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Chapter Text

                Alec was nervously scanning his surroundings. His eyebrows knitted as he steadily focused his gaze ahead of him. This was not his first mission, no, but it was his first mission as a leader, and failure was not an option. Now it was time to come up with a plan.

                As an artificially enhanced elite soldier for Jonathan’s Offspring human subrace, called the Nephilim, he had his duties to protect all civilians and take on dangerous missions that would be too much for common soldiers.

                Sure, he had one common soldier just like that in his team, and he could be pretty annoying.

                “Ensign Lewis! What’s your status?” Alec asked into his comm.

                “I don’t see any Daemons. All clear, Captain. Oh, and don’t tell Lieutenant Lightwood, I mean, your sister Isabelle, that I forgot my special ammo today.”

                Alec rolled his eyes in frustration and damned his luck. Ensign Lewis was a good guy, but a little unfocused at times. He could ramble on and on, especially when he was nervous, but he was professional enough on the comms. He was the only non-enhanced human in his crew, but his engineering skills were superb. Alec preferred to keep him in a good vantage point to back them up with his sniper rifle and had a great utilisation for his drone. Simon did not complain about it. He figured out his strong points after a few missions, where he did well enough to rise in ranks up to Ensign.

                “Commander Herondale?” Alec switched the comm.

                “Yeah?”

                “Can you see any civilians?”

                “Negative, Alec.”

                Alec sighed. He outranked Commander Jace Herondale, but Jace was never the perfect soldier by the book. The only thing that allowed him to keep his rank and be in the top-ranked crews was his skill. He was natural, his enhancement was flawless, it did not cause him much pain, even if he abused it, he could go to the absolute limit if needed. But Alec knew that even Jace would sooner or later reach it, and it would be a tormenting experience for him.

                “Are Lieutenant Lightwood and Ensign Fairchild with you?”

                “I confirm. Can we now go? This is getting boring.”

                “Hey! It is my first mission; we need to be careful. Just don’t go running unless I say so.”

                Alec could hear groaning on the other side of the comm and then silence.

                After a while, Alec said, “Meet me up at the coordinates. " He tapped his finger on the holographic data pad attached to his arm a few times and then closed it. He sent it to his whole team.

                It seemed that the air was clear. They were supposed to check up on the farming colony on this planet. Daemons, quite atrocious aliens, were spotted, and where Daemons were, Nephilim had to take them out.

There was a legend about planet Earth talking about it being overrun by them. Every human subrace dreamed about finding it and saving it from them. Jonathan’s Offspring were not the only race that evolved from humans. It has been many millennia since they left Earth in colossal arks. No one even remembered what ancient humans looked like, but Offspring thought of themselves as the purest. They were afraid of changes, they tried to avoid evolving their bodies, except for enhancements.

                Although feeling like this mission was easy on purpose, so that he could warm up to his new position, Alec could not help but still feel uneasy. He saw burned stones not far from the road, and a chill went up his spine. The scorched stone had a perfect shape of half a heart. As if left on purpose.

Such marks could be left only by a human subrace called in the Offspring language, Warlocks. Their biotic power was unparalleled, and life expectancy was insanely long. He still wondered how they could survive a war with such a powerful species. It ended about two decades ago, when Alec was just a little boy.

                “I still have chills whenever I meet a Warlock.” Alec thought to himself. He still could remember that particular soldier he once met on a mission. He was assigned to help his squad fight Daemons when Alec was just an Ensign; the blue biotic field was visible to the naked eye. He walked on the battlefield as some untouchable entity. The enemies were lifted in the air, smashed against the ground, and it was a terrifying experience; the memory was still burned in Alec’s vision.

But it was not just terrifying, but also elegant, precise, and mesmerising. He could not help but admire it despite fearing it. Some of them were exotic and interesting, easy to look at, some were warped, similar to what Daemons looked like. Horns, green skin, tails, wings, and some had even too many teeth.

Alec tried to stay focused on his breathing techniques, feeling the implants pumping in his body as he tried to utilise them and not use them too much yet.

He was enhanced when he was just three years old, so Alec already knew his limits properly. He learned the hard way. Overloading his implants meant a fever, blurred vision and maybe even a terrible migraine that felt like he might lose consciousness anytime. Sometimes he envied Jace for his better compatibility, but even he must have had his limits.

                Then he heard his sister’s voice on the comm. “Alec… I mean, Captain? I can see the settlement now. Should we still proceed to the coordinates?”

                “No. Send your location, Lieutenant.”

                Tapping his pad again, Alec checked their location. They were not far, Simon got their back, and he was moving towards their position behind them. Without the implants, he could not run as fast as Nephilim. It was common practice to have one support soldier on a team full of Nephilim, and for Simon, it was a great opportunity to stay with his best friend, Ensign Clary Fairchild, who got her implants just six months ago. Simon was not compatible but joined the Starfleet much sooner than Clary.

                The compatibility was usually tested when a person was three years old, and then they had to undergo the enhancement or face consequences, that was usually imprisonment until they agreed or indefinitely. Being a Nephilim was prestigious, so it rarely happened that someone declined. But as for Clary… Her mother falsified outputs because she did not want Clary to join the ranks. She hated the war, the hatred among species. She herself was a war veteran and a widow. Her husband disappeared during the war before Clary was born; she never talked about him, so Clary never knew him.

                But when Clary was twenty-one years old, she decided to join the Offspring army of her own volition and got tested again. It was positive, and she almost broke her mother’s heart when she decided on the implants.

                Alec finally arrived at the location and asked Simon to check the perimeter. A camouflaged drone flew over their heads, and Simon was getting closer to them.

                “I see a few civilians, alive, Captain. No Daemons,” Simon said.

                “Good. I hope no werewolves will be involved. Their hairy nanofibers are just too much for me to handle right now.” Isabelle said. She looked disgusted as if she was remembering something.

                Werewolves, how the Offspring called this human subrace, were rather destructive in their nature. They had a history of destroying their own planet once. Since then, they have been more cautious, but still very dangerous. Nanofibers in their skin made it almost impenetrable. Combined with a common space suit, destructive weaponry and a bad attitude most of the time, they were hot-headed killing machines.

                “Don’t worry, Izzy. Unless someone hired them for protection, the mission should be without all the unnecessary hairiness.” Clary told her.

                Isabelle chuckled. All now looked at Alec, who was deep in thought.

                “Enough with the chatter. Our mission is to sweep the area and find out about the sightings. Ensign Fairchild, Lieutenant Lightwood, check the houses on the left, the rest with me. Ask everyone about it.” Alec said and motioned with his hand for them to move.

                They both nodded and swiftly took their leave.

                The team divided and went from house to house with their helmets open. This looked like a peaceful colony. Simple, poor, but people were friendly. Their houses were made from sturdy iron plates in a rectangular shape. It could withstand even stronger sandstorms, which Alec thought should be quite common on a planet of this type. Not far from here, he could see many greenhouses, which made it possible for them to live here and take care of food for at least one city full of millions of people.

                It was as if they did not have many visitors, so they were excited about Nephilim. It felt important whenever this renowned part of the military tried to help with anything. They were usually well received by common Offspring people. But as for all other human subraces, the relationships were rather complicated. Yes, complicated, but no one was like Daemons, who knew only destruction and wanted to wipe out all humans.

                After everyone did as instructed, they rendezvoused not far from the farm.

                “Any sightings?” Jace asked.

                “I confirm, Commander Herondale. A nice lady in that house,” Simon said while pointing his finger, “saw them in a secluded area over there.” This time, pointing in the other direction. “Only one family is living there. Maybe they witnessed more.”

                “Simon, not to burst your bubble, but they will probably be dead if there was any sighting,” Jace said with a sneer.

                Alec frowned at his words, then he saw Simon go completely pale, his mouth dropping.

                “You don’t know that”, Alec said.

                Jace shook his head, sighed and started running. Everyone followed him, and after activating their suit helmets, they closed off. Leaving clearly safe area, precaution was needed.

                Alec was making sure this time that everyone kept a pace for Simon to be able to catch up with them easily. He knew that a proper scan of the area for any lingering Daemonic presence would most likely be needed.

                Whenever they appeared, a scorched ground was usually in their wake. Not unlike Warlocks, but this was far worse. It missed the elegant and spectacular part. Their weapons left just chaos.

                It had a specific smell even after many days. Alec was glad for filters in their suits. Every Nephilim was trained to endure the smell to some degree. He still remembered it from his days in the academy. When he was exposed to it for the first time, his innards were twisting, and he almost fainted. There was not a single student who did not feel at least nauseous. Whenever Warlock used their biotic power, you could feel just pure, almost pleasant static, a shiver, a small tingle starting on the back of your neck, and then it was running through your whole body. That was a huge difference.

                Simon had already sent his drone to scan the area and was walking slowly as he watched the display on his device. No one disturbed him, they were waiting for the results.

                “Presence confirmed, Captain Lightwood,” Simon said. His voice trembled slightly. It was like he was not used to it yet. Of course, he met Daemons, but his training was less intense than Nephilim’s, so he still had to gain his experience directly in the field. He was also part of a common soldier squad; he just recently asked for a different assignment, so that he could join Clary. Nephilim’s life was esteemed over everyone else's by the Admirals, which was a sad fact. No one wanted to fund a full training for common soldiers.

                “Oh no…” Clary whispered, and Alec stopped them with a sudden motion of his hand, formed in a firm fist.

                “Weapons on standby,” Alec said.

                Their weapons whizzed and beeped; lasers activated. He could feel his implants slowly pump adrenaline into his veins, preparing him for the worst without him telling them to.

