Chapter 3: Prince Percy's Pets

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

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: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Thanatos/Triton, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Paul/Sally

Percy Jackson Characters:

Camp Half-Blood: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

Hunters of Artemis: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

Camp Jupiter: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Mike Kahale, Tempest, Arion

Mortal Characters: Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis, Laura Blofis (OFC)

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Triton, Hestia, Demeter, Thanatos, Olethros, Makaria, Melionoe, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Hera, Zeus, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades

The Rule of the Underworld

Chapter 2: Prince Percy's Pets

Percy was laying upside-down (his favorite position, really, because that way he saw things differently than others would) on a giant heap of black fur. The occasional tongue swept over his face as he was cuddling his pet-dog. Zerberus. Mamma Persephone had said that little boys liked to have dogs. Percy didn't know if that was right for other little boys, since he hadn't met another boy in nearly three years now, but he surely knew that he loved Zerberus a lot.

Three years. It was strange, because that didn't sound like a large number at all, more like the opposite – and to his family, it surely only was a short time, considering the long lives of the gods – but it already felt like forever to Percy. The hooting of a beautiful, black barn owl interrupted him.

"Hey, Ace", greeted Percy with a grin, extending his arm so the owl could land.

He was always wearing a black leather gear on his right arm. Protection as much as for Ace to comfortably land without harming the boy. Percy reached out with his left hand and petted the owl's head. A letter was stuck to Ace's foot and Percy cautiously took it off. Percy had all four of the Harry Potter books and had devoured them various times by now, eagerly awaiting the fifth book (papà had promised that even if the author died before finishing the series, he'd summon the ghost to tell Percy the end, which was a very pleasing promise, considering that it had already been unreasonably long since the last book). Percy loved the idea of this school, a place where other special people were. He wished such a thing would exist for him. He also loved the idea of owls as means of communication. And while the gods had acted awkwardly around his first statement, they had been more than eager to fulfill the second wish. Percy guessed it was because they could hardly build a school just like that. Instead, they had given him Ascalaphus, or Ace as Percy preferred to call him. Apparently, he used to be a gardener in the underworld, but then auntie Demeter had turned him into an owl. Percy didn't question it. He had stopped questioning such things long ago.

"Ah, I spend too much time daydreaming again, it's no good", sighed Percy bothered and put the short letter away. "Of course the trio had to rattle me out to mamma. Come, Zerby, let's go."

The trio were some of Percy's teachers. Percy had a lot of teachers by now. Horkos had taught him basics, but now that he was older and had a more varying schedule, the god of oaths often consulted ghosts to teach Percy. English classes with Shakespeare had hurt Percy's head a lot in the past. Nemesis, and the occasional dead hero like Theseus or the first Perseus, taught Percy how to fight and win in battles. Styx was still teaching him control over water, even though Percy had a pretty good grip on that and he didn't particularly like her methods. Then again, she was the goddess of hatred so the 'strong emotion' that a demigod with powers like his needed to channel to truly control his element, to her it was hatred. Percy rather focused on love. Hecate had started to teach Percy how to manipulate the Mist about a year ago – this had made him more than antsy. Because down in the underworld, there was no need for this. There was only his family and the gods of the underworld where the hardest to fool with Mist. It meant they actually expected him to one day get back to the surface. And then last year, Charon had started giving Percy driving lessons with chariots and boats, which was just plain awesome. Charon disagreed.

And then there was the trio. The Moirai. Atropos, Klotho and Lakhesis taught him about humans. Percy smiled wryly at that. What human child got lessons about human behavior, he wondered. The one who was being raised with the dead and by the gods, apparently. They gave him history lessons too. Human history and godly history. He knew a ton of stories about the gods, demigods and monsters. Not all, because there were just too many, but the truly important ones. Papá liked to say that knowing how to use a sword wasn't worth much if he didn't also know how to use his opponent. Knowing the enemy's weaknesses and strengths could decide a fight even more crucially than knowing how to use a sword. So Percy made sure to remember everything that seemed important, even though at times it was hard for him to concentrate because of his ADHD. Like now, where he had completely spaced out in the middle of playing with Zerberus and forgotten about his classes with the Moirai, who had kindly rattled him out to his mamma. Those traitors.

"You're late", stated Lakhasis, throwing her measuring tape at his head.

