Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing on Mount Olympus ❯ The Gods of Olympus ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: The Gods of Olympus

The dinner gong was a deep resonant tone that echoed across the meadow. Quatre rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked around. As the last echoes of the gong faded, Roku came bounding across the grass with Alexa clinging to his back.

“Hi, Mama!” Roku shouted. “We came back when the dinner bell rang!”

“Like that's a surprise,” Zechs remarked, also rubbing sleep from his eyes. “They're probably hungry.”

Roku skidded to a halt and Alexa tumbled from his back, giggling.

“Mommy, guess what?” Alexa leaped into Zechs' lap, making him wince. `We saw horses with wings and Roku turned into one and we went flying.”

Zechs paled. “You did?”

“It was fun!”

“I didn't go very high,” Roku said. He sat down with his tail wrapped around his paws. “Horses weren't designed to fly.”

“That's… reassuring.” Zechs tightened his arms around Alexa.

Heero came out of one of the bedrooms. “Was that the dinner bell?”

“Yeah.” Quatre stood up. “Are Duo and Wu-Fei awake?”

“Duo is and Wu-Fei soon will be.”

Wu-Fei's muffled shout echoed from the bedroom. “Duo! You could at least ask first before sticking that in there!”

“I'll be quick!” Duo exclaimed.

There were sounds of a struggle, accompanied by grunts and startled exclamations. Then Duo emitted a yelp of pain and Wu-Fei appeared, flushed and irritated.

“Try that again and I'll singe your braid!” Wu-Fei growled over his shoulder.

Duo followed him out, walking gingerly and holding his balls. “That was mean,” he sniffed.

“You had it coming,” Wu-Fei replied archly.

Alexa scrambled out of Zechs' lap and leaped onto the still sleeping Treize. “Wake up, Daddy! It's time for dinner!”

Treize gasped. “Umph! I'm awake! Don't do that again.”

Alexa hugged him with a wide, sweet smile. “Sorry, Daddy.”

Treize wrapped his arms around her. “It's all right.”

Quatre nudged Trowa. “Wake up, sleepyhead. It's time to eat. The kids are hungry.”

Trowa stretched and sat up. Then he patted his chest with a vaguely concerned expression and looked around. “Has anyone seen my staff?”

Everyone looked around but the snake-staff was nowhere to be seen.

Roku lifted his nose and sniffed. “I don't smell any snakes, Papa Trowa.”

“Well, there are a lot of beautiful women on Mount Olympus. I imagine he's just slithered off to get an eyeful.” Trowa stood up. “Let's go eat.”

The group set off across the grass, under the arbor, past the fountain and back to the cavernous main hall. The wide hall was filled with graceful, beautiful people, some sleek and slender, others pleasantly round and plump. In coloring they varied from swarthy Mediterranean complexions with thick dark hair to fair-skinned and light-eyed with long fair hair. But no matter what their appearance, every person there exuded a natural, confident beauty. Most of these gorgeous people were reclined comfortably on the low divans, feasting on the food covering the low tables in between. Fruit, bread and roast meats, all cut into pieces suitably sized for eating with one's fingers, tempted the new arrivals. The Gundam pilots stopped inside the entrance and looked around.

Hera spotted them and came over greet them. “My friends! Welcome!” She favored them with a lovely smile. “I trust you had no trouble finding your way back?” Her eyes fell on Roku and her eyebrows rose in surprise. “But when last we met, you had no beast companion and another child. Am I correct in assuming they are one and the same?”

“Yes, Miss Hera,” Roku replied politely.

“Are you descended from the gods, child?”

“No ma'am. I'm a sorcerer.”

“Oh.” Hera gestured toward the couches. “Please, come sit, eat and relax.” She led them to a group of empty divans close together.

Everyone settled onto the comfortably cushioned couches, except for Roku and Alexa, who sat on the floor close to one table. They immediately began wolfing down the tasty morsels of food.

“Hera,” a pretty young woman spoke up from a short distance away. “Who are your guests?”

“These are visitors from afar who have come to savor the wisdom and beauty of Olympus.”

The young woman inclined her head. “Welcome, friends. I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.”

“How do you do, Lady Artemis?” Everyone chorused in response, except for Roku and Alexa, who had too much food in their mouths to speak politely.

A handsome man with dark curly hair trimmed above his ears, sitting near Artemis and bearing a strong resemblance to her, bowed from his seated position. “I am Apollo, the Sun God, patron of music and poetry. Welcome to Olympus. Pray tell, are there no women in your group?”

