Chapter One: Meet The Gods27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznqyPDifdJ
27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBKYUuaWgZ
Immortals, Gods, Spirits. Words that I imagine would be nothing more than myths to you. I bet if I were to tell you, that they are as real as you are, you wouldn't believe me. Perhaps you'd want proof, after all, you always do. But if you're one of those skeptical people, please feel free to read on, convincing yourself this is just fiction. And yet, I'm sure a discussion with the Mortal witness to this story would cause unease for the skeptics out there. After all, surely three Young Gods crashing through a human's roof is impossible in anything other than the Realm of imagination? Still, it's time to continue, to see how this story unfold and see how the Immortals of the Myths, are just as real as you and me.
Now, in order to tell you this story I'll have to go back, far back to the to the year 1879. And up in Olympus, a Realm far from our own, in a white stone Temple situated right in the centre of the city, a baby girl has just been born. This child is the daughter of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty and Vulcan, the God of Fire and Volcanoes and she is the newest Goddess. This child is called Dawn, and she is the Goddess of Light.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2vn0f0n5z
However, Dawn was not the only child born that day. For while the jovial Immortals of Olympus celebrated in the light and joy of their bright Realm, a new child was born, deep in the darkest depths of the Realm of the Underworld. A child called Pandora, the Goddess of Darkness. You see, this baby was the daughter of Hades, the Greek God of Death and Ruler of the Underworld and Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death, which, for Pandora, certainly didn't bode well for her future.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyqu0bryxD
Now destiny in the Godlands, as Pandora and Dawn would soon learn, was not something you chose for yourself. Rather something that was forced upon you... whether you wanted it or not. And so, from the moment these two girls were born, they were destined to hate each other... but surely, destiny can't always be right? However one thing was for sure, and that was that the two girls really could not be more different. After all, by the time they were 20 (2 in human years) Pandora was already learning how to use a sword and how to fight while Dawn learnt how to control her abilities and lived a lavish lifestyle in a glorious palace in Olympus. Pandora, on the other hand, was living in the fiery depths of the Underworld surrounded by death and suffering.
However, before we jump back to the present to see what happens to the two girls, we have one more child left to meet. It's a few months after Pandora and Dawn's birth, in a bitter February of the year 1880 and Loki, the infamous God of Mischief and Eris the tricksy Goddess of Discord and Strife, have just become the parents to the youngest child in our story. Her name is Ace- the Goddess of Chaos.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9A316zr81k
So, now we've met the people in the story I think it's time to tell it...27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cHbSwbIKg
Our story truly begins when the Prophet Goddess, who predicts the events in the Immortals' futures, created a Prophecy, around the time of the birth of Dawn and Pandora, which read:
When the balance between the dark and the light shifts, the Chosen One must fight the true darkness with the help of the light.
And it was this Prophecy that meant from the moment Dawn and Pandora were born every last Immortal began to prepare them for a battle of the ages. Then, some of the Gods and Goddesses gave their protection to Pandora whilst the others gave their protection to Dawn. However, whichever side took the Immortals' fancy, almost none of them chose to stay neutral because they all thought the same thing- that when all of this was over, the winner would have an iron grip of power over the Godlands and the winner... well no-one wanted to think about that. And one other thing this meant was that no-one really expected Ace to be involved in the battle that much, however, they had misread this Prophecy... though they didn't know that yet.
And once Ace had been born, the second part of the original Prophecy was revealed to the Immortal community, which said:
The time will come in the year 2019.
And it was because of this that Dawn tried to stay in the background at any Meetings, meaning most people didn't see her that much, until one day, she came out of the shadows. Not because she wanted to, no, but because she felt like she had to.
Peace
The year was 2014, and Dawn was sitting in the back of a large Amphitheatre, looking out above the walls to the blue skies above, absent-mindedly running a hand through her long hair. Next to her sat Vulcan, his arm around Aphrodite's shoulder as the two sat whispering to each other, laughing a little. They, like most in the upper rows, were happy to sit away from the others in the pretence of caring about the meeting below. Dawn looked a lot like her mother, with the same dark skin and dark hair, though Dawn's facial features were much more similar to those of her father's. "You alright dear?" Asked Aphrodite as she and Vulcan turned a little, looking back at their daughter. "Sorry?" Dawn said, turning round and blinking distractedly. "Head in the clouds?" Laughed Vulcan, his mouth twitching slightly. "It'd be hard for my head to be anywhere else while I'm here. What are they talking about now?" "Oh, some land dispute. As always, they're talking about whatever they want." Sighed Vulcan, his smile fading. "Last I checked they were discussing the importance of controlling our abilities, using them only for the best of reasons." "That's rich coming from them." Scoffed Aphrodite, Dawn nodding in agreement as Vulcan frowned, the lines on his face becoming ever-more prominent. "Next they'll be comparing the sizes of their statues." Laughed Dawn, Aphrodite chuckling as she gently squeezed Vulcan's arm, giving him an unreadable smile as he turned to her, his smile somewhat dejected.
