Upon their exit from the Cave of Chaos, Dawn and Ace began a long journey through the baltic landscapes of the Norse Mountains, making their way through the bitter grasp of a snowstorm, and passing through several near-encounters that will be left, for now, for another story.
Regardless, after they had reached the outstretched earth below the tall mountains, Ace turned to The Goddess of Light and spoke,
"Sorry I couldn't teleport us while we were in the Mountains in case anyone hostile might've tried to stop us from reaching the Underworld, plus I kinda owe some people round here, not everyone likes me," at her words, Ace laughed, running a hand through her hair as Dawn narrowed her eyes, her brow furrowing. But before Dawn could question anything, The Goddess of Chaos waved a dismissive hand, continuing what she had been saying,
"Anyway, once we've crossed to Midgard we can get to the Underworld from there. You can give me your jacket now, I'll send it back to the Cave, after all I don't think you'll be needing it anymore."
"Thank you, you're probably right. Well then... Let's go," Dawn responded as she handed Ace her jacket, watching as the Goddess threw it into the air, the jacket bursting away in a puff of yellow sparks, signalling the two friends to walk on through the portal.
As well as the more commonly known Bifrost (the Bridge between all the Nine Realms) there are several other portals (mostly one-way), scattered throughout the different Realms.
One of these being of course, the one that Dawn and Ace stepped through.
This particular portal led to a Landmark which may (or may not) be very familiar to you.
Stepping into the light of a cool summer's day, Dawn looked around her to see, the towering structure of the Arc de Triomphe behind her, casting a shadow past her and Ace. Upon seeing their surroundings Dawn looked around happily, speaking as she drank in the views,
"Is this Paris then? I've only ever read about it," the Goddess asked Ace.
"Yeah but it's not where we need to be. Hey maybe when we're finished saving the world you'll get a chance to come back here," replied Ace.
Then, with that The Goddess of Chaos abruptly put her hand on Dawn's shoulder and the two Deities disappeared once more, heading to the city of Athens.
When they arrived in the city, the two Deities ducked into a side alley away from the blazing sun and excitement in the streets.
Immediately, Ace lay back on the stone wall breathing heavily, her face unusually red. Dawn stared, concernedly at Ace, her heart beginning to beat a little faster as she watched.
"Are you okay, Ace? Ace!" Dawn asked, a panicked raise in volume punctuating her voice.
"Don't worry I'm fine, I'm just not used to teleporting that far and athletics isn't exactly my strong point." She chuckled slightly as her face returned to its usual pale freckly state and her breathing slowed down again.
"So what? I don't know anyone braver than you," at Dawn's words, Ace looked at round at her with a shocked look on her face, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"Me? The bravest person you've ever met? You gotta be kidding me right?" Ace asked incredulously as she looked at Dawn who turned round and shook her head, smiling as she continued,
"No. Look at what you're doing now, who else would help me in this? I don't think I've ever met someone who would be willing to stand up for people like that. I know you do it in a really unorthodox way, it's impossible not to see that, but you make a difference, you could make really good changes you know," Dawn said, looking at Ace, who smiled contently- averting her eyes for a moment as she responded,
"Well, I think YOU might just be as brave as me, if not braver" said The Goddess of Chaos, putting emphasis on the last half of the sentence as Dawn looked on with a surprised expression, her eyebrows raised as The Goddess of Chaos continued.
"How many Immortals do you think I know who are strong enough to hold back, and not let things descend into fisticuffs when their emotions get the better of them? Trust me, it's not many," Ace said, grinning at Dawn who smiled back, her eyes catching at a nearby newspaper strewn on the ground, which prompted The Goddess of Light to speak so suddenly that Ace nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Oh! It's June the 1st! It's my birthday!" Dawn said, adding the last part as a response to Ace's puzzled face.
"What?? Happy birthday! You know, I'm sure it's Pandora's birthday today too, I wonder what kind of birthday she's having." Ace said inquisitively as Dawn turned around, her eyes narrowed a little as she considering asking how exactly Ace knew that, but declined to do so.
><><><><
Now Pandora was having an awful birthday.
The Goddess of Darkness was sitting in one of the many gloomy corridors of the underworld, pondering the Prophecy.