“Only my daughter, Lord Apollo,” Treize replied. He patted Alexa on the head. “Our female companions declined to accompany us on our journey.”

Apollo sighed wistfully. “How unfortunate! For as handsome as you gentlemen are, I can only guess at the distinctive beauty of any woman fit to sit among you.”

“You are too picky, Apollo,” said a muscular and broad-shouldered man. His dark hair fell in long waves to the waist of his thick torso, most of which they could see because he wore only a simple pleated skirt, with a single fold of cloth draped from one shoulder across his chest to the opposite hip. “With men as beautiful as these, the distinction from womanhood is too unimportant to note.” He grinned at the group of Gundam pilots suggestively. “While I confess the youthful beauty of the young blond is stirring, and the sensuous grace of the silver-haired gentleman is breathtaking, I find the exotic charm of this dark-haired youth with the slanted eyes to be singularly striking.” He leaned toward Wu-Fei. “Pray tell, young beauty, have you yet savored the lustful embrace of a grown man?”

Wu-Fei cleared his throat. “Well, ah…”

“Hephaestus!” Hera interrupted sharply. “I pray you to restrain your appetites until our new friends have had a chance to learn our ways.”

Hephaestus bowed his head. “As you command, My Lady.”

“Oh, don't worry, Lady Hera,” Duo piped up. “You'll find us to be accommodating fellows in many respects.” He tipped up his goblet and drained it. “Your wine is excellent! Is it locally made?”

Hera beamed. “The wine of the gods is made from grapes grown on the slopes of Mount Olympus,” she began.

“It is the finest wine in the world!” A happy-go-lucky fellow interrupted her. His round happy face wore what appeared to be a perpetual smile. His thick black curls tumbled haphazardly above his bright blue eyes. His cheeks were bright red. He patted his rotund middle and swigged from his cup deeply. “You'll find none better anywhere!” He looked into his now-empty goblet with vague disappointment. A servant appeared to refill it from a pitcher and he thrust the cup into the air, sloshing out a little of its new contents. “Let's have a drinking contest!”

“Not now, Dionysus!” Hera said sharply. “Maybe after dinner and outside of the main hall.”

“She's afraid he'll start another food fight,” Hephaestus confided in a loud whisper.

“Food fights are wasteful,” Duo agreed sagely, “but a drinking contest sounds like fun.”

“Does it seem to anyone else like we start every one of these trips with Duo getting into a drinking contest?” Quatre grumped.

“It is getting a little repetitive,” Heero muttered.

“Well forgive me for having a limited set of interests,” Duo sniffed. “But come to think of it, didn't the ancient Greeks enjoy several games of chance?”

“Games of chance, do you say?” A handsome youth on a nearby couch sat up straight. “I might know one or two.” Several people groaned.

“Don't believe his innocent face,” Apollo said. “Hermes is a fiend who will skin you of anything you value and call it a game.”

“Indeed?” Duo grinned from ear to ear. He bowed his head toward Hermes. “I would be most pleased to engage in a friendly contest or two.”

Hermes grinned back. “Perhaps after dinner…?”

Quatre watched the two exchange frighteningly similar grins and groaned. “This cannot be a good thing,” he muttered.

“Maybe not,” Wu-Fei said, “but it keeps him out of my hair and various orifices on my body.”

“Good point.”

“So were you really going to singe his braid?”

Wu-Fei wrinkled his nose. “Probably not. I hate the smell of burning hair.”

Quatre chuckled. “So you settled for a swift kick in the chones.”

“You just have to set boundaries with Duo sometimes.”

“Look! More food!” Alexa squealed. She clapped her hands as a graceful woman servant set another heavily-laden tray of food on the table in front of her and Roku. A handsome male servant followed her with a tray containing two wooden cups and a gold pitcher filled with fresh milk.

“Thank you,” Alexa said politely as she accepted one of the cups.

The servant regarded Roku a little uncertainly and Roku promptly shifted into human form so he could accept the other cup. The servant bowed politely and set the cup in Roku's hands with a faint smile.

“That is a remarkable ability,” Artemis said. She smiled fondly at Roku. “Is that the only other shape you can take?”

“No Miss Artemis,” Roku answered. “I've been a bird and a dragon and this afternoon I was a flying horse.”

Artemis leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with interest. “Is it that you can take any form you wish?”

“Well…” Roku glanced at Quatre. “Not any form. Mama wouldn't let me try to become a giant snake like Jormangand.”

“But that is all that inhibited you?” Artemis blinked in surprise.

