Terror: Yay I'm here!
Clary: Dafuj?
Chris: I thought we were done with having people on the show
Clary: *looks at Lacie* yeah you said so at the meetin-*interrupted by Lacie going SHHHH*
Chris: But you said-
Lacie: SHH! *calmly puts finger to her mouth*
Clary:…..but
Lacie: SSSSHHHHhhhhhhh…..*takes about a minute to finish shushing*…
Clary:…can I talk no-
Lacie: SSSSHHH!
Chris: *whacks her with a rolled up newspaper*
Lacie: OW! I made an exception okay! You two *point to both Clary and Chris* what happens outside the studio, stays out of the studio *deathly looking grin*
Terror: ….am I supposed to just sit here?
Clary: Until Lacie deems you worthy of speaking
Lacie: He can speak!
Chris: He's been mentioned in this three times already. Continuously!
Clary: This is your one shot man! *gives him the thumbs up* Make a good impression!
Terror: *hands over brown take out bag* Want some paprika fries?
Clary: *practically tears bag out of his hands* I LIKE HIM ALREADY
Chris: *whispers to Terror* she'll do anything for food
Terror: *in normal voice* will she read my fanfic?
Clary: will there be more paprika fries? *raises eyebrows*
Terror: I'll even give you root beer!
Clary: SOLD
Lacie: ItsTerror1225 will give anyone who reads his fanfic paprika fries and root beer! Not that he actually promised it though…but now he does! ! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH
Terror: WHAT
Chris: You worked with the devil *points to Lacie*now you have to pay
Clary: FRIIIEEESSSSS *spins on her chair*
Lacie: Okay back to business! Hello my readers! Thank you so much for all the wonderlovely and fantamazing and incredisome reviews! I heart you all! And I'd hug you all, but that would be awkward, but lets try *hugs microphone* meh close enough
Clary: I was stabbed! In the back! With an axe! D: WHY
Chris: I'm still in hell
Terror: I have to buy fries and root beer
Lacie: I have homework…..PROCRASTINATION
Clary: I. WAS. STABBED
Lacie: Lacie-Abyss does not own TMI nor any of its characters. I also don't own Terror. He's his own person. Who writes a fanfic. Yeah. I OWN CHRIS AND WHITE HAIRED (though she's not white haired now) CLARY
Enjoy!
Chris POV (yes I know. It was about time. But that was the whole point)
"Lilith?"
He stared in uncontrollable shock at said person. She gave him a slow, lazy grin, and after taking a sip from the glass clasped loosely between her elegant, pale fingers. "Now is that any way to greet your mother? After I just eliminated that Neanderthal of a demon for you?"
For once in his life, Chris could think of absolutely nothing to say. He had not been expecting this, his mind seemed to be slowly fitting the pieces together, feeling slightly out of place. Lilith stared at him with a humorous look about her face, the snakes in her eyes seeming to slither in amusement, almost as if she were pleased the give him this surprise.
He bowed to her, for lack of anything better to do. It was a lot more preferable than having to stare like an incompetent without a brain.
"Oh my handsome son, there's no need to bow to your mother." As he straightened up, he saw her down the rest of the red substance in her glass, and then with a jolt, though he made no movements or sounds to indicate that it surprised him, she opened her mouth wide and swallowed down the glass as well. He could eerily hear the glass crunching through her teeth and clinking as she swallowed. "You should always stand when facing me, as we are the same you and I."
She walked towards him, her black hair seeming to float around her though there was no breeze in the room, her dress rumpling about her legs as she moved yet there was no sound coming from them. She was barefooted, though he was just barely able to see this as the hem of her dress, which seemed to almost visibly fade out of view, as if it were disappearing, reached all the way past her ankles.
Approaching him, she cupped his face, smiling down on him, for she was slightly taller than him. The snakes in her eyes pulled out almost all the way out her socket to be able to flick their tongue at him, getting a whiff of him. He resisted the urge to flinch away.
Lilith paid no mind to the snakes that now moved back to her eye sockets, and she removed her hand from his cheek, from which he was grateful. Her hand felt like a corpse. "My beautiful Jonathan."
