Authoress Notes: Here's chapter two, I added some new stuff here as well. It took a day but it's finally finished :)

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Anything except my OC Selene.

Chapter Two

'Seriously why in the Angel would those two wander off to the graveyard of ships? The place itself is dangerous enough, and yet they still don't listen,' Magnus's thoughts were restless as he swam against the strong current. The ocean itself was peaceful this morning, as his brown eyes looked around nervously, for any sign of Clary or Simon. However, on the contrary, his best friends were known to sneak off without telling anyone their exact whereabouts.

Catarina followed closely behind him. The young mermaid's eyes were on the sharp lookout for the princess and her best friend. The graveyard of ships was one of the most dangerous places in Atlantis. Sharks and other deadly creatures often roamed there day and night, many of them patrolling the area, searching for their next meal. He darted in and out of a couple of caves, sighing in frustration. Catarina knew he couldn't stand to see Clary or Simon in any kind of danger.

The warlock let a huge sigh escape his lips, as he continued his anxious swim until they finally reached the very first destination. Adjacent and below to them was a large underwater chasm, filled with towering columns of green and blue coral, and various oddly shaped stones. The stones themselves, leaned on each other a few of them chiseled with large enough openings that led off into various other oceanic passageways. Multicolored fish swam by entering the tiny holes in the rock that most sea creatures hence couldn't quite fit into.

What most didn't know about this place was that it was the sight of Clary's secret hideaway. "The Grotto," as she called it, was an underwater cave constructed from a particularly large mountain of rock and stones. A large boulder rested in front of the hole which led to the entrance inside. Clary had craved a small rune into the smooth stone with her friend's help, it was nearly almost invisible to the naked eye. They'd done this to set it apart from the other stones, which supported the entrance.

Magnus's brown eyes darted nervously over his friend's secret hideout. The light from the sun above shone through the bright, clear crystal waters creating small little sparkles upon the stone's gray smooth surface. Magnus smiled and swan over towards the grotto. His tan fingers ran over the smooth surface until they finally, at last, brushed against the rune Nephelium symbol. Catarina swan over to the other side, as they each grasped the large object in their hands.

Grunting with effort, they began to pull it open. A very small shift of his tan wrists alerted Magnus almost to the place in which his hands were in. His gaze drifted lazily up to where Catarina's limbs stayed attached to the part just above his head. Her long slender fingers gripped it with all of her strength. He swallowed carefully and dryly, his mouth tasting somewhat bitter and a tad bit sour. Perhaps it was the amount of wine he'd consumed that morning. His tongue attempted to at try to least moisten his dry, chapped lips. He felt a small rush of adrenaline wash over him, as he and Catarina pulled and tugged on the large stone, until it finally went backward, giving them just enough room so that he could squeeze his muscular figure inside.

A thin amount of light shone through a small opening near the top of the Grotto's ceiling, as it illuminated the strange and unique objects within. This just so happened to be Clary's collection of things from the human world. Among her collection were pointy objects, shiny small and big bobbles, and things that many mer-people would consider grotesque all sat upon their shelves, some of them sparkled in the morning sunlight, but there was no sign of Clary or Simon.

The young merman heaved a heavy breath of defeat and he and Catarina squeezed themselves out of the grotto, careful to close the door behind them. Only, he, Clary, Simon, and Catarina knew about this place, so they were always careful to keep its secrecy. He, Catarina, Chairman Meow, and Anubis took off into the water. Magnus beat his tail rapidly against the current, increasing his speed to the hilt, as he moved through the water. That was it and the answer to their question. The only other place Clary and Simon would've gone was the graveyard of ships. The warlock did not want to go there, for it was the most perilous place in which Luke had forbidden and warned many mer-people to ever visit, but he did want to see if his friends were safe.

"I hope to the Angel that they weren't eaten because those sharks wouldn't have one satisfying tasty snack," Catarina said.

She was worried about them as well, even though sometimes she would never admit it. Magnus rolled his eyes. Mer-people themselves often were strong and fearless.

"Come on Catarina, will you stop it already? No shark is going to eat them," he replied, gesturing right towards the crystal waters before they began swimming again.