Dawn smiled at her father, who turned and gave her back a smile that seemed almost a little too stretched at the edges. However, before Dawn had a chance to question it, she heard a voice from beside her. "Hello." Turning around, Dawn's eyes saw the source of the voice, a white-haired figure with dark brown eyes. "Caspian. Good to see you." Said Dawn, a warm smile lighting up her face, before it was quickly cooled by the memory of her father's strange expression. Telling Caspian to wait just a second, Dawn turned back round once more, only to see her father chatting to her mother, seemingly fine. Relieved, if a little suspicious, she turned back to where Caspian had sat next to her. "So, how's everything with you?" "Not bad." Said Dawn, her eyes wandering a little before she snapped her attention back to Caspian, turning his question back on him. "You?" "Things have been ok-" Caspian began, looking a little uncertain, before a large boot kicked his head from behind, causing many pairs of eyes to look back up as the God yelled a little, groaning in pain. The boot in question, belonging to a young God with long red hair, came crashing downwards again, only for Dawn to grab it with both hands, looking up into the eyes of the God above her warningly as he lowered his foot, stumbling a little. "Torsten. Of course it's you. What was that for?" Dawn asked, her brow furrowing as she stood up, a familiar expression of distaste crossing her features. "I felt like it. You got a problem with that? Seeing as your friend here can't even stick up for himself." "Shut up Torsten." Said Caspian, his fists clenched at his sides and his dark eyes gleaming dangerously. "Or what? What's she gonna do to me eh? She's as useless as you are." "Oh really?" Inquired Dawn, a sharp edge to her voice as she looked around Torsten and his cronies, her dark eyes studying them with disdain. "Dawn." Came a whisper from next to her. Turning round, Dawn saw her father, hand on her shoulder, before he continued to say something to her. "There's ways to handle this without violence. Please, if you're going to take one piece of advice from me, at least take this: conflict will always end in pain." Dawn looked back into her father's face, into the eyes which seemed so desperately imploring, and nodded softly, turning back to Torsten, who was grinning wickedly. "What? Need your daddy to come and help you? Can't anyone look after themselves around here?" "Rich, coming from the God who follows his dad around so much. I'm surprised you haven't walked into him yet." Dawn retorted, the sides of her mouth twitching as she heard the laughter from both sides. "What's wrong? Too much of a wimp to try and fight me?" Asked Torsten, in a somewhat wobbling jeer, his face now flushed red. "Because I'd be such a wimp to take on three people by myself?" Asked Dawn inquisitively, her mouth still slightly curled. "You know..." Dawn began again, stopping Torsten from speaking again. "I wonder where your father is, I'm sure he'd just love to hear how you're causing trouble instead of following his every whim." "Shut up. I don't remember saying I wanted to talk to you." "I agree, I only remember you kicking my friend's head." "What are you trying to say?" Torsten said, the flush of red spreading to the very edges of his face as his cronies huddled together, laughing coldly. "Get out of here Torsten." Torsten, looking bemused, turned round to Caspian, as though looking for another answer. "Don't look at me Torsten. I don't think she's asking twice."
Torsten's feet shifted awkwardly as his narrowed eyes fell to the ground, grumbles emerging from under his breath. Casually, Dawn raised an eyebrow as she watched Torsten, who slowly backed away, heading back to where he had been sitting. "Thank you." Caspian whispered to Dawn, his eyes trained on the ground as the Gods beneath them looked back towards the meeting. "It's no problem." Smiled Dawn, nodding at Caspian who smiled uncertainly back. "He'll be embarrassed you know." "Oh I know." "Don't you think he'll just keep trying to think of a comeback?" "He will, but will he ever find one? Now that's a different question altogether." Said Dawn with a smirk, turning round to her parents and smiling happily.
But while that story traveled the Godlands faster than Hermes with his winged sandals, Pandora's story didn't make it past the Underworld, thanks to her parents, who didn't want anyone believing that their daughter had a 'good side'.