The impulse to tell her that he was not her son came to mind, that simply because she gave him her blood and that she revived him, to which he still had the circular scar around his wrist where his hand had been reattached, that did not mean he was her son. However, he knew of her temper, and her sudden outbursts and changes of emotion wasn't something he thought he could physically deal with right now. The Greater demon before was no challenge, but he felt weak now, hell having sapped all of his energy, and he felt like whatever fight he fought now would be a lost one.
Lilith walked a few paces back towards the throne, walking beside it and sitting casually on the armrest.
"Jonathan," she said again, and Chris was halfway into opening his mouth to say something when she said for him, "Or do you prefer Chris nowadays." She smiled in a twisted serene sort of way, like the way an insane person would.
"There was a little demon outside the doorway before," she continued, producing another glass of the red wine like substance in the air and catching it swiftly, "A gremlin, actually, saying that master Chris was inside." She took a sip of wine before giving him a wide smile that revealed her red stained teeth. That's not wine. "I'm proud, having others under your command already. I expected nothing less than that. In fact, you already have quite the reputation around here. I sent her away though, she's out with her own now, probably frolicking out now. She didn't seem like the sort you would be able to rely upon."
He felt slightly irritated that she had done that to Unuaq. He didn't even say goodbye. Realizing that he still had his weapons out, he put them back in their respective places, and was finally able to compose himself.
"So," he started, taking a few steps towards the nearest wall and leaned against it, slightly folding his arms across his chest, "May I ask what you're doing here?"
Lilith looked at him, as if trying to see him with snake eyes, and threw her head back in laughter, her shoulders shaking up and down, causing several drops of the red liquid to splash across her face. The snakes swiveled across her cheeks, licking the droplets off. She paid no mind.
When she steadied herself, small hiccups of laughter still bursting from her lips, she said in a disbelievingly yet unconcerned voice, her smile still revealing her stained teeth, "Oh my son, isn't it obvious? I've come to see you, to help you, to give you what is rightly yours."
Chris was confused. "What do you mean? Nothing here is mine."
"No need to pretend to be so modest, it's unbecoming of you. We both know you wanted power, and we both have worked hard to get it for you. Perhaps we failed to achieve it before, but here it is," she trailed her fingers on the edges of seat of the throne. "This is your rightful place, as ruler of this place."
What. Him, ruler of, of Hell? In a weird way, he could see where she was coming from. He could do it, he'd already made a name for himself, and it shouldn't be too hard getting the rest himself the sort of title and power that Lilith was apparently ready to hand to him.
He could do it. He was made for this, he was a natural born leader, a fighter, a commander who could establish a powerful force that would be unstoppable. He could claim that chair, claim the power, take over, start anew here and create an empire to be known for ages, have masses of armies under his control, and once he knew how to get to Earth, he could unleash his multitude of demons on the Shadowhunters, cause chaos amongst them, and take his rightful place there as well.
It was what he had always wanted, wasn't it?
Not anymore
Though the prospect of this was so great, he knew he could do it, he could feel the power of such strength already, he knew it wasn't a difficult feat to accomplish, but something's changed.
Even if he somehow managed to get his masses of demons to Earth, even if he were to have all the authority he could possibly achieve, he no longer saw the amount of potential for it. It didn't give him the same thrill as before. It no longer applied to him.
Months ago, he would have been entranced with that sort of power. He would have done whatever it took to get what he wanted. He could do it, he'd get it.
But it was no longer what he wanted.
Then what did he want? The answer was as plain to him as it had always been.
Clary
He wanted to get out of hell, but not with an army of demonic creatures backing him up. He went in hell alone, and he would get out alone, and get back to Clary, just the two of them and their own world, no empires, no forces on their sides, just them, and nobody else. Besides, Clary would never approve of having brought demons to Earth, she'd probably yell at him until he was deaf for causing such destruction.
Chris! How the hell could you bring demons to Earth?! Do you know how many people were hurt because of this? You stupid-
Chris smiled, even the thought of her scolding him was good enough for him. He was surprised though, lately, thoughts of Clary made him sad and depressed, knowing that she was nowhere with him, but for some reason, this thought didn't dispirit him.
So it was for Clary, for the chance of the two of them being together again, that he said, "Thank you Lilith, but I am afraid that I am no longer in need for that power. I don't want that throne."
