So...how many people are A. going to kill me for not having updated this in so long or B. have completely forgotten about this story altogether? I know it's been a while and, for that, I am SO SORRY! ;-;

I got caught up in school and work, then I just kinda...forgot. I got so involved with writing my Supernatural fics, that I completely lost track of this one! I honestly didn't mean to! This is the final chapter, though!

I remembered that I knew what I wanted to do after chapter 8, but then I kinda forgot. I just remembered what I had intended to do with this about a week ago. I said to myself, "I gotta get this completed. Chapter 8 just kinda...ended." So, I sat my happy lil' butt down and started writing.

I won't keep you any longer! No more commentary! PLEASE ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot!

9

Psychosis

Jace cringed as he touched the blistered the burn mark that had been singed into the skin on his shoulder. The warped rune that had been the reason the burn was placed had somehow managed to vanish as the night went by, leaving nothing more than a white scar. He kept pulling at the skin, trying to get a full view of the mark, but was unable to and only managed to stretch out the wound.

"Stop agitating it," Isabelle said as she smacked his hand away. He released an aggravated breath and turned to face the door, his fists now clenched as he tried his best to ignore the pain as she replaced the soiled bandages on and around his back. Used bloody dressings sat on a cloth next to him on the footboard. His jaw clenched and eyes clamped shut as she tightened the wrappings with aloe pressed against the gashes. It burned when it seeped into the wounds, radiating from his shoulder blades and down his back; he tried his best to ignore it.

"Awe…can't handle a little sting?"

Jace shook his head and looked down at the floor just as Isabelle clasped the wrap to keep it in place. Already, a bit of blood was seeping through. "There," she said as she picked up the used bandages and stood straight. "Good as…well, it's good." She tried to send a casual smile to him, but he just shook his head after glancing up at her, not returning the sentiment. Sighing and shaking her head as she dumped the soiled wrappings into the small waste basket by the table near the door, she went on with, "Want me to get you anything?"

"I've got a few things she could get."

"No," she frowned at his response, not bothering to hide the concern that came with it. "Thanks, Iz, but…I just want to be alone for a bit."

Empathy shined behind her eyes, but when he gave a forced smile, she nodded. "All right. But no brooding or I'll send Alec up here with a bucket of ice water." A forced laugh accompanied the smile; though she picked up on it, she accepted it, nonetheless. Without saying anything else, she left the room, making sure to close the door behind her. Jace stared after her at the shut door, eyes half-closed. The moment he was alone, his mind began racing with other thoughts, much less than pleasant. When he shut his eyes, he was introduced back to the basement filled with mystic runes and blood – his blood. He could still see Jonathan's sadistic amusement as his voice filled Jace's ears with unfamiliar words and feel the sensation of hundreds of hands touching him, desperately trying to get what was contained within.

The area where the wings once were burned with the memories that had only happened days ago.

Six days to be precise.

Six days since he was trapped in that basement – trapped for mere hours that felt like days, weeks even. It had been four days since Magnus's reverse spell that had pulled the same wings back into his body, leaving only the large slits running down his back as evidence that they had been there at all. After that had been complete, he had expected the only thing he had left to deal with was being a mundane for about a month; however, even that had its setbacks, considering the damage done to his body. Most times, the pain was bearable, but certain scenarios and thoughts had the memory of the wing being broken and shattered cause, what felt like, the wings jerk and twitch beneath his skin, sending wave after wave of searing pain through his back.

But even that paled in comparison to what he was dealing with – the one thing that the others were not even aware of.

At first, he did not understand why they could not witness it, but, as the days had gone by, he understood that it was in his head, which meant—

"This is so boring. Is this all you do all day?" Jace forced his nails into the palms of his hands. "So pathetic."

"Shut up," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"The Lightwoods are so annoyed with you, right now. Having to take care of you…such a burden." Jace clenched down on his jaw and he felt his back twitch, sending a shock down his spine. "I bet that's why Alec hasn't been up to see you today. He's finally realizing how worthless you are."

"I said shut up!" he shouted, throwing the closest thing to him, which had been a small, decorative jewelry box, at the figure leaning against the door. The box hit the wall, breaking before it even fell to the floor.

The figure had vanished.

Jace's heart raced as he sat straight, trying to calm down. He glanced around the room and, not seeing the other anywhere, released a sigh and tried to relax.

