Disclaimer: All characters belong to Cassandra Clare

Warning: Inaccuracy of mechanism and medicine

Chapter 25: Nightmare's Declaration

In the living room the three of them were sitting awkwardly, falling into silence as they watched the news announcing the latest curfew. Alec was tired, but he couldn't sleep; he was too nervous for that. His brain was a sticky mess while eyelids were heavy and were dropping down alarmingly. The heart jumping inside his chest was screaming, making him dizzy and insomniac. He had not felt so sick before.

Alec wondered where they were – the three robots. Whenever he thought about them there was an agony accumulating within his chest and abdomen. So badly he wanted to vomit all those pessimistic emotions and insecurity that none of them were with him now.

He was on his own.

He groaned, and the TV was turned off. Ragnor hadn't returned, neither was Tessa, a friend of Jem and Magnus. According to Jem she should been here before nine.

When she wasn't here as they had agreed, they began to bombard her phone and any way possible to get in touch with her. Looking at their panicking faces didn't make Alec feel any better. With everything going on the only fate he could think of for Tessa, was that she was taken out too.

He wouldn't dare say it. Instead he excused himself and checked on Isabelle. Simon's death was definitely unexpected, as all of them assumed it would be Isabelle to pass away first due to the wars and her career choice.

Why did the Angels want them to suffer? As he was growing up, he didn't believe those Angels would love him anymore; he was gay. Legally he was fine for being whatever he desired, but the Clave didn't approved of that moral choice. They thought it was a choice.

Dragging his weighted-tons body Alec turned the doorknob. Sat on the edge of the bed he looked at his sister, whose eyes remained closed at the noises he made. Her hairs were dry like straws and he combed them into order.

It was oddly comforting. Once there was a time Isabelle let him do all her hair before school and he had tried to master the skill and various styles just to please his little sister. Back then life was much simpler. As long as he saw the smile that could brighten up his days he found the joy of living. He loved taking care of his siblings – Jace, Isabelle, or Max. They used to be happy. The four of them would camp out in the garden reading stories to Max all night, they laughed and joked about everything and anything.

Things changed. Alec supposed it was how thing worked in reality.

He sighed. He was leaning against the headboard and listening to the steady breathing coming from the body near him. Isabelle was sleeping soundlessly and he envied her. Sleep was the least thing he could have been given, not when everything he treasured was on the edge of falling apart.

Eyelids began to drop. Alec rested his head on the wall and he stared at the guard robot standing by the door with its head angled downward. Through the thick curtains moonlight cast into the room, lightened the darkness a bit. He jerked when his head slipped aside.

Out of the blue the dim white light on the floor turned into flashes of red: Alec looked towards the window in confusion. He got off the bed and opened the brown fabrics to see the sky was decorated by waves in the shade of candy apple. He had not seen anything like that before – with all those years of living, the scanning would be black, not red. And it wasn't the time yet.

Movement. Alec tensed and was pushed on the floor by a pair of strong hands. "Angel!" He landed heavily on his hip, the wooden planks cracked under his weight. In the dark there were the empty eyeballs of the guard robot, looking through him.

He struggled to stand up but his legs were weak. The useless Lightwood that he was. Wiggling, he yelped when the robot jumped on its prey and caught the pale ankle. With the spare leg he kicked as hard as he could on the blank face, yet it didn't move at all. Instead its grasp tightened and his bone was about to be broken.

Another shadow dashed behind the robot and a whip wrapped around the neck, bringing it down and away from Alec.

Got out from the situation, Alec watched Isabelle ripped off its head with ease. The head and the body were meters apart and the whip was collected back into her hand. Still in the aftermath of panic, his whole body went rigid and he could only gaze at the outreaching hand which nails painted in black.

Isabelle yelled. "Alec, get up!" And she cursed when there was a huge noise downstairs. With his mouth agape, Alec took the hand and let his sister pull him to his feet, both trundling.

