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“Izzy, for the last time, no. I will not add you to the mission team. I need you to stay here and run the place while we are gone,” Alec declared as he smacked his hand down on his desk causing Simon, Jace, Clary, and Magnus who were seated in the back of the office to flinch. “Oh please, Alec, run what? You will be gone for a day, maybe two and you already have everything in place. You’ve been gone longer at the loft,” Izzy cut back, just as harsh. Alec ran his hand through his hair and fell down into his desk chair. “Isabelle, I may be your brother so you think you can question my decisions until you get what you want, but I am also the Head of the Institute. I said no and I mean no. You’re not going and that’s final.” “Sure, Alec, go ahead and throw your title in my face. What happened to I’ll always support you and trust you?” Izzy yelled back causing the others to cringe. “Iz, you know that I trust you and I would hope that you trust me with this decision. I just want what’s best for you,” Alec said a little more reserved from his earlier strong tone. Izzy glared at him with so much frustration that she was shaking. “You sound just like Mom used to, must come with the position,” she spat out before stomping out of his office. Simon quickly followed after her as Magnus rose to walk behind Alec’s desk. Alec dropped his head into his hands and took a few shaky breaths to try and calm himself. Jace stood up with Clary to leave, sensing Alec needed some time alone to process that. “Alec, she is just upset. You know she didn’t mean that. You are protecting her, you made the right decision,” Jace offered as he walked out of the room. “Darling, listen to your parabatai. You made this choice to protect Isabelle and it is the right choice. She will understand that once she can see the reason,” Magnus whispered into Alec’s hair as he leaned over him to kiss his temple. “I need to go finish gathering the potions we may need. Are you okay here alone or do you want to come home with me?” Alec lifted his head and took a deep breath before looking up at Magnus. “I’m okay, I promise. I’ll be home after I finish this report and these schedules. We need rest before we head out tomorrow.” “Sounds like a good plan to me. I will see you in a little while, love,” Magnus replied while leaning down for a parting kiss and then opening a portal home. Alec watched the portal close and sat back in his chair to think through everything. He trusted Isabelle with his life and she knew that. He also loved her and this mission was too dangerous to risk losing her. She would understand that one day, he told himself.---Two hours had passed and Isabelle had shut herself up in the weapons room alone. Clary and Jace had done a round of training after sending Simon off to the DuMort for the last bit of intel Raphael had for the mission. “I feel like we should go check on them,” Clary said as she offered the rest of her water to Jace. Jace nodded and motioned for them to leave the training room. “Yeah, I figured one of them would have at least made a pouting appearance by now. I’ll go check on Alec, you want to run by the weapons room for Iz?” Clary nodded and headed down the hall towards Izzy’s closed door. She knocked twice and heard nothing in reply so she opened the door. She looked around the room and saw no one around. A few of the wall shelves were open and the screen was on, mid search result. Clary was instantly on guard because Izzy would never leave the weapons room like this if she left willingly. “Izzy!” Clary cried out as she made her way around the desk to see Isabelle on floor unconscious with a broken stele in hand and a dagger that appears to have clattered across the floor when she passed out. Clary pulled out her stele and tried the iratze rune a few times with no results. “Help! I need help in here!” Underhill and Raj were both walking by when they heard Clary’s screams. They sprinted into the room and found both women on the floor. Underhill immediately knelt beside Izzy and checked her pulse to find that she was still alive. He gathered her into his arms and quickly made his way towards the infirmary.Clary was right behind him as Raj offered to clean up and lock down the weapons room. As they walked in to the infirmary, Jace was already there setting Alec down on one of the beds who was in the same state as his sister. “By the angel…” Underhill whispered as seeing both of his friends in this condition. “What happened?” one the medics asked as they started to exam both Lightwoods. “I don’t know. I went to check on Alec and he was passed out behind his desk surrounded by broken pieces of his coffee mug that must have dropped with him. It looks like he was sitting in his chair and just lost consciousness. I didn’t feel anything through the bond, I still feel nothing,” Jace rattled off as he pacing at the end of his siblings’ beds. Clary came to his side and rested a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him. “Izzy was pretty much the same. She was behind her desk and there was a blade nearby that looked dropped or thrown when she fell. There are no wounds or blood or anything. No signs of a fight.” “Well, I can’t seem to find anything wrong. Their vitals are good and the iratze won’t activate meaning there is nothing to heal. You should call a warlock to check them over or possibly even the Silent Brothers. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” the lead medic explained as she disconnected the machines and made them both comfortable on the beds. “I’ll call Magnus and Simon,” Jace said quietly as he stepped into the hall with phone in hand. Clary looked at them both in bed and felt her chest get heavier. The Lightwoods had always looked after her, looked after everyone. They were the glue of this weird yet perfect Shadow World family she found herself in. She didn’t know if she could handle losing one of them, let alone both at the same time. ---Magnus had tried everything he could think of to rouse the Lightwoods from their impromptu slumber. He had never witnessed a case of unexplained comatose states like this one. Every search of their minds came up empty and they both were physically perfect. It appeared as though they were both trapped deep somewhere in their minds and he couldn’t tell if they were together or not.Everyone had cleared the room except Simon who refused to let Isabelle leave his sights. Magnus let him stay because he understood exactly what he was feeling. The fear rising around his heart that he may never see his beloved Alexander’s eyes or hear that wonderfully deep voice again. Magnus called Jace and Clary back into the room who now had Maryse and Luke with them. Maryse’s face instantly fell as her eyes filled up with tears. “I can’t lose them,” she whispered as she went to Izzy’s bedside and kissed her forehead. “I already lost Max, I won’t survive losing them too,” she continued as she went and did the same thing with Alec. “We are not losing them, Maryse. I will fix this if it is the last thing I do,” Magnus said strongly as he held Alec’s hand in a tight grip. Maryse nodded at him in agreement while wiping her tears away. A few hours later, the family had moved them to Alec’s private suite so they wouldn’t have to abide by the infirmary visiting rules. Magnus had changed them both into more comfortable clothing after Jace and Simon placed them on Alec’s bed. Magnus and Simon then took their post on opposite sides of the bed while Maryse and Jace sat in the small sitting area. Simon had just talked to Isabelle like he normally would while he held her hand and ran his fingers through her hair. Magnus kept Alec’s hand in one of his while he read through spellbook after spellbook that he summoned from their loft. Jace went to address the Institute and sent Underhill with a newly formed mission team to complete their planned trip before coming back to sit beside his siblings. This went on for the rest of the day until everyone fell asleep in their chairs. ---Alec opened his eyes and felt a soreness pulse through his head. He blinked a few times clearing his eyes to see his office ceiling directly above him. His chest felt heavy as he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position so he coughed trying to loosen the feeling. “Alec?” a quiet voice called from down the hall.“Isabelle?” “Where are you? The hallways are all messed up and I can’t find anyone,” Izzy replied, her tone nervous and stressed. He heard the distant click of her heels from somewhere outside his office. “I’m in my office. What happened, Iz? Where are you? I feel like I was knocked out, my head is ringing,” Alec mumbled as he tried to pull himself off the ground. He heard the clicking sounds speed up but never get closer. Izzy walked up and down the hall but ended up back in the weapons room after every turn she made. “I don’t know, I feel the same way. I’m stuck in a loop or something, Alec. No matter where I try to go, I end up back in my office. Something is wrong.” After eventually getting to his feet, Alec started to walk around his hallway to find the same thing happening to him. “It’s the same thing for me. I can’t get away from my office. What is the last thing you remember?” “I was fixing a broken blade and I started to get dizzy. I remember grabbing my desk to steady myself, then everything went black and I woke up on the floor. We must be in another timeline or in our subconscious or something. This just doesn’t feel normal,” Izzy rambled as she continued walking around aimlessly trying to find another room. “Do you think it’s a spell? I don’t know how it could have gotten us both separately while we were inside the Institute,” Alec replied as he tried to find his phone and stele which seemed to have disappeared. “Alec...do you think we are in...like, purgatory?” Izzy asked quietly, her footsteps quieter and less frequent as they both felt the air go cold. ---The room was silent as the family woke up from a stressful sleep to see both siblings still unconscious and unresponsive. Magnus had summoned food for everyone and he talked about things he had read the previous night while they all ate. Clary and Luke decided they would go to the library to try and find anything to help. Jace and Maryse discussed calling the Silent Brothers so Magnus sent a fire message off to Brother Zachariah. The two Brothers came with Brother Zachariah and they requested to see the Lightwoods alone much to the dismay of Magnus and Simon. Jace and Maryse basically had to pull them out of the room. Twenty minutes later, they were called back into the room as the Brothers were readjusting the bed when Zachariah spoke.