“It would have been really hard,” Roku admitted.

“And one Midgard Serpent is quite enough,” Quatre finished sternly.

“How large is this serpent?” Hephaestus asked curiously. “As large as a Titan?”

“Much bigger than that,” Wu-Fei put in. “The Midgard Serpent is large enough to encircle the world at least one time.”

A momentary silence greeted this statement.

“You have seen this creature?” Hephaestus breathed.

“Yes, we all have.”

“Recently?” Hephaestus sounded faintly alarmed.

“Well…” Wu-Fei looked at Quatre for help. “Not recently to this time.”

“I daresay Jormangand is still sleeping,” Quatre said reassuringly. “That's what he does most of the time.” Then his eyebrows drew together. “Now that I think about it, that's quite similar to dragons. I wonder if they're related.”

“A dragon is a mythical creature from the East,” said a young woman with long dark hair that hung in tight ringlets over one of her slender fair shoulders. Her other shoulder was occupied by a large gray and brown owl which seemed to be watching everything with its large golden eyes.

“Athena is our finest scholar,” Hera said graciously.

Athena inclined her head at the praise with a small smile on her lips.

Another woman, whose incredible beauty was exquisitely finished by the supremely impressive pair of breasts that were just this side of completely exposed by her filmy dress, stroked slim, graceful fingers through her luxuriously thick blond hair. “I suppose it is as well that Athena is a fine scholar, since she is rather small and plain as a woman.”

Athena frowned angrily. The owl on her shoulder blinked once and clicked its beak.

Trowa's eyes went round and he bit his lip.

Quatre glanced at him. “Is something the matter?”

“Uh… nothing,” Trowa said quickly.

Hera spoke sternly to the beauty. “Aphrodite! You should not speak so ill of your sister goddess.”

“Speaking the truth is not speaking ill,” Aphrodite said airily. She fluffed her golden hair and every man within sight of her began to drool. She fixed her wide violet eyes on Zechs. “What a beautiful man you are! Such a gentleman as you is certainly fit to sit at my side.” She leaned forward, managing to display even more bosom without becoming completely naked, and patted the cushion beside her. “Why don't you come lie with me?” she purred throatily.

Treize quickly leaned forward to shield Alexa's eyes from the fact that tunics and pleated skirts did relatively little to hide the pronounced state of excitement that sprouted on every man in the room with an eye for the female form.

“Aphrodite!” A deep masculine voice exclaimed. “How dare you flaunt your charms for this mere mortal?” The speaker stood up. He was an attractive man with a trim waist, long firm thighs and a broad muscular chest. He clenched his fists and glared at Zechs.

Zechs sat up and brushed his hair back slowly with one hand. Then he tipped his head to one side and fixed his deep blue eyes on Aphrodite. “Madam,” he purred in a voice every bit as throaty and seductive as the tone she'd used on him, “your invitation is greatly appreciated, but I must tell you that my heart is already in the possession of another. I could not call myself a gentleman if I were to mislead you by accepting.”

Many of the ladies present stared at Zechs and flushed. A few of the men who had reacted to Aphrodite now turned to stare at Zechs, appearing no less excited.

Zechs lowered his eyelids and smiled a stunning smile. “But I am flattered by your compliments.”

Aphrodite drew in a breath. Her violet eyes got wider. Her large bosom rose and fell as she drew in several deep breaths. The man who had protested her invitation goggled.

Hera rolled her eyes. “Aphrodite, behave yourself. Ares, sit down and be quiet. Can we not get through this one meal without airing all our dirty laundry in front of our guests? It's bad enough that the master of our hall, the mighty Zeus, is absent.”

Ares growled something under his breath and resumed his seat.

Athena's owl blinked again and clicked its beak three times.

Trowa made a strangled sound and quickly covered his mouth.

Quatre gave him a quizzical look. “What's the matter?” he asked quietly.

“It's that owl,” Trowa whispered back. “He keeps making remarks.”

Quatre glanced at the owl. “What kind of remarks?”

“Well…” Trowa lowered his voice. “He called Aphrodite a randy goat before and then just now, he was speculating whether Ares' intelligence diminished when his blood flowed into his manhood.”

Quatre regarded the owl more closely. The bird stared back at him.

“Does my companion interest you, sir?” Athena asked.

“How long have you had him?”

Athena brushed her fingers gently down the owl's chest. “Horam has been my companion for decades.”

“Any normal woman would prefer a man,” Aphrodite remarked loudly with a smug grin.

