God of War: Daughter of War

Following their discussion with Athena, and setting their plans in motion, Kratos, Flurry, Deimos, and Albis went about their lives as if nothing drastic had changed over the last few days, as they knew better than to rise to the threats that Zeus and Hera had made after their visit to Argos. The plan was quite simple, they would visit one of the locations on their list, see what the loyalists of Ares were up to, try and convince them to surrender without killing them, and then fight their way through a host of angry soldiers while doing minimal damage to the cities and towns they traveled to. They wanted to do as little damage to the various locations as possible, to give the gods less of a reason to attack them or call them warmongers, as it would cut down on the reasons Zeus would be able to use against them in the future, and Kratos often punished those who dared to desecrate the temples of the gods. The loyalists who survived their visitations of the locations that were on their list either ended up dead, for not begging forgiveness from the gods of Sparta, or decided to be smart and asked for Kratos to spare them, usually ending in them being conscripted into the army to prove themselves.

The only downside to their plan was that they had to go slowly, instead of the fast paced method that Ares would have used if he was in charge of things, though this was for the best, as it would show Zeus, Hera, and the rest of the Olympians that they weren't warmongers. Zeus, much to their growing annoyance, continued to declare that Kratos and his family were nothing more than beasts, though in the first few years it really did seem like he was happy to see them spread the glory of Olympus to the rest of Greece, something that changed over the years. Hera, as they found out, was no better than her husband, she sought every opportunity to look down on them, to criticize them or their methods of war, or belittle most of the Spartan army, or be an outright menace to the family whenever they were trying to socialize with the other gods. Those weren't the only things she was doing to ruin their reputations, in an attempt to piss them off so they'd retaliate and do exactly what Zeus wanted them to do, as she spread rumors of their madness to the other gods, or how they loved to go around what her husband told them to do.

In fact Flurry found that a fair number of the other gods were starting to shun them, partly due to the fact that they saw her father and uncle as nothing more than warmongers who needed to be put down before they endangered the rest of Greece, as if they were just as bad as Ares had been before his demise. Some even dared to attack Albis when she was wandering the halls of Olympus, calling her a monster, as if that was all she was to them, and caused her to just abandon the realm of the gods entirely, returning to Sparta where she was accepted and wouldn't be in danger of being assaulted. Of course both Kratos and Deimos had come to her aid whenever the other gods tried to do such a thing, but it only succeeded in doing more damage to their tarnished reputations, something neither of them really cared about since the odds were clearly not in their favor. Flurry also found that she was shunned by the other gods, both because of the fact that she was a pony, which meant she was getting the same treatment that Artemis and Apollo had been getting all their lives, and because of the fact that she happened to be the Goddess of Death.

Part of her was somewhat amused by the fact that so many shunned her because of that, like they refused to acknowledge Death as part of their lives, though it did hurt when some gods, like Poseidon, glared at them and joined Zeus' side, as if they forgot what she and her father had done for them in the past.

Athena, for the most part, did her best to make sure Zeus and the others didn't realize that she was actively helping them in their plans, rather she was making it look like she was mostly neutral in the grand scheme of things, meaning there was a chance that she could gain more information to aid them in their plans. Zeus and Hera either didn't know about her siding with them or they didn't care enough to speak about it, where Athena told them that it was likely the former, as she told the King and his wife that she was still watching over the gods of Sparta, like when they were mortal. It was the best way for her to avoid being discovered, because if Zeus thought that she was working to secure the future, a twisted future that he and Hera were clearly working towards, he wouldn't task her with any other jobs and she could do everything in her power to aid the group without being seen. There was one other goddess that might be on their side, as Aphrodite kept frowning at the other gods whenever they tore down the hard work that Kratos and his family were putting into their tasks, though it was hard to tell if she was trying to be nice or if she was really on their side, since she never outright came out and said it.

Another thing Flurry discovered over the years was that Artemis and Apollo practically disappeared from Olympus, as in the twin gods simply stopped coming, as one day Hera made it painfully clear that she despised the animal gods and that her husband was the same, which saddened her since it meant her friends vanished as well. She knew they were still out there, somewhere in Greece, but for the most part the twins wanted to be alone, to just relax and not get heated due to being treated like trash, though she did think they were strong for dealing with it for as long as they had. Hecate was also withdrawn, though it was more due to the fact that she had several disagreements with both Zeus and Hera, in fact one of them had been about Hercules being granted access to her island, against her wishes, and the slaughter of some of her animals before she hurled him all the way back to Olympus with her magic. After that she locked her island off so that no one, not even Zeus, could bother her and simply withdrew from the realm of the gods, while also making sure to seal off her domain in Olympus so no one else could get in, though most of the other gods assumed that this was so she could cool off before something terrible happened.