Not all Bad
Far from Olympus, down deep in the darkest depths of the Underworld, just a few weeks after Dawn had stood up to Torsten outside the Amphitheatre, Pandora was remembering the look on Dawn's face as she'd stood up to Torsten, and found herself wishing, as she often did, that she had more people to stand up for her like that. She barely ever got out of the dark rocky confines of the Underworld aside from those dingy Meetings and even then she wasn't allowed to speak to the other kids so she had to sit with the whispers about her flowing around her brain as the children sat squeezed up against each other to avoid her, like she was some sickly plague or horrifying creature, not just a misunderstood kid.
Yes, the Goddess of Darkness had little to look forward to and besides the one thing she really looked forward to (I can't tell you this now but I will, eventually...) the only other thing that shed a little light in her world of darkness was the mornings she'd spend down by the River Styx lazily watching the water go by. It may not seem like much to you but when your alternatives are listening to the suffering and screams of the lost souls trapped in the Underworld for eternity or receiving disappointed looks and harsh punishments from your destructive, murderous parents who clearly think less of you than the dead souls wandering aimlessly round the eerie Underworld, then it starts to look a whole lot more appealing. And Pandora also loved the peace of the dark water flowing by. It may be a river of death but it was a beautiful river, nonetheless, the dark water shimmering like a starry sky, peaceful and uninterrupted, unlike anything else in her life.
Though on this particular day, as Pandora sat with her eyes following the trail of the shimmering Styx a scream pierced the air, that broke the peace of the dark water with a start but Pandora's head didn't move. Screams in the Underworld were, of course, nothing out of the ordinary. Or at least that's what she assumed, until a person in torn clothing came running out of the shadows looking behind them with utter terror etched in every corner of their face. It was a young man with a pallid, pale face and sunken, horror-struck eyes. He turned quickly to Pandora who stood up in shock, this person shouldn't be this close to the River and he was miles away from where he should be, surely... surely he would've passed Cerberus (the three-headed Guard Dog) by now? Then, before he could scream on sight of her Pandora jumped forward nimbly and slipped a hand gently over his mouth muffling his scream as she spoke softly into his ear. "How did you get past Cerberus?" The man's dark eyes turned to look at the sincere green eyes of the Goddess and something that might once have been relief flooded the two dark pools. Pandora gently lifted the hand off his mouth and the man spoke in a voice that was as quiet as the gentle rustling of leaves on a breezy day. "I- I climbed into one of the Harpy tunnels but then those creatures followed me and I came out here and-" "Well, we'll have to amend that weakness won't we?" A voice as cold as the coldest ice cut across the terrified man next to Pandora who turned with a sinking feeling in her chest as she recognised her father's awful voice. There he was, standing next to her tall, terrifying mother who walked forward and grabbed Pandora's arm in a vice like grip, pulling her away from the poor man as she struggled fiercely to no avail. "Now, we need to discuss your punishment to make sure you don't try any... tricks again." Hades sneered nodding at the trembling figure whose feet seemed to be glued to the rocky river bank. Pandora struggled against her mother but Hel had her upper-arm in a vice like grip as Hades grabbed the terrified man who looked back at Pandora with pleading eyes as he was dragged off to whatever awful punishment awaited him leaving Pandora alone with her mother, feeling just as trapped as any of the lost souls around her.
Once they were gone, Hel turned and shoved Pandora fiercely leaving her sprawling on the ground for a second before pulling her upright, pushing her face down to Pandora's level and hissing menacingly at her daughter. "How dare you! You are the daughter of two of the fiercest killers in this land you cannot EVER be SOFT!! You are my daughter, do you think I want someone as weak as you to be my only child?!" Hel said in disgust, teleporting the two away from the River as Pandora protested and yelled out to her mother, escaping her glance for one small second. "I'm not yours!! I've not just your property! I can decide who I want to be, and I won't let you tell me what to do!!" Pandora yelled as Hel grunted in fury, grabbing Pandora by the arm she threw Pandora into a cramped, bleak cell carved into the wall next to their Throne Room and locked the door leaving the Goddess of the Darkness in the horribly familiar confines of the dark cell. The only thing with her were Hel's last words ringing around the horrid silence. "You can come out when you finally learn what side you are on!!" Pandora wanted to scream, or do something, anything, but instead she just lay there, tears clouding her eyes as she began to shake, the dark walls around her closing in.
Now, while Pandora's story wasn't even heard by the nosiest of Immortals compared to Dawn's which spread quickly throughout the Godlands, Ace's story was the most well-known of them all, becoming something of a legend to the Immortals, and once you read it, you might just begin to understand why.
