Chapter 24: Ancestral Meeting.
Following the successful operation, Kratos was moved into a recovery room where he would be observed until he woke up. The many serums he was injected with were currently running through his body enhancing his abilities.
His very DNA was changing as latent genes were woken up. He was a unique case though as any other human would die if they went through what he did. These Serums were developed with Kronus in mind as they would be used on him.
However, they worked just fine on his son who had high purity of Cromwell genes. This brought relief to Knonus as even he did not know what he would do if his son had died as a result of the procedure.
Now, 12 hours after he came out of surgery, Hera and Kronus entered his recovery room. When they did, they noticed that he was not alone as Guilty, Sin, Quency and Scathach were all here as well.
Kronus turned to a nurse who was currently checking up on Kratos' Vital Signs.
"How are they?"
"Your son Kratos is recovering splendidly. From what we can see the procedure had the desired outcome. If we are not mistaken, he should awaken in a month and a half. As for other patients, they also are stable. No rejection of the new 10th-generation parts."
Hera looked over to the 5th bed at Scathach.
"And her?"
The nurse sighed as she walked over to her. When she got to her, Scathach looked quite different than before. She still had her signature scar and dark purple hair. However, everything else aside from those two defining features was different.
When Hera got a look at Scathach's new face she was shocked. She face palmed before glaring at her dad.
"Really? You made her look just like Scathach from Fate. Why?"
Kronus shrugged.
"When your brother and his squad came to stay at the Estate, I noticed them watching a lot of Fate. And considering she shares the name, the spear, and the purple hair, why not give her what she wanted? And she asked for it."
The nurse nodded as she checked Scathach's brain scans.
"Yes. That caused some trouble as moving her from her former Elysion Mass Produced Body into a 10th Gen caused her brain severe stress. From what we can see from the NIMPH, she was close to going into shock.
We managed to resolve the issue before it got that far, but she will need time to come to consciousness Even more to get used to the new body. As for the other three, they did not go through many issues."
Kronus nodded.
"Keep them observed and apply any medication that can help Scathach adjust. But, I think she will be fine in time. But, I need an expert opinion, once they are awake, how long before they can return to service."
The nurse thought about it as Kratos had been given three months to get his squad ready. Two had already passed and he needed a month and a half to just wake up.
"In all honesty, they will need at least a month to adapt to the new changes. He is working under Deputy Chief Andersen yes?"
"I will talk to Andersen, so don't worry about that. I might as well start a meeting with all three CEOs. But I don't want to see Syuen. That little whore will be demanding that I pay her back for Guilty, Quency, and Sin."
The nurse scowled at the mention of the hated Missilis CEO.
"Honestly, I wish the previous CEO was still in control."
Kronus had to agree.
"Yes. Ingrid I can talk to, Mustang has been in charge since the very start and is politically smart when he wants to be. Syuen though is a brat through and through. Now, if only I could take over Missilis."
When she looked at her father's face she saw not his Fatherly side, but one full of cold calculated malevelence. She backed away from him as when he got like this he was terrifying.
"Dad. You're scaring me."
He snapped out of it and smiled.
"My mistake. Well, I will be going. Rest Hera."
With that, Kronus departed ready to start a meeting with Andersen and the three CEOs. While he might be a CEO, he had enough political influence to sit at their table. When her Father was gone, Hera walked toward her brother and rested her hand on his left arm.
It felt warm to the touch as if it was still human. She ran her hand through his hair as he had a special place in her heart. The day he was born was the happiest day of her life before the birth of her own daughter.
But when he had said he wanted to be a Commander she sought to crush his dream to keep him alive. She smiled sadly before she backed away.
"Wake up soon. We have much to discuss."
Hera soon walked out of the room leaving Kratos and his squad. The nurse went through the 5 of them and made sure there were no abnormalities. When all was well, she stepped out of the room as well truly leaving them alone.
---
Kratos and his squad were monitored daily just to make sure there were no unforeseen issues. However, the days passed by without incident as their vital reading became stronger and stronger.
Hera visited her brother every day, but she had to keep it secret from her mother and sisters who started to ask about him. After a month of not hearing from or seeing him, they began to worry.
Artemis and Athena even went to his house to look for him, but of course, he was not home. They expected to at least find a note or something so they immediately went to Kronus worried.
He calmed their worries and told them that Kratos had been sent to the Outpost for a time. The Outpost to check on the stability of the facility. They believed this for now, but they were asking questions that Kronus had to quell.
But now that a month and two weeks had passed, he was running out of lies to tell. If Kratos did not wake up soon he would be forced to tell the truth which would not be good for him.
So at the moment he and Hera were once again visiting Kratos to check on his progress. This time there were more nurses here as they were giving them a full check-up.
"Is he going to wake up soon?"
One nurse gave Kratos a full check-up and even scanned his brain for his activity.
