I. HAVE. NO. EXCUSE….oh wait…work. There we go.
Without further ado… The Chapter Read, Review, Follow, Favourite—and I will love you forever!
Disclaimer: blah blah blah Cassandra's a badass blah blah blah I own nothing blah blah blah I wish I could create some kind of alternate world like those created by Cassandra here and the Wizarding world in Harry Potter blah blah blah but I will never be cool enough.
Chapter 4: SHIT HAPPENS
So this was how Simon ended up towing his unconscious ex-girlfriend, who he still had feelings for, through the late New York streets under the watchful eyes of Isabelle Lightwood, surrounded by Shadowhunters of two different generations. And he loved the situation way less than he might have.
Of course, this didn't mean that Simon was the first choice by a longshot. No. Such an idea was preposterous! This was only because Jace was otherwise preoccupied. It was an odd predicament the group found themselves in, when they had two unconscious bodies to haul. Anyone would have been capable of carrying Clary, of course, but James was a different story. Though of slender build, he weighed more than her, no shock when considering his height and muscle weight, so required the attention of more than one newly-healed William. Therfore, Jace was called upon in a manner which was almost politically incorrect in this modern age as it negated the women and downworlders almost immediately. And Alec was of no help, being overly involved in a foreign type of brooding self-pity.
They all looked exhausted with the exception of Isabelle, who took a pride in glamour during trying times, as they trudged through the fluorescent lit night.
"Will we get no peace?" cried Theresa, as she eyed a metallic silver smart car on the curb accusingly, stiffening.
"Oh! What fresh hell is this?" growled William. He let James' weight fall on Jace and drew a seraph blade whilst striding toward the vehicle. After scanning the street for any threats he slashed the blade across its body repeatedly until Theresa drew him back, hauling his franticly shuddering body, to the rest of the group who were exchanging glances.
"Damnable automatons"
Everyone else held their tongue, a side effect of unconsciousness and general inexperience at controlling presumably psychotic strangers. Then the Shadowhunters continued on their path to the New York institute, Isabelle mulling over the situation and the word 'automaton' while eyeing the foreign group warily. And the shrill shriek of a car alarm followed them.
"I have come to the conclusion that this is some kind of alternate universe, or perhaps we have been transported into the consciousness of someone in the midst of a very vividly imaginative infancy. It would certainly explain all of the…oddities," reasoned Will, amusement sparkling in his eyes as he planted himself on a couch in the Institute's library.
"Welcome to the twenty first century!" proclaimed Isabelle, gesturing comically, unaware of the fact that the other Shadowhunters quite literally belonged to another era.
Thump.
"Great. Third time's the charm, eh?" remarked Jace, eyeing Tessa's newly unconscious form on the floor, making no move to help her up. It seemed as if everyone would be incapacitated by the end of the hour.
"TWENTY FIRST CENT— ah—I BEG YOUR PARDON?" choked out Will, rushing to prop Tessa against the couch which held her fiancé.
Isabelle was astounded and her mind raced until finally it understood the impossible situation. She almost felt bad for breaking the news to the odd group, but she shrugged it off saying, "I just thought… The English must have a really backward fashion sense". As if to emphasize her point she gestured at Tessa's frilly gown.
"I used to think so too," cut in a smooth voice from the couch, as a silver boy pushed himself into sitting position to survey the scene.
It took a lot of explaining. Some things were almost too personal to share whilst other matters felt almost mundane to Jace as he described away two centuries' worth of history to the parabatai seated in front of him. A part of him wondered whether this was a joke and a more solemn part pondered over whether this was some elaborate trap set up by Sebastian—but he spoke to them anyway, only lightly brushing on who his group were.
Not all the talking was done by him, however. James, or rather Jem, elaborated on their life in the nineteenth century. He seemed more pleasant than Will through the entire situation though he avoided questions regarding how he had fared in the past, asking Jace kindly to leave it a mystery, as he secretly had no desire to know how long it took for his lifeline, the devil, Yin Fen, to take away his life.
It was on this thin layer of trust that the groups grew to regard each other with sufficient amounts of respect, or in the Herondale's cases—sufficiently low levels of distaste and distrust. The major contributor was, perhaps, the one who hid the most. It was Jem with his unceasing gratitude for Clary's sacrifice, who carried a silent guilt for his endless weakness and the need to hide the burden whenever he glimpsed the redhead's form laid on the couch.
Tessa was awakened from her rather sudden 'slumber' so finally she, too, was filled in. Then, in the late hours of the night, when Clary finally stirred from her exhaustion she was met with the sight of three figures examining pizza wedges as a scientist would a test subject, with the trust of a dying boy she had temporarily saved and with an eerie sense of foreboding. And words rang through her head, as though she had heard them only a while ago—which she had, though she did not know—'Will we get no peace?'
So this was more a chapter to do with acclimating the past with the present so that the real stuff can begin. It is rather short and I do apologise for the maaaaaajor wait, though I will say that I DO get a lot of work doing the International Baccalaureate (six subjects, theory of knowledge, extended essay, creativity hours, action hours, service hours and extra-curricular activities. But I don't mean to complain). I love you guys, and I hope you love me despite my lack of punctuality and will review and tell me what you think. As always, suggestions and requests are always welcome. I will try to make the next chapter longer and be more prompt in my updating though I do not want to make empty promises.
Please read, review, fave and whatnot! I really do appreciate the sanity that accompanies seeing that my writing is being read. Thanks
Now I will reply reviews. I know I am awful at that too…but it's my first fanfic and I literally JUST figured out how (so technologically challenged that maybe I don't belong in the 21st Century either, maybe I belong with Will Herondale, eh? Yeah, yeah… wishful thinking. How ironic).