So um...Constantin (the people I think own the rights to Shadowhunters) released a statement that said to bring Shadowhunters back is "impossible" so uh. It's truly over and I'm fucking depressed.

On the bright side the TCA's were tonight and Shadowhunters tool Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show and MY BABY Matt Daddario took home Choice TV Actor so 💞💞💞💞💞

Anyway...rant over

****************

I gasp, suddenly standing in my loft living room, a place I felt like I lived in a thousand years ago...but it was bright, too bright. As if the sun was shining all its rays directly upon this one room in the world.

Immediately, I begin to feel what Meliorn was talking about. My chest, lighter and freer than it's ever been in my life was a shock. It was like the hugest burden had been lifted from my shoulders...the curse.

It didn't exist in this world, it never needed to.

Before I completely slip into the enticing world of this dimension, I turn and see...Valentine, dressed in light colours and looking, surprisingly, the least bit menacing. My hand twitches towards the bread knife sitting on the table but I resist the urge to grab it.

In this world, he wasn't a crazy, psycho Shadowhunter he was just...my Dad.

"What's the Debbie Downer face, sweetheart?" Valentine asks, his smile bright and kind. It was strange to see him like this...he looked so much like a...well, a Dad. A normal, caring father. This must be what Luke meant when he said he was a different person

"Oh...nothing" I shake my head, glad for Valentine's abrupt arrival - it reminded me who I was, "Just...tired, I guess"

"Ah, helping your sister with her Cosplay skits I assume?" Valentine chuckles, placing a bowl on the table

"Something like that"

Suddenly, my mother's voice drifts through the room, piercing my heart like a nail, "Val, I hope you're not trying to convince the girls to let you Cosplay with them again. You know you're not allowed to, you'd stick out like a sore thumb!"

"Mom!" I can't help myself from springing into her arms. I've been so angry at her, still am, but at least this version was the one I'd thought she'd been, the one who hadn't cursed me...

"Wow!" she laughs and the sound is pure warmth, "Wow, if you miss us this much, you should really leave the dorms more often"

"Right" I chuckle, shaking my head and collecting myself again, "Sorry."

My eyes travel the room as I let Mom go and I spot an intricate, delicate painting, one similar to my kind of painting style...on the lower left corner the name 'Jocelyn Morgenstern' was painted in cursive.

So Mom took Valentine's name and became a painter in this world...freaky.

"Cami...in honour of your father's Mad Hatter party tonight" Mom toasts, raising a teacup in the air.

"Your Mom made waffles for you" Valentine explains, setting them on the table, "Come on, kiddo, gotta eat somethin', right?"

"Did someone say waffles?" Clary's voice flood into the room and I find myself, again, pushing back the urge to run into her arms and flee from the place, get as far from Valentine as possible

"Yes, we did" Valentine laughs as Clary enters the room. She looked the same yet brighter, happier, unburdened by anything but college art work stresses. I yearn for this Clary's life, for both me and my sister. Simple, carefree, safe.

I pull myself back to the current situation and take a seat at the table, noticing the odd looks I'm getting from both my mother and my father.

"Hey Cami" Clary greets me casually, pecking me on the cheek and sitting next to me before hungrily reaching for a stack of waffles

"So, girls...when do I get to meet these new men in your life, hmm?" Valentine questions, playing the protective father role

"Val..." Mom groans, "Really?"

"What? I have to...give my stamp of approval, right?"

As if I'd ever give a flying fuck about your opinion, .

"Oh, girls, look at this commercial" Mom giggles, "It's so bad, it's good."

I play the part, chuckling with her and turning to face the TV...where Hodge stands, talking about how Magnus Bane helped him find a pathway in life - as a dojo owner. The words 'Magnus Bane; Tarot Card & Psychic Readings' are scrawled on the bottom.

I laugh without feeling the real humour of it. As light and happy as this world was, it wasn't real...and I needed to find that Portal. I instinctively grope for the necklace and breathe a low sigh of relief when I feel it suspended just below my collar bone.

At least there was one less thing to worry about.

"I have to go" I announce, standing from the table, waffle untouched

"What?" Mom gapes

"I thought you were spending the morning with us?" Valentine protest and I bite back a sour comment

"Yeah" I laugh airily. The last thing I needed was for them to be alert to something being wrong, "Sorry, totally spaced on an assignment I forgot I hadn't even started. It's due soon and if I'm gonna make that...Mad Hatter party tonight, I've gotta get to work, right?"

