PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Dead Dinosaurs and Living Legends || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO
Title: Dead Dinosaurs and Living Legends – The Jurassic King and his Big Merman
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: m/m, godly parent switch, merpeople, twisted canon, fluff, f/f, m/f, polyamory (m/m/f | m/f/f)
Main Pairing: Nico/Percy
Side Pairings: Bianca/Annabeth, Thanatos/Triton, Octavian/Luke, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Jason/Calypso, Charles/Silena, Chris/Clarisse, Dakota/Leila, Pluto/Proserpina/Sally, Neptune/Maria
Percy Jackson Characters: Maria di Angelo
New Rome: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Octavian Simmons, Frank Zhang, Michael Kahale, Dakota Elle, Leila Fischer, Tyson, Ella, Sally Jackson, Aurum, Argentum
Camp Half-Blood: Hazel Levesque, Bianca di Angelo, Thalia Grace, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase, Luke Castellan, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Piper McLean, Mrs. O'Leary
Godly Characters: Pluto | Hades, Proserpina | Persephone, Zerberus, Calypso, Neptune | Poseidon, Triton, Letum | Thanatos
Own Characters: Cera (Triceratops), Petrie (Pteranodon), Littlefoot (Apatosaurus), Nessie (Cetus)
Summary: What if Sally was seduced by Pluto and Proserpina instead of Poseidon? And instead of marrying Gabe in her despair, her lovers send her and Percy to New Rome.
And what if Maria was seduced by Poseidon/Neptune in his merman-form instead of Hades? And instead of being hidden away in the Lotus Hotel, Bianca and Nico grow up in Atlantis.
This is how their story plays out and how they meet in New Rome.
Dead Dinosaurs and Living Legends
The Jurassic King and his Big Merman
Part 1: The Prince of the Underworld & the Heirs of the Ocean
/Summer 1921, Venice, Italy\
Maria first met him at the harbor. She had been strolling along the beach, lost in thoughts and distracted by the beauty of her city at night. Her papà would chide her for being out and alone so late. She was a young lady, after all. Being out alone at night was improper.
All sorts of strange folks might approach her. Like a merman, for example.
Maria could not help but be intrigued. A merman. A true, real merman with a sapphire-blue tail. He was handsome, with a chiseled chest, stubble covering his sharp chin, his hair wild and black and his eyes like two orbs capturing the ocean itself. He was also charming and a sweet-talker.
It was hard to deny him. He knew how to charm a woman. And even after she realized she was pregnant, he was still around. Even as the two of them held their firstborn child, a beautiful little girl that they decided to name Bianca. He wasn't around for months after though and the next time she met him, something was fundamentally different about him. He was less laid back and carefree, he seemed stricter and also more well-trained somehow. Firmer and more responsible, in a way.
And she realized she had fallen pregnant again. And she realized he was more than just a merman. He was the king of the ocean. And then, well, then she realized he was two. He had first come to her as Poseidon and as they met again after all those months, he had come to her as Neptune.
And apparently, that was a problem. There was a war brewing, he had told her. It was in the air, she just didn't quite know how he could tell. He told her that their children would be in danger, told her that the war might be a danger, told her that his brother might come after the children. Told her that two children from the same mortal mother but two different aspects of the same god... they would be targets. And oh, Maria was so angry. She was angry that he had put her – and her children – into this position. At times, she was angry she had ever met him, but then she looked into Bianca's and Nico's eyes and she knew she could never truly regret meeting him for she loved them.
"Let me take you away", pleaded Neptune in 1934.
The war was something that even Maria could taste by now. Well, not the war, but the tension. Something was brewing and she didn't know what, but it felt like the sea before a storm. She could not deny him and so she followed him into the sea. Nico was ten, Bianca was twelve. The children clung onto Maria's hands, staring up at their mother fearfully as they walked into the sea.
"It will be fine", whispered Maria softly. "It will be fine. It will be fine."
She said it to reassure them just as much as she was trying to reassure herself. After all, the bystanders started screaming at her, thinking she was a mad woman, condemning herself and her children to death by the hands of the sea. And as they submerged, reaching the deeper parts of the sea, she was afraid. Only when the warmth of Neptune's magic surrounded them did Maria relax.
She could feel the change, but she would never be able to describe the sensation. Her legs turning into a light-blue tail. It was mesmerizing. Nico next to her yelped loudly.
