Chapter 2.
(19 years later: The Sea of Monsters)
The Hydra roared up from the sea only for it's main head to be split down the middle. The Spartan warrior who held the bloddy sword that cut the Hydra landed on the deck of his ship and resumed his batle stance. "Ikelik, you will not defeat the Hydra just by slicing it's neck. Burn the stumps of it's neck." Ikelik, son of Kratos and Aphrodite looked to the statue of his mother at the head of his ship. His mother would talk to him through it, his father had used the same way to communicate to Athena.
Ikelik avoided a tail from the Hydra and rolled onto the edge of the deck. "How am I supposed to do that mother?" He jumped onto another tail and stabbed it in between the armor plating. When he landed back on the deck, his mother's statue glowed. "Take this power." she said. "It is the power that was enchanted on your father's Blades of Exile that could summon the power of fire onto his blades."
In an instant a gem in the gaurd of his sword glowed red, and the blade caught fire. He gave a bit of a chuckle. "Alright, now we're talking!" he said. When the next Hydra tail tried to flatten him, he rolled out of the way and jumped on to it. Luckily, the Hydra head had only regrown it's head when he sliced it open.
He stabbed the sword into it's neck and ran across it's shoulder blades. When he reached the other shoulder, he pulled out his blade and threw himself at the neck. When it budged only a litte, he focused his strength on the gem in the blade of his sword and slashed at the cut in the neck horizontally. A wave of fire arched across the space between him and the Hydra neck, burning the stump and seperating the head. The corpse of the Hydra fell off the ship except 1 chunk of a tentacle.
Ikelik jumped off the corpse and picked up a piece of armor, just as he picked it up, his mother spoke again. "Take the scale to my husband, Hephaestus, The God's forge master. He will make it into Highly durable Sparatn armor." Ikelik tossed the armor onto the deck as the the rest of the tenticle dissipated.
"Is it wise to see your husband, mother? I'm your son of another." Ikelik asked. The ghost crew of his ship reappered as Aphrodite kept talking. "Hephaestus is used to me having children with other men. He also owes Kratos a favor." Ikelik nodded and pointed at the ghost at the helm. "Set course for the island of the Nemian Lion. The ghost nodded. "I still need the Nemian Lion's fur untill I return to Olympus mother. I'll need the best armor if I'm to help my father."
"Very well. Remember Ikelik, the Nemeian Lion's only weakspot is in it's open mouth." Ikelik nodded and the statue fell silent. Ikelik's ship was the fastest in the entire Greek navy. It's name, The Ghosts of Sparta. It's crew were actualy ghosts of Spartan navy men. Their souls were never avenged when Zeus destroyed Sparta, even when Kratos killed Zeus.
Ikelik hung from a mast head and breathed in the salty air. He felt comfotable out on the sea. Aphrodite said Kratos felt the same way when he was serving the gods after Ares made him his slave. The ghost crew were provided by Aphrodite, who had been able to pull some strings with Ares, who had finaly given in to have the souls loyal only to her and Ikelik.
A towering structure loomed in the distance, putting a shadow over the sea. "What is that?" a sailor asked. Another spoke up from the bow. "Tis the lair of Scylla and Charybdis! We must turn back now!" Ikelik grabbed the robe of the ghost and hefted him off the deck and slammed him into the main mast head. "Then go back to to the underworld! The true God of War needs me to complete my tasks!" He pushed him in farther into the mast. "You would betray your God!"
The sailor looked afraid. "I am the son of the God of War, betray my will and I will insure you sufur in the deepest pits of the underworld for this!" The ghost grabbed at Ikelik's hand. "No! Lord! I shall obey! I shall obey!" Ikelik dropped the sailor and walked to the bow of the ship. "Stay on course. If these monsters wish to stop us, they are gonning to have to destroy this ship untill not even a splinter is left!"
The ghost at the Tiller, nodded. "Aye Lord! Keeping course!" The ship shuddered as it flowed into the narrow entrance of the cave. The cave was damp and a houling wind echoed through out the cave. "Torches! Set up torches on the edges of the ship!" The ghosts ran about the deck of the ship setting up torches. "Get below deck! I'll deal with Scylla." The ghosts melted through the deck and and left Ikelik on the deck except for the ghost at the sturn.
There was a reptillian growl just ahead. "Come on." he muttered. "Where are you?" There was a holwing scream and a tentacle snaked down to grab him. He pulled out his sword and slashed it off. He turned around and slashed at another trying to get around him. "Lord! Behind you!" Ikelik turned only to see a tentacle wrap around his waist. He was lifted into the air, up towards Scylla's mouth. He freed his sword hand and slashed at a clawed tentacle heading for his face. Another one came down and slashed a deep gash into his sword arm. "Aaarrrgghh!" he cried. 3 clawed tentacles heading to end his life, when he slipped from conscious.
When he woke up, he was in a vast chamber. 4 mirrors surronded the room giving him a full view of his back and sides. "It is not your fate to die at the hands of Scylla, young man." Ikelik stood his ground and rose to his feet. He reached for his sword only to reach an empty scabbard. "I will not die at your hands either Sisters!" Lachesis, the 2nd Sister of Fate, floated up from the shadows.
"We do not wish to harm you, son of the war god. When Kratos trapped Atropos and I in the past, we realized that there was no way we could kill any member of your lineage." Ikelik lowered his defense a bit, only a little bit. "Do you wish to live warrior?" she asked. "What question is that? Yes!" Lachesis disappered, only to be replaced be two snaking chains that whipped around around his arms. There was a sizzling sound as the chains burned onto his skin. He gritted his teeth and and closed his eyes. The pain was incredible!
When the pain ceased, he looked at his hands to see he was holding 2 three and a half foot twin blades. They had a small insignia inscribed on the inside of the blades on the gaurd. A set of silver wings. On the outside of the blades, a red gem was inplanted on the right and a blue gem embedded on the left.
"With the Blades of Fate, you shall be powerful enough to kill Scylla and be able to serve your father. And when you see Kratos, tell him that the last 2 remaining Sisters of Fate have his aid."
With that, he found himself back in Scylla's grasp. He got his hands up from being trapped from his sides and drew the blades from his back. He slashed a large gash into Scylla's arm and ran up the arm. When he saw the face of the monster, he threw both his blades into her eyes and then slashed at the base of the monster. Scylla let out a howling scream of pain and lashed out with everything she had.
He swung from Scylla's back and thrust his left handed blade right into the center of Scylla's mouth. He repeated this 2 or 3 times and dropped into the crows nest of The Ghosts of Sparta. Scylla disapated and only a long knareld tooth that fell into the crows nest remained.
He climbed back down onto the deck and set it ontop of the Hydra scale. "Alright, let's go every one!" he called, stomping on the deck. The ghosts rose from the deck and went back to their stations. The nervous ghost who had doubted him a moment before walked up to him. "Please forgive me lord, in the past life I was killed by the combined forces of Scylla and Charybdis." Ikelik patted the ghost on the shoulder. "Fear is a tough thing to be rid of. But do not let your fear get in the way of my quest."
Ikelik crossed to the front of the ship and grabbed a small bomb with a cannon fuse. He lit it and threw it over a waterfall not that far ahead. A few seconds later, a huge explosion of greek fire and and ear shattering scream filled the air. "Now Scylla and Charybdis are no more." he said to himself.