Okay, so I'm like two months late. It completely slipped my mind, and then I remembered like, a week after the estimated date and then realized I'd only written like, a few paragraphs... And then life went crazy because I moved across the country for an internship, and it took me until now to finally finish it. But it's a fairly long chapter, so that's something right?
Anyway, once again, @sereneur created the wonderful graphic below. As usual, it looks fantastic. But really, have they ever created anything for me that isn't fantastic? That's a hard no. It's always great. :)
Jace, Clary and Celeste followed Meliorn through the forests of the Seelie Glade. The scene was beautiful, and normally Celeste would be taking in her surroundings with a smile. Unfortunately, the fight to come was all she could think about.
Clary was gazing around them with wide eyes.
"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore."
"Welcome to the Seelie Glade, Clary Fairchild. The remotest edges of it." Meliorn welcomed.
"How did we get here?" She asked.
"There are entrances all through the mundane world." Jace explained.
Meliorn gave a small nod. "You just have to know where to look."
"Why did we have to come here to find my father?"
"Because of your necklace. It's a portal shard." Meliorn explained.
Jace huffed. "Tell us something we don't know."
Celeste hit him on the arm and gave him a meaningful look, asking him to play nice. Meliorn was helping them, and she didn't want him to change his mind.
The Seelie ignored the rude comment and continued.
"How does it work?" He asked.
"When I touch the crystal and I think of someone, I can see where they are." Clary explained.
Meliorn nodded and a small smile grew on his lips. "I'm curious, Shadowhunter who knows so much about portals. Did you never wonder why this portal shard doesn't behave the way normal portals do?" He asked smugly.
Celeste's steps stuttered as she realized this. There had been so much going on lately that she had to think about, the portal shard acting differently was not one of them.
"Normal portals can only take you to places you've been." Jace explained for Clary's benefit. "I guess I never really thought about it."
Meliorn stopped to turn around and face them. "I see Isabelle is the smart one in the family." He quipped, before getting on with his response. "Your portal shard works the way it does because it's a piece of a portal from another dimension."
"Another dimension?" Clary and Celeste echoed together.
"You're saying there's a portal in some other universe that can take us to anyone if we just think of them?" Jace asked.
"If you can find the only portal still standing in that dimension... it will take you to your father."
The group walked in relative silence after that, the Shadowhunters all absorbing the new information. It was only about half a mile later that Meliorn begins speaking again.
"These trees are where the alternate dimensions intersect the Seelie realm."
"How is it possible that the Clave doesn't know about your dimensional doorways?" Jace asked him.
"They are our most guarded secret. We are their protectors. Only Seelies know of their existence."
"Then why are you telling us?" Clary asked.
"I owe you a life debt." Meliorn said simply. "And I don't like being indebted to anyone."
"What would happen if--"
"If the Seelie Queen finds out I've shared this with you?" Meliorn cut Clary off as he looked over his shoulder, now stopped at a pair of trees that arched toward each other. "I could be executed."
Celeste's eyes widened, and she gasped softly. She wasn't sure she was okay with this anymore. While she had gladly accepted Meliorn's help earlier, now that she knew he was risking his life, it didn't seem like such a good idea.
"Well, we'll be extra careful then." Jace said, obviously unbothered by it.
Celeste hit him in the arm again, but Meliorn's next words drew her attention back quickly.
"There is no 'we' in this scenario. Only Clary goes in to find the portal. My debt is to her."
"You've given us no reason to trust you, Seelie."
Clary shrugged, looking at Jace. "He brought us here."
Taking that as an agreement to his terms, Meliorn turned to the two arching trees and began using his Seelie magic to form the interdimensional portal. The mist coming from his hands, and didn't look too different from that of a warlock's magic.
Clary and Celeste watched in fascination while Jace just looked bored. Celeste knew a few Seelies, but they almost never used their powers in front of her, simply because there was never a reason to use them.
"I knew Seelies were one with nature, but..." Clary trailed off in amazement.
Meliorn didn't even look back to acknowledge them. "This will establish a connection to the other dimension."
"What's it like in the other dimension?" Celeste asked, wondering what Clary was going to be walking into.
"Is it like this one?" Clary added.
"It is..." Meliorn trailed off. "But it isn't."
Jace rolled his eyes. "Could you be more vague?"
