Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The ground exploded into a cloud of red dust as Magnus was tossed violently through the air, the metallic glimmer of the portal slamming shut in an unusual snap. Arms aching, he strained to push himself upwards off the ground. Magnus coughed and heaved as his lungs clogged with the dispersed dirt that danced around him, causing his eyes to water and his head to spin. He stumbled a few feet before collapsing face first back into the ground. Pain shot up his nose from the compact. Magnus felt a small trickle of warm liquid begin to drip from his nostril.

Alec… He thought longingly. Where was Alec? Where was he?

His mind was spinning frantically, words and sounds and feelings all becoming jumbled as he tried to focus on figuring which way was right side up. But the only thing he could hear clearly in his mind was the sound of Alec screaming his name right before he landed here.

Where am I? He thought again. He lifted his head off the ground and spat out dirt that had gotten into his mouth, his tongue quickly shriveling up like a spoonful of cinnamon had been poured onto it. A vision in the distance of figures decorated his line of sight in a blur, causing wave of nausea to overwhelm him before he passed out.

.               .               .

Beads of sweat ran across his forehead as Magnus came too. The white beams of the summer sun blinded him and he blinked ferociously, attempting to hoist himself up onto his elbows.

“Don’t strain yourself, you’re extremely dehydrated.” A monotone voice stated, startling the warlock. Magnus looked over to see a man sitting on a rock sharpening a sword. A katana, to be specific. Magnus watched the man, bewildered, as he set down his weapon and grabbed a pouch before walking over to Magnus and giving it to him.

“Drink.” Was all he said before he returned to his seat and continued to sharpen his sword.

Magnus slowly sat up and pressed the skin to his cracked lips. A single drop of cool water trickled along his tongue, triggering a sudden burst of desperate thirst Magnus had never felt before— or at least, not in a very long time. He clutched at the skin with vigor and squeezed the water into his throat, practically swallowing the pouch and almost choking in the process. Streams of cool water danced down his neck and soaked his shirt that was already so dirty its decorative pattern and vibrant colors were muted by brown grit and sweat stains.

After what seemed like an eternity, Magnus finished the pouch of water and tried to catch his breath. He observed the man before him, this stranger who presumably rescued him, or was holding him captive, or both.

The man was well built with a square jaw, with black hair that looked like it was in the process of growing out. From a distance, the stranger could definitely come off as non-threatening and docile dressed as he was, but being this close to him Magnus could see by the way he held himself and the way his toned, muscular arms moved as he slid the whetstone across the blade, that this man was anything but.

“You wanna tell me what you were doing laying out in the middle of the desert?” the man looked up at Magnus, his eyes a deep, inky black.

Magnus gave a hard swallow. “I uh…I don’t know. Where am I?” he muttered, practically a whisper. His voice was stale from the heat of being passed out in the middle of nowhere for god knows how long.

“Wish I could tell you. I don’t think this place has a name, other than ‘Out of the Badlands.’” The man picked up another sack and tossed it to Magnus. “Eat.” He instructed. Magnus complied and opened the sack to see an array of cured meats, dried fruits, seeds and nuts.

“The Badlands?” Magnus inquired. “I don’t understand, I was just in New York—“

“New York? What’s a New York?” The man asked, startled.

“What do you mean what’s a New York? Empire State Building, Lady Liberty—“

“Are you playing games with me?” The man barked, his words sharp and defensive. Magnus saw the muscles in his arm tense.

“What? No! I’m not, the last thing I remember happening was—“ Magnus’ eyes went wide in realization. “The portal! I fell through the portal, I have to get back, there’s a battle I—“ He stood up at once, only to get knocked back down by the man, who had suddenly appeared in front of him before Magnus even noticed. The strange man’s sword was now pressed at Magnus’ throat.

“Portals? What the hell are you talking about?” he said through gritted teeth.

Magnus flared his nostrils as he tried to steady his breath. He was both terrified and frustrated at the same time.

“Listen, I don’t expect you to understand, but I don’t belong here. I need to be getting back to my loved ones,” the warlock began, taking the back of his hand and pushing the sword out of his space. Magnus stood up and faced the man. “Clearly I traveled somewhere…else when I fell through, I just have to open another one. Stand back.”

