A/N: Takes place after season 2, but ignoring season 3 for convenience. (It's hard to set side adventures in the canon timeline with all the stuff going on.) Will update Tuesdays and Saturdays (US time).

Disclaimer: Not mine. Thanks to 29Pieces for beta reading!

Chapter 1

The op center was crowded as several teams of shadowhunters stood ready for the mission briefing. Alec roved his gaze around the room to make sure everyone was there, and then tapped the console to bring up a holographic schematic of their target.

"Intel discovered a base of operations for remnants of the Circle," he began, enlarging the image so those in the back could see. "From the little recon we've been able to do, it looks like it's mostly a group of brand new shadowhunters. We don't have exact numbers, but we do know they've got a warlock."

Alec looked at Magnus then, who would be accompanying them on this mission precisely for that reason. As if the flamboyant warlock didn't stand out enough with his moussed hair, red highlights, and eyeliner, Magnus was dressed in his normal finery, which stuck out even more amidst the group of shadowhunters in combat gear.

"Let Magnus handle the warlock," Alec continued. "Valentine's experiments have made them victims, not criminals."

He saw a few shadowhunters exchange looks at that, especially given the recent tensions with the warlocks siding with the Seelie Queen and erecting wards around the city that could have killed any of them. They were just doing what they thought they needed to in order to stop Valentine. Alec didn't fault them for it, though he knew not everyone at the Institute was feeling as forgiving. But no one spoke out against the order. Izzy, Jace, and Clary all had resolute expressions that fully backed him.

Alec went on to assign the teams to cover all the entrances and exits. "Any questions?" he finished.

There were none.

"Then move out."

Magnus sidled up next to him while the others began to file out. "I must say, Alexander, command looks good on you. In fact, I'm a little turned on right now."

Alec had to fight to keep a warm flush from rising up his neck. "We need to focus. This mission is dangerous and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Magnus smiled, and placed a hand on his arm. "That's sweet. But I can take care of myself."

"Against a whole squadron of shadowhunters who believe in Valentine's cause to eradicate all downworlders from the face of the Earth? I think that might be a tall order, even for the High Warlock of Brooklyn."

"Well, then it's a good thing I also have you to watch my back," Magnus said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Just don't get distracted watching his backside," Izzy lobbed as she passed by them.

Alec rolled his eyes. "More like I'll be too busy making sure Fray doesn't get herself killed."

"Hey," Clary protested indignantly. "I think I've proven myself a capable shadowhunter."

Alec shrugged to concede the point. She had done exceptionally well for someone who hadn't trained her entire lifetime. And that was exactly the type of opponents they'd be going up against tonight: soldier pawns who hadn't been shadowhunters for more than a few months.

Alec scooped up his bow and quiver and joined everyone else outside where there was more space for Magnus to portal them to the area of the city where the Circle's base was located.

With a flourish of his hands, Magnus opened a swirling vortex to a block away from the target. Three by three, the shadowhunters strode through and immediately fanned out to come in from all sides. Alec's team would be taking the front.

He approached the run-down auto body shop cautiously, eyes peeled for sentries. They didn't want the Circle members to sound the alarm until it was too late. But it appeared that these untrained amateurs hadn't set a guard. While they'd been wholly indoctrinated with Valentine's mission, they were probably lost and floundering now that he was dead.

Alec waited the predetermined amount of time for everyone to get into position. Beside him, he could feel Jace's pre-battle energy thrumming through their bond, solidifying their connection as their hearts settled into a synced rhythm. He glanced at Izzy, whose mouth was quirked in an anticipatory grin. Clary's shoulders were rising and falling with measured breaths as she mentally readied herself.

Alec met Magnus's eyes last, and they shared a look of grim resolve. They didn't know exactly what they would find in there, but they were fully devoted to their cause.

When it was time, Alec gave the signal, and his team moved forward. To the left, he saw the silent shadows of another group move in on the side, and knew the other teams were doing the same all around the building, completely surrounding it. He nocked an arrow at the ready as they reached the door, and Jace paused to pull out his stele and draw an unlock rune. It glowed and fizzled, and Jace stepped back to give himself room to kick the door in.

