Lacie: Woahhh, hi guys! *swivels in office chair*
Chris: When did we get office chairs?
Lacie: They were donated by my imagination when I said this was a studio
Clary: Oooohh! We need to have a chair joust! Someone can push on your chair, and someone can push on mine!
Lacie: I love it!
Chris: Who's going to push on your chairs? There's only one of me.
*suddenly, a knock on the studio door*
Clary: Visitors!
Chris: NO! *barricades door with his chair*
Lacie: MOVE *shoves him away because she can*
Lacie: *opens door* OMG
Max: Hi! I'm here because someone wished me alive
Clary: MAX! *hugs and cries*
Chris: HE WANTS TO HAUNT ME
Max: *gives Chris an evil look* I'm not going to get revenge because Lacie said that in her story I'm not dead, therefore I can't get my revenge on you
Chris: You did what now
Lacie: Details, details, the point is, in this place, everything is possible
Clary: We still don't have enough people for a joust! Max, you can sit with me
Max: YAY!
Magnus: Mind if I intrude?
Lacie: MAGNUS!
Chairman Meow: MEOW
Chris: Why is this furball here
Max: Kitty!
Lacie: Now we can have a joust! Magnus, you come here, and we gon' beat their asses. *Chairman meow hops onto Lacie's lap*
Clary: Oh that is not going to happen, *max sits himself next to Clary* Chris, make this good!
Chris: I don't get paid enough to do this
Lacie: You're not getting paid at all! :D Ladies and gentleman, while you read this chapter, we shall have a joust! And more characters shall come in the end! I don't own TMI, I do own rune Clary and Chris, blah, blah, now JOUST
Enjoy!
Clary POV
Clary felt exposed.
Steam filled the air around her, making the area seem not quite as open as it was. She was in a public hot springs in Tokyo, Japan, wearing only a white towel.
The springs was empty, no customers in sight. Though that was because the hot springs were closed. She and Chris were in a not very populated area, concealed in glamours, they had made sure that the owners had long ago left before actually intruding upon the place. Conveniently, their house was only about two blocks away from the hot springs; when Clary had exited through the front door, looking back, all she saw was the front of a window shop with relics and pottery displayed neatly amongst fine silk. The door she had just left from was not the one from the house, but a door painted red, Japanese Kanji painted on the square window in the middle of the door. Peaking inside, she saw aisles full of pretty vases and decorations. Their house had landed in the middle of an antique shop, she guessed, but how the house and the shop could exist in the same place was confusing to her. Chris said it was probably how the spot used to be hallowed ground and an old shrine was probably there and that's why the house was drawn to it. Her mind still couldn't capture that two things were there at once, and she was kind of scared. What if when they opened the door they couldn't get back in? What if they were stuck living in an antique shop?
After their experience with the Ouija board, Clary was kind of shaken. So when Chris had absently said that there was a bath house nearby, she practically jumped at the idea of soaking in the warm, relaxing waters. Being the anime and manga freak that she was, she always wanted to take a nice bath in a hot springs.
Chris was stubborn at first. Upon seeing the message on the Ouija board, he absolutely did not want to encounter anyone that could give away their location. So they waited until it grew dark and late until going out into the real world. They didn't see much of actual Tokyo, though she could see the lights and noises coming from the city.
Now though, she couldn't imagine she was anywhere near a town. She had entered the hot springs sectioned off for girls, and it was large. The springs were roughly the size of a pool, though it was circular and lined with stones where you could sit on and soak your feet in. Benches lined the outside so that people could lie down and relax, along with towels to dry yourself off. It was a cold night in Japan, though in here you never would be able to tell. The heat radiated off of the water in snaking tendrils, almost beckoning you to the pool of hot water like puppies wanting you to play.
"One hour," Chris had told her before they left the house, "We have one hour before we go back."
"We?" Clary asked, "You want to sit in the hot springs too?"
"What, you're the only one allowed to relax? Of course I'm coming too."
Clary still couldn't picture him in a hot springs though. It was a strange thought, though she guessed that everyone would appreciate a nice soak in warm water every now and then.
Alright then, she thought, let's enjoy a nice soak.
She was currently standing in the threshold of the door that led to the hot springs. Behind her was a room where you left your clothes and shoes in these wicker baskets, along with ever more white towels and a dirty pile of clothes that she guessed people left to be washed. Clary was kind of nervous. Though no one was there to see her, she felt embarrassed to walk out with no clothes on. The hot springs was an open one, meaning you could see up to the sky and stare at the stars, giving Clary a feeling that she was being watched from above. It was also dark, no lights illuminated the place, considering that it was closed, and the only sound was that of the water steaming into the air. Clary could see just fine, but she felt like something would come out at her if she stepped outside. Not that she couldn't handle them, but there was something about being naked that left you feeling vulnerable.
Swallowing her embarrassment, she walked outside, her nerves on edge, as any misstep would trigger a bomb, but as she kept moving, her movements became more fluid, until she completely tossed away the concern. She stood directly in front of the pool, slowly dipping her toe in, untying the towel from around her chest. It was hot, no duh, and she started slowly edging herself in, dropping her towel to the ground.
"Clary?" a voice called out.
She shrieked. The voice was Chris, and in a panic, she threw herself into the hot spring in an attempt to conceal her body. Ouch. The water burned her delicate skin, feeling like it was boiling her like a Christmas chicken. Her fingers looked red to her even in the dark light, and as her body got used to the heat, she kept herself low, the water up to her chin, feeling a blush creep onto her already warm cheeks.
Chris! What are you doing here?!
The thought of him seeing her brought a mixture of emotions to her, and all she could do was keep herself from turtling and ducking her head into the water. Though her demon blood churned, warming her body even more, with the prospect of him seeing her like this, almost savoring the thought.
Nonononono, that doesn't need to happen…. She almost physically shook her head.
"Clary?" Chris sounded amused now, but his voice sounded strange, it wasn't coming from here.
Doing a three-sixty, Clary face palmed herself. Surrounding the hot springs was a thirty foot tall wooden fence, and on the other side, was the guy's hot springs. Chris must have heard Clary from there, and called out to her from the other side.
"Chris," Clary tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice, doing it easier than expected. The heat from the springs really sucked out all the tension from your body. "You almost gave me a heart attack. And a third degree burn."
His laughter sounded almost ghost like in the steamy mist, an almost pleasant sound that wine glasses make when you rub your fingers around the rim. "What? Afraid I'll forget which ways the male's springs?"
