universe that he hadn't come across yet. It was an exciting prospect, yet a little terrifying at the same time.

"You're probably right. I'll have try looking into this new type of divine ki when I'm able to…" Goku nodded while scratching the back of his head in bewilderment. He then went back to demonstrating his own skills in ki manipulation. "But for now, though, I'll briefly show you the basics before going into more detail about the Kaioken and Kamehameha Wave. Those are more advanced techniques that require a lot of focus and discipline to execute properly."

After that, he steadied his breathing and placed both hands in front of each other. Yellow particles of ki sparked to life in the center of their palms and quickly coalesced into one spherical energy ball. This sphere sent out a blinding flash of light that caused Artemis and her followers to partially shield their eyes.

"See what's happening, guys? By focusing energy into my hands, I can emit a small sphere of ki from them. Harnessing more and more ki into my fingertips will allow it gradually grow in terms of size."

He did as described and transmitted a bit more of his life force into the ball, resulting in it becoming much bigger than before.

"And sometimes, the larger it is…" Goku trailed off, placing the now-larger ki ball into the palm of his right hand. He set his sights at a nearby tree and outstretched his arm. In no time flat, the ball launched itself from his hand and slammed into the tree, causing it to explode upon impact. To the Hunters of Artemis's aghast horror, what used to be a fully grown pine tree was now a pile of ashes scattering in the wind. "…the more damage it can produce."

Artemis and the others took a second to fully comprehend what they just saw, but thought it better not to say anything about it. Goku's power – as seen firsthand – was truly a force to be reckoned with. It made the moon goddess hope that her father's prophetic dream about him didn't come true.

"Once you're able to create a ball of ki like that one, everything else pretty much comes naturally. Flying, however, takes about as much, if not more, dedication to pull off well." He stressed further, recalling the first time he flew during his fight against Piccolo at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. "In order to fly, you'll need to transfer traces of ki to your feet and the ground beneath them. After that, all it takes is deep concentration and a calm, dedicated mind."

Closing his eyes, Goku stood in place and used his ki to propel gusts of wind down towards the surface. He then slowly, but surely began to levitate until his whole body ascended into the air.

"See? Simple as that. You girls will be flying in no time."

Zoë looked up at him with fully widened brown eyes. "Art thou suggesting that all mortals had the potential to fly all along using this ki? Wings or wind manipulation were never the ways to do so?!"

Goku floated a bit closer to her and said, "With enough practice, sure. People can acquire it at different points in their life, though, regardless of age or even strength. I learned to fly at the age of eighteen, for example, while my son, Gohan, was able to do it at only five-years-old. But that was mainly because he had to fight stronger opponents than I ever did at that age."

Part of him still held some regret towards Gohan being forced to fight so young. The amount of trauma he's experienced – from witnessing Piccolo's death to Recoome snapping his neck on Namek – wasn't something any normal toddler could endure. It was a miracle that he turned out as mentally stable as he did.

Zoë scoffed at such a ludicrous remark. "A five-year-old child being able to fly and fight others in combat? Thou must be joking…"

"Gohan wasn't an ordinary kid. He held all sorts of raw fighting potential that, at one point, allowed him to surpass me at the age of nine or so. I did catch up, of course, but that was only because he took a break from training to focus on his studies and become a scholar." Goku proclaimed with immense pride for his son's accomplishments. "He did just as his mom wanted and then some. I couldn't be more happy for him if I tried, honestly."

Once again, he faltered a little just thinking about Chi-Chi, but didn't look too sad this time around. Artemis, however, still took note of this slight change in mood.

There it is again. A forlorn look of grief seems to appear when he refers to one specific person in conversation. Could Gohan's mother – his wife, Chi-Chi – be that 'special someone' he lost before Aphrodite sent him here?

She frowned. The moon goddess wasn't a stranger to losing friends and loved ones, so she could fully understand what he was feeling right now.

Zoë, meanwhile, was struggling to comprehend the fact that a mere child could stand toe-to-toe with Goku and, potentially, her own mistress in terms of power. His potential must have been greater than the gods themselves.

"A nine-year-old having that much power is… unsettling to say the least. And him being male makes it even worse."

