Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.
The Ever Twisting Wind: Threshold Breakthrough
Chapter Twenty Five: Roman Debut
Beta: ShadowofAxios
A day after receiving Luna's letter, Andi and Wendy materialized just outside the maintenance service tunnel that ran parallel to the Caldecott Tunnel in Berkeley Hills, California that served as the hidden entrance to the valley that housed Camp Jupiter and New Rome and was met by the seer standing there waiting patiently. She wasn't alone however as standing on either side of the service door to the tunnel was a legionary of Legio XII Fulminata, the last remnant of the once powerful Roman military and the Roman counterpart to the Greek Campers of Camp Half-Blood.
"Greetings Lady Andi, Lady Wendy," Luna greeted them both with a polite bow. "I am honored that you accepted my humble request to visit New Rome."
Unlike Luna who had clearly expected Andi's arrival, the two legionaries were startled by her sudden appearance and brandished their weapons in alarm. The boy on the right drawing an imperial gold gladius whilst his female counterpart on the left leveled her imperial gold tipped hasta spear at the goddess. Either acting on her prophetic vision of the event or pure situational awareness, Luna reacted quickly to defuse the situation.
"Georgina, Jake, lower your weapons before you insult the goddess." Luna barked at her fellow Romans. "Now!"
Both legionaries, Georgina and Jake apparently, looked at each other uncertainly and Andi decided to give them a break. Releasing a smidgen of her divine power, she wrapped it around herself like a cloak. The reaction was immediate. Georgina and Jake promptly put their weapons away and knelt.
"Our deepest apologies, lady… uh… my lady!" The boy, Jake probably, said uncertainly.
"I am Andromeda Aurae, goddess of the breezes and wizardry. Successor to the great god Faunus as goddess of the wild." Andi informed the mortals. "You may refer to me as Lady Aurae."
"And I am one of Lady Andi's lieutenants," Wendy chirped smugly.
Rolling her eyes at her partner's antics, Andi turned to Luna even as she let her divine aura fade.
"Luna, was all these theatrics necessary just to introduce me to New Rome? That is why you asked me to meet you here in your letter correct?"
"Indeed, my lady. And as for whether it was necessary? Let me ask you this, my lady, would you have chosen to visit us so soon if I did not resort to such?" Luna asked with a knowing, cheeky grin.
"I suppose not," Andi conceded with a tiny smile. "So since you've gone to all this trouble, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
"Please follow me, my lady." Luna said with a polite bow as she simultaneously pushed open the door to the tunnel that led to New Rome.
Shaking her head at her friend's antics, Andi allowed Luna to lead Wendy and her to the last vestiges of the Roman empire leaving a disappointed Georgina and Jake behind to finish their shift as the entrance's guards. None of them however noticed the many mechanical insectoids scattered all around the area of the entrance and who were peering intently at Andi.
The first impression Andi had of New Rome as she walked towards it was that it felt like a museum. Its buildings of white marble with red-tiled roofs were so authentically Roman that they seem lifted straight out of the ancient past. Yet it was very much lived in as seen by the many people that she could see on the streets. This more than its larger and grander architecture set it apart from Camp Half-Blood, which even though it was looking quite grand indeed lately thanks to the face-lift Daedalus and Azeios' crew were giving it and the year rounders always seemed at best a village. New Rome in contrast was a city.
"I know you said Romans retired to New Rome and all, Andi, but I never imagined there would be so many of them!" Wendy said in awe as they approached the city.
"Yeah, it's pretty surprising how many there are. I think it's a pretty good system." Andi agreed. "Not sure the Greeks would agree though, they value their independence over community more than Romans do."
"That's why they're idiots." The armless marble bust that served as the god Terminus' avatar said in lieu of a proper greeting as he materialized just ahead of them at the boundary of the famous Pomerian Line. "So you finally decided to make an appearance, newbie? It's about time."
"Oh! Hello Lord Terminus!" Andi greeted politely and offered a smile. "And yes, sorry for taking so long but those Technodjinns have been a thorn lately."