Clary ducked all the way to her chin, consciously wrapping her arms around her and lurking to a darker corner, "No, it was just quiet and your loud annoying voice interrupted my relaxing time."
"My annoying voice? Some would say my voice is worthy of being in an opera."
"Chris I think you need to lie down, this hot steam is starting to get to your head," Clary said.
Clary could almost see him smirking, "Fine, I'll let you relax, just remember, one hour, then we leave."
"You got it dude," her voice was barely heard as she released all the tension in her joints and just let her body float in the water.
On her back, she faintly kicked her legs, making slow movements with her arms to keep her afloat. Her eyes stared up the sky, seeing through the steam to the stars piercing through. They were in Tokyo, so of course all the city lights washed out any indication of light from outside the Earth, but Clary's eyes managed to see some, picking out individual flecks here and there.
Nothing is ever unnoticeable, it just takes a certain will to see it…..
Clary always thought of herself as unnoticeable. With her short stature, lack of appealing attributes and a not so out -going personality, she considered herself an outcast as a mundane. She always felt like there was something she was missing, like someone was holding her face and controlled where her eyes looked, what she saw, and how she saw them. At the time she didn't realize it, but deep down inside, sown into the fabric of her subconscious, she knew that there was something she wasn't seeing.
I see you now…. Clary wasn't sure to who or what she was thinking this too, but it felt important , You were always there…
And along with it, she saw everything that was hidden from her. Along with every good that happens, a bad thing comes right behind it, it was just the natural order of things. Clary didn't regret anything that had happened to her, neither did she toil over every bad decision she's made.
One time someone had asked her, if she could relive everything that had ever happened to her from a certain point of her life, and point that she could decide, would she do it? Would she erase everything and start all over? Clary knew the answer. No. Because if she did start all over, then it would be like replaying a movie, the same events would play, just as they did or even worse than they did before. Things happened for a reason, and unless you could go back with the knowledge of what had happened, she doubted that anyone would ever be able to change their fates.
Clary did, however have a point in time that if she did want to redo everything. It would all start back at Pandemonium, or rather, it would all not start at Pandemonium, she would make it so that she never followed the blue haired boy and the slim, white dressed girl, into the room because she saw two others follow them in with a knife. She would have waited for Simon to have the security guard check on the room, she wouldn't have argued with her mother, and have them leave to Luke's farm house immediately, so that they never would have encountered that Ravener Demon. So that they never would have encountered Valentine.
But that was just wishful thinking. Valentine would have found them eventually, if not then, then later. And the only reason Clary was able to kill off the demon was because of the sensor that she got from Jace.
And Jocelyn says that sticking your nose where it doesn't belong and not keeping your temper would get you in trouble…
Her mind suddenly switched back to what had happened only hours ago. Soon, that's what was predicted, that the Clave would find them soon. But should she even trust what a board would say? It would seem ridiculous to completely trust a board, but then it would seem ignorant to not at least acknowledge it. And even if she decided to heed the board's warning, how soon was soon? That was a rather vague answer, and they should have asked more questions, but at the moment the prospect that they would get caught was enough to convince them.
They. We. Both she and Chris. She was still very unsure of what her reaction would be if they were caught. On one part, she would be delighted, being reunited with her friends and family, being together with Jace again, everything would go back to normal. The only problem was, it wouldn't be like that. They'd feel like they'd save her, but then who knows what they'd do to Chris. The best case scenario is that they fight him, imprison him in the worst of conditions. Or maybe they'd treat him like a demon, and finish with him. Part of her was concerned about how Chris would react, would he fight back? Of course he'd fight back, it was who he was, he wouldn't go down without a fight. And the more she thought about it, Clary didn't want him to just give up. She wanted him to fight back, but why? Because she didn't want him to get hurt?
Maybe I could distract the Clave long enough for him to run away, the Clave's looking for me, and doesn't want anything to do with me afterward, and I can just make up some story about being unconscious for the past few weeks…
What? What was she thinking?
Her mind rebelled against itself, and the harder she thought, the more she swore her rune pulsed.
Weeks ago, she wanted nothing to do with Sebastian, she wanted him dead, gone, buried deep under the ground or burnt to ashes. She held the same opinion of him as everyone else did.
But now, what did she think? She definitely didn't have the same mindset as before, but what exactly did she think of him? She couldn't imagine herself defending him, protecting him against Jace and her mother, but she couldn't imagine letting him just be left to the Clave and their judgments.
She thought about Chris, the brotherly person she'd grown to get used to, well, sometimes more than brotherly, but Clary's memory did a fine job of letting herself block those moments out of her head. She also thought about Sebastian, who now seemed like such a completely different person to Chris. Sebastian was wild, crazy, power hungry, just like his father. Chris was nothing of the sort, and it was insane to think that they were the same person. Recently, Clary has been seeing less and less of Sebastian, except for when they were training, or using their Shadowhunter capabilities, but even then, Chris keeps it on a down-low.
He'd been able to change, and whether that was all false and in reality Sebastian was only toying with her, she knew that he was different. Just like she was.
Glancing down at her rune, she traced the hand pointed at the what would have been 10. Only two more days, and then what? Clary was resigned, ready to accept whatever came. Whatever challenged that was hurtled at her, she'd just have no choice but to face it, right?
Yet she still had a bad premonition in her stomach.
"Chris?" she called out, feeling like her thoughts were going to drive her crazy.
"Yes" he sounded so far away, like he was on the other end of a phone call and was getting bad reception.
"I know you've probably already got a master plan in your head all set up, but, about that Ouija board….."
"You're concerned about what it said?" although he phrased it as a question, it sounded like an assumption.
"Do you believe it?" Clary asked.
Chris was silent. Clary counted to twenty, yet he still didn't respond.
"Are you going to do anything about it?" Clary pressed him further. She wanted to know, she needed to know what he was planning to do, so that at least she could know how to react as well, how to act if this ever at all took place. "Are you going to hide, fight, or," she swallowed, "summon your Demon Shadowhunters?"
Clary had Sebastian's mind, but she didn't have Chris's. She knew what Sebastian would do, he would fight, summon whatever army he could, slaughter his enemies. But Chris?
"I could do that? Couldn't I?" his voice was almost washed away by the sounds of water swishing, as if he were moving around, and he sounded closer, like he was swimming towards the wooden fence that separated the two springs. Likewise, Clary swam towards them too, following her gut instinct that said Chris was right behind the wood that was in front of her. When he next spoke, she could hear him through the fence, and not in the steam around her now.
"What should I do?" his sounded husky, and Clary could feel her black blood churn. She took a deep breath and stilled it.
