The Institute - Jace's Room
Next Day
Alyssa woke up the next morning feeling a little disoriented. She tried to sit up but immediately regretted it when she felt a sharp pain go through her head. She groaned and put her hand to her head, closed her eyes and sat up more to lean against the headboard. She slowly opened her eyes and scanned the room she was in. She realized then that she wasn't in her room at Magnus'. Her eyes darted round trying to find anything familiar.
"Hey." She heard from the doorway. She turned to see Jace standing there, dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a grey hoodie, with a glass of water in one hand and his stele in the other. He moved close and sat beside her on the bed. She moved a little to give him more space to sit.
"Hey."
"How do you feel?"
"Fine, if you don't count the splitting headache I woke up with."
"Here, drink." Jace said, giving her the glass of water. She took it with a grateful smile and drank it all then leaned back against the headboard. He held up the stele and she shook her head.
"It's okay. It will pass." She looked down and noticed that her clothes had been changed. "Who changed my clothes?"
"Must have been Izzy or Clary or both. Can't be sure since I was just as unconscious as you were when they brought us back to the Institute." Jace answered.
"Right. Sorry. How long have you been up?" She said, sitting upright.
"A little while. I spent most of the time, laying down and trying to adjust to the new memories I got from you." Alyssa nodded and looked round. "I was also watching you sleep." Her head snapped back to look at him. "You look peaceful and innocent in your sleep."
"I am peaceful and innocent." Alyssa said, giving him an innocent look. Jace snorted at that and gave her a look of disbelief.
"Yeah, years worth of memories says otherwise. You're not fooling anyone."
"You're one to talk, mister. Your memories show you as quite the player back in the day." Alyssa said with a smirk. She wasn't bothered that he'd fooled around with girls in his past. It was in the past. What mattered to her was what he did from now and in the future and her thoughts told him just that which allowed him to be teasing and playful and to joke about it.
"Hey, not my fault the ladies couldn't resist my good charms and handsome face." Alyssa gave him a look and nodded sarcastically.
"Mmhmm...keep telling yourself that." Jace smirked at her and leaned forward to peck her lips. She smiled and pecked him back. "So, where's your mark?" Alyssa asked. Jace pulled the zipper on his hoodie down a bit and pulled down the unzippered part just enough for her to see the rune on his chest, just above his heart. Alyssa moved closer, sat pn the back of her legs and placed her hand on the rune, lightly tracing it. The action had Jace inhaling lightly.
"Where's yours?" Alyssa smirked and looked up at him, placing her arms around his neck and raised herself on her knees. Jace placed an arm around her waist to pull her to him.
"Probably in the same spot as yours but you're not gonna see it until you earn the right to get underneath my clothes."
"Hmm...and when will that be?"
"Play your cards right and you will see." She said, kissing him lightly then pulled away. "You know, it's sort of weird. We've only known each other since yesterday and it's like we've been together a long time, especially now that Magnus removed the memory block and the concealment spell."
"Maybe it comes with the territory of being soul-bound but I'm definitely not complaining. I like it."
"I like it too." She said, pecking his lips a few times, then sat back, pulling her arms from around his neck. "Now I guess the only question is what--" She was cut off when the door barged open and Clary walked in. The two turned to look at her.
"Jace, I need to..." She stopped mid-sentence when she realized and remembered Jace was not alone. "Oh, sorry. I forgot that..." Alyssa shook her head and stood up from the bed with Jace following suit, both crossing their arms over their chests.
"What is it? You looked panicked when you entered. What's wrong?" Alyssa asked.
"I saw Valentine and he spoke to me." The statement shocked the other two.
"You what?" They both asked.
"How?" Alyssa asked.
"My necklace." Clary answered, holding up the said jewelry. Jace took it from her and held it up to look at it."My hand touched it, while I was thinking of mom and I saw her and Valentine."
"And he spoke to you?" Jace asked, looking at her concerned and confused.
"He said my name." Alec, who was walking by, heard this and stopped to listen. "He said, 'Your mother for the Cup." Clary finished explaining.
"Who said that?" Alec asked, entering the room.
"Does no one know how to knock before entering?" Alyssa asked, throwing her hands up and looking upwards.
"What's your problem? It's not your room." Alec said.
"No, but it's Jace's and I'm sure he appreciates his privacy. Not to mention, I'm in the room and I could have been indecent." Alyssa shot back.
"But you're not, not with the door wide open. Now, back to my question." Alec said, turning to Clary and Jace. "Who said, 'Your mother for the Cup?"
"Valentine." Jace and Clary answered.
"He's with our mother." Clary said, gesturing to herself and Alyssa, which annoyed the older sister.
"Clary." Alyssa said, a warning evident in her tone.
"And he can speak to you, through that necklace? Here, in the Institute?" Alec asked.
"It's like when I saw Dot." Clary said.
"It must be a Portal shard. Magnus told me a bit about them." Alyssa supplied.
"That's why your mother made sure you had it." Jace said.
"All I know is what I saw." Clary said. "Our-my mother is alive." She corrected herself when she saw the look her sister gave her. "She's unconscious but alive."
"Where are they?" Alec asked. "Did you see any identifying characteristics? Equipment? Weapons, Photographs?" Alec fired off question after question.
"Alec." Alyssa said, stopping him.
"I don't know. I don't remember. All I saw was my mother and that Valentine had her."
"Lighten up, Alec." Jace said, giving him a look.
"I'm trying to get something we can use out of this." Alec said to Jace then looked back to Clary. "Emotions are nothing but a distraction. "You're ruled by them. We're taught to control them."
"Yeah? And how's that working out for ya?" Clary asked, annoyed by his constant condescension.
"Clary, watch your mouth. And Alec, can you please for two seconds stop being so condescending?" Alyssa said.
"It's my job to protect the Institute." Alyssa rolled her eyes. "If Valentine can see in, that's a door I have to shut. Now let me take a look at that thing." Jace reluctantly gave him the necklace. Alec took a look at it and clutched it in his hand. "Now it's in the proper hands." He said, then swiftly left the room."
"Is he serious?" Alyssa said, looking at Jace who shrugged, also surprised at Alec's behavior.
"Hey! Alec." Clary yelled, running after Alec. Alyssa and Jace sighed and followed after them.
The three of them followed Alec into the training and weapons room. Clary asked where he was going.
