PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || The Prince of Pluto || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: The Prince of Pluto – A Journey to the Stars

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, scifi AU, aliens, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, hurt/comfort, fluff, pining, explicit intercourse, oral, anal, knotting, f/f, m/f, polyamory (m/m/f)

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Nyssa/Piper, Octavian/Luke, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Jason/Calypso, Grover/Juniper, Charles/Silena, Chris/Clarisse, Malcolm/Katie, Bryce/Drew, Paul/Sally, Tristan/Beryl, Maria/Marie, Hades/Persephone, Poseidon/Amphitrite, Thanatos/Triton

Percy Jackson Characters: (by planet/asteroid of origin)

Sun: Will Solace, Octavian Simmons, Austin Lake, Kayla Knowles
Mercury: Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Markowitz
Venus: Piper McLean, Silena Beauregard, Michael Kahale, Drew Tanaka, Mitchell, Lacy
Earth: Perseus Jackson, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Ella, Ethan Nakamura, Tyson, Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis, Tristan McLean, Beryl Grace, Maria di Angelo, Marie Levesque
Moon: Calypso Nightshade, Zoe Nightshade, Phoebe
Mars: Clarisse la Rue, Frank Zhang
Vesta: Charles Beckendorf, Leo Valdez, Jake Mason, Nyssa Barrera
Pallas: Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Pace
Bellona: Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano
Ceres: Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardner, Juniper
Jupiter: Jason Grace, Thalia Grace
Saturn: Kronos (King)
Chiron: Chiron, Grover Underwood, Gleeson Hedge
Uranus: Gaia (Queen), the Giants
Neptune: Poseidon (King), Amphitrite (Queen), Triton, Proteus, Kymopoleia, Benthesikyme, Rhode
Orcus: Bryce Lawrence
Pluto: Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Mrs. O'Leary, Small Bob, Hades (King), Persephone (Queen), Thanatos, Olethros, Makaria, Melinoe
Eris: Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen Blackstone

Summary: The moon-landing had changed the course of history when human made first contact. It opened Earth up to space-travel, exploring the solar system and their now allied planets. Chiron Academy is the leading high school training future space explorers.

Percy Jackson grew up dreaming of one day traveling the stars. When he gets into the academy, he makes a lot of new friends, among them his new crush the half-Plutonian Nico.

Things change when Nico confides in his friends that he is actually the prince of Pluto – and that Pluto is in the middle of a horrible war. Together, the group of their close friends, they decide to ditch school, steal a space-ship and go out into space alone and unsupervised to help.

The Prince of Pluto

A Journey to the Stars

Chapter 4: The Big Three

"Hey. Hello. We're finally having a non-exhausting class together."

Nico turned, very slowly. Of course did he have to have Plutonian History with Percy Jackson, of all people. And... oh great. Jason, Reyna and Annabeth too. Nico forced a smile. He would have liked to take this class in relative anonymity. He stood out, as the only Plutonian, sure, but why did the few friends he had made have to be here too? That was going to make lying and sitting through this class so much harder. Percy happily took the seat on one side of Nico, while Jason took Nico's other. The girls took the seats behind them, next to a redhead.

"Hey, I'm Rachel. Terran. I'm still... settling in here... This place is a lot."

"It really is", agreed Annabeth with a slight smile. "Good to meet you, Rachel. I'm Annabeth, Palladian. Percy over there is Terran too."

Percy, Jason and Reyna turned toward the redhead and started talking to her, while Nico flipped through his history book. Better safe than sound. It would not do him good if it was up to date and featured images of the current royal family. Thankfully the most current picture in it was of the king and queen at their coronation. Nico couldn't help but keep staring at it.

"Wow. He's handsome", commented Percy. "Who are they? And why doesn't she have wings?"

"That's...", started Nico and swallowed hard. "King Hades and Queen Persephone of Pluto. The queen isn't Plutonian. She was born on Ceres, daughter of Queen Demeter."

"Cool", whispered Percy in awe. "Heh. Figures you'd know your royal family."

"Did you ever meet them?", asked Jason curiously.

"Don't be an idiot, Jason. How was a kid supposed to meet the royal family?", sighed Reyna.