Flurry really had no idea what was going on, other than the fact that the Olympians were starting to fall apart before their very eyes, though she could only hope that this wasn't a sign of ill omen and that things weren't going to get worse as time went on.

Kratos sighed as he sat on the throne of the God of War, as he and his family had spent thirteen long years to try and stop the Marked Warrior prophecy, but they were constantly hounded by Zeus and those who wanted to label them as the 'monsters' they believed them to be. Based on the plan they had come up with they had done everything by the book, as there was no true warmongering or massive loss of life, rather he and his family dealt with the rest of Ares' final loyalists, liberated the locations that they were in control of, and let the now freed people offer their thanks to Olympus, only for Zeus and Hera to belittle everyone involved. After the fourth year of it Kratos had decided that it might be best to have an emergency plan for the people of Sparta, a safe haven they could escape to in the event that one of the gods decided to launch an attack on his citizens, which required clearing out the nearby pass between here and the sea, since the various monsters would terrorize them. Deimos had taken on that role, leading patrols of Spartans into the mountains to clear out all sorts of trouble while keeping an eye on the builders who were making it safe for the citizens who might need to use it in the future, all without drawing attention to what they were doing.

While he, the God of War, wasn't allowed to actually go into battle without the backing of his followers, which Ares ignored before his demise, Kratos had a workaround that allowed his soldiers to know that he was with them without having to be there, as Flurry was allowed to do what he could not. She joined the Spartans when they were sent out to deal with more of the remaining loyalists, leading them to victory as they cheered for both their gods and those on Olympus, since they all knew that ticking off Zeus was a bad thing and wanted to stay away from his ire. Flurry did everything that Kratos knew she would do, as in she would deal with the loyalists, make sure the temples and the citizens were safe, and, if she could do so, convert some defeated foes into additional allies for Sparta, though there were times where she had to wipe out an entire group to settle things. It gave her time to take care of potential threats as they pushed to make the gods realize that Hera was wrong, that Zeus was wrong, but both he and his daughter knew the truth, that it was only a matter of time until someone blew and war unfolded on all of Greece, and they were determined not to be the aggressors of that conflict.

With thirteen more years behind them Kratos knew that Flurry no longed needed him looking over her shoulder like he had when she was younger, as she was now twenty-seven and had matured into a beautiful woman, though since she was technically his 'champion', in the eyes of Olympus, that meant he could observe her from time to time.

That usually meant he'd check in when she went out on their campaigns, taking the fight to their enemies and was usually followed by him nodding to himself as he watched her fight from the observing bowl that Ares had likely once used when he was the former God of War's champion. He knew that she was slightly disappointed in the fact that no one thanked her for her hard work, save for the Spartans who fought beside her, but he knew that there was a deep loneliness inside his daughter, a yearning for someone special to share her life with, though she sealed that part of her life shut, as no one had any desire to bed the Goddess of Death. He wasn't sure if it was due to her godhood or the fact that he was her father, but it was sad to see that no one had the desire to let her explore that part of her life, something he decided to resolve once they were done with the loyalists, as Aphrodite was the one to ask on a topic like this. There was also the fact that Flurry did look younger than what she actually was, as he had to assume it was due to her godhood, due to Athena telling them that gods aged slowly and they were no exception to that rule, so while she was twenty-seven she looked more like she was twenty, a good sign in his eyes.

Such a thing caused him to sigh for a moment as he heard some footsteps, where he found Athena walking up to where his observation area was located, though the pair only nodded to each other as the goddess came to a stop, allowing both of them to focus on the scene that was unfolding before them.

"Flurry, report: what is the status of your last campaign?" Kratos asked, because if Athena was here it meant that it was about time for them to see if their thoughts were right, as in would Zeus make a move against them, since they had done a lot to try and thwart his attempts to make them into the monsters he thought they were, or would the King of the Gods stay his hand and let there be peace in Olympus.

"The loyalist defenses has been broken, but it will take another hour before they are totally defeated." Flurry replied, as she had stopped by the statue of her father that the Spartans had brought into the city, to prepare for replacing the old statue of Ares in the main temple, the final sign of their victory over the last of Ares' stubborn forces, though as she said that she noticed something and loosed an arrow, taking down an archer before he could even hit her, "Provided there are no unnecessary distractions, and no monsters loosed into the city, Rhodes should be liberated before the end of the day, just as you ordered."