"I don't know what you should do, only you know that."
"Fair enough, what do you think I should do then?" Clary felt the urge to press her hand against a certain spot on the wood, where she could almost swear Chris's was as well.
"Again, I don't know." She thought again, then said, "I think I know what I'd do, if our positions were switched."
"What would you do then, if it was you they were after, and not me?"
Clary closed her eyes, ignoring the humming of her heart beat, ignoring the faces of her loved ones, and shaping them into a group of people who hated her, who wanted her dead. It was hard.
"I, I would," she let her answer just slip from her mind and out her mouth, "I'd fight back. If it's my freedom they want, then they'll have to fight hard to take it from me."
"Freedom isn't given, it's taken." Chris said, in a way that made Clary's body shiver even through the hot water. "My Demon Shadowhunters, I could call to them, have them guard us," his voice stopped, "but you wouldn't like that."
"I can't control your decisions." She didn't know why she said this. She should be agreeing, telling him to not call his Demon Shadownhunters, to surrender. But on some level, she wasn't ready to admit to herself that part of her wanted Chris to defend himself, to do something.
She wasn't willing to admit that she wasn't ready to go home yet.
She could almost feel him grin from behind the fence, "So you'd agree with whatever decision I make?"
"Not every decision, maybe I won't like the exact extent of them, but I can't force you to do certain things either."
Chris's voice dropped to a low sound, "So if I decided to fight against them, to attack them, and you know it'll come to that, would you stand by me?"
"I….."
He chuckled, "Don't answer that now. In truth, I don't know if I want to know."
Clary blinked. He didn't know if he wanted to know? He was worried, worried about what she would decide? No, he was scared of what she'd choose, would she go back to her old past, or would she choose him.
She didn't know what made her say, "I don't know if I want to know either."
She could feel his surprise, as if this… relieved him?
"Another thing, I'm sort of worried about my rune. Less than two days, and still no clue as to what'll happen." Clary changed the subject.
She waited for Chris to answer, "How does it work when you create a rune?"
The question caught her off guard, "What?"
"When you make a rune, do you come up with an idea, and then create a rune that helps you accomplish that idea, or do you take a rune and switch its meaning to adjust to your necessities?" He further inquired.
"I don't know," she started, "they sort of just, come to me. Sudden inspiration, I see a picture in my head, and boom, a new rune."
"But do you even know what they are?" he sounded like a teacher trying to get her to understand something that she wasn't seeing. "You just drew on a random rune without even knowing what it would do to you?"
"It doesn't work that way," Clary couldn't quite put a way to explain how her odd ability worked, "I just sort of, see an image in my mind, and I just know what it does, like a word and I know what it means."
"And what was the meaning of this particular rune?"
Clary thought back to that moment in Chicago, where she was struggling to find a way out of her bind. She knew what the rune would do, that it would give her the characteristics of the person you thought of right before applying the rune. Of course, she hadn't known that she would get the physical attributes, nor the sudden daily pains, but she'd known there would have been some form of punishment.
She relayed this to Chris, who seemed to be pondering heavily, "Have you tried drawing it again? Not on yourself, but in a sheet of paper? Maybe seeing it out in front of you will help you understand its true potential."
"Perhaps," though she wasn't convinced.
"I assume we'll just have to wait and see."
"If I ever use this rune again, I'm picturing Christina Aguilera," she commented, "No, Maggie Q. from Nikita."
She could hear him barely able to control his laughter, "Why? You want their bodies?"
Clary's cheeks puffed in defiance, "No! At least Christina can sing, and Nikita is just amazing."
"If you wanted to sing, why not just create a rune that improves your vocal skills instead of going through another twelve rounds of suffering?" he asked.
"It's not easy to come up with runes you know! I can't just be like, 'hey, I'm hungry, maybe if I draw a rune for food, I won't be starving anymore!'" Clary teased. "Plus it would be interesting to be somebody else."
"That's only if everything goes well and you can use the rune again."
Clary attempted a small laugh of approval, but in reality, his words clung to her like the steam on her skin.
"Yeah, if everything goes well…."
Jace POV
"Magnus, look-"
"Magnus isn't here right now, please leave a message after the beep, I shall return your message in about, three centuries. Beeeeeepppp"
"Listen you grotesque glitter half-demon, if you didn't want to be bothered, then you shouldn't have contacted me in the first place! Now you're going to help me!" Jace felt like strangling the warlock. It was well past midnight, and he was tired.
He spent most of his evening trying not to explode in a rage from listening to Simon and his tech geek, (what was his name, Edgar? Erin? Edwin?) talk about video games and stupid band crap while trying to, what was that term they used? Hack. They tried to hack into something so that they could locate Magnus's cell phone.
Jace at first wanted to help, but as soon as he saw the rectangular thing they called a computer, he was about ready to slash the machine to ribbons because he didn't even know how to turn it on. He pretty much sulked in the corner, making snide whispered comments at the two boys' backs, knowing well that only Simon could hear him.
The High Warlock of Brooklyn was no longer in Canada, it appeared, but in Bulgaria. Jace couldn't care less where he was, just as long as they could contact him. Honestly, he was surprised Magnus hadn't thrown the phone away or turned it off to not be found. The old guy was probably taunting them, watching as the struggled to find him.
Jace's plan was to threaten the warlock, maybe scare him. He was in tied to the Clave, and even though Jace would hate to be in the guy's shoes, he had a responsibility to help them. If he could call him, tell him that they knew his location and were prepared to go to the Clave with it, maybe Magnus would relent and help. Of course, Jace didn't want to go to the Clave, for obvious reasons that the Clave was insane and there was no way he was ever going to use them as a resource to help. He just needed to sound convincing enough to Magnus.
Currently, he was at payphone, one that was jammed behind a Laundromat in an alley and two disgusting trash bins. Simon had said that it would make international calls, and that perhaps if they called from a number that Magnus didn't know, he would answer.
They had to call several times, spending quite a bit of money, until the warlock's curiosity outweighed his decision to not answer. Which brought them back to their conversation.
Jace gripped the phone in a vise, Simon off to his right, able to hear Magnus thanks to his superhearing.
Simon asked quietly, "Why haven't you asked Alec to ask Magnus for help, aren't they dating or something?"
Jace pushed the phone away from his mouth, "I asked Alec that, and he practically froze me in an ice stare. I don't think now's a good time for them."
The vampire scratched the back of his neck, feeling a bit strange in knowing about Alec's personal life. Indeed his parabatai has been feeling a bit off lately, Jace could feel it in the rune across his chest.
