Magnus had known that Alec's actions would have all kinds of consequences, but he hadn't even begun to imagine what they might be. He hadn't ever thought that Alec's actions would so perfectly mix with Jace's plan. The only problem was that someone actually needed to fix everything that was going on because of Alec's actions before anything could actually be used to fix any of the problems concerning Valentine. Since the day Alec had stood up for them in court, Magnus had spent most of his time in meetings, trying to appease Downworld as best he could. But that was a job he wasn't exactly cut out for, and he very graciously accepted Luke's help.
The first time he'd been asked to come to a meeting, he'd done so by himself, and he'd been so completely unprepared that he'd actually been overwhelmed beyond belief. Downworld was entirely prepared to go to war with the Clave, and, naturally, they assumed that Magnus was the best person to lead that particular movement. They now had their opportunity, and they weren't going to easily back down.
It had taken three meetings with three sets of Downworlder representatives for Magnus to actually convince them to postpone that, to plan what they might want to do instead. Alec had actually been the biggest help possible, especially given the circumstances. He was entirely caught up in worrying about Jace, and Magnus couldn't exactly blame him for that. Magnus knew that if it had been Ragnor in the same situation, he never would have been able to contain himself long enough to do anything useful.
Watching Alec as he interacted with the various Downworlders who ended up at Magnus's loft was incredibly rewarding for Magnus. The ease with which Alec explained that he simply wanted peace between Downworld and the Clave, that he didn't blame anyone for what was done to him, that he just wanted to help the situation in any way possible was slightly astonishing to Magnus. Alec played the Downworlder advocate just as easily as he played the Shadowhunter advocate, and that was something Magnus had never experienced before.
The only problem was that Magnus couldn't seem to convince Alec to actually go to one of the never-ending meetings with him. He was entirely certain that Alec would be able to help advance the situation far more than anyone else could, but Alec remained adamant that he wanted nothing to do with the meetings. Magnus often wondered if Alec simply wanted to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, but that hadn't done anything to keep him from becoming slightly agitated because of it.
They only had so much time to figure out exactly how to help Jace execute his plan, and Magnus was unsure that he could do it without Alec's help. The insight into Valentine's plan was immeasurably valuable, but even that wasn't enough to make Magnus confident enough in his plan. He had one more meeting, one more chance to make things really count, and he had very little confidence in himself. This time, the meeting would include the Clave as well as the relevant Downworlder representatives, and Magnus knew all too well that getting them all to agree on the same thing would be an almost impossible task.
"Alexander, I'm begging you to come with us," Magnus said as he finished getting ready. He was only really waiting on Ragnor and Raphael, and he knew that if he didn't change Alec's mind by the time they got there that he was probably done for. "I could really use your assistance, even if it's just that you're there showing your support." Alec shook his head, his lips in a tight line that told Magnus he wasn't likely going to be able to change Alec's mind.
"I told you, Magnus," Alec responded, his words slow and careful as though he was trying to decide the best course of action to take. "I really just want to stay away from the Clave as much as possible. And these meetings aren't really my style anyways." Magnus forced himself to keep from pulling away when Alec walked over to take his hand. "I know you're going to do wonderfully regardless, Magnus. Just relax and give it your everything."
Magnus tried to keep from smiling at Alec, still slightly angry that Alec wasn't coming along. But Alec's words did relax him ever so slightly, even if it was mostly just because of the tone of his voice. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us," Magnus replied, his voice much colder than he had wanted it to be. Before he could do anything to fix it, however, he heard Ragnor open the front door, and he knew there wasn't time to do anything else other than leave the loft and hope for the best.
The meeting actually wasn't as bad as Magnus had anticipated. Yet. So far, there was only a lot of yelling, which Magnus had expected. But no one had actually thrown a punch. Or a seraph blade. Yet. So he was counting that as a personal win, even if he couldn't get his points across over all of the arguing. Looking at Ragnor and Raphael, he could see his own frustration mirrored on their faces, and he deeply wished, not for the first time, that Alec was by his side. But since he wasn't, Magnus took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and tried to launch back into the conversation at hand.
After what felt like hours of conversation, hours of going in endless circles and seemingly making no progress at all, the entire room went impossibly quiet, and Magnus couldn't seem to fathom why that would be. And then he turned around to see Alec at the door, dressed perfectly for the meeting, which Magnus knew meant that he had thought a lot about it before coming to the rescue. At least, Magnus assumed that he was coming to the rescue. At least, Magnus hoped he was.
