Hello readers!~
So this is an oc-insert. The oc will end up in a polyamorous relationship with Magnus AND Alec. What does that mean? Alec x magnus x oc. They're all gonna be together and having some huggin' and lovin'. This does not mean I'm steamrolling Malec. Malec will still have all of their moments, most unchanged, and will still be a main feature of this fic.
I have written over 100k words of this fic already (up to episode 2x10,) so enjoy the ride!
Prologue...
Dot had just slammed Clary against a pillar when the redhead saw someone race into the room. Holy crap, Clary thought, recognising the man as her twin brother, though it took her a moment. He'd changed a lot in the four years he'd been missing. He was taller than she remembered, much taller. His hair had grown out into a shaggy look.
His cheeks had thinned out, and he'd filled out his once lanky limbs. He looked… he looked good. Better than he had when he'd left. Healthier than he had when he'd left.
For a moment, Clary forgot about her impending doom, too busy gaping at the sight of her wayward brother. Then, reality crashed down and Clary remembered that oh shit she was being choked by Dot.
"Jonas!" Clary managed to gasp out, unsure what her brother would be able to do. She needed to try something, though.
Dot's head snapped around at that, and suddenly it was a weird-creepy-bug-thing that was hissing at Jonas. Jonas froze up for a moment, and then he was charging at Dot without hesitation.
The thing that was definitely not Dot, struck out with a weird, sharp tail and stabbed Jonas in the neck.
"No!" Clary shouted. She struggled to reach her brother, but NotDot was too strong. Unable to break free, NotDot soon hauled Clary up and dragged her away, vanishing out the window.
Then...
It took Jonas way too long to find his bike.
Normally he left it in the carpark downstairs, and the others did too. Although, usually the only other one that drove it was Owl. (Hoot thought motorcycles were unsafe, and Gnash couldn't stand how 'tiny' it was, and thought it was below her– frankly— impossible standards.)
He ended up finding it in the community shed out back. Which was unsettling, because it meant someone from his system had driven it or at the least moved it without his knowledge. Or he'd forgotten whatever reason it was that he'd not parked it in its normal spot. Either way, it was a concern, and he'd have to discuss it with everyone at some point.
Not right now, of course, because currently Gnash and Hoot were locked in an argument (no surprise there) about what was happening today.
Their fighting was distracting, and at a volume that caused Jonas to flinch every now and then. He'd tried to coax Owl out, because he didn't want to deal with so much crap right at that moment. Owl had, unsurprisingly, refused. He was too busy trying to play peacekeeper between his brother and Gnash.
Everything was made that extra bit worse by the fact that Jonas had a headache. He'd had it since earlier that morning, but he couldn't quite tell if he'd woken up with it or it'd been caused by the argument going on in his head.
Jonas exhaled slowly and took a moment to collect himself. He felt tired, wanting desperately to climb into bed and not deal with today. His hands tingled, and so he clenched and unclenched his fists, willing sensation back into them— though it probably wouldn't work.
If he wanted to make any progress today, he had to leave now.
Jonas was so tempted to delay the journey, put it off for just a few more days. He knew if he did though, something else would come up. They had been supposed to leave earlier that week, but then Gnash had come out and prevented them from managing anything productive.
She could be a downright nuisance when she felt like it.
There was a tight knot of anxiety in his chest, worries of what was to come and how he was going to handle life without having his best friend close by.
Things with Howl hadn't been perfect of course. Jonas had still been a dissociative mess, but at least his friend had supported him– listened to him, cared about him and filled him in on things he'd forgotten. Jonas couldn't even remember how he'd ended up in the shed to find his bike, let alone what he'd done for his birthday last year.
(Which Howl had recounted was spent playing Mass Effect 2, a worthy pastime.)
Now though, he'd found his motorcycle and had his duffel bag stuffed with everything he'd require. He had the contact details he needed saved to his phone, and enough candy packed to keep Joey satisfied for a long while.
He was ready.
...The rest of the system wasn't so ready.
But they'd discussed it at length, and despite some reservations, nobody was explicitly against what they were going to do– where they were going to go.
