Chapter 4: Hunted
After Goku completely eviscerated every meal Tom's Restaurant had to offer in record timing, Aphrodite was sadly forced to pay the meter-long bill accumulated from said feast. Thankfully, due to a combination of the Mist's mystical properties and her godly status, she was able to pass off some drachma as multiple 100-dollar bills to the unsuspecting staff. Sure, her once full purse was rendered completely vacant as a result, but at least the two of them were able to leave the establishment marginally scot free. Well, except for receiving some resentful glares from customers who weren't able to satisfy their appetites due to an insufficient amount of supplies in the kitchen. By the time they actually walked through the diner's exit, Goku had a look of worry and confusion-laced guilt written on his face as he took note of the murderous stare-downs being directed towards him in particular.
"Erm…Sorry for not being able to pay for the food, Aphrodite. Sometimes I start thinking with my stomach instead of…you know." Goku regretfully apologized, rubbing his bottomless abdominal area for further emphasis. Aphrodite simply smiled at him understandably, not at all disappointed with how their, admittedly shaky, first encounter turned out. She put her sunhat back on and patted his cheek as a sign of assurance that she wasn't upset.
"It's no big deal, sweetie. I'm a goddess, so money isn't that much of an issue for me." The goddess of love truthfully comforted, pointing to her bag magically restocking itself full of golden coins. Goku, recalling the way those four girls never took notice of her divine change in appearance, grabbed Aphrodite's shoulder.
"Question. Before, why could I see your glowing eyes and those coins while others never noticed?" Goku curiously asked, holding a piece of drachma in between his fingertips. Aphrodite was about to respond about the Mist's specific functions on mortals, but hesitated slightly since even she couldn't come up with a proper explanation as to why Goku was seemingly unaffected.
"That's difficult to answer. You see, the Mist is a mind-altering force that makes humans unable to see gods and goddesses like me as they actually are. This switches the appearances of monsters, weapons, and other mythical properties for things universally comprehended as more "normal" by modern standards. For example, what I call drachma would be immediately replaced with the currency of a specific country, be that either in coin or dollar form." Aphrodite carefully recited from memory, gesturing to the entire city in mid-speech. Goku, not really understanding the more complex details, got a gist of the explanation from recalling his own After-Image technique and how that usually functioned in combat.
"Like an illusion?" Goku audibly wondered, attempting to make certain that he was somewhat on the same page. Aphrodite nodded enthusiastically, but started pacing back-and-forth in front of the closed doors of Tom's Restaurant, puzzled by the exception that was Goku. She then snapped her fingers in sudden realization.
"I've got it! Somehow you being from an alternate dimension where Greece and its pantheon don't exist nullifies the Mist completely. In other words, you'll be able to see everything as it actually is, including me!" Aphrodite summarized positively, glomping Goku from the back in unrestrained happiness. The surprising tightness of her embrace almost made the Saiyan lose his balance, frantically swaying both arms around in panic.
"Woahh! Settle down, Aphrodite!" Goku shrieked uncomfortably, desperately attempting to pry off the goddess. Aphrodite, still euphoric from the sound of her name being uttered from his lips, regained some amount of lost composure to reveal regrettable downsides his immunity to the Mist could bring forth.
"Ahem…Sorry, force of habit. Anyways, there is a tiny, tiny, tiny…ok, very likely…possibility that you might be in danger, Goku. Possibly…I don't know." Aphrodite hesitantly admitted, fumbling over herself in an attempt to alleviate the dire situation. Goku circled his black pupils around in all directions, curious as to what could happen without the Mist being present.
"Danger? How so?" Goku reluctantly asked the nervous love goddess. She spared a steadfast glance at each passing civilian and carefully leaned closer to Goku's ear.
"Anyone you see here has the possibility of being a monster in disguise. And all monsters are attracted to exceptionally high or abnormal levels of power. Meaning the half-bred children of gods like myself and…" Aphrodite whispered in as serious of a tone as she could muster, pointing to various New Yorkers crossing the sidewalk.
