By definition, a parallel world is a self-contained separate reality that co-exists alongside one's own. The differences between one land and the next may be vast, more than one universe has no concept of the laws of physics for example, but there are many, thousands of worlds even that are practically identical to our own.
They have all the same people, who know each other like they do in our world but there is one little difference. One small change between our world and the next that can change the whole game, you may know it as the butterfly effect, and boy is it real.
Wars have arisen in one world and not in the other just because of an extra shot of coffee being mistakenly given.
But this isn't the story about an extra shot of coffee, no this change is slightly more… significant. This is about the birth of a warlock who never was in ours. This is about the warlock who grew to be feared, who had destruction and death follow him in his path, the evil of all evils as some would say, cowering as he destroyed village, town and city like they were made out of paper.
And this is about one man's journey to do everything he could to end this destruction and save his world, even if it meant doing the unthinkable and crossing over to a whole new reality.
}}}}}}}}}
Breaths hitched as they entered the abandoned building, the small group of three slowly making their way into the main body, a hall which back in its prime surely had been magnificent. But it hadn't been that way in years; inches of dust were coated on every surface, plaster from the walls was slowly starting to crumble and nearly every pale, marble tile underfoot was cracked, blood staining the cement underneath to remind whoever passed through what had occurred in this very spot.
But what was more disconcerting, Alec couldn't help but think, clenching the fist holding his blade even tighter, was the suffocating silence. Not even four hours ago there had been a report of an attack come through on the radio, the demons that roamed the streets had come across a small group hiding in the building just across the street. They had killed everyone but a small werewolf, sparing her to send a message to everyone else about their power, about what destruction and pain they could and would cause. Just a few hours ago the silence had been broken with screams and cries and now there was nothing. It made Alec sick just to think about it.
"Over here," one of his partners hissed, pulling a desk away from the wall to reveal the very markings that they had been told about. "This is it." Both Alec and the other member of the team came over, inspecting the design though they both knew it was the right one.
"Are you sure about this?" the one who had found the marking asked when Alec removed a small pendant from his pocket, brushing a stray red lock from her face as she did.
"This needs to be done if we have any chance of winning and defeating him."
"But it could be me," she protested, eyes flashing desperately. "You heard Victoria, it could be either of us who does this, we both have the connection."
"You think for one second I'd let you do this, I didn't take you for stupid Clary. No you're staying here, you have too much to lose in this world-"
"So do you!"
"I really don't," Alec said with a small smile, he couldn't help but respect the younger girl for trying to argue a fruitless cause. "Everything I loved I lost years ago and we both know it. I'll never get any of them back, no matter how much I wish but at least I can do this to prevent anyone else suffering the same as me. You still have your father, Valentine would do anything for you, and I think he'd disembowel me if I let you go through the portal."
"Dad's always been far too overprotective," Clary rolled her eyes, though she didn't argue Alec's point.
"He has good reason too, especially after he lost your mother and… him," Alec didn't need to remind the younger girl about what had happened, her face said it all.
"So have we got over this little domestic now or do you two want to keep going?" the third member of their party asked after a moment of silence had passed, looking over his shoulder warily, though with good reason, demons could appear at any moment.
"Let's get this done," Alec nodded, placing the pendant around his neck and facing the markings, which with the help of the seelie by his side, would open up to a portal.
"Now you must remember Alec, when you enter the other world you'll be taking over the body of the Alec. He won't be completely dormant though, and if you lose control, if you give into the pleasures of that world you could be lost forever. You must remain vigilant."
"Meliorn we've been over this hundreds of times, I know the risks."
"You wouldn't be the first person to lose themselves to their alternate lives," Meliorn said gravely, unable to hold in the grim smile as Alec's jaw clenched slightly at his words, eyes steely. His defiance and determination were truly admirable. "Now when you enter that world you won't have any of your weapons with you, though if Victoria's magic has worked correctly the pendant should be with you still. As I cannot keep this portal open when you get the crevit you must use the pendant to return back to this land. You cannot be too long, Elias' spies are everywhere, who knows how long it will be before he realises what we are doing."