"I'm sure," the god snorted. "Like you couldn't spare the time?"
"Again, sorry." Andi said apologetically, offering the boundary god a bow.
"Well at least you're finally here. Off to the Senate. Word has already spread and the Legionaries are acting like children about it." He huffed with irritation.
"How?" Wendy asked, blinking in confusion. "We completely bypassed Camp Jupiter on the way here? Did the scouts or sentries or whatever spot us?"
"No," Terminus said, shaking his marble head. "You have your servants to thank for revealing your coming, Andromeda. The fauns and aurae sensed your coming and are literally rolling out the red carpet to welcome you. It's very annoying."
"That's sweet of them." Andi smiled.
"What do you mean by 'literally rolling out the red carpet'?"
As if in response to Wendy's question, the answer presented itself in the form of a group of fauns playing on their pan flutes and causing a carpet of flowers, all red, to grow out of the city and towards them. On their flanks, hundreds of aurae fluttered around in an enthusiastic dance as they too expressed their welcome for their goddess.
"Oh," Wendy said, sounding shocked as she beheld the scene before her.
"Yes, 'Oh'." Terminus said frostily. "How very unRoman they are being. So disorderly. It's positively Greek!"
"I'll have them ease up, rest assured, Terminus." Andi told her fellow god. "Could you look past it this time? I'm sure they are just over-excited. They will remember their proper Roman decorum soon enough."
"They better," the boundary god said as he teleported away, presumably to be a grumpy ass elsewhere.
"I guess they know we're coming after all." Andi said with an exasperated shake of her head.
"I told you sneaking in wouldn't work, Lady Andi." Luna reminded her with a smirk. "You should have listened to me. I am a seer."
"I know. I just didn't want this," Andi said as she waved her hand in the direction in the nearing welcoming party. "I hate this kind of attention. It's too, I dunno, fake?"
"Just 'cos it's not focused on you as a person doesn't mean it's fake Andi." Wendy chided.
"You're right." Andi said with a sigh. "Wrong word. But you get what I mean, right?"
"Yeah," Wendy nodded. "But don't let them see you dislike it. It'll hurt their feelings."
Andi nodded and put on her best goddess face, all cool, calm, collected and welcoming, as she stepped forward to meet her Roman servants. All whilst thanking Ida in her mind for all the training she'd given her to help perfect it.
After a grand procession through the streets of New Rome, Andi found herself standing before its leaders inside the Senate House. It was a domed building with an interior that resembled a high school lecture hall. It consisted of a semicircle of tiered seats for the various Senators that faced a dais with a podium and two chairs for the Twelfth Legion's two Praetors, their current leaders.
It was between this dias and the tiered sitting that Andi now stood looking at the two Praetors.
"Praetor Grace, Praetor Ramírez-Arellano." Andi greeted the two, giving the chiseled blond boy a closer look. A son of Jupiter, huh? So this was Thalia's younger brother?
Must have been a story to that.
Same for Ramírez-Arellano. Just using her passive divine senses she could feel the touch of Circe's magic on the daughter of Bellona along with traces of an encounter with a mania.
I wonder how she managed all that. Andi thought idly.
"It is an honor to have you here, Lady Aurae. We hope you find New Rome pleasing, my lady." Ramírez-Arellano said with a politician's smile.
"I do," Andi replied politely even if she didn't really know anywhere near enough about it to have an opinion. Heck, she had so little exposure to the Roman world that she didn't even have a Roman aspect yet, though from what she'd heard those were a lot more trouble than they were worth.
"You humble us with your praise, my lady." Grace said, sounding far more sincere than his female counterpart.
"I only speak the tru-"
"I object to these proceedings!" A skinny, pale skinned boy with blond hair and crazed blue eyes interrupted rudely from among the senators, causing everyone to spin around to face him. His fellow Romans looked at him with shock whilst Andi shot him a displeased glare.
