We're the weirds...

Celebrity crush: *answers me on Instagram*

Me: Nevermind.

Me:

Doctor: So ! About your treatment. You need to know that, when you'll be pregnant, you'll have to stop it. Depakine is hightly dangerous for the child.

Me: Well, having several seizure could be pretty dangerous as well. I mean... I may die because of them.

Doctor: Yeah. Yeah. But the child!

Me: If I'm dead, so is the baby. You know, that hypothetical baby that I don't want.

Doctor: You are still very young. You'll change your mind once you'll find the right guy.

Me: I've been saying that I don't want children since I was 15. I'm almost 30. Pretty sure it's not a phase by now.

Doctor: Yes but...

Mom: Well. Good luck with that.

If things ended well, Alec swore to himself that he was going to find that dragon Blue had always wanted. The boy was barely ten, but with Catarina’s help, he found a way to wake Magnus and unlock his memories. All at once. For days now, the head of the Institute had been talking to his husband, telling him stories about their life together. Blue was standing next to the bed, listening to his aunt’s words before they cast the spell.

Stepping back, Alec felt his hands trembling at his side. Was it going to work? Will Magnus remember them? What if he disapproves of the way Alec raised Blue, and that he adopted another kid? He was probably more nervous than for his wedding day, even the one with Lydia.

“Alec? No offence but... could you leave? You are making us nervous with your pacing!” growled Cat, and Blue giggled at her side. With a huff of annoyance, Alec left and headed to the training field, where he found his parabatai... clearly waiting for him. “Took you long enough. Come.”

They fought for a while until Alec’s body was trembling because of the effort and not from nervousness. Outside, the sun was bidding them a good night and the blond man facing him tilted his head. “I think someone wants to have a word.”

Quickly, the man turned around and gasped. He looked weak, weaker than he was when he found him with his siblings. His hair fell around his face, his eyes wear that look... the one between relief and fear... fear that this moment was a dream. Alec knew it because he was experiencing the same thing right now. A few steps behind the warlock, Blue was fast asleep in Catarina’s arms and the woman smiled softly. She wanted to see it, but also let the two lovers enjoyed their first moments in years.

“M-Magnus...”

Magnus almost jumped at the voice and looked up. Three times, he opened his mouth but his words failed him. One step after the other, both Nephilim and warlock walked toward each other. What if it was a dream? What if the other man disappeared the moment they tried to touch and wrapped their arms around the love of their life? Alec was the first to make the move and the familiar scent filled his lungs. Magnus’ smell. Magnus’ body was against his and before he knew it, tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks. Against his chest, he felt a sudden wet spot and knew he was not the only one crying.

“I’m here, Magnus. You are safe... I’m sorry I didn’t notice before... I love you. I love you. You are safe.” he whispered, not giving a damn about all the looks people were giving them. Or maybe they were in shock. Probably. “Love, you need to rest, come...”

When he tried to step back, Magnus held tight on his shirt, not letting him go. He had been buried alive, these things tended to leave an impact on a man. Even when said man was a powerful warlock. In his arms, he could feel the trembling form of his husband and gently kissed his forehead.

“I go with you. I’m not leaving you for the next century...” Alec said in his ear. Magnus smiled slightly at the promise, even if he knew how mortal was his husband. They walked together down the corridors until they reached Alec’s former bedroom and the shadowhunter tucked Magnus in bed. “You never stopped loving me?” Magnus asked, his eyes studying Alec’s face like he was trying to memorize each detail of his being. “My Alexander... you are still the same.” “I’m older, and so are the kids.” “Kids? We have more...?” Magnus asked, snuggled in the younger man’s embrace. “Tell me more, about them both.”

Alexander was passing just outside the infirmary. It had been hours since Magnus loses consciousness and his fears were just crashing on him like the waves of the ocean in a stormy night. Magnus. His Magnus. It sounded impossible, after all, they saw his body... Isabelle saw his body and announced his death many years ago, at 11:23am. The darkest day of his life but now, Magnus was here. Under the watch of the best doctors in the entire Institute, fighting for his life... again. When he fell like a puppet without its strings.

When he heard his yell and saw the protectiveness in the man’s posture, the way his magic responded to his mere will, he knew. The man was his. When they were together, Magnus had jumped more than once to protect him and, deep down, he knew he would have done that even in another life. A life where they were nothing but strangers. His heart was now beating fast, hoping a good new when the door would open.