The sounds of my alternate family's protest are drowned out as I rush down the stairs, hurriedly stepping out into the crowded New York street.

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, I set off for the only place that makes sense...Java Jones.

***

By the time I get to the glaringly bright, grassy courtyard with the familiar Java Jones truck, a hand on my shoulder startles me and I whirl around, my long, waist length hair fanning itself like a curtain around my face.

"Hey. Where have you been? We've been texting you for, like, twenty minutes" Simon utters, glasses slightly crooked, "Uh-oh...I know that look. Caffeine deprivation."

"Nope" I gasp, heart racing, "More like you just scared the heck out of me"

"Sorry" Simon chuckles and I laugh with him.

It felt great to feel normal again, to get lost in just having fun, in the sun, with my best friend at Java Jones, joking about caffeine deprivation.

But I'm not here for that.

"Come on, Tweek" Simon grabs my hand, pulling me to a table nearby the Java Jone's truck...that is actually called 'Jave Jace'

I gape, eye wide at the truck before hastily covering my surprise. Sure enough, Jace was behind the counter of the truck, serving coffee's with a smile I'd never seen on his face before - a smile unburdened by the scars of trauma I realised he'd never had to face before. It made me vaguely sad to know that this Jace would never feel the burden of that trauma while my Jace, real Jace, would always carry those scars...

But I am so still giving him shit about this later.

"Simon, I don't really have time for coffee today..."I protest but Simon isn't taking no for an answer

"No, no, no. I know that look in your eye."

Another protest buds on my lips but is stolen from me almost instantly...Izzy, donned with glasses, hair in a fishtail braid and covered in plaid with a Star Wars t-shirt on and no heels in sight.

Freaky.

Simon, setting me down in a chair, whisks his way off towards 'Java Jace' to grab me a coffee and Izzy turns to me, squinting at my neck.

"Is that new?"

"Yes, I got it a couple...days ago" I lie, noticing her gaze on the large, purple crystal

"Oh, it goes with your dress?" she wonders, anticipation and anxiety behind her voice, "Because you're getting ready at my place tonight, right? Clary, too?"

"Ready for...what?"

"That is not even slightly funny, babe" A voice I'd recognise anywhere says from behind me and I feel a pair of lips press to my cheek fleetingly, sending a flood of warmth through me...followed by a hard shard of ice.

This was the first time I'd seen him since begging him to come with us and he'd blatantly refused. His hair was smoothed down and, like everyone else, he was dressed in light, pastel colours, not even one hint of blank in sight. His expression was warm and unburdened. He was different yet the same...He looked happy.

"After you and your Dad poured your hearts and souls into planning this Anniversary party for the Institute. Surely, it's insulting to forget about it, right?"

"Of course, the, uh, Mad Hatter party" I chuckle, shaking my head, "Sorry, I'm just a little...tired"

"Yeah, speaking of, what is with your Dad and this Mad Hatter thing?" Alec asks, sipping his coffee

"Visionaries are quirky crazy" Izzy defends before I can respond, "You don't get 4D Internet tech thinking inside the box."

"I'm beginning to wonder if you don't have a thing for our boss" Alec teases and Izzy flushes pink

"Like, if Clary's Dad would ever go for me"

"My dad?" I gape, disgusted

"Uh...no, I'm totally kidding!" Izzy scoffs but my disgusted expression doesn't waiver...she's so not joking, "I mean I'm not crushing on your Dad, right? Ugh! No..."

Ew!

"Of course not" I stress, "Cause that would be really weird"

"Order's up" Simon reappears, my coffee in hand. I take it with a silent thanks, sipping it reflexively, "We're setting up at 6, right?"

"If that's what I told you then...yep" I agree

"Hey" Alec whispers into my ear and I shivers ripple down my spine, "Wanna get out of here?"

I nod without thinking, some internal instinct driving me without my volition. Alec takes my hand and we leave the table, headed for the other, deserted side of the 'Java Jace' truck.

