Kratos awoke slowly, the ship having come to a halt. Blinking his eyes, he pushed himself out of bed as he checked his senses. He could hear the storm raging outside. He could hear the creaking of the ship. He could hear the groans of risen monsters. He could hear the thrashing beneath the waves of the Hydra they had come to slay. He could hear the breathing of his bed companions. He could hear the sounds of battle outside.
He could not hear his daughters sleeping three rooms over.
Growling, he drew his blades and rushed out into battle. "I told them to wait for me!" he growled under his breath. "Those two will be the death of me, someday." Bursting out of the ship, he leapt into the fray, carving away the monsters with his blades. As he fought, he glanced around, looking for some sign of Pinkie and Calliope.
One of the monsters had been impaled on a spar attached to a few railings passing between the ship and other ships that were empty. Attached to the creature was a sign that read, 'We went this way, Daddy!' in bright pink.
Kratos sighed. "Pinkie...that is not how I taught you to leave trail sign..." Shaking his head, he continued onward.
Continuing through a wrecked ship, Kratos bitterly regretted that the magic he had gained in the past had faded over time, the contract binding the Efreet running out and setting it free. Thankfully, Persephone's wings were more durable, and still remained, not that they were useful inside a wrecked ship.
Hearing a scream, he rushed forward to discover Pinkie and Calliope confronting one of the heads of the hydra. The scream, as it turned out, had been the hydra's, as the two had gotten around on either side of the sinuous neck and were happily chopping away, aiming specifically to cause heavily bleeding wounds even as the flesh regenerated. As the creature was distracted, Kratos leapt onto the head and drove his blades into its eye.
It roared in pain, pulling back and withdrawing into the sea. Kratos then turned to his daughters. "What have I told you both about running off without me?"
Calliope kicked her boot against the deck. "We didn't mean to go too far without you."
"We really only meant to deal with the monsters on our own ship," Pinkie explained. "But then one started throwing things at us from another ship, and we had to go across. I left the note, but we didn't mean to go that far. We just...got carried away."
He sighed, shaking his head. "Just stay close to me," he instructed. Seeing the gap covered by only thin spars, Kratos leapt into the air and used Persephone's wings to glide and flap his way across it. Calliope climbed onto Pinkie's back and leapt across in three jumps.
Coming into the next chamber, a voice could be heard. "Stay away! Stay away!"
Coming close, they saw a man in a cage.
"I know who you are, Spartan!" the man proclaimed. "I know what you've done! I would rather die than be saved by you!"
"What has Father done?" Calliope asked.
"And can I save you instead?" Pinkie asked.
The man stared. "Don't you know what he has done? He-"
"Swore a blood oath to Ares, who then distorted his awareness of reality to make him kill enemies, innocents, and his own kin in an attempt to make him the perfect warrior," Pinkie replied. "He also saved the entire planet from being destroyed by Persephone and Atlas when she loosed the titan. Also, this is Calliope, my sister, the daughter he killed who forgives him for it."
"That's right!" Calliope agreed. "I left Elysium behind and can now only walk the world in this possessed armor because it was worth it to be with my Father again."
The man blinked, apparently unsure how to handle this. "...you can save me," he finally told Pinkie.
Grinning, Pinkie popped the lock on the cage. "You can wait on our ship!" Opening a nearby door, she revealed one of the spare rooms on their ship instead of the ship they were currently on. She pushed the man through. "Rest up. We'll take you back to shore as soon as we kill the hydra!" She then closed the door.
"People are weird sometimes," Calliope commented.
Rolling his eyes, Kratos led them on.
Not long after, a second Hydra head punched through the deck of the ship they were on in the middle of a flock of flesh eating bats. The flock's numbers had been greatly reduced from Pinkie and Calliope leaping about and chopping them to bits. After the three of them carved away at the hydra, the head withdrew, allowing the trio to continue on through the underwater passage the head had left behind. Out of the water, they continued onward. Pinkie took the time to grab every human they came across and - somehow - push them back onto their ship.
Coming across a large group of humans, one addressed them. "You have come! The visions, they were true! The gods came to me and said their champion would save us from the Hydra! But you're too late! We're pinned down-"
"No you're not!" Pinkie said. "I threw Calliope at the archers. She's invincible, so she should have them dealt with in-"
"All done!" Calliope called across to Pinkie, waving a monster's decapitated skull.
"See? Easy!" Pinkie said happily.
"We'll handle the hydra," Kratos informed the man. "For now, evacuate to our ship. It is under the gods' protection."
