The new ring they entered had a large, spiked, metal cylinder rolling around inside it. Getting past it, they saw it was only spiked on the edges, so they jumped on top of it to ride it around to another ladder, leading to another section of the temple. As they climbed it, though, it dropped downward.
"Guess we don't have to ride around on top of that wheel again," Calliope pointed out.
"Pity," Pinkie pouted. "It was fun."
"Well maybe we can-" Kratos began.
The cylinder dropped into a pit that opened up in the floor, and rolled no more. The pit then closed over it.
"Wow," Pinkie mumbled. "So much for fun."
Following the path at the top of the ladder, they reached a wide open amphitheater resembling an incomplete colosseum. As they approached the center, a small, green, fluffy, lion-like dog climbed up the side, growling at them.
"Aww, it's so cute!" Pinkie squealed.
"Can we keep it?" Calliope begged Kratos.
The canine promptly expanded in a flare of red energy to the size of a horse, sprouting two extra heads. All three heads now had fire leaking from their mouths.
Pinkie and Calliope both stared. "So can we keep it?" Pinkie asked Kratos.
Kratos blinked for a bit. "Tell you what," he allowed. "If you can train it to obey you, we can keep it. But otherwise, we have to treat it like any other monster."
Pinkie promptly tackled the cerberus to its back and began scratching its belly. "Who's a good puppy? Yes you is! Yes you is!"
The beast growled at first, struggling against her, but eventually the angry grimaces became joyful smiles, and its left hind leg began kicking spasmodically.
"I'm going to keep this one!" Calliope said happily, scratching another small one that had shown up which was wriggling happily in her lap, nomming on her other gauntlet hand like a chew toy.
Kratos could only stare. He then shook his head ruefully. "I promised myself to stop being surprised by you, Pinkie."
"I'm gonna call him Fluffy!" Pinkie said happily.
"I'm naming mine Leonidas!" Calliope agreed.
However, as they released the canines, they started growling again...until Pinkie fed each of the four heads a cupcake. Then they all assumed puppyish eager to please expressions with matching wagging tails. Other canine creatures started to appear, but Fluffy and Leonidus growled at them and they promptly fled.
"...that was unexpected," Kratos admitted before leading the way onward.
As they progressed, Fluffy and Leonidas proved most effective in fighting the monsters - both large and small - that they faced. Fluffy used his mass to bowl over smaller foes and keep larger ones in check, while Leonidas demonstrated a preference for jumping on heads and biting, tearing chunks out of whatever he could sink his teeth into. Both also healed any damage they took by eating the dead monsters, though they showed a marked preference for Pinkie's cupcakes. Between the canine's evasion and Calliope's indestructible nature, they were able to rush the wave of archers that blocked their path without breaking stride.
As other mini-cerberus monsters fled from Fluffy, this resulted in a drastic reduction in monsters they actually had to deal with, so Pinkie and Calliope entertained themselves by teaching their "new puppies" to play catch by throwing severed monster heads as treats.
After passing through a rotating chamber, they continued onward. Kratos was at first concerned about how Fluffy and Leonidas would manage the rock climb that led to the next path, but it seemed their claws were designed for scaling sheer cliffs as well as rending flesh. Calliope climbed up in much the same way as Kratos, while Pinkie rode Fluffy.
Entering an indoors section of the Temple, they found several soldiers hanging from the ceiling in cages. Further in there was a plaque demanding offering the 'ultimate sacrifice' to appease the gods. Putting a large rock on the switch to make the burners come out, Pinkie laid some odd looking lumps on the stone in a tray. Pulling the lever, the flames erupted, cooking the dough into cupcakes. She then placed the icing on them, causing the stone to lower into the ground, where the gods could be heard devouring the treats as the sacrifice was sent to Olympus as the gate opened.
"Pretty sure we were supposed to burn one of the soldiers," Calliope murmured in relief.(1)
"Cupcakes taste much better than human flesh," Pinkie proclaimed happily. "Just ask Fluffy and Leonidas!" The four canine heads nodded eagerly in agreement.