The man was flabbergasted at Magnus’ assertiveness from brushing off the sword he had just had to his throat, so he obliged and stepped back. Magnus began moving his arms in a fluid motion to conjure up his magic.

Nothing happened.

Chapter Text

“Magnus!” Alec shouted as his ran towards the warlock, arm outstretched. Magnus had his arms extended just out of reach, his eyes wide and dilated and his mouth outstretched to scream as he fell backwards into the floating white-gold mass of the portal.

“Magnus! No!” the shadowhunter shrieked again, the tips of his fingers gently brushed against Magnus’ before the waves consumed him and the portal snapped shut. The gust of the portal closing was so powerful that the blast flung Alec back and slammed him against a concrete wall.  His body made a hideous snapping noise as fire zipped through every nerve in his body, tearing him away from consciousness.

Alec woke with a jolt, the nerves in his body all vibrating like plucked guitar strings. He looked around feverishly and delirious; he was back at the institute in the infirmary. When did he get here? The last thing he remembered was the battle….

What happened? He thought to himself, wincing and slowly lifting his legs to rest them on the edge of the bed. He sat there for several moments replaying everything in his head.

Magnus.

All of the blood rushed from Alec’s face as he remembered that Magnus had fallen into the portal. His heartbeat quickened, causing him to grip his chest. Alec struggled to breathe as he tried to push himself up off of the bed. The room began to spin and Alec stumbled, falling to the floor and taking a tray down with him.

“Alec!” he heard someone shout. A pair of strong hands began to lift him up and Alec attempted to balance himself on the weight of the person assisting him.

“What happened? Wha-what happened? Magnus?” words tumbled out of him desperately but was stopped by his inability to breathe steadily.

“Alec, calm down. I can’t tell you what’s going on if you don’t calm down, okay?” Alec sat back down on the bed, this time his parabatai’s eyes staring back into his.  Jace had his hands on Alec’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort his brother as well as keep him from standing up again.

“Hey, remember those breathing exercises we worked on, right? Let’s do that.” Jace instructed. Alec nodded hastily and Jace released his brother’s shoulders and grabbed his hands. The two of them stayed in that position for several moments as Jace made steady, deep breaths and Alec attempted to mimic them, counting each breath out loud until Alec had finally calmed down.

“You good?” Jace finally asked, his voice demur and soft.

“Yeah,” Alec swallowed hard before continuing. “Yeah, I’m—I’m okay now. Thanks.”

Jace lifted up from the squatted position he had been in and took a seat on the bed parallel to Alec’s. Alec noticed that Jace was acting suspiciously gentle. He tried to ignore the thoughts that were beginning to flood his mind again as he tried to put together the pieces.

“Jace…what happened?” the shadowhunter blurted. Jace flinched slightly at the increase in volume at Alec’s demand, but took a deep breath and began to tell Alec everything.

“Magnus was trying to evacuate us from the fight. Too many demons,” his voice cracked, briefly interrupting the flow of what was clearly a scripted response.

“Izzy was yelling at Magnus to dodge a demon and he fell back into the portal. You were thrown back in the blast of the portal collapsing in on itself.” Jace avoided his brother’s eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, his hands shaking.

“Alec….Magnus is gone. We don’t know where he is.”

Alec’s eyes widening, panic flooding like tears. His jaw tenses and his teeth began to grit and he tried to hold in the devastation and anger boiling up inside him.

This can’t be right. They didn’t do enough, Magnus has to be saved! His mind screamed.

Jace placed a hand on Alec’s chest, stopping him from walking away. They were both standing now; Alec wasn’t sure when he had stood up or where he had planned to go, but white-hot rage had briefly overtaken him before his brother had knocked him back to reality.

“Don’t do anything stupid, I’m not finished.” Jace hissed quietly to his brother, as if he was trying to keep others from listening. Alec turned to look at his brother, his hazel eyes now more the color of dying grass than a rich marsh, as if finding out he was without Magnus was slowly beginning to erase all color from his world. Alec made a hard swallow and sat back down, resting his hands in his face in an attempt to soak in all that was being told to him. He felt the mattress dip as his parabatai sat next to him.