Attempting to get the Warlock's attention before he disconnected, he shouted into the phone, "Well then, I guess what you said was a lie, and you didn't really spot Sebastian. What's wrong Magnus, getting a little lonely? You didn't need to beg for my attention that way."
He heard Simon make a unpleasant sound, something that sounded a cross between a cough and the word 'ego.'
Shooting the vampire a deadly glare, he forged on, "Why are you down in the dumps? Did your glitter pants run out? Oh, I know, your mascara is bad and you feel in a cranky mood." Silence, but Jace could hear the tiniest amount of breathing coming from the other end.
Simon sighed, and extended his arm for the phone. Giving it to him, he watched as the vampire said, "Hey Magnus, Jace and I were shopping for galaxy pants and neon thongs today, and he said that he looked about a hundred times better than you'd ever look in them."
An explosion occurred on Magnus's side of the phone.
"WHO DOES THIS RUNT THINK HE IS? WHY I COULD TEAR HIS HEART OUT AND MAKE HIM WATCH IT BEAT ONCE BEFORE HE DIES. I COULD SMACK HIM SO HARD HE'LL BE THRUST INTO LAST WEEK!"
Jace could feel himself trying not to laugh, "I'd like to see him try," he mouthed to Simon.
"Jace says he'd like to see you try," Simon said, chiding the warlock. Jace almost gave Simon the middle finger when a sudden 'poof' appeared next to him. He saw the embodiment of glitter right before rainbow colored nails popped into his sight. A loud smack sounded, and Jace felt like he had a joust with a T-rex. Flying backwards and hitting the metal trashbins, his cheek felt like it was stung by a bunch of hornets, his jaw swollen.
Damn. The warlock was strong.
So much for threatening him with the Clave…stupid gay warlock….
Simon gave a low whistle, taking into account Jace's wounds. He could've sworn his shoes left tire-like marks on the ground where he had skidded back.
Facing the Warlock of Brooklyn, who was inspecting his nails, Simon said, "You came all the way from Bulgaria just to smack him in the face?"
Magnus gave him a 'duh!' look, "Wouldn't you?"
Appallingly, Simon nodded. "Though I would've done it with a fist, but you're way seems to have caused plenty of damage."
"You should try it sometime," Magnus offered, "It does wonders to rid you of your anger."
"While the two of you discuss the miracles of using me as an object to blow off some steam, we have things to do." Jace growled, drawing an iratze on his forearm to make the unpleasant throbbing in his cheek go away.
"And what things in particular, are you referring to?" Magnus asked with an air of innocence.
Innocence, Jace internally scoffed, More like the calm before the storm….
\Deciding to not anger the warlock further, more in fear that he would do something magical to him than if her were to vanish again, he said seriously, "You sent me this message the other day," he held up his phone, displaying the words on the screen.
Magnus gave his phone a lazy look, "It appears I did, what of it?"
He jumped right to matters, "You saw Sebastian, did you do anything to stop them? Why tell me? Why not report it to the Clave? You know how much of a crisis we're in right now, you should have said something."
Magnus rolled his eyes, "Oh, so now I have to report everything that happens to me to the Clave. I can see the blog now, 'Friday night at 11:45, warlock was seen in his underwear, which was by the way a fantastic shade of green, dancing to 'Girls just wanna have fun.'" A little more exasperated, he said, "Can't I take a vacation without you Shadowhunters running into everything?"
"This isn't about you, or me, it's about Clary. And Sebastian, he's holding her captive, and who knows what's going on right now between them, you could help us!"
Jace hated asking for help, practically begging Magnus for assistance, was beneath him, but it was for Clary. His Clary.
The warlock still didn't look convinced.
Simon interjected with, "Magnus, between us Downworlders, I agree with the fact that Shadowhunters seem to ask for help constantly, yet never give anything in return. Normally, I'd be out of this, but this has to do with Clary. Please Magnus, tell me in all the years you've been wiping her mind of anything to do with magic you haven't developed any care about her?"
Magnus's catlike eyes looked Simon in his, appearing to absorb his words.
Simon added, "We just need to know where she is, and if possible, a way to get to her, if you can."
The High warlock was thinking, his gelled up hair looking more intense, little blue sparks occasionally flickering from them, though whether it was from magic or just something Magnus did to make them seem cool, Jace couldn't tell. With all the makeup and blue eye shadow that Magnus wore, he looked like he belonged in a circus. Of monkeys. As a monkey.
Relenting, Magnus sighed, "You're right Frederick-"
"Actually my name's Simon," he said sounding familiar with this game.
"Whatever Matthew, I mean to say that you're right. This isn't about you, I should help."
Jace coughed, "Actually, I said that." Magnus gave him a look that said that Jace would become a lot closer friends with the trash bin behind him if he didn't shut up.
"Very well then," Magnus rubbed his hands together, causing little sparks to fall to the ground like snowflakes, "Vacation time over, time to get to work, but first," he made a quick look at where they were, wrinkling his nose upon seeing the dirty alley way that they were in. "Care to explain why we are in the atrocious place?"
"Later," Simon said, "Can you tell us what you saw in Canada? And how?"
Magnus made an elegant chair appear in front of him. Seating himself, he crossed his legs, staring at Simon and him who were left standing. Jace raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he said, "You want a story? I need my story chair." He made a show of squirming around to get comfortable, in which Jace could feel his eye develop a twitch. What did Alec see in this guy?
"Now then," he folded his hands in his lap, "Earlier today, or yesterday, since it's past midnight already, I went to Canada, and before you ask why, it was for personal matters in which I shall not reveal." He directed his crooked grin towards Simon, whose mouth shut closed. "Moving on, I went to an underground restaurant, one that specifically serves to Downworlders and Shadowhunters, and by chance, guess who I saw?"
"Sebastian." Simon answered darkly, something that Jace thought wasn't possible for him.
"Correct!" Magnus said cheerfully, as if he was a teacher and one of his students just got the right answer. "I watched him, and of course, he didn't spot me, I don't think so anyway, but he got into some trouble, and then left the place. I ended up following him, and after that, I texted Jace. And we all still live miserably ever after."
"Hold up," Simon stopped him, "He got into trouble, what kind of trouble?"
"Well it wasn't so much as trouble, it was more like somebody was getting some unwanted attention," Magnus still wasn't telling them everything.
Knowing that he wouldn't tell unless asked, Jace spoke up, "So he was alone, you didn't see Clary there with him?"
That's where Magnus looked unsure, "Yes and no."
