A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS MY ETERNAL ENGINE OF CREATION!

There! Its out! Hope you're all happy! Just kidding, this was a blast to write.

Let's clarify something here folks:

Naruto did NOT break Freya's spell completely.

He just got through it in his rage-fueled state, and in doing so, briefly restored one of Baldur's key senses. In this case, the ability to taste. Its not a permanent fix by any means; if anything, it'll have him hunting down Kratos and his family with renewed fervor. Naturally Freya won't be happy to learn of this, but who can tell where this may take us? Down new paths for certain; because THIS is where the story truly starts to go off the rails, and in a big way.

To further clarify, Naruto does possess the Arms of Sparta at this time. Kratos retrieved them, just as he did...well...SPOILER...

Naturally, our boy would cherish such weapons and...improve upon them.

Let's just say Naruto IS a god...yet he isn't.

Well, I've kept you long enough.

Onward and upward I say!

TIME FOR KRATOS!

Booooooooy~!

"Fallen warrior. Do you seek the gates of Valhalla?"

"No, no, no! Wait! Let go! I'm fond of living!"

"Then you mean to challenge me?"

"Urk. Well...I'd rather not...

...but I can't die yet!"

"How odd."

~Eir and Naruto.

Like Father/Like Son

The boy had lost himself to his anger.

Kratos could see it in his every movement; every blow that hammered down on the Stranger who'd come to their home. He saw, it knew it, read it in those burning red eyes, and a part of him recoiled at the sight. Not out of fear, but recognition. This went well beyond mere anger. This was rage. Wrath personified. Emotions tamped down for years upon years, all released in one single cataclysmic burst of pure primal passion. A roaring flame of righteous indignation that few could douse, much less temper or control.

His fists crunched down against the tattooed man's visage relentlessly.

"DO NOT! TOUCH MY! FAAAAAAAAAAATHER!"

No, far worse than that...

...he saw himself.

"Boy!"

If the enraged youth heard his shout, he did little to show it.

Seizing his prey by face, he flung Baldur over the house and leaped after him, howling all the while.

Now was not the time for inaction.

Forcing his aging body upright, the weathered Spartan summoned the Leviathan Ax back to his hand. Though its own was already plodding forward, the treasured weapon followed its new master and landed in his outstretched palm with a satisfying smack. A fresh surge of adrenaline roared through him and within moments he found himself sprinting; running headlong toward the fresh sounds of combat. Atreus had yet to emerge from their battered cottage and with a bellow to hide-under the floorboards-the Ghost of Sparta threw himself back into the brawl. He knew well what spurred the boy onward; he'd seen it once before in his misspent youth. Powerful though the boy and this fresh surge of rage might be, it had its limits.

Limits that could be exploited.

"Where's that temper, boy?! Come on! Make me feel something!"

"Bastard! Let me go! I'll gut you!"

Manic laughter greeted the boy's furious declaration.

Sure enough, he came upon them just as the Stranger got the better of him; though the boy bucked and fought back with near-reckless abandon, his own drive found itself matched in the face of the Stranger's seemingly endlessly vitality. No content to meekly allow himself to be pummeled, the tattooed man had somehow managed to pin the boy against the ground and trap one of his arms behind his back while planting a boot against his skull. Like a feral beast the blond struggled against his unshakable grip, that eerie restless red aura still writhing and twining against his shoulders. The sight stirred something in Kratos.

Those wild eyes cut towards him then, gleaming with a shade of madness.

"Ah! Nice of you to join us, old man! Feel like talking now?!"

A red haze draped itself across the Spartan's vision.

...you will release him, and leave this place."

The man merely sneered.

"And if I don't?"

With a low growl, the ashen Spartan hefted his ax, only to watch that booted foot crush against his son's skull. The sight stilled him more than any blow ever could. With that kind of strength...a simple flick of his ankle would more than suffice. The merest twitch and Naruto would die, all before he could ever hope to reach him. Even if he launched the ax at him, the Stranger would still have more than enough time to do the deed.

