Path to Hades (in progress)

(This thread is to be based off of [i]God of War I[/i] and, later, [i]God of War II[/i]. The only people in this are to be myself, Sorin, and Adri (sorry, others, but more could stall it, and this is an important thread for several characters).)

The massive mountain rested upon the Temple of Pandora, a temple that had been chained to the back of the Titan Kronos, former King of Olympus. This was a momentous day. After a thousand years, the massive chest known as Pandora's Box was to be freed of its confines. Within it rested the power to kill a god.

A man descended in an elevator of sorts, coming from the top of the mountain down to its bottom. He wore naught but a loincloth. His eyes held nothing but murderous intent, though it was highly focused on his target. His skin was deathly pale, a reminder of his past deeds as much as the scar over his right eye and his red tattoos were a reminder of someone else he had lost. This bald man had two large blades on his back, attached to his arms by chains that had long since been burned into his flesh. Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, would [i]kill[/i] the subject of his revenge, the God of War, Ares, even if he had to use the very same Blades of Chaos that the god had given him so long ago.

Kratos had experienced many trials. He had endured three full days in the Temple of Pandora as it walked around the desert. He had seen strange people when fighting the Hydra, ones who had helped him at times, but they were of no consequence with his revenge so nearly at hand.

As the elevator descended, two beams of light came down, stopping at where the ground would traditionally be. Unfortunately, since the elevator was moving, this was not the case. Rather than stop on solid ground, both of the young men appeared in mid-air, surprised by the lack of ground and unable to even cry out in the shock of it before they fell, face planting.

Way to ruin the mood, guys.

Isaac grumbled, getting to his hands and knees. "Well," he grunted, feeling his forehead. "That's not something you do every day."

Naito held his head in pain, but also sat up. "Isaac? What are you doing here?"

Kratos saw the two, but dismissed them without much thought. He had other things on his mind, and they were no threat. At least not at the present time, that was.

(Yay, mood whiplash.)

====

Another beam of light came down then. However, like the two boys, this one also appeared in mid-air. And like the two, she had no time to scream before she fell.

Unlike them, she fell flat on her butt.

"Ow...f***...." Cheryl swore under her breath. She put her hand back, wincing and gritting her teeth. "Hope I didn't break something there..."

Before she could attempt to get back up...

"AH SH*******T!"

...another one landed beside her, face planting.

"Owwwww...." Audrey moaned, not bothering to get up.

====

(Oh, a side note. This is taking place after "Warming Up," so Naito knows what Matt told him [that he's into her], but doesn't believe it. It is also after "Ring of Apocalypse," so Kira is recovering from her infection (as much as she can) on Isaac's Gummi ship.)

Isaac was first to recover. Rubbing his head, he got back to his feet. "I'm doing all right for someone who just crashed face first into solid stone," he said flatly. "As for what I'm doing here, traveling as usual. Had to drop off a...friend who's sick." K1-R4 was still recovering from her encounter with the firewall in the Halo Installation 01. He looked around, and saw the absurdly muscular protagonist. Just one look, and he knew that this would not be a happy visit to a world. "I...probably should have picked somewhere else." He waved to Audrey, and walked over to the stranger among them. Something was...familiar about her. He outstretched a hand, offering silently to help her up. "I'm Isaac Zivaku. I'm sorry, but you look...familiar. Can't place why." He decided to save a heart-scan for later, perhaps for mister muscly and shirtless. How was he even keeping those blades attached to his back, anyway?

Naito was next, looking up at the others as he stood up. "Um... Isaac, I was wondering... can we talk about Jasmine?"

Isaac just palmed his face with his free hand, sighing. He though he had better get used to this, since the kid did not seem to be changing.

Krato ignored them all once more, focused on other things.

====

Audrey recovered next, putting a hand on her face. Thank god her nose wasn't broken from that fall. The Dream Mage would've said hello to her friends (well...friend, acquaintance and former enemy), as well as the stranger who looked [i]very[/i] familiar...but one glance to the absurdly muscular, and her face faulted.

"...I'm in God of War? Seriously!?" she exclaimed. She never played the game, but had watched her brother play. "Great..."

Cheryl was about to stand up herself. Looking towards Audrey, though, she paused. After contemplating whether or not she wanted to meet up with her, now her old friend was right there before her. What was she going to say? Should she say hello? Be silent?

The daughter of Harry Mason left that, however, when a young man came by her side to help her up. She was about to grab his hand and give her thanks to him.

But then he said his name. Isaac Zivaku.

"....." Really? This was the same kid who helped her out before? "...how long has it been?"

====

"That depends," Isaac said, deciding to actually go about the heart-scan after all. If she recognized him he might as well keep it from being awkward for her. He stared into her eyes, his abilities scanning her surface memories and information...everything became clear once he found the name he was looking for. "Heather?" This was a surprise. She seemed to have grown quite a bit since he last saw her. Then again, so had he. He hadn't seen her in a while. They had so many things in common, really. "Or...is it Cheryl? Which one is it?" Rather than be overtly rude, he answered her question as well. "For me, three, four years, thereabouts. Out here, a few months, seems like."

"Th-that's good," the young man stammered out, looking away to keep from staring too much. He was able to speak clearer after looking away, though he still could not prevent a small blush. "If Audrey's tone is right, it's...not good." He looked to the protagonist, and, from his appearance alone, knew it would not be a relaxing journey. "Probably, anyway."

Isaac rolled his eyes, holding out his hand again to help Cheryl up. 'We all know, he's being pretty obvious,' he mouthed.

====

For a moment, Cheryl didn't say anything in response. She wasn't sure what to say right now; so many things were going through her head. However, she shook it all off as she took Isaac's hand and pulled herself up to her feet.

"It's Cheryl now..." she answered, dusting herself off. "I said before that I wasn't gonna hide anymore." It was here that the young woman got a better look at Isaac. He had changed so much, probably more than her for the past few years. "Heh...I remember when you almost reached my shoulders. You got one hell of a growth spurt since then."

Audrey would have explained to Naito what the world was about, the idea of a Greek tragedy coupled with intense blood and gore. However, hearing the other two nearby brought her to whip to them instead. She blinked, her eyes widening slightly. It's been so long.

"He...Cheryl?" the Dream Mage asked, correcting herself after hearing her say it. This was enough to get her attention as the Silent Hill protagonist turned towards her.

"...hey Audrey..." Cheryl said quietly. This was incredibly awkward for her right now.

====

Isaac backed up when he had helped Cheryl to her feet. "I'll...let you two get reacquainted." With that, he came closer to Naito. If there was going to be a fight (and that was likely), he wanted to get as far away as he could. If there was going to be a happy reunion, he wouldn't spoil it.

The time traveler went to another part of the elevator, closer to Audrey and Cheryl, and whispered, hoping he was out of earshot. "Some people said I'm falling for Jasmine. But that's impossible. I can't fall for her."

Isaac rolled his eyes. Sure, he had heard it. But he was too far in denial. "And why the hell not?" he whispered back.

"She's not human. I can't love her if she's--"

Isaac cut him off rather bluntly. "Your father is an angel. Your uncle on the same side is a demon. Your father made two artificial intelligences from what I think is his mother and father to make two 'kids,' both of whom have since merged into a single entity with a bitch streak a mile wide. Your paternal grandfather is a ghost, but can be talked to on a regular basis. Your mother has, or at one point had, a psychic link with her father, who, if I recall, is a god of the moon of Nippon and a [i]rabbit[/i] besides. The next time you try to talk logic with me, think of your own DNA. This family is so screwed up, I'm pretty sure we need to call together every faith within a thousand world radius if we have a reunion."

Naito's face was blank. Then his jaw dropped. It took several seconds before he could reply. "I....I'll think about it."

"That'd be a first," Isaac mumbled, as Naito stayed where he was, thinking.

(Zivakus: Making a Tangled Family Tree since 2007.)

====

In the meantime, Cheryl and Audrey just stood there. No words were spoken between them at all. The survival horror protagonist had no idea what to say right now. She had been worrying for her old friend, and now that she was right here...she just didn't know what to say to her.

As for Audrey, she was torn. Part of her wanted to give the older female a big hug, ask her what's been going on...the usual light-hearted reunion between friends. However, another part of her was angered. This was a friend who just dropped off the map without letting her know, who never responded to any of her calls after the past few years.

The anger won out, shown by the glare the Dream Mage had given her former friend. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, nearly snapping. "I mean, I haven't heard from you in years! Where the hell were you, damnit!?"

Cheryl flinched. Honestly, she was hoping that Audrey would be happy to see her, that they [i]would[/i] have a friendly reunion. But she had been hoping too much. That didn't mean she was going to stand down, however.

"What do you think?" she asked, glaring back at her. "I gave up Interfering. I thought you knew."

A scoff. "Oh yeah, I figured that! I also thought you would've told me before, let me know you were done! Seriously, what gives?! Why couldn't you have just told me before?! Why would you cut off all ties with any of your friends?!"

It took all Cheryl had to not just slap the girl across the face. "You wanna know why? 'Cause I knew you all would come up to me and beg me to come back! I wanted to live a normal life! Not only that, but I got sick of you obsessing over that bastard, even after you said you wouldn't go back to him again! You probably wouldn't care if I told you I was done; you'd probably start whining about him instead!"

"Oh, so it all comes down to Kaztos again, huh?! I would have understood no matter what!"

