Hello, everyone! Hope you're all well.

Here is another chapter. The song for this one is Alibi by 30 Seconds to Mars. I was surprised to find out that Jared Letto's voice is so inspiring.

Thank you for your reviews Intoxic, Hobbit69, and soul eater fan and mangaanima. I really appreciate your support!

Anyone from the FrostIron fandom, check out Intoxic's story "Baby Stark". I found it really cute even though I'm not a part of that fandom.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMI or TID.

Enjoy!

Chapter 36

Izzy had separated from Magnus, as she was to speak with the leader of the vampires' clan, while Magnus had the task to make as many Downworlders as he could to fight for their cause.

"Raphael! Come out here!" She yelled. She was standing outside of the Hotel Dumort calling for the vampire clan's leader to meet her here. She had no intention of going inside for three reasons. Firstly, if she gets in unauthorized, the vampires will have every right to attack her. Secondly, this place held the memory of when her life ended, of the time when she fell apart and she couldn't get back up, not alone. This was where Simon died, where Maureen ripped his heart out with no regret, no hesitation. She couldn't face that place. She couldn't step on the floor he left his last breath, the place he called her name for the last time and she was never able to hear it. For some reason she was afraid that if she got in, the walls would echo his voice right before he died. They would replay the scene with the mere purpose of hurting her, of ripping her heart apart. She couldn't be in there, not now, not yet. Thirdly, if she got in, she was sure she would kill every vampire in her way, to make them pay back for the pain they caused her as they did nothing to save Simon. She wanted to make them feel the same way she did. She wanted them to feel the loneliness, the desperation, the emptiness creep onto their bones, making their way into their hearts. She wanted revenge until someone was strong or brave enough to stop her, to kill her, to put a stop to her killing spree.

"Raphael! I know you can hear me! You'd better come out here!" she threatened, even though she didn't think she could make good on her threat, but the vampire didn't know that.

"Or else what? You're going to come in and kill me? Put a seraph blade to my throat until I agree to do your bidding? I think we both know that's not going to happen."

Or maybe he did. He was probably still in the shadows, because Izzy couldn't see a thing. But Izzy didn't try to look for him. She knew he would come out of there eventually. "And what makes you think that?" she challenged. Maybe she shouldn't have done that. She was practically asking for her vulnerability to be rubbed on her face by someone who was never supposed to know it existed in the first place. But she couldn't help it. The words were out of her mouth before she was able to stop them.

He finally stepped away from the darkness and stood right under the light of the street lamp. It made his figure look ominous and intimidating. Raphael had always been good at using his surroundings to his advantage. This was no different. "Too many memories for you in there," he gestured at the once beautiful building behind him. "None of them good, though."

"Not that you did anything to stop it, did you?" she asked, the poison dripping from her tongue as she had wanted for so long to do so. There were so many things she was keeping inside, they were suffocating her. They closed up her airway until she couldn't breathe, and in order to breathe she had no choice but to let them out.

"Are you blaming me for his death?" Raphael asked surprised.

"You didn't stop her! You let him die! He was your sire!" Izzy yelled at him, anger overruling her emotions.

"Well maybe you should blame him and his death wish! He came in there to die! There was nothing I could have done!" Raphael shouted back, losing his temper.

Isabelle froze. No one knew about the real reason behind Simon's death, at least not that she knew of. "How do you know that?" she almost whispered.

"I hear things." Raphael replied cryptically.

Of course he does, and Isabelle wasn't going to try to make him tell her more, she knew he'd never bulge. Either way, that was not the reason she was here in the first place. And Raphael seemed to notice too.

"I don't suppose you're here to learn about my contacts Isabelle Lightwood. What is it that you want?" he asked, almost impatiently.

"I don't want you to tell me about them, I want you to use them. And since you 'hear things', as you say, I'm sure you know the reason why I'm here."

"Ah, yes. The so-called war is happening in some hours. Not interested." He said, turning around and walking back to whichever direction he came from.