"Ah, ah, ah!" a finger wagged. "One more step and the boy dies!"

Kratos bristled. "Tell me what it is you seek, then!"

"You already know!" the Stranger scoffed.

He knew nothing? What did he want?!

"I DO NOT!"

Grimacing, Naruto made a fist with his free hand.

A dull crunch near their home was the only warning before something streaked over the head of Kratos.

To the untrained eye they-for more than one object arrowed towards the blond-appeared little more than typical Spartan weapons flung by an unseen hand. The spear bore a long shaft with a steel tip, sporting faded crimson tints. A long scarlet-gold strip of cloth lay wrapped around its worn haft, fluttering now in the sharp breeze as it flew. But not alone. With it arced a battered shield forged of bronze scarlet, emblazoned with the Greek lamda symbol upon it, streaking unerringly towards the startled form of the Stranger.

The latter caromed wildly off the man's skull, sending him stumbling off his prone form...

...but it was the former that slammed into Naruto's now-open palm.

Scything his legs beneath him, the boy sprang to his feet and moved to flank the stunned Baldur. For a moment it seemed luck and skill were with him; for he caught the tattooed deity just as he was climbing back to his feet. Battering him headlong with the heavy shield, he once more sent him staggering away in a daze. When the blond moved to continue his assault, he caught a vicious right hook on the chin for his efforts.

Kratos needed no further provocation.

In a bolt of frozen fury, the Leviathan Ax rejoined the fray; swinging down at the Stranger's side in a horizontal slash to bite deeply into his right side. A wet cough answered him as the Stranger pulled himself off the frozen metal, only to find himself launched bodily into the air by the followup attack. Perhaps his son sensed his intent. Perhaps not. Regardless of the fact, the boy leaped back into the fray. An overhead slam from Naruto continued the combo and slammed Baldur into the earth, to which Kratos whirled around and repeated the same swing, this time in the opposite direction.

Caught between spear and ax, the Stranger on laughed as he was tossed about.

"Yes, yes! That's more like it!"

Vicious alternating strikes descended on him from every angle; left, right, horizontal, vertical and beyond. A storm of blows no man-no god-could ever hope to escape from, and throughout, he made only the most meager of efforts to defend himself. Rather, he seemed to prioritize offense over defense. Hammer-like fists metal shield and flesh alike, sparing no discrimination for either. Still they fought on, covering for one another. Where one opening emerged, another always stepped in to block, shielding the other from harm. Words were wasted here. This was the field of battle. Yet no matter how much they hammered at him, his wounds closed faster than they could inflict them. Yet the trio raged back and forth what seemed like hours, days, weeks...

Finally, as all things do, the battle came to an abrupt end.

A lunging downward thrust from Naruto cut the Stranger's legs out from under him, just as Kratos brought his ax around for an upward smash. Caught full on by the deadly weapon, the Stranger actually grunted in a short muted note of surprise and was hurled upward once more. This time, the opportunity did not go unnoticed.

"Got you!"

Roaring, Naruto came out of a roll and leaped at the still airborne deity, his body clad in that fading red aura as he stabbed down with the full length of his spear. Trapped between the honed edge of the spear and the earth, Baldur's body had no choice but to yield It was a good thrust, Kratos mused. Simple and clean. It pierced through flesh and bone effortlessly and found the heart. One final wrench ought to wedge the barbed edge firmly within the wound, hopefully binding it in place-

To his disbelief, the tattooed god only laughed.

"Is that all?"

In an impossibly quick movement Baldur's knee lashed out, catching the boy in his torso.

Reeling from the blow, he wasn't prepared for what came next.

Baldur was not amused; whatever lingering sensation he'd felt had long since faded with his wounds; turned numb by that accursed spell. Infuriatingly, he retained the ability to taste; thus remaining keenly aware of the blood in his mouth. Beyond that? Nothing. It was...painfully disappointing. No, he decided. He couldn't afford to kill this boy. Not yet. Should he die, his sole chance to feel again might well die with him. Whatever minuscule chance there might be of breaking this wretched spell-curse, his mind bleated!-would surely cease to exist if he ended his life, unlike daddy dearest over there...

Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't inflict some pain.

He just needed to be a bit creative in his methods.

The lad seemed durable after all...

"You stay put, now!"

Ripping the spear from his own torn body, he spun and slammed it through the boy's stomach, its jagged edge erupting out his back in a shower of sickly scarlet. Red eyes snapped into blue with a gasp. Like a candle cast in the wind, the crimson aura surrounding him guttered out, a dying flame ebbing away into nothingness. In vain the boy's hands sought the wound and did the unthinkable. As two gods looked on, he seized the shaft of the spear and pulled, tearing it free in a fresh shower of viscera. Kratos nearly shouted him down for the mistake. Blood welled up between his fingers, and the boy dropped down to one knee, trying to stand, to carry on the fight, until finally...

...he fell.

"No!"

Crimson descended over Kratos's vision in scarlet haze.

Thought abandoned him and he lunged forward headlong into battle.

He saw, rather than felt his body drop the ax and grapple with the Stranger.

As though he were outside himself somehow, watching it all, yet unable to interact with anything.

In spite of everything he'd ever done, all his attempts to tamp down his rage, all his self-control, he couldn't help himself. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to snap the Stranger's neck-and every bone in his body if given the chance. He knew gut wounds. They were often death to whomever received them. The boy...Naruto, he might not. Time and time again, he'd seen him heal from minor wounds, yet nothing so grievous as this one. Though he longed to go to him, to avail him of his pain, his body held sway in that moment over his mind.

In the end, the rage won.

The rage always won in the end.

For all his fury, the tattooed deity soon proved himself nearly Kratos's equal in raw strength; though the ground began to bend and buckle beneath them, still he strove against him, snarling obscenities. Even as they struggled against one another their clash caused the ground to collapse underfoot, creating a progressively larger and deeper fissure beneath them. Still the two titans struggled against one another. Neither paid their bodies any heed. They fought on like gods of old, the earth sundering, world shaking.

"When Odin sent me here, I just needed answers, but you haaaaaaaaad to act all proud." the Stranger snarled. As if to echo that cry, the world shook beneath them anew as the chasm continued to spread in miles beyond their battle. "Throw whatever you have at me; I'll keep coming, and that old body will give out. But before I end this, I want you to know one thing...

A mad, half crazed smile flashed out at him.

...I can't feel ANY of this!"


(...Scene Break...)


Light.

It flooded Naruto's vision in a thunderclap of sound, jolting him back to consciousness with a start. A spike of pain in his torso nearly drove him down into the black and silenced him altogether. Curling inward against the sudden surge of agony burning his world a thousand shades of white the young man grit his teeth, fighting off a silent scream. He felt the hole in his stomach as clearly as one would the loss of a limb and the sheer pain of the wound nearly drove him mad outright. Already he could feel his body reacting the sudden injury, trying to muster up enough energy to heal him even as he bled out.

Would he?

Could he recover?

He didn't want to die; not like this, not when there was still so much left to do.

The sudden thought of death caused the boy to tremble; if only for the uncertainty it brought with it. He'd never taken a wound like this. Some deep cuts perhaps, but nothing like this. Baldur had pierced something vital with his spear, and in tearing the weapon out, he'd felt something tear. Even now his world seemed paler somehow as he looked on, draining of all color, leaving naught but grey behind. Grey. He didn't know what to do with grey. As though his life were but a canvas and the artist had left it unfinished, leaving him behind to rot.

Of the forest-of their home-he saw nothing, only blinding, endless white.

"I greet thee, fallen warrior." a solemn, musical voice rang in his ears like a clarion call. "Do you seek the gates of Valhalla?"

Incredibly those words numbed the haze of agony; like a balm pressed against the gaping tear, he felt some semblance of his strength return. But only a sliver. In disbelief, he strained his gaze and fought to raise his head off the snow. He almost immediately found himself wishing he hadn't done so, if only because the sight awaiting him nearly struck him blind on the spot.