Jonas took a moment to look around his surroundings, judging the level of mild separation he felt with the world; a feeling that was near constant in his life. Satisfied that he was safe to drive, Jonas grabbed his bike and began to walk it to the road.
The sooner he left this place, the better.
Now...
Alec was pissed. Not only was their best lead on the Cup gone, but now they had a mundane in their Institute... and Jace wanted to keep it.
He hurried down the halls and towards his parabatai's room, eager to get this mess sorted out so he could get back to things that actually mattered. Like finding the cup.
Jace caught up with him on the way there, and Alec shot him a look. "We're getting rid of it."
"Why would we get rid of him?" Jace said, and Alec ignored his pronoun usage. "He's our best lead to the cup right now, since the other two have been kidnapped."
"It's a mundane," Alec argued. "It won't know anything."
They fell quiet as they neared the room, both of them realising that arguing was pointless. As they hurried forward, Alec picked up on the conversation that was happening within.
"...And by "taken" I assume you mean "saved your life"?"
Alec wondered for a moment what they were talking about. Deciding it didn't matter, he didn't care about this 'mundane' anyway, Alec cut right to the point.
"A mundane shouldn't even be here," he said as he stepped into the room. Only a second after, he stumbled slightly when his gaze caught on the mundane in question.
Holy fuck, he thought, taking in the man with a wide gaze. The mundane was lean and well toned, the muscles in his biceps prominent as they easily filled the size of— what Alec recognized to be— Jace's shirt. He was obviously tall, his feet easily hitting the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Alec was glad for his heavily-trained senses then, because it allowed him to truly appreciate the man's soft features, bed-head hair (though Alec couldn't help but imagine it as sex-mussed), deep brown eyes, pleasantly tanned skin and auburn hair.
"Uhuh," the mundane made a noise of agreement. "Sure. Whatever you say, because it's not like I understand what you're talking about anyway."
Alec paused, not having expected that response. He bristled slightly, going on the defensive.
"How about I explain it to you when you're long gone and out of my way?" Alec replied, staring down at the man.
The mundane shrugged. "If you're offering to pay for me to visit the Bahamas, then I'm down."
Alec felt his lips twitch, but he quickly hid the motion with a not-so-subtle move of his hand.
Bed-Head Hair smirked.
"He's not a mundane, Alec." Jace gestured to the man who was, apparently, not a mundane. For now, Alec was going to think of the man as 'Bed-Head Hair'... and not because he found that particular feature attractive or anything. It was purely for simplicity's sake. "He must be Clary's brother," Jace continued. "They certainly look alike. I'm guessing if she's not a mundane, he isn't either."
Alec stared at his parabatai, unimpressed by his circumstantial logic.
"Look, Isabelle, can you…" Jace gestured to Izzy, and she got up to let Jace sit down in front of the man-who-may-or-may-not-be-a-mundane. "I'm Jace Wayland," he introduced.
"Cool," Bed-Head Hair replied, seemingly unimpressed.
Alec resisted the urge to snicker at the look of incredulity that passed across Jace's face.
Bed-Head Hair gave Jace the benefit of the doubt. "I'm Jonas," he explained, in a pleasant enough tone.
"Jonas Fray?" Jace clarified.
Bed-Head Hair, Jonas, visibly tensed. "I don't go by that name anymore."
"Am I the only one who finds this unusual?" Alec interrupted, growing impatient. He shoved down the bud of curiosity that had grown in his chest. He wasn't interested in possibly-not-mundane Jonas, not even remotely.
Jace shot him a look. "You find everything unusual, Alec."
"I have to report this to the Clave," Alec pressed. He really did, and he'd been nice and given Jace a few minutes to have fun with the mundane, but enough was enough.
"You know what?" Jace said. "Dial it down a notch."
"My brother doesn't have a dial," Izzy explained. "I love you, Alec, but you have a switch that's always on."
Alec glanced at his sister. "I love you, too." He gestured his hand in the direction of Bed-Head Hair. "But this–"
"Hey, you know what?" Jace interrupted. "Give me a minute." When neither made to move, Jace continued, "Here's a word you never hear me say. Please?"