"Yeah right!"

Yeah...the two weren't going to stop for a while. So much for a happy reunion.

====

Isaac sighed at the two women. He looked to Naito, mouthing something to him.

'If I make it out of this alive, and we can get a word together in [i]private[/i], I'd like to have it.'

The demon walked up to the two of them, shouting as loud as he thought he had to in order to be heard above their arguments.

"Both of you be [i]quiet![/i]" He looked to the Dream Mage first. "Audrey, I don't know what you did, but if you want to take a crack at someone, I'm giving you full permission to lay it out on [i]me[/i]. Not her, [i]me[/i]. Nobody's perfect. She didn't want to see you again, you got that? Maybe some of this is your fault. If 'that bastard' is that Kaztos guy she mentioned, maybe she's got ample reason to be pissed at you. Last she saw of your face, if I recall, was some 'Adrian' girl who looked like you, and she thought was you corrupted and turned entirely to vanity by him. I won't say whether she's right or wrong about it, but she's got her reasons. And [i]you[/i] just started this argument. Is that how you'll treat all of the people you know when you see them for the first time in months? First me, now her. Hell of a position to place Cheryl here, in the same league as someone as low as me." Self-depricating? Definitely. Necessary? Probably.

He then rounded on Cheryl. "And [i]you[/i]. Your own reasons for quitting seem pretty damn selfish, the way you said them. Sure, I know there's more to it, with the return of the G-d and what happened to Douglas for a bit, but would it kill you to give her a break? Her life hasn't been all daisies either, and I'll take some blame for that!"

Finally, he looked at both of them. "I'm not gonna say I understand all of it. If I had some time to do a scan, I'd get the gist, but I won't do that to either of you, got too much respect. You can get your damn problems out of the way, but either do it fast now, or get it out of your systems later. By the looks of this guy over here, we aren't going to be in for a happy run through this place. Those are your options. Make up your damn minds."

[b][i]Silence them. End it.[/i][/b] Dormin boomed in the back of his mind, but were ignored.

====

Both women stopped their shout match the minute Isaac raised his voice. Audrey didn't respond after listening to what he had to say to her, just looking away. She hated to admit it, but he was right. Cheryl did have her reasons not to talk to her, reasons that even she was ashamed about. Not only that, but she had met Adrian once, during the time when Pyramid Head broke loose. She hated to think back on that doppelganger, but if Cheryl met her before she did, then maybe she'd have another reason for not wanting to see her, even if that bi*** was [i]not[/i] her in any way whatsoever. Despite her frustration, the Dream Mage had no right to place this on her.

As for Cheryl, she wanted to correct Isaac on a few things, but she decided against it. Again, the demon had a point. She even admitted before that her reason for leaving was selfish. With everything happening in the worlds, she just wanted to stay out of it. But even then, the Silent Hill protagonist knew she wasn't the only one with rough patches. She knew Audrey had been through enough, and from what she heard from Joseph, she was still going through hell. She too shouldn't be placing this all on her.

However, she had to flinch slightly as she heard the booming voice. The Mason daughter would have asked what that was...but then the raspy voice spoke, making her shudder.

[i]"The Holy Mother shall not diiiiiiieee........"[/i]

She understood those words well, but to Isaac and anyone else with a counterpart, he would only hear inhuman gibberish, and the sound of a valve turning.

Audrey, having not heard any of that due to no longer having mental beings, looked up after a moment and sighed. "You know...you're right," she said, looking at Cheryl. "I'm sorry. After we're done here, we'll talk later. Okay?"

Shaking off her slight disturbance, Cheryl gave a small nod in response. "Yeah, sure..."

====

After taking another moment to calm down, Audrey turned to Naito at last. She was about to explain this world...but then she remembered Kratos was standing right there. The Dream Mage frowned; she'd rather not get on his bad side [i]now[/i]. So she motioned for the Internal Interferences around her to come a little closer.

"Okay..." she said in a whisper, hunching over a bit. "From what I remember, this game is an M-rated gorefest. I'm not kidding, it has extreme violence, blood, sexual content...all of it rolled into a Greek tragedy. That guy there, Kratos, not to be confused with Kratos Aurion, is aiming to kill Ares for making him kill his wife and daughter. Let me tell you, he is [i]not[/i] someone that you wanna mess with. I haven't played the game myself, but I've watched my brother play before. It's been a while though, so I don't really remember what part of the game this is supposed to take place in."

Cheryl frowned after listening in. [i]Another[/i] gratuitous world? Just when she thought she had blocked her memories from her visit to Jade Empire, as well as the fact that she came from a world like that. "Great..."

====

(If you both want, I can have the spire come in the next post from me.)

Naito's eyes widened at the description of the world, his face going pale as death. Blood, violence, and sexual content were not exactly the best things to come into. Why oh why did he have to pick this world?

As the elevator slowed to a stop, Isaac sighed. He hated his luck. He just escaped Beta Halo, and now he had to deal with [i]this[/i]?

The door opened, and this man, Kratos, gripped the handle on the side of the box, pushing it forward, out into the open air. Finally, his travels through Pandora's Temple had born fruit. Kratos had found the means to destroy the god of war. He stopped pushing after a short time more, looking for a way off of the massive Titan, the father of the current king of the gods, to cross the Desert of Lost Souls and return to Athens itself.

Something dark was visible in the distance. It was hard to see what, even as Naito and Isaac exited the elevator as well, briefly shielding their eyes from the sun. What [i]was[/i] that?

====

[size=1](Sure, I don't mind)[/size]

Audrey and Cheryl both exited the elevator as it came to a stop. The latter sighed to herself as she did. Worlds like this were another one of the why she stopped Interfering. She's already died twice; she'd rather not go through it [i]again[/i].

"Might as well get it over with..." the Mason daughter mumbled.

The Dream Mage, however...as she watched Kratos pushing the box out, and saw something in the distance, she facepalmed. [i]Now[/i] she remembered what part of the game this was. But how were they going to go through with it when Kratos gets...

====

Isaac kept watching the dark shape as it came closer. Finally, he recognized it. Three dark shapes, that was. Kratos seemed to see them as well.

One second, the five were standing around the box, in two separate pairs and one other. Naito Zivaku with Isaac. Cheryl Mason with Audrey Jones. Kratos alone. The next, they were all speared by enormous stone spires, stabbing through them into the building behind them.

These were no ordinary spires. Each and every one was the top of an Athenian building, from the city across the desert where the God of War himself had thrown them with pinpoint accuracy.

Isaac was behind Naito, the agony plain. He couldn't even cry out, the rock having completely destroyed his chest cavity and torn open one of his lungs, his blood and that of the infamous Ghost of Sparta splattering somewhat on Pandora's Box.

Kratos went stiff as he began to remember something. Even in death, the nightmare of his deeds would not leave him. The ones that had marked him with the ashes of his wife and daughter forevermore.

His beloved wife, Lysandra...

[i]"Kratos?!"[/i]

His precious daughter, Calliope...

[i]"No, father! No!"[/i]

Finally, he regained focus, reaching his arm out to the two bird-women who touched down upon the Box, grabbing its handles and picking it up to fly away. Then he went limp. And the shades took their prize.

Isaac, on the other hand, was having another experience entirely. He gasped out his words with his remaining air in his lung, blood coming from his lips. "Oh Martel damn it all..." he wheezed, looking to Naito weakly, then to Audrey. Finally, his eyes settled on Cheryl. "Not again..." With that, he also went limp. However, he heard a voice in the back of his mind, a gray hand reaching out from behind him from a swirl of yellow energy.

[color=Brown][i]"There is a plan for you, mortal,"[/i][/color] the throaty voice stated, and the yellow portal took the Silver Tongue away.

Like Kratos, a vision took Naito, even in death. That incident, the horror of it. So much power....he couldn't...it wasn't meant for him. He was a monster....

[i]"Why....?"[/i] That word, haunting him. The blood on the ground.

"Shhhhh.....It'll all be okay...." That voice....Jasmine? She was so...calming, brought him such peace.

With that soothing thought, the young man let himself be brought to Hades itself.

====

It all came so quickly. One moment, the two women were standing there calmly, and now they were pinned...no, [i]impaled[/i] against the building by the spire.

Audrey, close to the wall behind Cheryl, had no time to react. Her eyes and jaw were wide open. Blood trickled out of her mouth. At first, she was scared, worried as it wasn't her time yet. However, she remembered the game's events, knew what was coming next. Perhaps they would have their chance as well. So with that thought, she allowed oblivion to come over her.

[i]'If I don't make it out...then I'm sorry...Sorin.....'[/i]

Cheryl was a different story. She had no idea what was to come next. She had vomited the blood that rose from the back of her mouth. No...she can't die now, not again. Why did she come here, damn it?! Why couldn't she have just stayed home like always?!

[i]'Dad....'[/i]

That was all the Silent Hill protagonist thought before she too fell limp. The last thing she heard was the voice of God's attendant.

[i]"Alessaaaaaaa.........."[/i]

====

[i]Domain of Death[/i]

Isaac had the bleeding hole in his chest as he stared out at his surroundings. Gray rocks and sky marked where he was, lying on a stone slab of some kind.