It was dark. Alec first noticed. He had to scrabble his way while Isabelle had already turned the corner swiftly and left the flying ebony hairs for Alec to catch. His legs were still trembling from the experience, but he managed to enter the living room.

It was out of light. Under those red flashes invading the room Alec saw that everything was in a mess: furniture turned over and coffee and tea spilled all over the rug. Behind the upside down sofa a frame was pinning something. Not far away on the opposite side over the tossed chair, Jem was thrashing under their butler Hodge.

The silver whip swished; a clean crack in the middle of air and Hodge's body slammed on the carpeted floor. Its back was slayed. There was an opening along its spine, revealing the bundles of wires and metal plates.

Jem, whom Hodge had been on top of, was laying on the ground panting. Few buttons of the plain dark gray shirt were missing, his chest was raising up and down rapidly. Alec hurried next to him when Isabelle went to help Magnus. He knelt and patted the flushing cheeks. "Jem, did you get hurt?"

The lost gray eyes concentrated on him and he barely gave a confirmative nod. "Yes. I am okay." He added afterwards. Their conversation was interrupted by a hiss. "Go to hell and rot in there!" It was soon followed by multiple sounds of whip's thunders.

"Fuck!" A loud swearing echoed the living room and Alec turned to see the human Magnus sitting up, holding his bloody forehead. Isabelle was right beside him, whip abandoned. "Let me see." She said and gently grabbed his stained hand.

Pupils dilated, Alec for a moment had thought it was Magnus who was being attacked. His Magnus.

After a quick look she assured. "It's nothing major. You just need some disinfectants that's all."

Alec had not yet recovered from the fact that his sister saved him, Jem and Magnus. He was glad to see her becoming something strong, something that he couldn't be. As the elder brother he should be the one protecting her from those crazy robots! How ridiculous did it look like when a grown-up man could merely defend himself?

The unusual waves in the sky never stopped. The four of them woke when there were footsteps dashing through the hallway to their location. Isabelle's jawline hardened. She locked a stern glance with Alec who could only stay put and take care of Jem and Magnus when she wore her askew military uniform and sprinted out, bare feet and carried the whip as her weapon.

Jem had some scratches on his arms and chest but once he could stand, he ran to Magnus who was still whimpering at the pain. Blood was coming from the wound. "Magnus, look at me." He said hastily and tried to take a good look. "It can be easily tended. Come on, we have to move – "

"I can't hold any longer!" A shout had Alec jumped and he tried to think of a route they could escape from here. However, nothing came up; he had nowhere to go. No place was safe now.

While Alec was wandering between worthless ideas, Jem took the role of leader. His eyes darted between the two black-haired men. "I know a place we can go to but you have to trust me, Alec."

Throat cut off his vowels. A nod was all he could offer.

"Help Magnus." Jem said and scooted to his suitcases, taking out two handguns. Alec shook off his terrifying memory involving these two humans and went to get Magnus up.

A brown arm draped over his shoulder. When they stood they nearly tripped back on the floor because Magnus was affected by the dizziness. He lost his balance temporarily but soon regained his posture, taking one of the guns from Jem's elegant hand.

His left side was completely enveloped by warmth. Alec swallowed down the unwarranted desire and supported the swinging body. It was the scent of sandalwood that reminded him of the house he called home. Somebody familiar, the one shared the same name as the man leaning on him.

The gray-eyed man motioned them over to the entrance of the living room and he rushed out to clean the insane robots with Isabelle. The banging sounds of metals, gunfire and swooshes of whip filled up the entire Mansion.

"Wait."

By his ear came the whisper that brushed against his sensitive spot. Alec shuddered and gripped on the back of Magnus's shirt. Every small breath from those lips was audible and the hot air hit him like fire – his body burnt and twisted in the pit. Their proceeding steps stopped as Magnus used his weight as an advantage. "My cat…"

As if answering his call, a mouse-size cat crawled out from the bottom of the sofa and galloped to their feet. Magnus bent to scoop the cat up but the gun was on his way, so Alec did it instead. He tenderly picked the cat up and put him into his chest pocket. It amazed him that the feline fit it perfectly.