"Dios mio, mamma!", exclaimed Nico, gesturing wildly at the tail.
It was such a dark blue, it nearly looked black. He squealed and tried to tear away from his mother to test it, but Maria held his hand firmly and glared at her son in warning. Bianca all the while was tentatively flipping her own tail to see how it worked. She looked utterly fascinated.
"Hello, my dear", greeted Neptune with a pleased smile.
He opened his arms to welcome Maria, but she only glared at him. "No. You put us into this situation. You made me leave my family behind. I'm grateful you can save me and my children, but you and I are through, Neptune or Poseidon or whatever your name is."
She gathered her children and glared at him and he... conceded. He nodded briefly.
"You... have every right to be angry. For now, allow me to show you the house I got you."
"Will there be more merpeople, papà?", asked Nico excitedly.
"Yes, bambino", laughed Neptune, eyes sparkling proudly. "Let me show you Atlantis."
/Winter 1992, New York City\
Sally first met them in Central Park. Just a couple, strolling around, whispering to themselves. They were incredibly beautiful, both of them. They had something out of this world-ish to them.
As Sally later learned, that was because the two were gods.
Pluto and Proserpina, the king and queen of the underworld. And somehow, Sally was not quite sure how, she had made them fall for her. Proserpina courted Sally with flowers and baked goods, Pluto brought her expensive jewelry. Both were incredibly charming and sweet and it really wasn't hard to fall for them. The world they showed her – the underworld – was absolutely captivating.
They made her feel cherished and taken care of in a way that she had never experienced before. She didn't need Pluto to pay for her, she often even didn't want to, but both Pluto and Proserpina insisted occasionally. And honestly, it kind of did feel nice to be treated that way, to be spoiled.
They treated her like a princess and she kind of loved it.
She did freak out just a little when she noticed that she was pregnant. After all, she was pregnant with the child of the king of the underworld, a god. But she loved Pluto and Proserpina and she already knew she was going to love her baby. Her lovers assured her that they would too. They would love this baby of theirs and they would not allow harm to come to either of them.
"Perseus Jackson", declared Sally gently as she first got to hold her son nine months later.
"Really? Perseus? Really?", asked Pluto utterly unimpressed. "After my brother's son?"
"After the one hero who got to have a happy ending, Pluto", stated Sally seriously, looking up at her lovers. "Our son has to have a happy ending. And who knows, maybe your brother will feel so flattered, he won't try to smite my baby. What about that?"
"Well, what with Jupiter's ego, that might just be a solid plan", laughed Proserpina.
She leaned down to kiss Sally's forehead gently. The baby giggled and opened his eyes, watching his moms. Proserpina's eyes softened as she got lost on the intense green of Perseus' eyes. So many shades of green, so bright and beautiful, as though they were encapsulating spring itself.
"Seems my magic worked its way into our little one too", whispered Proserpina proudly.
She looked into Sally's azure-blue eyes and into Pluto's pitch-black ones. Yes, she had definitely added a little bit to their precious little baby-boy. Perseus Jackson, heir to the underworld.
/1997, Underworld\
"Pu—uppy!"
Sally made a slightly strangled sound and leaned against Proserpina. The queen laughed softly, kissing Sally gently as the two women watched their son. Percy was happily playing with Zerberus, his favorite companion. Percy wasn't very good at making friends, sadly enough. Most kids thought he was weird. It was his underworldly heritage. Pluto felt guilty for it.
Sally and Percy regularly visited the underworld. Percy loved exploring it, loved flying with uncle Letum with the mighty black wings, loved splashing around in the rivers – regardless of how often he was told not to, but somehow Percy really loved water.
"Why won't you stay with us, love?", asked Proserpina softly, running her fingers through Sally's hair. "Percy is clearly happy here. And you would be a queen here."
"I leave being a queen up to you, Pina", chuckled Sally amused. "I... can't live down here. Percy and I, we belong in the world of the living. We will stay there as long as possible."
Proserpina heaved a sigh. She knew things weren't as easy as Sally wanted them to be. She knew their mortal lover would not be able to keep living in New York with their demigod son. And Proserpina and Pluto were trying very hard to find a solution, a middle-ground.
"Mommas!", yelped Percy as he ran up to them, Zerberus hot on his heels.
Proserpina laughed as she opened her arms to welcome the four-year-old. She lifted him up into her lap so he could snuggle up to her and Sally leaned in to kiss the top of his head. All that truly mattered was that their little boy got the happy childhood he deserved.
