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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 15: To Steal a Ship (and a Crew)

"I need you to pack. Quickly. We're going to leave as soon as possible."

Bianca was pacing, back straight and arms behind her back. She paced up and down in front of her siblings in Nico's bedroom. Jason was out, sparring with Reyna right now. Nico and Hazel were sitting next to each other on Nico's bed, watching her curiously.

"Uhm, yeah, Percy is going to come with us", stated Nico reluctantly.

"What? Absolutely not. You're not going to bring your boyfriend along. This isn't going to be a fun vacation where you can snog and whatever-", growled Bianca.

She raised her large, black wings at him, her eyes flashing silver at him. Normally, that was relatively effective, because she was older than him and he had always looked up to her. Right now, it wasn't. Because she was in pure survival mode and he knew she was not thinking it through. So instead of taking the bait and sitting it out, Nico got off the bed, raising his own wings high and straightening up in front of her, trying to show her that he wasn't backing down.

"I'm not taking him along because he's cute and I wanna hold his hand while we fly into the sunset", huffed Nico seriously, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Percy is training, like us. He knows what's going on. And he demands to be a part of this. He demands to come along."

"And you're so whipped by your omega you can't say no?", snarled Bianca unimpressed.

"He's a captain!", exclaimed Nico annoyed, spreading his arms. "What do you want to do, Bianca? Neither of us is a pilot, we all train to become warriors, to fight! What, we stow away with some random ship, or what? We need to get there. No one is flying to Pluto anymore. We would have to get there ourselves. How? We need a ship, we can't man a ship with three people. We need a captain, a pilot, a mechanic because we'll be fucked if something happens to the ship half-way there and Pluto is as far away as it gets. We need a nutritionist, a navigator, a doctor, because we don't know anything about first-aid either. We need, at the barest minimum, a skeleton crew to operate the ship and get to Pluto safely. We can't do this on our own, Bianca."

That gave his older sister pause, she simply stared at him. Hazel had gotten up by now and she had taken a stance right next to her brother, holding Bianca's gaze too.

"Nico's right, Bia", voiced Hazel after a moment. "The plan was to graduate and then get on ships that would head to Pluto as reinforcement anyway. Right now, we are... we wouldn't even be prepared for that yet. We definitely aren't prepared to get to Pluto all on our own."

Biting her lips, Bianca averted her eyes. She had to concede that they were right. There was no way the three of them had any chance to make it all the way to Pluto without help...

"We can't risk anyone else", whispered Bianca softly. "This isn't their fight."

"But it's their choice. Percy made that clear. He already decided that he was going to come with me. I'm pretty sure there are more people here who care for us and who will come along."

"It's dangerous. It's our planet, our war, our fight. Not theirs. Liking us is not enough motivation to risk their lives – and not just that. Even if we make it there and back alive... they screwed their chance at the academy by deserting", argued Bianca, hugging herself tightly.

"We need help. We need to ask for it", declared Nico. "We have to."

"And we have to... steal a ship", noted Hazel with furrowed brows.

"...Yes. Yes, we do", grunted Nico surprised, blinking.

"Okay", sighed Bianca. "Let's find ourselves a ship and a crew. Talk to those you really, truly trust. Hopefully, with any luck, we can gather a... skeleton crew together. Go."

She shooed them out of the room, Nico rolling his eyes one last time.

/break\

The crew of the Princess Andromeda was gathered inside the ship, they were sitting in the common room, various degrees of confusion written over their faces. Jake was talking to Chris, whispering curiously as they side-eyed Nico. The only one calm was Percy, who sat between Annabeth and Grover, the two seemingly taking to Percy's calmness and adapting it.

"You know exactly what this is about", whispered Annabeth accusatorily.

"Yes, I do", hummed Percy, smiling at her. "But that's up for Nico to say."

"Nico! What's this about?", called Nyssa out, looking annoyed. "Because I could be out with my girlfriend right now. With only us. Not all of you lot."

Piper grinned at that, ducking her head a little bit. This whole girlfriends-thing was still new to them and they were both enjoying it, albeit it was something to get used to. Piper's fingers slowly crawled over to grasp Nyssa's fingers, gaining her girlfriend's attention.

"I'm the prince of Pluto", stated Nico tensely. "My name is actually Nicchodaemeous."

"Yeah, I think I'll stick with Nico", snorted Jake at that. "That is a mouthful."

