Chapter 2: Awkward Introductions
After foolishly touching the odd elevator, Goku felt as if he was being split apart sub-atomically in a haze of blinding light. His ears were ringing as a result of the structure's intense shaking, only making out the faint sound of electric sparks and his screams of discomfort. Thankfully, the more painful variant of teleportation ended as soon as it began, shutting down completely as it went back to where it originated from. Due to the accidental harm caused by King Kai's vehicle, almost all functions in the elevator immediately ceased activation and its aura of divine energy steadily dispersed.
"Oh my head…" Goku groaned to himself, his black eyes practically spinning around in dizziness. The low-class Saiyan shook his head a few times to calm himself down and walked away from the elevator's open doors. To his immense surprise and confusion, Goku seemed to be in a completely different location from where he was previously.
"That's weird. Wasn't I with King Kai just a second ago?" Goku pondered while gently scratching his head of obsidian spiked hair. His brain starting to hurt from just thinking about this unintentional predicament, Goku perused the confines of what seemed to be a hotel lobby in search of help.
"Is there a problem, sir?" A middle-aged woman sitting at the front desk politely asked the incredibly lost martial artist. Relieved by the presence of another person, Goku almost sprinted up to the counter in eagerness.
"Um, yeah. Sorry to bother you, miss, but do you know where I am?" Goku timidly inquired with a raised eyebrow. Weirded out by this oddly dressed stranger's question, the woman cautiously scanned his chiseled body from head-to-toe before coming up with a proper response.
"Well, you're in the Empire State Building. More specifically, New York City, the largest city in the ol' US of A." The portly lobbyist informed with a slight hint of suspicion. Goku swallows a building lump in his throat, having no idea what the lady was talking about.
"This is bad. I've never even heard of those places before. Bulma hasn't even talked about them and she knows everything!" Goku panicked within his distracted mind, getting more and more frazzled by the second. The woman, noticing Goku's unnerved state of being, snaps her fingers a few times to regain his attention.
"Are you alright?" The lady hesitantly pried, leaning a bit closer from her rolling chair. Goku, needing to find some place where he could focus, shared a weak smile of faux gratitude.
"N-no I'm good. Thanks for the help, ma'am." Goku exclaimed nervously, shakily bowing for good measure. He then bolted through the skyscraper's glass doors without a second thought to see what was outside. The desk attendant shakily waved goodbye for a few moments before squinting her lashed eyelids in distrust. She dialed an extensive combination of numbers on her phone and called a mysterious number.
"It's me. Send the information I'm telling you to Lord Zeus immediately. We might have a big problem on our hands." The lady's voice ever so slightly deepened in volume, becoming scratchier than what it was previously. Things were about to get worse for the combat-enthused Saiyan in more ways than he could possibly imagine.
Back on Mount Olympus…
The morning sun shined down upon Mount Olympus, glistening to life as Apollo parked it high in the sky using his enchanted chariot. Waking up from her most recent period of beauty sleep, Aphrodite cutely yawned as she outstretched her lithe frame. The forever youthful goddess struggled to suppress a high-pitched squeal of excitement threatening to break out from her smiling lips as she rose.
"Today's the day! I need to see if my plan worked out." Aphrodite exhaled breathlessly as she got out of bed and began strutting up to her personal bathroom. She sat down on a luxurious stool cushion and gazed into a sizable glass mirror, brushing her tousled hairdo in an up-and-down motion.
"Show me Son Goku's current location." The daughter of Ouranos commanded anticipatedly. The mirror glowed ominously and shifted from Aphrodite's reflection to said Saiyan warrior walking out of the Empire State Building like a lost puppy. Not really paying attention to the woman's phone call once Goku left, Aphrodite places a hand over her heart in pure joy.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes…YES!" Aphrodite whoops delightfully and bounces repeatedly in place. Absolutely delighted by the promising results of her latest love scheme, the seductive deity began applying eye shadow and red lipstick. Wanting to further enhance her already notorious sex appeal for Goku specifically, Aphrodite indecisively shifts through various hair styles, outfits, and other physical features.
