God of War: Daughter of War

At first Kratos, Flurry, and Pandora did nothing, rather they just stood there and took in the fact that their various quests had finally come to an end, all while Gaia and the other remaining titans gathered near each other and talked about what this meant for them, as Zeus was gone and Olympus was destroyed. From what Flurry could tell the titans seemed to have their own plan now that they were free to do whatever they wanted, and it wasn't conquering the rest of Greece now that the gods were no longer in control of things, like one might assume. In reality they seemed to be planning on going out into the world and using their power to calm the world, to undo the damage that had been done by the deaths of the gods, which was a worthwhile goal since they knew that if they endangered the world at least Flurry would be coming after them with the Blade of Olympus. Kratos had no desire to bring more harm to Greece, especially not after finally stopping Zeus and ending his life, both due to wanting to get revenge on him and the fact that his madness had to be stopped, and for the first time since Flurry came into his life he found that his rage had finally quieted down.

Eventually the titans approached the intact point of Olympus that they were currently resting on, each one bowing their heads towards the trio, even though Kratos was sure the massive beings were acknowledging Flurry above all others, before departing for parts unknown, until only Gaia remained.

"It was hard fought, Spartans, but in the end you were worthy allies." Gaia said, where they could tell that she seemed just a tad bit disappointed in herself for almost turning them into enemies at the beginning of their assault, while at the same time she seemed pleased in their ability to not only best Zeus, but also the Prime Primordial Evil that had taken over his body to use it as it's own, "We will go out and use our powers to stabilize all of Greece... it will take some time before the land can begin to heal, I will not lie, so it might be years, or decades or even centuries, before everything returns to normal. It is my recommendation that you three leave Greece for some time... maybe you could try to explore the other lands that Korthek mentioned?"

"The people will be expecting a leader to emerge... and yet, after the destruction that was caused, they will not want a god or goddess to do that." Kratos stated, as he had been thinking about this since the fall of Zeus and had figured out what any of the remaining mortals of Greece might have considered after seeing everything that had happened so far, plus he had no desire to be the one in control of an entire land, and Gaia's idea to travel seemed pretty good right now, "Leaving sounds like a good idea right now... a new journey will do us some good."

Gaia nodded her head before leaving like the rest of the titans that had come before her, showing them that she trusted them to make the decision that was the best for all of them, and it wasn't long until the trio were the only ones left on the ruined peak that was once Mount Olympus, which only lasted a few moments as Hecate opened a portal near them, a fact that allowed Athena to join them.

"Kratos... Flurry... Pandora?" Athena said, as the moment she stepped out and looked at them she found that there were three warriors, not the two that everyone had been betting on since Zeus caused the father and daughter to declare war on him, though it wasn't long before she smiled and patted Pandora on the head, who smiled in return, "Let me guess: Flurry did something to the Flame of Olympus?"

"Yes. She gave the Blade to Hephaestus, who reforged it into a new form, and then she used it to absorb the Flame so we would not have to sacrifice Pandora." Kratos explained, causing Athena to nod her head in understanding, because she had come to terms with the fact that Flurry did a lot of things that defied explanation, once more causing her to wonder if she would have been the 'Goddess of Breaking Reality' if she didn't become the Goddess of Death, the latter still fitting her more than anything else, "How are the others?"

"Come and see for yourselves." Hecate commented, where Athena beckoned for the trio to follow her for a moment as she stepped back through the portal she had used to come here, causing Kratos to glance at Flurry and Pandora before all of them made sure they had all of their gear, though upon finding that they had everything they passed through the magical portal as Hecate followed them.

What they discovered on the other side of the portal was a ship that was much like the one that the gods had given them during the ten years that Kratos and Flurry had served them before Ares' death, though it was somewhat larger than the old one, no doubt to accommodate the rest of Sparta. Sure enough they found that the crew was made up of Spartans, Amazons, followers of Apollo, and everyone else that had allied with them over the years, and that there were at least five ships in their fleet, meaning a good number of people had survived the war on Olympus. In addition to Athena and Hecate the trio spotted Deimos, Artemis, Apollo, and Aphrodite standing nearby, and out of all of them the majority had worked in secret to build the fleet they were currently standing on, to save as many as they could when Zeus finally put his plans into motion. It was just confirmation of what Athena and Hecate had revealed to Kratos and Flurry back during their time in the palace that belonged to the Sisters of Fate, that their people were safe and moving to safety, not that they thought they had been lying, rather it was just nice to see all of this.

In addition to everything that was around them Kratos could see Lady Stheno near the front of the ship with gorgons that were dressed as priestesses, and not turning people to stone, while Albis herself was standing off to the side, not wanting to get in the way just yet, reminding him that they needed to have a conversation later.

