webnovel

Big Apple, Big Problems (Rewrite)

After wandering through the streets of New York City, Aphrodite found a small diner that she and Goku could eat in. It was located off the coast of the Hudson River and had its name, Tom's Restaurant, written in large, red neon letters. Most people knew it for its inclusion in a popular sitcom from the 1990's, but to Goku, nothing about this place seemed all that special. Any type of food was acceptable by his standards, however, so he didn't bother saying anything.

What did bother him, on the other hand, was Aphrodite's insistence on holding his hand. They barely knew each other, yet she refused to let go of him.

He glanced at her in minor annoyance. "You don't have to drag me around like this, Aphrodite. I can walk just fine."

She darted her eyes in line with his and smirked. The goddess couldn't help, but find his look of annoyance rather adorable.

"Well, we're already here, so does it matter? Besides, I like holding your hand."

She knowingly winked at him, an action which caused Goku to become surprisingly embarrassed and retch his hand free by force.

Aphrodite pouted in response. "Hmph. You're no fun."

Both of them then entered Tom's Restaurant and sat down in the nearest booth. Goku placed himself in the seat facing Aphrodite's and curiously looked around the diner with newfound interest.

"This seems like a nice place." He said while reading through one of the table's menus. All of the food looked absolutely delicious as well, thankfully.

"I suppose it is, yes. I usually don't go to restaurants like… well, this, but I figured it would be a good place to talk and eat without any notable interruptions."

She sighed, looking upon the entire diner as it is was a personal insult to her personal, beauty-centric lifestyle.

Goku looked up from the menu. "Interruptions like what?"

A waitress then walked up to them, wearing a black apron and white long-sleeved shirt. She quirked a brow at Goku's unusual outfit before regaining her sense of professionalism and smiling at them.

"Welcome to Tom's Restaurant, folks! Would you two like something to drink first or do you already have an idea of what to order?"

Goku scanned the menu's contents in a deep state of concentration. He narrowed his eyes in order to get a better look at everything.

"Hmmm…"

While he thought things through, Aphrodite handed her menu back to the waitress and smiled. "I'll just have the Greek Salad. Have to maintain my figure, you know?"

"You're not alone there, sister." The waitress chuckled. She jotted down Aphrodite's order on a pad of paper and then glanced back at Goku. "And what about you, sir? Have you decided?"

A figurative lightbulb went off in his head as Goku nodded and handed her the menu.

"Yep! I'll have one of everything on the menu, please!"

Upon hearing this outrageous request, the waitress almost fell backward from absolute shock and disbelief. Various pieces of silverware and fine China also fell to ground once the restaurant's cooks heard it.

"C-Could run that back to me one more time, sir? You want… everything?!"

"Well, yeah. All of the food looked so delicious that I couldn't even imagine choosing just one thing to eat." Goku explained. "So, then I thought, why not get everything? Seems like a win-win to me!"

One of the waitress's eyes started to twitch. The man didn't appear to understand how much all of this would cost to cook, eat, and pay for.

"Trust me, you may think my friend here is joking, but he isn't. When he's hungry, he is, unquestionably, hungry." Aphrodite stated matter-of-factly.

"I-I see…" The waitress slapped herself in the face a few times to see if she was dreaming before placing a single hand on her forehead. "C-Coming right up then. I'll be back to check on the two of you… hopefully."

She shakily marched back to the kitchen to place Goku and Aphrodite's orders. Muffles shouts of panic echoed off the walls, each chef uncertain if they even had enough supplies or ingredients to satiate the Saiyan warrior's monstrous appetite.

As this went on, Goku and Aphrodite awkwardly stared at each other. They hoped that either one of them would break the tension and resume their prior conversation.

"So, you're a goddess of love and beauty, huh?"

"Amongst other more… explicit subjects, but yes, that's right. I am part of a group of powerful gods and goddesses known as the Olympians." Aphrodite replied, attempting to give a basic summary of who and what she was. "A group of people known as the Greeks worshipped us thousands of years ago. We once lived atop a mountain in Greece known as Mount Olympus back then, hence why we are named after it."

Goku rested a hand under his chin in thought. "That's odd. You look somewhere around my age or younger."

He stood up from his seat to get a better look at Aphrodite's body. This action both pleased her and made her feel slightly embarrassed.

