Meanwhile, at Taki's…
Izzy: *drinks a smoothie while sitting across from Alec and Jace* Did you guys hear? A lot of people are mad because of Lacie's last chapter.
Jace: *growls* don't even talk to me about that girl, everything was fine and normal until one day she comes up to us and says, "Hey I have an idea for a story!" Then she takes Clary and doesn't let me see her for months. Months! I only saw her a few weeks ago when she let me in on the radio show. And I haven't seen her since.
Izzy: Do you even read the story? I actually like it, in a weird incest way. It's actually nice. *reads The Angel to Balance the Demon on her phone* I'm not up to speed though, I have to finish the latest chapter
Jace: Wait, incest?! *snatches phone from Izzy who cries indignantly*
Alec: Who cares? It's just a story. At least you guys weren't knocked unconscious.
Izzy: I beg to differ, I was thrown in the city of bones.
Jace: Alec, you're reading it too? Why didn't you tell me?!
Alec: I only read it because I wanted to know what was going on, and you've been in a bad mood a lot, I wasn't going to tell you. By the way, you sound like an a** in some parts of the story.
Jace: Lacie…..*simmers*
Izzy: *recovers phone and finishes chapter 22* oh my god. Oh my god. I hate Sebastian but oh my god. I did not expect that. What the hell Lacie WHAT THE HELL *Jace takes her phone again*
Alec: No pun intended. But don't get so mad at her, it's the story line you're mad at, besides, you should think from her point of view, she needs to capture their attention.
Izzy: She didn't have to do THAT though!
Jace: *skipped the whole story and started reading chapter 22* WHO IS CHRIS AND WHY IS HE MOLESTING CLARY
*Simon walks in*
Simon: Read more than the intro and maybe you'll get it. *looks at Izzy and Alec* hey guys, man that chapter *whistles*
Jace: *smacks hands on table* Does everyone read this but me?
Simon: *slides into table* that's because you're mad that this isn't a Clace story.
Jace: as they all should be!
Simon: *notices something* hey guys, are we alone?
Izzy: What are you talking about Simon, we're in a public restaurant, of course we're not alone.
Simon: No, I feel, I feel like someone's watching us…
Alec: *stirs* I feel it too now…..
Simon: *looks into sky, and sees the reader* HOW THE FU-
And back to our station!
Chris: And that's why I'm never going back to Mexico ever again
Lacie and Clary: O-O wow…
Lacie: Hey guys, wow, I hardly felt that you guys were here, anyway, I'm sorry about the last chapter, but somone's finally given me a name for Chris/Clary! It's Claris! Thanks to i loves jace lightwood for the idea! Good or not good? One thing I need to clear up though! Some of you seem to think Chris is dead, HE'S NOT DEAD! I NEVER SAID THAT. WHERE DID I SAY HE DIED? D: He's only in hell, I think I've already told some of you, but no! Don't assume that, though we all know that anything can happen in hell I never said that! Anyway, I don't own TMI, do own hell-sent Chris and runed Clary, and as usual….
Enjoy!
Clary POV (CHRIS IS NOT DEAD…..he's just in hell :/)
Nothing.
If anyone were to ask Clary what she felt during the moments after the Portal sealed and the light from it faded out as soon as Chris's body disappeared within it, she would only have one word.
Nothing.
Not nothing meaning indifferent, or neutral, but truly nothing. Her body had gone numb, and she couldn't feel a thing. It was other worldly, as if someone had pressed pause on her awareness of life, put a screen in front of it, blurring the edges, tainting it red, and played it all in slow motion.
She couldn't remember feeling sad, angry, confused, devastated, or anything. It was as if the emotional distress she would have gone through was so much, that her brain shot off any mental thought, any painful heart throbs, as if a wall had been built up, or else she would have been flooded by grief, rage, anxiety. Even insanity.
She felt like all of her strings had been cut, save one, and that was the only one that held her back from the threshold and keeping her back into her sanity.
In other words, she was in shock.
Looking back, she realized it was even more terrifying to be numb. You don't know what to feel, you don't know what's right, what's wrong, all you know is that sometime, the numbness would stop, and you would be drowned in a tsunami of horrible and dreadful emotion. Something had reached into the control center of her mind and switched her on auto pilot, which was probably the reason why she was still alive, because had she been on her own, she would've died because she would have forgotten to breathe.
Hell, her heart could have completely flat lined and she would not have noticed. She didn't blink, didn't move. Her constant twitching from being held up by the chains stopped, as she now was still, her toes on the ground, pointed down, as her line of vision was locked onto the spot where her brother, where Chris, used to be. But she wasn't really seeing. She was unfocused.