The Birth of a Legend
Kronos' Tomb was one of many artifacts that had originated in the Godlands but had ended up (one way or another) in museums on Earth, except that this Tomb looked as though it was the Tomb of an Ancient Egyptian when really, Kronos had disguised it like that so he could keep his sword safe underneath the mummy he'd placed on top as, with Kronos being a Titan, he would be far too big to fit in the Tomb and then there was of course the small matter of him not being dead, instead just banished to the Realm of the Titans after losing the Titanomachy (an Ancient War started by his son, Zeus).
So, in the beginning of 2015, Zeus was offering a reward for the person who could to the museum in New York and retrieve his father's Tomb and bring it back to him first. The winner would be allowed to ask the other Immortals competing for anything they wanted which made Ace's eyes light up as she listened outside the door of the High Temple to the Immortals talking inside. She had heard there was going to be an urgent announcement for adults only and had immediately felt this sudden, irrepressible urge to go along and spy on them and boy, was she glad she had. And then the tricksy little Goddess sauntered away before the doors opened to let the Immortals come pouring out in their hordes of excitement, thinking as she did, "If they didn't want me to listen outside the door, then they should've invited me in the first place."
Ace had grown up with two of the Godlands' most adept thieves for parents, so she'd learned a lot from them and even more from books and her parent's family and friends, as well as possessing a certain chaotic knack for thievery, so Ace was quite the thief by now, even if no-one knew it yet. And she knew exactly what she was going to ask for when she won, her grin widening as she disappeared just in time, for a mere second later the door opened and the Immortals of the Godlands poured out getting ready to head for New York (where the Tomb was held), come nightfall.
So after the museum shut, a pack of Immortals entered its walls ready to grab Kronos' tomb from its place in the centre of the museum. Each God and Goddess crept, flew or ran through the halls of the museum avoiding the Security Guards or knocking them out, or (in the case of the telepaths) simply wiping their memories. It was chaos, it was madness, it was everything Ace thrived on.
If the Immortals passed each other they would either sneak away or confront each other which soon led to bursts of colour illuminating the museum corridors as the Immortals battled it out for the prize. Let's just say that most of them clearly didn't know the meaning of the word 'discreet'. Swords clanged, beams of Magic flashed and shields boomed as they deflected enemy blows throughout the corridors. More and more Immortals fell, leaving less and less left as they made it further through the museum towards the Tomb.
One of these Immortals, Thor (the Norse God of Thunder) was striding confidently along the corridors, his red hair billowing out around him as he headed through room after room battling his way towards Kronos' Tomb with ease, knocking down Immortal after Immortal until he entered a large room filled with the bones of an assortment of creatures where he spotted one living being amongst the remains. "Oh hey Thor! Come for the Tomb I presume? Ooooh that rhymes!" The figure of Ace said spinning her large cane around excitedly as Thor looked at her, a baffled expression on his face, which may have been something to do with Ace knowing about the Tomb or it might have been to do with her outfit which was... far from traditional. She was wearing a black polo neck jumper, a leather jacket, dark baggy jeans, all of which blended in perfectly well with the background, but in between her boots and her jeans he could see two odd socks in various bright colours which did somewhat ruin the effect of the disguise. "How did you know?!" Thor asked furiously. "Oh Thor, I always know." Ace said tapping her nose and winking at the raging God. Thor raised a bushy eyebrow as he put his hand on the Hammer hanging from his belt. "Nah I'm just kidding, I listened outside the door, you really should get better security you know, or maybe just invite everyone so you don't have to." She said putting her hands in her pocket and sauntering calmly up to the God who was nearly three times her height and covered in muscle, while Ace was a little more on the plump side and barely came up to the God's chest. However even if the Goddess had been tall for her age she still wouldn't have been close to the height of the God of Thunder as Thor really was VERY tall, towering above the little Goddess. "Well, normally I would obliterate those foolish enough to listen behind doors, but... as you are just a weak young maiden I shall let you go now Astrid." Thor said in his most chivalrous voice, leaving the way out clear for Ace whose smile turned darker, her dark blue eyes flashing dangerously as she looked at Thor, not moving an inch. "Listen here Thor, three things: One, I will not tell you again, I don't take Astrid anymore, my name is Ace, two, do not ever, EVER call me a young maiden again pal, cause I know when you say that you're picturing a young girl in a pretty dress with her hair in immaculate plaits and an adorable expression on her face, a girl who swoons and sighs at romance, a