But Izzy didn't give up. She was stubborn that way. "If they win, the world will be like we've never seen it before." Raphael stopped in his tracks and listened, so Izzy continued "It will be devastating, poor, empty like it's never been before. Demons will walk the streets killing, sucking life out of everything they find in their wake. There will be no humans left, if there are, they will be slaves or meals. Downworlders will kill each other just because they felt like it. The most animalistic instincts will rule our minds and bodies. The order that has come to exist, will not be there anymore. Everyone will be on their own, even the vampires and there will be no way to stop it. The world will spiral down until there is nothing left, until it is completely destroyed."

Raphael didn't turn around when he said those words, he didn't even spare her a glance. "Then you'd better win this goddamned war." He started walking again, but the words that left Isabelle's mouth next stopped him.

"You need to do this for him. You need to make sure he didn't die in vain." She couldn't let him walk away from this just like that. They needed his help. This was the greatest obstacle they had ever had to face, this was their biggest quest, this was the greatest threat that had ever happened ever since the Shadow World came to existence, ever since the demons found home on the Earth. This was something they needed to fight together, to save themselves, to save the world.

Raphael stood silent for a couple of minutes thinking it over. As much as he hated to admit it, the Shadowhunter was right. No one wanted to live in the world this war was going to leave behind if it's lost. "Fine," he said turning around, "what's in it for me?"

"It depends," Izzy responded folding her arms across her chest, "on what do you want."

Raphael considered this and he settled on one thing. "A favor I'm going to cash out whenever I need it." It was more than profitable to have a Nephilim owe you something and he was planning on exploiting his chance when the time came.

"Done." Izzy said easily. She didn't like owing favors to anyone, but this was a special occasion. They needed help, they needed to be united and one favor in the unforeseeable future, no matter what it was, couldn't hurt her. It's not like her life could get any worse, right?

"Then you should be expecting us on the battlefield." Raphael promised and left without turning to look back. He got back into his shadows and Izzy started running back to the Institute.

Jem had gotten a distressed call from Alec at the restaurant saying they hadn't stopped the war after all. He had been peacefully working at his office but after that phone call anything mundane was put on hold. He may have kept his distance from official Shadowhunter business, but from the start he had offered his help in the case of a war or a battle. This time it was not just offering his services to help out during a war, but to help out a friend he had come to cherish. Alec had explained everything as best as he could through the phone and Jem had to admit, the news were worse than dreadful. His friend had asked him to go to the Silent City and get as much as help as he could. He gave him permission to tell them everything that has happened with Lucifer, anything that could get them the help needed to win this. So now Jem was currently in a taxi driving to the oldest cemetery in New York where he knew no one would see him and he could enter the Silent City as a Nephilim. He could have gone to places far closer to where he was, but he wasn't a Silent Brother anymore so he couldn't get through those.

When he arrived at his destination, he paid the driver and got out; looking around making sure he wasn't being followed. Alec had told him to be extra careful. He didn't know who the demons' leader was, so he didn't know what he was capable of. He told him to be prepared for everything, and Jem was.

He opened the rusty gate and walked in. he always had that weird feeling when he was in such places, where the dead rested. He always felt like someone was watching him. It also brought memories he didn't want to think about at the moment. This place, this feeling of having someone watching your back, made him think of the life he left in London and everyone he had in it, especially the one he didn't have now. It made him think of his parabatai, Will, and for some reason he couldn't explain, he knew it was him watching his back. He knew it was him right there with him. He knew it was Will watching over him. He couldn't say how, he just knew. He could feel his guardian angel, his parabatai, with him. He wasn't alone.

He walked along the grass until he found what he was looking for. And old mausoleum made out of marble, worn down after hundreds of years of being there without people visiting, at least not ones that cared for its appearance. Only God knows how many rains, how many earthquakes, how many storms this little house-shaped creation has endured. At the top of it you could hardly see the words carved on it. You could see there was something, but the moss and erosion on the top made it quite hard to figure out what the letters formed. But Jem knew. It was something that he could never forget. It was something that was engraved into his mind from the day he was born. It was something that he and all the other Shadowhunters were raised with. Descensus facilis Averno est – The Descent into Hell is easy. He stepped in; shuddering at the feeling this phrase erupted every time he repeated it to himself, every time he thought about its meaning and importance.