"Well, that's mainly because I willed myself to appear that way. Us gods can change into any age or body type we so desire. I could make myself look around the age of those irksome little college girls, for example." The goddess of love shyly began to play with her hair. "Those are simply the perks of being immortal, darling. I'll forever be as gorgeous as the day I was born… unlike my past and future lovers."

She gave Goku a somber, slightly hopeful grin. Part of her wished that she could have met or known of his existence much sooner than now. She would have gladly claimed him before Chi-Chi ever did, but unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Aphrodite just hoped that Goku would be able to overlook her past relationships and sexual escapades, and grow to genuinely care for her as a person. It'd utterly break her heart if the Saiyan saw the children she sired with Ares, Adonis, and other mortals as dealbreakers for him. After all, once their relationship progressed, she would want nothing more than to meet Gohan and Goten at some point. Both of them were young heroes that rivaled the strongest and bravest of demigods.

"I guess that must have been hard on you. Having to outlive some… um… non-gods that you grew to care about." Goku murmured aloud. "How many lovers have you had, anyway?"

The love goddess widened her eyes. Her cheeks turned a bright red as she shyly looked away from him in shame.

"You tend… to lose count when you've lived as long as I have, Goku. Considering that you've only had one wife and no one else, I'm sure it's difficult to understand for you." Aphrodite's expression became somewhat downcast as she thought about her past. "I hope you're not too ashamed of me. As a goddess of love, I've never really attempted to pursue a steady, long-term relationship. My affections are doomed to be fleeting and pass on from one person to the next at a moment's notice…"

Goku grimaced. Tired of Aphrodite's responses leading to far more questions than answers, he decided to use a technique that hasn't been seen since his trip to Namek.

"Stay still for a second."

He then softly rested a hand on the goddess's head. She gasped in recognition of what Goku was about to do.

"W-Wait, Goku! I wouldn't read my mind if I were—"

Her warnings, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears. A massive torrent of Aphrodite's memories and thoughts transferred from her mind over to his. Since Krillin's lifespan wasn't anywhere near as large as a goddess's, Goku inwardly convulsed from having to take in so much information all at once.

He could see everything from Aphrodite's birth via a mix of Ouranos's severed genitals and seafoam to her eventual involvement with the Trojan War by making Paris grow an intense love for Helen, a beautiful woman whom was already married to the Spartan king, Menelaus. Goku, to his growing shock and confusion, also saw Aphrodite be married off to Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire, and her countless affairs with other men thereafter, including Ares, the god of war. She seemed to have the most sexual encounters with Ares, in particular, yet that didn't appear to stop her from seducing hundreds more men and even some women from time to time.

There were so many lovers, in fact, that Goku had to close his eyes during certain parts of the vision. He also saw brief glimpses of Aphrodite's many divine children, including Eros, Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia. He then caught sight of a heavily forested summer camp where Aphrodite's demigod children appeared to preside. Goku wasn't sure what to make of this location, but whatever it was, it had a pretty close connection to the Olympians.

The Olympians themselves were now stationed in a pocket dimension above the Empire State Building, rather than Greece like Aphrodite previously described. It was here that Goku saw something peculiar take place. Within the goddess of love's temple, a dark shadow loomed over a small fountain and projected images of his past experiences on a materialized screen.

What was that? Did Aphrodite even notice it at all?

In spite of this unsettling moment, time continued to move forward in her memories. He looked baffled by the fact that Aphrodite was able to view moments as far back as the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament to as recently as Majin Buu's defeat. The implication that she could see Chi-Chi's death firsthand was what upset him the most, however. That was supposed to be a private moment between him, his wife, and their family.

Right before he could remove his hand from the goddess's head, Goku could see him and Aphrodite doing something incredibly R-rated in her bed. He jerked his palm away from her and almost fell out of his seat from sheer terror.

"GYAAAAH!"

Goku took deep, shallow breaths and rested a hand on his forehead. Since they just met not long ago, that was the last image he ever expected to see so early on.

The diner's other customers turned around to give him a weird look before going back to eating or talking. Aphrodite bit her lower lip in concern.

"Are you okay, sweetie? What happened?"

"I-It's… about that last thought I saw. Why were the two of us in bed doing—"

Aphrodite practically leapt out of her seat and placed a hand over Goku's mouth.

"N-Nothing! I mean, nothing for you to worry about, at least. Hehe."