He saw.

Rather, he saw her.

In all her towering majesty.

A being-spirit?-clad in peerless armor hung over him, so pale as to be nearly translucent. Perhaps she was. Borne aloft on feathered-yet seemingly tainted somehow-wings of spun gold, armed and armored as if for battle, she loomed before him. Silent and regal in her majesty, she did not speak, her helmeted head simply regarding him in silent contemplation. Was he hallucinating? Seeing things? Surely he must be. Even he knew a Valkyrie when he saw one. They were warrior of legend, myth, rarely seen here in Midgard by anyone other than...

...oh.

If a Valkyrie was here for him, that could only mean...

"Who are...?"

A slim hand extended, slender fingertips beckoning to him from within the light.

"I am known as Eir. Come, warrior." her voice both dulled his senses and filled him with a strange sense of longing. "Come away to your well-earned rest. I am alone in my task and the dead are many. I do not have the luxury of time."

The last word reactivated Naruto.

"Time? I don't have time to be resting, now!"

Growling, the whiskered warrior crawled to his knees.

Perhaps mistaking his movement for acceptance, Eir reached for him.

At such proximity, Naruto brief glimpsed the eyes lingering behind that helmet.

Somehow he managed to tear his gaze away from the winged spirit and muster his senses.

"No, no, no! Wait! Hold it! I'm not dead! Rather fond of living, in fact!" Ah, there it was. He felt a strange twitching sensation in his stomach, a sure sign that he was either about to expire altogether or his ailing body had finally cobbled together enough energy and kickstarted some semblance of regeneration. Regardless, the notion of taking the offered hand to him was immediately foreign to him, and thus he refused. He was needed here, in Midgard with his family, not the feasting halls of boorish gods who didn't give a fig for mortal affairs. No matter how tempting the idea might be...

Eir's helmeted head cocked aside, commanding his attention.

"Then you mean to challenge me, warrior?"

He glimpsed the mace at her side.

Inwardly, Naruto blanched.

"Well...I'd rather not...

Those who fought a Valkyrie and refused death became a draugr. He remembered that much from Mother's tales. "Should a warrior decline the call of the Valkyrie and engage her in battle, that warrior will be burnt by the intensity of the fight and be doomed to forever roam the mortal realm as undead." Now had no desire to become one of those mindless...things. Least of all while he stood at death's door. But what other alternative was there? He couldn't simply submit and leave Father behind, much less Atreus, not after all he'd said and done. To simply give up now...it was unacceptable. Anathema.

...but I can't die!" steeling himself, he met her gaze. "Not yet!"

A beat of silenced passed between the two of them.

Remarkably, the Valkyrie relented.

"Very well."

Pain flared in his stomach, yet it was a good pain, cleansing him of the fog that had fallen over him. With a supreme effort of will he climbed to his feet. Once there he found that the "bleeding" had indeed ceased; in its place stood healthy pink flesh. Tender to the touch perhaps, and a bit raw, but a far cry from the great tear he'd sported moments before. As though spurred by the realization of his recovery, the light dimmed. A faint sensation of being pulled tugged at his psyche. Somewhere, the scales had tipped, and he felt himself being drawn back, color rushing back in place of the overwhelming grey.

For a moment, just a fleeting instant, he caught a glimpse of paradise behind Eir's wings.

Then the Valkyrie's gentle, pale hand graced his chest.

"Though I cannot speak for my missing sisters...

Her helmet tilted, regarding him curiously.

...I pray that we meet again, warrior.

Naruto's world rushed back.

Now there was pain.

A/N: And there we are.

There's also a few minor changes, i.e. all but ONE of the Valkyries have been corrupted-as the quote would indicate Baldur's fixation with Naruto, that sort of thing. We will get to Frey and Mimir soon and all the good stuff, I promise. The fight simply took up more of this chapter than I expected. Atreus obviously isn't in this brawl; because Baldur would murder him. He's not able to stand toe-to-toe with a god...