Celeste hit him. While she too was frustrated with the lack of an answer, she knew that that was simply how Seelies communicated and that at times it was like pulling teeth to get something out of them.
As usual, Meliorn ignored Jace and continued on as if he hadn't spoken. "It is an alternate timeline, in a sense. There, Shadowhunters and demons no longer exist."
While Celeste was shocked into silence at this revelation, Jace continued digging for more information from the Seelie.
"What?"
"And Downworlders have conformed to the mundane way of life to avoid detection."
"What happened to the Shadowhunters?" Clary asked.
"Their services were no longer required, because they won the war against demons centuries ago." Meliorn told them, still using his magic. By now, an ornate doorway was almost fully formed. "Once they sealed the rifts between their worlds... their culture faded away." He barely gave them any time at all to let that sink in before switching topics. "Once you arrive in the alternate dimension, you will assume the body of the Clary in that world. You will think and feel just like her."
Clary was concerned about this added information. "But I'll still know I'm me right? I'll know I have to find the portal?"
At Meliorn's silence, Jace huffed.
"There's a catch. WIth Seelies there's always a catch."
Celeste shot him a look, but didn't bother hitting him this time. It just wasn't worth the effort at this point.
"Your alternate self could consume you, if you let it." Meliorn told her.
"So how does she keep that from happening?" Celeste asked.
Meliorn finally looked over his shoulder and away from his work to make eye contact with them, though he didn't stop using his magic. "Focus on the differences between that world and ours. Find something or someone to keep you grounded to this one."
Clary looked between Celeste and Jace and nodded. "Easy enough."
Celeste shook her head at Clary. "Nothing is ever easy in the Shadow World."
Meliorn nodded in confirmation. "She's right. It will be more difficult than you think." He smirked a little, seeming to know something that they didn't. "If you don't hurry, you could cease to be this world's Clary Fairchild."
"And be stuck in that world forever." Clary finished.
It was now dark out, and they had been watching Meliorn create the portal for a couple hours now. Celeste sat off to the side with Clary, but Jace had refused to sit and let his guard down.
Clary suddenly thought of something and turned to Celeste as she dug into her pockets. "Oh, here." She handed Celeste the tarot card with the Mortal Cup. "I need to be sure it's safe. Just in case I don't make it back."
Celeste happily accepted it and put them safely in her own pockets, knowing how important it was not to misplace it, but her eyes widened at the possibility of Clary not coming back. Before she could say anything though, Jace turned around to face them.
"You're coming back." He told her seriously.
Clary sighed. "What do any of us know about interdimensional travel?"
"Nothing."
"Little bit."
Celeste shot Jace an unconvinced look at the response he gave over hers.
"Not helping." Clary said.
Suddenly, they were interrupted as Meliorn turned away from the now completed doorway.
"It's time."
Celeste and Clary stood up and the three of them walked over to Meliorn together. Clary hesitated as she stepped up to the portal.
"Meliorn, I appreciate the risk you're taking, but a life debt requires you ensure my safety. I'll agree to go alone... but if I find this alternate portal, I won't be able to face Valentine on my own."
"She'll need backup." Jace confirmed.
Meliorn sighed and looked between the three of them.
"If you find the portal, you may come back for him. Shadowhunters need Seelie permission to go through. Only demons can pass through unaided."
Celeste sort of blinked in confusion as she realized that she had been left out. She was not the only one to realize this though, and Jace spoke up quickly.
"What about Celeste?"
Meliorn gave a knowing smile. "Celeste doesn't exist in the alternate world."
Celeste's eyes widened and Clary's jaw dropped.
"Wait, what?" The redhead asked.
"Celeste was created by the angels with a specific purpose in mind. With demons no longer on earth, there was no war for her to assist with." Meliorn explained. "If she walks through that portal, there will be no Celeste in that universe for her to assume the body of, and therefore she will cease to exist altogether."
The other three all looked at each other with hesitant expressions. How could they defeat Valentine with just the two of them? They had no idea how many Circle members would be with Valentine when they got there, and they needed everyone they could get.
Besides, none of them wanted to leave the others alone.
Celeste pursed her lips in thought. "This may be our only chance to find Valentine." She reasoned. "I don't think we have any other options." She turned to Meliorn and gave him a nod of confirmation without waiting to hear from Clary or Jace.
Meliorn nodded back and turned to open the portal doors, then gestured for Clary to enter.