"I'll be back before you know it," Alec promised, squeezing Clary's hand tightly as Meliorn worked on opening the portal. Within seconds a glowing emitted from the runes, before the wall crumbled away all together. Without saying another word, for he feared if he did he wouldn't be able to leave, Alec let go of the redhead's hand and walked forward, not stopping as the magic from the portal enveloped him, taking him away from his universe completely.
Seconds later Meliorn closed the pathway, enveloping Clary in a hug as she tried to desperately hold back the tears. "There there my child, Alec will be okay. He is a fighter and something as small as an alternate world won't stop that anytime soon. We must get back to the institute though, it's going to get dark soon and these streets are unsafe as it is."
With a watery smile Clary pulled away, unsheathing her blade as she and her partner left the abandoned building, hope flickering away inside of them for the first time in a long time, because they knew that if Alec succeeded on his mission then they had a real chance of ending it all. At winning the war and defeating Elias Toran, the warlock who had destroyed everything.
}}}}}}}
For a moment, when he was still between sleep and actually being awake Alec forgot all about the mission. For just a second he forgot where he was supposed to be, stretching out as the drowsiness slowly started to clear. But then he remembered going through the portal and then the darkness, and Alec shot upright, wide awake.
For a second he didn't think it had worked. Something had gone wrong with Meliorn's magic, or the portal hadn't been activated correctly because this was definitely his room. It was as bare as his too, with few personal touches indicating that someone actually lived here, but on closer inspection Alec noted the differences, convincing him that somehow this whole convoluted plot had succeeded.
A well-tailored suit was hanging up by the wall, and even from his bed the young shadowhunter could tell it cost more than his whole wardrobe combined back home. Hell, that was probably just the white jacket.
A laptop that would never have survived in his life was sat perfectly in the middle of the desk and beside it there was a framed photo that had certainly never occupied the space before. Alec got out of bed as quickly as he could, picking it up with shaking hands once he saw who was in frame. The picture was at least a couple of years old going by how much younger he looked in it, though the easy-going look in his eyes wasn't one Alec had seen in much longer.
It was a candid shot, though he didn't recognise where from, but that was the least of his concerns, instead his focus was solely on who was in the picture. Him, Izzy and… was that Jace Wayland? The three were sat around a picnic table, their laughter and joy forever immortalised in this single snap. Alec couldn't remember ever feeling that sort of happiness, and he couldn't stop the confused frown from forming whenever he looked at Jace. He was obviously close to the blonde in this universe, otherwise he'd never have saved this photo, but it was weird to imagine, when at best, they were merely acquaintances in his world. Alec didn't spend long focusing on that little mystery, it'd surely be answered for him in no time at all, but he was unable to take his eyes off the figure in the middle, Isabelle. The longer he stared the more his heart broke, and with resignation Alec placed the photo, frame face down on the desk.
He didn't have time to wallow, he wasn't here for that. He had a job to do and by the Angel, he was going to make sure he did it. Alec, who had been fearing the worst after seeing the suit, couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief when he opened his closet door to see it was as sparse and as simple as his own was, and with little thought grabbed the nearest jeans and top.
As he got changed Alec caught his reflection in the mirror, freezing before he'd had chance to pull his shirt on. He knew that strictly speaking this wasn't his body, but when it was identical in every way that was hard to remember. But this, this told Alec that he really was in another version of himself.
Like himself this version of him had scars littering his body, no doubt from countless fights that came from being a shadowhunter, but there was significantly less than Alec had become accustomed to, and he mindlessly found himself touching the now unmarred skin curiously, surprised by how soft it was. The biggest difference was, was how few runes he had. Where was his agility? Accuracy? Clarity? Fireproofness? Power? They and more were all gone, and Alec was surprised by how lost he felt without them all. How weak.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he shrugged his shirt on and with as little thought as possible he made his way out of his room, taking the familiar route to the main body of the institute, not allowing himself to stop or even slow, knowing if he did he'd hide away for as long as possible.
The first thing he couldn't help but note was just how busy the hall was. In his world there would be around a dozen others working at a time at most, but this was on a whole other level, this was like when the war had first started, when there had been actual fighters.