Good. Go with the gods... Go with Olympus. Kratos stated, using the same phrase that the other gods used when they talked to their mortal champions, or even the champions of other gods, where Flurry found that her father's presence faded from the statue, causing her to nod to everyone else as she headed deeper into Rhodes.

As Flurry stepped out into the open, and started to walk down the street that she had been moving through previously, she spotted a large eagle, slightly taller than a normal one, land on the massive bronze statue that was known as the Colossus of Rhodes and transfer a bit of blue lightning energy into the structure. She had to resist the urge to groan, as it was clear that a certain god was making his move at long last, just after her remark about unnecessary distractions no less, causing her to issue new orders to her soldiers, that being taking out the rest of the loyalists and making sure that all of the citizens were safe. With that done she resumed moving, slashing her way through the enemy soldiers that were in front of her as they found that the rumors about her sickles were true, they were incredibly deadly and her skill was on a level that was beyond what a mortal was capable of. While she did that Flurry found that the Colossus was coming after her, as it marched through the bay and threw a punch down at the area she was in, causing her to link her weapons for a moment as she formed her sickle staff, which she spun like a shield and blocked the attack, repelling the statue before it had a chance to hit her.

In the next moment she held her hand out and the Blade of Artemis formed, where she flapped her wings and took off as the Colossus tried to grab her, causing the statue to realize that her speed was nothing it could match as she slashed at it's right arm without wasting time. Such a thing left deep gouges in the material, causing the statue to howl in pain, which was a design flaw in her eyes since this thing was supposed to fight without a care in the world, so giving it the ability to feel all sorts of pain meant it would stall at the worst possible moment. After that she flipped forward and ran along the rest of the arm, swinging the blade a few more times as she left more damage in her way, before jumping into the air as she drove Artemis' weapon deep into it's right eye, showing that she knew it's weak points and that she was going to use them against it. A few seconds later the magic that gave the statue life detonated, or at least the portion below where the blade was located, and Flurry weaved her power around her to make sure she emerged unscathed, even though it ended up blasting her all the way across Rhodes.

She ended up smashing through one of the walls of a bathhouse, where she found a number of ladies getting out of the water and discovered that each of them weren't wearing tops, revealing their breasts to the world, causing her to tell all of them to get to safety as she flapped her wings and took off again.

As she took to the air once more she found that the Colossus was ready for her, swinging it's arms at her in an attempt to deal damage to her, where Flurry flipped over it's outstretched hand and slashed into the exposed left arm for a time, as it allowed her to get up close and personal to the face. This time around she used her sickles, slashing into the material as her power clashed with the power that was inside the statue, where the power of Death won and the small patches that she had struck went dead, the blue energy fading away, but it was minor since the Colossus could still move freely. It tried to backhand her and she dodged the attack with ease, finding that it had loosed a rock as well and flew into the path to slow it down with her magic, allowing her to drop it into the bay after breaking part of a building, one that had an alcove with an intricate urn inside it, a magical one to be exact. Flurry, sensing that it might be bad if someone else found it, just picked the urn up and stuffed it inside her pouch, though once that was done she burst into the air once more and came to a stop as the sky opened up, like a god was coming for a visit, only to find that it was a weapon.

The large blade, as long and as large as the Blade of Artemies, rippled through the air before slamming down into part of the port, or an area overlooking the port, and Flurry found that it seemed to be made fully out of either bronze or gold, all while looking like it had a hollow center, one that was pulsing with blue energy as golden lightning arched off it and lightly touched the ground around it.

"What is THAT?!" Flurry asked, even though she was sure no one would answer her question, but it didn't stop her from being curious as to what the blade was, because this was the first time she had see the weapon, and if it was from Zeus she only had to wonder where, in all of Olympus, he had been hiding it.

That is the Blade of Olympus, Flurry Heart. a commanding voice answered, which was non other than Zeus himself, meaning he must have been watching and was now, at long last, putting his plan into action, all while she stared at the blade as the Colossus made it's way up to where the weapon was located, It was this blade that ended the war with the titans, all those years ago... I offer it, and it's power, to you in your time of need. Drain your godly power into it and use it to strike down the Colossus.