"Kay so. Jake, Reyna, Piper – pay up", declared Chris with a smirk. "Rach wins."

"It's really insensitive that you people bet on this", sighed Annabeth very disappointed.

"Bet on... What is going on here?", asked Nico confused.

"We took a bet. How long it'll take you to fess up", explained Chris.

"...Did... anyone not know?", wondered Nico.

"I mean, we were all attending Pluto 101 together", offered Grover carefully. "Like. We literally looked at your childhood pics. And know your sisters."

"Now, talk to us", requested Reyna gently. "What... do you want to talk to us about? Because this isn't something you just... bring up like that. There's a reason for it, isn't there?"

"My sisters and I want to leave, as soon as possible", replied Nico, pacing slowly once more. "But we... can't do it on our own. We're going to steal a ship and we'll leave. But we can't alone. We..."

"Need help?", offered Jason after a moment, smiling bemused.

"It will end your career in the academy. You will steal school property. You... will risk your life. You may not come back. I know I'm asking too much-", started Nico tensely.

"Idiot", grunted Will with an eye-roll. "Like we're going to let you do this alone."

"It's dangerous-", argued Nico once more.

"It's an adventure", interrupted Jason. "I mean. I don't mean it like that. It's not... fun and games. But this is exactly what we signed up for. Exploring the universe, helping others in need. That is literally what we're training for, Nico."

"Yeah. If we say no when one of our own, part of our team, needs our help... why would we even be doing this?", agreed Piper seriously. "We're a team. We rely on each other. We gotta."

"You don't have to-", tried Nico once more.

""Obviously", huffed Juniper. "What, you want to hold a gun to our head and force us to? Come on, you wouldn't. No, no one is forcing us. This is a chance to help, to learn."

Nico stared at them all in such shocked awe. Smiling softly to himself, Percy got up and walked over to his boyfriend, grasping him by the collarbone and pulling him down to kiss his cheek softly.

"This is why I'm all calm. Because I know our friends have your back", whispered Percy softly.

"But this is... This is more than that", muttered Nico startled.

"Babe. This is dangerous, you're in danger. And what they said is true. We're training for this. All of us are training for this, to go out there and help. So we're going to come with you and help."

Nico made a small, confused noise and leaned against his boyfriend for support.

/break\

"It's a fight, di Angelo. I am here for fighting."

"Clarisse, it's a real war. Not training", argued Bianca irritated.

Clarisse just straightened up to her full height, looming over her. "Princess, don't test me. I'm not an idiot. I know it's a real war. And I am trained to fight it. I've been trained to be a soldier since I could hold a weapon, because I am from a family of soldiers."

"Sweetheart, you can't do this on your own", agreed Silena with emphasis.

"No. I can't take you along, you-", argued Bianca desperately.

"Honey, we're your friends. You need friends. You need a crew. You can maybe pull off a trip with a skeleton crew if you were to, say, visit Mercury perhaps. But Pluto? All the way to Pluto? That is too far, especially with going through an active war-zone. You will need all the help you can get. And I am part of that help", countered Silena pointedly.

"I'm on board", grunted Beckendorf next to his girlfriend, nodding slowly. "But Silena's right. You need a full crew. I need a team. Actual mechanics. You can't repair a whole ship on your own. That's some fake fantasy for this training purpose, because there are fixed scenarios."

"A... A team. Okay. We'll find you a team", whispered Bianca, running a hand through her hair.

"You'll need magic", offered Alabaster impishly. "Don't look so startled. You're like my best friend and I've grown fond of your brother too. And you need magic. If you want to make it past Saturn and Uranus all the way to Pluto, you need magic to hide yourselves and the ship. I'm powerful, but I'm not... powerful enough to pull this off on my own."

"Yes, yes, stop glaring at me, Lucas, do you truly think I will allow you to run off with di Angelo into an active war-zone?", sighed Octavian exhausted. "I'll come along as navigator."

Luke smiled pleased and leaned in to kiss his boyfriend's cheek. "Good boy."

Bianca made a slight distressed sound, shaking her head. "You people are out of your mind."

"Others say 'thank you' at that", chuckled Ethan bemused where he sat next to Alabaster.

/break\

Hazel was smiling softly to herself, fingers linked with Ella as she pulled her best friend along. They were closely followed by Tyson, Leo, Frank and Lou Ellen. She couldn't believe that her friends were bright-eyed and excited enough to want to come with her?

