Lacie: Guys, I have a question, it has nothing to do with this fanfic whatsoever though.
Chris: Well this ought to be interesting
Clary: Ask away!
Lacie: This is completely random, but if a vampire and a zombie were in a room together, and the vampire bit the zombie, attempting to Turn it, and the zombie bit the vampire, would the vampire become a zombie, a vampire zombie, and the zombie become a vampire, a zombie vampire, and how would those even be?
Chris: I was wrong. This isn't interesting, it's ludicrous.
Lacie: Answer me!
Clary: but, vampires and zombies only go after live people, and both of them are technically dead, wouldn't bite each other in the first place, so…
Lacie: So no vampire zombies? D:
Clary: No
Lacie: aww….anyway, I'd still like to hear more theories, this just randomly landed in my brain for no reason while watching How It Should Have Ended videos on Youtube of Twilight and World War Z. Just PM me your thoughts if you have nothing else to do or put them in a review!
Clary: Speaking of reviews…..
Lacie: Oh yes! Guys thank you for every review you have given me! I honestly love reading them and seeing that people are enjoying this random babble stuff I do. Whether you guys have started reading this a long time ago, like since the first few chapters, or maybe you guys just started a few days ago and have just read them all straight and have just caught up (though that is fast reading and reading is amazing no matter who the author is) I really adore you guys because you are all like little invisible friends that I don't see and I don't know but we all have one thing in common, and that is our love for everything Cassandra Clare writes. That women is a goddess.
Chris: O-o okay then
Lacie: Hey! If it weren't for her, you wouldn't exist, so don't make that face. But yeah, thanks for the reviews, I love them and store them all where it really matters, where it is the most important-
Clary: your heart :)
Lacie: No! My heart needs to pump blood constantly and has no room for all of this! Do you want to suffocate me? No I meant my computer, my account, the internet these days is a miracle.
Chris: You have a question from someone, a guest, they ask if you play Wizard 101
Lacie: Aw, no I don't play Wizard 101, though I have seen PLENTY of their commercials to know that they're a pretty successful game. Well done :)
Clary: Hey, what is said guest's name?
Chris: ilubcupcakes, I think they've reviewed before.
Clary: yeah she does sound familiar
Chris: Why do you assume it's a girl
Clary: …..well, cupcakes, duh
Chris: So guys can't like cupcakes, is that what you're saying?
Clary:….you lub cupcakes don't you Chris?
Chris: I won't deny it…
Clary: Awwwwww…..Let's get you some! We'll be back Lacie! *they leave*
Lacie: Hey wait! I….want…some…too. poo, they're gone. Dirty bumrags. Wait! Rachel! Another guest review! Rachel OMG you made me cry with what you said, I literally rocked back and forth reading it in utter excitement and joy and happy and I almost exploded. I screamed, I really did. I loved it, I love you, OH gosh, aaaggggg *happy*
Well that was long , now onto what you guys want: Enjoy!
Simon POV
To say Clary left the Clave in a state of panic was an understatement.
It was like she was Dorothy in the Land of Oz only Clary was the bad witch all this time and started commanding all those freaky flying monkeys to start chowing on the munchkins. Only there were no munchkins, or flying monkeys, or- Oh you get the idea.
Simon couldn't help but be reminded of the time when Clary punched this fifth grader in the nose while she was in third grade, and at the time people thought she was a kindergartener. She had done it because the older kid had pushed Simon out of the sandbox, making him lose his glasses because of it. So while Simon was stuck in the role of Velma from Scooby-Doo, patting the ground around for his glasses, little Clary rolled in like a ball of fury and unleashed her fist upon his face, knocking the kid down. She then retrieved his lunchbox, put his glasses on, and they marched off the playground arm in arm. To Clary, it hadn't seemed like much, she had only helped her best friend. But the next day, rumors had started about how the 'tiny kindergarten tiger' had defeated an older kid. She never paid them any attention, and although the memory always brought up embarrassing thoughts that he had been saved by a girl, one that was about half his size and weight, always amazed him as well. She never saw the effect that she had on people.
Snapping his head out of memory land, Simon focused on the current status in the chaotic courtroom.
After Jace had pounded on the door hard enough to leave a dent, he and several other Shadowhunters had drawn various sized opening runes (hey he recognized them :D!) and he sprinted past the doorway off to follow wherever Clary went. He was flanked by about half of the Shadowhunters in the courtroom, many who seemed to be enraged by the fact that one girl, who had close to no experience in training, who only months ago was brought into their world, was able to take all of them on using only the chains that were meant to restrain her.
If the situation hadn't been tense, Simon would have laughed about the whole thing. In fact, even now, he felt a smile tugging on his lips, but the grim look of the Shadowhunters that had stayed behind and hovered over the dead body of the Counsel, silently discussing what to do now, wiped any expression from his face.
Though he had been here the whole time, Simon's mind still couldn't believe what had just happened. The enormity of the thing just hadn't settled in, which was probably why he wanted to burst into laughter. His mind purposely being slow on loading all of the details.