He looked up at her, having lowered his head slightly in thought, and when he saw her, she was staring it with an air of someone who thought they had misheard something.
"What?" she straightened up from the throne, her head slightly cocked to the side, her hair swaying back from her bare shoulders.
He walked towards her, uncrossing his arms and letting hang by his side, "I mean to say, that I do not wish for the power that you want to give me. I'm grateful, but you needn't."
Lilith frowned, "Then if it not power that you wish for, what is? Possession? Gold? Weapons? Books with unknown knowledge? Or, perhaps you wish for the gift of immortality?"
Chris shook his head, dismissing every one of her offers, though he raised his eyebrow at the last one. "No, none of that. What I truly desire though, is to return to the mortal world. I was sent here, thought you probably are already aware of that."
"Oh," Lilith says, then with more understanding, as if something was dawning on her "Oh, I see. Yes, why hadn't I thought of that, of course you'll be wanting to return to Earth. I know of the details of why you're here, my son. You were banished by those idiots, those weaklings who didn't want to handle you in a real fight." She smiled at him, "Yes I see now. You want to return by yourself to single handedly deal with those that sent you here. You want their blood on your hands, I should have known."
She set her glass on the arm of the throne, chuckling to herself.
"Lilith, no, that's not what I-" but she wasn't listening. She was too busy muttering to herself.
"Why hadn't I thought of this sooner, of course, you've been in here for more than, what has it been, a little more than six fortnights? No, of course you'll want to return as soon as possible and gain revenge on those who banished you, anyone would want to."
Chris was about to try and get her attention again, when he stopped. Did she say six fortnight? A fortnight is a period of two weeks.
I've been stuck here for over three months, the horrible truth came upon him.
In hell, his perception of time was warped. Of course he knew that days, weeks had gone by, it was only natural, but three months?
How much could happen in three months?
Enough to change many things, enough to change a person…..
How has Clary been in all this time? Where has she been? Has the Clave done something to her, or has she returned to her normal life, gone back to train in the Institute, with her golden angel boy. His anger spiked, but at the same time, the horror caught up to him.
What if she thinks I'm dead…..
Three months is enough time to mourn. Enough to move on. Clary was a strong girl, she could move on from anything. She's probably forgotten all about him by now.
If that was the case, then what was the point in even returning? He could just accept the power that Lilith has offered, and take what's his.
You idiot! Don't make conclusions until you've gotten proof!
He mentally shook his head. That was right, he didn't know how Clary was, she could be locked up in the cells beneath the courtroom, waiting for him to return for all he knew. He had to go back, at least to see how she was doing.
And if she doesn't want me in her life, he gulped, so be it…
That sliver or doubt seemed to slip into his determination to see Clary like a crowbar prying open a heavily locked crate. It seemed to unsettle him, and though he was still intent on accomplishing this, he felt unbalanced, one wrong move and he could tip over.
Focusing back on his situation rather than his stupid insecurities, he looked back to try to convince Lilith anew.
"Lilith," he spoke, getting her attention. When she turned towards him, he said, "As satisfying as getting revenge on those simpletons would be, it's not what I crave anymore." Or what he ever wanted, but if he can't get back with Clary like her wanted, then at least he could go and get revenge anyway. You know, to vent.
"So, you don't want to get revenge on those who sent you to this state?" she looked at him anew, her face screwed up in confusion.
"That's correct." He confirmed, nodding towards her.
"But, if that's not what you want to accomplish on Earth, then what do you possibly want?" she queried, her voice gaining in volume. "What is it that could concern you so much that you'd rather return to Earth than gain power here?"
It was as he looked up to come up with some explanation to her as he saw her expression. She was truly confused. She really couldn't think that there was any other reason than to get revenger or power for his wanting to get back to Earth. For her, there was really no other reason for it, her demonic mind couldn't come up with anything.
He stood there, staring at Lilith, who wanted him to lay waste to the figures that's sent him here, to cause destruction because he could, that he realized what it truly was to be demonic.
