A/N: Alright ladies and gentlemen, I'm alive! I've been better given all the problems I've been going through, but I'm still breathing. Still kicking. I've been on a Mass Effect craze as of late as I'm sure you all noticed; its just my way of coping with life atm. Not only has my stupid heart failed on me again, but I've been suffering through the loss of several family members. Add to that the state of my joblessness and the school bills that keep racking up, and I'm in a bit of a tight spot at the moment. Yet here I am, fighting this damned depression, not giving into despair. To all my readers/reviewers who have encourage me in this time, I say this:

Thank you all for you support, and here's hoping I make it through the rough road ahead of me! *Raises glass in a toast* Long live Fanfiction! And in case my health goes south...Love ya'll! Expect an update for Bring Down the Sky to be coming soon! Remember, I own nothing! And prepare for a shocker! And of course, a fair bit of humor! But in this chapter there is a great deal of action-not to mention a shocking revelation for poor Naruto regarding the reapers, one. that may just send our favorite blond over the edge...

ALSO! My computer is down! BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH! I literally woke up this morning and it wouldn't work-whereas it was just FINE LAST NIGHT!? Anywho, I'm writing this from my stepdad's computer, so updates might be sporadic for a bit! Grrrrr...so angry right now! But hey, this is a nice looooong chapter, and we cover a lot of ground here! Also, I'm not going to tolerate any flames unless they're constructive criticism. So, fair warning! If you've nothing nice to say, please, don't say it.

Well...here ya go! =D Enjoy the humor! And we get to see some new characters this chapter! One of which I'm sure you'll recognize...AND FAIR WARNING! An awful lot happens in this chapter! ITS ANOTHER LONG ONE! The God of War bit was a new one, frankly, and I thought it interesting to try something else I haven't seen yet. If you have recently played God of War, Ascension, or beaten it like I have, then you should get the gist of the idea behind this story. That's right. Naruto isn't exactly the hero in this story. But is he the villain? Only time will tell.

Anywho...

...LOOOOONG CHAPTER AHEAD! Hope ya like it! Again! Play Ascension, people! Else you'll be hopelessly confused!

"War runs in your blood, boy. You must learn it. Live it. Feel it. Love it. Only then can you truly conquer."

~Ares (The God of War).

Blight

The boy stared up into the face of a giant, squinting in the humid light of the Nile Delta. Dry lips parted, venting a fierce roar of his defiance. His dusty black armor hung around him in tatters, his right leg left bloodied and useless. Still, he stood. A hand reached up to remove the dented helmet he wore, tearing it free to expose bright blue eyes, and sandy blond hair, whiskered cheeks pursing in a furious scowl. A sword beat against shield with a sound like thunder, nearly drowning out his shout of:

"ARES!"

At the sound of his name, the mountain of war god swiveled eyes like bloody full moons in his direction. He sneered. Then there was movement.

Then there was pain.

Agony flared before the boy's vision like a volcanic eruption; his ears ringing hollowly as a massive fist sweapt down on him with startling speed, snatching him off the ground before he could blink. Then it squeezed. He was caught between thumb and forefinger. His breath gusted out from his lungs under the tremendous pressure of the God's fingers closing. It took almost all his effort to force his hands into the thumb and finger to keep apart that deadly vise.

Despite his own superhuman strength, he was as weak as a mewling baby when held in The God of War's grip.

Blackness stalked his senses; tiny tendrils of deadly darkness crept up on him from all sides. The effort of holding apart the God's digits sapped his strength. If he flagged for even an instant, he would be crushed like a bug, then discarded with no further thought. His arms began to lose feelling from the pressures as his strength faded. Aware that Ares had now lifted him up to eye level and peered more closely at him, he fought away ultimate blackness. A spark of anger flickered in his chest. Sapphire eyes snapped into a shade of sick, scintilating scarlet. His hands began to bleed an inky black, shadows staining his body. Somehow, he found just an inch of strength, then another. A foot. A yard. He grimaced.

"Is that...all you got?"