"To put this somewhere safe, where no one could be tempted to use it." Alec answered.
"Alec, I think we should use it. We should use it to get to Valentine." Jace said, trying to reason with Alec. At what he said, Alyssa looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. Alec stopped then and turned to face Jace.
"If I were Valentine, I'd make you think that you could rescue Jocelyn and then I'd lure Clary to me and leverage her life for the Cup." Alec said then knelt down to trace his stele over a rune on the floor. A secret safe appeared and lifted up from the floor.
"I like Jace's idea." Clary said. "We saved Simon from the vampires that way." Alyssa wondered if her sister and her -was he her boyfriend or lover- were being serious.
"Are you two insane or are you just not thinking straight?" Jace and Clary looked at her in surprise while Alec looked happy that someone was on his side. He placed the necklace on a shelf in the safe. "That was vampires. Probably bored ones who had nothing to do and wanted to have some fun. This is Valentine, we're talking about. The psycho megalomaniac who, might I add, was and still is a very skilled Shadowhunter. Even Jocelyn was afraid of him and had to hide from him in the mundane world for eighteen years. She knew how dangerous he is. Why do you think his circle members are not exactly the easiest to kill? He trains them himself. And he trains them not to hold back like you guys do due to clave restrictions." Alec smiled and traced his stele over the rune again, causing walls to surround the safe before it lowered itself back into the floor.
"Exactly. Valentine's a threat and he can't be handled by four-and-a-half Shadowhunters." Alec said.
"Five." Clary said, glaring at him. "If my sister's classed as one then so am I."
"Speak for yourself, honey. I've been a Shadowhunter for years, which is way longer than you have been. You've only known about the Shadow World a few days.
"Not to mention I like your sister more than I do you because she seems to think with her head more than you do." Alec said, glaring down at the redhead.
"Aww, Alec. I didn't know you liked me." Alyssa said teasingly. Jace chuckled quietly and wrapped an arm around her waist. Alec just shook his head at her, fighting off a smile, and turned to glare at her sister.
"Leave it there." Alec said then walked away. Clary huffed and turned to glare at her sister.
"Don't glare at me, Clary. He was right. If you actually think about what he said, you'd realize that he's actually looking out for you. Once you get past his condescension, that is. You're thinking with your emotions and in the shadow world, sometimes thinking with your emotions can get you killed."
"Well, we can't all be cold and uncaring about our mother being missing." Clary said, before she registered what had just come out of her mouth. "Alyssa, I..."
"No but you can be rational and smart. And that right there is what I'm talking about and what Alec was talking about. You're ruled by your emotions" Alyssa said. "You've known about the Shadow World all of five minutes and you think you know better than those who were born in it and have been living in it for years. You've been dragging them from one dangerous situation to another and they've been letting you but you have to stop. The sooner you start listening to them, the better." She turned to Jace and kissed his cheek. "I'm gonna go find, Izzy. Meet you in the training room?"
"Yeah." He replied. "Just don't get lost in Izzy's closet." She chuckled and walked away, while Clary stared after her, regretting her words.
Later...
Hallway
Izzy and Clary were walking together, talking.
"So Alec just blew right by you and did what he wanted." Izzy said, with a scoff. "I'd be angry too."
"He took the only way I had to see my mother. Plus he kept asking what Valentine's room looked like." Clary replied.
"He was interested in Valentine's style?" Izzy joked causing Clary to chuckle. "Fascinating."
"No, he thought I might have seen something that could help us find him."
"And did you?" Clary crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
"I didn't see anything there. But...I think I might know another way." Before Clary could say more, the front doors opened, a purple portal behind them. A woman with black hair and a stern look, who bore some resemblance to Izzy, walked through the portal and into the building, the doors closing shut behind her. Izzy looked at her nervously while Clary just stared curiously. The woman was Maryse Lightwood.
"Isabelle. Dressed to impress I see." The woman said scornfully. She noticed the necklace that Magnus had given to Izzy around her neck. "And you've been playing with the family heirlooms." Izzy looked down while Clary looked between mother and daughter then to Maryse and extended her hand.
"Hi, I'm Clary Fray."
"Clary Fairchild. You look just like your mother." Maryse said then inhaled sharply. "We know all about you in Idris." She said, not taking Clary's extended hand. Clary let her hand drop with a confused look.
"Idris?"
"The Shadowhunter homeland." Izzy filled in. "If you think the Institute is well-hidden, wait until you see that place. How's Max? We all miss him." Izzy asked, turning Maryse then turned back to Clary to explain. "Little brother. Cute but clingy. Kinda Simon-ish."
"Robert's picking him at the Mumbai Institute. Where's Jace? We have a situation that has to be handled now." Maryse said, walking past them without waiting for an answer. Izzy and Clary watched her go, Izzy with a sad look.
"Well, that's my mom." Izzy said, exchanging a look with Clary.
Training Area
Jace and Alyssa were sparring with their blades, exchanging playful banter. Maryse stood watching them, watching Jace with a proud look. She barely took notice of Alyssa. Izzy and Clary walked in, stopping behind her.
"Is your mom always like that? She didn't even hug you." Clary asked softly not wanting the older woman to hear them. Izzy chuckled softly yet sadly.
"Shadowhunter are not big huggers."
Maryse continued to watch Jace proudly, smiling a little smile. Alyssa looked up and noticed them looking, taking note of how Maryse was looking at Jace. She nodded at Jace to look behind him. Jace frowned a little and turned to look, panting lightly. He smiled brightly at the sight of Maryse and walked towards her.
"Maryse." He said happily with a laugh, going to hug her. Maryse smiled and accepted the hug. "Hey, it's great to see you." Clary looked at them in confusion then at Izzy in sadness but Izzy looked away. Jace and Maryse pulled away and Jace looked around, as if searching for someone. "How's everyone in Idris? Where's...uh...where's Max?"
"No Max." Izzy said as she and Clary walked closer. Alyssa walked closer too but kept her distance. "Just Mom with her hair on fire."
"I love how Shadowhunters share." Clary said, sarcastically. "A hidden brother, and a secret country and a private portal."
"Well, if you'd spent less time whining and more time learning, you'd know some of these things. The Institute library is there for a reason, Clary. Use it." Alyssa said, taking a sip from her water bottle. "You can't keep relying on someone for information all the time. You'll find yourself lacking. That and they're not obliged to tell you their life stories like you told them yours." This brought Maryse's attention finally onto her. But before she could question the girl, Alec walked in.