He couldn't help but note that everyone was also a shadowhunter, a noteworthy fact in itself. The young nephilim couldn't even remember the last time he had been in a room of solely his race, well used to being surrounded by every type of downworlder under the sun.
But he couldn't focus on that now, he needed to get to the crevit, and if Victoria had said this version of him had a connection to it, it must mean that it was somewhere in this building. As he walked the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise and Alec became painfully aware that the eyes of nearly everyone was following him. What had this version of him done? Because there was no way he'd be getting these looks on an average day.
"So you've decided to grace us with your presence," a familiar voice said coldly, Alec almost got whiplash he turned so quickly.
"Mom," he managed to choke out. Maryse Lightwood appeared to ne equally as formidable in this world as she was in his, the determined look that promised she'd never give up the fight had only faded to nothing in her death. His parents were ones of the first to fall when Elias started to widen his attacks, making an example of their powerful positions. He hadn't seen either her or his father in close to twelve years, and the emotions he was experiencing because of it were unexpected.
He'd thought he managed to compartmentalise his grief and pain, it was a necessary requirement when everyday you lost more people you loved, but getting to see his mother again, getting to lay his eyes on her and drink her in was just enough to let the walls start crumbling. No! He couldn't let this happen, he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him, he was here to do a job, not to bond with another man's family.
"In all my years," Maryse started, shaking her head in disgust, and Alec had to work hard to suppress a smile. Who'd have thought he'd have missed being told off so much? Though going by the way his mom was looking at him, his alternate-self had seemingly done something pretty serious, which would explain all the stares being sent his way. "Calling off the wedding would have been bad enough, but to do that."
Wait he had been getting married? Well that explained the suit in his room. Alec couldn't help but wonder who his fiancé was. It was a laughable idea thinking about marriage in his world, sure some people liked to do it, try to regain some sense of normality back into their lives, but Alec had never seen the point. Had never found anyone to commit to like that. But then again, if he'd called the wedding off the relationship was obviously not that strong.
He wondered if this mystery fiancé was anywhere about and couldn't help but subtly turn his head in case he saw anyone looking particularly pissed off or upset, though everyone had now turned back to their work, giving him no clues.
Realising Maryse had continued with her spiel Alec forced himself to start listening again, hoping she hadn't noticed his momentary lapse of concentration, despite the obvious change in subject.
"And the nerve of that warlock. Magnus Bane better have his guard up if he ever comes back here I'm telling you."
At the name of the warlock, well-known even in his world, Alec felt himself tensing, trying desperately to keep his face neutral, though he was unsure how well he did. He'd never managed to hide his resentment for the man before, though then again Maryse didn't seem to notice.
"I think he gets the picture Mom," a voice said from behind him, and by the Angel, if Alec had thought coming face to face with Maryse was bad, this was ten times worse. Blood pounding in his ears and stomach churning, Alec slowly turned, regretting more and more into agreeing to this stupid plan.
"Isabelle."
"So brother dear," Isabelle cooed, trusty whip in one hand. "We meet again. Though you don't seem surprised"
Alec stood tall and proud where he was, his grip around his seraph blade tightening. "Wherever there's meaningless death I've always come to expect you." Izzy laughed mockingly at Alec's words when he motioned to the dozens of bodies on the ground below, her lips curling into a cruel sneer.
"Oh but Alec, it's so much fun," Izzy laughed again, raising her hand to crack her whip. Alec jumped out of the way without a second to spare as it hit the ground, the force of the weapon actually leaving a dent underfoot.
Isabelle went in for another attack and Alec managed to bring his blade up, desperately defending himself.
"You know, although my whip has to be my most favourite of toys, for you brother dear I just love to get up close and personal." Like her brother, Izzy unsheathed her blade, the whip wrapping itself around her wrist. The two siblings fought relentlessly, trading blow for blow, neither willing to back down, to lose against the other.
They were fairly evenly matched, having been trained together for most of their lives, learning the same tricks, but sometimes one would pull something new out of the bag, leaving the other stumbling. Izzy feigned left, and whilst Alec went to go to protect that side she struck the other, slamming into him with the force no-one her size should possess.
