A Quest of Eight; A Heroes of Olympus Fanfiction

Preparing for Olympia

Y/n's POV

It was time to have a meeting in the mess hall, and we were all just waiting for Leo. Percy was drowning his blue pancakes in syrup which got him a lecture from Annabeth. Frank and Hazel were talking quietly, pointing out destinations on the map that sat in front of them. At the head of the table, Piper was changing Jason's bandages. He seemed to be much better, so the ambrosia and nectar was doing it's job. As soon as Leo entered the room, the intercom crackled.

"Put some clothes on!" Buford the table shouted in Coach Hedge's voice, causing everyone to jump. Hazel ended up a few feet away from Frank, who had turned into a bulldog, Percy spilled syrup in his glass of orange juice, and Jason hastily pulled his shirt back down.

"I thought you were getting rid of that stupid hologram," Piper grumbled. 

"Hey, Buford's just saying good morning," Leo defended. "He loves his hologram! Besides, we all miss the coach. And Frank makes a cute bulldog." 

"Just sit down, Leo," Frank instructed once he was back in human form. "We've got stuff to talk about." Leo took the seat between me and Jason and kissed the side of my head as I finished up the last of my waffle. We had some important news to discuss.

"So," Jason started. "The plan is to stay airborne and drop anchor as close as we can to Olympia. It's further inland than I'd like, maybe about five miles, but we don't really have a choice. According to Juno, we have to find the goddess of victory and subdue her." 

"I'm cool with fighting the occasional goddess," Percy admitted. "But isn't Nike one of the good ones? I mean, personally, I like victory." 

"It does seem strange," Annabeth agreed. "I understand why Nike would bein Olympia, home of the Olympics and all that." 

"All I know from what the ghoul Antinous said is that Victory runs rampant in Olympia," Jason recalled. "Juno warned us that we could never heal the rift between the Greeks and Romans unless we defeated victory." 

"How do we defeat victory though?" I wonder. "It sounds like one of those impossible riddles. I hate those things." 

"About this victory goddess being popular and great. Don't you guys remember what her kids are like at Camp Half Blood?" Leo interjected. 

"We've never been to Camp Half Blood," Hazel reminded Leo and gestured to herself and Frank.

"Right. Sorry," Leo apologized.

"Leo does have a point though. The kids in Cabin Seventeen, which is Nike's cabin, are super competitive," I tell Hazel and Frank. "When it comes to capture the flag, they're almost worse than the Ares kids. No offence, Frank." 

Frank waved me off. "You're good. But are you saying Nike has a dark side?"

"Her kids sure do. They never turn down a challenge. They have to be number one at everything. And that reminds me. All the gods are split between their Greek and Roman aspects, right? If Nike's that way and she's the goddess of victory, she'd be really conflicted and want one side or the other to win so she could declare a victor. She'd literally be fighting with herself," Annabeth explained.

"But we don't want one side or the other to win," Hazel furthered. "We've got to get the Greeks and Romans on the same team." 

"Maybe that's the problem," Jason proposed. "If the goddess of victory is running rampant, torn between Greek and Roman, she might make it impossible to bring the two camps together." 

"Maybe she's like Ares," Percy suggested. "That guy can spark a fight just by walking into a crowded room. If Nike radiates competitive vibes or something, she could aggravate the whole Greek–Roman rivalry big-time." 

"We should send a landing party of four," Frank figured. "Two Greeks and two Romans. The balance might help keep her balanced." 

"I think Frank is right," Annabeth concurred. "A party of four sounds good. We'll just have to be careful about who goes. We don't want to do anything that might make the goddess more unstable." 

"I could go," Piper offered. "I can try charmspeaking." 

"Not this time, Piper," Annabeth disagreed. "Nike is all about competition. Aphrodite is too, in her own way. I think Nike might see you as a threat." 

"Right. Who should go, then?" Piper inquired. 

"Jason shouldn't go with either Percy or I," I put forth. "Jupiter and Poseidon is bad combination. Nike could easily make us fight. That, plus Jason is still recovering." 

"But most importantly, we can't have another incident like in Kansas. I might kill my bro Jason," Percy spoke. 

"Or I might kill my bro Percy," Jason returned.

"Which only proves my point," I point out. 

"We also shouldn't send Frank and me together. Mars and Athena would be just as bad," Annabeth input.

"Okay," Leo broke in. "So either Y/n or Percy and I for the Greeks and Frank and Hazel for the Romans. Is that the ultimate non-competitive dream team or what?" 

"That could work," Frank decided. "Obviously no combination is going to be perfect, but Poseidon, Hephaestus, Pluto and Mars might be the best team to put forth."

"You want to go?" I ask Percy. "Or do you want me to take this one?"

"I'll be a nice big brother and let you go on a fun adventure with your boyfriend," Percy responded.

"How thoughtful of you," I retort playfully.

"Great. Then it's decided. Y/n, Hazel, Frank, and I will subdue Nike in Olympia," Leo confirmed. "We've got about fifteen minutes until we're there, so everyone can go get ready and we'll meet up on deck."

Back in my room, I changed out of my t-shirt and pajama pants into something more suitable for the adventure. I decided on a pair of blue jean shorts and a plain green t-shirt with my signature black and white sneakers. After a quick debate with myself, I grabbed my bow off the small hook on my wall and slung it, along with my quiver, over my back. It had been a second since I'd used it, and I wanted to make sure I kept my archery skills up. Up on the deck, Hazel, Frank, and Leo were already waiting.

"All right then. Lets go find Nike," Frank proclaimed.