Another huge thank you to my reviewers! You know who you are!! There are too many of you wonderful people to list here. :D

Okie dokie then, here we go with ch.25! I actually had time to write while rehearsals were going on, woohoo! I don't want to say too much about this so…;)

Chapter songs:

Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward (Scene 1)

Lips of an Angel by Hinder (Scene 2 and 3)

Clary's head felt as if it were being squeezed in a vise. Part of her wanted to stay oblivious and in the dark, but a bigger part reminded her that waking was important. That she needed to regain and remain conscious. She fought against the tremendous pull of the blackness surrounding her and opened her eyes. Lifting her hand to her temple, she felt a large, sticky bump right next to her eye. She couldn't even recall anyone hitting her, all she remembered was Stephen striking Jace, and at the same time, she felt a blow to her own head and she blacked out. One of the hybrids must have knocked her out. It wouldn't surprise her as her attention was focused on Jace and not on her own situation.

As she opened her eyes, the room spun in a blur of dim light and shapes. She squeezed them shut once more, willing the vertigo to subside. Cracking open one lid, she peeked through making sure the room stood still. When it did, she opened them both and tried to make out the scene in front of her.

At least two dozen hybrids stood around the perimeter of the cell, their postures straight and uniform, almost like soldiers in formation. They formed a circle, blocking her view of what was happening in front of her. To either side of Clary were Luke, Simon, Meliorn, and Magnus. Luke's eyes met hers and a flash of pain broke over his face as his gaze landed on her head wound. Hard, cold arms held her up against a body. She knew instantly that it was Simon.

Clary reached over for Luke's hand. When his gaze landed on her palm, his mouth dropped open and he grasped her hand pulling it roughly to him. His eyes raked over the blood red rune for several seconds before he raised his eyes to hers once more. "What have you done?"

"I—I don't know. I dreamed it." She stared down at the rune and then looked back up at Luke.

Luke bit his lower lip and locked eyes with her. "Listen to me. It is imperative that you don't react to anything that might happen. Do you hear me? No matter what."

Clary's heart thudded in her chest. "Luke, what are you talking about?"

The group of hybrids in front of her started to shift and a space formed between them.

Luke glanced over Clary's head to Simon. "Simon, you have a good hold on her?"

Simon furrowed his brow. "Yeah, but—"

"Good," Luke interrupted. "Hold tight and do not let go. I don't care how much she struggles, do not let go."

"Luke?" Clary tried to ask again what Luke meant but her attention was pulled to the center of the room. Her breath caught in her throat. Jace stood in the middle of the room, his legs together and locked against the post near the bottom. His arms were stretched out to his sides and shackled tight to the board. Blond curls obstructed her view until he lifted his head and leaned it against the post behind him. His eyes met hers and a line formed between his brows as he took her in.

Clary pulled against Simon's grip, knowing she was shackled anyway, but not able to stand just sitting there watching Stephen do whatever it was he planned with Jace. Simon's hold tightened around her as Stephen stepped in front of Jace.

Luke turned to her, grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Listen to me, Clary. The rune you applied to yourself, did you put it on anyone else?"

"Wh—what?" Clary struggled against Luke's hold on her face, trying to focus on Jace.

"The rune," he jerked on her chin again, "did you apply it to anyone else?" His eyes flickered to Jace and then back to her.

"Ye—yeah, Jace. Why? Luke, why are you freaking out?" She tried to keep her own voice at just a whisper to try to hide their discussion from the hybrids and Stephen.

Luke lowered his head for a moment and sighed. "I was afraid of that." He met her gaze. "Clary, this is a blood binding rune. Do you know what they do?"

She shook her head, her heart thudding hard enough she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

Luke took her hand and held it up to her, about to speak when Stephen's voice broke through her concentration. "This is not how I had hoped this would turn out. Though I should have known—given your reputation," he said.

"Yeah, well, in this instance I'm glad to be a disappointment." Jace pulled against his restraints, the muscles in his arms and legs tightening under the sleek black of his Shadowhunter gear.

Stephen reached out and traced a finger along the side of Jace's face. The movement was careful and even loving. "You may look like me, but you remind me so much of your mother. She was just as impossible."

Jace jerked his face away. "At least one of my parents wasn't a raging lunatic. Maybe there's hope for me yet."