                Alec went first, his steps firm and steady. Simon’s drone was flying in front of them. Then he saw the scorched ground. It was much worse than the strange mark on a rock with a half heart. Definitely a Daemonic presence.

                Suddenly, there was an explosion. A red aura of unleashed energy burst in the house and sent everyone to the ground immediately. Everyone reacted in time, and they were now lying on the ground, weapons secured, eyes glued on the place where the explosion occurred.

                When it was over, a drone was sizzling next to the road, broken and completely still.

                “My Daemonic Panda!” Simon’s voice sounded almost like whining.

                “I thought you called it Flying Insanity,” Clary said almost in reflex. Simon usually fixed his drone, but it seemed that the ridiculous names he gave it were different every time.

                “That was before…”

                “Silence. I'll go check the area. Stay here.” Alec said in a firm voice, and no one dared to move or speak, except for Jace, who at least grunted. He might have craved for action.

                When Alec came closer, he saw something floating inside when he looked through the window. A weird cube with pulsating veins of red cables was looming with its presence. Alec’s eyes darted to his arm and then back to the cube.

                “Don’t move. I see an object of unknown origin.”

                Comm was silent.

                Alec stalked closer, crouched down. Then he raised his arm, opened the holographic interface on his data pad, and tapped it a few times.

                “Admiral Lightwood, can you hear me?” He asked while scanning the cubic object and tapping it again.

                “File accepted. What is it, Captain?” a male voice in the comm from his pad asked.

                “I’m not sure. Send someone to contain it. It just exploded, we need to secure it and search for its origin. It’s probably a Daemonic artefact, but I never saw anything like this before.”

                “Acknowledged, Captain. Admiral out.”

                But then Alec peeked inside some more and saw three lifeless bodies. It was as if the life was sucked out of them. Two adults and one smaller body. Alec closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, he could feel his head starting to spin, and he needed to stop it immediately. He failed. If he had been here sooner, maybe he could have prevented it.

                Turning around, trying to chase away the image from his head, he walked back to brief the team. He knew it would send him reeling later, but now he had to make sure his team was safe. That was his priority as always, even if he was not a leader before, so he shoved the budding pang of guilt as deep as possible for now. He was not sure about his leadership, but this was something he was already used to and what he understood. Safety first, guilt later as always.

                When Alec returned, his team was curiously eyeing him.

                “What did you find?” Jace asked.

                “Weird artefact, we need to secure the perimeter and don’t let anyone come close to it, until our scientific team gets here.”

                “Yeah, makes sense,” Jace said and nodded. Then he motioned for everyone to scatter around, but no one went too far.

                It did not take long, and they could see a foreign vessel landing nearby. It did not belong to Offspring. It was clearly a Warlock space vehicle. The team immediately gathered.

                “What are they doing here?” Isabelle murmured, not too happy with their presence. Alec could feel everyone stiffen. The atmosphere changed from curious to cautious.

                But then the comm buzzed, Alec clicked it, and he could again hear his father's voice, the Admiral. “Captain Lightwood, we sent Warlock experts. They will contain it with their biotics and study it. Release it to their custody, you can now go back to the ship.”

                “Understood. Captain Lightwood out.”

                But no one wanted to go back yet. He could feel it, so he did not urge them. It was too curious, mysterious. And underneath it was like they were questioning the resolution of giving it to them for study. Sure, the war was far over, but this? They shared a mission or two, but his was a new level of cooperation. Maybe it was for the best, but it was still difficult to accept it now.

                “Alec, do you think this is a good idea?” Isabelle asked, and Alec shook his head. He did not even correct her about calling him Alec instead of his rank.

“Who am I to question the orders?” Alec thought he had a hard time shaking off the uneasiness of the view. The artefact could be dangerous in their hands.

                Meanwhile, Simon picked up his broken drone, Daemonic Panda, looking at the damage.

                “Panda will live!” Simon said, all excited, almost dancing with it in his arms.

                Alec could almost feel the soft smile on Clary’s lips. They really were close friends. Even though he took them for problematic, mostly due to their inexperience in the field, their bond was important for the team.

                Then the Warlocks landed and stepped outside. Alec’s team could see the biotic fields around them, shielding themselves from whatever the artefact was. Both were tall, one wore a helmet that was shaped to fit horns or something similar inside, the other had a suit that could easily be shaped even for Offspring. The faces could not be seen, but it seemed both were male.

                As they entered the house, Alec and his team saw the flicker of blue energy, and the artefact was now floating in the air even higher, encapsulated in a firm sphere. One of the biotics was pointing his hand at it to make it float in front of him, and as he stepped outside, he shot them a short look. Alec felt a shiver, like a small static shift, or was it something else?

                Warlock opened his helmet and frowned at them. Alec used his enhanced sight, giving the implants impulse and looked at him closer. He seemed almost human, except for cat-like eyes. His facial features were striking, enhanced even by on-point make-up.

                “Nephilim, we’ll take it from here. Surely, even you can follow such easy instructions. You should know the orders by now.”

                Jace almost blurted something ill-mannered, but Alec stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

                “Proceed. We are just checking.” Alec said.

                The Warlock smirked and closed his helmet again. Then he refocused on the artefact in front of him and continued into his vessel.

                “Ruuuude!” said Izzy once they lifted off.

                “It was. Well, nothing to see here anymore, I guess. Let’s go.” Jace said.

                The team went back to their ship. Alec was taken aback a little by the mission. It was supposed to be easy, just checking for Daemonic activity, maybe kill a few of them, but not this. Not seeing the dead civilians because they were not quick enough. Alec was not quick enough. His decisions were too slow and uncertain.

                And then the Warlocks. Yes, they were not in a war anymore, but he still heard a lot about it from all around him. But maybe they could start to trust even other human subraces? Just… not the sarcastic, arrogant Warlock. He could be gorgeous, but his attitude was atrocious. Alec hoped he would never meet him again. Oh, if he just knew how wrong he was.

Chapter Text

                Alec and his team were now back on their spacecraft, Idris. It was a huge ship with hundreds of people aboard. There were few civilians, normal soldiers and of course, Nephilim.

                With their technology, they could leave Idris in their smaller vessels to almost any known part of the galaxy. This spacecraft was just regularly stocked with everything they needed on their missions, and it was convenient to have all of it in one place. Idris also maintained communication with a place called the Citadel. It was a symbol of the fragile peace.

                It was a place where all known human subraces lived side by side, except for a race called Seelies. No one had seen them officially for many years, they were a proud and peaceful race. No one understood them; their communication was too confusing, because they were pacifists in their nature, they did not have strong offensive weapons and were enslaved by other races in the past. Then they rebelled and invented a perfect stealth technology. They were a rare sight, not trusting anyone, almost like they lived in a different galaxy or were things of the past. But if you ran a scan of the Nephilim database, their sightings would be all over the known space.

                Even if you could not find Seelies on the Citadel, there were mysterious Warlocks, resilient Werewolves and cunning Vampires. Those were all known human subraces, those were nicknames given to them by Offspring people. Since the peace with Warlocks was established, Offspring were allowed to send their diplomats and then even other people to live there.

                Alec dreamed about visiting the Citadel at least once. It was possible if he got a mission that would lead him there, otherwise, he did not think it was very likely. He wanted to see all those races to live there in peace, if you could call that with the constant bickering about who wronged whom.

                “Jace, don’t stall. We need to see our father and brief him.” Alec said as he watched him. Out of their suits and while not on a mission, they acted more like friends and brothers than soldiers. Even Alec, who took the orders maybe too literally at times.

Alec had already put his suit back where it belonged, the machine was whirring as it was decontaminating it. They had to go through the decontamination field every time they entered Idris, but this was needed for a complete cleanse.

                “I know, but I am still thinking about that biotic. He was mocking us.” Jace crossed his arms and leaned against the capsule. “We were in a war not that long ago; they could at least act like allies. Is it even wise to give them some unknown artefact?” Jace shook his head in disbelief, and Alec completely understood him.

                Alec frowned. He did not like it either, though he agreed with Jace to some extent, but at the same time, Alec saw some logic behind that decision.

                “Well, the one who kept it in that field made sure that it wouldn’t explode. I think he would be able to contain it if it did. But still… we should’ve got it first and moved it to some secluded place.” A shadow of helplessness ran across Alec’s face. The scene from the place where the artefact exploded was still firmly in his memory.

                “Hm, maybe. Maybe they could stop it or something,” Jace said as he was stuffing his suit into the cleansing machine. Alec sometimes wondered if he even cared for his equipment. He loved weapons, but other things were just that, stuff.

                They could already find the rest of the team in the briefing room. Simon looked nervous and was whispering something to Clary. Alec caught Jace’s annoyed look at the sight of it. Izzy was leaning against a chair, admiring her nails. She had them short, neat, but with red polish.

                “Finally! What took you so long?” Isabelle said that once she saw them.

                Jace shrugged, Admiral Lightwood cleared his throat, and they suddenly stood in one line as if that was a reflex. Even Simon reacted swiftly.

                “So? Anything else to report?” he asked.

                “No, sir. No other Daemonic presence than the polluted ground and the artefact. There were some casualties, though. Three civilians were killed due to the explosion of the artefact.” Alec said.

                Admiral nodded, and he seemed satisfied with the report; he did not even flinch at the mention of casualties.

                “Good. Now, your first mission was a success, Captain. You found and secured the artefact. It is now in the hands of specialists. Then we might know more, for example, if it attracts Daemons or why it exploded.”