She darted her eyes from left to right in embarrassment, and then darkly glared at her Saiyan companion. Her green irises ever-so-slightly glowed with pink energy as she spoke.

"Now, when I remove my hand from your mouth, promise me that you will keep an open mind and ask one question at a time? Okay?"

Goku slowly nodded his head, giving Aphrodite the signal to let him speak again. She then crossed her arms and legs together in discomfort.

"How much did you see?"

The Saiyan martial artist crossed his arms the same way and said, "Enough to know that I'm far from the first guy you've been "interested" in. How much have you seen about my life?"

Aphrodite flinched. It hurt to see Goku be so angered by her actions after learning the whole story. His scowl, admittedly, turned her on a little too. It reminded her of his first Super Saiyan transformation back on Namek.

"Please don't be like that. Y-You promised to keep an open mind!"

"Yeah, I did, but you also promised to give me an explanation for why you brought me here. And I hate to say it, but so far, you haven't said anything of real importance, Aphrodite." Goku admitted while letting out a small sigh of frustration. "Plus, how else am I supposed to react to this whole situation? A random goddess entire universes away stalks me for who knows how long, learns about and sees every moment in my life, and takes me away from my friends… and you just want me to be okay with that? Like it's no big deal?"

The love goddess frowned. There was a look of pain and turmoil on Goku's face that tore her heart to shreds. Her goal was to make him happy, yet the exact opposite effect was taking place.

"I-I'm sorry. This isn't how I expected things to pan out between us." She whispered. "But believe me, there is a good reason for why I brought you here. Just please listen to what I have to say, alright?"

Goku managed to calm himself down enough to hear Aphrodite out. "Alright. I'm listening."

The goddess reached into her purse and pulled out two golden drachmas. They were usually converted into dollar bills by the Mist, but Goku was able to see their true form just fine.

"On Olympus, us gods possess a form of instant communication called Iris Messages. With the help of Iris, a minor goddess associated with the rainbow, play-by-play projections of any location can be accessed depending on the amount of gold coins, or drachma, a person can hand over as tribute. Sometimes, if given more than average, entire alternate universes can be contacted, including yours."

This explanation, while suitable enough, didn't quite explain how Aphrodite's could view multiple moments from his past adventures.

"If that's the case, then who gave you enough coins to see my world at different points in time? Was the shadow thingy something you created to do just that?"

Aphrodite tilted her head to the side. "Shadow… thingy? I don't know what you're talking about."

"When I read your mind, I saw some shadow move above your fountain before projecting footage of my past experiences. Then, it just vanished and you started watching stuff from my world for… um… how long exactly?"

"About 6 months, give or take." Aphrodite replied. She then furrowed her brows in further confusion. "But unfortunately, as much as it pains me to admit, I don't know anything about this shadow you mentioned. All I remember was stumbling upon your universe by accident through a prolonged Iris Message… and falling deeply in love with it ever since."

Goku looked troubled by this remark. Was it all part of his imagination or did something else have a hand in orchestrating his arrival here? Either way, he had a feeling that going home would be a lot more difficult than anticipated.

He rested his hands on the table and frowned.

"But why? If you could view any world or universe with this Iris Message thing, what made mine so special?"

Aphrodite warmly smiled and rested her own hand on one of Goku's. She batted her eyelashes, gazing upon him with the utmost affection and care.

"You."

"Me?"

Aphrodite's smile grew wider as she closed her eyes and rested the other hand over a warm, beating heart.

"Yes, you. Throughout the many generations I've been alive, I have never settled for one man over any other. Sure, as you've seen in my memories, there was Ares, but even he couldn't satisfy me enough to stop me from visiting the mortal world to pursue new relationships. However, no matter how many children I mothered or men I slept with, there was always something missing that I could not quite fathom. It was something that made me feel alone even in the company of those who desired my everlasting beauty."

A few longing tears fell from her eyes as she held Goku's hand a bit tighter.

"So exactly 6 months ago, I ended up deciding to never sleep with Ares or another man from this world again. It was then that I viewed the Iris Message depicting your first fight against the Saiyan prince, Vegeta." Aphrodite recalled. "As a goddess, I was already aware that alternate universes and deities existed somewhere, but I never in my wildest dreams expected to discover someone like you, Goku."

She closed her eyes in fond remembrance of Goku's performance in that particular battle. Even though he ended up losing in the end, his Kaioken technique was still nothing short of astounding.