This women in front of him, the one whose blood ran through his veins, craved destruction. As a demon, she wanted nothing more than for someone to experience pain, for blood to pour. Long ago, he would've agreed with her. He would have nodded his head to all of her suggestions, adding in some more grotesque and possibly more details of his own to add to their plans to cause horror and imperialize.
But if that was no longer what appealed to him, did that mean he was no longer as demonic as he was before? Did something happen to him, to his demonic preferences?
Had Clary lessened his black soul?
He didn't know. He didn't feel different, all he knew was that he wanted to get back to Clary, and that all other options sounded miniscule and insignificant compared to that one thing he truly wanted. Perhaps if he knew there was no way to get back then he'd want the power being given to him, but that didn't matter know did it?
During his sudden awareness, Lilith had sprung back to her comfort zone, what she knew best. Not understanding his decision, she had gone back to plotting out Chris's revenge for him.
"We'll need to return as soon as possible," she had paced towards the throne again, sitting herself down and holding her hands together in thought, "When we go back we'll be invincible, well I can't exactly go back, those stupid Shadowhunters, and-" she spat on the ground, causing her hair to move forward and hide her face like a curtain obscuring a stormy day"- that vampire, because of those insolents there seems to be some sort of blockade preventing me from leaving this wasteland. However I should still be able to find a way to contact you from here, that way I can give you certain instructions should there be need for them. I could give you a certain group of handpicked soldiers to flock you and obey you if there are any tasks you need done by them. I could also ensure you that you'll have where to stay, it should only take three days afterward for you to reach-"
He had to stop her before she got too carried away. "Stop! I've already said, I don't need an army, I don't want revenge. I simply want to get back to Earth, nothing more."
He realized too late that he should have phrased that differently, but he had to say it. He had to get it through to her.
However, his first instinct when she appeared from behind her curtain of hair was to turn into a squirrel and maybe hibernate for ten thousand years, a feeling that only two people in the world ever evoked in him, one of them were killed by the Angel Raziel, the other was standing in front of him with all the mercy of Satan.
"Don't use that tone with me. You'll find that even if you are my blood I'm quick to kill." Her dress rumpled viciously, though there absolutely no breeze to make it flutter. Chris didn't dare step back, knowing that one move would make her lash out at him.
"You ungrateful child," she hissed. How he had gone from 'beautiful Jonathan' to 'ungrateful child' was only more proof towards how unstable demons were. It shed more light on how people must have viewed him. "I'm offering you power beyond your comprehension, and you abrogate it as if it's nothing."
Chris steeled himself for an attack, but it didn't come. Lilith merely sat up stick straight on the throne as if there was pins in her dress and one wrong move would mean getting stabbed.
There was an awkward, electric filled silence in which the two of them exchanged glances.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said testily, and upon seeing that she didn't stop him, he poured on, "But power and force is not what I want. I'm grateful that you would help, that you want me to get revenge and I'm not accepting it like you would have thought, but as of now, I only wish to return."
Lilith's snake eyes coiled tightly. "But for what?" she questioned angrily, her blood stained teeth bared, "What is so immensely important to you that you'd rather that than what I am giving you? What thing could mean more than that!?"
She had struck a nerve. What could be more important, she asks? What is so important?
Without thinking, without even a notion as to what he was about to do, or about what would happen once he'd done it, he answered, with a smile, "My sister."
Silence.
The horrible type that happens before thunder booms through the air. Smiling, yet feeling cold on the inside despite the hot atmosphere of hell, he watched Lilith's face as if it were a time bomb that had just ticked down its last few seconds to zero.
It was agony.
And then the explosion.
He barely sidestepped just as Lilith jumped up from her seat, her face pulled into a horrible shriek.
"That girl?" she bellowed, "that disgusting mortal that helped to imprison me here?! That's the reason why you wish to return to Earth!"
Calmly putting his hands on his weapons in case he needed them, he said, "Yes."
Lilith stared at him as if she didn't know what to think of him anymore, as if he had sprouted a tentacle out of his ear and said that it was perfectly normal.
"You are my son." She wailed, "That bitch is not your sister! You are not son of Jocelyn Fairchild! You have my blood! Why would you want to return to them? Why?" Her hair was swirling around in its own vortex now, and he felt the temperature of the room drop about fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
"Same reason you want power. I just want it." He answered her.
