I don't own Shadowhunters, blah, blah, blah. I have only ever watched the TV show, and only recently has my friend dragged me back into the fandom, but as we should all know, once you're in, you can never escape. Also it was mostly because of Malec. Seriously, best ship ever.
"Hey, Dot, Shu," Clary said as she walked in.
"Hey!" Dot greeted, looking up from her tarot cards.
"Clary! Happy birthday!" Shu called, giving her a quick hug.
"How's your future looking?" Clary asked Dot.
"Not as good as yours," She said. "The tarot cards tell me you got into the advanced program."
"And by 'The tarot cards' you mean 'Simon's Twitter account?'"
Dot smiled guiltily. "Okay, I follow him."
"I heard it from Dot," Shu said. "You know I'm not tech savvy, Clary."
"Turns out, predicting the future with tarot cards is very complicated," Dot admitted, flipping over one with a chalice on it. "But, I do see a birthday present in your future."
She reached down behind the glass case and handed Clary a bag.
"Dot!" Clary exclaimed.
"Okay, open it!"
She pulled out a designer shirt that might not have made it past a school dress code, but it was fancy.
"Wow."
"Yeah, you might wanna keep that on the DL 'cause your mom's my boss and I don't want her to flip out."
"Yeah, but that's how I know it's cool."
They all chuckled.
"You know, you're way better at gift-giving than magically predicting the future."
Dot shrugged. "Nothing magical about it. I just buy the things I wanna wear."
Clary put the shirt back in the bag and gave Dot a hug.
"Happy birthday."
"Thank you."
"Well, I got you this, since I'm terrible at giving gifts," Shu said, handing Clary a box.
She opened it and found a bracelet made of white crystal beads.
"Shu, it's beautiful."
"Yeah, but it's cheap. I literally picked that up for like a buck at the store earlier."
"Glad to know you remembered my birthday."
"Oh, I'm kidding! I'd never forget! I just…waited until the last second to get something so…it would be a surprise!"
Clary laughed and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you."
"No prob. Eighteen is a milestone in life." She sighed. "Enjoy it while it lasts, girl."
"Oh, it hasn't been that long since you were a teenager."
"Feels like an eternity."
"We love you Clary," Dot said out of the blue.
"I love you too," Clary responded, though confusion creeped into her voice.
Dot merely sighed and stared at Clary with a worried look on her face.
"You okay?" Clary asked.
Dot looked distracted, before shaking herself out of her daze and forcing a smile. "Yeah. Happy birthday. Go up and see your mom."
Clary grabbed her presents and put the box from Shu into Dot's beg before heading up to the apartment.
Once she was out of the room, Dot walked to the door to the shop and took the 'Open' sign down, flipping it to the 'Closed' side and locking the door.
Ten Years Ago
Jocelyn came knocking at the door with her daughter in hand.
"Magnus!" She called. "Namir!"
"Please. Only a Warlock can do this," Jocelyn begged.
Jocelyn tied Clary's arms with rope, her daughter confused and terrified as to what her mother was doing. "Mom?"
"It's okay, honey, it's for the best."
"You're not protecting her," Magnus warned. "You're deceiving her."
"For as long as possible," Jocelyn agreed.
"She won't be a child forever, Jocelyn," Shu warned. "You can't protect her from her fate. If anything, all you're doing is making sure she's unprepared for the life ahead of her."
"For now, I don't want her part of our world," She pressed.
"Mom, I don't wanna do this," Clary said.
"Please, take her memories."
Magnus waved his hand as blue energy formed and his eyes glowed yellow and slit. He waved his hand across Clary's forehead and the blue smoke hummed as her memories were pulled out and away.
Shu walked upstairs to find Jocelyn sitting and staring at Clary's art folder, running her hand over the rune she'd drawn.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Luke said, walking in. "Captain's got me on those demonic murders."
"Look at the drawings," Jocelyn said. "It's already happening."
"I warned you it wouldn't be permanent," Shu said. "The only reason it's lasted this long is because I've been here to watch over her personally. Now, there's just no more holding it back."
"We all knew this time was coming," Luke sighed. "We'll tell her together."
"No," Jocelyn declared. "It was my choice. I'll do it alone."
"All right. Well, do it soon. If she's unprepared, your life is in danger. And so is Clary's."
"Hey, Luke!" Said girl called, having put on the shirt Dot gave her along with a green hoodie over it. "What's up?"
"Hey!" He greeted, putting his smile back on. "Incredible drawings."
"Oh, thanks."
"And I got you these."
He reached into the bag he'd brought in with him and pulled out a box full of cans with colorful caps.
"Spray paint."
"Oh, they're perfect!" She muttered.
"If I catch any of that paint on city walls, I will arrest you," He warned.
"The paint is for Simon's van," She promised. "I'm insisting they rename the band."
"Oh, yes please," Jocelyn said.
"Yeah."
