Disclaimer: Don't own PJO or the Whiskered Warrior.

Lunar Phases

Queen's Gambit

Queen.

The label is attributed to a King's recognized consort or to a female ruler of an independent state. This is not to say that a queen is lesser compared to a king, at least in the modern era. For example, The Queen of the Heavens, Hera, sees herself as the Queen of both Olympians and of all Mortals. She rules at her husband's side as a relative equal, and is seen as such - or she was until a stunt was pulled that fractured the once idyllic relationship she and Zeus shared. Now, rarely does she make edicts or decisions that clash with her husband's, but when his unfaithfulness tests her infamous temper, Hera's cunning sharpens her retaliation.

January 25, 2009

Zeus was not pleased.

A shocking revelation to absolutely no one.

His week had even started out well. Hera awoke more amicably on Sunday than she had in the past year, and their first council meeting was relatively quick. The Titans' advance and recruitment efforts were at a standstill. Storms on the west and east coast of the United States were on time and in order, with Aeolus assuring him that any spirits acting out would be dealt with. He was relatively free to enjoy the week as the King of Olympus, with all perks included.

Then Thalia Grace's apartment exploded.

It was all downhill from there.

Foreign energies were detected, but the exact pantheon they belonged to was uncertain. Hecate's presence had been noticed in the city, on the cusp of their mountain, but due to her masterful manipulation of The Mist, she had covered her withdrawal. Worst of all, his demigoddess had gone missing, and a body count had started to rack up in Chinatown. Starting at his preferred restaurant, A Wok in the Clouds.

Two of these events would be coincidental, perhaps even three, but all four? At once? While Father's forces so blatantly act? Something is going on. Zeus thought angrily to himself.

Absently, he noticed Artemis and Apollo were fighting. Again. Normally, he'd not pay it any mind, the twins were grown gods and could solve their own issues, but in a time of war, he could not stand by and let them act as the spoilt children they often pretended to be.

Then, he felt a new godly energy. A chaotic, emotional surge that left carnage in its wake. It was soon followed by another surge of Artemis' divine power.

...Well, at least he'd have someone to blame for the mess that popped up. Just another thing to add to Artemis' recent list of failings. Zeus silently bemoaned his once favored daughter's fall from his grace. Why the foolish girl didn't just use her remaining two wishes to solve their problems regarding her adopted child, the King hadn't a clue. Alas, rational thought and emotions rarely mixed well, be them of a divine or a mortal.

It's the Adonis Issue all over again. He groaned internally. Governing over that debacle was a hassle in itself, mostly because of how involved his brother was. The differing factor in this instance was that Artemis didn't have any desire to sleep with the boy that she raised, nor did any of the Hunters that had assisted her. Proof that the Fates granted him small mercies from time to time.

"My King." Hera's voice broke him from his thoughts. She stood at the cusp of his temple and only strode forward when he acknowledged her presence. Zeus met his wife's eyes and bade her silently to speak once she was within arms reach. Her frown grew, if slightly. "Your...champion has been found."

"Thank you, My Queen." Zeus felt a weight lift from his shoulders. His demigoddess was found. This was good news, very good news that he'd wanted to hear and eased part of his troubled mind. Hera remained in front of him, her stare piercing. He bade her to continue.

"A foreign divine is with her."

Anger, fury, and wrath threatened to explode from the King. His feelings on the ancient agreements of boundaries between pantheons were well known to his subjects; were it not for the fact all out war between the various gods of humanity would be tantamount to suicide for all those involved, he'd humor the idea Ares pitched every decade or so. It was only his wife's calming hand upon his arm that kept him from acting rashly. Hera regarded him with warm eyes.

"If I may, Zeus," she said. "Let us meet this 'god' as a united front, rather than smite him from afar and risk retaliation from his kin."

Zeus regarded his shrewd wife skeptically. It wasn't his paranoia at work when it was agreed by his brothers he was completely rational to be wary of The Queen of Olympus. Hera made plans within plans at the worst of times and he knew better than any Olympian that she was the living definition of a 'scorned woman'. If she wanted to meet this stranger, this 'pretender', with him, in person, as her words suggested, there was a purpose for it within her plans.