"Mother, welcome back." He said, hugging Maryse. "We didn't expect you."
"You should be prepared, whether you expect me or not." Maryse told her son.
"I am. We are." Alec said.
"We'll talk about the Institute later. Right now, we have a bigger problem." Maryse told them. "But before I continue, who is this?" She asked, pointing to Alyssa.
"And here I thought you'd know who I am already since you've heard of my sister within the few days she's been here. I'm Alyssa Fairchild, Clary's older sister." Alyssa answered, walking to stand beside Jace.
"Sister? You're also Valentine's child?" Maryse asked.
"Oh, goodness no. That psycho could never be my father. Clary and I are half-sisters."
"So why hasn't anyone heard of you before? No one has heard of there being another Fairchild girl." Maryse asked. Alyssa shrugged indifferently.
"Can't tell you that since I have no idea either. I'd say ask Jocelyn but as we all know she's missing so you definitely can't do that. But if you really do want an answer, I'm gonna say it's because I'm not runnng around wreaking havoc and causing trouble to try and find a woman who's supposed to be my mother, like Clarissa over here." Her statement had Maryse wanting to question her choice of words but Alyssa continued before she could say anything. "But that's not important. It's not why you came all the way from Idris. You were just saying there's a bigger problem at hand." Maryse shook her head and made a mental note to question the girl later. She began to walked around as she spoke.
"Right. The Seelies have stopped communicating with the Clave and won't explain why. My guess is they're still upset we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one in their realm will talk." Alyssa discreetly rolled her eyes at what she said.
"I have Seelie friends." I zzy said, making Maryse turn her sights to her and walk towards her.
"Yes, I know about your friends." Maryse sneered, coming to stand in front of Izzy. "Isabelle, we stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong move, the wrong word...Do you think there is such a thing as harmless rebellion. Who knows what offends these creatures?" Alyssa raised an eyebrow at the word, 'creatures'. "Maybe you told him...them...something they shouldn't know. Maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it." Alyssa couldn't believe this woman. Izzy looked away, annoyed yet sad at how her mother belittled her.
"Wait, wait. I don't understand. You're laying all this on Izzy for having a friend in the Downworld?" Jace asked, coming to Izzy's defence. Maryse turned to him now.
"When someone upsets the natural order, everything falls apart."
"Natural order?" Clary asked.
"And you wonder why most Downworlders dislike Shadowhunters so much." Alyssa said, rolling her eyes, bringing all their attention to her. "The problem isn't that Izzy has a friend in the Downworld or that she might have done something wrong. The problem is how the Clave, most Shadowhunters in general, treat Downworlders. You treat them with scorn and then turn around to ask them to do something for you. You treat them as if they're inferior to you, like they don't deserve to breathe the same air you do and you expect them to work for you? No offence, but you and the Clave are no different from Valentine but at least he makes his hatred for them clear and crystal. He doesn't hide behind stupid laws to show his hatred. The Downworlders aren't creatures, they're people too. And the sooner the Clave stops treating them that way, the sooner they will help willingly." Everyone remained silent after she finished speaking, holding their breaths
"You've got a lot to say for someone who found out about the Shadow World not long ago." Maryse said. Alyssa gave a humorless chuckle, glaring at the older woman, not at all happy with the way she treated Izzy and how she spoke of the Downworlders.
"Don't mistake me for my sister who was kept hidden from the Shadow World for all of her 18 years. I've been living in it for the past 12 years so I know exactly what I'm saying." Alyssa said, not backing down. Maryse looked at her, intrigued at her boldness.
"Mom." Izzy said, taking her mother's attention off Alyssa. "I can help. I know how to talk to Seelies."
"She's right." Alec said. "She can visit with Meliorn and see what he knows. I could go with her if you want."
"I'd rather Jace goes along this time." Maryse said, taking her eyes off Alyssa and inhaling deeply, turning to Alec. "Alec, you stay with the other Fairchild girl." She said, pointing to Clary. "I want her under control. She's caused enough trouble already."
"Maybe that's because I wasn't even a shadowhunter until a few days ago." Clary defended herself.
"And what an excititng few days it's been." Alyssa and Maryse said in sync, causing the older woman to give the girl a slight look of approval then turned to her children.
"The Clave counts on us Lightwoods to matain order here."
"You don't need to tell me that." Alec said. "If the mission's important to the Clave, I would prefer to be the one who goes with Isabelle." Maryse chuckled, beginning to get annoyed.
"You're all do eager to do what you would prefer." Her face and voice turned stern. "It's time to face the truth. Life is not about what you want to do, it's about what must be done. I have given you your assignments, now carry them out. You and you, with me, now." She said, pointing at Jace and Izzy. "And you, Alyssa, come with me. I want to speak with you." She then turned and walked away, giving Alec a look. Jace, Izzy and Alyssa exchanged looks and followed her. Clary stepped closer to Alec, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, that was a window into the weird. What did you do to piss off your mom?" She asked.
"I'd guess, for a start, all the unsanctioned missions on your behalf didn't go over so big with the Clave." Alec said, turning to glare at her then walked away leaving.
Ops Center - Main Room
Alec and Jace walked out of the elevator.
"You're the acting head of this Institute. If there's a diplomatic mission, you should go. Let's switch assignments." Jace said.
"Nope. This time I'm actually gonna obey orders and babysit your girlfriend's sister." Alec said, turning to look at Jace. "Speaking of which, you need to talk to her about the way she spoke to Mom."
"Yeah, I'd have a better chance at fighting Valentine and winning, than at that." Jace said.
"Not that I don't agree with her points but to anyone else, it could be seen as insurbodination and disloyalty to the Clave."
"I think she knows that, Alec but I also don't think she cares." Jace said. "Alec, she's lived with Downworlders for most of her entire life. Try to understand where she's coming from. She didn't grow up like we did. Her life hasn't exactly been a walk in the park."
"No, no, I do understand. I'm just saying not everyone will appreciate her brazenness." Jace nodded then Alec sighed. Jace sensed something was wrong with his parabatai.
"What's wrong with you?" Jace asked, stopping to face Alec.
"You have every right to be mad at me." Alec said.
"What did you do? Throw my leather jacket in the washing machine again?" Jace joked.