Celeste gave Clary a reassuring smile when the redhead hesitated at the threshold. She gave a hesitant smile back and stepped through the doorway and into the unknown.
After an odd encounter with her mother and Valentine in their kitchen, Clary had quickly fled the home. A glance at her phone showed a text from Simon asking her to meet up with "everyone" at a local park, so she made her way there unsure of what to expect.
"Hey. Where have you been? We've been texting you for like, twenty minutes."
Clary jumped as someone tapped her shoulder from behind. Spinning around, she noticed it was Simon and she panicked.
"Simon get out of the sun!" She exclaimed, pushing him backwards until he was under the cover of one of the umbrellas over the tables in the park.
"Hey, what the hell?" He asked, very confused by Clary's strange behavior.
This caused Clary to pause as she looked him up and down. He looked like the same Simon she knew, but there didn't seem to be any damage from him being in the sun. Suddenly she realized that Simon wasn't a vampire in this alternate universe.
Since Shadowhunters didn't exist, Simon hadn't followed her as she was dragged into the shadow world.
"I know that look." SImon said seriously. "Caffeine deprivation. Come on Tweek." He grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to a table that Izzy and Alec were sitting at.
"Simon, I do not have time for coffee today." Clary complained, but Simon cut her off shaking his head.
"No, no, no. I know that look in your eye. And when you get that look, I either have to caffeinate you immediately, or accept full responsibility for you killing someone. And you know how I am with blood." He grimaced at just the thought of it and left to a nearby food truck that sold coffee.
Izzy suddenly looked up and noticed the large purple gem hanging around Clary's neck.
"Is that new?" She asked.
Clary looked down at it and hesitated for just a moment before coming up with a half truth. "Yeah, I got it a couple days ago."
"Oh, it goes with your dress?" Izzy asked. "Because you're getting ready at my place tonight right?"
Clary furrowed her eyebrows. "Ready for what?"
Izzy's eyes widened as Alec gave her a glare.
"That is not even a little bit funny. I have poured my heart and soul into planning this anniversary party for the institute. And the theme is amazing."
It was then that Clary noticed just how different Alec and Izzy both were in this universe. The Alec she knew would never be planning a party, and Izzy would never wear a Star Wars t-shirt.
Clary just hummed in agreement, still a bit overwhelmed by the many differences in this world as she tried to catch up with the life of Clary in this dimension.
"But seriously, what is with this guy and the mad hatter?" Alec asked.
Izzy's jaw dropped and she looked offended as she glanced up from her phone. "Visionaries are quirky crazy. You don't get 4D internet tech thinking inside the box."
"I'm beginning to wonder if you don't have a thing for your boss." Alec quipped.
Clary raised a brow, both at the fact Izzy had a crush and because she had used the phrase 'quirky crazy.'
Izzy laughed a bit and seemed to day dream for a moment. "Like if Clary's dad would ever go for me."
"Wait, my dad?" Clary butt in quickly.
Izzy seemed to suddenly remember Clary was sitting right there and quickly snapped out of it. "Uh..." She scoffed. "No, I'm totally kidding."
She tried to do some quick damage control, but Alec was shaking his head next to her, making it pretty obvious that she was in fact crushing on the older man.
"I mean, I'm not crushing on your dad, right? No."
"Right, of course not. That'd be totally weird." Clary managed to get out, though she was completely unconvinced.
"Yeah, mmm-hmm." Izzy muttered and quickly put a set of headphones in her ears to try and escape the awkward situation.
"Order's up!" Simon said, coming back and setting a cup of coffee in front of Clary. He quickly turned to Alec. "We're setting up at six, right?"
Alec nodded.
"Yeah, okay." He turned back to Clary and smiled. "I need your help tonight... Loading. This gig could be huge for me."
Clary smiled but didn't get a chance to respond before Jace came up behind her.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Want to get out of here?"
Clary wasn't exactly sure where Jace might take her, but she figured they must have plans or something. "Sure."
He grabbed her by the hand and led her about thirty yards away from their friends over to stand in front of one of the many food trucks in the area.
Before Clary could even register what was happening, he took both sides of her face and pulled her in for a kiss.
Her eyes widened as he did so, but he didn't seem to notice that she wasn't responding to his kiss. Soon enough he pulled back and smiled at her, and she had to school her features.
"I can't wait till tonight."
