A/N: First things first. Lemme start off by saying how my schedule's packed and I may or may not be able to update in the weekends. I'm trying, I swear. But with school back, it's stressing. Also, I'm working on another short story. Sadly, it's main focus isn't completely on Percico but it's a close call. If you've read Nico's Red Riding Hood, you'll know of my abnormal addiction for twisted fairy tales. I haven't summarized the whole thing but let me give you a hint of what it's about:

""Jack" and "Jill" are the pen names of the village's most wanted murderers. They kill people of different ages and sizes for what reason, villagers don't know. "Jack" and "Jill" come across a boy and, without hesitation, slaughtered him. Oh, how foolish of them to do so. One day, all water supplies were cut off. They headed to the well on top of the highest mountain. What they didn't expect to see is a boy weeping waterfalls down the well."

Couldn't summarize it better but this'll do. There are deities too but that is yet to be unraveled. I've been working on that story since a few weeks but stopped since new plots keep popping up in my head. And, like what I said in my last fanfic, I have (surprise surprise) yet another plot in mind. Haven't thought it out completely but I think it'll be great! One hint? Magician AU. I don't think I've ever read any Magician AUs out there excluding Hecate-related ones.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the idea of the plot. Will the real percico shippers please stand up? Please stand up? *Stands on the chair* Hallelujah!

Oh! Any Maze Runner fans out there? Just, PS, I might write a fanfic one day about Newt and Thomas. What? I ship em'. Dun hate the ship. *Puts on gas mask 'cause glasses too mainstream* Okay, I'll stop.

Psychokinetic Disaster

V

Seconds passed and Nico turned to his dad for a response. He looked hesitant but finally nodded. "Poseidon Jackson. A best friend of mine."

A monotonous beep rang, cutting their conversation. Hades sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Hello?... Yes, I'm busy. What do you want?" Nico watched as he conversed with the unknown caller on the end of the line. He copied the small frown that began to form on his father's lips. "Right now?" His frown deepened when he heard the exasperation in his voice. That couldn't mean anything good.

He stared as his father sighed and pocketed the phone back. "I'm sorry our unplanned rendezvous is cut short but I need to take care of some minor... problems." He said. Nico gaped at the older man. "But we finally met each other, dad! Can't you stay longer or tell them you can't go and say you just found your son after..." Nico frowned, not entirely sure how many years have passed since he was in the laboratory. Scientists weren't very keen on celebrating their test subjects' birthdays, after all. Heck, he doesn't even know his own age. "Fourteen years?" Nico tried, lifting one shoulder in question.

He turned to his father when he heard him grumble. "Try ten. They took you in when you were four." Hades went to stand up and Nico's lips pursed. Well, at least he knew how old he was now. "Will I ever see you again?" Nico whispered sadly, seeing the man turn his back. His father turned around but no reply came from him. "Tell you what," he kneeled in front of Nico. "Why don't we see each other again here tomorrow? I can bring you back home with me–"

"No" was Nico's immediate reply.

Hades blinked, stunned by his son's words. Nico's eyes widened when the words that sprouted out of his mouth finally registered into his mind. "In all honesty, I would love to be with you, dad but how about Percy? And Annabeth?" he added quickly when his father raised an eyebrow. "They became my friends. My only friends." Nico said sadly. Hades stood up to his full height and placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "It's your decision to make, son. I have no ill remarks on whatever you choose. I will still be your father and I understand." He looked at his watch and frowned.

"I'll see you again but I need to go now." Hades said. "You," he pointed at the brunette sitting, listening to their conversation. Percy perked up when the intimidating man turned his attention on him. This was Nico's dad? His paled internally to having to think of appeasing the father before he can get his hands on Nico. That guy looked impossible. "Protect my boy." Hades said. Getting a solemn nod from Percy, Hades turned and briskly walked out of the café. Nico was frozen on the spot, seeing his dad sprint in the street once he exited.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and the escapee looked up to see Percy standing. "C'mon. I know this place where we can go to." He smiled, holding a hand out to Nico who accepted it. They walked out of Starbucks with Percy leading the way. "So..." the brunette said, trying to make light conversation with him. Nico raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So?" He repeated.