Alec was flung to the side, crashing through a nearby display cabinet, the glass shredding his exposed skin. Isabelle laughed with glee at the fallen warrior and rushed forwards, her sword raised to end it all. Before she could deliver the final devastating blow Alec reached forward, pulling on one of his sister's ankles with force. She fell ungracefully, face twisting with rage as she realised what he had done.
Not giving her a chance to recover, Alec pushed himself forward till he was over Isabelle, both hands round her neck as she scrabbled desperately, trying to catch a breath though he was unrelenting.
A sharp pain erupted in his stomach and without thought he lessened his grip, giving chance for the younger nepihlim to scrabble free. His hand pressed onto his stomach and came away bloody, and as he looked up Isabelle was standing over him, twirling the bloody dagger in her hand.
"You're getting ruthless dear brother, it's quite unbecoming. But as fun as this has been time's ticking and I really must be off. Have fun getting help with that, this blade is particularly nasty you see, the way it's been designed means that your insides get nicely shredded as it's removed. I wouldn't say you have hours left."
Not for the first time Alec had wondered why his sister hadn't ended it then and there. But he guessed that was how it was between. They'd come so close to killing the other more times than once but had never completed the job.
Alec knew that for him, it was because deep down he still loved his little sister, even after all these years and fights, and seeing all the twisted things she had done. He knew he would never be able to live with killing her.
He suspected the reasoning wasn't the same for Isabelle though. No, deep down he knew it was because she loved the game too much, he was her favourite plaything and why would she want to give that up?
"Mom will get over it you know," Isabelle said as the pair left Maryse, and towards… well Alec didn't really know where to, or more importantly who to. Every instinct inside of him screamed to get out of there, he hadn't been able to trust his sister for longer than he cared to remember, and to be so close to her, to not have a weapon pulled out and trained on her made his skin crawl.
But this wasn't the Isabelle he had come to know, this was another world where the two actually got to be proper brother and sister. This wasn't the girl who had tried to kill him more times than he could count, or who had tortured him relentlessly until the rebellion had come to rescue him, but knowing this didn't make it any harder to relax.
"She'll get over it in a few days, just give her space. It's just worse because she's just freaking out about what happened to Lydia, though –"
"Lydia?" Alec asked, the all too familiar feeling of nausea hitting him. If this was how he was going to feel after hearing every unexpected name Alec was going to be an emotional wreck in mere minutes. He itched to go find the blonde, to see for himself that she was really here. That she was…
"She's going to be fine Alec," Izzy said sincerely, placing a hand on his shoulder. It was meant to be a comforting action, but before he could think Alec had harshly shrugged her off, fighting the urge to harm her. Not even the hurt expression on her face could make him feel bad, it had been a long time since he had felt that for hurting his baby sister.
Izzy blinked back the hurt, acting like she hadn't noticed what had just happened. "She woke up this morning, though the infirmary want to keep her in for a bit longer. She says she doesn't know who attacked her or stole the cup though so we're trying to go through the video footage to try and get an idea."
"Can I go see her?" It felt weird asking Izzy anything but she appeared to have the answers that he did not.
"They're not letting anyone in at the moment, they want her to make a full recovery. Apparently she's still really weak, even with the help of runes."
"According to our sources the book of the white should be somewhere here," Alec spoke into the microphone, looking at the screen as he saw the trackers that represented the team enter the directed building.
"Can you imagine if we get this," Mallory, one of the newest members of the resistance excitedly whispered into her comms. "It'll change everything."
"Don't get too excited, we haven't got it yet," Alec reminded her. He had been at this too long to let his feelings get the better of him each time a new lead arose. Because yes, the book of the white could change it all, it could help them overthrow Elias once and for all, but in his experience, it was never good to rely on these objects until you had the thing firmly in your possession.
"Mallory is correct let us not forget that," a smooth voice from his left said. Magnus Bane raised his eyebrow when Alec shot him a look, daring him to say more. Turning back to the screen he was unable to hold back the smile that nowadays, only few people could elicit.
"Yeah Alec, don't be such a buzzkill," Lydia teased. "You never used to be such a downer, we really need to get you laid, that'll chill you right out."