"Temper, temper." He jumped and jerked his head around to see Jonathan sitting on the other end of the footboard. "Are you always this touchy?" He lay across it, setting his head on Jace's lap, his arms behind his head. When Jace stood up, Jonathan pulled up, watching the wounded Shadowhunter walk towards the window. "Oh, come on. You can't ignore me forever." Jace tensed when Jonathan was standing behind him, leaning on him with his arms slung over his shoulders. "Might as well get used to me, Jace, because I'm not going anywhere." He leaned in close to his ear, whispering, "I'm your own little shoulder demon."

The blonde's eyes did not dart towards the image, but, instead, gazed out of the Institution window over the late-afternoon, gray-skied city.

He wanted to tell the Lightwoods what he was experiencing, but wanted even less to bother them with more of his problems that he should be able to deal with on his own. After he had come-to from the reinsertion, he had been given a psychological evaluation, which he had done fine on; however, the following evening was when he began hallucinating – or, at least, he hoped he was hallucinating. He had also hoped that it would go away, but, as the days went by, they gradually became more and more apparent. Ignoring seemed to do nothing and just made it worse...and more annoying. The more he wanted to believe it to be a hallucination of the demon incarnate, the less likely it was becoming; which could only mean that Jonathan had invaded his mind.

He clenched down on his jaw when he felt, what felt like claws, dragging down his back. With his hand set on the windowsill, he fell into a crouch.

-o-o-o-o-

"Jace!"

His name echoed in a black tunnel, sounding distant.

"Magnus!" Isabelle's voice joined in, sounding even further than Alec's. "Do something!"

Jace cringed from where he lay in the fetal position in the darkness, his body numb as he tried to respond to the voices. His vocals did not want to heed his commands.

"What's happening?"

The voice seemed even further away than the others, becoming unrecognizable.

His eyes cracked open, only to see blackness beyond him. Searing pain shot down his back and he could feel blood dripping down. Severed white feathers were scattered around him, drenched in black and red blood. Trying his best to ignore the pain, he turned to push himself to all fours before trying to stand. He staggered, knees bent as he barely made it. He called out, but the voices that had been echoing around him were gone and, instead, he stood alone. He called out Alec's name, but, still, there was no response.

A whisper in the darkness.

He spun around, but still saw nothing. As he looked around, the pain in his back began to increase. It quickly went from a small nuisance to a painful burn. Blood could be felt dripping down his back, along the curvatures of his body, down his leg and pooling at his feet. It felt as though the wings that had been shoved back inside his body were begging to come back out, pressing against the boundaries of his shoulder blades, pushing hard and forcing the skin to stretch to its limit.

Another whisper had him jerking back the other direction.

Only, instead of being introduced to nothingness, it was as though wind began to pick up, blowing the soaked feathers that surrounded him, mimicking a bloody snow.

Footsteps began to echo around him and he found himself squinting his eyes at an approaching figure. What started off as a blurry form of Alec began to morph as it got closer, transforming itself into the familiar sadistic face of Valentine's son – Clary's brother.

From reflex, he found himself moving into a defensive stance; it merely garnered pain shooting across his back.

Jonathan stopped a few feet away from him, hands put in the pockets of his black jeans. "Trying to go back to your messed up sense normality already?" He shrugged at the glare he was receiving. "Shame, really. Even battered and torn, wings suited you."

Forcibly, Jace shook his head. "No…you're not real."

Jonathan laughed as the Shadowhunter eyed him. "Oh, I can assure you"—he stepped in front of him, reached out and grabbed his arm, digging his nails into the sensitive skin on his forearm—"I am very real." Jace tried to pull his arm back, but the movement sent sharp jolts down his shoulder blades; instead, it allowed Jonathan pull him where their faces were mere inches apart. "You thought it would be this easy? Now, Jace. Even you aren't that stupid."

The sound of metal being pulled from a sheath met his ears right before Jonathan held up his own stele. Just at the sight of the pointed object being in his hands, every fiber of Jace's being began begging to pull away, no matter the cost. "Get the hell away from me!" he shouted, jerking, doing nothing more than gaining more discomfort coursing through him. Positioning him at an odd angle to get to his shoulder, without so much as looking at what he was doing, Jonathan began tracing a rune into Jace's skin. The contortion was forcing his shoulder to twist and he could feel it ready to move out of place if twisted any further. The Mark was done in mere seconds and, once it was complete, Jonathan just let the stele fall, clanking onto the floor at their feet.

"You can't get rid of me, Jace." Moving his grip on Jace's forearm, he grabbed the younger male's shoulder, keeping his thumb over the rune. The Mark burned, as though it were a performed with a branding iron, and began shining a bright red. The pain began coursing from his shoulder, down his arm, moving to his chest – it was too much.

As though his insides were on fire.

And he began screaming.