[color=Brown]"Demon, this place is not your tomb."[/color]

The Silver Tongue looked to the source of the voice. Hell of a time to tell him that, really. He stared at the shirtless man above him. Well...not a [i]man[/i], per se, but humanoid nonetheless. His eyes were pale as death, his skin likewise. His black hair was long, running over his shoulders. He wore a cloak, or at least the bottom half of a dark blue one, and had golden armbands on each arm. A heart-scan let Isaac know what he needed to at that specific point.

This was Thanatos, the ancient God of Death who predated even Olympus. He stood, calm, as he watched the far younger demon. [color=Brown]"Demon, you are to aid the Sisters."[/color]

So there was a Hades, the God of the Underworld, and Thanatos, the God of Death? What kind of middle management [i]was[/i] this, anyway? "Huh. Never really thought of it that way, to be honest. Okay, I'll help some sisters." The demon was surprised to speak so easily, but did not question it. Perhaps he was already dead.

[color=Brown]"Impious mortal,"[/color] Thanatos spat at him. [color=Brown]"The Sisters of Fate require the blood of Ares, the deluded fool."[/color]

"Oh, really?" Isaac asked. As he spoke, he sifted through the heart of the ancient god, trying to find any kind of leverage. "And what do you expect me to have to do so? My powers are almost completely gone."

[color=Brown]"Your power shall be awakened once more,"[/color] the death god stated, a yellow light dancing between his fingertips as he held up both hands. [color=Brown]"The power of Brimstone shall be yours, so the Sisters decree."[/color]

Isaac had an idea. "Wait. I'm from Aselia. That's nothing to do with this place. How would fate here, regardless of whether or not it will have an effect on me--"

[color=Brown]"Fate marks us all, mortal."[/color]

"Please don't interrupt a guest. It's rude." He made the god scowl, but continued. "Regardless of whether or not it will have an effect on me, how would fate have a plan for an off-worlder?"

[color=Brown]"A line has been drawn for all Interferences, demon,"[/color] Thanatos stated. [color=Brown]"Your family has a prophecy of its own. Unusual for an off-worlder, yes, but one that we would require you have knowledge of."[/color]

"Okay, shoot."

[color=Brown]"What is new for what is old; what is old for what is new."[/color]

Cryptic. Typical of prophecies, really. As far as he knew, anyway. But he had a plan. If he could... it could work. "Thanatos, I'd like a favor of you."

[color=Brown]"The demon asks a favor of a god,"[/color] scoffed the immortal. [color=Brown]"State your plea, as pitiful as it is."[/color]

"I would like to have a short amount of power. Enough to resurrect one person, two if possible."

This insult was more than could be handled. A curved blade was in Thanatos' left hand in an instant, resting against the back of his arm as he held it tightly, the pale eyes showing rage. [color=Brown]"No mortal shall ever have the power to control the path of death, not [i]ever[/i]."[/color]

"I beg to differ," Isaac smirked as he said. He had what he needed. "The Marked One. I've seen that prophecy, deep within your heart. Less so now, with his death so soon."

A scowl that deepened. Thanatos seemed on the verge of striking him down a second time. [color=Brown]"Insolent morta--"[/color]

"I've heard it. Stop the 'mortal' bull. When it comes down to it, you've got just one chance to stay alive through that prophecy." Isaac chuckled, still skimming his heart as he spoke. This was dangerous, as he could not fight with any effective capacity while doing this, but it would help him a lot. "I could just tell him his brother didn't die. That Ares screwed up, took the wrong guy. That [i]you[/i] have Deimos locked up in here."

[color=Brown]"You would never dare. I would never fall to a petty demigod such as he, and [i]never[/i] to a [b]simple mortal [i]boy[/i] such as yourself![/b]"[/color]

The outrage almost made Isaac just fall back laughing. He knew that he was right, that the god was getting frantic. The Silver Tongue cared nothing for prophecy, but this ancient being did care. "And your proof? Fate is fate, right? If you get in the way of the man destined to topple the gods, who's to say that you won't fall with the others?"

Thanatos froze, scowling. Isaac could see a woman flying through the sky above. He did not bother to get a good look, knowing that it was all together likely that she was not properly clothed, and that she was liable to strike him down as fast as this god here if he talked to her. As Erinys, Daughter of Death, kept going, he stared at the god. They both stared each other down for several seconds, and Death itself raised the curved blade, akin to a scythe. Poetic, really. He made half-goddess with a scythe's life hell, and now he was sent to a hell by a god with a similar weapon.

[color=Brown]"The Fates decide your path, mortal. We shall see."[/color]

And the blade came down.

=====

[i]River Styx, Underworld[/i]

Several minutes later, he was falling. Falling down, down, down. He heard screaming all around him, some falling faster than others. He was falling to the Underworld, the bloody River Styx beckoning below, with its current strong enough to carry even the strongest mortal to his eternal resting place.

Bony platforms were around, some making kinds of bridges. He saw Kratos far below, and Naito, Cheryl, and Audrey near him. Spreading his wings, he dipped low, forcing himself down faster, aiming for Cheryl.

Over the din of the screams, he shouted to Naito. Kratos would be able to handle himself. "Kid! Get Audrey!"

The young man was surprised, and forgot to summon his wings. "Isaac?! What are you doing back there?!"

"Got sidetracked! Get her!"

The young man nodded, spreading his silver wings for the first time since being an Interference. The divine child flew down, wrapping his arms around Audrey's waist and slowing their descent, aiming for a platform that was closest.

At the same time, Isaac aimed for Cheryl. He flew down, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I gotcha," he muttered, slowing the descent and aiming as Naito did.

Hell of a way to enter the Underworld that was for sure.

(Sorry if I godmodded. They'll land after you both post. Between the parts is an Awakening for Isaac. Maybe I'll write it later.)

====

Audrey had no idea what to think as they all fell to the Underworld. At first, she was relieved to find that they were most likely going to follow through the game's events, and thus return from the dead...

But on the other hand, there was the off chance that instead of following Kratos, they would fall to the bloody river and thus be done with for good. The Dream Mage almost panicked at that thought. She didn't want to stay dead now, damn it!

Before she could start screaming her head off, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and her descent slowing down. She looked back to find Naito as her apparent savior, noting his wings, and feeling relief.

She didn't show that, however, and instead mumbled, "Thanks kid," despite the fact that he was about one year younger than her.


Cheryl had clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to look at her surroundings, at the bloody river or at the people around them. She tried to block out the screams, to no avail.

It was clear that the survival horror protagonist was scared. She didn't know what would happen next; she should have moved out of the way in time. She didn't want to die again. But...at the same time...she was starting to accept it. Accept that taking up her Interference role once again was a bad idea from the start, accept her apparent death...accept seeing her father's face again, if she would in this place.

Those thoughts came to a stop when she felt someone grab her by the waist. She gasped, her eyes snapping open. Before she could freak out, however, she heard Isaac's voice and their descent slowing. That moment, all the negative thoughts had stopped, and Cheryl allowed herself to calm down. She breathed out her relief and looked back at the demon.

"Thanks..." was all she said to him

====

Kratos fell, seeing an old man hanging from the platform on which the others were landing. As he fell by, he grabbed on to the man's legs, pulling him down slightly.

"Let...go, fool!" he shouted down to the Ghost of Sparta. "You won't drag me down to that [i]cursed[/i] river!"

"There is a task left for me above," the protagonist stated, taking one of his Blades of Chaos off and stabbing him through the gut, climbing up as he gasped at the wound. He finally made it up. "I will see it completed." He looked back down, and their eyes met, the old man shocked.

This was the ship captain who had been devoured whole by the Lernaean Hydra, the same exact man who had been there when the first Interferences came to this world. "You again?!"

If Kratos noticed, he did not care. He raised his right sandal, and stabbed straight down on the man's forehead, causing a blood splatter as he fell down screaming to the Styx below.

Isaac winced at the action, though he did not recognize the man. Apparently hero did not equal protagonist in this case in any way, shape, or form. He let go of Cheryl with a nonchalant "you're welcome," as Naito stammered the same out in fear. The demon just looked the way they had to go, ignoring his most recent scar that had left a noticeable tear in his abdomen of his shirt from the time with Thanatos. "Best to get moving."

Naito was not as calm about this by a long shot. "Why are you just going with this?" he asked, panicking. "We're [i]dead[/i]! This is [i]an underworld[/i]! How can you--"

Isaac just walked up to him, punching him in the face, [i]hard.[/i] He watched as the younger man staggered back, almost falling down off of the ledge to join the nameless captain. "Get a hold of yourself, kid. We're dead, but he's dead. So we have a chance of getting out of here." He didn't mention that he had another reason to punch the kid, his uncalled-for near-racism when it came to Jasmine.

Naito just rubbed his nose. "I-I guess. W-We can do this."

Isaac nodded, closing his eyes. A small stream of black smoke came up from his hands for a moment, then dissipated into nothing. A test of Brimstone, it seemed. Maybe this would be a good enough training session out of an Awakening. "Good." They opened again. "So, if everyone's relatively okay, I think we should--" he looked toward Kratos.

...who was already a ways away, having ignored them completely.

"...Son of a...."

====

Audrey also winced after she watched Kratos kick the old man down. [i]That[/i] was why they shouldn't mess with him. Once they landed, the Dream Mage had dusted her clothes off casually, as if nothing had bothered her.

"Though I don't agree with what Isaac just did there," Audrey started, giving a small scowl to the demon after he punched his nephew, "he has a point. We all have a chance of getting out of here."