Stephen chuckled and held his hand up in front of his face, a glinting object clutched in his fingers. "I apologize in advance for the discomfort. If I could just take it by syringe I would, but the blood must be spilled for it to be effective." He lowered the blade to Jace and ran it along the inner part of his forearm, cutting a long slit. Jace squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his head back against the post.

Clary gasped as an intense burning started in her hand and a sharp sting ran along her forearm. Luke clasped his hand over her mouth as her eyes fell to her arm. Beads of blood formed in a line down the center of her sleeve. Her eyes widened in shock as red drops trailed down and dripped off her fingers to the dusty ground below. Fat tears fell from her eyes and rolled over Luke's hand. She didn't know what was happening. How was she being cut?

Clary looked up at Jace and Stephen. She could see the slit in Jace's arm but no blood emerged from the opening. With her eyes wide and questioning, she turned to Luke.

"The bond enables you to take his place, Clary. Everything they do to him, you experience. He feels some of the pain but you feel it in full force and take the damage," Luke whispered in her ear. "You have to stay as quiet as possible or Stephen will figure out that he can get what he wants if he harms you instead since it will work in the same way for Jace—if you are harmed, he will take your place. At least until the rune's power is exhausted. Once it turns completely black this 'place swap' will end. But the rune is permanent—which means you are bound to Jace for life. There's no telling what the results will be."

She took in a shuddering breath and nodded her head. The significance of the rune was not lost on her. There was a time not too long ago that she'd wished for this very thing—for her to take Jace's place. Now she was, and she would do it gladly.

Stephen stared at Jace's arm. His face conveying the confusion Clary had just experienced. She knew how important it was for him to not get what he came for. How detrimental it would be if he obtained Jace's blood. Clary tucked her damaged arm behind her back and Luke lowered his hand from her mouth just as Stephen turned to look at her. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell upon her heaving chest and tear streaked face.

He turned back to Jace. "What is this?"

"I don't know what you mean," Jace said, his own breathing labored.

"This," Stephen gestured to his arm, "what have you done?"

"I haven't done anything." Jace glared at him stubbornly.

"Really?" Stephen raised the knife once more and dragged it along Jace's other outstretched arm. "Then how do you explain this?" He pointed to the new bloodless slit in Jace's flesh.

Fire blazed in Clary's palm as the burn ran down her other arm and thick, warm blood soaked through her sleeve. She bit her lip and flung her head back against the wall as more hot tears streamed from her eyes. Taking in a few slow breaths to distract herself from the pain radiating in both her arms, she glanced down at her palm. Several lines in the rune had turned from the original red to a deep black. Burying her face into Simon's shoulder, she tried to collect herself and also hide her pain from Jace. She had no idea what he would do if he knew what the rune was really doing. He'd acted before like he knew what the rune was, but she was pretty certain he didn't know everything. If he had, he would have been seething mad at her for doing it.

"I don't know," Jace said. "Maybe someone upstairs thinks you're as crazy as we do and is making it impossible for you to get what you want."

Stephen cocked his head to the side. "Well, if I can't remove your blood right now, I guess you'll have to do."

Jace's face went completely blank. "What do you mean I'll 'have to do?'"

"I mean, that I'll just have to use you. I had hoped to avoid that, but seeing as you've gone and done something to prevent me from my original strategy, I'll just have to go with plan B." Stephen reached over to the table and grabbed the four full vials. After squeezing an amount of each into an empty glass container, he picked up a new syringe and sucked the dark liquid up into it, pushing on the end just enough that a single drop came from the end. He held up the needle and turned back to Jace.

"Wait a second; you want to inject me with that? You want to turn me into one of those things?" Jace cocked his head toward the hybrids.

"No, I want to turn you into something better. I told you, you're the key to all of this. You're blood won't turn from its original state because it's already stronger than any Downworlder blood. Yours has the ability to improve, bond, and amplify. So, you will remain the same, well for the most part anyway. You'll just have a few more abilities."

"No thanks. I like myself just the way I am, ask anyone."

Stephen leaned closer, his lips not far from Jace's ear. "This is a gift, can't you see that? You will be more powerful than any being on earth. Also, we will be able to use your blood to give others the same powers. It's everything we could ever want as Shadowhunters."

"How do you know for sure this won't turn me into a monster? You're willing to do this to your own flesh and blood? If so, you're sicker than even Valentine."

"Son, I'm willing to sacrifice anything for the cause."

"Then why not experiment on yourself!"

"You don't think I have?"

Jace stared at Stephen in astonishment.

