Institute – Alec's Room
Alec was lying on his bed in a comatose state with Magnus, Izzy, and Alyssa all standing there, looking worried. Alyssa had recovered slightly from what had happened earlier. Magnus was trying to use his magic to bring Alec back, but nothing seemed to be working. Alec was mumbling softly.
"It's not working." Izzy said. Magnus pulled back his magic.
"I'm sorry, Isabelle." He tried his magic again. "Parabatai bonds are like a tether that binds two souls." Izzy took Alec's hand in hers. "Jace and Alec share emotions, instincts, strength. It's an angelic bond, much like Alyssa's soul bond with Jace. My magic can only do so much."
"So, Jace is like this too?" Izzy asked. Magnus pulled back his magic.
"No, otherwise, Alec wouldn't be the only one in bed in a comatose state. I'd be the same way." Alyssa answered. "You see, when Alec called out to Jace, the part of his soul that did so never returned. So now, he's stuck, lost somewhere between himself and his parabatai. Basically, right now, he's in limbo." Magnus nodded along, agreeing with what she was saying as he activated his magic again.
"But if Jace brought back that missing piece of his soul…" Izzy trailed off.
"We may very well have the cure." Magnus confirmed.
"But whatever we're going to do, we need to do it quickly. Not only could we lose Alec, but Jace isn't doing well either. He's been weakened. I can feel that much. If we don't hurry, we might lose them both." Alyssa said, the worry in her eyes becoming more evident.
"Actually, we might lose the three of you, Alyssa. Remember, if Jace dies, you die too." Magnus said, a concerned look in his eyes, which Izzy mirrored.
"Stay with Alec." Izzy said to both of them, standing up. "I'll go find Jace." She then walked out of the room and left.
Magnus and Alyssa stayed, watching over Alec. Magnus used his magic time to time to try and help. While it didn't wake him up, it kept him from going under, just enough to keep him alive.
A knock sounded on the door, drawing both their attention away from Alec as they heard Jocelyn's voice from the other side.
"Isabelle? Clary's back." Alyssa rolled her eyes as Magnus went to open the door with an angry expression on his face.
"Oh, great. Clary's safe. We can all go home now." He said sarcastically and went to close the door in her face, but Jocelyn pushed the door back to stop him.
"Whoa. Wait, Magnus. How's Alec? Is he going to be okay?" She asked. Alyssa scoffed from where she stood.
"Like you care."
"Do you remember the first thing I said to you when you brought a frightened five-year-old girl to my door?" Magnus asked. Jocelyn looked down.
"You didn't want to get involved in Shadowhunter business."
"And I should have stuck to my guns. But no, I let you convince me. How many years of memory wipes was it?"
"Twelve. Look, I owe you. Let me help you with Alec."
"There's nothing you can do, Jocelyn. Besides, I think you've done enough." Alyssa said coldly, stepping towards Jocelyn, making her back away while Magnus returned to stand by Alec's prone form.
"I was only trying to find-"
"You were only trying to do what you always do, what you do best. Manipulate people into helping fix your problems, problems that you created in the first place." Jocelyn went to speak but Alyssa continued on. "You always start a mess, then you pull in people to help you fix the mess. And in the process you leave them hanging and to deal with the consequences of the mess you created while you walk away unscathed. And this time, Alec's the one paying the price for it." Alyssa said.
"That's not true." Jocelyn protested.
"If it isn't, why are we all still living the nightmare that started the night you went missing? All of this is happening because you refused to tell Clary what she needed to know about the Shadow World. So why don't you go preach your lies somewhere else, because frankly, we're not interested in hearing anything that comes out of your mouth right now." Alyssa said, then slammed the door in Jocelyn's face.
Training Room
Izzy, Clary, and Alyssa were standing in the room, speaking quietly to avoid being overheard.
"I can't believe you lied to Aldertree." Izzy said.
"I couldn't let him go after Jace like he did before." Clary said.
"Nice to see how fast you're catching on." Alyssa said sarcastically.