"It's not entirely impossible, Zoë. Hercules, or Heracles, was able to strangle two snakes when he was only an infant." One of the other hunters replied.

The tan-skinned lieutenant's body stiffened at the open mention of said legendary hero. Her left eye slightly twitched a little in annoyance as she ground her teeth in a back and forth motion.

"I'm aware of that, sister. But the less that gods forsaken name is mentioned in my presence, the better. In fact, I'd prefer if he wasn't spoken about… AT ALL. Got it?"

Artemis sighed at this sudden outburst, implying that Zoë has reacted in a similar manner many times before.

"R-Right. Sorry, Zoë."

She took a deep breath and turned her to the side. Even she thought it was a little uncalled for to snap at her fellow hunter like that. Hercules just brought out that angrier, more irritable side of her, unfortunately. Goku was slowly getting to be the same way.

"No, don't apologize. It is not thy fault. Thou should simply keep that… hero out of thy thoughts from now on and be done with it."

The bitter sarcasm in Zoë's voice wasn't easy to miss. Goku saw brief glimpses of this Hercules guy in Aphrodite's memories, but he didn't entirely understand what her beef with him was. He awkwardly darted his eyes from left to right in curiosity.

"Why, though? Did he do something to you?"

She rolled her eyes and scowled. "As if that's any of thy business, Son Goku. Quit asking irrelevant questions and get on with thy demonstration. Then, maybe thou can go back to where thee belong and leave Lady Artemis alone."

The Saiyan was caught off-guard by the girl's snarky response. It didn't even make all that much sense to him.

"I mean, I would have been minding my own business if you and her didn't—"

"Let her be, Goku," Artemis interjected with a prompt clasp of his shoulder. "Her resentment towards Hercules is a very long, tragic story that doesn't need to be discussed at the moment. I'm sure you'll learn more about it in due time. Now, what comes after flying?"

He glanced from Artemis to Zoë for a moment before nodding his head and walking back to his original position.

"Alright. With ki emission and flight out of the way, I'll be moving onto an important ability that almost all warriors and martial artists rely on in my universe: the projection of one's aura."

Goku then squatted lower to the ground and tightly clenched both of his fists together. In tandem with his energy, the surrounding wind began to pick up speed. Various trees and bushes near Camp Half-Blood rustled from side to side, scaring away some small birds and animals in the process.

"An aura results from the compression of a person's ki into one stable form. When visible, it usually looks similar to that of a burning fire. It can come in different colors, but the most common one, by far, is white."

Artemis and the Hunters weren't certain where the additional wind came from, but they proceeded to keep listening to Goku's explanation, nonetheless.

"Auras are used to enhance the speed, strength, stamina, and durability of their user. This goes for maneuverability in the air too." He continued. "An aura is most helpful when unleashing more of your latent ki, though."

"Unleash more of your ki? Like what you used to obliterate our arrows in one fell swoop?" Artemis recounted. Goku smirked at this semi-accurate presumption on the goddess's part.

"Close. That was a technique called the Kiai, or "fighting spirit". It was a propulsion of ki-enhanced air currents that I projected through… well, screaming if you want to keep things simple."

"I see…" Artemis murmured.

"Feh! Screaming, you say? How does raising your voice increase the strength of an attack? That doesn't seem very logical." said Phoebe with a bored look on her face.

"It's not just screaming that matters. Any kind of emotion can help increase the power and size of ki. Anger, sadness, happiness; any notable feeling that boosts adrenaline and excitement can help someone flourish in a fight. But, as I've already told you girls, your aura must be unleashed before something effective can be done with it." Goku corrected Phoebe while going into detail about emotions and their connection with ki. "Here, I'll show you right now."

He then relaxed his posture and coated his entire body in a white aura. The ground beneath his feet began to slightly crumble into smaller pieces. Some of the wooden targets were also blown off their posts, toppling over one after the other in quick succession.

"You girls may want to huddle together and cover your ears. You too, Artemis."

Before they could ask what he meant by that, Goku narrowed his eyes and erupted with all sorts of energy. It was a small portion of his true power, admittedly, but enough to shake the entire campgrounds.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The impact of his masculine, hypersonic scream uprooted trees from the very earth itself and frightened all the woodland creatures who lived there, including satyrs, dryads, and more.