"And what about my visit displeases you, Augur?" Andi demanded as she let her voice boom with a tinge of her divine power.
The boy seemed startled by the display of godly might but he quickly rallied and retorted.
"Everything!" He shouted defiantly. "I did not see your coming. Nor your very existence! That being the case, I have reason to doubt that you are even who you say you are!"
"Octavian!" Grace shouted, jumping to his feet. "You dare-"
"You presume to ask me to prove my divinity?" Andi asked, her anger piqued thus causing a localized storm to build up around her body. "What right do you have to make such demands, mortal!?"
"Oh, just entertain the poor fool, Andi." Lord Apollo said as he materialized in his Roman aspect in a position such that he was leaning against the Praetors' podium. "These mortals need a reminder once in a while."
"Lord Apollo!" The Augur cried out, clearly alarmed by what his patron was saying.
"What do you think? Just because you have my favor that I would let you badmouth my sister? One of those I like even?" The god of prophecy asked with a raised eyebrow. "If so, you're an idiot."
"But, but, you asked me to-"
"I asked you to aggrandize my name by showing off your prophetic power. I never told you to disrespect my sister!" Apollo said while glaring at Octavian with eyes that were literally ablaze.
"But she never showed up in my scrying! She can't be-"
"Enough!" Apollo shouted, his tone furious. "Andi, finish him before I do it."
Andi raised her hand towards the by now cowering blond and was about to smite him when Luna, of all people, intervened.
"Lady Andi, wait!" The witch said as she rushed between the goddess and her victim with her head bowed, not daring to look into her eyes.
"Yes, Legionnaire Luna?" Andi asked in a firm tone, divine power rolling between her fingers.
"Might I suggest an alternative way to discipline the Augur?"
"Oh? And what would you suggest? Would it be as painful as smiting him for his doubt?"
"A prophetic challenge?" Apollo asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "Oh! I like the idea. It will be most entertaining indeed. Andi, let's do it!"
Andi considered the matter for a moment before nodding. Turning to the Praetors, she asked them for their opinion on the matter.
"Praetors?"
They both nodded. Not that they really had any choice in the matter. When two gods were asking them to do something, it was either obey or be smited after all.
"So for this challenge, I want both of you to foretell my sister, Andromeda's, future." Apollo declared as they all stood in the forum with the collective population of New Rome and Camp Jupiter crowded around to see the event unfold.
In an open space in front of the god of prophecy stood both Octavian and Luna, their respective prophetic tools laid out on tables in front of them. On Octavian's part this consisted of a stuffed flamingo and a ceremonial knife whereas Luna was equipped with her sketchbook and some art supplies.
"You have ten minutes, starting… Now!" Apollo shouted with gusto and prompted both seers to begin their scrying.
Octavian using his knife cut open the toy flamingo and began pulling out its stuffing, mumbling to himself all the while as he tried to interpret meaning from them somehow. He looked manic as he did so which was a stark contrast to the calm that Luna exhibited as she used some coal to draw in her sketchbook.
"I've never seen two prophets duel in such a manner. Was it common back in the day?" Andi asked her elder brother as she leaned in towards him slightly so as to not be overheard and thus disrupt the two seers.
"Oh it can be grand!" Apollo replied, with his usual beaming smile. "I remember this one duel back in Spain. One of my kids and some mortal. The mortal won in the end, so I tried to make sure it wasn't a bloodsport after that. You can never have enough prophets! So these kids are lucky they aren't fighting and seeing at the same time."
"I'll take your word for it." Andi said with a shrug. "Prophecy is your thing."
"Indeed it is." The god replied, preening.
Ten minutes passed by surprisingly quickly and soon the two seers were presenting their visions of the future.
"Well Octavian as the incumbent, why don't you go first?" Apollo said, sounding generous even as his eyes betrayed a malicious glint.
The pale boy stood as tall as he could, but there was a clear nervousness in his eyes. He lifted up the mutilated plush toy, stuffing falling out of it and said. "From my readings, the goddess Aurae will be victorious against our newest enemies, the Technodjinn. She will lay low many in the upstart Pantheon."