"Of course I have. Something in my blood prevents the effects from lasting. Sure, I gained vampiric strength and the speed of the wolves, the cunning of the faeries and the magical knowledge of the warlocks, but it wouldn't bind to me. The same something that will protect you from it changing you. It's whatever strengths Valentine's experiments gave you that will allow you to hold onto the powers. I wouldn't do this if I thought it would harm you."

Jace laughed a dry, unhumorous laugh. "Yeah, well, forgive me if I don't believe that."

Clary shook her head violently. Not only did she not want Jace turned into some freak, she didn't want the same to happen to her. Would something like this even transfer over? She didn't even know and really didn't want to find out.

Luke wrapped an arm around her, holding her firmly against his side as well as Simon's. "Shh," he whispered as he clasped his hand over her mouth once more.

Tears already flowed down her cheeks as she met Jace's eyes. His brow furrowed and his gaze fell to the ground. His mouth dropped open as he no doubt noticed the pooling blood in the dust on the floor. He jerked his head back up and shook his head. "No. No, no, no." Struggling against the restraints, he continued to shout the word, over and over. Clary knew that in that moment, he realized exactly what the rune did. She hoped against hope he'd keep quiet about it. Somewhere inside she knew he would, because he would know that Stephen would understand it too and then he would get what he wanted.

Luke removed his hand from her mouth and she focused on Jace, her eyes locked with his. She mouthed the words "I love you," to him. His face contorted momentarily before he nodded his head and mouthed them back to her.

Stephen stepped closer to Jace, apparently oblivious to their silent conversation. Clary watched as Stephen leaned forward and whispered something in Jace's ear. To which he responded with a very loud and uncharacteristic—even for Jace—curse.

With the syringe clasped between two fingers and his thumb on the plunger, Stephen thrust the needle into Jace's neck. Clary felt the prick followed by an uncomfortable pressure at what she assumed was the mixture entering Jace's body. The heaviness traveled from the injection site down to her heart where it stopped, and for a brief instant, she felt nothing. Then as her heart pumped, an excruciating burn spread from that point outward, like ten thousand flaming knives were cutting and searing every vein in her body. Involuntarily, her chest lurched forward almost as if it was being pulled by a string, and a bloodcurdling scream escaped from her throat. She could not control the screams or the flailing as her body broke and burned under the effects of the serum. Her bones felt as though they were being snapped and ground into powder as her skin was being peeled away like the petals of a flower. In her mind, she knew none of this was happening to either of them, but she couldn't stop her body from reacting like it was. Even under Simon's and Luke's firm hold, her body bucked and thrashed in the extreme pain. Her eyes were clenched shut so she had no idea what was happening with Jace. She tried to opening them but the convulsing made that impossible.

Suddenly, all the pain localized in her palm and she was able to open her eyes. Her fist shook as the searing heat engulfed her hand. She unclenched it just as Jace did his and a blinding golden light filled the room. Surprised shouts followed by a loud crackling filled the cell and the corridor outside. As the pain faded, so did Clary's ability to remain conscious. Just before the darkness took her again, she met Jace's eyes. With their golden beauty ingrained in her mind, she allowed herself to fall into the deep abyss once more.

***

Simon squeezed his eyes shut against the painfully bright light erupting from both Jace and Clary. He held tight to her body even though it burned painfully against his ice-cold skin. Clary shook and convulsed in his arms, while her high pitched screams echoed throughout the cell. He realized her screams were not the only ones he heard. From every corner of the room, cries of pain followed by a sizzling rebounded through the cell.

After a moment, Clary's screams died down and she fell limp to his side as the light against his lids faded to the dim witchlight he'd grown accustomed to in the dank cell. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Widening them in astonishment, he took in the destruction before him. Not a single hybrid remained in the room. Dotting the chamber were piles of dust where they had once stood. He had no idea what had happened, or how they had been reduced to powder, but he was certainly glad they were no longer there.

Stephen knelt on the ground, his head hanging and his arms limp at his side. From the corridor came the pounding of footsteps. Within moments, the cell filled with dozens of Shadowhunters, all dressed in black gear and brandishing weapons of every shape and size. Isabelle and Alec's mother, Maryse, pushed through the crowd and stood next to Jace, pressing two fingers to his neck. Once satisfied he was alive, she pulled a small object from her pocket and drew a rune on his arm. When Jace lifted his head and stared out at her, she drew more runes on the shackles surrounding his wrists and ankles.