"…Me?" Goku hesitantly finished his immortal companion's sentence with a hand gesturing to himself. Aphrodite closed her eyes and nodded softly in dreaded confirmation, somewhat second-guessing the decision to bring her most recent love interest into uncharted waters.
"Sweet! It's been a long time since I've had a worthwhile fight!" Goku childishly exclaimed in battle-ready anticipation. His confident smirk caught the love completely goddess off-guard, causing her to gape with inaudible wonderment.
"Huh? Y-You're not worried about what those things might to do to you?!" Aphrodite choked out comically, her tongue practically tied around in a firm knot. Goku tilted his head to the side in confusion, giggling lightly at the Olympian deity's perplexment.
"Ha-ha, why would I be? I've fought enemies capable of destroying entire solar systems if they wanted to, Aphrodite! Nothing can get worse than that." Goku truthfully proclaimed with the utmost lack of worry. Aphrodite, mental projections of Majin Buu and Perfect Cell swirling within her subconscious, embarrassedly plays with her obsidian bangs and laughs along with him.
"Hee-hee, I guess you're right about that one, Goku. But still…" Aphrodite agreed sweetly, reaching for Goku's hand before the Saiyan goof could resist. She directs his palm to her right cheek, using her own smaller one to hold it in place. Goku is surprised by how soft her skin feels, noting how completely absent of any blemishes or other imperfections it truly was.
"Promise me that you'll be careful. I couldn't stand to see you get hurt again." Aphrodite moodily requested, closing her green eyes to enjoy the warmth of Goku's gentle grasp. Despite his still prominent unfamiliarity with Aphrodite as a person and her world in general, Goku displayed a care-free smile and rubbed the worrisome goddess's cheek once or twice for assurance.
"I promise…" Goku affirmed optimistically, always making sure to keep the promises he formulated in remembrance of his proposal to Chi Chi. Aphrodite flushed profusely at Goku's own petting, desperately trying to hold back a rumbling purr of satisfied pleasure. Before doing something, she would regret later, Aphrodite hurriedly released Goku's hand and looked into her purse as an inconspicuous distraction.
"Sorry, Goku, but I need to check back on Mount Olympus for a short while. Duty calls and all of that." Aphrodite excused herself apologetically, pouring some drachma out of her purse. She hands over about half of her already sizable supply to Goku, piquing the Saiyan's interest.
"Use this money for clothes, food, and lodging in case you don't know where you are. I adore the martial arts gi, hon, but it might as well be a painted target for nearby monsters." Aphrodite administered the confused Saiyan as she deposited the drachma into one of his hands. Goku inspected his orange fighting uniform, frowning in momentary offense and uncertainty towards what she exactly meant.
"B-but, where do I go? I know nothing about his world!" Goku argued in absolute desperation for some sort of guidance. Aphrodite smiled empathetically and walked closer to Goku, tilting her head just enough to kiss his cheek as a sign of encouragement.
"You're Son Goku. I know you'll figure something out." Aphrodite comforted in loving sincerity. A mark of red lipstick was left stained on Goku's face as a result of her bold action, so Goku immaturely attempted to wipe it off. The goddess responsible covered her mouth to hide some more entertained giggles from breaking out.
"Don't worry about paying me back, either, sweetheart. You'll make it up to me in other ways…" Aphrodite playfully remarked, impure thoughts dancing around her love-centric mindscape. Goku, still distracted by the red lipped imprint, widened his eyes in curiosity.
"Other ways? What other w—" Goku was struck dumb by Aphrodite's inexplicable disappearance, literally there one moment and gone in the next. He darted his head from left to right in disbelief, not even able to sense her unusual ki signature.
"She's gone. Weird." Goku reacted confusedly, rubbing his chin in a deep-thinking position. He then shrugged his shoulders and looked towards the roads leading outside of New York City. Deciding not to fly in order to avoid unwanted attention, Goku sighed heavily and started walking one step at a time.
"Welp, might as well see what the rest of this world is like." Goku simply decided, crossing both arms behind his head in the typical elbows up position. In that moment, Goku's unexpected arrival to the world of multicultural gods would take a turn for the worst in more ways than one.