"Thanks." Magnus muttered and they shuffled after Jem who had teamed up with Isabelle and cleaned the hallway. The garage was too, dark as hell.

Before another flow of attack, they shambled inside. Jem sealed the door by blocking it with his own body and was pushed by the constant crashing of robots against it on the other side. Isabelle was pressing the buttons on the dashboard. She cursed out loud. "God damn it!"

Alec knew the waves had some effects on robots, likewise all electronic devices. The car must have been locked; the dashboard screen remained blank after the slamming from the angry Isabelle. As if sensing his readiness to help, Magnus said. "Drop me near Jem."

At that moment Alec didn't ask why. He let Magnus sit on the ground whom instantly backed up against the door too. Didn't give a second thought Alec ran to the front of the car and lifted the hood.

"Calm down, Alec. You're cool." He mumbled.

Manually turning on a car was simple. However, it only was when there were tools. Alec had to struggle with the messy arrangement of components inside and it took him some time to find the correct end. First off he had to detach the automatic system that was being taken over.

"I can't hold any longer!" Jem yelled as he impeded the entrance along with Magnus. The cat meowed at Alec, scratching his chest as if telling him to speed up. Hands shaking, he finally unplugged the energy source and straight away dove into the driver seat, smashing the dashboard with his bare hands. The pain somehow kept him sane.

Isabelle pulled his elbow and urged him to stop. "Alec, what are you doing?" Her tone raised and the sentence was spoken in horror. Alec continued his maniacal action. "I need it to be gone!" A crafting pen would do the job faster and flawlessly, but he didn't have one so he opted to take the dashboard out with the primal way of destruction. Yet again Isabelle clutched his shirt and dragged him out of the car –

Alec didn't know his little sister possessed that sort of strength; she even took out the robots almost all by herself.

The cat nearly dropped out of his pocket. It hissed shortly. Without explanation, Isabelle lashed out and whipped the car part. A clear snap and the whole thing was ripped. The tail of the silver snake curled around the metal.

Alec slipped past her and looked into the dark space burying the lines. One strong tug and in his hand was the wires under the barely-there light.

"Please – " Alec gasped, taking deep breaths to slow down his overbeating heart. Opened and closed. He did it few more times but his eyes still couldn't adapt the lightlessness in the garage. He couldn't tell which was which.

"Alec!" Isabelle screamed when there was an enormous thud on the wall. Ashes was falling from the ceiling and the brown eyes stared into his with great terror.

He stomped his feet, gnawing his bottom lip and let it bleed. A voice exclaimed at the other side. It was Magnus. "Which color?"

Alec snapped and met the determined glance of cat pupils. "Which!"

They were about to be thrown across the floor with every charge. He swore he could hear the roars of fake throats and flat voices.

"Yellow – and there should be a blue one." Yes. Blue and yellow as how he had remembered. Magnus shouted again. "Izzy, take my place!" Received the order Isabelle ran and switched with the tall Asiatic man, who strode despite of all the blood colored his forehead. He grabbed Alec's hands which were holding those wires. Picking out a thin one, Magnus said. "Yellow. And which kind of blue?"

Alec frowned at the question. Blue was blue; he could only tell if it was a lighter or darker shade. "Light blue."

Instantly Magnus took another wire out and dropped the rest on the seat. He gave them to Alec with one in each hand.

"Yellow," The left was raised. "Blue." Then the right. Alec snatched them and bit open the protective soft plastics, unveiling the bronze threads inside. Striking them together, his heart lifted up when there was a tiny spark.

"Oh dear!" Jem shrieked. And the next second, the engine was ignited. "Angels – " Alec sighed and suddenly became aware of the previous moment that Magnus was leaning into him on the driver seat, on top of him like a hawk. He was all over him. But now, Magnus had gone to the garage door and tried to push it up. Surprisingly, it did under his command. Alec had not heard of the power embedded inside the lean body.

