Clary watched the boy across Jace's shoulders intently as they walked back to the Institute. Isabelle and Simon returned after a few tense minutes of silence, they had lost Valentine's trail pretty quickly, but Clary knew it wasn't their fault. But she was certain now that everything was connected. The murders, the dreams, her father, and Nico: all of them were definitely linked, but she just didn't know-how.

The Shadowhunters took up a basic formation as they walked the streets back to the Institute, Clary unwilling to create a portal back due to Nico's injuries. Alec lead, followed by Jace (carrying Nico) and Clary side by side, with Isabelle and Simon in the rear.

Nico had protested to being carried, but after failing to walk even a few yards, Jace had not so graciously put Nico on his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Jace had gone to grab Nico's sword, the strange black blade drawing in the shadows, when Nico tossed it away with near abandon. Simon let out a startled yelp as the blade flew through the air, but there was never the clang of metal against concrete. the blade just seemed to fall through the ground and into the shadows, ceasing to exist.

"What did you just do?" Alec asked caution and confusion in his tone. He investigated the spot where the blade had vanished, but there was nothing there.

"I don't want you touching my stuff... I put it away." Nico muttered, unable to do much more than hanging limply.

Clary almost wished she could give him an iratze, watching him wince if Jace bumped him or took a particularly big step. But then again, she knew that his injuries were the only thing keeping him from running off again, but it still bothered her. She never got to do her shift watching the young teen, but apparently, he wasn't the most friendly to deal with either. Now she also knew he was skilled enough to fight off Valentine while injured, even for a short period of time. She couldn't think of many people who could.

Jace suddenly shifted Nico, and the boy spat out a harsh phrase in another language, a romantic language from what Clary could tell.

Jace glanced down as the boy muttered spitefully under his breath, "Do I have to wash your mouth out with soap? That was really rude," Jace complained and the boy scowled.

"Good for Golden Boy, you know Italian, now I'll just insult you in English," Nico snapped.

Clary watched the exchange with mild interest, finding it hard to be amused with how fast her mind was reeling as she tried to connect all the dots.

"Clary, you okay?" Simon asked, jogging up beside her from where he had been walking with Isabelle, glasses bouncing against his nose.

Clary smiled softly in an attempt to ease his worry. she wondered if she should tell him about her dreams and her worries but immediately made a different decision. She should tell everyone and figure out what a weird 14-year-old had to do with her father's return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico was glad that he wasn't thrown into the barrier prison again, instead, he was brought to their infirmary, white curtains separating the beds, each clearly unused for a while, except his. He had also been handcuffed to the bed by Isabelle if he remembered correctly. He saw a not-so-subtle exchange of glances between Glasses and her, something he wished he hadn't seen.

"Ok, I appreciate not getting thrown back into weird prison, but why am I handcuffed to the bed?" Nico decided to ask into the room, slowly gaining his bearing after the fight. It had been draining, but mostly physically. He could definitely hold out for a while longer, as long as he didn't do anything stupid and got some nectar in him. He could practically hear the vial in his pocket, Will's voice demanding him to drink it.

"So you don't run off a second time. And these are runed to block off all magic, so you're definitely not getting away this time." Golden Boy said. Nico almost accepted the challenge of a second escape, but handcuffs without powers would make it a lot more difficult.

Nico scoffed, "I was busy, places to be, things to do. Still Am."

"Well, with those injuries and what just happened, I think we have more pressing matters than whatever you're up to, kid." Jace retorted.

"I would also like to know how you managed to get out of a Malachi Configuration," A new voice cut in, entering through the doors that led to the rest of the Institute.

It was the older woman, Maryse, the one in charge. Nico almost had a sense of Dejavu.

"You were given slack the first time you were here, but you somehow managed to escape secure confinement, and then elude us until tonight," Maryse stated, "and this time, you are clearly connected to the recent string of murders."

Nico huffed, "In case you didn't notice, I was attacked, not helping him."