The only reason Zeus agreed to her request was because he didn't trust her to not lash out at his demigod if he denied it. So, with a resigned sigh, he rose from his throne and donned his mortal appearance. Hera did the same, twined her arm with his own, and together, the King and Queen descended from Olympus and arrived outside of a simple, unassuming apartment door with a brass number twelve engraved on it.

"Let's get this over with." Zeus rumbled. A gesture and the air knocked unto the wood. The door opened and he stared down at his henceforth second least favorite mortal. His sea-ruling brother's spawn will forever hold the title to his least favorite mortal, especially considering his role as the Child of Prophecy. Zeus examined the mortal. His ruffled clothes, the hole in his gaudy Sunkist shirt, did not leave a good impression upon the king. That went without mentioning the dried and scrubbed barely perceivable residue of blood on his fists. A recent fight of some sort, how typical of a mortal.

"Lord Zeus. Lady Hera." That the mortal son of Artemis didn't stutter or show a semblance of fear in his presence both irked and impressed the King of Olympus. Strange that his shirt had a hole in it–An attempted shooting? Momentarily intriguing, but ultimately unimportant. He held his gaze with the king before he gave a slight bow. "Hello. You wouldn't happen to be here for Pollux, by chance, would you?"

"No." Zeus kept his response curt. The mortal had not done anything yet. His recent victory over Borson's bastard of a 'blood brother' was all that kept The King's Master Bolt from being brandished at the whelp.

"Figures. Um, please," the boy stepped back and beckoned them in. "Come in."

Zeus stepped through the threshold with his wife at his side. The foreign power lingered in the air and he felt his ire grow. The sooner this problem was dealt with, the better.

"Whiskers, who's at...the...oh, boy." Thalia Grace, unharmed, but a little disheveled, rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks.

"Daughter." Zeus greeted, short and concise. He could not act so blatantly as he had with her before when a witness was present. Especially when that witness was Hera, of all beings.

"Fa-er, Lord Zeus! Um, h-hi? I-I'm a little surprised to see you."

At least the girl was being honest.

"Is that man tied to a chair for a reason?" Hera's query made Zeus follow her gaze. Indeed, there was a man, another mortal, bound to a chair. His face was beaten, blood leaked from several orifices, and his mouth covered by a strip of duct tape. That would explain the boy's ruffled state and the blood he'd tried to wash from his hands.

"Just a nuisance, Queen Hera," Artemis' Son, henceforth known as The Boy, said as he closed the door. A hint of annoyance laced his tone, but whether it was aimed at the mortal or his wife, Zeus was unsure. The Boy kept his hands folded behind him as he glared at the other mortal. "A burglar that...surprised us."

"He shot you and you nearly beat him to death." Thalia deadpanned. The Boy gave her a flat stare in turn.

Ah, beating a home invader within an inch of their life. Poetic, yet barbaric. Ares would assuredly approve of such a reaction and, in the earlier years of his rule, Zeus would as well. Now, he felt it a crude and inelegant method of punishment. If they'd turned the mortal into a lamb it would be far more appropriate. Or, better yet, send him off to suffer due process in California.

"Yes, thank you, Tree Girl." The Boy mumbled. "I was glossing over that because it is not worth The King's time nor attention."

It couldn't be said that The Boy didn't know what Zeus believed to be his place in the hierarchy of Olympus. Claimed as the child of Artemis or not, The Boy was a mortal. Artemis' claim was just a decree made of her word, and no binding of blood nor of Artemis' own essence was ever made to solidify it. His continued existence, after mingling with lesser pantheons, was an affront to Zeus' rule, but Artemis' attachment to him kept the king from isolating the goddess from Olympus.

Solitary as she was, Artemis had a greater pull on Olympian politics than most would realize. If she were to follow through on her threat and left now, at the crux of a conflict with The Titans, her twin would follow. Others might even be so bold as to do the same - Zeus knew his children's charisma made them quite the political powerhouses. If that were to happen, were Olympus to split into three factions or more, their pantheon would fall apart, courtesy of a prophecy or not.

That would not occur under Zeus' watch. He would do whatever it took to preserve Olympus. If that meant he must suffer the continued existence of such a sacrilegious and ungrateful mortal, then so be it.

That was the only reason he kept himself from obliterating The Boy.

