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Demon Infested Realm:

Magnus watched the Shadowhunter shoot the flying demons until none were left. He only had one arrow left, and Magnus reached out with his magic to brush across the quiver. There had been an enchantment on it at some point, never ending arrows he guessed, but it had faded. In the interest of keeping them both alive, he renewed it.

Precious magic spent, but worth it if they got out of here intact.

He ducked back into the apothecary digging around in the debris for the ingredients he needed. Their camp was in desperate need of healing supplies, Catarina could only do so much. They needed to conserve their magic, they were less than a week from another dark wave of higher demons. Shoving things in his backpack as he came across them, he barely noticed Alec step into the little shop.

"How long between demon waves?" The Shadowhunter asked all business. Magnus had to appreciate his proficient attitude.

"5 to 10 minutes, sometimes more, sometimes less." Magnus saw a ceremonial bowl and shoved that in a pocket, it could come in handy. The Shadowhunter was a godsend, but at the same time he worried what magic had brought him here, what forces were playing chess with his world? And what exactly was he going to say to his people when he brought back the enemy? They might not all react as he did. They were in this situation because of the Shadowhunters, but at the same time they were barely surviving. Shadowhunters were born and bred for this work, while his people 20 years later were struggling to even keep their heads above water. He could call Catarina and warn her, but he didn't know what to say. "Hi Cat, I found us a Shadowhunter" and he could just imagine the incredulous look on her face. He needed time to think.

"And how far back to safety?"

"About an hour, without demons." Magnus shoved his sleeve up and checked the time. Cat was more than likely worried. He would be over two hours passed check in, and his team had been separated. No telling what the hell had happened to the other warlocks. Hopefully they'd made it back to camp okay. Once you crossed the barrier into the city, cell service was spotty at best. When the veil had dropped and mundanes began to see the demons, they'd immediately gone to war. It was brutal. Some of the hellmouths, as they'd begun to call them, had been opened by mundanes trying to summon demons to fight demons. Their cities still had populations, but they were far more sparse. Magnus had heard horrible things about entire towns wiped out by a high demon wave. He and his group had been damn lucky.

Alec took off his quiver, raised a brow at the arrows and nodded in thanks. Magnus was even more confused. This Shadowhunter was unlike any he'd ever met. In their brief acquaintance, he'd been nothing but polite and gracious. The complete antithesis of any Nephilim he'd ever met. Alec dropped his bow and stripped off his jacket. Magnus wrinkled his nose. "What the hell are you doing?" Not that the man wasn't absolutely beautiful, Nephilim almost always were, but getting naked in a demon zone was asinine.

Alec rolled his eyes as he slipped his shirt off. "Runes, I need to activate them if we're going to get you back safe." With that he pulled his stele out of his pants and began running it over the runes on his body, reaching around behind him to the ones on his back and Magnus realized why he'd stripped his clothes off. There wasn't another Nephilim around to do it for him and clothes got in the way. Magnus had no idea what the runes were for, but he breathed a sigh of relief that they were actually working. And then pondered. The Shadowhunter had not once hesitated in Magnus' presence, he was wholeheartedly on board with getting Magnus home safe. No questions asked. Was he just that altruistic? Or should Magnus be suspicious….

"Magic is unstable, you might want to keep that in mind." He gave the warning with a shake of his head. Hell angelic magic might be perfectly stable. Who the hell knew it wasn't like the angels were dropping down to fill them all in. Magnus grabbed a few more things while Alec dressed himself, and headed for the exit when he felt a surge of magic ripple through the shop. A rumbling quake that shook the very rafters above them.

Alec looked at Magnus questioningly, but Magnus shrugged he had no more idea of what this was than the Nephilim. They both headed out the door of the shop and looked up when darkness descended over them. "Magnus, what time is it?"

"Not time for the sun to go down. Shit."

Complete darkness descended, Magnus could barely see Alec before him. "This is not good…" His words were cut off as the bricks in the wall started to tremble and explode. He and Alec ducked low to the ground and Alec whipped out a witchlight. The rumbling intensified and Magnus felt as if he were walking in an earthquake.

Alec led him beyond the store and they both came to a dead stop, fire engulfed the building across the street with a loud boom, and the oppressive darkness blanketed them so thoroughly that they could barely see the flames. Alec didn't bother to say anything, just clamped a hand on Magnus' arm and pulled him away from the sight.

"Where's the camp?" Alec asked as he made his way back towards the warehouse where Magnus had first woke up.

And there it was thought Magnus. Could he really trust this man? There was just something about him, but was he wrong? Alec stopped and looked over his shoulder. Magnus took a deep breath. "I trust you. I don't know why but I do."