And, truth to be told, those destructive effects were only scratching the surface. It was now time for Goku's fearsome ki to be fully unveiled to the demigods of this foreign universe.

At the Dining Pavilion

As they ate dinner, each demigod at Camp Half-Blood couldn't help, but focus on Goku as their central topic of discussion. They talked about everything from his strange hair style and martial arts gi to his muscular figure that rivaled Greek sculptures from ancient times. Various questions concerning his origins were also brought up at all twelve tables, making their dinnertime move at a much slower pace than usual. Did he really come from an alternate universe? How much experience did he have in martial arts? What type of product did he use to make his hair stand up like that?

None of these inquiries could be answered for certain, unfortunately. All the curious demigods could do was wait for the man to explain everything himself. However, given his close involvement with Artemis and the other Olympians, they had a feeling that information would be kept under wraps until Zeus came up with a proper use for him. They were, after all, in the midst of starting a Second Titanomachy against Kronos and his loyal followers.

One particular camper, Clarisse La Rue, wasn't as enthusiastic about Goku's arrival as everyone else. Her camp uniform had its sleeves cut off to accentuate her abnormally large biceps. While sitting down at the Ares Cabin table, she brushed her stringy, light brown hair and scowled in annoyance.

"Gods, I can't believe everyone's still talking about that moron."

Sherman Yang, Clarisse's half-brother, took a bite of some steak and shrugged.

"I mean, like it or not, the dude's kind of an anomaly, sis. He was literally dragged into camp after fighting Artemis and a freaking hydra all by myself. And a supped up hydra on steroids at that."

Cabin #5's head counselor rolled her eyes. "Sure, but the guy lost in the end, didn't he? His so-called "power" can't be all that impressive if he was taken down by those feminazi Hunters in battle. A true warrior wouldn't stand to go down in such a pathetic way."

Mark, another one of Clarisse's halfsiblings, indecisively clasped his hands together. He wasn't too sure what to think about Goku at this point.

"Technically, he didn't see the arrow coming, so it was more like a cheap shot from Artemis than an actual win for her."

"Tch! Then the idiot should have kept his guard up! Dad wouldn't have fallen for such an obvious trap."

"Eh, I don't know, sis. That idiot lit up the entire sky with a blue flash of light. If Artemis was sent here to arrest him or whatever, then maybe he's the real deal."

Clarisse scoffed and slammed a fist on the table. She also took a huge bite out of a chicken leg before speaking again.

"Okay, look, Mark. Destroying a hydra really isn't some impossible achievement that no one's done before. Hercules did it and even I blew one to smithereens on the CSS Birmingham this past summer! So if some porcupine-haired weirdo is supposedly powerful enough to put gods to shame, I'll only believe it when I see it firsthand." She replied. "And if he turns out to be just that, big whoop! Like what's the worst he can do? Cause typhoons with a single wave of his hand? Shake the entire camp with—"

Before she could finish her arrogant rant, all of Camp Half-Blood started to rapidly shake from side to side. Multiple trees were yanked out of the ground by their roots as highspeed winds emerged, ironically enough, from thin air.

All twelve tables in the Dining Pavilion lost balance and toppled over, causing entire dishes to fly out of campers' hands without any ample time to secure them.

"W-Woah! An earthquake in New York? Did someone piss off Poseidon again?!" One of Hermes's kids yelped in a state of panic.

"Maybe Percy forgot to do his homework before going on that mission!"

Some campers cowered underneath their tables, fearing that another monster was in the process of attacking Camp Half-Blood's new barrier. A daughter of Aphrodite even started to hyperventilate and burst into tears from complete shock.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

Annoyed by what was taking place, Clarisse held up her spear in a combat stance. "What the hell is this?! And where is it coming from?"

It was then that an incredibly loud scream emerged, causing everyone – demigod, satyr, nymph, and dryad alike – to collectively cover their ears in slight pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Once this scream came to an abrupt, yet equally powerful end, Camp Half-Blood was back to normal again. The intense shaking and mass propulsion of wind was no longer a concern anymore. Despite this, the severe damage done to the camp could not be ignored. Whatever caused that sound did a number on both the campers' poor ears and everything in close proximity to them.