The pathway to the graveyard was long and terrifying. They swam past volcano's, boiling whirlpools, and strange plants and eels that glowed different colors in the darkness. The whirlpools threatened to suck Magnus and Catarina into a place where nightmares were born. It was a disgusting wasteland, that seemed to drag on forever. Skeletons of drowned sailors stood out in the darkness, half buried in the dark yellow sand.

Sure enough ahead loomed a large collection of sunken ships from many centuries. Many of them torn apart, broken into pieces by violent storms that ravaged the human world. A strange dark purple haze clouded the graveyard. Magnus let out a huff mostly out of frustration, which escaped his lips. He and Catarina had been swimming, and traveling for what seemed and felt like hours. For that reason, now they'd found themselves in a very, dark and rather looking scary place. He'd watched as the ocean side scenery around them suddenly changed.

Everything adjacent to them had all of a sudden morphed into much deeper, darker, shaded water ones. The tree's and many plants around them nearly had almost no leaves covering their thin, scraggly branches. Each of them upon further inspection, they discovered looked like twisted and grotesque once bright blue crystal above them had suddenly turned dark, and quite murky, the air around them was strangely quiet.

It hung with a very unnerving and uneasy silence. The darkness had formed into a thick mist, that seemed to wash over and dissipate everything in its path. A strange purple almost blackish looking haze making it seem so much eerier and scarier. Not even a single trace of sunlight could penetrate the shadowy land.

Magnus squeezed through the rotting boards of a centuries-old ship, grunting as he pulled himself free. The entire ship creaked sounding so eerily loud in the almost tangible silence of this graveyard of vessels. The place...seemed to radiate with an essence darkness and oppression all its own. The waters were much colder, and Catarina found herself pressing closer to Magnus for warmth.

The young warlock's eyes narrowed, as he squinted trying to see through the shadowed waters. His swimming immediately halted, not because he was scared or afraid that because the waters actually felt heavier here; mostly in this particular place. He began to wonder if it was just his imagination or if this was place was indeed very really dark and dangerous as in the horror tale in which many of the mer-people told.

Finally, the youth's eyes adjusted to the dim atmosphere, and he immediately wished that he hadn't. Gazing around the dusky ocean floor he saw skeletons of every kind. Fish, sharks, and human. All of their remains were present, along with the former shells of smaller ships. One of the human skeletons was grasping the side of a small ship, it's long, thin, gangly fingers rigid with desperation as if it was trying to escape from something.

Looking around, Magnus felt the fear building up within him. He continued to move slowly forward and yelped when he bumped into something hard and soft. Whoever or whatever the thing he bumped into, it's response was that of a scream, and realized it was only Catarina. He chuckled underneath his breath, he grabbed her arm and looped it through his, hugging her close.

"I don't like this place, Magnus," Catarina whispered against his shoulder. He nodded in response, taking one last look at their surroundings...the murky waters...the dusky haze...the ghastly skeletons...the frigid oppressive feelings that now dwelled within them and Catarina realized that with just a bit of humor, that she could figure out what his best friends were saying now.

"Wow, Simon..." she muttered to herself, in a somewhat mocking tone of Clary's voice. "This place is..."

"So amazingly awesome!" Clary beamed, her green eyes looking around the dismal, scary graveyard. This place while it was dark and grotesque, was so different and exciting compared to the boring, safe and mundane walls of the palace. Her hair was a pretty dark red color, which cascaded down her shoulders into ringlets right to the middle of her back, her green eyes were hidden behind long dark lashes, her lips full, her skin was a light ivory color, and her body was slender and petite with an hour-glass figure. Green eyes the colors of emeralds gleamed brightly in the murky darkness. Her tail was a light green color, shimmering scales of emerald gleamed, and the ends were a pretty light green. Over her arm draped a brown sack.

Her eyes were wide with excitement as she looked at the newest addition to the sunken shipyard. Clary's fingers rested against the smooth surface of a mast, as her hair floated around her, like crimson fire. She was especially excited to explore the new ship. According to one of her sister's, it'd been stuck in a monster storm two nights before and had just recently sunk.

"Clary wait for me!" a voice called from behind her. Clary's expression immediately changed, as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Come on Simon, you slowpoke, hurry up!" she said, gesturing a hand in the dark waters. Simon finally caught up to her, as he joined her by the ship's mast. "I'm not a slowpoke, you are aware that I can't merely swim as fast as you," he said. "I know, I was kidding, isn't this place awesome? Look there it is. Isn't it wonderful?" she said, pointing towards the dark water.