Shadowhunters poured in from several entryways with resounding bangs. Circle members jolted at the intrusion, some reacting faster than others. Alec aimed at one who had arched his arm back to throw a knife, and shot him in the shoulder before he could release the blade.

But despite their lack of proper training, these men fought just as fiercely as true shadowhunters, spurred by Valentine's rhetoric and fierce, berserk fighting styles that made them just as dangerous as anyone from the Institute. Seraph blades clashed with strident screeches and clangs and gargled screams filled the air as people were cut down.

Alec tried to keep his friends in sight. Clary was easy to spot with her red hair, and she was so far holding her own against a brute of a man. Izzy's whip flashed like lightning, guarding Clary's back from other attackers. Jace, of course, Alec didn't need to look for because he could feel his parabatai moving like water through the throng.

Alec kept back so he had more angles for shooting his arrows, and took down any Circle members who came running in from back rooms. Magnus stayed behind him, until a sphere of crackling brown energy came flying through the air and struck several shadowhunters, sending them flying. Then Magnus was sweeping around Alec and throwing up a spell of his own.

Alec continued to fire arrows while also trying to keep one eye on Magnus. He saw a geyser of vermillion shoot through the air and wrap around the attacking warlock, restraining him. Magnus moved closer.

"Let me help you," he said over the din.

Alec felt a tug in his bond, and spun around to loose an arrow at the shadowhunter who had Jace in a headlock. The man went down and Jace snatched up his blade from the floor without losing a step.

Alec was just turning back when an ocher ball of plasma came flying toward Magnus, not from the warlock he'd caught, but from a second one they hadn't known was there. The spell hit Magnus in the side and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Magnus!" Alec notched an arrow, but before he could get off a shot, a crowbar zinged toward him. He ducked, narrowly avoiding getting skewered. But he didn't see the large tin barrel flip through the air at him from another direction, and it clobbered him in the side with enough force to send him sprawling on the concrete. He didn't lose hold of his bow, though.

Rolling into a crouch, Alec tried to get another arrow ready. The warlock had stepped into full view now, sickly gray veins prominent on his face, and was waving his hands frantically. Alec heard a whoosh of air behind him that sounded like a portal. They couldn't let anyone escape, so he leaped up to take one last shot. Magnus was scrambling to his feet next to him.

Alec released the arrow just as the warlock thrust his palm out. The move didn't deflect Alec's shot, which struck the warlock in the chest. It did, however, fling that barrel at Alec again. It hit him head on, throwing him back into Magnus, and then suddenly gravity was gone and they fell into a swirling vortex of light and wind.

Alec landed hard on an uneven surface that knocked the air from his lungs. When he coughed to get it back, he inhaled a mouthful of dust that made him cough more, and it took several moments for him to catch his breath. Once he finally did, he opened his eyes and blinked dazedly at dry, cracked soil and thorny brambles poking up through the fissures.

Alec stared in confusion, and slowly sat up. He stiffened as he took in a vast, barren landscape. Gnarled trees covered in curtains of moss dotted the wasteland, along with jagged, onyx rock formations, and great crags shrouded in fog in the distance. When he turned his head up, he found a hazy and sickly lavender sky. His heart began to beat erratically, and he twisted around.

"Magnus!" He scrambled over to the warlock, who was laying dazed on the ground, but was at least conscious. "Magnus, are you hurt?" Alec looked him over for injury, but didn't see any. He'd been hit by a spell, though.

Magnus started to sit up. "I'm okay. I…" He trailed off, eyes widening as he looked at their surroundings. "Oh. This is bad. This is very bad."

Alec frowned, and swept his gaze around again. "Where are we? This- this isn't a demon dimension, is it?" It definitely wasn't any place on Earth.

"If only," Magnus replied, lurching to his feet and dusting himself off. "We fell through a portal."

"Yeah…" Alec had put that much together. "So where did the warlock send us?"

Magnus's mouth was tight and there was true fear in his eyes. "He didn't have a place in mind when he opened that portal. And I didn't have time to think of one before we fell through. Did you?"

Alec quirked a confused look at Magnus. "No." It took him a moment to catch on, and when he did, the oxygen punched from his lungs. "Wait, are you saying we're in limbo?"

Magnus gave him a grim nod. "As I said, this is very, very bad."