As they slowly picked themselves off the ground, each camper couldn't even begin to comprehend what just happened. They simply stared at the part of the camp where that scream came from in horror and befuddlement.

"Welp, saying that was terrifying would be an understatement…" Ellis Wakefield, another one of Clarisse's siblings, quipped whilst stroking the back of his neck.

Sherman nodded in uneasiness. At this point, he no longer had any doubts about Goku's abilities. "Guys, you don't that was—"

Before he could even finish that sentence, the Big House's door slammed open to reveal an irate Dionysus. He, alongside a much calmer Chiron, stomped toward the damaged Dining Pavilion with divine energy just waiting to burst forth from his body.

"What in Olympus's holy name was that damn racket just now?! Did you brats try to murder each other again?! I've told you a thousand… no, maybe a million times that that stuff is only permitted on the battlefield or in Capture the—" Dionysus then blinked a few times upon seeing how much damage was done to the camp. Now, the wine god had every right to be angry with whoever caused this. "WHERE DID THIS MESS COME FROM?!"

Clarisse shook her head and gestured to a specific part of the forest.

"I know this looks bad, but it really wasn't any of us who did this, Mr. D. We just heard a loud, prolonged scream come from somewhere near the Archery Field. I think Artemis and her hunters first went over there a few hours ago."

Chiron calmly stroked his beard. "Hmm… I suspect this may involve that Son Goku fellow, Mr. D. If that is indeed the case, we should probably check to see what Artemis could be up to.

Dionysus glanced at the centaur and took a short swig of Diet Coke to temporarily replenish his energy.

"I guess we should, huh? Dammit! Just when I thought I could get two pieces of peace and quiet, this crap happens! Hmph!" He whined. He then turned his attention to Cabin #5's table and lazily motioned for Clarisse to follow him. "Fine. Guess it can't be helped then. Clarisse, Charmin, you two can accompany me and Chiron. The rest of you brats can clean up the Dining Pavilion til' it's just like it was before. Capeesh?"

The remaining campers all groaned and silently cursed to themselves in dismay.

"Yes, Mr. D…"

They then did as instructed and began putting the Dining Pavilion's tables back to their original positions. The satyrs, dryads, and nymphs also helped reattach each of the trees that were ripped out of the ground by the scream's highspeed winds.

Sherman Yang caught onto one of Dionysus's "accidental" mistakes and said, "It's… um… Sherman, by the way, Mr. D. You said Charmin, like the toilet paper brand…"

Dionysus glanced over at the boy with little care. Admittedly, he had forgotten that such an error was even said.

"Kid, if something so insignificant and meaningless bothers you that much, then you and that brand have a lot in common. You're both ultra soft."

The wind god then rolled his eyes and walked toward the camp's Archery Field, leaving Sherman utterly humiliated beyond comprehension. His siblings tried their best not to laugh as him, Chiron, and Clarisse closely trailed after Dionysus to see what Artemis – and more importantly, Son Goku – were up to.

Meanwhile, as everyone began cleaning up Goku's unintentional mess, one figure stood motionless near the Dining Pavilion's bonfire. There, all of the campers' offerings were being contained in a brazier crackling with fire and brimstone. It was made of pure bronze and was similar in size to that of a normal, everyday bathtub.

The individual examining this fire was, strangely enough, an eight-year-old girl with short, chestnut brown hair and red eyes that burned as brightly as the flames she was tending to. They were warm, inviting, and comforting all at the same time, much like her own personality as a goddess. She wore a brown dress that fully covered her head, feet, and small body. Despite the bizarre fact that no one was completely aware of her presence, she looked upon the Archery Field with an amused, somewhat playful grin.

This goddess had never met the man in-person, but she most definitely knew who was behind that scream of overwhelming power. In fact, she had known about his existence for quite some time.

Son Goku, hm? I was wondering when we'd be able to meet. I suppose fate works in mysterious ways…

Making certain that Chiron, Dionysus, Clarisse, and Sherman didn't take notice of her, she vanished in a small whirlwind of orange-yellow flames. She didn't even make a single noise while doing so.

