Quilty's Strength and Quency's Game.

(So, this fanfic is taking place exactly 2 years before the events of the game.)

Once both of them had left the Rehabilitation Center, Kratos did not rebind Quilty's arms. He honestly couldn't care for what others thought as she was his responsibility. If they had something to say about her or him they could tell it to his face.

"So, what did you think of her, Guilty?"

Guilty looked up at him and thought about his question.

"She is truly a master at what she does. If she was more ruthless she could have killed any unsuspecting Nikke or Commander. Though, how did you notice her Commander?"

"When I was younger, my older sister Hera often would blindfold my eyes and make me wear noise-canceling earphones. All the while she even tied my arms behind my back and told me to dodge all of her hits.

She did this when she found out about my plan to become a Commander. She called it 'training', but I think she just wanted me to quit. However, I fact did not quit and would practice like that to make sure if I was ever blinded or deaf I could still fight.

Now, It is impossible to sneak up on me. And my left eye is special remember?"

Guilty began to imagine what Hera was like.

"We met your younger sister, Artemis. How does Hera compare?"

"Hera is much meaner and stricter. She made sure to make my life as miserable as possible telling me that is how Commanders live. She made me run drills, train in martial arts, and made me study, but I know better. She was worried I would die so she wanted to cram as much knowledge into me before I became one.

I dare say I am only alive because of her. And all I lost was an arm, a leg, and an eye for it. What about you? I know most Nikke have their memories of their families wiped. Can you remember anything?"

Guilty stopped walking as she thought back on that. While Nikkes were forced to forget their families they could still know who they were.

"I don't know."

Kratos turned around and took off her baseball cap. She looked up at him with her bright green eyes.

"Commander?"

He then ruffled her hair a bit with a smile.

"Well, that's fine. You can just think of me as your family."

He put her cap back on and walked off leaving Guilty staring at the back of his head.

'Family? More like a pervert, but, not like I don't like it.'

She followed him as they approached the main Gym used by both Nikke and humans. When they walked in, Kratos saw three Nikkes that he knew. And one of them was actually someone he knew for quite a while.

She put down her weights and rushed over to him. She had a big grin on her face as she looked up at him.

"Hello, Kratos."

She grinned as he looked down at her. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big grin.

"Maxwell. Lovely to see you. How is your boss? She doing well?"

"She is alright, though she still plans to cash in the three favor you owe her. She did give away, three expensive Nikkes for almost nothing and those fancy new parts of yours."

Kratos squinted his eyes and scoffed.

"She will have to ask Ingrid and Anderson, but whatever. Guilty, you ready?"

She nodded.

"Ready."

Kratos led her over to the bench press which she sat down on. Maxwell walked over to watch as Kratos set the weight at a relatively easy weight for normal Nikkes. Around 1,000 pounds.

Guilty laid down and gently grabbed the weight which she lifted easily with one hand. However, she did not measure her strength and the barbell broke in the middle. When that happened, Maxwell rubbed the back of her head.

"I forgot she could do that."

Kratos chuckled.

"How you forget her best trait I do not know. Anyway, Rumani, anything stronger than these weights."

Rumani, the Nikke in charge of the gym ruffled her brown hair in annoyance.

"We do, but I am not sure if even the stronger weight bars would endure the strength of that girl. I mean, this bar was pure titanium and she crushed it."

Guilty looked at her arms a bit annoyed.

"Commander, what now?"

Kratos thought about it.

"Any Goddesium bars?"

Rumani shook her head.

"No, Goddessium is reserved for armor, Anti-Rapture ammunitions, and weapons. Using it for a mere exercise bar would be quite a waste."

Guilty sighed as she got up.

"Then it's pointless."

Rumani shook her head.

"No, we just got to get creative. Kratos, how much do you weigh?"

He was going to answer, but Maxwell beat him to it. She was actually one of several Doctors and Engineers who had worked together to save him from death. He still had no idea what organs he had truly lost as they did not tell him.

"Post operation he weighed exactly 900 pounds."

Rumani hummed at that.

"How about you pick him up."

Guilty looked at Kratos who nodded.

"Go ahead."

She walked over to him and nervously wrapped her arms around his waist. Maxwell smirked as she patted him on the back.

"Make sure to not break that new spine."

That was new.

"So you did replace my Spinal Cord. What else did you cut out of me?"

Maxwell whistled as she walked away to join Drake and Laplace who were watching.

"Oh look at the time, I got to go."

He frowned as he was anxious about what they had put inside of him without him knowing. For all he knew, Suyen or the Central Government could have placed a fail-safe in his body. He would have to keep an eye on them for the future.

He turned back to Guilty.

"Be careful, I rather not be on the chopping bord again."

She nodded as she picked him up over her head. It was kinda funny to see as she was so much shorter than he was, but she was holding him up from behind with ease. And she was not crushing him which was good.

Rumani walked over and picked up a weight.

"Here. Hold these."