Luke noticed something sticking out of Clary's pocket. "Did your mom talk to you about that?"
She looked to where he was pointing and pulled it out. "The heirloom. Yeah, it's beautiful."
"Clary," Shu began. "You're 18 now, and-"
"What is with you guys?" She interrupted, seeing that Luke had a serious face on as well. "I'm turning 18. It's not like I'm heading off on some epic journey."
"But you are!" Simon called, walking in. "See, we are going to Lombardi's to celebrate your birthday after our gig."
"You should come back here after," Jocelyn suggested.
"The city's not that safe right now," Shu agreed.
"Uh, thanks, mom, Shu, but we're set."
"Yeah, we'll take a rain check," Simon agreed as they began to walk out before he stopped and turned back. "Wait, do I smell chicken cacciatore?"
"Simon, your gig," Clary reminded him.
"Oh, you're singing?" Luke asked.
"Yes, big gig. And by big, I mean not so."
Luke chuckled.
Jocelyn gave her daughter a tight hug.
Clary choked dramatically. "Losing circulation here."
"Breakfast, you and me, tomorrow," Jocelyn declared. "Promise?"
"Yep," Clary said casually, not seeing the serious look on her mother's face. "Mom? Uh, mom? Mom, you have to let me go. I'm biologically, and legally, an adult."
She patted her daughter on the back and reluctantly released her. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Clary gave her mom a reassuring smile, and Jocelyn returned it as best she could.
Clary turned to Simon. "Ready?"
"Yep."
"Just let her be a kid for one last day," Jocelyn muttered.
"I gotta get out as well," Shu said. "Magnus is holding another rave tonight, and insists that he needs me there for some reason."
"Do you think you could watch out for Clary tonight? Discreetly. Tonight is…shaky. The perfect time for things to go wrong."
"Understood. You look after yourself tonight too, Jocelyn. Just because Clary's the one in the dark doesn't mean you're in any less danger."
Shu was not one for parties, which was odd since she was a friend of Magnus Bane. She honestly didn't understand him sometimes, and they were soul bonded.
She found him sitting on a couch with a ton of people all dressed in punk outfits nearly as eccentric as him, both the men and women. They were obviously not short on drinks, and Magnus seemed fine on his own.
"Remind me again why I needed to be here," She said.
"You never get out, Asushunamir."
"For a reason. This-" She waved her hand around to the loud music, flashing lights, and clump of bodies, "-is not my style, and you know it."
He looked behind her and saw two men dressed in black suits with glasses on. "There are other reasons."
He passed his drink to the girl beside him and walked over to the two men, Shu taking interest and following behind. "Circle members aren't welcome in my club," He declared.
The two shifted nervously before the shorter one spoke. "No worries, Warlocks. It's all ancient history."
"Really?" Magnus asked, revealing his eyes. "To me, it was like a blink of an eye."
The taller man surged forward, but Shu held her hand out and her dark purple/blood red wisps of magic flared to life on her palm, the man choking and being lifted into the air as he struggled. Magnus held his hand out and his blue magic flared to life between his fingers, and he shifted his index and middle finger apart, rotating his hand to the sound of bones crunching.
"We've endured worse," The man choked out in a high-pitched and strained voice.
"You've inflicted worse," Shu retaliated. "And so have we."
"Leave," Magnus ordered.
The smaller man gave the pair a glare, but moved to leave.
"There are more," Shu declared. "And some angel blood in here too."
She tossed the taller man away as the two of them made their way through the crowd.
Clary suddenly ran out of an area blocked off by curtains and bumped into Magnus.
"Sorry…" She muttered, staring at him for an extra second before shaking her head and turning to continue, pushing her way through the crowd despite Simon calling out to her.
Shu reappeared from turning invisible. "Move. I've heard a fight already. They're probably going to leave ashes all over the place. I'm heading to warn Dot. Make sure Clary and Jocelyn don't wander into a trap unprepared, or all those years of looking after them will have gone to waste."
Shu sent a message to Dot before she ran through the streets only to find that there were traces of magic running through the Fray household. Dot was gone, Jocelyn was gone, Clary was gone, and the cup…
"Luke."
"I found someone looking for Magnus and you," Luke reported. "One of the Circle members. They're hunting all Warlocks, but they're looking for you two in specific. You need to get back to him and warn him."
"I'm sure he already knows. Have you seen Dot?"
"She went to the Fray house earlier. Apparently she sent Clary through a portal to me, but she never arrived, at least, I never saw her."
"She could be stuck in limbo, you mean."
"Do you think you could find her if she was?"
"I can certainly try. What about Dot?"
"She went to look for Magnus as well. She had stayed to help defend Jocelyn, but she got tossed through a window apparently and is now low on magic and is looking for your help. You and Magnus hold the key to Clary's memories, as well as Jocelyn's, so you need to watch yourselves."