"You look like your dad." Percy said the first thing that came to his mind. Nico laughed at this causing the older boy to look at him. "No shit." Nico rolled his eyes. Percy grinned sheepishly. "Tell me, how did you conjure that idea in your head?" Nico asked. Percy shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walked on. "The eyes and hair, maybe?" he turned his head towards the sky in thought. "Or maybe it's the same intimidating dark aura both of you have." He grinned crookedly without facing the boy.

"Intimidating?" Nico scoffed, silently pleased with the answer. "What ever happened to childish and cute?" He smirked humorlessly and mockingly at the seventeen-year-old teen walking beside him. Percy nearly tripped and quickly regained his balance. Nico laughed to himself. "I would never nor will I ever have the audacity to call you either childish or cute." Percy defended himself.

"That's not what you said last night." The side of Nico's lips quirked up as he surveyed himself at the glass windows of the shops they pass by. He could see Percy redden at the memory of last night's activities when the blonde and brunette got home and gave him the clothes they bought.

"And apparently, that's not the only thing that happened last night." Percy turned his head to Nico, hinting at something. Nico frowned and glanced away from the mirroring glasses. What happened the night before he slept was humiliating to say in words. That was the first time he let out his emotions and let it get the best of him. They continued walking with neither of them talking. After a few minutes of being choked by silence, Percy cleared his throat. "On the side note, you do have your dad's eyes." The brunette commented. Nico huffed and bumped shoulders with him. "Do you even know where we're going?" he asked, looking around aimlessly at the new surroundings.

"Are you saying you don't trust me, di Angelo? I am hurt." Percy hooked his arm around the smaller teen's shoulders and pulled him closer to him. The raven-haired boy wouldn't admit it to anything living or breathing but he liked it whenever Percy pulled him close. Hugs were nice. "You're doing a pretty good job leading me to nowhere. Are you planning to kidnap me and sell me off to people?" Nico teased, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms at the front of his chest.

"Oh, trust me. I'm selling you to no one. You will be of great use to me." Percy laughed evilly and smirked tauntingly at the boy beside him. Nico shook his head in disbelief and sported a smile. Inside, his stomach tied itself in knots as he let his mind wander to dangerous territory. This boy had the ability to turn him into mush in a matter of seconds. He knew he was joking but the thought of him using his body had him shivering. Thankfully, his thoughts were cut off when the boy detached his arm from him but then grabbed his hand. "We're here." The brunette smiled, pulling Nico towards what looked to be a park. "Sit here and I'll push you from behind. It's fun!" Nico was forced to sit on a seat hanging from the swing. The smaller boy laughed watching Percy as he enthusiastically got behind him and pushed him, propelling Nico forward then back and repeating the process.

They did this until Nico laughed and demanded to be brought back on the ground. Percy grinned and grabbed his waist when the seat lowered. Nico was grinning wide from the experience. He had never tried anything like this before. He rested against the warm chest that seemed to lean against him. He felt Percy's hands snake towards his abdomen, his arms hugging his sides. The raven-haired teen was silent when he felt the older boy nuzzle his hair. To say he was blushing was an understatement. The whole of his body was heating up. How Percy wasn't retracting from burning heat he doesn't know.

He was relishing in the close contact when it all ended.

"Jackson!" someone yelled from across them. Percy glanced up and Nico frowned when Percy detached from him wholly to approach the incoming blonde boy. They fist bumped and greeted each other with pats on the back. Nico looked down, interested in his shoes for once. He heard the scuttling of shoes on ground and looked up. "Dude, this is Nico. Nico, meet Jason Grace. It's... a long story but hey, you guys met." Percy gestured towards him and the blonde. The boy known as Jason nodded at him. "Mind if I take Percy away for a quick talk? It won't even take a minute but seeing as this boy is stubborn in the head, it'll take a few minutes or so." Jason tilted his head towards the brunette.