He said it with as much confidence as he could, voice loud and clear.
"Hm, not bad. Vague, but most prophecies are." Apollo pursed his lips. "Then again, it could be nothing but lip service."
Octavian froze with terror at that.
Ignoring him, the god turned to the witch. "Legionnaire Luna?"
The pale blonde girl showed her sketch pad to the god. The drawings weren't the best, but it showed Andi standing before a big hole… or was it a barrel to a cannon? And there were some silvery specks flying in the background. And was that some kinda giant mecha she was fighting?
"Ah, that makes sense." Apollo nodded as he eyed the picture. "Though I would suggest going to a few more art classes, Legionnaire. I feel like crying a little from your lack of skill."
Luna had the grace to blush.
"Apologies, Lord Apollo. I was operating on a time limit. My drawings suffer when working like that." Luna confessed.
"Understandable." The god of arts allowed. "But, seriously, go take a few classes. It'll help. The clearer your drawings, the easier they are to interpret, right? So it's in everyone's interest that you get better."
"As you command, my lord." Luna said with a nod.
"Good," Apollo said as he raised his voice so everyone in the crowd could hear him. "Now to declare the winner. Drum roll please!"
The sound of a drum roll suddenly filled the forum, startling quite a few people and causing Apollo to smirk in amusement which in turn had Andi rolling her eyes fondly. Her brother sure loved his theatrics.
As the drums finally petered out, Apollo gave his judgement.
"For the much clearer prognostication of the future, I hereby declare the winner of this contest to be… Legionnaire Luna Lovegood!"
The whole crowd burst into cheers at that.
"What? N-No! That's, I-!" Octavian sputtered, trying to form words but he seemed rather tongue tied at the moment.
Ignoring Octavian's whining, Apollo raised his arms to quiet the crowd. It took a moment but once they had calmed, he continued.
"And for her prize, I award her the position of Augur!"
The cheers from the crowd this time was twice as loud, betraying just how much Octavian was disliked among his fellow Romans, even as some of them surged forward to congratulate Luna on her elevation.
"You set this up." Andi whispered to Apollo accusingly. "So you could get rid of Octavian. I'm right, ain't I?"
"Trust me, it's worth it." Apollo assured her in his own quiet whisper. "He'd have caused us a ton of problems down the line if we didn't. And I'd get the brunt of it. One punishment for the century was enough for me."
"If you say so," Andi said with a shrug. "I'm just happy that the douche got his comeuppance."
Said former Augur was indeed getting quite the comeuppance indeed, if the look of angry shame that he was sporting was any indication. Being publicly ousted from his position by his very own patron god? That must've been humiliating.
I'm not done with you yet though, you little disrespectful ass. Andi thought as she reached out to her partner. Wendy, you briefed the local Aurae on what I want them to do?
Yup. Her lieutenant replied, her mental voice radiating satisfaction. They'll make his life a living hell from now onwards. Serves him right for disrespecting you like he did. The nerve!
Andi just smirked, pleased that the little legacy would feel her wrath.
"Oh, look at you sister." Apollo said, pulling her into a one armed hug. "Being all smug at arranging someone's torment. How very Roman. You'll fit right in."
Andi just offered her brother a smile which he returned.
"Then shouldn't we celebrate with a banquet? That's what we Romans do to celebrate don't we?"
"Indeed." Apollo said with a pleased chuckle. "To the Mess Hall!"
Having a feast in one's honor was certainly a fun time. Well, one of the guests of honor at least. Technically the banquet was also to celebrate Luna's appointment as Augur but that was a distant second cause for celebration. After all, Andi's acceptance as a goddess of Rome was a lot more important than a mere change of personnel in the Twelfth Legion's leadership. At least in the opinion of the Romans. Though Andi didn't necessarily agree, she didn't gainsay them either.