"Thank you!" the man proclaimed, calling for his companions to follow him back to Kratos' ship. Kratos used his wings to glide across to where Calliope awaited them, knowing Pinkie would make her own way across somehow.
Reaching the deck of the next ship, they found the Captain's quarters locked, with the sounds of women screaming for help behind it. "It's locked!" Pinkie complained.
"...I wanna try something," Calliope said softly. Stepping up to the door, she inserted her gauntlet into the keyhole. There was a brief clinking sound. "It worked!" she said, rotating her hand and turning the lock. She then extracted her gauntlet, which had morphed into the shape of a key before morphing back. The women quickly fled through a door Pinkie opened in the air back to their own ship.
"Sweet!" Pinkie said happily. "But we gotta hurry to find everyone else and kill the hydra!"
"We can only move so fast," Kratos pointed out.
"Wanna bet?" Pinkie grinned. Grabbing both Calliope and Kratos, she zipped away, seeming to blur through the air.
Passing through an archway, Poseidon's voice could be heard. "Kratos before you reach-"
"Thanksforthemagicwe'lluseitwellgottarunpeopletosave!" Pinkie said quickly as they blurred through the archway, the magic of Poseidon's rage being absorbed into Kratos as they passed.
Poseidon blinked for a time. "Well, that was rude," he grumbled. Then he saw something left behind, something colorful and soft, with a note attached that read, "Sorry! Have a cupcake!" Picking it up from Olympus, he took a bite. After several minutes of savoring the taste, he smiled. "Apology accepted."
Reaching where the main body of the hydra was attacking, Pinkie took quick stock of the situation. "Dad, you take the giant head! It's healing the little ones. Calliope and I will keep the little ones from interfering!"
Nodding, Kratos leapt up the mast to confront the giant head, the other humans quickly running for it.
As Calliope fought her head, she noticed something upsetting. "The wounds heal too fast!" she called to Pinkie. "We need to find someway to stop them from healing!"
"Broken mast!" Pinkie called back, pointing at the sharp spur of wood still attached to the ship.
"Right!" Calliope called back. Leaping to the mast, she threw her gauntlet up to seize one on the fins on her hydra head. Using her spiritual force, she then dragged both gauntlet and hydra head back to her, slamming the broken mast spur through its eyes.
Pinkie, meanwhile, had angled some hanging blades to pin her hydra head to the deck. Up above, Kratos had managed to break the top of the mast and was struggling to drag the largest head down to be impaled. Seeing him struggle, Calliope leapt to Pinkie's back, and Pinkie leapt onto the hydra's neck, forcing the head downward with the weight of their impact.
With the primary head impaled and dead, the lesser heads exploded. "It seems we're finished here," Kratos said calmly.
"We need to get everyone we rescued safely to Athens," Calliope pointed out. "We're going to run out of rations on the way."
"I brought our fishing poles," Kratos pointed out. "We'll be able to fish for extra meat."
Pinkie glanced up at the hydra. "Is hydra meat edible?" she asked.
Kratos glanced up at the beast. "...I suppose," he admitted. "But we'd never be able to cook that much-"
Pinkie grabbed the hydra's corpse and shoved it into her mane. After a time, she yanked out a huge pack of smoked hydra meat. "I asked Zephyros to cook it for me. He's such a sweetie when he isn't running from me in terror for some reason."
Blinking, Kratos shrugged. "Well, let's take it back to the ship, and then set sail for Athens."
It the only part of the series that I played!
running in terror from her?, must have read cupcakes....crap psycho pinkamena with spartan training......
Pinkie at the end was hilarious
5718216
Actually no, in this case he's running from the lusty crazy mare that make his kin look normal by comparison. She's got plenty of other things to kill if she goes 'cupcakes crazy' so he's probably not too worried on that front.
That said, it's kinda freaky that Kratos is blasé enough about her dimensional pocket mane that he once yanked Cloud's sword out of it to kill a basilisk while reaming her out and pays no attention to the fact she just shoved a hydra in there to be cooked by the guy she seems to want as a boyfriend/coltfriend.
Zeus: "Kratos is an effective hero. Removing the taint of Ares' curse was an inspired move, Hades!"
Hades: "I cannot take credit for that, brother. It was more an accident of my wife's plot than anything intentional. Still, it has made dealings with the Ghost of Sparta much more tolerable. Especially with his daughters acting as mediators."
Poseidon: "I'll say! Pinkamina's Cakes of the Cups are a true delight! It will be a sad day when her people call their hero back."
