//------------------------------//
// Visiting the Underworld 
// Story: Oh no, they're Goddesses now! 
// by James Pwyll 
//------------------------------//

"Okay, where was it? Oh, right! Get past the rocks of unyielding darkness, walk a few miles past the chasm of eternal despair, and eventually you'll come to the gates of the Underworld. "Lemon Zest smiled as she placed her hands upon her hips, looking around and seeming pretty confident. Her surroundings were far from pleasant, but then, when one was making their way to the Underworld, pleasantness wasn't really to be expected. Turning a corner, the green-haired youth smiled again, seeing the massive and ominous-looking doors before her. They were engraved with images of unhappy people and monstrous beasts, and atop it was an inscription that, after squinting her eyes to, she started to read aloud. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." After a moment she chuckled. "Heh, sounds like what I'd hear before going to a family reunion." She approached the door, giving herself a quick stretch before pushing on them as hard as she could. "Whoo-boy! These are some pretty heavy ones!"

As a mortal, it was perhaps expected that a doorway crafted by the gods themselves wouldn't be easy to move, and yet, with all her determination and gumption, Lemon actually managed to cause it to slowly creak open. How long it had been since anybody opened these things, she couldn't say, and in truth she really didn't care. She was here for one thing and one thing only, and she was determined to get it. But she didn't need to open the doors all the way of course, as she only needed enough space to slip in. Once in, it was pitch darkness, and she squinted again to try and see where she was, to no avail. "Huh...probably should've brought a torch with me." Then, the moment she'd said those words, she was suddenly surrounded by dozens of blazing torches, coming to life after who knows how long. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, but she saw them stretch out for ages down a long and still-dark hall. "Well...at least I can see now."

"For all the good it will do you, mortal."

Lemon glanced around, raising an eyebrow. "...Hello?"

Then, from within the shadows, a figure emerged, clad in an all-encompassing black robe. It appeared to be around the same height as her, and when it approached, Lemon watched as it lowered it's hood, revealing a young-looking man, with pale skin and a greenish-blue pudding-bowl haircut. Lemon at first thought he was the same age as she was, but given where they were she suspected pretty quickly what he actually was. "So...God?"

The boy nodded. "Indeed. I am Stygian, mortal! God of Death and guard to the Underworld! Servant for the great Lord Sombra, the ruler of this dark domain!"

But Lemon, in stark contrast to how Stygian might have expected, actually smiled. "Neat. I'm Lemon by the way. Nice to meet you."

Stygian blinked, then glanced left and right before focusing on her again. "Um...yes...well...know that no mortal shall pass beyond this point, fair maiden."

Lemon, hearing that, smirked slightly before snickering a little. "Fair maiden? Sorry, bud, but I'm spoken for, so flattery's not gonna do you any good."

Stygian blushed a little, then coughed deliberately, trying his best to stay as dignified as he possibly could. "Know now that this is no realm for the living! Turn back now and return from whence ye came!"

Lemon folded her arms, looking to him with incredulity. "Yeah...no, that ain't gonna happen."

Hearing that, Stygian's shoulders slumped. "Oh come on! I've got a job to do here, lady! My boss is gonna be really mad if I don't keep mortals out!"

Lemon shrugged. "I'm here on pretty important business, so I'm gonna need to see this 'boss' of yours anyway. So would you mind letting me in?"

Stygian frowned. "Didn't you hear me? I said no mortals were allowed in here!"

The mortal girl tapped her foot impatiently against the rocky floor, then sighed, shrugging her shoulders again. "Alright. Didn't want to have to do this, but..." She turned to the side, kicking off her sandals and unceremoniously tossing them on the floor, followed shortly afterwards by her slipping down one shoulder strap of her short-dress.

Stygian, seeing this, widened his eyes immediately. "Wha...what are you doing?!"

Lemon rolled her eyes. "Well obviously I'm giving you my clothes so you'll let me pass! Duh!"

Stygian blinked a couple of times, unsure of how to take that. "I...but...what?!"

Lemon, who was well into the process of slipping out of her dress now, tried to explain herself. "Everyone knows that in order to get into the Underworld you've gotta pay the toll with your clothes."