On an unrelated note, Zeus found the endearment used for his daughter rather distasteful. He was actually surprised that his demigod didn't react to it. That meant she'd either become accustomed to it or, Fates forbid, approved of its use.

He glanced at his wife and noticed the corner of Hera's lip was curled upwards. Zeus' frown grew more pronounced. Hera's smile gave him a bad feeling. Nothing too ambitious or treacherous, she'd wisened up on that front after the 'Net Incident', but there was something unsettling about it to him all the same.

"So, uh...is there a reason–Are you looking for Pollux or Mr. D? Because as far as I know, Pollux is at work, and so is Mr. D." Thalia crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one foot. Clearly, his daughter was uncomfortable. Hera's presence likely caused such feelings, and that was understandable. The horrors she bestowed upon Heracles were infamous, after all.

"We are seeking out the reason for your misplacement, child." Hera spoke before Zeus could think up a response. His demigoddess stared at her.

"...Uh-huh…" Disbelief wafted from Thalia's mouth. She glanced at The Boy. "Whiskers, what did you do now? Piss off another mafia god?"

Zeus felt his temper rise and the sky started to cloud. The Boy was still interacting with others? After he'd been spared not once, but twice?! The sheer gall of Artemis' Son was unbelievable!

"One, I've only encountered The Tracksuit Mafia back in New Jersey. I don't think they even knew they had Ogres among them," The Boy said, holding a finger up as he walked over to Thalia. A second finger rose beside it once he was close to her— a mite too close for Zeus' liking. "Two, we both can probably guess why they're here."

"Can you now?" Hera asked. The Boy turned to her, his hand dropped to fold behind him. Zeus noted that he now stood directly between her and Thalia. A subtle move that Hera likely also noticed. Again, if she felt slighted by it, it didn't show, so once more Zeus was forced to stay his hand.

"You're here for the source of the foreign magic." The Boy said. His jaw flexed and his eyes squeezed shut. A sound of discontent was accompanied by a huff before his eyes opened again. "Sorry about that, my, uh...allergies are acting up."

"Allergies." Zeus repeated dryly. He believed that almost as much as he believed Poseidon wouldn't make another grab for his seat. Regardless if he'd been earnest in his denials three summers ago, he didn't trust his brother not to try a second time. It needn't be in this current decade, but it would come and Zeus would be ready.

"Oh my, how terrible." Hera replied, a tiny smile now plain on her face.

Zeus gave her an incredulous glower. Was she–Did she really think he wouldn't notice what she was doing? Humoring this child as she was? Was this her vengeance for his demigod's continued presence? No, it was too simple.

"I don't think they bought it." Thalia mumbled.

"Me either, but again, not important. Gran-Gran will be back momentarily." The Boy muttered back. He cleared his throat. "May I get either of you a drink? Perhaps a chair to sit on?"

"Thank you, but no." Hera spoke in his stead. Probably for the best. He would try to do the same in regards to his daughter, if only to spare his wife (and by consequence himself) any more stress. The Queen continued to regard The Boy with her small smile. "We'll just sit on the couch until all required parties return–"

"NO!" Both teens' composure faltered as they cut his wife off. Zeus, if full of some of Dionysus' more potent brew, would have blinked in astonishment from their reaction. They quickly backtracked, tried to offer different seats or alternatives, but they did not elaborate on the denial nor did they give no further explanation for the odd behavior.

Hera surprisingly took the interruption in stride, but the two's display of impertinence made The King's suspicions rise. They were hiding something and Zeus did not like secrets being withheld from him, not even by his children. Especially when it was secrets kept from him by his children. As such, he dipped into his domain of Justice to access what was known of micro-expression reading. It took only a fraction of a fraction of a millisecond for him to figure it out.

The Boy's tells, as aggravatedly expected of a child raised by Artemis, were barely noticeable. His pupils were dilated and his pulse had quickened, so he was worried about them stumbling across whatever it was he and Zeus' demigod were so determined to conceal. That was all he would get from The Boy, which wasn't all that informative in the slightest. Thankfully — or unfortunately, depending on how it was looked at — his daughter was easier to read.

Zeus knew his own tells, and hence that of his children's. Additionally, he'd been a father for millennia, and knew when his children had done something they could not undo. Seeing her eyes dart between the couch and The Boy all but confirmed his suspicions. His eye twitched when Hera let out a small huff, signaling to him that she also figured out what the two teenagers before them had done.