Vaguely, she could hear the sounds of the other inhabitants of the room, and their excited and enlightened speech was like static to her ears, bouncing off of her numbed state. She was only half listening, like she had one ear off and the other one was doing about fifty percent of its hearing abilities, when she heard the Counsel say the following:
"Today, has been a victory, as we have finally eradicated the cause of our major distress for the past two decades! The Morgensterns, both father and son, are no longer a problem, though they did leave a mess, the Demon Shadowhunters, they can be dealt with now that there is no hand to pull their strings. Today, is the start of a new era! Today is a mark of the powerfulness and mightiness of the Clave!"
There were cheers, applause and hollers. It vibrated so much that something was able to slip out of Clary's numb barrier, and towards her heart.
Malice, anger, outrage, hatred. Whatever synonym you prefer, none of it would sum up to the sudden animosity of her soul.
A small voice crept up from the shadows of her mind, whispering, Today is your biggest mistake…..
Clary's was suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if her mind was being plucked out of her body. Suddenly she saw herself, in chains, but something was right behind her. She saw white haired Clary, the demonic version of herself that always associated with being the true transformed version of herself, had she let the rune completely control her. But she hadn't, sure here and there she'd get carried away, but for the most part, she'd kept herself in check.
What she was seeing was so weird, it must have been a hallucination caused by the shock. White haired Clary stepped into her body, her chained one, as if she was a ghost and could slip right through her, but instead of coming out, she settled into it, like putting on a glove. Her appearance didn't change though. She was still red haired and green eyed this time. As soon as she was completely in, Clary was pulled back into her body, seeing things from her eyes again.
She was hyperaware of everything now. Now instead of numb, all she felt was rage, eating at her other emotions as if it had to be fed like some sort of monster. She could see and hear everything around her, and her vision immediately set on the Counsel, who was coming her way.
"Clarissa," he grins. It's Clary! Her inner demon spats. She had to tie a leash around the white haired one's neck, if not then it would lash out. She restrained herself.
The Counsel didn't seem to notice her internal brawling, still speaking, "I realize this may be shocking for you, considering that you just narrowly escaped having the same fate as Jonathan, but sooner or later, the shock will wear out. The Clave has decided to give you a chance, though you will be monitored, to regain your normal life. It has been recommended though that you have various sessions with the Silent Brothers though, just to make sure that you don't have anything that your brother could have done to you."
Just narrowly escaped. You mean all of a sudden her hair is red and her eyes are green and she is no longer hell-sending material.
A second chance…..the words float around her mind. Wasn't this was she internally wanted, to forget everything that had happened and continue to live her life prior to Chris? Was she to go back to training in the Institute, and pretend like the walls around her didn't remind her of their training turret? Was she to go downtown and pretend that it didn't remind her of her adventure in Chicago, where it all started? Was she right, to just fake that everything was back to normal? She wouldn't forget, because her mother and everyone else will press her as to what exactly happened to her. Even if she could somehow forget, maybe convince Magnus to erase all of her memories of the past two weeks, she would never be able to erase all of the mixed feelings she had whenever she heard the word brother.
How could she go back to Jace, knowing what happened with Chris? The guilt would eat her alive.
Not only that, but she wouldn't be able to hide her newborn hatred. As the Counsel stood in front of her, she could feel herself, yes, actually her, shooting daggers at him through her eyes. Chris didn't deserve it. Sebastian may have, but how the Angel would she have convinced them that Chris was no longer who they thought he was?
He didn't deserve it, both Clarys thought.
The Counsel seemed to be waiting, for her to respond, perhaps thank him for this opportunity. She didn't want it. She didn't want to pretend, she didn't want to create a façade, she didn't want guilt to consume her. She could hardly stand guilt, and she wasn't going to take any more of it.
Evenly, she spoke, "If you're giving me a second chance, why am I still in chains?" She kept perfectly still, waiting for his gaze to travel upwards towards where her wrists were still bound.
"Oh, we'll release you in a moment, it was just, a precaution, to make sure you wouldn't do anything rash while the Portal was being opened." He smiled, but Clary could see the way he now forced it.
"Why not release me now?" she asked again.
The Counsel looked at her, analyzing her words. "We'll release you in a moment Clarissa, be patient. We are awaiting for the rest of the Silent Brothers to appear, so that they may investigate your rune."
They didn't trust her, in other words. She could see in the way that he carefully watched his words, he was still wary of her, unsure as to what her actions will be. That's why he wanted the Silent Brothers, so that they could poke and pick into her brain and see what 'damage' had been done. They were going to look into her head like some sort of animal.
I'll be damned if I let that happen, she internally winced, her choice of words stinging her. Too soon to use those sort of sayings.
"But for the meantime, is there anything else we may be of service to you?" he asked.
