Authors notes: This fanfic is based on a game show the Hustler hosted by Craig Ferguson. It features the Shadowhunters as the contestants and a villain that the show isn't aware of and the team has to work to clean up the menace. After 3x22SH.
I tweak often when I find mistakes but in general should be good to go, and not beta'd.
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Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, Jace Herondale and Clary Fray; along with warlock Magnus Bane and daylighter vampire Simon Lewis had been searching for a traitor in the Institute. In the operations center, Alec with Magnus at his side were working on the latest odd magical occurrences. Izzy, Simon, Jace and Clary trying to help. Each pair at a monitor looking at various nuances of the issue when a incredible large oddly colored portal opened up and pulled each pair through it.
Magnus never got the chance to tell them that the portal was not only not a warlock type but it was odd in a few ways that he didn't know about yet. He couldn't investigate it either before being ripped into strange portal to who knows where, his hope not limbo.
Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane, Jace Herondale, Clary Fray, Isabelle Lightwood and Simon Lewis had been transported into some odd television show, the producers and crew got them ready and pushed them to the living room. They had been prepped as best they could for what was about to happen. Until the shadowhunters, warlock and vamp had a better of idea of what was going on, they followed all the directives.
The contestants were seated in a Victorian style living room, though it sported some modern conveniences like televisions screens and other modern conveniences, it also bolster old time features from the 1890's era. Some of the features was book shelves and antiques all about the room. The six contestants were seated but were confused by the situation.
Before the group could do anything, the host of the show began his spiel. "Welcome to the Hustler. Tonight we're going to answer trivia questions to bank money. The Hustler knows all the answers to the questions, its up to you five to figure out who the Hustler is and split the cash or the Hustler gets it all."
Unknown to all it was not about cash, it was about life or death. If the Hustler won, they not only were imprisoned but would eventually die horribly. This demon wanted revenge and hoped that it found the way to get it. The television show made it easy. The demon in question had a thing for television shows, game shows mostly. It killed time before hunting and was a great way to unwind after hunting. The demon might not had a television in hell realms but he could open a window and watch earthly universe television, and at least he was entertained.
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Simon woke up in a cell, he looked around and discovered his vampire powers were useless. He thought great another time he was captured, he had learned so much and yet, stupid stuff happened to him. He trained with Jace and even gotten to the part of swords. He achieved his own weapons and he chose kindjals in honor of Clary. She was proud of him.
Clary was back, Jace suffered to much and he needed his 'one', the Angels could forgive, they just needed time and when they felt the punishment was enough, they would reward to those deserving. The shadowworld not only helped her with her gifts but with memories as well.
Simon was married to Isabelle Lightwood, one bad ass shadowhunter as well. In a word, he was annoyed at his predicament. He and Izzy were a great fighting team but he melted at the thought he couldn't keep up. He told himself, try harder if anyone could get him to Izzy's skill, it was Jace. However, Clary was back and she needed more from Jace than him. He was alright with that having his best friend back was what he needed, the rest would fall into place.
Clary remembered asking Izzy to be her parabatai and once she felt ready, they planned on the ceremony, this pleased her 'family', they were all glad to have her back. She brought the much needed heart to shadowhunters. Jace asked her to marry him, she couldn't say yes fast enough. The couple threw an engagement party to celebrate. Maryse and Luke also were engaged the two couples celebrated at the same time.
Simon couldn't help but think about all that has happened, he was bored in a cell, it kept his mind off his situation. He needed to remember good things because right now, he was feeling stuck and none of his attempts at escaping was working. This cell rivaled shadowhunter cells, Simon would say he was impressed but for him it sucked.
Suddenly some bagged blood was pushed through flap near the bottom of the door. The flap was immediately locked after the tray slid into the room. Was it poisoned was his first thought, but he would be able to tell. His heightened senses had improved with time. In addition to Maia's classy reds at her restaurant and the Hotel DuMort's policies, he had learned a lot about blood. Then there was his wife who taught him impurities while not a fan of her forensics job, it made him love her more. Simon wondered if he could get an advantage but was distracted quickly by a television screen dropping down and a TV show began the opening credits.
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The TV host explained the rules of the game, there would be clues given about the Hustler, that person knows all the answers to ten trivia questions and it was up to the group to figure out who it was and the Hustler would eliminate contestants until it was just them and two others left. If they discover correctly who the Hustler is, then they'd split the bank between the last two contestants. However, if the Hustler is not discovered they get all the money.
Craig Ferguson struts around the parlor, "The first clue for the Hustler … they have a large number of tattoos."
Craig looked at Alec, he was in his shadowhunter gear, which meant a leather jacket and dark clothing making the host wonder ..."are you the Hustler?"
Alec was shocked, and didn't know what to say, so 'No' was easy. He made sure to not touch his neck where there was a big zee for anyone to see if you had 'the sight', Craig looked at him with scrutiny but moved on. Ferguson then put the same question to Magnus. The warlock understood the weirdness in their situation, he tilted his head and stated he was not the Hustler. Craig queried all of them and they all stated they were not.
It was clear runes were glamoured from the audience, the TV guy, camera men and other crew on the set. He could see the runes on his shadowhunter friends and family. Tattoos? Simon didn't look like himself either but he couldn't do anything about that at the moment. At least not until they figured out what was going on. He knew from the time they went to Edom to save Magnus that Simon didn't have tattoos, Alec was immediately on alert. He could see all of them were on the same page.