Somehow though, even if the entirety of the moment was set into his brain like concrete, he still didn't think it would affect him as much. For one, he felt no pity for the death of the Counsel. Sure, Simon wouldn't have wished for him to die, he pretty much reacted the same way as everyone else when the sound of his neck snapping echoed through the room, cringing as he pictured being the one getting his neck broken, but had hadn't liked the Counsel either. What was with the Clave choosing power-hungry dictators for their leaders anyway?
Besides, it was Clary. He didn't care what everyone else said, to him, she hadn't changed. In their conversation earlier, she had seemed the exact same person as before. Sure, her appearance was different, and he had found it strange to look into her black eyes, but it was a different sort of strange. The feeling where you walk into a room and feel like something is missing, though you can't place what. Only he knew exactly what was different. Her eyes were black, but he still saw Clary in them, her fire that made her, her. Even when her looks changed back to normal after that weird seizure attack that she had out of nowhere, which was the only thing he was really confused about, she looked the same, but now, her fire had been blazing brighter than before.
He had been mesmerized, watching as she moved about, at the way her eyes lit up as she fought. He'd never seen her like that before. The Clary he had known months ago was gone, and somehow, he was okay with that. It wasn't as if he had gone through some changes as well. In fact, how could they possibly have gone through everything that's happened without a couple of changes?
It might sound like he was being over protective about Clary, defending her even, but it was just something that none of them would understand.
"I'm going to kill little red," a disoriented sounding warlock sounded, and Simon snapped out of his reverie to glance over at Alec, who was kneeling beside the blinking figure.
Alec had been frozen when Clary attacked Magnus, though Simon didn't think Clary had wanted to hurt him. The Lightwood boy had been standing as Clary escaped from her chains, and when Magnus collapsed, he looked like a deer caught in front of headlights, not knowing whether he should move or not.
It had taken Isabelle pulling on his arm to pull him back towards the door, as it was Luke's idea to block the closest visible exit. The only thing that was wrong with that plan, was that they forgot about the other door that she had entered through.
Speaking of Luke…..
The guy that Simon considered as his second father had raced after Jocelyn, as the red haired women ran out of the courtroom, along with a group of Shadowhunters who were going to patrol the perimeter of the city. They all thought that Clary was going to try to escape, but they said their wards were up, so anyone who would pass through them would start an alarm. But Simon was didn't think their wards would hold Clary back, they hadn't necessarily worked in their favor in the past before.
"You don't mean that," Simon said, strolling towards the two guys with his hands in his pockets. "You're just angry because she messed up your hair."
The warlock scowled, "At least death by my hand would be quick and painless, with the show she put on now, I doubt the Clave will let her go anytime soon, even if Jocelyn begs them." Magnus cringed, grasping his temple as a throb went up his head.
"Hey, be careful, you shouldn't work yourself up." Alec soothed, holding Magnus's head in his lap as if it were bomb about to go off. Which it may. You never know with Magnus.
"I'm fine," Magnus assured, glancing a look at Alec, who watched with a concerned face. The warlock looked at Simon, "shouldn't you be with the rest of them, Seymour, chasing after young Clarissa?"
Simon sighed, "My name is- Oh forget it, and no, I'm not going to chase after Clary."
"Oh, really?" Magnus muttered, but his gaze was no longer on Simon, and he was staring up at Alec.
The Daylighter might be thought of as thickheaded and stupid sometimes, but he was smart enough to know that these two wanted to be alone. Besides, he thought he remembered Isabelle saying once that Alec and Magnus had broken up.
Well what a strange way for them to get back together, he chuckled, walking away from the two.
Simon was about to walk up to Isabelle, who had hung back behind the Shadowhunters that had cloaked the Counsel's corpse. As he watched, they carried his body out through the front door, probably to start making some sort of ceremony or something.
Just as they walked outside, Maryse walked inside, her eyes trailing at the white sheet before moving back to the inside of the courtroom. Her gaze flickered on Alec and Magnus for a second, barely acknowledging them, when she walked straight up to Isabelle.
Mother stood next to daughter as both of them stared at the Shadowhunters even after they were gone with the Counsel.
They were at the bottom step of the stairs leading up to the place where Clary and Sebastian had been chained up, and Simon was leaning up against a column nearby, slinking in the shadows. Not because he didn't want to be seen, okay maybe because he didn't want to talk to Maryse, after talking back to her, instead of gaining confidence, he only slinked further back from her, but she didn't seem to frown at his presence anymore.
He'd say that was an improvement.
"How are things outside?" Isabelle casually asked without looking at her mom. They both had the same long flowing black hair and Simon wondered at how in the Shadowhunter world, having children means creating copies of yourself. Clary looked like Jocelyn, Sebastian look like Valentine, Isabelle looked like Maryse, and Jace, well, he's sure Jace probably looked like his dad. Whoever his dad was again. He stopped keeping track of all of his last names.
Maryse blew air out of her mouth slowly, before responding, "The city will be on lockdown, in case of an attack from some unknown ace hidden up their sleeves. Demon Shadowhunters, perhaps."