Instead, she chose to just enjoy the party and lounge on the sofa provided to her as she was waited on hand and foot by the Aurae that served as the Mess Hall's wait staff. As expected of breeze spirits, they were both fast and gave excellent service.
"Just curious but where is Dr. Stevenson? I've seen you with her all the time lately." Andi asked her fellow god as he lounged on a sofa across from her own.
Apollo wrinkled his nose, but he still kept his smile up. "That's more the business of my other side. I don't really condone what he did. Too brutal for just a single woman. But he is the more selfish, less disciplined version of me."
"So your two sides don't share stuff?" Andi asked curiously.
"Of course we do, but we also try to keep things as separate as we can. Minimize the crossing of streams as it were." Apollo told her with a shrug. "You know the consequences of letting them clash?"
Andi shuddered as she recalled the bloody war the Roman and Greeks had fought during the American Civil War and how in its aftermath the gods of Olympus had decided to keep the two factions separate.
"Yeah," Andi said sadly as she took a sip of her wine. It wasn't Bacchus' personal vintage but it was nice enough to help her forget the unpleasant thoughts that had been stirred up by her curiosity.
"So brother, we seem to be running into each other often lately, any reason for that?" Andi asked, changing the subject.
"I was going to ask you the same question to be honest." Apollo replied with a frown. "It is not your doing, Andi?"
"Nope." Andi said with a shake of her head.
"It's mine." The familiar voice of Lady Venus said with a giggle as its source, a dove, landed on the table between the two gods' sofas. "I called in a few favors to give Andi a chance to make friendly with her future father-in-law."
"F-Father-in-law!?" Andi stuttered out, blushing terribly. "I never said anything about marrying Will!"
Venus just chuckled knowingly. Even Apollo joined in!
Pit! This is embarrassing! Andi thought as she tried to hide her crimson face behind her wine glass.
"Oh come on, Andi! Venus and I are always on the gossip chain for love and the future of it. It's a lucrative business, I must confess. You'd be shocked at how much our fellow gods will pay for just a glimpse at their future love life." Apollo chortled some more as he took a sip of his wine. "So if we say you'll marry Will then you will."
"I guess that makes sense," Andi sighed, her cheeks still pink. "Still, I-"
Her words were cut short by a barking report of some kind and the young goddess felt herself flung off of her sofa as the entire left side of her torso exploded, showering her surroundings with viscera and divine ichor.
Apollo, who was in line for whatever had shot her, reacted immediately and threw up a barrier that deflected the bullet, one which was the size of a tank shell, and rushed to Andi's side.
"Hang in there, sister." The god of healing urged Andi as he placed his hands over her ruined side and called on his powers. "Just give me a minute and you'll be right as rain."
"Over there!" One of the Romans shouted and Andi instinctively looked in the direction that he was indicating.
Looking through the hole in the Mess Hall the round that had hit her made, she spotted something out of place in the hills overlooking New Rome. Standing atop one of the many rocky outcrops was a velociraptor-type robot the size of a tyrannosaurus with its tail held rigid and pointed towards them with smoke wafting from its tip, clearly the barrel of a powerful sniper rifle that it had used to snipe Andi.
"The Chameleon," Andi wheezed out as her lung regenerated under Apollo's ministrations, recognizing the Technodjinn despite its unfamiliar form.
"You won't get away!" Venus, of all goddesses, cried out angrily as her dove flew out of the Mess Hall towards the robotic god. As it did, its number miraculously multiplied until there was a veritable swarm of the birds flying in formation towards the Chameleon.
The Technodjinn was not idle however and realizing that his position was compromised was changing form, presumably to make his escape. Surrounding his body in a sickly green light his form began to change.
His attempt did not go unhindered though as the hills came alive as in response to Andi's injury aurae, venti, dryads and fauns materialized out of every nook and cranny to attack him. In response, in bursts of binary hundreds of humanoid mecha materialized around him to fend them off. Their energy weapons proved just enough to hold back the furious nature spirits. Though the tide began to turn as the first Romans began to make it onto the scene, with their additional numbers, discipline and martial skill allowing them to begin to overpower the robots.