An idea suddenly formed in her head, and before thinking on it, she acted on it. Just like always. See? I'm still Clary, too bad you won't understand that.
"Actually, yeah, I could use something." She admitted, faking meekness, "My wrists are killing me, could you draw an iratze on me please?"
He ponders for a second, before nodding, pulling out a stele from within his robes. It was an older looking stele, almost like the one Jocelyn used to own that was given to Clary.
Extending his arm, he was about to reach over and draw the iratze. Just as his the stele was the right distance away, she grabbed at the chains above her wrist, helping to hoist herself up, and used white haired Clary to kick the stele out of the old man's grasp.
The Counsel gave out a sharp gasp, as he immediately retracted his hand, but it was too late. The stele arched through the air, and Clary released her grip on one of the chains to catch it as it soared right into her open palm.
Regaining his senses quickly, the Counsel stalked towards her, his cane ready in his grip, and acting on rage, she yanked her legs upwards, wrapping them around his neck.
Good riddance! Her mind thought….
No! She suppressed herself. This wasn't her, this wasn't her, she could still apologize!
She looked into his eyes for a fraction of a second, where she expected guilt to settle in and make her release him. Instead, her burning hate was fueled ever more.
The image of Chris falling flashed behind her eyes, the look of the Counsel's face as he cut loose the chains. His eagerness to send him away. The look on Chris's as he realized this was something he wasn't getting out of.
Clary's indecision was only about half a second, and before the Counsel could defend himself, she whispered softly so that only he could hear, "There are monsters in this world, Counsel. And you just sent the wrong one to hell." What she didn't know at the moment, though, was whether she was talking about herself, or the Counsel.
With that, she twisted her legs, doing something she didn't know she was capable of doing, and snapped his neck.
The sound of it echoed throughout the courtroom, as she realized that everyone had been watching. The now limp body in her grasp slipped to ground.
Whoops, she thought, Guess you need a new Counsel…..
Clary's blood was heated now, as she quickly drew a strength rune on her other wrist, rather awkwardly, but still did it.
The courtroom had burst into action. Every Shadowhunter in the first row had armed themselves, and the two guards at the back came sauntering over. No one had climbed the steps to her yet, so she acted before anyone else could. Putting the stele between her teeth, she gripped the chains again, and pulled hard on them. She could feel the rune weaving its magic through her muscles, as she tugged on the damn strong chains. At first she was pulling herself up, her constant pulling lifting her off the ground, until she heard the sound of cracking cement, looking up as she continued, she felt a satisfaction as she saw cracks etch themselves along the ceiling as the chains were pulled free.
She felt heavy suddenly, and fell to the ground on her bent knees, crouching on the floor. The chains tumbled down in front of her, the clunky and chunky sound of it vibrating as someone shouted, "She's loose!"
Several were shocked out of their stupor and charged towards her, while everyone else looked at her like she had crashed through the ceiling with Clifford the big red dog giving her a ride.
What? No one else ever watched that show?
Her hair was over her eyes as she peered at the advancing Nephilim. Pocketing the stele, she wrapped the chains around her hands so that they were shorter and easier to direct.
"Clarissa!" Clary's eyes snap to her side as she sees Magnus, who was still there. He was standing beneath the cut chains, the candles around him the only things that remained from the sending. "Hey don't look at me with those eyes. Now stay still while I get those chains off of your wrist before you murder anyone else."
The word murder sank into her mind, into her bones. She had just murdered, and she knew that later the whole realization would kick in and knock her breath out, but at the moment, it didn't seem to matter much.
Magnus slowly walked towards her, hands out in front of him, as if she were about start screaming, though part of her did feel like she was internally shouting.
Instinctively, her grip on the chains tightened, her hands on both of her sides, and Magnus seemed to notice. His eyes kept themselves locked on hers, and Clary could feel the Shadowhunters pause again, waiting to see if the warlock could handle this on his own.
"Clary," Magnus said carefully, "let go of the chains."
Her response was lifting the chains so that her elbows were bent. His eyes were trying to calm her, trying to stare her down into intimidation, but that worked about as much as it would to a dog. All it did was challenge her.
"Very well then," Magnus replied, "Have it your way." Blue sparks emanated from his fingertips, and Clary felt as if her bones were becoming stiff.
He was going to freeze her, put her to sleep, or something.
No! Something made Clary whip the chains quickly, and next thing anyone knew, the chain wrapped itself around Magnus's ankle, pulling him out from underneath him. His head hit the ground first, the sparks fading out to nothing as the warlock was dazed into submission.
Clary released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and inside of her, her inner Clary yelled at her.
Idiot! Do you have any idea what you've just done? If we weren't dead before, we'll definitely rot now! Do you even know the sort of things Magnus will do to us?
Even white haired didn't fancy the wrath of an enraged sparkly warlock.