"I know what you're all thinking," Alec began speaking, his voice filled with a sort of authority that Magnus knew he himself lacked rather horribly. "The Shadowhunter half of you is thinking that I'm here to finally side with my people. And the Downworlder half of you is silently hoping that I'll be the key to your revolution. And I'm happy to announce that neither of those things is about to happen." Surprisingly, Alec dropped a wink in Magnus's direction, and Magnus couldn't help but smile at him on reflex alone.
Alec took his seemingly rightful position at the front of the room, taking his time to do so, as though he knew he was now in control. "I'm here to urge you to do the one thing that will save both groups in the end. I'm here to urge you to listen to what Magnus has been trying to tell you. Because we all know that this situation isn't going away. Valentine will not surrender, and everyone in this room knows that there isn't much we can do about him. Especially as separate entities. But together, we're so much stronger than even Valentine could imagine."
Magnus wasn't sure he would ever be able to explain how infinitely proud of Alec he was in that moment. He knew how much Alec hated to be the center of attention, so this step was huge in every way. "My brother has a plan," Alec continued. "But it will only work if the Clave works alongside Downworld." He held up a hand, knowing the room was about explode once more. "You act like working together would be the end of the world, when in reality, if you don't work together, that might actually mean the end of the world. If anyone should want to remove themselves from both the Clave and Downworld, it should be me."
Magnus watched in silent fascination at the way Alec commanded the room. It was like Alec was born for this sort of job, and Magnus was entirely certain that he'd never seen someone so perfectly take control of a room, especially when the Clave was occupying it. "But here I am, standing before you all, compelling you to understand that we must work together if we ever hope to defeat Valentine. Shadowhunters have a certain skillset that has proved us useful, that much is true. But Downworlders have their own skills that could greatly contribute to our current, very real war."
The Clave was visibly squirming, and Magnus couldn't help but smile at that. He risked a glance at Ragnor to see that the other warlock seemed to be just as pleased by the situation as he was. "Consider this: would it be worse for us to work together and actually defeat Valentine or for us to continue to hate one another so much that we let Valentine destroy everyone in the process? Because I can assure you that Downworlders aren't the only ones Valentine plans to destroy. He will not spare the Clave, no matter how sacred you seem to think you are. Valentine has his own idea of what this world should look like. And neither Downworld nor the Clave is in that vision."
It was clear that Alec was done speaking, and Magnus knew that was all he needed to say. Everything he'd said had resonated so much with each group that Magnus knew it was likely impossible for either of them to ignore what was going on. He smiled as Alec finally came to stand beside of him. "I can't believe you actually came," Magnus said, reaching over to take Alec's hand. Alec simply shrugged, as though to say that he couldn't believe it either. So they simply waited in silence, and Magnus was happy to realize that his nerves had finally been calmed.
When the Downworlders finally decided that they would do whatever it took to defeat Valentine, Magnus thought that Alec was going to actually jump for joy. But their good mood was quickly ruined by the Clave, and Magnus wondered why that should actually surprise them. The Clave decided that they needed more time to make their decision. Apparently having Valentine take over sounded only marginally less appealing than working with Downworlders. Alec's jaw set, and Magnus knew he was already thinking of the things he could do to help the situation. "We would like to speak with the Lightwoods more on the matter of their plan," one of the representatives said. "Until our decision is made, we will simply defend ourselves against Valentine as best as possible."
Sorry it took me so long to update this! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
I don't know how to go about saying this, so I'm just going to go for it. My current plan as of now is to stop writing fanficiton. That means that I will work to finish all of my fics that are currently in progress, and after that is done, I will no longer write anything new.
This decision has not come easily because of how much writing means to me. And honestly, it is a decision that is subject to change. But as of now, I'm just very upset with the situation I am in, and I think it would be the best move for me. Whether or not I can follow through with it will remain to be seen, but I hope I will. If you have questions about this feel free to message me on here or my blog (I am canonizes on tumblr). I love you all so much, and I can't tell you how much each and every one of you means to me. I will update you on this situation as needed.
On a much lighter note, I am apparently writing a "book." I am unsure what will become of this, but it's apparently happening, so we'll see where this particular adventure takes me.