A/N:

Hey guys! How are you on this fine day? I know some of you are in loooveeeee! Lol XD Anyway! I would like to greet everyone a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY (normal day for a single like me XD) and may you spend this wonderful day with your loved ones!

And since it is Valentines day, my little gift for my readers are a double updates on ITDD and MBA! Yaaay! So for those who are waiting on this chapter, finally, here it is! I would also like to thank my four beta readers (you guys know who you are!) for beta-reading this chapter and giving me your feedback on how to improve this chapter! I gotta say I made all of your minds bleed to death! Sorry for that in advance :D

And most of all, I would like to thank my wonderful and loving beta, WolvesinBoundary for betaing the chapter and for putting up with my constant whining and bitching as we constructed and discussed this chapter. This chapter is like, 7k+ words so please bear with me! And without further adieu, enjoy the update lovelies!

Chapter 7

Two is better than One

The gentle breeze of the wind and the constant vibration of his phone were the last things Alec heard when the final remnants of his sleep faded. When he felt his phone vibrate again, he finally decided to pick it up, scanning and reading the messages he'd received during the past 2 days.

Look, Alec. I'm really sorry for what we did. We didn't expect it to turn out that way. Forgive me, man? I really hate it when we argue or quarrel. And I'm sorry for what happened after the trial.

-Jace

Alec! We're really sorry for what happened. We only wished for the operation to succeed. Didn't expect it would turn out that way. Just so you know, Jace was really depressed after what happened. I know we're going through hard times right now. But I believe in our group. I know we can do this, Alec. Please let us help you.

Clary

Hey, Alec! How are you? I hope you're fine by now. It's been 2 days since you last requested your space. I know I'm just a nuisance in our group, the useless one. And I'm really sorry for that. I didn't do anything to defend you against the Clave. Nor did I have a major part in our operation. But I promise from now on I will do my best to help you and the group. I hope you're okay right now. Izzy has been bitching and having mood swings with me because of what happened.

Simon

Alec, darling, are you okay? You know that we can talk about what happened. I will listen to you and will never judge you for anything. And your circle of friends was really bothered by what happened. Please talk to us, darling. You know none of us blame you for what happened. Hope to hear from you soon.

Magnus

And the messages just keep on going. Alec sighed as he finally released the phone and went back to the bed. As he was staring at his dull ceiling that was devoid of any design, his mind wandered once again to what happened 2 days ago after the Clave's verdict on their operation was passed.

Alec and his group marched down the paths exiting the Institute, past the dreadful and disgusting looks they received from all the Shadowhunters they crossed paths with. Alec kept his head lowered the entire time, as he couldn't bear the looks they had on their faces. He knew they'd screwed up royally. Because of their carelessness not only had they failed their operation, but the suspects had managed to escape and another tragedy had happened. Because of them, the Silent Brothers and the prisoners were brutally killed. He knew this would be a burden and a sin that he would carry for the rest of his life.

He had disappointed his father once again, too. He'd put the Lightwood's name in disgrace in the Clave's eyes once again. He bet his father must hate him now more than ever. He'd failed them once again. And now, he'd also brought his group down. Because of him, Jace and his friends would suffer the wrath of the Clave. Their elite ranks and reputations were being tainted because of him. He wanted to cry for all the turmoil of emotions building up in him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his parabatai who was looking back at him with worry reflecting in his eyes.

"Alec, we're already outside the Institute." Alec finally released a heavy sigh. For the first time since they'd been in the Institute, he finally allowed himself to breathe and be calm. He was grateful that he didn't need to put up with those disgusting looks that haunted him everywhere he went, anymore.

"Okay. I'm going home. You guys should go home too, it's been a rough day isn't it? I think we all deserved to have a break," he said as he smiled and tried to break the deadly tension he felt around himself. But his smile soon faded when the rest of the group just stared at him intently.

"Alec, we're sorry for-" Jace started to say, but he was cut off when Alec shrugged and brushed his hand off that was resting on his shoulder.

"No, Jace. It's okay. They're right. It's all my fault."

"No! Alec, it will never be okay! It's not okay that they've blamed us for what happened! Especially you! You know it was never our fault! We only did what we thought was right!" Jace argued back as he was trying to contain himself from the anger and rage he'd been feeling ever since the heated argument in the Hall of Accords.