"Yes and no? You saw her but you didn't see her?"
"That's exactly what I just said. I saw Clary, but then, no, I didn't see Clary," Magnus was starting to sound like a riddler, and Jace wasn't in the mood for riddles.
"Was Sebastian alone?"
"No, he wasn't, and I'd appreciate it if you dropped the detective voice, I don't like to feel accosted." The warlock stated.
Jace bit back an invidious retort. "If he wasn't alone, who was he with? Describe them."
Magnus closed his cat eyes, then opened them again, "female, short, very much Clary's height, looked very alike to her, which is why at first I thought it was Clarissa."
At the mention of Clary's presence Jace's shoulders lifted, he felt relieved. She was okay, she was alive and safe, well maybe not safe, but Jace would worry about the details later.
Wait. "You first thought it was her? What changed your mind?"
He sat back, uncrossing his legs and recrossing them the other way, "Something was, off. Living as long as I have, you start to feel certain ways towards people, you get these vibes from them, you start to recognize their existence, you feel their life. Their aura, so to speak, and I know Clary's, but when I saw that girl in Canada, something was wrong, it wasn't the same aura. Clary's is, how should I say, lighter, brighter, angelic, if you really want to put a term to it. But then, it wasn't the same, it was darker, it was heavier, it was-"
"Demonic?" Simon suggested, putting a stone in Jace's stomach, a heavy ton weighing in his heart.
"Yes," Magnus said, "She talked like Clary, acted like Clary, albeit a bit more confident. But what really threw me off, was her features." Magnus explained to them Clary's half white head and black eyes, causing the stone in his stomach to sink further into him.
"You don't think that he…." Simon started, but didn't finish. He knew what they were all thinking.
Sebastian probably made Clary drink from the Infernal Cup.
"Don't lose hope yet," Magnus argued, "I've seen how Shadowhunters act after they've drank from that cup, and believe Clary acted nothing like it. There was no, 'what should I do for you master' in her character."
"Then how do you explain that?" Jace demanded, his rage leaking into his voice. His hands ached for his seraph blade. Of course he wouldn't hurt Magnus, but that chair he was sitting on looked like it needed to be remodeled. Or shredded.
"Like I said, I don't know if it's Clary, it could just be a copy. Sebastian knows strange things, I wouldn't put it beneath him." Magnus said.
"Magnus, you said you followed them, right?" Simon questioned, in which Magnus nodded his head, his gelled hair not even swaying. "To where?"
The warlock stood from his seat, making it vanish. "A house, I actually got there before them."
"A house. Another one of Sebastian's safe houses," Jace said, "Did you confront them?"
"No, I'm not one to just appear and start a fight," Magnus said.
Jace rubbed his jaw. Sure you're not…
"But I did place a tracking spell on them, granted it was pretty difficult to do. Sebastian may be twisted, but he knows how to work with magic." Magnus said this as if it didn't matter, like it was nothing. Jace didn't know whether he wanted to strangle or hug the warlock.
"You couldn't have said that first!" Jace said at the same time that Simon said, "That would have been nice to know earlier!"
Magnus held up his hands in defense, "Look you wanted to know what happened, and now you know."
"Where are they now?" Jace demanded. He had a lead and he was going to use it. He had to find Clary. Now.
Simon pulled back on Jace's jacket, his dark eyes trying to get Jace down from whatever high he was on, "We should tell the others about this first. I know you're excited, I am too, but we should let the others know so that we can all think about this together."
He was right, Jace knew he was, yet he felt reckless. He couldn't let this opportunity slip by. Damn the Institute, damn the Clave. He was going to find his Clary and slit Sebastian's throat. He could feel adrenaline swirl in his veins this very moment, and he wasn't about to let the vampire stop him.
"Magnus, where are they? Still in Canada?" Jace questioned again.
Magnus raised an eyebrow, "You should listen to Carl, it seems he's smarter than you."
Simon muttered something about his name not being Carl, when Jace, barely able to keep his temper in check, roared, "Where are they?!"
"Not Canada. They left there about a few hours ago, they're in Japan now."
"Send me there."
The vampire waved a hand in front of his face, saying, "Did you not just hear me? We should let the others know, at least give them a call."
"Magnus…."Jace growled.
The warlock waved his hands in the air, and summarily opened a Portal.
"Magnus!" Simon said aghast, "You're not helping!"
"I have an oath to the Clave, it's not my fault that in trying to help them they get themselves killed." Magnus leaned against the side of the Portal, apparently unaffected by the power the Portal radiated. Jace could feel every particle in his being gravitating towards the opening.
Jace stepped forward, hardly able to restrain himself from lurching forward, "How long can you keep this open?"
"Only for about an hour, but if you're really going through with this, I should let you know that it's not the Portal you should worry about shutting on you." Magnus warned.
"What do you mean?"
"I can feel the spell I placed on the house slipping, which means either Sebastian is taking off the spell, or more likely, that the house is changing places again." He explained.
"So? If it leaves, just tell me where it is again."
"It's not that simple," Magnus droned, "It takes a while for the magic of the house to settle, including the spell. It might be few hours until I'm able to tell you the new location."
"Then what am I waiting for. Keep the Portal open!" Jace surged forward.
He felt nothing at first, like he had simply stepped through a window frame, but then he was falling. Which way was up? Which way was down? He was moving fast, he felt like every part of him was being stretched this way and that, every one of his cells separating until he was nothing but a bunch of dust in the air.
Suddenly, solid ground appeared beneath his feet. He stumbled forward a few steps, catching his balance. He was just about to straighten up, take in his surroundings, when another body slammed into his back, causing him to almost land on his face. He managed to roll out, ducking and moving away. Looking back, he saw Simon, who landed a bit more comfortably, leaning back on the balls of his feet.
"Why did you follow me?" Jace asked.
"Someone's gotta make sure that you don't kill yourself, and I hate it, but that person's me." Simon looked back, where a large oval Portal displayed the alley back in New York. Magnus appeared in front of them, his image undulating in the Portal. He wiggled his fingers at them.
Simon gave a half-hearted wave back, before turning back to Jace. "Plus I managed to ask Magnus right before I jumped in if he knew of any specific places that Sebastian might be in."
"And what did he say? Where there's Sebastian, there's Clary" Jace was taking in everything around him. They were in front of a closed shop, which upon looking into sold pottery and antiques. Most of everything was dark and closed. They were in a more rural area, and everywhere he saw, there were signs in Japanese.