"Wanna go and see what papa is up to, my little prince?", asked Proserpina softly.
"Yas!", exclaimed Percy excitedly. "Papa?"
He turned on the sad little kitten eyes and neither of his parents were immune to those. Percy's favorite movie to watch were A Land Before Time and its sequel and Sally and Proserpina could by now speak along to every single line of those movies. They really hoped this was the last of those.
/1998, Underworld\
Percy was scared. He wasn't supposed to run off alone, but he had been playing hide and seek with his big sisters Makaria and Melinoe and then he had gotten so excited that he kind of ran away to find a better hiding spot because he wanted to win. And now he was lost in a scary place. There were lots of scary see-through people. Mama and papa said that they were ghosts and that he could see ghosts because he was the son of Pluto. It was nice that no one thought he was crazy for his imaginary friends down here – the other kids always made fun of him for it.
"Hello, little one. Are you lost? You... don't look like you belong here."
Percy yelped softly and stared at the ghost in front of him. "You're pretty."
The girl smiled and knelt down next to him. She was pretty. All funny frizzly hair and really golden eyes. She was older than him – like, a teenager, so really old. But she smiled at him all nicely.
"Thank you, little one. I'm... I don't... remember", whispered the ghost blankly. "Memory is a fuzzy thing when you're... dead. But you aren't, right?"
"Nu-uh. I'm the prince!", replied Percy with a toothy grin, puffing his chest out, before he deflated again. "But I'm lost... mommas and papa are gonna be real mad."
"It's okay. I'll keep you company until they find you, is that okay?", asked the pretty ghost.
Percy sniffed a little and nodded before sitting down close by to her. She smiled at him and asked him to tell her about himself and all the time until Letum finally came and found him, he was nicely distracted talking about his amazing family and parents and his giant puppy.
"You can not run away like that, young prince", chided Letum seriously as he shouldered Percy.
"Bye-bye, pretty ghost", called Percy out, waving. "I know, uncle Letum. I'm sorry."
/1999, New York\
Sally and Percy had just finished watching the latest – the sixth – of the Land Before Time movies before they went to the National Museum, because Percy really, truly loved dinosaurs, still. He was clutching his stuffed plush toy – Cera, the orange Triceratops and Percy's favorite character.
This was the day Sally Jackson was never going to forget.
Sally had only been distracted for a split-second, checking the plan to see where else they were going to go, when around her people started gasping and yelling. Her first instinct was to pick her six-year-old son up to keep him safe. Only that Percy was the reason other people were gasping. Because Percy was cuddling with the giant Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. The skeleton was moving, brushing its head against Percy's cheek, moving its tiny arms as though it was trying to hug the boy.
The dead dinosaur had come to life to cuddle with Percy.
That was the moment Sally knew her son was too powerful to be safe in this mortal world. Her little son of Pluto. At this rate, he would soon attract unwanted attention. Taking a shaky breath, Sally made a decision. One she had been pushing off for nearly two years now.
Ever since her lovers had suggested for her to move to the underworld and she had declined hard – a child could not just grow up among the dead and the gods – Pluto and Proserpina had worked hard on convincing her of the alternative. New Rome. Apparently, it was a magical city, hidden in California. Demigods and their families lived there peacefully. Percy could go to school, grow up with other children, Sally could work there and lead a normal life with her son. And it sounded good. But it would also mean revealing Percy's existence to the gods and Sally? She was terrified of how Jupiter would react. She knew the tales well enough. She just... wanted him sheltered and safe, wanted him to have a normal childhood. As Percy started playing catch with a giant actual skeleton of a dinosaur, she realized he might never have a normal childhood and perhaps, growing up in a city where such things were normal and where Percy could grow up with children like himself was the best thing she could do for him. Sighing, she carefully gathered him up in her arms.
"Come on, sweetie, it's time for us to visit papa and mama", declared Sally determined.
And as always, she could trust her lovers to wait in the next shadowy counter. Percy yelped happily and reached his arms out for his papa. Pluto smiled softly at his son as he leaned in to kiss Percy's nose, making the boy giggle happily. Pluto then moved on to kiss Sally gently.
"You called, love", whispered the god while Proserpina was cooing at Percy. "What is it?"
"Your... offer. New Rome", whispered Sally back, voice low. "I... Percy just made a Tyrannosaurus rex come to life in there. There is a dinosaur skeleton in there, moving around."