They sneaked onto the hanger, Nico had texted her and Bianca to come to the Princess Andromeda when they were done. It was very busy inside the ship, basically all of Nico's team kept running around, carrying things around. Hazel blinked as she barely managed to dodge Rachel, who immediately paused when she saw Hazel and, more importantly, next to Hazel her little cousin.

"Ella. That's a very dangerous idea-", started Rachel with a worried frown.

"If you can make that decision for herself, why shouldn't I?", asked Ella curiously.

Rachel opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she shook her head and just left. "Well? Are you going to follow me or just stand there? You can be useful."

"How?", asked Lou Ellen as she hurried up.

"Divide and conquer. Ella, you're coming with me. I'm helping Will restock the infirmary. Anyone else, go report to Annabeth for now, she's in charge of assigning people to where they'll be most useful in restocking. She's in the control room."

Hazel nodded, parting ways with Ella and Rachel and making her way to the control room. There, in the captain's chair sat Percy, a serious look on his face as he talked to Annabeth in the co-captain chair. The blonde was taking notes on multiple screens, seemingly ahead of a dozen different problems at once while still looking calm and like she had a plan. It was impressive how in her element she looked in that moment and it felt nearly wrong to bother.

"Uh. Not to interrupt, but Rachel sent us here", said Hazel softly.

"Hazel. Inclination to magic. That's good. Very good. Lou Ellen, you're Alabaster's little sister? Perfect. Both of you, report to Alabaster. He should be... down the hall, third room at the end."

"My brother?", groaned Lou Ellen and made a face. "Okay, sure, we're on our way, boss."

"Ty, the machine room – you'll find it? Because Jake and Nyssa, our mechanics, are there and I think that you are a good fit for that", offered Percy with an encouraging smile.

"C... Can I come too for that? I'm training to be a mechanic too", asked Leo curiously.

"Of course, you go right with him", nodded Percy pleased. "Beckendorf will be glad."

"Uh, I'm guessing you keep a list of everyone? So, Ella Dare is also with us, but her cousin already stole her", added Hazel before they left the room again.

"Got it. Very good. That'll be useful. Ella Dare, she does medical studies too, Rachel told me", noted Annabeth very pleased. "You're Frank, right? Clarisse talks about you a lot, she makes you sound like you have potential. Do not make her out to be a liar, you har me. Go to Reyna. She can use some help stocking our weapons."

"Yes, ma'am!", exclaimed Frank, sounding a bit nervous.

"...Never call me that again", warned Annabeth with a deadpan.

Percy laughed, just a little, as they watched the first-years leave. When he turned back to Annabeth, the expression of his face was more sober. He knew exactly that what they were doing was risky and dangerous. And he was so grateful to have his best friends right there with him.

"Mh. There's someone in my seat, Bianca."

Both Percy and Annabeth turned around to see Bianca enter the room, followed by other third years. Luke, grinning teasingly as he walked over to Percy on the captain's chair. Right. This was one thing he hadn't considered. Nico wasn't the only one to bring people with him. Bianca's friends, older, more experienced students, were going to tag along too. Among them, Luke, who was their team's captain. Percy frowned at that. This was weird, he... didn't want to be captain, so why...

"He's not. That's his chair", declared Nico protectively as he pushed past them.

"Scuse me, pint-sized di Angelo?", grunted Clarisse, crossing her arms.

"You heard me. We're taking this ship. Percy is this ship's captain", stated Nico simply, holding her gaze with a fierce glare as he came to stand next to Percy. "That's how that works."

Percy was ready to argue but Luke cut him off. "Fair enough. We can't take our ship. We're leaving the majority of our team behind here. They deserve to keep their ship to continue their education. If we take your entire team, we take your ship. Your ship, your rules. But... if the co-captain seat is still empty, I think I know a thing or two that may be useful for you, kid."

Making a slightly distressed face, Percy looked between Luke and Annabeth, at which Annabeth simply waved a hand. "He can have the job. Might be helpful. There's enough to keep tabs of on this ship. I'll be busy enough. Okay, who did you bring?"

"You're making a list of the crew with their specialties? Very good", praised Luke impressed.

There was something about Luke that was very parental and made one feel good. Annabeth was tapping her fingers against the table, looking them all up curiously.

"Alabaster. Rachel knew you'd come. Go look for your little sister and Hazel. They're... most likely running around looking for you already", noted Annabeth. "Beckendorf, you'll find our mechanics in the engine room, if you'd please. Thank you. Anyone else?"