"No, no, no…Ah this will do!" Aphrodite affirmatively exclaimed after a fourth and final change in appearance. She currently sported long, wavy black hair almost as dark as Goku's with a blue dress to match. Her eyes were a bright sea green, contrasting nicely with the applied rouge lip-balm. Wanting to further emphasize her semi-hourglass figure, Aphrodite created a skirt that stopped near the knee area and wore high-heeled stilettos of a similar color.
"Hmmmm…He'll be begging for me in no time!" Aphrodite slyly predicted while striking a provocative pose in the mirror. Giving one last leering gaze at her reflection, the practitioner of romance not-so-subtly swayed her hips back and forth as she gathered a purse filled with miscellaneous beauty products. Having everything she could possibly need for the proposed "date", Aphrodite caressed her hair backward and marched toward the temple entrance with exuded confidence.
"Don't worry, Goku. Your days of suffering will be over soon. I promise." Aphrodite passionately whispered to herself, emerald eyes gleaming with care and honesty. She then walked into Mount Olympus's central elevator once more and gently pushed the 1st floor button. With that, she made her way to catch the aforementioned fish-out-of-water Goku before he did something stupid by accident.
Outside of the Empire State Building…
Wanting to get a better idea of what exactly this strange world was like, a terrified Goku exited out of the 88-year-old national monument to discover New York's usual series of events on full display. Cars of differing makes and models were positioned one after the other in a mass traffic jam, some infuriated drivers leaning out of their windows to cuss out the people in front them for either moving too slow or cutting them off. Hundreds upon thousands of people also walked amongst each other on the city's concrete sidewalks, some performing daily errands while others went off to work. Buildings of heavily distinct functions rested alongside each pathway with hot dog vendors selling food in close proximity. Pigeons also flew around, scouring the urban streets in search of table scraps for their most recent meal. Goku, not used to the widespread cacophony of noise pollution, seethed irritably and scanned the premises.
"Well, at least it's sort of like West City. Just with less hovercrafts and animal people." Goku resigned comfortably, partially unwound by the fact that this world was somewhat similar to his own. He blew out a breath of frustration and slumped down on a wooden bench near the infamous skyscrapers' entrance.
"What did I get myself into?" Goku whispered in partial self-deprecation, resting a hand on his cheek in thought. As he sat down in deep contemplation, passers-by spared looks of puzzlement at the tall man wearing nothing, but a bright orange martial arts gi. A majority of them mockingly snickered at Goku's ridiculous get-up while others, mostly female in gender, were intently distracted by the Saiyan's large biceps and 100% chiseled frame. Goku was too preoccupied with his own issues to really notice any such comments.
"I wish I knew where to go. That way, I could get a general explanation of what that "elevator" exactly was." Goku whined childishly with a small pout of annoyance. His antics sparked the attention of four college-age girls, each of them giggling amusingly at Goku's frustration and visually appealing likeness.
"Uh, hi. Is there something funny about me?" Goku politely chimed in with a raised eyebrow and cross of his arms. The entire group of young women, all carrying smartphones of identical branding and advancement, half-lidded their eyes and examined Goku like a hunk of fresh meat. The student of Master Roshi gulped nervously and felt just a tiny bit intimidated by this behavior.
"Y-you…y-you, like, do karate, right?" One of the girls timidly asked with a point at his blue belt and weighted wristbands, her entire face becoming red enough to resemble an oversized tomato. Goku curiously looked down at his iconic combat gi in bewilderment.
"Well, more so all forms of martial arts. Why do you ask?" Goku cluelessly wondered in continual speculation. Another girl with red curly hair acted a bit bolder by brushing a finger down Goku's pectoral muscles.
"Could you show us some moves, cutie? It would make me and my friends really happy if you did." The redhead flirtatiously purred, leaning closer, so her pink lips could almost touch Goku's. Undeterred by what the deceased Chi-Chi would most likely lambast as a no-good "hussy", Goku adjusted his head the other way in order to cease their compromising position.