They taught him more than just history though. Not that Hades or Persephone knew about that, they had only assigned that task to the trio. But with the sessions of watching them spin and do their work while talking to Percy about the fate of humankind in the past and such, Percy had grown increasingly sensitive to what they did. Lakhesis had caught up with this first and, just like she measured the life-span of a person, she also measured Percy's potential. Percy by no means had the powers or even options a child of Hades would have, but with how many threads of life he had already seen, he had grown sensitive to the little differences, asking for instance why some glowed in a different light than others. Somehow, living in the underworld and watching the Moirai had given Percy an insight into reading the aura of a soul. So Klotho had started to teach him how to spin, not himself, but how a soul was woven, why the aura or a thread glowed in different lights. Today would be one of those days, he guessed. That and titans. It was really their favorite topic, somehow. The titans' relations to the gods, their enemies and allies, their weaknesses, strengths and powers. But Percy didn't mind, he found it highly interesting to listen to the tales of heroism of his dad and his papà. Smiling a little, he sat down next to Klotho to watch her spinning, hand her wool. He had nimble fingers, as she liked to say. A good sense for what to put into a person's life.

"Ah, the brat. What's the brat doing here? I told you not to call me when the brat's here."

Okay, so maybe Percy didn't get along with every god down here. Olethros didn't like him too much and he also edged on with Styx at times – she claimed it was because she represented hatred and yet there was not a spark of hatred inside Percy, which she found unsettling. And Olethros was just an old grump. Offering the bewinged god a toothy smile to piss him off, Percy waved some.

"Hey, uncle Ollie, how are you?", asked Percy cheerfully, knowing the god hated the nickname.

"I swear, if Hades wouldn't value you so much...", muttered Olethros under his breath, glaring.

"Percy, be a deary and hand me my scissors", requested Atropos.

Percy frowned, an unsettled look on his face. He disliked this, because it meant someone was going to die. Lakhesis was holding the thread and Percy stared at it in awe. It was beautiful. Golden. Golden threads meant pure souls. Good people. Percy didn't like when good people died. Especially not when uncle Ollie came, because Olethros was the god of violent death. Which mainly meant murder or something like that. Percy didn't like that either. There was a lot about the underworld's daily business that he didn't like, if he was being honest with himself. But... this time, there was also something else. Just before Atropos could cut the thread, Percy grabbed for it.

"Wait", requested Percy softly, fingers tracing along the thread. "What about this one...?"

Another thread was wrapped around the one that was supposed to be cut. Of course Percy knew what that meant. Family, friends, lovers. Someone very close to the person who was supposed to die. Most threads had that, were woven into a greater picture, but something about this other thread picked Percy's interest. Hissing, he pulled his fingers back. It was as though the thread was on fire. It was glowing golden, a very pure gold, but also a bit red like flames.

"Ah, poor little one", hummed Klotho, playing with the loose end of the thread, the life that was yet to be spun. "An orphan, poor child. Many hardships yet to come. So much misery..."

While Olethros was loudly tapping his foot to show his displeasure at being forced to wait, Percy took all the time in the world to take the loose end from Klotho. She wouldn't be playing with it if she hadn't wanted him to notice. He had watched how enough life-threads had been spun by now to read the wool that was going into this thread. Abuse, distrust, loneliness, pain, isolation. But the length of the thread – the boy was only seven years old! Two years younger than Percy.

"Please take me with you, Olethros", stated Percy firmly and straightened.

A small, unnoticed smile was on Klotho's lips as she started to readjust the wool woven into this thread and, without Percy seeing it, took a blue and silver glowing thread to rest against the red one. Percy was too busy having a stare-down with Olethros to see what was happening.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're not allowed out", snorted Olethros, flapping his large, gray wings in annoyance. "Hades would kill me if something happened to you, brat."

"I'll stay out of your way for a whole year if you take me with you", promised Percy and bowed some, respectfully and devotedly. "Please. I want to see what kind of person that is."

It disturbed Olethros immensely whenever the brat was well-behaved. But the prospect of not having to put up with the mischievous pre-teen was nice. Last time the royal trio – Melinoe, Makaria and Percy – had pulled a prank on Judge Minos, Olethros had been left to take care of the remains. Not having anything to do with Percy for a year seemed like a good deal, especially considering that this was an in-out-thing. Going to the world of the living, collecting the soul, leaving again. There was hardly anything that could go wrong.

"Off to Houston then", muttered Olethros unenthusiastically.

/break\

As so often before, Olethros was proven wrong. While the god collected the soul of Esperanza Valdez, Percy was kneeling in a corner, in front of a crying, little Latino imp. Percy was completely mesmerized by the child. A child. Another child. A human boy, just like him. Well, not exactly since this one had curly hair and caramel skin and pointy ears.

"Hello, why are you crying?", asked Percy concerned and started to pet the boy's hair.

He knew that papà always did that when Percy was crying, so hopefully it would help. "Mommy is dead and it's my f—fault... I ruin everything... W—Who a—are you...?"

Percy frowned confused and looked around. There was a fire alright, but he didn't peck the little boy as a pyromaniac who just played with matches or something like that. He continued the petting.