Back on Mount Olympus…
After teleporting back home without Goku's awareness, Aphrodite smiled wistfully in dream-like happiness. She twirled about in a dancing skip of some sort, absolutely blown away from meeting Goku up close and personal. She dematerialized her sunhat and strolled over to her temple, hoping to make preparations for another wonderful "date" if the Saiyan agreed to it. By the time Aphrodite was done with him, Goku would definitely be hers and hers alone. The love patriarch inwardly squealed at the idea of them being more than "friends" and bountifully walked over to the doorway of her most prominent residence. Or, what was left of the entrance anyways.
"What the?! Who could have done this?" Aphrodite shrieked girlishly as she perused through the most notable damages. After recognizing that one of the pieces of stone marble was caved in by a blunt-force weapon, Aphrodite's irises shrank in growing fright.
"Have fun?" asked the newly revealed Ares, arms crossed in absolute disgust and resentment. Aphrodite let out a squeak of nervousness that caused her to lose control of the black hair she created for Goku, going back to shifting between different forms.
"W-whatever do you mean, baby? Y-you know nothing's ever as fun without you—" Aphrodite attempted to sweettalk her way out of this mess, utilizing a voice laced with pure seduction in hopes that it would work. Ares, however, was not pleased in the slightest.
"Cut the crap, Aphrodite. I saw you with that off-worlder just over an hour ago." Ares snapped unamusingly; his eyes lit up with fresh atomic detonations of greater magnitude. Aphrodite shifted her form to sport a pink Southern belle dress, fanning her sweat-drenched face with a tool of the same color.
"A-Ares, darling, I-I can explain…T-that man means nothing to me…" Aphrodite lied through her teeth, immensely disappointed in herself for what she had to say about Goku to win back the war god's good graces. Ares rolled his eyes and grunted with all sense of doubt.
"Yeah, bringing him here was no big deal then, huh? Tsk, Zeus and the Olympians want to speak with you in the Hall. Better not keep him waiting." Ares carelessly recommended, turning his back on her in jealous rage. Aphrodite lifted up the hems of her gown and ran up to Ares, placing a consoling hand on his shoulder.
"Ares please…" Aphrodite whimpered sorrowfully, worried more for Goku than herself at this point. Ares roughly slaps her gloved hand away and proceeds to march onward to the peak of Mount Olympus.
"Let's go." Ares demanded temperately, dragging his aluminum bat and hunting knife along with him. Aphrodite, floored by the war god's rare coldness towards her, hesitantly follows in hopes that Goku would be spared by the sky god's eternal wrath.
In the Hall of the Gods…
The Olympian gods and goddesses, minus Artemis, Dionysus due to his forced position as a counselor at Camp Half-Blood, Hestia, Ares, and of course, Aphrodite, were all in the middle of critically analyzing the same Iris Message Aphrodite used to view Goku's various exploits in Universe 7. While an slightly unnerved Zeus was positioned in the center, Hera sat on his left in an adamantine-ivory throne covered with designs of peacocks and willow trees. Said Queen of Olympus had long, licorice black hair and quite beautiful brown eyes, wearing a white dress with peacock feathers tied around her neck in cape form. She looked dismissively at the footage playing before her, appalled by the sheer bloodshed both Goku and his adversaries displayed on the battlefield.
"I'll admit that while this Goku might not be the smartest man I've seen; he is an absolute genius in combat and a master of battle strategy." Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, reluctantly complimented Goku's versatility as a martial artist. She had long black hair tied down into a pony tail and piercing gray eyes resembling the color of storm clouds. Decked head to toe in Imperial Gold armor and white robes, the daughter of Zeus sat on a silver throne adorned with golden weaving baskets on each of its sides. Athena was particularly transfixed on Goku's bout with Perfect Cell during the Cell Games, fascinated by his exceptional speed and quick thinking under pressure.