"S-sure. I don't see why not." Goku shrugged apprehensively, not seeing it as that much of a hindrance to his journey back home since he had no clue where to start. The redhead winked at him in gratitude and rejoined her posse of excited gal pals. Goku slowly got up from his seat and performed some pre-workout stretches such as toe touches, arm spins, etc. Just seeing the Saiyan prodigy perform small exercises was enough to cause each girl to slightly drool and bite their bottom lips in yearning.
"Better hold off on the ki usage til' it's completely necessary…" Goku mentally affirmed, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention in foreign territory. He then bent both knees slightly and lifted up his left arm, arching two fingers forward. To top off Goku's trademark fighting stance, he clenched his right fist and positioned it near the hip area, eyes narrowed with determination. Motionless for a second or two, Goku roars to life by throwing ferocious kicks and punches at the air. Each attack is practically invisible to the naked eye, almost reaching speeds exceeding the speed of sound. The observing girls look at Goku's training routine in star-struck amazement, recording video after video of the entertaining spectacle on their mobile devices. During this "requested" demonstration, Aphrodite, in all of her breathtaking glory, waltzes out of the Empire State Building and observes Goku's every move amorously.
"He's even more impressive up close." Aphrodite remarked in pure adoration, adjusting her blue sunhat to get a better look. However, what she didn't expect to see were the four bimbos practically undressing her Goku within each of their sex-crazed subconscious. Being the goddess of love, she, much to her disgust, could see every single detail of their dirty thoughts on full display!
"They think they can compete with me?! Ha! Watch and learn, wenches." Aphrodite scoffed mentally, brushing some bangs away from her forehead. As she approached ever closer, Goku finished his martial arts presentation with a nearly identical recreation of the pose he adopted in his first fight against Vegeta. The girls applauded uproariously and began submitting tweets about their new "boyfriend" and his insane black-belt level fighting abilities. Goku scratched the back of his head embarrassingly, sporting a hesitant toothy grin of gratitude. The redhead from before sauntered over to Goku like a lioness about to pounce on her prey and rested two manicured hands on his shoulders.
"That was absolutely stunning, handsome! What's your name?" The woman pried intently with a mischievous tilt of her head. The other girls glared at their friend enviously, wanting to make a move on Goku as well.
"Um, it's Goku. Son Goku." Goku straightforwardly replied, wanting to get out of this conversation more and more by the second. Aphrodite, glaring daggers at the red-haired vixen, picked up the pace in stride and made preparations to intervene.
"Well, Goku. How would you like to make use of those moves and—" The redhead closed in on Goku's mouth with every single word, confusing the innocent protector of Earth to no end.
"There you are! I was looking all over for you, sweetheart!" Aphrodite cried out in played up concern. Her shout of joy garnered the attention of Goku and all four girls, foiling the redhead's seductive plans as intended.
"Who is that?" Goku thought distractedly at the sight of this mysterious woman who claimed to know who he was. She gracefully sashayed over to him and wrapped one of her arms around his right one, making sure to securely trap it in between both breasts. Aphrodite then rested her head on his shoulder, nuzzling as clumps of black hair fell onto it.
"Excuse me! Who are you?!" The redhead growled angrily at Aphrodite's rude interruption. The Olympian goddess smugly snorted at the girl's outrage and rolled her eyes mockingly.
"I'm his girlfriend, obviously! Right, hon?" Aphrodite stated defiantly, peering into Goku's deep obsidian orbs for confirmation. Before Goku could object, something about the lady's tug on his arm brought back memories to when he first married Chi-Chi at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai so many years ago. The fact it was the exact same pose brought a sense of calm he hadn't experienced since the last time his wife was seen alive.
"Yeah…What she said!" Goku stammered in disingenuous agreement with a thumbs up. Aphrodite, overjoyed by Goku's recognition of her as his girlfriend, gasped heavily and squeezed Goku's arm even tighter. The redhead and her three acquaintances' moods soured into that of immense jealousy, putting more pressure on their already fragile phones.
