Edited 5/30/2020
A portal opened in Magnus Bane's apartment and Magnus and Alec emerged mid-conversation, smiling and carrying shopping bags with them.
"I mean, how would they feel?" Alec asked Magnus.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't ask in front of the sushi chef." Magnus acknowledged, glancing over his shoulder at his boyfriend as they moved to separate tables.
"Seriously." Alec pressed as they set their shopping down. "Why do they call it fatty tuna? I mean that's a little degrading."
"Hmm, well I don't think obese tuna sounds any better." Magnus played along; a sarcastic smirk settled on his face.
"You know, as much as I love Tokyo and Prague. A bacon burger from the east village isn't that bad." Alec defended his favorite restaurant.
"The world is your oyster, Alexander." Magnus smiled.
Alex sighed as he picked up a gift bag. "I got you something." He held it out to Magnus. It was a small black back with the name of the store printed on the front in a foreign language.
"Me?" Magnus asked him confused.
"Yes, you." Alec said, pretending to be exasperated. "Open it."
Magnus did as he was told and pulled out a small rectangular object. He held it gently, as if it were one of his most prized possessions.
"It's supposed to bring you luck and protection." Alec smiled, obviously proud of the gift.
Magnus was touched. "Thank you, Alexander." He stepped closer to him. "You continue to surprise me."
"In good ways I hope." Alec admitted quietly.
They leaned in for a kiss when giggling rang throughout the apartment. They pulled back and sighed. Magnus turned and walked a few steps away.
"I haven't had a roommate this brazen since..." he thought about it. "Well, since Casanova and I spent the night in the Doge's palace."
"Casanova?" Alec complained.
Magnus opened his mouth to say something, but Alec held a hand up. "I'll talk to Jace. He can't stay here forever."
"No, no." Magnus held him back. "Nothing a little magic can't fix."
Magnus snapped his fingers and the stereo turned on, playing upbeat music. He turned to Alec with a smile. "All good?" He asked him.
Alec smiled and nodded. Not being able to hear the giggling anymore.
—
An hour later they were on the couch kissing when Alec's phone chimed. He unwrapped his arm from Magnus' shoulders and pulled it out, looking at it.
"Damn it." He swore. He looked over at Magnus apologetically. "I need to go."
Magnus only smirked and answered flirtatiously. "Go do your job, Shadowhunter. I'm not going anywhere." He promised when Alec didn't look convinced.
He stood and sighed. "Alright." And walked up the stairs to Jace's room. He pushed open the door finding Jace on top of Kaelie, a Seelie.
"And this one?" She asked seductively pointing to a rune on his arm.
"Stamina." Jace answered.
"Ooh I like the sound of that." Alec rolled his eyes in disgust. Ever since Jace had discovered that Clary was his sister he'd restarted his 'book club.'
Jace leaned in and kissed the Seelie girl and Alec looked away. "We have orders." He announced loudly. "Let's go."
Jace sighed. "I'm a little tied up." He told Alec, not wanting to leave.
"Not yet, you're not." Kaelie corrected him. The couple laughed and Jace leaned in to kiss her again before sitting up. Alec fought a gag.
Kaelie covered herself and called out to Alec. "You're welcome to join us."
"I'm good." Alec replied, not looking at her.
"Your loss." She replied happily. "I'll give you two a minute." She got out of the bed and moved into the adjoining bathroom.
Jace flopped back down on the bed and looked up at his Parabatai. Alec threw his jeans at him roughly.
"This is your solution? Hiding out at Magnus'?"
"I wouldn't exactly call this hiding." Jace pulled his jeans on.
"We have obligations." Alec raised his voice.
"Obligations." Jace scoffed. "Aldertree wanted me gone. I'm gone."
"So, you got demoted. You'll work your way back up. What about my sister? Huh?"
"Izzy?" Jace asked, confused. "What about her?"
"No. Clary." Alec corrected hotly.
"Clary isn't your sister."
"She's as good as. You're ignoring her anyways. Hurting her. Some brother you are."
"You don't understand." Was all Jace said.
"Then tell me." Alec demanded. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."
Jace hung his head. "So, you're just going to turn your back on us?" Alec asked brokenly. "On Isabelle? Clary?"
"I'm not discussing Clary." Jace said flatly.
"She's supposed to be your family! Your sister! Instead I'm the one stepping up! Protecting her, comforting her. That's supposed to be your job!"
"I don't need a reminder. Nor do I want the job. You can have it. I don't want anything to do with her."