"Ah, that's papa's boy", declared Pluto proudly, puffing his chest out.
Percy visibly preened at his father's praise, while Proserpina laughed softly and kissed Percy's cheek. "Little troublemaker, just like his papa, huh?"
"How about you go with them to get packed while I set everything up?", suggested Pluto.
Proserpina nodded and kissed her husband briefly before taking her girlfriend's hand and guiding her and their son back to the beautiful apartment they owned. Percy clung onto the hands of both his moms, frowning confused as he felt that something was off.
"Sweetie", started Sally gently as she knelt down in front of Percy. "I need you to pack your things. Mama and I are going to give you boxes and you sort all your toys and books in there, okay? Because we're going to move to a really, really amazing place."
"...Where?", asked Percy unsure, looking from mommy to mama.
"You know how you can talk to your invisible friends and how you... played with the dinosaur earlier, sweetie?", asked Proserpina. "That's because you're a very special boy. And there are... other children that are very special. And where you and mommy are going to move, you could grow up with those other special children. You could have friends who won't ever call you weird or a freak for having your invisible friends and who will understand. Does that sound good?"
Percy frowned thoughtfully and wiggled his nose in a cute way. He didn't have any friends. Kids thought he was weird because he liked hanging out at the graveyard and talking to invisible people. If there were others who could understand what that was like, who would want to be his friends, that would be really super cool. And he didn't care where he lived as long as he had his mom.
/2000, New Rome\
Percy loved New Rome. Most of New Rome. His mom worked in a bakery, Percy attended a school where they were taught not just boring stuff like math and spelling, but also magic. How to manipulate the Mist – which was like a super-strong magic veil that was everywhere. Self-defense and swords-play classes. It was really amazing. Percy loved it. And he already made friends too.
Mike Kahale was a son of Venus and from Hawaii, which was super cool. Percy loved listening to his tales of the islands. Mike was really kind and cool and like Percy's best living friend already. And then there were Dakota and Leila, a son of Bacchus and a daughter of Ceres. They really liked gardening and were really cool too. Percy occasionally helped them, because as a son of Pluto he kind of had powers over the Earth and could loosen it for them. Percy was seven years old and he loved going to school with his friends, learning to become a great hero together with them.
There were things he didn't like about New Rome though. School was hard – easier than in New York, because text books were in Latin here so Percy's dyslexia wasn't hindering him from understanding them, but it was still hard. And then there was Octavian, who was super-arrogant. He kept mocking Percy and making his life hard and he was so greedy. Octavian wanted to become praetor – which was like class president only way more important (Percy was still learning how this whole system worked). But most of the time, Percy was happy in New Rome.
"Pe—ercy, tell Petrie to stop messing with my hair!", yelped Leila.
The daughter of Ceres was running around the garden, being chased by a skeletal Pteranodon. Percy grinned broadly at his pet. They were by now six movies into Percy's favorite movie series and Percy loved his dinosaurs still as much as he had as a little boy. Only that by now, he was strong enough not just to summon skeletons from the depth, but also the strength to keep them going. Okay, sadly not as many dinosaurs as he'd like to, but he had his three best undead dino friends. Cera, Petrie and Littlefoot. A Triceratops, a Pteranodon and an Apatosaurus. Mom had taught him all the proper names, even though Percy preferred the movie-names for the races. They made way more sense to Percy, but oh well. Grinning to himself, Percy patted Cera's head.
"Percy", sighed Mike in a slightly chiding manner.
"What? I think it's funny", giggled Percy, before sighing. "Okay, okay. Petrie, stop it! Come here."
The little flyer flew over to Percy and sat down on his head, nestling into the fluffy black hair comfortably. Leila glared at Percy as she straightened her hair and joined the boys. Percy loved New Rome and he loved the friends he had made. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like if he would still have to hide what he was, if he still had to hide his powers in the mortal world.
"Okay, children. Are you ready for the movie? Or do you need any longer?", asked Sally.
Percy, Mike and Leila eagerly got up to rush over to Sally. She had gotten permission to leave the safety of New Rome with the three young demigods to go and see a movie (New Rome did not have a movie theater and that was scandalous, if you'd ask her). Because a new Disney movie just came out – and it was about dinosaurs. There was no way Sally and Percy weren't going to see this on the big screen and since Percy now had friends, of course she had asked them if they wanted to come along. While Dakota was not a fan of the idea, Mike and Leila were eager.
