This chapter was a bitch to edit. It needed to be reworked so badly. And yes, I'm not gonna lie. This chapter title was inspired by the Mean Girls soundtrack. Don't judge me, it's fantastic. But here we go! We're getting closer to the end, guys. Can you feel it?


Jace had traveled through the sewers more than anyone before him but never before had he felt so much as if he were surrounded by ghosts. Isabelle was at his side, not so subtly glancing at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Although she wasn't necessarily looking at him, but at how quickly the disease was spreading. In the hours that had passed since they had said left Will and Tessa, Jace had begun to feel the beginning of the bite's effect. Isabelle had said it would come in waves, so much that it would act as torture within itself. One minute Max would be throwing up, the next he was right back to his energetic ten year old self, giving the illusion that he had gotten better.

But he hadn't and neither would Jace.

So far, it hadn't been overt. Clamminess, headaches, dizziness. In some ways, he could pretend he just had a cold while traversing through the grimy tunnels. But then, he would feel a hand in his own and see Clary smirking up at him and remember how screwed he was. Hallucinations had begun, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy them. Not when they let him have the illusion that Clary was still beside him.

"Jace, I'm worried about you," Isabelle's voice was soft beside him.

"Really? And here I was thinking I was the picture of health," he responded dryly. "At least you won't have to worry for much longer."

She rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that Jace couldn't hear, but he had no doubt it would have had her shoveling fistfuls of money into a swear jar.

"I heard you guys you know." Jace felt his skin prickle under Isabelle's meaningful stare. "I know that you two had finally begun to work things out. Even though I hated both of you and thought about going in there and ripping you apart myself for keeping me awake, I was happy for you. And then…this—"

She worried her lip before settling a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she continued. Jace hadn't seen Isabelle look so soft since before Max's death. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, to both of you, but you're going to need to start being more honest with me. You can talk to me, about both Clary and the bite."

He was about to respond before the sewer water near them began to ripple. Something was moving, splashing. The two looked to each other with pursed lips. Finally, Jace nodded and made a move for the weapons bag. He could now feel the vibrations in the concrete beneath him.

Within minutes, the two were locked in a battle with a band of lame brains. Though Jace's body ached and the burning had returned, he realized that he needed the fight. He wasted no time in cutting down one, and then another, and then stealing Isabelle's kill because he wanted that one too. This fight was different.

"Does it seem like there are more than usual?" Isabelle called out to him whilst in the midst of slicing a lame brain's head off with a sword she had taken a liking to.

This was true. While the numbers against them weren't that of a herd, they were many. At least ten, maybe fifteen. But that wasn't what made this fight different for Jace. He could care less about the number. His ears were ringing, screaming. Electricity thrummed within his veins.

He thrust outwards, piercing a nearby lame brain with his own blade. They couldn't use guns in the tunnel for the risk of the sound bringing greater numbers, but for once he was grateful. He needed to feel their deaths. Especially when they were groaning so loudly. Especially when he was beginning to understand them.

What used to be just a sound was now a specific call: Hungry, one was moaning. Thirsty, cried another. Stop fighting.

But that one didn't come from any of the zombies in front of him. It came from himself. And that terrified him. Luckily, Isabelle had been turned around dealing with her own battle, but it didn't change anything. His time was running out.

And so, he fought more determined than ever before. On the inside, he convinced himself it was for Clary. He was a valiant knight tearing down any obstacle between him and the princess trapped away in a tower (not that he would ever use that metaphor around her). But it was more than that. He fought and he killed with more force than ever before because he was afraid and angry and he wanted all those around him to suffer as if it would stop the inevitable. The more he proved he was against the zombies, the further he would be from becoming one.

If only it worked out that way.

The blade in his grip felt heavier and his footwork was clumsy. Blood pounded in his ears, soon joined by a heartbeat. It came from Isabelle's direction. He was suddenly thirsty for a hunger he had never known, but that he craved more than anything. And then, he was slipping. Everything was dark.

Jace wasn't sure where he was, but he remembered when he made the hardest decision of his life. For weeks he would wake up, make only half of the bed, go to his designated work post, and go through the motions until he could return to his quarters. There, he would sit in the chair next to the bed and stare at the spot she had once slept next to him. And each day, he would ask himself the same question: Do I do it?

It was only once he returned to his—but what was supposed to be their—quarters that he could allow his composure to slip. On the outside, he knew his uncle's underlings were watching him closely to see any sign of malevolence. After what happened, this was inevitable. What Jace didn't know is how involved his uncle was in the destruction of all he held dear. Was it possible that Valentine was oblivious to the actions of those that may be underneath him? Could his uncle—the only family he had left—truly be so far gone as to hurt his own family?