"Focus on the mission," he said sharply, hoping the warlock beside him hadn't noticed just how red his cheeks were sure to have gotten whilst the others laughed down the line. "Can you see anything?"
"Not yet. Someone help me with this door," Lydia replied, grunting as she opened the passageway. "It all looks deserted, like they all… by the Angel!"
Screams filled the lines, Alec and Magnus helpless to do anything but listen.
"Lydia? Lydia can you hear me? Mallory? Sid?"
"We've been ambushed," Lydia whispered raggedly. Even though he couldn't see Alec could tell she was gravely injured, trying to hide it desperately. "The information was false, we're like lambs to the slaughter."
"Can you get out of there? We'll send someone! Lydia!"
The last sound Alec heard over the comms was the unmistakeable noise of a sword piercing flesh and the ragged, gurgling breaths of his best friend before silence took over.
Isabelle didn't lead him far, barely to the other side of the room, though when he saw who was typing frantically into one of the nearest computers Alec could have almost cried with relief.
Clary Morgenstern was as, if not more beautiful than she was in his world. She was identical to his version in so many ways, but different at the same time. Her hair was much longer here, the same length it had been when they had met so many years ago. She had cut it a few months after joining the rebellion, claiming that it got in the way as she fought, but as she hacked away at it Alec couldn't help but suspect it was because it reminded her so much of her recently deceased mother. He couldn't say the length didn't suit her, it seemed to soften her overall appearance, though Alec wasn't sure whether that was because she was obviously so much less war-hardened in this world. Even children didn't possess the innocence that was shining in Clary's eyes.
Next to her stood Jace Wayland and Alec couldn't help but stare, praying that if he did he'd gain some enlightenment as to why he was so important to this version of him. The blonde was doing nothing, seemingly in his own world as the others worked around him. It took all of Alec's self-restraint to prevent him from rolling his eyes, trust Wayland to not be pulling his weight, apparently some things never changed.
"Who's the kid?" A fifteen year old Alec asked Valentine as he made his way down the stairs into the main body of the institute, motioning to a blonde boy who was sat on the side, huddled in on himself.
"That kid is four months younger than you," Valentine said with an eye-roll, unable to hide his amused smile. "His name's Jace Wayland, he was in a small group coming in from Philadelphia. It's been under a series of attacks recently and they heard that the institute was the safest place but they got attacked on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Poor kid was the only survivor, some of our recon team were passing by and managed to save him. He'll stay here for a while and we'll see about getting him trained up."
"I'll give him two weeks," Alec said in a blasé tone, not caring when Jase looked up at his words, eyes flashing furiously.
Moving to a free computer Alec opened up the familiar programme, thanking every known deity that the same manufacturer had seemingly made this institute's computers, even if most other details were different. He had little interest in who stole this cup, and although his blood boiled at the thought of someone hurting Lydia that was not why he was here. He was here to get the crevit and stop Elias, but first thing first, he was going to do a little digging. Just how different was this world to his own?
Well there was only one way to find out.
With trepidation he typed the name Elias Toran into the database's search engine, waiting with bated breath.
No results found.
Well that answered his question. There was just one difference, but a major one at that. Elias Toran had never been born, and without that, there was no war. But there wasn't time to think about the unfairness of that all now, hopefully he'd be able to find the crevit using the search bar too and leave before the day was even up.
"Who's Elias Toran?" Jace asked from over Alec's shoulder, getting way too close for his comfort. He could practically feel the blonde's breath on his neck, and it made him want to shudder. "Do you think he had something to do with this?"
"No-one, it's nothing," was all he said, quickly deleting the name before anyone else could see, though both Clary and Izzy were looking at him curiously. He bristled under the attention and turned to Jace, face flushing with frustration. "Why is it any of your business anyway?"
"Alec calm down, Jace was just wondering if that Elias was a connection, we're all trying to figure out who stole the cup and attacked Lydia remember," Izzy said, clearly trying to mediate the situation.
"Guys I've got something," Clary interrupted before Alec could say anything else, watching the screen with wide, disbelieving eyes. "It was Hodge, he stole the cup for Valentine. He's the traitor!"