“They recovered a portal shard. The portal, according to the Seelies, is still partially there. No one can get in or out without magic opening it, but the risks are too dangerous.” Jace exhaled through his nostrils, stress glazing over his eyes.

“Jace…I don’t care how dangerous the risks are. We have to try and find him.”

“What the fuck do you mean I can’t go? I’m not taking anyone with me, this hurts no one!” Alec’s face was burning up, eyes wild with wrath as he gaped in disbelief at his mother.

“Alec, since you’ve been recovering I have had to act as head of the Institute again and I’m telling you, you are not going through that portal. The Clave has it on lockdown until they can figure out how to dissolve it.” Maryse crossed her arms firmly in an attempt to end the discussion, but Alec wasn’t finished.

“Dissolve? Dissolve? You want to dissolve the portal while Magnus is still trapped there?” Alec’s voice was not only booming, but had raised several octaves. Despite his office door being firmly shut, he knew everyone within 100 feet could hear what was going on.

“Alec, it’s too dangerous. Even going alone, you would be hurting people.” Izzy gently responded, striding over to her brother and gently placing her hand on his arm. Alec shook her off and stepped backwards, his eyes burning with betrayal in her direction. Isabelle looked down, ashamed and hurt, and stepped back.

“The Seelies said there was a chance he was portaled to another dimension, there’s no other reason we’d have the shard. Plus, the shard is too small to fit, which means there’s another one out there somewhere!” Alec was huffing and puffing now, his chest fuming with fury, his ears so red they could have been mistaken for being soaked in blood.

“We never found—“ Maryse began, but was interrupted by Alec. She closed her eyes in frustration and exhaled through her nose.

“Then that means Magnus could have the other piece! Someone has to at least try!”  Alec had never been this angry in his entire life. He was the head of the Institute, and his mother was telling him he couldn’t do something. “Listen, I am the head of this Institute—“

Maryse raised her voice. “You are not the head of this Institute, Alec. Not until The Clave approves you fit for duty again, and by your current behavior, you aren’t. If you’re going to lead you need to know the difference between being reckless and making hard decisions.”  Alec smiled angrily, he was so shocked that he began to laugh. “That…that is hilarious, Maryse. I remember not that long ago your process to handle hard choices was to cut them out like a cancer—or did you forget you said that to me when Jace was kidnapped?” Isabelle and Maryse gawked at Alec, unable to concoct a response in Maryse’s defense. Alec raised his hands in defeat and dropped them, slapping his thighs.

“You know what…? I’m over this, We’re done with this conversation.” Alec turned away from his mother and sister to exit the room, slamming the thick mahogany door behind him.

Chapter Text

“What the hell?” Magnus’ blurted, his dark brows furrowed over his eyes like two small mudslides, the corners of his mouth turned down as if he had just tasted something spoiled. He grunted as he attempted to conjure his magic a second time, his light and fluid movements becoming more direct and aggressive. Meanwhile, Magnus’ captor-rescuer stood several feet away, his stance emulating a mix of caution and curiosity as he braced for something to result from Magnus’ movements. After several minutes, Magnus finally gave up, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Ahh!” Magnus bellowed, spinning around in frustration. His voice boomed several yards into the distance, causing a small flock of birds to startle and fly away.  

“Was something supposed to happen?” The stranger finally inquired. He was still standing far from Magnus, but not too far so that Magnus could escape him. “Because you look ridiculous.” Magnus’ gave the stranger a firm pout and shuffled over to the rock where the man had been sitting. “Yes, it was supposed to open a portal. Something is wrong. My magic doesn’t work here.” His voice barely came out as a whisper this time as he gazed vacantly at the horizon. Alec…. Magnus heard the shadowhunter’s name ring inside his head like a bell. He was never going to see Alec again. He would never see the man he loved, never watch him grow old with Magnus by his side, and just when he thought he might have found his soulmate…..

“Hello? I’m talking to you,” The man gave Magnus a slap on the shoulder, knocking him from his depressive stupor. Magnus glared up at the man silently. “I still have no clue what you’re talking about, but I found this near you,” he tossed a light topaz-colored rock onto his lap. “I’ve never seen anything like it before, so I assume this traveled from wherever you came from.”  Magnus held the shard up to the light. He felt a small pulse of energy run through him as his skin touched the cold surface. It’s was a portal shard.