"Lord Kratos, is... is it finally over?" one of the citizens of Sparta asked, speaking as Kratos, Flurry, and Pandora realized that so much had actually been saved thanks to the combined efforts of Artemis, Apollo, Athena, and Hecate, who had worked in secret to ensure Zeus didn't discover the fleet's existence.

"It is. Zeus, and the Evils of Pandora's Box, have been vanquished." Kratos replied, where the trio watched as the people on their ship cheered for their victory, as it meant that everything that had happened so far had been worth the sacrifices that had been made, no doubt thinking about the damage that had been done to Greece.

"Come, let me show you to your quarters." Athena said, beckoning for the trio to follow her as the other gods split up so they could spread the news to the rest of the ships and calm anyone who might get too excited by this information, though as all of them headed inside the ship Flurry noticed that this was still very similar to the one the gods had given them all those years ago, after the Furies were slain, "Kratos, we had to take a large portion of the main quarters away, to compensate for all those we wanted to save, but you'll find that it's still suitable for someone like yourself... we also made sure that the two rooms that were the closest to it were reserved as well, though originally Apollo had no idea why. It wasn't until Flurry asked if the Blade of Olympus could absorb the Flame that he realized you intended to save Pandora as well, hence the third room was to be hers... I'm sorry we couldn't help you sooner, Pandora."

"Oh, it's fine. You didn't want to anger Zeus, and you were already busy saving as many as you could... besides, it all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Pandora replied, though Kratos and Flurry could see that she was still saddened by the loss of the one she had seen as her father for her entire life, a figure who had been willing to do anything and everything to keep her safe from the madness of Zeus, causing Kratos to rest an arm around her head, like a hug of sorts, which she seemed to appreciate.

Athena smiled as she opened the door to the main room, allowing Kratos and Flurry to find that it was just a smaller version of the room Kratos had spent ten years in, while he served the gods, while still offering plenty of room, while the two rooms that were near it were identical to the one Flurry had slept in for years. It was more than adequate for their needs, since the people came first, though as they made sure everything was in order Kratos told Athena about how the titans were going to stabilize Greece and that it could be a long time before the land was fully healed. She also found out that Kratos was really thinking of Gaia's recommendation, to leave Greece for a number of years and then come back when everything had finally settled down, though with the sheer amount of destruction none of them were sure how long that would take. Athena found herself agreeing with them, going on a new journey sounded like a good idea, especially since there was a chance that they might find an intact island or landmass the further they got from the ruins of mount Olympus, so she decided to leave to tell the captain to just continue heading east.

Kratos, Flurry, and Pandora remained near the rooms for a moment, coming to terms with the fact that their quests were actually over, that this wasn't a dream, before heading outside to join Athena and the others, allowing them to see that the sun was actually getting closer to setting and that food was being passed around to everyone on the ship.

"You know, we've been so focused on fighting that we simply forgot to rest and eat... we're probably starving, now that I stop and think about it." Flurry commented, mostly keeping it to herself as they joined the others, though Pandora's mouth was watering as she stared at the food, as this must have been the first time in years that she was annoyed to eat anything that wasn't the rations that Zeus forced her to eat, enough to keep her alive anyway.

Kratos found himself nodding as the trio joined the others, where it felt like nothing had changed, like they were back on the ship during their ten years of service, though this time around he found that there was much to be happy about, as Sparta had survived Zeus' terrible plans. He knew that his home was more than just where it was located, it was the people that called it home, so as long as they lived Sparta would continue to survive and thrive, even if they had to start over in a brand new area, something none of the various citizens of his home seemed to be worried about. The Spartans had done so much during his reign and had created a home in places that others would deem to be too dangerous, so none of them were even worried about rebuilding, rather they seemed to like the idea so they and their gods could pick up from where they left off when Flurry went to Rhodes. Plus there were the Amazons and the other clans that had joined the fleet, all uprooted due to the conflict of the gods and now forced to find a new home, though none of them seemed to care, rather they were happy to fight, work, and travel with each other, like one big happy family.

Yet despite that fact, where the people had fun and even accepted Stheno's peaceful gorgons into the mix, without even needing to be asked to do so, there was only one who seemed to be lingering near the edge of what was going on, Albis to be exact, so when she moved towards the end of the ship, and Pandora talked with Hecate, Kratos got up and followed the gorgon, all while Flurry gave them some space.

"Albis... we need to talk." Kratos said, where the gorgon came to a stop once she reached the end of the ship, making sure both of them were far away from anyone else, like she didn't want anyone else to listen in to this conversation, though a part of him really didn't want to ask this, even though he knew he had to do so in order to put what Zeus said out of his mind, "You... you are Lysandra, are you not?"