Alec shook his head, moving to stand closer to his Parabatai. He'd never felt more disgusted with him. "Don't come asking for it back. You won't get it. Once she's a Lightwood, there won't be any going back."
"You know, you should go." Jace decided. "We don't want you getting benched too."
"This isn't you." Alec told him before turning and leaving the room.
—
"Any idea what this is about?" Clary asked as she and Alec walked through the institute.
He'd bumped into her when he'd arrived and discovered she'd received the summons as well.
"I heard a big storm's moving in. Always increases demon activity." He informed her.
"And Jace is...?"
"Not here."
"He's totally shut me out." She complained. "He's not answering my texts. I don't understand what's going on."
"Me neither." Alec looked at her in apology. "Um, have you thought any more on what I told you about? The spell?"
Clary sighed and shifted her weight, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "What would Jace think? If I just abandoned him like that?"
Alec sighed and shifted his weight as well, he looked to the ground before meeting her eyes again. "I talked to him before I came here, you know, since he's staying at the apartment. I tried to get him to come to the briefing and you came up. He doesn't want anything to do with you, Clary. I'm so sorry. He said I could have you as my sister because he wasn't interested."
Clary's jaw dropped and tears pricked her eyes. "Well in that case I'd be glad to be a Lightwood. When can we do it?"
Alec wrapped her in his arms and hugged her. "I'll talk to Magnus later today, okay? We'll set everything up and do it as soon as possible. I promise."
Clary nodded against his chest. "Come on, we've got work to do." Alec released her and they walked over to Isabelle.
"What did we miss?" Alec asked.
"Let's see. The citadel was breached. Magdalena is dead and Cleophas is missing." Izzy told them.
"Oh my God." Clary breathed. "Valentine?"
"Who else could it be?" Izzy asked. She turned to Alec. "Aldertree's heading to Idris to meet with the council."
"I'll go check with ops." He replied, walking away.
Izzy started to walk away as well before Clary stopped her. "Izzy! There's something I need to tell you about Sister Cleophas."
"That you told her about your new rune?" Izzy asked hotly.
"How did you know?"
"Does it matter?" Izzy asked. "You should know what it feels like when the people you care about shut you out."
"Izzy, Jace told me it would be dangerous for anyone who found out." Clary tried to explain.
"So now I need to be protected?" Izzy demanded. "I welcomed you in, Clary. Saw you through training, rescued Simon every time he got into trouble, which is basically all of the time, and after your mom -"
"Izzy, I'm sorry." Clary interrupted. "Look, we both care about the Iron Sisters. We need to find Sister Cleophas. We can do it together."
"I'm kind of over this whole togetherness thing." Izzy said acidly and she walked away.
Clary deflated. Izzy would be horrified to find out that Clary was about to become her sister. She had to find Alec and tell him that they had to call it off. She couldn't force herself on Izzy.
—
She found him walking down a residential hallway.
"We can't do this. Izzy's mad at me."
Alec looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "You can't be a Lightwood, because our sister is mad at you?" He asked slowly as if he were struggling to understand something complex.
"Your sister. Not 'our'"
Alec sighed. "Clary you can't base a life-altering decision off the fact that someone's mad at you. Izzy's mad at me all the time, it's called being siblings."
Clary huffed and put her hands on her hips. "She hates me."
Alec sighed louder this time. "Do you want this? To be a Lightwood? To have a family?"
"Yeah, but..."
"No buts. If you want it, I'm offering it to you. Because I want that too. I want you to be my sister. Don't let Izzy's fit get in the way of that. She loves you; she will get over it."
"What if she doesn't?" Clary asked him. "I kept a secret from her, Alec."
"What secret?" Alec asked, crossing his arms and stepping closer to her.
Clary looked around and then grabbed his arm, pulling him into his room and locking the door.
"I discovered that I have the ability to create new runes." Clary whispered.
"What?" Alec asked her loudly.
"Shhh!" Clary hushed him. "New runes. I made a sunlight one, two weeks ago when Jace and I were out patrolling. I had a vision of the rune, so I drew it and..." she shrugged.
"Okay..." Alec dragged the word out, running a hand through his hair and pacing a little. "You can't tell anyone you don't trust. Okay? We can't tell the Clave about this either. Understand?"
Clary nodded. "That's why I didn't tell you before. Jace said it would put you in danger."
"Jace is an idiot." Alec informed her. "It won't put us in any danger. Telling the Clave would put you in danger, which is why we aren't telling them. But I'm pretty sure Jace just liked the idea of having a secret, just the two of you."