"But the wards will stop demons from entering, so how will they get in anyway?" Isabelle questioned. "And besides, Sebastian is gone, hell ridden, what else had he got?"
Her mother's cold eyes closed before opening, "Don't underestimate your opponents moves. You think they're gone, and when you least expect it, they come back to stab you where it hurts the most."
Simon internally grimaced. Maryse was obviously talking about Valentine. The guy pretends he's dead for almost twenty years, and then he comes back only to kill her son and cause mayhem.
Maryse said she was going to see what she could do to help, then briskly walked back outside, leaving Isabelle staring after her.
Simon decided he had enough of the courtroom, besides, Alec and Magnus looked like they were ready to go past the I'm going to ignore your existence even though I'm sure you meant everything to me phase and start back wherever they left off and he really didn't want to be in the same room, or building for that matter, when they did.
He headed for the front entrance, his eyes looking into the still dark sky, Man, it must be well into the night now, and stops before stepping out onto the threshold.
"Izzy," he calls, beckoning with his hand.
She looks at him, then looks at her brother, and quickly walks up to him, stepping past the threshold. They let the door close.
As soon as the sound of the lock sounded, Isabelle turned to face him. Her black eyes seemed to encompass her face as her pupils dilated to get used to the darkness outside.
"Where were you going?" she asked him. There was only about two feet of distance between them.
"Nowhere," he replies, shifting his gaze towards the city and the glass towers beyond, "I just wanted a better view. I don't know about you, but I don't prefer to watch two guys make up by making out."
"You're right," she said, "You don't know about me." Her face flashed a mischievous smile.
Simon looked back at her, finding her closer than she had been a second ago, and he found his thoughts being muddled by the sight of her.
He swore, if he had a live heart, it would be pounding.
Resisting the human urge to swallow, he voiced as nonchalantly as possible, "Do you want an even better view?"
One of her eyebrows raised, and her head cocked to the side as she asked, "What do you mean?"
He caught himself looking at her plush lips, the curve of her jaw, the vein in her neck….
His fangs crept out of his gums.
NO bad vampire! NO NO
He pictured Clary smacking him with a copy of a Naruto manga, and believe it or not, it helped. His fangs retracted.
"I'll show you." How in the world was he able to speak?
Quickly wrapping an arm around her, he jumped, and with one arm, he climbed up the Courthouse, spiderman style. The Courthouse looked a lot like a church, so when they reached the top, they were on a flat room, with gargoyle looking statues posted on the four corners of the place, a small, four foot wall preventing them from meeting the edge.
Setting her down on the roof, he sat on the wall, straddling it like a horse, one leg hanging over the side, while the other rested on the roof as he leaned against a gargoyle.
Up here, he felt it easier to think, or maybe it was because Izzy stayed where he had put her down. The closer Isabelle Lightwood got to him the less mind functioned. He stared out over the city, the feint light of witchlight barely illuminating the streets, its mazelike avenues so unlike New York that it made him homesick. How did the Clave think they were possibly going to find Clary? In the dark while she could be anywhere? Granted, they did find her before, but he felt that this time was different, they'd lost her again.
Though for some reason, this time he wasn't as worried.
His head was tilted to the left, so that he looked at Alicante, though his attention on the city was waning. His vampire senses, that he never seemed able to shut off, maybe in the future, kept reminding him of the warm presence that was just a few feet to his right.
Isabelle drew him like a moth to a light. It didn't help that he had already fed from her, in fact, he was beginning to think that it had only intensified the attraction. It was as if his body recognized her blood, saying, Hey! She let herself get eaten before! Let's do it again! Hurrah! And it was those thoughts that made him want to keep his distance. Sometimes he wondered if he craved to be near Isabelle because of her blood, or because of her. He had fed before the trip to Athens, hours ago, which means that he should be able to hold out for a few days now, but being near her made him feel hungry again.
Even now, his fangs threatened to slip out again, and he tried not to clench his aw, knowing Isabelle would notice.
Oh the irony of being a vampire….he thought, you don't have to worry about getting a boner, but before you know it you've got two fangs slipping out of your mouth, ready for blood…..
"Are you alright?" Isabelle asked. Her tone wasn't gentle, but it wasn't firm either. He slowly turned his eyes towards her, taking in her crossed arms, and slight frown. She stepped up to him, leaning against the leg that was on the inside of the roof so that his knee was pressed against her stomach. He could feel her body heat soak into his cold corpse.
Down boys! He thought hastily to his fangs. Or, no, up, get back up into the gums.
He never was normal as a human anyway, why change because he was a vampire?
"I'm fine." He finally responded, turning his gaze back out to the city, where her head also looked towards. "Everyone's going crazy with this whole thing is all, I think they're frankly making too big of a fuss."
"Crazy?" she asked, gaping at him, "You're best friend just killed our Counsel, escaped in chains, and managed to get away from a building full of trained Shadowhunters, and you think they're overreacting?" Her voice rose a bit at the end.
"It's just Clary," he muttered, even though he knew what he just said was unbelievable.