"No, Jace, they're right. It's my fault, I'm the adult shadowhunter in our group and am therefore responsible for everything. I should've take my responsibility seriously and none of this would've happened. I let you guys pursue the operation when there were so many loopholes in it. We weren't ready to commence that operation, yet I gave the go signal for us to pursue it. I should've known never to let my guard down. The first time I did, this happened. All of it was my fault. Because of me— because of me they died."

"Stop this nonsense, Alec! Stop taking the blame and shouldering all of this by yourself! We're to blame, too! We're the ones who planned the operation! Jace was the one who forced you to seduce that goddamn man! None of it was your fault. We cornered you, we forced you! So please blame us! Not yourself!"

"You can keep on saying that, but in the eyes of the Clave it will always be my fault. I'm the adult shadowhunter, I should oversee things and plan them well. I'm the brain of the group yet I didn't do anything to make our operation right. I'll be held liable and responsible for anything that happened. Anything that happened to you guys, to the civilians, even what happened after we captured the criminals," Alec replied as sadness washed across his face. He knew that when it came to him, he would always be the one to blame for every misfortune that happened to his company. The Clave hated him because of his sexuality, and he didn't have a strong, powerful figure to lean on and back him up. Not when his own father disowned him. And Jace didn't understand that. None of them understood that.

"You may be the brain of the group, but you're not perfect! You're bound to make mistakes! Alec-" He didn't hear what Jace was saying anymore as his mind completely shut down and he found himself wallowing in self-pity. He felt a heavy pang in his chest as he couldn't bear the heavy burdens resting on his shoulders. Without him realizing it he finally snapped at Jace.

"No! Can't you see, Jace? I have no room for mistakes! I'm not like you, who everyone adores! Nor Izzy, Clary or Simon who've established high reputations that every shadowhunter respects! To them I'm just a plain, gay shadowhunter who brings nothing but misfortune to the Clave because of my sexuality. I don't have a voice in the Clave, Jace, nor will I ever. No matter how hard I try to prove myself to them, they still won't recognize me. And now this happened and I'm sure they want to sentence me to death because of the shame I've brought to the Clave. And they'll never blame you guys, it's always me. It's always me." As soon as those words left his lips, Alec widened his eyes as realization dawned on him. He had just confessed a part of him that he'd buried and kept for himself a long time ago.

Without warning he released himself from Jace and ran towards his apartment without looking back.

Alec groaned, burying his face in his pillow as dread and guilt washed over him. He didn't mean to snap at Jace or his friends. He knew they were just concerned for him. But he shut them out, he pushed them away. He was too indulged in his own self-pity that he didn't see they were trying to help him. He knew, whatever happened, his friends would always have his back and never abandon him.

'I should apologize to them,' Alec thought. Just as he was starting to plan ways to apologize to them he heard a very loud banging on his bedroom door.

"Alec, you idiot! Man up, will you? It's been two freaking days already! Get out from your lair and face us!" Izzy's voice emerged from the other side and he knew that she was beyond pissed right now. She'd gone into bitch mode and Alec knew more than anyone to never provoke the beast inside her. It was no doubt Izzy would break his door if he didn't act fast. And so he stood up and walked towards the door to open it.

He was greeted by a fuming Izzy with Jace, Clary and Simon trailing behind.

"Finally! You decided to grace us with your oh so lovely presence, brother!" Izzy said, making Alec roll his eyes in annoyance. He didn't reply as he just stared at them and vice versa. The silence among them was awkward and deadly. Finally, Alec decided to break the silence and apologize to them.

"I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to snap, especially you Jace. I—I just, it was-" Just then Alec felt a finger being pressed to his lips and looked up to see Izzy smiling tenderly at him.

"No worries, brother. We completely understand. Why don't we go to the living room and talk about it?" Alec nodded and together they headed towards the living room. They sat in their respective seats and Alec continued to explain his side.

"I'm really sorry for what happened. I know you guys just wanted to comfort and help me. But at the time, I felt like the world was crashing down and everything was just a wreck. I couldn't think straight, plus those dead people have been eating away at me because of what happened."

"It's okay, Alec. We understand you. We're quite thankful that you snapped. I mean, you're always so secretive and reserved. We wanted you to loosen up and open up to us. Especially to me, since I'm your parabatai Alec. All your life you've been so tense, as if all the problems and burdens of the world were on your shoulders. And we don't want that. You deserve to be happy. That's why we came up with that plan to help you. But we're sorry it ended up a disaster," Jace apologized as he looked up at his parabatai.