"We're two halves of the same coin: angel and demon; Michael to my Lucifer."

Jace's entire body convulsed, the only thing holding him up being Jonathan's hold on his shoulders. As the rune continued to glow red, the veins in his arms, chest, neck and face became apparent, but not with the dark blue of blood – the veins were turning black. Feeling as though needles were coursing in his veins with the burning sensation of fire, he could not hold back the yells emitting from his throat.

The pain would not stop.

"Άγγελος και δαίμονας. Ο νους είναι το σπίτι."

The pain was suddenly replaced with asphyxiation and he got out one gasp before losing his breath.

"Jace! Wake up!"

The image of Alec came into his head in the solid-glass room.

An image of Isabelle followed with Magnus before he heard, "Dóiteáin," echo around him.

Then he remembered waking up.

-o-o-o-o-

Jace cringed at the pressure Alec's arms put on his back, though it was slight. The moment he felt his ally tense, Alec let go and stepped back, apologizing. Jace shook his head, saying it was nothing.

The wind picked up, blowing their hair, as well as dead leaves, scattering them across the churchyard. Wanting to get out and get some fresh air, saying the opened window was failing to accomplish his need for a walk, Jace had left the boundaries of the Institution's walls. He was only a few steps outside when Alec met up with him, a black hoody under his arm. When Jace inquired about it, the black-haired male responded by telling him the last thing they needed was for Jace to get sick. A light quarral ensued with Jace losing and accepting his loss by calling Alec his mother. Of course, the moment he took it, it was met with a snide comment from Jonathan, who was sitting on a stone sarcophagus and picking his nails with a blade.

"Counting down the days, right?" Alec asked in a light tune, referring to the amount of time it would be for Jace to be a Nephilim again.

A hollow laugh escaped the blonde's throat. "Yeah." He cringed when the reverberation of the laugh put pressure on his back. "You have no idea."

Alec nodded half-hazardly. "Don't worry." Jace looked to him. "This just means you can't be suicidal for a while." There Jace laughed. "Shame, I know. Where's the thrill of keeping you out of trouble?"

"It's going to make for a very dull few weeks."

Seeing Jace legitly smile had Alec mirror the emotion.

There was silence between them, listening only to the early evening chirp of birds and sound of wind moving objects through the air and along the ground. Jonathan was lying on his stomach on the sarcophagus, watching them and acting to throw the blade his was holding at Alec.

"What do you think, Jace?" he asked, getting the Shadowhunter to glance at him for a mere second. "Just one little slip of the wrist and—"

"You know...if I can be perfectly honest for one second"—Jace jerked his attention to Alec, who had gone from gazing across the grounds to looking at him—"I always wanted to take you up on that offer."

Jace knitted his eyebrows together, staring at him intently, obviously confused. "Offer?" What was he talking about? "What off—"

He was cutoff by Alec lightly grabbing the underside of his chin, tilting his head slightly up and leaning down to softly press his lips against the blonde's. There was a snide remark from Jonathan as Jace's expression filled with bewilderment. As Alec pulled back, he opened his eyes to see Jace's half-opened, confusion hidden well behind them.

"Alec?"

"When you told me that the only reason I wanted you was because I knew I could never have you, I wanted to tell you how wrong you were," he said as he brought his hand down. Jace clamped down on his jaw, bringing his gaze down to look around at the ground in front of him. "The reason I couldn't tell you that was...because I was scared."

Jace finally looked back up to him, forehead creasing. "Of what?" It came out a bit more sarcastic and harsher than he had intended, but Alec did not seem to pay heed to it.

"Losing you?" For some reason, Alec appeared just as confused as Jace was, as though he was not sure how to respond. He had to search around for the wording he wanted to use. "You...had Clary." Just at the mention of her name, a different emotion seemed to reflect behind Jace's eyes, but he willed it away as his adoptive brother continued. "And I know I could never give you what she could. You weren't my fall-back; I just couldn't bring myself to be honest with you."

Jace lolled his head, trying to keep his eyes away from Jonathan, who was lying down the top of the sarcophagus with his upper body hanging off the side facing them. "Alec, you've had a crush on me since I don't even know." Alec released a nervous laugh. "But you can't just forget about your boyfriend, now can you?" A sly smile made its way to Jace's face as a nervous one crossed Alec's.

"Magnus has been the one telling me ways to trying to get you." They switched expressions and Jace shook his head awkwardly.

"Awe. Isn't that adorable?" A quick glance to Jonathan showed him pointing the knife like a dart at Alec.