Cheryl didn't respond for a bit. She was still unnerved by the Underworld they were in. Compared to how she died before, this was the [i]least[/i] bit pleasant for her. But the Silent Hill heroine took a deep breath. If they had a chance of getting out of this literal hellhole, then she could do this. She was curious to what Isaac just did, but didn't ask about it. They could catch up on things later.

"So, what do we do, then?" Cheryl asked, turning to the only External that was once her friend. "You know about this place, so obviously you have a better idea."

Audrey sighed. "Like I said, I never actually played, and it's been a while. But really, I think we have a better chance following Kratos before we lose him." She hooked her thumb to where the protagonist had gone off. "If we just try to stay out of his way, I think we'll be fine."

====

Isaac nodded, spreading his wings slightly. He could use the actual practice with his spells. With that, he, Naito, and the others took off down the path of bony platforms, after the Ghost of Sparta.

=====

[i]Several hours later...[/i]

Finally, after extensive platforming, they had come to their first fight. Kratos seemed to only kill a few of the enemies, more intent on getting ahead than on fighting minor minions.

Two types of enemies were before them, both fairly minor.

Seven Hades Harpies flapped their wings, keeping in the air. They were female figures, surely, but in no way attractive. The batlike ears on bald, deformed heads, the wings that seemed a batlike, the three-toed feet that they dragged behind them as they screeched. All were wreathed in infernal flames. These harpies attacked primarily by dive-bombing the allies below again and again. They also attacked those airborne with their teeth and claws, surprisingly not dealing much in the way of fire damage. Kratos had proved capable of tearing their wings clean off bare-handed, but it was likely the heroes present would need their weapons more to do so if they wanted quick kills.

The two Hades Legionnaires were more powerful, though not by much. They were quite tall and are adorned in very strong golden armor of the ancient Greeks, wielding large broadswords, as well as scythes as secondary weapons. Their eyes left glowing red streaks as they moved, their own bodies enveloped in flames as well. Kratos had killed these by grabbing them by the leg and slamming them on the ground before killing them by grabbing their sword arm, and running their own sword through their backside. It was doubtable to nearly impossible for them to do so, but some swordplay would likely take them down along with proper use of magic.

Isaac drew the Abyss from a crackle of black lightning, taking his ready stance as he spread his wings. "I'll get the flying ones. Cheryl, Audrey, see if you can take out those zombies." With that, he flew off.

====

"You're making us take on the big guys!?" Audrey yelled at Isaac after he flew off.

Cheryl shook her head. It seemed Audrey hadn't changed a bit with those comments. "Let's just try to take care of them."

The Silent Hill heroine pulled out her gun, and the Dream Mage summoned the Destiny Sword. The first thing they did was dodge the first Legionnaire as it swung its broadsword at them, then scatter before the other could hit. Cheryl started to fire at the armor of the first one; it did very little to damage, but it was enough for a distraction. As the zombie turned on her, Audrey charged her sword at maximum power. She then stabbed it through the boot...which may not have been the best idea. While the Legionnaire fell, the heat had transferred onto the sword, making her pull away instantly.

"OW!" Audrey yelled, waving her hands to cool them off. "Owowowowowow..."

"Quit complaining and help me out here!" Cheryl yelled as she barely dodged the second zombie's scythe.

====

"I'm sorry, can [i]you[/i] fly?" the demon shouted back, before the fight broke out properly.

Isaac and Naito both flew up into the fray without another word edgewise, each taking their own opponents.

Naito took on one of the remaining ones. With three slashes, it fell to his Lunar Sabers, disappearing into smoke as the other enemies had. He was left unaware of others as he did this, however, the teeth of one of the harpies biting into the back of his leg. With a yell, he turned around, stabbing hard into its back between the wings to kill it.

Isaac chucked the Abyss hard at one of the Hades Harpies as he came close, killing it in one hit due to his respective strength. As it came back in its usual summonable way, he held out his left hand. "Hellfire." A blood red fireball formed in his open palm, and he threw it at the remaining harpy, burning it further than it normally would be and killing it.

He looked down to the remaining battle. Absently, he thought to using his other new spell, but the cloud of Doubt would do more harm than good. In all likelihood, they could take care of it.

====

Audrey managed to cool her hands off after a few seconds, thankfully. She dismissed her sword back into her mental scape, then summoned it once more, the heat gone. The Dream Mage charged her sword, then ran it through the Legionnaire right before it would get back up, impaling it through its armor.

With quite a bit of effort, Audrey pulled her sword out then. She looked towards Cheryl, seeing that she was still having trouble against the second Legionnaire. She charged her sword once more before running in. While the zombie was distracted, she slashed at its back, breaking the chest armor. Before it could do anything else, the girl stabbed it through like the first.

Cheryl had regained her composure then, checking her gun. After a few years only fighting low level Heartless by her home, she really seemed to have been slipping. She looked towards Audrey and remarked, "Looks like you got better with your sword. Sorry you had to do all the work."

"What, did you think I'd always be throwing it in different directions?" Audrey asked, smirking back. "And don't worry, I'm used to it."

Just like old times, it seems.

====

Isaac hovered down to the women below. "See? You could handle yourselves." He landed on the path, but keeping his wings out. "Shouldn't be too hard to catch up with him if we keep moving."

====

"Yeah, we could handle ourselves," Audrey remarked, giving Isaac a glance of annoyance. "Except we almost died...again." She then blinked. "Actually...what happens if you die twice? I never really got that..."

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "If we get out, we probably won't have to find out." She sighed and shook her head. "Let's just keep going."

====

(Okay. A note on it: This will have several skipped over fights in the skipped part. You can have characters react as you feel.)

Naito looked worried about her, but nodded. "Just tell me if you need anything." She had beaten three Harpies to his and Isaac's two. That was impressive, to say nothing else.

Isaac shrugged, following after Kratos in a jog.

====

Some time later, the group came to another challenge. Isaac dismissed the Abyss, looking up. "Oh Martel...damn it all."

Naito gaped at the structure, his eyes wide. "Mother Amaterasu..."

It was a massive pillar covered in spikes, segmented randomly. Every other portion rotated in the opposite direction, the spikes just as random. Even the rotation speeds differed from segment to segment. This truly was hellish.

The Spartan fell to the ground, having been sliced up by several of the spikes after accidentally touching one of them. Grunting, he grabbed it with both hands again, climbing once more.

Isaac sighed. Well, this did seem to be the endgame. Might as well make it difficult. "Well, might as well get it over with." He stepped toward the spiked pillar of doom, rubbing his hands against one another.

Naito paled. "We aren't going to--"

The demon stopped, rolling his eyes as he spread his demonic wings. "Of course not. We're going the easy way. Cheryl, Audrey, pick one of us."

====

Audrey panted, dismissing the Destiny Sword. "Geez, the fights here are more than I could handle..."

"Tell me about it..." Cheryl muttered in agreement. She was running out of ammo, too. Now she regretted leaving most of her weapons with the RGRC; in moments like these, she really needed them.

Shaking her head, the protagonist looked up...and promptly face-faulted at the pillar before them. "...Audrey? How do we get around this?"

Audrey looked up to this as well. She groaned and palmed her face. "I forgot about this..."

The Dream Mage shook her head, not voicing that. Seeing as how she didn't trust Isaac enough, so she walked up to Naito. "Alright, let's get this over with. I'd like to hurry out of this place so I can take a nap."

Cheryl shook her head, but didn't comment. She just walked to Isaac without a word. Out of all of them, she trusted him the most, next to Audrey anyway. But seeing as she wasn't a raven Laguz anymore, she relied on the demon for this.

====

Isaac nodded, stepping behind Cheryl and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hold on tight." With two flaps of his wings, he was in the sky, going up, up... and landing at the top as Kratos was most of the way. He let go of the former Holy Mother, looking around to be sure that there were no more enemies too close by.

Naito  stepped behind the Dream Mage, also wrapping his hands around her waist. "Okay, here we go." He flew up as well, landing as Kratos reached the top.

The Ghost of Sparta looked to the two of the pairs. "How did you receive those wings?"

"Don't worry," Isaac said. "You won't need them. Keep going, Spartan."

Rather than argue, the man scowled, just continuing on his way. He had other things to do. Perhaps he truly was famous enough to not question others knowing his birthplace.

====

As they reached the top, Audrey fixed her coat. She looked to Kratos as he went, then looked to her allies. "Like I said, don't mess with him."

Cheryl just nodded, not saying anything.

====

[i]Some time later...[/i]

It seemed as though they were likely nearing the end of this part of the world. The increasing difficulty of enemies seemed to indicate this, if anything.

Where the Hades Harpies were once flying through the air as technical comparatively difficult fodder, more Legionnaires now were on the latest platform. Four of them, and two more difficult enemies still.

The Hades Minotaurs were eight-foot-tall, incredibly muscular anthropomorphic bulls with humanoid hands, covered in thick spiked armor and wielding a gigantic spiked battle axe for a weapon each one-handed. They had spiked arm-guards on each arm, held in place by metal bands, but rarely used them, relying on slow, powerful swings and smashes with the axe. One had fallen already, dead by Kratos' Blades of Chaos down its throat that released green health orbs to him.

Oh, and they were also wreathed in flames. That too.

