Thanks for waiting! For those of you that just want the fight to start up, you should know that I still have to build up to it! It's getting there, I promise! And thank you to those who are always reviewing and those who like this story enough to follow and favorite it! Means a lot to me!
This had to be the worst day of Emily's life. Not only was leaving the hardest thing she ever had to do, but now, after leaving her family, praying that everyone who was captured was still alive, and dealing with the fact that she was now going to face Leviathan, she was ready to break down and cry. This wasn't going to be easy. In fact, it was probably going to be virtually impossible.
She shouldn't be thinking like that, but she couldn't help it. All the training she had done with Chase and her father should've made her more prepared, more confident, but it didn't. They were good, fast, and dangerous but nothing like she would be facing. That stupid book her father gave her had her paranoid just thinking about it. Dealing with them wasn't going to be the same as dealing with Leviathan. This was going to be hell. And she was the only one who could face it.
Chase's words kept ringing in her ear as she walked through sewer, following Chase to the meeting spot.
"Now, your eyes will pretty much be useless, so put this one," he had said as he gave her a blindfold.
"You want me to fight blind?" Emily had asked back.
"It sounds stupid, but you have to get better with your sense of smell and hearing if you're going to fight him. I've seen what he can do, and it's like fighting wind. Just trust me."
Fighting wind? That was the best analogy he could come up with, and it was practically impossible! How was she supposed to beat a breeze with a sword that could slice her in half? The thought gave her a shiver of… fear. Yeah, she was scared shitless! Screw being a Herondale. Screw being the son of the infamous Jace Herondale. Screw being brave. She was terrified, and even her mother's fearless rune wasn't doing much to help her.
Although it was burning on her shoulder blade with a fierce fire. And it itched. So bad! How did her father ever handle this before? It was like a rat was clawing at her skin ALL THE TIME! And how was she supposed to focus on fighting if all she could think about was the annoying rune that–
"Calm down," her father instructed as he fell in step beside her. How could he be so calm and relaxed? Oh, because he was Jace. Angel, the things Emily would've done to get some of the genes that her father had... "You're making it obvious."
"I can't help it," Emily hissed. All she wanted was to get this over with! The ten minute walk through the nasty smelling sewer hadn't done anything to calm her nerves, and her father's ability to read her like a book didn't boost her confidence at fooling people with what she was feeling at the moment.
Jace didn't get a chance to say anything else before a door started to come into view. Emily stomach fell as Chase stopped in front of it, put his hand against it, and pushed it open.
Here we go.
Emily stepped through, seraph blade at the ready with Jace right behind her. They probably looked ready to kill, crouched and weapons gripped in their hands. But as soon as Emily looked around, she instantly got confused. There wasn't anything there but an empty island surrounded by nasty smelling sewage water that circled around it.
"What the hell?" Chase wondered aloud. He was blocking her view and when Emily stepped up beside him, wondering what he was looking at, she froze.
It was a woman standing on a bridge that hovered over the sewage water and led to the platform island. She looked relaxed, her hands behind her back as she gazed at them. Like the three of them, she was dressed in Shadowhunter gear where a sword was strapped to her back, and the hilt stuck up behind her right shoulder. Her brown hair was pulled into a bun. It wasn't all of those features that caught Emily's eye. The fact that she had Shadowhunter gear was surprising, but it was the girl's eyes, the green that she knew so well, that made a lump form in her throat.
"Gemma," Chase whispered so low that Emily barely even heard him. He was staring at his sister like he was seeing a ghost. His body had lost the tan feature and turned to a ghostly pale. He was just as confused as Emily was to see his sister, the one that apparently used to be chained to a wall and starved to death, standing up straight and looking healthy as ever. That didn't add up. After seeing what Lilith did to his mother, his sister shouldn't be so... put together.
Chase started forward, and when Emily moved to follow him, her father grabbed her by the shoulder, holding her still. She stepped back, keeping her eyes on Chase. Even though she really wanted to be there for him, her father always had good reasons for what he did. So Emily stayed put, watching Chase walk towards Gemma, and focused hard on what they were saying.
"What are you – why? How–"
Gemma smiled, a smile that was much too similar to Chase's fake smile. Emily suddenly felt sick. "Hello brother. Don't be so confused to see me."
"I'm more shocked to see you like this." He waved his hands at her as he stopped a few feet away. "I mean, what's with the gear and the sword and…"
"Lilith offered me a way out." Gemma took a step forward, and Chase took a step back. Emily couldn't help but worry about him, about what was probably going through his head at this point. Besides, he was here for Gemma, right? Now that he found her, he could easily just leave and leave the others to Emily and Jace. "After she killed our mother at Rochester State Hospital, I couldn't handle it. Lilith gave me a way to get out that state of… broken and loneliness."
