Seraphina had lost track of how long she had been wondering around in the darkness. This darkness was unlike anything she had ever experienced, no matter where she turned, no matter how long she walked, there was nothing but darkness. Seraphina could smell the fear slithering through the darkness, searching her out as if she were its prey. She tried to run from the fear, but she knew it was useless, fear has a way of finding you and when it does there is no way to stop it from claiming you as its own. When she first felt the fear seeping into her skin, Seraphina cried out for her mother, but there was no answer, she even cried out for Luke, but there was still no answer. If this was her end, if this was what death truly looked like, Seraphina no longer welcomed it. She no longer craved the eternal darkness of her own personal hell.

XxXxXxX

"What's going on with everyone?" Max had his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest, his face scrunched up as he stared up at his brother. He was tired of everyone confining him to a room that wasn't even his real room, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"Max, what are you doing out of your room?" Alec looked down at him as if he were a bug that needed to be squashed.

"I'm not a bug, Alec. I am your brother, and I demand to know what's going on with everyone!" Max stomped one of his feet just to show Alec that he meant business.

Alec's bright blue eyes went wide before he bent over laughing. "A bug? Max Lightwood, where on earth did you get that from?" Alec stood straight, placing a hand on his little brother's messy brown curls, ruffling them as he did. "You have quite the imagination, don't you? Now head back to your room, mom will be there shortly. Got it?"

Max was mad, no, he was furious. "Why can't you just tell me? Everyone lies to me, everyone except Clary. Where is she? I want to see her." Max noticed his brother's face turn a lighter shade, he was about to ask him if he was going to throw up, but he never got the chance because of his sister interrupting them.

"Alec? Where ar-Oh there you guys are." Isabelle's brown eyes darted between her two brothers. "So, what's up?"

Alec frowned, his eyes meeting Isabelle's for an instant before removing them and looking back down at Max. "Nothing, Max was about to go back to his room and wait for mom like a good little boy. Right Max?"

Max shoved his hands down to his sides, balling his hands into tight fist. "No, I was not going back to my room to wait like a good little boy. New flash, I'm not that little anymore. I want to see the one person that does not lie to me, I want to see Clary. I trust her! I do not trust you, not anymore."

"Oh Max." Isabelle's face fell at her brother's words. "Don't day things like that, ever." She slowly kneeled down on one knee and placed her hands on Max's shoulders, turning him to face her. "Max, we are your family and we love you, very much. I know you think we don't want you around but that's not true. Right now things are stressful with dad's job, you know that, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't trust us. We love you, you can always trust that."

Max could see the hurt in his sister's eyes but that didn't mean he was ready to let go of the questions he had. "Where's Jace and Clary? If you let me see them, I'll go to my room for the rest of the night. I promise. I just want to see them. Please Izzy." Max was giving his sister his best set of puppy dog eyes that he had while he waited for her answer.

Isabelle shot Alec a look as if to ask him what she should do, but Alec just shrugged. "Fine. Thanks for nothing," the tall brunette muttered as she stood from the ground. "He's going to find out sooner or later Alec."

Alec's body stiffened. "Izzy, don't you dare. Don't even think about it. Magnus will kill you, hell, Jace will kill you." Max rolled his eyes, if those two were trying to have a quiet conversation that he wasn't supposed to hear, they were doing a terrible job of it.

"Alec, what do you suggest we do then? It's been three days, three days. I don't think things are getting better if you know what I mean. Max has a right to know, so he can, you know." Isabelle's voice was quiet and her face looked almost sad.

Alec shrugged, "Whatever, but just so you know. Jace is going to be pissed, and I don't even want to know what Magnus is going to do. You know as well as I do he said he's leave us if it doesn't work out. We need to give him his space so he can do what he can."

Isabelle bit her bottom lip nodding. "I'll handle Jace, and as far as Magnus goes, it's been three days and still there's no change. Seraphina or Clary, whatever you want to call her had a connection with Max, if anyone can get through to her, it's him."

Alec through his hands up in the air and stormed down the hallway, "Do what you want, you always do, no matter what the consequences are."

Isabelle stared after Alec until he rounded the corner, disappearing from her sight. When she could no longer see him, Isabelle turned her gaze down to Max, holding out her right hand. "Are you ready to go see Serap-Clary and Jace?"

A huge smile began to spread across the young boy's face. "Yes, yes I am." Max placed his small hand in Isabelle's and the two of them began to walk toward the elevator.

XxXxXxX

"Magnus, I don't understand, why isn't she waking up?" Jace was pacing the Infirmary, his hands pulling at the ends of his golden curls.

Magnus was leaning back against the wall beside Seraphina's bedside. His eyes had dark shadows underneath them from a lack of sleep, he had the same clothes on that he was wearing three days ago and his hair looked as if a rat had slept in it. Sighing, the warlock placed his hands over his face before dropping them back down to his sides. "I've told you. She's in a dream state of sorts, a coma if you will."