The host of the TV show interrogated all of the guests in the Victorian room. Simon didn't get into the room and was losing his mind in the cell below the parlor. He could see what was going on and it was driving him nuts because he could help those clueless shadowhunters with trivia questions if he could. He also recognized that whomever was impersonating him was doing a fairly good job and he fought his own jealousy worried the impostor would kiss Isabelle. It seemed everyone was purposely seated in a way to avoid any intimate contact. At least Clary knew a few things about trivia and stuff because she grew up mundane until the shadow world intruded on her life. Magnus being centuries years old would have knowledge as well.
Craig looks about the room, alright a few things about the Hustler. "The Hustler has tattoos somewhere on their person," Craig pointed to the screen, "It looks like this," the screen showed them the deflect/block rune, a giant z with a line in the middle, in the image it was vertical on the screen. The demon masquerading as Simon could see them. "The Hustler is very skilled with weapons and is a weapon-smith." Craig walked about the room, then stared directly at Isabelle. "Do you make weapons?" Izzy was dumbfounded and not sure what to say, so she lied. "No," fake Simon laughed.
Ferguson looked at fake Simon, "find that amusing?" and then he stared at him, "are you the Hustler?"
"No, I'm not." fake Simon couldn't wait til the ten questions were over so that he could kill all of the shadowhunters, the warlock and dayligher vampire and eat their souls or maybe keep their souls and torture them for awhile before ending it for them. He was too amused at the moment to have a final decision.
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The demon would mind wipe the crew and host of the TV show once he had them in the cell. This realm didn't have anything supernatural, certainly not demons, or shadowworld beings. The demon had been summoned for information via a seelie doorway, once the seelie thought she had taken enough precautions to keep this demon from entering the shadowworld or specifically the seelie court. This seelie didn't want to get warlock help by using a pentagram. She carefully summoned Reaper. She knew she could handle this, the realm doorway was easy with plants and incantations.
The demon breached the protective shield and made a deal of his own. He was amused at how ignorant of how powerful demons can be but that would be in his favor. The demon bribed the seelie to open this doorway for him, and gave him a portal shard to take the beings he wanted to the realm he chose. While he promised to gift her with some ingredient she wanted, for the seelie's effort Reaper consumed her soul, he would need more magic and knowledge. Each soul he took placed a mark on his body allowing him to access powers, knowledge and kept him fed, thus having tattoos. She didn't recognize her mistake until it was too late.
The demon known as Reaper fled Edom after this group of beings killed Lilith. He barely got out with his life and found a different dimension of hell to dwell within but with so few other creatures to feed off of, he wanted revenge for losing the one place where he could eat demon souls with no punishment. While demon souls were not deep with right and wrong and whatever else a human would have, but there was so many he could gorge himself from time to time. He hadn't had a human soul in a long time after being punished and sent to Edom.
These shadowhunters, warlock and the vampire whom was already secured in his lair for this realm would be delicious, then he would go back to their world and feed on the shadowhunters and whatever other beings he could find amassing as much power in all forms. Then he would find another hell realm and be King, one where he gorge himself from time to time.
There were plenty of beings in the shadow world realm and he was salivating at the prospect but kept it together for the sake of his plan. Reaper had offered a warlock some diamonds and rubies for a spell to adjust his look and the potion would allow him to take the look of anyone he wanted, unfortunately for the warlock, Reaper was hungry. He took the spell, ate the soul and kept his gems. He would keep the look for a day but the show was only an hour, not counting make-up, prep and what not, still doable. He made quick work of making a lair and setting up his plans with the TV show. The humans had no idea what was going on and he'd keep it that way. Humans were easily manipulated.
The poor warlock fool never saw it coming and he wasn't letting the warlock go either, his centuries of information would be useful. The warlock mark was claws on one hand. Reaper found that convenient and would make use of such a nice mark later. Right now they were hidden due to warlock glamour. Another convenient thing in his opinion.
Reaper had a thin almost bony like look to him, he usually kept himself covered in a cloak to hide his looks, he was finding having a more robust body type look was fun. He did have tattoos, most of his victims would appear on his body, anything useful, he made sure he could access easily.
His main tattoo wasn't like the deflect/block rune but close enough, it was a scythe/sickle with a little flame, he added the lines in the middle and end to give a zee look and it turned out to be good because the scythe treated the improvements as handles and Reaper found it far more fun to use with the hand grips. Taking a soul with the ease of swiping away was appealing.
His scythe/sickle tattoo was hidden under his shirt sleeve but it would be easy to access and with it on his arm made it easier to call upon it. When he needed it, he touched it and it would materialize off his body and end up in his hand.
Reaper gained knowledge from the warlock and the seelie he absorbed and that was a boon as well. He made an amalgamation of the two for his new body, which pleased him. When done, he would find another flesh like look for himself, it would make it easier for him to blend in and take whatever souls he wanted. Right now, his goal with these silly creatures was to capture and kill. For the time being using their powers to look like the daylighter Simon Lewis was magical.
Reaper could have taken an easier route to his plans, kidnapping, trapping or other things but this scenario amused him and he noted at how easy the downworld creatures would sell each other out for things as simple as baubles, spells or ingredients for spells. Besides human television programming not only entertained him but was good fodder for many other things, finding disasters for souls would be an example and filled his belly.