"You heard the man! Now, would you be so kind and…" Aphrodite sweetly requested with a close-eyed smile of kindness. Instantaneously, her tone of voice darkened into one of aggravation and her eyes slightly lit up with just a sliver of godly power. Goku's eyes widened at the abrupt elevation of power, growing more on-edge as to what this person's true identity was.
"GET LOST!" Aphrodite bellowed lowly with rage, her designer sunglasses shining with pink light. The girls, taking note of the goddess' mood swing as opposed to her divine visage, clicked their tongues in disappointment and simultaneously spared one last longing glance at Goku. After they left with shattered egos, Aphrodite continued to relish in the moment and stroke her face against Goku's arm.
"You can let me go now, miss." Goku reminded the captivated Aphrodite as she lovingly squeezed his forearms. At the sound of his voice, the love goddess was brought back to reality and whined in disappointment, uncoiling Goku from her romantic death grip for just a short while.
"Soooooo who and what exactly are you? Your energy spiked up just a second ago when you yelled at those girls." Goku puzzlingly asked with a hint of seriousness. Aphrodite, shocked that the Saiyan could somehow see through the Mist when other mortals could not, took off her glasses and fidgetingly clasped them in her red-nailed hands.
"I am known as Aphrodite, a Greek goddess and the one who sent you here." Aphrodite introduced hesitantly while rubbing her arm in nervousness. Goku's mouth was left agape at this news, both relieved that he wouldn't be completely sidetracked anymore and curious to know the reason for why she sent him here in the first place.
"Goddess? Greek? YOU SENT ME HERE?!" Goku rapid-fired questions left and right in hyperactive succession. Wanting to calm Goku down before any misunderstandings could come about, Aphrodite shook her hands in pleading objection.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Goku. I didn't do this to mess with you!" Aphrodite assured the uncertain Saiyan, looking at him with empathetic green eyes.
"Then what was the reason?" Goku raised pleadingly, his temperament steadily reaching a new high. Aphrodite glanced around at the Empire State Building before doing a 360 scan of the entire city's closest streets, making sure no one was listening in.
"Look, I'll explain everything to you if…" Aphrodite's cheeks turned prominently rosier and her green eyes grew half-lidded, not baring to look face-to-face at the Saiyan of her dreams.
"If?" Goku continued, gesturing for her to continue with a spin of his wrist.
"…if you agree to join me for lunch. What do you say?" Aphrodite offered hopefully, knowing how much Goku loves food over anything else in his life, aside from fighting. Goku scratches his chin in thought before being interrupted by the high-pitched squeal of a growling stomach in desperate need of sustenance. Aphrodite places a hand over her mouth in shock while an embarrassed Goku blushes faintly, sniggering softly.
"Sure, why not? I haven't been able to eat properly since…" Goku's laughs are halted by another sudden reminder of Chi-Chi's permanent absence in his life, causing him to frown considerably. Aphrodite also lours at this thought, but for entirely different and arguably more selfish reasons.
"He still misses that harpy, huh? This might be more of a problem than I anticipated." Aphrodite grimaced in minor complaint, looking at her body once more for a small confidence boost. Not seeking to waste any more time, Aphrodite abruptly grabs Goku's hand and drags him around in search of the closest restaurant.
"Come on, Goku! I'll show you what the Big Apple has to offer!" Aphrodite excitedly promised, putting her sunglasses back on in determination to singlehandedly win Goku's heart. Unfamiliar with the terminology of Aphrodite's phrase, Goku's eyes widen in hunger-induced curiosity.
"The Big Apple?! Is it good enough to eat?" Goku innocently inquired, thinking of a literal 50-foot-tall version of the fruit. Aphrodite harmoniously guffawed at Goku's cluelessness as the two proceeded onward to explore the city streets of Manhattan. When the Saiyan wasn't looking, Aphrodite took initiative and interlocked her fingers with his.
*Hi! Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! I really appreciate it! New chapters might take a bit longer to be posted, but it all depends on which of my stories I feel is in need of updating. To new readers, please leave a favorite, follow, and/or review to tell me what you think. See you later! :)