"Okay, children. It's important that the three of you will not run off alone. You have to stay close to me", ordered Sally sternly as she took Mike and Leila by the hands.
Percy grabbed Mike's free hand and the four of them got on their merry way to San Francisco. Percy tried to listen to his mom, but he was just... easily distracted. And when he got distracted, he tended to wander off. Like when he saw a group of four children and two of them had a too familiar aura. Percy, he could see this funny colorful flicker around all people – papa explained that it was his gift, that every child of his tended to lean heavier toward certain aspects of Pluto's realm and Percy was very heavy on the soul and death spectrum there. Which was why he could see ghosts so very clearly and why he controlled dead bones. He could see the souls even while they were still attached to the living and over the years, he had learned to read the auras of people. Children of Venus like Mike had a soft pink hue flickering around them, children of Ceres had this dark-green flicker of an aura. Mortals were too weak, they didn't leak their auras like demigods did.
Which meant the four children he was watching were definitely demigods. A tall blonde boy with dark-blue eyes, who was talking in hushed voices with a tall girl with black hair with blue highlights, freckles sprayed over her cheeks. Each of them was holding the hand of a younger child. Both of the younger children were blonde, the girl at his hand and the boy at her hand. The two younger kids were about Percy's age. The curious thing were their auras though. The tall boy had a turquoise aura that Percy had already seen on Nathan and other children of Mercury, but the other three were the interesting ones. The younger girl's aura was dark-gray in a way Percy had never seen before and it made him curious who the godly parent was, because it was a god he had never met before. But the tall girl and the younger blonde boy, both their auras were black. A pure pitch-black, just like Percy's, just like papa's. Blinking rapidly, Percy tried to follow the four kids.
"Percy! Percy, you are not supposed to run off like that, please don't wander off."
Percy frowned irritated, not minding his best dead friend. "Hazel, stop worrying! I'll be fine. I just need to catch up with them. I wanna know and understand. I'll be back before mom notices."
Hazel glowered at him as the ghost followed him. Percy was seven, he was totally going to be fine. He knew how to protect himself. Hazel just tended to worry. She always did, ever since they met years ago on the Fields in the underworld, back before she remembered who she was.
Percy had been actively seeking her out afterward and being with a son of Death had helped her regain more memories of her past life. Her name was Hazel Levesque and she was a daughter of Jupiter (but strangely enough she kept using his Greek name. Percy didn't understand that), who had been killed by a jealous, enraged Juno (again, Hazel kept calling her Hera, which didn't make sense to Percy), as Juno tended to do with the affairs and children of her husband. That was cool though, Hazel was a child of one of the Big Three too, just like Percy. They became friends, the more often Percy went to visit her. Well, the 13-year-old girl probably felt kind of protective over Percy because he was still a child? But he didn't mind. He liked that she worried for him, it was nice.
"Perseus Chthonius Jackson!", exclaimed Sally suddenly, grasping him by the arm.
Percy winced. Middle-name. Middle-name was never good. Middle-name meant mom was mad. Percy's eyes were focused on the four children rounding the corner, disappearing out of his sight. With a sigh did Percy turn around to face his mom, the most effective kitten-pout possible on his face to pacify his mother. Hazel next to him snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, hip cocked. Moments like those were why Percy was glad he was the only one who could see her (most of the time, unless Percy concentrated his energy on materializing her, which he had done to introduce Hazel to his mom and to his friends so they knew who he kept talking to).
"Mom, I'm sorry, I just... I saw something interesting", mumbled Percy, knowing it was weak.
"Urgh. You're like a kitten. 'Oh, a butterfly, let's chase it!'...", snorted Leila and rolled her eyes.
"...Not untrue", sighed Sally. "Leila, would you mind taking Mike's hand?"
Leila shook her head and went to grab Mike's hand, while Sally took Percy's, staring sternly at her son. "Now come, children, or we're going to be late for the movie."
Percy pouted a little, because he really wanted to know what the weird gray aura meant and why the blonde boy and the dark-haired girl had the same aura as papa. But then he remembered that this was a Disney movie. About dinosaurs. So he picked up his pace to follow them.
/2001, Atlantis\
Nico loved Atlantis.
Time was weird here, that was true. His big brother had explained to him that merpeople were immortal and by becoming merpeople, Nico and Bianca and their mamma had stopped aging. Due to the magical fake sunlight and day-and-night cycles, it didn't feel like decades though. Nico knew that decades had passed since he left the surface world, that Italia was probably way different than when he had left it, but to him it felt more like merely months since he had left home.