“Mister Lightwood?”

Alec quickly turned around. A woman was there, waiting for his attention. Quickly, he joined her and waited for whatever she was about to say.

“So? How is he? What happened?”

Several minutes later, he was standing at Magnus’ side. The words of his colleague were spiralling in his mind while he watched the peaceful face of the warlock. When he though him dead, all these years ago, a spell had actually been cast on the man, stopping his heart between two heart-beats. He looked dead, his body was frozen in a moment of time. When Isabelle checked his pulse, she thought he was dead since his heart was not beating, not anymore. That spell was probably from a very powerful warlock, who thought that when his work would wear-off, the high warlock would just die from the lack of oxygen. But he survived and, even if his memories were still locked somewhere, Alec would stay with him.

“Dad? Is it... him?” came Rafael voice from behind him. A quick glance was enough to inform him of both his sons' presence. Blue was watching from behind them, his brows furrowed. “There is a bad spell on him...” whispered the young warlock. He had these feelings sometimes as if he could sense the magic around other people. “What do you mean?” asked Alec, feeling worried once more. “He is not supposed to wake up and... and if he does, he can’t remember you. It’s a bad curse. Because you two are... breaking the laws?”

The boy seemed unsure and almost sad.

“He won’t wake up. Not if we can’t find a way to break the curse or... or find the caster himself.” whispered the boy. “But... I can try something?”

Before Alec could say anything, the blue boy placed his hands on Magnus’ head and the two Nephilim saw how the boy’s magic seemed to invade the man’s head.

“He can hear us now, and his magic is working to unlock his memories and finds what happened to him.”

A small smile graced Magnus’ lips at these words, and Blue blushed.

“He... he thinks I’m cute and... and all grown up...” “You-You can hear him?” Alec asked in awe, and the little boy nodded. “I connected our minds so... so he’s not all alone.” he muttered, “Are you mad, dad?” “No. No of course not. I love your papa, dearly... and knowing he has you is all I need right now.”

* * *

In his mind, Magnus felt like screaming. Even if he was breathing, he was suffocating. One moment he was helping the tall man, the other his mind just collapse on itself and he was alone. But then, he saw it. A small blue light. He had been fighting his anxiety for hours and he heard a voice. The first noise since he was there.

“Magnus? Can you hear me?” asked the voice. A kid’s voice. “Yes! Where are you?” “Right here. Dad and Rafa are here too. Can you see me?” “No.”

A moment later, the strange energy around him crackled and the cutest little boy he has seen in his life was there. He saw that face before. But younger.

“I know you...” “You were my friend when I was very little. When dad was sad because you died. I called you by accident.” and then, the boy gasped. “Oh! If... if I called you... maybe I... maybe I can do something!”

Screams were echoing in the dark place. The city of bones probably was the scariest place he had seen in his life... and for a man with no memories of his past, that meant nothing. Nothing at all. From somewhere, a man yelled again and begged for someone to stop tormenting him. He knew how it felt... every now and then, when he was closing his eyes, images were filling his mind. Some he remembered as they were from his childhood... and others who startled him and forced him to wake up not to find peace again. Sadly, the memories of the dreams lasted for maybe thirty minutes and then, he was an empty shell again.

He had been there for days or weeks when, at last, someone opened his cell’s door and ordered him to follow them. They walked for a while, passing many cells before they walked through a portal and Magnus found himself standing in the trial room.

“Place your hands on the sword.”

Magnus jumped when he heard a voice from behind him. A man with a stern look and no hair. He looked a bit like the Lightwood kids. Their father, maybe?

“You are accused of violating a sacred place in this Institute and usurping the former High Warlock’s identity. Do you refute these accusations?” “I-I don’t know, Sir.” said the man, who felt utterly confused. Maybe he did, or maybe not? How could he know it, without his memories to guide him. Thank God, if the sword was of any use, it clearly did not act like the Nephilim expected. “I mean... I did destroy that tomb but... I had no other choice.”

Once again, the sword barely glowed, showing he was telling the truth. He had no other choice, or he would have died inside.

“Are you telling us you woke up in that grave like Isabelle Lightwood and Jace Herondale told us?” “Y-Yes, sir.”

Several gasps were heard when it was clear he was telling the truth.

