Welcome to chapter seven! That's really all I have to say. Anyway, I don't own any of the characters or art, If there are typos please let me know, and I hope you enjoy!

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Will POV

Will didn’t know what to make of Kevin - er, the sea monster.

When they were captured, Will had never been so scared, he was simply petrified by the blazing red eyes that cut through him like clay.

The monster had made them each an air bubble, the same kind that Hazel had, and then promptly fell asleep.

“Y-you guys okay?” Percy asked everyone else, wincing as he clutched his stomach.

Everyone nodded warily, all asking the same kind of silent question, “what is your definition of okay?”

Hazel had tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t think he’d wake up! Are you guys okay? Oh my god! Frank, your arm isn’t supposed to bend that way!”

Frank smiled painfully, “It’s okay Hazel. It’s no one’s fault. And, yeah, it’s not supposed to bend that way.”

Reyna spoke up, “We knew what the consequences would be if we came down here. I’m just satisfied knowing no one’s died yet.”

“Speaking of which, you guys might want to take off your swim stuff. If there are broken bones, having in that heavy gear will only make it worse,” Will pointed out, already slipping off his helmet. Taking a fresh breath of air bubble oxygen.

Everyone else nodded and took off their scuba gear. Thalia sighed, shaking out her good arm. “God, that feels better.”

“And the air is surprisingly fresh in here. Like lemons mixed with vanilla,” Piper said, sniffing the air.

“I’m sorry but are we seriously going to ignore the fact that we’re being held hostage in the cave of a flesh eating monster?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, that was actually the point, Sparky,” Piper laughed, but there was no humor to it.

“First, we need to figure out why he woke up. Clearly it was a dream of some sort,” Annabeth said.

“Dream? More like a nightmare. The way he was screaming, it made my blood run cold,” Leo said, shivering for dramatic effect.

“But he was also crying. He was screaming names, and I’m pretty sure I heard him yell, “Mama” once or twice. He might have been dreaming about bad memories,” Annabeth observed.

“He doesn’t really seem like the kind of guy to cry,” Thalia said sarcastically.

“Actually,” Hazel spoke up, gaining everyone’s attention, “Last night, after he captured me, he went out to, um, eat,” Hazel gulped, if it was fear, or holding down her lunch, Will didn’t know. “When  he came back, he sat down on one of the rocks and cried. Like, bawling. He thought I was asleep, but I was faking.”

Will was shocked, though part of it made sense, in a way. He didn’t, or may never know why the boy was crying, but it made total sense that he could still do it. He still had human emotions, so maybe, just maybe, there was still a bit of humanity left there too.

He looked back at the boy. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, not like the monster that crushed two of Will’s ribs. He looked like a different person. His breathing was heavy, as if he’d just gone for a run, the bags under his eyes lessened significantly.

He just looked more human.

Will decided he liked this version better than the monster.

“Guys, I know this is scary, but let’s just stay here.” Will started.

He then heard Cecil scoff, “You say this as if we have a choice.”

Will sighed. “What I mean is, if he can cry, he probably has feelings too. Maybe if we get to know him, or something, we can convince him that eating people is bad, and eating chicken is good.”

“Will, first of all, roast chicken is just the corpse of an animal sitting on your plate,” Piper said. “And as stupid as your plan sounds, it makes sense. Feelings will usually spark up the best in people. I say we give it a try.”

Annabeth interrupted. “What? Are you serious? I don’t know if you’re following, but our first plan almost got us killed.”

“I know, Wise Girl, but we don’t have another choice,” Percy assured from his bubble.

“And besides, the plan half-worked. We found Hazel, but got captured. We just need to work on the second part,” Jason added to the conversation.

“Okay, so it’s settled, do whatever you think will spark some sort of emotion. Except anger. We don’t want that,” Will said.

Everyone nodded as Will’s eyelids became heavy. He waved them off as he fell asleep.

~~~~~ Time Skip ~~~~~

Will woke up to the quiet sound of rustling. He opened his eyes slightly, remembering where he was. He took in a deep breath.

Stay positive. Even if you don’t want to be.

He carefully looked around the almost pitch black cave. Fortunately, there was just enough light to see a humanoid figure wandering about the cave. Will sucked in a breath as he saw the boy, swimming around, looking through each bubble and seemingly examining each of his friends.

When Will saw his face, the blonde haired boy thought he was going to melt. He was even more beautiful now that his eyes looked like a mix between chocolate brown and coal black. Will found himself getting lost in them, feeling connected to this boy who he hadn't even spoken to.

When the boy came over to his bubble, Will closed his eyes just enough to look asleep, but still being able to see.

He saw the boy suck in a breath. He watched as he rubbed the side of Will’s bubble, in a soothing motion. And, maybe even if the boy himself didn’t notice it, Will saw tears forming in his mesmerizing eyes.

The boy let out a huff of air, and swam out the cave. With a start, Will realized that all of his injuries seemed to be undoing themselves, if that was possible. He felt his ribs mend themselves back together, his legs go back to their original shape, and his shoulder pop back in place.

Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it did feel a lot better.

Will closed his eyes, imaging the boy’s perfect face. He then realized Kevin didn’t suit him. He scanned his brain for a name, but none of them were good enough.

Suddenly, almost like magic, a name popped into Will’s mind. He’d never heard of it before but it was so accurate he couldn’t help but try it in his own mouth.

“Thank you, Nico.”

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That turned out longer than I expected! I liked it, and thought it was cute, I hope you did too. Thanks for reading!