Simon looked in the direction that she was pointing, and his breath nearly almost caught in his throat. Through the dark waters, a tiny ray of light shone in through the thin foam surface, as it came to rest upon the ship. It's once dark shape was now illuminated like a thousand tiny candles glowing brightly.

"Yeah you definitely got that right," her best friend agreed. Although he never thought much of it, the young merman was exceedingly handsome. He had a slim yet muscular body a little gangly, dark brown hair that was a little messy from not brushing it that morning, and was sticking up slightly in a few different directions. His eyes were a deep brown color, and his skin was a beige color. He looked exactly like his mother, except his eyes, and he had a gentle, soft-spoken voice. Black glasses covered his eyes, and his tail was blue, with flecks of red and gold embedded into the scales. The ending fins were a sapphire blue.

Clary had a sweet, but sarcastic demeanor which often concealed her true kindness. Like her mother, she was incredibly stubborn, brave, and a little reckless at times, but inside she was very caring and a compassionate person who cared deeply for her friends and family. While she didn't let any of this go to her head, she was very skilled in art and fighting. She was a very sweet and caring friend to Simon who saw her as a sister, and he saw her like a brother.

Simon was very smart, intelligent, and talented, especially with music. He always found humor in almost any situation, and often resorted to jokes in trying to lighten the mood when he was nervous or in a tense, hectic situation, or making a reference to something. He was often talkative when he was nervous or scared. He was an awesome friend to Clary and they had a great relationship with Magnus as well.

As in most tales, merpeople were equipped and gifted with all kinds of unique and powerful magic, most of it hailing from the Angel Raziel himself. One of their many abilities was that they were able to use a stele to draw runes and use them just like the shadowhunters on land. They also possessed superhuman strength, they were slightly stronger than some humans, and most of it resided in their tails. Because they were part fish, they were able to breathe underwater for long periods of time.

As a merman or mermaid grew older, their abilities to withstand attacks from a demon or any foe grew stronger, and they were able to use runes that were stronger and more powerful. Clary, Simon, and Magnus were always hungry for adventure. Adventure and danger... The three of them constantly their friends and family with their lack of safety, or regard of, but it was just as much a part of them as their fins and scales were.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she asked, beaming with pride. Simon pretended to smile, and be impressed with her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, of course, it's great. Now can we please get out of here?" he asked, before darting to swim away, but Clary rolled her eyes caught him by the arm.

"You're seriously not getting cold fins now are you Simon?" she said, before pulling him towards the ship.

Simon shook his head in response. "Me? No of course not."

He tried to brush it off as casual as possible, and not let her see the fear and anxiety in his eyes and voice. Beating her tail, Clary led Simon into the large sunken vessel.

The wood was an eerie gray color from the unexplained lighting of this place and covered with scratches and splinters. With heightening excitement, the two friends squeezed through a side porthole and into the ship.

Clary smiled as her green eyes looked at the remains of the crumbling vessel. There were several human skeletons lying on the deck, barnacle-encrusted scabbards still clutched in their bony fingers. There was a wooden chest toppled over among the bones, its contents spilling out onto the wood. There were golden coins, priceless pendants, and glittering jewels. Upon further investigation, the young mermaid noticed that one of the skeletons had a blade sticking out of his own chest. A blade that belonged to one of its bony companions.

"Clary," Simon gasped as all the pieces fell into place. "I think this might've been a pirate ship."

Clary's green eyes widened. "Really?" she swam over to look at the treasure. "Wow...I think you're right, Simon!"

The girl beat her tail and began gathering up the abandoned treasure, placing it into her sack with great happy enthusiasm. They had truly hit a goldmine in this little expedition. She giggled, slowly digging into the chest and pulling out a strand of pearls.

Simon's eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful necklace, "That looks so beautiful on you," he said as his friend modeled the necklace. The mermaid searched for a few seconds more and uncovered a gorgeous red and black cross-shaped necklace. She smiled, "This is so totally you," she said pressing it into her friend's palm. "I can wear it tonight," he said, slowly placing it into the bag.