Athena turned red and Roku frowned at Aphrodite. He leaned toward Alexa. “She's not being very nice, is she?”

“Uh-uh,” Alexa agreed. Her little brow furrowed. “I like the owl lady.”

“Me, too,” Roku agreed. He murmured something softly in Latin and a small dark gray cloud formed in the air above Aphrodite's head. There was a small rumble and a brief flash, and then a torrential downpour pelted down from the little cloud, drenching Aphrodite to the skin in seconds.

Aphrodite let out a horrified shriek as her beautiful golden locks were plastered to her body. Startled exclamations burst out all around and those nearest to Aphrodite scrambled back to avoid getting wet.

Hera rose to her feet and scanned the room. “Zeus? Are you here?”

“No, it's not Zeus,” Quatre said firmly. His eyes were fixed on Roku, who hung his head guiltily. “I think the culprit is right here. Apologize right now young man and banish that storm.”

“Yes, Mama,” Roku said. He stuck his lower lip out a little bit as he waved a hand and the cloud vanished.

Hera stared. “That is amazing! Not even the mighty Zeus can control a storm with such accuracy. Is this typical of the sorcery you can perform?”

“It's just small magic,” said Roku. “Mama can do it to.”

Hera turned to look at Quatre. “You can also make a storm like that?”

Quatre shifted uncomfortably. “I suppose, if I wanted to.”

“Who cares about that?!” Aphrodite interrupted in a hysterical shriek. “Look at me! I'm drenched!”

In fact, nearly everyone in the room was staring at her because her filmy dress, now wet and clinging to her, had lost what little opacity it possessed, revealing her generous charms to even the most casual glance. Apparently finally becoming aware of the curious and lustful gazes fixed on her, the beautiful Goddess of Love finally looked down at herself and realized what everyone was seeing. She uttered a piercing shriek of dismay, clamped her hands over her shapely breasts and dashed for the nearest exit. A few women servants hurried after her.

Quatre glared sternly at his son. “I didn't hear an apology.”

“I'm sorry, Mama.”

“Not to me. To Miss Aphrodite.”

“Yes, Mama. I'll apologize the next time I see her.”

“Good.”

“If you ask me, she doesn't deserve one,” Artemis said primly. “Aphrodite is always belittling the accomplishments of women who have no interest in spreading their legs for every man who passes by. Since that is her only skill, she tries to make it sound like that is a woman's greatest accomplishment.” She lifted her chin. “I myself have no desire to pursue such carnal pleasures. Retaining the purity of my body has expanded the purity of my spirit.”

“Oh, please!” Apollo rolled his eyes. “You must forgive my sister. She is overly proud of her virgin state, as if that is the greatest virtue.”

“It is!” Artemis insisted.

“Spoken like a virgin!” Hephaestus rumbled. “Those of us who indulge in carnal pleasures know it is a pleasant way to divert oneself from life's tedium. But now I think I should get back to my forge. I've a brace of thunderbolts to finish for Zeus before he returns.”

Wu-Fei immediately perked up. “You're forging thunderbolts? That sounds very interesting.”

Hephaestus' eyes sparkled. “You are welcome to accompany me, my friend, though you look too slight to wield a hammer.”

“But nevertheless, I've an interest in forging, especially of weapons.”

“Well, then, come along and watch me make the weapons of the gods.” He rose to his feet and Wu-Fei stood up also.

“Don't forget he expressed an interest in your backside, Fei,” Duo reminded him.

“Like you should talk,” Wu-Fei retorted. He accompanied Hephaestus from the hall.

Alexa was beginning to droop and Treize reached down to pick her up. “Getting sleepy, sweetheart?”

She nodded and rubbed her eyes.

Treize cradled her against his chest. “I think it's time for Alexa to go to bed,” he said to Zechs.

“She and Roku have been playing all afternoon and it was night when we left Mars,” Zechs pointed out.

Roku yawned. “I'm kind of sleepy, too.”

Zechs patted him on the head. “Do you mind sharing a room with Alexa tonight, Roku? I want to take a bath with Treize.”

Roku lifted a tired eyebrow at him and yawned again. “You want to be naughty,” he replied bluntly.

Zechs' eyes sparkled. “That too.”

“That's ok, I like sleeping with Alexa.” Roku shifted back to tiger form.

“We'll take the kids back,” Zechs told Trowa and Quatre. “Why don't you stay here with Heero and Duo and enjoy the rest of the evening?” He winked at Quatre. “We should be out of the bathing pool after an hour or so.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” Quatre favored Trowa with a seductive smile.

