A/N: Ello, my fabulous little readers! Jello is yummy :D Has anyone ever read Julie of the Wolves? That was a good book… Jello annoyed me though -.- And I was SO sad when the little birdie died! D: Anyways, I just realized I forgot to say this… Ron and Jane are the foster parents. Oh, and it was the whole Ragnor and Izzy thing that Kyle used to blackmail Rags into coming to the forest a few chapters ago. Just in case anyone cares. So yeah… I guess it's time for me to get up off my lazy butt and start writing now *sigh*

Last Chapter:

Magnus turned around just in time to see 3 teenagers leap into the room through the window.

Now:

There were 2 boys and a girl, all about 16 or 17. The girl was short and cute, with bright red hair and equally bright green eyes. All over her body there were the same black designs that had covered Alec's skin in his vision. The two boys were dramatically different—one was slightly geeky and awkward looking, with messy brown hair that reminded Magnus of Max, wearing old jeans and a gamer t-shirt. The other, the one who had just spoken, was stunning. What was it with this little group of supernatural beings and dazzling guys? Anyways, he was golden. Literally. His eyes and hair were the color of liquid gold, and his tanned skin- which also sported the marks- had a gold-ish tint too.

Magnus's evaluation of the little trio was abruptly ended by Ragnor. "ARRRRGH!" he screamed. "WHY. DO. PEOPLE. KEEP. BREAKING. IN. TO. MY. HOUSE? GET OUT! You too!" he added, whirling around to glare at Sileo, who held up his hands in a 'Whoa… what'd I do?' gesture.

"I suggest that you calm down, warlock… we've been sent by the Clave to investigate criminal activity in this residence and you are not exactly endearing yourself to us." Blondie said in a superior tone that sounded decidedly condescending.

Kyle rasied one eyebrow doubtfully. "Oh, really? Since when does the Clave hire vampires to do their dirty work for them?" he asked, nodding towards the geek. Huh, so that's what he was… Magnus would've never guessed. Werewolf, maybe. But sexy creature of the night? Never. Maybe, he mused, that's what Sileo was… he'd certainly fit the description! Somewhere in the back of his mind, an annoying voice muttered that he was just acting unworried to prevent himself from completely breaking down over his missing friends, but he ignored it cheerfully. What did little mind-voices know, anyways?

"They don't—special case. Not that it's any of your business what the Clave is doing."

"Actually, it is—Jordan Kyle and Maia Roberts, fully trained members of the Praetor Lupus. We're already investigating this case."

"Uh-huh... and you're doing such a fabulous job! Did I hear Mr. Stereotype say that they're taking the Mundanes to your headquarters? Why haven't you contacted them yet, hmmm?"

"We have our reasons, Shadowhunter."

"Well, I think that as the Nephilim officially assigned to this case, we might need to hear these reasons!"

"And I think that as the Guardians officially assigned to this case, we need some proof that you actually are from the Clave and not a couple of the bad guys, sent to do damage-control on your ally's poor kidnapping attempt." Kyle countered smoothly.

"Very well—I am Jonathan Wayland, and these are Simon Lewis and Clarissa Fairchild. We are of the Graymark Institute. Proof enough for you?"

The two werewolves reactions to that was ample evidence that that was indeed proof enough. Kyle and Maia gaped openly at the trio.

Edging closer to Maia, Magnus quietly muttered "Who?"

"They're 3 of the best of this generation. Jonathan was Valentine's step-son, taken in by the Graymark Institute after Valentine's death. That girl, Clarissa, her parents run the institute. Lucian and Jocelyn; they played a major part in bringing down the Circle. And that vampire—he's a Daylighter. A vampire who can walk in the sun. There are rumors that he has the Mark of Cain, so almost no one dares to mess with him. He's been adopted by Lucian and Jocelyn too. The three of them are destined to be running the who Shadow world someday," she muttered back. "We're way lucky to have them here. They're better than most adult Shadowhunters, and much more accepting of Downworlders.

"So, if you're done staring—what exactly happened here?" Jonathan interrupted impatiently, his voice all business.

They explained exactly what had happened, the werewolves even including—albeit reluctantly—the bit about the treacherous Praetor members.

The trio grew grimmer with each word, clearly understanding the seriousness of what was happening. Almost the moment their tale was done, Jonathan had leaped into action. "Clary, we'll need a map of these headquarters—Sileo, Maia, you two help her with that. Simon, patrol the border, take the warlocks with you. See if you recognize any of the kidnappers. Kyle, you're with me—we need a plan. Also, where's the closest holy place? We'll need extra weapons if we're going to take on ex-Cricle members."

"Wait—what about me?" Camille questioned, her voice weak.

"You're injured and it looks like you've lost a lot of blood. You need to sleep. Stay in here, though—you were here; I may need to ask you a few questions."