“Are you Magnus Bane?” this time, the question was coming from Alec's voice. The young man stepped next to his father, his eyes glowing with that same sparkle of hope in them.

For a long time, Magnus remained silent. He needed to know. To find the truth. That question had haunted him for weeks now.

“I don’t know. I don’t know who I am or...”

The door suddenly burst open and a man stood there. He was tall, Asian and his hair were shoulder-length. What caught everyone attention was his eyes tho. Yellowish cat-eyes. Everything about him seemed familiar and... wrong. Very wrong. Then, all hell breaks loose. The man and a bunch of demons started to attack the people at the trial. The alarms were loud, coming from everywhere and the Nephilims grabbed their weapons to fight back. With his bow and arrows, Alec was fighting like a god, but he did not notice the man behind him, the one who looked a lot like Magnus.

“No!” came the scream, from deep inside Magnus, or whoever he was. His body reacted before his mind and with a wave of his hand, the demons’ leader flew at the other side of the room. For some weird reasons, the man in the trial felt a wave of wild anger boiled in him. Four strings of powerful magic wrapped themselves around the demon and they heard his scream filled the room. “Don’t touch Alexander!” growled Magnus, not noticing the sudden switch in Alec’s eyes at the way he said his name. Another wave of his hand and a portal opened. “Even if you send me back to Edom, I will come back, son!” said the demon. “That’s why you are not going to Edom...”

Another spell put the demon in sleep or unconsciousness and right through the portal. All the demons fled when their leader disappeared and, before the Lightwood could say anything, the warlock among them fell on the ground.

He was hidden in a dark street. The night was falling over the city and with nothing but the clothes he woke up in, the wind reminded him how cold the living world was. Since he opened his eyes all these hours ago, Magnus had tried to remember some glimpse of his former life. For now, nothing happened... and he tried to find out why he ended up close to that building in Brooklyn. Something felt oddly familiar here. 

“Magnus! Stay here!” came a voice from the other side of the street. A woman’s voice. The same girl from his awakening in the church or whatever it was. Her dark hair was floating around her face as her heels clicked on the hard floor. Around here, the air was cracking because of the magic in his body... even if the notion of magic was now foreign to him. “Magnus... it’s me. Isabelle. Don’t you remember me? Your sister-in-law...”

The woman was acting like a... like someone facing a wild and scared animal. Her hands were up and she knelt several feet away from him. Behind her was the blond man, the one who probably thought he was some God or something. He was good looking, of course, but not his type at all.

“It’s you. By the Angel, it’s really you...” whispered the woman, and Magnus looked up, his cat-like eyes glowing in the dark. His voice was barely a whisper when he asked if she knew him, but the woman, Isabelle, seemed to hear him. “Yes. Now please, come here. I’ll take you somewhere safe. Do you know why you are here?”

Magnus shook his head. The last thing he remembered was his mother’s suicide. His step-father... the way he grabbed him by the neck. The water filling his lungs and the sudden yell when the man screamed in pain at the fire burning his face and body. Oh, he was sure all of this happened many years ago, he was not so small after all... not anymore. He looked like an adult. He was an adult, and some of his memories were locked in his mind. Magnus held a hand in Isabelle’s direction, standing with her help while she pointed at a window up in the building.

“Here. You used to live here, with your family. For now, they are at the Institute, so we can go up there and helped you in new clothes.”

* * *

They were in the Lightwood-Bane’s loft and Isabelle was handing Magnus a pair of jeans and a purple shirt. Instinctively, the man put some jewellery and makeup, as if his true-self was still there. In the kitchen, Jace was making dinner and called them when it was ready. The three of them sat there for a while, in awkward silence, with nothing but their forks and knives’ noise in the room.

“So,” Magnus finally said. The uncertainty over his face was still strange. After all, the warlock was well known for his exuberance. “You knew me and... and I lived here...? I... is it safe to let me be here like that? What if the... your brother and his kids were coming here?” “They won’t. They are spending the night at our mother’s place.” Jace said. “And we need time. To understand what happened and... well... you can’t just face Alec. Not when you’ve been dead for years.”

And the question floated in the air. How was it possible for him to stand here as if nothing ever happened.

“We need to run some test. Blood tests and maybe the help of Catarina. She is a friend. Your friend, and a nurse in a mundane’s hospital.” said Isabelle, smiling gently to the man. “With our technology and her magic, I’m sure we can find out what happened to you.”

