Work Text
Rafael had just gotten back from patrol, covered head to toe in demon ichor. When he entered the New York Institute, Max was right there to laugh at them. The boy just rolled his eyes and hit the shower to get cleaned up. He was on the last patrol of the night, so now he was free to return to return to Idris.
“You still have some ichor in your hair, Rafe.” Max pointed out.
“I could care less. I just want sleep.” The older boy just let himself fall through the portal his brother made and onto the couch, Max stepping out behind him. As much as the warlocks loved to tease their shadowhunter siblings, Max and Natalia knew how hard the job was. Rafael, Thomas, and their dad didn’t have the immortality and magic aid that they and their papa had.
“You’re getting it on the couch,” Max said, still referring to the ichor in the oldest’s hair.
“Can you please just take care of it? I’m too tired to do anything,” Rafe complained.
“How very un-Shadowhunter like of you. Are you sure you are one?” Natalia laughed as she and Thomas came out from the kitchen.
“I would hope so, seeing as he’s my son.” Alec had just walked through the door and caught the tail end of their conversation. Natalia, Max, and Thomas hugged their dad, while Rafe raised a lazy hand in greeting.
“Where’s Papa?” Rafael asked. “I could use one of his post-patrol smoothies.”
“He’s at a meeting with the other High Warlocks,” Alec said. “He should be home soon.”
Alexander ‘Alec’ Gideon Lightwood-Bane and Magnus Lightwood-Bane had been married for three years when they adopted Max at the age of one. Two years later, Rafeael joined their family at age five. After another three years, Thomas was placed in their care at age four by the Clave. Natalia joined them another three years later when Magnus and his friend Catarina stumbled upon her while making a delivery. Now the couple had been married for 18 years, with a two-year age gap between all their children and Rafael being just as old as their marriage. Thomas was eager for the day he’d be able to join the eldest of the four on missions and patrol. The training routines at Idris were starting to get boring.
An hour later, Magnus had yet to return. Natalia and Thomas were starting to get nervous, but Max and Rafael did their best to keep them occupied. Alec had already called Magnus several times but hadn’t received an answer. Izzy, Jace, Catarina, Raphael, Simon, Clary, Luke, and everyone else Alec knew had Magnus’s contact had also been called, but no answer had been given. Getting the younger ones into bed, Rafael and Max sat on the couch, watching their dad pace. “He should be home by now, or at least have contacted someone.”
“Papa can handle himself,” Rafael said calmly.
“But this is very unlike him, you have to admit.” Max countered.
“I just wish I knew where he was.” Alec sat down in the chair across from the boys.
“People know he’s missing, so someone will have told the Clave,” Rafael supplied. “We’ll find him if he doesn’t come home tonight.”
“Rafe’s right. You need sleep, we’ll look for him tomorrow.”
Alec nodded and stood up. Kissing his sons on the forehead, the Inquisitor went to bed. As soon as the door clicked closed, Rafael and Max sprung into action. Magnus’ office was locked, but that didn’t really matter with three warlocks and three Shadowhunters in the house. The office was very orderly and clean, with bottles on the shelves, ingredients on the table, and books, files, and other papers on the desk. Nothing amiss, and after having looked through everything, the boys found nothing that would give a hint as to why their papa hadn’t returned from his meeting yet. After putting everything back to the way it was and locking it behind them, they returned to their shared bedroom to brainstorm other ideas. Thomas was asleep on the top of the bunk bed he shared with Rafael, so the two older boys had to be quiet.
“Is it a special occasion?” Max asked.
“No.” Rafe shook his head. “Does he have something after the meeting?”
“If he did, Dad would’ve told us and wouldn’t be freaking out.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next morning, the Lightwood-Bane household woke up to a piercing scream. Alec, Rafael, Max, and Thomas rushed to Natalia’s bedroom, ready for anything. The girl was sitting up in her bed, covered in sweat and crying. She was shaking and her eyes were glazed. Natalia had done this several times before. Vivid nightmares of her life before the family plagued her sleep. No one knew exactly what happened in her past, and Natalia never divulged the information. But this family was no stranger to closely guarded secrets. Alec wrapped his only daughter in a hug and watched with a sad smile as she clung to him as if for dear life. Max had disappeared to the kitchen and came back with a glass bottle. A pale green and white liquid about the same consistency as melted ice cream was contained within. Magnus had been working on a potion to help with nightmares for years, given so many of the people in his life suffered from them. Once Natalia came into the picture, 5 years old and scared of everything, Magnus only had more of an incentive to get it right. Natalia snatched the bottle out of her brother’s hand and downed it quickly.