Ares laughed harshly and shook his head in mock sorrow. "Cheeky, boy. Perhaps I should just crush you here and now? Would you like that?"

"Try it." An angry snarl grated through his clenched teeth.

With all of his might he took that spark and pushed. Then he vanished into smoke.

"What?!" Ares blinked in disbelief-frowning at his empty hand as though it had somehow betrayed him-searching for the boy who had vanished from his grasp. In the next instant, he thought he saw a tiny flicker of motion on his foot; like an ant running beneath his boot. But this ant surprisd him. It grabbed him by a booted foot with both hands, reached up, and with a cry so fierce it could've reached the ears of Zeus himself, heaved. For the first time in an eon, the God of War experienced weightlessness.

Like a free-falling vertigo, his lungs leapt into his throat as he left the earth and shot forward; launched from his feet like an arrow from a bow. His flaming beard didn't even have the chance to rippled in the breeze; by the time he realized he'd been tossed, he was already airborne.

And the God of War flew.

His fiery visage smashed through a recently erected pyramid as though it were made of naught but sticks, sundering the massive monument and crushing thousands of slaves. There was a ponderuous thum of a sound as gravity took hold, the rest of his body crashing down around him in a searing shockwave that obliterated mortals for miles in either direction. All but the one who'd flung him. He saw him too late, felt the tiny sting a second later as the boy buried his blade above a flaming brow, anchoring himself just above an eye. He hung from the blade, bloodied and battered, grinning like a madman.

"Good enough for you, father?" he growled, the last word dripping with both hope and venom.

Ares snorted in rare amusement; the gale summoned from that tiny gesture dislodged his progeny and slammed him down to the desert floor with enough force to shatter the bones of a mortal man. Unfortunately, this boy possessed the blood of both God and Fury. A fall like that would do little more than stun him. He felt an emotion dangerously close to pride as he watched the boy writhe up off the ground, recovering immediately-a look of equal parts disbelief and surprise shining in those still-scarlet orbs. As expected. He was after all, a son of the God of War. Not like that failure, Orkos...

Slowly Ares stood, blotting out the sun once more. Careful to disguise the smile lurking on his lips, he forced a leer to his face and

"Again." he said.

"What?" the boy gasped out incredulously, barely able to lift his head. It'd taken everything he had and more to throw his titan-sized father.

"I said, do it again." Ares rumbled.

"But I...

The boy cringed aside from his father's words, refusing to look into his eyes. It was the penultimate sign of weakness and he knew he would probably be beaten for it, but he simply couldn't do it. To stare into that cruel face was to evoke memories of sleepless nights spent fighting and killing, the hot blood burning on his skin. Looking only made him angry and whenever he became angry, he lost himself to the dark, eldritch forces that existed inside of him; becoming little more than a beast. Because, underneath it all, that's what he was. He loved to fight. Loved and hated his father in equal measure.

Right now? Mostly hate.

"Again! Attack me!" his palm lashed out, cracking across his cheek in a painful blow, viciously slapping his slim body off the grounds and into the forest. The wind rushed painfully out of the boy's lungs when he hit the ground, his right arm breaking as he landed awkwardly upon it. He quickly rolled onto his back and sprang to his feet, squinting his eyes as the fadng sun-light drenched his face, his mind racing through this fresh pain as he struggled to think, the bone of his broken limb bending back into place as his progenitor approached his crouched form. The boy waited, staring up in silent anger as his shadows swallowed up his body. Waiting.

And then he struck.

Flames roared high in his left hand and then his right, forming twin, spiralling spheres of pure magma. With a roar, he loosed them on his father. The first was batted contemptuously aside, but the second found a mark in his progenitor's face, sending the God of War stumbling backwards. A third and fourth were quick to follow it, bringing the God down on a bended knee. But then, just when he thought he might've finally bested him, the God of War stood once more.