"He said that the area was a more empty one, and that the only prominent things here were the shops, which I'm guessing are these," he gestured towards the block of stores in front of them, "And a hot springs. He also said that we should steal some of the bath soaps for him, I didn't really hear what he wanted them for though before I jumped in-"
"I don't care what the warlock wanted soap for. For all I care he eats it." Jace was looking up, even though it was dark, some streetlights illuminated the streets. In the distance, some blocks away, he saw something in the light that he doubt anyone else would have noticed.
Was that….steam?
"What did you say about those hot springs again?" Jace didn't wait for Simon to answer before walking ahead, following the source of the steam.
"He said there was one nearby," Simon quickly caught up, matching his stride, "You don't think…"
"Couldn't hurt to check."
Although he said it like he was only going to check, he felt his heart pounding through his chest. This was the closest he's been. It felt too good to be true, he felt a giddiness in his head, something he's never experienced before. He blamed it on the thought of reuniting with Clary.
Clary. She's here, he could feel it, could feel her. She's here. They would be together again, and this time he would stab through Sebastian's spin and heart several times, and decapitate him. Maybe this time, the dead will stay dead.
The thought brought forth another rush of adrenaline. Before he knew it, he was running at fast pace, Simon still keeping pace with him.
"Slow down," Simon warned, "If they're here, then do want to give yourself away?"
Jace said nothing as a strange building came into sight. It was made of wood, only one story high, and was shaped like rectangle. The long side was facing him, big double doors being the main entrance. The building was at the top of a hill, and behind the building, circling what would be a backyard, was a tall, thirty foot tall wooden fence. Steam tendrils were escaping into the night like flying vapor snakes, causing the windows of the building to get misty and form water drops.
Jace decided to go through the main door. Knowing Sebastian, he would be cautious of any side entrances, and would leave a main exit alone. Using an opening rune, he crept inside, Simon right on his heels.
Together, they advanced in, making turns and listening through closed doors. The place was empty of any employees or customers. Part of him wondered if Sebastian was in this place because he decided taking a bath underneath the stars was a great way to gloat at his enemies.
"Jace," Simon was barely heard over the sound of trickling water.
He was about tell Simon to shut up when he saw that Simon was pointing up at something. They had come upon a t-hallway. It split off into the left and right, and right in the middle of the wall in front of them was a sign pointing in either direction. Jace couldn't read Japanese kanji, but he knew what the little pictures underneath the signs meant. Females to the left, males to the right.
Without a thought, Jace dashed down the left hallway, his shoes hardly making a sound on the polished wood floor. He didn't consider anything, not the fact that Clary might be naked, that Sebastian could be with her, that this was one big trap, none of it. He didn't feel Simon try to grip his shoulder, telling him to stop, simply shrugging him off. When he reached a room where a bunch of wicker baskets and white towels lay, he saw a glass door. And beyond it, he saw the glimmer of water.
He lost his speed. Suddenly feeling thrown out of balance, he slowly trudged to the glass doors, soaked in mist. With unsure fingers, he pulled open the sliding door, Simon staying behind him, knowing that it was no use trying to stop him.
He walked into the Springs, heavy steam settling on his skin, filling his pores. It was dark, so he drew a rune to help him see. Until the effects of the rune took place, he walked forward, until he was at the edge of the water.
Jace suppressed a yell, clenching his hands into fists. There was no one here.
Chris POV
He was getting strange feelings, like little pinpricks on the back of his neck. He couldn't help but feel like everything was watching him, every dark corner was a suspect.
In fact, the reason they had left the house originally was because he couldn't stand sitting still, not after the revelation they saw on the board. He hadn't told Clary whether or not he actually believed what the Ouija board said, but he knew how those boards worked. This wasn't just a game.
Clary was ecstatic about being in Japan, and although it was fun watching her being content, enjoying herself in the hot springs, Chris wanted to leave already. It was too soon, the house had just gotten there, but he felt like their welcome in Tokyo was being worn out, even though they hadn't even encountered any of the locals.
It was because of his sudden need to leave that they left the hot springs a little earlier than promised. They only spent about half an hour in there, that was plenty to feel clean and healthy. Currently, they were walking through a public garden, Clary had been the one to spot it, and the way she dashed for the open gates reminded Chris of a dog who was just released of their leash.
She walked underneath dead branches, the cold having long since claimed its leaves. Nevertheless, even in the cold, there were thriving plants that lived through these frigid temperatures, bushes of greens that he could not place a name to, extraordinary flowers of all shapes and colors. Clary gave each and every one of them her attention, looking at each detail, and he knew that she was going to attempt to draw some of these.
Her hair was shiny, her skin seemed to gleam. The hot water brought out a radiance in her, and she practically glowed in the darkness. Her little pout lips were curved into an unconscious smile, her bright eyes catching a twinkle here and then. Though her eye color was different, they still held the same qualities as they always had.
He walked a few steps behind her, keeping an eye out for anything. Not because he thought something would pop out at them, just out of habit. Even though she did a good job at hiding it, Clary was on the lookout as well, her face now and then looking around her, looking past the gardens and peering into the shadows. Chris couldn't help but feel a little delighted that she was finally sinking into Shadowhunter habits.
Clary paused at shrub, she kneeled down, observing it. From behind her, Chris looked at it as well, trying to see what was so great about this one to have made Clary stop and kneel to look at it.
The shrub wasn't much, it was short, expanding out the sides. Little pink-red flowers dotted the branches, a yellow stigma and anthers in the middle of outreaching petals. Clary fingered one of the flowers, feeling the texture of the petals.
"Find one that you like?" Chris asked. He kneeled next to her, taking the same flower that she held in his fingers, so that both of them held one side.
Clary ducked her head, her hair obscuring her face, but Chris caught her upturned lips.
"What's so funny?" he questioned.
Looking back at the flower, she said, "Look at us, two half demons marveling over a flower. It's ludicrous."
Chris smirked, "I wasn't marveling over it."
"Then how come you've got this look in your eye?"
He looked at her curiously, "What look?"
She faced him, her child like face showing a mature and sincere air, "You look like you're trying to understand something, but you don't get it, yet you keep looking at it, and even though you don't know why, you're going to act like you do, and marvel at the fact this is something you don't know about, but you love the fact that you don't and it still makes you happy."
"That doesn't sound quite germane," he said.
"You've got that look again."
He chuckled. She couldn't help but think that she was right, and he was in awe that she knew him that well already. It couldn't be helped, considering that she thought like him, having his characteristics.