"Lyssa." Izzy chided softly, then turned back to Clary. "So Dot took down the wards and you two jumped off the ship together?"
"Yeah, but as soon as we hit the water, the tide was so strong. We lost each other….I looked everywhere. I couldn't find him. Wait, if he and Alec are going through the same thing…"
"They're not going through the same thing. Jace is alive and fine. He's just weakened as far as I can tell for now." Alyssa cut in.
"Alyssa is right. If he were dead, she wouldn't be here right now, and Alec's parabatai rune would have faded."
"Which is great, but unfortunately, there's no telling how much time Alec has left." Alyssa said.
"Jace might be Alec's only hope, and for all we know, Valentine and the Circle have already found him." Izzy said worriedly.
"Look, Isabelle…Jace is the strongest person I know. We're going to find him, I promise." Clary said, placing her hands on Izzy's arms.
"Well then we better start looking." Alyssa said and walked away with Izzy and Clary following. They walked down the hallways.
"We need to find something of Jace's." Clary suggested.
"Hate to burst your bubble but with the Clave and probably Valentine on the hunt for him, he's gonna have his anti-tracking rune activated. Valentine probably had it activated after that stint with your mother the last time." Alyssa said, as the three of them entered Alec's room. Magnus was still there, sitting by Alec, grinding some herbs.
"Has he been in here with Alec the whole time?" Clary asked, looking at Magnus sadly.
"He's the only reason Alec still has a chance." Izzy said with a nod.
"Think of Magnus' magic as life support. Without it, Alec's gonna die. But unfortunately, this life support has its limits." Alyssa supplied.
"His magic can't last forever. Sooner or later, he's gonna burn out." Izzy continued.
Alyssa's phone rang at that moment. Thinking it was Luke, she rolled her eyes, stepped away a little, and answered the call without checking the ID.
'Dad, look…' But she was cut off by the voice on the other end. A familiar voice that she'd been longing to hear.
'Lys, baby, it's me.'
'Jace?' The mention of his name caught Izzy and Clary's attention as they looked over at the older Fairchild. Magnus only looked up briefly before looking back down to what he was doing.
'Yeah, baby. It's me.' Alyssa could almost hear the smile in his voice.
'Oh my God. Jace, are you okay?'
'I'm a little soggy but I'll live.' Alyssa sighed in relief and put the phone on speaker so Izzy and Clary could hear as well. 'Look, is Clary…'
'Jace, I'm here.' Clary answered.
'She got here safe. Izzy's here too. Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. But Jace, we have a problem. We need to get you to Alec.'
'What do you mean? Why?'
'Something's happened to Alec and he needs you.' Clary said
'He tried tracking you with his parabatai rune, but now it's like he's stuck in some kind of nightmare and can't wake up.' Izzy said to him.
'Magnus is doing what he can, but he needs you, Jace. You're the only one who can help him.' Alyssa said.
'Okay. I'll get there.'
'That unfortunately brings us to our next problem. There's an ongoing manhunt for you right now issued by the Clave. Every Shadowhunter is on the lookout for you. They want you dead.' Alyssa said worriedly.
'Yeah, well, who doesn't? They can get in line.' Jace said. Alyssa could almost hear his eyeroll.
'Not funny, babe.'
'Meet us at Magnus's. We'll figure out how to get Alec there.' Izzy said.
'Okay, I'll get there as soon as I can.' Alyssa nodded at Izzy then took the phone off speaker.
'In the meantime, take down your mental block so I can find you.'
'No, no, absolutely not. We don't know what's going to happen between now and till I get to Alec. I could get attacked which will then weaken you. That would put you in danger, especially if you're actively looking for me which I know you definitely will be.'
'But Jace…'
'I'll get there as soon as I can.' And with that he hung up.
Alyssa let out a frustrated groan and turned to look at Izzy and Clary, who gave her small smiles, which she couldn't help but return.
The three of them walked out of the room and into the hallway.
"How are we gonna get Alec to Magnus' apartment? Aldertree has people everywhere." Clary said. Alyssa's phone dinged with a message. She pulled it out to look at it, her eyes widening at the text.