"Besides, Nico went off-planet when he was ten", offered Percy amused. "Very few children just... happen to run into royalty, Jason. Or have you met the President of the United States yet?"

"...I mean no", grumbled Jason and sunk lower in his chair.

They were interrupted by the teacher entering. Oh. That was Percy's father, Nico recognized him from their moving day. Immediately, Nico straightened up a little, looking over at Percy.

"Welcome to Plutonian History. I'm Professor Blofis. As you may or may not know, there are fifteen history courses on your schedule, throughout the three years of your education. Five courses are to be taken each year. It is generally advised to take two courses in the summer semester and one in the winter semester. Some people like to double down on it, to have a freer schedule toward graduation, by taking two history courses each semester. These things are going to be your choice starting next semester; there is a guideline you can orient yourself by if you are unsure, but many things, aside from the main courses, will be yours to put together. Any questions?"

"Why are there fifteen history classes?"

"One for each planetary object in our solar system", replied Paul. "Can someone help out? Yes, the brilliant looking, handsome, young man in the front row with whom I have no relations?"

"...Thanks, dad, very subtle", muttered Percy and rolled his eyes. "Sun, Mercury, Venus, Terra, Mars, Vesta, Bellona, Pallas, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris. The concept of what makes a planet has been vastly changed in the past decades and came to include some that were formally considered asteroids and dwarf planets. Our sun, as an inhabited star, is also included in the lineup of 'planetary objects' whose history is important for us to learn."

"Very well, Percy", praised Paul pleased. "Yes. Those will the history courses you will have to choose from. You kids got Pluto in your first semester though for... current reasons."

"What does that even mean?", asked Jason confused.

"He means the war", whispered Nico lowly, eyes dark and angry.

"War? What war?", asked Percy, eyebrows drawn together in concern.

"We usually start our history classes at the beginning, not the end, Mister di Angelo. But yes, the current war is the reason we're making our first semesters take history of Pluto and Saturn."

There was murmuring and Nico averted his eyes. He had his hands folded in front himself, staring at them. Better get this over with right now, he supposed... Still, he stiffened as he watched.

"Before we go back to ancient civilizations and cultures on Pluto, we can very quickly address the bigger picture of today. The war between Pluto and Saturn", sighed Paul. "Pluto is most known for its riches, it is the wealthiest planet in our solar system. Precious metals and gems beyond your imagination and our world's capacity. Saturn has waged war with the Big Three for centuries-"

"The... The Big Three, sir?", interrupted someone in a small voice.

"Ah. Who can name and explain the Big Three?", asked Paul with a smile. "Yes, Miss...?"

"Annabeth Chase, sir", replied Annabeth. "The Big Three is the nickname earned to Pluto, Jupiter and Neptune, as the most influential planets in our solar system. Over millennia, Jupiter has colonized planets such as Mercury, Mars and Pallas. It is the greatest military force. Pluto, as you said, has the greatest riches, trade with Pluto is incredibly important, even for Jupiter – without the precious metals only found on Pluto, Jupiter couldn't forge the weapons and ships they need to explore and colonize the solar system."

"Ah, yes, you're getting very ahead of ourselves here. Colonization of other planets and the inter-mingling of Jovian culture with the native cultures of the planets is... for a later date", interrupted Paul, lifting his hands up. "Yes, Jupiter military forces, Pluto riches and Neptune...? Percy?"

"Uhm...", offered Percy tentatively for a moment.

"Food", supplied Nico when Percy seemed stuck. "Jupiter's pretty much a wasteland, it's why they went to colonize other planets. By now, they have imported many durable plants and life-forms from all over the solar system, but there was... not much there to begin with. Same goes for Pluto; it was a dead planet. Stone and metal, not many living creatures. Jupiter is military, Pluto is riches and Neptune is life. Beneath the ice surface lays the largest intra-connected ocean in this entire solar-system. Underwater domes and cities, lush and thriving plant-life and large, providing creatures. Neptune is the greatest food-exporter, closely followed by Ceres in recent years."

"Very, very good, Mister di Angelo", praised Paul. "Yes, Neptune is well-known for its lush flora and fauna and, even more so, its adaptability. Most plants are very... needy. Even on our planet alone, finding the right condition for some plants from our own planet is hard. Both air and soil from each planet is very distinct and exporting plants and wild-life is not just tricky and extremely expensive – to artificially create the environment they need. However, Neptune is adaptable. Its plants and wild-life can easily be integrated into other planets and especially for Pluto and Jupiter, it became incredibly important in sustaining them and helping them expand."