                Admiral was watching them with a firm gaze. His stare was intense. Maybe mixed with pride? But Alec did not feel like he should be praised at all. He was a soldier, and not an ordinary one, an enhanced soldier, the one who should protect civilians.

                                                                                                   Not quick enough… Slow at decisions… Too careful…

                “Dismissed. I will call you once Warlocks know something.”

                All of them saluted and left the room.

                As they were leaving, Izzy snuck up to Alec’s side. She grabbed his arm, and her eyes sparkled with mischief.

                “So, did you ask that bartender out?” she asked, and Alec’s expression tightened.

                “Uhh… no? You know I don’t have time for things like this.”

                “Don’t lie to me! You have time! And he was definitely into you!” Izzy shook his arm, stopped in her steps and tugged him to the side. She turned him to face her.

                “Izzy, do we have to do this every time some guy looks at me?” Alec said, annoyed, and then he tried to get out of her grasp, unsuccessfully.

                “You need to relax a little. If it does not work out, it would be easy to avoid him.” Izzy held him firmly, staring at him.

                “Look, now we must wait for the result of the report about the floating cube. I need to rest; I need to train, but I don’t need any silly distractions.”

                “C’mon, a floating cube, who cares about that now? It’s not our concern anymore, Warlocks took it, remember?”

                “Very clearly.” Alec grimaced. He remembered too well. The striking cat eyes and the sneer were hard to forget.

                Izzy chuckled. “See? Then live a little, our next mission can come tomorrow, or even the day after, or maybe in a week!”

                “I know you mean well, but maybe some other time,” Alec said and finally pried himself off her grapple. He loved his sister, but sometimes she was too much. His idea of resting could not be more different from hers.

                She hesitantly waved at him as he was leaving for his cabin. He had a book on interesting Nephilim history, which he wanted to read today. Other times, he would go to a shooting range to train with his favourite weapons.

                His cabin was rather plain. It had three rooms, which he did not decorate much; everything was perfectly in its place. The only thing that stood out was a photo of him, Izzy and Jace. It was on the simple black table next to his computer, which was in the corner of the first room.

                In the left room was a double bed with simple white sheets, nothing extravagant. They were allowed to use any sheets they wanted, but this was enough for him.

                In the right one were three simple armchairs and a small coffee table. Alec usually did not need more. His cabin as a Captain was bigger than Clary's or Simon’s, and Simon once joked that it was a waste for him to have it, since he did not decorate or use up the whole space, and they should switch.

                He even had his own bathroom, which he appreciated. Even Ensigns had one, but it was not as spacious as a Captain's.

                Alec went to his computer and grabbed a data pad. He tried to distract himself with reading, but it was then that his mind started to wander back to the mission.

                Father praised him, but for what? Did he not care about the civilians? Alec did not want to become indifferent to the deaths of people like his father. Or did it bother him, but he did not let it show?

                After reading a few pages, Alec realised he was not concentrating on the text at all. Setting aside his data pad with a sigh, he changed clothes and went to the bar. He knew that he would find Jace and Izzy there, hoping the place would not be as crowded at this hour.

                “There he is! Our Captain!” Jace said loudly and beamed as he saw Alec come into the bar. It was exactly as Alec expected. Jace was sitting at the table with Izzy.

                Alec rolled his eyes but smiled. “Sure, sure. Everyone must know.” Alec said.

                As expected, many eyes darted to him, and suddenly, he was not comfortable. The room was full of low-ranked common soldiers, he also saw other Nephilim. Whenever they finished the academy, they immediately got the rank of Ensign, which was the lowest rank of officer. The only civilians here were bartenders and some technicians.

                When he was passing by the other seating, he could hear almost a whisper of one of the Nephilim, a blond-brown haired lady. “Look, daddy’s boy got promoted again…”

                It was almost as if the woman wanted Alec to hear it but pretended that she was just whispering it to her friend. Alec decided not to address it.

                “Come, sit, have a drink. I’m glad you decided to join us.” Izzy said before Alec sat comfortably next to her. “Look, the bartender is here. The one I told you about.” She then whispered and very carefully shot her gaze at him.

                Alec looked at him as well. He was handsome, sure, but Alec shook his head. He was not interested in any relationship right now. He had a lot of work as a new Captain. There was no room for anything else.

                “No, I’m here for you two, I don’t plan to meet new people.”

                On the other side of the room sat Clary with Simon. They were talking about something, and Clary was laughing. Alec wondered why they sat at a different table.

                “You’re no fun,” Jace said, and he followed Alec’s gaze to Clary and Simon. And just for a second, Alec could see on his face something like concern.

                Alec still felt tense, but as the evening continued, it got better. He was glad he decided to join his siblings. Jace was adopted into his family when Jace was twelve, but it did not matter at all. They were very close anyway.

                That evening, they were making fun of silly Warlocks' looks, hairy Werewolves, laughing at Jace’s stupid jokes, but something about Alec was different, and it seemed that Jace noticed it.

                After a few drinks and dinner, Jace decided to talk about it.

                “Hey, buddy. You seem down today. What is it?” Jace asked and gently put his hand on Alec’s arm.

                “It’s nothing.” Alec dismissed it. Jace would drop it at this point, but because Izzy was with them, it was not an option.

                “No, it’s not. Jace is right. What is it?” She asked.

                Alec was quiet, looking into his empty glass. Isabelle nudged his arm.

                “It’s… the casualties. I think it could be prevented if I was quicker. I could’ve moved the cube to an empty space or something.” He said after a while.

                Both Isabelle and Jace groaned and abruptly shifted in their seats, and Jace even slapped his forehead.

                “Not this. You would’ve died too!” Jace said, but Alec slowly shook his head, still looking into his glass.

                “Alec, things like that happen. We are soldiers, we might see things like this more often.” Izzy said, putting her hand on his.

                “You mean… since I am a Captain, I will screw up more often?”

                “No!”

                Jace sighed. “She’s right. Listen, even if they won’t tell us, which they still might, I’ll find out more about the stupid cube, and then we’ll know what detonated it. If we find something like this again, maybe we can prevent it. We knew nothing about it. How could we save them?” Jace was staring at Alec, his hands tightly clenched together.

                Alec’s gaze was empty. Maybe it was the alcohol, but the guilt seeped in deeply by now. It was different when he called the shots rather than following an order.

                Then Jace patted Alec’s back. “It wasn’t your fault, okay?”

                Alec tried not to look at him, so he turned his gaze to the other side of the room. Clary was carefully watching them now, seemingly not listening to Simon, so he averted his eyes. Maybe she resented him as a captain too, even though she was a reckless newbie who always acted before thinking. At least she finally started to listen to orders.

                “I think Alec had enough. It is time to get some sleep,” Izzy said. He must have looked miserable.

                But he agreed, they got up, and everyone headed to their cabin.

                Alec’s intercom was ringing, waking him up. He stared at it; it was eight in the morning. He was okay with having to wake up soon, the drill made sure of it, but he could not sleep well yesterday.

                He pressed the button on the intercom, and the voice of the Vice Admiral, his mother, sounded in the room. “Good morning, Alec. Warlocks are here; they made some discoveries about the artefact, and they want to brief us about it. Come to the conference room.”

                “Understood.”

                That was quick. Alec was surprised that they already knew something. How long did it take? Half a day? Maybe it could help him with his guilty conscience if he knew how to stop it next time.

                But meeting the Warlocks was exciting and unnerving at the same time. He wondered if he would meet the same ones who were in the farming colony.

                Alec wore his uniform. It was an elegant, practical and easy choice. It was an official briefing to impress the Warlocks with their discipline. Every time other human subraces were involved, it was to be expected.

                When he arrived in the conference room, he saw Vice Admiral, his mother, and Admiral, his father and two Warlocks. One of them had green skin, completely white hair and short horns. He had simple but elegant clothes. That must have been the other one, who had not shown them his face, because next to him was the one with cat eyes. Aside from those, he looked completely like any other Offspring. Except for the eccentric clothing.

                He had a purple suit with small ornaments all over it. On almost every finger was a massive ring, and he had a few golden and silver, delicate chains around his neck. His hair was styled in spikes, and he wore heavy make-up. Not even Izzy at her parties looked this wild. He had a style, everything was perfectly matched, and it stirred Alec’s curiosity despite himself, but he was still wary, remembering his sarcastic remark last time.

                It seemed like the rest of Alec’s team was not invited.

                “Look who decided to honour us with his presence. Captain Lightwood himself, I’ve heard about your deeds. Now, am I allowed to finally start with my presentation?” He said and sneered; his colleague huffed a laugh, and no one else dared to even move. Alec’s eye twitched; here it was again, but he just clenched his jaw and sat down without a word. This briefing was too important for both races.

                “Of course, mister Bane. Proceed.” Admiral Lightwood confirmed. It seemed as if he did not acknowledge his sarcastic attitude at all. The artefact must have been very rare. He even ignored that the Warlock had his legs casually thrown on the table. That ticked Alec off even more. No one cared about the etiquette when it came to Warlocks?! He dug his fingers into the table and watched in silence the presentation.

                “So, this is the scan,” Bane said, and on the screen was an almost perfect blueprint of it. At least, this was very impressive. As much as Alec hated it, he had to admit that this Warlock was probably a real expert, not just a braggart.

                “As expected, it is of Daemonic origin. If you look closely at this wire,” Bane pressed a button on his holographic data pad interface and the picture changed, “it is quite clear that it blinks when it is activated; we should avoid it in any case. I will work on a scan to find more of them. We cannot let them detonate the way it happened before. It was quite an unfortunate incident. This is not the first time we have found them; for some reason, they are not staying dormant anymore. But this piece is in excellent shape. I was able to secure a lot of data. Thank you, Captain Lightwood.” He said and looked at Alec. His gaze was professional and distant. Not even a trace of a smile.