"...I am." Albis replied, though as she turned to look at Kratos he noticed the look in her eyes, she really did look like his late wife, in fact he could see her former self as he looked at her, but as he focused on the here and now he could tell that she was nervous about being judged for withholding this information from him.

"Why? Why did you say nothing to me, after all these years?" Kratos asked, though instead of being angry and annoyed, like he might have been in the past when Lysandra tried to talk him out of his conquests, he remained calm, because he wanted to know why she didn't tell him anything and waited for him, plus Flurry for that matter, to discover her secret from Zeus.

"I almost did, when you first asked me for my name... I started to say my name, then stopped when I realized just how much pain it would have caused you." Albis answered, reminding him of the end of his and Flurry's first adventure, to kill the Furies and break his oath to Ares so he could, eventually, bring the former God of War down, where she had started to say that her name was 'L' before cutting herself off and saying 'Albis', causing her to sigh, "You had just been freed from the Furies, who must have tormented you with all sorts of memories and illusions, especially one of me in my human form no doubt, so I decided not to say anything. After that I considered revealing myself to you and Flurry multiple times, but each time I worked up the nerve to speak my mind I noticed that you seemed to be pained in some manner, either due to my and Calliope's passing, or the fact that she was forced to be alone in the afterlife... until I eventually realized that it might be best if I never revealed my true name to anyone. Instead of causing you more pain every time you looked at me, and being a constant reminder of what you had lost in the past, I decided to let 'Lysandra' be left in the past, while 'Albis' became my present and my future."

"...Lysandra..." Kratos said, though he sighed for a moment as he understood what she was saying, because when she first appeared before him and Flurry the pain of losing both his late wife and his first daughter had been made fresh thanks to the Furies and the death of Orkos, the latter bringing the terrible truth back with a vengeance, "I imagine that my rage was another reason for withholding this information?"

"Yes. I heard how you swore revenge against Ares for our deaths, saw your anger towards Hercules for his stalking of our city, at Hera for her crimes, and heard about your anger towards Persephone..." Albis replied, recounting some of the more important rage moments she had seen or heard of, where Kratos nodded in agreement as he refrained from even mentioning Zeus' betrayal, as that one had brought about the near end of Greece, before she let out a sigh, "Those events showed me you weren't ready for the information, not without growing angry with yourself and directing your rage at the gods for doing this to me for no reason. I also didn't want to undo all of Flurry's hard work in making you a better person, because you started to change after she appeared in your life, you even became a better god for all of Sparta, and I didn't want to risk ruining all of her work by revealing my secret."

"I must have disappointed you, by declaring war on Zeus." Kratos commented, though at the same time he found that his late wife chuckled a little, causing him to raise an eyebrow for a moment as he wondered what he could have said for her to do such a thing in the first place.

"Part of me was disappointed that it came to war, despite our attempts to stop Zeus... but I was mostly overjoyed, as you didn't do it for revenge: you did it for the good of Greece and it's people." Albis said, showing Kratos that while she might have been sad by all the death and destruction that had been caused by the war with the gods, especially after all the work that they did to try and stop it, she was pleased that he and Flurry had done it for the good of everyone else, saving those they could and ending those who refused to step down, "I am happy to have seen you grow into the person you have become, rage and passion included, just like I'm overjoyed to see the person that Flurry eventually became after all of the time that you two spent together... though I must admit, there is one thing I wish I could have taught her, but never got the chance to do so."

"And what is it that you could not teach her?" Kratos asked, where he thought back to everything that Albis had taught his daughter over the years, which now made sense to him since he had originally questioned how a monster could know so much about Sparta and how people, as a whole, acted in certain situations.

"Sex, obviously. Don't get me wrong, I actually love my new body, but I couldn't teach her about that part of life." Albis answered, which surprised Kratos a little, that sex would be the one thing that Lysandra couldn't teach Flurry about during all of the time they spent before the major adventures of their lives interrupted them, though he also noticed that she had something else to add to that comment, "So, while you two were dealing with Zeus and his allies, I talked with Aphrodite and she's agreed to help me out... provided that both you and Flurry are okay with it."

Kratos had to admit that he was surprised by the fact that Albis would even suggest such a thing, though at the same time he found himself agreeing with her, Aphrodite was probably the best person to ask, and he told her that he'd talk to both his daughter and the goddess in question about it later. At the same time he embraced her for a few moments, letting her know that he didn't think less of her for hiding her true identity from him and the others, plus he made sure she knew that he would abide by her wish to let the name 'Lysandra' be left in the past. Albis smiled for a moment as she rested the side of her head against him for a couple of seconds, as she was happy to see that her thoughts were right, he was a different person these days and she was eager to see how he grew in the weeks to come, before they heard something happen near where Flurry was sitting. With that in mind Kratos and Albis separated for a few seconds, made sure that they were ready to rejoin the others, and returned to the portion of the deck that Flurry and their friends, plus the crew, happened to be in, as it was time to see what was going on now.

