Hello hello munchkins :D

First of all - I didn't expect such a large audience for this story, so thank you and keep reading!

Second of all - you know the drill, I take nada credit-o for this story's idea (candycop99) or these characters (Cassandra Clare). In this chapter I quote a little bit (a lot) from The City of Bones, OK? Thank thee muchly.

Jace

Bloody hell. That's all I could think.
I had spent the last two weeks of my life running away from Sebastian, who was under the distinct impression that I was trying to murder/abduct/kidnap his sister all because of an incident in the gym. I mean, it wasn't like I had meant to grab her there. I had only wanted to catch her when she had tripped.
It was odd enough that she had stumbled in the first place, being as good as she was at slamming me to the floor (don't). Though I had promised to myself to be better than her, and though I had been working out more frequently, I doubted that such progress had arisen, so fast.
And so it was that Sebastian, even after having told me he was all right with it, was warding me away from Clary whenever he could. Still, I had managed to see her in classes. She was good enough at - well - everything, that she spent her time scribbling in her sketchbook.
I noticed she was working on the symbols on the cup of Raziel's statue. She seemed curious enough to explore it further, which I admired, but I doubted she would come to anything.
We were halfway through December. Christmas was looming near, and the weather had done nothing but worsen. We had got frost, sleet, hail - there had been forecasts for snow next week. I was perplexed, but not overly bothered. It was just the weather after all.

Exam week drew to a close, and I suspected both having done exceptionally well. As a celebration for the hellish days being over, our group of friends went out for dinner, and got back ridiculously late. They all went drunkenly up to bed, leaving Clary and I alone on the steps of the academy.
"So," she said, cheeks flushed from the cold, "off to bed?"
"I ought to," I replied, "but I'm afraid that you would be scared in the dark."
"Please, I can beat anyone."
"I have been getting better, you know. I almost got you, last time."
"Almost," Clary said. The golden orb of the streetlamp lit her up from the side, picking out her every feature.
I stood up, and pulled her to her feet. Her mitten-clad hand was small in mine. "I have something to show you," I said. "Hurry, or we'll miss it."