He stops me, my back to the truck and says nothing, just kind of looks at me, slowly leaning in...and then he's kissing me. Full blown, making-out kissing with me. I gasp softly into his mouth but feel my eyes close, feel myself involuntarily slipping into the kiss...

"I can't wait till tonight" Alec whispers, his voice trembling against my lips

"For the-for the party?" I stammer, gulping audibly

Alec smiles at me endearingly, "Just shut up and kiss me."

I chuckle in spite of myself and press my lips to his again. They're warm and soft and mixed with a taste of mint and chocolate.

Figures, I knew Alec would never drink coffee.

Alec lips slide down to my neck, leaving small, soft kisses there...

The sound of a blaring car horn shocks me back to life and I remember where I am, what I'm supposed to be doing and, with tremendous effort, I pull away from his tantalising lips, attempting to take a step back but only bumping into the warm metal of the truck.

It was pure bliss to be in his arms, to have him kiss me that way, to be so carefree and irresponsible. It was only too easy to allow myself to slip into that, to let myself become the Cami of this world, to forget about what it's like in my world. The real world.

I just wish it could be real.

Alec, having not noticed my resistance, follows my steps backwards, his lips re-attaching to my neck.

"Stop!" I gasp and he pulls back, quickly, "Stop. I can't-I can't do this!"

"Cami!"

Alec's voice rings through the park, a single note of alarm in an otherwise completely peaceful place but I don't stop running and instead force myself to keep going, to not look back.

If there was anything I had to be clear of in this world was that if I was going to be able to do what I had to...

I had to stay far away from Alec.

***

To say I was highly amused and confused was an understatement.

Alternate Magnus was just as bright and cheery as the rest of this world, full of colour and buoyancy. It made his real-world personality seem tame.

I don't know why Magnus' was the first place I thought of. Maybe because everyone else I knew I had just run from? Or maybe it was because i could just trust him?

Either way, here I was, sitting on some silly little wooden chair in front of an ugly patterned table cloth with a bunch of tarot cards sitting on them, face down, awaiting to tell my future.

"The Lovers. You are in a loving relationship." Magnus regards suggestively, with all the usual fervour in his voice, but for a hint of phoniness. Flipping over another card, Magnus continues, "This man has a strong hold on you. You feel a magnetic attraction to him that you cannot escape. Tonight will define your relationship - Oh. You hope he is your soul mate...but secrets revealed will threaten to tear you apart."

I listen with fake interest, barely taking in any of the stuff he was saying. He sounded like your general scammer on the side of the road, begging to dictate your future for a couple of bucks.

Oh if real Magnus could see himself now...

A mewling sound and the presence of a cat upon the table alerts me and I gasp in shock.

Wait...

"You don't have a cat" I frown

"I have two" Magnus corrects, reaching for the intruding party affectionately, "Chairman Meow...and Church"

Magnus glares balefully at the fluffy grey, angry-faced cat and I stifle a laugh.

"I'm not actually here for a reading" I admit, swallowing my laughter, "I know you're a warlock, Magnus."

The playful, ditzy persona drops in an instant and Magnus' face become serious...and expression I'd only seen on him a handful of times.

"I'm a...Shadowhunter" I settle, choosing not to delve into the logistics of Mundani nature. It was hard enough for people to understand me in the real world but here, where Shadowhunters have been extinct for hundreds of years? I was rarity back home let alone here...

Magnus laughs, his exuberant expression settled back in place, "There are no more Shadowhunters. Haven't been for hundreds of years."

"Look, I'm from an...alternate reality" I test, reaching for the nearest notepad and pencil and beginning to sketch the demons I had seen, "I can prove it."

"If that were true...without an anchor, you'd be assimilating into this world" Magnus notes

"Believe me" I scoff, thinking of Alec, "I am trying to fight it. Which is part of why I need your help."

I throw my rough sketches in front of him and Magnus picks them up, his face changing again into one of shock as his eyes graze the appearances of the demons no one but an inhabitant of the Shadow World could know.

"In my dimension, Shadowhunters still battle demons. And now there is something so much worse. I need your magic to help me stop it."

"I-I can't help you" Magnus stutters, dropping the sketchpad as if it were burning, "My magic's gone dormant."

"Then wake it up!" I persist.

He was my last hope.

***

"This better work" Magnus sighs, sipping from an embellished china bowl.