“We believe that Alexander and Isabelle are currently under the influence of divine intervention. There is no other explanation than the angels imparting this state on them. Whatever actions these two planned on pursuing within the upcoming days must have placed them both in an extremely dangerous situation, even for Nephilim, that would have resulted in death. The angels did not believe it was their fate so they have taken action to protect them.
Once the threat has passed and the siblings have reconciled, they shall awaken. It has been years since the angels have practiced this, most do not even know it exists. I promise you they are both safe for now, however, the only way to exit this state is if they find each other in their subconscious and submit to the current tension between them. If they fail to find each other, they can only last so long in limbo before the angels call them to heaven.”
“Is there anything we can do to help them find each other or is it up to them?” Jace asked, his voice filled with anxiety and concern.
“Keep them close to each other similar to the way they are resting now. Unfortunately, you cannot do much more than that. This is between them and the angels trying to protect them. All things come with risks in this world as I am sure you all know. I can say that further risk is trying to impart yourselves into it with magic or the parabatai bond. Others could get lost as well and then it becomes a much larger puzzle to solve. I have had the privilege of knowing many Nephilim siblings in my years and I have rarely found a pair quite as close as the Lightwood children. Have faith in them to be there for one another.”
The three Silent Brothers cleaned up the rest of their belongings and left through a portal back to Idris leaving the room once again silent. “He’s right, you know?” Magnus said quietly after he had taken his seat back next to Alec. “About what?” Simon replied without taking his eyes off Isabelle. “I’ve been alive much longer than those Brothers and I have seen my fair share of Nephilim families. Alexander and Isabelle have an incredible relationship. Most siblings care for each other, but these two would do anything for the other. So he’s right, it is rare that they are so close without being parabatai. It’s as if they are soul bonded without the physical bond,” Magnus explained while stealing glances at Maryse who was near tears. “They’ve always been that way. Since the moment we brought Alec to Izzy’s nursery, you could see it in their eyes. They always wanted to be together and stood up for each other. Most people thought they were twins who didn’t know us well. You couldn’t separate them if you tried,” Maryse added as she supported the claim about her children. Jace had tears in his eyes thinking about his brother and sister. “When Alec and I decided to be parabatai, Alec told me he couldn’t do it if Isabelle said no. He asked for her permission and included her in all of our training. All of our trainers and superiors thought it was Isabelle that was a third wheel, but it was never like that. We each had our own bonds to one another, but those two were always the tightest one.” “Well, all of that just sounds like confirmation that they can get themselves out of this. I have no doubt that they will find each other, it sounds like they always do. I haven’t known them for nearly as long, but I trust them both. I always have,” Simon declared making everyone give an agreeing nod and smile even if was a tearful one. ---“We’re not dead, Iz. Two shadowhunters in their twenties don’t just die of random heart attacks. We are going to find our way out of here,” Alec said strongly, not believing that this is the fate the angels would give them after everything they had been through. Izzy huffed a sigh and tried to make her way down the hallway again. “You don’t know that, Alec. You don’t know everything.” “Trust me, you don’t have to tell me that, but I know that we can get out of this. You are the smartest person I know, you can figure this out,” Alec responded softly. “If you really believe that, why wouldn’t you let me go on the mission?” “Isabelle, this is not the time for that.”