"I don't think that's just Clary anymore." Izzy snorted, "Just Clary can't rip heavy chains down from the ceiling. Just Clary can't take on multiple people with no weapons and come out without a scratch. Just Clary wouldn't defend her brother because her brother is a psychotic maniac who just Clary hates!"
Izzy's hands were gripping the edge of the wall in front of her, which happened to right next Simon's leg.
He made a show of taking in a breath even though they both knew he didn't need it, "She might seem different, but trust me, deep down inside, she's the same Clary."
Or at least she was before her brother was hell sent. He felt the ghost of a shiver pass through, though he didn't shudder. The presence of hell in the same room as him had felt eerie. He never wanted to feel it again.
Isabelle turned to look at him, and through the corner of his eye, he could see her slight anger, "How can you be so calm? Didn't you want to find her? Save her? Something could be wrong with her, did you not see the weird circle thingie that glowed around her? Sebastian obviously did something to her that made her act like that, what if she's running to fulfill some sort of plan that he left for her to accomplish!"
Izzy's words made sense in a logical way. Sebastian had possessed Jace in a way that made him seem normal, the same. The main reason that he believed that Clary was still his Clary was because of the conversation they had in her cell. She acted like she was perfectly fine, but Clary had said that Jace had acted in pretty much the same way. Was he right to think that she was okay then, when in the past they had evidence that it wasn't?
Something kept pulling on his memory, and he chased it down until he found it. During the time that Magnus was completing the enchantment to send Sebastian to hell, Clary had been staring in shock at what was going on. Of course, they'd all been in shock, the fact that the Portal to hell was being opened right in front of them is no easy matter. But what really caught his attention, was when Sebastian's chains were just about to be cut. It was the few seconds before it had happened.
Simon had looked away, not feeling it in his dead heart to even watch someone like Sebastian get sent to hell, but not before he noticed something in Clary's eyes.
She had been looking at Sebastian intensely, no longer in shock, but like she was trying to tell him something. It was almost like when he and she would just look at each other and instantly know what they were trying to say. He couldn't catch their meaning, but something had been exchanged between them.
And then, when Sebastian's chains were cut, and he fell, Simon saw the look in Clary's eyes.
Her green eyes like shattered glass.
Oh was all he managed to think, oh.
She cared for him.
The puzzle clicked into place. Clary would never act like that unless she had a reason to. Unless she had someone to do it for.
And that someone had been her brother.
"Simon!" Izzy snapped him back as he realized he'd been in his head again, "I swear, you've hung around Clary too much in your life, you're starting to zone out like her. I just said, why don't you contact Atlas again and see if he can help you?"
The idea came and went as Simon almost immediately said no. "I've already bothered him enough. Besides, I think he doesn't like the fact that several of his men were injured in Athens. Also, I don't think I can stand Sharon anymore."
He still needed a way to put her down gently. That'll be fun….
Izzy frowned, "What's wrong?" this time she asked a bit more sincerely, looking into his eyes. "Why don't you want to find Clary anymore?"
He actually had an answer, "Because last time, we didn't know what happened. We didn't know if she was okay, or not okay. She was kidnapped by Sebastian, and we were all worried about what would happen to her and what Sebastian was planning." He looked into Isabelle's deep eyes as he spoke, "But this time she ran off on her own, she's not in danger, no one is going to hurt her. I just, feel like we need to give her some time. She'll find us when she wants to."
"Not in danger? She just ran off into nowhere! How will she survive?" Isabelle pressed. Man, she was just making this hard for him. Yes, he wanted to help his best friend, don't get him wrong, he wanted to make sure she was alright, but he felt that what he was saying was right. Clary needed space.
"You're not even mad?" Isabelle whispered, taking his hand in hers and lightly clasping it, "she just left without saying goodbye, hell, she didn't even say hello." Izzy looked down at their clasped hands, a face he couldn't read on her.
He couldn't be mad. Clary left because of Sebastian, and what was done to him. Put that way, Clary had every right to storm off, minus the attack she made. But how could he explain to Isabelle that the reason she killed the Counsel and ran off was because Clary liked, loved, cared? Let's just say cared, about her brother, the person who killed her little brother Max? He couldn't explain it, not without everyone going into shell shock. Not only that, but Clary hadn't told him, so how could he tell everyone else something he hadn't even confided in him.
This wasn't his secret to tell. So for now, he'd do what he'd always done. Keep Clary's secrets, because she sure had a bunch of his locked up.
"I'm not mad at her." He finally said, getting his head out of his thoughts.
"So you're on her side?" she questioned.
"I'm not taking sides, it's just that, you don't understand Clary." That was his best explanation.
"Of course I understand," Isabelle argued, "She's siding with Sebastian because he did something to her."
"Izzy, when I became a vampire, Clary could have abandoned me, but instead she stayed by my side, in my darkest hour, the lowest I've ever been. She was with me the whole way. So if this is her dark hour, I'll stick to her, like she did to me."
"This isn't the same thing Simon!" Izzy protested, "Clary didn't change into a werewolf and is currently off hunting in the night, she just attacked members of the Clave, inside of Idris!"