"You were just so… intriguing to me. You held strength far greater than the most powerful Greek heroes, yet always took time to train and improve yourself. Fighting, above all else, was your greatest passion in life, yet you still choose to protect your friends and family from any planetary threats that arrived on Earth. You even sacrificed yourself twice for those specific reasons and it moved me to tears! This selflessness and lack of ego made you irresistible in ways I could have never possibly imagined. It singlehandedly reignited the passion that was lost so many years ago!"

She moved her hand to gently cup Goku's face and rub his cheek.

"Forgive me for being selfish, my Goku, but after everything I've seen of your life, I needed to transport you to this world. I couldn't bear to live any longer without meeting Earth's sworn protector and the legendary Super Saiyan himself."

Aphrodite moved her face closer to the Saiyan's and continued to caress his cheek. The possessive my stated right before his name brought back memories of Chi-Chi. Once the goddess's face began to morph into his wife's yet again, Goku grabbed her hand and gently removed it from his face.

"I… I don't know what to think of any of this. It just all seems too crazy to believe." He muttered while nervously scratching the back of his head.

Aphrodite looked a little hurt by the denial of her touch, but she understood, nonetheless. "I get it. It'll take some time for you to get used to everything in this new universe, including me."

"Wait, but won't that elevator from before be able to bring me back? It did manage to travel all the way to King Kai's planet, after all."

The goddess brushed her back and tried to think of a response that wasn't too pessimistic. She wasn't nearly as familiar with the elevator's mechanics as her "husband" was.

"It's hard to say for certain. The Empire State Building's elevator may function as a dimensional transporter, but traveling from one plain of existence to the next can drain its divine energy considerably. It could take days, weeks… maybe even months before it'll be fully recharged again."

Goku rested his head on the table and sighed. "Aw, man. Guess I really am stuck here then…"

Their waitress then sprinted out of the kitchen doors, looking completely void of all energy and motivation. She held onto her knees and took a few deep breaths before speaking.

"Y-Your meals are ready. Please enjoy…"

She dropped off Aphrodite's Greek Salad and whistled for her coworkers to file in. Upon command, each chef, dishwasher, waiter, and waitress marched outside with entire mountains of plates in their hands. At the mere sight of Deluxe Double Cheeseburgers, Turkey Wraps, and Hot Turkey Sandwiches, Goku picked himself up off the table and began to drool like an excited bulldog.

"Wow! Thanks a lot, guys!"

He then greedily rubbed his hands together and dug into each meal, devouring everything on sight in a matter of seconds.

"Hehe. Well, that helped cheer you up." Aphrodite giggled while taking small, delicate bites from her salad. She was just glad to see him acting like his usual self again.

The staff of Tom's Restaurant, on the other hand, couldn't bear to watch this massacre take place and tried their best to turn away in disgust. The diner's manager, however, didn't turn away and glared at where Goku sat.

Thanks to the Mist, their true identity as a loyal monster serving Kronos and the Titan Army was kept hidden. They narrowed their reptilian eyes in recognition of who this man was.

It appears that Lord Kronos's plan has worked. Son Goku has indeed traveled to our world, thanks to Aphrodite's foolishness…

The monster let out an inhuman growl and continued to watch Goku's every move. It would only be a matter of time until they'd be able to report his arrival to the Titan General himself.

They just needed to wait for Goku to be left alone first. The goddess of love would have to part from him at some point.

Back on Olympus…

Ares was not a pleasant person to be around. Tending to wear a biker jacket and sunglasses reminiscent of the T-800's, the god of war, violence, and bloodlust sported a black crewcut atop his head. His glasses concealed two pupils that resembled large atomic explosions, rather than normal irises. He also wore a bulletproof vest underneath his jacket that could shapeshift into a large, imposing Imperial Gold shield during battle.

His skin was coated in a wide array of battle scars and bruises that served as reminders of every major conflicted he has been involved in. Some of them had to be at least a thousand years old or maybe older.

The war god stamped his feet all over Olympus in large combat boots. It had been exactly 6 months since his longtime girlfriend, Aphrodite, had started ignoring him and it was frankly pissing him off. Playing hard to get was one thing, but she didn't even bother going on a single date with him that entire time.

He was now confused, furious, and blue-balled all at the same time. Sure, he managed to have sex with a few mortals every so often, but none of them compared to the love goddess's performance in bed.