“Why not? What else do we have to talk about? I want to know why you trust me now and not then,” Izzy cut back, her anger from earlier heavy in her tone. “By the angel, Izzy, I trust you with my life. You know that better than anybody. I wasn’t lying when I said I was trying to protect you!” “Protect me from what, Alec? My job?! We’ve been doing this for years and suddenly, now I need more protection,” Izzy yelled back, both of them stopped walking the halls at this point. Alec paced around his office and finally collapsed into his desk chair with a sigh wishing he could see his sister. He wanted her to be able to see the honesty on his face and hug her so she knew he meant it.“Alec, talk to me,” Izzy demanded after his extended silence, half out of frustration by not getting an answer and half out of worry that something happened to him. Alec ran his hand through his hair and got up from his chair to start his pacing back up. “I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you wouldn’t listen when I told you to stay back. The mission was not demons. The London Institute requested us because they had multiple newly-turned rogue vampire fledglings teaming up against their patrol groups. Three hunters were drained and killed and two hunters are now attempting to detox from yin fen before they figured out that they were being targeted. I didn’t want them to cause you to relapse. I had to protect you. You’re my little sister, Iz. I couldn’t risk you like that.” ---Time was passing much more quickly in reality and the family was now on day three of sitting beside the unconscious pair. Magnus had been using his magic to change and shower himself and Simon so they didn’t have to leave. They had been taking turns sleeping so they wouldn’t miss anything. “Magnus, I’ve been worried since I answered Jace’s phone call, but now I’m moving into the feeling of terrified. What if-”“Don’t start that. You can’t start with the what ifs, Simon. They can do this, we will get them back,” Magnus declared with more power in his voice than the others had heard in days. Simon looked up at him with more life in his tired eyes. “You called me Simon.” “It’s been known to happen every so often,” Magnus replied with a casual wave of his hand. “Only when you’re really upset, I think I can count the times on one hand. I really don’t know how you always come up with different names. It’s been years,” Simon said with humor in his tone that had been missing since they walked into the Institute. Magnus rolled his eyes. “I am a man of many talents, Sherwood, you know this. Also, I am serious when I say they are going to get through this because if they don’t, I will start practicing necromancy and bring Alexander back to life so I can kill him myself for doing this to me.” “Wow, that was intense,” Simon said making both of them laugh for the first time in days. “You know, these two would probably take over the angels and unite heaven and hell somehow and then bring themselves back to life or something crazy like that.”“Oh, that is a theory I believe wholeheartedly. They are quite the unstoppable force when they are working for something they want,” Magnus replied as his tone sobered from the light moment. “They will do whatever it takes. They’ll make it back, I know it.” ---“Alec, I...you didn’t...the things I said…” Izzy mumbled as she tried to piece together her reaction. “Izzy, it’s okay. I wasn’t completely honest with you. It was my fault,” Alec cut her off as he left his office more determined than ever to find her. Izzy’s heels clicked loudly through the hall again as she started back out to find her brother. “Since I know you will fight me on this until the end of time, can we agree that it was both our faults? I should have never said those things, big brother. I didn’t even believe myself when I was saying it. You’ve had my back since I was born, I shouldn’t have questioned that.” “And I should’ve have known that you could handle the information. I’m sorry, Iz,” Alec replied softly as he felt a shift in the hallway while he walked farther. “I’m sorry too, Alec. Thank you for always protecting me,” Izzy said as she rounded the corner in front of her seeing her brother standing at the other end of the hallway. “Alec!” “Izzy! Thank the angel!” Alec yelled out as they ran towards each other. Just as they were within a few steps of each other, a barrier flew up between them. They both bounced off of it and heard a voice from above before they could even react.