In the next chamber, they found an altar to Poseidon, where Kratos acquired a new artifact, Poseidon's Trident. As he already possessed its ability to breathe underwater, he gave it to Calliope to give her greater freedom of movement underwater.
"Yay!" Pinkie cried happily. "Now we can all go swimming together!"
Leonidas and Fluffy expressed their joy by promptly leaping into the water surrounding the altar and beginning to sport about. Pinkie donned her mask, snorkel, and fins to join them, while Kratos and Calliope entered more sedately.
With Poseidon's Trident, Calliope could cause herself to float upward in water instead of sinking to the bottom and having to walk across as she had before. After a brief swim through an underwater passage, they pulled a switch that opened a new path that they returned to behind the massive statue of Poseidon that had watched over the Trident. After dealing with a few harpies, they took the new passage.
After swimming through a great many underwater obstacles, they entered a room with a massive statue of a woman. Getting to the top, they read an inscription.
Amphitrite, Poseidon's faithful wife, will forever watch over this cursed room. Only she knows the secret way out.
"Will you tell us for a cupcake, Miss Amphitrite?" Pinkie offered, holding up a cupcake.
The cupcake vanished, and the secret exit opened for them.
"Thank you!" Pinkie said happily as they all took the secret path out of the room in shifts, as it wasn't quite large enough for them all to take at once.
Following it through, they came up in the chamber with the light crystal statues in the outer ring before continuing onward.
(1) Did you know the achievement for clearing this part in the newer versions of the game is called "Totally Baked"?
Cupcakes are the ultimate bribing tool.
And this sort of thing is why all seven of these fics are in The Bunker.
5790137 Yes they are!
Cupcakes over ambrosia.
5790236 Cupcakes are ambrosia, just in a different form.
I wonder how zeus is taking this in the game he did this because of a prophecy
their
Pinkie and calliope both stared
But otherwise, we ahve to treat itÂ
Leonidas and Fluffy expressed there joy
1. Forgot to capitalise.
2. Have.
3. Their.
I read this too fast and saw it as; They returned to Poseidons statue massive behind.
I didn't know that we could have a achievement by baking a greek soldier, I only played the two originals God of War on my still working PS2.
What game is this anyway?
Based off I mean.
5791928
The "God of War" series.
5791943 Thx.
Well, if this continues Eris will claim Pinkie Pie as her champion.
Fluffy the three headed dog. There is a serious Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone reference there, isn't there.
Only reaction to it evolving is to reiterate the question.
No. I did not! That's awesome!
5799995
Pinkie: It's a Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all!
Kratos: ...what?
5800001 WANT TO SEE MY POKEMANS!?
I feel horrible now. I'm going to go puke now.
Pinkie has met Yakko.
May Celestia help us.
It was tiring hearing "Gods on high, save me from this barbarian!" twenty times as I fought up that friggin hill.
This was cute but inthe dark way
ALL CRUMBLE AT THE POWER OF THE ALL MIGHTY CUPCAKE!
Hahaha! Leonidus, I approve!
And Cupcakes... I know what I'm bringing on my next quest 8D
Nice job!
5945058 You get so much yes 8'D
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a7/31/15/a731150665e7e74872900b8b7c971764.jpg
WAT?
cupcakes are OP!
The ultimate sacrifice in this is MUCH better than the one in the game
5800001 My day has been filled with every one of my friends catching pokemon on their phones while I'm just playing 3DS Smash Bro.s. ...lucky.
Actually, they were rather cute...
For a given value of 'cute', anyway. Kinda like the Cinder Hound pet in the Cataclysm expansion for Wow.
fluttershy would be proud. \
I saw where that was going VERY quickly.
Cupcakes OP'd.
Throws a tomato at the writer
Bad pun
8412454
Why does this almost seem Canon?
Cupcakes are too hax pinkie is so overpowered. XD
It's only now that I get why Calliope named her 'puppy' Leonidas...
9789249
I dont get it
10184304
Leonidas was a famous Spartan king. She's a Spartan.
10187645
Wasn't he apart of the 300