While they watched Jace, he watched them in turn. And then, once he returned to the sanctuary of his room, he would plot. Kaelie had disappeared. Others could pretend she had never existed, but he couldn't. Not when he was reminded of her absence each time he returned to see a bed she had yet to return to. But the question remained: could he do it? Even if Valentine could betray his nephew, was Jace capable of going against his uncle? The only reason he had survived the apocalypse thus far?

Weeks turned into months of Jace putting on a show. It was only when he could come back to his room and return to stare at the spot where she had once slept that he knew he was still himself. Jace wasn't the only one pretending. Valentine had taken to assigning Jace jobs where he could keep a personal eye on him. Every so often, Jace would catch the secret glances of his uncle and see a certain glint in his eye that chilled Jace to his core. It was cold, calculating. As if trying to determine what kind of threat Jace may have posed. And suddenly, he realized how naive he had been to hope that Valentine hadn't been the one behind Kaelie's disappearance all along. After he had convinced her in the weeks beforehand to work on a 'very important' project that Kaelie couldn't tell him about. And as the weeks had worn on where Kaelie continued growing more distant, Jace had tried to pull her away from his grasp. It seemed now that he had had reason to worry. He was just too late. So, Jace decided, this time he wouldn't be.

Despite the act he had been playing, he was still alive. And he was angry.

After three months, it was time. Jace stood outside Valentine's office, the picture of the dutiful son Valentine wanted him to be. But, Jace reminded himself, he wasn't Valentine's son. His father was a man who believed and hoped for a better world. That was the man he would always be the son of. In moments of doubt, he would remember his father and remind himself that it was his job to carry on a legacy his father would be proud of.

"Jace, I didn't expect to see you here." As he had practiced, Jace masked his emotions and turned to his uncle.

"I heard that you were going on a reconnaissance trip for a few days. What kind of nephew would I be if I didn't come to say goodbye?"

In reality, he had thought Valentine had already left and was struggling to contain the panic that had arisen inside. Valentine, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice Jace's internal anxiety. He smiled and it struck Jace how normal the man looked. It was as if nothing had changed between them, though he knew everything had.

"I'm proud of you Jace," he said and his eyes were kind, though his heart was not. Jace knew this. There was a side of his bed that hadn't been slept in for months that proved this. "You had me worried for a moment, but you've proven over the last few months that you deserve to be my right hand."

For a moment, Jace almost regretted what he was about to do. Until Valentine continued, setting every nerve in Jace's body on fire.

"Kaelie would be proud of you."

And it was then, as Valentine walked away, Jace knew there was no turning back.

He slipped inside Valentine's lab, bracing himself with fantastical images of the horror he may discover. Still, nothing could have prepared him for what lay on the other side of the door.

"Kaelie," he breathed, though he knew that whatever was before him was no longer the girl he had grown up with. Chained to the wall, at the sight of Jace she struggled against her restraints. But he didn't rush to her as he imagined he would. On the outside, Kaelie looked like a girl, albeit a girl who hadn't showered in three months. But when she grinned at him, blood stained her teeth and dribbled down her chin, down her shirt. Everywhere.

"What's the matter, Jace? Do you not think I'm pretty anymore?" There was no love or compassion in her voice. As if she were addressing a complete stranger. His eyes followed the trail of fresh crimson dripping down her form to the bodies scattered along the floor. Some freshly killed, others rotting at her feet. She grinned widely at the recognition of her handiwork. Her teeth were stained with blood, showing no white.

"Valentine likes me to kill. When he gets angry, he feeds them to me." She licked the blood off her lips and threw her head back, moaning at the taste. Jace cringed but forced himself to look away from the shell of the girl he had once loved. His suspicions of what Valentine was doing had been confirmed. It was now that he could see the outlines of bite marks that covered each expanse of skin. Yet, she hadn't turned. She was a monster, but she wasn't a zombie.

It was here that Valentine would continue to change people, to continue to destroy them in the twisted belief that he was actually saving them. He had come down for answers, but the reality of what was being done weighed down upon him. He was Siddhartha, the blind prince seeing the horrible reality of the world in which he had been kept sheltered from. And now, he had to give it all up. His backpack suddenly felt much heavier.

He worked quickly, ignoring Kaelie's thrashing and cruel commentary. The closer he got to finishing what he was about to do, the more Kaelie screamed, and the less time he had before someone would realize his absence. From within his backpack and the supplies he found in Valentine's lab, he had constructed a bomb that would take out the entire lab and all of Valentine's work. At the last second, he chose to stuff the notebooks that contained all of Valentine's research in his bag. He couldn't take the chance that they would survive the fire and the cycle would just keep on going.