Somewhere above Camp Half-Blood

After successfully teleporting herself from Mount Olympus to the mortal world, Aphrodite attempted to rendezvous with Goku as fast as possible. She flapped her pink angel wings and, in a sense, hopped across the skies above Long Island Sound at highly impressive speeds.

Once she created enough distance between herself and where she trapped Ares, the love goddess waved her arms around and created a puffy cloud for her to sit on. It wasn't quite as fast as the Flying Nimbus, but still useful enough to evade Ares, if or when he decided to chase after her. He'd most definitely find a way to escape her temple and thinking otherwise would be quite foolish on her part.

However, Aphrodite wasn't worried about him in that moment. All she wanted to do was pinpoint the exact area Artemis was keeping Goku and… "rescue" him if that made any sense. Knowing her fellow Olympian goddess, she likely pressured the poor Saiyan into revealing almost everything about himself. Zeus didn't really tell her much about him, after all.

She darkly narrowed her green eyes and scanned the forest below. "You better not have done anything to my Goku, Artemis, or I swear I'll…"

Aphrodite then adjusted the position of her voluptuous body to get a closer look at Camp Half-Blood's vast sea of trees. She darted her eyes from left to right, looking for any sign of Goku's presence or lack thereof.

"Come on, darling. Where could you be?"

She sighed and brushed her long blonde bangs back in growing frustration. Then, all of a sudden, each tree near Camp Half-Blood began to shake violently in conjunction with the entire camp itself. To her surprise, powerful gusts of wind were shot from the camp and almost knocked her off the cloud she was riding on.

"Oof!" Aphrodite yelped. She hurriedly fixed up her tousled pink toga and locks of hair. "What on Earth was that?"

Her question was answered by a powerful scream that almost felt like harmonious music to her ears. Goku's voice surged throughout all of Camp Half-Blood and its purveying skyline.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A cylindrical stream of white ki surged forth as a result, unintentionally revealing Goku's current location. Aphrodite smiled and felt her heart beat over a million times faster than normal.

"Ha, there you are. I'm coming, my love!"

Squealing in delight, she created a mirror from some of her energy and checked to see if she looked presentable enough. Unfortunately, it was this mirror that revealed a disturbing sight to her.

From a hellish, fiery hole in the sky, Ares flew atop his infamous War Chariot. It was a mix of bloodred and gold, showing off gruesome depictions of death and bodily mutilation on all sides. Pulling this sinister vehicle were four black horses with eyes and manes filled to the brim with raging hellfire, seemingly breathing it like medieval dragons of yore. As a result of the Mist, this chariot and its monstrous stallions would probably look more like a flying motorcycle leaving streams of fire in its destructive path.

Aphrodite put her mirror away and spun around in sheer terror.

"Oh no! I thought I had more time…"

"Your time has just run out, babe! And once you lead me straight to Son Goku, so will his." The god of war chuckled maniacally.

Sensing how evil and detached Ares's energy had become, Aphrodite felt that something else was going on with him. However, she couldn't afford to worry about that for now. Ensuring Goku's safety was her top priority for now.

While increasing the speed of her cloud tenfold, the love goddess shot off three more consecutive Love Blasts in a row. Ares grunted at the mere sight of them.

"Hmph. Those won't work on me again."

He maneuvered his War Chariot like a fighter jet and spun around to dodge each blast before they could even make contact. His four horses even went out of their way to extinguish one of the Love Blasts with a single large fire blast. This collision of divine energies projected a small explosion that almost flipped Aphrodite's cloud upside down.

"GYAAAAH!"

Hanging on the cloud's edge for dear life, the love goddess lifted up her hand and fired another Love Blast at Ares's face. He stepped back a bit in response, causing his sunglasses to shatter into pieces and part of his face to be grazed by glowing pink burns.

Shocked that he fell for such a cheap shot, Ares clenched his teeth in newfound rage and said, "YOU BITCH!"

He was holding back a little for her sake, but now, the war god had no qualms with harming the woman he once loved more than anything. Emitting dark purple energy from his body, he transformed his baseball bat into a double-barreled shotgun and aimed it directly at Aphrodite's cloud.