"I want you to open up to us, brother. We're not strangers. We're your family. Even if the world is crashing down, we are always here for you. Please trust us, brother," Izzy said as she grabbed Alec's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah, right, Alec. We're sorry we messed up last time. We were just so ecstatic that we could finally do it on our own without you constantly worrying over us. But we promise next time we won't mess up again. Just trust us, we'll prove to the Clave that they're all wrong. And we'll avenge the Silent Brothers and all the innocent people who were killed by the Downworld Empire," Simon seconded as all of them nodded in agreement to what he'd said.

"And as for the Clave, don't mind them, Alec. They're just a bunch of bitches and narrow-minded bastards that don't take our words seriously. We already warned them and gave them all the information, yet they chose not to believe us. Don't let them drag us down! I know one day they'll be sorry for the humiliation they caused us." Alec smiled as amusement washed over him at what Clary and Simon had said. The tension totally broke when they all start laughing at how the Clave was a total bitch to them. Alec finally realized that he wasn't the only one who was dreading the Clave. All of them dreaded the Clave, and they dreaded it because they were horrible in their treatment of the young shadowhunters.

"You're right guys. We shouldn't be depressed over what happened. I mean, we can mourn about it, but now I realize we shouldn't dwell too long about it. From now on it'll be our sole mission to prove our innocence to the Clave and we'll pursue the Downworld Empire. We shouldn't let them win this war. I know the war's already started and they're on the move. We'll avenge those innocent people and we'll stop the Downworld Empire in whatever plan they have." All of them smiled as they gazed at Alec with the utmost respect possible. Alec finally realized they were all looking at him, wearing the respecting looks they have towards him. It melted his heart that his group valued him more than anyone. Somehow, it lightened up the dark hole in his heart and he found the courage and strength to pursue this. Despite the world turning against them. He realized it wouldn't hinder them from doing their duty as shadowhunters.

"That's my parabatai! This is just the beginning, there are still more heartbreaking trials that will come to us in this quest. But we shouldn't let them get through to us. I can see the Clave and the Downworld Empire are tearing us apart. We need to trust each other and be strong more than ever. We won't let anyone break us apart," Jace said as he put his hand on his parabatai's shoulder and squeezed.

"Speaking of, what should we do now? I don't really know where to start with the investigation now that we're doing this independently, without access to the Clave's resources or even reinforcements. We're on our own now," Alec said as his worry started to creep in.

"Don't get too worked up over that, Alec. We started collecting the clues and took photographs of the crime scene. Even though the Clave won't support us, they're still letting us get the evidence ourselves. Clary and I recovered some debris and weapons from the crime scene. We're currently examining the dead bodies of the shadowhunters. Izzy and Jace are starting to interrogate some possible witnesses from both before and after the incident happened. By this afternoon we'll be able to finalize our theories about what happened and report them to you."

"I see. It looks like you already did the other task while I was still bitching about what happened," Alec groaned in annoyance as he felt useless.

"It's okay, Alec. Now that you're back on your feet I suggest you start breaking down the code. Because honestly until now we still couldn't decipher what the hell those riddles meant. We may be doing some research now but actually, we were just stalling. I know once we start cracking the code, everything else will follow," Clary said and he nodded in agreement. Alec was about to reply when they heard a familiar voice emerge from the door.

"I see you just had your lovey-dovey moments together and you're all hot and bothered with your investigation once again. But I regret to inform you, you guys should eat your breakfast first before you get caught up with your work. You can't think straight if you have an empty stomach." All of them tilted their heads as they took in Magnus. Stunning as ever. Just then their stomachs simultaneously growled, causing them to laugh together.

"Your boyfriend is right, Alec. I'm dead hungry!" Jace exclaimed as he dived in to Magnus' food first. The other three protested as they argued just how Jace was a beast in eating and threatened him to give them their parts. But Jace just ignored them and started devouring the food being displayed on the table. Fearing that Jace would just eat all the food by himself, they finally joined in and ate their breakfast.

Magnus, on the other hand, walked towards him and wrapped his arms around his waist before pulling him closer and kissing him lightly on his cheeks. Alec blushed at his calm, sweet actions.