Clary blinked a few times in confusion, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that they'd just kissed. "For the party?" She asked, that being the only possible thing she could come up with as something to look forward to.
Jace chuckled and shook his head. "Just shut up and kiss me."
He pulled her in for another kiss, and suddenly clicked for her that without Celeste in this universe, she and Jace must have been dating.
This time she slowly started to relax into it and respond. Since she had already been crushing on him in her universe, it seemed so easy to be with him and melt into his embrace. By the time he started trailing kisses down her neck, she had almost forgotten that this wasn't the universe she belonged in and that Jace wasn't hers to kiss.
It wasn't until a car honk pulled her out of her daze that her eyes snapped open again. She gasped as she glanced around and noticed all of the differences between their worlds once more.
"Stop!" She stumbled out, gently pushing him away. "I'm sorry, I can't." She apologized, before running away.
"Clary!" Jace called after her, but she never looked back.
She knew that if she did, she'd turn around and go back to him. And she'd probably lose herself to this world and never come back to help the others defeat Valentine.
It had been a couple hours now, and the sun was mostly set. Jace had been pacing back and forth in front of the portal, while Celeste was sitting next to Meliorn as he meditated. She had tried joining him earlier, but she was much too worried about Clary to find her focus.
"If Clary doesn't make it out of there soon, you're going to be meditating six feet under."
Celeste turned around to send Jace a glare, but she didn't get a chance to scold him.
"Shadowhunter, have you ever seen a Seelie knight fight?" Meliorn asked him calmly as he turned over his shoulder to look at him.
"Once or twice." Celeste answered automatically.
Meliorn sent her a smile, before continuing, seeing that Jace was not going to respond.
"I wouldn't be so cocky about your prowess if I were you." He closed his eyes again, but it only lasted for a moment until his eyes snapped open and he reached for the ground.
Celeste suddenly felt a shiver come over her, and she had a feeling she knew what that meant.
"What's going on?" Jace asked, immediately noticing the change in behavior from both of them.
Meliorn glanced at a worried looking Celeste before turning to Jace to respond.
"Opening the doorway to this dimension may not have been a good idea."
Jace sent a glare to Meliorn. It just figured that the Seelie would overlook an important detail. He wasn't thinking about how helpful this dimensional doorway was and how much Meliorn was risking for them.
"On a scale from one to namaste, how screwed are we?"
Celeste sent him a look as she and Meliorn stood up, but Jace had his attention focused on the Seelie.
"Demons are attracted to this dimension." He said simply. "It's defenseless and peaceful."
"They like chaos and havoc." Jace filled in. "All right pointy ears, looks like yoga time might be over."
Celeste rolled her eyes and walked away from them as she pulled out her seraph blade. "Are you two done chatting, or am I fighting these demons myself?"
Jace and Meliorn looked at each other and they both tried to keep from smiling.
They walked over to where Celeste was, and they each put their backs to each other in order for them to not be caught from behind. They were only standing there for about a minute when there was rustling in front of Celeste.
"Do you hear that?" Jace asked.
The three of them looked around, and Celeste felt a wave of cold overcome her.
"Look out!" She yelled, right as several demons jumped out from in front of her and Jace.
They all started forwards toward the demons, Celeste and Jace using their seraph blades, and Meliorn grabbing two short swords from the leaves beneath him.
"Where the hell did you get those?" Jace asked, suddenly noticing Meliorn fighting with a weapon in each hand.
"The earth provides, Shadowhunter." He said simply, not letting Jace take his attention from the fight. "Don't just stand there!" He yelled, seeing Jace was still watching him in confusion.
This seemed to snap him back to the task at hand, and they continued to work together. Demons continued flowing through the trees toward them, but the three of them seemed to be an equal match for them.
Suddenly Jace groaned out in pain though, and dropped to the ground.
"Jay!" Celeste exclaimed, glancing at him every couple of seconds. She winced as he was kicked by one of the demons and flew through the air several feet away.
"Alec!" Jace screamed as his hand covered his parabatai rune which was the source of his pain.
The same demon that kicked Jace out of the way was making a break for the portal, and Celeste's eyes widened as she noticed this. She tried to lunge for the demon, but came up just short and landed face first on the ground instead.
She watched as the demon ran straight into the other universe and there was nothing she could do about it.
She didn't get to dwell on that long though, because the demons were still coming at them. She rolled over and jumped to her feet to keep fighting, now needing to fight twice as many demons with Jace still laying on the ground and screaming in pain.
