Hi! This is longer chapter than I usually do, but if I tried to split it up, it wouldn't sound right. Anyway, I don't own any characters or art, it there are typos or mistakes let me know! I Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Nico’s POV

Nico could hardly remember a single detail from the night before. Unfortunately, he couldn’t say the same for his dream. The image of his sister’s tortured face felt like it was seared into his brain with a branding iron.

Well, he remembered that after he woke up, he saw the same teens he remembered seeing on the dock. Then, it was all red. He wasn’t really a social person, but he didn’t want to repeat the bomb experience.

Luckily, when he woke up, he was still in his cave, and the teens that came were each in their own personal bubble. Though, Nico would never call it that. Being part witch came with knowing cool spells, but he was never educated on what the spells were actually called. He just thought of what he wanted to happen, and waved his hand.

His magic only worked within reason, like, for one, it couldn’t remove any of his curses. And then, like the genie from Aladdin, the magic had three other rules.

He couldn’t bring anyone back to life. Though, he could reanimate skeletons, which didn’t count. They still didn’t have souls.

He couldn’t turn back time or any of that jazz, which also sucked.

And he couldn’t force relationships or bonds.

That’s all he knew from experience, as he had tried them all, but they failed. Magic also tired him, which explains why he was now asleep after going red and making that many air bubbles.

Anyway, he woke up groggily, barely recalling that the intruders came in early in the morning. Nico was not a morning person. He could tell by the light that it was sometime close to midnight.

He sat up in his rather uncomfortable rock bed, looking around. All of the people were seemingly asleep.

The air bubbles were quite roomy, and they had all taken off their scuba gear and Nico swam around the cave getting a better look at the twelve of them. He first examined the girl he had brought here first. Though he never did learn her name. She was petite and Nico could tell in human form they would be about the same height.

He went over each person, examining them, guessing random things about each of them. He inwardly winced when he saw that most of them were bruised in all sorts of places, their limbs bent at odd angles.

He silently put his hand to each of their bubbles, saying a quick and easy spell that would repair a bit of the damage. It was a better way of apologizing than actually talking.

When he came across one specific person, his breath hitched. He recognized his shaggy blonde hair, tall and muscular figure, and his constellations of freckles.

This was Will.

He felt an unfamiliar feeling in his gut that he’d never felt before. It wasn’t hunger, or heartache, or guilt. But it was something else, something he hadn’t felt in many, many years…

He let out a breath, rubbing his hand against the bubble longingly. If there was any chance of this boy being his friend, it was all blown to shreds.

He waved his hand, casting the small healing spell and swam out of the cave.

For the first time in decades, he didn’t feel hungry. Neither did he feel full. He just felt empty. If that was the right word to describe it. Don’t get him wrong, he was happy for it, but it was like this feeling was driving away the monster inside him.

He shook the thoughts out of his head.

Don’t be idiotic, he chided himself. You are the monster, and you cannot escape yourself.

As he swam through the ocean, the moonlight shimmered through the water, making everything seem to sparkle. He admired every rock, seashell, and piece of coral. If he was still human, he would’ve drawn it. Capturing the moonlight with the ink.

He inhaled and exhaled, these kinds of thoughts brought back bittersweet memories, kept tuck away in the back of his mind, but just within reach of always having them. Never forgetting, or losing them.

As he swam closer to the surface, the moonlight shined brighter, illuminating everything it touched with silvery glow. He was so caught up in it, he didn’t notice what he was doing until he fell face first on land, now having legs instead of the black tentacles.

He stumbled around in shock for a moment, but quickly got his bearings and sat up at the edge of the beach. He’d nearly forgotten that he could still have legs, but only when he wasn’t touching water. He still rarely did it, the smell of all the people often overwhelming him.

But now, that pit feeling made him feel calmer, more in control of his own body and senses.

Sitting on the land, he quickly willed an ink quill and paper, to capture the scene. He sketched it perfectly, if a little bit rusty since he’d last drawn. But hey, that was over a hundred years ago. He drew the moon in all it’s glory casting soft light on everything on Earth, he placed the endless sea under it, adding the sand, a dock and a few plants here and there.

When he was finished he looked at the picture and frowned. He felt like it was missing something, the drawing looked beautiful, but held a presence of emptiness, like it was lonely.

As a last minute thought, he decided to add people, specifically two boys. He drew them sitting at the edge of the dock, snuggling into each other’s embrace. The more detail he added, the more Nico realized how much the drawing resembled him and Will, at least, if Nico was human, and he was caught up with current times.

The character who looked like Nico wore black jeans, combat boots, and a black skeleton t-shirt. Will’s character wore a dim yellow tank top, basketball shorts and flip-flops. He still held his bright smile.

As a last minute thought, Nico added a silver skull ring to his character’s hand, tearing up as he drew it.

He had one exactly like this, it was hidden in a dark corner in his cave. It was the last birthday present his family had given him, before that horrible day.

It had been Papa’s family ring, passed down from father to son. Bianca and Mama had charmed it so when he pressed the ruby eyes, it projected a picture of the four of them sitting in front of the living room’s fireplace. Nico sat in Mama’s lap, Bianca was in Papa’s. They all smiled widely, even Hades who rarely ever showed a grin.

It was the only record of his family he had, and he held it dear to his heart. He looked at it whenever he was sad, or frustrated, or both. Which, to say the least, happened often.

He would imagine his Papa holding him, rocking them both in his father’s old creaky rocking chair, while Bianca and Mama sang a lullaby.

Soldatino - they called it. They sang the beautiful lyrics while the fire crackled in the background, giving a feeling of warmth to the whole scene.

Nico wiped away the tears beginning to fall from his eyes. He just wanted them back, he wanted his family, his childhood - everything. He cried softly. Still sketching out the final details of his drawing.

“Tu  sei il mio soldatino,” He sang softly.

He never forgot the song, it stuck in his head just as well as his sister’s laugh.

“La ragione per cui vivo.”

“Non ti scordar di me.”

“Io veglierò su di te.”

He looked at his finished art, feeling his face turn red at the character’s snuggling, but he also felt warm inside. He gently touched the paper to his lips.

“For you, Mama, Papa, Bianca,” He whispered, before dropping it in the ocean, watching it sink into the glistening sea.

Wiping away his last tear, he swam back to his cave.

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I almost cried while writing this chapter, and I love the song Soldatino! I hope you liked reading this chapter!