Yeah! Didn't think so! Oh god, she did she just call herself we? And us? Since when had her Sebastian counterpart been a part of her?
No, it's just me, just Clary. The rune is gone, it's done, it just made its last turn. It's all over…..
Then how come she still felt like her actual self was taking a backseat while her demonic self was driving the wheel?
She didn't have much time to contemplate before she felt something small coming towards her, fast.
She ducked, narrowly missing the blade that soared past her wrist, attempting to sever it. Flinging a chain over her head, she heard it come in contact with a Shadowhunter who had bound up the stairs immediately.
Everyone who had originally gotten up to fight her was back up, and racing towards her. She didn't know any of them, making her feel better about fighting them, but whenever she spun and caught a glimpse at Magnus's out cold body, it made her think whether or not she would still fight them even if she did know them.
Half an hour ago, if someone had told her that Chris was going to disappear and she was going to be fighting with a whole room filled with fully trained Shadowhunters with nothing but the chains that had secured her from moving, she would have stared at them until their soul dried up like a raisin and laughed as she stated how impossible that would be.
Then again, nothing is ever truly impossible, is it?
As her body settled into the high of battle, her chains slashing here and there, the metal links wrapping themselves around limbs and smashing people in the sides as she jumped and kicked and flipped from person to person, she still felt out of it, but weirdly, she was still completely in control. White haired Clary was driving, but normal Clary was telling her where to go, fearing they'd crash. A perfect balance settled over her.
A female loomed in front of her, a massive machete in hand, her look unforgiving, clary quickly made the chains around her wrap around her ankles, then Clary raised her arms and slashed them down, the effect causing the chains to ripple, throwing the women several meters in the air. Fighting like this, with countless enemies around her, made her think of how only about an hour earlier, she had been fighting them alongside Chris.
That only focused her concentration ever more.
Suddenly, Clary felt a presence appear quickly behind her, and she whirled around, arm raised to elbow them in the temple since they were too close to use the chains on, and was met by golden eyes with black specks.
Jace.
He had gotten through the fighting crowd, which was still going on around her, as she whipped and ducked, he avoided being cut by all the weaponry around him. He was here alone, Clary hadn't seen everyone else she knew approach her, not her mother, not Luke, not even Simon.
He didn't come unprepared though. In his right arm, he wielded a glowing blade, and his body was right in fighting position.
This was wrong, Jace never outright got into position. He would act calm and collected, until the last possible moment, and then he would spring from his spot and move so fast no one could see him.
But he wasn't calm and collected, he was poised and ready, unsure of what to do or how to react. She doubted he actually wanted to fight her, but he looked like he had no idea what else to do.
"Clary," his voice reached her ears even through the wild fighting that she was still going against, "I don't what Chris did to you, but I promise you, we can help, I can help. I want to help, I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of whatever Chris did to you."
His golden orbs pleaded her, and she was caught in his stare for a moment, before she had to flip backward to avoid getting caught in the arm with an arrow that flew her way.
He wants to help? Something is wrong with me? She thought angrily. When will they understand that nothing is wrong with me?! The urge to smack Jace sideways with the chains twitched up her arm, but Clary reigned in on her demon before she did anything harsh.
He was right. Chris did something to her, something that she was unsure could ever be reversed, but he didn't affect her the way he thought he had. Everyone thought that Chris, that Sebastian, had done something to her head, had pricked his way into her mind and messed with her priorities, experimented on her like Valentine had done to his children. But it wasn't like that. Yes, apparently now she still had his characteristics, his mind and personality, though the rune was done, which she will investigate later on. But she can now tell if they were her intentions or his, she did that to herself.
Chris had affected her differently, not in her mind. But her heart.
There were just some things you can't fix.
Exactly how much she had been affected though, was unknown to her. And though she hated to think it, the option to just stop was still there.
To stop and let herself be taken in by the Clave. To pretend that she was acting off of something done to her head. She can regain the life she wanted before Sebastian showed up in her life. The only problem is, other than in her mind, Sebastian to her no longer existed. There was only Chris.
No, she wouldn't do that.
She couldn't let herself be taken in by the people who say they are the Law.
It might be a little too late to think this, considering that I'm already fighting them, but you know what? Screw the Law.
She picked up the bat, might as well hit a homerun, right?
She wanted no part of them, nothing. She wouldn't abide by them, she had lived her whole life without them, and what had they done for her exactly? Probably more than she was willing to accept, but their last decision outweighed any small favor done for her.
If she was gonna cut away from all of this, she had to cut off all ties. All of them.
Her eyes caught with Jace again, who was trying to get close to her again, following her as she weaved from here to there. What no one noticed though, was that she was edging nearer and nearer to the door.