girl who keeps her opinions to herself like a proper 'lady'. I am not a 'maiden' and I'm perfectly happy giving the world the gift of my opinions thank you Thor, oh and finally three, if you think I'm weak and you think I'm just going to walk out of here, no, if anything Thor, if I was you I'd walk out the room right now, cause when all the others hear how I beat you in single combat you'll be the laughing stock of the Godlands. So take the chance and leave now or I'll have to embarrass you." Ace said her hands back on her staff and her eyes still flashing dangerously. Thor's face lit up with glee as he laughed at Ace who looked up at the ceiling in exasperation wondering why people insisted on being so ridiculously idiotic as Thor guffawed loudly. "You are funny indeed little damsel." He said rubbing Ace's hair like she was an adorable toddler. A BIG mistake on Thor's part. Ace's eyes flashed a warning yellow as she spoke teleporting back in front of the God not ready to leave so quickly. "Damsel, as in damsel in distress because mate if we're talking about damsels in distress, I think there's only one in here Cinderella." Said Ace grinning as she gave the God of Thunder a great big kick in the knee that sent the God falling to the floor, clutching his knee. "You will pay for that Astrid!!" The God blustered angrily. "What you gonna do Cinderella? Poke me with your glass slipper?" Ace retorted grinning wildly at Thor's evident fury. Then as he got back up and made to pull out his Hammer saying, foolishly, "If you want my advice Ace... go learn to sew like a proper little lady or even better go find a suitor and learn your place." Thor said coming over and looking down on the still smiling girl who took a step back and scoffed disbelievingly, her black eyebrows shooting up her freckly forehead. "Oh you're asking for it now." Ace said her voice burning with outrage as she bashed her staff against the ground, her eyes flashing a bright electric yellow as a pile of bones came tumbling down on top of the God of Thunder who looked up, one second too late and fell to the ground covered in the bones of a long gone creature. "Whoops... Clumsy me." Ace said grinning from ear to ear as the bones began to shake and flash in a bright shade of blue.
After a few seconds, Thor burst out of the bones in a crash of thunder and lightning, sending the bones flying across the room and bouncing off of a yellow forcefield that had surrounded Ace who looked at the carnage around her and clicked her fingers sending the bones miraculously back to their original places, as though they had never moved. Thor was mad with rage now, his moustache rippling with his short, sharp breaths. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" Thor said trying so hard not to burst with anger that his face turned redder than his mass of unkempt hair. Ace grinned coldly in the face of Thor's fiery fury. "Make me." Ace said simply lifting her staff off the ground with a smile that pushed Thor's fury over the edge. This was a little child, she should be bowing to him not the other way around! He had bested so many Immortals tonight and he was to bested by a child, a GIRL? He didn't think so. "I think it's time someone taught you a lesson young lady!" Thor yelled bringing his Hammer down to the ground with a tumultuous 'crash', making the ground shake and lightning streak towards Ace who dropped her staff and threw out her hands grinning with the thrill of the fight. Suddenly, Thor's bolts of lightning stopped in mid-air and began to turn a bright shade of yellow curling back towards their commander whose face turned from a mad frown to a mask of fear as the lightning crackled towards him, commanded by the little Goddess. And a split-second later they hit the God of Thunder with the full force of a sledgehammer to his muscly chest sending him crashing through the large oak doors at the other end of the room with a loud 'bang!' as Ace picked up her staff and sauntered to the other door in the room waiting for Thor who jumped up and ran after her breathing like a demented bull. Then, just as the God came up close to her, she teleported away, stuck her tongue out at the God of Thunder and slammed the door right in his blustering face, heading ever closer to Kronos' Tomb. "Many have tried Thor, and many have failed." Ace said gleefully through the shut door as she turned to face the next room only to set eyes on the other Immortal now facing her. "Oh hey Hypnos, you might wanna duck!"
Then as Thor opened the door with an almighty crash on the penultimate room on the way to the one which housed Kronos' Tomb, to see another God in the room (Hypnos) who had just speedily flown over to Ace at her advice. Ace now held onto to her staff a little tighter as the three Immortals looked at each other, on edge. Hypnos, the God of Sleep, was utterly unlike Thor in every way, his head was covered in a mass short hair made of fluffy white feathers like those of a baby dove. But don't be fooled by his feathery head and his lean build, for Hypnos is a dangerous character indeed. Atop his feathered head lay a pair of wings giving the ability to slip in and out of places very quickly and hanging from his belt was his precious Sleep Trumpet, a weapon which puts the victim into a deep sleep, and with that and the other powers at his disposal it was no surprise that he'd made it this far.