"You're taking cheap shots now, huh? Well, two can play at that game, lover."

Ares then channeled his demonic power into the gun and shot a massive blast of purple fire at her. Although Aphrodite didn't take the blast head on, most of her cloud was completely blown to smithereens. She was now, as a result, smacked out of the sky and sent careening down to Camp Half-Blood Forest by force.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHH! GOKKUUUUUU!"

As she fell, Ares glanced over at Goku's aura in excitement. He goaded his four steeds into following after Aphrodite and sneered with the utmost murderous intent. Soon, his hold over the goddess of love's heart would come to a swift, brutal end.

"Get ready to fight, Son Goku. Because this one will surely be your last!"

Back at the Archery Field

Goku, after screaming his lungs out, was covered from head-to-toe in a gray aura of ki. His spiky black hair blew upward as if he were on top of an active ventilation shaft, moving in tandem with his energy's artificial wind. His ki also acted like a supplementary light source and caused his pale, white skin to glisten a bit more.

"S-So this is what revealing your aura can cause?" Artemis stammered while inspecting the damages caused by Goku's powerup. The Hunters were almost dead silent by comparison, unable to comprehend how mere screaming could cause so much destruction in one fell swoop.

The Saiyan martial artist scratched the back of his head and smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry about the mess. It's a good thing I didn't show off my true power or this whole place would have been destroyed. Haha."

Artemis and Zoë Nightshade's jaws comically dropped to the floor. To them, it seemed like Goku was full of surprises in the worst way imaginable.

"Your… true power?!" They repeated in unison.

"Huh? Why's that so surprising? I thought you girls already knew about that. I do have the Kaioken, you know?"

Zoë stamped her foot in anger and lost what little patience she could stand to have.

"We don't know how that technique even works yet, buffoon! How else did thou expect us to react?"

Goku slightly pouted. "Sheesh. You don't need to be so harsh about it. The Kaioken involves a more complex version of my aura, so I decided to explain the basics first. No need to snap at me."

Artemis nodded and encouraged her lieutenant to play along for now.

"He's right, Zoë. We don't have much of this demonstration left, so just bear with it for now."

"If you say so, my lady…"

She then walked back to her usual brooding spot and motioned for Goku to continue his explanation. He nodded back to her thanks.

"So, I won't go into too much detail or anything, but the Kaioken, or the Fist of the Lord of Worlds, is named after its creator, King Kai. He's one of my universe's Lord of Worlds who has control over its North Quadrant. I've been training under him for a few years now."

"Lord of Worlds? Are you implying that you trained under a god from your universe?!" Phoebe gasped in amazement. "Did he resemble any of the Olympians in terms of appearance?"

"Nah, not at all. He's this short, bug-looking guy with antennae and blue skin. He also wears sunglasses and likes telling really bad practical jokes. Oh, and he has a pet monkey named Bubbles too! Haha!" Goku chuckled, remembering the time he had to chase that same monkey on King Kai's planet many years ago.

The Hunters of Artemis scowled at this description. They assumed that Goku was insulting their intelligence by talking about pet monkeys and strange bug-men.

"Hey, he may sound ridiculous, but King Kai's the real deal when it comes to martial arts. Without his teachings, I would have never been able to survive as many battles as I have in the past."

"Based on what you told me about the Kais earlier, I don't doubt that." Artemis said.

"Anyhow, the Kaioken is used to temporarily multiply a person's strength, speed, agility, and durability in combat. However, for every second it's in use, more and more pressure is exerted on the body until entire bones are damaged or broken completely. It's one of the reasons why the Kaioken is such a dangerous, life-threatening technique, but also quite useful at the same time."

The Hunters of Artemis gasped at the potential power increase this attack could give to demigods or even themselves.

"No wonder Lady Artemis was harmed by it…" Zoë whispered to herself.

"For the Kaioken, there are several levels representing the amount of power and pressure that is increased. I've managed to master x1 through x20 since I first trained under King Kai. I used the first level against Artemis, which multiplied my base power by 2." Goku further explained, mentioning the highest level of the Kaioken he had achieved before transforming into a Super Saiyan.

