Darkness settled over the land like a blanket. Several hours had passed since their arrival and none of the heroes had managed to find even the slightest trace of Toga or her mystery assistant. It was like the two of them had just vanished into thin air the moment they had stepped through the portal.
"Hardly seems fair," Toru had pouted. "Can this lady teleport as well as open portals?"
"Or maybe she opened a second portal and then closed it behind her?" Jiro said, her one remaining earphone plugged into the ground to try and pick up any suspicious sounds from their immediate surroundings.
"But if she is capable of closing her portals then why did she leave the one that lead we passed through open?" Momo mused, her chin in her hands. "Either her power doesn't allow her to close portals, which seems unlikely to me, or she left it open very deliberately."
"You're saying she wanted us to follow her?" Tsu asked.
"I can't think of another reason why she would just leave it like that. But then again, I also can't think why she'd want us here."
Mirko grunted with irritation. "This is going to be quite a drawn-out mission, I can tell. Stakeouts really aren't my style. I prefer to just go in, hammer someone and then go home… still, can't be helped. We'll just have to pick a direction and hope we run into something useful."
"I'll set up a beacon and a tracker," Momo said, tugging on her outfit and concentrating as she expunged the creations from her skin. "To help us find our way back to the portal when the time comes."
"Nice!" Mirko grinned. "Very resourceful. Let's get a move on then! Wisest course is to follow the river. Even if we don't find signs of Toga then perhaps we'll run into some kind of civilisation."
So they set off and walked for hours, with Tsu regularly hopping into the water and swimming ahead to have a look around. The dappled forest continued, seemingly unbroken, for the rest of the hike through the day. When darkness fell, it did so quickly, until Mirko finally decided to call it and the girls set up a camp. It wasn't long before they'd set up two large tents - each one capable of allowing three people to lie within, while the seventh member of the party stayed outside to keep watch.
Mina Ashido stretched her arms up above her head, groaning fitfully as she arched her back and inhaled the fresh air deeply. "Mmmhhhhhhggg… this place is so idyllic. If we're not careful then we might forget we're on a mission."
"Look at the stars," Toru squealed excitedly. The Invisible Girl had put on some extra clothes now to protect her from the chill of the night air, and now she was pointing up at the sky. "I don't think I've ever seen so many out at once!"
It truly was a breathtaking sight. They all looked up at once and allowed themselves to be dazzled by the sheer array of twinkling lights splayed out before them. The sky was barely black - instead it looked like a sheet of twinkling diamonds with light coming from all angles.
"So beautiful," Tsuyu sighed happily.
"Maybe we can come back here for a proper vacation once all this is over," Jiro chuckled. "Assuming we ever find out where 'here' is, exactly."
Momo, from where she was cooking a stew over a campfire, pointed up at the sky. "I recognise these constellations," she said. "There's the Plough… there's Orion, and Draco and Ursa Major… there's Ophiuchus… Leo… Taurus… Aries… they're all here. This night sky… it's the same as our own. Just without all the air pollution blocking out the starlight."
"So what does that mean?" Ochaco asked. "Are we definitely still on Earth?"
"Well, they're all in the right places. And, on the walk here, I recognised a great many of the bird calls that I could hear amongst the trees."
"There's plenty of fish in the river too," Tsu added. "And I definitely saw a squirrel at one point too."
"Maybe that means we are on Earth but just… not our Earth?" Mina guessed. "A parallel one like you see in the movies?"
"You girls are all so adorable," Mirko chuckled from where she was sitting on a low-hanging tree branch, her bionic arms behind her head. "Sitting there, theorising away. There's very little point in making guesses, even if they are educated ones. We'll get all the answers we require if and when we find someone here who can tell us."
"That's true enough," Momo said, stirring her ladle through the pot. "Apologies, Mirko."
"Don't apologise. Nothing wrong with being curious and trying to suss things out," the Rabbit Hero said. "And I realise we're all on a mission but, since it looks like we're going to be in each other's company for a while, you don't have to use my hero name all the time. You can call me Rumi, if you like."
"Really?" Toru gasped. "First name terms with a Pro Hero like you?"
Mirko… or rather, Rumi… snorted. "You lot are all Pros yourselves now, are you not? You're not students any more, which means we're all on equal footing. While there's no civilians around for us to be Heroes for and no villains for us to fight, first names are quite welcome."
"Wow… that's a huge honour," Ochaco beamed. "Thank you Mirk… I mean… Rumi. Oh wow… that felt so weird to say."
"Better get used to it, sweetie, cos now I'm gonna insist," Rumi smirked.
The six girls of Class 1-A turned and grinned at each other. Sometimes it was hard for them to remember that they'd all graduated from UA at this point. Their school lives had been so hectic and filled with hero work that the only real difference between then and now was that they didn't have classes any more. But Rumi was right… they were Pros now, just like her.
Just then, Mirko's rabbit ears pricked, and her eyes hardened. She sat up sharply and said, "Earphone Jack… you hear that?"
The use of Jiro's Hero name so swiftly after Mirko had said first names were allowed was very jarring. Enough to let Jiro know instantly that something was up. Immediately Jiro crouched and closed her eyes, her headphone stretching down from her earlobe to pierce the ground. The rest of the group fell silent - no sounds from the camp except for the crackling of the fire.
"Yeah… Yeah, I hear it," Jiro said quietly. "Something's coming this way… from the sound I'd say it's about fifty metres away and closing."
"Toga?" Ochaco whispered.
"No… not her. Whatever it is, it's got four legs… and it's big. And… hooved, I think. Maybe it's some kind of horse? It's coming from that way," Jiro pointed off into the trees. And even as she did so, something became visible in the darkness. A faint, golden glow had appeared amongst the foliage, and was slowly making its way closer. The girls all tensed, readying themselves for anything…
…But when they saw what it was, they all had their breath stolen away.
It was a deer… but a massive one! Bigger than a bull, bigger even than a horse. It had a coarse pelt of fine brown and white hairs and adorning its head was the most sublime set of antlers that any of them had ever seen. Not just in terms of their size, but the fact that they were completely golden. It was the antlers that were giving off the glow, gleaming and practically bathing the whole campsite in their light, which was somehow soft and yet strong at the same time.
"That… is definitely not an animal from our Earth… is it?" Ochaco was the first one to speak.
"I have no idea," Tsu said. "But it's definitely like no deer I've ever heard of."
"Look at its hooves… they look like they're made of brass," Toru pointed out.
"How can you look at its hooves with those antlers right there?!" Mina breathed. "I can't look away… it's so beautiful."
The deer regarded each of the group in turn, its head mildly cocked to one side. It then moved forward into the firelight, treading slowly and carefully, primed to flee at any moment as all deer were. It was coming towards Mina, who took a step backwards and glanced at the others uncertainly, clearly wondering what she was supposed to do.
"I think it's curious," Momo whispered. "Maybe it's never seen anything like you before, Mina."
"Well I've never seen anything like it before," Mina gulped, but took no further steps back and allowed the deer to step closer and closer to her. As it got closer, the pink girl found herself slowly stretching a hand forwards, her fingers delicately grasping the air in the direction of the deer's snout. The deer regarded the extended digits for a moment before slowly, deliberately, slipping its nose into Mina's grasp.
Her black eyes widening, Mina slid her fingers gently across the deer's face.
"Hi there," she whispered, as if she was talking to an infant child. "Wow… am I dreaming right now? Is this really happening, girls?"
"I can assure you, this is very real," said Jiro, though she didn't sound like she quite believed it either.
Unable to stop herself, Ochaco took a tentative step forward. The deer stiffened at the movement, but only for a moment. It quickly relaxed again and allowed Ochaco to take a few more steps forward until she was standing by its neck. Entranced, the Zero Gravity Hero brought up her own hands to run it down the beast's neck, the hair sliding smoothly across the bumps on her fingertips. After that, Tsu moved next… then Toru… then Jiro… and finally Momo stepped up until all six girls from 1-A were petting and stroking the awesome creature.
