This next memory, however, was not one of Magnus'. He found himself standing on a rain-soaked road in front of the most hideous car ever to have existed. Magnus didn't think he'd ever seen anything quite that disgusting. It was a metal van with the colouring of a mouldy banana and it seemed to exude bacteria. It really was quite vile.

Isabelle, Clary, Jace and Alec were standing by the side of the... Vehicle and Magnus suddenly remembered the scene - he'd needed to find out exactly what had happened to cause Alec's injuries after the fight with Abbadon and so had had to borrow some memories from Isabelle. This was the first of them.

Magnus felt his lips twitch as he remembered Izzy's reaction to his telling her what was required - the subsequent explanation of the fact that magic regarding memory was his specialty was met with a rather explosive response.

The potion had some quite unnerving effects for someone who was in a memory which had not originally been their own - it seemed to Magnus as though he were watching the events from a great distance away. The conversation between the Shadowhunters (and Clary's mundane/rat/vampire/taxi driver/whatever - Magnus lost track - friend) was merely a dull buzz [Muffliato haha] and his vision was slightly obscured by a blurred orange tinge. Bizarre.

They trooped into the van/mutant couch/thing and Magnus watched Alexander and Sheldon(?) exchange a few words. He wondered how long this journey was going to be, hoping that the potion would helpfully fast-forward through it.

The journey was entirely uneventful and not at all enjoyable for Magnus as, not only did Alec not speak, but the orange tint to his view changed the colour of eyes to an odd brownish/purplish/greenish colour. It was unnervingly similar to that of the random spots on the van.

At this point, the orange turned to blue and time sped up. At double-speed, the group arrived at Clary's building, spoke to Madame Dorothea and found the Mortal Cup. Magnus couldn't help but wonder why the potion had made him endure that car journey just to fast-forward through most of what happened upon their arrival. His musings were interrupted by a shout from Alec.

"But you said there wasn't much demonic activity - you said the levels were low!" The beginnings of a fire were starting to blaze in Alexander's sapphire eyes. Determination was emanating from him in waves and Magnus remembered how he used to think that no one he'd ever met, in all his eight hundred years, could rival the way Alec looked in moments such as these. It was fire - beautiful and fascinating and dangerous and, just like every cliché, Magnus got too close and was left with burns.

The lyrics of one of his favourite songs echoed through his mind at that point you scarred and left me like a sunburn.

"They were low," Jace hissed in reply and Magnus winced at the way Alec seemed to glow under his parabatai's acknowledgment. He couldn't wait until the memories reached the point when Alec would react to him like that. But he didn't mind that the real Alec didn't do that anymore. After all, Alec had betrayed him so why should he mind about that? Exactly. So, he didn't.

"Your version of low must be different from mine!" The Shadowhunters stumbled to their feet and drew their weapons, Magnus could feel Alexander's adrenaline increasing tenfold as they began to run through the apartment and into the foyer. Magnus willed his mind away from Alec's long-ago mocking of the way he used the American pronunciation of the word.

There was a huge crash from in front of Magnus and he experienced the highly disconcerting feeling of having bits of wall pass through him and onto the floor behind him. A wave of nausea hit him through his connection with Alec. Magnus looked up to the sight of Alexander staring at the oozing form of Abbadon which was slithering through the hole in the wall.

"Alec!" Jace shouted, swearing and dragging his parabatai back, out of the way of the demon.

Abbadon moved through the make-shift doorway, all searingly red skin, protruding bones and taloned fingers.

"Give me the MOrtal Cup. Give it to me, and I will let you live."

There was a short silence, interrupted only by the sound of heavy breathing and the way it moved through the tension-thick air. Magnus' eyes went to Alec, as they often did (okay, maybe more than often), who was standing motionless where Jace had let go of him, his eyes glued to the demon.

"What are you?" Jace asked in a steady voice and Magnus had to remind himself that he didn't actually resent the current Jace, whose temperament reminded him far more of Will Herondale than Alec ever had, and, as such, his courage was not really something that he should be finding unfavourable qualities in.

"I am Abbadon. I am the Demon of the Abyss..." Magnus found himself zoning out of the demon's speech, much like he'd done on the occasions (the number of which he could count on one hand. WIth lots of fingers to spare) that he'd met his father.

His attention was brought back to the goings-on upon the sight of Alec's horrified look. Jace was doing something idiotic, no doubt. Magnus looked up. There it was - the descendent of one of Magnus' long-ago friends was, having taunted a Greater Demon, waving his blade in the disfigured face of Abbadon.

"...Smells like landfill to me. You sure you're not from Staten Island?"

Then the demon lunged at him and a jolt of pure fear pulsed through Alec. Despite himself, Magnus hated their parabatai bond for strengthening Alec's feelings for Jace and for adding to the consequences of the actions that that fear would lead Alexander to.

Blades were flashing and blood was spurting out from quickly-closing wounds and all Magnus could see was Alec's expression becoming more and more fearful, and more and moe determined.

Isabelle's whip caught the side of the demon who retaliated with a sharp blow in Jace's direction. Time moved unbearably slowly. Alec's expression was hardening. He took steps that felt like miles before stopping between the Greater Demon and his parabatai, his featherstaff held aloft.

The blade pierced Abbadon's flesh and he let out an almighty snarl, striking Alec's body and sending him flying through the tension-thick air. He struck the wall with a sickening crunch before falling heavily onto the linoleum floor.

Magnus couldn't breathe. THe cold numbness of anguish was sliding through his veins. Alexander's breaths were stuttering and Magnus felt the moment his conciousness slipped away.

Then the blueness overtook him. Magnus was grateful. He knew that it would be a long time before he could get the image of Alexander's body, crumpled on the floor, entirely unnaturally, out of his mind. Or his nightmares.

I'm really sorry about this chapter - I was literally writing it and thinking 'Wow. This is unbearably dull.' but I thought that I should really write a little bit about this incident? I don't know - tell me if you think I should just skip out key Alec scenes that Magnus isn't actually in, instead of trying to plotline my way around that and put them in anyway.

Next chapter will be the healing and then after that is THEIR FIRST KISS. So, yeah.

Thanks for reading :)

* insert clever and/or cute way of asking for reviews here*

ALSO (added this in after writing the first bit of the A/N and thought it should really be chronological) we break up for half term on Valentine's Day so I should be able to get in a lot of writing over that next week (even if I should be revising...). Yay :)

AND ONE MORE THING (sorry - this is getting annoying, I know [if anyone actually reads my author's notes, that is]), my tumblr is pagetornfromabookofrules if you would, perhaps, like to follow me?

My Taylor Connect account is SwiftieSelenator22 as well, if any of you are Swifties haha