                “Anyway. I don’t want to bore you with unnecessary details. This is the place where I would love to say goodbye and never return, but I was assigned to your crew as an external specialist. Since you already have experience with it, I will accompany you to your next mission while working on the scanner. Idris should have a place for me to work on it with enough resources.” He said that at the end, his colleague tried to hide his laugh in his sleeve, but it was still visible and audible.

                Alec’s mouth dropped. He blinked a few times. “Excuse me?”

                “Oh dear, do I have to repeat myself? I expected that Nephilim Captain wouldn’t need subtitles.”

                Alec wanted to add something, slowly boiling inside, but Admiral intervened. “That’s enough, mister Bane. We understand. It will be an honour to have you on the board. As for you, mister Fell, it was nice to meet you.” He said, but Alec saw right through him; his father was holding his hands in firm fists. He hated this even more than Alec, but the High Offspring Council probably decided on cooperation, and he had to follow their orders.

                “Now, Captain Lightwood, could you show our guest his cabin? It is cabin C35.”

                Warlock’s friend Fell was now laughing out loud, and Bane looked at him sceptically. Perhaps contemplating his life choices and cursing himself.

                “Oh, don’t worry, my friend. If anything happens, we are switching places.” Bane said to him sweetly, which made his mouth twitch, but Fell stopped laughing.

                “Sure, Magnus. We both know it won’t happen. You are too curious.” He said and courteously nodded his head, a light smile still on his face.

                Magnus sighed and rolled his eyes. At least Alec was now prepared for the inevitable, this guy was an insane storm that would make his calm life a nightmare. He would have to show him around, or maybe not. Maybe leading him to his cabin would suffice. Warlocks said their farewells and Fell left the room.

                Now that Alec had resigned himself to the fact that he would have Warlock on his missions, he tried to act professionally.

                “So, mister Bane,” he said on the way to C35 cabin, “I take it you are… an engineer? Scientist?”

                “Scientist, yes. And you are a Captain? So that means you will lead us to the next mission? Well, I’m not used to your formalities. I like to think of myself as a freewheeling expert. I choose my missions, and I act on my gut.”

                “A mercenary then?” Alec said, knowing he walked on the thin ice. He acted like a civilian, even though Alec did not doubt that he had devastating biotic powers, as many Warlocks had.

                Magnus shot him a cold stare. “No. Just a specialist, Captain Lightwood.” He spat his rank and name like it was something unpleasant he had to deal with.

                Alec took a deep breath. Then he stopped talking for a while. He was not sure how he would be able to operate with him on the team. He just had his first mission as a Captain, and right after it, he was burdened by this unstable element.

                “Captain, there are too many Lightwoods, I take it that it is because of your Nephilim compatibility with the implants, and thus, you all have high ranks. It is rather confusing. What is your name?” Magnus said after some time that felt like infinity. But it seemed he did not sound judgmental. Alec expected the usual accusations, but they did not come, as if Bane saw patterns, not politics, and he was not accusing him of nepotism, which was oddly disarming.

                “Alec Lightwood. My father is Robert Lightwood.” Alec said simply. He was not sure how he liked the fact that this person had already done a thorough study on them, and he already understood so much in such a short time. His mind was brilliant, but he could be dangerous.

                “Alexander, I see.”

                And that was all. Alec did not want to talk anymore, and Magnus seemed that he was not going to either. No wonder, he was the sole Warlock on the whole ship! But maybe he would not be on the ship for too long. He could just gather the data he needed for his study and be on his way.

                They stood in front of C35, and Alec motioned with his hand to his cabin.

                “Your room. If you need anything, feel free to contact me, mister Bane. Here is my contact. If I am not in my cabin, you can contact me directly.” Alec said and tapped a few times on his data pad. Magnus raised his own and accepted it. Then he nodded and went inside.

                Alec was curious about his cabin; he wanted to see all the scientific equipment but decided not to even peek inside. Maybe next time, if he stayed on his team long enough. Magnus closed the door.

                And that was it. He needed to let Izzy know and the rest of his team, because he knew they would have mixed feelings too. So, after Magnus closed the door, he immediately took out his data pad and wrote a message to Jace and Izzy. He decided to inform Clary with Simon later, he was not in the mood for them right now. Well, when was he ever?

                It was already past nine in the morning, so both were awake. They decided to meet up in Izzy’s room because it was in the middle.

                Her room had decent, elegant decoration, unlike Alec’s. Everyone could tell right away that the room belonged most likely to a lady due to a floral motif. She proudly displayed some of her favourite weapons. The same could be found in her locker room before a mission, but she wanted them here as well. The ship could be under attack, who knows? Alec had them carefully stashed but had a similar mentality about it.

                She also had three rooms, but they were smaller than Alec’s. It had almost the same organisation, so in the right room was something like a living room.

                “Okay, Alec, so what was the briefing you wanted to tell us about?” Jace asked when he sprawled across Isabelle’s couch.

                Both were holding their gaze on Alec, nervous with anticipation, because his message looked rather urgent.

                “Well… how to begin. We will have an addition to our team.” Alec said.

                “How’s that possible? The team is usually four Nephilim, one common soldier as a support, and that’s it. Not many exceptions.” Isabelle asked.

                Alec nervously licked his lips, and then he answered. “We got ourselves a scientist who is also biotic.”

                Jace’s eyes went wide, and he tapped the table with his hand. “No way. Which one? The asshole or the other?”

               Alec sighed and turned his gaze to the ceiling. “Well, you can guess.”

               “The asshole!” Izzy exclaimed, and Alec nodded. “For how long?”

               “Until he gets enough data for his research. But… he seemed like an expert; he knows what he is doing. I think…”

               “You think?! No way, Alec, don’t defend him. I bet he was arrogant even on the briefing, am I right?!” Jace prodded and shot a glance at Isabelle.

               “Yes. It was terrible! He even had his legs on the table in the command centre, can you imagine? And no one said a word!” Alec finally snapped. He was holding it in, he did not want to be seen as a xenophobe, because that Warlock should now be part of his team. The anger rose whenever he remembered his cheekiness.

               “There you go! Well? And? What did he tell you about the cube?”

               “Nothing much. He said that he needs more scans and that he will be able to track them later. He also said that he can prevent the detonation if he finds them in time. Then… he did not want to say much, I don’t even know why I had to see the presentation.” Then Alec’s tone changed into mocking. “I don’t want to bore you with details. He said.”

               Izzy chuckled at the tone and nodded. “Sure, he is hiding something. Or… maybe he will tell us more when we are on the actual mission? I think we should be careful, it is Warlock, even if appointed by our superiors. I can imagine father wasn’t too happy about it either, right?”

               “Yes, it couldn’t be his idea to get him as a specialist. A freewheeling expert, he said. Just a common mercenary, nothing else.”

               Everyone agreed. They shortly let Simon and Clary know, so that they would not be surprised. No one talked about it anymore, but they all knew. Their next mission would be very different from what they were used to.

Chapter Text

                Alec never thought he was a leader material, and now here he was. He was promoted to Captain, and he was not even sure why. He always thought that maybe Izzy or Jace would get it. And what was worse, his first mission felt like a failure.

                He was the first Nephilim Captain with a Warlock on his team. Temporarily, sure, but he was there.

                When he was told that he had received the promotion, he even contemplated refusing it. It did not suit him; he was not enough. At least, that is what he kept telling himself. His parents expected so much from him that the pressure was overwhelming. Sometimes, he delivered, protected people, and was content, but other times, it was like doing something for someone else. He was not even sure anymore what he expected from life, so he fell into a routine of focusing only on work, his family and ignoring everything else.

                He was glad for his sister; she was his beacon of hope when he was unsure what to do. Sometimes he felt like he was lacking something and had no idea what it was, but she could help tone down the voices.

                She was the first to know that he liked men. It was completely normal, but it was still expected to at least donate genetic material to people who wanted a Nephilim baby, or if you were a woman, have at least one baby through IVF.

                The families went through a rigorous selection procedure, and not just anyone could get the baby. Alec was dreading the moment his parents or the High Offspring council would demand it from him. He hated the idea of having a child and not knowing it, and that strangers would take care of it.

                She was also there when his implants overloaded strongly as never before, and he was unconscious for many days, sitting next to his bed. They were different as ice and fire, but their bond was strong.

                Now he was staying in their armoury, checking on weapons, preparing yet for another mission. The orders for it came a few days after Magnus officially joined them.

                “Hello, Captain, I hope you’re in a good state of mind for our next mission. I would say it’s crucial.” Alec heard behind his back, and he turned around to catch Magnus’ gaze.

                “I hope you’re not undermining my authority, mister Bane,” Alec said. He was definitely not in a good state of mind. Not this time.

                “No, I’m not. You know… Right now, I just wonder how old you are, Captain.”

                It came out of nowhere, and suddenly, Jace barged in. “He is capable enough. I saw him in action, you know nothing about him.”

                Alec smiled softly; he was glad that Jace had interrupted. Magnus scoffed, shrugged, and then he went to pick up his battle suit.

                “I am twenty-three, just for your information,” Alec said, and he could see the curious look Magnus shot him, maybe even a barely visible smile. He said nothing.

                When they arrived with their shuttle on the planet, everyone checked their equipment again. Magnus tested his biotic powers as if he was checking his weapon; Alec was almost sure he was just showing off. Magnus also had a small pistol attached to his side. It made sense; he could get exhausted, and it could save his life.