"We believe he should wake up any time now. The Serums have done their work as for the Nikkes they also should be waking up. We got no idea why they are still out."
Hera turned to her Father who always had answers.
"Are they going to be alright?"
"They should be. Let's wait alright."
"Ok."
She sat down on a chair next to her brother's bed as she did not want to miss him waking up. However, while they waited, Kratos was having something weird happening. When he woke up he was not in his body he was on a strange battlefield.
All around him dead soldiers and horses dressed in ancient armor littered the field.
"Ok, this is weird."
"How so?"
Kratos turned around and laid eyes on a man dressed in golden Greek Armor. The man was huge, at least 10 feet tall which meant he towered over Kratos.
"Ares?"
"I see my descendants are beginning to forget I existed."
"So, gods are real?"
"Were. All of them are dead, the time of gods has come and passed. Your bloodline is the last connection to the divine that remains."
"So the story-"
"Is true yes. I don't blame you for not believing, but this is possibly the last chance I will get to speak to one of my descendants. Your current state of mind was the only way."
"What will happen to you?"
Ares snorted.
"I am already dead boy. This is just a memory drawn out from your blood. Your Father found a way to draw out the diluted divine blood flowing in every Cromwell. Of course, it's been many millennia of dilution, but you and your Father have quite pure genes.
Your Father's stands at around 1.5% while you stand at a proud 3.8%. Just enough for me to say my goodbyes. I just ask that you don't let the descendants of the Cromwell forget I existed. Will you do that?"
"I shall never forget. I am sorry I ever doubted."
"Do not apologize. Take what little remains of myself. You will need it to survive."
Ares began to disperse into golden particles which surged into Kratos' body. With that the battlefield disappeared and so did Ares. Kratos felt his entire being rejuvenated as whatever Ares did stimulated his blood.
It brought consciousness back to him as he opened his eyes. His green mechanical eyes began to glow with a slight golden tint as he sat up. He took a deep breath as he removed the breathing mask from his face.
He looked across the room and saw Hera, his Father, and his squad. They were still out, but it seemed as soon as he woke up they started to awaken as well. One by one they all sat up along with Kratos.
Seeing her brother awake finally shed the worries she had.
"Kratos."
She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a firm hug. He returned the hug with a smile.
"What? Didn't you trust me? We are Cromwells, we are as enduring as Ares himself."
Kronus laughed.
"That we are. It seems you are not the only one up though."
Kratos let go of Hera and turned to the girls.
"How do you feel?"
Quency moved her neck from side to side and stretched her arms and legs out.
"I feel great. Better than ever I have to say. Do I look different? I feel different."
Kratos looked her up and down and shook his head.
"I think you are a bit taller."
As Quency got off the bed she leaned back and popped her back.
"Really? Everything looks the same."
Kronus answered that for her.
"Oh, I can say with certainty that the 4 of you got taller by 2 or three inches. By adding more height to you we we managed to fit in more powerful systems into your upgraded bodies. However, Scathach is the one with the new body.
Everyone out. Leave me, my children, and my son's Squad."
The nurses all left and closed the door behind them. Kratos stretched out his arms, did a few squats, and even a few handstand pushups before getting back to his feet.
"I feel incredible."
Kronus grinned.
"I am glad. How are you all feeling?"
Guilty clenched her hands feeling the power in her grip.
"Strong? I feel much stronger than I used to be. It's weird, but I think I like it."
Sin had to agree.
"Honestly, why don't they make more 10th-Gen Nikkes then?"
Kronus recoiled in horror.
"Honestly, the 10th Generation might not be ever mainstream. It is stupidly expensive to make a single one. Just upgrading the 5 of you cost me nearly 5 Billion credits. And let's not talk about the high-end weapons I have been making for you."
Kratos recoiled in shock.
"Are we running out of money?"
Kronus snorted.
"Hell no. Who do you think you're talking to? I may send a lot of credits, but I make more than I spend so don't kick up a fuss. Now, most importantly, Scathach do you wish to see your face?"
She nodded.
"I am ready."
Kronus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small mirror. He handed it over to her and watched as she looked into it. When she did, Scathach turned bright red as she recognized the face looking back.
It made her smile as she still had her scar and her purple hair.
"I look just like her."
Scathach looked to Kratos wanting to know what he thought of it.
"Do you like it?"
Kratos stared straight at her face for several moments before nodding.
"You look magnificent, but did you want to look like her?"
Scathach nodded.
"I wished for this. I am so happy."
She did look giddy as she no longer shared a face with all the other Soldier EG model Nikkes. She was a unique 10th Gen Nikke now. As long as she was happy he was happy for her.
"Dad, can we get our clothes back?"
"Ah, almost forgot. I will get a nurse to bring you your clothes."
Kronus stepped out of the room as he knew Hera had words she wanted to tell her brother and female 'friends'.
"Ok. Let's talk about this harem situation."
Kratos nodded as he sat down.
"Ok. What do you want to know?"
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