The last thing Magnus wanted to think about was the fact that his father somehow had the two people he had ever cared about most in the world. His father had used hologram-type projections to show him exactly what was going on, and Magnus couldn't exactly figure out what the worst part of it had been. There had been Alec's screams, that was certain. But the thing that really tore at Magnus's heart was the way that Lena had been trying to help him, the way that she had been so terrified and so upset for someone she had only just met. It was obvious to Magnus that she and Alec had somehow bonded before Asmodeus had begun torturing Alec, and now she was trying everything she could think of to take care of him.
Seeing the fear on his daughter's face was essentially Magnus's worse nightmare. Coupled with all of Alec's pain, it was hardly something that Magnus could take. He had thought he was going to explode, and then Asmodeus had spelled out exactly what he wanted, and Magnus knew he was going to break down sooner or later.
"I want your powers, son," he's said, an eerie smile creeping across his face. "It's as simple as that. Your immortality will stay intact, but I need your powers for, well, for personal uses." At the time, Magnus hadn't had anything to say to that. His father knew better than anyone that if Magnus's only option was to give up his powers or lose both Alec and Lena forever that it would never even be a contest.
Sure, Magnus knew that Alec would automatically protest. But at the moment, Magnus couldn't stop to think about what Alec might want to happen with his life. This entire situation wasn't just about Alec's life anymore. It was about Lena's as well, and Magnus knew that Alec would never protest over Lena's life. So Magnus knew there was only one thing he could do.
As soon as he'd told the others exactly what his father wanted in return for Alec and Lena, an argument had ensued with Isabelle and Clary on one side and Jace and Simon on the other. Magnus decided that he wasn't going to take the time to try to figure out exactly how those sides had been formed, so he simply told them he was going to the bathroom and then portaled out of the apartment. He knew it was borderline wrong, but he didn't have the time to argue over what kind of plan they needed to make. And it wasn't up to any of them to make this decision either.
Magnus knew that they should have gotten some say in their brother's life, but at the moment, he was unable to stop and take the time to allow them to work out their feelings on the matter. He had failed to show them that his father had given him an address to go to. The only thing he could think about was getting to Alec and Lena and somehow saving them both; he didn't care how he had to go about doing so. If saving them meant giving up his powers, that was exactly what he was going to do.
When Alec woke up, the first thing he became aware of was a quiet sort of crying, and it didn't take him long to realize that the crying was coming from Lena. When Alec tried to sit up and go to her, however, he was immediately forced back down by the excruciating pain he felt practically everywhere. "No, Alec," he heard Lena say as she frantically ran toward him. "Don't try to get up, you're still hurt." He could hear the tears in her voice and he knew that what had been done to him had been much worse than he could imagine.
Thankfully, Alec barely remembered most of it, having passed out from the pain just a couple of minutes into it. But he knew he'd likely still been writhing in pain while unconscious. And he knew that that was exactly what Lena had had to endure. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Alec all but gasped, apparently much weaker than he had first thought he was. He sighed in relief when Lena shook her head to tell him no.
For several moments, Alec simply remained on the floor, closing his eyes and trying his hardest to will the pain away. If it weren't for the pain he still felt, Alec would have almost allowed himself to believe that everything Asmodeus had done to him had been a dream. "Are you still in pain?" Lena asked, her voice soft with a worry that slightly surprised Alec.
At that, Alec forced himself to sit up, forced himself to move without showing any of the pain that immediately began shooting through his body. "No, Lena," he lied as smoothly as possible. "I'm absolutely fine now." Alec idly wondered whether or not Magnus had ever lied to Lena to keep her out of pain, but before he could think about it too much, the door burst open once more. As soon as it did so, Alec found Lena had jumped into his arms, automatically terrified of whoever might be on the other side.
Alec tightened his arms around her as Asmodeus strode through the door, leaving it standing wide open. On a normal day, Alec would have taken his chances and made a break for the open door, but Asmodeus seemed to understand that Alec wasn't strong enough to even make it halfway there before being intercepted. "Let's get right to business," Asmodeus said in a lazy tone that in no way matched his intentions. "I think it's the little princess's turn, don't you?" The way Lena began shaking with fear filled Alec with rage.
"No," he said, suddenly finding a much stronger voice than the one he had had just seconds earlier. "Do whatever you want to me, just do not touch her." At that, Lena began grabbing at Alec's shirt in a way that told him that she didn't want to watch him go through the torture again.
"Alec, please don't," she began, her voice as soft and pleading as her eyes were. "I don't want him to hurt you anymore." The way she wanted to protect him made Alec fleetingly think of what it might be like to get her back, what it might be like for him to become a part of the family she and Magnus had already established. Alec bitterly pushed the thought out of his mind, knowing that if Asmodeus had his way that he would never make it out alive. The best he could hope for was to get Lena back to Magnus.
As steadily as possible, Alec fought through his pain and moved to set Lena on the ground and to stand up. Before Alec could say anything else to Asmodeus, he was caught completely by surprise when Magnus burst through the door. "Don't hurt either of them," Magnus said as soon as he entered the room. "You can have exactly what you want, just let them both go." Alec thought of asking Magnus exactly what Asmodeus wanted, he even opened his mouth to begin speaking, but just as he did so, he felt his knees give way once more as a new-found darkness washed over him.
Magnus was fairly certain that nothing he'd ever experienced had ever felt as good as having his daughter back in his arms currently felt. Sure, he was a little weak from suddenly being powerless. Sure, he was a little apprehensive about what Alec might say to that little fact. Sure, he was entirely sick with worry that Alec might actually not be okay. But the one thing Magnus did know was that, no matter what happened, no matter how broken things became, he was going to be just fine as long as he had Lena.
"Who braided your hair, Lena?" he asked, reaching for a blanket so that he could wrap her up the way he used to do when she was scared. She hadn't stopped shaking since they had finally gotten home, and he knew she would likely shake all night. She looked up at him with a surprising mixture of lingering fear and adoration, and Magnus was only left to wonder how that had come about.
"Alec braided it, Papa," she said, and suddenly the adoration he saw made sense. "He was trying to help me calm down, and he asked to braid my hair. I think he might have been trying to calm himself down a bit, too," she finished, a weak smile spreading across her face.
Magnus bent over slightly to kiss the top of her head, far too consumed with worry over Alec to even begin to think about what Alec had actually done for his daughter. "I really like him, Papa," Lena continued, oblivious to what was going on inside of Magnus's head. "He took care of me just the way you would have taken care of me." At that, Magnus had to close his eyes to keep the emotions from flowing a bit too strong. "Is he going to be okay?"
For several more seconds, Magnus kept his eyes closed, trying his hardest to convince himself that Alec was going to be fine. The only problem was that he couldn't convince himself of that. Catarina had come over to help take care of Alec, but the fact that she had been with Alec for over an hour told Magnus that things were not looking good for their situation. When Magnus didn't reply right away, Lena asked another question. "If he is okay, is he going to be a part of our family?"
Magnus forced himself to take several deep breaths, knowing that his emotions were close to getting the better of him. In the end, he could only find one thing to say to his daughter. The only problem was that even he didn't know which of her questions he was answering. "I genuinely hope so, Lena."