Disclaimer: I don't own anything from either God of War, or Mortal Kombat. Now that the boring stuff is out of the way please enjoy my second story.

Chapter 1

Kratos looked down at the corpse that was once Zeus; King of the Gods and Ruler of Olympus lying in a heap on the ground in a pool of his own blood with his face smashed in. Kratos then looked at his hands still covered in the bluish flame that resembled the Flames of Olympus. While he was wondering what this power was, Kratos' attention returned to the body of his dead father. Zeus body began to shake while lightning shot out from his chest and began to create a massive hole in sky. The rubble on the ground began to float into the air while the beam of lightning began to concentrate on the hole in the sky; then a few seconds later when the lightning energy was in the sky a huge explosion occurred, spreading the clouds apart and kicking up dust. Kratos just stood there waiting for this spectacle to be over with; even in death Zeus still had to put on a show, typical of the gods.

When the smoke cleared Kratos opened his eyes and beheld the world he had created, but he wasn't surprised. The Oceans swallowed up the Earth, the clouds blocked out the sun, the spirits of the underworld ran rampant on the Earth, and there were tornados and thunderstorms all over the place. Kratos had finally done it; he had slaughtered the gods of Olympus and killed the King of the Gods, Zeus himself he finally got his revenge. But at what cost, he sacrificed Pandora for his need of vengeance; while he was contemplating whether or not his revenge was worth it, he was brought out of his thoughts by a familiar voice. "You have done well Kratos." The minute he heard his name, Kratos turned around and he was greeted with the sight of the ghostly apparition of Athena the former Goddess of War. "Freed from the bondage of Olympus and cleansed in chaos, mankind is ready to hear my message." Kratos turned around, stared at Athena and replied with a bitter tone "Look around you, Athena the world stands in ruin. What good is your message?" with that Kratos began to leave.

Athena then simply replied "Go if you must. But first I insist that you give me the power from inside the box." Kratos stopped walking and solemnly replied "The box was empty." But while Kratos finished his sentenced, his eyes stared to glow a fiery blue before going back to their usual color. Before he knew it Athena teleported in front of him and said "That can't be true. I can see it in your eyes. You used my power to kill Zeus. You still have it as we speak." Athena then backed away a little bit and began to explain herself "When Zeus gathered the evils of the world and placed them in the box, I dreaded what would happen if it was opened again. And so I summoned the most powerful weapon in the world and I placed it in the box." When Kratos heard her explanation he replied annoyed "I told you, the box was empty!" Then he looked towards the ground and replied sadly "Pandora was sacrifice in vain. She died because of my need for vengeance."

Athena looked at him sternly and said "You must be mistaken. You used my power to kill Zeus. I saw you do it." But before Athena could continue she had an epiphany "Unless…Of Course." It was at that moment that Athena knew what happened and began to explain her theory to Kratos "When you opened the box you released the evils to the Gods. The evils then began to infect them. Change them. Zeus himself fell prey to the dark evils. This is why he became so enraged and obsessed with your death. He was consumed by the evil, Fear." Athena then told Kratos "I thought the power I put inside the box was never released. I assumed all these years you drew from the evils inside the box to kill Ares but I was wrong…"

Once Athena was done with her tale she turned to Kratos and said a bit possessively "The power you took from the box is mine. From it you gained a strength that Zeus could never destroy, a strength great enough to overcome Fear." Athena the looked toward the sky and said "Locked deep inside of you Kratos." She then turned to Kratos and smiled warmly "Is Hope." Kratos then looked from Athena to his hand and saw those blue flames burning in his hand and on his forearm. Athena then broke the silence and replied "It has remained buried, trapped by the guilt and the failures of your past. When you killed Zeus, you must have allowed something to awaken it." Athena then turned to Kratos and asked "Tell me, what was it Kratos?" Kratos then looked into the distance and remembered what Pandora told her about Hope. "Hope is what makes use strong; it is why we are here. It is what we have left to fight with when all else is lost." Kratos then stared back at his hand lost in thought before Athena snapped him out of it "What was it Kratos?"

Kratos then looked out into the distance again before shortly replying "All I remember is what I have lost." Finishing his sentence Kratos began to walk toward the Blade of Olympus. Athena began to follow him and said "That is why you should give me the power. I understand its true meaning and where it belongs." Athena then put her hand on Kratos' shoulder and said "I trust you to do the right thing, Kratos." Kratos shrugged of Athena's hand before replying bitterly "You shouldn't." Kratos then bent down to pick up the sword. Athena was furious and told Kratos angrily "You OWE me this Kratos." Kratos not liking her tone proceeded to pick up the blade and face Athena ready for a fight before replying quickly "I owe you nothing!" Pure rage was plastered on Athena's face she then began to point at Kratos before shouting "I MADE YOU A GOD, I SHELTERED YOU FROM THE WRATH OF OLYMPUS, I DELIVERED YOUR REVENGE ON ZEUS."