"Well." His Queen looked at him. Her eyes told him everything she felt in the moment: hurt, annoyance, anger (there was a lot of that, which was expected), scorn, and the odd presence of amusement. She withheld the more negative feelings for the time being, yet another feat of the Fates' mercy, and brandished a coy little smirk in his direction. "It would seem that Thalia Grace does take after you in more than one regard."

"Do not say another word." Zeus warned his wife, doing his best to ignore the way his half-blood's face immolated.

His fathering skill was filled with hypocrisy, as most fathers' were. Where a son was encouraged to continue the legacy and prove the virility of their bloodline, daughters were to be protected, kept pure, untouched, untainted by the horrors of life. There was no secret as to why Zeus showed little resistance when most of his daughters took oaths of celibacy, were married to royalty, or were blessed with immortality. Hera knew it. He knew it. Furthermore, he knew that Hera knew that he knew she knew it. Which was why her next words bothered him so much.

"At least she took precautions to keep from suffering the joys of motherhood out of wedlock."

Thalia donned a look of mortification and turned away, her freckles glowed in contrast to the way her cheeks inflamed. The Boy pinched his nose and ducked his head as his own face turned quite a prominent shade of crimson. Zeus tried not to think about the deeper meaning behind that, since all it would do is make him angry.

Well, angrier.

"Hera–!" He was spared starting an argument thanks to the door's opening behind them. He turned and zeroed in on the first figure through the door.

At first, he thought it was Apollo in one of his ridiculous costumes he wore to that annual convention of mortals that was held in the honor of his domain of The Arts – the Comical Conglomerate of San Francisco, or something along those lines – but closer inspection told him otherwise. It was a tall blonde man that wore an odd ensemble of clothes and shared features – eye and hair color, skin hue, nose shape and brow structure – with The Boy. The newcomer also radiated a foreign divinity that matched the magical signature in the room. The same signature that was at his Demigod's destroyed apartment.

It took all of Zeus' willpower not to whip out the Master Bolt to eradicate the fledgling god on the spot.

"We're ba–Yipe!" The god froze in the doorway, his cheerful grin lost and his tanned skin went pale. Oddly, his display of fear placated Zeus' ire and allowed The King to manage more rational thought.

"Minato, please don't block the doorway. It's rude–Oh, I understand now." Leto bowed in greeting once she crossed the threshold. He knew she'd be around here, but still it dreaded up some… awkwardness. His eyes flicked to his wife. She still continued smiling. Wait, why was she smiling?

The feeling of unease grew.

"Stop staring and move out of the way, you – Zeus." Artemis shoved her way past the strange god and froze upon seeing him. Then, she scowled at him. His daughter's last words to him in private were fresh in his ears, and he was half tempted to begin her punishment immediately. Zeus scowled back at his divine daughter and silently cursed Hera for forcing this awkward confrontation.

"Good. We're all here." Hera smiled. Dammit. He had been right to be wary of her ease throughout this encounter. "Now, we can begin."

Zeus scowled at her. His crafty wife had made a plan and tricked him into partaking in it.

Hera regarded the gathered group of divine and mortals with a smile. She loved it when a plan came together, and doubly so when it was just the first page in an epic play. It took only a thought to rearrange the living room to something more comfortable for the coming meeting. A new leather couch replaced the one her husband's bastard and her mortal paramour had ruined, and a matching loveseat was set across from it.

As Leto served refreshments – soft drinks of small servings along with a simple tray of cheeses, crackers and meats – the mortal son of Artemis shared a hushed conversation with Zeus' demigod on the loveseat. Hera normally cared not for the lives of her husband's bastards, but this one was the sister to her Roman champion. She found it quite amusing that the girl took so many negative traits from the King, and admittedly, she was mildly impressed that in spite of them she'd bedded the son of Artemis. Moreso, even, that he continued to be with her and vice versa.

At Hera's request, Zeus sent the unwanted mortal guest away – likely to a holding cell in California (that'd been a favorite move of his as of late) – before he manifested a replica of his throne and sat in it. So long as he kept his temper, she didn't mind the self-appeasement to his ego. As it was, his gaze remained on the strange and uncomfortable foreigner who was seated on the new couch.