"This isn't a joke." Alec said, giving him a look. "At Magnus'. The demon...image of you."
"That. You love me, so? I love you too Alec. Come on, man, we're parabatai. We're brothers. We've spent almost our whole lives together. How could we not love each other? This is what's been bothering you? Seriously?" Alec chuckled.
"Yeah." He said then shook his head. "You're right. That's true. I thought you'd think..." Alec trailed off then shook his head again. "Never mind.
"Whatever, okay. If you want to follow Mom's orders tonight, that's great."
"And I promise, I'll keep an eye on your girls."
"What girls? I only have one and she can take care of herself quite plenty." Jace said and they both chuckled. "I know you won't let me down." He said. They both embraced and patted each other's backs.
"Aww, what a sweet bromance." They both pulled away and turned to find Alyssa standing there with a teasing smirk on. "But it will have to be put on pause because, Jace, Izzy's waiting for you and Alec, Clary's in the training area, trying to train. Keyword being 'trying'. Could you please help her? Knock her on her ass, it'll make you feel better."
"Jace, I think I love your girlfriend. A girl after my own heart." Alec joked, pulling Alyssa into a side hug.
"Get your own." They all chuckled. "You going to see Maryse?" Jace asked Alyssa.
"Yeah, though after what went down in the training room, I'm not looking forward to it since she's bound to ask about Jocelyn." Alec turned to speak to her but she raised her finger to stop him. "And no, I will not watch my tone or my words with her, Alec. I am a blunt person and that's who I am. I'm not going to temper my words just to please her. The only time I will ever lie is if it is to protect someone or if I feel like the truth will set someone on the wrong path." Alec looked at her with wide eyes. "Yes, I heard your conversation from start to finish. I was eavesdropping." Alec shook his head with a smile.
"Well, you're right about blunt." He said with a chuckle. Jace just smiled and kissed her cheek.
"I gotta go." He said.
"Ok, but could one of you tell me where the office is? Maryse told me to come there when I'm ready."
"I"ll show you." Alec said. He and Alyssa bid Jace goodbye then started towards the office.
"You know I can tell you still have some guilt from last night. The thing with the demon." Alyssa said. "Alec, I don't blame you for what happened. What happened could have happened with anyone. And Jace is your parabatai. I think it'd be questionable if you didn't love him. Now whether you love him as just your brother or more, it doesn't make you a bad person or anything less. It only makes you human." Alec smiled at her as they came to a stop in front of a door. "I'll see you later." Alec nodded and walked away. Alyssa watched him go then took in a deep breath and released it, knocking on the door. She entered when she got the invitation to enter.
"Alyssa Fairchild. Please sit." Maryse said, gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk she was seated at. "My children, it seems, have taken quite the liking to you, especially Jace, even Alec."
"I guess I'm a likable person." Alyssa said, smiling sarcastically.
"That remains to be seen."
"Hmm. So why did you ask to see me?"
"I asked to see you for a number of reasons. The first of which concerns your mother and why..." Alyssa raised her hand to stop her from speaking further.
"Let me stop you right there. In case you didn't understand me when I spoke earlier in the training area, let me make it clear right here and now. Jocelyn is not my mother and I could care less what happens to her. Besides, she's fine. Valentine might be a psycho but he still loves her. He won't hurt her. But make no mistake, she could die and I wouldn't feel the slightest ounce of sadness about her death."
"That is a lot of hate coming from you towards the woman who gave birth to you."
"Hate is too strong a word and inaccurate. To be honest, I feel nothing towards Jocelyn, not love, not hate or anything. I only feel sorry for my sister."
"And why is that?"
"That is for me to know. Excuse me for sounding rude, but it's none of your business why I no longer consider Jocelyn as my mother. You're the head of this Institute, not my guidance counselor or my keeper."
"You're right. I'm sorry for prying."
"Thank you."
"You are not like your sister, are you?"
"No, I am not. She's driven by her emotions and as such prone to making stupid and reckless decisions. Due to her sheltered life from this world, she doesn't understand the things that we do. But she'll soon learn."
"Hmm. Let's hope so. Well then, that will be all." Alyssa nodded and got up to leave. "Oh, and Alyssa, I would advise you to be careful with how you express your views. There are not a lot of Shadowhunters who would appreciate being spoken to like that, especially the Clave, myself included."
"I mean no disrespect, Maryse, but I can't. I'm not the kind of person who will sugarcoat words or temper my harshness. I always tell it like it is and the only times I would lie or keep something from someone is when I want to protect someone I love or if that particular information could see the person being sent down the wrong path. The Clave has always had a way of making Downworlders and even some Shadowhunters feel inferior to them and it's not right. So while I appreciate the advice, I'm sorry I can't fully adhere to it." Maryse smiled slightly.
"I see. Despite your dislike for her, you are so much like Jocelyn, headstrong and stubborn."
"Yes, well let's hope that's the only thing I took from her."
"Whatever she did to upset you, she is still your mother, I'm sure there's a reason for it. Sometimes there are some things that we mothers do that our children will never understand but it, more often than not, is for the best the children."
"Would you abandon your children?" Maryse was shocked at the question. "Alec, Izzy, Jace, would you ever abandon and leave any of them to fend for themselves, never giving them a second thought and still say later that it was for their best?"
"Never."
"Well, that's good to know. Can I just say something?" At Maryse's nod, she continued. "The way you treat Izzy and single her out, it's not right. I know you love her but making her feel inferior or inadequate isn't a good way to show that love. I can tell, just from our interaction in the training area that she just wants to please you. You shower affections on Jace and Alec yet you leave her hanging. You might not see it, but it makes her sad and that sadness could eventually lead to resentment. Don't let it get to that state before you try to make amends."
"You sound like you've gone through something like that yourself."
"Izzy is my friend and I don't want to see her lose her mother because of something that could have been corrected sooner rather than later." Alyssa said, avoiding the question.
"Well, I see. Thank you for the advice, I'll take it under consideration." Alyssa nodded and left the office.
As she walked down the hallway, she bumped into Alec who looked panicked at first then relieved to see her when he looked down.
"Alec, what's wrong? Why do you look panicked? What's happened?" Alyssa asked.
"Your sister. She snuck out."
"She what?"
"She left the Institute, I don't know where she is." Alyssa sighed and began heading to Clary's room.
"Was there anything she said that could have led her to sneak out?"