Alec's eyes went soft. He looked at Magnus with familiar eyes, a look he shouldn't rationally have after only having just met each other. "I swear by Raziel, on my family, that I will protect you above all else." Alec's soft voice shifted something in Magnus, that was a vow, and Magnus felt it in his very essence. He hadn't felt a spark of hope in such a very long time it was almost unrecognizable. It was easy then to lead Alec home.

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Somewhere out there:

A man walked in the room and didn't acknowledge anyone as he dropped into the winged back chair before the fire. He wore a pair of drawstring grey sweatpants, a large navy blue sweater that had seen better days, and his dark hair was in serious need of some attention. The blonde man seated at the head of the table rolled his eyes. "Gabriel, sullen as ever."

"Michael, fuck you." Said the grumpy dark haired man, not bothering to turn around and face his brother.

Michael snapped his fingers and a goblet appeared in his hands. They sat in a room reserved for war negotiations that had never bothered to move beyond the stone and marble grandiosity of ages past. His brother finally relented and turned the chair to face the war table. Michael smoothed a hand over his silk shirt, and ran a finger over the silver necklace he still wore after a millennia. "Will you not sit with me brother?" Michael asked patiently. Gabriel was a sullen bastard, he always had been, but he kept his temper in check. He was like a calm voice of reason amongst the chaos of their kind. When he wasn't inciting them to riot over injustice, Gabriel was surprisingly good at deescalation. And Unlike himself, Michael knew he was quick to anger, he could trust that Gabriel would be good counsel in the days ahead. This situation with the Mortal instruments was dire.

"I have no interest in your war table brother. When do the others arrive?"

Michael ran a hand through his blonde curls, and settled back more comfortably in his chair. "Soon I should think, did you have trouble transporting the emissaries?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes, and replied sarcastically "hardly."

As he was about to inquire as to their health, the door swung open and a dark haired dark skinned man strode through; arrogance would always be the first impression one took of Asmodeus thought Michael, and after that came the power. It weighted down the skin of all who stood in his presence. He couldn't compete with Gabriel or Michael, but Asmodeus projected his power where as the other two were content with revealing it only when necessary.

"Ah brothers, I must admit I was surprised to receive your summons." Asmodeus said as he sat himself across from Michael...at the table. Michael raised a brow at his other uncooperative brother in a "see this is how you be polite" look of admonishment. Gabriel flipped him off. Michael resisted the urge to hurl a dagger at his stupid brother's face. He settled for straightening his cuffs and giving him a look of pure disdain.

Turning to the newcomer Michael was all smiles. "Asmodeus. Thank you for joining us on such short notice."

"Yes well it is rare that you engage me at all, I am very curious what brought this on."

Michael nodded. "We'll go ahead, I am uncertain if Lillith will heed the call and Adam is going to be late." With a sigh he waved his hand across the table so that a scene appeared for Asmodeus to review.

"It has come to our attention that two of the outer realms have created power vacuums. One has unlimited access to the hell dimensions, so much so that the mundanes can actively see the Shadow World. The other has been completely cut off from the hell dimensions, demons have been entirely eradicated, but the magic there is d..." Michael was interrupted as he was just about to explain how that put them all in jeopardy, Lillith swaggered up to the chair where Gabriel sat.

"Boys." She said in her low sultry voice as she stroked a hand down Gabriel's arm.

Michael saw Gabriel recoil from her in disgust, and then rise from the chair to join them at the table. "What's going on?" She said reasonably as she perched herself on one of the vacant chairs at the table completely unruffled by Gabriels open dislike.

"If we don't get this under control, we could…" He was interrupted again when the scene on the table shifted to Alexander Lightwood and Magnus Bane sleeping in their room several days ago.

"My Boys!" Asmodeus exclaimed delighted by seeing them in the reflection. He was a step away from clapping his hands. Michael rolled his eyes.

Gabriel huffed. "Only one of them is yours, and hardly that." Leaning his head back against the chair, clearly already over this little gathering.

Asmodeus arched his brow, "Oh don't be jealous, my counter parts do my son justice in almost every realm. Some are a little lackluster, but this one is one of the greats. And even I can tell the surly one clearly favors you." Asmodeus said slyly.

Gabriel's head shot up and he glared fiercely. "Shut up. NO one asked you." Clearly an old argument, one of which Michael was in no mood to suffer. Angels couldn't sire children, not in the traditional sense, and Asmodeus was forever rubbing it in Gabriel's face.

"All of you shut up and focus!" Michael shouted.

"I was hardly doing anything." Lilith said offended.