"They'll never stop chasing you, you know?" Kaelie cackled, looking positively gleeful at the idea of his eternal suffering at the hands of his uncle. "If you do this, it won't just be the zombies that want to kill you. It'll be the humans too. You're damning yourself to a lifetime of isolation, little prince. You might as well just let me kill you now. I promise I could make it hurt."

Momentarily distracted by Kaelie's glee, he hadn't noticed the arrival of a new figure until it was too late to hide or feign innocence. He heard the man shout at the same time reached for his gun. The man on the other side of the barrel was instantly familiar. Henry. An old family friend. And the scientist behind Valentine's lab. His eyes widened in both horror and confusion at the sight of Jace, but he couldn't relinquish the gun. His mind was rushing, his hands were sweating, and Kaelie was screeching.

"You're going to have to kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllll hiiiiiiiiiiiiim," she hissed with a toothy, Cheshire cat grin. "If you let him live, then Valentine will just keep making more of meeee."

Though Kaelie was a psychopath with the body of a girl and the bloodthirst of a zombie, he knew she was right. Everything he was doing would be useless if Henry lived. Valentine would be slowed down, but not stopped. Henry was whimpering, pleading, calling upon Jace to think of all they had known each other through. His and Charlotte's wedding, the birth of their newborn baby…

But he couldn't hear him. He could only hear the pounding of his own heart. You've never killed before, it thumped. Can you become a murderer in order to stop one?

It was a moral dilemma. The costs of his actions were not insignificant. He would be alone, he would be a murderer, he could never stop running. But it all had to be worth it. Valentine wouldn't stop unless Jace took the blow. He wanted to avenge his wife, Jace's aunt, and keep others from dying, even if it meant stripping them of what made them human in the first place.

It was the cost of survival. And, Jace knew, it was up to him to choose humanity's survival over the survival of their species. And over himself.

And, somewhere, some part of his mind knew that all of this was in his head. The choice had already been made, and he knew what he had done. He could still hear the bang of the gun in his hand and feel the heat from the flames that had consumed the lab. It was all over and had been for over a year.

But another part of him knew that after all this time, he was going back. He was returning to the place he had sworn to himself he would never return.

"Jace," he could hear Isabelle's voice hovering over him. A light was beginning to flood his eyelids. His body felt heavier than ever before as he crawled back to consciousness. Once Isabelle saw he was awake, and alive, she hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, sorry for causing her to worry and even sorrier for all he was putting her through. Fresh air filled his lungs and he realized that they were no longer in the sewers, but outside.

"Isabelle—"

"You're getting worse, Jace," she interrupted him, before biting her lip. Whatever she was about to say, she didn't know how he would react. "But we're here. We're outside the Institute."

And, Jace knew that while he had escaped from the community before, once he returned he would never come back out alive.


Despite the heaviness in Alec's heart after leaving Clary and breaking his promise, he broke into a run the moment he spotted Magnus. The other man turned from his position in the jail cell just in time to catch Alec leaping into his arms and kissing him like the fate of the world depended on it. And at that moment, it felt like it did. His hands made their way to cup his boyfriend's cheeks. He felt wet streaks steadily flowing down his face. Tears. And he knew, he was crying too. It had been so long since they had seen each other. Alec had sacrificed so much to be able to find himself in Magnus's arms once more. But they were together now. They could escape and reclaim their lives. It all just depended on one night. Alec broke away from the kiss, though it pained him to do so. From the expression on Magnus's face, he felt the same.

"I'm sorry, but we can't waste time."

"I wouldn't exactly describe that as wasting time, Alexander," Magnus spoke with a casual smirk. "I think that is a fairly good use of time. In fact, I could show you other things that aren't wastes of time."

Alec swallowed, his face bursting to a deep red. Magnus did not let this fact escape him and was about to go in for one more kiss before Alec stopped him.

"I'm serious, Magnus. We don't have much time if we want to escape."

Alec had found over the course of their relationship that it was difficult to surprise Magnus. Yet, his eyes widened and he looked at Alec warily, as if afraid it was all just a fantasy he would soon awake from.

"Escape?"

Alec nodded and for the second time in the last few minutes, he felt tears well up. Throughout all of the pain Alec had endured in order to protect Magnus, including leaving his siblings, he knew Magnus had fared much worse. The open wounds lining his face and arms were evidence of that.

"There's a girl here—Clary. Valentine took her for some kind of revenge, but she has people who will be coming for her. My siblings and…Jace."