"Wow… you're such a good boy, aren't you?" Mina clicked her teeth as she scratched the deer beneath the chin, which seemed to be enjoying the attention. "Good boy… good boy indeed."
"Actually, I do believe this deer is a female," Momo said from her position by its haunch.
"How can you tell?" Jiro asked.
"Well… there's…" Momo blushed sharply. "Ahem… not much going on between its legs."
"…Ah," Jiro coughed. "Right… but I thought that only male deer had antlers."
"That's true of most species, but both genders of reindeer have antlers. Clearly this one isn't a reindeer but it too must be an exception. And… now that I think about it… I do remember reading about a deer like this once before, but… surely that was just a myth…"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
The sudden voice that boomed through the clearing startled all of them, even Mirko, who had stayed upon the tree branch to observe the whole thing. This in turn, startled the deer, which jumped backwards and quickly ran off through the trees, disappearing from sight in a matter of seconds.
Mirko was the first to locate the source of the voice. Up in the tree branches, just visible at the edge of the firelight, was a tall and extremely beautiful woman! She was garbed mostly in green, a full-body tunic that was extremely form-fitting but exposed very little skin, silver patterns running down the arms and legs, brown knee-high hunting boots, and a silver gauntlet around her left arm. Her long hair was a deep red and seemed to flow behind her ethereally to the point where it almost looked like it was on fire, and upon her brow was a silver head-dress that looked almost like a cross between a crown and a set of deer antlers!
But perhaps what drew their eyes the most was the enormous longbow she held in her hands, the string already drawn back and fitting with a huge arrow, the tip of which was glowing a bright blue. She had a full quiver of more arrows strapped to her leg and she looked like she was a hair's breadth away from using them - her yellow eyes were thunderous.
Who is this?! Mirko thought, grinning widely and her eyes lighting up at the prospect of a battle. I didn't even sense her coming! My rabbit survival instincts weren't triggered for a moment… oh she's good, whoever she is!
"Do you perhaps have a death wish?" The woman demanded. "You laid hands upon the Ceryneian Hind without my permission! That animal is sacred to me! If you had harmed it in any way…!"
"Whoa, whoa, wait… please!" Ochaco threw up her hands. "You've got it wrong. That deer thing approached us first."
"And we would never have harmed it!" Mina objected. "It was magnificent!"
"The Ceryneian Hind?" Momo's eyes widened. "Sacred? But… that can't…"
But the sounds of rustling leaves cut her off, and it quickly became clear that this woman wasn't alone. Several other women emerged from the bushes all around the campsite - none of them quite as stealthy as the redhead, but all of them armed with bows and arrows, nocked and ready to be drawn back at a moment's notice.
"Who are you?" demanded one of the women. "You must be very stupid or very ignorant to defy the laws of Artemis."
"We should shoot you where you stand for your insubordination!" called another.
Mirko bounded off the branch and landed amongst the other girls, squaring her legs, thumping her one remaining real foot against the ground with enough force to displace the soil around it, her thighs bulging as she smirked broadly right up into the face of the red haired woman above her.
"Just try it," she said. "See how much good it does."
There was something about the way the Rabbit Hero held herself that made all the other women hesitate and glance at each other. The redheaded woman didn't seem phased, but her eyebrow did quirk upwards with what looked like intrigue.
"Your ears…" she noted. "You have the ears of a rabbit… how came that to pass? Was it a jest from another goddess?"
"Artemis?... Goddess…?" Momo breathed. And by now, the others were starting to catch on, and gazes of astonishment and disbelief ran between them.
"Nope. Born and bred this way," Mirko said. "And my ears are pretty damn fine, if I do say so myself. Even with one of them half gone."
"Gone, yes… you appear to be an amputee…" the redhead noted, her yellow eyes drifting across all three of Mirko's prosthetic limbs. "Yet you still hold yourself so primed for combat. Admirable…" her fierce gaze traversed to the rest of the group now. "Yes… several of you appear to have some quite abnormal traits about you… You! The one who is making yourself invisible! I demand to see your face! Reveal yourself at once!"
"M-Me!? Um... I can't…" Toru protested nervously. "My Quirk doesn't work like that. It's always active. If there's a way to turn it off, I haven't figured it out yet!"
The woman's eyes narrowed fiercely, her skepticism of this claim obvious. But her gaze was quick to turn from Toru to Mina, who suddenly found herself transfixed by that stare, as if she'd been rooted to the spot. "And you… what are you? Never have I seen a creature such as you before. Are you, perchance, some new species of nymph?"
"Nymph? No, of course I'm not a nymph. I'm just as human as everyone else here," Mina protested.
"Mina…" Momo said slowly, scanning the surrounding women to do a quick headcount. "I'm not entirely sure that… any of these women around us are human… I count twenty of them. Twenty-one including their leader. Am I correct in assuming that you are the Amnisiades?!" she raised her voice to address the crowd.
"That is correct, we are," said one of the women, her hand still clenched tight upon her bowstring. "And if you know us then you must know whom we serve. Whose presence you have the honour of being in."
"What are the Amnisiades?" Ochaco asked.
"The nymphs of the River Amnisus, which is found on Crete; the largest island in the European country of Greece," Momo breathed in astonishment. "According to Greek mythology, there were twenty of them sworn to serve Artemis, the Olympian Goddess of the Hunt."
"But… that's all just myths and fairy stories, isn't it?" Jiro's eyes were growing steadily wider. "They can't possibly be true."
"I think we might be in the middle of solid proof that it is true. The Ceryneian Hind we just saw was also a Greek myth - sacred to Artemis. One of the Twelve Labours of Heracles was to capture the Hind alive and return it to King Eurysteus, which he was able to do only with the blessing of Artemis."
"Heracles," a slight smirk appeared upon the lips of the redheaded woman. "That is a name I have not heard in a long time… as men go he was a decent sort, I suppose. At the very least he had the decency of releasing my Hind once he was done with it. Had he not, he would have suffered the consequences."
"Then you're saying you really are… the real, genuine Goddess Artemis?" Momo breathed.
"I am. And if that fact is such a surprise to you, then I can only assume that none of you are natural-born residents of this realm."
"This… realm?" Tsu asked. "You mean, this world?"
"Correct. The realm of Neo Olympus."
"..."
"..."
"..."
While not all of the Heroes had read as many books about Greek mythology as Momo, all of them had heard of Mt. Olympus, the throne of the Twelve Olympians. The implications of what they were hearing now boggled their minds; left them too stunned to speak. Surely, it was unfathomable that this woman before them might be a living, breathing goddess. It beggared belief. And yet, given what they'd seen so far…
"That's all well and good, lady," Mirko managed to interrupt everyone's thoughts at once, a brazen grin on her face as she looked Artemis right in the eye, unflinchingly. "But if you wouldn't mind lowering those arrows of yours that would be super. Keep them trained on us like that and I might be forced to assume you're hostile."
Artemis' raised a brow archly. "And if that became your assumption, what would you do about it?"
"Kick your ass, of course!"
"Mirko! What are you doing?!" Momo hissed, but the amazement of the Heroes paled in comparison to the astonishment on the faces of the nymphs around them.
"What did she say?"
"Did that rabbit just make a threat against Lady Artemis's livestock?"
"No, not that kind of ass… I believe mortal's these days refer to their posteriors as an ass."
"WHAT?! She is proposing to kick Lady Artemis up the backside?! What sacrilege!"
Even Artemis herself looked momentarily surprised, but then her lips curved into an amused smirk. "You are quite the bold little rabbit, aren't you? You believe that you could take on a goddess?"
"I'm itching to find out," Mirko squared her legs, her impressive thighs twitching in anticipation.
"I see…" Artemis mused, before she leapt from the branch and dropped to the forest floor several stories below. Despite the drop, she somehow landed as softly as if she'd just stepped off the front porch. "Huntresses, stand down. Nobody else is to interfere."
"Oooh, this is gonna be fun," Mirko snickered.
"Mirko, wait… you're not serious, are you?" Mina gasped, even as all the nymphs complied with their lady's orders and sheathed their arrows back in their quivers. "If she's a goddess…"
"You're not to butt in either, you hear me, girls?" Mirko threw a prosthetic arm out. "This is between me and the hunter lady. Now get back."