Mama was working at a jewelry store in in Atlantis and Nico and Bianca had to go to school in Atlantis with lots of other merpeople, which was the coolest thing ever. All the Greek and Roman gods, the ones he had always loved learning about, were actually real. All the monsters and creatures were too. It was completely amazing and Nico was really in love with this city.
"Can I keep her? Please, mamma?", asked Nico hopefully.
Maria sighed, resting her head in her hands as she looked at her son. She then sat down at the table, flapping her tail a couple of times as she assessed her son. Nico was offering her the wildly effective puppy-stare. Bianca was snickering to herself in the corner, knowing that there was no way Maria would be able to say no anyway. So Maria turned her attention to the other person in the room. Triton had the decency to look sheepish. Over the past decades down here, Triton had begrudgingly grown attached to his younger half-siblings. He took to training Nico personally, to teaching Bianca together with his own daughters (Bianca loved her... nieces, who were more like cousins). While Bianca soaked up all the knowledge she could, Nico was super excited about everything, which was the reason Triton had grown attached to Nico. It was hard not to adore a little brother who looked up to you and wanted to learn everything from you.
Which brought Maria to the current situation. Triton liked being adored by Nico, so he tended to spoil his little brother. With presents, like a freaking Loch Ness monster. She glared at Triton.
"Ple—ease, mamma, Tri says that she's an orphan! I promise I'll take care of her!"
Maria heaves a sigh as Nico and the Loch Ness monster were now giving her matching pleading puppy eyes. This was not fair at all. Triton avoided her eyes, knowing she was irritated by him.
"He got very excited when we found the young Cetus and her parents must have already passed", elaborated Triton cautiously. "They're rather easy to train, Maria."
Maria gritted her teeth. "Very well. But you take her out for... for whatever the water-equivalent for walkies is. And I am so not taking this creature to a vet if something is wrong. You will, Triton."
"So I can keep Nessie?", asked Nico, excitement tripping from his every word.
Maria smiled softly to herself. How would she ever be able to deny her son anything, really?
/2002, New Rome\
Percy wasn't supposed to sneak off on his own. Nine-year-old Percy didn't like to listen to such things though. He was going to be a great Roman hero one day, so he had to explore. Also, mom was at work and Dakota, Leila and Mike didn't have time to play.
"You're a mermaid", gasped Percy as he reached the shore and spotted – well, a mermaid.
The mermaid turned toward him with a scowl on his face. Oh. A boy mermaid. He had a dark-blue nearly black tail, flapping it in the shallow water at the beach. He was pretty, with eyes as dark as the deepest parts of the sea and fluffy dark curls on his head.
"I'm a merboy", corrected the boy rather offended.
Percy blinked and approached, with his favorite pet in toe. "I like your tail. I'm Percy."
"...Thank you?", grunted the merboy wearily. "I'm Nico. I... uh... like your... dinosaur?"
Percy offered a proud, toothy grin as he gently patted his skeletal companion, the dinosaur trying to hide behind him. "Thanks! That's Cera! She's a Triceratops. I named her after my favorite character from my favorite movie! Don't worry, she's harmless. She's just a little shy with strangers."
Nico blinked curiously and tilted his head. "What are you?"
"I'm a son of Pluto. Most my friends are bones", hummed Percy. "What about you?"
"I'm a son of Neptune. Most my friends are... sea-monsters", replied Nico softly.
"That is so cool", gasped Percy excitedly.
Nico shrugged and turned away, to pet the... purple-blue... Loch Ness monster. Percy's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at the super-adorable Loch Ness monster that was nuzzling Nico's side. Hastily, Percy rushed over to kneel next to Nico in the water. The creature shied away.
"That's... Nessie. She's my friend", whispered Nico softly. "It's okay, Nessie. I don't think he's dangerous. Maybe a bit weird, but not dangerous."
Nessie cooed softly and poked her head out from her hiding spot, regarding the son of Pluto curiously. Percy smiled softly and carefully reached out to pat her head. Nico all the while reached out for the Triceratops skeleton. It sniffed Nico's hand and nudged it.
"So. You're a child of one of the Big Three", mused Percy curiously, tilting his head. "Where do you come from? What are you doing here? Will you come to New Rome now? Can you even?"