"That's not a good thing, Athena! Have you seen the damage him and those other monsters have done to the poor planets they've fought on?! It's absolutely barbaric!" Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, cried out miserably, particularly disturbed by Frieza's swift devastation of Namek via firing a Death Ball at its core. She had curly blond hair that extended along her back and wore a green dress that moved similarly to fresh plants breaking from the soil. Atop her head lied a crown of roses and corn leaves, matching the branched roots used to sew together the throne she is perched on.
"I don't know, Demeter. He can call upon the energy of any living being and, what I'm especially impressed by, the sun itself! Seems like a cool guy to me." Apollo, Greek god of the sun, light, poetry, archery, etc., praised the Saiyan warrior's inherited Spirit Bomb technique as he lazily kicked back in his golden throne. He had tousled blond hair that shone as bright as the sun with practically molten eyes to match. The sun god also wore a gold toga and had an intricately designed arrow holster of the same color wrapped around his shoulder area, nicely extenuating the trademark bow he is most known for using.
"Yes, but the plants could be drained of their lifeforce because of it! Did you ever think of that?!" Demeter whimpered arguably, frustrated tears building in her eyes just thinking of the possible environmental consequences a full powered Genkidama could bring forth.
"I'm more impressed by the technological advancement of his world when compared to ours. Time machines, hovercrafts, and pocket-sized devices that can fit homes of any size?! This Bulma friend of his is a scientific genius of the highest caliber!" Hephaestus observed in unbridled admiration, blown away by the scientific implications Universe 7's existence may bring to the table. The Greek god of forges and technology was heavily misshapen due to an "accident" that took place shortly after birth, having a bulging forehead and shoulders that weren't evenly aligned. He had scraggly brown hair and a bushy beard that spontaneously lit on fire during certain points in time. Due to designing each of his fellow gods' thrones singlehandedly, his seat in the council was particular the most complex and resembled that of a recliner with silver-bronze gears jutting out from it.
"Hmmm it seems like he comes from a species that become progressively stronger after each battle. What should we do about this, brother?" Poseidon, God of the Seas, pondered aloud to his younger sibling. He had tanned skin and a neatly trimmed black beard, sporting sea-green eyes that signified an inner gentleness that wasn't often shown. The ocean king had an intricately crafted trident of aging bronze held in his right hand, propping it up alongside his black leather throne. Sparks of an unusual green energy irradiated out of the weapon's three blades as he spoke. Just when Zeus was about to initiate his final verdict, Ares dragged Aphrodite by the arm and lightly shoved her into the Hall's center.
"Found her. She was particularly giddy from her most recent date." Ares growled irritably, feeling as if he wanted to start an entire war from having to say that last word. Aphrodite looked towards the floor shamefully while Hephaestus had an absolute field day seeing her most recent example of infidelity being caught red-handed.
"Hahahaha having a little lover's quarrel, honey?" Hephaestus snickered at his "wife's" expense, slapping a calloused hand on his artificially mended knee. Aphrodite scowled at Hephaestus's fit of uncontrollable laughter, grinding her teeth in an admittedly un-lady like manner.
"Shut up, dear! I never asked to be married to an oaf like you anyways." Aphrodite fumed in disgust, haughtily raising her nose up into the air and crossing both arms.
"Fah. I can say the same to you, ya spoiled brat…" Hephaestus snorted resentfully in disgust, crossing his incredibly muscular arms the same way. Aphrodite was about to round on the crippled fire god for his slight insult, but held back after Zeus slammed his Master Bolt onto the tiled floor impatiently.
"SILENCE!" The sky god bellowed loudly, his booming voice echoing off the council room's massive walls and columns. Each possible topic of conversation was immediately ceased between the other Olympians, not wanting to further provoke Zeus in his already sour mood. Eyes glowing with plasmatic volts of electricity, Zeus glared down from his throne at the one who caused this whole avoidable situation.