...yet

One last thing, Eir IS a named Valkyrie and purported to be the kindest of them.

...and perhaps the one most suffering once she's finally corrupted. Mimir theorized that it some Valkyries were SPOILER "corrupted" by Odin's magic sooner than others, while others managed to resist. For example, Sigrun was one of the last to be corrupted. Its HEAVILY hinted here that Eir doesn't have long before the magic takes its toll on her, trapping her in a physical form. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm going into such detail on what seems like a random Valkyrie. Rest assured, there's a reason for it, and a reason for her meeting Naruto.

By the time Naruto comes to, Kratos will have "killed" Baldur for the first time.

And we can finaaaaaally move onto the juicy bits that I've been planning out for this story!

I know it may seem that the chapters aren't jumping right into the thick of things, and taking their time, but this is GOD OF WAR. I want to write it right, ya know? The previews listed at the end of each chapter all show up eventually, just not it any given order. I can easily see Naruto being too stubborn to die. We all know he's healed from much worse. This guy got stabbed in the LUNG and healed from that. It only stands to reason he'd recover from a gut wound as well. Now, in an unrelated note...

We're getting a New Game + at last! Don't know when, but I can't wait!

Phew, feels good to finally get this off my chest. Helps that I've beaten the God of War game-and I'm STILL discovering new things! Now I'm trying to track down those blasted ravens. I'm a bit sad that I've almost finished everything 100% so quickly. I suppose some DLC would be too much to hope for, even though they said they wouldn't?

God of War indeed!

As a note, Kratos's role will not be diminished in this tale. Not at all. If anything, he might run into more trouble because of a certain hothead. Atreus is still Atreus and Naruto will still be Naruto of course, but he's a touch more aggressive when it comes to combat. Helps when you have actual training...

Also, yes, the Valkyries are going to have a role in this. As is Freya.

Other gods will be more visible/prevalent, too.

Moreso than the games, at that.

...and someone else.

And no, I'm not going to bloody abandon this!

I'd rather die than disappoint you readers!

So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly?

And enjoy the previews!

POTENTIAL ones!

Pieces of 'em!

Guess!

(Previews)

Naruto flinched as though he'd been physically struck.

"I thought you said he wasn't ready."

Kratos snorted, the ghost of a scowl tugging at his lips.

"He is not. But he must be."


"Up we go, little brother!"

Grunting, Atreus accepted the offered hand and allowed himself to be hoisted over the edge.

"Hey, I've been wondering something."

"Hmm?"

Wary, he turned his eyes to Father, still ahead of them on the path.

"Why didn't he teach to you to...you know, use a bow?"

Naruto colored.

A hand descended, mussing his hair.

"That's your talent at work, there. Not mine...

Taking his sibling aside, he deftly whispered out:

...besides that mark, you're a far better marksman than I."

Despite the cold, he felt his face warm against the unexpected praise.


"You are an unutterable fool...

As such, he was somewhat startled when the Valkyrie removed her helm. To his surprise, a young visage greeted him. Very young indeed. Hair the color of spun midnight spilled out of her helmet, cascading down her back in a curtain of ebony. Golden eyes regarded him with mysticism and confusion, set in a youthful visage bearing a long scar across her brow. He'd hesitate to call her a young woman. Without the terrifying visage of her helmet she seemed little more than a wisp of a girl clad in armor yet bearing the stern regality of one who'd seen many battles. Too many.

...yet a worthy warrior."

She knelt.

"My mace is yours."


"Fresh meat!"

"Now, now, lets talk about this...

The Reaver squalled in surprise as Naruto's hand locked around his wrist, bending the arm backwards and way from Atreus.

...like civilized beings, hmm?"

Impossibly, that dark smile brightened.

"If its food you want, we'd be happy to share."


"Boy."

Naruto whistled innocently.

"What? It wasn't me this time, I swear...


Magni grunted in surprise.

"You...just what the hel are you?"

Still speared on his weapon, the blond stood.

"Hmm. This is a nice blade. I think I'll be keeping it...

R&R~!