                “Everyone ready? Mister Bane, is your scanner prepared already?” Alec asked.

                He heard ready from everyone, but Magnus.

                “Yes, I just need to test it in the field. I already had a prototype before I got the data from your last mission. I’ll send you coordinates later, but I already noticed Daemonic activity. They may be protecting it, I guess they don’t have better things to do.”

                “Wow, Magnus, you must know a lot about it already!” Clary said. The siblings exchanged looks. Were they on a first-name basis? Simon did not look confused at all.

                “That I do, my dear. I know you’ll do a great job today.” Magnus said.

                When did they get so close? It was just a few days.

                “Please, Ensign Fairchild. Stick to the protocol, we’re on a mission.” Alec interrupted sharply and then told them his plan.

                It seemed the plan was almost the same as in the mission before. Simon backing them up, Jace in front, checking the perimeter, Clary and Izzy right behind him, Alec with a sniper rifle in the back. With his enhancements, he liked it the best; his hand was steady, and he had a keen eye, but unlike Simon, he switched between the weapons more often. He also favoured assault rifles. They were mid-range and could do a lot of damage, spraying the enemies with bullets at closer range and being slower but accurate enough from longer range.

                But… what to do with Magnus? He did not even know all his abilities, and he was not exactly willing to chat about it. So, Magnus just stuck with him.

                “Commander Herondale, any contact yet?”

                “Negative.”

                “Ensign Lewis?”

                “None.”

                But then suddenly, he could hear unnatural buzzing sounds through the comm, which only Daemons could do. The species was a mystery. Whenever they died, their bodies just vanished, and Alec was not even sure if they were organic or synthetic. They could not dissect them.

                “Daemons!” Alec could hear Clary’s voice.

                He sped up, his implants suddenly burned in his muscles as they pushed his body beyond the normal Offspring speed. If he just looked behind, he could see that it actually impressed Magnus, even though he must have seen his fair share of Nephilim in action. But Alec did not look, no. He was rushing to help his teammates.

                There were several Daemons when he arrived at the place. The grotesque inhuman shapes always made him flinch. He was again glad that he could not smell their stench.

                "Scatter and then hold the formation!” Alec said, and Jace was already hidden behind a barricade, he shot a few times out of his shotgun and then hid again. His timing was perfect; the enemy could not hit him, as if he exactly knew when the enemy would start shooting again.

                Some Daemons had the shape of humans with distorted faces and bodies, and could fire a weapon like this one, but at other times they were like wild animals, charging at them with their maws open.

                “Fairchild, left! Lightwood, right!” Alec gave more orders, and they both immediately listened, sliding into shelter behind some rubble. Simon knew his position was just backing them up, and he was okay with it. He was being patient; he knew his moment would come while carefully operating his drone.

                “How about me, Captain?”

                Magnus. Alec would forget about him. It was almost like he was teasing him, because he had no idea how to utilise him.

                “You did not share with me your abilities yet, mister Bane.”

                Magnus chuckled, and then he charged by himself. A blue field around his body started to glow, and suddenly, he threw his arm in the air, and one of the Daemons flew back, leaving just a faint static of blue sparks all around. Jace and Izzy from the other side shot it a few times as it was lying helplessly on the ground, and its body disappeared, making a way for Clary.

                “Clary, now!” Magnus said suddenly.

                Clary nodded and rushed to the front. Her implants must have been used at maximum because the speed was too high even for a Nephilim.

                As she rammed into one of the Daemons, it fell back and started to wave its weird hands, dropping the weapon.

                “Yes!” They could hear her whisper in the comm. She shot it, and it was gone.

                “Ensign! Don’t act without order!” Alec yelled into the comm. He was suddenly worried. What was that? Did she… listen to Magnus? And… ignored Alec?

                “You never let me do anything!” She said, and… it was true. He always held her back, even before he was Captain. Alec was worried about her later enhancement; he was worried that she did not have it under control yet. And he was not alone. Their previous leader listened to Alec’s advice a lot, and they agreed on this.

                Suddenly, Simon’s drone buzzed around their heads. It was circling the sky and then diving in, shooting at Daemon, who was furthest.

                “Three on the left, one on the right.” Alec could hear Simon in the comm.

                Before Alec could say anything, any order, or assess the situation, Magnus charged in with Clary behind him.

                “Stop! Both of you!” Alec shouted in the comm desperately, but they did not. Magnus swept three demons on the way with a wave of blue light, and Clary took them down with her assault rifle in one swift dose of bullets.

                Alec was in shock; the last Daemon pointed its gun at Clary, but Alec acted before it could hurt her. With his sniper rifle, he shot it right in the head, making it disappear.

                “Impressive shot, Captain,” Magnus said, quite pleased with himself, but Alec was furious.

                “It was dangerous! How can you risk like that?! The Daemon could shoot Ensign Fairchild down!” Alec’s breath was quick, his hands trembled, and his voice betrayed him. Yes, he saved her, but he did not have to if they had just listened!

                “Well, but it didn’t. That is why we’re a team, no?” Clary said.

                “Calm down, Alec, it worked. They’re all down.” That was Jace. It surprised Alec; was he now on Magnus’ side? Or was it because of Clary? Alec sighed resignedly.

                “This is a bad joke. Ensign Lewis, scout ahead, mister Bane, let us know the artefact’s location. You said you have it.”

                Magnus snickered and tapped his data pad. They all got the location, and this time, Alec went first.

                “It is activated, that is why my scanner could catch it, but I am not sure how much time before the detonation. Let’s go!” Magnus said. He was holding some information. He might have trusted him as much as Alec trusted Magnus, so that meant not much. Why did he not say that they are in a hurry at least?

                “Kitty of Doom, let’s go!” They could hear Simon as he sent his drone forward.

                “Really, Simon? A new insane name?” Isabelle said, but she was amused.

                They were now pushing their implants beyond the limit. Magnus was running next to them, sometimes hovering just barely above the ground, when he tried to catch up to them, the blue biotic aura shining around him. Simon was behind, but still managed to keep up with them for some time.

                They were close, the data pad was beeping, and then they were able to see the sole cube floating just a few centimetres above the ground. This time, it moved slowly, as if looking for something.

                “Stay here!” Magnus exclaimed and rushed in. Everyone listened, and Alec was wondering how Magnus got this much respect in such a short time. He said nothing, just waited for the situation to unfold with bated breath.

                Magnus confined the cube in his biotic field, and then he sat down next to it, carefully removing the lid on one side, as he touched the inside of it, breaching his own field. The cube shuddered, the wires blinked, and then it fell as if it had been turned off. Magnus’ hands glowed for a few seconds, and they trembled. With his implants, Alec could see it quite clearly.

                Then Magnus’ breath was erratic, and he clenched his fists. He was studying his hands, frowning, his eyes darting from one hand to the other. When he noticed that they were closely watching him, he beamed.

                “It is done! I deactivated it. Well, you work quite well, Nephilim, and Seamus.”

                “It’s Simon.”

                Magnus huffed out a laugh and got up. With one elegant movement, the deactivated cube got up. Alec could feel the tingle of the biotic energy floating in the air now that he was not in the heat of the battle. The small shiver on the back of his neck was almost pleasant. Alec took a deep breath, trying to chase away the feeling. He wondered how others felt about it, but he did not dare to ask.

                “Well, I should get a lot of data out of this one. And as for you,” he said and looked at Simon, “I think we should upgrade your Kitty of Doom. I can put the software I developed into it, and you’ll be able to scan for the artefact by yourself. With your flying drone, it’ll be more efficient.”

                “Thanks, Magnus!” Simon said, sounding sincerely grateful. Magnus only smiled, but he did not look at Simon. His eyes darted to Alec for a second. Was he trying to impress him, or did he have an ulterior motive? Like… stealing the leadership or something completely different?

                Alec knew that this made Simon’s day, and he noticed that Isabelle had a fond smile on her face. Now they would need Simon on every mission; without his drone and scanner, they could not find and secure the artefact in time. Another Magnus’ gift. Either way, Alec felt like losing ground under his feet. Whether he liked it or not, he had a rival, and he was not sure if they were even competing for something.

                For Magnus not falling directly under Nephilim jurisdiction, he had his hands completely free. And the way he was able to shut down the artefact, Alec knew they needed him.

                “Time to go,” Alec said, tapping the holographic interface on his data pad, locating their vessel. They made their way back to the shuttle. Simon then sat behind the ship's control panel, and they lifted off.

                After arriving back, Alec did not speak the whole time. He could feel the concerned stares of his teammates on his back, but he did not want to talk at all. He had to gather his thoughts before speaking to them.

                He locked himself up in his cabin and put the intercom in a silent mode, he laid on the bed. His thoughts were running at the speed of light. Just because he was the responsible one, he was made a Captain instead of Jace. He knew that. It could not be his qualities, quick thinking or strength, because he lacked that.

                And then there was Magnus. Enigmatic, cheeky and charismatic. People were circling him like he was the centre of the galaxy. Alec found himself jealous of it, and he hated himself even more for being drawn to him like everyone else was. Wary, because he was a Warlock, but attracted as a hypothermic person to a heat. He got so friendly with everyone in such a short time, or at least they tolerated him.

                Alec closed his eyes and suddenly saw Magnus’ cat eyes. His cold gaze and then the subtle smile as if he was challenging him. But… what was the challenge? Was it a challenge? What did it mean? Why did he look at him like that?

                Alec could just not get over the chaos he brought to this mission. Alec was the one responsible for their safety. He should have control over what was happening on the battlefield, but it was taken away from him. Abruptly and painfully, before he could even get used to his new role in the Starfleet.