She glared it him, her snake eyes were biting into the air menacingly. "You, you, get out."
He stared at her. "What?"
"GET OUT" she flicked her hand impatiently towards the wall behind him, and it exploded. Chris ducked before any debris and detritus could hit him, and when he looked out, he saw the green river Acheron, in its usual gloom, however, a small wooden boat, more like a dingy boat if you asked him, lay bobbin up and down waves.
"What is th-" but the words barely escaped him before she spoke in clipped tones.
"That boat will take you Earth. Just sit in it and it will carry you away."
Chris shifted onto both feet. "Okay."
"I never want to see you again. Do you hear me, Chris?"
He didn't respond, but cautiously climbed out of the blasted wall. He could feel her stare burning into his back, and knew that if looks could kill, he'd be staying in hell a lot longer than he wanted.
Carefully stepping his foot into the dingy, balancing perfectly on the undulating floor decks, he was just about to wonder where the rows were before a force knocked him right onto his butt, the boat moving of its own accord up the stream.
He was only able to worry whether or not the boat was actually taking him to Earth when he caught Lilith watching him from broken wall. Suddenly, he preferred to be on the boat, then on land with her.
Clary POV
Ugh…I don't want to get up….but there's a weird thing poking me in the back…..It kind of hurts….ouchie…but I'm so sleepy…..
A voice that sounded faraway echoed in Clary's mind, but she didn't really register it.
"Hey guys, I think she's waking up."
Who's waking up? Not me, because I want to sleep foreeeeevveerr…but my back feels weird….what is this….
She had had a dream earlier, but what it was completely about, she couldn't remember. Something about vampires and axes and books. Maybe a fairy tale. Did she read a story before she went to bed?
"You think we should wake her up? She looks uncomfortable."
"Leave her alone, she needs her rest."
Shut up…..I'm trying to sleep…I won't to go back to that other dream I was having after the axe one….
She had been swimming in some sort of pretty green lake, floating around the bottom of it, and she found that no matter how much she tried to swim to the top, she just couldn't reach it.
And there's weeds everywhere…shoo ugly looking weeds…
"Guys she's mumbling, check if she has a fever."
Suddenly something really cold touched her forehead, and Clary was awoken immediately into clarity. She gave a deep intake of breath, and she summarily sat all the way up, only to be greeted by a sudden throb of bright white pain in her back, and she yelped as her forehead collided with someone else's.
"Ow!" two high pitched voices yelped, one of them being Clary's, and the other being…
She had shut her eyes due to the pain, feeling like her brain was rattling in her skull and like her back was about to explode. Someone was telling her to lie down, that she could hurt herself again if she moved too suddenly, but she ignored it, not wanting to move again at all. Wait, who was talking to her?
Forcing her eyes open, she was met with another dose of shock, and her back gave yet another painful spasm as she let out a gasp of surprise.
Staring with her mouth slightly open, her hand still to her forehead, she took in the figure standing in front of her who was standing in the same stooped position as Clary, her hand also rubbing her red forehead painfully.
She felt like she was in a daze. Not really there. It took a moment for Clary to speak. "Isabelle?"
"Present." She smiled out of the corner of her mouth, straightening up.
As Izzy stood out of her main line of vision, Clary was able to see that she had been stretched out on the sofa, her had having been leaning on the armrest at the very end of it. As she looked about, she saw Simon leaning against the wall next to the television, which was muted so that Clary couldn't hear the dialogue of what had to be the movie 'The Incredibles.' Directly in front of her, also watching her, was Maia, as she was kneeling in front of the small coffee table in front of the sofa, a deck of cards out on the table, from the looks of it, a game was in play.
Clary could hear the sound of movement going on in the kitchen to her side, but she didn't have the energy to turn and look at who was causing it.
"What the hell are you all doing here?" was the first thing to come out of her mouth after several awkward seconds of her just sitting there, taking everything in like an awkward person.
"Funny, I would like to know that myself." The ends of Simon's lips curled upwards, and he walked over to her, looking like he was about to sit on the sofa, but then thought against it, so he sat on the coffee table. "One second we're in some sort of weird torture room, the next we're in a comfortable looking house. All the doors are locked though, and Maia really has to pee."