"Hello, darling. I take it you're finally doing well now?" Alec smiled as his heart melted at Magnus' genuine concern. It'd been only days since they'd met but he'd already grown accustomed to Magnus' warmth and gentleness. It was the first time he'd trusted a man completely and let him into his life. He couldn't help but feel safe around Magnus. It was the first time he finally let himself be truly happy. Even though they hadn't given their relationship a label yet (in spite of his friends teasing them for being "boyfriends"), he could admit he was attracted to Magnus and he was already beginning to take up a space in his heart. He would let their relationship develop and then maybe they'd be ready to take the next step in labelling their relationship. For now, he just wanted to enjoy his company and be happy once in a while.

"Yes. We talked about it and we settled our conflict. Thanks for the food, by the way. And I'm sorry for what the Clave did to you. You were innocent but they just judged you and accused you anyway." Alec lowered his head as he buried it in Magnus' chest. He was so ashamed that Magnus was accused and received those horrible looks because of him. Magnus just chuckled in response and grabbed his chin to force him to look at him.

"It's okay, Blue Eyes. I'm used to their judgmental looks. Plus I don't know them so I don't give a fuck what they think. You, on the other hand— your opinions matter to me. Now, stop thinking about them and just think of me okay?" Alec smiled in response as Magnus leaned in to kiss him tenderly. It was such a sweet, slow, gentle and closed-mouth kiss that Alec felt he might be swept up into the sweetest kiss he'd ever tasted. Everything around them just disappeared and all he could feel was Magnus' mouth against him.

But before they could deepen their kiss Jace cleared his throat loudly, causing the both of them to halt and glance around at the amused eyes of their group on them. Alec blushed once again and buried his face in his neck while Magnus just laughed.

"Magnus, please refrain from molesting my brother and eat your breakfast now!"

"Sorry, goldilocks. Your brother is too irresistible."

"Magnus!" Alec groaned as all of them laughed.

"Come on, darling. Let's go eat our breakfast." Magnus said as he pulled Alec against him and joined the group in the kitchen.

After they had their breakfast, the group took up their respective places around the dining room as they got busy decoding on their laptops as they went through their investigation. Clary was inputting all the information to the laptop while Simon was caught up with the paperwork of the results they'd gathered from the dead bodies.

Izzy and Jace were contacting some connections to gain access to sensitive information and resources that they could use to aid their investigation, now that the Clave wouldn't give them access to these resources.

Alec, on the other hand, was staring on the note the Downworld Empire left in the crime scene as he tried to dissect every word and decipher it.

"Having a problem there, Blue Eyes?" Alec was startled by Magnus' voice as he joined him on the table, taking the seat beside him.

"Ah, yes. There are some things that I still don't get."

"Is that so? Well, let me read it. I might be able to help." Alec raised his eyebrow in question, wondering how Magnus could help him in deciphering the note.

"Just trust me. I might give you some help. I may not be as brilliant as you are, but I also took some mystery and logic classes during my college days." As much as possible, though, Alec still didn't want to further involve Magnus in this mess. He'd suffered already and didn't deserve one bit of the disgusted looks Magnus had received during the trial. They'd even judged him without interrogating him at all. But he knew Magnus was right. They needed any kind of help they could get right now if they wanted to track down the Downworlders and stop them from creating a war. And so, Alec handed the note over as Magnus read the whole thing out loud.

"I see. Their note is just too . . . cryptic. Can you tell me what your initial insight about it was? Maybe then I can help you go from there. But don't expect much. I'll just ramble some random ideas about it." Magnus smiled and Alec found this action so endearing. He could see he was trying his best to help him solve the mystery.

"Okay, so let's start with the first riddle-"

As you gaze on the beautiful night sky and stare out at Aurora Borealis, the night of bloodshed began. Our wings of freedom were finally released.

"From what I understand from these lines, it's pretty obvious that this line pertains to what happened in the Silent City. They've succeeded in their operation. The second line-"

And now as we bring humanity to its personal highness and paradise, they will take our wings and flee with us in seek of their freedom.

"I know it's connected to the prisoners they helped escape. You see, those people we raided in Pandemonium, they were dealing drugs. The Downworlders are dealing drugs. Drugs let you feel high and almighty, as if you're in paradise when you start taking them. It's a dangerous addiction. It's no doubt that Scandinavia and Malta, the countries those men claimed would be the new base for their drug operation, are the places where these people flee to 'in seek of their freedom'. Once they reach these countries, they're free from using drugs, selling them and inflicting harm on the people there." Alec continued as he was organizing his thoughts on how to explain his findings to Magnus in a plain and simple manner.