Out of the corner of his eye, Simon noticed a small silver thing resting upon one of the broken barrels. He swam over towards it, upon further inspection he found that it was silver and circled shaped. Clary noticed him studying it.

"Hey Clary check this out," he said. The mermaid swan forward narrowing her green eyes to see the object in her friend's hands.

"What exactly is this?" he asked.

Clary reached for it, cautiously, and took it between her long pale fingers studied it for a moment, "What is this?" she asked. Simon shrugged, "I don't know, maybe Magnus will know who it belongs too," he said. She put it into her bag.

Her eyes slowly wandered towards two crates that were neatly arranged along where they had found the chest full of jewels. She swam over towards them, gently digging through the straw to revealing hundred's of tiny alabaster jars. Uncorking one instantly there was the wonderful scent of almond oil. "We should totally take these with us," she said before tossing the stuff into her bag.

Simon picked up one of the swords and swung it in his pale hand, grinning as some of the eerie green light reflected from it. He turned to his friend with a playful, roguish smile and raised the blade. "Time to walk the plank, Short Stuff."

Clary merely smirked at her friend's words and snatched a sword of her own. "What right have YOU to call ME short stuff?" she cried and swung at him.

Laughing, the two friends play fought with every move they had seen their parents and teachers make. The princess locked blades with her friend pushing him into one of the pillars, as their weapons clashed against each other. Eventually, they stopped battling and tossed aside their weapons. Simon noticed the dark haze outside was growing each thicker, making it almost impossible to see anything. Out of the corner of her eye, Clary noticed a gleam coming from one of the boards and swam right over towards it.

Her green eyes brightened, "Oh my gosh, Simon have you ever seen anything so wonderful and amazing in your entire life?" she said, holding the object up.

"Wow that's so cool, but what in Angel is it?" Simon asked.

"I don't know, but maybe Magnus might know," she replied.

"Man..." Simon murmured, rubbing his hands over his arms, "This place seriously is creeping me out." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark shadow dart by, moving very fast. "What the heck was that?" he asked, but Clary wasn't paying attention. She swam over towards the other side of the room, picking up another object. "I wonder what this one is."

"Clary, did you hear something?" Simon asked as he swam over towards the window. His eyes looked back and forth, searching but he found nothing.

"No I didn't, why?" Looking around at this strange and perilous place, Simon felt a pang of something stab at his heart. It was something he wasn't used to feeling. Worry...anxiety... fear... Simon reached over and took Clary's arm. She looked at him, confusion plain on her pretty face.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"Something I swear doesn't feel right. We need to get out of here," he replied, his eyes wide with fear.

Clary rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Simon don't turn into a flounder on me now," she said. Simon could feel the fear and dread slowly begin to rise within him, as he started to take a few steps was then Simon turned around and gasped in horror.

He noticed a large dark shape began to form out of the darkness. In the shadow of the waters, a large shark stood above him, in the dark murky waters. In the center of the window was a pure black and gray shark, this one appeared to be much bigger and larger than any they'd ever seen. Its ruby eyes seemed to burn into the poor teens very soul's. The creature crouched down, it's fins flattening against its thick skull.

It slowly began the descent down the long slope. The shark moved towards them in a very scary formation, never breaking apart. Each of its movement, moving in perfect harmony, and synchronicity from the dark waters, a tall dark unbroken shape which seemed to hover just a few inches above the dark brown-rotted wood.

"AHH! SHARK! WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

The large creature burst through the window, shattering the glass into a million tiny pieces, as Simon scrambled to get out of the way, his scream echoing loudly. Clary looked up just in time to see the whole thing happen. Her expression changed from one of happiness to one of pure terror. Simon swam towards the wall, moving as fast as he could, before barrelling into right his best friend. The shark followed his every move, slamming right into the ceiling.

To just merely say shocked would've been just a complete understatement to describe Clary's emotions and feelings. Even anger and rage were not even the right combination or nearly almost enough to see the fire and pain inside of the redhead's eyes and heart. As soon as those words Simon's escaped lips, Clary almost felt her heart stop beating, and yet the result was mere silence plus as deadly as a loud, deafening, agonizing scream full of pain filling the night air. Her pale fingers gripped the dark oak wood of the ship so tightly that she could feel the splinters forming into the creases of her skin, and her knuckles almost turned white, as the blood began to rush through her veins.