                He snuggled the pillow in his arms and stared into the void. He was confused. He was not even sure how he felt about this situation.

                Alec felt endangered by him, but not because of his powers, but because of the confusion he stirred inside of him. It made him feel different, maybe even alive. Like he was woken up from a lethargy that lasted many years. And he was afraid of this new feeling. So, he decided that he was mad at Magnus; mad because of the chaos he started, it was an easy feeling, and he knew it well. Anger was easy.

                And then he saw a flashing light on the silent intercom. Even though he did not want to see or hear anybody now, he went to it anyway.

                “Hi, Alec,” it was his sister. “Are you okay? I was worried about you after the mission; you wouldn’t even speak to us.”

                “I’m fine,” Alec said. Izzy did not stop him before because she knew he needed some space; otherwise, he might snap at them, and it would not solve anything anyway. He knew it, he knew that she knew him that well.

                “No, you’re not. Listen, Clary is safe, and she needs combat experience. I agree with Bane on this. If it bothers you, you should talk to him. We need to cooperate, and it seems he won’t be gone for some time. At least try to tolerate him. Please.”

                “You… agree with him?!” Alec was taken aback.

                “Kinda, yeah. Alec, you’re a great leader. You are clever, bold, everything we need, but… Don’t risk just your life; everyone has a role on our team. The first time we saw the artefact, you could’ve died if you had gone there sooner!”

                Alec was silent. She was right, and he hated it.

                “Okay? You were a great choice as a Captain, it takes time until you make yourself comfortable in it.”

                “Okay…” Alec said, and Izzy sighed.

                “Well, if you want some drinks, let me know.”

                “Sure, have a good night, Izzy.”

                “Night, night.” She chimed, and the intercom went silent.

                Alec groaned and brushed his hair with his fingers. It was getting late, and the clock on the wall showed that it was almost ten in the evening. He ordered a late dinner through the intercom. Another special treatment Nephilim got.

                After the dinner, he took a quick shower and went to sleep immediately. He was drained, physically and emotionally, and he knew he must face Magnus tomorrow. He couldn’t let him destroy his perfectly built stable space; staying dormant was perfect for him. Focused on the work, following orders, not caring about anything else, without interruptions.

                The morning after, Alec was awake too soon. When he opened his eyes, still half asleep, he checked the time and could not fall asleep again. He was nervous. He knew that he must speak to Magnus about the need for the next mission to go smoothly. He had to convince him to cooperate, to listen to him. Their life could be in danger if he did something reckless again. Encouraging Clary was one of these things.

                After taking a long shower again to compose his mind and having breakfast, he used the intercom to call into Magnus’ cabin. It was already past eight in the morning, so Alec hoped he would be awake already.

                “Captain? Who do I owe the pleasure?” Magnus said, instead of a simple greeting. Of course, he saw who was calling on the display.

                “Uhh… I need to talk to you about the mission. Are you free?”

                There was a silence on the other side. “Well, maybe not a pleasure, more like work…” Magnus muttered after a while, and then his voice was clearer. “Okay, you can come here right now.”

                “On my way.”  He was now thinking about that barely audible sentence about work and pleasure. Was he making fun of him? Staying mad seemed like the best solution instead of thinking about it, and it worked.

                And so, he would see his cabin. Maybe even the scientific equipment he wanted to see before. The curiosity was thrumming inside of him, and it was again too complicated feeling to think about, so he chose not to.

                As he was standing in front of his door, he took a deep breath, and his hand slightly trembled. Then he pressed the button on the side to let him know he arrived.

                Magnus opened the door almost immediately. He beamed, but Alec was almost sure it was just a fake smile he gave to everyone, because something was off.

                He again had eccentric clothes, heavy makeup, some jewellery and this time he noticed that his nails were painted black. Hair styled into spikes; it started to become familiar to Alec. He wondered how he could combine so many things at once and still look this stylish.

                “Come inside. I already talked to Clary yesterday. She said you’re a good Captain and that we must find a way to cooperate. We both know that we have no choice, so let’s work on this.”

                Alec nodded and went inside. Alec did not care much for Clary, but she was still in his crew, so he had to take care of her, too. It was hard sometimes with her stubbornness and the desire to jump into action, but he did his best. It started to work; she listened to their previous Captain, finally, until Magnus came and woke it up in her again.

                The cabin was as spacious as Alec’s. He tried to hide his curiosity and subtly looked around. In just a few days, his cabin was already decorated. Some things looked like artefacts; there were many data pads all around the tables, with random articles on the displays. Some were news, and others were just random facts about different topics or scientific studies. Magnus was just as chaotic in his hobbies as on the outside, it seemed.

                There were bowls full of jewellery and accessories. The room was not exactly messy; it was more like a work in progress, but with many different projects at once. He wondered about the scientific equipment, but he could only catch a glimpse of it because it was in the next room.

                “Feel free to sit anywhere, Captain Lightwood,” Magnus said.

                Alec looked around, and then he saw a couch and a table with an empty glass and a half-full bottle next to it. Magnus enjoyed a drink or two, it seemed.

                “Drinking this early in the morning?” Alec asked and raised his eyebrows, but Magnus shrugged.

                “Not really, I didn’t have time to clean it yet. I had just a nightcap yesterday.” He said and then sat next to Alec. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

                “The mission. What did that mean? You were completely overriding my orders. You made fun of my command. Am I that incompetent to you?” Alec was direct; he did not like to beat around the bush. Also, there was no need to stay here longer than necessary.

                Magnus looked surprised at a display of such straightforwardness, not angry, just surprised, then he sighed. He looked like he regretted it. “Look, Clary needs experience. You won’t let her. Don’t worry about her, she’s strong.”

                “Okay? So, throwing her in danger should solve it?”

                “I knew you covered for her. I saw you.”

                Alec frowned, thinking for a while. “So… you trusted me that I would know what to do?”

                “Yes, you are capable, just… strained, you need to stop worrying so much. Your team is strong. Look at them. Isabelle is nimble and precise, Jace’s aim is perfect, Clary is strong and quick and Simon? He can now scout anything for you and have your back. As for you, I saw you are a great sniper and proficient with an assault rifle.”

                Alec did not expect this. So, Magnus assessed them in one mission. But what was scary, he was quite right.

                “Think about it. Some missions need quick wit, and you have it, you just keep holding it back.”

                Alec heard it from Jace and Izzy all the time, but this was different. Almost a stranger told him the same.

                “And you know this, because…?”

                “Look, before I took this mission, I read your files. I wanted to make sure that I wanted to take this risk, I always choose my projects, remember? I didn’t want to end up with some aggressive Nephilim that would endanger me. I value my life, thank you very much. But just me on a ship full of Offspring, which Warlock in their right mind would do that?”

                Alec laughed and looked at him. “You, apparently. You seem to be… open-minded enough.”

                Magnus smiled back, and this time it was not the fake smile he greeted him with. It went directly to his eyes, and the cat-like eyes sparkled. “Well, thank you. Think of me as an external expert; I can help. Is there anything else?”

                “Yes, you must listen to me more, mister Bane. Next time, don’t send others against my orders. I’m responsible for your lives.”

                Magnus sighed as if he was not sure Alec understood anything. That was yet to be seen.

                “I’ll try but listen. If it gets dangerous, I’ll act on my gut.” His voice was suddenly sharp again, and he locked his gaze with Alec’s.

                They could make some progress, but to Alec, it was not enough. At least Magnus agreed that he would try to cooperate more, and Alec decided to let Clary get the experience she needed.

                Alec got up and went outside. At the door, he took a last glance at Magnus. Something about him was just so exotic, enigmatic, that he was unable to tear his eyes off, so, to cover his staring, he awkwardly said.

                “Uhh… see you on the mission?”

                When he realised what he said, he felt just the tiniest blush rising to his cheeks. That was not exactly what he wanted to say; it sounded rather stupid. That made it even worse, and Alec could feel the anger again, but this time pointed at himself.

                Surprisingly, Magnus laughed, sincerely. “Of course, mission. Visit me anytime, Captain Lightwood.”

                Alec briefly smiled, relieved Magnus did not pick up on it, and then he was on his way. Maybe the next mission would be less straining, and it would go smoothly.

Chapter Text

                That day, Alec decided that there must have been a way to get rid of Magnus. Maybe… they could get a different Warlock, someone who was not so… Magnus. Alec had no better words for describing him. The more he thought about him, the more anxious he felt. And the worst thing was that it was like he was the only thing on his mind lately, even though it was not entirely true.

                He checked the Admiral’s schedule and appointed a meeting in a few hours. Perhaps he felt a little calmer after talking to Magnus, but it was still not enough. Acting on his gut if things went sideways? No, that was not Alec’s way. It made him nervous to the point that he planned this desperate meeting. He needed to feel in control again.

                When he was headed for the shooting range, he met Simon with Izzy. It made him curious because they usually did not spend that much time together. Simon had Kitty of Doom in his arms.

                “Hey! Out this early? That’s not like you, Izzy,” he teased her with a subtle smile on his lips. Isabelle flinched, and Simon’s eyes nervously darted around.

                “Well, I wanted to stretch my legs. I needed some exercise, and then I met Simon. He was promised a drone upgrade from Magnus.”

                Why were they nervous before? This was completely normal; they were a team, should they ignore each other in the corridors? That would be just silly.

                Simon enthusiastically nodded. “Exactly. I was just headed that way. Magnus is awesome, isn’t he? He might look funny, but Clary and I had a great time with him. It was like he already knew her or something.”