For the second time, Magnus was surprised. Everyone in the camp knew of Jace, the one who had betrayed Valentine and escaped. Alec had only known Jace for a brief time, after Alec had just been captured and was being tortured. He would later discover Jace had been going through a torture of his own, conflicted over whether to betray his uncle. After each torture session, Jace would sneak in and the two would talk. He guessed afterward that Jace had been using Alec to try and make up his mind. Two weeks later, Jace was gone and suddenly everything grew worse. While Alec knew Magnus's personal history with Jace was anything but friendly, they both knew that if anyone could help them take down Valentine, it would be the only one who had done it before.

"Alexander, there's something you should know. Something about what Valentine has been forcing me to do," Magnus said slowly, hesitantly. He looked down, as if ashamed. "Clary isn't here for revenge. She's here because Valentine wants to restart his experiments."

Alec shook his head. "But Jace destroyed his lab. He stole all of his research."

"It doesn't matter. Valentine found a group who managed to steal his research back from Jace and delivered them to Valentine in exchange for admission to the community…he's made me help him. All he needed to do was find a test subject. Why else do you think Valentine would risk letting you come find me?"

Alec felt as if he were falling, though he hadn't moved from the safety of Magnus's embrace. He knew what this meant. Though Alec had told Clary—no, he had promised her—that she would be safe, she was anything but. Alec looked at Magnus and felt a pang run through his heart. How many promises had he broken in his pursuit to reunite? His promise to his family, his promise to Clary. It seemed that though everything he did was to protect those he cared for, he continually failed. His only comfort was the knowledge that Isabelle and Max were safe, far away from this place. With them away, he could begin to work on a new beginning, a plan for redemption. One that started with keeping his promise to Clary.

"Magnus, are the solar panels still powering the security cameras?"

His boyfriend nodded and their eyes locked. He knew the guilt that plagued him, the choices he couldn't escape from. It was clear what Alec's intentions were. Magnus didn't press him and instead led him to the security room at the end of the hall. Screens lined the walls, showing the events of the Institute.

Magnus immediately sucked in a breath. "A herd is coming right for us," he whispered. But Alec wasn't looking at the herd. His focus was on a flash of black hair that mirrored his own. Isabelle. His heart thudded, whether from love or terror, he couldn't be sure. She was with Jace, prowling the halls of the Institute. They were here. They were really here.

But in the wake of his terror and excitement, Alec narrowed his eyes. Something felt wrong. So egregiously wrong that he didn't want to think of it, wanted to look away and pretend nothing was there. But he couldn't. He had known Jace would come but hadn't been sure of his siblings. Yet in every possibility he had run through, none existed where Isabelle would have left Max behind.

And then, Alec was forced to confront the secret Clary had chosen to keep from him. It had been after he asked for her help to free Magnus so he could return to Izzy and Max. He remembered her face fell. She had looked at him pityingly.

"Alec, there's something you should know."

And in that moment, he knew to brace himself for the worst. He knew that if she was about to tell him what he feared, it would be all over. He would be done. Maybe that's why she kept it from him.

But now there was no denying the truth. The only reason Isabelle would have come without Max was if…

He was so young. Too young. And they had spoiled him, sheltered him from the new reality. But there was a reason kids in the apocalypse were so rare.

Alec felt like he couldn't breathe. Max was so young. So young. And Alec had thought he would be okay. That Isabelle would take care of him. That it would all be worth it when he could see him again. But he wasn't even able to say goodbye. And if he had been there, he could have saved his brother.

And it was then that Alec knew Valentine had known all along. His men had been watching Clary's group, reporting back to Valentine, for weeks. Alec had asked him about his siblings and the man had smiled, patted his back, and assured him all was well. Like Clary, Valentine had his own reasons for hiding the truth from him. Clary hadn't wanted him to fall apart and endanger their escape. Valentine hadn't wanted another Jace.

But he was about to get one. His grief had been channeled into a blazing fury and it was now he knew his plan for redemption had changed. He would repent for what he had done not by simply helping others escape The Institute, but by destroying the very thing that had kept him from his siblings in the first place. By the night's end, he would ensure there was no Institute left standing.

Alec's attention immediately fell upon the cameras showing the perimeter of the building. Magnus had been right about a herd bigger than they had ever seen closing in on them. A storm was coming, they knew, and they would be the ones to let in the rain. But, despite their connection, Magnus didn't know the dangerous thoughts that had settled within the blue eyed boy's mind.

"Do you remember me telling you how Clary, Jace, and my siblings escaped the mall?" His voice was quiet, almost in a daze. Magnus nodded, though his attention was not on Alec, but on a screen.

