//------------------------------//
// Ghost of Sparta...in One Chapter 
// Story: You Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter 
// by Tatsurou 
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	Kratos' sleep, though more peaceful than it had been as a mortal, had yet to become truly peaceful.  New nightmarish visions echoed through his mind, bringing him to wakefulness when he desired slumber.  Each time he started awake, three furry heads would poke over the edge of the bed in concern, followed by a very poofy mane.  "Same dream again, Daddy?" Pinkie asked.

Smiling, Kratos reached out to caress all four concerned faces.  Fluffy wagged his tail in response, while Pinkie wriggled happily.  "Yes," Kratos replied.  "The same dream.  The strangers attacking my village when I was a child...my brother being taken...my mother calling out to me from Atlantis..."

Pinkie scratched her chin.  "This is the seventh time this week you've had that dream.  I'm beginning to think it's not a dream."

Kratos nodded.  "If it is not, then there is only one thing to do."

"Yuppers!" Pinkie agreed.  "You need to ask Zeus and Poseidon to let you use the Olympian Gates to visit the Temple of Poseidon in Atlantis!"

Kratos blinked.  He had thought to contact Calliope to gather the Spartans to set sail for Atlantis and force his way in.  He never would have thought to ask permission to visit.  "Indeed," he agreed, not about to admit to his own foolishness before Pinkie Pie.  "I will go to do so at once."  Standing, he strode quickly to the Gathering Chamber, where the gods met to discuss affairs mortal and divine alike.

As he approached, he heard Zeus and Poseidon discussing something.

"Are you certain?" Poseidon was asking.  "All the plans are undone?"

"I just got back from speaking with the Fates," Zeus explained.  "They cannot perceive her.  Anything involving her is warped by her actions, beyond any ability to predict or foretell.  Even the prophecy I acted on before no longer holds sway."

"In that case-"  Poseidon cut himself off as Kratos entered.  "Kratos, what is it you seek?"

As Zeus turned to him, Kratos spoke up.  "I seek to use the Olympian Gates to visit my mother in your Temple in Atlantis," he told Poseidon, turning from one older god to the other.

Zeus frowned, stroking his chin in concern, thoughts of the prophecy amongst other things filling his mind, seeking an explanation for how Kratos had learned where his mother was.  Poseidon also frowned, feeling belligerent in the sudden atmosphere of uncertainty.

Remembering something Pinkie had said some time before, Kratos added, "Please."

Zeus and Poseidon's jaws both dropped.  "Uh...sure," Zeus allowed, completely poleaxed.

"Go ahead," Poseidon added, just as stupefied.

Kratos turned to collect Pinkie, Fluffy, Calliope, and Leonidas.  He smiled as he walked.  Truly, it was indeed a word of powerful magic.

Zeus turned to Poseidon.  "Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Kratos said please!" Poseidon replied, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Truly, Pinkie Pie's influence upon him has been profound," Zeus added.

"But..."  Poseidon stroked his chin.  "What influence is she having on the rest of us?"

The gods were lost in thought at the implications of that.





Arriving at the Temple via the Gates, Kratos and his companions were guided to where his mother rested.  "Kratos," she spoke up weakly.  "how I have missed you."  She reached up towards him.  "I have waited so long..."

"Mother," Kratos whispered, kneeling beside her.

"Grandma?" Pinkie asked excitedly, popping up beside Kratos to look at her excitedly.

"Grandmother?" Calliope added, stepping up beside Pinkie.

Leonidas rushed up from between Calliope's legs.  Fluffy stuck his heads over Pinkie's shoulders.

Callisto looked from one face to another in confusion.  "Kratos...who did you wed?"

Pinkie burst into fits of giggles as Calliope tilted her head in confusion.  Kratos shook his head ruefully.  "It is a long story, mother."

"Then I fear...I don't have time to hear it..." Callisto replied.  "I have-"

She was interrupted as Pinkie stuffed a cupcake into her mouth.  "Eat this!" she said happily.  "Then you'll have plenty of time!"

Confused, she consumed the cupcake, moaning happily at the taste.  "What wondrous medicine was that?" she asked as she felt strength return to her.

"A new cupcake recipe!" Pinkie said happily.  "Normally it's just a dessert, but this one I made with some stuff from Olympus because Daddy dreamed you were weak.  Figured this would help you regain your strength."

Callisto nodded as she sat up.  "Amazing," she admitted.  "So...you mentioned a long story, son?"  She turned to Kratos.  "How is one of my granddaughters a talking pony?"