"I've hunted many a rabbit in my time," Artemis said as she and Mirko slowly began to circle each other, the rest of the Heroes girls stepping backwards until they had joined the nymphs, watching from the sidelines. "You'll make quite the unique prize."
"You might regret those words, sweetheart," Mirko grinned. "You've never faced a rabbit quite like me."
And with that, she hurtled forwards at breakneck speed, whipping herself into a wide spinning kick that seemed to slash through the air so fast it created a miniature sonicboom! Artemis threw herself backwards, arching her back so Mirko's foot passed above her face and landing on her hands, backflipping into the air and drawing her bow. The glowing arrow blasted from the string like a blue meteorite but Mirko was already streaking across the ground towards the goddess, the projectile burying itself harmlessly in the ground behind her. With inhuman speed, Artemis loosed several more arrows while still in mid-air, but Mirko zig-zagged across the glade and avoided them all, springing up to meet the goddess head-on like a rocket! Artemis landed feet-first against a tree-trunk and rebounded off it, just in time to avoid a double-kick from Mirko, which landed with such force that it splintered the entire tree!
"Very impressive!" Artemis cried as she swept from branch to branch, light-footed as if she were made of air. "Few have the speed to dodge my arrows."
"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Mirko blasted off the damaged tree and sprang high, forward-flipping through the air and raising her prosthetic leg high above her head to bring it crashing down towards Artemis's head. "LUNA ARC!"
Artemis chose not to dodge and instead raised her bow to meet the blow! The collision was hard enough to snap the tree branch she was standing on and they both plummeted to the floor, but Artemis deftly spun her bow around to snare Mirko's leg with the string and flip the rabbit hero over. Mirko crashed stomach-first into the soil with Artemis above her, and with a sudden wrench of the bow, the fake leg was snapped off at the base!
"A good effort, but I'm afraid you… GAH!" Artemis began, but Mirko cut her off by spinning upon the floor and sweeping the goddess's legs out from under her. Artemis turned the fall into a flip and recovered quickly, only to find Mirko had flung herself up into the air by her arms and snagged the goddess's head firmly between her thighs.
"LUNA TIJERAS!" Mirko roared, heaving herself into a backflip that dragged the goddess off the ground, releasing her grip on Artemis's head to fling her bodily at a nearby tree trunk. Artemis cancelled out the impact by seizing the trunk in one hand and spinning around it instead, only to find Mirko already charging towards her upon her hands and one remaining leg! The fearsome bunny flipped up onto her hands and twisted on the spot to sweep her leg right for Artemis's stomach, but the goddess leapt straight upwards to avoid the blow, clearing several stories in a single bound.
"Very well," she said, landing on a nearby branch and tucking some of her red hair behind one ear. "It appears I greatly underestimated you… but now you have my attention."
"Quit yapping and get serious!" Mirko called up to her. "This is fun!"
"...Indeed," Artemis chuckled under her breath, before she raised her bow again and her arm moved so fast that it was just a blur to the onlookers below. Arrows, so many that it didn't seem like there could have been that many in her quiver, rained down from above. Mirko ploughed straight up through the swarm of projectiles, dodging and weaving, flipping and jumping, but even she wasn't capable of avoiding them all. Several of them swept through her hair or nicked her sides, but most of the rest she was able to batter aside with her prosthetic arms!
But Mirko was unprepared for what happened next, because suddenly the thin branches of the next tree she landed upon whipped up of their own accord and ensnared her ankle, yanking her ascent to a stop. Mirko stumbled and almost fell, then suddenly Artemis was in front of her, having dropped straight down towards the ground, headfirst! She had two arrows nocked to the string and released them simultaneously. The glowing blue arrowheads lanced forwards with incredible precision and speared straight through both of Mirko's palms, throwing her backwards and pinning her hands back against the tree-trunk.
"Ouch," Mirko said, glancing from side to side. "If I still had my real hands, that would have hurt!"
Artemis had flipped over and landed lightly upon the ground once more. "Do you yield?!" she called up, drawing the string once more and aiming straight for Mirko's exposed midriff.
"Like hell I do!" Mirko laughed, and wrenched herself free, breaking the branches around her ankle but leaving both her arms behind, still pinned to the tree. Even with only a single limb left, she bounded through the branches until she was right above Artemis and flung herself straight down, foot-first, like a bunny-eared comet. "LUNA FALL!"
"Such tenacity!" Artemis grinned, and suddenly she seemed to warp out of the way in a flash of white light, appearing several feet away as Mirko crashed into the ground hard enough to form a large crater around the impact of her foot. Undeterred, Mirko roared and sprang forward again, and the next minute or two became a blur of motion as Artemis abandoned the arrows and traded blows with her, the two of them going head to head in a whirling, sweeping, crashing frenzy!
The nymphs in the audience around them looked absolutely stunned. "How is she doing that?" one of them whispered. "Only a single leg to stand on and yet she's still going?"
"That's Mirko for you," Momo smiled proudly. "She just doesn't give up."
Artemis's fist thundered into Mirko's stomach and knocked the wind out of her, and yet at the same time Mirko's elbow caught Artemis a glancing blow to the cheek that knocked the goddess off balance for a moment. Mirko didn't even bother trying to get more air; she flung herself forwards to thrust her kneecap hard into Artemis's chin, driving the goddess onto her back! But as the Rabbit Hero pressed her advantage, Artemis twisted with blinding speed and was suddenly behind her, with her bow looped around Mirko's neck.
"HRRK!" Mirko choked as she was suddenly yoinked backwards with the bow and flung over Artemis's head. She crashed into the ground and slid backwards, creating a giant furrow with her shoulder-blades until she collided with the base of a tree trunk. Immediately she started to push herself back up again… only to find that she was surrounded by dozens and dozens of glowing silver arrows that were hovering in the air, all of them aimed right for her torso. Artemis herself had no arrow in her bow, yet the string was drawn back to her chin as if there was one there.
"Those arrows are made out of concentrated moonlight," the goddess announced. "I release this now," she nodded to her string. "And all those arrows fire towards you at once. Do you yield now?"
Mirko looked around swiftly for an escape route… but there was none. Her survival instincts told her that, if she'd still had both real legs, she might have been able to get out of it. But as this stood…
"Damn," she said, a wry grin on her face. If Artemis was a villain that needed beating, then Mirko would have stormed straight into the attack, determined to win even at the cost of her life in order to save lives. But there was no point risking injury "You got me. I guess I'm beaten."
Artemis nodded and gently relaxed her bowstring, the moonlight arrows fading away into thin air as she strode over towards the sitting Hero. "Nevertheless, you were quite the challenge. Never before has a mortal with no godly blood in them driven me to use such measures to secure a victory in a sparring match. What is your name, good rabbit woman?"
"Rumi Usagiyama. But I also go by Mirko."
"Mirko… I like it. And I like you. You have won my respect." Artemis stretched a hand down to her. Chuckling, Mirko extended an arm stump and allowed Artemis to grip her by the elbow and haul her back onto her foot. The nymphs around them immediately broke out into applause for both their goddess and for Mirko, and the six girls from 1-A soon followed suit.
"Now then," Artemis said. "I think you outsiders had better tell me what you're doing in Neo Olympus."
"Glad to," Mirko chuckled. "But first, how about helping me get my arms and leg back on?"
"Of course, of course."
An hour later, and the seven Heroes had been taken to the campsite of Artemis, which was quite the bustling place. As well as the twenty Amnisiades that formed her hunting party, Artemis's retinue also consisted of no less than sixty Nephelai - cloud nymphs who all looked like young girls even though they were, in fact, thousands of years old. These young nymphs were all very curious of the newcomers, but soon returned to playing with the hunting dogs when Artemis told them not to crowd around.
And as Artemis's personal handmaidens prepared the meal for them, Artemis herself sat and listened in silence as the Heroes told her everything. About their world, about their Quirks, about their society and relationship to each other and, most importantly, about why they were here.