Actually, looking back, she saw a line of people blocking the door. Alec, Isabelle, Luke, Simon and Jocelyn formed a barricade in front of the only exit in the courtroom.
All of the had weapons, except for Luke and Simon, and looked at her as if they either wanted to embrace her or pin her down to the ground and put a restraining jacket on her.
Guess I'm not leaving that way…
Her eyes suddenly spotted something, way back on the place where she had been chained. She had entered through a back entrance that had come from the cells, quickly scanning the wall, she noticed a door, made from the same material as the wall so that it practically camouflaged against it, but she made out the square outline that gave off its real identity.
Clary made her way towards it, but Jace seemed to notice her plan, and summarily stood in front of her, blocking her path.
"Don't do this," he spoke clearly, too clearly, and Clay could see the effort he was making to stay calm, "We can fix this, together."
She glanced behind her, where several angry Shadowhunters weren't finished with her yet, and she quickly looked back to him, "I wish," she paused, hesitation making her rethink saying this, but knowing it had to be said, "I wish it could be fixed. I really do."
Then she grasped her chains again, and made it look like she was about to swing at his head. He ducked, just as she knew he would have, and took the second in which his gaze was down to finally tear the chains off of her wrists, leaving a large gash on both of her wrists as she tore them off with her strength and the strength of the rune combined, and whipped them at the Shadowhunters behind her one last time before she bound over Jace, swiping his blade at the same time, up the steps, and towards the door.
As she reached it, she kicked it open, not bothering to draw an opening rune.
"Clary!" Jace ran at her quickly, as fast as he always had, but Clary could see that she was faster now. "Stop!"
Before she could change her mind, she slammed the door shut, pulling the stele that had belonged to the late Counsel out, and drew a rune to lock it.
That should hold them, she hastily thought.
Before her resolve could end, she dashed through the hallways, hearing Jace pounding on the door again, screaming her name.
Just like when Sebastian had taken her.
And again, it had all been her choice.
Focusing on the hallways, Clary blocked out all other thoughts.
Left turn, right turn, down two hallways, up these stairs, left, left, right, left…..
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The second she found the exit to the edifice among the maze behind the courtroom, Clary put to test how much she still retained of Sebastian's traits. She thought that maybe it was just his characteristics that she had, but as soon as she ran out of there and swerved through the confusing roads of Alicante, his memories of the place became her guide. She remembered being so lost in the city the last time she'd been there, but now she didn't even bat an eye as she turned corner to corner.
She limited her thoughts to trivial things, such as running and using everything she learned to tire herself easy. If she thought about anything else she would be forced to focus on the events that had just happened, and she couldn't afford for that to happen while they were still after her.
Being in the city was a huge liability. Everyone knew who was already, most definitely more now, so the Clave will alert every trained Shadowhunter of her presence. She may have been able to pull off that stunt in the courtroom, but even she doubted she could take a whole city of armed fighters.
Which was why she ran long and hard, she had kept her head down, but her fiery red hair wasn't easy to ignore. She kept to the shadows, veering towards an exit point that popped into her mind.
It was cold, and the thin sweater in which she only had one sleeve because it had been torn off that she had worn earlier for the Athen weather wasn't doing her much of a favor, but she didn't dare stop to draw a heating rune on her.
She hoped the light snow fall in the dark night where there was nothing but witchlight streetlamps would conceal her long enough. It had occurred to her that she could make a Portal, but then she remembered that there were magical borders that sent alerts whenever anyone did so, so she stuck to running.
Clary thought she lost her chasers long ago, but never slowed her speed just in case,
Run, run, run as fast as you will, you can't catch me I'm the ginger headed girl…
She chanted this like a mantra over and over, keeping her mind focused.
Soon the old styled houses disappeared, and she dashed through a small area around the border of Alicante that Sebastian's memory said had a faulty magical border, meaning that the small path she crossed wouldn't announce that someone had just gone over through it.
Her legs were on fire but she ignored them, as she trudged through Brocelind field, and soon was hurrying though Brocelind forest like there was a fire chasing her through it.
She was aware that she was traveling south, where as soon as she passed the border of Idris, she'd be somewhere in Switzerland, and somewhere in Sebastian's mind, that meant something, but she didn't care to think about it at the moment. She didn't want to stop and rest in the forest, she remembered some time ago someone told her that Downworlders roamed the forest, and she really didn't want to wake up with a werewolf breathing down her neck.
Hours later, when the sun was rising on Clary's side, she felt herself run through Idris's borders, a strange sensation run through her veins. Though the scenery looked pretty much the same, she knew both in her mind and heart that she had left the country of the Nephilim.
And she didn't know if she ever wanted to go back.