They had to. And if that man was Magnus’ body but without his soul, they would end it again. Once and for all.

“You’re gonna kill me... if something is wrong? Right?” the man asked, a knowing look on his face. “It’s ok. I don’t want to live if I’m not the person I seem to be. It’s fine.”

The two Nephilims wanted to say they won’t kill him. But they knew they may have to... if not for their safety, for Magnus’ and Alec’s peace. Suddenly, Jace’s phone buzzed on the table and the man quickly answered.

“Yes?”

...

“Alec, I swear it’s not like...”

...

“We are... in town.”

...

“What? You’re heading to the loft? Why?”

...

“I see. Where are the kids? With mom? Good.”

...

“Sure. See you.”

The blond ended the call and face the others. No words were needed. Alec was on his way. He was coming to the loft and, by the look on the blond’s face... there was no way for them to escape without their brother noticing it.

“What do we do now?” Magnus asked, clearly nervous. “What are we going to tell him?” “Yes, I’m curious. What are you going to tell me?”

The three turned at the same time, frozen on spot at the sight standing in the room. Alec was here, his dark eyes stopping on each of them for a while. Magnus was the last and lowered his gaze when he saw the hatred in the younger man’s eyes. For a second, he also noticed the hope and hurt, but the archer was clearly protecting himself by pushing all the other feelings in a far corner of his mind.

“Alec, we can explain! It’s not what it...” “Enough!” growled Alec. From his pocket, he grabbed a pair of handcuffs and faced Magnus-look-alike. “You. You are under arrest and will be put in a trial at the New York Insitute. Do you have something to say?” “No, Sir...” whispered Magnus. He was not going to protest.

Alec felt utterly confused when his siblings ran and left him standing in the corridor. What the hell just happened? Isabelle had that habit to hide stuff from him, that was not the problem. But Jace? They were parabatai, and he blatantly lied to him. Right to his face. Something felt wrong and Alec swore to the Angel that he was going to find out what happened.

In the empty halls, Alec’s footsteps were echoing around the Nephilim and after a couple of minutes, he was standing in the mausoleum. His face turned pale as he recalled the day he buried his heart with his husband. The peaceful place now looked as if a battle troubled his love’s eternal sleep. Parts of the marble’s grave were scattered all over the floor, Magnus’ coffin was empty and the young man felt weak. His mind disconnected as his knees hit the hard floor. Someone took him. Someone took his Magnus. His love was gone, again. Why? Who did that? Isabelle and Jace probably knew what happened but then, why did they just... left? He had a right to know! Some profaned the place... the only place he was still able to feel and talk to his late husband. Gone. No more body. No more soul left. Now... he felt nothing. Nothing but the renewed reality of his death.

Then it hit him. The anger rose like wildfire through his body. Whoever had taken Magnus from him would regret it. Alec somehow managed to stand and hurried in the control room. Here, he checked all the videos. Every second of the records was on the screen and he tried to find something.

“Dad? What you doing?” asked a voice, and when he turned around, Rafael was standing here. Oh yeah... he forgot, his son was here for his training. He was very close to his rune’s ceremony. “Can I help?”

Rafael was always eager to help. Even at school, the kid was always helping either the adults or his classmates. His teachers were really happy with that, if he may add.

“Can you help me check the video between the mausoleum and outside? All the paths. If you see something or someone who’s not supposed to be here, just tell me. Ok?”

Feeling all the seriousness in his father’s tone, the kid nodded and started working. The following minutes were long and boring. One hour pass when Alec pushed a button and froze. The picture on the screen was a bit... weird. But he could recognize that face everywhere. The man was wearing the same clothes than when they buried him. His makeup was gone, of course, his hair a mess and his face... he never saw such fear on Magnus’ face before but... it was him.

“That’s not possible...” Alec whispered, and behind him, he felt Rafael standing behind him. “That’s... it’s... He is...” the boy stuttered. “Our Dead Friend!” but then, he quickly adds: “He doesn’t seem so dead, now.”

If the situation was not so.. well... weird and stressful, Alec would probably laugh. Now, he understood why his brother and sister were so distant when he asked what happened. Either Magnus came back from the dead or, and it was more likely, someone took his appearance to torment him. Whatever was going on, that man or thing will regret what he did.

“Rafael, go find someone to train you with your sword. I’ll find what’s going on. You stay away from this while I search that man. Ok?”