Trowa drew in a soft breath. “Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?”

“I don't know,” Quatre replied impishly. “Do you think I'm thinking about getting all warm and wet and naked and oily?”

Trowa swallowed. “I love it when you think like that,” he said hoarsely. “How long do we have to wait?”

“Just an hour or so.”

“Ok,” Trowa croaked.

Treize, Zechs, Alexa and Roku left.

Duo got up and strolled over to Hermes. “My name is Duo,” he introduced himself. “Interested in playing a game?”

“Always!” Hermes perked up. “Call me Hermes, Duo. Sit down. Were you interested in perhaps putting a friendly wager on the outcome of our contest?”

“A wager?” Duo was all innocence. “That might be fun.” He sat down cross-legged facing Hermes. “What did you have in mind?”

Hermes eyed Duo's knife. “That little bauble at your waist is quite attractive.”

Duo pulled out the knife and held it up. “It's quite pretty, isn't it? Sadly, it's a magical knife and I can't give it away. It'll just come back to me. It wouldn't be a fair thing for me to wager if I can't actually lose it, would it?” He dug a hand into his pocket. “On the other hand, I do have these.” And he displayed a palm full of sparkling gemstones.

Hermes eyes lit up. “Lovely!” he exclaimed. He snapped his fingers and a servant appeared at his elbow with a small gold box in one hand. “Here is my wager.” He opened the box to reveal a pile of shining white pearls.

Duo nodded appreciatively. “I like it. What shall we play?”

Hermes produced a board game and some dice. Watching them, Heero frowned.

“Isn't that just Chutes and Ladders?”

“It looks kind of like it,” Trowa agreed.

“How can you gamble on Chutes and Ladders?”

“It's Duo,” Quatre said dryly. “He can gamble on anything.”

A shadow loomed over them. They looked up to find Ares staring down at them with a disgruntled look on his face.

“It seems to me that your punishment was somewhat light for your child's insult to the beauteous Aphrodite,” he growled.

“He just dumped a little water on her,” Quatre replied. “She suffered no lasting harm.”

“But harm to a lady's dignity is still harm!” Ares snarled. He raised his big fists. “I think I should mete out like indignities on you!”

“Ares!” Hera snapped, but before she could continue, Heero rose and stepped in front of him.

“I think I should warn you that upsetting Quatre, especially where Roku is concerned, is a bad idea. You would be better off picking a fight with me.”

Ares stared down at Heero, who looked to be only half his size. “Hah! What have I to fear from you, toothpick?”

Heero took a step and jumped. His left foot caught in the wide belt cinching Ares' tunic and he kicked into a back flip. On the way over, the heel of his right foot caught Ares square in the chin and sent the God of War staggering backwards.

Quatre pursed his lips speculatively. “That looks like one of your moves, Trowa.”

Trowa nodded approvingly. “And nicely executed, too. It's a good change from the spin kick. I think Duo's a little better at that one, anyway.”

“I'd have to agree with that,” said Quatre.

Ares staggered backwards several steps, but he managed to regain his balance without falling. He stared at Heero, who was regarding him calmly with his arms crossed.

“Like I said, just let it go,” Heero stated flatly. “Quatre's meaner than I am.” All around them, astonished stares shifted from Heero's harsh glower to Quatre's sweetly boyish face.

Quatre made it worse by producing an adorable grin. “Oh stop it, Heero. I'm not that bad.”

Ares stared at Quatre's charming face and shifted uncertainly.

“Beauty often hides a viper's sting,” someone muttered nervously.

“It's a good thing for Ares that Aphrodite was not here to see him unmanned by that snip of a youth,” someone else commented.

Ares' face turned beet red. “Who says I was unmanned?” he exclaimed angrily.

Everyone around them assumed expressions of supreme innocence.

Ares glowered around the room and then his eyes came to rest on Heero. “I will have it out with you later, little man. For now, I must call upon the fair Aphrodite and see how she fares.” He turned to stalk from the room.

“In other words, he wants to tell her the story with himself as the victor and not the vanquished before she hears otherwise,” someone snickered.

Ares' steps faltered briefly, but then he continued out the door without turning around. When he was gone, there was an explosion of laughter and rude remarks.

Hera sighed. “I fear you might have made an unfortunate enemy in Ares. He is known to carry a grudge.”

“We'll be fine, Lady Hera,” Quatre assured her. “We've managed in worse situations.”

“We've had a lot of practice,” Trowa added lightly.