Kratos then turned to look at the blade before replying "It is over, Athena." Shock and awe could be seen on Athena's face; as well as a little bit of fear in her eyes, she then asked Kratos the question she already knew the answer too "You would dare to strike me down again?" Kratos slowly lifted his head and stared Athena dead in the eyes before saying "My vengeance ends now." Kratos then brought the Blade of Olympus over his head ready to strike Athena down. But before he could he noticed something strange; the rain was beginning to slow down, everything was beginning to take on a grayish blackish color and even Athena was slowly backing away from him before everything came to a sudden stop. Kratos looked around in confusion but he kept his senses sharp in case this was some kind of trap. "What treachery is this?" Kratos bellowed looking around for the source of this madness. "Relax Ghost of Sparta, I mean you no harm." Kratos then turned around and saw something that he wasn't expecting. What he saw was a man dress in black robes, beaten and broken like he barely survived a great battle he also had bruises all over his face and his eyes were a glowing shade of blue.

Kratos walked toward the broken man and aim the tip of his sword to the strange man's throat "Who are you old man?" Kratos said threateningly; the man on the ground coughed up some blood and answered Kratos' question. "I am Raiden the God of Thunder." Kratos pushed the blade closer to Raiden's throat "I know you are a God, I also know you are the God of a foreign land from the Far East what business do you have with the Gods of Olympus." Raiden chuckled a little before replying "N-n-no I have no business with the Olympians only with you God of War." Kratos not liking where this conversation was heading asked "What business do you have with me?" Raiden looked straight into his eyes and said "I need your help." Kratos confused removed the blade from his throat and stabbed it into the ground. "What help do you want from me?" Kratos answered bitterly. Raiden tried to stand up but he couldn't so he just sat there and told him everything. "Centuries into the future there will be a tournament called Mortal Kombat. This tournament will determine the fate of the Earthrealm." Raiden paused and began to cough up blood once he settled he continued talking. "There is a being that enters the tournament later on; who is more of a threat then all the evils that resided within Pandora's Box, his name is Shao Kahn and he will win this tournament and rule over the Earthrealm for all eternity. He had to be stopped. So I created a group of my own warriors; as well as asking some of my fellow gods to come and aid me; but they were all killed fighting off Shao Khan and his armies. Only Shao Khan and I remained but he will kill me in the end." Raiden began to cough again but he kept on talking. "Right now I am using the last of my godly power to transport myself to this time and place to ask for your help."

Once Raiden was done talking Kratos just stood there absorbing what the Thunder God just said. He then lifted the Blade of Olympus over his shoulders and said "I am done doing the bidding of the Gods." Raiden began to crawl to Kratos as he began to walk away "Please Kratos." Raiden begged "If you don't help me, this world will suffer if Shao Khan isn't stopped." Kratos turned around to look at Raiden, fury in his eyes and rage in his voice "I care little for the world and its suffering, let all mankind suffer they deserve it." Kratos then turned around and began to walk away again. Raiden, refusing to give up still tried to persuade Kratos. "But if you don't do this then your family will also suffer Shao Khan's wrath as well." Raiden than noticed that Kratos stopped walking; he at first began to smile thinking he was going to help him, but his smile was replaced with a look of panic when Kratos turned around and grabbed the weakened god by the neck with one hand and began to choke the life out of him. Kratos in a rage said "YOU DARE THREATEN MY FAMILY, RAIDEN!" Kratos spat. All Raiden could do was choke out a response "N-n-no Gho-s-s-t of S-s-s-Sparta. I-I-I am just telling you th-th-that if Shao Khan wins…. He will turn his attention on the Netherrealm next." Kratos then brought the puny god to eye level and said "If you even think of using my family in your plan on getting me to help you." Raiden quickly replied "I swear that I will not harm your family, I swear it on the Earthrealm that I will…" before Raiden could finish; Kratos punched him so hard in the jaw he almost dislocated it. "NOT GOOD ENOUGH THE GODS HAVE BROKEN THEIR PROMISES TO ME BEFORE." Raiden struggled to breath but he manage to say "But you can…t-t-t-t-trust me." Kratos then punched Raiden in his gut which caused him to vomit a lot of blood. "WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU?" Kratos yelled. Raiden was about to lose consciousness but he manage to blurt out "Be-because I am not an Olympian."

Kratos then thought about it for a second, and his reply was tossing Raiden into a rock wall causing it to shatter. Kratos then pointed at him and said in a tone that promised everlasting pain and suffering. "If you even go near my family I will make sure you will suffer a fate far, far worse than the fate that had befallen Olympus." Raiden then looked up at the God Slayer and at that moment he was more afraid of him then he was of Shao Khan. All the Thunder God could do was nod silently, after that Kratos gathered up his weapons and looked back towards Raiden and said "Hurry up God of Thunder, my patience is wearing thin." Once he got the message Raiden said an incantation in a language Kratos did not understand until a bright light came down and engulfed him. Raiden then said "Before you go I am going to give you a gift." Once he said that Kratos began to get a throbbing headache. Raiden then replied "The people you meet on this journey will not speak Greek so I am giving you the knowledge to speak their language as well as to understand them." When spell was complete there was a big flash of light and Kratos disappeared.

When Raiden opened his eyes he saw Shao Khan raising his hammer above his head, while snickering and saying "Yes. Pray to the worms, Raiden, as your world ends." Raiden just looked up at Shao Khan and thought solemnly "Kratos you must not fail." When Shao Khan was bring his hammer down Raiden's last words were "He must win." Once those words left his mouth Raiden was granted the sweet release that only death could bring him.