"What is with you?" Alec asked. Unsurprisingly, he received no response. "Really, no, what is with him?" He asked to Izzy when the woman got up to leave.
"Walk with me, big brother. I'll explain it to you."
"Wait," Bed-Head Hair suddenly said. He looked up at Alec, gaze fleeting. "You're leaving?" Bed-Head Hair turned back to Jace. "I want him to stay."
"Really?" Jace asked, genuinely surprised.
Alec shot him a bland look. "Thanks," he drawled.
"Yes, really," Bed-Head Hair insisted.
Jace stared at Bed-Head Hair for a few moments, before nodding his head at Alec. Alec shrugged and stayed put. Izzy stared at them all in exasperation before saying, "I'm not interested in seeing you guys act like children, you know where to find me."
She walked off, and Alec was surprised to find that Bed-Head Hair's gaze did not follow after her. Normally that was a very common occurrence with men around Izzy, as uncomfortable as that was for Alec to think about.
"Your wound, it's healed," Jace said, for lack of anything better to say.
Bed-Head Hair turned to Jace. "Sorry, what?"
Alec cocked his head. Bed-Head Hair sounded kind of english now. Maybe Irish. It was subtle, something that he would've missed if he wasn't paying such close attention. Alec wondered if the man might've spent some time studying overseas in Ireland or something.
"From where you got hurt by the demon," Jace explained. "Your wound has healed."
"A demon," Bed-Head Hair repeated in a clipped tone. Yeah, he definitely had a slight irish lilt. Alec wondered how he'd missed it before.
"Ravener demon," Alec informed the man, because this was seriously taking too long. "It's a shapeshifter, and venomous."
"That is why I passed out," Bed-Head Hair summarised.
Alec nodded, the slightest bit impressed at how the mundane was keeping up.
"So, how did my wound heal so quickly?"
Jace gestured to the rune he'd drawn on Bed-Head Hair's neck. "A rune. They have enormous power. Good for Shadowhunters. Lethal for humans."
"Magic?" Bed-Head Hair asked.
"No, Warlock's have magic." Alec then added, "They're one of the Downworlders. Along with vampires, Seelies… werewolves."
Bed-Head Hair eyed Alec. "So what does that make you then?"
Alec said simply, "We're Shadowhunters."
"We protect the human world from the demon world," Jace added.
Bed-Head Hair looked at them both in turn. "And what is it that you want with me?"
"Nothing," Alec said.
"We want to help you," Jace said instead, and at the same time.
The blonde then shot Alec a glare, but Alec persisted, holding Bed-Head Hair's gaze. "Even if you're not just a mundane, you obviously don't know anything." He paused, and turned to ask Jace, "What use is he going to be to us?"
"I don't know, yet." Jace pressed his lips together, determined. "But he's our responsibility now. The Circle will be looking for him, and he's the only lead we've got."
Bed-Head Hair tilted his head. "Am I in danger?"
"Yes," Alec said in deadpan.
Bed-Head Hair began to speak, summarising the situation, "So then–
"We're the best chance you've got," Jace finished for him.
Bed-Head Hair nodded slowly, processing their words. He stared at the distance as he did so, then when he focused again, he was smiling brightly. "Alright, I guess I'm stuck with you guys."
Alec blinked. Now he didn't have the irish lilt anymore, instead he sounded kind of southern.
"You are not stuck with us," Alec replied, shoving aside thoughts of the man's ever changing accent. "In fact, I'd rather not have the mundane anywhere near me."
Bed-Head Hair didn't appear phased by Alec's words, in fact, he seemed to see right through his bullshit. Alec shifted slightly at the man's look. Okay, so maybe he didn't want to get rid of the cute, new, hot guy, but it wasn't like he wanted anyone to know that.
Suddenly, Bed-Head Hair's phone began to ring and the man pulled it out. He frowned as he read the number on screen, but answered in a cheerful tone, "Hello, you've reached O– Jonas, how can we help?"
Alec was too busy trying to think of a way to get rid of Bed-Head Hair to really pay much attention to the man's verbal slipups.