"Uhm, question, teach", hummed Percy and lifted one hand. "I just... Then why do most keep going 'ew' about Neptunian food at the cafeteria? If it's so practical and adaptable."

"We're talking about a planet three times the size of Earth, with so much depths below the surface. The few specialties we offer here are very specifically Neptunian specialties. Not the broader, more widely consumed foods – though those, we also have", explained Paul patiently. "Many of the other meals prepared as signature dishes from other planets are actually based on food from Neptune."

"That Bellonean dish you tried at lunch yesterday, the meat in it is from a Neptunian squid that had been brought to Bellona centuries ago", offered Reyna softly.

"...Huh", whispered Percy surprised, leaning back some.

"Especially during times of drought and natural disasters, imports from Neptune are vital for all planets", offered Paul. "Now that we have some facts on the Big Three, let's get back on topic, shall we?" He went to the board and drew a triangle, writing the names of the Big Three in the corners of it. "The dynamic between these three planets has been the corner of our solar system for millennia. They are, however, not the only big, or important, planets in our solar system. One of them is Saturn, ruled by King Kronos. For millennia, he has been at war with the Big Three. It's been a cold war for... centuries now, we will get into all these details over the following weeks. The important thing right now is that... two decades ago, King Kronos started targeting Pluto specifically. Without the money, there would be no more weapon-supply for the other planets."

"Sir, a question!"

"Yes...?", drawled Paul, motioning at the teen.

"Mike Kahale, sir. I'm just wondering, wouldn't it be strategically more practical to go after Neptune then? I mean, if it's the planet supplying food the most?"

"Pluto is the one with the weakest defense", offered Paul, adding some data to the three names. "Jupiter has a total of sixty-nine moons. Moons are most of the time a line of defense for a planet. Neptune has fourteen moons. Pluto however, not only is the smallest in size of the three, and thus also has the smallest number of population, it also only has five moons. Can someone name them?"

"Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra", offered Calypso.

"Very good, Miss Nightshade. As you all know, what we today consider Graeco-Roman mythology is vastly based on primitive first contact with extraterrestrial life-forms. Now, does anyone know the significance of these five moons, or can guess them?", asked Paul while taking notes.

"Well, you said it's defense, right. And Kerberos is like... the big guard-dog of Hades in the myths?", guessed Jason. "But isn't one of these a... river... and the other a... ferryman?"

"The ferryman is a metaphor. Pluto's largest intergalactic harbor is on Charon", explained Nico with a sigh. "Both Styx and Hydra are names of Plutonian military forces. Like your special ops or whatever. And Nix is... she's the goddess of the night for a reason; it's just the same like naming your moon Selene after a moon goddess, but it's also a military base."

"Very good. You do know a lot about your home-planet", smiled Paul.

"Uh, well, my... moms taught me and my siblings", shrugged Nico awkwardly.

"Well, as you can see, strategically, attacking the smallest planet with the least defense does make more sense, doesn't it?", offered Paul. "Due to its natural riches, poverty had always been low. Unlike Jupiter, they had never channeled their wealth into conquest – there are some colonies on formerly uninhabited asteroids. Can someone name them? Yes, Mister Pace?"

"Proserpina and Parthenope. Proserpina is named after the first queen of Pluto, its current regent is the firstborn son of King Hades and Queen Persephone; crown-prince Zagraeus. Parthenope is the place where the myth of who we we refer to as Sirens originate from. The second-born children of King Hades and Queen Persephone are the current regents, Princess Melinoe and Princess Makaria, twins ruling side by side."

"...Very good, Mister Pace", agreed Paul slowly, looking surprised.

Nico sank lower in his seat, frowning sadly as he thought of Zagraeus, Melinoe and Makaria.

"While we're at it, let's address the royal family", stated Paul, clearing his throat and pulling up a hologram. "King Hades the Twelfth is the current ruler of Pluto, his wife Queen Persephone was born the princess of Ceres, daughter to Queen Demeter from her first marriage. They have six heirs, Zagraeus, Makaria, Melinoe, Blanche, Nicodemos and the youngest, Hazelina."