"I...", started Nico and faltered, averting his eyes. "Jupiter found out about me and my sister. We were at the surface with mamma and he... Mamma and my sister are gone. Papà said... it's too dangerous for me to stay in Atlantis, so... so he sent me here. To this... Neo Roma. To live with other demigods, to be... known. So Jupiter can't try to kill me just like that again."
Percy hummed and frowned. He turned to look at Hazel, who hovered close by with a concerned frown of her own. She knew what it was like to lose everything to a god. On impulse, Percy launched himself at the merboy and hugged him fiercely. At first, Nico was frozen, but then he clung onto Percy desperately and sobbed just a little. This might just be the first time Nico was allowed to feel the loss of his family. Percy held him for what felt like hours.
"Percy? Sweetie, where are you? Dinner is getting cold!"
Percy turned a little toward where his mom was walking up to them. "Mom! This is Nico. He's a merboy. Can he stay with us? He just lost his mom."
It took Sally exactly zero point five seconds to make a decision when she saw the crying, scared child, the same age as Percy, who clung onto her son. "Of course you can. Hello, sweetie, I'm Sally. But... I'm not sure our bathtub will be suitable for you...?"
Nico blinked with his large, brown eyes up at the woman who smiled at him with the same kindness as his own mamma used to. "I—I'm Nico. And It's okay. I don't need a bathtub."
He concentrated hard, the way Triton had taught him. The next moment, his tail turned into two legs. He stared at them in fascination. He had forgotten what it felt like to have legs. Percy helped him up and he slowly followed Percy and Sally off the beach, Nessie cooing and pressing her head against his thigh in support as she waddled up next to him. Was this his new life...?
"Why... Why do you wanna take a stranger with you?", asked Nico in a small, unsure voice.
"Because you're a child", stated Sally rather firmly, squeezing his hand a little. "I'm not going to leave you on your own, honey. You can stay the night at ours, get a proper meal into you, and tomorrow, we'll go to the senate and you tell them what happened to you, mh? We'll take it nice and slow and I'll help you with everything, Nico. You're not alone."
Nico's heart fluttered at that as he stared up at her endearingly. This woman was warm and kind, like his own mamma. The thought instantly made him miss his mother and sister. Honestly, could barely remember what had happened exactly. They had been by the cliffs, Bianca and Nico playing with a dolphin, and then a storm... And lightning. So much lightning.
"Percy, honey, why don't you show Nico your room and give him some clothes?", suggested Sally gently as they reached a pretty, blue house. "I'll go and check on our dinner."
Percy nodded and grabbed Nico's hand to pull him along. The son of Neptune stumbled after him, still unsure about those legs and feet. Nessie and the dead dinosaur followed Percy and Nico up the stairs toward a bedroom that claimed PERCY in blue glitter paint. Nico startled as he was attacked by a skeletal bat – no, wait, also a dinosaur. This boy was incredibly weird.
"So you lived in the ocean? With other merpeople? How was that?", asked Percy eagerly.
"It was... cool", replied Nico subdued. "My... My mamma made jewelry out of corals and pearls and the treasures of the sea. My big brother Triton, he taught me and my sister Bianca how to fight and how to behave like a... like a merman." Nico paused and watched how Percy rummaged through the closet. "You're living with demigods. How is that? I only know them from the myths."
"It's awesome! Here, catch!", stated Percy, throwing a shirt and jeans at Nico. "They all have different powers. My friend Mike is a son of Venus, he can sing really prettily and charmspeak you into doing what he wants. Well, he's not really good at it yet. And my friend Leila is a daughter of Ceres, she speaks to flowers and can control plants! And my friend Dakota is a son of Bacchus, he controls plants too, especially grapes, and he throws the best parties!"
Nico just hummed and got dressed. He was way too exhausted and distracted to really focus on what the odd boy with the dinosaurs was telling him. He needed to calm down and... yes, he really needed a warm meal, as Sally had suggested. And then, then he would see what would come next.
/2005, New Rome\
Nico was laying on his back on his bed, staring at the pictures he had pinned to the underside of Percy's bed above him. Pictures of merpeople, the last photos of his family he had.