"Not a problem. My parents want to get Alec to Idris. Magnus will create a portal. We'll take it to Jace instead."
"I gotta go. My dad says he has a lead on Jace." Alyssa said, beginning to walk away. "I'll let you guys know what I find out."
Hunter's Moon Bar
Alyssa arrived to hear Luke arguing with two people, one she recognized as the wolf that had knocked down Simon the night they'd rescued Meliorn, Taito, and the other she vaguely remembered her father speaking about but never truly met, Maia.
"…the witness found him standing over the body in the morning. I mean you're the detective, isn't that you can an open-and-shut case?" Maia said. Neither of them noticed Alyssa standing at the entrance.
"No, it's not. Jace is too smart to leave a body lying around." Luke defended Jace.
"Whose side are you on?" Taito asked, stepping forward.
"I'm on the side of the law." Luke replied sternly.
"Whose law?" Taito asked.
"Chill, Taito. I think we've had enough bar fights for one night." Maia said.
"I know the rules. Blood for blood." Luke said. "If Jace is really doing Valentine's dirty work, I'll kill him myself." Alyssa decided to let herself be known at this point.
"Well then, you're going to have to get through me first, dad." All the other three wolves turned to look at her. Luke closed his eyes and sighed, then reopened them, looking at Alyssa with a sigh.
Hospital – Hallway
Alyssa, Maia, and Luke walked down the hallway. Luke was arguing with Alyssa, trying to explain things to her.
"I don't care, dad. All I want right now is to find Jace and save Alec's life. That's all I care about. After that, you can question Jace about Gretel's death and find out the truth." Alyssa said.
"You sound as if you don't think blondie killed her." Maia said.
"I don't think it, Maia. I know it." Alyssa then stopped and looked at Maia who also stopped and looked at her. "And just a head's up. When it's proven that Jace didn't kill her, I'm gonna find all those wolves that helped Taito hurt him and Taito himself and I'm gonna return the favor tenfold, unless, by some miracle, either Jace or my dad is able to convince me not to." With one final glare, Alyssa resumed walking.
"She's not really serious, is she? I mean, she's just trying to intimidate me, right?" Maia asked Luke, pointing after Alyssa.
"Sadly, she means what she says. Come on." Luke said. Maia stared for a bit before following her father and daughter. They walked into another hallway where a doctor and nurse stood.
"Excuse me." Luke said, getting the nurse's attention while the doctor walked away to attend to something else.
"Officer?" The nurse asked. Luke held up the sketch of Jace he had and showed it to her.
"Any chance you've seen this person? We got a tip that he might be in the ER."
Alyssa sensed something while Luke spoke and turned her head just in time to see Jace's face peek out of one of the rooms ahead of them. She silently signaled for him to leave before her dad and Maia could see him. Jace nodded at her and stealthily snuck out of the room without anyone seeing him. She turned back to the conversation to hear Luke tell the nurse they just wanted to have a quick chat with Jace.
Letting Maia and Luke go ahead, Alyssa ensured she wasn't being watched or followed and made her way to a supply room, grabbing a stray doctor's coat before going in search of Jace. She spotted him and quickly rushed to him, pulling him out of sight.
"Here, put this on." She said, handing him the doctor's coat. "It'll mask your scent for a while and allow you to blend in to hide from my dad and Maia. I just don't know how effective that would be with the nurse and doctor who took care of you, but it's your only shot right now." Jace did as she said and looked at her.
"Lys…"
"You have to go. I wish I could do more, but there's not much I can do. I don't have my stele on me right now."
"You've done enough, Lys." Jace said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "I know you don't like me having my block up, but until all this settles, I can't have you feeling what I'm feeling. I can't…"
"I get it. I don't like it but I understand. You have to go. You need to escape and get to Alec. I'll try and stall Maia and my dad as much as I can." Jace nodded then kissed her again before leaving. Alyssa watched him go and took in a shaky breath. She then went to find her father and Maia.