"A way out?" Chase asked. Emily kept her eyes on him as she saw him move, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. The screen lit up as his fingers danced across it.
She felt her father bend down next to her ear. "What the hell is he doing?" She shrugged in response, considering she was as lost as he was.
"Yes, a way out," Gemma answered. "I know that you don't really understand, brother, but Lilith is willing to explain it to you. All you have to do is come with me."
With that, she turned away from him and walked back towards the center of the cavern. Suddenly, as if her presence set off some kind of switch, a portal started to form, growing bigger as she approached it.
Jace grabbed Emily's hand, and the reassurance of having him there made the burn of the fearless rune die down a bit. He tugged her forward, slowly but surely, until she was finally up with Chase who was shoving his phone back in his pocket. "You okay, son?"
Chase shook his head at her father's question, and when he looked back at Emily, she saw all of the emotions in his eyes. "I don't understand."
"Well, following her is the only answer you'll get." With that, Jace kept walking towards Gemma who stood by the portal with a smug expression.
Emily and Chase didn't move. She wanted to say something, to wipe the frown off his face, but she was worried about touching him. When people were this close to breaking, even the slightest touch or the wrong word could set them off. She'd watched that happen with her mother one too many times. One wrong word when Clary was pregnant with Michael and all hell broke loose. It was like living with a ticking time bomb.
But everything about Chase told her to stay away and wait it out. From his face, to the death grip on his bow, to the way he was staring at his sister told Emily to just wait it out, to let him calm down. She couldn't blame him though. If that was Michael up there, she'd probably be on the floor unconscious. At least Chase stood his ground and dealt with the punches.
"What happened to her?" Chase asked rhetorically. He was like a statue, except for the movement of his mouth. "Emily, I don't even know who that girl is."
Oh, now she could talk. "It's like my dad said. You won't know unless you follow her."
Chase shook his head. "She's not the same. Something is seriously off about her. It's like I'm looking at my sister, but not talking to her. More like talking to Lilith. What if we're walking into a trap?"
What a question. What if they were walking into a trap? Gemma didn't say a word as to where the portal led them. From everything Chase had told her and her father about the meeting, nothing was going with what he said. Emily expected Leviathan, Lilith, and Agramon to be chilling in the sewers and they'd just fight it out. Honestly, that would've just been easier to get it over with. Why prolong the fight?
Emily's mind went back to the Institute. Seeing her family again was looking less and less likely by the second. She just pictured their faces as the three of them had left. Her mother was in tears with Isabelle holding her. Magnus had to hold Michael back by his shoulder to keep him from running after them. Kadan and Karrie were just staring right at Emily. When Karrie and Emily made eye contact, Emily mouthed the only words that she could think of.
Take care of him.
Karrie had nodded, getting the message and a rock was lifted off of Emily's chest. At least she knew that Michael would be okay, even if she didn't make it back.
But she couldn't think like that. Even if the plans were changing, winging it was something that she and Chase were both experts at. When it comes to demon hunting, going with a plan wasn't something Emily was a fan of. Nothing ever went according to a schedule, so going in and hoping for the best was always the most logical decision in her eyes. Why waste all that time planning when she could be training? It was just a smarter decision.
"We'll just have to deal with it," she finally answered.
Chase shivered. "Emily, I want you to know something before we do this." She looked sideways at him, but he didn't look back at her. "No matter what happens. No matter what I say or do. When I die, I want you to know something."
"You're not going to die," she assured and suddenly, she had his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "You'll be fine and we're going to get through this."
"I love you."
Whoa…
Emily blinked, once, twice, and a few more times before her mind actually wrapped around what he said. She stared at his emotionally filled eyes that were glancing back and forth between the two of hers, and she knew. She knew how she felt. Instantly, she knew how she felt about Conan, how she felt about Chase, how she felt about the whole situation. In that split moment, she had the epiphany of a lifetime. She didn't care about everything that was happening. She didn't care that her father and Gemma were watching. She didn't care that things were about to go to hell. All she cared about was the next ten seconds she would have with Chase.
She pulled him down to her, kissing him for what felt like the last time. He reacted instantly, pulling her into him and being careful not to step on her seraph blade that she dropped when she kissed him. His bow was on the floor as well as he pulled her into him, lifting her off the floor as he kissed her with everything he had. It was like they were both dying, like they only had so much time to be together before they were completely cut off from each other. The sad truth hit her as Chase sealed her lips with his. There was no way out of this. Odds were, one of them weren't going to make it, and the thought made Emily want to hold on even longer.