Honestly, the stranger's manners left much to be desired, as he had not given them proper greeting. Despite that political faux pas, Hera couldn't help but like the man already. She could already get a feel of his measure due to her domain and hence felt the glowing loyalty — he all but shone with commitment — to his marriage.

Zeus could learn a thing or two from him... Hera thought sourly. Interestingly, she could not guarantee that his absent wife was deceased. Perhaps Demeter's favorite could elaborate further for her. If he turned out to be single—

"Lady Hera," Artemis drew The Queen's attention from the plan her mind was heading towards formulating. She stood near the door, as if ready to flee. "If I may, why are you, the both of you, here?"

"The same reason I presume you to be here." Hera answered, a dark brow arched. Artemis scowled and glared at the stranger. He took the dark look in stride. Or ignored it entirely. Most impressive.

Leto cleared her throat, gave a pointed look to first her daughter — who looked away with an upset pout on her face — and then another to the newcomer. He blinked at her and she nodded. He turned back to regard Hera and her husband.

"Ah, um, yes. Hello, King Zeus, Queen Hera. It is a pleasure to meet you." The young god stood, kept his arms at his sides and bowed at the waist before he straightened. He stood proud, shoulders squared and chin high, not unlike a king would. "My name is Minato Namikaze. I am, um, a recently ascended war deity."

Already, Hera had wistful thoughts of how it would be far more bearable to conceive declaring Ares as the Heir of Olympus if he was willing to show even a fraction of the discipline and respect that this newcomer did. That her firstborn didn't is the primary reason the position remained ambiguous and undeclared. Zeus' paranoia amounted to the rest of their reasoning for leaving it unfulfilled.

"He's also the assassin that tried to kill Thalia Grace. Twice." Artemis interjected. She looked proud. Not of the subject, but of making the declaration. Clearly, there was bad ichor between the huntress and the newcomer.

Even more reason to like him. Hera thought, schooling her features before her taste for dark humor got the best of her.

"What?" Zeus glared, expectantly, at Minato. That the fledgling god didn't flinch was impressive. The King's thunderous expression boded ill for the younger deity's life expectancy.

"At the time, I was mortal. Purely. Like my son is." He gestured to the son of Artemis, much to the goddess in question's visible ire. Hera fought back another smile. This meeting was doing wonders for her vengeful side and she needn't yet say a word. Now if only she had some of Dionysus' Pristine Nectar. Surely, he had a stash around here somewhere.

"Don't drag me into this, Minato." The boy muttered as he slumped slightly in his seat. He'd been rather quiet since Leto gave him a small bag that bore Asceplius symbol and took one of the pills that had been within. His attention belonged to Zeus' bastard, who practically sat in his lap as she leaned against him and kept his left hand intertwined with her right. Her thumb stroked the back of his hand and she muttered something incoherently to him. The boy snorted, closed his eyes and grunted something that made the girl snicker.

The Queen was left with mixed feelings as she viewed the adorable (and nauseating) scene. She fought back yet another smile as she considered the emotion in the boy's gaze. What reflected in his eyes whenever he and Zeus' spawn looked at one another was the same type of love her dear Uncle Oceanus and Aunt Thetys shared. The same type of devotion Hera herself craved from her husband, that the new god all but shone with. A devotion that was inherited? Or had Eros struck them when no one was looking? She'd have to speak with Aphrodite over this. Mortal romances were under her watchful eye, doubly so since Zeus' bastard was involved.

"You tried to kill my demigod?!"

Speaking of which.

"Yes and no." Minato rubbed the back of his neck. Hera appraised his ability to keep cool under the weight of Zeus' power flare. "Yes, my body did make attempts, but I did not do so willingly. I was enthralled by Hecate at the time. I was so far gone that she had me engrossed in a fabricated persona, and given the pseudonym Arashi."

"Compulsory magic is rather frightening." Hera mused airily. There was no judgment in her tone. Zeus let out a disgruntled huff, but they had to tread carefully. Now, he had reason enough to take action against the god.

"You're telling me!" Minato let out a soft chuckle, but sobered quickly. "My freedom came after the failed second attempt on her life, where both Naruto and Thalia fended off Arashi to the point he had to revert to a different tactic: Senjutsu."

There was a pause after the foreign word and Zeus' scowl deepened.