Over the past two years, he had gotten very used to New Rome. Percy had introduced him to all of his friends and showed him around. Sally was a kind and caring not-mom-but-close who had opened her home and heart to Nico and taken him in when he had no one else. The senate had allowed for Nico to stay with Sally; trusting her with him – and he was grateful for it by now. They got a bunk-bed for Percy's room and Nico moved in with them. He had grown really attached to the weird son of Pluto. Percy was kind and funny and nice and he was Nico's very best friend. He knew exactly what to say and do to cheer Nico up whenever Nico fell into a hole, missing his mom and sister – even though he had gotten better with it, because Sally made him go and see a psychiatrist to help him deal with his grief and the trauma. Nico... was glad that he had met the Jacksons.
He would never be able to express just how grateful he was to them, for giving him love and a home and care. That Percy was so willing to share everything with Nico – his home, his room, his mom, his friends. Sharing a room with Percy was pretty cool, most of the time. They stayed up really long at night playing Mythomagic, or gossiping, or even playing with their weird companions. The dinosaurs had really taken to Nico, while Nessie seemed to adore Percy. Right now, Littlefoot the long-necked dinosaur was curled together half on top of Nico, still asleep while the son of Neptune was wide-awake. He had woken up from another dream about how his mom and sister had died and he never could fall back asleep from those. Suddenly, a head pocked down.
"I have an idea", started Percy with a bright grin.
"No", grunted Nico with a deadpan.
Percy deflated a little. "But you haven't even heard it yet!"
"Will it involve dead dinosaurs and jump-scares?", asked Nico unimpressed.
"Well, yes, but-", started Percy.
"Then the answer is still no", interrupted Nico.
"But I thought we could prank Octavian", argued Percy with a pout.
"...I'm listening", drawled Nico, carefully intrigued.
Cera, sleeping on the ground in front of the bunk-bed, lifted her head curiously. The dinosaurs loved jump-scaring demigods and especially the stuck-up augur. Percy grinned broadly as he hung upside-down over the edge of his bed so he could properly look at Nico with that mischievous twinkle in his spring-green eyes. That twinkle was what always made Nico doubt Percy's parentage; Percy had to be related to Mercury. Nico raised both his eyebrows as he regarded Percy.
"O—Okay. Let's get dressed and get going. We will be needing Mike's help, two gallons of glitter, two dozen balloons, a needle and a chicken", declared Percy as he jumped off the bed.
Littlefoot protested a bit as he was pushed off Nico's chest so the son of Neptune could get up too. "A chicken, Percy? What... What do we need a chicken for?"
Percy just grinned mischievously at him as he got changed. "You'll see. Just follow my lead."
Not that Nico wasn't used to that by now. They used to argue about who took the lead, but soon enough, Nico realized that Percy came up with pretty fun pranks. Often helped by his friends (apparently, Percy had learned a lot from Nathan, a son of Mercury).
"We bringing all the pets?", asked Nico curiously while struggling with his booths.
"Mh. Petrie should be enough", mused Percy thoughtfully.
"What are you up to this time?", asked Hazel as she materialized in the middle of the room.
Percy grinned toothily at her. He was nearly her age now and so was Nico. Which meant she couldn't play superior bigger sister to them anymore. Nico smiled at the ghost. Despite her being a daughter of Jupiter – his family's murderer – he had grown truly fond of her, after Nico had introduced them. And with how powerful Percy was growing, it was easy for him to properly help her keep a more solid form around Nico too, so Nico and Hazel had become good friends.
"It's Percy. Do you have to ask, Haze?", asked Nico playfully.
Hazel heaved a sigh and rested her hand on Cera's head, the triceratops looking up at her curiously. Honestly, sometimes it baffled Nico how used he had gotten to Percy Jackson's brand of normal. Dead dinosaurs, ghost girls and pranks on high ranking members of their society all included. Not to mention the repeated marathons of the Land Before Time franchise. And as weird as it was, Nico wouldn't want to miss it for the world. With a smile did he get up and follow Percy downstairs.
Author's note: Sooo, this was supposed to be a oneshot but it wasn't very cooperative so it's not a threeparter. First part their origins and childhood, second part the PJatO plot, third part the HoO plot. Well, boiled down obviously because I ain't got time to rewrite the entiiire series. Just, you know, the important and changed parts, for funsies.
And if this seems familiar, I've been teasing it like... three times by now I think... on tumblr, so if you wanna get insight into my current projects and mind, go visit me takaraphoenix over on tumblr. ;)
Nooow, about that update... I am aiming for in a month, but due to this pesky little thing called Real Life, I'm not making promises, so just keep tabs on my updating schedule which you can find on my profile.