"Explain yourself, Aphrodite. NOW!" Zeus shouted demandingly at the cowering love goddess. Left stuck in a theoretical corner that she couldn't get out of, Aphrodite decided to not beat around the bush and come clean about her prior intentions. She looked up at the still projected likeness of Goku as a small confidence booster before making full eye-contact with Zeus himself. While her fellow gods and goddesses didn't pay much attention to this easy-to-miss mannerism, Ares was absolutely infuriated by her still prominent interest in the Saiyan.
"Well, I've grown quite fond of Son Goku over the years for his heroism and exceptional performance as a fighter. He was unlike any person I've seen before, so…I…I sent an elevator to his home universe in an attempt to—" Aphrodite elaborated in a stammer laced with all sense of regret, her thoughts being cut off by the intently listening family members.
"Sleep with him?" The previously distracted messenger god, Hermes, slyly inquired, taking a break from filling out paperwork and making phone calls with interested clients. He had curly black hair and blue eyes, wearing a winged helmet and pair of shoes for delivery purposes. Hermes sat in a throne of gray rock with ram heads on both armrests.
"Well, maybe…" Aphrodite sadly admitted, truly wanting so much more with Goku than just a one-night stand.
"Use him for means of gaining more power for yourself?" Athena suspiciously theorized from the perspective of her strategist, squinting both startling gray orbs at the nervous romance representative.
"What? Don't be ridiculous…" Aphrodite objected the wisdom goddess' claims of tyranny.
"Kill me?" Hephaestus jokingly prodded, playing up his hurt feelings to an exaggerated degree. Her "husband's" mockery of her own personal goals was a breaking point for Aphrodite, causing an intense of aura of pink to encase her entire body and pupils.
"NO! I-it was to get him to love me…as…as I love him." Aphrodite honestly admitted, placing a delicate hand over her heart for emphasized proof of what she meant. Ares gripped the hilt of his bat tightly enough to dent its metal exterior while Hera was left aghast by Aphrodite's declaration of love for this extraterrestrial being.
"T-that is pure nonsense! You would love a man who abandoned his wife and two children for the sake of improving his own strength?! He obviously has no respect for the sanctity of family and marriage! It's revolting just to look at him." Hera criticized the seemingly selfish actions that took place throughout Goku's life.
"Goku needed more power to protect his family and friends! Have you seen the type of evil monstrosities he's had to deal with in the past?!" Aphrodite defended the Saiyan man-child's motivations for doing what he did, recalling Cell and Majin Buu as contenders for what Universe 7 was truly capable of in terms of immoral hell-spawn.
"The sheer power of him and his enemies is exactly why we need to dispose of Goku at all costs! If Kronos managed to convince a man who could annihilate whole planets with one consecutive blast to join his cause, Mount Olympus and the world itself would be doomed." Poseidon gravely reminded the outraged love goddess and his residing brethren. The Titan of Time's name sent shivers down the Olympians' spines, none of them even wanting to think of what could happen if Kronos managed to possess Goku's body or worse.
"That wouldn't happen! Goku has always fought for what is right and that won't change no matter what!" Aphrodite profusely denied the possibility of Goku being manipulated by the dreaded Titan Lord.
"You don't know that for sure, Aphrodite! Look at what happened to Hermes' son, Luke, and even Ares. Do you really want to take the risk?" Zeus notified her on the extent of Kronos' terrifying abilities even during the process of reforming in Tartarus. Hermes' playful gaze darkened into one of heartbreak at the mention of Luke Castellan while Ares cursed himself for being one of Kronos' puppets when stealing the Master Bolt about two years ago.
"But…" Aphrodite struggled to argue, but nothing of merit was able to come out of her mouth. Assuming that he won the argument, Zeus nodded victoriously and addressed the other members of Mount Olympus's council. They silently agreed with the proposition he decided on while Aphrodite cowered pathetically in defeat.
"We'll send out a search party to capture Goku and transport him directly to Mount Olympus. Once we have him, his fate will be left decided by any vote of our choosing." Zeus carefully explained the step-by-step process of his plans. Aphrodite, horrified by the decision to hunt down Goku like an escaped convict on the lamb, frantically ran up to Zeus's seat, but was held back by a stone-faced Ares.