The doors to the infirmary opened, revealing Magnus and Alec, Magnus had a small bag with him. Nico tried to sit up into a more intimidating stance, and less of an angry, injured teenager, but was yanked back by a shooting pain from the hellhound would on his leg, and the numerous other bruises and cuts that littered his body, not counting the ache that was building from the swordfight itself.

Nico watched Magnus give him a look as he figured out who he was here to treat, "It's you again."

"Hello, nice to see you too," Nico said.

"It better be, I'm here to treat your injuries." Magnus told him.

Magnus set his stuff down and went to look at the bite on his leg and Nico shifted his leg away from the cat-eyed warlock. He could feel the vial of nectar in his pocket still and wondered what he should do. He couldn't just pull it out and drink it here, that would be a dead giveaway, but yet again he was already being pretty suspicious.

Magnus gave him a look as he pulled away, "Demon bites can be fatal if you don't let me treat this right away."

"I want to know who attacked me first," Nico demanded.

He hadn't missed the look of recognition on Golden Boy's face, who was currently sulking not too far away. He had also been mentioned several times as the "murderer."

"You were attacked by the murderer we've been tracking for the past few weeks, we currently don-" Maryse began in her stiff manner, though she clearly didn't seem to like the idea of telling him, she was cut off by Jace.

"It was Valentine." The phrase seemed to immediately still the room.

Nico didn't understand why, but everyone who was currently in the room paled in shock, especially Mayse.

"But he died..." Mangus seemed to argue, but the solid look on Jace's face ended it.

"A-are you certain?" Maryse asked, a tremble in her voice.

Wow, Nico thought, this Valentine guy must be pretty bad. But it gave him something to work with. He already knew this 'Valentine' was supposed to be dead, but now he also knew he was something bad for the Nephilim too. Not a mortal or some demigod like he had originally thought. Well, this was certainly getting complicated.

"Same hair, same eyes, he even had Phaesphoros, which had been destroyed. Even his fighting style is exactly like how I remember," Jace explained, a dark shadow behind his eyes.

A heavy silence entered the room, and Nico glanced from person to person. Mayse looked utterly horrified, Magnus was pale despite the glitter on his face, and Jace was in deep silence. Alec just watched Jace carefully, as if unsure how the blonde was going to react.

"Yeah, ok, but who is he?" Nico asked, his tone contrasting sharply with the mood of the room. He did it intentionally.

"Someone we-" Maryse began carefully but was interrupted by Magnus this time.

"He's a former, formally dead, Shadowhunter. He had a certain hatred for Downworlders and wanted them eradicated. Blatant, but skilled murder certainly fits his memo too." Nico could hear the disgust in Magnus's voice, almost tangible. Ah, lovely, a racist Nephilim.

Nico sighed, but let Magnus begin treating his leg. He watched as the warlock's hand lit up blue, and began murmuring in a language Nico didn't understand. It felt like warm water was being poured over his leg, while the wound also began to sting and itch. He hissed in pain as the heat turned to ice. Magnus paid him no mind, and the Shadowhunters in the room withdrew into a corner where he couldn't hear them talk.

A buzz from Nico's pocket drew his attention from the wound on his leg, a welcome distraction. Nico opened the device, already knowing who it was from. He quickly read the message, before he made a decision. This involved him now, there was no choice.

"Valentine Morgenstern, Nephilim, born November 29th, 1968, died at the age of 39. Blonde hair, black eyes, 6ft tall, sharp features. Highly dangerous and hostile. Last known location, outside of Suzzane's Diner in Lower Manhattan," he read aloud, loud enough that his voice echoed around the empty room, magnified by the high, vaulted ceilings. The message went on further, but that was all he was going to say aloud.

All eyes were on him now, making him want to cringe at his own actions, but it was necessary. Thantos had given him another spirit to collect, just this one was hunting him as well.

"Who sent you that?" Magnus demanded, while the Shadowhunters moved back towards him, pulled from their conversation.

"It doesn't matter, but we're going to have to find Valentine Morgernestern before he causes more damage than he already has," Nico said darkly.