"Oh, Daddy adopted me after finding me in the ruins of the Furies' Temple, which he destroyed because they were trying to make him go back to serving Ares, who he'd turned his back on after making him kill his wife and daughter!" Pinkie said quickly.

Blinking, Callisto turned from Kratos to Calliope in confusion.

"That was me," Calliope admitted.  "Pinkie made me better."

"You have conquered Death?" Callisto asked Pinkie in shock.

"Oh, Hades has been a really good friend ever since I helped him repair his marriage with Persephone after I put her to sleep after she tried to destroy everything in a quest for revenge against Olympus for not allowing her to divorce him," Pinkie explained.  "But now they're happily married, even if Hades is a little creepy now."

Callisto nodded.  "And...the cerberus hounds?" she asked, pointing to Fluffy and Leonidas.

"We picked them up in Pandora's Temple!" Pinkie explained.  "They were just too adorable!  And they helped us help Daddy retrieve Pandora's Box, which we were going to use to kill Ares at Zeus' directions, but then we didn't need it, and now Daddy's the new God of War.  And then Daddy had the dreams about you and his brother and Zeus and Poseidon gave permission for us to come see you!"

Callisto's mouth opened and closed slowly as she struggled to wrap her mind around all of this.  The last thing stuck with her.  "Zeus gave you permission to come see me?" she asked.

Kratos nodded.  "It was Pinkie's idea to ask for permission."

"It is a good thing she did," Callisto explained.  "Because it was Zeus who brought me here and forbade me from telling you what I tell you now save upon my deathbed."

Kratos' eyes widened.  "But why would he order that?"

"Because it was he who ordered your brother be caged deep in Death's own realm, where Thanatos tortures him to this day," Callisto explained.

Pinkie gasped.  "Zeus has a lot to answer for!" she proclaimed angrily.  "Why would he not tell his own son that?"

"Zeus is my father?" Kratos asked in surprise.

"How do you know that?" Callisto demanded.

"I can see the god glow!" Pinkie explained.  "All gods have two colors of glow.  The inner color is their father, while the outer color is their own.  That's why Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all have the same dark brown glow that Kronos had.  And Athena, Ares, and now Daddy all have the same yellow inner glow that is Zeus' outer glow!"

Kratos could feel his rage beginning to build in him, but he pushed it aside.  "Can you come back to Olympus with us?  Or back to Sparta with Calliope?"

Callisto shook her head.  "Zeus has forbidden it.  I may not leave this Temple, save through death."

"We'll talk him around!" Pinkie said happily.  "He can't resist my cupcakes!"

Callisto chuckled.  "I imagine not."

Kratos, Pinkie, and Calliope gave Callisto a farewell embrace, and she endured the canine affection from Fluffy and Leonidas.  The group then made their way back to the Gate, and to Olympus.  Callisto's last directions - that the path to Thanatos' realm would begin in the Temple of Ares in Sparta - echoed in their minds.





As Kratos passed through Olympus on his way to Sparta, Zeus called out to him.  "Kratos!  A moment!"

Kratos turned.  "I am not exactly in the mood to hear your words...Father."

Zeus sighed.  "Callisto told you?"

"Of what you had done," Kratos explained.  "It was Pinkie who revealed that you were my father."

"Kratos..." Zeus began, then sighed.  "Kratos, before you go off, will you allow me to explain?  ...please?"

Kratos wanted to ignore Zeus, but he found himself sitting to hear his words.  He justified it to himself that it would disappoint Pinkie if he didn't.

Zeus sat beside him.  "Kratos...when you and your brother were young, the Fates foretold that the Marked Warrior born of Sparta would bring about the downfall of Olympus.  Your brother's birthmark seemed to be what they were speaking of, so Athena and Ares were sent to take Deimos from Sparta to Thanatos' realm, to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass.  However, Ares discovered that the prophecy actually spoke of you, and how you marked yourself in memory of your brother.  He sought to use you to overthrow Olympus for that reason."  Zeus straightened himself.  "I do not apologize for acting to protect Olympus.  But I do apologize for the mistakes I have made in attempting to do so-"

"But Daddy would never have marked himself if you hadn't taken Uncle Deimos!" Pinkie pointed out.  "And if he didn't mark himself, then Ares wouldn't have sought to use him, because Daddy wouldn't have turned himself into the ultimate warrior with his drive to avenge his brother, but never finding those who he was told killed him."