As the others rushed to Clary's computer, all just as disbelieving as her, Alec felt himself unable to move. Valentine? Clary's own father was who they were fighting against. He didn't think it was possible, he had known that man for his whole life and there were few people he trusted more. What had happened in this universe for Valentine to turn against them? For Clary to turn against the man she looked up to and loved more than anything.
This was just another change, he told himself. So much was different in these two worlds, should this really be that surprising? But deep down Alec had been holding on hope of catching sight of the older man. He had basically been his father for years now, and even if this version of him had no clue who he really was, Alec knew it'd have given him the strength to carry on if times had gotten hard. Apparently that thought was now clean out of the window.
}}}}
"His room's been cleared out but they did find this," Jace said, holding up a battered leather jacket nearly half an hour later when the whole institute had been informed of the trainer's betrayal. "We'll be able to track him with this and from there we'll find Valentine and get the cup back."
Closing his eyes Jace's hands started pulsing, desperately trying to locate the older man whilst the others waited. If Alec could have laughed he would have, who would have thought that Jace Wayland would be able to pull off a locator spell. Whilst they had rarely trained together, Alec had seen enough times to know that the younger man wasn't a born fighter, doubting his skills each and every time, subsequently (and quite ironically) making them worse. He didn't have the confidence that this Jace did, and Alec wasn't sure if it was an improvement or not.
"It's not working, the connection's too weak."
Not saying another word, Jase held up his hand looking at Alec intensely. His uneasiness only grew as the others turned to stare too, their confusion almost rivalling his.
"What are you waiting for Alec?" Clary asked, sharing a helpless look with Jace, who was starting to look more desperate with each passing second.
I'm waiting for someone to give me a bloody clue as to what you want me to do? Alec thought, though he knew very well that he couldn't say that. If they found out he wasn't the real Alec the circumstances could be dire. They could send him back to his world without the crevit and then all hope would be lost.
"Please, my parabaati I need you to help me with this," Jace pleaded, his eyes wide and looking more nervous than Alec had seen him for a while, though when the other shadowhunter's words hit him he quickly stopped focusing on how uneasy Wayland looked.
Parabatai? They were each other's parabatai? Alec wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, how was it even possible that this version of him had bonded to someone as vain as Jace Wayland? This couldn't be real, this had to be some form of cosmic joke it just had to be. But Alec knew it wasn't, he'd heard tales of how one little change could have massive impacts on different worlds, he just never would have thought that the non-existence of the most dangerous warlock to ever live would result in him becoming parabatai with Jace.
He couldn't leave though, he had to try and help with this because the sooner that this Hodge was found, the sooner he'd hopefully be left on his own to locate the crevit.
Taking a wary step forward Alec lifted up his hand, noting for the first time the unfamiliar rune on his palm, the one that signified that the ultimate bond had been made. Making contact with Jace was weird, it wasn't like he hadn't noticed that the other man was attractive but the two were far from close in his world, in fact Alec found him more than a bit annoying, so to have him so far into his personal space, in a ritual as intimate as this one was more than a little unnerving.
The power started to weakly pulse between them, and although he had never taken part in a parabatai ritual himself, and had only seen it a handful of times, Alec knew it wasn't enough. The bond between him and Jace wasn't strong enough, because there no longer was one.
"Alec you need to focus," Izzy said, looking frustrated at the boys struggle.
"What do you think I'm doing?" he couldn't help but snap, ignoring the hurt expression on his sister's face.
"I thought we'd moved past this?" Jace said lowly so no-one else could hear him. "Don't tell me you're shutting me out again."
Alec had no idea what Jace was going on about, but the practically heartbroken look in his eyes was more than enough to make him feel bad. It reminded him so much of the broken fifteen year old who had been taken to the institute, his whole life turned upside down forever, and in that moment Alec knew he needed to do something.
"We have I promise," he lied, having no idea what he was really promising. "I'm just a bit tired, you know after the past few days."
Apparently this was the right thing to say, and Jace relaxed minutely nodding his head. "We're all here for you Alec you know that. Maryse and Robert too, they'll just need time."