"I'm Percy", whispered Percy softly, offering the boy a smile. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

As though in answer, there was suddenly a ring of fire surrounding the boy, causing Percy to stumble backward and out of the way. "I—I... break everything... I'm dangerous... Stay away..."

Fire. Percy's eyes sparkled with a completely new interest, something so intense that it actually scared Olethros for a second. This new turn was the only reason why the god didn't just pull the brat aside and leave again. Something was happening here and he wanted to see the outcome.

"Fire doesn't scare me", stated Percy and reached his hand out to continue petting the boy's hair.

"N—No!", exclaimed the younger boy panicked, but then he froze because Percy didn't catch fire. "W—Why... aren't you... getting hurt? What are you...? T—The... fire should... it should..."

"You control fire, but I control water", replied Percy simply, showing Leo that there was a thin layer of water covering Percy's arm and keeping him from getting burned. "Fire doesn't hurt me."

With a simple flick of his other wrist, he made the nearby pipes burst and effectively extinguished the fire in the workshop. It was such a simple gesture, done without even having to think about it. It was unsettling for Olethros, because he understood what it meant. Controlling larger amounts of water without even putting a thought into it. Back when the boy had started his training with Styx, he could hardly change the currents. Three years of hard training later and he did what would be a tremendous task for other children of Poseidon his age without any exhaustion.

"I—If my fire can't hurt you... a—are you my guardian angel?", asked the little Latino shyly.

Percy tilted his head thoughtful for a second and then he nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am. The gods send me to protect you, now that your mother can't do it anymore. Will you tell me your name now?"

"L—Leo Valdez...", whispered the child, staring at Percy with his large, dark eyes.

Percy was something ethereal, not from this world. Leo had never seen anything like this boy. He was nearly ghostly white, but not like when someone was sick, more like the foam of a wave when it was vanishing back into the ocean. Glowing, really. His eyes sparkled like two gems, green and blue at the same time, his chin-long, raven-black hair was a stark contrast to his skin. He was only an inch taller than Leo, even though he was obviously older than Leo. He was lanky and thin, but not in an unhealthy way, because he also was muscular, even though not much. He was surely beautiful enough to be a guardian angel, that much Leo knew.

/break\

"You already have Ascalaphus and Zerberus, you're not getting another pet, Perseus."

Percy frowned upset, arms crossed over his chest as he stared up at his papà. His blue toga rustled a little as he shifted his posture. Olethros had brought him and Leo back to the underworld and to say that Hades had been pissed would be the understatement of the century. Not only had Percy left the underworld, no, he had also brought another mortal down here. This wasn't an orphanage!

"I don't want to keep him as my pet, he's human!", exclaimed Percy annoyed.

"Yes. We're going to have a long conversation about that one, too", muttered Hades before straightening and raising his voice some. "Humans, regardless of if they're mortals or demigods, have no business down here. Not only did you disobey my orders to stay in the underworld, you also disrespect me by sneaking a human in like that, Perseus. And you, Olethros, are in even more trouble. You know his stay here is a secret, bringing him up there was an unnecessary risk."

Olethros flinched visibly, which made Percy wonder what kind of punishments there were for gods. Then he tried to forget about it, because he feared it would scare him for life. Instead, he concentrated on the cowering Latino behind him. Unfolding his arms, he reached out and grabbed one of Leo's hands in silent support. He knew that Hades and Persephone on their giant thrones could be intimidating, especially for someone who had never been to the underworld before. Even more so considering that the whole Underworld Council was lined up on either side of them, all angry at Olethros for taking Percy away, all having spend an hour looking everywhere for the boy.

"I do mean no disrespect, Lord Hades", whispered Percy softly and took a deep breath.

He turned back to the gods and the atmosphere shifted gradually. Before, this had been an argument between an angry father and a child who was throwing a temper tantrum, but all of a sudden, there was an unexpected calmness surrounding Percy, his aura cold and even. He bowed deeply.

"I apologize for worrying you all and for causing trouble like this, but... don't get me wrong. I did not mean to disrespect any of you with my decision", continued Percy and looked up again. "When I held the thread of his life, I... knew that he is important. More than any thread I had ever seen with the Moirai. And when I met him, I couldn't turn away again. Just like you couldn't turn away when my father asked you to take me in. Leo's thread... his life would have led him down a road as bad as my life with... with Gabe. He's not much older than I was when you saved me. I—I... I couldn't just sit back and let him continue into a direction that would have meant so much pain for him."

"The boy will stay, but he is your responsibility", interrupted Persephone, surprising even Hades a little by her suddenly overthrowing his previous decision. "You are to keep him safe, out of trouble and educated. He can attend your classes, but I demand for you to find a solution about how to school his more... unique abilities. If you fulfill all those requirements, he can stay."