"Does the fact that it was in Idris even matter?" he asked curiously.
"I don't know, Simon?" she asked rolling her eyes, her voice dripping sarcasm, "If you heard that the Mundie president of the United States was attacked in the middle of the, what's it called again? The White house. Would you be more surprised if it happened there, or at some hotdog stand miles away from one of the most secure places you could place a person?"
"Actually," Simon said seriously, "I think I'd be more surprised that he was killed at a hotdog stand. The president doesn't just buy his own hotdogs, so why would he go there in the first? He has people for that."
"You know what I mean." She emphasized.
"Okay. I guess you're right. But if Jace were the one doing this, would you stop him?" he tried another angle.
"We already did." She answered dead panned, "You should remember, you had a front row seat with the Angel himself when it happened."
"Well that was another bad example." Simon sighs, running a hand through his hair, the first sign of stress he's made, which Izzy notices and squeezes his other hand gently, "Right now, I really think that she needs some time to think. I don't think she really knows what she's doing any more than we do. She needs to figure out what her action is going to be."
"And if that plan of action is bad?" Isabelle straightens up and stands so that she can lean against his shoulder, her head touching his cheek, "And if she does something horrible?"
Simon closed his eyes, soaking in the moment, "Then I guess when that happens, you can all turn around and point your fingers at me."
"No." Isabelle whispered, "I think if that happens, you'll be first one to be able to talk to her and let her know that what she's doing is wrong."
"You overestimate my powers," he chuckles, "I don't think there's much I can ever do in these types of situations."
"You're wrong. When you're really needed, you step up to the plate Simon." Isabelle's voice practically floated up to his ears, and he knew that she had turned her head up to look at him.
"I never really liked baseball…" he mutters.
"Simon," she says, "Can we stop talking about everything else?"
He popped one eye open, "And what do you want to talk about?"
She got up, and swung her leg over the wall so that she was facing him, both of her long legs over his. She smiles devilishly, "Nothing."
Isabelle leaned in, lips brushing against his, "How long has it been since you last fed Simon?"
Chris POV
If you're going through hell, Chris thought of a quote, keep going.
Though he was sure that this isn't what Winston Churchill meant.
Nevertheless, keep going is exactly what he's been doing. Since he killed the last demon, he's trekked through the ashy and dry terrain, feeling like he was inhaling poison that was slowly killing him. He was sure that if it hadn't been for his Greater Demon blood, he would have died already in the brutal environment. Everything in hell is meant to kill you. The air, company, even the land he walked upon was trying to kill him, as if hell was the embodiment of a much larger demon, and that demon itself could feel Chris's footsteps and was trying to knock him out like a fly.
Using the fiery river to navigate himself, though he stayed well away from it, he walked in the direction in which it flowed, wanting to find the source of all of this fire. The fog barrier that had obscured everything past never seemed to get any closer, as if it was just there to hide the secrets of hell until he went there to see them himself.
He'd been walking for quite some time now, but he couldn't tell how much exactly, every one of his steps was about a second, but he didn't have the patience to count every single one of his steps. The light source in hell didn't seem to wane either, so he couldn't count on at least having a day and night to pin point himself.
All he knew was that he'd left the terrain that he first arrived in behind. The ground there had been black and ashy, while what he walked upon here was rust red, little orange vein like lines that started at the river and branched out into the land cracking through the surface. Every once in a while, the veins would explode, and some of the fire from the river would flow out from where the ground had cracked. He'd been wary, making sure to tread lightly.
Looking up from where he was stepping his feet to look at his surroundings, he spotted a boulder not too far ahead, and after careful scrutiny, he deemed it safe to mount. Climbing onto it, he stretched out his legs, laying his dark tusk from the elephant like demon next to him. He was tired, not so tired so that he needed to stop, but he could feel the tiredness building up, which was why he needed to rest every so often.
It seemed like everything was harder to do here, which was why even a long walk that would have been nothing to him on Earth tired him out a bit. Or maybe it really was the air poisoning him. His throat felt dry and scratchy, and upon looking at his hands, he saw they were red like a rash, giving his skin more color than his pale color ever had.
His clothes were dusty and covered in various ichor stains. He'd already killed more demons than he could count, though they had been small and mere nuisances at best, though he was sure it hadn't even been a day in normal time. Overall, he wasn't really worried about himself. Yet.
What he was worried about, was his weapon. The strong tusk had lasted this long, its long surface also covered in multiple ichor stains, though he couldn't guess how much longer it would be of use before it breaks into pieces. Hopefully not while he needed. This is also another reason why he always kept the fiery river in sight, so that he could use it to his advantage and toss the demons into it should the need come.
If it doesn't decide to eat me first….
Sometimes he swore there was an eye watching him from within the flames, but then he looked and was convinced his mind was playing tricks on him.
He laid out on the boulder, stretching his arms over his head, the sound of his back cracking sounded. In response, his stomach growled and tightened.
He frowned. If he was hungry already, then he had to be here for over six hours already. But taking into account all the work he's done, maybe a bit less.