Clary had stopped listening at 'weird torture room.' Suddenly everything came rushing back so fast she clasped her forehead again. Simon asked her if she was alright, but she waved it off, everything becoming much clearer now. She'd been in the mansion, getting the book to get Chris out, but things had gone wrong, not that she hadn't expected a fight to break out, but she never would have guessed that she'd meet up with her old friends there of all places.
By the Angel….they're here….
Here, in the place that she spent two strangely emotional weeks with Chris, where she convinced herself she wouldn't see them again, that it would just be her and Chris from then on out, just the two of them.
But now he was gone.
And they were here.
But how did they get here? As Clary's memory was instantly brought back, she couldn't help but be more aware of the trinket that brought her home that was still held securely in her pocket.
"How long have I been out?" she suddenly asked, remembering her blackout, and with a wince, remembering how the axe had penetrated deep into her back.
"About two hours," a new voice, rang out, and as Clary carefully turned her neck around to see behind her, she saw Alec emerging from behind the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. His clothes were slightly ripped and disheveled, like he'd just been in a fight. Another glance at Simon, Izzy and Maia, and she noticed that they all looked worse for wear too. Alec was in the process of hanging up on a black cellphone that was in his hand. "But you're healing surprisingly fast. The worst of your wound is sealed, it's still pretty bad though, so try not to move too much."
Isabelle jerked her head towards the phone still in Alec's hand, "Was that Magnus?"
The blue eyed boy nodded, "He wants to know why he can't Portal or locate us, luckily cellphone use still works so I assured him we were fine." Alec's face turned grim. "Mom called too. She's back at the Institute and wants to know where in the world we are."
Izzy swore under her breath, something about bad timing. "Well, tell her we're out hunting demons!"
"I did tell her that!" Alec countered, "You know I hate lying."
"What Mom doesn't know, won't kill her."
"Isabelle, we are Shadowhunters. What we don't know will and can kill us." Alec rolled his eyes.
"You know what I mean!"
"Magnus is here too?" Clary interjected before the conversation strayed from what she understood.
"No, I just said I was on the phone with him." Alec explained. "He was supposed to open a Portal for us to get us out of the mansion, but we were taken here, and we don't know why."
The little red head was very shocked and slightly disturbed about everything, but what bothered her the most was that everyone was looking at her like they expected her to give them some sort of explanation about everything. She didn't know how to start, she didn't want to start.
Luckily she was saved by another voice from the kitchen. "The hell! The cupboards are mind readers! I wanted some of the peanut butter we had at home, and when I open the door, there's one jar of peanut butter staring me in the face!" There was a sound of lid being unscrewed, "Holy- I think it's the same jar that is at home!" Jordan emerged from the kitchen, looking dumbstruck and quite comical with a peanut butter jar held in front of him.
"How?" He looked around.
Clary was about to explain when Izzy spoke before her. "Enchanted cupboards, they show you whatever happens to be on your mind."
Jordan's eyes widened as he dashed back into the kitchen, undoubtedly about to test Izzy's words.
Clary blinked and turned to Isabelle with a blank tone, "How did you know that?"
"I found out before I threatened a gremlin and was imprisoned in the City of Bones." Izzy said with an airy tone.
"What?" she said shrilly.
"Yeah but I got out the next day."
"Why were you imprisoned?"
"Clary!" Jordan rang, "Does your fridge work just like the cup- Oh never mind, they do!"
Simon turned faced his head towards the kitchen, "Jordan! See if you can gets bags of blood from there too!"
Jordan made a disgusted sound, "I'm not gonna picture that!"
"Preferably a bag of O negative!"
A piercing whistle penetrated the air, and Clary turned to see Maia with her fingers in her mouth, gathering all of their attention.
"Ok, time out! Jordan, out of the kitchen! This is not your house and you don't know where all that foods been!" she stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"This jar of peanut butter was from home," Jordan mumbled as he reluctantly stalked into the living room to sit on the edge of the sofa just next to Clary's feet.
Maia rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Clary with the look of someone who wanted answers.
