A/N: Hey everybody! I know it's been literally two and a half years since I last updated, because I'm the WORST, and I have absolutely no excuses for that other than that I chose to do things other than write fanfiction. But I'm here now, I hope someone's still interested in reading this, and I promise there will be at least a few more updates in the near future before I potentially disappear off the face of the earth again. I already have three more chapters of this written and am working on a fourth, so this fic should update again in a week or two. I'm also working on updating my other fic Rebirth- I've got two chapters written and am trying to finish a third before I update just so I'm a little ahead of myself, so readers of that fic, expect an update shortly. Sorry again that it's been so long. Hopefully this chapter, which is relatively long for a drabble, somewhat makes up for it. I hope you enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. I do own my fictionalized version of myself and the penguins.

ChickWithThePurpleGuitar, goddess of fanfiction, affectionately known to the internet and Nico as "CPG," was sitting in her bedroom playing "Long Live" by Taylor Swift on her aforementioned purple guitar, when out of nowhere, Nico di Angelo appeared at the foot of her bed in a dramatic swirl of shadows.

CPG jumped in surprise, and her guitar blinked out of existence. "Nico? What in Hades are you doing here?"

The son of Hades crossed his arms. "May 25, 2018."

CPG blinked. "Yes? End of my freshman year of college? Um. The world sucked a little bit less? I don't really know what you're getting at."

Nico huffed in annoyance. "May 25, 2018," he repeated, "is the last time you updated Oh, Nico."

CPG cringed. "Ohh, yeahhh…"

Nico shot her a Hades-level death glare. "Two years? Seriously? You couldn't come up with anything hilarious for me to do in two years?"

"I've been busy!" CPG tried to defend herself. "I was writing my novel, and oneshots about you being dramatic and gay."

"Oh, so you have time for original fiction and oneshots but not for updates? You know the last time you updated Rebirth?"

"You know I've actually been working on that one—"

"We still thought Hillary Clinton was gonna be the president!"

CPG winced. "Oof, that hits hard."

"Look," Nico said. "If you're not gonna discontinue your fic, or in this drabble collection's case just declare it ended, will you please start updating again? Before your fans forget how awesome I am?"

CPG grinned. "Oh, Nico. They could never forget that."

Nico continued to glare at her, unamused. "Yeah, that's not gonna fly this time, goddess. You can't just use up a chapter half-apologizing and then slap on an Oh, Nico at the end and decide you're good. Make me do something fun, and then you can count it as an update."

CPG rolled her eyes. "Gods, fine. When did you get so bossy?"

Nico smirked. "That's what happens when you leave me to my own devices."

CPG sighed and snapped her fingers, making Nico disappear. Then, reluctantly, she got out of bed to grab her notebook.

Every once in a while, Nico di Angelo remembered he had superpowers.

Not that he ever truly forgot, that he could travel through the shadows and control the dead, but his life had been so screwed up for so long that it had all become commonplace. He forgot that his cool, mysterious demigod powers weren't normal until the rare occurrences when he found himself forced to use his powers in front of people who weren't used to them.

Like mortals who could see through the Mist. Or, in this particular case, penguins.

Nico was hanging out in the Igloo with Apollo and Cecelia, two of his more underrated penguins, while he waited for Percy to get home from the DayCare. Technically, they were watching old episodes of Days of Our Lives (solely because Will made him wait for him to watch the new Babysitters' Club show), but really Nico was rereading old chapters of Oh, Nico and complaining under his breath, mostly about how he was bored.

About an hour or two in, Apollo grabbed the TV remote and pressed pause with his flipper. "Is anyone else bored?"

"Oh my gods, yes," Nico and Cecelia both said simultaneously.

"Let's do something fun," Apollo suggested. "Nico? You're the fun expert here, any ideas?"

Nico thought about it. "Well, usually, I burst into Percy's cabin and see what he's up to, but he's still working at the DayCare. So then, normally, I'd drag Will on some epic adventure, but he's apparently 'too busy' 'having a job and saving people's lives'." He used dramatic air quotes and rolled his eyes to convey how he felt about that excuse. "So anyway, I guess we could go find Gerald— he's usually doing something fun."

"No!" Cecelia exclaimed, making Nico and Apollo jump. "Come on, guys, we don't need Gerald to help us think of something to do. We're fun people, we can come up with something ourselves, right?"

Apollo shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

Nico vaulted off the couch, immediately taking charge. "Cecelia's right. Come on, friends, we can do this. We're fun people, and our friends expect awesome things from us. I say we put our heads together and come up with something cool and fun that'll blow the minds of Percy, Will, and Gerald. What do you say?"

When Percy Jackson returned to camp after his shift at the DayCare, he ran into Will Solace coming out of the Infirmary. The son of Apollo looked distressed, and as soon as he caught sight of Percy coming down the hill, Will rushed over to meet him with unrestrained urgency.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked immediately.

"Have you seen Nico today?"

Percy frowned. "No… Why? Did something happen?"

Instead of answering, Will just handed him a flyer. "This was outside the Infirmary when I got off work."

Percy squinted at the paper. Luckily, it was written in three different languages: English, Ancient Greek, and some odd fish-shaped symbols that Percy had never seen before and yet knew in the depths of his soul were supposed to be the written form of Penguin. The flyer read:

Come see Nico's Magic Show!

Featuring Ceceila and Apollo the Penguins

6pm in the Arena

Bring your friends!

"A magic show?" Percy repeated. "I didn't think Nico was doing stuff like that anymore."

Will shrugged. "It's not uncommon for people to revert to their childhood pleasures during times of change and uncertainty."

Percy gave him a blank look.

"CPG's home from school, unemployed, and hasn't left her house since March," Will explained. "Hence getting back in the fanfiction game after a year plus of radio silence."

"Ah," Percy said. "So, shall we check this thing out?"

Will sighed. "I doubt Nico's gonna give us a choice."

Percy handed back the flyer and then led the way through Camp towards the swordfighting arena. He was surprised to see a sizeable crowd gathered inside when he and Will entered: about 45 campers, ten or so satyrs, and all 30 of Nico's pets.

"Percy! Will! You made it!" Nico exclaimed upon seeing them. He was standing up on a stage, dressed in what Percy was sure was a Batman costume with a pointy witch's hat on top. At his side were two penguins— Percy wasn't sure which ones, since he'd never been good at telling any of the birds apart. "Take your seats," Nico announced to the room at large. "The show is about to begin!"

Percy and Will exchanged glances and quickly chose their seats.

"Nico's Magic Show" was probably one of, if not the, weirdest things Percy had ever seen Nico do, and that was saying something. Mostly it consisted of Nico showing off his Underworld powers, which seemed to fascinate the penguins at least, even if the demigods were pretty used to it. Nico performed disappearing acts and sleight of hand with the shadows. He raised skeletons and made them dance around the stage and do flips and tricks like acrobats. At one point, he put his penguins in a box, one head sticking out of each end, and "sawed them in half" with his sword. Percy wasn't quite sure what they were supposed to think about that one.

When it was all over, Percy waited for the audience to file out of the arena. He waited for Will to go up and congratulate Nico on an entertaining show. Percy stayed in his seat until all the other campers, satyrs, and penguins had left, and it was just him and his cousin.

"So," Nico said, coming to stand in front of Percy's chair. "What'd you think?"

"It was… interesting," Percy said honestly. "I especially liked the sawing in half part. How'd you do it?"

Nico grinned. "A magician never reveals his secrets." He disappeared into the shadows.

Percy let out a laugh. "Oh, Nico."

A/N: I hope you guys liked it. Next update should be up in a week or two. Please review!