But all too soon, Chase pulled away. His forehead rested on hers, eyes closed, breathing uneven. "Emily, promise me something, okay?"
She nodded before gripping his hand. "Okay."
He sighed, looking down at his hand where she was entwining her fingers with his. "Just stay alive. I told Conan that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe, but by the looks of things, I'm just as lost as you are. I don't know what is going to happen next, and I want you to promise me that if it gets bad, you'll fight to stay alive. You'll do everything in your power to keep your heart beating. Because I don't care if I live or die, if you're not even going to be there in the end."
Emily felt her heart shatter at his words. "Chase, I cant-"
"Promise me."
"Let's go, you two," Gemma called from her spot by the portal. As if those words punched Chase in the face, his features changed from caring to serious. "You really don't want to make Lilith wait."
Just to avoid his gaze, Emily bent down and picked up the weapons, handing Chase the bow. When he finally met her eyes again, she sighed and squeezed his hand softly. "I promise."
And together, they walked towards the portal. Towards whatever was hidden behind it. Towards the demons that awaited.
"This is the address?" Bat asked as the teenagers all gaped up at the building.
Conan, Kadan, Karrie, Michael, and Bat all stood outside of the old, abandoned hospital, dressed in gear, weapons in hand, and mouths open in confusion.
This place was a mess. Weeds and grass were out of control around the sides of the many buildings. A few windows were broken along the left building and the right building was way too big to still be standing. It was only about three stories tall and looked like if Conan threw a pebble at it, the whole thing would collapse. Some bricks were missing along the walls as well, and the front doors they had to walk through were missing, opening up into a dark, terrifying looking hallway. The trees around it that probably made it look more welcoming at one point were now dead and stuck out of the ground like sticks. It was just molded and gross and revolting and... nasty as hell.
Welcome to the Rochester State Hospital. AKA: An Insane Asylum.
Wonderful.
"Lilith is one messed up woman," Kadan whistled as he stepped forward once, only to just stop and stare again.
It was like none of them really wanted to go in, and Conan could admit that he really didn't. The place wasn't exactly inviting. In fact, it was about as inviting as Jace Herondale.
Conan suddenly regretted telling the others about this. He should've just brought Bat along and called it quits. But he needed the others. He couldn't get everyone out on his own, and Michael had been bugging him about doing something to help all day. Eventually, Conan just caved but Emily would completely rip his balls off now if she knew that he got her little brother involved. Hopefully, if everything went as planned, they'd just go in, get everyone out with one trip, and head home before Lilith or Emily knew anything about it. But who was he kidding? Nothing ever went according to plan. If he learned anything from his relationship from Emily, it was that planning was pointless, even when he tried it.
But he couldn't stop his mind from traveling to the missing people as they slowly walked towards the front door. What would his parents look like? How badly would they be hurt? And what if Lilith had separated them from the others? How hard would it be to actually find everyone? And if they are all separated, that would make things way more difficult. Especially since everyone was here for their own selfish reasons in a way:
Conan was here for his parents. That much was obvious.
Michael wanted his grandparents back.
Karrie and Kadan were here for Alec.
Bat was here for their pack leader, Luke.
But what of the others? What about Chase's sister? What about Simon and Rebecca?
"This place smells ratchet," Karrie murmured when they finally walked through the front door and into the nasty, repulsive building. There were hallways to the left and to the right, and when Karrie took off to the right, everyone else just followed.
There was no point in arguing, considering that it was as good of a guess as any.
But it was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. Like wandering through a maze until the end of the road. Like looking for a set of keys that suddenly disappeared. Like Clary trying to find Michael after he ruined one of her paintings.
And after about ten minutes with no results, Conan was getting royally pissed off.
Where the hell could his parents be? All he wanted was to find them. There were only so many places that Lilith could've hid them in this damn hospital, and the place was creeping him out. Not to mention the fact that Karrie was clinging to Michael like she was in a haunted house now after seeing some scary, blood covered doll on the floor. Why did he even invite the girl to this exactly?
These hallways were too abnormal for Conan's taste. Just walking through it was making the bumps rise on his skin. There was blood on some walls in the forms of hand prints and smears. Empty carts and beds lined the halls, the sheets rumpled and some torn while hanging off the edge. There were doors left and right. Some were broken, while others were just gone. One even looked like someone put a fist through it. It also reeked. He couldn't place the smell, but it was like a mix between sewage water, rotten eggs, demons, and paint. He didn't even know if that was even the right description either.