"She was talking about finding Valentine and coloring outside the lines then she began talking about this box that your mother hid in their apartment and how we could use it to find Valentine."
"I will reprimand you for calling Jocelyn my mother later. Anyway why would some box help find Valentine?"
"She said it had the initials J.C on it and that before she went to the Silent Brothers, her mother had her believing her dad's name was Jonathan Clark. And she thinks it may have been that was a cover to hide something belonging to Valentine that we could use to track him or something."
"Why does her stubbornness and stupidity not surprise me?" Alyssa said, walking into Clary's room and grabbing something of Clary's.
"She's your sister." Alec remarked as they both walked away.
"Don't remind me." Alyssa said, drawing a tracking rune on the item she took from Clary's room and coming to a stop. She closed her eyes and focused on Clary, trying to find her. She opened her eyes when she found her and started walking again with Alec following. "Found her. Come on, we're going to art school."
Brooklyn Academy of Art
Clary was leaning against a lamppost, standing outside of the academy, looking at it wistfully as people walked past her on the side walk. Her phone began to ring, bringing her out of her reverie. The people around began to look at their own phones confused, wondering where the ringing was coming from since they couldn't see Clary with her invisibility rune on. She began to look through her bag, searching for the phone.
"Why'd you run out?" Alec asked angrily, as he and Alyssa walked over. "And what's the point of an invisibility rune if you don't silence your phone?" Clary didn't answer, finally finding the phone in her back pocket. "That was childish, sneaking out like that." Clary ignored him and quickly answered her phone.
"Simon, hey." Ignoring Alyssa and Alec, she walked to the side. "I know I should have called you right back, I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" Alec looked around alertly.
"I swear that mundane calls every five minutes." Alec mumbled.
"What mundane?" Alyssa asked.
"Right, forgot you weren't with us when she first came. The mundane is her best friend."
"Would that be the Simon that was saved from the vampires?" Alyssa asked, remembering the name from earlier.
"Yep. He's annoying."
"You find almost everything out of place annoying." Alyssa said teasingly, nudging him lightly. Alec shook his head at her and walked over to Clary.
"Hang up. That's it, we have to go, right now." Alec said.
"No." Clary said to him then returned to the call. "I'm on my way to the loft. There's something there I think could help me find my mother...I'm fine. I'm with Alec and..." Clary sighed when he cut her off. "No, Simon, you've been through enough already." Simon however wasn't ready to listen. He told her where to meet him and then hung up.
"Let me guess, the Mundie is coming along and refuses to stay put and safe." Alyssa said sarcastically while Alec looked around annoyed.
"Mundanes, look at them. Running around like ants." He said.
"Alec, what did we say about your condescending attitude?" Alyssa said but Alec ignored her.
"Let's go." He said to Clary then went to walk past her.
"Why do you always look so miserable?" Clary asked, stopping him from walking any further.
"I don't." Alec said, looking down at her.
"You do. It must be hard being..."
"Clary, I'd advise you to watch what you say to certain people concerning certain topics." Alyssa said giving her a hard glare, knowing Clary's next words could very likely piss Alec off. "Now let's get out of here. If we want to get to where we're going in one piece, we better start moving."
"Let's go then." Clary said, leading the way. Alec and Alyssa shared a look and followed her reluctantly.
"This better be quick." Alec muttered.
Alley
The three of them found Simon waiting for them nervously, looking pale and skittish. Clary ran forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"Hey, thanks for being here." She said.
"You don't need to do this alone." Simon said, hugging her tightly. "It's not who we are."
"Aw, how sweet." Alyssa said in a deadpan tone, breaking their moment and drawing their attention to her and Alec. "I think I'm getting cavities." The two pulled apart as Simon looked at the older girl, confused as to who she was.
"Clary, who is this?" He asked.
"Simon, this is my older sister, Alyssa." Clary said.
"Hi." Alyssa said, waving and smiling sarcastically.
"Sister? I thought you said she left for some boarding school and hasn't been in contact since she left."
"That's what I thought too but turns out that's just another thing my mom lied about." Clary said. "Anyway, are you sure you're feeling up to this?"
"Yeah, it's just a cold." Simon said with a shrug. "Not the end of the world."
"The world's been ending for a thousand years." Alyssa said, rolling her eyes. "You get used to it. Now, we need to move."
"Yeah, mom's loft is just across the alley." Clary said, pointing in the direction.
"All right, well we have to be careful. There are eyes all over this place and everybody in the Shadow world is looking for you." Alec said, his eyes darting round the place.
"And that's putting it lightly." Alyssa added.
"I mean, I guarantee you, no one's gonna find this shortcut." Simon said with a smug grin, looking at Alec and Alyssa. "I used to take it back in middle school to see Clary."
"Mundane..." Alyssa began to say but Simon cut her off.
"You might know the Shadow world, but trust me, I know Brooklyn." He said, then before anyone could say anything, he run off and jumped over a wall in front of them. Clary scoffed in shock while Alec frowned at the display of unusual agility.
Nonetheless, they followed after him. They landed in the backyard of the loft and began to climb the fire escape up to the apartment. Alyssa and Alec rolled their eyes in annoyance as Simon and Clary began to talk to each other, acting like a pair of lovers.
"Climbing the fire escape excites mundanes. I'll never understand these people." Alec remarked.
"No, I think it's just these two and you know what I see what you mean when you said he's annoying." Alyssa said.
"It's actually worse when they're together." Alec said.
"Yeah, I can tell." The two ahead weren't paying attention to this conversation. They reached the back of the apartment floor. Clary looked around confused.
"Whoa. I don't remember it like this." She said, staring at the runes which had been drawn onto the walls. "Those weren't there before."
"They're runes and protection wards cast by a warlock." Alyssa said. "I recognize some of them from staying with Magnus." Alec run his hand over one of the runes.
"Dot." Clary said. Alec looked over some of the other runes, examining them.
"Some of these have been here for years." Alec said.
"The only difference is now I can actually see them." Clary said, running her eyes over the runes.
"Yo, Clary." Simon called from another side, looking at the walls. "What are all these tags?" The three shadowhunters looked at him in shock and confusion.
"You can see the runes?" Alec asked, walking towards Simon.
"Yeah, kind of hard to miss." Simon said, wondering why they thought he couldn't see them.
"For a shadowhunter or downworlder. They should be invisible to most mundanes, like you." Alyssa said, eyeing him suspiciously.