He clenched his teeth in growing ire and said, "Enough is enough! This is like the tenth damn time she's stood me up! Where in the hell is she?!"

Clutching a metal baseball bat along his shoulders, Ares walked up to Aphrodite's temple and loudly knocked on the door three times. All he got in return was a moment of prolonged silence.

"Three strikes and you're out then…" He grumbled. The war god, as always, ended up resorting to the more destructive option and slammed the door open with a forceful swing of his bat. It crumbled into pieces and gave Ares a proper entry point.

Smirking, he made himself at home and scavenged through the temple for any trace of Aphrodite. She was either somewhere else or purposely hiding from him.

"Aphrodite? You in here, babe?"

He pulled over the covers of her bed and poked his head through each of the temple's bathrooms. Ares was about to move onto another portion of the temple until he noticed the mirror Aphrodite used to get ready every morning.

Feeling suspicious, he marched over to the desk and inspected her beauty products. He was surprised to see that goddess had already used them. Locks of multi-colored hair were even coiled around the tufts of her favorite brush.

"Hm. She must have left already." Ares grumbled.

If she was on a date with another mortal, he hoped that unfortunate meat-sack wasn't stupid enough to touch his beloved sex goddess. He already dealt with that moron, Adonis, back in Ancient Greece and he could surely do something similar to some random nobody.

He looked down at a used container of red lipstick before taking a look at his reflection in the mirror. Knowing of the mirror's magic powers, Ares looked deeper into its reflective surface and stated a command.

"Show me where Aphrodite is."

Although he wasn't certain the mirror would work for anyone other than its owner, it surprisingly listened. The mirror shifted its appearance to display a local diner in New York City. There, to his chagrin, he saw Aphrodite eating lunch with some spiky-haired beefcake in an orange jumpsuit. The man ate from plate after plate while the love goddess looked upon him with a loving smile on her face.

He shook with rage and newfound jealousy. She hadn't smiled at him like that in years, yet here she was making herself look presentable for a complete stranger.

Morphing his baseball bat into a massive, highly imposing spear, he stabbed the mirror and shattered its glass surface. He just couldn't bear to look at that infuriating scene any longer.

"That bastard! Who does he think he is trying to swoop in and take what was already mine to begin with?!"

Suppressing the urge to reveal his True Divine Form right then and there, Ares took notice of Aphrodite's fountain. Its current Iris Message appeared to still be active.

He reused some drachma hidden in the fountain's water and, to his growing annoyance, was greeted by past moments from Goku's life in the 7th Universe. After seeing his sheer expertise in combat and the various transformations he underwent, Ares rubbed his chin in thought. It appeared that this man had strength rivaling the power of the strongest Olympians, particularly after his most recent encounters with that Majin Buu monster. Not even his father, Zeus, could stand a chance against Super Saiyan 3, but the other two forms before that, Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2, were likely a bit more equal to the King of Olympus's Divine Form.

However, even that was a bit of a stretch on Ares's part. Goku was dangerous and, apparently, his arrival was all Aphrodite's fault. This would not bode well for her if Goku's existence was discovered.

Ares then smirked evilly and polished the blade of his hunting knife. With him being under a completely different jurisdiction of gods, the elimination of Aphrodite's new boy-toy was all, but fair game. The fact that he could put up a decent also made this whole debacle all the more interesting.

"Hmph. So this alien punk likes to fight, huh? Well, then I'll give him a fight he'll never forget. That I can promise." The god of war sneered in anticipation.

It was then that something within the fountain sensed Ares's evil intentions. A dark shadow, one initially created by a certain Titan Lord a few months prior, latched onto the god's body and enhanced his negative emotions through an existing distortion in time.

Ares could do nothing, but scream in pain and anguish. "GRRRAAAGH!"

A sinister purple aura engulfed his current form and caused his eyes to glow a bloodred. Once these changes took effect, a shockwave of divine energy was released and sent all sorts of objects in Aphrodite's temple flying all over the place.

The war god groaned and kneeled close to the ground. Smalls sparks of dark energy disappeared and reappeared within seconds before completely vanishing.

"W-What the hell was that?" He then clenched his hands together. "And why did it make me feel so… powerful?"

Deciding that he could worry about it later, Ares carelessly used his spear to slash away the Iris Message and then exited the temple. He needed to relay his findings to Zeus as soon as possible.