“Are you okay?” Alec asked once she’d calmed down. There were still tears flowing freely, but she had otherwise calmed down. Rafe, Max, and Thomas all sat down on the bed next to their baby sister.
“No! I saw Papa.” Natalia breathed heavily. “He was in pain, could hardly move.”
“Oh, Kitty,” Alec murmured the nickname into her hair.
“It was dark, but I could screams from other people. Papa looked right at me, and told me to hide.” Natalia continued. “I did, and a man came in. He looked almost like Papa. Papa called him Asmodeus.”
Alec tensed up. Rafe and Max had heard the stories of what their grandfather had put their parents through. While having never met the Greater Demon, both boys knew he was no good. And if Asmodeus was still alive, that was bad news.
“They talked, but I couldn’t hear them. Then Asmodus said something about his grandchildren and turned right to me!” Natalia was fully crying once again. “Papa screamed at me to run and I woke up.”
All four males present wrapped the only girl in a tight hug.
“It’s okay, we’re going to figure this out,” Alec assured her. “We’ll find Papa.”
A family trip was planned to the New York Institute. Izzy, Jace, and Clary greeted them, Simon and Luke showing up not too long after. Thomas and Natalia were given a tour of the place by Clary and Simon while everyone else got down to business. No one had been able to find Magnus yet. Alec told everyone about Nat’s dream.
“It sounds like a sort of vision.” Luke thought, before turning to Max. “Can you guys get those?”
“Yeah, but it’s extremely rare.” Max shrugged. "What are some places Asmodeus might've taken Papa?"
"He grew up in Indonesia. Caterina might know the town name." Alec answered. "We can start there."
"What do we do about Nat and Tom?" Rafael asked. His younger siblings were too young to be fully brought into the chaos. They might've heard the stories and had run-ins with demons in the past when they were younger, but this would be too much for them. Natalia still had trouble controlling her magic if her emotions were too strong, Thomas -while having proved himself- still wasn't ready to be sent into the field.
"They can stay here at the Institute," Izzy said. "We can protect them here."
"I won't be able to help though," Alec sighed. "I still have duties I need to fulfill."
"We'll handle it, Dad," Max reassured him. "We'll stop by Aunt Cat's and see what she knows."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Where's Caterina?" Max asked, stepping through the portal he'd created for him and his brother to the older warlock's shop. Madzie stood behind the counter, instead of the woman they were looking for. 23 and looking impossibly young for her age, Madzie had become one of the strongest warlocks around under the guidance of Caterina and Magnus.
"Out making a delivery." she smiled. "What can I help you with?"
"Papa is missing. Do you know the name of the town in Indonesia where he lived?" Rafe asked.
"I think Cat said it was Jakarta." Madzie thought for a second. "Magnus took me there once. I might be able to help."
"That'd be amazing!" Max exclaimed. The girl had become somewhat of an older sister to the Lightwood-Bane children. With a wave of her hand, Madzie opened another portal and motioned for the boys to go first. After leaving a note for Caterina, she followed them.
When they stepped out the other side, it was right into a busy street. Jakarta was now a booming city, the capital of the country, and no longer the quaint little village Magnus always told them about. Madzie led them through the streets and the outskirts of the city. A graveyard lay in front of them. Rafe and Max were confused for a moment until Madzie led them to a mausoleum with the last name Bane engraved over the entrance.
"Magnus built this mausoleum for his mother's family, keep the one side he cared about preserved," Madzie explained, opening the gates and letting them in. "Magnus will still check up on his current living relatives every now and then, even if some of them don't live here anymore."
In the center of the room stood a coffin well preserved in time. No name accompanied it, just the inscription 'Mother, Daughter, Friend'. Madzie pushed it open, to reveal it was empty. All except for the various journals and papers laid inside.