"When did you get the sight?" Alec asked.
"I don't know." Simon said with a shrug. "But whoever drew these should take some lessons from Clary. Their, uh, work is sloppy."
"I don't think they were going for artistry when they drew them. The main goal was protection." Alyssa remarked. Clary spotted something on the wall and smiled wistfully. Drawn there was the shape of a heart with the inscription, 'SL+CF'.
"This is from when Simon and I were engaged to be married." Clary said with a chuckle while Simon smiled.
"You were engaged?" Alec asked, making Alyssa close her eyes in annoyance. "I'm almost certain I..."
"Why would you a..." Alyssa began to say but was cut off by Simon.
"We were eight years old." Simon said. Alyssa threw her head back in annoyance, while Alec threw his hands and looked away.
"Can we just..." Alyssa tried to say but was cut off again this time by Clary.
"That was a whole other world ago." She said with a smile looking at Simon. She then walked past him to try and open the back door but it wouldn't open. She sighed and turned to him. "There's only one flaw in your plan here, Simon." Simon frowned and walked over to her.
"Here, let me try." He said, grabbing the door handle and pulling on it, easily breaking the look to the bemusement of Alyssa and Alec who shared a look. Clary was also shocked but it was more of an impressed shock. Without further ado, the four of them entered the apartment.
Fray's Apartment
Living Room
The entire room was a mess. Things were strewn all over the place. They followed Clary into her room to find the entire room burnt. Like someone had started a fire in there and concentrated it there, burning almost everything.
"Holy crap, Clary. Who torched your room?" Simon asked then looked to Alec and Alyssa. "Yeah, I can see this too." He said sarcastically.
"Probably Jocelyn. She must have set everything on fire." Alyssa said, looking around. Clary sighed and looked around in sadness.
"There's nothing of me left here." She said.
"That was the point, Clarissa. She was trying to erase any trace that you ever existed. So you couldn't be tracked." Alyssa said.
"Let's see how well that worked." Clary replied, looking down.
"You're alive aren't you?" Alec said. Alyssa walked around, stopping close to the bed when her ears picked up something. She looked down and kept stepping in two spots on the floor, then focused on just one spot.
"These floorboards..." She said.
"Yeah, I can hear it too. They sound different in those two spots you keep stepping in." Simon said, walking over with Clary and Alec. Alyssa looked at him, wondering how he heard from where he had been standing.
"Something's under here." She crouched down and pulled away the carpet and found a loose board. She pulled the board away and reached down into the hole. "There's something down here." She pulled out a box and looked up at Clary.
"Is this the box you remember?" Alec asked, staring at the redhead. The girl took it from her older sister and nodded.
"Yeah, she used to wait till she thought I was asleep then take it out." She said.
"Well, let's open it." Simon suggested. Clary did so but immediately frowned when she saw the items inside. Alyssa rolled her eyes when she also saw the contents.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but last time I checked, Valentine is a full grown man, isn't he?" The other three looked at her. "How is a pair of baby booties going to help find him?"
"I don't know what any of this stuff is." Clary said. Before anything else could be said, the sound of something shattering was heard. Alec pushed past them to look outside.
"There's someone here." He looked back to Clary. "Get what you need. Do not move until I get back. Alyssa, stay with them." He said then walked out of the room. Clary turned and placed the box in her bag. Alyssa looked round, placing her hand near the thigh strap holding her knives and spikes. Before she could react, she felt something hit the back of her head, causing everything to go black for her and making her fall back into someone's arms. Clary and Simon gasped in shock looking at the person.
Jade Wolf - Inside
Alyssa began to blink back into consciousness, groaning slightly at the sharp pain that went through her head. She opened her eyes slowly and noticed that her hands were handcuffed on a table which she was sitting at. She could hear Clary and Simon talking. She looked up to see a group of men standing before and around the table she was at, one of which she recognized. She could feel Clary sitting beside her but she focused on the man she recognized.
"Alaric?" She said, her voice a little hoarse. "I knew there was a reason why I never really trusted you."
"Oh, would you look at that? Sleeping Beauty's awake." One of the men said.
"Okay, what is going on?" Clary asked then looked at the man Alyssa had called Alaric. "Alaric, did you arrest us for trespassing or something, because, newsflash, I was in my apartment."
"Use your head, Clary. It's obvious Alaric used his occupation as a cop to serve as a cover while they kidnapped us." Alyssa said, leaning back calmly in her seat. "Isn't that right?" She asked, looking up at the men.
"Smart. We're just going to have a little conversation that's all." Another man said. He looked to be the one in charge.
"Oh hello, Theo." Alyssa said in a bored tone.
"Do you always handcuff the people you wanna talk to?" Clary said to Theo.
"I bet this guy has one of the scariest online profiles ever." Simon tried to joke, pointing at Theo. Theo smirked and pointed at Simon.
"This guy's funny. I like funny." He said.
"I'm sure, you do. Say, can someone take off these cuffs? They're starting to bruise my skin." Alyssa said, her whole demeanor relaxed yet bored, unlike that of Clary and Simon's. Alaric ignored her and looked to Clary.
"Look, I know you're scared of Luke." Alyssa looked up at him sharply once he said the name. "He's trying to find you. I can keep you safe. You just need to tell us where the Mortal Cup is." This irritated Clary.
"Everyone thinks I can find this cup but I don't know where it is." Clary said.
"Think, Clary." Alaric pressed, an urgent tone to his voice. "I'm trying to give you a chance."
"I can't help you. I'm sorry." Clary said.
"Great, you heard her. She can't help you so can we go now?" Alyssa said, her tone still sounding lazy. Theo suddenly grabbed a fork next to him and stabbed it into the table where Clary's hand was, making her flinch back and pull her hand away swiftly. Alyssa on the other hand just watched on bored.
"Playtime's over." Theo said. Alaric sighed and looked at him.
"Theo, just let me talk some sense into her."
"No, we did it your way. Now we're gonna do it my way." Theo said, nodding to a man behind Clary. The man moved forward and grabbed onto Simon.
"What. Hey, hey..." Simon said, struggling to free himself.
"Hey, don't touch him." Clary yelled, moving to get up.
"Don't move." Theo said, making her freeze. Alyssa just took this in with a bored demeanor. "Tell us where the Cup is or your funny friend dies."