"But before they can reach those countries, they first need to go to a specific place to get out of the United States. They meet at a rendezvous point and seek help from other downworlders before they can finally fly out of the country, right? That's why it was written here-"Magnus started to butt in as he was finally catching up on Alec's thought process in regards to the note.

They will take our wings and flee with us in seek of their freedom.

"Indeed. And that's where I'm stuck right now. I need to know what that place is. The next location where the Downworlders go. I have a feeling that this new location they're targeting— they ship all the drug paraphernalia to these countries. The next lines-"

The revolution of the earth has finally moved. The gears have started rolling. Follow its direction and you will be guided in the right path.

"I see. These lines definitely pertain to the place where the earth's revolution started. Alec, in my opinion, I think the note pertains to a specific location in the USA where the revolution of the earth theories came from, or any places associated with the revolution of the earth. Have you tried searching for those places, Alec?" If Magnus had asked this question a while ago, he would've considered and tried his line of thinking. But no, now that he analyzed the following lines in the mysterious note, he knew it was far from that. He just realized that the Downworlders were not only fond of riddles and shit, but they liked to play between the lines. They loved to put twists into twists, diversion into diversion, and wrap it into one big white lie to divert their attention from their real intention.

"Actually, I don't think that the note pertains to a certain place in USA that associates with the earth's revolution. I think the note pertains to a definite direction." Magnus raised his eyebrows, his eyes were looking at him questioningly and in that instant Alec knew that he'd piqued his curiosity and interest on the matter. Alec met Magnus' eyes, the room filled with silence as they stared at each other. Alec could feel the thick tension of mystery and danger around the room. He always felt that whenever he was in the middle of solving a mystery case. Of course, he'd gotten used to the eerie feeling around him, but this time Alec couldn't ignore it as he was about to explain the mystery note to Magnus, who not only was a civilian, but also a stranger. At least for now.

'But I feel so safe with him, I feel that he can be trusted. And he's been helping us without question. Even though the Clave treated him like trash. And I could never accuse him of something I don't have proof or evidence of. After all, they say you're innocent until proven guilty.' Alec thought as he tried to reason out with his instincts.

'But as a detective, you're not supposed to trust anyone. Or you should at least be wary of the people around you, especially a stranger. Plus, I'm telling you, I don't trust him. And when have I ever been wrong, Alec? I, your instincts, have always been right. Otherwise, a strong evidence must be presented before I can be proved wrong.' Alec mentally scoffed at the cockiness of his instincts. People might call him crazy for mentally communicating with himself, but his instincts, the other part of him that liked to see things from different angles, places, had saved him from numerous cases and been successful in solving them. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew his instincts were right. He didn't want to believe that Magnus may betray them, especially if he'd already solved the mystery note. But he knew he couldn't ignore his instincts either. And at a time like this where his instincts and his heart and principles were battling against each other, there was only one thing he could to compromise. To know which side would win.

He'd compromise with himself. He'd take a risk.

'Alright, I'll acknowledge your almighty theory, but it doesn't mean I'll go around accusing an innocent of something I have no proof of.' Suddenly he felt his instincts, or his other side, smile in victory.

'I always knew you'd make the right decision. I knew you'd compromise. Alright, I'll let you share your theories so far with him. But be very careful, Alec, for any bits of information you share with him are critical. It's a risk. Be sure not to tell him everything, not to give him the whole picture. Otherwise, it could lead to your downfall.'

'I know. Now, be quiet and let me do my job. Observe and, afterwards, let me know what your thoughts are.'

'Deal.' And then Alec was snapped back to reality when he realized something was blocking his line of vision.

"Alec? Are you okay?" Alec blinked only to see the worried look reflected across Magnus' face.

"Ah, yes. Where were we? I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Ahm, are you sure you're okay? You look like you've been sucked into a different world." Alec quickly shook his head to reassure Magnus that he was fine.

"No. I'm sorry Magnus. I'm just thinking hard about the note. And, of course, how to explain it to you in a plain and simple way."

"That's alright. You really don't need to explain it to me. I'm just here to try to help. But if I'm just going to be a burden to you then I think we should drop this. I don't want you to overwork yourself, Alec."