"Maggie would be offended if he heard someone trying to warn him, but we get it. I'm not sure Magnus wants to get dragged into another war, however, and he won't help the Circle, nor Dot."
"Better he's not helping either side than helping the Circle. Right now, can I request that you help find Clary?"
"Of course. Valentine gets his hands on that cup and we're all in deep shit."
Shu hurried through the streets, searching for Dot's signal. Her magic was weakened, that was for sure, and so it made her a little harder to sniff out.
"Warlock!"
She turned to find two men behind her, carrying seraph blades with plenty of runes.
"Where is Clary Fairchild?"
"I don't know arseholes, but I sure as hell wouldn't tell you if I did know."
"You're her," One realized. "Asushunamir. You're coming with us."
"Like hell, bitches."
She pulled out her custom Stele and quickly drew some runes on her arm before pocketing it and charging at the two men. Each swung their blades, but they swung way off course, as though they weren't even trying to hit her.
She punched one of them in the gut and then kicked the other in the face, grabbing the first she'd punched and throwing him into the second hard enough to slam them into the wall, cracking the solid bricks behind them.
"Move in!" "Get her!"
Shu looked over to find at least six other men jumping down from the buildings around her, all armed and some drawing their own runes. She waved her hand and three of them were surrounded by her magic purple/red wisps, and she clenched a fist to have them scream and freeze up, bones crunching and snapping, before she threw them against the walls.
She charged in to meet the other three, one swinging completely past her and gasping in surprise before she grabbed his weapon and his arm, snapped his elbow in the wrong direction, wrenched his arm out of its socket, before then throwing him against another of the men.
He dodged his partner, while he and his remaining one attacked from both sides, trying to surrounded her. She kicked one of the approaching swords away with her foot while snatching the hilt of the other and tossing each of the weapons into the air.
She proceeded to spin around, grabbing each man by their shirt and then twisting and pulling so that she slammed them together in front of them, skulls shattering with a sickening crunch, before she dropped them to the ground.
She then proceeded to walk over to the only man left alive, the one who's arm she'd dislocated and who's elbow she'd snapped. Stomping on his back hard enough to break ribs, she grabbed his still unharmed arm and proceeded to pull it back at a painful angle, causing the man beneath her to scream out in pain.
"Tell Valentine that if he wants something from me, he'd better come out and meet me personally," She said. "Your numbers are dwindling, so if he wants to keep enough lackeys to believe he's got some kind of leverage, I suggest he leaves me and my kind alone."
She then released the man and walked out of the alley, snapping her fingers and the corpses all suddenly ignited, burning away the bodies faster than any normal flame, until there was nothing left but ashes.
"Magnus, hey, I just got back from a streetfight. How are things going here?"
"Shu. I'm evacuating the Warlocks now."
To prove his point, he motioned to a portal which all of the Warlocks in Pandemonium were walking through.
"Good, great. Have you seen - oh, there she is."
"Magnus! Shu!"
Dot came running in. "Hey. Why haven't you answered my messages, Magnus? Jocelyn's missing, and I-"
"I've been a little busy protecting our people from certain death," Magnus said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Jocelyn's brilliant plan is screwed," He said bluntly.
"Never one to mince words," Shu muttered.
"Valentine knows a Warlock brewed the potion that put her to sleep. He's hunting Warlocks down one by one."
"Wait, so you're leaving?" She asked in disbelief.
"You've always been the quick study, Dorothy. It's our only choice until we know what Valentine is up to. Let's go."
Magnus moved to step through the portal and take Dot too, but she stopped him. "No, I-I can't. I've been portaling all over the city looking for Clary and my magic is dangerously low. I need your help."
"Are you really going to risk your life for a Shadowhunter?"
"This isn't us vs them, Magnus. If Valentine gets the cup, we're all doomed."
"Valentine can't kill what he can't find."
He stepped backwards into his portal and offered his hand. "Last chance to save yourself."
Dot hesitated, looking to his hand before he disappeared through.
"I need to go with them too, Dot," Shu said. "I need to ensure the safety of the Warlocks before we continue the hunt for Clary. I'm sure some local Shadowhunters found her. She'll be fine. You should come with us and replenish your strength before you continue the search."
"Shu, you know what kind of trouble will happen if we don't find Clary."
"And I know the kind of trouble that will happen if Valentine gets his hands on you or I. We are the key to the cup, the key to Joselyn, and good bargaining chips in exchange for Clary's life, and you know Clary's too good to decline an offer that might save our lives in place of hers. Not to mention the fact that Magnus and I know where Clary's memories are, and Clary can at least buy some time in her ignorance. Come on, Dorothy, please."
She offered her hand, and Dot looked to it for a moment, before taking a step back. Shu sighed and looked to her sadly. "Don't get yourself into trouble, Dot."
Shu walked through the portal, but Dot waited and watched as it closed in front of her, before running out of Pandemonium.
And then proceeded to get kidnapped.