Naito flew down, slashing a Legionnaire aside before passing it. On the turn around, he swung his Lunar Sabers in two parallel lines. "Moon Wave!" Two silver waves of lunar magic sliced through the Legionnaire, weakening it greatly before it turned around to face him. The young man slashed at it as it came close, blade locking between blades, and the skeleton kicked him in the chest, forcing him back with a sizable amount of damage before slashing twice to hurt him further. Not giving up, the quarter-god flew forward again, stabbing clean through a break in the armor before slicing the vertebrae to separation, killing it by bisection.

Isaac, high above, took a different route. He waved at two of the Legionnaires as they charged at Cheryl, saying but one word. "Doubt."

A black fog came from the ground, one that he swept across the battlefield. Both of the hellish skeletons were caught in it, and a clash of blades was audible, the confusion of the cloud causing them to attack each other as if they were the true target. As the cloud fell, only one Hades Legionnaire remained, the other standing up shakily and relatively easy to defeat. With that done, he speared straight down, aiming for one of the bull-men with his Abyss out in his right hand.

====

Cheryl stood still when the Legionnaires came at her, as though waiting for an opportune moment to get out of the way. She wouldn't need to, with Isaac using that black fog spell he called Doubt. After it was gone, the Canon Interference turned to the remaining Legionnaire and began to shoot at its chestplate, aiming for the joints.

During that, Audrey took out the Legionnaire that barely stood. She had charged her sword at its maximum power, and then released it, impaling it like her first. Once that fell, the Dream Mage ran up and pulled the sword out.

"Got another free one for you, Audrey!" Cheryl called."

Audrey turned and saw that Cheryl had shot the hinges off the chest armor. She ran up, intent on slashing through it, only to find herself holding up her sword to protect herself from the coming broadsword. She gritted her teeth as she barely held her own, the Legionnaire putting more effort to bring down her defense.

Cheryl would have tried to distract it away from Audrey. Except there was one problem.

She used up the last of her ammo.

"F***..." was all she said under her breath.

====

The Minotaur watched Isaac's dive, keeping its axe out. Pulling back, it readied a swing...only for said swing to miss, too slow.

The blow did clip the demon's right leg, but the cut was not too deep, only slicing into his clothing. He knew he would need some kind of new outfit soon. Granted, he was thinking of getting one anyway, given his new skill set.

The roar brought his attention back. Right. Fighting enemy in the Underworld itself. Back to work.

The Silver Tongue knew that the Minotaur, with its back still to him as he leveled out, would not be able to attack quickly. Flying fast, he slashed once, twice, three times into its back, finishing the combination with a hard thrust. Only then did the beast shake wildly, throwing him off as he yanked out the weapon. So much for armor on the pants, with such an exposed back.

Isaac saw Cheryl's trouble. He had one pistol with him, the one he had gotten from the SSV Normandy SR-1. Taking it from his back, he shouted as the Minotaur kicked at the ground, readying a horn-first charge. "Hey, Cheryl!" He threw the gun as it expanded from its smaller size for storage, the red one with white designs and a black barrel, lobbing it to her. "Catch!" The gun had no real need to be reloaded as far as he knew, with thousands of rounds most of which he had never used, but still could only take fifteen consecutive shots before it needed to cool down.

Not prepared, the demon was thrown into the air by the charge, falling flat on his face behind the Hades Minotaur with a burn on the back of his shirt, coughing as he stood up, holding a hand up toward the creature as it turned, slamming the axe down on the ground as it came closer. "Dark Sphere," he spat, the blast of darkness taking the bull-man in the chest, causing damage and stunning him. He stood up, ready to throw the Abyss for the final shot...

The Lunar Saber from Naito's hand stabbed hard into the Minotaur's side before he drew it out, holding the other one back and stabbing again for the final kill. "You okay, Isaac?"

A cough again, as he tried to catch his breath. "Yeah, I'm just pea-- Up!"

Naito panicked, flying straight up to avoid the swing of a Hades Minotaur's blazing axe.

(Survivors at the moment: One very weak, mostly armorless, stunned Hades Legionnaire, and one full-health Hades Minotaur. Feel free to kill both in your posts if you so desire.)

====

With the Legionnaire stunned, Audrey pushed its sword away from her. With a few charged slashes, the combating healer cut through the zombie, killing it easily.

Cheryl looked up as Isaac called to her. When he threw the gun to her, she fumbled with it before holding it properly. She took a moment to study it before getting back into action. With only one of those Minotaurs left, the Silent Hill protagonist aimed and shot at it to draw its attention.

The Minotaur turned towards Cheryl, the shots barely doing damage to it. It raised its axe, ready to bring it down on her. And it would've...if not for the charged sword stabbing it through its throat. Audrey jumped at the Minotaur, grabbed her sword and, after pulling it out, threw it again for good measure. It stabbed through its head then, the final killing blow.

"Well, that's the last of them," Audrey commented, her sword disappearing into her mentalscape again.

Cheryl sighed, putting the borrowed pistol away for now. "If I had swords like you guys, I'd probably be doing a lot more than that..."

====

[i]Some time later, after more fights with Hades Minotaurs, Legionnaires, and Harpies...[/i]

Isaac gasped for breath, landing on another platform with his shirt even more torn up than before. He was really getting tired. He looked to Audrey, then the others. "Hey....think you can fix us up, Audrey? I'm no healer."

Naito looked over to his uncle, thinking about Jasmine still in spite of himself. He had to ask a question. "Isaac..." he gasped, holding out a Hi-Potion to her. "do you think Jasmine would fight pretty girl?"

Isaac took a moment to register what had been said as he noticed Kratos trying, with limited success, to climb the massive pillar near them. He couldn't have been that low in his guard, could he? No, he'd heard it. His right hand came up, the Abyss in his left, and made direct contact with his face as he closed his red eyes. He sagged his head, shaking it. [size=1]"Martel, what an idiot..."[/size]

Prepare for Naito's reaction in five....four....three....two....

The time traveler's eyes widened as wide as saucepans, his cheeks going a bright red as his hand slipped on the Hi-Potion. He only barely caught it in his other hand, looking away quickly. "I-I-I-I mean, she's really got style. [i]I mean fighting style![/i] I-I....um...." And so he was rambling. Swell.

====

Audrey was also tired, but not badly injured thanks to casting Quiesco, her regen spell, on herself. Hearing Isaac's request, she rolled her eyes before casting Vita on the demon, healing him by a marginal amount.

"That was the last of my magic. You owe me for this, Isaac." The Dream Mage then heard Naito's slip and palmed her face as well. This reminded her of when she and Sorin started going out; even now, she still remembered how much of an idiot she was acting like.

Cheryl, while not dealing with any major damage, was extremely exhausted. Three years of fighting only Shadows, Soldiers, and other low-level Heartless while on her way home really wasn't enough for her.  She really needed to get back the fighting style she had before.

The Silent Hill heroine acknowledged Naito's embarrassment, and decided to comment on it. "Hey, maybe when we get out of here, you can take her out somewhere nice," she said with a small smirk. Even now, she still liked to crack some jokes at others' expense.

====

Rolling his eyes at the panicked excuses that seemed to be just making the kid's situation progressively worse, Isaac looked around the area. "Thanks, Audrey. I owe you another one." Nearby, he saw four of the large chests that Kratos had been struggling to open. Two had green Omega symbols, two with blue ones. One of each type on either side of the deadly pillar. The demon had an idea, looking to his nephew."Kid!"

Naito, a very deep red from his blush at the comments of Cheryl, looked back to Isaac, grateful for the change in subject. "Y-yeah, Isaac?" That Cheryl woman was [i]egging him on[/i]?

"You and me are taking the ones on the right. Those chests. The women can take the ones on the left." With that, the Silver Tongue walked to the green one, summoning his double saber and sticking it under the handle. Though stronger than before due to the spell, he was still weak, and needed help.

Naito followed, sticking one of his own blades in and pushing down with both hands, trying his best to force it open. Within a few seconds, the thing snapped open, a shower of green orbs coming out. Most came to Naito, but some came to Isaac. Due to their effects, they both were fully healed. Then came the second one.

====

"Right right, whatever," Audrey muttered before moving over to the chest with the blue symbol. Bringing her sword out, she followed Isaac and Naito's example and stuck the blade under the handle, pushing it down with as much force as she could. She even charged energy into it to put more force into it.

Since Cheryl didn't have weapons like that, plus the fact that her knife wouldn't be much help, she decided something different. She pulled out the borrowed gun and shot at the hinges of the chest. It was enough, thankfully, as blue orbs flew from the opened chest and into the two women. Audrey's magic was fully restored and Cheryl felt reenergized.

With that done, they moved to the next one with the green symbol, working on opening it the same way.

====

More time passed, with the same enemies, though far less of them. They had passed the second and last pillar, and were continuing across the bony platforms after Kratos...but there was a slight issue up ahead.

They had run out of platforms, a large one up ahead with nothing beyond it.

Naito was flying along, still carrying Audrey to make the trip go faster. Isaac was similarly still carrying Cheryl. "Where do we go?"

Isaac was just calm. "...Well, dead end. Fitting, really." He continued flying.

"How are you so calm? We're [i]stuck![/i]"

"Two things. One, stop panicking so much. Two, Kratos is still here. Not that this couldn't be the end to a game, but it would be a pretty boring ending."

"What do you mea--?" Naito was cut off by the sound of a loud [i]*thump*[/i] not long after Kratos arrived at that platform. He looked to the source, then up. "...Oh."