"No, it's okay. You're doing your best to help us, even if you're not obliged to. The least we could do is to help you too so that we can solve this mystery note. So, can we proceed now?" Alec finally said as he wished to divert the attention back to the mystery note at hand. Magnus' eyes lit up as he quickly nodded and their gazes landed on the note.

"As for what I said a while ago, I have a feeling that the note pertains to a certain direction in the USA. It says the revolution of the earth has finally moved. The gears have started rolling. It means that the movement of the revolution has already started. And according to the Cartesian coordinate plane, where do you think the revolution started?" Alec lifted his head as he gazed at Magnus whose eyebrows were meeting in the center of his forehead.

"Wait, Cartesian coordinate plane? What the hell is that?" Now it was Alec's time to frown in confusion as he was trying to figure out why Magnus didn't know about the Cartesian coordinate plane. Surely, everyone knew about the Cartesian coordinate plane? It was the coordinate system everyone used in Math. Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Speed, Velocity and Physics, among other great discoveries, all used the coordinate plane. Hell, it was even taught during their high school and college days-

Wait. High School days.

Alec groaned as realization dawned on him. The Cartesian coordinate plane was not known as the name itself. It was just widely known as the coordinate plane.

"Sorry, I'm referring to the coordinate plane. You know, the coordinate plane that our high school teachers taught us. We Shadowhunters named it the Cartesian coordinate plane, though. It's because when we're solving a case, we need to be very specific about which method we're using. Plus, we always honor the person who helped us solved our case. Or at least the discoveries of theirs that were used to solve it."

"I see. Well, I don't really remember any of that since I don't give a damn about those dead people and all of their shit. You know, if it weren't for their genius discoveries, I wouldn't have to work my ass off dealing with those stupid math problems. I'm tired of it. Math is always finding his x. We even had a joke about it during our high school days-

"Oh Math, Oh Math! Why are you insisting I find your eX for you? I don't even know who your eX is! For all we know she's been dead for generations! And now you're asking me whY she left you? Who cares? Mind your own stupid math problems, dumbass!" Magnus exclaimed dramatically as his hands waved in a way that was like he was declaiming his jokes. Alec couldn't help but laugh at his dramatic joke. A few seconds later Magnus joined him in his laughter.

"Okay, okay. So, tell me, Blue Eyes, who was the one responsible for creating this stupid plane in history?"

"Haha. It was the French mathematician, Rene Descartes. I think you can see now why it was named Cartesian coordinate plane? It was based on his last name, Descartes. Although his last name was pronounced as "dee-kart", he used the Latin version of it, "Cartesius", to derive the name Cartesian coordinate plane for his discovery," Alec explained as he decided to give Magnus a little trivia about the late great scientist. Magnus in turn wiggled his eyebrows as he grinned at Alec.

"You're one smart cookie, Blue Eyes. I think I'm starting to get why you said the note pertains to a certain location. Now let me get us a map since I have a feeling it'll be extremely useful to us, seeing as we need to use this Decartesian coordinate plane to break the code," Magnus purred as he stood up and went to Alec's study table, where apparently a map was visible to retrieve it. Alec in turn blushed at Magnus' compliment of him. But suddenly his nose scrunched up as he realized Magnus had combined the names.

"It's Cartesian not Decartesian!" Alec replied but Magnus just grinned wider as he replied with a simple, "Touché." Not a moment later, Magnus returned to Alec's side and laid the map out on the table. This time, it was Magnus who started the conversation as he finally caught on to Alec's thinking.

"According to the coordinate plane principle, the revolution started when the angle moved into Zero degrees. And according to the note, the revolution of the earth has already started. I believe the trigger for that movement was the attack on the Silent City a few days ago, am I right?" Magnus titled his head and looked at Alec to confirm his theories, who nodded in affirmation, and Magnus flashed a brilliant smile as he finally hit a jackpot for the first time since they'd started this conversation.

"Correct. When they attacked the Silent City, the gears started moving. The revolution started. That's why they gave the first lines as a clue, an introduction to what they did. If we follow the coordinate plane, it was created by moving two units from its origin, in four different directions, from the East, North, West and South. And to start-"Alec then got a marker and gave an "X" mark on the New York location on the map to indicate their starting point.

"From the Zero degrees, which is in New York, we need to draw a line of two units to the left, to determine the origin of the coordinate plane."

"Wait, you said we need to move two units from New York to the left. But how should we measure these two units?" Magnus asked as Alec was getting his ruler.

