Nico was graciously yanked out of one of the few peaceful nights he'd had this week by a loud ding from his phone, the screen illuminated by a new alert. He sighed, of course, the dead don't sleep after all, which meant Nico gets to be sleep-deprived himself. Nico cursed under his breath and checked the time, it was around 2 am, so he cursed again, but graciously accepted the four hours of sleep he'd been granted that night.

Nico checked the notification, just one, not a threat just lost and disoriented, somewhere near Lower Manhattan. He sighed and got dressed, throwing on his boots and grabbing for his new jacket, only to remember that the 'shadowhunters' still had it. Nico groaned, already feeling the loss of such an important article of clothing. Nico fastened his sword to the chain at his waist and stuffed his jean pockets with a small vial of nectar, just in case. Nico knew better than to go out unprepared at this point, especially if the Nephilim were still after him.

Nico slipped into the shadows and reappeared where he was supposed to be, a closed down cafe. The place looked like it had definitely seen better days, signs of a fire or something worse from behind the counter gave Nico a good understanding of why it closed, and who this ghost might be.

She sat in a booth in the back, one of the few still intact, the faux leather worn and stained from time, and whatever creatures had taken up residency here in the years since this place had closed. She looked confused and disoriented as she glanced around, as though she had only just arrived in her strange location, one that was eerily familiar but also shockingly contrasted with memory.

The cafe had been called "Suzzane's", but had been shut down suddenly due to a gas explosion, killing all the customers and employees inside at the time. That had been about 40 years ago.

She suddenly realized that Nico was there and practically jumped from her seat to approach him, but he waved her to sit back down.

"Where am I?" She asked, both hesitantly and nervously, somehow knowing he had the answers she wanted. Why else would he be here?

Nico gave her a soft smile and slid into the booth opposite her, "You're just a bit lost, that's all."

She glanced around the room again, returning to him after a moment, "Who are you?"

"I'm someone whose here to make sure you get to where you're going. Like a guide," Nico explained, keeping his voice calm and level, so he wouldn't startle her.

"Am I dead?" She asked, now self-conscious, glancing down at her hands. She seemed perfectly solid, but to an outsider, you could clearly see through her as if she was made of mist.

Nico grasped her hand as she fidgeted, she seemed shocked by this, most ghosts were.

"It's been a long time, but yes, you died." Nico explained, but she didn't go into any sort of shock, just sighed, accepting it, then she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Are you the angel whose going to take me to heaven?" She asked, and Nico almost let out a soft laugh, he had been dealing with Nephilum lately, after all.

"If that's what you want to call me, then sure."

Nico went into his pocket and pulled out two drachmas, and then set them into the palm of her hand. Then he got up from the booth, walked over to her side, and offered his hand to help her up.

"Are you ready to go?" Nico asked.

Hesitantly she nodded, but then looked at the coins in her hand, "I guess, but what are the coins for?"

"They're for the man at the desk. Also, tell him Nico sent you, and he'll be sure to be polite." Nico gave her another soft smile, and she just nodded, accepting everything he said.

When she grasped is hand, Nico sent her through the shadows to the DOA, letting them carry her safely to where she needed to go, on wings made of night.

"Rest well, Catherine Lewis," Nico said, before sighing.

Nico unhooked his sword and let it hand loosely in his hands. Just as the monster lunged at him from the shadows, at least it had waited until he was done. Nico spun around and slashed, the hellhound turning into golden dust behind him and glared at the gathering group before him, an irritated look on his face.

There was a man dressed in a dark robe, a golden and black-silver sword in his hands. Around his neck, was a large silver cross around his neck. Hellhounds snarled around his feet, growling and snapping at Nico each time they passed near him, and they were slowly edging closer, but they avoided his sword well enough. Nico couldn't pick out any details of the man's face since it was well-hidden beneath the hood of his tattered cloak. There was one thing Nico could tell for certain about the man though. He was supposed to be dead, locked away in the Fields of Punishment. And he was dangerous.

Nico assessed his situation. The man and his pack of hellhounds blocked off the front entrance, and the hellhounds would probably pursue him if he tried to escape into the shadows. Nico wasn't sure he could take the man with the sword, and there were a few more hellhounds than Nico could say he could comfortably take. Well... this was bad.

"Hello, demigod," he greeted, his voice was silky smooth, echoing off the walls of the abandoned cafe, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades."

"Well, shit," Nico cursed.

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After a few more days of research, Alec was finally able to determine where their murderer was operating, or at least find the general location of all the murders, and identify a pattern. They followed a clear line, and there was even a correlation between the location of the murders and time between them. Finally, Alec thought, they were getting somewhere.

Everything pointed to where their cloaked sword-killer was going to be that night, which cued another "Stake-out Night" in the suspected area. It was an older district of Lower Manhattan, a more active area for demons since few people still lived there and many buildings had been abandoned to urban decay. This time, he had brought both Isabelle and Clary along, but Magnus remained at home, keeping an eye on Max for the night. The group of five had spread out, patrolling the area independently and keeping watch for any signs of activity.

Alec was on his second energy rune when he finally saw something. In the darkness, Alec could barely tell, but he definitely matched the description of their killer. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by large black hounds, each seemed to be made of shadow, too many to fight alone. From his vantage point on the rooftop, Alec could make out a broad sword on his back, gleaming harshly in the yellow street lights.

Alec pulled out his phone and sent out an S.O.S, the others would be there shortly. He watched silently as the figure walked into a boarded-up cafe, the signs of a gas explosion still apparent on the building. The hounds following him in, and then it was silent.

Alec took the moment to descend from the rooftops, and try to get closer, or at least as close as he dared, which turned out to be the opposite side of the street as he strained to hear if something was going on inside. He had his weapons ready at this side, prepared for whatever may happen.