There was a very long rope leading up the the rocky ceiling above, into a smallish hole that could probably fit a person or two through it. At the end, tied to the rope, was a large rectangular stone, keeping the line taut and ready to be climbed. Kratos was already making his way up it.

Isaac nodded, continuing. "Yeah. Oh." He flew faster. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Naito nodded, a little embarrassed by his panic. "...Yeah. Sorry for overreacting."

(After the posts from you two, they'll be up at the top. Then, a funny conversation.)

====

Cheryl rolled her eyes at the conversation going on, though she had to give a little chuckle. It was kinda funny. She stopped, though, as she saw the rope. "You sure that'll lead us out?"

"Pretty sure," Audrey said with a nod, remembering this part very well. "Finally, we can get out and I can go take a damn shower. Seriously, walking through hell really makes you sweaty."

"Don't remind me..."

====

"Yeah..."  Jazz muttered as she wiped some of the sweat off her forehead.  Though personally she wanted a nice long bath to relax after going through all that in Hades.  "Let's get out of here."

====

Together, the group flew up the rope, up and up, ending up at the top of it. There was a small arch of wood holding up the rope, amongst many piles of dirt that seemed to be graves. The sky above the graveyard was dark, cloudy.

One man stood near the hole, his spade stuck halfway into the dirt. He had scraggly white hair and a white beard, and wore a dark, tattered cloak. The man spoke as Kratos came up with them.

"And not a moment too soon," he said, smiling. "I only finished digging just a moment ago."

Isaac's expression was completely deadpan as he let go of Cheryl, Naito releasing Audrey on solid ground as well. "You dug."

"Indeed, Interference." Though Kratos was confused by this, he had other things on his mind as usual.

"You dug a hole down into the Underworld. With a shovel."

Naito also thought this was very strange, but did not comment.

"Yes, Silver Tongue. I did."

The young man didn't even bother to ask how he knew his title. Probably one of those who knew of Interferences. A god? He could check his identity in a moment. Nonetheless, he palmed his face once more. "Okay, this is official. Dying is not a big deal, and anyone who says otherwise is flat lying."

(After a short conversation, we'll head forward. The save point will be broken or otherwise inactive. The one in the Temple of Fates will be the one that works.)

====

Cheryl dusted herself off after Isaac had put her down. Though she also thought it was odd that this man had managed to dig a whole down to the Underworld, she left it. She was more relieved to be alive again.

"That's the last time I'm ever dying," she muttered to herself.

"Me too," Audrey agreed, dusting herself as well. She would have commented on making sure the next game doesn't feature that in the script, but she left it out. She did, however, smirk to herself as she saw the man, knowing exactly who it was. The Dream Mage didn't speak it out, though, and instead said, "Well, thanks for getting us out of there."

====

The grave digger nodded to the others. "My pleasure, Dream Mage, Holy Mother, and others."

Kratos was still shocked as Isaac was lowering his hand, speaking at last. "Who [i]are[/i] you?"

Isaac himself finally scanned the man's heart. This was [i]not[/i] just a man, as he expected. Kind of shocking to see who it truly was, in more than one sense of the word, but he said nothing.

"Now [i]that[/i] is an interesting question." An explosion could be heard nearby in a temple not far from them, burning. "But now, [i]you[/i] must hurry. All of you. Athens needs you."

Naito spoke. "But how did you know we were going t--?"

"Athena isn't the only god keeping watch on any of you," he looked back to Kratos. "least of all on you, Spartan."

There was another explosion, and Naito looked away, though Isaac continued watching. When anyone who looked turned back, the man was gone, only the shovel remaining, his voice echoing to the Ghost of Sparta.

[i]"Complete your task, Kratos, and the gods will forgive your sins."[/i]


Some time later, the group had passed through to the temple. Most was not burning, though the oracle within was hurt. A healing spell had fixed that, though she did not aid them further than to say they had to stop the God of War.

There was another issue. The group found a save point, all right. A save altar of the game. Only problem was that it had been broken beyond all repair or use, making their exit from the world at this location impossible for the time being.

Isaac swore under his breath, knowing from how it looked that it was most likely their ticket out, a habitual scan of Audrey confirming it.

He saw a woman flying high above, away from them. Her hands were glowing yellow as she flew away, and he knew by her appearance and...lacking nature to her state of dress what her identity was. Erinys, the Daughter of Death, had likely destroyed this herself as Thanatos' further retribution for Isaac's impiety.

The new wielder of Brimstone sighed, watching her go. "...Well played. But we can find another way out."

Naito sighed sadly, really wanting to just get out of here. He didn't even bother to ask Isaac what he was talking about with the first sentence.

Predictably, Kratos had not stopped around, just continuing onward without them. They would likely see him soon anyway, at the battle itself.

(They'll be at the battlefield on my next post, and I'll tell the [i]real[/i] boss fight.)

====

During the time they had to get to the temple, Audrey and Cheryl were both speaking with each other. The two women did agree to catch up on things when they were done, and decided that now had been a good a time as any before they would leave. Or so they thought then, anyway.

And yes, they picked a time to talk about past events while making their way to a burning temple. It was very necessary, you see.

"So yeah, that's how I lost my powers," Audrey said, having explained the whole story about that. "That bastard's dead now," - right now, anyway - "but I still wish I had given him a piece of my mind."

Cheryl frowned after listening. She had been told this by Joseph before, but hearing the whole story made her somewhat worried that someone would go out of their way to steal one's powers like that. Still, she was secretly glad that she didn't have any powers of her own anymore...anything conscious, anyway...

And then they came across the broken save altar. Audrey palmed her face as she saw this. "Just great...and I really wanted to leave, too..."

"You think you were the only one?" Cheryl asked rhetorically, a look of annoyance on her face. She really didn't want to be here any longer; she still wished that she could have stayed at home instead of going out again. "Is there another one nearby?"

Audrey sighed. "I really don't know. Chances are we're probably gonna keep going until the final battle, I think."

====

Isaac started off, after Kratos beyond. "Maybe Thanatos is done for now."

The younger man was confused, but still didn't even ask, walking after him. Their path this far had been wrought with corpses of various enemies, all brutally slain by the Ghost of Sparta. Hopefully they would be able to save their strength for later. He heard the booming voice of the God of War himself before they could even see him, his words alone showing what he was.

[b]"Zeus! Do you see now what your son can do?"[/b]

Isaac rubbed his ears as he walked. Couldn't Ares be a little softer in his speech?

[b]"You cast your favor on Athena, but her city lies in ruins before me."[/b]

...Because he destroyed it personally. Not a very convincing argument.

[b]"I have slain your Interference allies, and now, even Pandora's Box is mine! Would you have me use it against [i]Olympus itself?[/i]"[/b] Just then, his voice seemed to be softer, though still booming. Apparently he saw Kratos up ahead, out of their sight. [b]"Kratos, returned even from the Underworld."[/b] Again his voice was booming. [b]"Is this the best you can do, father? You send broken mortals to defeat [i]me[/i], the [i]God[/i] of [i]War[/i]?"[/b]

Isaac sighed, just rubbing his forehead as he stood there, trying to think of how they could defeat this being. Their power levels were likely not nearly high enough to face a being as large as he presumably was. Even the sound of an explosion followed by something colliding with stone didn't really change much in his opinion.

Still talking to Kratos, albeit likely in a different stature. Perhaps he had opened the Box? [b]"You are still just a mortal. Every bit as weak as the day you begged me to save your life."[/b]

Then again, the real reason he was sighing was the overly dramatic speech. Another villain who was overconfident. Great....

Now Kratos, with the same booming quality to his voice. [b]"I am not the same man you found that day. The monster you created has returned, to kill you."[/b]

[b]"You have no idea what a true monster is, [i]Kratos.[/i]"[/b] There was a squelching sound of some sort, and he spoke once more. [b]"Your final lesson is at hand."[/b]

Scratch that. [i]Two[/i] overdramatic combatants. With another sigh, he just walked toward the battlefield. Fan[i]tas[/i]tic. Nonetheless, he walked once more, toward the battlefield. They could get this accomplished somehow.

(They'll arrive as the second phase is beginning. Ares won't be able to see them, concentrating on Kratos, but the battle's set up for them will be in place on my next post.)

====

Audrey palmed her face as she heard the overly dramatic voices up ahead. "What did I tell you? We're nearing the final battle here."

Cheryl just rolled her eyes as she walked along. Again, she just wanted to get this done and get out of here.

====

As they came to the massive battlefield, with its vast rocky expanse, only one figure remained. The fiery-haired God of War stood in red armor with six scythe blades reaching over his back, a portal of some sort closing before him. This...was a little complicated.

Naito took a deep breath. This was likely what would have happened anyway. No big deal. Well...not as big as it normally would have been. Still, he was panicked. Ares knew they were here. Was he even looking?

Isaac, on the other hand, looked around for some kind of way out of the world, some easy way to a save point. Kratos could handle himself. All they had to do was.... "There!" he called, pointing to a massive statue of a man holding a sword out in front of him, the sword big enough to be a bridge.

Two figures fought upon it. He could see Kratos by his shirtless nature and bald head, but the other one was new. Feminine, with a golden crown upon her head and silver "hair" coming from it, floating on the air in an ornate dress, the bottom a long skirt of shadows. He saw her hands for claws as he watched her, a greenish portal of some sort barely visible behind the Ghost of Sparta as he watched her, twisting and turning through the air.

