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AN – Hello Shadowhunters fandom! I know this was just supposed to be a one-shot, but after 3x08, I couldn't help myself. So, here is chapter 2 that takes place after 3x08.
Enjoy!
Alec stood alone on the balcony of Magnus's apartment, staring at the city below. The sun had set long ago, the only light now coming for the city lights. It was like looking down at stars instead of looking up. At least, the Shadowhunter assumed so. He had lived in the city his entire life, and it was near impossible to see real stars there. He could only remember a few times being out of New York on a mission and seeing the real stars, but he preferred the city lights. It made him feel at home, though he didn't any more because his brother was gone.
Once Alec and Izzy realized that Lilith had arrived and took Jace before they had fully woken up from being in Jace's mind, they immediately tried to track him with Magnus's help, but couldn't. The warlock then told them that Lilith was most likely blocking the missing Shadowhunter from them. Izzy then headed straight to the Institute to see if there had been any reports of demon activity that might lead them to Jace. Alec though, went outside on the balcony to try and clear his head.
The more the dark haired Shadowhunter thought about everything that had happened since Valentine's death, the more he wanted to hit himself. It was so obvious that there was something worse going on with Jace than he had originally thought. It would've been even more obvious if he had been paying more attention, but between running the Institute and spending so much time with Magnus, he hadn't been there to see the signs.
When he finally did, he tried to figure out what was going on with his brother. Finding out about Celine, Jace's mother, having mental health issues and that it could have been passed down to him, Alec thought he had his answer. It was a terrifying one of course, after all, there wouldn't be much he could do for his Parabatai if that was what he was suffering from, and if it was, Jace stood to lose almost everything. He was at risk of being declared unfit for duty and be stripped of his runes. Jace was a fighter, has been ever since he was kid. Having that taken away from him would've broken him.
But realizing that he was actually being possessed and forced to attack and kill innocent mundanes, scared Alec even more than the possibility of his brother having mental health issues ever would. What made it worse, was that once he learned about Celine's problems, he thought he had the answer so he stopped looking to see if there was something else going on. If he kept looking, he might've seen what the real problem was. But he didn't, and now Jace was gone.
Alec failed his Parabatai again. The mental list he carried in his head was growing longer, far longer than he would've liked. He didn't stop Jace from leaving with Valentine, didn't rescue him from the monster who raised him, didn't save him from the city of bones, didn't protect him from being killed by Valentine (though in his defense, he didn't know about that), couldn't kill Jace when he begged him to just hours earlier, and couldn't keep him from being taken from Lilith. He couldn't do anything, and Alec hated it.
"Alexander? Are you alright?" The dark-haired young man heard his boyfriend's voice ask, followed by the sound of the light footsteps of the warlock coming up behind him. Alec didn't answer though, he didn't need to. The answer was obvious, to both of them.
"Forget I asked that." Magnus said once he realized what he had just asked, coming to stand right beside Alec.
"When I found him, in his mind, I don't think I've ever seen him so broken. Even when he came to live with us after watching his father die, he was still just as cocky and chill as he usually is." Alec informed the warlock, the memories of what he had seen inside Jace's mind still running through his head. Magnus didn't say anything, knowing that Alec wasn't done talking just yet. He did though, put his hand on the taller man's shoulder.
"Lilith was forcing him to kill Clary over and over again." The dark-haired, young man revealed, then looked over at Magnus and said, "I can't imagine being forced to do the same thing to you. Even if it wasn't real."
"It was, just," Alec paused when he heard himself choking a little over what his was about to say, turning around to face the city again before continuing, "He begged us to kill him. He begged us because he couldn't do it himself. He said he had tried, many times, but couldn't."
Magnus again kept quiet, though this time, it was because he didn't know what to say. The pain that Alec was feeling from seeing his brother brought down to such a low, pain-filled, level was obvious, and Magnus had no idea of how to make him feel better. Well, besides saving Jace, and even then, he knew Alec would still be upset because Jace would be upset with himself for what Lilith had made him do. Alec and Jace were connected in such a different and powerful way that Magnus couldn't fully understand.
"I failed him Magnus. I couldn't keep him safe from being possessed, couldn't kill him when he begged me to, couldn't stop Lilith from taking him." Alec told him as a tear slipped from his eye and started running down his cheek. At the sight of that, Magnus tightened his hold on Alec's shoulder to get the Shadowhunter to face him again, now feeling the need to intervene.
"Alexander, none of this is your fault. Lilith is one of the most powerful demons out there. Even if you were aware of how Jace was vulnerable, the odds of you being able to stop it, the odds of all of us being able to protect him are pretty slim." Magnus tried to get his boyfriend to believe.
"So I have no chance of saving him now?" Alec questioned, looking even more distraught to the notion that there was no way he could help his Parabatai.
"I'm saying, this is going to be a lot harder than any of us would've thought." Magnus corrected him. Alec nodded, but turned his gaze down to stare at the floor instead of the warlock's eyes.
"You haven't failed him Alexander. No one can protect someone from everything forever. The only way you could fail Jace, is if you give up and stop trying. The minute you do that, then you will have failed." Magnus told him. Alec nodded, agreeing with what the much older man was saying, but quickly found a problem.
"I don't even know how to save him." Alec replied with a slightly hopeless voice.
"Well, first, let's find him and figure out what Lilith is trying to do. We'll figure out the rest later." Magnus said with a smile. He didn't wait for a response before he headed back inside to get his books, knowing that Alec would be right behind.
"Don't worry Jace. We'll find you, and we'll save you." Alec whispered, putting his hand on his Parabatai rune, hoping that maybe, somehow through their bond, Jace heard him. Then, he too headed inside to help Magnus find a way to save his missing brother.
AN – I hope you guys liked this chapter, even though it was very short. I have also never really done much Malec, so sorry if it was a bit bad. Also, if there were any people waiting/wondering for a sequel to The Lost Angel, I'm sorry to say that at least for now, that idea has been scrapped. I've just been so busy with work and writing my other stories that I haven't had time and to be honest, I've somewhat lost the motivation to work on it. Maybe if I finish all the other stories, I might go back and write it, but no promises. Sorry.