They don't how it happened, if someone caused it or if it was an accident. All anyone knew as they stood there, immobilized in horror, was that the infirmary was burning.

The very infirmary that was full of their friends, all burning to death.

Some of them watching had collapsed, crying; others were being restrained by their friends because "THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!"

Percy was desperately trying to pull in the water from the sea, but the fire was turning it to steam. And above all the noise was a piercing scream.

"WILL!"

The Son of Hades had finally realised what was going on and was fighting tooth and nail to get to the burning building.

"NO, NO! HE'S STILL IN THERE, HE'S - LET GO OF ME, JASON!" He managed to break free of Jason's grip and ran at ful speed to the infirmary, mind blank of all but one thought: WILL.

Holding his jacket over his mouth and nose, Nico barreled in and immediately worked on tuning out the images of charred flesh and bones. The aura of death was completely surrounding him, threatening to cause him to buckle under the immense weight of it.

Nico rushed around (as best as he could) trying to find Will; he refused to think, even for a second, that he was dead. Not Will, not his Sunshine.

"WILL!" His voice was already scratchy, there was so much smoke in there. "WILL, PLEASE!" Nico was verging on hysteria now, frantically searching through the burning rubble and avoiding parts of the flame-ensconced ceiling that was falling down.

"WILLIAM SOLACE, ANSWER ME!" The tears streaming down his face felt like lava and he swore he could see them evaporating off of his cheeks. All around him, his fellow camp mates were being engulfed in fire but Nico couldn't afford to care; he had a quest right now, the most important one yet.

Turning slightly to the right, he caught a glimpse of sooty blonde and he did a double take just to make sure.

"N-NICO?!" It was Will. Slightly burned around the edges, covered in soot, but alive. Oh thank you Gods.

He ran over to him and covered him with his jacket.

"You're okay, you're okay..."

Later, as Nico and Will were being carried over to the Big House and the fire was being put out, they couldn't remember for the lives of them how in Hades they had managed to get out of their. But they had, and Nico felt such a strong wave of relief wash over him that it was making it difficult to breathe. That may have something to do with the koala-like Son of Apollo clinging to me, he mused.

Nico ran his hands through Will's hair to try and comfort his boyfriend through the silent sobs wracking his body, thinking Never again. For as long as I live you will never again get that close to death.

They fell asleep like that, completely wrapped around each other, Will's face covered in tears and Nico's hand laying gently in Will's hair.