                Alec frowned; Magnus did not look funny. A different, eccentric, sure, but not funny. “Isn’t it weird?” How could he know her? It did not make sense. Also, he decided not to talk about his future meeting with Admiral Lightwood. Not now.

                “Maybe… but he’s brilliant. I never met someone so full of energy. Man, I was afraid of Warlock on our team, but he’s cool. They were already headed for the artefact that blew up before us, did you know that? His scanner wasn’t so advanced yet, but it already worked to some degree. Maybe I can learn from him a thing or two.”

                Isabelle softly smiled at Alec. “He’s not so bad. Did you talk to him yet?”

                “I did…” Alec said, avoiding their looks, suddenly feeling guilty about what he was about to do. He hated it when Simon was this lively. Alec had no idea Simon had already got that friendly with Magnus. This brought him a new perspective, and now he faltered in his decision. “We’ll… work on it. Hopefully, the next mission will be better.”

                “Great! Well, I’m on my way to Magnus. Have a nice day, Captain, Isabelle,” Simon said and shifted the drone in his arms. It seemed that it was not that heavy, but it was quite large. Simon’s chest was completely hidden behind it. It had little legs and two wings with fans full of blinking lights that were lit when it was flying, pointed to the ground. When Alec saw it this close, it was almost like it had a face. He understood why Simon was so fond of it. It was a cute and useful thing.

                After Alec arrived at the shooting range, the meeting with his father was getting closer. Suddenly, he was unsure if he wanted to ask for a different Warlock than Magnus. What even made him make such a rash decision?

                He took a simple pistol, the laser buzzed, and he inserted cryo ammo, feeling the cold in his fingers while loading it.

                Alec slowly aimed, activating his implants for better sight and hit the target perfectly.

                Chaos.

                Another perfect shot.

                Confusion.

                He sent the rest of the bullets into the target with vigour.

                Shame.

                The shame lingered, stronger than the rest. A shame he wanted to act behind the back of his team. Not even letting them know. This was not like him. Magnus made him do stupid decisions; this must stop, and getting rid of him was not a solution. He realised he was not being rational.

                This time, he inserted incendiary rounds. The warmth in it calmed him. He felt it, this storm gathering inside of him, slowly subduing.

                Letting out a full stack of the ammo into the target, he felt at ease. He put down his weapon, clicked a few times on his pad and cancelled the meeting. He could not do it, not anymore. The team got warmed up to Magnus, and his personal confused feelings should not get in the way of his work. Also… he suddenly was not sure he wanted to get rid of him anymore.

                They would work together; he was a leader, and a leader used the strengths of his team, a leader should not run away from his team, and he was now part of his team. He would utilise him. They needed his expertise; it was a stupid idea to begin with. Cancelling the meeting was the right thing to do.

                Another mission was assigned to them the next day. To Alec’s surprise, it was Magnus who told him about it. Alec’s data pad beeped when he was on his way to the cabin.

                “Captain?”

                “Go on.”

                “I suggest gathering your team, my scanner caught yet another artefact activity.”

                Alec caught that. His team. So, Magnus did not try to steal the team, which made him feel even more guilty about his former rash decision. Or he was too cunning… No, Alec knew he should start to trust him. There was a new mission, and his personal views should not get in the way.

                “Sure, let’s meet at the armoury,” Alec said and called the rest of the crew. After getting confirmation from everyone, he rushed to prepare for the mission.

                They arrived at the planet as soon as they could. Alec was trying to estimate the morale. They knew the things between him and Magnus were turbulent, because he could feel their gaze now and then darting between him and Magnus.

                Simon landed their shuttle, and the zeal from using his upgraded drone was visible. “Perfect, this is perfect,” he was muttering. “Lord Montgomery is ready for action, sending him en route.”

                Alec could hear Isabelle and Clary laughing, and he had to admit that the corners of his mouth also twitched. Another day, another silly name for his drone.

                “Lord Montgomery? What is that? Should I meet him?” Izzy said, still chuckling.

                “Definitely, Lieutenant. One day, you must meet him. I will make sure of it.” Simon answered, and then Alec gave another order.

                “Let’s go!” Alec said, and everyone followed the drone. It was beeping every few seconds, the lights blinking, and Simon ran behind them, operating it.

                “We’re getting close, but the area is populated,” Simon said suddenly. His voice faltered, which could mean only one thing. Civilians.

                This planet was full of lush greenery, as far as the eye could see. Trees, grass, even colourful flowers. It was a small paradise. No wonder it was populated. Were the circumstances different, this planet, Eletania, would make for a nice offshore leave. It was one of the Offspring colonies.

                “We must be swift, I don’t like this,” Magnus suddenly said and encouraged them to quicken the pace. It was like he finally shared everything he knew, unlike last time.

                Everyone gave an impulse to their implants, and even Simon sped up. “Don’t worry about me, Lord Montgomery has a long range now that I upgraded it. I’ll back you up and provide you with data,” he said.

                No one said a word, and they rushed into the area.

                “Careful, I sense a Daemonic presence, also… biotic? It seems there’s a Warlock.” Simon said into the comm, he started to pant, but he still tried to keep up the pace to some degree.

                “Warlock?” Alec asked.

                “That’s not me. I’m too spectacular; you couldn’t miss it.” Magnus said, and Alec subtly smiled. It was like he finally got at peace with him being on his team, and he finally noticed his better traits.

                But Alec was concerned. If there was a Warlock, someone Magnus didn’t know about, he could do anything. Maybe even detonate the artefact and kill civilians. Alec at least trusted that Magnus wanted to stop the artefacts as much as Offspring did.

                He looked at Clary, who was pushing herself today, and he was worried. Her implants had not completely overloaded even once since she got them, and Alec knew she would find her limits one day. She had to go through an intense program for later enhanced Nephilim, forced to get the basics of everything in such a short time.

                Alec hoped that they would not overload under his command, but from his experience, it was inevitable. Everyone had to go through it sooner or later. Then they would notice the signs of it coming, but Alec knew it was hard if you did not know what that felt like.

                But if there was a hostile Warlock… he should break his promise and not throw her into the action today.

                “Ensign Lewis, how far is it?”

                They still could see the drone clearly; Nephilim's speed was unmatched.

                “You are almost there, it seems it is between those houses, oh no!”

                “Breathe, Ensign. If you need, stay there. We’ll take care of it.” Alec said, and his implants accelerated his speed even more. He could feel the burning; his spine sent the heat to his whole body, muscles reacted. Jace did the same thing, and then they saw him.

                A tall human figure was standing in the middle of the houses, and on the side, Alec saw scorched stone, with half a heart etched in it. So, it seemed it was his work.

                “Take cover, let’s observe first,” Alec said.

                “I don’t think it’s a good idea. We should stop him.” Alec heard Magnus say.

                “Do you know him?”

                “So, you think that since we’re both Warlocks, we should know each other. Do you know every Offspring?”

                Alec went silent, it really was a silly question.

                Then, the human turned to them, his helmet was opened, and he smiled. He spread his arms wide in a dramatic gesture. He must have noticed them. The Warlock had white hair and purple eyes. He was one of those easy to look at.

                “Nephilim! Finally! I waited for you! I need to show you something!”

                And then, they saw a red blast, the same one they saw in the farming colony. The cube appeared, and it was like there was a tear in the space. Suddenly, a huge space vessel was on its way to them.

                “There you go, you need a company. You know… You never understood love! You never did, so did our race! Well, I found myself new allies. They understand it better than you!”

                The Warlock took the cube that was now floating in his biotic field, and the cube was coming closer and closer to him, and before Alec and the team could stop him, Daemons started to drop down from their vessel. Some were even flying; it was a whole horde. But no civilian was screaming; it was all too quiet around.

                “See you never,” Warlock said and was on his way to a small space vessel of his own, taking the artefact with him.

                And then all hell broke loose. Everyone hid behind a wall or some rubble they found, and they tried to hit the incoming horde of Daemons.

                “Fairchild! Don’t overload your implants!” Alec warned her as he focused his shooting. He took down a few Daemons, but it was still not enough.

                “Lewis, send your drone, but you, personally, don’t engage, I repeat, don’t engage!” Another order from Alec.

                “We’ll need them, Captain,” Magnus muttered, but Alec did not agree. At least Simon listened. Clary… not so much. He already saw that she was using improved sight, breathing, and speed, all almost at maximum. That could not end well.

                “Sweep them from the left, Bane, with me!”

                And to Alec’s surprise, Magnus followed him. But there were too many Daemons. Alec planned to push them from the right and hoping to distract them enough for the rest of the team to hit them more easily.

                Then Alec moved his hand to point at the Daemons, and Magnus nodded. Biotic field around him shined with a blue light, and in a swift movement, he hit two of them; they were now floating in the air, unable to move. Alec shot them down. He grinned. If this was not so dangerous, he would have almost had fun.

                But then he noticed that another vessel was getting close.

                “Jace! Take Izzy and backup Lewis! There’s another vessel, it’s coming closer to his position, he’ll need it!” Alec dropped the leader's speech a bit by bit. He was so stressed, and this was way quicker.

                “Roger!” Jace said and started to run with Isabelle by his side. Simon could be in danger.

                The minutes dragged on, but Alec already knew they were getting overrun. He hated it, but it seemed he could make just one decision that would save them.

                “Take Lewis and get us some backup before it lands! The three of us will hide. Fairchild, come to our position.” That was it, that was the order.

                “But… Alec! No way I’ll leave you here!”

                “Do it, that’s our only option. The signal is jammed, just take our vessel and go as close as you can to Idris. We need backup, now!”

                There was a silence, accompanied just by shooting. Then Jace spoke. “Understood. Hide well.” And he was gone.