"Are you planning to elaborate sometime today? Or shall I just eradicate you now?"

"Ah, erm, right. Senjutsu is the method in which a shinobi – that's what I am, by the way. It's a lifestyle, not merely a profession or title – takes in the natural energies of the world and molds it with their chakra." Minato explained, even going so far as to sit so he could demonstrate. Hera arched a brow as she witnessed his godly energies shift and change. A red-orange pigment formed above his eyelids, and when they lifted to reveal the organs in question, the soft blues that had been there had been replaced with a murky, toad-like yellow.

The energy he gave off bore a more controlled feel than what Pan was known to radiate before his unfortunate Fading. Discreetly, Hera glanced around the room for reactions. The adopted mortal looked wary and Zeus' bastard scooted closer to him, their reactions likely due to whatever trauma they associated with the change in appearance. Leto seemed indifferent, which was unsurprising given that she hadn't interacted with the god of the wild in millennia. Her daughter, on the other hand, looked even more irate, a feat the Queen did not think possible. It was a curious reaction that caused Hera to watch Artemis for another moment. Just before she were to consider it a fleeting loss of composure, the Goddess of the Moon's glance flickered from the fledgling god to her claimed son.

Immediately, Hera understood.

Artemis, being the Goddess of the Hunt, was the closest major god in their pantheon that was a divine connected to wildlife. That the presence of this fledgling foreigner, this Minato, was so readily embraced and accepted by the life energies which permeated every domain revolving around Nature must be unsettling to her. Furthermore, since his claim over the boy superseded hers by decree of the Ancient Laws, Minato's arguably deeper connection to nature likely only increased the contempt that goddess of the moon held for him.

"And this senjutsu ascended you to godhood?" Zeus sneered after he met her eyes and quietly told her he noticed the reaction as well. Hera shared her husband's caution as this power became revealed to them, but she held her tongue. The mortal-turned-god had yet thus far lied to them, and was being very forthcoming with information. He was not yet trustworthy, but his chance had been extended.

"No, but it did break the hold Hecate had over me." Minato explained. He sighed and the muted energies of The Wild left, along with the visual evidence of it having been integrated in his being. "It also indirectly put me under the eyes of the Buddhist pantheon. Particularly, those of Sun Wukong."

So many Tricksters were running around New York. Hera had best ensure Hermes was not about to start acting up with so much foul influence that likely crossed his path. The God of Thieves undoubtedly felt pent up from his duties as Olympus' Herald and the God of Messengers. The last thing they needed was for his sticky fingers to get them bested by The Crooked One's forces.

"Impossible." Zeus spat, brows narrowed and grip tight on the arms of his throne. "I would have known if that damned monkey was in New York."

"In the city, perhaps." Hera clarified as she looked at her husband. Wukong wasn't one to mince words or perform subterfuge unless it was ordered of him by the leader of his pantheon. He was also powerful enough to fend off several of the strongest that served on Olympus' Council simultaneously, so she wasn't too upset that he had slipped past their senses. Annoying? Yes, extremely so. Unbelievable? No. Like another, Wukong was a slippery devil. "But then, we'd thought the same of Loki, had we not?"

Zeus grunted, but quieted his accusation. Her husband had been furious that the Norse's Trickster had been under his nose without his awareness. Such slight usually required repercussions to be paid, but when the one that chased him off was a mortal with no concrete affiliation...Hera's eyes drifted once more to the calm mortal beside Zeus' Demigod. Leto had been onto something in her negotiation for brevity in her punishment, but perhaps a little misguided. A few tweaks could rectify that.

"I'm sorry, who?" Minato frowned as his connection with nature dropped. Leto reached over and patted his leg.

"I can tell you later." She assured. Hera eyed the interaction curiously and met Leto's gaze when it rose to her own. A knowing look was flicked over to another occupant in the room and again, Hera understood. So that was her plan for this new development, was it? A shrewd scheme, potentially catastrophic due to more than a few factors, but doable so long as Zeus' irrationality didn't interfere too much.

"So you impressed The Monkey enough to grant you godhood?" Her husband asked.