"Please, please, don't hurt Simon, okay? I promise you, I swear to you, I don't know where this Cup is." Clary pleaded, filled with panic. Theo nodded at her as if in understanding.
"That's too bad." He looked up at the man holding Simon. "Get rid of him." Simon and Clary began to protest, as Simon struggled against his captor with no success as he was dragged into the kitchen. Alaric now went to stand behind the girls.
"Are we done with the theatrics now?" Alyssa said, catching everyone's attention. They'd all forgotten she was there. "Okay, my turn." She grabbed the fork and stabbed it into Theo's hand making him yell out in pain and back away. She then easily broke her handcuffs off and with enough force kicked the table towards the men in front of them. She got up and felt someone grab onto her. Smirking, she threw her head back and slammed it into the person's face, making them let go. She turned to see a grey wolf in front of her. Clary gasped as she also turned to see the wolf.
"You're werewolves." She said in shock. Alyssa however just smirked and made her eyes glow a green color, something neither Clary nor the other people in the room could see.
"Hi, doggie. Wanna play?" She taunted, making the wolf growl at her. The other people in the place wondered if she was crazy. Theo had now recovered and was moving towards her, angry.
"You little bitch." He yelled. Alaric stepped into his path and stopped him.
"Whoa, you know we can't kill her or her sister, especially her. We need them both alive." Alaric said lowly but Alyssa caught it and smirked. One of the other men grabbed onto Clary making her scream out. Alaric then turned to Alyssa.
"Play nice and your sister and her friend don't get hurt." He said. Looking at the panic on Clary's face, Alyssa let her guard down and sat down, allowing herself to be restrained again as she glared up at Alaric and Theo. Theo then turned to Clary.
"Tell us where the Cup is or your friend is dog meat for Gretel over here. She's one of our fiercest warriors and she'll rip him to shreds. And maybe we'll set her on your sister over here."
"Okay, okay, you win. I know where it is. I'll tell you where the Cup is, just...Just please let Simon go." Clary said, lying through her teeth.
"I'm listening." Theo said.
"It's in the loft where you found us. There's a loose floorboard in my bedroom. My mom didn't know I knew, but she hid it there." Clary said. Theo turned to look at Alyssa.
"Don't look at me. I wasn't in her room and I definitely didn't live there." She said. Theo looked at the other men and nodded at them.
"Bring me the cup." He said. The men nodded and rushed out of the room to comply with the order.
"Have fun boys." Alyssa said. Theo turned his attention back to Clary, getting right into her face to intimidate her.
"If you're lying, I'm gonna kill your friend and then your sister and I'm gonna make you watch." He threatened as the girls glared at him.
Fray's Apartment- Outside
Jace, Izzy and Alec were all standing trying to figure out where the girls had been taken.
"Whoever took the girls and Simon must be holding them over a body of water." Jace speculated. He was worried. A phone vibrated. "That's why our tracking rune won't work." He said. The phone vibrated again.
"Wait, do you hear that?" Izzy asked. They all looked around confused then realized it was coming from a bag next to Jace, Clary's bag. "Clary left her phone in her backpack." Izzy said as Jace moved to get the phone out. He then answered the call and put it on speaker.
'Hello?'
'Oh, I never thought I'd utter these words, but thank God it's you. It's me Simon.'
'Where are you? Where are Alyssa and Clary?'
'I don't know. Some Chinese restaurant, I think? This cop, Alaric, arrested us but it was a total fake out. Him and his buddy, they took us to their hang out and then they told Clary that they'd kill me and Alyssa and if they don't find the Cup.' Jace's grip tightened on the phone, hearing the threat to Alyssa. Alec and Izzy could see this. So Alec decided to take the phone before Jace could crush it then he began to speak to Simon.
'Simon, it's Alec. Just calm down, alright and tell us what you see.'
'Okay.' Simon looked outside from the window. 'Uh, we're definitely on a pier. There's a ton of water.' He looked back inside the room he was in. 'Uh, I see lockers and...' He looked at the walls and saw some marks on it. 'Oh my...I'm in some sort of torture chamber. There's claw marks all over the wall.'
"Werewolves." Izzy said, looking at her brothers.
"That's possible." Alec said, nodding. Jace took the phone back, now a bit calmer than he was before.
'Okay, Simon, you need to get more specific. Tell us what you see. Help us find you.' Simon looked into the lockers, rifling through it.
'There's nothing else that can help...' He trailed off when he found a menu inside the locker. He took it out and looked at it. 'Wait, hold on. Hold on. I'm at the Jade Wolf Chinese restaurant on the pier at Greene St. And they have really inexpensive cocktails.' He mumbled to himself then snapped out of it. 'Just hurry.'
"You need to create a diversion. Stall them.' Jace looked up at his siblings sending them a silent message.
'How? All I have are clothes and a lighter.'
'Start a fire, Simon.'
'That never works. Have you never seen an action movie?'
'We're on our way.' Jace hung up the phone.
Night- Jade Wolf- Inside
Theo, Alaric and the girls were all still waiting for the men Theo had sent out to return, with Theo pacing up and down in anxiety.
"Where are they?" Just then, the fire alarm started going off, causing the extinguishing system to activate. "It's a fire, find it. You three, find it. Alaric and I will take care of the girls." Theo ordered. He and Alaric pulled and led the girls out, taking them towards some shipping containers on the pier. Theo shoved Clary into one and locked it, telling her to keep quiet. He then ordered Alaric to do same with Alyssa in one of the containers and walked away himself back to the restaurant. As Alaric led the older sister away, all she did was smirk, her whole demeanor as relaxed as ever, which unnerved Alaric. He opened one of the containers which was quite far from where Clary was and pushed Alyssa into it.
"Stay and keep quiet. We'll come for you later. Don't try anything." Alyssa just smirked at him and waved as he closed the container door and locked it. She then rolled her eyes and broke the cuffs on her hands a second time. She looked around for a minute, her eyes turning green to aid her to see in the dark. She then reached down and pulled her stele from her right boot and her phone from the left with a smirk.
"Idiots."
Jade Wolf - Outside - Pier
Jace and Alec were walking round, navigating their way through the maze of containers. They'd arrived not long ago and Izzy had gone off to look for Simon. They picked up on Clary's voice, telling someone to let her go and followed it. They came around a corner to see a tall dark-skinned man holding a struggling Clary in his arms. Jace moved quickly and kicked the man's leg, making him groan and drop Clary, whom Alec caught quickly.