Nico bit his lips. Blanche? Really? That was the translation they went with for Bianca's name? He could only imagine the offended face she must have made when she sat in this class. Well, the Plutonian language was very different from Earth's English, the actual phonemes used to pronounce their names didn't even exist for the human tongue. At least Nicodemos and Hazelina were... close enough, though Bianca had chosen, well, Bianca as the Earthly equivalent to her name.

"What's with the other three royals, sir?", asked Annabeth. "Do they rule asteroids too? Or moons?"

"No. They've been... victims of the war", stated Paul in a solemn voice. "According to official records, at least. The war has been very... rough in the past two decades."

Nico averted his eyes and took a deep, slow breath, tuning out the teacher as he was assaulted by memories, faint and horrible. He gritted his teeth, fingers clawed into his pants.

/flashback\

"I love you so much, my little prince", whispered the queen, her voice tight and thin.

She cupped Nico's cheek with both hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead and nose. Nico was sobbing, cheeks smeared with tears, snot running down his nose as he tried to cling onto her. His dad was behind them, hugging Bianca tightly.

"I don't wanna go, mommy, please, please I don't want to go", pleaded Nico.

"I'm so sorry, my little prince, but you and your sisters, you are no longer safe here. I need you to go with your nannies, they will bring you to safety", urged Persephone on, hugging him.

"I don't wanna go", whimpered Nico, sniffling hard.

"Son", whispered Hades, voice soft but firm as he knelt down next to him. "We don't want you to go either, but we need you to be safe. Know that your mother and I love you and we're only doing this to protect you. Be brave, and follow whatever your nannies tell you."

"I promise, we're going to bring you back home as soon as it's safe. We love you."

He turned to look at Rosemarie and Mariabella, their nannies. Maria was holding Bianca's hand, while Marie had Hazel shouldered. Both looked at him expectantly and sadly.

"Please, keep my children safe, I'm trusting you with a part of my heart", pleaded Persephone.

Maria and Marie nodded at her, trying to pry Nico away from them. "Please, young prince, it's time, we have to leave, we have to keep you safe, we have to take you away..."

/flashback|end\

"Nico. Nico, I need you to focus on me. Can you do that? Look at me? You're safe. You're on Earth, you're at Chiron Academy. Take a deep breath for me and hold it. Nico? Nico, breath in."

Nico blinked, but everything was unfocused, he saw Percy but also didn't see him, everything around him looked like Pluto, blasted and burning. Percy's eyes were like emeralds, sparkling in the sea of devastation. Nico tried to obey, taking a deep, shaky breath.

"Good. Very good. Hold it. And now out, slowly", instructed Percy. "Wait, pause. And now breath in again. You have to slow down your breathing, so hold it again. Good."

His vision came more into focus again as he slowed his breathing down to match Percy's instructions. "You're doing great, Nico. Can you name five things you're seeing, Nico?"

"Your eyes", blurted Nico out, blinking slowly.

"Okay. Sure. That's one. Give me four other things?"

"The... the blackboard", whispered Nico, concentrating hard. "The... desk. The chair. The window."

"Good, you're doing great, Nico. Now breath again?", requested Percy, his voice gentle.

Slowly, Nico came back to it. He blinked and looked around, realizing he was in the classroom still. But it were only Nico and Percy, no one else was in the room. Frowning, Nico leaned back. He rested his head against the wall and took a deep breath, sighing. He felt so drained.

"W... Where is everyone?", asked Nico hoarsely.

"You had a panic-attack. I told dad to send everyone else out, figured you don't need an audience."

"...Thank you", whispered Nico surprised, looking at Percy. "How... How did you know...?"

"I've been getting panic-attacks for... a couple years myself", shrugged Percy.

He sat opposite Nico, with his back leaning against the teacher's desk, legs pulled up against his chest, arms wrapped around them. Nico wanted to ask, but he didn't want to pressure Percy. They barely met a week ago, after all. This was surely too personal to share-

"My fist stepfather was abusive", continued Percy after a moment. "It's okay. I can... talk about it. I mean, you know... a little. It's just, there's certain things that give me flashbacks and make me have panic-attacks. Mom learned how to deal with one, how to help me, so... I know too."