"And this woman who helped your fugitive come here," Artemis eventually broke her silence. "You are certain she had purple hair and wings?"
"Wings made out of some kind of energy, yes," Ochaco confirmed with a fierce nod.
"Does that description line up with anyone you know?" Tsuyu asked.
Artemis sighed. "It does… it sounds an awful lot like Discordia."
"Discordia?" Momo repeated with a frown. "Isn't that… the Roman Goddess of Strife?"
"Indeed," Artemis nodded. "The Greeks and the Romans worshipped the same gods, yet they gave us different names, and sometimes worshipped us for different reasons. In Rome, I was known as Diana. But after the Roman Empire fell and people ceased to worship us, most goddesses returned to their Greek names and roots. Discordia was one of the few who chose to keep her Roman name. She liked it better than Eris."
"But why would a goddess want to bring Toga here?" Toru asked. "What's her goal?"
"This Toga girl you describe sounds to be quite a dangerous criminal," Artemis explained. "A master of subterfuge and extremely deadly. There is nothing that Discordia enjoys more than causing conflict… friction, dissension, disharmony… whatever you'd want to call it. Unleashing a woman like that into this world, a world where almost everybody trusts each other implicitly… it sounds like just the sort of thing she would do."
"But why? What does she get out of it?" Ochaco pressed.
"Nothing but simple pleasure," Artemis sighed. "She is the literal embodiment of Strife. It's what she lives for."
"If I remember right from the stories," Momo mused. "Discordia… or Eris, as she was then known, was the one responsible for starting the Trojan War. She wasn't invited to a party or something, so she snuck in and threw a golden apple into the crowd. An apple which was inscribed with the words 'For The Fairest.' This sparked up a big argument between the Goddesses Aphrodite, Hera and Athena over who should get it. Zeus elected Paris of Troy to be the judge and each Goddess attempted to bribe him in order to get them to pick him. In the end, Paris chose Aphrodite because had promised him any woman in the world for his bride, and he selected Helen, the Queen of Sparta. When Helen was abducted and taken to Troy, her husband Menelaus raised an army to get her back and that's what sparked the entire war. All with a single golden apple."
Artemis nodded. "Bringing a trickster like Toga into this world is exactly the kind of thing Discordia would do."
"But what is this world, exactly?" asked Jiro curiously. "You called it… Neo Olympus?"
Artemis smiled. "Indeed. Mount Olympus was, of course, a real mountain in the country of Greece. But that mountain was named after the city of the gods - Olympus - which existed in a parallel reality to your world, with the main portal between the two worlds residing on top of the mountain. It was a plane of existence created personally by Zeus himself, and everything in Olympus was subject to his whim. Zeus decreed that the denizens of Olympus would be strengthened by the amount of sacrifices that mortals made to them; and since he was the King of the Gods, and had more sacrifices made to him than any other, that rule pretty much secured his position as top dog, so to speak."
"Sacrifices?" Toru sounded a bit sick. "That's just… barbaric. Um… no offence."
"None taken," Artemis wrinkled her nose. "Truth be told, I was never fond of the practice. If you're going to kill something then you should do it out of necessity and, when you have done so, you should not waste anything on the corpse. I am Goddess of the Hunt, yet I never hunt solely for fun. I enjoy the game of wits between predator and prey, of course, but I still only do so when I am hungry."
"So… what happened to Olympus then?" Momo asked. "Did something happen to it that facilitated the necessity for Neo Olympus?"
"Indeed," Artemis nodded. "When worship for us became supplanted by other religions, most notably Christianity, people slowly stopped making sacrifices to us. Naturally, this threw Zeus's system out of the window, and the gods slowly began to get weaker. Many of the minor deities faded from existence rapidly. And yet Zeus was… well, he was a stubborn man. A complete bonehead, if you want my opinion." This caused a couple of titters from Mina and Toru, and Artemis gave them an approving nod before continuing. "His wife, Hera, pleaded with him to change the rules, to allow the gods to regain their strength lest the Titans or the Giants rise to threaten us again. But Zeus refused… he said if the mortals would not worship us anymore then the gods no longer had a purpose. That there was no point to our existence without them.
"Well… Hera didn't like that. She said that just because we were no longer worshipped didn't mean we should just lie down and perish. She gathered together the Olympians who agreed with her and, perhaps by coincidence or by fate, it was the women alone that stood with her. Myself, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter and also Hestia, who had once been an Olympian but stepped down to allow that idiot Dionysus to take her place. We pooled what little power we had together to create a brand new plane of existence, with our own laws in place. A place where our strength was our own - not reliant upon the whims of mankind."
"And that was Neo Olympus? That was this place?" Momo gasped in wonderment, looking around her at the trees and the sky in absolute amazement.
"Indeed," Artemis nodded. "Neo Olympus occupies the same space as your mortal world, yet it is separate at the same time."
"That explains why the stars and the moon all look the same, I suppose," Tsuyu mused.
"We moved here and set our own laws to live by. And one of our most prominent rules of all is that no man is allowed to set foot on this world. It was I who made that request initially, but it was supported by Athena and Hestia."
"And that's why only we could cross into this place!" Mina cried. "Any of the guys that tried to come through just got… repelled."
"Exactly," Artemis nodded. "No man may set foot here. But you ladies, you are all most welcome."
Several wide smiles were passed between the girls at this declaration. There was something about being told it was okay for you to be there by a literal goddess that made you want to soar out of your seat with elation.
The only one who didn't smile was Tsu.
"But… didn't you have a twin brother?" she asked. "If no men are allowed in this realm then that means you had to leave him behind?"
A dark look crossed Artemis's face and she stared deep into the fire they sat around. "Apollo was an idiot," she muttered. "There was nothing more he loved than singing, dancing, poetry… all the arts that were much loved by the Greek people that worshipped us. I begged him to come with us to the new world, but… he refused. He said that, if the mortals no longer wished to delight in his performances then it was time for him to… 'exit stage left…' I believe were his exact words."
"Then…" Tsu swallowed. "Does that mean he's… dead?"
Artemis shook her head. "Not in the way you mortals define death. We Gods cannot die, but we can fade. Apollo is probably little more than a wisp of air now… an afterthought left behind on Old Olympus. Just like my father Zeus and my uncles Poseidon and Hades…"
"But that's so sad… if that kind of thing happened to my little brother… I don't know what I'd do," Tsu murmured softly.
Artemis shrugged. "It's what he wanted. I chose to respect his decision and not drag him with us. Perhaps some day he'll revive and if he does then I'll be sure to visit him. But he would still not be allowed here. This is a haven for all women, and when we came here we took with us all the nature spirits and nymphs we could gather, along with our sacred animals like the Ceryneian Hind.
Tsu looked like she was about to say something else, but in the end she decided against it and fell into contemplative silence, along with the rest of her friends.
"So then," Mirko said. "I think it's time we got some rest. Tomorrow we resume our search for the missing Toga and her godly ally. Any chance we can count on your support, Miss Artemis?"
Artemis nodded. "If Discordia's hoping to unleash chaos in our paradise then of course, she must be stopped. Tomorrow I will take you to the capital of Neo Olympus; it's the most logical place to begin your search."
"The capital city?" Momo asked excitedly. "Run by the Olympian Goddesses themselves. Oh, I can hardly wait! I bet it's gorgeous!"
"Yeah, I bet this'll be breathtaking even for you Yaomomo," Ochaco chuckled. "Way cooler than Venice, right?"
"I am quite certain it will indeed be… 'way cooler,'" Artemis said. "You may all rest easy tonight. My handmaidens and I will keep watch for any signs of Discordia or this Toga girl. Get some rest."
"Thank you, Lady Artemis," Momo stood and bowed her head deeply, the rest of the 1-A girls quickly following her example and heading to their tents, which they had re-pitched at this new campsite.
But, just before she could crawl into her tent, Mina suddenly stood up and pointed at Artemis. "Hey, I just realised something! If you're a Greek Goddess… how come you can speak such good Japanese?"