He found inside a statue of the angel Raziel, carrying the three Mortal Instruments. He got out a dagger and cut a line on his palm, holding it above the Mortal Cup, letting the red liquid fall in it. He took a step back when a small earthquake erupted below him. It felt as if the earth was splitting in two, but only a big square of the floor in front of him disappeared and in its place was a ladder made of what seemed like stone, with only a lamp hanging on the wall for the one to descent. Jem grabbed the lamp and got ready to face the community that was supposed to stay in the past. He took the first step down and went on without looking back. He was not going to leave this place alone.

After Maryse called Luke to tell him about the war, Clary left immediately to find him. She knew her mother would be going crazy with the news and Luke would do his best to calm her down and the pack. He was going to have to convince a whole pack of werewolves to fight by his side, to throw themselves into a bloodbath that could possibly lead to their death. It was not something easy. It was not an easy decision to make and certainly it was not easy to ask something like this. Yes, Luke may be the pack leader, and maybe the werewolves were supposed to follow whatever he said. But Luke was weird that way; he would want to discuss this with his peers. He didn't want to lead them to their deaths. It wasn't about responsibility; it was about having the choice to live or die and the choice of how you live or how you die. He always gave them that choice and Clary wanted to stand right beside him.

Clary arrived at the old police station that now housed the New York werewolf pack and she made her way in. The first person she saw was her mother, Jocelyn. Apparently Maryse had called in advance to tell them Clary was coming over and her mother had been waiting for her near the entrance. After hugging her mother and assuring her that she was alright, she went on her way to find Luke. She found him in one of the cells sitting on the uncomfortable bed looking skeptical. "Luke?" she said as she approached him carefully.

His head snapped up at the sound of someone's voice and when he saw Clary, he gestured for her to come in. "Clary. What are you doing here?"

Apparently Luke hadn't known Clary was coming over. Ever since Maryse told him about the war and what he had to ask from his pack, he had been here thinking over all those information. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Nothing. Just thinking." Luke shrugged. He was actually thinking how things have come so far. How after everything that has happened over the past year, how could they now be facing the greatest war of all time? Hadn't they been through enough? How could they find the strength inside to fight any more? He soon realized that they had a choice. They could stay here, do nothing, and wait for the world to burst in flames, or they could fight for what they have and what they deserve. They can fight for the life they've always wanted to have. They can fight to be free. And that was the choice he was going to give to his pack. As he made up his mind, he threw his arm around Clary's shoulders and hugged her. "Let's go talk to the pack."

Alec and Jace have been trying to strategize the battle that was about to take place with minimal losses. They knew that this war was not going to pass them by without death touching their shoulders, taking his pick and getting the chosen ones with him. They were just trying to protect everyone the best they could.

The battlefield was a clear land right outside of New York with a forest. The trees could serve as their camouflage and the warlocks could make their glamours even stronger. They planned to arrive way before the demons did to explore their surroundings and use them to their advantage, but they also wanted to appear after the demons' arrival. They wanted them to think they've won, that the Shadowhunters had surrendered. They planned on putting there a white flag to make sure that's what they'd think. And then when they were the most vulnerable, when they were celebrating their victory, they would strike, catching them by surprise with little time to function and fight back. At first Alec felt guilty for suggesting putting on the white flag, but this was their survival they were talking about. After all, it seems true what people say : In love and war, everything is acceptable.

They were looking over the formations they were going to make to be able to endure more than what the demons were expecting, when Magnus barged in furious for some reason. "What's wrong?" Alec asked immediately upon seeing the storm hiding in his lover's eyes.

"He has involved humans." Magnus said simply. He had been thinking it on his way over, as to why there were humans in the club and why didn't they seem surprised or terrified or frightened or whatever when Magnus mentioned the war. He was pondering why they didn't even flinch when he literally threw flames with his hands. Either they didn't see that, their minds could have explained it differently than how it really was, or they actually saw it and they knew exactly what was happening. That was when he realized Mammon had recruited humans. They were fighting on his side and they had no idea what a demon was like. That was mundanes for you, full of greed and hunger for power that made them too blinded to see the true colors of their surroundings.

Alec was confused. "What do you mean?"

Magnus looked at him, dead in the eye and clarified his statement "He has humans fighting on his side."