"Everybody saw me break down in class on our second week, huh", muttered Nico.

"You... had a PTSD flashback, Nico. You got out of an active war-zone, as a small child, so having a flashback when it's being discussed like this... there's nothing you gotta be embarrassed about, Nico", whispered Percy gently, reaching out to nudge his ankle.

Knocking at the door disturbed the moment. "Hey, Percy? How is it going in here?"

"You can come in, dad", called Percy out. "Did... everyone else leave?"

"Yes. I sent everyone else off for the day", replied Paul as he re-entered. "How are you feeling, Nico? I'm... sorry. I didn't think ti would have this kind of effect on you. I'll give you a written note to excuse you from class for the next two weeks, while we'll... dive more into this, so you'll rejoin when we go back to archaic Plutonian history, does that sound okay?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Mister Blofis", whispered Nico, nodding sharply.

"I don't think you should be alone right now. What do you think?", asked Paul concerned.

Nico's eyes immediately landed on Percy, but that was asking too much, right? Percy smiled at him.

"I could stay with you, if you want? We could go get some comfort food? No, wait, I have-"

"I'll excuse you with your teacher, Percy. This one is on me, I'm taking responsibility."

"Thanks, dad. You're the best. C'mon, Nico. Let's get you to your room, mh?"

Nico looked at Percy in awe. This boy was amazing and he knew they were going to be good friends. Maybe best friends. He shouldn't get attached, he knew he shouldn't but how could he not?

/break\

"Hey there, little brother. You missed dinner so I bring to you – Neptunian pizza", declared Bianca lightly as she barreled into the room, just to pause. "What bit you? You look like a ghost."

"I had a flashback during history class today", replied Nico, curled together in the corner of his bed.

Percy had brought him here, they had shared lunch, just... sitting in silence. Percy being a warm company that made him feel not alone, but after having missed one class, Nico insisted Percy should go and that Nico was going to be fine on his own. Also, he really needed some alone time to digest the situation for himself. Slowly, Bianca lowered the pizza, a serious look on her face.

"Oh, Nico", whispered Bianca, voice soft and concerned as she sat down next to him.

She immediately pulled Nico into a tight hug, wrapping her large, warm wings around him in comfort and without meaning to, Nico started crying, clinging onto her. "I... I try not to think of them and sometimes, I feel like I'm forgetting mamma's face, but it was all so clear. How small Hazel was back then, how we all... how we left them... I... I... I miss them, Bianca..."

"I know, Nico", whispered Bianca gently. "I miss them too. But this is... We're safe here. All they wanted for us was to be safe. Moms are keeping us safe here."

She smoothed down his curls, clinging onto him tightly. Slowly, Nico's sobbing ceased. Taking a deep breath, Nico leaned back and closed his eyes. Bianca reached out and started to card her fingers through Nico's feathers. Grooming. It was soothing, relaxing – it was grounding.

"How... How did you handle it?", asked Bianca concerned.

"Percy, he... he knew how to deal with it? He told his dad – the teacher – to get everyone else out of the room and he helped calm me down again. Teacher said I'm excused from class for this... topic... and he sent Percy with me to keep an eye on me. It... helped", muttered Nico.

He reached out for the pizza and took a piece. He loved Neptunian food above all else. There was little culinary culture to Pluto, at least little with spicy taste; most had come from food sources imported from Neptune. Eating Neptunian food felt like home, reminded him of the palace, of their parents... of what it was like to be the prince of Pluto, happy with his family.


Author's note: A more serious chapter but one with lots of insight. Also, school classes are a great way to naturally weave exposition into your story! xD And yeah, I figured "mh if everybody learns that the royal siblings' names are Bianca, Nico and Hazel, that'd be... that'd be a tiny bit on the nose" but then I remembered that even among humans, we love to change people's names to fit our own native tongue (just thinking about Nicholas Romanov for the Americans, Nikolaus Romanov for the Germans or his actual name Nikolaj), so with a bit of cultural variety that should be less overly obvious for everyone to figure out ;D

ALSO a true bonding moment for Nico and Percy. And next chapter, we're gonna make em bond some more! ^-^