Artemis laughed. "I'm not. You're speaking Greek."
Mina blinked. "...Huh? We are…? But… I don't know any Greek…"
"That's one of the rules we established for this country. All people inside it will speak and understand Greek as if it were their own mother tongue. Try writing something down; you'll see it for yourself."
Mina glanced at the others and then picked up a stick, and attempted to write 'ピンク' in the soil, which was the Japanese way of writing 'pink.' Instead, her hand moved in a different motion to the one she intended and she instead wrote 'ροζ.'
"She's right!" Mina gasped. "Wow… this world is amazing! Does this make me bilingual now?"
"See if you can understand Greek when we get back home and then you'll know," Jiro chuckled as she crawled into her tent and started to wrap herself up in her sleeping bag. "Goodnight guys!"
There was a chorus of goodnights as they all settled down for the night, leaving Artemis and Mirko alone by their shared fire.
"Are you not heading to sleep yourself?" Artemis asked her companion.
"Soon. Though I was planning to be the lookout for tonight before we encountered you, so I had a coffee or two earlier."
"Coffee? I do not know what that is."
"Hehe… must have been introduced to Greece after your time there then. It's a drink made from a special bean that stimulates those who drink it. Helps them wake up in the mornings or stay awake later in the evening."
"Ah… yes, I have been here in New Olympus for a truly long time. There is much I do not know about the mortal realm now. To think that you humans would eventually gain powers of your own without the need of godly blessing or godly blood. I would not have believed it if I had not witnessed the things you can do with my own eyes."
"Yeah, there are some real powerhouses in my world now. Still, you're strong as hell. I suspect that you weren't going all out in our little bout back there."
"The same goes for you. Had that fight been a real one, I am guessing you would not have been so quick to admit defeat. Though, there was one thing that made me curious. Whenever you launched a specific attack at me, you shouted loudly. Luna Arc… Luna Fall… Why is that?"
"That's just a thing that heroes do in my world. We name our ultimate moves and then shout them out as we use them. Our moves are supposed to define who we are or something like that, and the public like hearing us do it."
"I see. But… why Luna? That is the Latin word for the moon, is it not?"
"Ah, that's just a reference to an old folk tale from my country," Mirko grinned. "Rabbits are often associated with the moon in Japan, because if you look at the full moon in a certain way, the darker patches on it resemble a rabbit."
"It does?" Artemis frowned, looking up towards the sky and the distant moon, which was currently in a crescent shape. But not for long. Artemis extended her wrist to the sky and flicked it, and suddenly the entire moon changed - light spreading across its surface until it was suddenly full again, its bright light beaming forth with an intensity that Mirko had never witnessed before. "Show me. Where is the rabbit?"
Mirko took a moment to ogle at the astonishing display of divine ability. To be able to change the moon itself… there was certainly no human capable of that, even in her superhuman society! Still, she pointed up and said. "Well you see those two darker lines near the top, they look a bit like a pair of rabbit ears if you look at them from a certain angle. There is the head beneath them, that extends down to the body, and that patch in front of the body looks a bit like a cooking pot. The folk tale ends with the rabbit cooking mochi on the moon because of that. I think it was the Chinese that originally noticed that shape, and then we took note of it too."
"Huh… you know, it does resemble a rabbit in some way, now that I look at it," Artemis mused. "Maybe I should make rabbits a sacred animal of mine, just as I have done with deer. Though that might be muscling in on Aphrodite a little - she has a great love for rabbits herself."
Artemis flicked her wrist again and the moon quickly returned to its former crescent shape and Mirko shook her head in wonderment. "I'm beginning to wish I'd read a bit more about Greek mythology when I was younger," she said wryly. "I'd forgotten that you were the Goddess of the Moon."
"Well… there's the thing," Artemis sighed. "I actually wasn't. Not to begin with anyway. The Greek Goddess of the Moon was Selene. She was a lovely woman… gentle and sweet. But then the Romans came along and changed most of the god's names, and they worshipped so many of us and made up so many stories about us that they eventually started to get their wires crossed about which of us did what. They started worshipping me, Diana, as a Moon Goddess alongside Selene and another goddess, Hecate. We became something of a trinity for a while, and that gave me power over the moon. Then eventually they ended up just worshipping me as the only Moon Goddess. Hecate returned to her original role but poor Selene… they just stopped worshipping her altogether. She ended up fading away. I do hope that one day we'll see her again but… I'm not entirely sure how that could come to pass. But until the day she returns, I am now Goddess of the Moon, as well as the Hunt."
She stared into the fire for a while, and Mirko sat in companionable silence with her, allowing her to mull over the past for a while before eventually saying, "That sucks. Sounds like you lost a good friend. I've lost a few myself over the years… but we carry their torch on in our memories, right?"
"...Quite right," Artemis nodded, shaking her head and looking back up at Mirko and smiling. "And since I now carry Selene's mantle as Moon Goddess and you associate yourself with the moon in a certain way, I suppose that makes you a patron of mine."
"I guess? Never really thought about it much."
"Nevertheless, I'll accept it. And as a patron, if you have any boon you wish to ask of me, then if it is within my power to grant it I shall do so."
"Thanks, but I'm good. Your support in catching Toga is the only thing we require."
"Nothing?" Artemis raised a brow. "There is nothing that you would call upon the power of the gods to ask for?"
"...Not that I can think of."
"How unusual you are, Mirko. Forgive me if I am crossing a line here but… most people in your position would, at the very least, ask if there was any way for us to restore your lost limbs."
Mirko's eyes widened for a moment and she looked quickly down at her two fake arms and one fake leg. "Could you?" she asked, after a while.
"Of course," Artemis nodded. "It would require a little crafting back at the capital but it certainly could be done."
Mirko turned her hand over several times, watching the light of the fire dance across its metallic surface, and also staring through the hole in her palm that had been left by Artemis's earlier arrow. "I sacrificed my limbs in battle to take down foes that threatened countless lives," she said. "I am proud of my actions and do not regret them for a moment. Never once have I looked back upon my fight and wished I'd done something different. And I had the very best replacements forged for me so I had nothing really to complain about. Still, great as these prosthetics are, they can't put on muscle. I can't train them like I would my true body. And I have to admit… it would be nice to be able to feel my fingers again."
"I can make that happen for you," Artemis smiled. "And I suppose I owe you a favour now since I have damaged all three of your replacements."
The corner of Mirko's lips quirked into a grin of her own. "Well then… I guess you're on. Hunting down Toga takes priority, but if there's time…"
"Quite," Artemis said fiercely. "As Goddess of the Hunt, I swear to you I shall help you track down your missing villain. And as Goddess of the Moon, I swear I shall restore your body to what it once was."
"You've got a deal!" Mirko cried, and Goddess and Hero gripped hands and shook them firmly, their eyes glinting in the firelight as they sealed their partnership.
The following morning, and the heroes were thundering through the forest at overwhelming speed, the chariot they were riding in careening back and forth wildly but somehow managing to just barely avoid smashing into any of the thick trees around them.
"WHOOOOOOHOOO!" Mina was yelling at the top of her lungs. "THIS IS SOOOO AWESOOOME!"
"Hrrrk… I think I'm gonna be sick…" Jiro coughed, clinging on for dear life.
Once the campsite had awoken, Artemis had immediately directed her retinue to retrace the steps of the heroes and find the portal they had come through, instructing them to setting up a new camp around it and prevent anyone from Neo Olympus from using it to cross over into the mortal world and start causing trouble. But Artemis herself would be heading for the capital with the offworlders.
And that was exactly where they were heading now, in a large chariot pulled by four large deer. Like the Ceryneian Hind, these deer all had golden antlers too, but they weren't quite as large as their wild counterpart. Nevertheless, they were strong and fast, and were hurtling along so fast that they must have looked like a golden blur to anyone watching.
"How much further now?!" Mirko shouted over the rushing wind from her position beside Artemis at the head of the chariot.
"We are nearing the edge of the forest now. We should be there in a few minutes!" came the reply from the deity.
And she was true to her word.