Even though Alec had no idea what his parabatai (and wasn't that weird to think) was talking about, it seemed this version of him had done something pretty revolutionary, he'd never seen Jace look so sincere. Maybe when he returned back to his world he'd have to give the blonde more chances, there had to be a reason they were bonded after all.
There was only one way to achieve that and get back though to his world, and that was by getting this parabatai bond to work, of which Alec could think of only one way. Taking a deep breath he forced his mind to become blank, welcoming the fuzziness that Victoria had warned him about. Distantly he could feel the other Alec rising, taking back control and activating the bond.
"I've got him," he heard Jace say, though it was like he was under water. He felt himself move forward, though each action was slow and sluggish and his limbs were moving in ways he wasn't telling them too.
Some part of him realised what was happening, he was fading and losing control, but the bliss was too much, it was overpowering and despite the severity Alec found himself unable to care. Why did it even matter?
Images of Clary, Valentine, Meliorn and other members of his team flashed through his head, and it was like being plunged into a vat of ice water. With a gasp Alec re-gained control, feeling more alert than ever, his heart beating furiously in his chest as he realised what had almost happened. He'd almost lost complete control, trying to help these people, these practical strangers, and it had almost cost him everything. He couldn't let that happen, he needed to succeed.
"Woah Alec, are you okay?" Jace asked, looking worried as he grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from stumbling.
"I'm fine, just leave it," he snapped, harshly shrugging off the concerned hand and making his way to the weapons cabinet. "We should hurry, Hodge could leave the area at any moment."
The others followed him, all remaining silent though he could tell by the looks they were sharing that they were all confused and worried, but he couldn't focus on that. He wasn't here to blend in, he was here to save his world. As he went to reach for a blade that looked similar to his own, he was stopped by Izzy passing him a sleek bow and a set of arrows.
So this version of him preferred to not be directly involved in the bloodshed? Alec knew plenty of people who did, who favoured the detachment that came from the arrows and there was nothing wrong with it, he just never would have thought that would be him. He could only hope that there was some form of muscle memory that kicked in during the fight, he couldn't remember the last time he'd even picked up a bow, let alone fired from it.
"You shouldn't be so harsh on Jace," Clary said as the small group made their way out of the institute, shrugging on her jacket to protect her from the cold breeze. "You know how much it's messing with him ever since he found out Valentine was his father."
Alec made a choking noise, almost tripping over himself as Clary continued, seemingly unaware of how much he was freaking out. But that must mean… Jace was Valentine's son in his world too? Holy shit.
"Is it weird to miss him?" Clary asked Alec as she lit a lone candle on her desk, gently stroking a picture frame stood next to it. "I mean, I can't even say that I knew him, not really. I was only six months old when he was taken, I can't even remember him."
"It's not weird," Alec said softly, pulling the younger girl into a tight hug. "Jonathon was… is your family, that's more important than anything."
"He'd have been twenty one today," Clary sniffed. "Finally legal to drink, though Dad says if he was anything like him that wouldn't have stopped him from sneaking into clubs before now."
Jonathon Christopher Morgenstern had been three years old when he had been taken from his family home. It was a move from the demons who worked with Elias, their boldest so far. Valentine and Jocelyn were some of their biggest opposers and after the young parents had wiped out a whole clan they had gotten the demons had been desperate for payback.
Despite years of relentless searching and help from some of the most powerful warlocks Jonathon had never been found, but every year on his birthday Clary would light a single candle in his memory. Alec knew he was privileged to be privy to these moments, but he'd been through so much with the Morgenstern's that he was basically a part of the family himself.
He knew Clary needed the support too, the memory of his eldest child was too painful for Valentine, especially after the loss of Jocelyn five years ago, and he normally spent the day drowning in work and going on raid after raid.
"Jace is really scared that he's meant to be evil, especially as it was Valentine who raised him for the first eleven years. We need to show him that that's not true, you need to give him a break Alec."
If it had been anyone else who had told this Alec knew he would have snapped, but this was Clary, one of his oldest friends and closest confidantes. She may not be the version he was used to, may be more innocent and slower to judge but it was still her, and Alec knew he'd do absolutely anything to protect her.