"No...Uh, Senjutsu is—It requires a lot of focus for mortals to use. Perfect stillness." Minato explained. He sighed. "I surpassed my master in being able to use it to its full combative potential without supplemental aid from his teachers, but at best, I can hold it for only a single minute. When Wukong approached me, I was fresh from meditation. In conversation, I started to falter and Hecate's influence threatened to claim me again. He intervened, without my asking."

"And you believed him when he told you it was temporary?" Artemis scoffed. She folded her arms and sent the male god a sneer. "He's a trickster. One cannot take his words at face value."

"You're right." The foreign god's nod of agreement made Artemis bristle. Hera arched a brow and shared another look with Leto, and then looked back at the newly christened deity. Minato had rested his hands on his knees and met an infuriated Zeus' gaze with unwavering and determined eyes. "Which is why I did my research. Wukong gained his immortality through several feats, most of which were petty crimes against the minor gods of Tian. He could, arguably, make me a god as easily as you or any other Olympian, but then again, he likely could also make me a fledgling with limitations. I don't presume to know his grand scheme in this, other than he wanted me to assist my son in dealing with the Jiangshi that is set to go after him."

"A G-Hanky?" Zeus curled his lip. He looked at The Huntress. "What nonsense does he speak of?"

"...Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with the term." Artemis frowned. Hera quirked a regal brow, but didn't find a reason to bestow fault to the younger goddess for her ignorance. She wasn't a goddess of knowledge, and it wasn't a creature, let alone a word, from their pantheon's language of origin.

"Jiangshi are vampiric, undead monsters from China. I first learned about them on a trip with Uncle Fred when I was six. Incapable of greater thought, general movement outside of stiff hopping, and are only able to absorb a target's life energy rather than drain blood." All eyes turned to the son of Artemis, who opened his eyes to meet his mother's gaze when he spoke. He looked back down at his intertwined hand as his voice dropped. "This one's different from those in that it is capable of individual thought, manages speech quite easily, and it has greater mobility to the point of advanced physical combat. That's without mentioning how it utilizes chakra."

"The Jiangshi can use chakra?" Minato asked, frowning. Naruto leveled him with a flat stare.

"That, or it can control lightning."

"Better than I can." Zeus' demigod grunted. Hera arched a brow in mild disbelief. That should be—

"Impossible." Zeus frowned at his bastard, then at Artemis' adopted son. "My demigod can not be outmatched in manipulating Lightning."

"Well, I was. So, explain that, Dad." The girl sneered back at him. Such an ungrateful thing, why did Zeus bother protecting her? Hera hadn't a clue.

Zeus bristled and Hera was half tempted to let the king lose his temper against his impertinent halfblood. However, if she indulged in her vendetta against his infidelity by way of inaction, later plans would be ruined. Seeking a diversion to the coming eruption of her husband, Hera scanned the room once again. Her eyes fell on the foreign war deity, who had his eyes closed and his head tilted, almost as if he was thinking about the development.

"Is there something you would wish to add, Minato Namikaze?" Hera asked, testing the name out on her tongue. It wasn't a terribly difficult language to repeat, syllables broken into beats of three or four, but she wasn't about to take strides to learn it. She'd leave those precious seconds of effort to Athena. As he spoke and further conversation took place, especially about his origins, she realized something: They finally had an upper hand against other pantheons. Zeus wouldn't recognize it until it was too late, so she would have to act in his stead.

By the end of the hour, after meeting Minato Namikaze and the Son of Artemis in person, Hera would revise her current scheme into another, more cunning plan that would affect everything for years yet to come. She and her husband would have their kingdom restored to order, Artemis would have undisputable claim over her chosen child, and even the demigod bastard Zeus sired might come out for the betterment of it. Leto would be positively thrilled to learn that her plan inspired the Queen's.

Shame about the role she and her children would have to play in it, but no true strategy was without its pawns.

All Hera had to do was set the board accordingly and watch the pieces fall in place.

AN: Well, by popular vote, the readers have spoken. Bi-weekly it is, which means the next update will be on August 5th.

To those of you concerned with my personal health, I thank you. This story, though, is a way for me to escape the burnout I feel after my shift at the hospital. However, your concerns are warranted, welcomed, appreciated and understandable. That is why I will tell you all that some future chapters may not be as long as previous ones. I will do my best to keep the content within the same range (6k-8k), but I can't promise they will all get there.

Thank you for reading, have a pleasant day.

See ya in two weeks, folks!