"By the time Magnus came back with control of his magic, his mother's body was long gone. So he filled her casket with the journals he kept over the years and the letters he'd write to her, even if she'd never receive them."
"Is there any reason Asmodeus would bring him here?" Rafe asked.
"Not that I can think of." Madzie shook her head. "Asmodeus never truly cared for Magnus's mother, but he'd never put his son through the pain of being locked up with her coffin."
"Where else would he have gone then?" Max asked.
"You could ask around the rest of Magnus's friends. With how long he's lived, Magnus has been all over the world." Madzie suggested. "You're bound to find something."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Where are Max and Rafe?” Natalia asked. Simon and Jace had taken the younger two Lightwood-Bane’s to their apartment. Izzy was keeping an eye on Alec, making sure he didn’t overwork or stress himself out.
“They’re taking care of something,” Simon answered.
“They should be looking for Papa.” Thomas frowned.
“Don’t worry about him,” Jace assured the kids. “We’ll find him. We have all Shadowhunters and Downworlders on the lookout. We’ll find him eventually.”
Before anything else could be said, Natalia fell to the ground, clutching her head, and let out a scream.
***
Max and Rafe had just returned to Catarina’s store with Madzie when the younger collapsed with a scream and clutched his head.
~~~
When Max looked up, all he saw was blackness. Natalia appeared next to him in the same position. When they saw each other, the siblings hugged.
“What’s happening?” Natalia asked through her tears.
“I don’t know.” Max sighed. The blackness turned a deep red and they could hear two voices.
“You will take your place upon the throne of Edom, or you will never see your pitiful excuse for a family again.”
“Never!”
“If you don’t agree, I’ll kill everyone you love, except those stray warlocks you call your children. They might be useful to me.”
“Don’t you dare touch Max and Natalia!”
“Oh, but you can’t do anything locked up here in Edom can you?”
~~~
Max and Natalia both returned to where they’d been before the vision, met with questions of if they were okay. They both only responded with the words, “He’s in Edom!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When the two halves of the siblings reunited at the Institute, Alec, Izzy, Clary, and Luke were waiting for them. Jace and Simon greeted Madzie with a smile when she came through the portal with the boys.
“We know he’s in Edom, and we know how to get there.” Alec said, “But how do we get the Shadowhunters there?”
“We can use the alliance rune,” Clary said, holding up her stele.
“But it’s going to take forever to mark all the Shadowhunters and Downworlders that exist.” Simon pointed out.
“We can have the Clave send a copy of the rune to all the institutes, have them put the Heads in charge of marking everybody, then have them all gather in Idris,” Jace suggested.
“That would work, still would take several days though.” Luke thought. “But with it being Magnus we’re going after, a lot of Downworlders have already started doing their own bit of looking. I’ve packs I never knew existed giving me updates on their searches and it’s only been two days.”
Alec shook his head, “It’ll have to do for now, I’ll get the Clave on that.”
“You will do nothing of the sort, Dad,” Max said, as the man moved to send in the request. “I can tell you’ve been stressing. You need to rest.”
“If that means we lock you in the prison cells, we’ll do it.” Rafe agreed with his younger brother. Jace, Isabelle, and Alec smiled. Rafael and Max reminded them so much of Alec when he was younger. The head of the sibling group, always taking responsibility and handling things others couldn’t. “Everyone else here can deal with the Clave, you need to go home, and destress.”
“I can’t, not with Magnus still missing.” Alec sighed sadly.
“You can tell me and Natalia stories about you and Papa?” Thomas suggested. He already knew he and his sister would be kept out of the way as much as possible, but there was no way the two youngest would be kept out of the mission to rescue their Papa.
“You’ve already heard them all.” Alec laughed lightly.