She gritted her teeth together, clenching them tightly causing them to ground into a look of pure, hot anger, making her body up at the shark, she finally opened her mouth to speak, as her lips pulled back from her teeth, which caused a snarl to rip from her throat. The glow from the seraph blade in her hand which burned brightly glistened upon her red curls; enchanting the rich color, making the mermaid look twice as an even more dangerous than before. The smell coming from the shark in front of her was even disgusting and gross, to the point where it almost made her sick. Yet they held their ground before it lunged at them again, and they immediately took off swimming towards the other side of the room to get out of the way.

The shark continued to chase them, snapping it's nasty looking jaws. Clary quickly spotted the opening to the entrance in which they'd come in before she and Simon raced through it. There was no sign of the monster as they swam down the corridor. All of a sudden, the shark burst through the wooden floorboards. The creature's jaws locked on the wood, chomping like a pirahina, breaking the fragments down easily.

Run.

Clary and Simon's each gut instinct immediately kicked in, as they took off swimming, their tails echoing in unsion as they dashed away, like a mad rushing out of control tornado. The snarls were getting louder and louder, and then all at once, suddenly faded into nothing.

'Don't be stupid, Clary, don't be stupid,' she pushed herself to get going, as she fought internally with the idea of turning around and fighting back.

Simon also thought with the reckless, stubborn teen before trying to break free, but it was as if his limbs were controlled by unseen, invisible strings, like that of a puppeteer. The very faint sound of the shark's roar could be heard in the distance, but he still continued to swim.

The shark was right on their trail, as they pounded against the merciless hard, current which was above them. Sharp wood and broken objects got in their way, smacking them right in the face which endlessly persisted to embed themselves deeper and deeper, into their sore aching flesh. Clary's bag got caught on some of the thin boards, but she refused to stop. She grabbed the bag, quickly disappearing through a small hole with Simon following close behind her. The monster halted not going in the other direction; and pushed its way into the spot where they vanished too.

She and Simon dashed down the corridor right towards the port-hole from where they came. Her best friend's face instantly fell because he realized it was far too small for him to squeeze through. "Oh man," he said and got stuck. Clary pushed with all her might and got him unstuck as she too squeezed right through it and they were finally at last outside. Not a moment later, the shark broke through the side and continued chasing them.

The shark suddenly threw its head back, and let out a loud growl into the air. The two teens didn't want to know what the hell it was doing and kept swimming. Out of the corner of her eye, Clary saw three more sharks come out of the darkness. These ones were much smaller and seemed to follow the large one's orders. One of the sharks soared through an arc in the murky waters, its horrid teeth like pincers gnashing with excitement.

Around in a circle they went, Simon wasn't paying attention as one of one of the sharks soared through an arc in the murky waters, it's horrid teeth like pincers gnashing with excitement. It was about to take a bite out of Simon's arm, and Clary smacked it away with her tail, but it still sank its teeth into his shoulder. A cry of pain escaped his lips. The pain was nauseating along with a blinding white searing one ripping through his body.

The pain was so blinding he crashed into the mast, hitting his head hard. He started to fall back towards the dark ocean. as Clary quickly swam for him. The shark chewed through the wood and immediately dove towards the bottom, while Clary pumped her tail against the tide, and reached her best friend just in time. He was falling near an anchor, and this gave her an idea. She caught Simon, helping him up going through the anchor and noticed the sharks swimming towards them at full speed.

"Simon come on, you've got to snap out of it!" she said, attempting to shake him loose from the dizzy spell he'd fallen into. But he wasn't responding at all. His eyes had rolled to the back to his head, and he had a slight deep bite on his arm. He finally snapped back to reality a few seconds later.

"Clary?" he asked.

"Take my hand, we have to work together to take these things down," she said. The glint in her eyes wasn't weakened by the shark and his goons were trying to eat and the attack they inflicted upon them. "Are you sure? I'm not sure we have enough energy or stamina to do this," he replied. Clary's eyes narrowed into slits, "Trust me, we can do this," she replied. Simon squeezed her hand back, "All right, I trust you."