"How can I forget when that's all anyone in this place ever seems to talk about," Magnus sighed with a dramatic air. "If only Chairman Meow were still alive. He was far better conversation than any of these oafs. And he never locked me up and forced me to experiment on humans. Sometimes it's the little things. "

Alec carried on, too swept up in his thumping heartbeat to respond. "What if we were to multiply that to an extreme amount? Enough to make sure all of this is destroyed."

Alec had expected an enthusiastic response and a promise to be by his side in helping to accomplish such a feat. But Magnus was quiet. It was a while before Magnus finally looked up at Alec.

"There are innocent people here, Alexander. Children. How would you feel if it were Max someone wanted to unleash a herd on?"

"Well, I don't have to worry about that anymore because Max is dead!" His voice broke into a choke. "My brother is dead. I wasn't there to stop it. I wasn't there for him and now I will never get to say goodbye. This is on Valentine. He has to pay. He can't just…"

Magnus was there for him within a moment, gathering him in his arms and holding him as sobs racked through his body. He would have to live with the guilt of the choices he had made for the rest of his life.

"I'm sorry," Magnus breathed into his hair. "I'm so sorry, but this isn't right. We can get revenge on Valentine, but we can't become him in the process."

"I know," Alec whispered, his chest aching. "I just need to do something."

Magnus lifted his head and with a curse, muttered, "We may not have much time."

"What are you talking ab—"

And then he saw it too. Reflected on the screen was Clary, alone, defenseless against a herd of zombies streaming into a room with no exits. He sucked in a breath, shaking his head in disbelief.

"But the herd isn't here yet. There's no way…" he trailed off, the reality quickly becoming clear to him. "Valentine. He's doing this."

Magnus nodded, but his attention was on a different screen altogether. "That's not all. It seems we've got company."

Isabelle and Jace were prowling through the halls, but unbeknownst to them, members of Valentine's group were coming towards them on either side.

Alec and Magnus looked to one another and both of them knew that at that moment, they didn't know what would happen by the end of the night, but whatever it was, it would be big.

"It seems this is our swan song," Magnus said, with a hint of sadness as well as hope.

"I don't know if I'm ready," Alec said, his eyes not straying from the form of his sister. The only family he had left. "What if she hates me? What if she can't forgive me, after all I've done?"

Magnus sighed, intertwining his fingers with Alec's. "We can spend our entire lives asking what if, but our questions and fears don't change anything. Our actions do. The best way to ask for your sister's forgiveness is by being there for her now, and making sure we all come out of this alive."

Alec paused, finally looking away from the screen into Magnus's eyes. They were full of love and trust but also fear. Magnus wasn't a fighter, but instead, the one on the sidelines who couldn't be bothered with the business of others.

"You really want to fight?"

Magnus shook his head. "No, but I will go anywhere for you Alexander. I've never been the type to stupidly rush into a battle, however, I would be honored to fight by your side."

Alec didn't attempt hiding the dumb grin on his face. He was in love and he would never be as in love as he was right then, with the man before him. Even if he died, he would die loving Magnus and he couldn't imagine a better way to go.

"Then I guess we better figure out a plan," Alec breathed. He straightened himself, trying to be the leader he was always supposed to be. "Where's Valentine in all of this?"

"That's where it seems we have a problem."

"What?"

He could see it now. Jace and Isabelle were heading towards Clary. And where Clary was, Valentine was waiting. If there was anything Alec was absolutely sure of, it was that Valentine knew Jace and Isabelle were there. He had been counting on it. They had never stood a chance.

"What do we do?"

Blood pounded in Alec's ears. His heart raced. There wasn't much time. If they were going to do anything, it would have to be now.

"I think I have an idea," Alec muttered, his gaze flitting back to the screen showing Jace, Isabelle, Clary, and Valentine nearly on top of each other. "I just hope we all survive the night."


Alternate titles for this chapter were: Jace is Dying and Alec is Crying, The Growingly Intense Filler Before The Big Finale, and Not The Reunion You Guys Were Looking For But Still Cute.

So it's come to my attention that very soon after I made a note criticizing the show Shadowhunters on this story, it got canceled. So I'm gonna take that as confirmation that I have power beyond my control and you guys should be sure to review because the next two chapters are the big ones. They are also the last chapters. And unlike this chapter, those are all ready to post so when it happens depends on you. (And my limited self control). 12 reviews for an immediate update. Let's finish this story strong!

Also, the real reunion is up next. Get pumped.

Thank you for reading, reviewing, and supporting this story in any way. This is for you!

-Anika