"Okay, I want to know where we are. There are several doors that we've seen in this place, all of them are locked, Jace has been at them for this whole time and he still hasn't gotten back from up there." Maia nodded her head towards the stairs that led to the small hallway where both Clary and Chris's rooms were. Whenever Clary left the house, she locked all doors, so that they could only be opened by her, just like the front door and training room door when Chris would open it by placing his hand. However, those two doors were unseen, because Clary left the magic that Chris laced so that they remain hidden until Clary wanted them to be visible.
"Wait," Clary said suddenly, attempting to sound casual, "Did you say Jace was trying to open the doors?"
Maia nodded.
"Oh," she swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous, "Well, he won't be able to. Only I can open the doors."
She was feeling very grateful for locking her door, for there were several painting in her room that she didn't want anyone to see. Including the one of a certain white haired fellow. Not only that, but she didn't want anyone in Chris's room. It was his room, and he wouldn't have wanted anyone besides him and Clary in it.
"Hey Jace," Alec called towards the stairs, and Clary felt her heart skip a beat, but not for the reasons that it used to whenever she would hear Jace's name, "Come down, those doors won't budge unless Clary herself opens them.
She could hear footsteps coming down, and she turned her head towards Maia, who was saying, "There's not even a window, you can't even tell if its day or night, wherever we are."
"There are windows in the rooms," Clary said for no apparent reason, if only to keep her face towards Maia, instead of towards the stairs. She'd never noticed the absence of windows in the room, she'd never needed them.
"Where are we then?" Maia asked.
"Hopefully in Canada," Clary rubbed at her temples, giving her another excuse at why she wasn't looking towards the new figure that was now to her left. She only needed to turn her head slightly if she wanted to see him. "I could use something relaxing like the aurora borealis again."
"Again?" Alec said, "So you were in Canada!"
Izzy had a triumphant look on her face, "I told you I hadn't misread the map!"
"What map? How did you guys know I was in Canada?" Clary turned from one sibling to the other, her back complaining from such movement.
"GUYS!" this time it was Simon who brought everyone back. In Clary's haste to look at her best friend, her eyes caught the golden figure of Jace.
He was just as he remembered him, lean, muscular body, his blonde, curly hair looking as if he had woken up that way but was too cocky to care. His eyes caught hers instantly, and just as Clary felt her heart squeeze. Not from what she used to feel, but from guilt.
She remembered the last time he was this close to her, and it had ended with her swinging a chain towards his head. Clary could not have felt less ready for this reunion. His eyes searched hers, trying to read her, trying to see if she was still worth fighting for. He had to still think she was worth fighting for, didn't he? If he was here, then he still cared about her. She didn't want him to hate her, she'd be devastated.
But what do you feel for him now? An evil voice that sounded a lot like the white haired Clary from her dreams from before her original rune ended chuckled. Obviously you don't hold him in the same light as you used to, you've got Chris for that, the voice laughed, making the guilt twist ever tighter, Course you still care for him, but you thought you'd never see him again, so you never thought you'd have to explain things to him, never thought you'd have to talk to him about your feelings now did you?
What were Clary's feelings? She agonized over this, feeling like she still loved Jace, that he was still in her heart, but now Chris….
It was like she'd grown a stronger, better, and bigger heart, and Chris had taken up all of the room.
She quickly looked back to Simon, deciding to think over this later, just as he was saying, "Ok, I think that in order for us to understand everything, we're going to need to hear both sides of the story. Otherwise we're all going to be majorly confused about what's going on."
Clary thought about this, and slowly nodded her head. "Can you guys start though? Considering that there are more of you than me?"
"Hold up a second, I need to use the bathroom and there is no way I am going to sit through story time while I have to pee." Maia protested.
"The doors are locked," Jace said stonily, the first words that Clary's heard him say in months.
"I'll open then," she said hastily, "Well, the bathroom door, it's over here."
After much protesting by everyone, all of them telling Clary not to get up in fear of her damaging her back, she ignored all of their pleas, painstakingly made her way up the stairs, trying to keep her back as ramrod straight as possible so as to not hurt herself, and placed her hand on a doorway that was directly across from hers. Her room already had a bathroom, so she had never needed any use for this one. She had almost forgotten it was there.