Thor spoke up looking fed up with this whole charade and upset that he was not, as he was used to, the centre of attention. "Now listen here you two, you're going to get out of my way RIGHT NOW or I'll simply have to force you!!" Thor said in his deep voice, towering above the two Immortals who looked at each other then back to the furious God and snorted with derisive laughter. "Seriously? Do you never learn Thor? I just kicked your sorry backside into next week and YOU think you can force me to get out of your way?" Ace asked as Hypnos turned a somersault through the air in his glee. "Thor get real, you couldn't beat Ace on her own, you try and take the two of us and the only way you'll be getting out of here is in an ambulance." Hypnos said gleefully brandishing his Trumpet in the air, the mad glimmer still ever-present in his eyes. Ace looked uncertainly at the fiendish God but he just winked at her putting the Sleep Trumpet to his lips as Ace grinned gleefully and pointed her staff at the God of Thunder moving slowly towards him with Hypnos by her side and as the God brought down his Hammer to strike Ace conjured a brilliantly bright forcefield out of nowhere, causing Thor's hammer to bounce uselessly off the forcefield and sending Thor stumbling backwards onto the ground with a 'thud' that shook the earth under the Immortal's feet. "Night, Night, sweet dreams." Hypnos cooed as he raised the Trumpet to his lips but just as Hypnos did, Ace put a gloved hand on his Trumpet looking round at the God with a mysterious smile on her freckly face. "Let him see you stealing his thunder." She suggested, a mask of mystery concealing any hint of her true intentions from view. So Hypnos nodded and, to protests from Thor, Ace conjured huge, heavy chains that inhibited Thor's powers and bound the God of Thunder tightly.
Then, as Hypnos pulled the God up and shoved him happily towards the door, Ace looked round at the ancient paintings of the Greek Immortals that lined the room. "Wow. They seriously thought Zeus had that much muscle? Nobody has that MUCH muscle, I mean come on! And what's this 'Zeus was a benevolent and just ruler' okay obviously these guys have never met Zeus!" Ace said as she walked through the circular room looking up at the large statue of Zeus in the centre with an information plaque situated underneath it. "And hadn't they heard of clothes when they made this? I mean how hot do they think Olympus is?!" She added as she looked at the statue of Zeus, which was indeed absent of any clothes, as were most of the statues in the area. "I know right, even the drawings of ME have loads of muscle on them! It's insane! As if I need muscles, after all, the only thing I need is right up here." Said Hypnos tapping his head with a wink as he shoved the God of Thunder through the door towards Kronos' Tomb. While Ace nodded in agreement, Thor's red eyebrows crumpled as he spoke with a snort of condescending laughter. "How's your skull going to help you in this you idiot!" Hypnos put a hand to his winged head as Ace let out a short, disbelieving laugh and rolled her eyes, saying as they entered the room housing Kronos' Tomb, "Well I wouldn't worry Thor I think your skull is the best you've got just now." Thor still looked baffled but before he could open his mouth to speak again Hypnos turned to Ace as three other Immortals broke through the two other doors leading into the grand room. "Now..." Hypnos began, turning to Ace with a smirk on his mad face, "sorry dearie but Uncle Hypnos can't have you messing up his plans can he? Sweet dreams little thief!" Hypnos cooed as though he was talking to a little baby, not his 135 old niece and, as Ace took a step back from the God drawing her staff just a second too late, he blew on his sleep trumpet and sent the stunned Goddess falling to the ground, fast asleep.