"This place is going to be giving me nightmares," Kadan said as he poked in head into another room, only to find that it was empty as well. He had a blade gripped in his hand as he banged it against the door frame. "This could take hours. There is no way that we're going to find them in this massive place. You sure Chase didn't give you any other information?"
"No," Conan said for the third time. He stumbled when he tripped over a bloody, beaten doll on the floor and kicked it to the side.
"Can't you tell him to get some better information?"
"I really doubt he's in the position to ask questions," Bat said. "Honestly, the fighting probably started already and someone is more than likely dead at this point. That is exactly why we don't have a lot of time to find Luke, Jordan, and Maia and get out of here."
That hit Conan pretty hard and he stopped in his tracks. Luckily, he was far enough ahead that everyone just moved around him but he couldn't seem to get his legs to move.
It wasn't that Bat was only thinking about the werewolves, which Conan totally understood. He was more worried about those three than Jocelyn or Rebecca or Alec, but he still cared enough to want to help. But that was the least of his worries at this point.
Some is more than likely dead at this point. Those words were now stuck in his head, going in circles over and over again. What if it was Emily? What if she was the one who was already… dead? He wouldn't even know! He couldn't know.
"Guys…" Conan looked up to see Kadan farther up, away form the group, staring into a room with wide eyes. "I found them."
Conan was there faster than the Flash. He pushed Kadan out of the way none too kindly, and stepped into the room. It was bigger than the others, but that wasn't the main difference. Instead of being empty, it was full of people.
Beds lined the walls, sticking out towards the center on one wall. Some were empty, while others were full. Nobody made a move to enter more than Conan already did. He could only imagine the faces of the kids and Bat, but if he had to guess, it was much like his. A shocked expression, wide eyes, open mouth, a tear falling down on side of his face as his hands balled into fists that wished to connect with Lilith's face.
His eyes immediately went to the closest bed. The first one was Luke, eyes closed and looking like he was asleep. Conan hoped that he was just asleep at least. Next to him, on the other bed, were his parents, Jordan and Maia. By them was Alec. But that was it. They were all chained to the beds by their hands and feet, connecting to the metal posts and making them immovable. Their bodies were covered with white sheets, although blood was visible on most of them. And just from the look on their faces and the color of their skin, Conan could tell that they were lacking food and water, practically starving.
A hand descended on his arm, and he pulled his eyes away from the horror scene to find Karrie. "Conan, look."
He followed her hand and froze. Simon wasn't attached to the bed, but to the wall. His feet were on the floor at least, but through his lower abdomen was a sword. Two swords. His bare chest was exposed and if he didn't have metal sticking out of him, he would've looked fine. His head was just down, the hair falling in his eyes and covering the mark that Clary had put on him all those years ago. Conan thought for a split second that he was dead, and he couldn't help but wonder how the hell he got stuck there in the first place. Didn't people die if they tried to harm him?
As if Simon knew they were looking, he lifted his head, and Conan caught his eyes for a split second before rushing to him. The thirst was visible in every line of Simon's face from Lilith starving him of blood, and he kept them closed as Conan approached.
"What are – you doing here?" Simon asked. His voice was pretty steady, considering his situation, and he looked towards the doorway where the other four stood, staring with wide eyes.
"We came to get you out of here," Conan explained. "How–"
"I did it," Simon answered. He looked down at the two swords, raising his hand to grip the handle and he winced. "Lilith made me."
"Did she threaten Rebecca?" Karrie asked. Unlike everyone else, she seemed to regain her consciousness first and was at Simon's side instantly, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
Simon nodded, pinching his eyes shut in pain. Whether it was from the sword or the thought of Rebecca, he didn't know. "It's funny, I can kind of kill myself in a way. Lilith did some strange ritual to where the Mark won't kill me if I harm myself because it's meant to protect me. I don't really get it, but she sure as hell used it to her advantage. She had me chain myself to the bed, and then to the wall a few days ago." Conan's eyes widened. Days? "She killed Rebecca after she made me stab myself to the wall. The second sword was to keep Jocelyn alive."
Jocelyn. Conan looked around at the name, searching for her, but Jocelyn was nowhere to be found. "Where is she?"
"They took her. I don't know where or why."
"Well, let's get you all out of here," Bat announced as he jumped into rescue mode and suddenly, everyone was rushing around the room. Bat had his sword out, cutting through the chains unsuccessfully as Kadan and Michael started searching the room. Probably looking for food or water.
"They're not going to wake up," Simon said. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Conan heard Karrie's breathing catch. "Lilith gave the werewolves some kind of potion. It keeps them asleep."