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

An hour later, they had a plan. The 8 of them would break into two groups: Jonathan, or Jace as the others called him, would lead Maia, Magnus, and Simon into the heart of the building. They would have a glamour—apparently, a spell to make you invisible—thrown over then as they switched off the alarms connected to the massive basement, then headed down to said basement. They would then merge with the other group—Clarissa, or Clary as she'd been asked to be called, Sileo, Kyle, and Ragnor—who would've incapacitated any guards and disabled any protective spells. The first group would proceed down to the dungeons, to find Max, Alec, Will, Jem, and Isabelle while team 2 would search for enough evidence to evict the bad guys. The plan from there was simple: heal up the prisoners as well as they could, grab the evidence, then fight their way out.

Jace had also disappeared for 15 minutes and returned with a massive arsenal of Shadowhunter weapons. Seraph blades, silver dust, holy water, some regular knives for Magnus and the other downworlders.

Magnus accepted the short swords and throwing knife that Jace tossed him, and Clary showed him how to strap sheaths of the swords across his back so that they criss-crossed and stuck out behind his shoulders; easy to reach in case of an attack.

Magnus had never hurt anybody. Well, sure he'd gotten into a few fistfights—nowhere near as many as Will or Ragnor, though- but actual sword fighting? Like, the kind of stuff people could get killed in? No way! But these people had kidnapped his Alec; taken him away and were now doing God knows what kinds of horrible things to him, and there was no doubt in Magnus's mind that today, when all was said and done, he would indeed fight—and he would fight to kill, if that's what it took to get Alec and his siblings out alive.

Of course it wasn't just the Lightwoods that he was scared for—he loved Will and Jem; the 3 of them, plus Camille and Ragnor, had grown up together and were close friends. But if he was being completely honest with himself, he knew that he was more worried about the Lightwood children. Like he had said to Maia, Alec was his soul mate. They weren't just dating. They were friends. They understood each other's little quirks and oddities; they each loved the other at his best and his worst. He honestly believed that the two of them were meant to be together, and that they could survive anything no matter how huge, as long as they had each other. Isabelle, also, was one of his closest friends. He knew that he could count on her for any favor or advice; trust her with every secret. They'd been best friends, the two of them and Camille, for as long as he could remember. And last but not least, Max. His little brother. Max had always called him that: his brother. Even though 2 years had passed since he'd figured out that Magnus wasn't his actual, biological brother or even his step-brother. When Magnus had asked the boy about that, just weeks ago, his reply had been simple: "Because you are my brother. Growing up, you were my brother, and definitions don't matter when it comes to family. Just feelings. And besides," he'd added with a grin, "eventually you will be my 'real' brother… my brother-in-law."

Remembering that still made Magnus smile. Little Max, at just 9 years old, was smarter and a better person than post of the people in the high school! So no… if anyone had hurt the Lightwoods, they would die. He would kill them.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Isabelle was not a happy camper. It had been dark when she'd woken up and still was; her head ached terribly, it was cold, she was thirsty, and she had no idea where she was—suffice it to say that she was a decidedly unhappy camper.

She wasn't alone. She knew that both of her brothers were in the room with her, and through the bars across the room she could see Will and Jem, but she was the only one who was awake. Camille wasn't there and that scared her—yes, it could mean that she had escaped and was not being held, but it could also mean something much darker and more unpleasant. Something that Izzy could hardly bring herself to think about Princess, her fellow diva. No… Camille couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

As Isabelle sat there, curled into a ball against she cold, she gradually became aware of someone next to her. She looked down to see Max curled up against her, tears dripping slowly off his nose onto the floor. She didn't speak, just held out her arms and he crawled onto her lap like he used to when he was younger. She kissed the top of his head, cradling him in her arms like a small child, even though he was 9 years old.

"Izzy, I'm scared," he sniffled quietly, his little voice trembling. "I want to go home."

"I know, Boo. I'm scared too. But we're gonna be fine, right? Alec and Will and Jem are here; you know they'll protect you. And remember, Magnus and Ragnor and Cam are coming for us! They'll come crashing right through the ceiling and open the door with the stolen keys, they we'll escape! There'll be guards, of course, but we can handle then—Cam I will spray them in the eyes with our perfume and Will will irritate them to death and they'll have epic eyeliner fights with the twins, but we'll get away unscathed, of course, because Jem will be watching everyone's backs! Then we'll make a mad dash for the door, just barely making it, and once we're all outside and safe, Magnus will get down on one knee and propose to Alec! Of course Alec will say yes and Magnus will sweep him up in his arms and they'll kiss, like something out of an old movie, while we all sit by and watch and cheer. They'll have to wait til they're 18, of course, for the actual wedding but at least they won't have to travel too far, because now they can get married here!" She looked down and saw that Maxie had fallen asleep. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Alec standing there.

"Good story," he murmured. "I like the ending."

For some ridiculous reason this made Isabelle burst into tears. Alec, calm and steady as always, sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. And there they sat all night like nesting dolls, Alec holding Isabelle, Isabelle holding Max, until the sun rose.

A/N: *sigh* well that was… happy. Yeah, NOT. Anyways, again… 28 reviews! I already have 10 written! And we don't want Allie and Maxie and Iz stuck here for longer than they have to be, right?