"'We're'? Yeah, no. You're going to stay here until we answer and you're healed." Alec stated, crossing his arms.

"What you want doesn't matter," Nico said firmly, "I'm involved now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Magnus didn't like the tension that was currently going around. Nico was currently an icy calm, despite the exhaustion Magnus knew Nico should be feeling. He was genuinely surprised when he had been formally called in to deal with an injury, and even more so when he found out he was supposed to be treating the same kid they had managed to capture after an impressive display of very potent necromancy.

Then there was the news about Valentine being back, which he was still trying to process. Only a greater demon or an angel could bring someone back from the dead, or a necromancer. He was sure it wasn't an angel, but if someone else brought the corrupt Nephilium back, things were about to get a whole lot worse than they were the first time around.

Now, Nico got a message that sounded suspiciously like a hit-list description and was demanding to be part of the investigation. Magnus didn't like that one bit either, neither did the Nephilim for the matter.

"No way! You have no idea what's going on. And you're still under investigation yourself!" Jace snapped.

"That doesn't matter! You're going to need my help if you want any chance of finding him!"

"And why would we need help from a kid who can barely walk at the moment!" Jace continued, "Yeah, you have some freaky good skill with a sword and whatever the hell type of magic you can do, but you're way out of your league-!" Jace's raising voice was cut short by Nico's sudden movement.

The boy snatched something out of his pocket, and Magnus was able to briefly see what it was before the boy removed the cork with his teeth and downed the golden liquid in one gulp. Hadn't he said that stuff was dangerous?

The speed of the next reaction was so short it was a blur to Mangus as the two moved more swiftly than he had ever seen a Nephilium move. Jace, wide-eyed, sped towards Nico, apparently trying to grab whatever the boy had already downed. The shadows under the bed gained their own sentience until they formed a familiar blade, the point a hair's breadth away from Jace's jugular. It all happed with such speed and precision, Magnus doubted it had happened at all.

Jace was frozen, staring at the obvious threat to his life, his hand still outstretched towards Nico, but frozen a mear foot away. Magnus could see the angelic runes on the handcuffs glowing red hot as they fought against whatever power Nico was using. The shadows in the room gained a stark contrast with the light, much darker than they should be.

"I get it," Nico hissed, "You don't even know who I am, how are you supposed to let an injured child help with a mass murder?"

No one dared move, either frozen in shock or unwilling to see what the boy would do to Jace with the sword given the chance. The air was steadily growing cooler. Magnus also watched in awe as the visible wounds on the boy's arms and legs began to heal rapidly on their own.

"Well, I have a job to do, and so do you," Nico continued, "You want to protect people, and I have to make sure the dead stay that way." Something about the way the boy said the last part didn't sit right with Magnus, it sounded like a threat. Jace had died himself, after all.

"Who the hell are you?" Jace seethed, slowly pulling back into himself, lowering his hand and taking a step back. Yet his stare didn't falter, his own pale golden eyes matched against the black of Nico's own.

The black blade sliced cleanly through the air, meeting the handcuffs that restrained Nico to the infirmary bed. They shattered with a resounding crack, cut clean through as they clattered to the floor. Magnus watched in near awe as Nico stood up, he was barely able to stand less than a few minutes ago.

"I am Nico Di Angelo. I am a Reaper of Death."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next target, Valentine Morgenstern, Nephilim, born November 29th, 1968, died at the age of 39. Blonde hair, black eyes, 6ft tall, sharp features. Highly dangerous and hostile. Last known location, outside of Suzzane's Diner in Lower Manhattan, as I'm sure you know.

He's not working alone, there's an ancient power backing him, a power I can't see through, so I leaving this to you. You won't be able to do this one alone but be careful, Nico, the Nephilim must not know about the existence of demigods at all costs.

Visit the Oracle and meet with Lou Ellen Blackwater.

Do not fail, Nico, or this could be the end of more than just your life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Note: underlined portion is what Nico read aloud, and then there's the rest of the message. Also, decided the contact name was funny/ironic. Death is an old friend after all.