She no longer ran, but stumbled through woods and tree roots, she got up again and again, feeling herself moving on her own, white haired Clary now pushed so far back that it was like she wasn't even there. Her clothes were muddy and covered in frost, she shivered as her wrists throbbed with pain, the gashes from tearing the chains off no longer bleeding, but there. She hadn't even drawn iratze's on them. She was aware that her blood was red again, normal, which only confused her of why she still had Sebastian's traits evermore.
Chris's face finally slammed into her vision, at the same time that her ankle caught on some dead weeds, and she feel with her hands on the cold ground. All this time she had referred to him as only Sebastian, but now Chris had made it to her mind.
She was just Clary now, nothing else, and that made her feel weak and defenseless. She spotted a large tree, the base of where its trunk hits the ground had a hole in it, just large enough for her to wriggle through. Clary practically crawled to it, feeling the walls that had held back her emotions for such a long time beginning to crumble.
Hunger and fatigue also came into effect for her sudden burst of emotion, as she felt tears roll down her wind burned cheeks as she slid into the small crevice in the center of the tree. It was hallowed out, by animals or the growth of tree or whatever, but it was warmer in here than out there, and sheltered her from the elements.
Her hands shook as she drew several heat runes on her, and an iratze on her left wrist.
Suddenly curious, she pulled up her sleeve on the arm where her clock rune had been. There was nothing there anymore, only her pale skin, which made her feel unexpectedly sad. She had hoped the rune would still be there, as a reminder, something to remember Chris by.
Again, Clary felt a wave of emotion hurtle itself at her, and she suppressed a sob, Chris's face as she thought to him that she loved him throb painfully in her heart.
That was when she felt a prickle on her wrist, and she looked down, wondering if any insect had bitten her.
Her eyes widened as something slowly appeared on her wrist. The rune.
The clock was gone, but remember when she had earlier said that something was being traced as the clock hand turned? Only she couldn't see what it was exactly?
The image was perfectly clear now, as her wrist was now the
It was the letter S, written in a strange, archaic calligraphy, old and slightly demonic feeling. There were swirls going around it, reminding her of the chains the had bound her, but these were somehow looser looking, as if they were teasing her. The swirls formed around the S, and as Clary looked at it again, she saw that the swirls were outline of an eye, vertical on her wrist, with the S in the center where the colored part of the eye should have been.
Clary didn't know if it was her imagination, but she almost swore it looked like Chris's.
In the corner of the eye, she could see the letter C. Somehow she knew it meant Clary.
She had chosen to be both Sebastian and Clary.
She hugged her knees to her chest, a small laugh escaping her mouth as she discovered the mystery of her rune. Rocking back and forth, she thought of Chris, of where he was, how was he? Was he okay? Her laughter was fading, sounding more like hiccups now.
She thought of Jace, how was he? She broke his heart, and in turn, lashed at her own heart as well.
Clary thought of her mom, of Luke, and Simon and everyone else, and her hiccups turned to cries. Rivulets rolling down her face.
She rocked back and forth on her heels, trying to hold back to the horrible feeling that exploded in her chest. Her walls of numbness had held out this long, and now they were completely destroyed.
She cried for Chris, she cried for everything that went berserk. For all the chances and opportunities that were now gone. For her family, for Jace, for the Institute. Everything.
Full on sobs escaped her throat now, because no one would hear her. The sort of sound that came from the pit of your soul, shouting as if if she cried hard enough, she would be able to cough out the horrible pain inside.
But crying never made anything better.
After she had sobbed her heart out, she could feel sleep pulling on her eyelids, as the dawning sun stretched across the sky and she slipped into a long deep void, she made a promise to herself.
It wouldn't end like this. She had to do something, and she would, no matter what.
She'd do something to bring Chris back. She would.
I don't when, or how, but I'm coming for you, don't you dare give up on me Chris. Her last conscious thoughts whispered, don't tell me you're not good enough to survive hell….
Because Hell's got another thing coming if it thinks it was going to take him.
Chris POV (Now broadcasting from hell…..)
Lacie: note, I don't know how it really is in hell, but going back with the whole Cassandra Clare idea that there are multiple demon dimensions, let's just assume that hell is one of those, mkay? That's not a typo by the way)
He was falling.
If hadn't been for the fact that his hair was being blown upwards, all in his eyes, he wouldn't even had known which way he was falling. Was he falling down, or flying up? Where was left, where was right? Is there even a right way?
His hands clutched at the chains that pulled him down, making him feel heavier instead of the lightweight sensation you get when you're falling.
Images flew past his mind as his arms tried to catch hold of something, trying to stop his fall, but the moment he thought he had gotten something, they evaporated before his touch. Sometimes he wondered if there was really anything there when he reached for it.