"I am not stubborn!" came Percy's unheeded reply.

"No, go ahead." Nico nodded to him. After Jason muttered a quick "thank you", the younger boy watched in jealousy as his –dare he say it? – love interest, to put it in words, was dragged away by the blonde. He sighed and he alone rocked back and forth in the swing, kicking his shoes against the ground.

Meanwhile with Percy, he was groaning when the blonde interrupted his chance of getting Nico to himself. "Will you shut up? This is important." The blonde hissed. Percy doesn't know what was so important that he needed to drag him away from Nico. "This better be good." He grumbled. He looked over his shoulder and grimaced at seeing Nico lonely. He was dragged to the side of a shop, hidden from sight. He furrowed his eyebrows at his long-time friend. "What's this about now?" he asked, getting this over with so he can be back with the boy he cared about.

"You need to leave. Now." Jason stared intently into his eyes. Percy raised an eyebrow. "What?" he deadpanned. As expected, the blonde sighed as if he was talking to a nine-year-old and that pissed Percy off. "You," his friend jabbed a finger on his chest. "Need to go back home. Get away as far from here." He explained oh-so-detailed. "Yeah, sure. Just one thing." Percy raised a finger.

"Okay. What's that?"

"I won't." He narrowed his eyes. He doesn't like being told what to do. The blonde closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll explain later but right now, you can take Nico and run back to your home. Actually, I don't think home sounds good right now. You better hide somewhere far away. Now." Jason declared his tone harsh to get it through his brain.

"Isn't that what you told me last time?" Percy quirked an eyebrow. Jason groaned and looked around nervously. The brunette looked at his friend strangely. "I promise I will. Just go somewhere far from here." His friend turned back towards him. From his position, he could see the panic in his eyes. "Jason–"

"Don't make this any hard for me! Annabeth will kill me and I don't want any of her lady business. Just do what I say and take Nico with you if you have to. Just get away from here." He replied urgently. But Percy wasn't going anywhere until he knew what's been bugging his friend. It's been like that the last time he pulled him away from a friend in an urgent matter. That's when he came to live with Annabeth. Seeing the reluctance in his eyes, Jason grimaced. "You don't need to move houses. Just go somewhere out of this area for a while." He said.

"Jason, why won't you just tell me what's happening? Does Annabeth have anything to this?" He asked, curiosity getting the best of him. Jason frowned and leaned on the opposite wall. "It's complicated, Percy. I, myself, don't know too but you need to run." The other boy stared at the ground a little longer than he intended to do. Percy opened his mouth to ask why he was asking him to run if even he doesn't know why but Jason cut him off.

"It's for our own good, Percy. We hide from these people." Jason said. He continued with, "We need to go. Right now." He said, finally looking up and glaring if the other refused. "Jason, what are y–" he was cut off when the sound of guns fired. The brunette spun around trying to locate the source and his eyes widened. He heard Jason beside him curse. Without a second thought, they sprinted towards the scene before them.

A few minutes ago

Nico unclasped his hands from the metal bars that connected his seat to the swing and placed them on his lap. He stared at them, rocking himself mildly on the swing. He began to think of the events that happened after he escaped the lab. Surely, things don't always go up. Like a roller coaster, really. Once everything's going nice and smooth, everything will come crashing down on him. Or rather, he'll come crashing down; whichever it was. Before that happens though, he'd make sure Percy's out of the way. He doesn't want him involved in the dangers of those scientists.

The raven-haired teen smiled fondly at his fingers though he wasn't directing it at them. He was directing it at the thought of the boy who obsessively owned everything blue; the boy who showed him what friends are for; the boy who saw him break down completely that night; the boy who showed him how fun it was to use the swing; the boy who took him out to try coffee; the boy who he came to love.

And it frightened him.