"It's on!" Alec said and moved his ass over to the passenger seat, waving to his psychiatrist. Looked at the rear-view mirror, Alec saw those soulless eyes of robots and then a pair of amber irises evaded his vision.

Magnus.

Where was his Magnus?

Two loud bangs buzzed his ears and Jem and Isabelle were inside, the former took the wheel. Right beside the door of the driver seat Alec could see the running robots and one successfully broke the window into shards. "Christ!" Jem shouted when his arm was grabbed; by his grimace it must hurt terribly. Alec thought nothing and bent those fingers that dug deep into Jem's fleshes, freeing his friend.

Jem managed to drive out of the garage with Alec leaning over and blocking most of his view. The tires ran over multiple robots as they entered the driveway.

"Hold on – " The car took a sharp turn in attempt to throw the robots on their car away. In the mess Isabelle didn't have time to get hold of the handle and she collapsed onto Magnus, who embraced her immediately.

Alec was almost tossed to the other end if he wasn't trapped by Jem's arms. The move did its work and finally they were free, travelling down the road which end joined the main street of Guardian. Relaxed at the sight of emptiness, Alec exhaled deeply and he fell on Jem's lap, whose hands were still around him.

He shivered; maybe it was because of the touches with layers of clothing in between or due to the lack of heating system in the midwinter.

None of them said anything and let Jem drive in concentration. Alec cleared his throat and sat back up, shifting in his seat for the previous close call. His heart was still pumping fast: he wasn't relieved about getting out from the Mansion. Rather, he was scared about it.

Was that a place safe from all these madness? Alec pondered. Suddenly his nerves were picked up for the dread that the fuel might not be enough to get them through. He didn't check the tank before – it was Ragnor who took care of the car back at home.

He wiped his cold sweat with the sleeve and rubbed it against his tender cheeks and temples. How would Ragnor feel if he came back to the Mansion to discover Alec had already gone without him? It hadn't midnight yet and the green-skinned robot could have returned at any time.

He should have gone to Pepin with Ragnor. At least they were together and he knew what exactly happened to Aline and Magnus. The uncertainty was killing him from the inside.

On the way to the place Jem had mentioned, Alec saw people were running by the edge of car's headlights. They were screaming for help, trying to get away from the grips of uncontrollable robots and droids, of which crashed themselves onto their car as if their purpose was to making everyone dead. There were bloods everywhere; on the sidewalks, on the robots, on the disposed bodies.

"What the hell is going on?" Isabelle gasped when one elder was dragged and was heaved, his head cracked on the impact. Magnus held her hand while his eyes concerned. He comforted her even though he didn't have the full story either. "The Institute has launched this."

Alec looked at Jem for answer, but the man was focused on his driving and he was trying his hardest to go through without being stopped by humans seeking a ride or being killed by blood-thirsty robots. Listening to the hoarse cries of life fading, Alec had to envision he was anywhere but there.

Still, he felt guilty about leaving them behind. "Don't think about it." Jem said, his eyes on the road painted by red. "Survive this, that's what you have to do."

After that, a human was standing in their way, wishing them to stop and offer help. However, Jem didn't slow down. Rather, he stepped on the pedal and let the car nearly run the woman over. She leaped out of their track and cursed at their tail.

"Jem! What are you doing?" Isabelle accused and she turned to see the woman was being jumped by something from her back. Her frame was drowned by droids piling on top of her.

"I do what I have to." Jem answered. Her hairs spread across her shoulders and were waving as she leaned forward to grab his collar. "There are other ways!"

In the panic of his sister might actually kill Jem, he hit the pale hands away from the vulnerable neck and earned a shocking glance from her. Alec knew what was necessary. "Alec," She gritted her teeth. "You are going to regret this."

Unable to deny the fact that he indeed would feel that selfishness led to someone's death, Alec removed his eyes from Isabelle. He had to live – not for his life, but for the needs to know whether Ragnor, Aline and Magnus were fine. No matter what ends they encountered, Alec wanted to know. And he wouldn't die before that.