"Thank you, mamma", whispered Percy with a soft smile, before turning around to Leo – another sudden change of atmosphere. All seriousness was gone, the cold, calm aura replaced by the usual enthusiastic pulsing of Percy's ocean-like energy. "Come Leo, I'll show you my room! And you can have the room next to it! Oh, I need to do explain a lot. Have you ever heard of the Greek gods-?"

The son of Poseidon ran out of the throne room, pulling Leo along by the hand. Hades looked after them for a moment before he turned toward Persephone. So did the other gods.

"What in the world were you thinking?", asked Styx sharply. "The boy has no place here-"

"The boy is a pawn of my stepmother", interrupted Persephone with a frown. "I've overheard some things on Olympus the last time I was there. Stepmother dearest is up to something and I heard her mention a demigod who can control fire. You know how rare that ability is, even for children of Hephaestus. This boy that Percy brought home with him... Percy is right. He is very important. Important enough so Hera pays special visits to him and picked an interest in him."

Hades gritted his teeth. Hera's plans always unfolded in Zeus' favor. Interfering may be beneficial for them, but Hades wasn't entirely sure. They could easily make it look as though the boy had died along with his mother in that fire, keeping him hidden here and finding out what kind of potential he truly had. It was still unsettling. How had Percy known any of this...?

"I think it's a good idea", offered Thanatos. "Because you all seem to constantly forget one thing. Percy is a child. He's merely nine years old, yet all the contact he has is with immortal gods. I don't even think that he remembers what it's like to play with another child. We're doing our best to be a family for him, but we can't also replace friends. This boy Percy found, he can control fire. Not only is that a child around Percy's age and a demigod, he also carries the same burden as Percy. He has the control over an element. It's a strength, but it's also a curse to some, because it isolates them even from other demigods. I think that without knowing, Percy picked the perfect playmate for him. And I also think it may help settling Percy a little, to have another child around for him."

Hades adapted a thoughtful look before nodding. "I suppose you're right. Sometimes, I forget that he's only a human child and that those require... a little more. Very well, but if that new friend causes any problems or endangers my boy, I have no qualms getting rid of him. The only one who is important is Perseus. Now, I wonder if Perseus can fulfill Persephone's requirements..."

"You wonder", observed Morpheus curiously. "That means you believe there is a chance."

"He's not a child of Athena by a long shot, but he's very resourceful when he wants something", replied Hades cautiously. "And he is... powerful. More so than I had expected, actually."

"You're... talking about the strange aura just now", stated Melinoe, shifting a little.

"Yeah, sis is right. What the Tartarus was that?", agreed Makaria with a frown.

"The... calm before the storm", replied Hades, his voice dark. "Something I have seen on my brother a few times and on only the most powerful children of Poseidon."

"What does it mean?", pushed Makaria impatiently. "It was weird. He's never calm!"

"You know how the sea can be completely still before a great storm? That's it", answered her father. "When arguments between Zeus, me and Poseidon reached the highest peak, he'd... get like this. Completely calm, collected and rational. That was always when I knew that what would follow was going to be devastation. War. Destruction. I think it was wise that Persephone cut this argument short. Perseus has a lot of potential and he has learned how to control his powers quite well, but he is far from perfect. I'm not sure what kind of consequences it would have for him to break the calm and reach the destructive point of the raging sea that lays behind it just yet. He's too untrained."

Styx shifted her weight onto her other leg as she twisted her body to look away from the other gods. Percy was a son of one of the Big Three, those always came with great assets. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter trained demigods, but never specifically for their powers, at least not the strong ones. For reasons like those. That Percy was able to access such a state at this tender age was dangerous, because it meant the boy could grow even more powerful. One could even go as far as to say that Lupa and Chiron deliberately didn't train the children of the Big Three in their special areas because if a single demigod grew too powerful, the chances of them trying to take over the world were just too great – Napoleon, Hitler and others had tried it before. But not Percy. Styx, as the goddess of hatred, could feel and see it. There was no hatred or evil in this child. And that scared her even more, because hatred also made people vulnerable and easy to overthrow at times. What kind of power would Percy be able to access without such a flaw...?

Author's note: With how Hades and Persephone are scheming themselves, I figured Persephone would keep an ear open on Olympus, perhaps overhear something of Hera's plans. After all, her Second Prophecy plans got put into action even before the First Prophecy~ And Hades is wondering how Percy knew since he doesn't know that the Fates taught Percy how to read an aura, which was how Percy knew how important that little life is.

Next chapter will be the last childhood chapter for Percy before the di Angelos get introduced, but I really wanted to do one more with Leo and Percy having some brother-bonding time. Also, the Great Prophecy nears and Hades makes a big decision.

Also, you guys are killing me. Thank you very much. All that feedback is knocking me out! *grins brightly* VERY motivating indeed. *laughs*