"Who?" Bed-Head Hair said into the receiver. "Oh, um. Okay?" He then walked over to the window. "Yes, I see you. No– No I don't– Alright. Give me a few minutes. Bye."
He hung up and then proceeded to stare curiously at his phone for a while.
"What's wrong?" Jace asked, growing concerned.
"A friend of Clary's," Bed-Head Hair said. "He… He tracked my phone?"
Alec felt like scoffing, but refrained. "Nice."
Bed-Head Hair ignored him. Instead he glanced down at himself and then looked to Jace. "What happened to my clothes?"
"Demon venom," Jace said.
"Demon what?" Bed-Head Hair asked, and then shook his head. "Nevermind, doesn't matter. Can I borrow a jacket or something? Pretty please?"
"Yeah, sure," Jace said, sounding a bit steamrolled. He got up and grabbed one of his spare jackets that was hanging off of the back of a nearby chair. "Here you go."
Bed-Head Hair accepted it with a wide grin. "Thanks." He shrugged it on easily, and then jerked his thumb to the doorway. "So… Is the exit this way?"
"I'll show you," Jace said and got up.
Bed-Head Hair– (too many syllables) Jonas got up to follow Jace, and glanced at Alec when he didn't move. "Are you coming, Alec?"
Alec felt a shiver run down his spine as the man said his name aloud. Which was a weird reaction that Alec was going to actively ignore. "Sure," Alec said, a little breathless. "Because I want to waste more of my time on a mundane."
Despite his words, he followed his parabatai and Jonas as they left the room and went down the hall. Jonas' gaze drifted around as they walked, taking in everything with unbridled awe.
"This place is so cool," he whispered as they walked past a row of monitors. "Hoot would love this."
"Who?" Alec asked, because Jace was a few paces ahead and mustn't have heard. As much as he hated holding conversations in general, Alec did have some manners. Besides, he'd rather not walk through the Institute in awkward silence.
"Oh– Er…" Jonas swallowed, but smiled genuinely as he said, "He's my brother. He's kind of a genius."
Alec paused. "You have a brother?"
"Yes," Jonas replied. "Just like how Jace is your brother, right?"
Surprised that he'd noticed their bond, Alec offered a short nod. "You're very perceptive."
Jonas shrugged. "I kinda have to be."
Alec wondered what he meant by that, but before anything could come of his intrigue, Jace appeared. "I saw something behind your friend," the blonde announced as he dropped back. He'd pulled out his seraph blade and Alec quickly followed his lead, preparing for a fight.
"He's not my friend," Jonas clarified. "He's Clary's friend."
Picking up on his wording, Alec questioned, "Have you got a problem with your sister?"
It wasn't any of his business, but Alec had been unable to stop himself from asking.
He just… There was something about the mundane that made Alec want to get to know him better. Which was a strange, alien feeling that he was going to pretend didn't exist, thank you very much.
"Not with my sister," Jonas said, or rather, clarified. "But, Clary and I? We don't really talk."
'Not with my sister,' Alec thought. Was there someone Jonas did have a problem with?
Alec filed away the man's specification for later as they stepped out through the doors. Jonas stopped at the top of the stairs and stared down at a mundane (another one, Alec thought bitterly) that was standing below. "Simon, right?" Jonas asked.
"You've forgotten me?"
Jonas flashed him an unapologetic smile. "Sort of."
Simon scoffed. "Figures." He then glared at Jonas. "I know you visited them. Your bike is still parked out front."
"Yes, I stopped by for a second to let them know I was back in town. But the place was trashed, Clary was being strangled by some lady." Jonas' gaze turned troubled. "I tried to stop her, but she attacked me and took Clary away."
Simon looked like Jonas had just spoken to him in some foreign language. "What?"
Jonas groaned and looked to Alec for help. "Can you explain this to him, please?"
The mundane cut in. "Who are you talking to?"
"You can't see them?" Jonas asked, turning back to Simon.
"We've got a glamour, a rune that makes us invisible to mundanes," Jace explained.
Jonas stared at them. "You have got to teach me that."