Love was never in his domain. Nico's goal was to stay away from the scientists, live anew, and gain friends. He's sure he's got the friends part done. Stay away from evil scientists who wished to keep him as a lab rat? Half-way through. Liking –or perhaps love, if he so boldly admits it– someone wasn't in his to-do list. Did love come by so unexpectedly? What was that saying he heard from Rachel when she was talking endlessly to him? "First love at first sight"? The younger boy merely puked at the thought of actually having to remember what the female told him. He usually blocked her out or ignored her. She was talkative enough to fill his mind with modern thoughts.

The dirt from the ground swirled towards each other with Nico controlling them. If this "talk" with Percy will take a few more millennia, he might as well do something productive. And productive, it was. He watched as the dirt began to curve lines pointedly at the ground. Unconsciously, he formed Percy's name.

Nico shook his head and, with a flick of his wrist, the dirt flattened out completely vanishing traces of previous activity. He's infecting my mind like the drugs they gave me, Nico thought, closing his eyes. I just don't know which is better. He frowned. What if the older teen wanted nothing to do with him? Especially nothing romantic? Nico let his head tilt down. He closed his eyes for a second, refreshing his mind. The wind was subtle against his skin. The sun wasn't too hot and shone down with enough intensity; the regular day for everyone.

If the boy was going to bring him pain than happiness, then he might as well accept the fact they'd forever be friends. It's better to leave it that way. His feelings unanswered and let the façade take over. Suddenly, moving in with his dad didn't sound like a bad idea.

Nico was startled when he felt cloth being wrapped around his eyes harshly. He was pushed to the ground and felt huge rough hands grip his arms in a way that would leave marks afterward. He gasped when he felt something clasp around both his wrists. It felt heavy. Very heavy. Something common to what held him in prison in the first place. "Stay low and we won't hurt you." A voice muttered dangerously close to his ear. It was foreign yet close to what he expected. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest at the moment.

They found me! He thought in panic, shock, and fear. He opened his eyes but as expected, saw nothing but black. How?! He rose to his feet, ignoring the man's command. And that's where it went downhill from there.

Before the guns started shooting, at the last second, Nico barricaded himself in a force field. Crouching low, he brought his hands to his chest, curling into a small ball. The guns produced noise so loud it almost popped his eardrums. Somewhere behind him, he heard a voice that sent chills up his spine. He wanted to stop him from coming close; from hurting himself because of him. Percy shouted his name in fear. He could hear it in his voice. When the firing stopped, Nico took his chance and abruptly stood up.

With a grunt and a push of both his arms, he sent the armed men flying backwards. The power he exerted into it made him stumble a little but he managed to straighten before falling on his butt completely. He heard incoming footsteps and recognized them as Percy's and Jason's. "No, stop!" He turned and held a hand out to them, inattentive to the fact he made an invisible wall to block them.

Percy collided face-first with his creation then followed Jason. "What.." he heard Jason mumble. He could imagine them rubbing their faces. "Nico? What is this? Why are you blindfolded?" shouted Percy who began angrily pounding on the invisible wall. From his spot, he could hear Jason talking, presumably trying to calm him down. Nico was foolish enough to turn his back. He started beating himself up when, somewhere in front of him, he heard several more screeching tires come to a stop.

"Take position!" A voice shouted. No. He was not going anywhere with these people. He just gained friends. Fell in-love. Found his dad after staying ten years in the lab. There was no way he was going with them. He gritted his teeth and faced what he thought were the guards' direction. "I am not a toy to be played with!" Nico shouted, directing it at several men who were just about ready to exit their vans. "Get it through your fucking heads. Especially that Aphrodite bitch!" he yelled, fists clenched.

"You have no right to speak, subject!" another voice yelled half-way across him. "Oh, do I?" Nico mocked.

He used what strength he had and ripped the gun from the man's hands. He spun it around to face it towards the guard who talked moments ago. He heard several more guns click and knew it was aimed at him. He said nothing as he pulled the trigger, blowing the man's brains out. He heard screams go off from afar. People must be watching now that they got full attention. Great. Just what I need. Being in the headlines for today's news. Fucking great. Nico rolled his eyes at the thought.