Chris cracked his knuckles.
Maybe I can find a demon, stick my tusk through it and hold it over the river and see if it cooks…..
He smiled to himself, already seeing many holes with that plan. Demons here don't disappear in dust and ash, considering that they're already in hell so they have no were to go, so they simply become corpses. So that shouldn't bother him when impaling a demonic limb. But would he even be able to eat it? Ichor was not edible, unless it dried up. Maybe he'll come across a demonic chicken, or at least something that's part chicken.
If he was part demon, would it be called cannibalism to eat other demons?
Not only that, but if he held out the demon body to the river, would the river reach out and grab it like the last time? Would it take Chris as well?
Maybe if I make one of the orange veins in the ground erupt I can avoid going directly towards the river…..
Either way he put it, it didn't seem like he was going to be eating anything any time soon. He could feel fatigue infect his head at a faster rate than was usual for him, and he took in a deep breath in order to sooth his pained stomach. His throat immediately prickled from the large intake of the air and he started coughing.
Stupid….poisoned….. air, he thought between coughs. He didn't know if it was actually poisoned, but the air definitely didn't feel like air.
Chris sat up, his cough attack not letting up. This was bad, not the coughs, but the sound. In the empty atmosphere, his coughs echoed across the land like drum beats, probably warning every demon within a five mile radius. He may not be able to see them now, but those hell creatures have a knack of appearing out of nowhere.
His black onyx eyes scanned the land around him several times, deciding between coughs whether or not he should get off the boulder. Up here, he was easily seen, but he had an advantage of height. He decided to stay on it. For now.
Swallowing what little saliva he could produce, he stopped coughing and flattened himself onto the boulder, stomach pressed down and hand wrapped around the tusk.
His gaze inspected every element around him, staring at everything until their image was imprinted into his mind. Nothing. The place was empty.
He sighed, deciding that there was no point in staying there any more than he already had. Hopping off the boulder, he avoided a web of orange veins on the ground and continued to walk in the direction that river flowed in.
One of the things he hated most about hell. It wasn't the heat, the demons, the air, the river, none of that.
It was how much it seemed to remind him of Clary. It was a ridiculous thought, but it did. The fiery river seemed to burn in the exact shade of her hair, the licking flames curling and flowing in much the same way that her curls would do so in a breeze. The ground before his feet was a deep red orange, and even though before he had first called it the color of rust, now it looked Clary's hair underneath then setting sun.
It was only that reason as to why hell was unbearable to him. Because he couldn't have what he wanted most. Even the green ichor on his shirt reminded him of her eyes. A burst of an orange vein reminded him of her excitement whenever he would show her something that caught her attention. His white blonde hair in his eyes reminded him of her when she was completely white haired.
His jaw clenched. He wondered how she was doing right now. Was the Clave treating her right? Was she still in Alicante, or had she gone back to New York? Had she received any punishment? Why hadn't he figured out what would be done to her before they sent him away? They could have lied and sent her away straight after he had, perhaps she was wandering hell too, only farther away.
He'd find her, he'd help her, and together, somehow, someway, they'd get out of here.
Stop it! He blinked his eyes, his fingertips pinching the bridge of his nose, Now you're just blubbering, this isn't you.
Hell was getting to his head, if he couldn't keep a clear mind, he'd never make it.
As much as it pains me, I have to stop thinking about Clary. If I wrap myself in thoughts like that, I'll become as insane as the rest of the lot here.
As he paused to clear his head, he heard it.
Moving before he even knew what was after him, he threw himself sideways, just barely missing getting pummeled in the back by-
A gremlin?
Yes, a gremlin. One day, at the house, before Clary and Chris had been captured, the movie 'Gremlins' had appeared, and Clary had insisted upon watching it. The whole plot had seemed strange to him, who gives his son a creature that he had bought from a random antique store? But the leather horrifying gremlins after they'd mutated pretty much summed up the appearance of the gremlins before him. Except these were about a six inches taller and their eyes were pure black.
His eyes focused on the gremlin that had fallen, and he saw that the little demon wasn't alone. Looking back, he saw about a dozen, give or take some demons, climbing the boulder that Chris had been laying on moments ago. Some scuttled around the boulder, looking up at him with a maniacal curiosity.
Where do they all just appear from?
The gremlin that had flew past him must have shot off from the boulder, because pretty soon, a bunch of its pals decided to launch themselves too, and Chris found himself in the midst of a demon shower. Their high pitched laughter cackled in the air, as Chris sliced the first gremlin that had jumped down, he dodged and ran and lifted his tusk to impale a gremlin that landed right onto the point. More green black ichor ran down the tusk, coating his hands. He hissed, jerking the demon off as his hands burned.
There were too many for him to fight all at once, especially since they seemed to enjoy climbing up the boulder and flying at him. One gremlin jumped for his shoulder, and he caught it by the neck and squeezed it hard, hearing the snapping of its neck. He flung the body at a gremlin projectile that was arching towards him, intercepting its path.