Mount Olympus's Throne Room…

The Hall of the Gods was the largest room in all of Olympus and Zeus's personal domain. Estimated to be roughly the same size as Madison Square Garden, all meetings dealing with both godly and mortal affairs were held in this particular section of the palace. Each of the twelve Olympians had separate thrones that were designed to match their likeness and aligned in a wide 'U' shape.

In the center of the room, a large hearth curated by the eldest Olympian, Hestia, was used as a connective source of warmth and comfort. This proved useful during more heated discussions involving the fate of the entire world or Hera's problems with her marriage.

Up above, the ceiling displayed the night sky with all of its respective constellations, including Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Taurus, Orion, and many others.

The only god seated here, at the moment, was Zeus himself. He sat in a platinum-colored throne that sported small lightning bolt symbols all around it.

The king of Olympus couldn't stop thinking about the awful dream he had last night. He knew absolutely nothing about this Son Goku individual and what his connection to Kronos was. His father still didn't have enough power to revive himself, yet a scythe, strangely enough, was seen in his vision. The similarities couldn't just be mere coincidence. From his experience, prophecies and visions of the future were never that simple.

He stroked his long, flowing beard in nervousness, wondering what should be done to prepare for the Titan Army's next attack.

"The winter solstice will take place any moment now. I'm certain the Titans will attempt to revive Kronos by that time, but… how?" Zeus pondered aloud. "And will it involve Son Goku, whoever he may be?"

The god narrowed his electric blue eyes and grimaced in concern. His scattered thoughts were then interrupted by one of Olympus's many nymphs. She wore a more formal outfit that was quite different from the rest of her species' outfits. Her long blue hair was also tied up into a small bun.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Lord Zeus, but Phyllis has reported some urgent news from the Empire State Building's front desk."

Zeus looked down at her from his throne and rested a hand against his cheek.

"How urgent are we talking here? Is the elevator broken again?"

"Well, yes, actually…" The nymph muttered, which took the sky god a little by surprise. "But it's about what or, more specifically, who broke it that's the issue here. And, I assure you, my lord, it's an issue that needs to be deal with immediately."

Zeus grew curious by this response. He massage his tired eyes and pointed a finger at her. "Out with it then, girl. Tell me everything you know about this… issue that you're so worried about."

The nymph gulped and twiddled with her thumbs. She carefully thought over her choice of words before speaking.

"Well, as I said before, Phyllis reported seeing a man with black spiky walk out the elevator this morning. He was wearing an orange martial arts gi and had no idea what New York City was, despite showing up in the Empire State Building's elevator."

Zeus's eyes widened from shock. Apart from the color of his gi, this man was identical to the person he saw in that nightmarish vision. It proved to be some kind of warning, after all.

"Did Phyillis, perchance, learn what this strange man's name was?"

The nymph shook her head. "Not that I know of, my lord. I apologize."

"No need to apologize, sweetheart. I can answer that question for you."

Her and Zeus looked toward the entrance to see Ares standing there. He had a tense, yet somewhat excited look on his face.

"His name is Son Goku, Dad, and he comes from a whole separate universe from ours."

The sky god shuttered and tightly clutched his throne's armrests. This was not the type of news he wanted to hear so suddenly.

"Son Goku, hm? Then it appears my dream was far more accurate than I assumed."

Ares quirked a brow in curiosity. It had been awhile since his dad experienced a premonition like that. It was more commonly experienced by their demigod children, rather than Olympians such as themselves.

"Wait, Goku was in your dream? How is that possible?"

"I do not know. I merely saw Son Goku, clad in a gray gi and wielding a purple scythe, destroying the thrones of each Olympian, including ours, son. He then seemingly transformed into a more powerful state with pink hair… and claimed himself to be a supreme God above every other deity in existence." Zeus recalled in a dour tone. His eyes sparked with electricity just thinking about it. "Needless to say, I fear Goku, as you call him, will prove to be the biggest threat Olympus has ever seen thus far."

The nymph gasped and covered her mouth in horror. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "D-Destroying your thrones?! But that would… would—"

"Yeah, yeah. It'd erase us from existence. We know." Ares interjected in annoyance. He then looked up at his father in slight puzzlement. "You're right about Goku being a threat, Dad, but based on what I've seen of his life, he would never have the balls to say anything like that or has he ever used a transformation with… ugh… pink hair in combat. His Super Saiyan form only gives him yellow hair and that's it."