Jace stopped pacing and moved to stand where he was standing face to face with Magnus. "What can we do? What can I do to help her?"

Magnus stared back at the young man standing before him. He could not understand why this boy was so infatuated with Seraphina, but he was. Jace had been there for the past three days along with Magnus, neither one of them dared to leave her side and for that Jace had earned the warlock's respect. "There is nothing we can do for her, Jace. This is a fight Seraphina will have to win or lose on her own. Now, you look like death, you smell of it too. Why don't you go freshen up a bit and possibly get some sleep?"

Jace's golden eyes were hard as he stared back at the warlock. "I don't believe that, don't you dare tell me that we can't help her. There has to be something, dammit, you're the High Warlock of Brooklyn, don't tell me that there's nothing else you can do!" Jace's gaze moved toward the bed that Seraphina was in, his eyes filled with remorse as his eyes took in her unmoving form. "I have to help her Magnus. I don't know why or how, but I have to save her."

Standing up from the wall, Magnus placed a hand on Jace's shoulder. "I'll make some calls and see if there is something I missed, but the truth is Seraphina has to fight this. She has to want to live, if she has already given up, well, there is nothing anyone can do to save her. Not even the High Warlock of Brooklyn can bring her back if she doesn't want this life."

Jace shook his head, his eyes fixed on Seraphina. "She's going to wake up. I know she is." Moving toward the bed, he carefully placed his hand over hers. "You're not alone in this, I'm here with you and I'm never going to leave you. You will never have to be alone again. Just please, please come back. Please." Jace continued to beg Seraphina to live as he leaned down and placed his forehead against her own.

Magnus nodded silently as he moved toward the Infirmary doors.

XxXxXxX

Seraphina had curled herself into a tight ball. She was now prepared to face her eternity in this black, bottomless pit. This was her fault, all of it. She chose to live her life alone with no one to help her, no one to care for her. She had told herself it was better that way, easier. No attachments, no worries, that's the lie she fed herself and now she would live her life in the hell she created as Seraphina Morgenstern. Her mother had been right, it's better to love and experience loss, than to live a life alone and without love. Seraphina had forgotten what it was like to be loved and to give love, ever since her mother and Luke died she refused to let anyone in and for that she ruined herself. She once believed that is made her a better fighter, it made her stronger, but that was a lie, being alone made her weak. It felt as if the weight of the world was pressing down on her, and even though part of her wanted to go back and start her life over and live a life that would make her mother proud, there was also a huge part of her that wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and give in to the weight that pressing down on her. Seraphina breathed in a shallow breath as she closed her eyes, thinking of how much she could have loved them, she could have given them all so much love if she had only lived.

XxXxXxX

Jace was leaning over Seraphina's body, his hand held hers as he placed a soft kiss on the palm of her hand. "Please, open your eyes. Please."

Jace jumped hearing the Infirmary doors open, at first he thought it was Magnus returning but he soon found out just how wrong he was.

"Izzy, why is Clary here? What happened to her?" Max came running through the Infirmary doors, heading straight toward Seraphina's bed.

Jace dropped Seraphina's hand immediately and stood, his eyes lit with anger as they turned to see Isabelle walking after Max. "Isabelle, what the hell were you thinking?"

Isabelle waved a hand back and forth in the air as she walked to stand beside Max at Seraphina's bed side. "I was thinking that Max could help, he obviously has an attachment with her, if any of us can get through to her, why not him?"

Jace ran his hands down his face growling in frustration. "Now is not the time for this Iz. How can you be so thoughtless?"

The brunette's eyes turned almost black as she stared back at her adoptive brother, "How thoughtless am I? How thoughtless am I? Really Jace? What about you? How thoughtless are you? Here you are at her bed side, day in day out, have you ever once thought about how anyone else is feeling? Have you thought about Max, he is the one person that since the beginning has been attached to her and he is the one person that has every right to be here, so don't you dare ask me how thoughtless I am because to me I am the only one thinking of someone other than myself."

Jace's face twisted in anger as he opened his mouth to retort something back to Isabelle but said nothing when the Infirmary doors opened once again.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Magnus walked through the doors still wearing the exact same clothes he was wearing when he left. The warlock made his way to stand beside Jace, his catlike eyes moving from Isabelle down to Max.

Isabelle stood straight, her brown eyes staring back at Magnus. "Max wanted to see her and I personally think he can help her, so yes, I brought Max here. I wanted to help him and I wanted to help her." Isabelle nodded her head down towards Seraphina. "I made the decision to bring Max and let him see her. Can we just let him try?"

Magnus took a deep breath and looked over at Isabelle. "Yes, we can let Max try. I was actually coming in to tell Jace that I spoke with an associate, Ragnor Fell and he told me that the only other option he can think of is to try to connect to Seraphina on an emotional level. Try to connect to her telepathically, you could say."