Clary rolled her eyes. "Probably."
Alec sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. "In other news, I called Magnus."
"And?"
"And, we can do the ceremony tonight at the earliest."
Clary sighed. "What about your parents? Max?"
"I called them and they're on their way. They'll be here for the ceremony."
"They accepted it. Just like that?" Clary didn't quite believe it.
"Just like that." Alec confirmed.
"What will happen?"
"Around 6 we will go to Magnus', he will have everything set up. He said you will need someone from the family to step up and be your guide of sorts. Preferably either Isabelle or I since we know you well. You'll get to decide."
"You." Clary blurted. "I mean, if you want. You don't have to."
"I'd be honored." Alec smiled. "So, in that case, I'll be with you the entire time. I'll help keep you centered during the process and Magnus said that you will turn out looking more like the person who guides you. So, you will resemble me more than Izzy or Max."
"My appearance will change?" Clary asked, sitting next to Alec.
"Yeah, you're biologically becoming a Lightwood. So, you'll change to look more like us. You'll probably be tanner, have black hair, darker eyes. You'll look like me." He shrugs. "But you'll still be you, Clary. Just Clarissa Lightwood instead of Fray or Fairchild or Morgenstern. Okay?"
Clary nodded and leaned into him, feeling him wrap an arm around her. "Okay." He pressed a kiss into her hair and tightened his arm around her before speaking.
"We need to go speak to Luke. I'll go with you, but we need to know if he knows anything about Cleophas."
"Let's go."
—
They found him near the Jade Wolf which didn't really surprise them. Luke didn't acknowledge Clary openly other than a guilty look in her direction when they cornered him.
"You met Cleophas?" He asked, surprised.
"Clary did." Alec amended.
"At the Citadel." She nodded. "If Valentine has hurt her, or worse..." Clary thought of the fact that she'd told Cleophas about her rune ability but didn't voice this to Luke. He'd abandoned her; therefore, she didn't trust him. Alec said not to tell anyone she didn't trust.
"Listen. Cleo may not be the victim here." Like interrupted.
"What do you mean?" Alec asked.
"She could be working with Valentine." Luke revealed.
"No, she's dedicated to the Iron Sisters." Clary argued.
"When the Circle disbanded, she had to be."
"Cleophas was a member of the Circle?" Alec asked.
Luke nodded. "She worshipped Valentine. Followed him around like a puppy. When I realized what Valentine was up to, I lost my sister for good."
Alec and Clary glanced at each other then looked back to Luke.
"We need to find her. Get her back." Clary said.
Luke shook his head. "No."
"She's your sister. Don't you want to at least try?" Alec asked Luke, judgement clear on his face. "Family is everything." Neither Clary nor Luke missed the double meaning in his words.
"It's impossible."
"Screw that. I'd do anything for my sisters. You should do the same for yours. Either way, we need to find her. With or without your help."
—
An hour after they'd found Luke, Alec had been called back to the Institute to be given a mission. When he found a horde of Shax demons he'd tried to enlist Izzy's help, but she didn't answer her phone. He returned to the institute to give the report and found Izzy in ops.
"Where have you been?" He called. "Had to slaughter a horde of Shax demons in Grand Central. Could've used your help. What're you doing?"
Izzy closed the screen she'd been using, taking the images off it.
"Aldertree has me on Special Assignment. I'm checking out some rouge Vamp dens."
Alec observed Isabelle as she talked. She'd lost weight, was paler and dark circles under her eyes. Something was wrong with her.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She dismissed him.
"You don't seem fine." He told her.
She sighed. "I'm . . . tired." She nodded. "Yeah, um, your message said you wanted to talk. Do you have a lead on Cleophas?"
"No. Not yet. I wanted to talk about Clary."
"What about Clary?" Izzy asked.
"Well, we're all going to Magnus' at six for her transference ceremony."
"Transference?" Izzy gaped.
"I asked Clary to become a Lightwood."
"What? That's amazing!" Izzy smiled. Alec could tell that she was genuinely excited, she wasn't faking it.
"Clary wanted to call it off after your fight today. Thought you'd be horrified at the idea of being related to her."
Izzy sighed. "I overreacted. I'll talk to her, I promise. I was just hurt. And tired."
Alec nodded. "Make sure you do. Before six!"
"Yes, Big Brother." Izzy teased as his phone went off.
"Hello?" He answered holding it up to his ear.
"Alec - it's Luke. Clary's in trouble."