“Alexander and Isabelle Lightwood, the heavens are grateful that you have found your way to each other. Before we let you return to your realm, we want to give the knowledge of what has occurred here. The angels watch over all Nephilim and we viewed a truly horrible death for you both that would have taken place on your intended mission. We did not believe that you two were deserving of that fate when you have so much left to do for the better in the Shadow World. We intervened to save you from this fate. You are about to see that fate during your return to your bodies, it is the only way back. Remember to think of each other to make it through, we do not want to see either of you lost now.”
“Whoa...why would they-” Izzy whispered but stopped as Alec swept her up in a tight hug, pulling her up off the ground. “We can talk about that later. Let’s go home, Iz,” Alec replied as he set her down and took her hand. A wind started to pick up around them and they both started to feel dizzy, quickly dropping to the floor as the vision opened up in front of them. ---The day again was long and uneventful. No changes were seen and the room was veiled in a heavy silence. Jace sat with Clary on one of Alec’s couches in the room trying to read through reports to keep his mind off his siblings. Maryse had been switching off between mothering everyone in the room and praying to whoever would listen. Magnus and Simon both remained at their bedside posts, unwilling to leave the room. Everyone had begun to doze off and Clary offered to keep the night watch over them that Magnus and Simon had been sharing thus far. Luke and Jace had moved a couch closer so Clary could sit and watch over Alec and Izzy while Jace slept with his head in her lap. She was running her fingers through his hair when she saw Izzy’s hand twitch.Clary’s fingers stilled and she sat up straighter, her eyes locked on Izzy’s hand. She didn’t want to wake anyone in case it was just her tired mind assuming something happened. After ten minutes, Clary felt herself start to doze off and shook her head trying to wake herself back up. When she looked again, Izzy’s hand was nearly touching Alec’s and both of their faces looked more tense than the past few days. “Jace,” Clary whispered as she shook his shoulders. “Jace,” she said a little louder causing both him and Magnus to wake up. “Biscuit, what’s wrong?” Magnus asked, his voice groggy and eyes unfocused. He turned his head towards Alec and immediately noticed the change in his features as well. With a snap of his fingers, the dimmed lighting was now much brighter causing the others to start to wake.“I thought I saw Izzy’s hand move earlier, but then it never happened again so I thought I imagined it. Now they both looked stressed, their faces are tense,” Clary replied as Magnus moved his hand to rest on Alec’s chest for a second. “His heart is racing,” Magnus whispered as he pulled his hand back and looked for Simon who confirmed the same thing with Izzy. “What do you think it means? Do you think they are in pain or something?” Clary asked as she looked at Jace who might be able to feel a change in Alec. “I still feel nothing, but I think this either means they are close to coming back or they are running out of time,” Jace answered solemnly. Magnus and Simon both held on tighter to their spouses’ hands and Maryse’s tears started back up as they waited. ---Alec stumbled as he regained his body which was now in a London alleyway fighting vampires. He looked down the road and saw Jace fighting two of them off while Clary and Simon were working on another. He felt the weight of his bow in his hand and realized he should be helping instead of watching. As he turned his head the other way, he saw a vampire sweep through and grab his sister into his arms. He watched as the vamp’s teeth dug into Izzy’s neck and her eyes fill with tears.“Isabelle!” Alec screamed and started to move towards her when his husband came through from the other direction. Magnus pulled his sister from the vampire and took her into a pocket of the alley. He saw the slight shake in her hands and knew that she was already feeling the effects of the yin fen. The vampires had locked in on her previous addiction and targeted her just as he thought they would. Alec took a few steps forward while reaching back for an arrow when two vampires came out of the shadows and threw Alec into a dumpster nearby. He immediately felt lightheaded and his vision was spinning. He heard someone screaming his name, most likely his parabatai who felt the pain. Suddenly, multiple