Artemise hummed to herself in amazement. She was becoming more impressed by his prowess as a warrior.

Fascinating. Very fascinating. If a normal Kaioken was able to deal that much damage to myself with only a few strikes, what power could the Kaioken x20 bring forth?

If he weren't being put on trial by Zeus, she wondered if Goku would be willing to teacher her such an ability. After all, her healing factor as a goddess could work quite well with the Kaioken's excess strain and pressure.

"Could you show us? I caught a glimpse of its dark red aura during our fight, but that was all. It was gone in seconds." requested Artemis with her usual look of neutral indifference. Goku happily complied as always.

"I was going to, anyway, but sure, Artemis! Since my aura's already activated, there shouldn't be any more damage done to the campgrounds… hopefully."

With that being said, he took a deep breath and clenched his fists once again. His white aura was stained with a dark, crimson red, becoming more fiery and unstable in seconds. As it billowed upward like a raging fire, Goku narrowed his eyes in deep concentration and squatted closer to the ground. His entire body was now as orangish-red as his energy.

"Kaioken!"

Much like what happened during his first bout with Artemis, the ground cracked into tiny pieces beneath his feet. He then dashed forward and transported himself behind the girls before they could even blink. His movements were so incredibly fast that it seemed like he didn't even move a single muscle.

"This is the type of speed I used to punch you earlier, Artemis. I could have held back a little more, but eh, it worked out either way." Goku explained. "I probably could have destroyed that hydra a lot faster too, now that I think about it."

The goddess of the hunt frowned. "Do you always hold back like that?"

"Mostly when I'm gauging the strength of my opponents. It usually makes the fight more interesting."

It reminded of the time he used weighted clothing during his fight against Tien at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.

"I see. That's almost like how I treat prey while hunting… which includes you, I suppose."

Goku chuckled at this remark. "I guess that's a good way of putting it. I usually fight for fun, though."

Artemis smiled back. Her red lips were twitched upward as she ever-so-slightly giggled in a playful manner.

"Ah, right. Is that your "Saiyan instincts" at work?"

"Hehe. I'm afraid so, Artemis." Goku grinned while placing both hands against his hips in a mock heroic pose. He then dispersed the Kaioken and relaxed his posture a little. "Now, how about I move onto the Kamehame—"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Hearing an familiar, airy voice screaming in the distance, he tilted his head to look up at the sky. The Z-Fighter, much to his confusion, saw a frightened Aphrodite descending down to earth at exceptionally high speeds. Her hands were clung to the back of a large, puffy white cloud that she was struggling not to let go of. For some reason, a huge chuck of this cloud was singed with traces of purple fire.

"A-Aphrodite?!"

"Aphrodite?!" Artemis and the Hunters shouted in equal levels of shock.

Noticing that Aphrodite's cloud was careening towards the Archery Field and its targets, the goddess of the hunt quickly ordered her followers to spread out.

"Move out of the way, girls! It seems like she's lost control!"

Artemis protectively placed herself in front of each hunter as they dashed to other parts of the forest.

"I-I CAN'T STOP IT! S-SOMETHING KNOCKED ME OUT OF THE SKY AND NOW I CAN'T MANEUVER THE DAMN THING!" The Olympian love goddess girlishly screamed in terror.

Since he couldn't sense her energy directly, Goku flew into the air at speeds far exceeding the speed of light and scooped her up bridal style.

"Don't worry. I've got you!"

She began to blush up a storm as soon as her body made the slightest contact with his chest. "Eep!"

None the wiser to her embarrassment, Goku safely landed on the ground without any damage taken. The cloud, on the other hand, disintegrated upon impact and became nothing more, but superheated gas particles.

"Phew, that was a close one. You alright, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite froze, taking a moment to contemplate the fact she was being cradles in Goku's arms like a woman on her wedding night. She didn't even care that Ares was quickly ganging on her at that point.

This may be bad timing, but there's no telling how long it will take for me to be in this position again. I might as well take advantage of it while it lasts. She thought, going against the logical side of her brain to embrace this intimate situation between them.