Conan looked back, and his eyes fell on the dark haired boy on the bed. "What about Alec?"
Nothing. Simon didn't answer. It was silent as Kadan walked towards his "father", pushed the hair out of his face, and cupped his cheek. "Dad? Dad, wake up."
"He won't," Simon finally said. Kadan looked up, a tear falling down his cheek and the anger stirred in Conan's chest again. Karrie collapsed at Simon's words, and Michael was by her side in an instant, pulling her into him against the wall and blocking her view. "It was Agramon."
Kadan looked back down at Alec. "What did he do?"
"Anything he could to torture him. Agramon used every technique possible to make Alec lose his mind. Only Magnus can help him at this point."
"Why?" Kadan's voice cracked.
Simon shrugged, and instantly hissed when he realized how stupid of an idea that was.
Everyone was quiet for a second, until they heard what sounded like a door closing in the hallway. Conan pulled his sword out with one hand and his gun out with the other. He didn't care what Chase said. This was an abandoned hospital. And rabid dogs were easier to kill with a gun than with a sword.
"It's him," Simon whispered. His eyes were on the door that they all had just walked through, and he was even paler than before. That was saying something considering he hadn't had blood in so long.
"If you say Agramon, we're screwed," Bat said with defeat.
"Not Agramon," Simon assured. "He's going to be dealing with Jace. Leviathan was supposed to come today."
"Leviathan?" Conan straightened up, looking back at Simon with confusion. "I thought that he was going to be fighting Emily?"
Simon pinched his brows together, shaking his head slowly. "You don't know, do you?" He glanced around at the group of very confused and conflicted teenagers, and Conan watched Simon physically deflate as he threw his head back, eyes shut. "Chase is going to be dealing with Emily."
"What?" Bat exclaimed.
"Why?" Karrie asked.
"He wouldn't," Conan added. They heard another noise, like a window breaking, but it was quiet and gave Conan a small since of relief. At least Leviathan wasn't around. "He loves her."
"He might," Simon said. "But once he touches Gemma, he'll lose all sense of that. Lilith's pretty much up to her old tricks, just like she did all those years ago."
"Spit it out bloodsucker." Bat stepped up to Simon after three long strides, until they were face to face. Leave it to Bat to try to be intimidating. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Lilith's mark."
That was all Conan needed to hear. He knew the story of Lilith's mark. Jace had experienced it, dealing with Jonathan all those years ago. It was placed right over the heart, making it stronger and more powerful. The mark would give Lilith full control over him, and Conan couldn't bare the idea of what would happen with that. Emily wouldn't be able to kill him if she had to, and Jace would be dealing with Agramon and wouldn't be able to help.
Emily was practically walking to her death…
"He's already been marked," Simon explained. "But it wasn't activated, you could say. When he touches Gemma, it'll be like a power button, turning on the mark that she placed on his chest days ago."
"And what of Gemma exactly?"
Simon looked at Conan with sad eyes. "She's already marked. She accepted it after witnessing the death of her mother."
That was it. It would be Gemma, Lilith, and Chase against Emily. Jace would be too preoccupied, and Conan knew that Emily didn't have the heart to kill Chase, no matter how strong she thought she was. It was different now, way different, and there wasn't a fucking thing Conan could do about it.
Or maybe he could.
He pulled out his phone without a word and searched for Chase's name. After finding it, he started to text it when someone spoke. It wasn't anyone that he brought with him. It wasn't anyone on the beds. And it wasn't a voice he was familiar with.
"Put it down werewolf. Let's have a talk."
Conan slowly lifted his head from his phone to the doorway. The man standing before them was tall, about Jace's age, with white blonde hair that fell into his eyes. Like everyone else, he was dressed in gear and looked dangerous, but Conan couldn't tell who he was. Nothing about him really stood out, and he looked like a Shadowhunter. But the sword in his hand made Conan extremely uncomfortable and the look in his eyes made him shift on his feet, tightening his grip on the sword.
"Who the hell are you?" Conan asked, stepping in between Simon and the man.
Simon grunted, like he was trying to move, but when he failed, he said one thing that made Conan's heart sink. It wasn't possible!
"It's Jonathan. The real Jonathan."
That's when Clary's older brother, who was supposed to be dead, smiled. "And if you don't mind, I need to have a talk with the Daylighter."
REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Poor Simon. He's so tired and beat up that he doesn't even have the energy to be scared or sad. This is definitely going to be a struggle... As for Emily and company, who knows where the portal leads to? We'll find out soon enough.