It turned out, Alec was not prepared when a familiar black-haired teen shattered one of the plywood boards that blocked the front window, leaving chaos behind him. The board splintered with a sharp crack as it slapped into the ground, and the boy sprinted off, black hounds with glowing red eyes in hot pursuit, along with the man in the cloak, shouting in Latin at the hounds.

After a quick moment of both shock and thought, Alec pulled out his bow and began running to catch up to the teen. He fired off an arrow as he ran, impaling one of the hounds, but rather than disperse into shadows, it collapsed into a pile of gold dust. Ok then.

Noticing his existence, everyone seemed to stop and stare at him for a moment. The boy stopped running and got into a fighting stance against the hounds, the hooded man gave him a glance, and several of the hounds turned to him as a new target.

Alec cursed under his breath at how recklessly he had exposed himself and gotten involved in the situation. He put away his bow and called forth a seraph blade, the white-blue light of blade casting severe shadows, mixing with the yellow streetlights and the ever-shifting shadows, either from the late-night itself or whatever effect the strange hounds had on their environment.

The hooded man went back to pursing the raven-haired kid, along with most of the shadow hounds, but five had turned to him as a new target, probably ordered to keep him out of the fight. Alec began to worry about the kid, who was obviously being targeted by their murderer. The beastly dogs lunged at him, and Alec easily retaliated, dodging, and slicing at the same time. This one too fell apart into a pile of gold. They weren't very smart demons but their numbers were problematic.

Alec began the methodical rhythm of battle, marks burning along his arms as he pushed himself to cut down his opponent while avoiding snapping jaws and coordinated pack attacks. They were attacking him mostly at once, and he was struggling to avoid getting bitten or tackled. But Alec also glanced towards the young teen, who was struggling much more, fighting double the number of hounds while the swordsman watched impassively. If he didn't hurry, the kid was going to die, he was going to die because Alec was unable to save him.

A hound lunged for Alec's head, taking advantage of his distraction, only of Alec to be hit full force with a spray of gold. An arrow clattered to the ground and Alec spat out the remains and wiped his eyes, glancing up to see a familiar glasses-wearing archer giving him a wave. Another hound that was attacking Alec burst apart, an even more familiar blur of gold attacking his aggressors with a swift ferocity that was hard to follow. Alec took the last one out of his own with the seraph blade, going to decapitate it, before it too became a pile of dust.

"Alec!" Jace shouted, a mix of concern and glee.

"No time! Go help him!" Alec pleaded, running off towards the other battle going on, the kid was bleeding from a bite on his arm and limping heavily.

Apparently, the murderer wasn't going to give up easily and charged his target, the rest of the hounds broke off from the fight and ran at the duo to keep them at bay. Arrows flew down from above, taking out two, but it didn't stop the remaining as they charged without hesitation. So the fight ensued.

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On the other side of the street, an even more desperate fight wore on. Nico was barely keeping up with the blades from the black-silver blade of his opponent, adrenaline being the main thing keeping him alive for the moment, alongside his attacker's desire to capture him alive. Nico could tell almost immediately that the aim was to maim and subdue, not kill, since he would already be dead if that was the endgame of this fight.

Nico could see the shadowhunters methodically killing off each of the hellhounds, and he was thankful for their unwarranted help. But he wasn't going to be able to fight much longer, not with the amount of blood he was currently loosing. He had taken a bite to the calf, causing him to stumble and limp about, the normal sense of grace he had while fighting abandoned, and then another bite on his arm, luckily not his sword arm, but it still hurt.

Each blow from the hooded swordsman was heavy and swift, a combination of the man's own strength and the weight of the sword itself. In their new proximity, Nico could see the man's silver-blonde hair and impassive face, made of nothing but sharp angles, his black eyes burning with fire as he towered of Nico. He couldn't keep this up... he was going to lose at this point.

Suddenly, another blade intercepted the man's blade, a new sword made of gleaming crystal. The man backed off at the sigh of his new opponent, tugging at his hood and taking in his current situation, Nico took the opportunity to as well. The hounds were defeated, with two other shadowhunters having arrived at the scene, one who he recognized as Isabelle, and another girl with an uncanny resemblance to Rachel Dare.

Realizing he was outmatched, the hooded swordsman began to flee, but Jace didn't pursue, and neither did the redhead girl. Alec came rushing over to him, while a figure on the rooftops and Isabelle went after his attacker. Nico watched silently as the other two ran off, leaving him with the three Nephilim.

"Are you alright?" Alec asked him, and Nico met his bright blue eyes, which briefly reminded him of Thalia's.

Nico went to take a step, but pain arched through his leg and he toppled over, getting caught by Golden Boy himself, who looked as shaken as Nico felt.

"No, definitely not okay."

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Jace knew from the second he saw the sword, he could tell Clary recognized it as well. But he was more familiar with it, it had been part of his life since he was young, and then again in the years past. The golden blade dipped in black silver, with the silver stars lining the ridge of the blade, was imprinted into his mind like a brand.

But it was impossible, Jace had tried to tell himself. Both of the people who had wielded that sword were dead, and the sword itself had been destroyed when Sebastian had died. He couldn't believe it, even with his own eyes, so he had gotten in close, pushing aside the rude raven-haired boy who had somehow managed to escape the Institute a few days ago.

Jace had confirmed his suspicions when he crossed blades with the hooded murderer, catching sight of a face similar enough Jace knew it almost as well as he knew his own and Clary's, a face that haunted him at night when he wasn't feeling well. It had only been a split-second encounter before their target retreated and pulled his hood down, but that moment was all Jace needed. Everything he feared came true in a moment that lasted less than a second.

Valentine Morgenstern was back from the dead.

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