The goddess of love then harnessed the skills of her inner muse and pretended to cry… hard. "OH, MY GOKU! I WAS SOOOOO SCARED!"

She pressed her face against Goku's shoulder and continued to sob uncontrollably. Most of this response was exaggerated, but a little theatrics were necessary to gain the attention of someone as oblivious as said martial artist.

And Goku, unfortunately, fell for the goddess's performance. He grimaced while gently rubbing her exposed shoulder.

"Woah, Aphrodite! There's no need to cry! You're safe now!"

"I-I'm not upset just because of the stupid crash! Of course I'm grateful to you for saving me, dear, but I was mostly worried about you!" She sniffled, wrapped her arms around Goku's neck in a semi-embrace. "After Zeus sent Artemis and her merry band of prudes to hunt you down, I felt so guilty for all the trouble I've caused you."

"Merry band of WHAT?!" Zoë growled at this insult and instinctively reached for her bow. Artemis held her back, breathing out a low groan in response to Aphrodite's little "performance".

"No need for any of you girls to get involved. I'll deal with her." The moon goddess lowly whispered. She then walked over to where Goku and Aphrodite stood with both arms neatly folded behind her back.

Despite his knowledge of her past experiences as a love goddess, the martial artist decided to play along, anyway. She didn't want her to stay upset like this.

"You don't need to feel guilty, Aphrodite. As much as I didn't like being sent here at first, I still enjoyed every minute of it so far. The fights, the food, the people; everything seems like it'll be fun to experience until I find a proper way back home! Plus, if that weird elevator never showed up on King Kai's planet, I never would have met you."

The goddess gasped at this response. Her fake tears were now starting to be replaced with some real ones.

"Oh, Goku! That's all I wanted you to say and then some!" Aphrodite chirped happily, jumping out of his arms, so her own were looped tightly around his neck. Goku, almost losing his balance, stopped himself from falling over by returning the hug in an awkward manner.

Artemis crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. "You done playing your childish games, Aphrodite?

"Artemis. Being an affectionless killjoy as always, I see." The love goddess scowled. To her disappointment, Goku set her down, so she could speak goddess-to-goddess.

"Spare me the insults. You know damn well what I'm about to ask you."

"Then say it, Arty. I don't care what happens to me as long as Goku isn't harmed in any way." Aphrodite proudly proclaimed. Artemis almost lashed out the utterance of Apollo's asinine nickname for her, but stopped herself at the last second.

"Fine. How did you escape Mount Olympus? Last time I checked you were under house arrest with Ares."

"He tried to take advantage of me sexually without my permission, so I stuck him against the wall of my temple. They were rose pedals, so the thorns were extra secure." Aphrodite sighed in annoyance. "Unfortunately for me, even that wasn't enough to hold him."

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Repulsive behavior aside, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that Ares managed to free himself and is chasing after you as we speak?"

"W-Well, now that you mention it…"

Suddenly, the trees surrounding them all spontaneously combusted. From the skies above Camp Half-Blood Forest, Ares's War Chariot sailed into view as all four horses shot white-hot fire blasts at any flammable object in sight. The chariot was then parked directly in front of these flames and everyone in this small group.

Ares calmly stepped out of the chariot to look at his newest enemy, Son Goku, dead in the eye. The Hunters of Artemis stepped back a little, knowing full well not to mess with the Olympian god of war in this state.

He created a new pair of sunglasses to replace his old, broken ones and sneered at his Saiyan nemesis. Goku simply frowned, showing no signs of fear or hostility whatsoever.

"Yeah, I was…" Ares chuckled in amusement. "And now that I've caught up with her, I have a score to settle with you, Son Goku. God to… Saiyan."

From what Goku could gather in that precise moment, this god had a look of pure bloodlust that represented and sought for only one thing in this entire world: war."

*And that's the end of the new version of Chapter 7! Most of the changes were dialogue-related, but I did include a new fight between Aphrodite and Ares, which was fun to write, I think. Like I said, this chapter is mainly a setup for the major rewrites that will take place in Chapters 8, 9, and 10. Those might take a while to finish up, but it'll worth the effort in the end.

See you again when the Chapter 8 rewrite is finished.