"Actually, I can't answer your question. As far as I know with regards to the points in the Cartesian coordinate plane, it's measured with real numbers. But as to what exact measurement it is, either an inch, foot, centimeter, etc... that I don't know. In this problem, we have two possible scenarios. We can measure it using the inches and centimeter scale on the ruler. But it's obvious that if we follow the inches scale, the origin will be somewhere in the water border of the USA. So, in my personal theory, inches scale is out of the picture. We'll try using the centimeter scale." And with that Alec moved two units to the left from their starting mark. He marked the origin with a dotted point.

"And now, from the origin we extend the line to the left with two units to indicate the left, or the second quadrant of the coordinate plane. And then, finally, from the origin we draw two vertical, perpendicular lines, from the origin up, and from the origin down, of two units to complete the coordinate plane." Magnus stared at Alec's demonstration in amazement as the coordinate plane was formed from their starting point, New York City.

"Wow. This is amazing! It was like the note being in front of me was messing with my head. I think I can finally decipher the next line!-"

Follow its direction and you will be guided in the right path.

"Following the coordinate plane that we formed, the right path pertains to a right angle, or specifically, the 90 degrees angle. So if we start the coordinate plane's rotation from the first quadrant, where the zero degrees lies, up to 90 degrees, we get-" Magnus and Alec gazed on as the first one pointed the perpendicular line they draw upward from the origin, where the 90 degrees lies.

"The place in this note pertains to the two locations! The South and North Dakota states!" Magnus said in victory as finally, they had narrowed down the places written in the mystery note. But much to Magnus' surprise, Alec was not responding to him in the same way.

"Alec? What's the problem? Aren't you happy we've finally managed to narrow down the locations?"

"No, I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm happy that somehow we're following the whole riddle. But I just think something is off."

"What do you mean by 'off'?"

"If the note pertains to a certain location, one way of finding a location is through its coordinates, right? The same way that the points in a coordinate plane is located. For example, we have a point P, that has the coordinates (1, 1), or point Q with the coordinates (-1, 2) and everything follows. So I was thinking that, maybe in this note. the Downworlders gave us certain coordinates, or latitude and longitude, if we translate those coordinates on the map. The coordinates of the place they wrote in the note."

"You're right." Magnus hummed in approval as he was examining the map and the note once again.

"But Alec, didn't the note already give us the direction? I mean if you're referring to the latitude and longitude, they already gave us the longitude. Seeing as they blatantly wrote in the note Follow its direction and you will be guided in the right path. And as you can see, the right angle here, or the 90 degrees is a perpendicular line lying on the Y-axis of the coordinate plane. So, the 90 degrees is the longitude of the place. And well, as of the latitude, I think we can solve that one, since we already drew and completed the coordinate plane. So it should be around 43-44 degrees. But, I can also see your point. This riddle points in two locations. So, which between the two is the real location?" Alec nodded again as he digested Magnus' opinion and theories about the mystery note. Magnus did have a point, since the 90 degrees was lying on the Y-axis of the coordinate plane, the degrees were automatically counted as the longitude of the place they were looking for. But-

Wait.

Alec looked at the note again as he mentally read all the last lines together.

Follow its direction and you will be guided in the right path. But be careful, shadowhunters, for the road is filled with a maze of a labyrinth that is full of lies and tricks. Be sure to think twice, otherwise you won't be able to find the right path you're looking for.

Follow its direction . . . the right path . . . Think twice . . . right path . . . twice. . . right path . . . twice . . .

Alec looked intently at the map again where they'd located North and South Dakota as their potential locations. This time he didn't pay attention to the coordinate plane lines they'd drawn. He was now looking at the faint blue vertical line near the left side of North and South Dakota. The faint lines originally drawn on the map.

105 degrees West longitude.

As he was staring at the degrees, the last line of the riddle was playing through his mind like it was part of an infinite playlist.

But be careful, shadowhunters, for the road is filled with a maze of a labyrinth that is full of lies and tricks.

And suddenly, it clicked.

"It finally makes sense. Thank you! You did it, Magnus!" Magnus was caught off guard when Alec suddenly hugged him tightly as his happiness was written all over his face.

"What? How did you locate it? Care to explain Alec?"