What they found, however, was that Pandora was standing near Hecate, where the former was now wearing a robe that let her hide her face and body from everyone else, causing him to wonder if they might have missed her getting hurt and this was to make sure the crew didn't see it until she was fully healed.

"Pandora... is something wrong?" Kratos asked, which seemed to be what the rest of the group, namely Flurry, his brother, and the rest of their godly friends, were thinking right now, save for Hecate since this had to be what the girl had talked to her about earlier, all while noticing that Flurry was keeping an eye on something else that he'd have to ask about later.

"No, of course not. I just... wanted to make a private announcement, in front of your friends and family." Pandora replied, to which she pulled the hood back and undid the left part of the robe that Hecate must have given her for this, only for Kratos and Deimos to pause as they noticed what was different about her, there was a blue tattoo, which was perfectly identical to the one Kratos marked himself with to honor his brother, right where Kratos' was, "Kratos, wou... would it be alright if I... joined your family?"

"I'm not against it, but I must ask: why the altered tattoo?" Deimos inquired, because his own brother had marked himself with his iconic red tattoo, perfectly shaped to match his own birthmark, and while his niece hadn't marked herself, she had no need to since she bared her own unique mark that had worried Zeus once he saw it, he was interested in figuring out why Pandora would do such a thing.

"Well, it's actually an illusion that Hecate applied to me, when I told her of my desires... but I wanted to bare it because I don't seen it as a symbol of terror, rather I see it as one of hope." Pandora stated, something Kratos could see the instant she let the words leave her mouth, as the girl saw hope where others might see despair or fear, like how she saw him as a warrior of hope and not the harbinger of Greece's destruction, causing him to realize that her connection to hope was far greater than he originally thought, "We figured that if things didn't work out, and the family didn't want to be expanded, it was better to use an illusion than permanently inking my body for no reason."

"Are you okay with this, Aphrodite?" Artemis asked, because she wanted to know what Pandora's only remaining parent thought about this idea, even though she personally thought that this was a good idea, as the young girl seemed to work well with Kratos and Flurry, making her a little interested in what her future held for her, "She is your daughter, after all."

"Technically she's my adoptive daughter... but, if she wants to call Kratos 'father' and Flurry 'sister', well, I'm not going to stand in her way." Aphrodite replied, as she knew she hadn't done a good job helping Hephaestus raise Pandora, much less keep her safe from Zeus, and felt that if Pandora wanted to be adopted into the family of gods that watched over all of Sparta, gods that she and the others had become friendly with over the years, she was fine with the girl's decision.

Kratos let out a light chuckle as he welcomed Pandora into the family, he wasn't about to tell her 'no' after seeing how she fought and the fact that she and Flurry were already fast friends thanks to them talking to each other thanks to the statue the Smith God had given them years ago, something that made Pandora overjoyed as she hugged everyone in the family in turn before heading off to actually make the tattoo a reality.

"I'm glad that she's happy... though it seems that someone's watching us." Flurry commented, where Kratos, Deimos, and the rest of the assembled gods found that a fairly large goshawk, larger than the hawks they had seen so far, was resting on her extended right arm, where Kratos noticed it was wearing a golden chain necklace with an olive branch icon linked to it, a pair of odd almost crystalline looking eyes, and a piece of paper that it let her take.

The gods raised an eyebrow as they focused on the bird for a moment, as it seemed different from the ones that flew over Greece, in fact Flurry was almost sure it had some sort of tattoos on it's left wing and one on it's forehead, where the latter looked like some sort of triangle, while Kratos took the piece of parchment and opened it so he could look at whatever had been written on it.

"What does it say?" Athena asked, though she had to admit she had never seen tattoos like the one the bird had, which told them that it couldn't be from Greece, which only made her that much more interested in what it's message had to say, especially since it was delivered to Flurry, of all people, like the bird knew something they didn't.

"These... are instructions on how to leave Greece." Kratos replied, where he showed the others and they found that it was a list of specific directions for them to take if they wanted to leave the land that they had called home for a long time, as in they could see a list of landmarks they would have to pass by to reach a 'bridge' of sorts between Greece and some place called the 'Land Between Realms', a promised safe haven, "I would like to rest on this information... we can discuss this in the morning, once we have had some time to process what has happened."

As the others nodded their heads Flurry thanked the bird, who seemed to bow it's head for a moment before taking off, to which she looked towards the east for a time and wondered what the future might hold for them now that they were free of Zeus and his madness.