The escapee ducked to the ground in the speed of light before the first round of bullets passed through. He was thankful for the invisible wall that separated him from Percy and Jason. At least they were safe. Not wasting a second, he rolled to his side and let his mind feel around for heated engines. The first closest to him was nowhere too far. He narrowed his eyes through the darkness and grinned manically when a loud boom rang through the air. Heat exploded and rushed past him.

"Nico!" Percy shouted. The boy understood that he worried about him but at the moment, had nothing to do to help him.

"I'm fine!" He yelled back defiantly.

The bullets he failed to dodge were frozen in place. He rushed forward again, feeling the second closest heating engine. The van that supported four guards was immediately blown to bits, frying the guards that stayed near it. Nico created another barrier to be protected from the heating aftermath. They could not get it through their thick heads. Nico frowned angrily. The guns stopped only to reload and it looked like neither was planning to back down. "We assure you that Aphrodite won't like the results when we come back to her." One of the guards shouted over the sound of guns firing. Nico scoffed.

"You call that a challenge?" He taunted. Inside, he felt like collapsing at any moment. Using his telekinesis for a long time, especially when he used it to form certain figures, tend to drain his stamina. For a mere second, the barricade faltered and he growled in pain when one bullet unlike the others shot through his shoulder.

He fell to his knees in pain. He heard his name called several times and knew both boys were shouting for him to stand up. With his cuffed hands that he didn't have enough stamina to break for, he reached up and winced when they made contact with his injured shoulder. His blood ran down his hands in a hurried manner. He cursed to himself and held the barricade up. He wouldn't last longer. That, he knew, But he still tried. A painful thought crossed his mind. He's insane if he'll go through it but it was worth the risk. Clamping one hand to his injured shoulder, he slowly tried to pull the bullet out of his skin. It succeeded in making him collapse more on the ground. The pain was unbearable and he regretted it immediately.

From afar, he detected more vehicles coming their way. He struggled to stand but could no longer find the strength to do so. What's left of his strength was put into both barricades that blocked Percy and Jason from him and the one that shielded him from the bullets. He felt his head hit the ground; his eyes slowly drooping. The sticky liquid now drenched his shirt but that didn't bother him at the moment. What he needed to do was protect Percy from them. Get the guards away from him. And get that fucking bullet out of his shoulder! He thought angrily.

He was losing consciousness fast and he wanted to beat himself up about it. With a flutter of his eyelids, they closed completely, taking in a more inky darkness than the one he looked at throughout the battle.

.

Percy watched in horror as Nico fell to the ground. He wanted to reach out and protect the boy. But with what? He had no super powers like him. He was mortal. But that didn't stop him from pounding on the invisible wall fiercely. "Nico di Angelo, don't you dare die on me!" He was shouting furiously. Beside him, Jason was talking hurriedly to someone in the phone. "How can you be talking to someone right now?!" The brunette yelled at his friend. Jason glared, raising a hand up to signal him to shut up.

The explosion of those vans shocked him, making him see the boy in a new perspective but he still loved him. And the gods be damned if he was letting someone like Nico get hurt like that. Percy stared in shock as the guards stopped firing and lowered their weapons. More vans came and guards rushed towards the scene. Jason was shouting at whoever he was talking to on the phone and that irritated him. But he didn't voice it out this time.

He was going to rush forward when the brunette saw the guards haul Nico up and carry him towards the van. He was stopped on the way when one guard turned and shot the ground a couple inches away from his feet. Percy was wise enough to take a hint and stop in his tracks. He watched helplessly at the scene that played before him. It broke his heart that maybe Nico felt betrayed. It was his fault after all for leaving him in the park. Percy wanted nothing but to go and wreck whatever laboratory they built. He wants Nico to be safe and he'd be damned if he wouldn't get a chance to hit whoever managed the whole facility.

Hades! Nico's dad was going to kill him for sure. But he's the only one he could go to. He groaned at the thought of waiting for tomorrow. He had no idea how to find the man after running off like that. Just as his thoughts strayed, Jason finally spoke up. "We need to go to my house. Dad knows what happened. He's already calling a meeting for the Olympians. And we need to be in it."