He couldn't risk the chance of taking a stranger into their group. He had too many to lose – he couldn't help those people.

"Where is the safe house?" Magnus asked the question that the three of them all had in mind. Jem had taken a quieter route and in the past ten minutes they rarely saw a living or non-living creature.

Jem had a steady hold of the wheel. He replied after a short time of thinking. "The forest." At that Magnus perked his head up. His grasps on Isabelle's hands and the gun tightened. She was frowning at him. "Will thinks it is the safest place to be? I don't think the stories of savage animals living there are made up. Are you trying to say that it is better we jump from one bloody mouth to another?"

"It is the most original area of the city."

"It's not even in Vikram." Magnus exclaimed. "Please, Jem, not that I don't mind being in the woods. It could be fun! If only under conditions like there are protective measurements. We don't just ram in."

As if wanting to second his master, the cat inside his chest pocket meowed at Jem and it extended its paws to the driving man. Alec petted its head and took it out, letting it rest on his laps. Magnus pointed at his cat. "See, Chairman agrees."

Isabelle joined in the debate that Alec wished it to be ended. "I don't know. The forest is the least expected place for humans to be. Maybe the Institute wouldn't suspect any of us escaping to there."

"For how long?" The tall Asiatic man questioned. "I understand that the forest is the best option we have and it's the only option. But we can't be in there forever. Have you not thought about the transformed? They are not scared of those animals. They are one of them. I am saying that we need a proper plan after this."

Magnus's words were cruel, however it was the truth. They couldn't hide for the rest of their life. Aristos – like Mundanes – were preys in the forest. A place could only be safe for a period of time. The fact of that place being a forest wasn't making it last any longer.

Jem nodded and his tone softened. "We will only stay there for some time. We can form a plan as time goes. Magnus, nothing is promising right now but it is the best Will and I have come up with."

Upon this Magnus too apologized for his harsh comment. "I shouldn't say it that way. I was just… frightened." Jem's eyes grew a bit wide when his friend said he was frightened by the situation. "Sometimes my mouth speaks before my brain does."

"It's fine," Jem said as he waved a hand. Magnus smiled back when he locked eyes with Jem through the rear-view mirror.

The road was bumpy; occasionally Alec would leave his seat for mere second for the jump the car had made.

Then they drove into a path of void tall grasses and muds. Uninhabited, the road was technically a trail they created with bent plants and tire marks. Alec and Isabelle had not once seen a view like this. He didn't know if it was a sad thing or not that the nature intimidated him.

The nature worked in harmony. Nothing stood out as they were one. Alec peeked curiously at the top of the tree to see if animals were hanging from there; he had read so many tales about monkeys, sloths and birds. And when something whooshed next to his window, Alec was surprised that even at night, he could tell the wings were smooth and comfy, white as pure snow. The black eyes were looking forward and Chairman hissed, scratching the door wanting out. Alec caught his butt when he was about to fall off his lap.

It disappeared as quickly as it had come. Birds looked different from his imagination; he always thought they were huge and predatory. But that one was small and peaceful with a pink beak.

"How do you know of this place? Will?" Isabelle asked. She was always the adventurous one in the family, along with Jace. Most of the time Alec just sat at the back watching them.

Her whip was glistening on her hip. She was a few inches away from Magnus who too inspecting the surrounding. Blood clotted on his forehead.

It must be the adrenaline making her more energetic, expressions more vivid. She wasn't as pale as this morning. As if the fight gave her life, she was younger and her brown eyes were colorful.

"My bet is on Will finding out the forest when he had a little trip away from Deborah." Magnus smirked and Alec somehow relaxed by it. It was bright and relieving, just like Magnus would when he hummed a song for Alec to sleep in, when he reassure he would be there when he woke up.

"You know him well." Jem laughed a little. The atmosphere lightened once they had entered the territory of the wildness. "He did find this himself. One Valentine's Day he brought me here and ran around like he owned this. Throughout the years we have visited Altair more than you can imagine."