“A portal shard…this is a portal shard! The portal must have broken when my magic stopped abruptly! You—“ the light of excitement that overcame Magnus’ face quickly turned to confusion as he faced the man, suddenly remembering he doesn’t know his name. “Who are you, exactly?” The stranger’s brows raised, eyes gone wide, as if he wasn’t prepared for Magnus to ask him that, or maybe he didn’t want his name to be known. “How about this: I’m Magnus Bane. Now, you are…..” he held out his hand for the man to shake.

“Sunny. Just Sunny.” Sunny looked away and left Magnus’ hand empty. “What’s the significance of that rock?” Magnus rubbed his thumb along one of the facets of the portal shard and tensed his jaw. “It means….that there’s a chance I can open this portal. I don’t have my magic, but with this shard, the portal should be opened once it’s put back in. I can feel its energy, so it’s somewhere out there.”  The two men sat there in silence for a while. Magnus new that while this world is new to him, his sudden appearance must have turned Sunny’s world upside down as this dimension is all he’s known. Finally, Magnus continued.

“I can feel which direction to go to find it, but I need to know if you plan on keeping me captive or if I’m free to leave.”  The warlock waited for Sunny to respond this time, watching as the mysterious rescuer sat there deep in thought. “You’re not being held captive.” He stated, his voice monotone and emotionless.

“Well, if that’s the case then I guess I will just head on out. Thank you for helping me Just Sunny, I appreciate it.” Magnus’ stood up, the feeling of being nude washed over him as he began to walk away without anything but the clothes on his back and the portal shard. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his wrist and yank him back. “You really think walking off into the Badlands with nothing but a rock is smart?”

“Well, I don’t know exactly what else you expect me to do. I’ve made it 400 years on my own, I can find my way through your Badlands.” Magnus chirped. Sunny raised an eyebrow at ‘400 years’ but said nothing; he had already accepted at this point that this stranger he found lying in the middle of nowhere was just that: strange. But Sunny knew what the Badlands could do to someone without any training. ”You have no fighting skills. This entire land is built on war and death and blood, you wouldn’t survive a day out there,” Sunny released Magnus’ wrist and stepped back to grab his sword. “And it’s not my Badlands, it’s the Badlands. Here.” He handed Magnus his sword. Magnus ogled the weapon, wide-eyed and weary of what came next. Sunny then crossed over to the other side of the small camp he had set up and grabbed a second blade he had laying under a blanket. “For now, that’s your sword.”

Magnus looked down in disbelief at the weapon in his hand. He never had a need to use actual weapons before, and the idea made him nervous. At least, not skillfully, and not in a very long time. Magnus imagined his skills were rusty, as not everyone had the privilege of having magical abilities. “I don’t really know about this—“

“Listen, you’re going to learn to fight. I refuse to let you leave knowing you can’t defend yourself.” Magnus could see that Sunny was trying to fight back tears as he said this. It was clear that, despite his closed off and ominous demeanor, Sunny had a past that cause him to build walls of apathy and cynicism around what was presumably a very soft man. Behind the two small puddles of black in his eyes, Magnus could see the echo of a man who had done and lost so much, and was so desperate to balance out the scales of what he had contributed to the universe. Magnus was familiar with the weight of a pain such as that. “You don’t step foot outside of this camp until I agree you’re fit to do so. Got it?”

Magnus gave a hard swallow and nodded. “Got it.”

Chapter Text

Beyond the horizon, clouds stained themselves with hazy shades of pastel pinks, blues, and purples that bled from the sky along the patchy desert ground as Magnus and Sunny trudged along, swords at their backs and small sacks along their shoulders. It had been several weeks since Magnus landed here ‘out of the Badlands’, which meant several weeks of the same routine of walking, camping, training, scavenging, and repeating it all the next day. Magnus didn’t necessarily mind this routine, but rather the maddening silence from his travel partner and trainer. Most days the only talking Sunny did were when he was instructing Magnus during his daily sword training, or if he was scolding Magnus for doing something wrong. It made Magnus feel stupid and small. Magnus had lived 400 years on his own but he never realized how much he had grown dependent on his magic to help him through the centuries until he was without it.