"Super Saiyan? How do you exactly know so much about him, Ares? I was under the impression he only arrived earlier today."

The god of war jerked a thumb over toward Aphrodite's temple.

"Yeah, he may have arrived here today, but Aphrodite has been using an Iris Message to view past moments from his universe for 6 months, if I were to guess. That's how long she's been keeping herself cooped up in her temple, anyway." Ares scowled in burning hatred and jealousy. "I suspect that she used the elevator to pluck Goku out of his own universe, so he could be stranded here… and, essentially, become her interdimensional booty call."

In rage, Zeus let loose a powerful shockwave of electricity and divine power. The nymph had to grab the ground just to prevent herself from being blown away.

"WHAT? APHRODITE?!"

The king of Olympus stood up from his throne and firmly grasped his Master Bolt.

"She's gone too far this time, Ares. Keeping this kind of information away from the rest of us is unforgivable." Zeus scowled. "Is she with the mortal right now?"

"Tsk. Obviously. They're chowing down at some random restaurant."

The sky god pinched the bridge of his nose and glared back at the nymph.

"You! Spread word to everyone on Olympus and make sure no one leaves until this situation is dealt with!"

"R-Right away, Lord Zeus!"

The nymph then scurried away to report everything she just heard to Olympus's other mythical creatures. Zeus and Ares were now left alone for the time being.

"Tell your mother to assemble the other Olympians. We'll decide what to do with Aphrodite when she comes back."

"On it, Dad. Should I tell Hades too?"

"No. He has more important things to worry about right now. The only reason your uncle should get involved is if something… permanent should be done to Goku that'll prevent my dream's events from taking place."

Ares smirked. Imprisoning Goku in Tartarus sounded quite amusing, but given his power level, he wasn't even sure that punishment would work.

"Understood then. I'll be right back."

Before he could walk away, Zeus clasped a hand over his shoulder.

"Be honest with me, son. Based on what you've seen in that Iris Message, how strong would you say Son Goku is? Do we have a chance at besting him in combat?"

Ares sighed. He looked back at Zeus with a tense, uncertain glare.

"If I were to guess, I'd say Goku's strongest form, Super Saiyan 3, is capable of wiping out an entire galaxy. That's around what you can do in your Divine Form at its absolute max, so… our chances are pretty low, as much as it pisses me off to admit." The war god then tightly balled his fists. "That still won't stop me from kicking his alien ass, though! It wouldn't be acceptable for us gods to give up without a proper fight, eh?"

The Greek god of lightning curtly nodded his head in agreement. For a short moment, he could have sworn that Ares's eyes glowed bright red for a moment, but it disappeared just as quickly as it materialized.

Odd. Perhaps that was just a short display of his divine energy.

Ares then left to find his mother, Hera, while Zeus sat back down in his throne. With that, a new meeting between the Olympian gods and goddesses was about to be arranged sooner than initially planned.

And its primary focus was to decide whether Goku should be sent back home or outright eliminated. Either option would determine Zeus's future as ruler of the cosmos.

*Like I said, I hope you enjoyed this new version of Chapter 3. Goku's conversation with Aphrodite went a bit differently than it did in the original, especially in regard to how he reacted to being brought to another universe. I also tried to make Aphrodite's reason for developing an interest in Goku more understandable, so hopefully, that will help build some more chemistry between them in later chapters.

One big change was having Kronos's shadow give Ares the Dark Evolution/Villainous Mode transformation from Dragon Ball: Xenoverse. This will obviously make Ares a lot stronger than the original and give him a better chance during his fight against Goku in Chapters 8-9. It'll also affect how his Divine Form looks, which I'm looking forward to writing once I get to that part.

I also mentioned that Zeus, at his strongest, will be close to Super Saiyan 3 in terms of power. This means that the other Olympians will be up to Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 in their strongest Divine Forms. I thought this would give the Greek gods a significant buff from the Percy Jackson books and make this story feel more like a continuation of the Majin Buu Saga chronologically. Kronos and the Titans will also be around this level of power or potentially even stronger.

If you have any questions about these new power-scaling rules, let me know. I mainly thought it would help fix the errors that later chapters had, so hope these changes will make the story better and more consistent.

I'll be making even more changes in the Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 rewrites as well. See you again once Chapter 18 or those are posted sometime soon.

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