After a couple minutes, the demons stopped coming, the air seemed to warm up again, and Jace's screams had quieted.
She and Meliorn stood next to each other trying to catch their breath. She glanced at him wide eyed, unsure of what would happen now.
One look at Jace though, and her worries doubled.
Jace was unconscious.
"No." She breathed out, rushing to his side. "Jay, Jay, wake up!" She tried shaking his shoulder, and it was about a minute of this before he finally woke with a gasp.
He quickly stood to his feet, looking around, as if expecting there to be more demons.
"What was that about?" Celeste asked.
"Alec tried to use the parabatai rune to track me." Jace explained. "It doesn't matter right now. Did you kill it?"
Celeste looked down at her feet. "Not all of them."
"It went through?" His eyes widened.
She and Meliorn both nodded.
They all looked at each other trying to figure out what the next move should be.
Suddenly Meliorn dropped to the ground and Celeste shivered as another wave of cold air came over her.
"I have to shut the entrance. More demons are coming." Meliorn said.
"What about Clary?" Celeste asked quietly.
"You said you Seelies protect other dimensions." Jace accused.
"We do." Meliorn said, a bit taken aback.
Celeste figured out where he was going with this. "That demon that just went through is now probably terrorizing dozens of innocent people."
"Let me in." Jace added. "I can kill it."
Celeste pursed her lips together, but didn't add anything else, knowing it was the best option.
"If I seal the doorway behind you..."
Jace cut Meliorn off before he could even finish his sentence. "I know, the portal is the only way out. I'm willing to take that risk. Grant me entry."
Meliorn sighed, but nodded and began to walk toward the portal entrance. "Remember, you won't have your seraph blade. Demons don't disintegrate in this dimension." He added, before speaking Seelie and turning back to the portal.
Celeste grabbed Jace's hand quickly and sent him a nervous smile. "Go find Clary and get to Valentine. We'll all meet at the institute."
Jace shook his head immediately. "No. Alec just tried to track me with the parabatai rune. If he's that desperate to find me, I doubt it's because he wants to apologize."
Celeste frowned, knowing that he was right, but hating to be reminded of the feud between the parabatai. "Okay, how about the Jade Wolf then?"
Jace just nodded when Meliorn looked over his shoulder at them.
"It's time. Go." He said.
Jace turned back to Celeste and sent her a reassuring smile, seeing how nervous she was. "I'll see you soon."
She nodded. "Be safe. I love you."
"I love you too." He smiled and gave her a quick kiss before turning around and walking through the portal without any hesitation.
As soon as he was through, Meliorn closed the portal.
The temperature of the air was continuing to drop, so Celeste turned back toward the forest to be ready for when they came back.
"You should go. Now that the Shadowhunters know where you are, they'll be coming for you." Meliorn said, standing next to her.
She looked up at him with a bit of surprise as her seraph blade dropped to her side. She hadn't even considered that.
"What about the demons?" She asked him worriedly.
"I'll take care of it. Go."
She smiled. "Thank you Meliorn."
He nodded. "You're welcome. Until next time Celeste Lightwood."
Before he could register what she was doing, she had already given him a quick but tight hug and was jogging off.
He couldn't help but smile and shake his head a bit at her retreating figure.
She certainly was one of a kind.
Wow, that was a long chapter. Hopefully that makes up for being 8 million years late. I was going to end it at the end of the AU scene, but I felt like this was a better stopping point for a chapter. That's honestly why it took so long though, is the final scene was what took me forever to write.
Anyways, I can't believe so many of you are still reading this and waiting on my updates. Thank you so much! I appreciate each and every one of you. I know it's frustrating waiting for an author to finish a chapter, especially since I kept pushing back the date. But seeing you guys showing up in my notifications always makes me smile. You guys are the best!
For my question of the chapter, I think the alternate universe is pretty much the star of this chapter. So my question is:
If you had the opportunity to go to an alternate universe, but you had no idea what it would be like and were required to live there for a year, would you still go?
Once again, my next update is probably going to be a while. But hopefully I'll finally have moved in to my room by then and will be more settled. I'm also hoping to get more than one chapter written so that I have one to post even if life goes crazy again like it did this time. But no promises. We'll just have to wait and see.
Next Planned Update: October 25th, 2019