[set a few years after Titanomachy]

Though their time on Olympus had been a few years gone already, there were times when their new 'home' didn't feel quite much like that as it should. There were some times that it felt foreign and she just wanted the comfort of what had been. But that wasn't possible so she gathered all the inner strength she had and moved on

Nike had to be there for her siblings; she was the oldest and had to take care of the three of them since it was for the most part just the four of them now. There were those on Olympus who they could call friend and who would look after them but has they had learned from when they were very very young, family was the most important thing. On Olympus it was just the four of them; most of the rest of their family at least on their mother's side were in the Underworld, and they didn't get to see them often.

Or their mother either for that matter.

Since the ware with the Titan's Styx had taken to her river and stayed away, choosing solitude over company with others, even her children. Styx had been around since the War, when summoned, catching up with Kratos, Bia and Zelos but Nike always felt... distanced from it. Her mother was never hateful or mean to her but her expression never seemed to be as happy with her as she was with her siblings. Nike was too worried what the cause was at first to pose it to question. But as the years went by, and the feeling grew, the more it upset little Victory, to the point of annoyance and hurt.

Soon Styx would be back and for all of their sakes, she knew that her and her mother needed to confront this.

[Arizona, October 1881]


Kray wasn't exactly happy with the way things seemed to be shaping up these days in Tombstone. But he wasn't sure how to tell his brother that he thought it was time to either step up or step out of the way, because it seemed like Zelos was missing all the cues that there was a lot of stress running under the surface. Kratos could sort of understand that, because Zee hadn't come here looking to get involved in local politics. He'd come to do some gambling and have some fun, and at first, Kratos had been happy to go along with that and have a good time.

( But that was before the stagecoach robberies last month. )

Hades should have known that when Veles chose Fyodor Dostoyevsky as his plus one, it meant trouble. No one brought a depressing dead Russian novelist to a social gathering without an agenda. But Hades had a strong opinion about Crime and Punishment, which he supposed in the scholarly world made him a fan, and had thought that while Veles had trickery as a patronage, Dostoyevsky would not share that same duplicitous nature. ( It had not occurred to Hades that this was also the author of The Brothers Karamazov. )

Kratos had been all over his mother's temple in the Underworld. There were a lot of places to hide, he knew that because they'd played hide and seek a lot when they were younger. Still did, sometimes. But they were getting bigger now, older, and Zee liked to pretend like he didn't like games anymore at all. Actually, he was getting to be a pain in the butt. ( And the girls... )

It was over.

The Titan War had been exhausting -mentally and physically, but persistence paid off and the Olympians were victorious. A bittersweet victory, as so many had perished, but a victory none-the-less. Then the three Olympian brothers were left with the task of divvying up the spoils of war. There was no easy agreement, so lots were drawn. Poseidon had the seas to claim his rule over. Hades had the Underworld and Zeus... Zeus got the heavens. Which he far considered the best of the three.

( Fate, it seemed, was on his side. )