All seven Heroes forgot to breathe when their eyes fell upon the city. They exited the treeline atop a massive hill, allowing them to look down below at the first buildings they'd seen since they got here. A huge shining city of gold and silver was built into a mountain! Stone temples, amphitheatres and houses encrusted the surface, separated by rich looking gardens filled with greenery. Great arching bridges spanned the gaps between the plateaus and sweeping staircases climbed their way up and down between the levels. Towering statues that put the presidents of Mount Rushmore to shame had been carved into the cliffs. There were even several buildings that jutted out of the side of the mountain so far that enormous stone pillars over half a mile high had been fashioned to support their weight! There were several waterfalls cascading down the mountainside from multiple exit points, the biggest of which seemed to be flowing through a sluice gate connected to a massive outdoor swimming area. And, right on the pinnacle of the mountain was a great palace, with a marble roof and golden columns.
If such a city had existed in the mortal world, it would have instantly been deemed one of its top wonders.
"And I thought I-Island was impressive," Momo whispered in awe.
"It still is," Ochaco said. "But this… this is just… wow!"
"I present to you the Capital of Neo Olympus," Artemis smiled. "The seat of the goddesses… the city of Denopolis."
"It's too amazing to be real… someone tell me I'm not dreaming this," Toru gushed, leaning over the side of the chariot as if she was trying to get that little bit closer to it.
"Not bad," Mirko said, though her tone clearly demonstrated that she too was seriously impressed. "How does it compare to the original Olympus?"
"Easily comparable," Artemis said. "After all, we have had thousands of years here to build it. To be honest, I don't spend a lot of time here - I prefer the more wild places myself. But I come here every so often to visit my fellow deities. Come… allow me to show you inside."
She flicked the reins and the deer immediately started forwards again and flung themselves into the air! Several of the girls in the chariot yelped as they were yanked off the floor and grabbed hold of the sides tightly, expecting to go crashing down to the ground some distance below. But they didn't. Instead, the deer seemed to run upon the air itself, the chariot's wheels spinning on nothing but open space!
"Oh my God!" Toru exclaimed. "It's like we're in Santa's sleigh! It's got the deer and everything!"
"I think you mean 'Oh my Goddess,'" Tsuyu said as she looked over the side in amazement. "But I quite agree."
The chariot arced over the city, soaring over the magnificent courtyards and resplendent gardens that were splayed out between the temples below. The heroes all looked down to see countless women below; some relaxing in the open-air pool, others harvesting crops from several farming fields on the outskirts, yet more walking through the gardens or playing musical instruments. Many of them looked up and waved in greeting, clearly recognising Artemis's deer.
Eventually the chariot touched down in a massive limestone plaza, the central point of the city - the agora. In the centre of this plaza was one of the many temples - a magnificent building surrounded on all sides by marble columns.
But what the heroes saw when they beheld the temple drew them up short. Because it wasn't the building that caught their attention the most, but what was attached to it.
"What in the…?!" Momo gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "What is going on here?!"
"What… what's happening to those women?" Jiro cried.
At the base of many of the columns around the temple stood a naked woman… and each woman had little choice but to remain where they were because they had been tightly bound! Every one of them had their wrists tied together above their heads, attached to a ring bolted into the column to keep them upraised. They each had their legs tied together at the thighs, knees and ankles, with more ropes knotted about their waists and chests, framing their naked bosoms and cleaving their crotches before wrapping around the thick columns to pinion the women firmly against the stone.
A melody of muffled moans played out across the plaza from their gagged mouths, and there is where their restraints greatly differed. Some of them had cloths wrapped around their lips, others had it pulled between their teeth, others had leather straps. Some even had large chunks of wood forced into their mouths like the bit of a horse's bridle.
All of them were quite clearly helpless, and all of them were writhing and twisting about in their bonds, groaning fitfully in a manner that made their busts jiggle and dance.
The sight of the defenceless damsels immediately set the 1-A girls into hero mode!
"Don't worry, we'll get you down from there!" Ochaco shouted, vaulting over the side of the chariot before it even came to a complete stop and running towards the nearest woman.
"Ribbit!" Tsuyu bounded past her and hopped up the steps to land on one of the columns above her head, her feet sticking to the vertical surface while her hands reached down and started fiddling with the knots.
"Come on, let's save them," Mina agreed, as the rest of them leapt off the chariot and hurried forwards, Momo already creating a penknife which she could use to cut them free.
"Wait!" Artemis's voice boomed across the plaza, and the authority in her voice caused every one of them to practically freeze in their tracks. All eyes turned back to the Goddess of the Hunt, who looked both exasperated and amused at the same time. "You've got the wrong idea. Those women are not in need of rescue. They have chosen to be where they are."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Eh?" Jiro eventually said, voicing all their thoughts with a single, simple noise.
Mirko laughed. "Damn, you girls still have a few things to learn it seems. Can't you see? Those ladies might be damsels, but they're clearly not in distress. Take another look at their expressions."
Ochaco and Tsu looked at the woman they had just been about to release and saw, to their astonishment, that there was a twinkle in her eye. It seemed the bound and gagged captive was finding the entire situation very amusing, and she deliberately squirmed in her restraints in a manner that caused her breasts to jiggle. As if in response, the rest of the captives began to do the same, giggling and mewling happily into their restraints, groaning in contentment, purring happily.
They really were enjoying it. Every one of them.
"But… But they're in public!" Jiro protested, her face going beet-red before she covered it with her hands and looked away. "I've heard about people who are into this kind of thing behind closed doors but… but out here where anyone can see them?!"
"It is certainly very… brazen," Momo coughed awkwardly, very red in the cheeks herself.
"Not really. It's quite normal here, actually," Artemis said, directing her gaze around the square. The others followed her line of sight and gasped again when they saw another smaller chariot being pulled along by a naked and bound woman, her arms lashed behind her back and a bit gag in her mouth, secured to the chariot by her elbows and crotch while the chariot's rider gave her encouraging strikes on the backside with a small crop. Looking elsewhere, they saw a couple of other women bound into tight balls, with their thighs trapped against their torsos and being used as footstools by another two women as they gossiped with glasses of wine in hand. And on a nearby stage, there was a performance going on, a ballet routine featuring three women who had their legs free, but had their hands tied behind their backs between their shoulder blades and their mouths plugged with thick rubber balls, each of them leaping and cavorting around each other without a care for their helpless condition.
"Don't feel too bad for the mistake," Mirko smirked, thoroughly enjoying the flabbergasted looks on the faces of her juniors. "I once busted into a BDSM sex club. Got a tip-off that there was human trafficking going on there, but it was a false alarm. The report had been made by some prude who walked in there by mistake and didn't like what he saw."
"But it's so… so…" Ochaco was staring through her fingers at the numerous lurid displays going on about.
"So pure?" said a voice from the entrance to the temple above them. A voice that, the moment it wafted against their eardrums, practically seemed to drag their heads around to find the source as if of their own accord. And when they beheld the owner of that voice, the breath seemed to be stolen from right out of their lungs.
Standing at the top of the stairs was a vision of loveliness unlike anything any of them had ever seen before. A woman with dazzling eyes as blue as the sea and as bright as the sky, with long golden hair that swept down to her waist and seemed to shimmer with each motion, with white ribbons and pink blossoms woven into her locks. Upon her brow was a tiara and about her neck a pendant, both golden ornaments decorated with a red jewel at its centre. She had blue arm gloves that hugged her arms from wrists to biceps, and her flawless body was adorned with a blue bikini top and girdle, with golden trimming, white straps and frills that seemed to flow in the air like the fins of a fish through water. Her enormous breasts bounced magnificently with each step as she stepped down the stairs, her stride was grace personified, and though her feet were bare there was not a trace of dirt anywhere to be seen upon them.
"...I think I'm in love," Mina blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Who… are you…?" Toru wheezed, struggling to refind her stolen breath.
"I have… a pretty good idea…" Momo whispered, though she could barely even hear herself.
"Artemis, my dear… it has been too long," the golden-haired woman said musically.