sets of fangs sunk into his skin and he felt cold as the blood started to leave his body. More and more teeth broke his skin, probably due to the scent of his blood spreading through the alley. He was quickly losing consciousness and realized he was most likely past the point of survival. A wave of familiar magic crashed over his skin and the vampires all scattered leaving the road silent except of the heavy footsteps of the group making their way towards him and sobs coming from a few different sources. Magnus and Izzy fell beside him on their knees while Clary and Simon were trying to help Jace up to get closer as he was writhing in pain. Underhill stood guard with the other three hunters who were there to surround the group where they tried to care for Alec. Alec’s skin was pale as the blood continued to pour from the open wounds left behind. Izzy’s hands were shaking as she cried into his chest. Everything around him became fuzzy as he heard the whisper of Magnus’ voice telling him that he loved him and it would be okay. Suddenly grabbing him from the haze, Izzy’s hands were now on his cheeks and she was begging him to look at her. “Stay with me, Alec. Come back with me, big brother,” she was saying. Alec only saw black now and he couldn’t feel the ground beneath him anymore. He heard the distant cries of his sister’s voice calling his name, but he couldn’t seem to find where she was.---The family sat around the bed waiting for something more to happen. Alec and Izzy both looked stressed for another five minutes before they heard Izzy’s breathing pick up as if it was panicked. “Isa...belle…” Alec mumbled while his entire body flinched. Magnus and Jace both started tearing up at hearing Alec’s voice for the first time in days. Everybody remained on edge in wait though because it wasn’t certain that they would come out of it. Izzy’s breathing got even quicker and her fists clenched the bedsheets under her hands. “No….no...Alec….no…” she whispered through her heaving breaths.The air in the room felt cold and heavy with fear at hearing Isabelle’s pained voice call out for her brother. It continued for another minute before Izzy’s eyes flew open and she screamed her brother’s name. No one even had time to react before she was up on her knees next to Alec yelling at him. “Alec! Stay with me, Alec!” Izzy cried as she shook his shoulders. Tears were rolling down her face and the family just watched with similar expressions. Magnus could feel his heart breaking with every one of Izzy’s breaths. “Come back with me, big brother!”Maryse grabbed Jace’s hand as Izzy dropped her head to Alec’s chest and sobbed. She called his name a few more times before she couldn’t speak anymore. The silence cast over the room again as they all sat in shock of what just happened. Magnus reached out with his magic but was harshly rejected by the angel power still present in Alec’s body. It had barely been a minute, but it felt like hours had passed as they waited for something to happen when Alec threw himself forward while gasping for air. “Izzy? Izzy?!” “Alec! Thank the angel…” Izzy said as she threw her arms around her brother while she cried into his shoulder. Alec pulled back slightly and took Izzy’s face in his hands making sure it was real. He leaned in a kissed her forehead and then said, “I love you so much, Iz.” “I love you too, big brother,” Izzy replied as she leaned back in to hug him again. When she looked up for his shoulder, she noticed their entire family smiling at them but looking worse for wear, especially their husbands. She looked at Alec and they both nodded as if they realized it at the same time. Izzy moved over to her side of the bed and let herself fall into Simon’s waiting arms. He was nearly shaking and she could feel his exhaustion, but she also had never felt more at ease. Alec couldn’t even move before he had Magnus latched onto him and whispering in his ear how much he loved him and to never let something like this happen again. Alec held him close and let Magnus’ magic warm him from inside out. Maryse and Jace waited as patiently as they could before taking their turns. Maryse holding onto Isabelle for dear life while Jace cried into Alec’s shoulder about how he couldn’t feel him. Eventually, the four ended up in one big family hug when Magnus suggested they all go back to the loft for the next couple days to discuss what happened and just be together. As the newly reunited family left the Institute together, the angels watched from above, more than happy with their decision to keep the Lightwood pair alive.