This chapter is about Hades' thoughts and feelings while Nico was held hostage by Gaea's minions. Hardly original, since other authors have written about that. This is just my take on it.

According to my calculations, Nico was trapped for eight days in the bronze jar. In The Mark of Athena it says that Percy saw three hash marks in the jar's wall and five pomegranate seeds next to Nico, which means that there were eight seeds in total. And if one seed sustained him for a day, then Nico spent eight days trapped. Follow the thoughts of the god of the Underworld during each of these days.

BREATHE AGAIN

Day 1

The Lord of the Underworld was chasing a dozen souls who managed to escape from the Fields of Punishment. Ever since his lieutenant Thanatos, the god of Death, went missing, he had to patrol his realm all day to prevent a massive flight of souls. He drew his sword to send them back to their places when he felt a tug inside him. An image of Nico flashed in his mind. Something had happened to him. He was certain of it. He could sense his son's life being under threat. He focused, trying to locate him. The boy was somewhere...in Tartarus? Gaea forces caught him. He could see the figures of some giants, along with a bronze jar. Oh no, his son was in a mortal danger.

Day 2

"Welcome back", Hades told Thanatos, who was recently freed. "Continue with your work."

Thanatos bowed his head before the King of the Underworld. "Do you have any specific orders, my lord?" he asked him.

Hades gripped the armchair of his throne. He felt tempted to order him not to collect Nico's soul in case the boy died, but held his tongue. He was the Lord of the Dead after all, he couldn't do that. He just hoped his newly revived daughter would take the hint. He wanted his son to be rescued and he counted on her for the task. "No, you can leave", he said to the god of Death.

Day 3

Three days had passed since Nico was trapped in a bronze jar, which greatly worried Hades. A mortal couldn't resist several days without enough air to breathe. His son was going to die of suffocation if no one saved him soon. And all he could do was watch. He hated feeling so powerless.

Day 4

Anxiety was consuming the Lord of the Underworld. He could feel Nico's energy becoming weaker and weaker with every minute. He would've lost hope if it weren't because Persephone told him earlier that his son grabbed some pomegranates from her garden before he went searching for the Doors of Death. He knew that those pomegranate seeds could help Nico to live a little longer.

Day 5

Hades was starting to become desperate. Why were those demigods taking so long to reach Rome? His son was running out of time. The god knew very well that most heroes, his children especially, didn't have long lives, but he wasn't ready for Nico to die, not yet. He was fond of the boy, so to speak. For the first time in many centuries, he had a child who didn't hate him completely and with whom he could have a semi decent relationship. He didn't want to loose him.

Day 6

The god of the Dead began to drown in work to distract himself from his useless worry. Besides his usual duties, he also took charge of simple tasks, like feeding Cerberus, something that Nico used to do sometimes. He approached his loyal three-headed dog, who whimpered when he saw his master. The animal looked as depressed as him. "You miss him, don't you boy?" Hades said, patting all three heads, "I miss him too."

Day 7

The Lord of the Underworld stood in front of the borders of Elysium, hesitating whether to enter or not. The death of his son was imminent. His life aura was fading quickly. And there was one person in Elysium that he had thought needed to know about Nico's situation: his mother. Although now he doubted it was a good idea at all. What exactly was he going to say to Maria? Good news, dear. Our son will soon join you. Probably not the best idea. Deciding against it, he left the place

Day 8

Hades was pacing back and forth in his Throne Room. The demigods had arrived to Rome, but Nico still wasn't safe. His son could die at any moment now. Mixed emotions filled the god. He felt anger, sadness, anxiety, dreariness, all at once. He couldn't believe it had come to this. All he did to protect him, to protect Maria's children, was all for nothing. First Bianca, now Nico. He blasted a large stone vase with a ball of black energy in his rage. He was going to loose another child…again. Then, out of sudden, he stopped feeling the tingling sensation he always felt whenever one of his sons or daughters were about to die. Nico's life aura stopped fading, he wasn't in danger anymore. He could see it pretty clearly. Those demigods had rescued him. He sat on his throne, relieved. His son could breathe again. Finally.

There you have it. The first ten chapters are done. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, alerted and/or favorited this story. What was your favorite chapter so far? Please, share your opinion in a review. I want to know what you think :)