"You're right, I shouldn't be so harsh" he conceded, arching a brow as the redhead almost tripped, forgetting to look where she was going.
"You're agreeing with me? I don't think you've ever done that before."
Alec was quickly getting sick of all the twists and changes this world was throwing at him.
}}}}}}}
"Hodge!" Jace screamed with an animalistic rage, charging at his former teacher before the others could stop him. He drove his fist deep into Hodge's face, the older man's nose crunching and blood spewing.
"So you found me," he snarled, pushing himself off the wall he'd fallen onto, and pulling his trusty chakrams out as Jace roared before charging again, this time blade in his hand. "You think you can beat me? I taught you everything you know."
The nephilim didn't respond, raising his seraph before swinging it quickly down. Hodge moved to defend himself, though lost one grip of one of his chakrams in the process.
"We need to stop Jace," Izzy said, as Hodge and Jace continued to fight. "He'll never forgive himself if he kills Hodge, and boy is he on his way to doing just that."
"You and Clary subdue Jace, I'll sort out Hodge," Alec decided in an instant, taking command as he was so used to doin. He grabbed an arrow from his pack to load his bow.
"Alec are you sure?" Izzy asked, her whip the ready. Alec felt himself shudder just looking at the thing.
"Yes, now go." Without another word, he pulled back the bowstring and fired. It was enough to distract the two men, whistling past both their heads but it hadn't been where he'd been aiming for and Alec cursed. In his distracted state Izzy and Clary were able to restrain Jace despite his protesting, leaving Alec a clear run for Hodge. He didn't trust his shooting skills to get the job done, moving so that close combat was necessary.
"And you really think you can beat me?" Hodge laughed. "I've been training you for even longer than Jace, and we both know you struggle to kill even a demon."
"I really wouldn't bet on that," Alec said coolly before lunging, using his bow to land a blow, instantly winding the shadowhunter. "Clary give me your seraph!"
Luckily without question Clary threw her blade his way and he deftly caught it, instantly feeling more at home as he raised it with steady hands. The bow wasn't his weapon of his choice, he had been on poor ground but now, well Hodge didn't know what was coming for him.
He parried blow for blow, knocking the other chakram away with ease, though like any good warrior Hodge had another weapon hidden, a blade not dissimilar to Alec's own.
Every move he made was calculated, for every attack Hodge made Alec had at three counters up his sleeve, he was able to read every intent the older man had, parrying back relentlessly and preventing him from getting any solid blows in. No-one in his world survived without being a good fighter, and Alec was one of the best.
He took all his of fear, and his loss, and grief and his anger and he used it. Used it to give him strength as it turned into something more, into a fiery rage at the thought of the unfairness of it all, at the loss of life and the suffering.
Hodge charged with a cry, dropping his sword as he slammed into Alec; both crashing into the ground, the older man having a clear advantage. He'd managed to pin Alec down, fist raised to punch him and end the fight, but Alec was too quick, he jerked and the older man ended up punching the floor below, screaming in agony as his hand shattered. His pain gave enough time for Alec to reach for the small dagger he'd brought with him, hidden from plain sight, and with no warning he reached up and swiped.
Blood poured from Hodge's face, a diagonal scar that ripped at the skin and his features. He rolled away screaming, and with horror, Clary, Isabelle and Jace realised that Alec had also caught one of his eyes, blood streaming relentlessly from the now useless socket.
Alec lifted himself to his knees so it was now he who had the vantage point, he pulled his hand back, ready to deliver one final blow to his enemy but was stopped as the dagger was ripped away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the familiar dark-haired figure who had laughed over him for so many years, who had tortured him and killed so many of his friends, smiling with sick glee every step of the way.
Without thinking he lifted his leg, kicking Isabelle with as much force and precision as possible. She went flying, landing on the ground with an inelegant oomph. He moved towards her, eyes blazing. He was going to do it, he was finally going to end this relentless game of cat and mouse between them. He was finally going to kill his sister. There was no feeling of regret or sorrow, just absolution, Alec had waited for too long and he was determined to end it now.