Zeus' eyes widened, and his face fell into his palm.  "Accursed self-fulfilling prophecies...even we Gods fall prey to them."  He raised his head.  "Kratos, I implore you to seek out Thanatos and find a way to retrieve your brother from his grasp.  We cannot command him, so divine authority will not sway him...but go with the will of Olympus.  Please, correct my mistake."

Kratos got to his feet.  "It will take more than this to heal the breach between us," he replied seriously.  Seeing Zeus' face fall, he relented.  "But it is a good start."  Turning, he gestured to his daughters and their pets to join him on his path to Sparta.





Retrieving the artifact they needed to access Thanatos realm from the Temple of Ares in Sparta passed without incident.  Acting on the will of Olympus, the divine enchantments upon the Temple did not hold them back as they sought the Skull of Keres.  Once it was retrieved, they returned to Olympus.

...stopping just long enough for Pinkie and Calliope to make Kratos visit the brothel while Calliope visited the barracks and Pinkie attempted to visit the stables, only for all the horses to run away from her, much to her resentment.





Once more in Atlantis, the Skull of Keres was used to open the Death's Gate, and they entered Thanatos' realm.

Kratos wanted to seek out Deimos and leave, but Pinkie stopped him.  "It'd be terribly rude to come into Thanatos' house without paying our respects!" she pointed out.

"Why should I care about being rude?" Kratos demanded.  "Do you think we can just tell Thanatos, 'Please release my brother?' and he will?"

"It can't hurt to try," Pinkie pointed out.  She then drew a blade from where it crisscrossed her back.  "And if it doesn't work, I can try out the new blades Heffy made me!"

Kratos glanced at her armaments.  He hadn't paid much attention when she'd armed herself back on Olympus before they headed here.  The design of the new blades was similar to the Blades of Chaos or the Blades of Athena, and anchored to chains around all four of her legs.  The four blades were sheathed across her back, marked with symbols of the four primary elements of Olympian Magic: fire, ice, lightning, and spirit.  She had drawn the spirit blade which flickered with dark purple energy.  "Impressive," he admitted.

"I know, right?" Pinkie proclaimed happily.  "And I really want to try them out...so I kinda hope Thanatos is stubborn."

"So what is the plan, then?" Calliope asked.  "Offer him a choice of cupcakes or painful death?"

"Or both, if that's his thing!" Pinkie replied.  "He is Death, so you never know."  She then bounced along.

As Kratos and Calliope's eyes widened in concern, they pursued Pinkie through the realm.





Pinkie reached Thanatos throne before Kratos and Calliope had caught up to her.  "Hey Thanatos, can I have my Uncle back?" she asked happily.  "Please?"

Thanatos stared at her, one eyebrow lowered while the other was raised, having never encountered one like Pinkie before.  "And...why would I do that?" he asked.

"Cause if you do, I'll give you cupcakes!" Pinkie offered happily, holding out boxes of cupcakes.

"And...if I don't?" Thanatos asked, intrigued.

Putting the cupcakes down, Pinkie balanced on her tail as she drew all four blades out.  "Then I get to test the new weapons Hephaestus made me by giving you a gruesome, painful death!"

Thanatos laughed.  "You actually think to kill Death?"

"I'll even feed you to a grue if I have to!" Pinkie proclaimed happily.

Thanatos laughed harder.  "You truly think cupcakes will buy the freedom of one I hold prisoner?"  He reached forward and plucked one of the pastries from the box.

Pinkie nodded.  "A baker's dozen each for you and your daughter," she offered.  "In exchange for releasing Uncle Deimos and breaking whatever hold you might have on him that you've been using to twist him around and torment him.  Go ahead and try that one!"

Smirking, Thanatos took a bite of the cupcake.  After sitting frozen for a full minute, he replied, "Deal!"





Deimos shook his head in disbelief as he walked back to Sparta side by side with his brother the god, his niece the invincible pony girl, his other niece the inexplicable Pink One, and their pets.  He had just been regaled with the story of how he had been rescued at long last from Thanatos' realm, and why he hadn't been saved sooner.  "It's...a lot to take in," Deimos admitted.  "You really bought my freedom for...pastries?"

"26 of them," Kratos confirmed.

Deimos shrugged.  "It's just hard to believe that was all it took to change Thanatos' mind..."

"Oh, you haven't tried one yet!" Pinkie piped up, handing him a cupcake.

Shrugging his shoulders, he took a bite of the pastry.  He nearly choked on his pleased gasp.  "You overpaid!" he gasped out around his mouthful.

"I don't think so!" Pinkie said, nuzzling his leg.  "After all, cupcakes I can always make more of."