"And the lies have begun." Came a voice from the shadows. The man stepped fully into the room, and Michael sighed with frustration. Tan skin, blue eyes, and light brown hair suited his grey slacks and white button down oxford shirt. He looked like a CEO, and not the warm and cuddly kind.

"Adam, thank you for joining us." Michael said diplomatically.

"Yes well, you did say it was urgent." He dropped into the chair beside Gabriel and patted his shoulder in acknowledgement. Gabriel just sat there, not bothering to return the greeting. Adam's expression didn't change but Michael could see the tightening around his eyes. The two of them were never going to be in a good place. Why the hell Adam was still pushing for it, he had no idea, it had been a millennia. Adam turned back to Michael. "So, what do you need?"

Lilith was about to open her mouth, but Michael cut her off. "The 103 realities that we've built are about to collapse and everyone in them along with it if we don't do something."

They all gaped at him; well, all of them but Gabriel. He already knew what was happening.

"That's not possible!" Asmodeus shouted.

Michael stared him down. "If any version of you in the outer realms dies, you will not reabsorb that power. If they die for any reason, your essence will not reform. In fact, if any of the first divines dies during this crisis, they will not regenerate. Immortality is hereby suspended until we resolve this, the power vacuums from the two unstable realities will dissolve our souls."

Asmodeus and Lilith both stood from the table furious. "What the fuck Michael? We made the realities to keep things stable and to equalize our power." Lilith all but growled as she slammed her hands on the table. Red lips in a fierce frown and her eyes blazing with her fury. Michael couldn't deny she was damn impressive. He was the premier general of the divine, and he wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole. Adam had to of had a serious set of balls to get mixed up with her, Michael pushed the thoughts aside, and then almost dropped into his chair to put his head on the table at what came out of his supposedly diplomatic brother's mouth next.

"So probably shouldn't piss anyone off for at least a week then." Gabriel said with a sneer in their direction. "It was nice knowing you."

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Fae Realm:

Alec watched Magnus' face shift from horror stricken to grief stricken over and over again as he stared into the bowl of water. The sages were calmly watching as if nothing were happening, and the Fae Queen was chattering with her handmaid. The bowl of water looked more like mercury, liquid silver, than it did water, and it wasn't reflecting Magnus' visions so Alec had 0 idea of what he was actually seeing. It wasn't good whatever it was.

Alec thought of his sister at the institute and grimaced. She'd be worried about him, but no more than usual. Alec often went weeks without contacting her or the institute, they all pretty much just let him go his own way. The death of a parabatai gave a Shadowhunter more freedom than he'd ever imagined. Pity had given him the ultimate out, even if he himself wasn't officially out. The Clave knew, and they were happy to let him die in the field. As long as he didn't infect his fellow Shadowhunters, they turned a blind eye to his preferences.

Alec had been in high demand before the cleansing, Magnus' great sacrifice, as the Shadow World was calling it these days. Alec was a demon hunter, a Shadowhunter without a home, he was contracted by institutes around the world to hunt rural demons, or demons their teams couldn't defeat. Izzy handled the contracts for him, but she hadn't had a request for a demon hunt in over a month.

Since the cleansing, demon sightings were fewer and fewer. Here lately, the requests had been for him to bring in Downworlders, but Alec was quickly losing the stomach for it. He knew they were kicking up a fuss over Magnus. And perhaps rightly so. Alec hadn't been part of the mission with Magnus, and given their history, there's every chance the Clave could have forced Magnus' hand. Ah Magnus, the real Magnus, had been dead for three years, and though he'd never met the man he'd heard of him. Often.

He had a reputation, and Alec wondered if the Magnus in front of him had the same reputation. No matter what institute, no matter what country, there was always a file on Magnus. In all the documentation, through all of his research, and he had researched him rather extensively; All the books knew that he was the son of a greater demon, yet no one knew what his warlock mark was. It had never been photographed, and no one he spoke with had been willing to say. What they did speak of was his character.

They said he was vicious and without conscious, if you crossed him he would take you out quicker than you could blink, he had no patience for crusades, and he loved his people fiercely. If you needed refuge you could always turn to him. Alec felt a resonance in him, that told him this Magnus was much the same, if maybe a bit softer. Though they didn't share the same physical appearance. That had surprised him.

The Magnus of this world was taller, more wiry in his build, had a very nearly full beard, a more arched brow and fuller lips. The Magnus in front of him was a dancer, he moved with a fluid grace that came from years of physical training. The Magnus of his world, was a model. His body was for display, and Alec had never once responded to his image. Not like he had to the man before him. There was just something about him. Alec's brow furrowed as he felt his tattoo tingle again.