A sharp pain erupted from his thigh and he looked down to see one of the dirty things had bitten him. He gouged it in the stomach with his tusk, making it howl and writher around, and he barely disengaged its jaws from his leg when he felt two forms jump onto his back.
Crap
Two gremlins had perched on his shoulders and were teasing him by covering his eyes and pulling at his hair. His struggled to remove them, but every time he lifted his arms they would bite his shoulder or fingers, causing him to roar with pain. That only seemed to delight them, as he heard the rest of the gremlins laugh their annoying laughs.
They all enjoyed in pushing him around, taking turns at attempting to trip him and poking him and biting him.
They followed him every step he took, and he knew they were only playing with him for now. Soon they'd get bored and remember why they even approached him.
Alright you little beasts, let's see how much fun you have when you're burnt to crisps.
Following the sense of heat, Chris started slowly moving towards the fiery river, making the swarm of gremlins follow after him, as they thought he was trying to escape. They even pushed him forward, attempting to get him on his knees, but he stayed up. The continued to cover and open his eyes, deeming it funny to see that he was blind. But he continued walking, moving a bit faster now, they sped up along with him, not noticing his antics. He kept doing this until he was at a full on run, and they all chased after him.
These demons were simple minded.
Monkey see, monkey do…
With all his strength, he pumped energy into his legs, gripped his tusk, and jumped as hard as he could just as he felt the licks of fire. Soaring through the air, he jumped right over the flaming river, feeling as if he were being cooked alive as the heat intensified beneath him, and behind him he could hear the sound of high pitched screams.
The gremlins had followed him and stupidly copied his actions, just as he thought they would, and being of lower strength and agility, they most of them fell into his new best friend.
The fiery river of hell.
There were only two gremlins who did not jump, as they stood backing away from the river. Except there was still one gremlin who was still clinging to his shoulder.
Both of them stood for a few seconds, the creature no longer covering his eyes, simply standing atop of him like a pirate's parrot. Chris smiled wickedly as the gremlins screeched in the flames, as he felt the demon on him go slack as his brethren literally burned in hell.
Before the gremlin could react, Chris quickly grabbed it by the feet, holding it upside down as it squirmed and tried to bite his hands, but its enormous head couldn't allow him to straighten up, so it simply turned and twisted in his grip.
He walked back towards the river, getting as close as he dared, before addressing the two gremlins on the other side, who no longer looked giddy and mischievous. The hissed at the sight of him.
Chris held up the gremlin in his hands, a smirk on his face, "Do you guys still want to play?"
The demons on the other side took another few steps back.
"What's wrong? Now that you're smaller in numbers you don't want to talk to me anymore?" He swung the demon forward, pretending that he was going to toss it into the river, as the other demons made faces that he could have sworn were of horror.
Oh the day when you make a demon tremble in fear…..
The demon in his hand shouted in a hissing voice, "What do you want from us? We'll do what you want, just don't throw me in there!" Its voice was hard to comprehend, because it was all garbled, as if it were speaking through a mouth full of rocks and glass. He didn't trust the demon, as you never should with any. They were all full of lies and tricks that would only end up killing you. Which was why he had suss as much out of them as possible.
Chris made tsk sound, "I don't want anything to do with you guys, there's nothing you could possibly offer. Although…" He again held up the demon to towards the flames, "I wonder how you all taste like." He licked his lips deliciously.
The demon wriggled even more, "Master! No!"
He raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so I'm 'Master' now?"
It nodded its head affirmatively, "Yes, you are master, and I shall obey Master! No fire, please, no fire!"
Chris pretending to contemplate this, before faking reluctance and finally saying, "Hmm, okay, I won't eat you," he said to the demon on his hands, "But you two…." He eyed the other two demons who were attempting to sneak away.
They both shook their heads vigorously, "We too! We too shall obey Master!"
Chris rolled his eyes, "My name is Chris," he scowled at the two demons, feeling a plan form in his head, "and I want nothing to do with either of you. So run off and tell you're 'friends' that if they come near me, it'll be their end. Understood?"
"Yes Master!" The demons nodded again and again, making them look like disgusting bobble heads. Before they ran off with their lives though, Chris said one more thing.
"And if I ever see you're faces ever again, I won't be so merciful to you," he pointed to the river, "You're fate will be just the same as theirs."
They rambled off a bunch of 'yes Master's and 'Oh no Master you'll never see us again' as they tumbled past each other. To get away.
Let's see if gossip ran just as fast in hell as it does on Earth, granted this could backfire on me, but I'll worry about that when the time comes…
Still in thought, he was brought back by the persistent wriggling in his hands. Bringing up his tusk, he centered the point of it to the gremlin's neck.
"Stop squirming or I'll jab this right through you and cook you right here." He pressured the thing against its scaly throat.
"No Master! But what about me? What is to happen to me?"
"You're going to help me and tell me where I'm going," Chris explained airily while his hand carelessly twisted the tusk, making the demon attempt to move away. "Now then, where does the river flow to? Does it have a name?"
The demon looked baffled, "Do you know nothing?" in response, Chris pushed the tusk deeper, making the demon gulp. "I mean, river is not simply a river, it a demon, Phlegethon."