—
When they found Clary, she was running out of an alleyway with Cleophas.
Luke and Alec jumped out of the police car and Luke drew his gun as Alec aimed an arrow at Cleophas' heart. He was fully prepared to kill the woman if she'd hurt so much as a hair on his sister's head.
"Cleo, you hurt her I'll drop you where you stand." Luke warned.
"Wait, no!" Clary shouted.
Alec lowered his bow a little. "Did she hurt you?"
"We need her!" Clary yelled, shaking her head.
She turned to Alec. "Valentine is holding an Angel hostage. Cleophas knows where. We have to go, now!"
Cleophas led them to the factory that Valentine was hiding in. Luke went with her to confront Valentine while Alec and Clary went to find the Angel.
"If Valentine needs lightning to activate the Soul Sword, he probably put Ithuriel on the rooftop." Clary told Alec as they climbed the stairs. Alex had his bow and arrows at the ready and Clary had a seraph blade out and in her hand.
"Cleophas could've been lying, Clary." Alec reminded her gently.
"Not about this." Clary retorted.
"You're sure?" Alec asked.
"Trust me." She pleaded.
"I do." Alec told her.
They made it to the rooftop door and Alec kicked it open. Leading the way onto the roof, Clary was close behind him.
There were three circle members standing in front of an old man bound in chains at the edge of the roof near the ledge. While the duo supposed this man must've been the Angel, they had to admit that he didn't seem terribly angelic.
Alec took down each guard with an arrow to the shoulder. It didn't kill them, but certainly put them out of the fight.
They rushed to Ithuriel and tried to break the chains with their blades.
"It's not working!" Alec yelled to her over the thunder.
"Why can't we break them?" Clary cried.
"Valentine must have had warlock help." Alec replied.
The Angel started to groan again, and Clary hunched over in pain, hands to her ears. Alec grabbed her by the shoulders and held her up against his side, not letting her collapse from the pain.
"You're hurting her!" He told the Angel.
Clary pushed him away and pulled her stele out.
"What are you doing?" Alec reached out for her again. Letting his hand fall to his side when she moved closer to Ithuriel.
"He's communicating with me." She told him.
She drew a rune on the chains, and they broke, setting Ithuriel free.
His beautiful white wings extended, and he reached his hands out towards the Shadowhunter pair. Alec and Clary reluctantly took his hands in theirs and a vision danced before their eyes.
The soul sword landed in the ground and a demon-like hand grabbed it. When it did both the demon and the sword disappeared in a puff of dust.
Alec and Clary quickly let go of the hands they were holding.
"What was that?" Clary asked Ithuriel, but the Angel didn't answer instead, he rocketed into the air and Alec and Clary watched him go in awe.
How were they going to explain this one?
—
By the time they returned to the institute it was 5:45 and they were in a rush.
"What do I even wear to a transcendence ceremony?" Clary griped as they made their ways to their rooms to change before calling Magnus for a portal because there was no way they'd make it on time without one.
"Transference." Alec corrected with a laugh. "And wear something comfortable, a T-shirt and some sweatpants, maybe? That's what I'm going to wear."
Clary nodded and ducked into her room. She threw on a green T-shirt and black sweatpants. She looked in the mirror one last time, looking at her red hair, green eyes and pale skin that was decorated with freckles. She bid that version of herself goodbye before leaving her room and finding Alec outside her door in a grey T-shirt and black sweatpants. She noticed that he was also barefoot.
"Magnus is going to open the portal in a minute." He told her.
"Okay." She said. Her voice sounded shaky and her heart was beating faster than normal.
"Nervous?" Alec pulled her into his side.
She nodded, wrapping her arm around his torso. She took deep, steady breaths hoping to slow her heart rate and ease her nerves.
The portal opened in front of them and Alec led her through it. When they came out, they were in Magnus' living room and Clary tried hard not to think of the last time the duo had portaled here. She looked around and saw that the other four members of the Lightwood family were present alongside Magnus.
She looked around the room and saw that most of the furniture had been pushed out of the way and that a little futon had been set in the middle of the room.
Clary looked to Magnus who smiled at her encouragingly.
"Ready, Biscuit?" He asked her gently as Alec led her towards the futon.
Clary nodded and grasped at Alec's hand.
Magnus came over to the pair and directed how they should sit. Alec ended up sitting on the futon first, reclined back with Clary laying against him between his legs.
"It's going to be okay." Alec murmured in her ear as he felt her shaking with nerves.