He remembered when Magnus had said his full name, Alexander. It nearly brought him to his knees. The sound of his voice triggered a memory from a dream, even though it wasn't exactly the same. It was close. Closer than anything he'd ever heard before.

When Jace had died Alec had become horrifically ill, so much so that he'd been in the infirmary for days with a fever. His body was purging itself of the connection to his brother, and his mind had been full of chaos. In the middle of it all, when he thought he had lost his mind completely, he'd had a dream of a man.

Lying in his bed, forest green sheets surrounding him, a man had been snuggled up to his back. He'd leaned over and kissed Alec's neck, with a gentle laugh he'd said "Alexander, get up." A peace unlike anything Alec had ever before experienced in his life had engulfed him, and when he'd turned, he'd desperately wanted to see the man's face. But in the dream, all he could make out was a pair of cat eyes. Then came the whispered words of love, over and over and over.

He'd come out of the coma after 3 days, and the day he could stand and walk out of the institute he'd gone looking for a warlock. A bartender had sent him to a recluse in England. He'd begged the man to look at his dream, the image in his mind, and tattoo the eyes and words on him. The green skinned man had argued at first, but after seeing the images he'd agreed. Tying back his white hair, the man had used a traditional tattoo gun that he'd magiced into the room.

When it was over he'd simply told Alec to get out with sad eyes.

"Alexander!" Alec snapped out of his memory and looked at Magnus. The bowl had broken and the water had evaporated. Magnus wasn't looking at him, he was staring in horror at the spilled water.

"What's wrong?" He stepped a little closer, unable to hide his concern.

Magnus looked up, his eyes glazed with confusion before he too seemed to snap out of a memory. "Oh…" he was interrupted as the walls of the Faerie Queen's throne room began to shake, vines shot up from the ground and an explosion rocked the floor beneath them. Alec stumbled forward and grabbed Magnus to steady him, both of them jerked around when they heard a high pitched scream. A scream that turned into a wail.

Lina was hysterical.

The Faerie Queen had fallen to the ground, blood pouring from her eyes, nose, and the corners of her mouth. She threw her hand up in the air and with her final breath, rasped "Magnus go." A portal appeared. Magnus lunged toward it and Alec followed.

The warlock stopped him with a hand on his chest. "If you come with me, you may never see home again." Magnus warned.

Alec considered everything he was leaving behind. Izzy.

He hadn't seen Max since he was 2, and his mother hadn't actively spoken to him in just as long. Izzy was his only tie to this world, and even their relationship was strained. He put her in a bad position with the Clave. Disappearing would more than likely ease her burden, even if she would miss the hell out of him. He looked at the warlock, and without knowing how he just knew he would understand, "Izzy...can you tell her."

Magnus' eyes went soft and he nodded. "Of course Shadowhunter." With a wave of his hand, Izzy would be informed of his departure, and Alec had almost rock solid proof that this man knew him. In his world or reality or whatever, Magnus Bane knew Alexander Lightwood. That more than anything gave him comfort, eased the tension he'd felt since waking up to Magnus on his floor that morning. Not knowing who he was, not understanding what the hell was going on, being confused as hell something in him understood that this warlock would keep him safe or die trying. That same something said following this man would lead him to his destiny. He forced himself to follow the warlock through the portal.

Heat hit him first, the kind of heat you only felt in a desert. Dry. Suffocating. Coughing for breath he planted his feet to keep his balance. Molten sand surrounded him, wind whipped against his body, grains of sand ripped his skin. He tried to cover his face and look for Magnus but he could barely see in front of him.

Magnus came up beside him and pulled Alec's face into his neck, "My magic isn't working here." He said directly into Alec's ear.

"Where is here?"

"I have no fucking clue." Magnus said furiously, Alec didn't bother to raise his head the relief from the sand falling into his mouth was too great. But, Magnus was taking off his vest and jostling his face. "Give me your sword, we need something to cover our faces." Alec could hear him, but the words were muffled. They were standing in the middle of a damn sandstorm. No water. No food. No magic. They were fucked, thank you very much gut, thought Alec. Alec handed over the sword and watched Magnus skillfully cut the fabric into makeshift head wraps.

Once their heads were covered Magnus turned towards the sun and started walking. Alec frowned. "Where are you going?"

Magnus looked over his shoulder and shouted through the sand. "My magic's not working but I can feel magic that way." He pointed toward the sun, the only thing they could really see in the storm of sand. It was as good a direction as any.

Alec took a deep breath and followed Magnus into the unknown.

Notes: The Magnus in Alt!Alec's world is the Magnus from the movie, thought I'd throw in some Godfrey Gao ❤