Clary

We ran haphazardly up the stairs to the top floor, hands linked all the while. The door to the roof cracked open before us, and a gust of freezing air pushed its way into my neck. I stepped out onto the concrete, and looked over the dark sea. The waves seemed slower than usual, as if they had been mixed with oil. It was calming. Stars spilled across the sky like holes in a cloth. My breath huffed out in front of me, and Jace dropped my hand.
At one end of the roof was a vast greenhouse. It took up most of the space, and stood like a palace of ice against the dark sky. Jace glanced at his watch, and beckoned towards the glass house. The door made no sound as it opened. I stepped through, pulling off the heavy layers I wore on my back. My jaw dropped to the floor.
The greenhouse was - was it? - larger on the inside, or so it seemed. Plants, creepers, vines, bushes, flowers, absolutely everywhere. The air was filled with the fresh smell of earth and grass after rain. A narrow platform ran around the sides of the greenhouse, with short staircases leading into different collections of plants. A metal spiral stair coiled up into a second floor, with a walkway similar to the one on the ground. Though I could detect no source of light, the entire greenhouse seemed illuminated from the inside. I didn't remember having seen any kind of light from the outside, but I put that thought out of mind.
"Whoah," was all I could find to say.
Jace laughed under his breath. "It's something," he said. He checked his watch again. I felt his hand close around my wrist, and let myself be led towards the metal staircase. Our feet clanged loudly against the steps, so I took off my shoes and socks. It was warm enough in here to do it. I found myself wearing nothing now but jeans and a shirt, and wasn't cold. Jace had peeled off enough layers to the same. I sat a few steps above him, and he stood leaning against the balustrade.
Conversation was easy, and we laughed. After a moment, Jace held up his hand, and told me to stand. He kept his hand in mine. "Look," he said quietly. "And listen."
I heard the distant bong of a church tower, ringing midnight. Light suddenly spilled from all corners of the greenhouse. I couldn't tell where it came from, but it lifted my spirits and brought a smile to my face. A sweet fragrance, one I could not name, filled the greenhouse.
And suddenly, hundreds of flowers unfolded, like eyes opening, like lips parting to say a kind word. They were purple and white, with petals like lilies. They were ablaze of light. Their buds seemed full of sun. I laughed, astonished.
When the clock stopped chiming, the flowers folded back into themselves, and the light, and the smell, faded. I turned to Jace. "What was that?"
"They're the midnight flowers," he said, golden eyes bearing into mine. "They bloom every night like this."
"That's incredible. I've never heard of them before."
"You don't read enough," he said.
"Probably not. I never got many books for birthdays."
"No? What did you get?"
"I asked for games and bikes and fighting gear," I said. Jace raised an eyebrow.
"Not bad, all things considered."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, I got a hunting falcon for my birthday," he said, grinning.
"Wait - an actual falcon? Is your family rich?"
"You could say that. It's actually quite a good story, if you want to hear it." I nodded, and settled into the stairwell. "My father gave me the falcon and told me to make it obedient. I was told to keep the bird blind, but I, uh, couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I touched and stroked its wings until it trusted me. It cost me a few cuts on my fingers, but I tamed it to perfection. I took it to my father, expecting him to be proud of what I'd done. He said to me, 'I told you to make it obedient. Instead, you taught it to love you. You didn't tame it, you broke it.' So he took the bird, and snapped its neck."
I put a hand to my mouth. "That's awful," I said.
He smiled sadly. "To love is to destroy. That's all I need to know." There was a moment of silence. "We should go," he said, his face dangerously close to mine. There was a smell of winter on him. I nodded, and Jace turned away to walk down the stairs. My heart sank, and my feet were leaden as I plodded down after him.
So distracted was I that I missed a step, and skidded into Jace's arms. He smiled crookedly. I felt blood rush to my cheeks, and was about to pull away, when his lips fell onto mine, and I was lost.
It seemed he hadn't wanted to kiss me, at first. His mouth was hard on mine. But he softened, put both arms around me, and pulled me against him. I could feel the beating of his heart.
I lifted my hands from his shoulder and tangled them in his hair, feeling the soft strands fall over my fingers. There was a rushing sound in my ears, like wings, and Jace pulled away from me, though he kept his arms around my waist.
"Don't panic, but we're being watched."
I turned my head. Perched on the branch of a nearby tree was a dark crow, eyeing us beadily. "Who's that?"
"That's Hodge's bird. You know, the headmaster."
"He has a bird?"
"It goes everywhere with him. Where Hugo is, Hodge is never too far behind. It's a shame - we were having such a scintillating conversation." I flicked his shoulder with a finger.
We walked back down the stairs, hand in hand. I pulled every layer of my clothing back on, and was going to put on my hat, when Jace took it from my hands. "A rainbow beanie. Impressive."
"It's a brilliant hat, Jace," I laughed. He nodded.
"Brilliant is the word," he said, and tucked it onto my head. He pressed his finger onto my nose. "Boop," he laughed. I did the same to him, and he chuckled.
There was a loud crash, and a scream. I turned around, my senses sharpening by their own accord. I could smell smoke, and fire, and another, sickening scent that I could not identify. More screaming echoed through the school, and under that - growls and animalistic shrieks. I turned towards Jace, who was already taking off his winter clothes again. I did the same, to give me more freedom of movement. As soon as undressed, we ran down into the school, to the bottom floor, where havoc was apparently being wreaked. We stopped by a dark classroom, which stored weapons. I leapt into the fray.

Jace

It was hell at its most raw. Creatures from the deepest confines of imagination ran amok among the students. There were bodies lying on the ground, covered in blood. Fires had started in some of the rooms, and ceilings had caved into themselves.
Clary and I pulled knives out of our belts, long and thin. The creatures, those surreal creatures of darkness, launched themselves at us. I swept my hand aside, sweeping my blade across the throat of the thing. Slick, black blood poured from the wound, and a high scream like none other heard before by human ears pierced the air. The creature twitched and shuddered, collapsing in on itself, and disappeared, leaving nothing but a black stain on the floor.
"Clary!" I shouted.
"Jace, I'm here!" Thank God.
"They're not difficult to kill," I cried, "if you get them in the right place."
"We can't kill them! I can't do that!"
I turned to her, and put my hands on her shoulders. "They've killed our students," I said. Fear clicked into place on her face.
"But I can't kill anything," she whispered. "I can only kick."
"First time for everything."
"Wait - you've done this before?"
"Now is not the time to question my parents' responsibility. Come on."