Amusement warmed Alec's chest. He had to admit, Jonas had a certain charm about him, one that Alec was having a hard time resisting.
"Jonas Fairchild!"
The three spun around to see a man standing at the edge of the path, holding a sword.
Jace dashed forward to disarm the man, whilst Alec stepped in front of Jonas to protect him. Jonas was silent as he watched the ensuing fight, and Alec kept one eye on him as Jace fought with the Circle member.
"Jonas, what's going on?" Simon asked.
"If you give us the boy, I'll let you live," the Circle member said.
Jace, who had the man in a chokehold, replied, "You're in no position to be making rules."
In response, the Circle member headbutted Jace and broke free. Alec watched with a sharp gaze as the two struggled against each other. It didn't surprise him when Jace got the upperhand and managed to stab the Circle member with the man's own seraph blade.
"We'll never stop hunting him," the guy rasped out, his last words.
I'd like to see you try, Alec thought, surprising himself with the sense of protectiveness he felt for Jonas.
"This is for my father," Jace replied and shoved the blade in deeper.
"He dead?" Jonas asked, voice low but no longer accented in any obvious way.
Simon stepped towards Jonas and asked, "Is who dead?"
With perfect timing the glamour on the dead Circle member faded, and Simon stepped back in shock as he saw it. "What the…"
Jonas looked at Simon for a while, before glancing between Jace and Alec. His fists were clenched, lips twisted in an almost snarl. "Take your glamour off."
Alec shot a look at Jace, and found that his parabatai was already deactivating the rune. Alec didn't want to have to deal with another mundane, but he took his glamour off anyway. The sooner this was over with, the better
"Um... what is happening?" Simon asked as Alec and Jace appeared in front of him.
"Yeah, we don't have the luxury right now, kid." Jace turned and started walking back to the Institute. "Everyone back inside."
"Jonas, who is this?" the mundane questioned. "Did he take Clary?"
Jonas shot Simon a bored look and said nothing as he followed after Jace.
"What? Where are you going?" Simon called after him.
Jonas huffed, seeming annoyed. He turned and faced Simon. "These two" —He jerked a thumb in Jace and Alec's direction— "are our only shot at getting your best friend back, so if I were you, I'd shut your mouth and try not to piss them off."
With that said, Jonas headed back up the steps, taking them two at a time.
Alec shot the man a wry look as he neared. "Nicely handled."
Jonas ignored his taunt and entered the church whilst Jace held the door open. Alec followed after, staring curiously at the enigma in front of him.
Simon, unsurprisingly, started speaking again. "How do we know this Mick Jagger-looking guy and this Abercrombie & Fitch model wannabe are even gonna try–"
"Mundane," Jace interrupted. "We do not have the time."
Jonas sighed and yanked the boy inside. The four stood just within the entrance of the church, and stared ahead. Jace glanced at Alec. "No way, don't look at me," Alec told him.
With an exasperated look, Jace brought up his left arm and rolled up the sleeve. Alec watched Jonas study the blonde intensely as he drew a rune on himself with his stele.
Simon gasped and looked extremely uncomfortable. "He's, like, burning himself," Simon whispered to Jonas.
Jonas looked at the boy and replied with a simple, "Yes."
Alec barely resisted the urge to laugh.
Once he was done, Jace grabbed Simon's hand with his left. Simon immediately began to squirm away. "Buddy, what's going on, man? I'm not your type–"
"Shut up," Jonas cut him off.
Simon continued to mutter under his breath until suddenly the Institute began to reveal itself to the mundane. Simon gaped. "Where are we? What the hell?" Simon paled. "Is there a war going on that I don't know about?"
"There is now," Jace replied.
The four of them headed inside, with Alec lagging behind to make sure they didn't stray. "What is this place? There's a lot of gear in here. What'd they do, rob a tech shop?" Simon questioned in a rush.
Alec was about 100% done with this new mundane.
"So this cold-blooded killer is gonna help us?" Simon whispered to Jonas, loud enough for Alec to hear.
"Mhmm," Jonas hummed in reply.
