Percy turned in his sleep.  The heavenly glow of his Lord began to dim, leaving darkness where light has once been.  A deep cackle erupted through his ears like a banging drum.  Off in the distance, he could see a figure walking toward him.  

Once it was close enough, Percy realized that it was a fellow angel.  Yet, its wings were stained with dirt and soot, its eyes glimmered with mischief and deceit, and it wore a large silver crown on top of its head.  But most disturbingly, it looked exactly like him.

"Hello, Percy," it smirked.

"Who are you?  And how did you get my face?"  Percy replied.

The angel chuckled.  "That does not matter.  All that matters is us.  Our kind used to reign above all things, you know?"

Percy pushed back the creature who was now seductively advancing towards him.  "What?"

"Oh, such pity that you will never be able to see it!  A world without humans, a world devoid of the puppetmaster and his puppets.  I was his first creation, you know.  I, like you, followed him blindly.  Until he decided I wasn't enough and created that vexatious son of his."

"Wh-what are you talking about?  What do you mean a world without humans?"

The creature let out an exasperated sigh, "Oh!  Those bothersome humans, always painting me as the villain!  But I was the one who stood up to the tyrant!  I was the one who refused to serve those ignorant bottom-feeders and created my own kingdom to rule!"

It was now obvious to Percy that it was no longer talking to him.  A familiar chill ran through his body.  He remembered Luke talking like this after joining Kronos.

"Look man, I don't know who you are or why you look like me, but you look like you got your own problems to deal with so I'm just gonna go."  Percy pinched himself, trying to wake up.

The image started fading but the angel wasn't done.  "I look like you, because I am how you see yourself.  Embrace the power beyond the tyrant and you will see the might of Sa-"

Percy awoke in a cold sweat.  He looked around the cave to see his two companions sleeping and shook them awake.

"Wha-?" Mumbled Clary, rubbing her eyes.

"Come on, we gotta go.  The sooner we find Jace, the sooner we can get out of here."

"And the sooner you can fly back to your castle in the sky, we know."  said Izzy, giving him a sarcastic look.

Percy scowled.  "Watch it, human!"  Surprisingly, Izzy kept her mouth shut after that remark.  As they continued walking, Percy began to wonder if that creature from his dreams had an effect on him.  Could he become that bitter?  He remembered hearing the stories of Mr. D as a young demigod and wondering how a man filled with such joy and adventure could become the fat, grumpy god he had known.  Was that his fate?

"Sorry," Percy looked down but didn't say more.  If Izzy was surprised by the display of shame from an almighty servant of the Lord, she didn't let on.  "Come on, bird boy" she scoffed.   And with that, they continued further into the abyss.

About 20 minutes into their stroll through Tartarus, Percy finally broke the silence.  "So, Clary, what's this thing you got going on with Jace?"

Clary turned beat red and attempted to scoff.  "What do you mean?"

Percy shrugged.  "Well despite being an all-powerful being that can sense emotions, it's pretty obvious that there's something going on.  So spill."

Clary huffed, "It's complicated.  It's like with you and Annabeth- you love each other and it should be perfect, but it can't."

"Why?"

"He's my brother."  Percy raised an eyebrow, "I know it sounds crazy and disgusting... but, I guess I can't help the way I feel... I mean-"

"Look, I get it," Percy interrupted, "You know, my uncle married his sister, and it's not as gross as it seems.  I mean, it's definitely gross, but I guess if you're into that..." Clary glared at him, "Is this supposed to make me feel better?"  Percy gave her a sad smile.  She reminded him a lot of Rachel.  "No, I guess not.  But trust me, the search for love is always the hardest part.  We are on a journey through Hell for goodness sake!  It's not supposed to be easy, but once we find him, you'll know the truth.  God wants you to be happy but we have to find that for ourselves."