She didn't want to hurt anyone- well, excluding her parents perhaps, but The Goddess of Darkness knew how angry her parents would be if she refused to do this.The most they'd ever given their daughter for her birthday was a ruby-encrusted headband to 'keep her hair from blocking her face in battle'- how kind.
Still, Pandora knew if she didn't do this, she wouldn't just be living in the Underworld- she'd be trapped there.
But then again... she practically already was trapped, surely?
><><><><
Back in Athens, Ace dragged an uncertain Dawn out into the sunny street, speaking at a fast pace as she did,
"Now, I think since it's your birthday we can excuse the whole saving-the-world thing for just 2 minutes to get you a present. Come on I've got some Midgardian money in my pocket!"
Neglecting to ask exactly how Ace had managed to procure this money, Dawn uncertainly skimmed a row of jeweled necklaces, speaking as she did,
"Really? I didn't think you'd ever be smart enough to keep your money on you," Dawn said, with a slight smile, looking back at Ace.
"Oh so she DOES know how to be sarcastic," Ace replied, beaming happily as Dawn pointed to a dark pink necklace that matched both the streak in her hair and her sash smiling slightly. "If you insist on buying me something, I quite like the look of this one here." Ace grinned with a nod of response as she handed over the money, sending the necklace back to her Cave in another puff of yellow sparks a second later.
"We'll get that later," Ace said, to a small nod from Dawn, who then thanked Ace, with a small grin painting her face.
After this, both Goddesses walked up to the Parthenon chatting like perfectly ordinary friends, not two Goddesses attempting to save the Nine Realms from impending doom. You see, despite all the many theories on where the Earthly entrance to the Underworld lies these two both knew where the only entrance to the Underworld on Earth lies,
The Parthenon in Athens.
When the two Goddesses reached the crowded building, Ace spoke, each word struggling to crawl out of her tired voice, "Hang on, I'll get rid of these guys."
Examining everything from Ace's tone to her sunken demeanor, Dawn concluded heavy signs of exhaustion, stepping in for her friend.
"I've got this," said Dawn, before she paused and continued on, as an afterthought,
"Cover your eyes."
At this, Ace produced a black blindfold and tied it around her eyes, her eyebrows raised curiously.
Dawn closed her eyes and raised her hands upwards causing a few tourists to look curiously at Dawn and Ace, some even beginning to giggle at the curious pair, quickly stopping when another blinding light joined the already well lit-area, closer to the tourists around them, the light shaking with the force of Dawn's will. The bright light scared off many of the tourists, prompting even Ace who still had the black blindfold obscuring her vision to speak up,
"Woah, what are you doing?"
Eventually, when Dawn finally told her it was safe to do so, Ace removed her blindfold and The Goddess of Light opened her eyes once more.
"How did you do that?" Ace mumbled, almost to herself, as Dawn turned back around to her.
"Do you know how to get in? My parents always said that I should have no more to do with the Underworld than I have to," Dawn asked, looking around with interest.
Ace chuckled as she spoke, "Lucky for us, my parents don't share the same views as yours."
With that, The Goddess of Chaos began walking around the ground of the Parthenon, drawing her hand along the ground until she stopped herself and seemed to find what she was looking for.
"Who are your parents then? My parents didn't get the time to tell me much about you before I left," asked Dawn, curiously.
"My parents are..." Ace began, pausing to pull on a brick sticking, almost imperceptibly, out of the ground, "Loki, The God of Mischief, my father and Eris, The Goddess of Discord is my mother, you'll have heard of them."
At that moment, Ace stepped back as the centre of the floor opened revealing a dark stone staircase spiraling downwards towards the Underworld while Dawn's eyebrows raised high up her forehead.
"What? Not who you were expecting?" asked The Goddess of Chaos, still beaming with mischievous joy.
"No, well, I'd heard about you and Kronos' Tomb, that, I must admit was a cool story- but I just didn't picture you as their daughter."
Ace laughed at Dawn's words with a boundless grin on her pale freckly face- speaking as the two of them headed towards the ancient dark stairs,
"It's nice to hear someone appreciate my work, most people think the complete opposite I'm telling you."
Arriving at the first step, the two Goddesses turned to face each other for a moment, Ace's expression darkening as a look of grim determination appeared on Dawn's face.
"Let's go," The Goddess of Light said, her features firm as the two of them headed down the stairs, the open floor closing after them just as the bemused tourists began heading back up to the Parthenon, in search of the strange friends.