“So? They’re good stories, and I definitely have my favorites.” Thomas defended with a smile. Once Alec had left with the two youngest Lightwood-Bane children, Clary sent a copy of her alliance rune and the instructions to the Clave. After that, it was just a matter of getting everybody marked and coming up with an actual battle plan.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was a week before all Shadowhunters and Downworlders willing to fight were marked. No matter how much Alec, Rafe, and Max tried to stop them, Thomas and Natalia were adamant about joining the fight, having already given each other the alliance rune in secret. The Lightwood-Bane siblings were allied with each other, everyone they knew was paired as such: Simon and Jace, Clary and Luke, Izzy and Catarina, and Alec and Madzie. No real battle plan had been put into place. Max and Natalia had gotten another vision two days after the rune got sent out that Asmodeus would be waiting for them. Magnus had also been able to tell them where in the castle he was being held, which gave them something to work with. All the warlocks present had worked together to create a pentagram big enough to get everybody in, even if it would be a tight fit. Alec took his place on a podium that had been erected so he could speak to the crowd.
“Today, we have gathered for a rescue mission. My husband, the father of my children, and the High Warlock of Alicante, Magnus Lightwood-Bane was captured and taken to Edom by Asmodeus.” Alec spoke loudly. “We have no plan, but we know that Asmodeus and his forces will be waiting for us. I do not know how many of us will survive, I hope we all do.”
Battle cries and howls rang out through the crowd as Alec stepped down and joined his family. Rafael glanced at Max and Thomas. Separately, the siblings had debated who should go after their papa. Rafe and Max were adamant that if their younger siblings wanted to go, at least one of them would have to go as well. It was decided that Thomas with go with Max as his ‘chaperone.’ It would give Thomas the experience of sneaking around places he wasn’t supposed to be in, a good trait needed for a shadowhunter. Once the warlocks had lit the pentagram everybody stepped in and were transported to Edom.
Just as predicted, the roar of demons greeted them and the battle started just as quickly. Every time a demon was killed, three more seemed to take its place. Utter chaos on all sides. As the army made their way closer to the castle. At the gates is where they met the most resistance. Rafe, Max, Thomas, and Natalia managed to clear a path, allowing the middle children to slip through and into the castle. Alec noticed and called after them.
“Where are they going?” he asked, as Rafe and Natalia fought close at his side.
“Rescuing Papa, don’t worry! Max will protect Thomas.” his eldest called over the commotion.
“Right now, we need to worry about them!” Natalia pointed up as a horde of winged demons approached them from the skies.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Max and Thomas stuck to the shadows as they made their way down the levels of the castle. It was oddly quiet, with no sign of any demons or their grandfather. Max didn’t like it. “Something’s wrong.”
“Maybe all the demons are outside?” Thomas suggested.
“You’ve heard the stories. Asmodeus is smarter than that.” Max said. “We’ll probably run into a whole horde trying to break Papa out.”
Max quickly prayed he’d kept his mouth shut. As soon as the two boys reached the doors to the prison, a horde of demons stood there waiting for them. Thomas quickly ducked out of the way, slashing at any demons that came too close with his Seraph Blade, while Max took out the ones farther away. After about twenty minutes, all demons lay dead at their feet, and the brothers made their way through the maze of cells. Magnus was in one of the farthest cells, on his knees, wrists chained to the wall. Magic suppression cuffs. Max gave a little shudder when he recognized the designs on the medal. Having those on made him feel empty like a big chunk of his soul was missing.
Magnus looked up when he heard Thomas kick the cell door in. The warlock looked absolutely exhausted, no physical harm had been done, but by the way, Magnus shook his head and pulled away from the approaching boys, mental harm was definitely there. “You’re not real, just another illusion!”
“It’s us, Papa!” Max got to his knees and assured the man while Thomas undid the cuffs. “We’re here to get you out.”
Magnus searched the other warlock’s eyes before flicking his gaze to Thomas as his wrists dropped from the cuffs. After another second, Magnus was hugging his sons as tight as he could. He still felt weak, like he was missing something. It would take a couple of minutes for the effects of the cuffs to wear off. “Why are you here by yourself? Where’s your father, brother, and sister?”
“They’re outside, with practically all the Shadowhunters and Downworlders alive,” Thomas explained. “We snuck off to get you.”
“Oh thank your father’s angel, but don’t you two ever run off into a dangerous situation again!” Magnus said and stood up. “Now let's go. I know this castle better than anyone, even after all these years. I can get us out of here quicker.”