Now, Hypnos was faced by the other three Immortals still left vying for the Tomb of Kronos. Ace's trickster of a Father Loki, Hermes (the fleet-footed Greek messenger God and God of Thieves) and Hypnos' sister (as well as Ace's mother) Eris, three of the best thieves in the Godlands. "Well, I didn't expect to see Ace here, last time I checked she thought we were going to steal from the Valhalla Palace." Loki said as Eris watched her brother with narrowed eyes and Hypnos and Hermes flew inches above the ground, Hypnos with his winged head and Hermes with his Winged Hat and Sandals, holding his long Staff tightly as he gave the God of Sleep a suspicious glare. "But the Valhalla Palace is where I live!" Said Thor in an outraged tone. "Yes, yes, you know where you live, have a gold star Thor!" Said Eris scornfully looking at her sleeping daughter then back to her scheming brother without even shooting Thor a glance. "Terribly sorry about her but she was getting in my way." Hypnos drawled, not taking his wild eyes off his sister's dark blue ones. "Yes, she has a habit of doing that (then Eris smiled slightly) she takes it off her mother." She finished smugly but Loki looked round indignantly. "Eh, I think you'll find she takes that off me." He said crossing his arms as he looked at Eris who raised her eyebrows as she spoke in a tone covered in sarcasm. "Oh sure she does Loki." As Loki was about to speak again Hermes butted in, "Oh give a rest will you? You lot are louder than a pack of harpies!" the athletic messenger God said as he made a lunge for the Tomb lying in a spotlight in the centre of the room but Hypnos was ready for him. He flew up to the God and though Hermes dodged his first blast he took a second too long to laugh at the God's mishap and Hypnos blew a plume of deep purple smoke at the Messenger God who fell from the sky with a shocked "Oh"... and crumbled on the ground in a deep sleep. "Now terribly sorry about this sis but-" However Hypnos was cut off before he could finish his sentence as his sister jumped onto the Tomb and sent a jet of Dark Magic at the God of Sleep who dodged just in time, nearly dropping his beloved Sleep Trumpet in the process. "Yikes!" Said the harassed God diving for his trumpet and scooping it up a mere second before it hit the stone floor. "You were saying brother?" Eris asked her peeved brother gleefully. Then Loki joined in the ensuing fight between the Immortals that remained awake and unchained while Thor demanded that the Immortals release him, to no avail. "Oi featherhead take this!" Loki shouted hitting Hypnos with a blast of energy that sent him spiraling across the room. "Oh you'll pay for that you cheap illusionist!" Hypnos said, placing a hand to his feathered head as he got back up, seething with anger. Loki ignored the God flicking his hair out of his face as he turned back to Eris. "Now, Loki I would you hope you're smart enough not to make the mistake of thinking I'll go easy on you." Eris said, the corner of her lip twisting up and her dark blue eyes narrowing as the pair stared each other down. "Oh I wouldn't dream of it..." Said Loki grinning as Hypnos jumped towards him and Loki threw a blast of energy at his wife who promptly jumped off the Tomb, throwing her own blast right back at her husband. Loki just dodged in time receiving a hit on the head from Hypnos' Sleep Trumpet that sent him spiraling to the ground as Thor continued to complain in the background.
Then suddenly, as the Immortals' fight raged on, the lid of the Tomb burst off in a whirl of dark clouds and a huge shadowy figure appeared to rise from the small box clutching the Sword of Kronos in its huge fist. At the sight of the figure, the Immortals stepped back in shock, forgetting about their fight in the shock of the moment. "Immortals! Say my name and tremble at my feet!!!" A deep voice came booming from the mouth of the shadowy figure and at this point even Thor had shut up, which was a very welcome change. "W-we don't know your name." Said Hypnos gulping down the fear he was trying to hide. "Yes you do! SAY IT!" The voice boomed across the domed ceiling and the round walls. "Ok, ok, ok!! Kronos! You are Kronos, as in THE Kronos, the almighty Titan?!" Hypnos squeaked as his sister gave him a withering look. "Kronos?!! No, no, no." And as the voice got through each 'no' it started to sound less booming and more, well, cheeky and the shadowy figure started to look less shadowy, quite a bit smaller and a little more like a certain young Goddess wearing some very brightly coloured socks... "My name is Ace, the Goddess of Chaos and don't you ever forget it!!" The Goddess said gleefully as Hypnos and her parents turned to see the illusion of the sleeping Ace fade into golden dust then out of sight. "Oh my Gods, how did you? I mean, what?" Hypnos asked in shock, gaping in awe, as Thor looked thunderstruck (pardon the pun), and Loki and Eris looked at each other with something in their eyes which might just have been pride, if not a smidgen of annoyance. "Oh it's simple really, I've been in that Tomb ever since you turned on me Hypnos cause I knew at some point you'd try to get me with that Trumpet of yours so when you did I just used an illusion and teleported to Kronos' Tomb. I'll tell you what it was a hard job keeping up the illusion, but I couldn't risk you seeing I'd gone, and I couldn't resist seeing your faces when I pretended to be Kronos! Oh and boy was it worth it! I mean you looked like you were wetting yourself Hypnos!" Said Ace, laughing with her eyes as well as her mouth as she held Kronos' massive Sword with considerable effort (it was nearly two thirds of her height after all) and teleported the Tomb and its discarded lid out of the room. "Where did it go?! That was my prize!" Said Thor angrily. "Oh shut up Thor!" Said Ace, Loki and Hypnos at the same time as Eris gave the God of Thunder the same withering look she'd given her brother a minute before. "Oh and Thor? If you want someone to sew for you, here's a wild idea for you! Why don't you stop telling me how to behave and go learn how to do it yourself?! Because I may not be able to speak for other girls but I think we can all clearly see that my talents lie elsewhere, more in the field of awesome thievery skills and general charm and charisma." Ace said winking at the outraged God of Thunder as she teleported to the door of the room with a smile that spread across her face and up to her glowing yellow eyes as a portal to Olympus opened behind the gleeful Goddess and Ace spoke to the God of Sleep with smiles in her eyes and a spring in her step. All while Thor looked shocked and dumbstruck at the impertinence of this one young girl. "Oh and by the way Hypnos?" "Yes?" Asked the God glumly as he watched his prize disappear. "Thanks for the Sleep Trumpet!" Ace said pulling Hypnos' Sleep Trumpet from behind her back with a flourish and a wink that was simply bursting with glee. Hypnos' already huge eyes burst with shock and he spluttered with indignant shock as Ace turned and walked through the portal with the manner of a spy walking away from a large explosion, a smug smile on her freckly face.