He moved his hand over so that it cupped Clary's smaller hand. He gave it a strong squeeze, and she responded by putting her hand in his. He was surprised. After a while of living with him, Clary was opening up to him. He remembered when he would offer his hand, and she would ignore it. He plucked the smaller they had been looking at, and twirled it between his fingertips.
"You're not going to put that in my hair, are you?" she asked, a crooked grin on her face.
They both stood up, hand in hand, "That would seem like the type of thing they do in movies," he responded.
"I don't like lovey dovey romance movies. I'm more of a comedy slash action slash horror type of girl." She plucked the flower from him and reached into her backpack. She pulled out her sketchbook, and pressed the flower between two blank pages.
Placing the things away, she kept walking, tugging him along with her. They approached a small stream, where there was a bridge designed to look like an old crumbling wooden path. The rails had chipping red paint, and the floor boards groaned, threatening to drop them into the three foot deep water below.
They stopped there, in the middle of the bridge. Clary was cracking Chris's knuckles by squeezing her hand as hard as she could.
"I thought all girls liked dramatic romance," Chris said, "Part of having two x chromosomes. You know, the whole guy puts a flower in the girl's hair, and then as he's placing the flower, he takes the advantage to pretend to put her hair behind her ear, but really he's going to kiss her. That sort of stuff."
"Well I must have missed out on something, because I'm pretty sure those sort of movies disgust me. As well as about a large portion of the female population." Clary gave him another hard squeeze that popped everything but his thumb.
"So then what do girl's want their boyfriends to do?"
"I'm not sure, something original? Depends on the girl." Clary said as if it was obvious.
"Females really make it hard for the males, you realize that, right?" Chris started, "Not only do we have to be the ones to ask you out, but we have to come up with the dates, the money, the ride, and if anything ever come out wrong, we're the bastards that dared to show up in your life."
"Hey, not all girls," Clary was on the defensive now, and Chris couldn't help but want to laugh when she sounded dangerous like that. He knew she could kill if she wanted to, but her attempt to look murderous looked more like a kitten trying to claw your face. "Some of us wouldn't mind coming up with dates, or paying, and by the way, most of the time, it is boy's fault that everything went wrong."
Chris laughed, decided to stop it there before he invoked the fury of the opposite sex in Clary. Why did every single girl in the world have that fire in them when it came to saying how right they were? The world may never know…..
"Hey, speaking of boyfriends and such," Clary was staring at the stream below, her hair dangling over the edge, "Back in that restaurant, what was with that anyway?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, even though he knew what she was talking about. His lips curled at the thought.
"You know, when that Shadowhunter was at our table, you told him that you were my boyfriend, what was that all about?" She asked it casually, like it just came up, but he wondered if she'd been pondering about this longer than she let on.
"Why do you think I said it?" he told her.
"Oh no, don't start the whole, 'well what do you think' game. Just tell me why you said it." She faced him, her dark eyes, just like his, were big and wide, so dark you couldn't even distinguish the pupils from the irises that well. He held in low laugh. She did know him well.
She was to his right, so he half faced her, the other half looking at the stream, "I said it partially because I could tell he was making you feel uncomfortable, if he knew you were taken, he wouldn't bother you anymore."
"Partially?" she noticed, "What was the other part?"
"To see how it felt," he said truthfully, "I've never had a girlfriend, so it was different to say that you were mine. Plus no one there knew us, therefore no one would say otherwise."
"Never had a girlfriend?" she raised her eyebrows at this, and he knew what she was thinking of. Those two girls back at the other house, one was a vampire, he recalled, but they hadn't mattered. None of them had ever mattered. In fact, he regretted each and every single one of them, they felt like little skips compared to Clary.
"They weren't important," upon seeing Clary's look, he changed his choice of words, "I mean, they don't matter to me as much, they don't mean the same to me."
"Hmm," Clary looked like the matter wasn't settled yet, "So how did you feel, saying I was your girlfriend?"
It felt glorious. Like he finally had something that no one else had. Something he actually wanted, and had taken from someone else to get. All the other girls he's been with, they'd been afraid of him, they got over it, but there was just something about them that didn't bring them up to Clary's level.
But it also felt new. He'd never been able to say those words, and they were strange coming out of his mouth. They were a new flavor, something that he didn't quite like, but didn't hate either. The only reason he'd hated it was because it wasn't true. Unless he could make them true.
Answering her question, he said, "It felt new, I've never dated anyone, so it was a new experience. Did it bother you that I said them?"
"Not so much as bother," she said taciturnly, "More like, surprised me. Caught me off guard."
"I did tell you I didn't want anyone to know that we were siblings."
"Which is why I thought you told him that, because we weren't siblings, but I feel like you had other motives." She looked him in the eye. "Care to deny my thoughts?"
"I don't deny them. It wasn't just to dissemble the fact that we are siblings." He brought up their entwined hands, placing them between themselves. "It was, more for me."
"I guessed that. Explain."
Lowering their hands, he stepped closer, placing a kiss on her forehead, when he looked down, her eyes had closed.
"I guess I just wanted to forget that we were siblings," he continued, "So that you wouldn't feel guilty when I did this."
Before she could protest, he lifted her jaw, and kissed her. He didn't grab her hands, or grasp her back, so that she could have escape if she wanted to. Although he wanted to have her there with him, he had to give her a means out.
She didn't back off. Although they've done this before, and she'd never flat out rejected him (except for that one first night, refer to chapter 1) he always expected her to shove him away, to yell at him, to be appalled by this.
But she didn't. She didn't respond either, but the way that she didn't move away proved that she had accepted him, that she took him for who he was. Sometimes he wondered if it was just the rune, the rune that made her like him, and if the rune wore off, she would no longer see him the way she did now. It pestered him that her emotions might just be his copied into her brain, a mere reflection of what he wanted, and it made him not want to get near her. But in moments like these, like in the Caribbean, or even back in the house, he dismissed those thoughts, enjoying his current situation.
And do that he did. He held on tightly to her hand, not to cage her, but to feel her there, his head was tilted to an angle, and he made sure he didn't deepen the kiss, so as to not make her feel pressured. He knew how much being siblings weighed on her mind, so he tried no to push it. It was just so hard though, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from wanting her, he wanted to let his demonic mind free and take over her. He wanted her so badly he felt like even Clary could feel it in the kiss.
That's when he was about to step back, he was going to end it before he scared her off. But then she grasped the front of his jacket as if to steady herself, and she stayed. She gripped his hand harder, and Chris could feel her inner Sebastian awaken. He noticed when her black blood started to affect her, mostly during battles with demons or moments like these, so when she wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed herself to him, he knew it was all in a rush of hormones and demonic want.