 It took him a week to figure out how to start and keep a fire, two weeks to figure out how to set up the makeshift tents that they had, and Magnus still couldn’t hunt his own food, if you could even call what Sunny would catch ‘food’. The only thing he really got the hang of quickly was the combat training; Magnus was not a stranger to fighting, but learning to use a real weapon to defend himself against flesh and blood opponents was new for him. At least, in this dimension, it was new for him. There were too many possibilities in this world for him to assume he knew what he was doing.

“We’ll camp here, it’s getting dark.” Sunny stated. Their journey through the empty wasteland they were in seemed to be coming to a close; the red clay earth beneath their feet now was beginning to merge with large patches of lush green grass, and the two could see that by another day’s journey they would be completely out of the desert. Magnus began to find brush for a fire while Sunny set up the camp, the two following the routine that had been set up in silence, just like every night.

The fire crackled and hissed at Magnus as he fed it more brush, the flames leaping up as it devoured the dry branches before spitting out ashes like a beast belching after a big meal.  He sat there rubbing the portal shard between his hands and gazed into the flames. The energy in the shard felt stronger now, meaning they were heading in the right direction. Magnus pondered what was going on back in his realm. They probably had a funeral by now for him. Magnus had never planned on having a funeral, but knowing Alec, he probably would have done something for him, something special. His lips turned up at the corners slightly at the idea that he had someone who cared enough about him to do something he never imagined he would ever need. A single tear left Magnus’ eye at the next thought that followed; Alec would be mourning him. He had no doubt of that, but what broke him in the core of his being was knowing the man he loved thought he was dead, and the feelings that would come with that. Alec was loyal, more loyal than most, and he felt a lot deeper than he showed, and Magnus knew the pain he would be feeling wouldn’t leave him for a long time, if at all.

“Who is she?” Sunny’s voice pulled Magnus back to reality, jolting the warlock into a slightly confused stupor. He proceeded to wipe what was now several streams of tears from his cheeks, unaware he had went from shedding a single tear to practically sobbing. “What?” Magnus stifled.

“You’re doing that thing people do when they’ve lost someone they love. I asked who she was.” Sunny locked eyes with Magnus, and Magnus had the feeling he was genuinely curious by the mix of emotions swimming in his eyes. “Uh, well, he….” Magnus quickly turned away and shut his mouth. He hadn’t even intended on answering his companions question, but the constantly silence that was always between them gave Magnus a reflex to answer anytime Sunny did address him. But Magnus knew what the world could be like to people like him, at least his world, and if this world was worse than his, he didn’t want to make himself any bigger of a target than he might be already. He hadn’t felt this fear in centuries, a fear he thought he had gotten rid of, but he realized that without his magic here, he was defenseless, and he knew that anything and everything he was or did could put him in danger.

“What was his name?” Sunny continued, seemingly unbothered or unaware of what Magnus had thought he insinuated. 

“Alec. His name is Alec.” His response came out in a whisper, weak and full of pain. Magnus continued to avert Sunny’s gaze, afraid of what he might stare into. Silence weighed heavily on the two again, until Magnus concluded Sunny must be waiting for him to answer. “He’s not dead. I don’t think. But he thinks I am. Which is why I have to get back to where I came from.”  Sunny remained quiet, except this time the sound of him polishing his sword flooded the silence between them.

“What about you?” Magnus finally asked cautiously.

“What about me?” he deadpanned.

“You’ve had the same look on your face before, you know. Who are they?” this time Magnus looked over at Sunny, their eyes heavy at each other. Silence. Sunny looked away and continued with his sword. That was Magnus’ cue to leave, before he got upset. He stood up and walked towards his tent, squeezing the portal shard in his hand like a stress ball.

“Veil. Her name is Veil.”

Magnus stopped and turned to his travelling companion. He noticed Sunny’s features had softened exponentially, almost as if it had taken all his strength to muster her name, and now he was too weak to do anything else. Magnus had decided he wouldn’t push it any further tonight. He gave Sunny a slight nod and continued to make his way to get some sleep.