Sadly it was for naught as the fucker had already bolted. Long before the first Romans reached the hills, the Chameleon had finished his metamorphosis and had transformed into some kind of futuristic fighter jet and shot off into the sky. Most likely his divine form, great.
Venus's doves, a number of the Legion's giant eagles, and a handful of their Pegasi riders tried to intercept him but the robot god just unleashed a missile barrage to cover his retreat before he promptly activated a cloaking device and disappeared from view.
"C-Cheating cheater." Andi wheezed as she saw the ass get away.
"We apologize again for the lapse in our security." Praetor Grace stated once more to Andi, his face tight as his scarred lip was formed into a deep frown.
"He is a god of stealth and assasination. He would be terrible at his job if he couldn't sneak in undetected." Andi assured her mortal brother. She was feeling better, but it was the first time she was blown up like that - Well, technically she'd been shot but the bullet that had hit her was so bloody big that the difference was semantic at best. - and it still left her a little shaken.
"If anyone is to blame here, it's that bastard." Wendy said, stomping her feet angrily on the ground. "Why the hell was he even trying to kill Andi anyways? Haven't the Technodjinn all been about focusing on the other threat lately?"
"'Other threat'? What do you mean by that?" Praetor Ramírez-Arellano asked, her eyes narrowed.
"Nothing you need to worry about," Andi said authoritatively whilst pinching Wendy lightly for letting that slip, causing her partner to wince. "We gods will let you know about it when we feel the time is right."
"As for you Wendy," Andi said looking at the Aura sternly. "Watch your words more closely."
"Sorry Andi," Wendy said apologetically. "I was just angry and it slipped out."
"I know." Andi said, patting her partner's head comfortingly. "And answering your question earlier, I think the Chameleon tried to snipe me as payback for me messing up Dr. Borg's operation."
"Wait, you make it sound like he wasn't trying to kill you." Grace said, his frown growing even deeper.
"He wasn't." Andi confirmed. "If he was, his shot would've blown my head off. He only had the one shot, he would've made it count. He missed on purpose."
"Think of it as divine pranking, but bloodier." Apollo snorted as he walked over, looking miffed.
"Couldn't find him?" Andi asked her brother.
"No, even with me boosting Luna's powers she couldn't find him. Stealth is truly his domain." Apollo said with grudging respect. "You'll have to find him the old fashioned way, Andi."
"I couldn't either," one of Venus' doves said as it flew in to land on Grace's shoulder causing the Praetor to freeze. "And I had my doves search the whole of California."
"Don't worry, I will find him." Andi promised. "But to do that, I need to get going. So until next time, see you Legionnaires, Lord Apollo, Lady Venus."
With a last pair of respectful nods to Apollo and Venus, Andi teleported away from New Rome with Wendy in tow. They had Technodjinn to hunt down.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios as always!
Well that was a thing! Epic Prophet Battle of History, begin! Just kidding, but it certainly felt like something akin to Epic Rap Battle, though no catchy lyrics.
Nameless: I don't know if you guys noticed but the Chameleon has many 'divine' forms, of which we saw three in this chapter. We thought that as an infiltrator type giving him this unique ability is fitting. Hope you guys agree.
Yeah, that paintball really threw the feast into disarray. A pity! Though it seems Andi is raring for some payback. Let's hope her Roman side, if she ever gets one, gets a revenge shtick lol.
Nameless: Speaking of Roman aspects. Whether Andi gets one depends on how much time she spends in New Rome and whether they develop different impressions of her vis-a-vis her Greek side. E.g. if the Romans think she's a vengeful goddess but the Greeks don't then she'll develop the typical split personality between the two aspects with the Roman one having a vengeance fetish. That said, with how little Andi has interacted with the Romans she's currently still like Venus/Aphrodite in being the same person across both aspects. For now.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!