"Jace." Alec put his hands on his ally's shoulders. Taking a deep inhale, he continued with, "I love you – more than I probably should, but I can't help it. I see you hurt or knowing you're hiding the fact that you're in pain and I want to be right there next you, comforting you. Seeing what you went through after she left...I got angry. I was...jealous." Jace pressed his lips together, trying to avoid Jonathan, who was making mocking gestures in their direction with the occasional commentary. "I knew you were hurt and there wasn't anything I could do about it."

A groan from Jonathan finally drew Jace's attention. "By the Angel, this is pathetic. Are you really buying all this?" he asked, sitting up and pointing to Alec with the blade.

Seeing his ally's attention diverted, Alec glanced over his shoulder, but brought his eyes back when Jace finally spoke up. "Alec...even if..." He trailed off as Alec's hands slid off of his shoulders, looking at him sympathetically. "Even if...I could tell you"—he looked up to meet his blue eyes—"I wouldn't even know what to do."

"I know what you could do: consummate the relationship." Jonathan was now standing directly behind Alec with his chin on his shoulder. "What?" he asked, trying to get Jace's attention. "Too soon?"

Alec laughed, a light laugh as he shook his head.

"You don't have to do anything." He reached up to set his hand on the side of Jace's neck, his thumb by his ear. "As long as you know and I know, that's it." A nervous smile made its way back to Jace's face. That was right before Alec took his hand back and shrugged. "Maybe with an occasional kiss or two." The uncaring way he said it had Jace laugh, somewhat awkward-sounding by its sincerity.

"All right," he said, nodding his head. "I think that can be done."

His eyes quickly darted back to Jonathan, who was looking at Alec in a mix between disgust and disbelief. "How is it your kind is able to be considered a Nephilim? Absolutely disgusting."

Hearing the mocking words, an anger formed in Jace's stomach and he began looking uncomfortable. Alec was looking at him curiously, but before he had a chance to ask, Jace cut him off with, "Kiss me." He could feel Jonathan's eyes on him, now, with the same expression.

Alec stared at him intently. "Sure?"

Jace shook his head after another comment from the demon-child. "It wasn't a suggestion."

After a split-second of mild confusion, Alec brought his hand to run it through Jace's hair. "Is it always going to be like this?" When Jace shrugged, Alec leaned down to capture Jace's mouth. The moment contact was made, Jace brought his own hands up to grab the sides of Alec's face, closing his eyes and creating a rather aggressive kiss. With the response he was not expecting, Alec's shock was only a moment before he moved his hand to the back of Jace's neck, his other arm wrapping across the blonde's lower back, so as to avoid the slices. When the pulled apart, Jace kept his eyes shut to avoid having to see Jonathan and, instead, wrapped his arms around Alec's shoulders, gripping him. Knowing his could not very well give the same amouth of pressure, Alec still allowed his arms to close around Jace's back, keeping his grip light.

Perhaps it was a poor time to notice, but he could not help but realize how weak Jace's grip had become; the malnutrition came back into his mind, but he tried his best to ignore it. His adoptive brother was slowly starting to eat again, or so he had been the past few days.

"You realize he's only doing all this out of pity, right?" Jonathan's voice cut across the churchyard.

They pulled apart and, still keeping his hands on Alec's shoulders, Jace brought his gaze to the ground. Another moment passed and they completely pulled apart. When Jace looked back up, he tried to hide the mental anguish from having Jonathan constantly by him. He wanted to tell Alec – tell someone, anyone. But the other part of his brain was yelling at him not to do it, that they did not need to know.

And that they very well might throw him out of their lives from being too much of a burden on their shoulders.

Seeing the expression, Alec's brows pressed together. "Are you going to be okay?"

Jace looked over Alec's shoulder to Jonathan, who was holding a blade, running his thumb over the edge before looking from Alec to Jace, smirking.

"Yeah," Jace said, nodding as he glanced back to make eye contact with Alec. "I'll be fine." He gave Alec an oddly believable false half-smile. He heard Jonathan's mocking laugh and could not help but flinch when the blade he had been playing with was suddenly pressing against his face; Jonathan was now standing behind him with his other arm wrapped around his neck and shoulders. "I'm going to be okay…."

~End

A semi-happy ending, really. Which is rare...I think. I don't know. Not much of my stuff ends on a happy note. Well...not "happy" by most peoples' standards, but happy by mine. Lol.

Anyway! If anyone is still out there, please let me know what you thought! I really am sorry this took so long!

I will have one more part to this, but it's just the translations of what Jonathan and Magnus had been saying. So, if you have any questions or anything, feel free to ask me in a review and I will respond to you, okay? THANKS AGAIN!