Like a switch flipping to turn on a light, Magnus woke with a jolt. His entire body prickled with the sensation of rolling in needles. Outside his tent, he heard a voice—no, multiple voices—heatedly exchanging in slow, low voices.

“I’m giving you a chance to leave. I don’t want to fight anyone.” He heard Sunny warn their surprise company. By the sound and location of his voice, Magnus deduced Sunny was standing in front of his tent, the unwelcome visitors farther away and facing him. Magnus froze, unsure of what to do. He could evacuate the tent, but that could only result in violence Sunny seemed so desperate to avoid. Suddenly the sounds of boots crunching on the patchy, pebbled ground gravitated towards Sunny and the tent, making the intruders voice easier for Magnus to grasp.

“Well, if you’re all by your lonesome, you don’t need all of this extra stuff I reckon. Just give us the stuff and we’ll be on our way.” A raspy voice said, a smidge of a southern drawl lingering off the end of the words he spoke as they rolled off his tongue. “That’s not going to happen.” Sunny hissed calmly. Before he thought about what he was doing, Magnus propped himself up and crouched out of his tent, springing up, his sword at his side. Sunny turned around as he and the 3 men surrounding their camp gawked at him.

“I’m afraid my friend is right. You won’t be getting anything except disappointment. Good things do not come to those who wake me from my beauty sleep.” A sarcastic smirk tugged at the corners of Magnus’ mouth as he turned to Sunny, who huffed and rolled his eyes at him before he turned back to face their adversaries again. For a moment, it reminded him of Alec.

The man standing in the middle of the trio stepped forward. He was a short, bulky man with medium length hair pulled back tightly, tugging at the leathery skin on his enormous, dirt- caked forehead. A large scar was swiped across his face, making his right eye sag slightly lower in the corner than his left, as well as missing a piece of his nose. He walked with a limp that indicated one of his legs was longer than the other, but the way he held himself gave off the impression that he was the leader of the group.

“You’ll get all the beauty sleep you could ever wish for after I cut you down and leave you both for the crows.” He growled as a hideous, cracked smile spread across his face. With the change of the wind, Sunny stepped forward and whirled his arms, slightly bending his legs until he was in a defensive stance, the 3 men following suit to mirror him. Magnus got the memo immediately after, and just in time, because the tallest of the men on the left ran head-first towards Sunny. Magnus caught a glimpse of his partner cutting the man twice his size down in 2 seconds flat, knocking him unconscious, but not killing him, right before the other gang member was coming at Magnus, a loud screech escaping his mouth. Magnus’ movements were almost robotic, he was able to dodge and dismantle his opponent before he even registered what he was doing. Adrenaline pumped violently through his veins as the man turned around, his fist flying towards Magnus’ chest, knocking him across the camp a good 5 feet.

His lungs vacuumed shut like a raisin as Magnus tried to catch the wind that was knocked out of him. Head swirling, he crawled onto his hands and feet, dust and dirt kicking up around him and hindering his ability to recover.

“Magnus!” he heard Sunny scream at him. “On your left!” Magnus rolled over to the right and pushed himself upwards from on his back, effortlessly landing on his feet. Sword was still in his hand, he swung it in the direction Sunny had warned him to avoid, the blade hitting something at his arm level, a loud scream shuddering in his ear. Magnus felt a hot liquid spray his arm and face and felt the sword leave his hand as the object he hit fell to the ground with a thump.

Taking a second to wipe his eyes, Magnus regained his sight to a blood bath. Sunny was wiping his sword off with the shirt of the leader of the gang that had intruded on them, his headless body laying several feet away with no sign of the its’ missing counterpart. The large man Sunny had knocked unconscious was lying in a pool of his own blood, still choking on it as it escaped the base of his throat. Magnus looked down to see the man he had been battling with at his feet, Magnus’ sword stuck upwards into his skull from the base of his jaw, an eyeball halfway out of its socket. He sucked in a gasp in horror and then felt the liquid on his face, realizing he had been sprayed with the man’s blood when he hit him, as the blade also hit a part of his jugular. He stared at his clothes, shock overtaking his body. He’s ears rang with the blast still remaining from being knocked back. A faint hum vibrated in the background that sounded like his name being called. He looked up at a blurred Sunny march towards him and grabs his shoulders.