As the three males ran through secret passages and to the outside of the castle, Magnus could feel his power coming back and smiled. As Magnus rushed onto the battlefield, Max and Thomas behind him, all three had to duck as a large ball of fire flew above their heads and hit the castle behind them. As the Warlock and his sons continued to run forward, they were surrounded by Shadowhunters and Downworlders taking down demons. All over the battlefield were warlocks with their marks proudly standing unglamoured as all their magic went toward the fight. In the middle of all the chaos stood Alec, Rafael, and Natalia. Alec and Rafael had switched from their bows to Seraph Blades to deal with the close quarters. Once Alec realized his husband was free, he fought harder, trying to give the three newcomers an opening to join them.
“Alexander!”
“Magnus!”
The two men embraced each other tightly while their four children fought around them.
“Nice to see you too Papa, but we’re kind of in the middle of a battle?!” Rafael called over the chaos.
“I know.” Magnus rolled his eyes before he and Alec rejoined the fight.
“Max, want to try the thing?” Natalia asked.
“Sure! Thomas, Rafe, cover us!” the blue-skinned boy responded, joining his twin cat-tailed sister in the middle of the family. Once their brothers had taken their positions, the warlocks joined hands. Green and purple light swirled around the two children as they were lifted up into the air, a beam of light erupted from where their hands were joined and hit all demons within a 20-yard radius. When the siblings came back down to the ground, the battle was finishing up as the last of the demons were disposed of.
“When did you learn how to do that?” Alec asked.
Natalia shrugged. “Read something about combining power in one of Papa’s books.”
Magnus quickly pulled his family into a group hug, before pulling back. “We need to leave now.”
“No,” Rafael said stubbornly. “I’m done letting Asmodeus try to tear apart your relationship.”
“Rafe,” Magnus started before Max interrupted him.
“He’s got a point.” the warlock shrugged. “I have no problem killing a grandfather I never knew.”
Alec and Magnus looked at their youngest two children who made signs of agreement. Magnus sighed with a laugh. “I’ve wanted to kill him for a long time anyway.”
“Then let’s get this over with.” Alec smiled and kissed his husband’s temple.
“Yes. Let’s.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Asmodeus sat on his throne, unsurprised when his son burst through the doors, his so-called ‘family’ behind him. Standing up, the Greater Demon descended the stairs leading up to his seat, stopping at the last step, Magnus stopping halfway to him. “I see you’ve gotten out of the cells and killed my forces.”
“Why do you seem so surprised?” Magnus asked sarcastically. Alec, Rafe, and Thomas all had their bows ready to fire, Natalia and Thomas flexing their fingers, itching to blast the prince of Hell in front of them.
“Surely you know you’ll have to take over Edom at some point?” Asmodeus laughed. “You’ll outlive the Nephilim behind you that you call family. Then you’ll have no one but me, Natalia, and Max.”
“I did pretty well on my own when I first left you,” Magnus growled. “And I’ll do even better with my
true
family by my side.”
Once he was done speaking, the three Shadowhunters unleashed their arrows and the warlock let out their magic. Everything hit Asmodeus right in the chest. A piercing scream filled the halls as the Greater Demon died in a burst of light. With a relieved sigh, Magnus turned to his family with a smile. “Let’s go home.”
~~~~~~
"Dad! I can't find my heels!" Natalia called through the house.
"You have magic!" Alec called back. A soft 'oh right' was heard, followed by a snap. Alec laughed and relaxed into his husband's lap where they lay on the couch. It had been several weeks since the incident in Edom. In that time, several days were taken to break all the alliance runes. Now, Alec and Magnus got to relax with their children. Natalia had been running around New York helping take care of Magnus' deliveries, Rafe and Max had become the team leaders of their own team, and Thomas had been approved to transfer his training from Idris to New York. Everything was right with the world.
"I realized something, Alexander." Magnus hummed, running his fingers through the Shadowhunter's hair. "The day I got taken, I forgot to say I love you before I left."
Alec looked up at his husband with a smile. "Really? We're going to blame that for your kidnapping?"
"I don't see why not." Magnus smiled in return and bent over to kiss his husband. "I love you, Alexander."
"Love you too, Magnus."