"Aphrodite," Artemis nodded, the only one of the group seemingly unaffected by this woman's aura. "A pleasure, of course."
"Pleasure, is it?" Aphrodite tittered. "Oh, you don't know the first thing about pleasure, my beautiful virgin. Now, if you'd be willing to let me give you a couple of lessons…"
"No!" Artemis said firmly. "It doesn't matter how many times you ask me, I'm not lying with you."
Aphrodite pouted. "Phooey… I'm certain you'll break your oath one day, Artemis, and when you do, I will be the first in line to sample you. But I suppose I'll have to wait a little longer for that day to come. And who might your friends be? Quite an unusual bunch you've brought with you."
"Indeed, for they are from the mortal realm."
"Mortals?! Oh, how exciting! We haven't had mortals here in centuries!" Aphrodite clapped her hands. "Delighted to meet you, humans. I am Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, Sex and Beauty."
"H… H-H-Hi…" stammered out Jiro, who happened to be the closest one to the goddess at this point. "I… I… I… I'm… I'm Earphone Jiro… I mean, I'm Jack… I mean… I… I am Joker… KYOUKA! Jiro. Kyouka Jiro, y-y-yeah… that's… that's me."
The giggle that escaped Aphrodite's lips from this adorable stuttering display almost made Jiro fall to her knees. "How cute, you're so flustered. I'd almost forgotten how mortals can be in my presence when they see me for the first time. Don't worry, it'll soon wear off… but I don't mind you staring if you want to."
Jiro realised suddenly that she'd been talking to Aphrodite's tits the entire time, and immediately yelped and fell onto her backside before tearing her gaze upwards to look into the goddess's eyes. If anything, they were even harder to look away from, and Jiro quickly found herself getting lost in their depths. Fortunately for her, Aphrodite looked away first, turning her gaze to the others and allowed Jiro to sag backwards, limp as a lump of jelly.
"U-Um… excuse me, Miss Aphrodite?" Momo raised her hand as if she was still in school, and when Aphrodite looked her way she felt her heart rate go up exponentially. "What… What did you mean? Earlier… when you said this was… pure?" she gestured feebly towards the mewling women still tied to the columns.
Aphrodite cocked her head and smiled widely. "There are a great many ways that you can express love, my dear. I embrace all forms of it, but this is one of my favourites. Bondage… it's so artful… it requires skill to do it properly, and practice to truly master. Think of it, my dear. Allowing someone to tie you up… to render you totally helpless and under their complete control… Well, there is no finer way of expressing it. It shows that you have complete faith in your captor, that you trust them with every fibre of your being. You quite literally put yourself in their hands. Imagine how you would feel as the captor if someone let you do that to them. Or how you would feel as the captive, completely in the care of a person you love. Isn't that just a beautiful concept?"
"I… I suppose so," Momo said, her analytical brain quickly mulling over the idea. "I'd… never really put much thought into it before."
"And it's not just that either," Aphrodite purred, stepping across to one of the women bound to the column and running a hand across the ropes pinioning her chest, which made the captive shiver with delight. The tightness of the rope against the skin, the way they can accentuate the curves of the body… the pleasure they can bring held tightly against you… the delightful sounds of gagged moans. It's enthralling… it's… pardon the pun I am about to use… captivating!"
She giggled and leaned forwards to kiss the woman upon the gag right over where her lips would be, while simultaneously gripping her tit and giving it a slight squeeze. "Are you having fun, my dear."
"Yrrsh, mhh Grrdrrshh…" the woman groaned carnally, sinking into the goddess's warm embrace. "Rrrh lrrvv rrrt…"
"Of course you do," Aphrodite smiled.
To the shock and awe of the 1-A girls, watching another woman being cradled and caressed and kissed by such a vision of beauty made them all feel slightly jealous. But whatever hold Aphrodite had over them was suddenly broken by Artemis loudly clearing her throat.
"Anyway," she said. "Ever since Aphrodite discovered her interest in bondage play she encouraged it amongst all the women in the city. You'll find it happening around you quite a lot while you're here, so it's better to get used to it. Now then, Aphrodite, I'm afraid we need to convene the Olympians. There's a matter concerning these mortals that needs to be discussed."
"Aww, right away?" Aphrodite protested. "Don't we have time to play with them a bit first?"
"No. Now," Artemis said firmly. "It's about Discordia."
Immediately, Aphrodite's face darkened. Her hair seemed to stop shimmering all of a sudden and an angry look played across her face. "Her?" she hissed. "What's she done now?"
"We'll discuss it at the summit," Artemis said. "Can you summon the rest of the Seven Olympians?"
Momo blinked at that question, frowning slightly, as Aphrodite sighed and mumbled, "And I was having such a wonderful day so far, before sweeping an arm above her head in a wide arc. Several doves suddenly flew down from the roof of the temple and the goddess spoke swiftly to them. "Gather my fellow Olympians and direct them to the Palace of Hera. Apparently we all need to talk."
The doves cooed and flew off quickly in multiple different directions.
"Wow, just like Koda," murmured Tsu with interest. "He can speak to animals too."
"Oh, Aphrodite can't speak to animals," Artemis shook her head. "But doves are one of her sacred animals and they do whatever she asks them to do. They don't really understand her words, but they know her intent. I am the same way with my deer. Now then, let's be off. We will be convening in the throneroom of Hera, Queen of the Goddesses."
"All the Olympian Goddesses in one spot," Mina whispered excitedly. "This is going to be amazing."
"Yes… I… couldn't help but notice you said… seven Olympians?" Momo said. "Even if you factor Hestia into that number, that should only be six. Who's the seventh one?"
"That would be Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld," Artemis said, matter-of-factly, flicking her reins to get her chariot moving even as some of the others climbed into it again. "Hades was the original ruler of the Underworld of course, but he chose to suffer the same fate as his brothers. So now his wife, Persephone, fills his role. And, for the sake of inclusion, we Goddesses decided to allow her the title of Olympian - a title which Hades himself was never allowed."
"Oh… well, that sounds fair," Momo smiled. "I bet Demeter was pleased."
"You have no idea," Artemis snorted.
As Artemis made her way off in her own chariot, with Mirko, Momo, Jiro and Ochaco joining her in the back; Aphrodite summoned a chariot of her own. It was pulled by doves, but ones much larger than the ones she'd just sent off to act as messengers. As the birds and chariot alighted as softly as feathers upon the marble slabs, Aphrodite smiled warmly at Mina, Toru and Tsuyu. "Well come on. I presume you'd rather not climb all the steps up to the summit on foot. I understand you humans can find stairs very strenuous."
"Well, they probably wouldn't be a problem for Tsu but… yeah, I'd rather not," Mina said. She quickly hopped into the chariot with Aphrodite, and then immediately afterwards realised how close she was to the beautiful goddess. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears, and it was extremely difficult to resist the urge to put her hand out to touch the sublime skin right next to her. Toru and Tsu joined her quickly and the doves lifted off the ground with the ease of dandelion seeds in a breeze, soaring back up over the city on a delicate path to the palace at the top.
About halfway up, Aphrodite broke the reverent silence by turning to Toru and saying, "You there… why are you not lowering your charm magic?"
"My… my what?" Toru gulped, leaning backwards against the side of the chariot.
"Whatever magic it is that is making you invisible to my eyes. It is rather rude of you, you know," Aphrodite pouted. "I allow you the good courtesy of staring into my eyes. Would you deny me the pleasure of staring into yours? I'm sure they're quite beautiful."
Toru sighed deeply, and explained for the second time since coming to Neo Olympus, and for the ten-thousandth time in her life. "I can't. My Quirk… my power… is always active because it's a Mutant type. My body just allows light to pass straight through it… and anything else that happens to be inside it, thank goodness. It's like a passive ability in a video game. There's no on and off switch for it. Even Mr. Aizawa's Erasure ability couldn't make me visible."
"Then you have been invisible your whole life?"
"Yeah," Toru muttered, a hint of melancholy in her voice. "But it's fine. That's just the way I am, and I'm proud of it. Makes me great at stealth ops… though I have to strip naked in order to do them."