"Hey big and ugly over here!" a voice called. Looking up Clary and Simon saw Magnus and Catarina just a few feet away from them.

"Magnus, Catarina!"

Clary smiled at her friends, "You both came."

Magnus grinned, "Of course biscuit, I always promised that I would protect my best friend's from danger," he winked.

"Thank you, Magnus," Simon added.

"Of course, it's our job to protect you both," Catarina said.

All of a sudden a blast of blue magic from Magnus's fingertips shot through the water. The pulsating ball of energy flew at the sharks, exploding right in front of them. It destroyed the three smaller sharks, shattering their ghastly forms like the blue tendrils of energy reached for the huge one. It surrounded him with a dark blue cloud, crackling with power. Finally, the spell broke and hit it head-on, the shark roared in terror as it finally vanished.

Clary and Simon both cheered, and high-fived Magnus and Catarina. Magnus chuckled, and bowed, as did Catarina. A sudden weakness hit Clary and Simon, as she let out a small groan. Magnus immediately rushed to their sides.

"Simon's hurt badly," Clary said.

"Let me see Si," Magnus replied, gently grasping Simon's arm in his hand. The merman groaned as the warlock studied the bite. "Good thing it didn't go any deeper, cause that would've been bad," he said, before waving a glowing hand over it. The bite slowly vanished, as Simon's skin began to repair itself. Catarina also added some magic of her own.

"Thank you so much, Magnus," Simon said.

"Yes thank you," Clary added.

"You're welcome, now what'd ya say we head for home?"Magnus asked. They all nodded. In a snap of his fingers, they vanished into a beam of light, and they were back in front of the palace. They were eagerly greeted by Jonathan, who swam as fast he could towards his sister and Simon, his green eyes beaming with happiness and relief. He threw his arms around them, hugging them each tightly. "I thought you two were doomed!" he cried, not relinquishing his grip on them.

Clary smiled, ruffling her brother's unruly hair, "Did you really think we'd led a few sharks to get the best of us?" she asked.

"Yeah those graveyard punk sharks got what was coming to them," Simon added.

"No I guess not," Jonathan said, as a sheepish smile formed on his face.

Magnus chuckled before inclining his head towards the palace doors. "Come on you two, Clary your father wants to see you."

"Oh yes," Clary's voice came out sounding slightly more miserable than ever, or even originally intended, for she knew exactly what was coming, the long inevitable lecture she and Simon wouldn't be able to avoid. "I'm sure he does," as they headed inside.

Little did they know, the four of them were being watched from afar. Red eyes glowed in the deep murky darkness, shielded by a glamour so that no one could see them. From underneath a dark rock, two eels watched, keeping a close eye on Clary in particular. They slowly emerged from their hiding place as their eyes changed color and now were a brilliant shade of orange, projecting an image of the princess and her friends into a small crystal ball, which sat upon a pedestal. On the other side was a ghastly and very dark scene.

"Yes, my dear little Clarissa, please do hurry home. We wouldn't want to miss your dear old father's celebration now would we?" a voice hissed from the darkness, seething in pure utter jealousy. Through the darkness, a pair of ocean blue eyes narrowed into slits. This was her secret place and her sacred place. It was where she felt at home and safe from all the cruelty of the world. She'd built this place for herself and for her babies in order to hide from those who wronged her so.

"When I ruled, we had glorious feasts and balls, not those stupid little excuses Lucian loves to call a party," Lilith mused to herself before plucking a little bug off of the plate which sat beside her. Biting into its thin flesh, she tasted nothing but bitterness. The taste of the bug was also a tad bit sour for her taste.

"Now look at me, wasted away to practically almost nearly nothing. Banished, exiled for eternity and starving to death while he and his nasty fish folk celebrate," she thought to herself.

"Oh I'll give those fool's something to celebrate soon enough!" she said. "Valentine! Rufus! her voice roared over to the eels. "I want you to keep an extra close watch that little particular daughter of my brother's."

"Yes, my queen, as you wish," Valentine said.

"Of course mistress," Rufus added.

Her blue eyes twinkled with satisfaction, twisting her finger's together.

"She may be the key to my dear little brother's undoing and to get myself back on the throne of Atlantis once again," her laughter echoed throughout the chamber before she burst into a source of red flames and vanished.