The battle was long and difficult. The creatures kept coming, and though I killed countless numbers of them, they seemed not to disappear. It was near on impossible to get rid of them. They took so many students, young and old. Teachers, as well.
Some memory stirred inside me. This situation felt familiar, too familiar for it to be coincidence. The movements of my body against the creatures felt altogether too natural. This wasn't normal.
When the last of the monsters had dissolved, Clary and I went to count the dead. There were sixty of them, out of nearly seven hundred students.
Alec, Isabelle, Sebastian and the others had all survived. They had fought, too. I knew that Alec and Isabelle had found the chilling familiarity in fighting as well, because they held weapons in their hands like extensions of their limbs. I said nothing to them about it, only "I'm glad you're safe."

Hodge came down from the greenhouse with Hugo on his shoulder and a look of utmost disappointment on his face. "Already?" he cried.
He was a man of short stature, with grey hair and grey eyes. He wore a sharp tweed suit, and although the air was full of rubble, not a speck landed on him, or his bird.
"Hodge," I said. "What happened?"
"Yes, indeed?" he uttered under his breath. "This wasn't meant to happen until later ... never mind, it's done now." He patted Hugo on the head, and he cawed. "Right! Who survived?"

Clary

My skin burned with the black blood of the creatures, and I had cuts all over my arms and legs. At least I was alive, and Sebastian. We were OK.
Hodge helped up those who were injured, and laid the dead to rest. He reassured the terrified and the mourning.
He was queer, and somewhat intimidating, but he seemed academic and wise. I trusted him without question.
Though it was difficult to see, we were led to an assembly hall, where Hodge stepped up to the stage and spoke.
"Demons," he said. "Those creatures that overran our school only hours ago were demons. Don't," he raised his hands to stop protest, "question it. I assure you that this is the truth. Demons have existed across time in their varying forms. They travel in groups and like to attack that which is powerful. You are all," his gaze shifted around the room, "very powerful. Each one of you has a skill, a talent, if you will, for which you were asked to come to this school. It is time to put those skills to use. You will be sorted into groups according to these abilities and sent to eliminate colonies of demons."
"Hodge!" shouted a student, "that's forced conscription! You're turning us into soldiers?"
"Shadowhunters," said Hodge calmly. "Each of you is descended from a Shadowhunter family. If you weren't, none of you would be able to see the demons. Your families are well aware of this threat. They agreed to letting you do this. Though it shouldn't have come so early. We expected the attack after the Christmas holidays. Your parents would have told you over the break."
"Wait, you knew this would happen?"
"There was nothing I could do to stop it. You were not meant to have been thrown into this. You would have been prepared, at least. Some kind of warning. I would have helped you. I did not know the attack would be so swift, or so harsh, or so numerous. We expected twenty demons at most, not two hundred. I am genuinely sorry."
"But we aren't killers, any of us. We aren't ready for this," a young voice said quietly. It was a girl of maybe only thirteen, redheaded like me. She looked frightened. There was a great gash on her shoulder, that bled steadily. She had her hand pressed against it.
"You do not necessarily have to fight. Your talents might go elsewhere. You will wait until you are older. Come here, you are hurt."
The girl came up to the stage, and Hodge knelt in front of her. From his pocket, he drew a short rod with a sharp nib. "This may sting a little," he said, and pressed the tip of it onto her arm. It glowed blue, and the girl winced. Hodge drew a symbol on her skin that I felt I ought to remember. It irked me.
When he took away the rod from her arm, I saw the skin stitch itself back together. It was a healing rune, I realised. How do I know that? I had never seen it before in my life, I was sure.
"Come," Hodge said.

In the plane that is our dimension, there are ripples and fold in the matter around us. These folds are connected. On them are built portals. One such a gateway was built in the school. Through it jumped legions and legions of students, all being transported to locations where they would be trained. Most of the younger children were sent to Idris, the Shadowhunter nation, which apparently lay between Switzerland and France.
Jace, Alec, Isabelle and I were sent back to New York. Sebastian had decided to stay in California, and had hugged me fiercely before joining his group. "Be safe, and stay out of trouble."
"Fat chance," I said, "I am trouble."
"I love you, firecracker."
And I jumped through the portal.

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