"… Altair?"

The black-haired woman raised her interest as Jem stopped the car, going that far without breaking down or using up all the fuel. They sat there waiting for Jem's answer.

"We name it the first thing I saw in this place." Jem explained as he got out from the car and the rest followed him. Alec stopped dead when the headlight was gone. A hand touched his forearm and he shrieked, making his sister and Jem asked in unison. "Alec?"

"It's just me." A voice broke through the thick fresh smell of dirt. It was Magnus. Alec unconsciously flinched even more and he nearly tripped over a stone by standing away from the Aristo. The cat struggled himself to get out and he landed gracefully. "Am I that scary?" Magnus chuckled gloomily. He picked Chairman up in his hand.

"I prefer no touching." Alec stated. His eyes began to adjust; the other three nodded in understanding, especially Magnus who stepped back.

"Okay." The taller man said and Jem took control over the situation again. "Follow me."

They walked in silence. Alec hugged himself closer as he chose to stay at the back of the group.

The description of nature attracted him, but it was entirely another matter when he was actually in one. The sounds of it weren't enjoyable at all – the high-pitch cries and croakysqueals of non-known animals. Whenever something brushed against his skin, his breaths hitched and for many times he had to smother his scream of fear.

He missed the arm that would drape over his shoulder and shield him from anything harmful, the soft combing of fingers in his hairs and the homey aura of the garden. He wanted to be with them so badly –

"Here."

A noise cracked and Alec found a small mud house was hidden within layers of trees. He would have completely walked right next to it without noticing. Isabelle and Magnus too sighed in admiration.

Isabelle said as Jem removed the cover of the entrance and led them into a room of darkness. "Wow, this place is fine."

Jem smiled timidly at the compliment. "Sorry for no windows. We don't want to disturb the animals so we only built it with small holes for ventilation, keeping the lights inside and such." Jem sat on the ground and lit a candle, brought the dead into life.

"That's thoughtful." Magnus added when he and Isabelle studied the small house, looking at the random drawings on the wall. Alec, on the other hand, felt he was intruding intimacy of a couple.

The gray-eyed man drummed the spots around him, eyes encouraging. "Sit down. Be comfortable like it is your house."

Alec smiled weakly and took the spot opposite Jem, while Isabelle nudged his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Are you okay?" He repeated. Isabelle shouldn't be the one asking. He should.

She returned a sincere tug of red lips. "Not as fine as before. But we have to move on. I believe Simon… he would want me to live."

Alec nodded. He wrapped his arms over his shins and brought the legs closer to himself. Jem and Magnus were talking about Will.

"I am fine as long as you are." Alec said and he tilted his head slightly to observe his sister from the corner of his eyes.

She scowled. "You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Brotherly instinct." Confessed, his eyes changed into the blurred forms of gray and amber. He blinked a few times, but the vision was worse. Isabelle noticed his confusion and she fondled his neck, trying to draw him out from the fog of fuzziness. "Alec."

The stern call was ignored by his throbbing head. He felt like his brain was dancing, growing larger and larger, like having a chick was hatching from his skull. Someone was shaking him and shadows moved. A pair of cold hands cupped his face and he heard his name being said over and over. His tongue and throat weren't moving; muscles feeble and suddenly the sleepiness was injected into him.

"Alec!"

He gripped at the wrist of Magnus and was burnt by the iciness of skin. Magnus didn't feel like that – he was always warm. Real. This wasn't real. It wasn't Magnus.

Things faded into background and Alec snapped. He dropped on the ground. A no longer lovable doll.

A/N:

I know it's been quite some time and I am horribly sorry about that: hope this chapter is worth the wait! And please forgive me grammatical mistakes. It is tiring to proofread ;(

I am trying new thing here: one POV through one chapter. How do you feel about that? And the war has began... the end is near.

A review is highly appreciated and I wish you all a good day!