“Magnus. Magnus!” Sunny yelled, the sound of his voice suddenly present instead of far away. Magnus snapped his head to meet Sunny’s gaze head-on, his mouth slightly open to try and draw a response.

“You okay?” his companion asked, his tone stern and hard.

“Yeah…yeah I’m okay….” Magnus mustered out, his eyes still crazed and jumping around to look at the scene in front of him.

“Go pack up our things, I’ll take care of the bodies. You did good.” Sunny stated, not as a compliment and no real tone in his voice. It was almost as if he was a robot, devoid of emotion. He grabbed Magnus’ victim and dragged him out towards the direction they had traveled from, Magnus heading back towards the tent to gather their supplies.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Alec ran his stele over his heat rune as he shuffled impatiently in the brisk, sharp wind that the streets of New York funneled through the city. “C’mon…c’mon…” he mumbled repeatedly, like a broken record, oblivious to the fact his thoughts were verbalizing out loud.

“Are you going to keep repeating that?” A smooth, oaky voice sang, causing Alec to spin around, startled. “My, Isabelle, you’ve certainly…changed.” Meliorn deadpanned, his sarcasm piercing through Alec like a spear, as he was clearly unhappy with the reality of which Lightwood sibling he was meeting.

“I’m sorry Meliorn, but I didn’t think you would meet if you didn’t think it was Izzy.” White clouds of ice-cold air puffed from his throat as he apologized. “I need to know if—“

“If the Seelies can help you open the portal. Yes, I figured that much when I got the fire message.”  He interrupted; his expression still stone cold and indiscernible as it always was. That was something that always unnerved Alec about Meliorn; you never really knew what he was thinking or if he had an ulterior motive. Meliorn had proven himself to be trustworthy time and time again, but the hair on Alec’s neck still stood up when Meliorn stared at him for too long. Maybe it was because he never blinked. Maybe Alec still had some things to work on when it came to how he viewed downworlders.  Alec stepped towards the Seelie, closing the distance between them as to avoid raising his voice too much.

 “No one knows I’m here, okay? I just need to know if you can open it, and if you will. Please, Meliorn. I can’t give up on him.” The Shadowhunter’s voice trembled and broke repeatedly as he tried to get the words out, convincing himself that it was the frigid, late autumn air that caused his body to react that way rather than the thought of never seeing Magnus again. Meliorn’s nostrils flared as he studied Alec’s expression for a moment, turning to take a couple steps away from Alec and widening the gap between them again.

“What’s in it for me? The last time I helped one of you, I was punished severely. Dare I say, this time it would end much worse for me.” He hissed, pitch black pupils engulfed the warm brown of Meliorn’s iris’. A wave of shame flowed over Alec as he recalled the incident that led to Meliorn helping Clary, something that was entirely his fault, and Meliorn no-doubt still resented him for it. Suddenly his decision to contact Meliorn seemed extremely insensitive, but he couldn’t turn back now. Meliorn was the only Seelie that Alec was even on a first name basis with, and if there’s anything he has learned since being with Magnus, it’s that most of the problems Shadowhunters have to face couldn’t be beaten without the aid of Downworlders. It felt like too much to ask, but he couldn’t give up on Magnus. Not now, not ever.

“You don’t have to do anything. I understand the position you would be put in,” He sucked in a shard of cold air before continuing. “But is there anyone that can help me with this? Anyone at all? Magnus has saved our asses more times than I could count for the next ten of your lifetimes and I can’t give up on him. I’ll do anything. Please.” Desperation oozed out of him like an open wound, but Alec didn’t care. He didn’t care how pathetic or desperate he seemed to anyone. If he had to beg, he would beg.  The smoky grey-green hue of his eyes danced in the moonlight, watery from the biting wind of the night and the thought this would be a dead end to finding his boyfriend.

Meliorn arched an eyebrow at him, eyes trailing up and down inquisitively with how to handle the situation before him. Finally, he turned his body fully towards Alec and began to talk.