The demon didn't wait for permission. They would likely not have another chance. He wrapped his arms around Cheryl's waist, and spread his dragon wings, flying in the direction of the sword as a blast of green light was fired from the woman, one that Kratos there only just barely dodged, causing cracks in the sword itself.. As he flew, he scanned her heart, seeing her identity. "Atropos," he muttered. One of the Sisters of Fate Thanatos had mentioned. The cutter of the thread of life, likely with those hands.

Naito saw what Isaac was doing, and shouted after him. "Wait!" He wrapped his arms around Audrey's waist in the next instant, whispering as he took off. "Sorry." With that he was following, flying off.

Ahead, Isaac saw Kratos more clearly, scanning his heart for differences he would find most interesting. There was a new scar on the man, a vertical one on his chest. Caused by another murder at the hands of the King of the Gods himself, Zeus. Why he would do such a thing was beyond Isa--oh, Kratos had assaulted Rhodes as a new God of War after Ares' death. That was reasonable. On his right arm, from a plate on the shoulder down to the chain for his Blade, was a golden armband. The Golden Fleece, taken from a massive three headed dog, able to reflect attacks back, like the green blasts of energy that were being reflected back as golden ones to protect the sword that would be pivotal in Ares' defeat as he also simultaneously fought off hordes of non-burning Legionnaires that appeared on the sword itself with new magics such as a kind of green arc lightning.

Enough heart-scanning. He had enough to get what he had to do. That portal was a temporal one. Oh, how he [i]hated[/i] time travel, but it would have to do as far as fights go if it would get them out of there.

Without another word edgewise, he hoped Cheryl would know what to do with his pistol he had given her as he gripped her tighter with his left hand, holding his right back. "Doubt." The spell was instantly absorbed into the blades of the appearing Abyss double saber, and he threw it as hard as he could, the smoking weapon slashing twice into her back and causing her to cry out in both surprise and pain as a cloud of blinding smoke surrounded her. Before she could turn around, he re-summoned it, flying by and slashing hard with the non-spellbound weapon for additional damage before flying back out of her claws' range to allow Cheryl to shoot. From the portal, he could hear shouting and slashing, as if someone was fighting on the other end. Perhaps an Interference to aid the ex-god?

Naito took advantage of the distraction as well, drawing his right Lunar Saber. "Moon Wave!" The hard slash of light hit the blind Fate in the back, forcing her forward, stunned for others' attacks as a confused Kratos watched them warily.

(Feel free to go to [i]town[/i] on her. This phase of the fight will only take one post each. The next will do the same.

A note on the use of heart-reading. He won't use it to get weaknesses or anything. He only uses it to get information on exposition. And I think that when we consider we all want to finish, filling us in on what's going on isn't a bad thing.)

====

Neither Audrey nor Cheryl reacted when Naito and Isaac had picked them up before flying off again. Both women could understand what was going on for them to know what to do.

Cheryl had waited for Isaac to finish his attacks, pulling out the borrowed pistol. She also held on tightly to him with the other hand as he flew by and slashed the blinded woman. Taking this cue, the survival horror protagonist aimed and fired at her.

As for Audrey, she had been charging energy into her sword in the meantime. After Naito sent out the Moon Wave, her sword was charged to its maximum power. She yelled out then as she threw the sword at the woman, the blade stabbing forward at her.

====

Due to trouble concentrating on six enemies at the same time (one of which was the protagonist, of course), Atropos fell down, leaning on the Blade of the Gods, the massive bridge-sword. Bad idea, given who was upon it.

Kratos lashed out with his right Blade of Athena, stabbing into the Fate's chest. She screamed, flying through the air with her foe in tow, and he swung around, stabbing the left one into her neck to force her to fall on to the sword, narrowly missing Naito as he tried to help. The fallen God of War took his Blades out of her as she looked to him, ready to swipe at him...only to have the right blade stab her directly in the face, followed by a jumping scream and another stab directly into her forehead, spilling more blood. With that, the Fate fell silent, still.

Isaac landed on the Blade with Naito, motioning for the latter to go into the green portal immediately. As he did, the young man looked to Cheryl, pushing her softly through. "I gotta take care of something. Keep the pistol You earned it."

---

[i]Some time into the future...
Temple of the Fates[/i]

On the other side, Naito saw himself in a grand hall, one filled with mirrors. Three of six were broken, but three remained, one of which they had walked out of. He saw Kratos close behind as he released Audrey, and also saw the enemy before them. Another divine figure, dressed as a kind of priestess and carrying a staff in her right hand. She had legs, unlike Atropos. He noticed a distinct....lacking to part of her attire, and almost had to look away, instead looking to her headdress to avoid staring accidentally.

Someone else was there. A boy of about fifteen, wielding a large key. He apparently had been fighting the goddess during this time. Wait...was this Sora? His parents' friend?

He could hear thumping on the mirror behind him, and heard a short yell as Isaac fell inside, landing on his back and skidding halfway to the Sister. He was putting something bloody in his etherspace pocket.

Turning, he looked up at the enemy. No time to think of who it was, so he looked to the other person in the room, one who seemed to not recognize Cheryl, knew Isaac, halfway recognized Audrey, and didn't know Naito at all. "Keyboy, who's your friend?" He stood as he heard the groan.

"Lahkesis..." he said, lowering his hand from his face. "Can you help me out?"

The measurer of the threads of life spoke to the God of War, calm at first as Isaac stood up and re-summoned his Abyss saber. "I am done playing games with you, Kratos. You and the Interferences." She hovered higher, angrier. [i]"This power was never meant for [b]mortals[/b] like you!"[/i]

Isaac just rolled his eyes. [i]Another[/i] one of those. Great...

She rose higher...and fired three bolts of green energy out of her, one to each mirror. Atropos emerged from the one farthest from them, to her waist, laughing maniacally. As Naito noticed, there was a bleeding stump where her right claw used to be, but the left was able to hold her halfway outside of the other time, halfway into theirs.

Naito was thrown aside as Lahkesis descended fast, her hands glowing green with her power, and smashed him with her staff. He hit the mirror, cracking it, but stood up again, bringing his wings back into being. He was weakened, yes. Tired from this long journey as the rest of them. But he would not quit. Not ever.

Isaac held out his weapon as Atropos fired a large blast of green energy at them from her mirror, letting it be absorbed into the blades to give them a similar aura. With a swing, he sent it right back, stunning her somewhat.

Sora aimed his Keyblade at the half-trapped Fate, and shouted. "Blizzaga!" The three blasts of ice harmed her further. Neither of them were ready when Kratos, having temporarily stunned Lahkesis in that part of the fight, ran at the cutter of the threads of life, slashing at unnatural speeds that were likely only attainable with that aid of temporal magic for him.

The combined strength was enough to send the Sister of Fate to the ground, the mirror re-absorbing her into it. She slammed against it from within repeatedly, the mirror itself cracked. It was not many slashes from the Ghost of Sparta before the mirror shattered.

The males turned back to Lahkesis, not knowing whether Atropos could return through another of the two mirrors. Only two left.

(Now you two can fight Lahkesis. The fight will be finished when you guys do your posts. Atropos comes out of the mirror they came from next, so you both can handle that mirror. I'll have Kratos finish them off in my next post.)

====

Audrey couldn't help but grin as she saw Sora. After they were done with this, she was definitely gonna ask for a hug, something she should have done when they met about three years ago. Right now, though, they had something to take care of. So, getting her sword ready and charged up, she ran up to Lahkesis.

"We could force you to have the same fate as Olivia Stevens."

"Quit talking!" The Dream Mage began to slash rapidly then.

Cheryl, however, was a different story. Instead of attacking the divine being, she was keeping her eyes on the mirrors, in case the Sister of Fate would come out again. Sure enough, Atropos had come out of the mirror on the far end from her companions and fire a few more blasts of green energy. The Holy Mother quickly dodged out of the way of one, then began to fire like hell.

However, no matter how many shots, the Fate didn't deal damage at all. The shots then stopped, the gun feeling heated in her grip. Cheryl mentally berated herself; she could have helped fire at Lahkesis instead of waste it all. That wasn't a smart move on her part...

====

Isaac, Sora, and Naito watched as Kratos seemed to speed up following the stunning of Lahkesis from the repeated attacks. He came to Atropos, and, as with before, was a blur as he more or less tore he apart before shattering the mirror that she was re-absorbed into.

"The Mother twists the Tongue..." the measuring Fate gasped. "Two....become one... Thanatos should have...killed you permanently...while he could..."

Before Lahkesis could allow her sister to come out through the central mirror after that prophecy, the other males were ready. Kingdom Key, the Lunar Sabers, and Abyss all slashed at her repeatedly to keep her down as a slowed Kratos came to her, fallen in front of the final mirror as it rippled, ready to let Atropos out one last time. He stomped his sandal on her right arm, causing her to grunt as he tore the staff from her grasp. Swinging it in a full circle with a mighty yell, the God of War stabbed into Lahkesis' side with her own weapon. As he was getting ready to swing her into the mirror, Atropos, again out, grabbed him with her remaining hand, laughing maniacally once more as he lost his grip on the other Sister, leaving her to clatter across the floor as the younger males barely dodged her.