She nodded and watched as Magnus had the rest of the family sit near them.
Maryse and Robert were smiling at her kindly which surprised her since the last time she'd seen them they'd been quite cold and hostile towards her.
Izzy gave her leg a quick squeeze and sent her a wink while Max stared at her with blatant interest.
"Does anyone have any questions?" Magnus asked the room as he took his place at Alec and Clary's feet.
"Will it hurt?" Clary asked.
Alec gave her hand a squeeze. "A little." Magnus answered the girl honestly.
"Why does Alec need to be with her?" Maryse asked, watching her eldest son and her almost-daughter sit together with a look of what might have been concern, in her eyes.
"She needs someone that she feels close with to center her, keep her grounded. If no one is there to guide her and keep her in touch with reality during the process she could have her soul lost in limbo, lose her mind or die."
Maryse blanched at Magnus' blunt answer and nodded weakly. Magnus turned back to Clary with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm ready." She told him.
Magnus started to chant in a foreign language and his hands lit up blue. His eyes lost their glamour as he waved his hands over Alec and Clary.
Clary felt fine at first, she watched Magnus' hands and couldn't help but think about how pretty his magic was. Then she started to feel heavier and more lethargic, she could feel herself leaning back farther and heavier onto Alec. Instead of watching Magnus' hands she was now staring at the ceiling, her head fully reclined onto Alec's shoulder. Her eyelids got heavy and started to droop, Magnus' loud chanting was now just a hum in the background, she could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears.
Just when her eyes finally closed, Magnus came over and laid his hand on Clary's forehead, making her eyes pop open. His hand was warm, and it felt nice, so she closed her eyes once more and just relished in the feeling of being loved because there was so much love radiating in the room it was palpable. From everyone. Robert, Maryse, Alec, Izzy, Max, even Magnus. When a shock came out of Magnus' hand into her forehead, Clary opened her eyes wide and let out a shriek. Alec gripped her tighter, holding her down as she trashed. The shockwaves were coursing through her, they were all she could feel. Alec was saying encouraging things in her ear, but she couldn't hear them.
The pain seemed to last for hours, but when she collapsed back down against Alec, she suspected it had been only minutes. Her skin was slick with sweat, her body was tingling, and her breath was coming faster.
"Congratulations, Clarissa Lightwood." Magnus told her.
"It's finished?" Clary asked, she started at the sound of her voice. It hadn't changed too much, just evened out a little so that it wasn't as high pitched as before.
Magnus smiled and nodded. The man looked tired as he took a seat by her and Alec's feet. "Yes. And you look stunning by the way." He conjured a mirror and held it out to her.
She took it from him and held it up to her face. She could see not only her but Alec as well. Both siblings immediately looked at her face as Alec couldn't see her from where he was, either.
Her hair was long and black, her eyes were hazel, her skin had tanned, her face had thinned, and her cheek bones were more prominent. She really did look like Alec, she thought as she looked back and forth between the two of them in the reflection.
"Wow." She said.
"Wow." He agreed with a smile.
"Okay!" Izzy raised her voice. "Time to get up so I can hug my sister!"
Alec and Clary both laughed. Magnus took the mirror back from them, setting it aside and assisted Alec in helping Clary up. Magnus offered his hands to her, which she gladly accepted while Alec took her waist and together the couple helped her stand.
As soon as she was standing, she almost fell back over as Izzy crushed her in a hug. In fact, she probably would've fallen over had Magnus not grabbed her and made sure that she was stable.
"I've always wanted a sister." Izzy whispered in her ear. "I was supposed to talk to you before the ceremony, but I couldn't find you or Alec. I'm sorry about the fight we had this morning. I've just been tired, and I took it out on you. I understand why you did what you did."
"Thank you." Clary whispered back and hugged her sister tighter.
Izzy let go of her and stepped aside. Max bounded up to her and hugged her around the waist quickly, letting go and running behind her to tackle Alec who'd been in the process of sitting up.
Maryse came and hugged her next, Robert kissed the top of her head and squeezed her shoulder. When her new parents let go of her, she turned to Magnus and hugged him. "Thank you, Magnus."
He hugged her back, placing a hand at the back of her head, cradling it as if she were something precious to him. "Anything for you, Biscuit."
"You're the best future Brother-in-law ever." She teased.
"Hey!" Alec called. "I still haven't gotten my hug."
Clary grinned and ran off to hug her Big Brother tightly.
She smiled as his arms wrapped around her tightly. She had a family now. A real one. And that's all she'd ever wanted.