Then after that, all the other Immortals in the building were carried up to Olympus and any spells on them were removed as the Tomb and the Sword left the museum for the last time. Nobody in the museum would ever be sure exactly what happened that night as, by some chaotic fluke, all the security cameras had broken and the security guards, well, they were lying on the floor with no recollection of the last night whatsoever. All they had to go on the strange scorch marks across the walls and floors which evaded any understanding. For even the most intelligent of experts were never going to be able to identify the marks of an Immortal's Magic.
Back on Olympus, Zeus was flabbergasted to see Ace appear on the table in front of him with Kronos' Tomb and Sword by her side one hand in her pocket, one hand casually spinning Hypnos' long Sleep Trumpet. "But- How? You... weren't meant to- " Zeus blustered, his blue eyes bulging with rage and shock. "Know, I wasn't meant to know... I know and for the record I think I know why you didn't want kids doing it now, you were too worried we'd steal their thunder weren't you? And you were right to be worried!" Ace said bursting with glee as she gestured at the assembled adults with one hand clutching the Sleep trumpet, the other was still calmly stuck in her jeans pocket as she looked at Zeus and the assembled Immortals with a satisfied grin. Thor, who'd been let out of his chains once he arrived in Olympus, protested angrily. "She was not meant to be a part of this!! Therefore she should not get the prize, she needs to be punished!!" Zeus looked as though he thoroughly agreed with Thor but Ace's interjection brought the God tumbling back to reality. "Well, when I was listening outside the door I couldn't help overhearing you, Zeus, say there was no rules 'Win by any means' was, I believe, what you said, so there was no age limit, you just didn't tell any of the younger Immortals about it." Said Ace, hands in her pockets, as cool as the North Pole as Zeus sighed in annoyance at this inconvenient truth while all around them, the assembled Immortals' faces around looked stunned, angry, disbelieving and some were even looking just a little impressed. Ace was the youngest of any of them by centuries and yet she was annoyingly hard to deal with already so, most of the Immortals looked as though they were thinking, what would she be like when she grew up? "Very well Ace, what would you like as your prize?" Zeus asked bitterly averting his electric blue eyes from the glittering deep blue pools of Ace's eyes. "Wow, someone's just letting me get away with this eh? You going soft Zeus?" Ace asked, cackling as Zeus muttered bitterly under his breath, his eyes jumping around the room. "Just... get on with it." "Well, normally I'd say the expressions on your faces are more than enough but I'll tell you what I want. I want each of you to... give half of all your money to Mortal charities." Ace just kept smiling coolly as uproar raged around her. Even her parents looked a little less proud now although there was definitely still a flicker of pride in their eyes whether they'd deny it later or not. "Why would we do that?! We're hundreds of times more advanced than those Mortals!!" Ares said utterly beside himself with rage as protestations echoed around the room. "Well if we're SO above them then surely we should be helping them evolve like the kind, loving people we are?" Said Ace somewhat sarcastically as she stepped off the table with a flourish, throwing Hypnos' Sleep Trumpet back to the astonished God (who hugged it as though it was a long lost pet) and pulling her staff out of thin air, then she sauntered through the parting crowd towards the door, cool and calm in contrast to the burning fury around her. "Ever call me dearie again Hypnos and you won't get the Trumpet back next time." Warned Ace sweetly, making the God nod his feathered head fervently.
"You could've picked anything!! Why that?!" Zeus demanded as the girl made her way to the door with all the swagger of eight Gods in her step turning just as she made it to the door and smiling at the assembled Immortals with a glint of mischief in her eye. "Well, maybe I just wanted to see the looks on your faces, or... maybe I'm actually a good person, I guess you guys will just have to wait and see won't you?" And with that the Goddess of Chaos winked at the Immortals and teleported away in a shower of yellow sparks knowing that each of them were bound by an oath on the Styx to do whatever the winner asked of them.
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