It didn't matter to him though. Whether fake or not fake, he felt his blood rushing. His fingers trailed to her neck, rubbing the delicate skin beneath her jaw. She almost bit his lip, causing him almost groan. He had her pressed against the rail now, pushing hard. She pressed against him until he wasn't sure if her leg was hers or his. They were only kissing, but it felt like so much more. And he didn't know if he could stop.
Suddenly, he got that feeling again, and he could have kicked himself.
Clary, noticing his hesitation, separated from him, asking in an out of breath voice that made him want to reach for her again, "What's wrong?"
Chris could feel his pounding heartbeat rush more black blood through his veins, "We should go. I feel like someone's watching us."
He grasped her hand, tugging her away from the bridge as he took a different path than the one they took toward the entrance they came in from.
"Wait, Chris!" Clary tried to speak, "What do you mean someone's watching us?" Her voice was a little wavery, as if she was mortified in the idea of someone watching them do what they were doing. She probably was, but he didn't care.
"Call it a hunch. I'm just getting a bad feeling." They sped out of the garden, and Chris racked his memory for the way back to their house.
He could make the house leave. As soon as they got home, he'd make the house leave, of course he couldn't direct where it went, but it would leave. He'd never made it do it before, and wasn't exactly sure it would work, but he'd try. Clary was keeping pace now, and they kept their hands clasped, running almost at the same time, left foot and right foot landing in the same movements, completely in synch, which would have been amazing, considering that his legs were so much longer than hers, but now wasn't the time to speculate.
"Chris I think you should calm down a bit," she breathed, "Remember Saudi Arabia? You freaked and the threat turned out not to be much of a threat at all."
"Better safe than sorry." Though he did slow his run, so that they were in more of a fast pace walk. What was with him, usually, whenever he felt like someone was watching him, he'd confront them, challenge them and make them regret trying to accost him, but with Clary, he'd change. He'd become Chris and left Jonathan Morgenstern and Sebastian behind.
They'd made it to the original block where they had started, and he opened the red wood door to the pottery store. Breaking through the glamour, he saw their house, and looking at Clary, he knew that she saw it too.
"Ladies first," he moved aside for Clary to walk in. He stepped in, but before closing the door, he gave Japan one last look around.
He shouldn't have done that though.
As soon as his eyes looked up, he saw a figure standing beneath a streetlight, two actually. They were in front of a Portal, and from where he was , Chris couldn't see who was on the other side.
As if the figures sensed him, both of them turned around. Golden eyes widened in surprise, before quickly turning into rage and anger.
Jace ran as quick as he could, the vampire that he remembered Clary refer to as Simon quick on his heels as well. Jace's gold blonde hair flew backwards as he unsheathed a seraph blade, the dim glow illuminating his malice even more.
Before Clary could notice Jace, or Jace could notice Clary, because he was sure that Jace hadn't seen her, Chris summarily shut the door closed and locked it. Placing his hand on the wood, he used the spell he placed on it, and soon the door disappeared from under his hand. He heard the beginning of a scream come from Jace, but he the sound was gone the moment the door disappeared.
Hand still on the wall where the door once was, Chris peered over his shoulder at Clary, who was shrugging her jacket off, but turned as if she noticed something.
"What was that?" she asked suspiciously, "I thought I heard something, like a scream."
Chris removed his hand casually from the wall, and shrugging off his jacket, "I didn't hear anything, it was probably the door squeaking."
"Okay, but why did you slam it, it sounded like you were made at the door or something. Everything alright?" her eyes searched his, looking through Chris's emotions to find the answer.
Sebastian gave a small smirk, "Everything's just fine."
Max: Oww….
Lacie: Never, having, another joust, again….
Clary: I can't feel my legs D;
Chris: That's what you guys get for using boxing gloves.
Lacie: Where's Chairman Meow? *sees little furball in a corner, licking himself* nevermind he's fine.
Magnus: This chapter, it's….
Lacie: I know, I know, complain all you want…
Chris: and while you're complaining, the door's right there….
Magnus: How dare you make Carlos say that!
Clary: His name is Simon
Magnus: whatever Gregg's name is! He should be stripped of his manhood!
Chris: The door. It's right there. Something you use when getting in and out of places.
Magnus: very well, I'm only leaving because Antonio's words make my sparkled dim, come along Chairman Meow
Max: Kitty! Come back! *All them exit*
Chris: Oh good they're gone, now about that scene where Clary and I are in the hot springs…..
Lacie: heehee, did I trick you guys?
Clary: Scared the clart out of me
Chris: You would have enjoyed it…..
Clary: PERVERT
*more knocking on the door*
Lacie: Come in!
Chris: NO
*Jace walks in, and the gasps of hundreds of girls sound as he grins into the studio, his eyes settling on Clary like a lion looking for prey*
Clary: Ja-!
*Chris throws a microphone at his face*
Jace: *Rubbing forehead* What was that for!
Chris: No. Nonoonoooo, *looks at Lacie* You can't let this happen, this is a ChrisXClary fanfiction, I don't care how big the Clace love is, I WANT HIM OUT
Lacie: WHO MADE YOU BOSS?! *seats Chris in a chair and kicks the back out of the studio* You can come back in when you learn to play nice! *shuts the door*
Clary: JACE! *throws herself to him and hugs him* I miss you so much, you have no idea.
Jace: It's okay Clary, it's not your fault this writer doesn't want is together
Lacie: now hold on….
Clary: Lacie's not bad, it's just that she sometimes writes badly in her chapters, that's all…
Lacie: Okay guys, hello?
Jace: can you leave me and my girlfriend alone for one moment please! It's bad enough that we're separated for about forever!
Lacie:….should've kept Chris in here *separates Jace from Clary and sits in between the two* we shall finish this as we always will. And you two*points at Clary and Chris* no kissy faces. Clary do the honors.
Jace: honors?
Clary: You'll get used to it. Hi guys! Thanks for reading, this chapter was a particularly long one, especially the intro's and ending. As for usual, please leave a review, and tell us if you like this style of intro and ending, or of we should close the door completely, wait what? Lacie, NO
Lacie: It's only a suggestion. Please review! Please please please! Lacie begs you, and she won't threaten you with any, if you do this I'll do that sort of stuff.
Clary: Thanks for reading!
Jace: We'll see you again next chapter, hopefully soon. Hey you're right, this is easy!
Lacie: Next time you guys suggest characters, suggest what you want them to say. I feel like I didn't make it up to your expectations. Anyway, see you next time!