Jade Wolf
Luke and Alyssa left the hospital after looking for Jace without success. They returned to the Jade Wolf and were joined later by Clary, who immediately began pleading Jace's case. Alyssa was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and listening.
"Luke, you have to call off the pack. You're the alpha. They'll listen to you."
"It's not that easy. The pack operates by code, blood…" Luke began to say before Alyssa interrupted.
"Blood for blood. Yeah, wonderful code, dad. Really inspires and stands for justice. Problem is, what kind of a code is it if the accused can't even say his piece to try and vindicate himself?"
"This isn't Jace's fault. He was tricked into kidnapping Gretel. It was Valentine who killed her." Clary pleaded.
"Believe me, I know his manipulations better than anyone else but…"
"Then why aren't you trying to at least hear Jace's side of the story? Why aren't you holding the pack back from doing anything until you get the full story? It's not that it isn't easy, dad. It's that you don't want to go against your wolves and be seen as a sympathizer.
You're the alpha and yet you are letting your pack run roughshod. They may be their own persons but in matters like this, they're not supposed to do anything without your say so. They were supposed to tell you everything about Gretel then wait for your orders before they did anything."
"Alyssa…"
"You're being a pushover, dad. A reluctant alpha who never wanted the position and doesn't want to do anything to draw the ire of his pack. Well, too bad. You're the alpha whether you like it or not and it's time you began acting like one." Alyssa vented. Alaric chose that moment to walk out from the kitchen towards them.
"Luke." He said. Luke looked at his daughter and Clary.
"Give me a sec." Luke said and walked towards Alaric. Alyssa listened in on their conversation.
"Maia's caught up to Jace. He's on Front Street, heading towards the Brooklyn Bridge." Alaric informed.
"That's near Magnus's loft." Luke pointed out.
"Yeah, not nearly enough. Sounds like she's moving in for the kill. What do you want to do?" Alaric asked. Luke remained silent and looked back at Clary then at Alyssa.
Alyssa could see the reluctance and indecision in his eyes and scoffed, leaning off the wall and stood up straight.
"You know what, dad, if you don't want to be the alpha, fine. I'll go do your job for you. And we both know if they don't listen to reason, I will use violent measures to make them listen. You can be sure of that. Let's go, Clary." Alyssa went to walk out.
"Hold up, Lyssa." Alyssa stopped and turned back with a raised eyebrow. "You're right, I am the alpha. And it's time I acted like it. Let's go." Alyssa nodded and together the sisters and Luke left the restaurant.
Front Street
Luke, Alyssa, and Clary arrived to see Maia tell Jace it wasn't up to her to let him go.
"Stop." Clary shouted as the three of them ran over, stopping just behind Jace.
"Stand down." Luke ordered.
"Keep out of this, Luke." Maia said.
"Jace didn't kill Gretel." Clary said frantically. Alyssa walked a little closer to Jace, keeping her eyes on the wolves by Maia, watching for any moves. "It was Valentine." It seemed Maia was beginning to believe. "I'm telling the truth. I swear!" Maia seemed conflicted.
One of the wolves, getting tired of waiting, ran toward Jace and leaped at him. Just as Jace brought his hands up to shield himself, Alyssa moved quickly and grabbed the wolf by the neck with both hands, her eyes glowing a bright green as she glared at it.
"I warned you, Taito." She growled and tossed the wolf away, making him land harshly on the ground. Maia stared at her in shock. The wolf shakily stood up, shaking its head, then growled at Alyssa, who glared back and dropped into a stance.
The wolf went to run towards her, but a whip suddenly wrapped around its neck, making it yelp and fall to the ground as Izzy stepped out of a portal. Alyssa relaxed her stance at the sight of the dark-haired female Lightwood.
"Stay." She ordered, stepping on the whip and making it snap. The wolf growled softly and stayed kneeling on the ground, ears down. "Good doggy." Izzy said with a smirk before looking up with a stern look. "By order of the Clave, Jace Wayland is coming with me."