Flurry couldn't help but chuckle at that, as this was clearly a trap to take out someone who threatened the safety of both the mortal realm and Olympus, or at least it seemed that way in Zeus' eyes, though she just had to check it out for just a moment as she landed near the blade. She could feel it's power, without even touching it, and as she walked over to it she moved her right sickle into her left hand, carrying two in one for a moment, before grasping the handle, where she found that the power inside the blade stalled for a second, like it was interacting with her power. In the next moment she felt the energy of the blade surge into her, like a handshake or something similar, meaning it acknowledged her and wasn't going to siphon her godly power away like Zeus had suggested, causing her to grin as she pulled it from the stone it had landed in and raised it so the tip was facing the Colossus. She shifted her stance for a moment as she returned her sickles to her belt, as she wanted to see what this weapon was capable of, before rushing at the massive statue and ducked under the punch that came her way, allowing her to slash out with the Blade of Olympus and remove the left hand before her foe had a chance to pull it's arm back.

That brought a smile to her face as she landed on the right arm and slashed into it, removing sections of bronze that fell into the bay below them, avoiding everyone that was running away from what was going on, though when it tried to use it's missing hand against her she jumped onto the other arm and continued her assault. As the Colossus raised it's other limb again Flurry fell back towards the ground before spinning around, lashing at it's exposed chest without delay as she also called forth the blade's power, blasting a hole in the statue's chest that exposed it's insides to everyone. Instead of heading inside it, like her father might do, Flurry continued her assault on the exterior as she tore into the arms, chest, legs, and even the neck and head, showing that her speed was far greater than the statue's, and with every gash she left in her wake the weaker the statue got. A few moments later, when the statue staggered on it's own, Flurry smashed into the side of it's head, entering what seemed to be the hollow inside that allowed the workers to build the Colossus, and found the energy source that was powering everything, allowing her to drive the blade into it and found that it siphoned the blue energy into it.

Once that was done, and the 'spine' of the Colossus was severed, Flurry flew out of the opening she had created and got away from the statue's head, where she found that the lingering remnants of the energy detonated and caused the entire statue to fall, though she avoided the falling hand as she watched it collapse into the bay.

"You have done well, Flurry Heart." Zeus said, as he suddenly appeared in front of her as the Colossus faded into the bay, a lot of hard work ruined by one god's desire to see Sparta lose one of it's gods, before he paused as he noticed that she was just fine, in fact he realized that his plan had failed, "How do you still have your godhood?"

"Honestly, I think the blade likes me... while it was unnecessary for you to aid me, you have my thanks for allowing me to use it for a time." Flurry replied, though as she said that she found that her father, no doubt summoned to Rhodes by the rest of the army to assist in taking down the Colossus, or maybe he was here to celebrate their victory now that the battle was over, before she spun the blade around and held the handle out for Zeus to take, which he did.

As Flurry turned away, however, Kratos found that Zeus showed his true colors at last, as he seemed to think that what his daughter had done to use the Blade of Olympus, without draining herself, was worthy of her perishing by his hand, where he rushed at the King of the Gods, intending on knocking him to the ground, only for them to find that he turned and thrust the blade into Kratos' abdomen.

"It doesn't matter which of you is the warrior of prophecy, I'll kill you both, here and now, to save Olympus from the doom you'll bring to us." Zeus stated, showing that he was totally crazy, that something inside him had snapped, either before coming up with this plan or after seeing how Flurry was able to use the Blade of Olympus without consequences, though at the same time Kratos coughed up some blood as he found himself suddenly getting weaker, "The warmongering God of War, a repeat of Ares and his constant need for war, and a minor goddess who brings death to every part of Greece... I will be doing the land a favor by ending your lives."

"Warmongering?! We did nothing wrong! You told us to deal with the loyalists, which is what we did!" Flurry snapped, as she was enraged by what she was seeing and drew her sickles without delay, though before she could even react Zeus struck her with an incredibly powerful lightning bolt that pushed her back into one of the walls of Rhodes, breaking the area around her in the process.

"Be still you insignificant speck. I'll deal with you once your father is finally dead." Zeus said, though as he said that he did one more push with the Blade of Olympus, making sure that the blade was fully coming out of Kratos' backside, before finding that the armor Hephaestus made was breaking, falling to the ground like it was nothing, "Do you have any words, former God of War?"

"Yeah, I do: watch your back, Zeus, because after this stunt your a dead man!" Kratos replied, because now that they knew that Zeus was willing to do all of this, and possibly more to kill him and his daughter, it was only a matter of time until he broke out of the Underworld, reunited with Flurry, and tore down everything and anything in their path to bring the King of the Gods down for his crimes.

The last thing Flurry saw as her world went dark was a shimmering tear in what seemed to be the fabric of time and space opened near Zeus, where she saw two figures emerging from it and clashing with Zeus, though before she could figure out who they were she slipped into unconsciousness and hoped that Zeus didn't come for her while her defenses were down.