"W-who are you sending to find him?" Aphrodite regretted to ask, supremely concerned for Goku's wellbeing. Zeus glanced down at the panicking daughter of Ouranos and smirked knowingly, waving his hand sideways to shift the Iris Message from displaying Goku's exploits to a sort of snowy, mountainous area. Within this cold landscape resided a large group of 12 to 13-year-old girls that wore matching white coats and held silver bows in their hands. The most prominent of these archers was a notably older woman with silvery yellow eyes and auburn hair tied back into that of a ponytail. This was Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon and hunt, and the ladies setting up camp nearby were her Hunters. Recognizing the virgin deity upon first glimpse, Aphrodite's worries for the male Saiyan skyrocketed exponentially.
"Artemis, can you hear me?" Zeus passively greeted, attempting to garner his daughter's attention in the middle of her most prevalent hunting trip. Artemis whispered for some of her hunters to go else where for a moment and then stepped closer to the barely visible Iris Message.
"Yes, father, what's the problem?" Artemis inquired respectfully, pushing back a lock of her red hair. Apollo, seeing his twin sister in full view, made his presence known and lazily waved at her.
"Yo, sis! What's up?" Apollo addressed casually, wiggling his eyebrows in over-the-top playfulness. Artemis blankly stares at the sun god unamusingly and rolls her eyes.
"Ah, Apollo. Still obnoxious as ever I see." Artemis coolly deadpanned, brushing off her brother's attempts at acting laid back and go with the flow.
"Ooo that burns Arty! And I'm the sun god!" Apollo sarcastically chuckled, used to his sister's overly distant personality after a millennia of sibling rivalry. Zeus and Artemis both glared at Apollo distastefully before getting back to the central purpose of their conversation. The lightning god produced a smaller Iris Message that simply diagrammed Goku's body from head to toe and showed it to the goddess of archers.
"I want you to hunt down a man named Son Goku. He is an alien from another dimension that Aphrodite foolishly sent here for equally foolish reasons. He is extremely dangerous, so don't underestimate him and make sure to bring him back to Mount Olympus alive." Zeus requested authoritatively, crushing the miniscule image of Goku in his hands as he finished speaking. Artemis, annoyed by the fact that her planned "prey" was a mere male, sighed in agreement and readied her equipment.
"Typical Aphrodite going to great lengths just to please her male-centric fantasies. Where is this Goku now?" Artemis grumbled under her breath in growing reluctance. Aphrodite placed both hands on her hips in appalment towards Artemis's nonchalant rudeness while Zeus projected a map of New York City for the moon goddess to thoroughly inspect.
"From what I can gather, he was near the Empire State Building, but has since moved towards Long Island at this point. Try to corner him there if he gets too close to discovering Camp Half-Blood." Zeus helpfully recommended a particular area for Artemis and her Hunters to place themselves in. Said daughter of Leto nodded affirmatively and zipped up her winter jacket, ready to take action.
"Understood. I won't let you down, father." Artemis promised confidently, swiping away the Iris Message as she readied her Hunters for their next expedition. Zeus smiled proudly for a split second, but then dismissively darted his electric blue eyes towards the relentlessly pleading Aphrodite.
"Zeus, I beg of you! You're making a mistake!" Aphrodite beseeched the close-minded king of Olympus, knowing how confused and alone Goku must feel right now. Zeus and the other Olympians just looked upon her sternly in abject disapproval for what she has done.
"No. You made the mistake of teleporting that freakish mortal here in the first place. If he dies, his blood is on your hands." Zeus harshly chastised, his throne erupting with live impulses of thunder and lightning. Aphrodite's dark green eyes widened in disheartened sadness, but then immediately closed them sorrowfully.
"Ares, escort Aphrodite back to her temple. Make sure she doesn't leave without your supervision." Zeus passively advised the agitated war god. Ares smiled deviously and picked up Aphrodite bridal style, an action which the love goddess was not at all on board with.
"With pleasure, dad. With pleasure." Ares chuckled agreeably, whispering into Aphrodite's ear with the last part. A deep flush adorning her cheeks, the love goddess began to kick and scream desperately in extreme protest.