Alyssa looked towards Maia and the other wolves, her eyes still glowing in fury, and in that fury, her voice shifted and took on a deeper authoritative tone as she spoke.
"Stand down, now!" She ordered, making everyone around shudder at the authority in her tone. Maia, unable to resist, immediately submitted and lowered her head, bowing it. The wolves also submitted and bowed down. The others just looked on shocked, not having expected this, especially Luke. Jace shook off his shock and looked up.
"Thanks, Izzy. I owe you one. Both of you." He said, looking at Izzy then Alyssa, placing a hand on Alyssa's back. She looked back at him with a small smile, her eyes no longer glowing and her voice back to normal as she began to speak.
"You can thank us later. Go on. Go save Alec. I'm right behind you." Jace nodded and went on. Izzy and Clary also left, leaving Alyssa with her father and the members of his pack. Luke asked Maia and the wolves to leave. "Get your wolves on a tighter leash, dad. If we hadn't shown up when we did, Jace would have been dead right now for something he didn't do."
"Alyssa, that's enough." Luke snapped.
"No, it's not. Do you even realize what would have happened if you'd continued to sit on the fence and not do anything about the wolves being after Jace?"
"I know he could have died, but…"
"Yes and so could I, dad." Alyssa yelled, shocking Luke.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"My life force and Jace's are intertwined. If he dies, I die. We're bonded in more ways than one. Our bond is nothing like the parabatai bond. It's stronger yet more delicate. He can keep me from feeling his pain, but not if he's dying."
"No, that's not true. Magnus would have told me. Why didn't he tell me?"
"Jocelyn was supposed to tell you. Magnus assumed she had that's why he said nothing. But that's not what I'm talking about. This isn't me telling you what to do or scolding you. This is me telling you it's time you stopped being reluctant and negligent towards your role as alpha. Telling them to wait until you'd gotten the whole truth about the Gretel incident wouldn't have made you a sympathizer or whatever. It would have only shown that you're a just and fair leader.
You can't please everyone, dad. No matter what you do, they'll always be someone who doesn't like how you lead. I know you have to think about your pack. But thinking about them doesn't always mean being on their side even when they're in the wrong.
Sometimes you'll have to make the hard choices between doing what's right and what will please your pack. You always have to look at both sides of the issue so you can make the best decision. Look at the issue from different points of view and try not to let your attachments and emotions decide for you." Luke considered her words as her phone pinged with a message. "I gotta go. Izzy said Alec's awake." Alyssa looked up at Luke then sighed and hugged him. Luke hugged back tightly.
"I love you, kiddo."
"I love you too, dad." Luke smiled and pulled away from him.
"Thanks for the pep talk. When did you get so wise?"
"Probably from hanging out with old people like you and Magnus." Alyssa joked. Luke just glared at her playfully and chuckled.
"Go on. I'll see you tomorrow." Alyssa nodded and left.
Magnus' Apartment
Alyssa entered Magnus's apartment to see Alec awake and sitting up in a chaise lounge with Magnus sitting beside him and Izzy and Clary standing nearby.
"Alec." Alyssa said with a relieved smile. Izzy and Clary made way for her as she walked over and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay." Magnus smiled slightly but then looked up at Izzy and Clary, all three wondering who was going to break the bad news to her.
"I'm fine, Lyssa. A little weak but fine." Alec replied, hugging her back with a smile.
"Thank the Angel Jace got here in time." Alyssa said, pulling back from the hug, then looked around. "Speaking of, where is Jace?" She asked, looking to Magnus, then to Izzy and then Clary when she got no answer. They all looked down when she looked at them, even Alec couldn't look her in the eye. She stood up and questioned them, getting worried. "What is it? What's going on? Where is Jace?"
"He's been arrested." Alec spoke up. Alyssa looked down at him in shock.
"What?" She whispered.
"Shortly after he came in and saved Alec, Aldertree came in with a few of his men and arrested him." Magnus said.
"He's been sentenced to the City of Bones to await trial." Izzy said, placing her hand on Alyssa's arm. Alyssa could only stare at her in shock.