Stygian slapped his own forehead. "That's not a thing! That's never been a thing!" Then, realising that he was standing right in front of a girl who was fast becoming naked before him, he immediately covered his eyes with one hand. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, Miss, but you really need to get going now." When silence was all he got, he tried again. "...Miss? Hello?" Then, after further silence, he sighed deeply. "Right...she just ran past me when I covered my eyes, didn't she?"

Lemon, who had indeed done that, merrily strolled through the dark chasms and tunnels of the Underworld, eventually making it into that domain proper, where wandering and lonely souls flew through the air, wailing and moaning as they mourned their lost lives. Seeing all that, Lemon gave a quick nod. "Huh...neat." Then, with eyes on the prize, she spotted a towering figure in the distance, who appeared to be conversing with a woman. Knowing who that was, Lemon confidently strode forward, getting closer and closer to the armored being ahead of her. "Yo! You Lord Sombra?"

Sombra, who was naturally surprised to be addressed like that, turned and looked on with some confusion at this unexpected guest. "Um...Radiant? My sweet?"

"Yes, dearest?" Radiant answered.

"...Why is there a naked mortal girl here?"

Radiant shrugged. "Dunno, but let's just give her what she wants so she can leave before you get any ideas."

Sombra frowned to that, then cleared his throat, trying to sound and look as imposing as he could. "Foolish mortal! Dare ye enter this forbidden realm of death and darkness?!"

Lemon, utterly unintimidated by this, stopped just a few feet away from him. "Er, yeah, I kinda did. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd let me have my girlfriend back?"

Sombra paused, looking to Radiant, who just shrugged again, before regarding Lemon a second time. "Your girlfriend?"

Lemon nodded. "Yeah, she slipped and fell off a cliff the other day and died. But, I figured instead of crying and stuff I should just mosey on down here and get her back."

Sombra narrowed his eyes, clearly not enthused with that notion. "At what point did the dreaded Underworld become a place mortals just thought they could 'mosey on down' to?"

Lemon smirked. "So...about my girlfriend? Her name's Sugarcoat by the way."

Sombra snorted with irritation, but after looking to his wife, who seemed pretty amused by this whole situation, he relented, rubbing the bridge of his nose out of frustration before finally speaking as calmly as he could. "Very well. I shall grant your request and return your lover to you."

Lemon clapped her hands together. "Sweet!"

Then Sombra raised a finger. "But know this, Lemon Zest! To have her back, you must depart from the Underworld, and return once more to the land of the living. And should you turn back, if you give even a single glance behind you before you reach your realm, your loved one shall be lost to you forever!"

Lemon considered that. "So...no do-overs?"

Sombra leaned in closer, until he was looking her right in the eye. "No, Lemon...there aren't any do-overs."

To that, Lemon simply smiled. "Alright then. Later!" And so she turned, leaving a bewildered and utterly exasperated Sombra behind her. On and on she walked, going right back the way she came, never paying any heed to the ghosts and ghouls she crossed along the way, even just happily phasing right through them when they barred her path. Eventually, she came upon Stygian once more, who again covered his eyes as she approached, with the girl actually speaking to him again moments afterwards. "So...you mind if I...?" Lemon pointed to her pile of clothes on the floor.

Stygian, for his part, just waved his hand in the general direction of the Underworld entrance. "Yes! Yes! Just take them and go!"

Happy with this Lemon took a quick moment to pick up her clothes and, without even bothering to put them on again, confidently marched out of the Underworld properly. Soon, she was outside, and after taking a deep lungful of fresh air, she finally turned around. Sure enough, as the Lord of the Underworld had promised, there was Sugarcoat. The other girl, though naturally a little disoriented at being alive again, was actually more confused than anything as she looked to her partner. "Huh...I was rather expecting you to turn around at the last moment and doom me to an eternity down there."

But Lemon just snorted to that. "Pfft! What?! No! That was the one thing he told me not to do, remember? Why would I be so stupid to ignore that?!"

Sugarcoat, in a rare moment for her, smiled. "Yeah, good point.

Stygian, who was finally feeling a moment of relaxation over all this, looked on from within the cave entrance at the two reunited lovers. "Huh...wonder if I'll get fired for this?"

Then, without warning, a deeper voice whispered to him from behind. "Oh...you are extremely fired for this."

After just a pause, Stygian sighed. "Well...shoot."