"As you can see, I said that something was off with the coordinates the Downworlders gave us. And you're right, the Downworlders already gave us the longitude. Its 90 degrees. And by creating and following the coordinate plane, at first glance, we managed to locate North and South Dakota. But, we only located these places based on our coordinate plane Magnus. If you try to locate the longitude of North or South Dakota on the map itself, it is somewhere less than 105 degrees west longitude." Alec then pointed to the faint blue vertical lines he'd been staring at a while ago and traced the line until he reach the top corner of the map. The vertical line indicated 105 degrees.

"If we try to locate the North and South Dakota's longitude, the longitude line we can associate in these two states is the 105 degrees longitude. I'm guessing the actual longitude for these places is around 100 degrees. So, North or South Dakota is clearly out of the picture since their longitude don't meet the right path. I can say that in a way, they are trying to deceive us. No, I think they're trying to confuse us, give us some twist to trick us. The Downworlders aren't letting us know their location without a fight. They said it very well with this line."

But be careful, shadowhunters, for the road is filled with a maze of a labyrinth that is full of lies and tricks.

"Now, the next and last line will finally reveal the exact place."

Be sure to think twice, otherwise you won't be able to find the right path you're looking for.

"In reality, they only used one concept of the coordinate plane in their mystery note. The 'tricks and lies' they used were the ones we were doing all along. That's why they wrote the last lines, to think twice before we could find the right path. But that's not the only reason they wrote the last line. As I said before, the last line pertains to the definite location. Now, let me ask you Magnus, What is the number that you need to repeat twice before you get 90 degrees?"

"45 degrees."

"Correct. And in order to find the right path, you must think twice. 45 degrees twice is equal to 90 degrees. And before you get the longitude, 90 degrees, you must first get the latitude that needs to repeat twice. That number is 45 degrees. And from our starting point, New York City, we move upward until we find 45 degrees latitude on the map." Alec's hand moved in an upward position until it reached the faint blue horizontal line of the map. Magnus then traced the line and, when he saw the measurement of the line, his eyes widened in realization.

45 degrees latitude north.

"Now that we've passed through the 45 degrees north latitude of the location, the next stage is to locate the right path. The 90 degrees West. And that'll be-" Alec pointed out a vertical line, again showing the 90 degrees West longitude. He traced his fingers until it came to the intersected location.

"We arrive at this exact location! And you did it, Magnus. Because of you we were finally able to crack the code, break free from their tricks and narrow down our search!" Alec didn't bother to hide his happiness as he felt a tiny light of hope on their case. He knew they would be thrilled with this news, now that they were finally starting to move. Alec also felt that once the fire was lit up, it would continue to burn until they reached the end.

"Uh? Thank you? But really, I didn't do that much. I just threw some random ideas out, like I said I would. Plus you were incredibly amazing to be able to crack the code like that."

"No, those random ideas are the ones that helped me solve the mystery. Thank you! I wouldn't know what to do or where to even start without you." Magnus smiled as he was touched by the genuine gratitude Alec gave for his little bit of help.

"Well, as they have say, two heads is better than one. Especially when the second head belongs to your special someone. Don't you agree?" Alec smiled as Magnus' playfulness came back once again. Magnus always made sure to find some time to deliver his pickup lines.

"Yes, yes. Definitely. Two is better than one."

A/N:

Okay! Before you give out your reviews (I am kinda afraid of it) please go to my fanfiction profile and click the hyperlink "ITDD Chapter 7 Guide" because I posted an infographic there to represent visually what Alec drawn into this chapter. I hope it would explain the chapter better! If ever I had multiple mistakes in this chapter, I apologized in advance. I am aware and prepared for the negative comments since it is my first time writing a mystery story. This chapter had undergone three revisions and this is the last draft. It may not be perfect but I gave the best of my ability for this chapter (my brain is dead and drained already! Haha. Poor me.) Anyway, you're free to give negative comments but please don't be rude. I accept constructive criticisms that would help me improve my writing. Not destroying me. I am still on the process of learning everything :D

I decided not to give line teasers on chapter 8 (but rest assured it is already written) since this is freaking long already. I guess the teaser I can give you on the next chapter will be its title: An Ally or a Foe? Does that brush your curiosity? :D And I know it lacks of MALEC romance, but it will definitely have one, on the future chapters.

Anyway! I would love it if you give me your reviews as a Valentine's gift :D So yeah I hope you enjoy your valentines day! Until Then!

-Daime Guiral