"Got her." He said to Jace, who finally delivered a punch that knock the man out cold. Jace then turned to Clary with a worried expression.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I will be as soon as we find Simon...and Alyssa. I think they locked her in one of these containers. We have to find her." Clary replied, which made Jace frown deeper. He was about to go off and look for her when he felt a presence in his mind.
"Alyssa?" He said loudly, catching both Clary and Alec's attention. They both looked around to see if the blond boy had seen the other girl.
'Yes, dummy, it's me. You and Alec are on the pier, right?'
'Yes. Where are you? Tell me so I can find you.'
'Is Clary safe, did you find her?'
'Yes.'
Both Alec and Clary could see Jace had somehow spaced out after mentioning Alyssa's name and were confused as they could see him nodding his head slightly and his expression changing slightly. Soon he turned back to them.
"We gotta move now. We have to get out of here and find Izzy and Simon." He said to the other two.
"Wait, what about Alyssa?" Clary asked.
"She said she's fine. She'll find us but she wants us to get you out of here." He said then nodded to Alec. Clary looked confused but let him lead her away with Alec following.
They walked to the front of the restaurant, meeting Izzy and Simon, whom Izzy had rescued. He and Clary immediately run to each other and hugged tightly.
"Simon!"
"Clary, are you okay?"
"I was so worried."
"I hate to break up this little reunion but we got a bunch of werewolves trying to kill us." Jace said.
"Wait, Jace, where's Alyssa?" Izzy asked.
"She's fine. She said she'll find us. I'll explain how I know later but we should get going and..." Jace said.
"Wait, wait, the box." Clary said. "My backpack. I think I left it at the left."
"No, we've got it. I didn't screw up everything." Alec said bitterly, throwing a look at Jace.
"Let's get out of here then." Simon said, going to move but Izzy caught him and pulled him back.
"Wait." Izzy cautioned, looking tense. "Simon, whatever you do, do not make any sudden movements." She warned tensely, her eyes darting around bringing the attention of the other Shadowhunters to the growling wolves surrounding them. Jace pulled out his blade, Izzy, her whip and Alec nocked an arrow into his bow.
"We're surrounded. Everyone, stay together." Alec said, as he, Jace and Izzy surrounded Clary and Simon.
"Believe me, I'm not going anywhere." Simon said, clutching tight onto Clary's hand. Just then the doors to the restaurant opened and a large black wolf walked out slowly, growling. Jace moved in front to face the wolf, bringing his blade in front of him.
"Everyone, get back, that's the alpha leader." He shouted, making the rest back away slightly. He froze slightly then shouted. "Everyone, duck." Confused, the others complied as a form jumped over them and threw themselves at the wolf. The wolf was thrown a bit further from the group while the form rolled into a crouch in front of the group. They looked up to see the form was actually Alyssa who was partially transformed and snarling at the alpha. All of them, minus Jace, were shocked to see her in her partially transformed form. She growled at the black wolf who just glared at her and started to run forward.
"Jace, behind us." Clary yelled out. The group turned to see another wolf running toward them. This wolf jumped over them and tackled the large black wolf, biting into him. They took their fight behind some stacks of crates and a dumpster. Alyssa shifted back and stood up straight, staring at where the wolves were fighting.
"What's happening?" Clary asked.
"He's challenging the Alpha." Alec and Alyssa answered, Alyssa more softly than him.
"He's helping us." Clary said, sounding elated.
"Or cutting in line to kill us." Simon said.
"He's not. He is helping." Alyssa said, still not turning to face any of them.
"How do you know?" Clary asked.
"You'll see soon." Alyssa said vaguely and quietly.
They all watched as more crates were thrown around then the alpha collided with a crate and fell to the ground, crackling electric sparks sounding as his form changed back into a human. It was Theo and he was dead.
"The alpha's dead." Izzy said, in shock. Alyssa smiled as the wolf who had challenged the alpha come out from behind the crates. The group tensed, their guard up to prepare for any surprises. The wolf changed form back into the dark-skinned man that Jace and Alec encountered earlier when looking for Clary and Alyssa. His clothes were ripped with blood all over.
"Oh my God, Luke." Clary gasped, stepping toward him but Jace stopped her and pulled her back. All the wolves surrounding began to howl, drawing the attention of the group. One by one, they all changed back to their human forms and dropped to one knee, head bowed, all before Luke.
"What is it? What's happening?" Clary asked in slight worry.
"There's a new top dog in town." Alyssa said, smirking widely. Clary was confused so Jace explained.
"When a werewolf kills the alpha leader, he becomes the new alpha. Your friend, Luke is the leader of the pack now." They all looked toward the man, Luke. Luke stared back at them and nodded slowly, as he breathed heavily.
"Clary." He said. Clary stepped forward but Alec reached to stop her.
"It's okay." Clary said to Alec making him let go then she stepped closer to Luke.
"I promised your mother, I'd always protect you." Luke said, his voice strained and tired. Clary smiled at him and he smiled back then he began to fall forward. Clary and, to the surprise of the others, Alyssa moved forward to catch him.
"Luke! Oh my God." Clary yelled in alarm. Alyssa took most of his weight on her, handling it better than Clary and helped him stand.
"Hey, hey, you're gonna be okay. Alright?" Alyssa said softly to Luke who smiled slightly at her then winced in pain. Alyssa then looked up at Clary and Jace who had walked over with Simon, Alec and Izzy.
"We need to get him to Magnus. His wounds are deep and I think Theo bit him." Simon moved quickly and took the side Clary had been supporting, leaving Clary to dig through his pockets for the keys. She was about to give the keys to Simon when Alyssa snatched them out of her hand.
"I'm driving." She said, starting to move on her own, taking Luke's weight from Simon with the others following after her with Alec and Izzy watching after them. "If you guys are joining, hurry or I'll leave you behind." She said. Jace moved quickly to her side and helped her put Luke in the backseat with Clary and Simon sitting on either side of him then the couple took the front seats. Alyssa started the car and began to drive, knuckles white from gripping the steer tightly. She could hear Clary talking to Luke softly, almost to tears. Jace sensed her apprehension and took one of her hands of the steering wheel into his, making her look over at him when he squeezed it to provide some comfort. She smiled slightly at him and squeezed his hand back, then turned her eyes back onto the road.