Lahkesis rose once more, tearing her staff from her side, and rose on her powers of levitation. Before any of the Interferences could react, she was flying toward the protagonist, aiming to stab him once more, fatally. At near the last second, the Ghost of Sparta slipped out of the grasp of the cutter of the threads, swinging one of his Blades of Athena up toward the ledge high above. With a wide arc, he dodged Lahkesis, who ended up stabbing her own sister, surprising them both before Kratos kicked hard into the measurer's back, forcing Atropos back into the mirror as he slashed across Lahkesis' throat as well, stunning her enough to drop her to one knee as he held her shoulder with his left hand, the same blade that cut her still in his hand. Holding his hand back, he stabbed hard into her forehead, down to the hilt, holding it there for a few seconds before kicking her back into the last mirror. In a moment, he had an enormous warhammer in his hands in the place of his Blades of Athena, slamming the mirror several times before it shattered.

Not only were the Sisters of Fate no more. They had been erased from time itself.

Beyond the mirror was something that elicited a sigh of relief from all three of the male Interferences. A save altar, and a functional one besides, with light shining down on it from the glowing orb that floated above.

Before he left, Sora looked to the others, noticing Kratos just continuing onward without a word. Likely off to kill Clotho, the weaver of the threads and final Fate. He had a few questions to ask his fellow Interferences, ones that Kratos didn't necessarily need to know.

First, the boy looked to them all. "So...I'm going to assume time travel?"

Isaac glanced at Naito, then back. "You have no idea." He thought on what Lahkesis had said about him before her erasure. Apparently the God of Death had not heeded his advice. Foolish, to be sure. But he [i]had[/i] warned him.

The youngest among them looked confused. "Wait, what do you mean by that? I know some of you. You, and..." He turned to Audrey, looking carefully at her. "...Audrey, right? How long has it been?" Okay, stupid question with the Universal Failsafe Law. "...Nevermind. It gets a little complicated. How long for you, I meant." He looked to the other three, the ones he did not recognize, though one he had seen before under another name. "Who're you guys?"

Naito answered first, motioning to his wings before dismissing them. "Naito Hane Zivaku, Mister Sora." He swore under his breath. Still couldn't get out of that habit. "I...erm...I'm your friends' son." As Sora merely gaped, too confused by the whole thing to really react, Isaac clarified.

"Kaith and Demi. Normally, I'd let you wallow in that. It is funny. But we're tired and just want to go."

Sora nodded his approval of this plan of action, but seemed uncomfortable with Naito's next question. Not to mention uncomfortable with the entire situation as it was, but that was another story.

"Um...could you help me find my dad?"

The Keyblader looked to Isaac, his pity turning to anger as he looked to the Silver Tongue. "You didn't tell him?"

The demon waved his arms, frantically trying to keep Sora from saying the truth. It wouldn't help Naito at all, wouldn't help his innocence as he saw it.

"Fine, I'll say it, then." Sora looked to Naito, closing his eyes and sighing. He didn't cry, but almost came to the verge of it from returned memories. "...Naito...Greg is dead. Your parents...they split up, as far as I know."

And so the time traveler froze, his eyes widening to the size of saucers however, unlike the last time he did this, he did not blush. Instead, he turned pale.

Pale as death itself.

(You two can do one more round, then we can probably end on the full round of posts.)

====

Audrey breathed out a sigh of her own, dismissing the Destiny Sword. Finally, they can get the hell out of here and put this all behind them. The Dream Mage really wanted to relax after all that.

She turned to Sora and smiled. Deep down, she could barely contain her inner fangirl, something that had not broken out in a long time. "Probably three years. Haven't seen you since I was brought back from the dead...for the first time."

When Greg had been brought up, Audrey sighed and shook her head. She had been there when he had sacrificed himself; she really didn't want to think back on that. She also noted Isaac's gesturing not to tell and rolled her eyes; the truth had to come out eventually.

The girl, wanting to get this off her mind, decided that now was as good a time as any. She walked up to Sora, and said, "Should've done this when we met," before she gave him a big, tight hug.

Cheryl had put her gun away, dusting herself off after having fallen to the ground a moment ago. As she saw the save altar, she breathed out a sigh of relief as well. No more traveling into worlds that feature a death scenario like that.

She turned to the Keyblader, and waved slightly. "Hey. We...sorta met before," she told him, a bit awkwardly. "Back when I was calling myself Heather. It's Cheryl now."

Hearing of Greg's death brought a pause to her. She didn't know too much about him, but the news still hit pretty hard. It went to show just how much she had been missing out, how long she had been out of the fold.

She didn't even react to her friend suddenly hugging Sora, just standing stock still. When did this all happen...?

====

To say that Naito was in shock was an understatement.

His father was dead. Dead without ever being aware of the time traveler's very existence. His parents had split up, presumably before his conception.

[i]"Quarter-breed freak!"[/i]

Those jeers still echoed in his mind. "H-he's dead?" Tears blurred his vision, though not quite spilling over.

Sora sighed, having been hugging Audrey back, but nodded after doing the same to the woman who had once been known as Heather. "He...he was a very good friend of mine...I'm really sorry about this."

Isaac swore under his breath, and looked to the young man who hung his head, trying to keep himself together. "Kid...I didn't want to tell you. You..you were so hopeful. I said you'd see him again, and I meant it. It just...might have to be in an underworld."

He had been lied to. Naito knew it now. He had been cheated and lied, mistakenly put his trust in the one man who he knew to be family. He rounded on Isaac, glaring at him through shimmering eyes. "D-don't you say you can just...just lie to me!"

He was relatively nonchalant. "I cheat and I lie. I had to learn a lot of skills just to get by in the Underworld of Olympus Colosse--"

"You can't just lie to me about that! I have a right to know what happened to my own father! To me! To know I'm a temporal [i]freak[/i]!"

It was high time for the demon to shout back. "You think I took that decision lightly? [i]I have [b]nobody[/b]![/i] My family is either [i]dead[/i], doesn't want to have anything to do with me, or [i]both[/i]! You think I wanted you to be upset? [i]No![/i] I'm trying to keep a kid's inno--!"

That tore it. Nothing Threads twisted around Naito's right hand as his rage increased. "For the love of Mother Amaterasu, [i]shut up![/i] I'm not a [i]gods-damned [b]kid![/b][/i]"

[i]"Then [b]grow up[/b]!"[/i]

He looked around to his other surrounding Interferences. Cheryl, a neutral party. Audrey, who hadn't told him, but looked like she knew. Sora, who seemed to be on his side, still glaring at Isaac.

The Threads dissipated by force of will, and the time traveler stormed off toward the Save Altar, his arm up to cover his eyes, to prevent others from seeing his tears.

Sora let go of Audrey, still a bit upset. He looked to Cheryl, and waved goodbye. "I'm going after him. I have to make sure he stays safe. Seems nice." With that he walked off.

Isaac spoke up. "I--"

"You've done enough," he spat back, and walked to the Save Altar, leaving as well.

The demon covered his face with his hand. Through his fingers, he looked to Audrey. "He needs an anchor," he said sadly. While he did know that Naito needed to grow up, he could have said it nicer. "Jasmine has to help him. I can't. She mean a lot more to him than she knows, more than any of us can explain to her." He let it down, looking to Cheryl. "I know, neither of you have any reason to listen to me. But...I need to protect what's left. If I don't, what's there left to live for? Not like anyone cares about a demon."

His gaze lingered on Cheryl a bit longer. She meant a lot to him, was someone he thought he could trust. Could she trust him?

"...I'm gonna just go. If I see you guys, I see you. But Jazz...go find Nai. He really needs your help. Wouldn't be surprised if he was on Aselia or Nippon."

Taking another deep breath and tucking a long claw of some sort deeper into his etherspace pocket, he too left. Not like anyone cared for a demon.

(I'll get the next two threads up soon. But I'm out of this one. Thanks for the help you two.)

====

Audrey had no words to express. The fight that transpired...it reminded her too much of the fights her family had back home. Back when she and her brother argued, when her parents got angry at them for doing something wrong. Truthfully, it hurt to watch.

Watching as all the guys left, the Dream Mage frowned. Naito needed help, and she couldn't help but pity the demon. Hiding the truth might have been a stupid move on his part, but she could understand he was doing it to protect his family. Despite her current feelings towards him, she honestly felt sorry for him.

As for Cheryl, she still wasn't sure what to think. Watching the dispute between Isaac and Naito...it even hit her hard. Naito was still young, still had much to learn. And Isaac...he was one of the very few people she really felt she could trust. Even after admitting he was a liar, she was still indebted to him for helping her out during the incident when the Otherworld broke out.

Now, the Holy Mother was conflicted. What should she do now...?

Audrey sighed. "I'm going back home, in Twilight Town, but I'll let her know." And then to Cheryl. "You wanna come along? Catch up on things like I said we would?"

For a moment, Cheryl didn't respond. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go with her old friend, or to try and find Isaac, wherever he had gone. After a moment, she sighed and admitted, "I...I'm not sure anymore. I--"

"I understand." Audrey put a hand on Cheryl's shoulder. "If you wanna talk, my apartment's somewhere by the back alley. You know where that is, right?"

Cheryl nodded a bit. "I think so..." Another sigh. "Sorry again about earlier."

Audrey smiled a bit. "I'm the one who should apologize." She removed her hand and said, "Well, see ya later."

And with that, she walked to the save altar, and was gone the next moment. Cheryl watched her go. She then sighed, and walked to the save altar next. Whatever she decided, she would rather make up her mind back on her ship rather than here.