When Clary and Maia made their way back down, Maia now practically carrying Clary as she was feeling very lightheaded, they sat her back down onto the sofa. Clary could feel Jace's eyes following her every move.
"Alright," Clary breathed, closing her eyes slightly. Isabelle had gone into the kitchen to make Clary a tea that would make her 'feel better.' She had only accepted because Maia was helping her, otherwise anything made by Izzy was hazardous and was best to be treated in the same way as radioactive acid. "Get with the story telling and whatnot."
"You sure you're okay Clary?" Simon asked, "You look pale."
"I'm always pale. That's my skin color," Clary said, defiantly.
"Yeah, but you took an axe to the back only about two hours ago. Are you sure you don't want to rest for a bit?"
"Ugh, axe," Clary mumbled, before suddenly she rounded on him. "The book! Where is it?"
"What? Oh," Simon looked about at everyone else.
"Well?" she asks again.
"You mean this one?" Jordan tells her, and she looks, only to feel a stone drop in her stomach.
The book that Clary had taken from Sharon's room was now almost unrecognizable. There was a huge slice right in the middle of the front cover, and from what it looked like, the whole thing had been cut right through. Not only that, but it looked as though the book had been used to mop up Clary's back. All of the pages were blood spattered, and not a single thing could be interpreted from the already crammed and hard to read writing in the old book. It might as well be wet cardboard for all they could do with it.
"We tried getting it cleaned up, but by the time we got the axe off of you, and took off the back pack, well," Jordan winced, "There wasn't much left of it."
"It's fine," Clary mumbled, unable to take her eyes off of the book that was supposed to her chance at getting Chris back. "It's completely fine."
No it wasn't.
"Can I ask why you wanted the book Clary?" Maia returned from the kitchen, holding out a mug of steaming tea to her. Clary took it without thanking her and sipped the tea absently, no caring enough to notice the flavor. It scalded her tongue, but she didn't bother.
A sinking feeling had opened up within her. She wasn't able to look into it too much as she noticed that everyone was looking at her again, waiting for an explanation.
She took in a deep breath and sighed. "So, how about that hearing both sides of the story thing?"
Lacie: My gosh. This is the shortest chapter I've written since chapter 16
Chris: You took your precious time with it now didn't you?
Lacie: I was distracted!
Clary: By what, per say? (I don't even know if that's how you say that)
Lacie: By the internet! And by anime, and by other stories, and by reading. For someone who doesn't do anything in school, I do a lot of things that I consider to be important, such as reading and writing, and watching my shows and making sure I reply to all of my readers wonderlovely fantamazingly beautisome reviews and so on. If these things were considered important in the world other than to myself, I'd be on top of things.
Clary: I am WAYYYY behind in my Shadowhunter training, like six years behind. Because no one ever told me I was special.
Lacie and Chris: You're not special
Clary: *takes out wooden katana* SAY THAT AGAIN
Chris: You're not special
Lacie: I'll say it in Spanish, but I won't, because I'm lazy
Clary: *whacks both of them on the head with her katana*
Lacie: *rubs head* I'm hungry. My mom made soup and it is delicious
Chris: Can I have some?
Lacie: Of course!
Clary: Can I?
Lacie: *stares at katana* …
Clary: I'll take that as a no
Lacie: Well my SPECIAL readers *smiles serenely at Clary* how are all of you today? How's the weather in your part of the world? Cause where I am, it sucks. We've been in frickin winter wonderland for over five months. And let me tell you something, snow in March is HIDEOUS.
Clary: You should see it in New York -_-
Chris: Oh don't mind me, enjoying my ninety degree weather from my lovely cruise down the Acheron river in a DINGY
Lacie: well at least you'll get plenty of sight seeing done :D Well everyone? What did all of you think? Good? Bad? So-So? Should I jump in a well and declare myself a horrible writer?
Clary: I think you should get another whack from my katana
Lacie: I prefer soup. I'm gonna get some soup. Meanwhile, you guys should REVIEW. Cause you know, Clary'll get you some cookies. Maybe even soup :D
Clary: CAN I HAVE-
Lacie: NO!
See ya next time, and I'm gonna try to rhyme, cause rhyming is fun, but now I think I'm done. REVIEW