"Good." A faint note of satisfaction permeated his otherwise grating voice. "You're learning. Now," Behind his beard of flame, Ares felt his lip curl into a smirk as he raised a burning hand high enough to scorch the cloud layer overhead themselves. "Let your old man show you how its really done." He watched his progeny tense, preparing to dodge. Wise of him. You couldn't always meet force with overwhelming force. Sometimes, you'd need to make use of your brain. And your mouth apparently, as his child was currently cursing him to the depths of Hades.

"Oh f-

Then he hurled a ball of fire larger than all the pyramids put together. He watched, bemused as the boy nimbly rolled aside-but failed to account for the splash damage of his fiery meteor. Foolish. The boy cried out as a stray gobbet of gelatinous fire ran the length of his back, raging impotently as he tried to smother it with his hands.

Ouch.

To the boy's credit, he didn't shed a single tear before he passed out. Not a one. He simply collapsed when the pain became too much for him.

Ares waited until he was certain the boy had fallen into the bliss of unconsciousness. Then, and only then did he return to human size. His once-towering form began to shrink, his hulking armored shoulders going from the size of a mountain to a godly man once more. The God of War took a moment to consider his progeny, appraising him. He noted with some satisfaction that his fingers were still wrapped around the hilt of his blade in a death vice. Good. Although he had lost, he'd never once surrendered. He was the son of a God, after all. The softest of sigh fled his bearded lips.

"Well done, my son."

Certain that he hadn't been heard, the God of War reached down, tossed his son over a shoulder, and flickered away. He would need time to heal after today's training. Egypt-a den of heathens-was no place for that. A place of rest and healing, though he loathed and despised the very words, was needed for his boy. But that was not his realm.

Such things were best left to his aunts and mother.

Tisiphone sighed, her milk-white eyes regarding her nephew with a strange mixture of pity and bemusement as she tended to him. "You're so reckless."

At her side a young Orkos gawped up at his older brother. Only three years separated them, but the eldest still laughed and mussed his siblings hair with a good arm. His limb spasmed slightly from the effort, forcing a pained hiss between his teeth from where he lay on the bed.

"Are you alright, brother?" there was a quiet melancholy to the boy's words as he stared at the ugly burns marring his brother's back. "Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine." came the reply. "Ow. Alright, maybe it stings a little...

"Reckless." Tisiphone reiterated again.

"I am not." The boy protested sullenly, "I was just-ow!" He bucked furiously when she touched the wound at his back, trying to squirm away while she applied the soothing salve to his shoulders. A soothing sensation of her illusion quieted him. Good thing, too. He was strong enough to snap her neck if he ever got his hands on her when he was thrashing around. He shared their blood, so the effect wasn't incredibly potent, just enough to calm him. Greek fire took time to heal from even with regeneration such as his.

In time, he'd be granted full immunity. Resistance would come with age, both to illusion and the burning realm altogether. Oh, what a terrifying figure he would be then! But for now he was just a boy, still learning that he was strong-no, wait, that was rude of her. He wasn't like Orkos, so easily forgotten. He had a name.

The boy's name was Naruto. No surname. Eldest son of Ares, the God of War and Alecto, Queen of the Furies.

He was only twelve years old.

He looked nothing like his father or mother, with bright blue eyes and sandy blond hair. His little brother Orkos shared more in common with them. Even his name made more sense. Naruto never understood why he'd been given such an odd name. Neither did Tisiphone. Only that his parents had been hoping for a marked warrior-and by the gods-they'd gotten one. The three whiskers tripling either cheek stood in stark testament to that. He was what they'd wanted. What they'd waited for. Whatever that was, she knew it was not human.

Humans couldn't do half the things he could.

He was part God, part Fury. The blood that ran in his veins was one of madness and power, a heady mixture that might've driven others insane. Not him.

"Bah, away with you, boy!"

Megaera sniffed scornfully at her back as Orkos scurried outside, leaving their sight. "You baby him, sister. Let him heal on his own." The sound of her clawlike limbs clattering her around their citadel grated on the nerves, but the elder sister chose to ignore it. Naruto was no Orkos; he'd been blessed with the strength of a God and the power of a Fury. He deserved a moment of tenderness from someone; he likely wouldn't be getting much-if any-from his mother. Alecto was stern at even the best of times, but who knew how she'd react after what'd happened today? Ares had been thrown! Thrown! For the first time!