Jace's turned to face Magnus. "How are we supposed to do that? I've been talking to her all day and there's been nothing, not one damn thing. So, tell me Magnus, how the hell are we supposed to connect to her?"

Magnus placed his hand on Jace's shoulder shoved him lightly. "Watch and learn son."

"Whatever," Jace muttered taking a step back allowing Magnus to pass.

"Max, you do want to help right?" Magnus eyes were bright as he looked down at Max.

Max smiled and nodded. "Yes, I want to help."

"Good, now I want you to take your hand and place it in Seraphina's can you do that?"

Max kept his hands down by his side frowning. "Don't call her that, not anymore. Her name is Clary."

"Okay then, can you place your hand in Clary's?" Magnus looked over at Max with a small smile dancing on his lips.

"That I can do." Max lifted his hand and placed it inside Clary's, squeezing it gently. "What do I do now?"

Magnus's catlike eyes were no longer looking at Max, they were now on Clary. "Now, we tell Clary how much we need her, why we need her and we keep telling her that over and over again. Tell her why she needs to come back and be with us instead of staying in the darkness." Magnus carefully picked up Clary's hand and placed it in his own. His catlike eyes glistened with tears as he leaned down and began to whisper in her ear.

Max watched Magnus closely for a few minutes before squeezing Clary's hand gently with his own and then he too leaned down and began to whisper things in Clary's ear.

XxXxXxX

Seraphina had slowly started to let herself go, the darkness and the weight of her fears were becoming too much. Her eyes felt so heavy, she was tired of fighting the darkness, tired of fighting her fears. She couldn't be the person that they needed, she wasn't strong enough. Maybe she never was. The darkness was swallowing her, taking over her mind, body and soul, and she was going to let it. No more running, no more hiding, no more fighting, it was time for her to let go. Just as the darkness was about to cover her entire being, there was something drawing her out of her slumber, something calling out to her, but what was it? Seraphina could hear it calling out to her. She could feel the sound reaching inside of her, touching her very soul. She wanted to hear more, she wanted to feel more. Struggling with the darkness she tried to free herself just enough to make out what the sound was and where it was coming from. Suddenly there was a light, it was small, but she could see it clearly, and that's when she heard it, that's when she heard them. Magnus, he was calling to her, telling her that she was his greatest accomplishment in life, that she was the one thing he did that he was proud of. He said that he was proud of her, that he loved her. Magnus loved her. Shifting her body, she strained to hear more, she craved it. That's when she heard Max. He said that she was the one person he knew would always tell him the truth, that she was his first real friend outside of his family. Max said that he missed her, he missed his best friend. Seraphina chest tightened to the point where she couldn't breathe, she tried to inhale but nothing happened, there was no air for her to breathe in. The darkness began to push down on her harder than before, she fought against it but she was too weak. There was a new voice, calling for her to come back, to come back to him. Jace? He told her that she was no longer alone, that she would never be alone again. He said that he would never leave her, he would stand with her. She would never have to run again, she would never have to fight alone. He would be there with always because now that he knew her, now that he felt her, he could never let her go. The light grew brighter and the darkness began to retreat, and as the darkness began to fade so did her fear and the weight of her past. She no longer felt angry. She no longer had this hate eating away at her soul. She felt lighter. She felt free. It was as if she was able to finally breathe for the very first time and it was unlike anything she could describe. Everything felt new, it felt right. Suddenly there was a force, she could feel the light drawing her out and she welcomed it, but before she was pulled away there was a form reaching out for her, telling her something that she needed to know, telling her something important. Her mother was whispering something in her ear. Jocelyn told her that she had to be ready, that they all had to be ready. Valentine was coming, he would be there soon and with Valentine's arrival death would surely follow.

XxXxXxX

"Magnus, Magnus. Come here, look." Jace grabbed at Magnus shirt, pulling him roughly. "She's moving, Clary's moving!"

Magnus pushed Jace out of the way but before he had a chance to do anything, Clary sat up in the bed gasping for air. "Sera-I mean Clary, are you okay?"

Clary's green eyes darted around the room frantically as she tried to control her breathing. "Mag-nus." She tried to speak but she couldn't get her breathing under control. Her eyes danced around the room stopping when her green met a set of gold. Jace. Her breathing slowed as she stared into his golden orbs. "Jace, I heard your voice. I heard you calling out to me. I heard all of you calling out to me. Thank you, thank you all." She tore her eyes from Jace to look around the room, nodding a silent thank you to everyone. "There is something else." Clary turned back to where Jace and Magnus were standing. "I got a message from the other side, a message from my mother. She said that we need to get ready, that he's coming. Valentine is coming for us and where Valentine goes, death follows."

XxXxXxX

Here is a new chapter to The Stand – I hope you enjoy it!

Please remember to review – please!