Ah, of course, he thought, remembering his studies in Greek mythology. The Phlegethon was one of the five rivers of the Underworld, this particular one being the river of fire. Except for one small detail…
"Wasn't Phlegethon a god?" he asked.
"That's what the mortals thought, they believed anything ancient and powerful was some sort of celestial being." The demon answered.
"Where does it flow to?" he asked again.
"It joins up with Acheron, the-"
"The river of woe and pain, I know." The Acheron is another one of the five rivers, only this one was used to ferry the souls of the dead. "That's it? It only leads to the river Acheron?"
The demon wouldn't answer him, so Chris shook him violently.
"Stop! My head, ouch!" Chris ceased and stared the demon menacingly.
The demon confessed, "I don't know, there are rumors, just rumors, of a demon who ruled that area of that infernal land."
"What sort of demon?" Chris questioned.
"The gremlin gulped, "They say the demon is powerful enough to send himself to the mortal world, as well as others. It's the only reason why anyone goes near him, because they wish to be sent to the mortal world."
"He can send you back?" Chris's eyes widened. "How?"
"Rumors, rumors!" The demon insisted, "That's all I know! And they could be false! I've never seen him before." It shook its head, trying to convince Chris that it was all fraud, but Chris wouldn't relent.
"Well then, let's see if these rumors prove to be true," Chris started walking down the river again, and the gremlin started shaking.
"No Master! The demon lord is powerful! He is said to be able to wipe out millions of demons with only a blink of his eye and has the appetite of a hundred monsters!"
"I thought you said that he was only a rumor?" He teased.
"He is!" The gremlin gulped.
"Then we should have nothing to worry about when we get there now do we?" Chris interjected.
The gremlin pleaded, "Then why must I come with you?"
Chris glanced at the gremlin in his hands, "Because if this demon lord has as large of an appetite as you say he does, I'll need to please him with an appetizer."
He internally laughed at the expression on the gremlins face.
"Also," he added, "If you're lying to me, and there's some sort of trap at the Acheron river, you'll be the first one tossed into it."
The gremlin grimaced, and Chris tore a strap of his jeans off, tied the arms of the gremlin together and secured it to the end of hid tusk.
"Now walk, and if you do anything suspicious it's the Phlegethon you're going to have to be worried about."
Chris knew he was acting harsh, like before he did when he met Clary, but subtleness and kindness didn't work well with backstabbing demons. It was only with brute force and violence and fear that you could control and order them around.
As they walked, the gremlin muttering obscenities in a demonic language, Chris wondered what he would meet at Acheron. Were the rumors true, and would the demon actually be able to send him to Earth? Or were they lies, and the demons supposedly sent actually killed yet never heard from again?
Or perhaps the gremlin had lied to him completely about the demon lord. He'd just have to see when he got there, it wasn't as if he had anything else to do.
Best case scenario, there's nothing there but more endless hell, he looked at the wobbling gremlin.
In that case, maybe I can test my theory about fried demon…..
Lacie: Aaaaaannnnnd scene. End of chapter 24 :)
Clary: Ewww! Chris is gonna eat demon guts DX
Chris: I better not get food poisoning
Lacie: Worst case scenario you'll get demon pox XP
Chris: Demon pox is a rare occurrence. I've only read about one situation where it happened, and the guy turned into a worm. As long as I'm not a worm
Clary: What's demon pox? 0.o
Lacie: It's a longgggggggg story relating to your ancestors.
Clary: Can I hear it?
Lacie: What am I? A history teacher? No, look it up. Read the Infernal Devices and learn about your past. And about a girl named Tessa Grey. WHO BETTER SHOW UP IN CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE GOSH DANGIT.
Clary: City of Heavenly Fire? What are you saying?
Chris: It's the next book in our series
Clary: We have a series? What?
Chris: Didn't you know about this already?
Lacie: while you're taking a break here, Cassandra Clare is writing your future girl
Clary: WHAT. EXPLAIN PLEASE
Lacie: I can't do that. Anyway, guys, whatcha think of the chapter?
Clary: I wasn't in it ): so I don't care
Chris: I killed demons. So it was awesome.
*door opens*
Simon: *pops head in* I got to hang out with Izzy, so it was all good :D
Clary: Simon?! XD
Chris: Is that the rat guy? Oh, no, now he's the vampire
Lacie: Simon, while you're here, mind finishing up.
Simon: Sure! *sits down* I don't know how to do this but…..umm, wait, first of all, I'd like to ask the viewers to not randomly spy on us, because you scared me half to life.
Lacie: Wait what?
Simon: Also, please give Lacie more weird questions to discuss like in the intro. I would not like to be a zombie vampire, just saying.
Clary: Do your magic Simon!
Simon: I will now possess all of you to feel the sudden impulse to scroll down, and to hit the review button, and something nice and meaningful. I also possess you to send me comic books, and bottles of frozen blood, because I'm running low. And I would like some new converse. And maybe one of clap on and off lights-
Lacie: SIMON
Simon: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW EVERYONE