He saw the courtroom, a blur of people before his eyes, then the image of the overdressed warlock, drawing the summoning circle, or whatever it was. Chris had been very confused when the warlock had pulled out the book he had used to send Chris to away. He was very well versed in demonic languages, though he didn't know all of them, the words always seemed familiar to him, and he could always recognize them even if he didn't know their actual translation.
But these words were nothing he'd ever seen before, and he couldn't help but wonder what lengths the warlock had gone to achieve the book.
Well, Magnus Bane is an old warlock, he thought, he has connections.
The horror of being sent to hell had faded a bit, now that he had been falling for who knows how long. It could have been a day, or a few seconds. Time really didn't seem to matter, but it felt endless.
When the chains had come out of the spinning and glowing circle, Chris first fear for the first time in a long time. And he remembered how unwelcoming it felt.
He'd felt wary of things, concerned, and watchful, but never downright terror. Valentine had whipped those emotions out of him long ago. When the only thing that was holding him up from the Portal downwards was cut, he felt only one word echo through his mind though.
Clary.
All of his thoughts were in and out of his head as soon as they came, as if they were mere substances in the air in which he fell through. But Clary was the one image his mind would always turn back to.
She loves me, he tried to not to believe it, in case he was wrong. They hadn't even spoken, they had simply looked at each other. Perhaps it had just been his mind making up things in the moment, perhaps that wasn't what she meant.
But he could feel what she meant. No one had ever looked at him like that, not Valentine, no one. Chris had never been loved, so how could he think this was love when he'd never been the receiver of it?
He wanted to believe it though, he wanted to think she meant what he thought so badly. But it was a bittersweet idea. Even if she meant it, what did that mean now? He was in hell, was currently falling straight to it, and he was worlds away from her.
At least she was safe, that he was sure of. The Clave was convinced that she was only a victim of his, so she should be alright. He hadn't planned on her episode to suddenly occur, truthfully he had forgotten all about it, but never had he been so glad for her to have gone through it. Because of that, she hadn't had to come here with him.
A selfish part of him wished that she had been sent anyway though, so that at least they'd be here together, and no one would take her from him ever again. But he couldn't put her through that and steal her one chance.
At least now she'll have golden boy, he thought venomously, better than being with a demon in a demon filled waste land.
The place was horrible indeed. The air was getting hot, very hot, and at some point, he didn't recall when, his chains magically disappeared, as he found that he no longer felt heavy. He no longer felt like he was falling, but his hair was still in his face, so he guessed that he still was.
He started coughing as well, the atmosphere around him feeling like it was coating his lungs black. He didn't dare move, in fear that he would suddenly lose his sense of direction again. He had decided that the way he was falling was down, and above him was up. The rest he'd decide later.
Chris suddenly feels the hard texture of broken rock beneath his back, and he turns his head a bit, confused, only to find that he was no longer falling. How that he had fallen all that way and not crushed every bone in his body, he didn't know.
He had reached the bottom.
Welcome to hell, he thought, sitting up cautiously, Population: one, not counting the millions of demons out here as people, in that case I'm part Greater demon, therefore, population is only half.
He was standing on a rocky plain, the ground looked black and ashy, teeth-like rocks jutting out here and there, as if an earthquake (or would it be hellquake?) had forced it up. Only about five meters to his left, he saw a river running like a scar along the black terrain, only instead of water, liquid flames boiled. Occasionally, the flames would form the faces of gloating monsters, and then disappear as it flowed along with the rest of the river.
Chris gave a three sixty around him, seeing that that was all he could see for now, in the distance there was a brown dirt fog, if it was even dirt, obscuring everything past it. Looking up, all he saw the red atmosphere, disappearing behind rust colored clouds. The whole place was red and rusty.
And empty. He hadn't expected much, but this otherwise quiet environment was a bit suspicious.
He turned again, to look at the fire river, when a shadow passed through his peripheral vision, and before he knew it he had ducked and rolled to the side as an enormous demon almost stampeded him.
Where did that come from?
Getting into a crouch, he jumped onto a nearby boulder, watching as the demon kicked up dust.
Oh, it was an elephant. If elephants had eight legs, four on each side, scales like an armadillo, the fangs of a spider, giant eyes like a fly and not one, not two, but four tusks, two where they normally go, and the other two just above the eyes.
The demon wasn't as large as he had first thought, definitely bigger than him, but about the size of a giant bear.
It ran its feet through the ground, like a bull preparing to charge, and Chris hopped off the boulder as it ran straight through the rock, crumbling it to nothing but dirt, and quickly turned, snout snorting. Oh yeah, it had two other nostrils right where its trunk met its head.
He had no weapons, which was no problem, but that was just at the moment though. He couldn't face every demon he saw empty handed.