As he dropped to the floor, Maryse bent down to check him over but he pushed her off and crawled over to Clary. Out of the corner of his eye, Simon caught sight of several Shadowhunters, expressions of pure disbelief affixed to their faces, surround Stephen and bind his arms and legs with a strange blue fire. He got up and moved without a struggle, his face drawn and mournful.

Simon didn't catch much of what was happening in the center of the room after Jace reached them and wrenched Clary out of their grasp. As Jace's eyes fell on Clary's damaged body and pale white skin, his face contorted into an expression Simon never thought he would see on Jace. He took her limp hand in his shaking one and drew a rune on her inner wrist before burying his face into her hair, holding her to him and rocking her back and forth, whispering something to her that Simon couldn't hear.

A sound from the crowd drew Simon's attention away from Jace and Clary. Someone was pushing their way through the crowd. Within moments, Simon saw who that someone was. Her black hair flowed down from her head like ribbons of silk and her entire body was covered in black except for the gold and silver whip twisted around her wrist.

Isabelle's eyes widened as she stopped in front of him and stared down, looking like she really didn't know what to do with herself.

"Are you all right?" she asked him, her voice tight and cautious.

Simon nodded, not sure why his tongue felt like a piece of year old cheese.

She stepped closer to Simon and then knelt down right in front of him. As her eyes met his, he realized what a fool he'd been. He should never have let her go so easily and wished he could take it back. "Isabelle—"

"You're such an idiot, Simon."

"Wh—what?" he stammered.

She cocked her head to the side letting ebony waves tumble down her shoulders. "I thought I was being pretty obvious but I guess you were too stupid to see it."

Simon raised his brows. "Isabelle, I have no idea what you're talking about."

She let out a loud huff. "I'm talking about this." She reached forward, grabbed him around the back of the neck and yanked him forward, crushing her lips to his. Simon's eyes flew open in surprise, but once he got his barrings, he placed his hands on either side of her face and held her to him. Isabelle slid her hand from behind his neck and placed it on his cheek, and then her other hand on the opposite one. She kissed him hungrily, like she'd been starving and had finally found food.

"You're such an idiot," she repeated against his lips.

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She pulled away. "How could you not? I mean, I threw myself at you time and time again. Are you really that dense?"

He shrugged. "Apparently so."

Isabelle lifted her hand and drew a blood-red tipped finger from the hair on his forehead, down his cheek, ending at his chin. "Well, I'm making it clear now. Okay?"

Simon nodded. "Okay."

Isabelle grinned and leaned down to him once more, brushing her lips against his. Yes, he had been stupid. He had been an idiot. But no more. There was not a chance in the world he would be that dense again.

***

Clary's head swam with images she wanted to erase. The knife slicing through Jace's arm. The look on his face when he realized what the rune really did. The sound of his voice as he begged for it to stop. All she wanted was to protect him, and through her protecting she'd hurt him even more. She knew better than anyone how much seeing the one you loved hurt more than actually feeling the pain yourself. But she couldn't let Stephen do to him what he planned. She had to protect him, and this was the only way she knew how.

She felt herself being pulled forward through the haze. A voice whispered to her, over and over again. Please Clary, come back. I need you. Come back. She knew that voice, and more than anything she wanted to come back to him.

As her consciousness expanded, she felt her body wrapped in someone's arms. His breath fanned over her neck as he whispered the words in her ear. When she could finally feel her arms, she lifted her hand and brushed it through his hair. His head jerked up and she opened her eyes meeting his.

"Hey." She grinned, weakly.

Jace raised his hand and ran his fingers through the hair lying across her forehead. "Hey."

"So," she laid her palm against his cheek, "how much trouble am I in?"

"Loads." He grinned.

"I didn't know what it did. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"As much as I'd like to be mad at you, I really can't be since I'd do the same thing if things were reversed."

Clary ran her fingers over his cheeks, studying him carefully. "Are you okay?"

Jace glanced down at his body and shook his head. "I don't know. I feel normal right now, but—I don't know."

Clary reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her and nestling her face against his shoulder. "I want to go home, Jace. Will you take me home?"

"Of course." He pulled back, cupped her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. "Let's go home."

Okay, we're not quite done yet…but soon…sniff. We'll have some repercussions for Jace after this…I have some ideas. Plus, I think we need to see Jace kill some stuff… Also, we need some more fluff…don't you agree?

I don't have anything ready for a teaser right now so I won't be able to send one yet...*cries*