Jace elaborated, "We're protecting you. It's sort of our thing."
"Your thing? You guys have a thing?" Simon continued.
Jace glanced at Jonas, expecting the man to answer. When he didn't, Jace spoke up. "We're Shadowhunters. We protect humans from demons."
"Demons, right. That makes perfect sense, 'cause there are demons running all around New York."
"That is the first correct thing you've said all day," Jace responded.
Alec pressed his lips together to avoid smiling. He appreciated his parabatai's lack of tolerance for the mundane. Helping Jace bring up the surveillance system, two cops were shown on the monitor, both trying to get inside of the Institute.
"Are they a problem for us?" Jonas asked.
"No," Jace said. "Our wards will deter them. And the NYPD will do their typical mundie thing for a few hours and then the area will be clear."
"Alright, okay. Enough with the show and tell, let's get rid of the mundane." Alec turned pointedly towards Simon.
Jace shook his head. "We can't. The Circle will just keep following him to get to Jonas."
Simon spoke up, "What exactly is the Circle and why are they trying to kill us?"
"All we know is," Jace began. "A long time ago the Circle led a revolt. A lot of Shadowhunters got killed… including my father."
"And since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle," Alec added.
"That sounds like a terrible attempt at trying to discourage you from joining the Circle," Jonas said. Alec staared at the man as he noticed the Irish lilt again.
"Anyway," Jace said, clearly unsure how to respond to such a statement. "I have an idea on who can tell us why they took your mother."
Alec noticed how Jonas' expression soured at the mention of his mother, but he didn't say anything so Alec didn't press.
"You coming?" Jace asked as he began to walk off.
"Definitely," Jonas said.
Alec began to walk with them, then paused as Jace stopped.
"No, no, no." Jace reached out with a hand to halt Simon from approaching. "Not you."
"I have every right to find out what happened to Clary," Simon said. "She's my best friend."
"There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill you," Jace replied.
Alec was deeply entertained by the blatant lie.
"I'm tough." As he defended himself, Simon straightened up so he appeared taller. "I can handle runes. So, uh, bring on the runes." He flicked his hand out, smacking Jace, who didn't even flinch. Simon winced and pulled his hand back, shaking out the pain of hitting Jace's beefy shoulder.
Jace scoffed.
Simon appeared hesitant. "What exactly are runes?"
"They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers," Izzy said as she appeared behind them, arriving with her usual dramatic flair. To demonstrate, she activated the runes on her forearm and Alec noticed that Simon was gaping at her. Jonas, however, seemed once again uninterested.
"So hot," Simon mumbled. He then cleared his throat and clarified, "The rune."
Izzy chuckled and approached Simon. "Don't worry, guys. I'll watch over the mundane. In fact, I was about to make breakfast."
Jace inhaled sharply. "On second thought, the runes might be less lethal."
Izzy scoffed. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." She then turned and introduced herself to Simon, "I'm Isabelle.". Izzy held her hand out, palm down, like she was some kind of royalty.
Simon took her hand eagerly. "Lewis. Simon, Simon Lewis. Two first names. Am I still talking?" He giggled nervously, and Izzy smiled patiently at him.
That's enough of that, Alec thought. He turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go," he encouraged, and then lead the way up to the training room. Jonas followed obligingly, and Jace paused to whisper something to Simon before joining them.
So that was the first chapter!~ I hope you liked it. If you didn't catch it, Jonas suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID, you may know it as MPD- or Multiple Personality Disorder.) This story will not be focused on his disorder, nor the trauma it was he went through for it to have developed. He's just an 18 year old Shadowhunter who happens to have a dissociative disorder.
Why did I decide to write a character with DID?
Because representation matters. Of course, I doubt my descriptions will be flawless, but I've tried my best. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism/tips about how I have written DID.
What is DID?
You do not need to know anything about DID to read this fic. Information on the disorder will be revealed to you over the course of this story. If you want, I recommend real-did on tumblr and multiplicityandme on youtube. There are also some other great resources out there, but those are the main ones I have relied on. Otherwise, feel free to read on and hopefully this story will introduce you to it.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic!