"What does that do again?" I question, eyeing the water-like substance doubtfully

Magnus grimaces, his face screwing up at the taste, "Hopefully...kick-start my magic."

"Well? Is it working?"

"Uh...give it a minute?"

My hands find a giant, white magical book. Flipping open to one of the pages, I spot one of the Shadowhunters runes on the browned, aged pages and I stroke it thoughtfully. I never thought I'd miss the Shadow World but I do...at least everything makes sense there.

"That book is very precious" Magnus cautions, "Warlock spells preserved in all their grandeur."

"It's gorgeous" I compliment, turning another page. The chapters and spells were all ornamented and decorated with colours and curved, antique writing.

"Ugh! This isn't working!" Magnus huffs, stalking off, "This is the longest I've ever abstained...from a lot of things."

"Maybe just try something simple?" I suggest, signalling to a lit candle, "Move that."

Magnus gives me an incredulous look but turns his gaze to the candle, raising his hand and concentrating hard on it, attempting to move it magically.

A wisp of blue smoke protrudes from thin air but vanishes just as quickly and Magnus grunts, hand falling to his side in defeat.

"Well...usually you have a bit more of a, uh..." I gesture wildly, flailing my arms in the air, "...Flourish to it."

"I do not look like that"

"You kinda do."

Magnus glowers at me, somewhat offended but tries again, this time adding the smallest of flickers to his wrist.

It doesn't work and he grunts again, dropping his hands to his sides in frustration.

"Magnus, we just have to find the Portal" I remind him

"Even if my magic was working, I'd still need an energy signature of some kind to track it."

I frown lightly, considering, my fingers hovering over the crystal necklace...the necklace! "Maybe we should try something different."

I rip it from the chain, holding it in my hand, "I don't know how this came into this dimension with me..."

"Because it's of this dimension" Magnus realises, leaning forward to study it harder, "It belongs here."

The second Magnus touches it, an electrical shock fluctuates through me and I feel the energy pulsating behind it.

"Oh. Now that's what I'm talking about. We have lift off." Magnus grins before breathing deeply, searching for the portal, "The energy is very faint. It's been dormant for a long time, like me. Let's see if we can wake it up."

"Can you see it?"

"Yes. It's in a subbasement of...Fort Knox."

"What?" I scoff, "Are you kidding me?"

"Kind of. It's not literally in Fort Knox but...it might as well be." Magnus confesses, "It's in the Institute."

"And that's a problem...why?"

"High tech, high security. Impossible to get into" Magnus lists and I scoff

"So, basically the same as in my dimension, then. But...it also happens to be the place hosting an anniversary party tonight that I helped organise."

Suddenly, a phone I didn't realise I had chirps insistently and I pull it from my back pocket

"Damn" I sigh, taking the Portal shard back, "Meet me at the Institute at 7pm at the Institute. Oh, and, uh...dress to impress."

***

"What's the emergency?!" I demand, rushing into Izzy's room. Funnily enough, she still lives at the inactive Institute. Izzy turns to me, revealing a bruised eye, "Oh, my God! What happened to you?"

"Kickboxing class" Izzy groans and I breathe a sigh of relief, having though the worst. Kickboxing class. Of course, "I thought, 'Why not? Quick class after work. And boom! Home in time to see you.'"

"Well...you got the 'boom' part right at least" I joke

"Andrea's foot, right into my face" Izzy illustrates, "She has to pick today to finally land her roundhouse?"

"It's okay, it's okay. We can fix this!" I assure her.

"Oh, God! What are people going to think!" Izzy stresses, pacing the room, "And then you and your Dad worked so hard to plan this. I just cannot not go to the party! And what am I supposed to do?"

"Hey, hey" I calm her, sitting her on the bed "We can fix this, alright? A little concealer, some foundation and you'll look good as new!"

The concept of me teaching Isabelle of all people how to apply makeup was bizarre in itself, let alone her completely out-of-control attitude.

"Okay" Izzy pants, taking yoga breaths to calm down as I move for her makeup desk, "But then we have to fix you and my brother, because the two of you not talking is really messing with my Chi."

I gape in bewilderment at the bizarre sentence but shake it off quickly, returning with some concealer and foundation.

"Are you sure about those colours?"

"Of course I am. You bought them, didn't you?"