"Ow." he hissed again, cringing as she dabbed at his cheek. Tisi laughed quietly at his discomfort and continued to apply the salve. For all his strength, he was just a child.

"Sister, enough!" Megaera barked with a quick scuttle of her claws, losing her impatience. "You're making him soft! Weak!"

"Nonsense." she huffed. "I am doing what is-

"What's this about nonsnse?"

Tisiphone stiffened slightly as a dulcet voice crooned aways ahead of her, seemingly out of nowhere. She didn't recognize the dark shape dettaching itself from the wall until it was almost too late. Alecto. Dark eyes cut her to ribbons as she passed by before turning on her son. She shivered. Sister though she might be, Alecto still had a way of unnerving her at the best of times. You never knew what she was truly thinking -her mood could be dark at any given moment- or bright as a ray of sunshine. Today it seemed to be neither. A pale hand reached down, mussing at his hair.

"I heard you did well today." it was not a question.

Naruto brightened under her affection. "Yes, mother."

Impossibly, that pale countenance seemed to brighten.

"Good. Continue to do so, my son. For the good of us all." A pause, a peck on the cheek. Then a twirl of her skirts and she was gone, vanishing into shadow.

Naruto took those words to heard, burying them deep inside himself. He'd made her proud. He lived to hear words like that; confirming his own self-worth.

But if there was one trait he inherited from his father, one thing that was undeniably his, it was his drive. He knew how to fight. Even at this tender young age, he could outfight most men in Greece. Strangle minotaurs with his bare hands. He remembered Father-Ares!-looking down at him with pride when he first drew blood. His blood. He'd been six. Ever since then he'd known he was destined for something. For greatness. He knew not what it was, only he was being prepared for it. Still, he felt as though he had a place here. With those who cared for him. And his little brother. The one person who truly understood him. So long as he had him

Then everything changed.

A/N: There we go, folks! If you have recently played God of War, Ascension, or beaten it like I have, then you should get the gist of the idea behind this story. That's right. Naruto isn't exactly the hero in this story. But is he the villain? Only time will tell. I found this a rare opportunity to see what made Ares the way he is. Where did he go bad? What made him rebel against Zeus? Was he a madman to begin with, or was there a catalyst that led to this? Of course, the Furies are here as well!

The idea of having a son who actually lived up to his expectations was a challenge suggested to me by a fellow author who wishes to remain anonymous -but you know who you are, girl!- and this idea was born. Kratos will still appear in this story, but not in the way it might be expected. Will Naruto step out from the shadow of his father? Will he try to destroy Olympus? Or is there a higher calling in store for him? Who knows where this will take us? But in God of War, the story is seldom a happy one, and tragedy is about to befall our beloved blond...

So...In the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview! Tragedy incoming!

(Preview)

With the last of them dead, his vision finally cleared, the blood haze leaving him. What he saw there turned that blood to icicles in his veins.

No.

Naruto stared down at the blood on his hands. At the body, lying at his feet. Orkos. Dead by his blades. Cut down in a bloody frenzy. No. Horror dawned on him. No. He shouldn't be here. He was supposed to be at the citadel. HE SHOULDN'T BE HERE! WHY IS HE HERE?! His mind shrieked at him-gibbering in its disbelief. After twenty years of death and destruction, one might not think the sight of another body would've bothered the Son of Ares. But this...this was his baby brother...

"What have I done?" his arms drooped, the Blades of Oblivion fell out of his grasp and clattered to the floor, their ebon facets still stained with the blood of the innocent. "By the Gods...what have I DONE?"

A heavy hand laid itself on his shoulders from out of nowhere. Ares.

"You're becoming everything I hoped you would be, Naruto." There was a real note of actual genuine pride there within his voice, the pride he'd longed to hear for so long. He felt hollow, hearing it now. Empty. Without meaning. "With your brother gone, nothing will hold you back. You will become DEATH ITSELF!"

R&R! =D