"No! Let me go, Ares! No! Noooooo!" Aphrodite screamed in growing misery as Ares ignorantly marched back to her home with plots of revenge circling inside of his head. After the departure of Aphrodite, Poseidon leaned over to Zeus's side with a look of prominent uncertainty beginning to show.
"Do you think we're doing the right thing, brother? This man has saved his world and the worlds of others many times over." The sea god discernibly proclaimed in a murmur of befuddlement. Zeus stroked his black beard a few times with the same sense of curiosity, but narrowed his blue eyes anyways in inarguable respect of his decision.
"Only time will tell." Zeus simply responded; his statement laced with a hidden double meaning. For now, all he, Poseidon, and the other god/goddesses could do was patiently wait for Artemis to bring forth their intended target: either alive or, under extreme circumstances, dead.
In the mountains…
Artemis blew out a sigh of prominent disinterest after dematerializing the Iris Message sent by her father, Lord Zeus. She pinched the bridge of her nose in minor aggravation, but still decided to gather her misplaced arrows and hunting equipment. One statement uttered by her father left the feminist goddess a little skeptical as to what exactly the point of this trip was anyways. In all of her years as an immortal warrior, no mortal male has ever been able to best her in terms of sheer skill and determination. Some have come closer than others, but they might as well not count due to how long it has been since their inevitable deaths. What exactly made this Goku both so different and worthy of her undivided attention?
"Dangerous? Tsk, all males are the same. It shouldn't take too long to find him." Aphrodite thought judgmentally, repositioning her silver quiver of arrows as she shuffled through the blanket of snow. Then again, something about the man's black eyes screamed experience and an inherit readiness for all forms of battle. Almost, predatory in a way similar to her and the other Hunters of Artemis. Artemis shook her head dismissively, trying to suppress memories of the only man she could see herself being together with.
"What troubles thy, milady?" A tall girl with long black hair concernedly asked Artemis. This was Zoë Nightshade, Artemis's lieutenant and the daughter of Atlas, a Titan in Kronos's army who was forced to hold up the heavens themselves. She had dark brown eyes and copper-toned skin, a silver circlet that implied Persian royalty resting along her forehead.
"Tell the girls to gather their belongings. Lord Zeus has tasked us with hunting down a man from an alternate universe." Artemis ordered Zoë exhaustedly, not receiving enough rest from the other day's hunting session. Zoë frowned deeply at the mention of being asked to hunt a man for another man, but kept her distaste with the operation marginally under control.
"A man from another world? Is thou the same as the men of this world?" Zoë cautiously questioned her leader, trying to imagine what this interloper could look or act like.
"I doubt it, but it's hard to say from just looking at him. We'll have to determine what "Son Goku" is capable of when we get to Long Island, New York." Artemis emphasized distractedly, signaling for Zoë and the other Hunters to follow when finished packing. After a few minutes of well-organized teamwork, Zoë and each individual Hunter of Artemis sprinted through the snow-covered woods at inhuman speeds as one cooperative unit.
"Let's see if Son Goku can be prey worthy of my interest. If he puts up a challenging fight that is." Artemis wondered anticipatedly, her golden irises squinted with the innate thrill for hunting any form of big game. Like a wolf on the prowl, Artemis rushes through the trees towards the shores of Long Island Sound as her gathering of elite Hunters followed close by.
*Hi! Thank you so much for the support guys! Getting 50 favorites and 63 follows is absolutely mind-blowing for me as a fairly new fanfiction writer! All I can say is that I hope you enjoy this chapter and future ones as they come along. The next update will include Goku vs. the Hunters of Artemis and a monster I am undecided on at the moment, so expect that sometime soon. Anyways, for new readers, please leave a favorite, follow, and/or review to tell me what you think. See ya later! :)
Also, if you like my style of writing, check out my new story, Pokémon Dragon Ball Version. It only has 1 chapter right now, but another update will probably be posted tomorrow or Wednesday depending on my schedule.