He nodded as she began to hand him weight after weight which he held in his arms. Most of his strength came from his right arm so he just used his left to brace the weight.

Everyone watched on as already he was holding up 1,500 pounds with one hand. Added to his weight, it meant that Guilty was holding 2,400 pounds, over a ton and she was still not struggling.

Rumani gave Guilty a second look.

"Ok, seems your limit is much more than expected."

Guilty put Kratos down who set down the tower of weights on the floor.

"Tell me about it. I knew it was a good thing I got you in my squad."

Rumani turned to him.

"And you yourself are full of surprises. Much stronger than even you thought possible?"

He nodded.

"Honesty speaking, this made me question some things, and I am sure Maxwell has the answers I need."

Rumani saw how Maxwell and her squad mates had already left the Gym.

"Wel she left."

He sighed.

"Missiles truly is a pain in my ass."

Rumani looked away.

"Pain in lots of people."

He chuckled as he turned to Guilty.

"Come on, we should go. I will have to get you custom workout gear otherwise I will have to turn myself into a weight."

After saying goodbye, they both left the Gym and returned to Kratos' house. It was still early in the morning so he had a full day before Quency was set to meet up with him. As such, he sat down on the couch in the living room.

Guilty sat next to him, but she actually scooted away from him. He noticed this, which made him look over.

"You ok?"

She looked into his eyes before she looked away.

"Uhh, yeah."

"You don't have to move away if you don't want to. I won't mind."

"I thought you would find me irritating."

"Why would I?"

"Because of reasons."

She looked away after saying the last part.

"I see. Well, I don't find you irritating so you can take that idea out of your head."

He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He switched over to the streaming services and pulled up a movie. These days, most movies were about Raptures and Nikkes, but he found one called Zombies Vs Raptures.

It would be a good way to pass the time. As he leaned back into his Couch he noticed Guilty scooting closer to him. He pretended to not notice, as she did it slowly before she was right next to him.

Her leg bumped into his leg, while her head came to rest on his shoulder. He looked over at her as she closed her eyes with a content look on her face.

"I am sorry, but I wanted to feel your warmth."

He knew just how contact-starved she was. After her change into a Nikke, she had not been able to control her strength and it was dangerous for her to touch Nikke or humans.

"It's fine with me"

"Commander, can you wrap your arm around me."

"Of course."

He did as she said placing his arm around her shoulder. She took a content breath as she relaxed in his hold. Eventually, her breath became steady and for the first time in many months, she fell asleep relaxed, not on hard beds, with her arms bound.

She truly relaxed this time which left Kratos looking at her pretty face.

'You need a woman's touch in your life?' Was this what you meant sis?'

His sister did not as she was talking about a 'human' girl. Either way, Kratos turned off the TV and rested his head back on the couch as he closed his eyes. He might as well sleep a few hours as his sleep schedule was beyond crazy.

He kicked off his heavy boots and closed his eyes falling asleep to the rhythm of Guilty's breaths. When they both fell asleep, they had not planned on sleeping very long, but it seemed they were more tired than they expected.

Kratos had not slept well after his injuries, while Guilty had trouble sleeping in the Rehabilitation Center. Once given a chance to truly relax, all the pent-up exhaustion caused them to sleep through the entire day.

Several hours later, when Kratos felt a gaze on him he looked up and met Quency's gaze. Her bright pink eyes were mere inches from him and from the smirk on her face, he could tell she was about to tease him.

"Wow, only knowing each other for a few days, and your love already blossoms. How adorable."

Guilty opened her eyes and starred at Quency.

"You were right Commander. She can leave."

He nodded.

"Told you."

He sat up and put his Boots back on.

"So, you ready for my little game Quency."

She reached behind her and pulled out a bag which she handed to him.

"I know you said you wanted Helm's Sword, Rupee's Handbag, and Yan's fan, but I got you some extra prizes."

He opened the bag and saw the three items, but he also saw three pairs of Bras and panties. He closed the bag and looked at Quency with squinted eyes.

"Did you have to steal their underwear too?"

Quency patted him on the shoulder.

"I thought of you while taking them."

He handed the bag back to her.

"You pass. You are just as good as I thought you would be and better at that too. Now, then, how to return these without looking like a pervert?"

Quency smiled as she began to walk around.

"I'll give them back fast. I like the challenge."

Before she left he spoke up.

"Well now that you are out, care to join us for late night Dinner? Might be a good chance to get to know you better because I think you will be joining my squad soon?"

She smiled.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because it will be fun."

"Then count me in boss. Now, to convince those stingy higher-ups."

"Leave that to me. For now, food."

Quency and Guilty followed him into the kitchen. Quilty starring into Quency's head the whole time. She could not make out this girl at all, but she knew if she wanted, she could be dangerous. Maybe more than her. Quency turned around and winked at Quilty which just made her more wary.

But from what she knew of Kratos he would not be so easily swayed.