"There's nothing wrong with nudity. It is, after all, our natural state," Aphrodite purred, turning around to fix her gaze upon where Toru's invisible face would be. A delicate hand reached out, gently laying itself upon Toru's shoulder. Immediately the Invisible Girl stiffened, her heartbeat going through the roof, her mind racing and her stomach filling with butterflies… all of which only got stronger as Aphrodite's fingers caressed their way gently across Toru's shoulder to her neck, then up further until they were cupping her chin!
"U-U-Um… what… what are you… doing…?" Toru squeaked nervously, unable to look away.
"Yes…" Aphrodite mused, more to herself than Toru, as her other hand gently caressed Toru's cheeks, touching her face delicately. "I cannot see it for myself, but as the Goddess of Beauty I can tell… you are extremely pretty, my dear. Beauty like yours deserves to be seen… so allow me to grant you this blessing."
She had Toru's face cupped in both hands at this point, and she was leaning down towards her! The Goddess was a head taller than Toru, but she seemed to have no trouble at all zeroing in on her transparent lips and pressing her own against them!
"HHMMMNN!" Toru squealed in astonishment, the unbelievably soft lips melding firmly with her own in a deep, sensual kiss. Her brain exploded with delirium and joy, her entire body went as stiff as a plank! And on either side of her, Mina and Tsuyu's jaws were practically hitting the floor, watching as the Goddess of Love herself opened her mouth and used her tongue to pry Toru's lips open as well, the tongue going invisible the moment it pushed its way into Toru's mouth to caress against the other tongue!
Toru couldn't help herself. Nobody in her position would have been able to resist kissing back, so that was exactly what she did. She had very little experience with kissing and yet somehow, in this moment, she knew exactly how to do it and found herself wrapping her arms about the Goddess and moaning deeply into their joint union, their tongues dancing together.
And then, right before the eyes of the others, a miracle happened.
It started as a faint hue appearing in front of Aphrodite's face… light human skin appearing out of thin air between the Goddess's fingers. The colour spread out, forming a shape… the shape of a human face that was in the middle of sucking face with the godly woman, so for one odd moment it looked like Aphrodite was kissing a disembodied head. But that didn't last long as the colours swept downwards and dived into Toru's clothes, sweeping out of her sleeves to form arms wrapped around Aphrodite's waist, down her tank top, into her shorts and out the bottom to form bare legs that came to a stop inside her shoes!
The very last thing to become visible was her hair. Once all the skin was on display, the hair suddenly exploded into existence in a burst of chartreuse! It was wavy and fell just past her shoulders, the yellow-green colour flecked with pink in places.
"Toru…" Mina whispered in astonishment. "You… I… I can see you. I CAN SEE YOU!"
Toru barely heard her, so engrossed in the kiss was she. It was only when Aphrodite pulled away that she became aware of the rest of the world again - she'd been utterly absorbed in the kiss until that point. Blinking owlishly, Toru dazedly turned to look at Mina and, for the first time, Mina could see into the eyes of her best friend. Toru's eyes had an unusual double-iris to them - the inner ring around her pupils was yellow, and that iris was surrounded by another iris which was teal in colour. Toru also had bushy eyelashes that were a pleasant light yellow.
"Hmm… sorry… Did you say something, Mina?" she asked, a dreamy look on her face.
"You're visible!" Mina exclaimed again. "I can see you! And… you're gorgeous!"
"Huh?" Toru blinked and looked down at herself. "HUH?!" she yelped when she realised she could see her own arms and legs. "I'm… I'm…"
"See?" Aphrodite winked. "Beauty like that should be seen. You're welcome."
"What… What did you do to me?" Toru gasped.
"I temporarily altered your body," Aphrodite winked. "Don't worry, it's not permanent; though I could have made it so if I wanted. But, for the next twenty-four hours, you'll be visible unless you yourself choose not to be."
"You can do that?!" Toru gasped, focusing on her arm and attempting to use her Quirk to let light pass through it, gasping in astonishment as her arm suddenly turned invisible again, then reappeared the moment she released her power.
"We Goddesses can do a lot of things," Aphrodite chuckled. "All I did here was allow your beauty to be recognised."
"But you literally changed her body," Mina breathed. "Could you do that sort of thing with anyone? Like… if you wanted to alter me to make me look more human, could you do that too?"
"I could, but why in the world would I want to do that?" the Goddess reached out and ran her fingers through Mina's pink hair, making the pink Hero shiver as one fingertip slid gently up her horn. "You are quite beautiful as you are, a very exotic look if I do say so myself. I have no desire to change that. And you," she turned to Tsuyu and suddenly cupped her chin too. "I saw you hopping about like a frog down there… Yes, all three of you are truly remarkable. Did you know the Greeks made the frog into one of my personal symbols? They symbolised the frog with fertility and harmony."
"Um… fertility?" Tsuyu gulped. It was very difficult to fluster Tsuyu - normally she took everything in her stride. Even Mineta had rarely managed to get embarrassed reactions out of her - she had usually just smacked him instead. But Aphrodite… well, she could fluster anyone. "I… I'm not sure about that one but I definitely like the idea of harmony."
Aphrodite tittered musically, looking from Mina to Tsuyu and whispering, "You both want me to kiss you as well, don't you?"
"Yes please."
"So much."
They both blurted out the replies before they could stop themselves.
"Oh, you needy little girls. How I'm spoiling you," Aphrodite purred and took hold of Mina in her arms, her cherry lips pushing against Mina's own and thrusting her tongue into the acid hero's mouth. Mina groaned carnally and threw herself into Aphrodite's embrace, revelling in the touch of their bodies and Aphrodite's sensational tits pushed against her own. Their tongues danced together erotically for a good ten seconds before Aphrodite pulled away, leaving Mina so dazed that she sagged against the side of the chariot. Then it was Tsu's turn and Aphrodite petted her hair for a moment to reassure her before leaning in to initiate another deep kiss. Tsuyu croaked adorably as their lips met, and the moment Aphrodite's lips entered her mouth she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her long, flexible frog tongue around it.
"Mmhhrrmm!" Aphrodite squeaked. Evidently this sensation was one even she was unused to, and Tsuyu felt a small thrill of pride at being able to bring that noise out of her before she too ended up lost in the face-sucking.
As Mina recovered, she glanced across at Toru, who was attempting to examine her reflection in the polished side of the bronze chariot.
"I can hardly believe it," Toru whispered, a tiny little tear escaping from the corner of her eye. "At last… you can all see me."
"Yeah, we can," Mina said, reaching out to wrap her arms around her friend and turn her around so they were looking into each other's eyes. "And I always knew you'd be cute as hell. Glad I can finally see I was right."
Toru beamed and the two of them embraced each other, just as Aphrodite finally pulled away from the kiss with Tsu, extracting her tongue from the grip of the other girl to smile down at the two hugging friends.
"Isn't that just adorable?" she purred.
It was at that point that the chariot landed gently at the top of the stairs at the summit of the mountain, the huge palace rising majestically above them. Toru immediately bounced over the side of the chariot and ran towards the others, squealing excitedly. "Guys! Guys! Look what Aphrodite did! It's me! You can see me now!"
"Toru?!" Ochaco exclaimed. "No way!"
"That's really you?" Jiro gasped.
"Oh my goodness, this is wonderful!" Momo clapped her hands together delightedly. "You're just like I imagined you'd be!"
As the six girls of Class 1-A gathered around each other to celebrate this momentous occasion, Artemis approached Aphrodite with a shake of her head. "I did wonder if you'd do that," she said.
"I was just correcting a criminal act against beauty," Aphrodite said firmly. "Besides, you can't fool me, Artemis. I know the sole reason you came to my temple first was because you knew I would try to do something for that girl. Otherwise, you would have taken them straight to Hera."
"Am I truly that transparent?"
"More transparent than even she was before I altered her," Aphrodite snickered.
Artemis rolled her eyes. "I walked into that one, I suppose," she murmured. "Come, let's get inside. I see other chariots approaching. The meeting is about to convene."