"You done quoting scripture, Pastor Percy?"  Izzy quipped.   Percy rolled his eyes.  What was this girl's problem?  "You done spouting one-liners?  That's all you ever seem to do."  Percy once again felt slightly guilty for provoking her.  He knew that inside, she was broken- just like him.  She was a reminder of all he had to leave behind- the badass swords, the way he and his friends use to joke about their impending doom.

Izzy scoffed and looked like she was going to retort, but was interrupted by a gasp.  They both turned to see Clary pointing at something in the distance.  "Guys," she said, steadily, "What is that?"  To the two girls, it was only a speck, but they could still hear the mild yelling coming from that point.  Percy, with his enhanced angel sight (He still hasn't come up with a name for it), could see that it was a huge coliseum, filled to the brink with monsters.

"You guys stay here," he said, "I'm just going to check this out."  Without giving them a chance to respond, he flashed out and headed towards the Coliseum.  What he didn't hear was a frustrated Izzy complaining, "Why does he always have to be so dramatic?"

Once he arrived at the Coliseum, Percy began to wonder what the hell he was doing there.  The monsters weren't attacking him or his friends.  He just felt like he needed to be here.  Before he could contemplate this more, the loudspeaker sounded, "Well if it isn't Percy freak'in Jackson!  My wife has told me so much about you."  He looked over to see a large shadowy man (if you could call it a man) sitting atop a throne that seems to be made of pure darkness.  He was beginning to think that Tartarus was not the most ideal place for an angel. 

"Are you Lucifer?"  He had heard stories of a dark angel that would try to corrupt him.

The shadowy man let out a huff.  "Do I look like a 'Bringer of Light' to you?  No?  Well, it seems that you've not only turned your back on your gods, but have forgotten that we exist altogether.  Did you really think that death could release you from your past?"

Percy tightened his jaw.  "Who are you?"

The man smiled, "Hmm, you're a feisty one, aren't you?  If you should know, I am called Erberus." 

The crowd of monsters started cheering when he introduced himself.  Percy couldn't help but imagine Erberus as one of those teenage heartthrobs from those movies that he and Piper used to ironically watch.  Even more so when he saw their "Welcome to the Darkside" and "Team Erberus" t-shirts.

"Well..." Percy paused, slightly attempting to create some dramatic tension, "Nice to meet you Erberus.  It has been lovely walking in on your... whatever you're doing, but I must be going."

Just before he could get ready to flash out, Erberus yelled, "Wait!"  The whole audience, including Percy, turned their heads towards him.  "Don't you want to know where your friend Jace is?"

Now this caught Percy's attention.  "What do you know about Jace?"

Erberus gave him a smug smile, which really pissed Percy off.  He has died and come back as a freaking angel of the Lord, and deities are still looking at him like a bug they could squish!  And they can't!

"I know where he is."

Percy skeptically raised an eyebrow.  He knew he wasn't going to get this information easily.  "Where?"

Erberus chuckled, "I'll tell you once both of my champions are dead.  And if they're not, he and the two mortals you brought with you are dead"  

Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  Why was his life so full of cliches?  He made his 'bring it on gesture' and yelled, "Well then bring out the champions!  And while we're at it, why don't you rub that smug smirk off your face?"  Unfortunately, it only grew larger.

"Well angel, you have made your choice.  Bring out the champions!"  Two of the iron gates inside the coliseum opened revealing two huge shadows.  They got bigger and bigger as the figures walked towards the entrances.  Once they were in full view, Percy's heart dropped.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who could it be?

I know I sound like a broken record but I'm sorry for not updating in forever.  I was going to finish this once school got out but I thought I'd procrastinate on studying for finals instead.

If it isn't obvious, I've lost interest in the Mortal Instrument Series a long time ago and have forgotten a lot of what happens so I know a lot what Clary and Izzy say is completely out of character, or maybe they aren't.

Anyways, this is mostly a rough draft so I will try to edit this later.  Thank you to all the commenters (I have been reading them btw) for making me want to continue this story.  Hopefully I can get another chapter in next month.

Love y'all!

-Unknown