Hades: "She might not go. It is very evident that she considers family to be paramount."
Poseidon: "So offer to allow her family to go along with her. None on that side of the divide have yet to draw the ire of Kratos."
Hades: "Calliope belongs in Elysium. She has earned her reward."
Zeus: "So? She continues to earn her reward as she aids her father. The pink one's home realm has their own Tartarus and Elysium. Grant her a body for their world when the time comes and let it be their responsibility."
Poseidon: "And will you also offer Kratos an item of your favor to allow him to assume a form appropriate for their realm should he follow?"
Hades: "If Zeus does not, I will. I owe them that much and more for the aid Pinkamina has given me and my wife."
Zeus: "And once all three are safely in the pink one's realm of origin?"
Poseidon: "Seal the breach."
Hades: "Agreed. As much as I owe them, even if they leave peacefully, seal the breach."
Zeus: "So mote it be."
Wonder whats going to happen next?
5718420
Moar alt scripts, please!
okay, smoked hydra meat solves the food problem for everyone EXCEPT pinkie... what will pinkie eat?
5719961
Hydra is a type of fish.
And if that's not an issue, Pinkie appears to be able to generate an infinite number of cupcakes.
5719975 Would it be wrong to say that it's more related to eel perhaps? Also a type of fish sure but just wondering.
5720336
Quite possibly.
anybody who has played the games knows kratos has died in every. single. one...sometimes multiple times
and here I'm thinking of omakes where pinkie is pepe le pu, and zephyros is the random cat, running in sheer terror to get away only to have her pop out of the most unlikely places to try an woo him
Kratos: "It's been ten years, Athena. I've done everything the gods have asked of me, and then some."
Pinkie: "Yeah, we got some refugees coming to Athens with us."
Athena: "I am afraid Athens is no longer safe. My brother, Ares, has attacked the city."
Kratos: "Ares..."
Athena: "Kratos, you must find the oracle of Athens. She will have more instructions for you on how to defeat Ares."
Pinkie: "So, Daddy's finally going to make meanie Ares pay for tricking him all those years ago... About time!"
Calliope: "But we need to find a place for the people we saved from the Hydra..."
Kratos: "Let us first sail for Sparta. It's a longer journey, but Sparta is smaller than Athens, and is much safer from Ares' forces. It's unlikely he'd attack one of his favorite cities."
Athena: "That would be wise. I shall ask Poseidon to speed the ocean currents to lessen the time it will take."
Kratos: "Athena... if I do this, if I defeat Ares, will my nightmares finally end?"
Pinkie and Calliope: *startled looks at Kratos*
Athena: "If that is what you desire when you accomplish this... then yes."
5727816
...mind if I steal this dialogue for the start of the next chapter?
5727936 Go right ahead. And make any adjustments you feel are necessary.
5728693
Thank you!
Cupcakes are a cheat card for asking for forgiveness!
5735753
And she got a fire horsey inside her mane?
And yet another falls victim to Pinkie's wiles... it'll only get worse when she's older...
5816957
OH LAWD
5718343 say is said colt trapped in her hair.
5818203 but if she put the hyydra in her hair, does that the colt is trapped in her hair as well
5743063 finally someone noticed!!
Gooooood lordy lordy~ 8D
Perfection all around, nicely done once more~
Should be where not wear.
Having read the other stories i can only imagine what these ponies would do to Pandora.
5952567 well her mane is like Kirby's stomach or the TARDIS, you know, a pocket dimension
Would Hydra taste like Eel, or fish? Or a combination of eel and fish?
Feel, or eish? Feel or eish? Feel or eish-
7308834
Cupcakes solve all problems
7323656 Agreed.
7323656 Every time somebody eats a cupcake; I imagine the people having goofy smiles... except Kratos. His frown is in awe.
7375906 "This dessert has no right to be this delicious"
I kinda like what you did with that one sailor. Poor guy needed to catch a break anyway.
I love this.
Someone has played too much of Side Quest (also known as Legend of Zelda). Will there also be an incongruous cross-country skiing scene? :D
7440524
Reminds me of the Perfect Coffee. Those who are worthy to know what that is (and what the reference is to), are already aware.
5719975
Really? I always thought they were a type of Dragon on the aquatic subspecies side. Maybe an eel fish Dragon species or something?
8964529
5719975
The Hydra is actually a type of dragon. By what can be seen of other 'dragons' in Greek myth, saying it's also a fish wouldn't be wrong.