A/N: I know- its been months and I have gotten MANY PM's asking when I was going to do more. I've actually had this chapter for ages... Now I have to go and beg my Beta to continue beta-ing for me. I think she thinks I have dropped off of the face of the earth.

Since it has been a while- recap: Simon and Isabelle have been attacked in Central Park. Clary knows this from a vision.

Without further ado...

They all filed out of the Institute in a rush only a minute or two behind Robert. Silently, they all ran swiftly in the early evening air. The rain had stopped, leaving a moist feeling in the atmosphere and a crisp smell, something uncommon in New York City. They reached the park within minutes and followed behind Clary. Jace watched from behind as she pulled out her seraph blade and named it, his own avenging angel.

Isabelle was already lashing at the creature with her whip with such force that when it hit the ground, deep gashes were left in the grass. Despite the ferociousness of her swing, she never made contact with the creature. Robert stood at her other side, daggers in hand, synchronizing his moves with his daughter's, trying to find a weakness in the being's maneuvering, but to no avail.

Simon lay on the ground, clutching his chest, breathing hard. Without hesitation, Clary ran forward, dodging Isabelle's whip and slid to a stop by Simon's side.

The creature was momentarily distracted by Clary's sudden appearance, letting it stand still for just a moment too long. Isabelle's aim lay true into the side of the being, but where her whip had struck, the creature turned to smoke and disappeared.

In the same moment that Isabelle's whip grazed the creature, Clary let out a yelp of pain, blood blossoming over her shirt in the exact spot that the creature had been hit. With the demon thing's disappearance, the group gathered around Isabelle, Simon, and Clary.

Jace noticed several things at once: Simon's face was beat red as if all the blood had rushed to his face; there was no hole in Clary's shirt, but she was obviously wounded somehow; and Isabelle was silently crying.

~O. o. O~

Simon lay in the same sick bed that Clary had inhabited just a few days ago. He could faintly smell the scent of her hair, but not as strongly as usual. Luke had gathered everyone into the hall outside the ward, while Magnus was sent in to examine him.

His chest still heaved with difficulty. A horrible squeezing sensation gripped his chest as if someone were sitting on him. Makes sense, he thought. The creature reached through my body and grabbed at the old ticker. Even though it hadn't been beating, it still hurt like hell. Now, it was excruciating.

Looking up at Magnus, he saw a look that sent a thrill of dread through his body.

Magnus, who was always so sure of what to do, looked utterly bewildered.

Simon stared down at the mark on his arm. Clary had been weak the day she had given it to him, but she wanted him to be closer to her, to be able to visit while she recovered, so she had Alec carry her outside. Isabelle's idea had been a stroke of pure genius and it was because of her that he could walk back on sacred ground, and now, for some reason unbeknownst to him, he was afraid that he might lose her.

Magnus scratched his spiky head, glitter sprinkling the floor where his hand trailed back to his side. "Don't move, Fangs. I'll be right back," he told him. Simon was further alarmed. If Magnus needed something to treat him he could just conjure it. Why would he have to leave?

~O. o. O.~

"I need to know everything that happened after you lost consciousness when you were poisoned with that arrow," Magnus demanded as soon as the door behind him was closed. His eyes glinted in a fierce way that worried Clary.

Jace spoke up. "We entered this place… like an abyss. There was no light except these sparks, and every time I moved, pain would be so intense that my entire being writhed in agony. I looked down to see what it was, and that's when I knew that my body wasn't wherever I was-"

"Yes, I know all that," Magnus snapped. "I know that it ensnares your mind and torments it."

Clary watched him shift impatiently. Before she even made a conscience decision to speak she was blurting out "But it wasn't just our minds- it was more along the lines of tormenting our souls."

Magnus's eyes widened so large Clary was reminded of the Cheshire cat. "And were there others there?"

"Yes," Jace said slowly. "But their light was dimmer. I couldn't see them until I reached Clary and I told her that she wasn't alone. She glowed brighter and then we touched and…" he paused, only for an instant.

Clary was only aware because she was super sensitiveof his feelings. He didn't want to tell them about their union. Clary couldn't blame him. He was always so private around other people, and this was more than personal.

"…And everything exploded."

"That explains how they got out," said Luke quietly. It was the first time he had said anything since they arrived back at the Institute. Then Clary remembered what he said just before they left to rescue Simon and Isabelle.

"You said you had a theory about why I was seeing these things."

"Yes, in fact-"

"That doesn't matter right now," snarled Magnus. "We have more pressing matters to attend to. Like, why your friend Simon's heart is beating again."

There was an utter silence. Shock filled Clary to the point that she thought she might faint. It wasn't possible. Simon was undead. His heart did not beat. He can go out into the sunlight, her mind argued. And that shouldn't be possible either. And then she knew what had happened.

"I know what it was thinking! I know what it was trying to do." Her voice was less steady than she would have thought it would be. Her heart beat furiously as she relived her vision. "He was trying to gain form. He was… incorporeal?"

"He was still in his spirit form," replied Luke firmly. "When you two came back, you had bodies waiting for you; but who knows how long this entity was in that dimension being tormented in God knows how many horrible ways. He was trying to get enough living energy to make his own body."

"Yes," replied Clary faintly. Her ears were buzzing with what sounded like a thousand honeybees. "He was killing people so that he could become whole. Simon and Isabelle were to be his last victims."

"Do you know how he was going to kill them? This is important Clary." Magnus looked at her sharply. "Try to remember."

"He was going to use the energy that he gained in the hell dimension." Everyone looked lost except for Jace so she explained. "We were shocked. Repeatedly. I think he must have found a way to store all of the shock energy and reverse it on other people somehow."

"And it would have killed anyone else, but on Simon because he's technically already dead it worked as a supernatural defibrillator." Isabelle, who had been standing silently in the corner, looked sharply up at Magnus's words.

"So he's alive," she asked, fresh tears welling in her eyes.

"I don't know what the effectswill be," replied Magnus with grim seriousness, "His heart hasn't beat in months. It takes vampires about a year for all of their organs to essentially dry out inside them. That's why they need blood to sustain them. His system hasn't died completely. You have to understand that what is flowing though his veins is… not as fluid as it should be in order for his heart to function properly… the blood is too thick and it's making his heart sluggish and it was already weak to begin with." He paused taking a breath and saying the words that everyone could almost feel coming. "If his heart stops now that it has restarted, I have no idea if he will survive."

I know- totally mean. You have been waiting months to see what happens next and this is the news you receive? But, you know what will make the next chapter come faster? If you PUSH THE BUTTON.

Reviews are like ten rounds with Jose Quervo... Once you've gotten them, you just want more. So help and addict out. Give me what I need.