"I specialize in medicals so I'll just go to the infirmary", declared Silena with a smile.

"Co-pilot", offered Ethan.

"Navigator", stated Octavian with an exasperated sigh.

"Fighter", declared Thalia. "Where's my brother?"

"Saying goodbye to his girlfriend", replied Annabeth as she took notes.

"I'm going to the weapon room", grunted Clarisse. "Grace, come along."

Percy watched as they, aside from the di Angelos and Luke, all left again. Luke looked at Annabeth.

"What do we got? What are we working with?", wanted Luke to know.

"Captain and co-captain present. Medicals: Will, Ella, Silena, Piper. Nutritionists: Grover, Juniper. Magic users: Alabaster, Lou Ellen, Hazel. Navigators: Octavian, Rachel. Mechanics: Beckendorf, Nyssa, Jake, Leo, Tyson. Pilots: Chris, as well as some potential co-pilots – Percy, Ethan. Strategists: Me, Reyna. Fighters: Clarisse, Reyna, Frank, me, Thalia, Jason, Nico, Bianca."

"That is... actually a pretty good line-up", noted Luke impressed. "With that, I think... we actually have a chance to make the trip, Bia. This looks good."

"I'm going to take care of room-assignment next", stated Annabeth. "Can someone make a round, check that everyone knows to bring all of their things. Be packed and ready."

"Will do", confirmed Ethan with a small salute and a smile.

"If... no one really needs me right now, I...", drawled Percy, biting his lips.

"Go", nodded Annabeth with a dismissive gesture. "Be quick."

The others made confused noises but Percy was out there before he felt complied to elaborate. He couldn't leave Earth without saying goodbye to his parents. On his way off the ship, he passed several of his friends, all carrying heavy things and storing them. Food, weapons, anything they needed for their very long journey. A long journey they could maybe not return from.

"Mo—om? Dad? Are you home?", called Percy out as he reached their place.

He unlocked the door and made his way inside. Paul and Sally both looked confused as he entered the living room. They were in their pajamas, watching a movie. Immediately, Sally smiled pleased and got up to pull him into a tight hug. He was going to miss her hugs. Without meaning to, Percy started to shake with a sob. This was stupid. It was his decision, he had made his choice.

"Sweetie? What's wrong?", asked Sally concerned.

"I'm sorry. Please don't be mad. I'm... going to do something very stupid and very dangerous. But it's... it's the right thing and it's the thing I have to do", whispered Percy.

"What are you talking about, my boy?", wanted Paul to know.

His parents exchanged a worried look. "I don't know if I can tell you. I can't have you... stop me."

"Percy, baby, promise me whatever it is, you're... going to be fine."

Sally grasped his face, cupping his cheeks with both hands and making him look up at her. He nodded sharply, swallowing hard. He shouldn't promise this. He couldn't promise this.

"I love you, both of you, a lot", whispered Percy as he hugged them both.

"We love you too, kiddo", promised Paul, wrapping his arms around Percy. "Just... be safe."

"We knew when you decided on this job that... you're going to be doing dangerous things. Are you sure what you're doing is the right thing?", wanted his mother to know, one last time.

"Yes", declared Percy with all the conviction he could muster. "I'm going to help someone. Someone who really needs help. And it's important."

Sally smiled at him, gently kissing his forehead. They both knew him better than to try and stop him. When Percy wanted to do something, he did it. There was no stopping him. Percy hugged them again, before he said goodbye. Maybe forever. He made his way back to the ship, heaving a deep sigh as he entered it and left human soil for the last time in at least many months.

Percy closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he shook off all doubt and fear. With a determined expression on his face did he walk back into the control room, where Octavian, Rachel, Annabeth, Luke, Chris and Nyssa were all already on their respective seats.

"Is everyone ready and here? Do we have everything?", asked Percy.

"Everyone's accounted for and double-checked that they have everything important. Rooms are assigned. We're ready for take-off if you are, captain", replied Annabeth with a small smile.

With one last deep breath did Percy take his seat as the captain. "Ready for take-off then."

"Course set for Pluto", called Chris out. "Con and Trav are going to open the hanger for us."

Percy swallowed as he watched the doors open for them. This was it. Take-off.


Author's note: And we have take-off! Next up, we gotta make some... rooming arrangements, because this is more people than there are beds in this, so time to settle into the ship ;)