“You’re willing to risk this much for him.” It wasn’t a question Meliorn had posed, just an observation.  “It’s not unlike Magnus has not been extremely helpful to the fair folk in the past. The Seelie Queen is quite fond of him. If we can convince her to petition with the Clave, we might be able to get somewhere. Look for my fire message.”

Meliorn didn’t wait for Alec’s response as he turned and stalked off into the night.

-------

“I cannot believe you Alec! To go behind the Clave and have the Seelie Court do your bidding!” Robert’s voice boomed heavily like thunder in within the walls of the Head’s office. The hunters at the Institute were accustomed to the yelling behind the heavy wooden door of the HOTI’s office, and unlike the first time, the noise of working sounded behind it outside.

Alec was sitting, arms crossed and eyes hazy as his gaze bore into his father, unblinking and cold. He wanted to say so many things to Robert, especially when it came to unbelievable actions, but he held his tongue to avoid adding to the discourse. “The Seelies are willing to open the portal at no cost the The Clave, I don’t see what the big deal is,” Jace interrupted, stepping forward to defend his brother.

“The big deal? The big deal is that your brother undermined the authority of The Clave and put them in a position they will not forgive us for!” Maryse piped, who had been sitting quietly and stirring for the past 20 minutes as her insufferable husband ripped her eldest son a new one. “The Clave never forgives and we’ve made it out before,” Jace retorted. “But Shadowhunters wouldn’t have been able to accomplish half the things we have if it wasn’t for Magnus Bane, and if we don’t at least attempt to rescue him we’re not only signing his death certificate but our own.” Alec scoffed in disgust. He knew his brother was trying to appeal to their parent’s selfish and out-dated viewpoint, but the thought that anyone wanted to get Magnus back to save their own skin unnerved him to no end. He wanted to say something, but he knew the words couldn’t come out right and he could jeopardize any chance he had at seeing this through. He wasn’t even sure he could talk at the moment in general.

Izzy finally stood up from her seat in the farthest corner of the room stepped forward. She had grown increasingly distant with the frequency of these “family meetings” and remained quiet a large amount of the time out of frustration and distaste, only choosing to speak when she knew her point would cut through the tension. This time was no different.

“Ulterior motives aside, Magnus has been an incredible ally to us. We owe him for that alone. The fact that Alec managed to convince the Seelie Queen to even agree to this is a feat in itself! This is what’s right and you both know it. Stop worrying about the Lightwood legacy for two seconds and worry about what morals you’d be sacrificing to uphold a name!” his sister’s eyes were wild and impatient, yet her entire demeanor was calm and collected. It was quite frightening, actually, and Alec saw that his parents had the same impression.

After several quiet moments, Maryse rubbed her palms on the front of her dress to straighten it out. “Alright. We’ll report to the Clave and side with a hearing from the Seelie Court. Alec,” she gazed over at her son, her face straining to remain stoic and assertive under the mix of emotions and stress she was currently under. Alec felt a pang of guilt for putting his mother through this, but he knew that she knew that this was the right thing to do. He stared back at her and waited for her to finish. “Like you said before, the Lightwood name has been through much worse. I trust you.” She marched towards the door, not waiting for Robert behind her. Robert remained for a moment, as if prompting to make a statement, but instead exhaled heavily before skulking out of the room.

“Well that went a lot better than I expected.” Izzy chuckled.

“Yeah, well that’s because you went full Maleficent on them.” Jace retorted lightly. Alec remained silent as he stood up, a smile growing on his face at the pop culture reference and recalling the first time Magnus introduced him to Disney movies.

Now, I can’t say I condone cursing a child, but Maleficent was one outstanding villain. All because she wasn’t invited to a christening! Magnus had giggled. Alec remembers watching his eyes crinkle at the side as he took another sip of his daiquiri, huddled up together on Magnus’ couch in a pile of intertwined limbs, popcorn, and candy wrappers—despite the fact it was the middle of a very humid summer.

“I suppose we should be expecting a visit from your grandmother soon, huh buddy?” Alec joked as he headed out of his office, his parabatai’s sighs and his sister’s giggles sounding behind him. The weight of never seeing the love of his life was still heavy in his chest, but the closer they came to gaining access to that portal, the closer he came to possibly seeing Magnus, the less the thought intruded his mind.

He was going to get Magnus back, come hell or high water