Alec was too shocked to speak, but Jace wasn't. "Who is he?"

Magnus turned to him and said "Mammon. The Prince of Greed."

Jace took the news well enough, actually too well, as if he had expected something like this. The truth was that Jace had expected whoever the demons' new leader was that he would pull a stunt at the last moment, maybe not one involving humans, but one that would throw them off their game. "Okay, then this changes everything." Jace said looking over their plans.

"What do you mean?" Alec asked.

"This plan has been built with the main purpose of protecting the humans, of not letting the demons get inside the city. With the new facts we can change that."

"No" Alec refused. "The demons are not coming into the city. The plan stays as it is."

"But Alec- "

"No, Jace."

"You can't save everyone." Jace reminded him, trying to change his mind.

But Alec was adamant on his decision. He had no intention of forgetting the reason Shadowhunters existed, even if that said reason was being used against them. Shadowhunters were meant to protect humans and he was not going to let that go. "That doesn't mean we can't try." Alec said with finality in his voice. He stood still, looking over all the papers they had all over the desk. The battlefield was too big. For their plan to work they needed to communicate constantly so everyone could know their position. But how could they do that if they were all over the place? Suddenly a thought came to mind. "Magnus, can you figure out a spell that works like the Silent Brothers' runes when they talk inside your head?"

Magnus frowned. He didn't know where his boyfriend was going with this. "Maybe. Why?"

"Because we need to communicate during the battle. And I don't want to tip off any demons about our plans."

"I like the way you're thinking." Jace said thinking over this idea, already seeing the benefits it could bring them during battle.

Magnus looked at Alec for a moment, admiring the man he had become. He shook his head "I knew there was a reason I was keeping you around. I'll get right on it." He kissed Alec's cheek and Alec blushed from the praise. He still wasn't used to receiving compliments. Magnus left them to go on with their planning and he went to figure out a way to do what Alec suggested.

Alec and Jace continued their planning and they were almost done when Clary and Isabelle walked in. "How did it go?" Alec asked without looking up from the paper he was reading at the moment.

"The vampires are in." Izzy said, her voice giving nothing away about the deal she had to make to make this happen, but still her brother looked at her quizzically. He just knew her that well.

"The werewolves too." Clary said before Alec had a chance to say anything.

"Clary when we reach the field I want you to explain to everyone what the binding rune is and how it's drawn. We're going to use it and there might be people who have never seen it before."

Clary nodded and Alec continued. "Isabelle you're with me and Jace as always. I want you to take a look at this, learn it and if there's anything you think we should change, tell me."

After Izzy looked over the plans they had already made and added a couple of things, they were finally ready to present what they had to the Inquisitor. They all gathered what they needed and moved towards the library. Robert had just finished a phone call when they got in and he gestured for them to sit. Alec handed him the papers silently. He saw Robert look at them and his heart started speeding. He might have gotten over the fact that he didn't need his father anymore, but having him approve something he did, no matter how much he hated to admit it, still mattered to him. It made him feel good to know that his parents were proud of something he did.

A few minutes later his father put the papers down and looked at them with something like surprise and amazement. "Who did this?" He asked.

Alec's throat was suddenly dry. Was there something wrong? He mustn't have approved.

Jace spoke, though, freely when he saw Alec wouldn't. "Alec did and we piped in here and there."

Robert only nodded. He looked at Alec and said "Alexander, you're leading this battle. Make sure it is a successful one." He handed the papers at him as if dismissing him.

Alec nodded mechanically, took the papers and left the room without waiting for the others. His heart was beating fast in his chest, his breath was getting shorter, his mind was all over the place. He could hear his sister calling for him, but he didn't look back. He was panicking. He couldn't do this. He couldn't lead a battle.

Isn't Alec amazing? But now he's getting anxious and worried. Hopefully he will calm down. What's your opinion about the fact that Mammon involved humans? And what do you think about Izzy? I think she's a very strong character.

So, the war is coming in the next chapter. However it's not written yet, so no spoiler this time. However I can tell you that Magnus will lose control of his magic at some point. Will that help or will it be the destruction of everything they've ever worked for?!

Review, follow, favorite! Anything you want! Everything is appreciated!

Thank you!