Chris had landed about a few feet away from the river, feeling the heat of the flames licking the back of his neck. He was about to step away from it, when an idea occurred to him. He stayed his ground, waiting for the demon to charge again.
"Come at me you disgusting-" he didn't even finish before it charged.
At the last moment, he jumped up into the air, grasping one of the tusks that protruded from its scaly skin, and yanked as hard as he could.
A loud crack came as the tusk snapped off, and the demon screeched a high piercing squeal as it fell headfirst into the flames.
It burned for a few seconds, still alive, in which he thought perhaps the flames couldn't kill it, but then the flames seemed to form a fist, as if the river was actually an entity on its own, and the fist wrapped its fiery fingers around the demon, and sank it to the bottom as it thrashed, but didn't come up again.
Chris back away from the river until it was a good distance away.
He observed his trophy, the tusk. It wasn't made of ivory, as elephant tusks are, but a strange sort of material, almost metallic. It glinted black, like obsidian, but he was sure it wasn't that.
Either way, it was lightweight, and only the part where he had ripped it off was soft and easy to break, the rest was hard as steel.
"Food," a voice prickled behind him, and he turned quickly, his new weapon out in front of him. It would have to do.
The demon was like a roach, only its limbs were more, humane. Leave the imagination to you.
"Food,"it hissed again, its voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard, "Who are you, food? And where did you come from?"
"Why do you like to know?" Chris smirked.
"I like to know what I eat, and I like to remind them of what they are, so that they realize that they are nothing once they're eaten. So are you, you think you stand a chance? You are nothing once you are food." Its voice hitched up and down, and Chris assumed it was laughing.
He snorted, "You think you can beat me? You're the one who'll be eating his own words, demon. I'll tell you my name, if only so that you know the name of your killer."
The roach twitched, its body skittering slightly before returning to place, "Very well, then, tell me your name, before I lose my patience!"
He smiled crookedly, "My name is-" he stopped, the words Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern dying off his lips.
But that wasn't who he was anymore, he had given that name up long ago. He was no longer Valentine's son, nor Jocelyn's. He refused to take any part in what they gave to him.
Sebastian was name he used as his own, but it was a stolen name, not truly his either. It was a cover up, a fake, an attempt to start anew and make an image for himself. But, the name didn't feel his. It didn't feel like who he was anymore.
A memory rolled up in his mind, a voice saying, "Yeah, like John, or maybe I can call you Christopher, you know I think I like Chris. Yeah, I like Chris, you kind of look like a Chris."
Clary. She wasn't there for Jonathan, and she despised Sebastian, but she had made Chris. He had so many identities, but there was only one he truly wanted to be known by. The one that really mattered.
He looked at the demon, his eyes steady, and his mind made.
"My name is Chris." He raised his tusk before the demon attacked.
"Just Chris."
Lacie: Ta daa! And we see Hell, and Chris being all awesome like!
Chris: I'm always awesome, what are you talking about?
Lacie: Stop acting like Jace.
Clary: Please don't bring up Jace :(
Chris: Oh yeah, hahaha you attacked lover boy
Clary: I did not attack him!
Chris: sure you didn't….
Lacie: Anyways, sorry for the hugggggeee shocker from the last chapter again you guys, but as you can see, our heroes are not finished yet!
Clary: I'm a hero!
Chris: Not in the eyes of the Clave, you're public enemy number one now
Clary: Damn D:
Lacie: Sorry about that, but yeah, this will go on until the end! When I say it ends!
Clary: Wait Lacie! Am I going insane, I sound like I'm going insane.
Chris: you are insane
Clary: Shut up chris
Lacie: you're not going insane. The whole rune thingies will be explained laterr, if people don't have an idea of it already
Chris: MY NAME IS ON CLARY'S WRIST PERMANENTLY
Clary: NO! your name is Chris, you just admitted to Sebastian not being your name!
Chris: Nevertheless, he is a part of me. AND NOW OF YOU
Clary: that sounds so wrong. EWWWWWW…
Lacie: Moving on! Thanks you to every one of you guys who reviewed! I got thirty in the last chapter! Seriously? I thought you'd all be too mad to review! Thanks boatload though, no thanks a hell load!
Chris: Hey! Too soon….
Lacie: :P hehe. Anyway, Hope you enjoyed this, and we hope to see you soon! In the meantime, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Do it. Just do it.
IN TAKI'S…
Simon: I swear it was there a second ago!
Izzy: Simon we all checked! There's nothing there!
Jace: Maybe he needs a blood transfusion, I already did my part. Alec, you give up some of your blood for this poor child's health.
Alec: …no
Simon: I'm not crazy! Izzy? Right!
Izzy:…..*stares at reviewers without rest noticing* whatever floats your boat Simon, whatever floats your boat…