                “Could you… make a way for Ensign Fairchild?” Alec asked Magnus as she was trying to make her way to them. Just a few Daemons left before the other ship landed; they still had time to hide.

                Magnus shrugged, and then he stopped taking cover and, with one movement, he created something that looked like a black hole; every Daemon near it was suddenly pulled to it, and there were at least five of them. Alec’s mouth dropped, and Clary had her way cleared.

                “The hell you just did, Magnus?!” He knew Magnus was powerful, but not this powerful. Alec’s control was slipping more and more, and this was a result.

                „Oho, first names already, Alexander? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I would have prepared champagne for this occasion. Now, would you be so kind, and would you take them out for me?"

                Alec was not sure he heard correctly. Magnus never talked to him this way. But he took his assault rifle and shot them all down, making their bodies disappear.

                He then sighed and focused on Clary. She was almost there, running with inhuman speed, but suddenly… she dropped to the ground, clutched her head and screamed in pain.

                “No! The implants! I told her!” Alec yelled, and he started to run to her. He grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and went back to their hiding spot. He was almost there when a laser pointed at his side.

                Then it was like time had slowed down. He felt the sting and then burning, his leg gave in under the pain, and he got up again, gritting his teeth. Kicking the implants in, trying to overcome the pain, he ran faster.

                “Captain!” Magnus exclaimed and went to them; they were so focused on Clary, they forgot to check for any remaining Daemons. Another laser pointed to his side, the same spot, another bullet, perhaps acidic, this time it pierced his armour completely.

                There was a sudden wave of blue energy, and it took down the sniper, the body trashed from side to side, hitting the ground repeatedly, and then the Daemon turned into ash.

                Magnus supported Alec’s body on the side where he was hit and looked at him with concern.

                “We need to get out of here. I hope Isabelle and others will find us soon. I saw a cavern on the way here, we can hide until the vessel lands.” Magnus said, and he helped with Clary, making her float, while he supported Alec.

                Alec said nothing, just nodded and let him lead.

                Halfway, Magnus carried Clary all by himself. They immediately hid inside the cave, and Magnus erected a biotic barrier.

                “This should hold, now, let me look at you!” Magnus said, but Alec shook his head.

                “Clary first, she needs to lower her fever. Open her helmet and activate the cooling unit, it should stabilise her.”

                Magnus let out a dramatic sigh but complied. He carefully put her on the ground, and after studying her suit, he did as instructed, then he gently touched her forehead. They could hear a soft buzzing.

                Alec was barely standing, his legs were shaking, and he was panting heavily. The hole on the side of his armour was as big as a grown man’s fist, blood was seeping from the wound, and his hands were trembling.

                “Is it enough? Can I do more for her?” Magnus asked.

                “No, I don’t have medicine for that, all I have is a medigel.”

                “Can you not… You know, do your enhancement thingy and quicken the healing?” Magnus waved his hand in an exquisite gesture, reminding Alec of using biotics.

                “I could, but it’s exhausting if used on healing. I might get sleepy.”

                “Okay, then sit down, we need to apply the medigel at least.”

                Alec obeyed and sank down with a muffled groan. He saw Magnus’ concerned look, and it made him blush, so he looked away. Just when? When did he stop seeing him as an annoying prick? And what happened when he stopped seeing him as such?

                “It is okay, I had worse,” Alec said, and he reached for the medigel, but Magnus stopped him. Their hands briefly touched, and it was as if Alec could feel it even through their gloves; his breath hitched, which surprised him.

                “Let me… let me close the wound, and then we apply it. Alexander, do you trust me?” Magnus asked, locking his eyes with him.

                Alec did not hesitate and directly faced him with a serious look. “You just saved my life. I would be an idiot if I didn’t trust you.”

                This made Magnus smile; something in that smile was so incredibly soft that Alec was unsure if anyone ever looked at him this way. A warm feeling spread inside Alec’s chest, and he fought to return the smile. He did not want to. Not here, not now, not yet. Not ever?

                “Well, since the trust was clearly established, it’s time to get naked.”

                “The… what now?” Alec’s voice was now an octave higher than usual.

                Magnus chuckled, and his eyes sparkled with mischief, but his tone was yielding. “Just remove the armour. I need full access to the wound.”

                Alec wavered but decided to comply; it made sense. Together, they removed the plates; the medigel was now next to Magnus, and he put his hands on the wound.

                “Hold onto my shoulder, it might sting a little.”

                Suddenly, the blue light surrounded them. Alec was not even sure how biotic worked; it never interested him enough to study it. Until now.

                It illuminated Magnus’ face, and Alec was completely mesmerised by him. Right now, he did not care about the wound at all; he did not even feel the pain Magnus warned about. The slight frown on Magnus’ face, as he completely focused, blue light perfectly highlighted his features. Alec could not tear his eyes off his face. Alec’s heart suddenly beat faster as he watched him with his lips parted. Then he felt the cool medigel against his wound, which snapped him out of his daze. He just hoped that Magnus was too focused on the healing.

                “There… I held it together and then applied the gel. Hopefully, the rest of the acid you got hit with will be gone soon. Can’t you really speed up the healing? It would help to cleanse your blood, at least that’s what I would expect from advanced implants like Nephilim’s.”

                Alec’s mouth was dry. He quickly licked his lips. “I… I think I could. Yeah, just a little bit. Reinforcements are on the way, and Daemons did not discover us yet.”

                Then Alec closed his eyes and sent the impulse. It started to warm up his body, and he felt just the smallest tingle at his wound.

                After taking a few quickened short breaths, he heard Magnus asking. “These enhancements… when did you get them? I was never interested in it before; I know just small bits.”

                It was like Magnus tried to help him stay awake. Like all he told him already made sense, and he could already tell the consequence of speeding up his healing, but Alec knew it would not work.

                “When I was three years old, after they tested me for compatibility,” Alec started slowly, eyes still closed. He did not dare to look at Magnus. He was afraid he would see a concern, a pity, maybe? Offspring were fanatic when it came to Nephilim, but, of course, not all of them. He knew that kind of look.

                “So, it’s true, they enhance you that young. You couldn’t even make your own decision.” Magnus said, his voice was now soft, with a hint of something Alec could not recognise.

                “It’s okay. The body is at least in better sync with it. Look at Fairchild, half a year since her enhancement, and it’s still not fully settled in. Check her temperature, please.”

                He was so worried when she collapsed. At least they managed to help her. Magnus touched her forehead again, and Alec watched him.

                “She’ll be okay, the temperature is dropping, and she seems to be better. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

                “It’s okay. Thank you for following my orders today.” Alec said, and now he sounded quite sleepy. The exhaustion from healing kicked in.

                Magnus sneered, but then he sat next to him, supporting his side. “Those were some good orders. Worth following.”

                “You’re not half bad…” Alec heard himself say, he did not have much time to think about it, his eyes dropped, then his head landed on Magnus’ shoulder, and they were quietly waiting for reinforcements. He was slowly drifting to sleep; he could feel Magnus’ chest rising and dropping, which made him feel at ease despite the situation. Magnus was checking the barrier, staying vigilant for all three of them.

                A light touch on his face woke him up. Alec opened his eyes and tried to focus on the person in front of him.

                “Wake up, I hear shooting, reinforcement must be here.”

                It was Magnus. He was so close to him, gently stroking his cheek, Alec caught himself staring at his lips and blinked himself awake.

                “How long was I asleep? How is Ensign?”

                “She’s doing great, look,” Magnus said, he removed his hand and smiled, then he turned his head to Clary.

                Clary was sitting against the wall and weakly returned the smile. She was pale, and Alec could imagine how her head must thrum in pain. He felt sorry for her, but he warned her. He knew that every Nephilim must test their limits; it was not easy at the beginning. But Magnus was right, she was strong.

                Alec checked his wound; it was almost sealed. The medigel and quickened healing had done their job. He gently touched it; the tissue was sensitive, it was not perfectly healed, but it would hold for now. He donned his armour and quickly opened the holographic interface on it.

                “The signal isn’t jammed anymore; I’ll ping our location.”

                “I already did it, Jace must be on his way. Should I remove the barrier?”

                “Yes, I feel better. Let’s help them.” Alec said, and then he turned to Clary. “Ensign Fairchild, rest. The pain must be unbearable. Someone will pick you up.”

                Clary wanted to get up, but when she did, her legs gave out. Alec tsked and shook his head, scowling. This made her just sit in a place, and she finally listened.

                When they exited the cave, there were at least three squads of Nephilim. They were shooting down flying Daemons, covering each other, everything in perfect synch. They were efficient.

                “Impressive,” Magnus said, and Alec smiled at him. Magnus caught that and smiled back.

                “Let’s go, we need to help them and then check what that Warlock did to those civilians.”

                Magnus nodded, and then they ran. With one sweep of his hand, a Daemon flew high up, stopping its attack. Alec immediately followed and took it down with an assault rifle. They started to work perfectly together, like their movements were now connected. Not even all Nephilim units understood each other that well.

                “Press on!” Alec said, and they went even further. Daemons flying and being thrown on the ground, crippled with biotics and Alec finishing them off. They cleared the field in a spectacular display.

                “Fifth Squad, Lieutenant Dearborn! Are we clear, Captain Lightwood?” Alec could hear in the comm.

                It was that girl from the bar, the one who called him daddy’s boy. Alec knew her by name, but that was all. Not all units were led by Captains; her squad was one of those.

                “Clear, any casualties?” Alec asked.

                “None, everything was perfect under my command,” she said, but Alec knew that she was probably lying. He should ask Jace after all the Daemons were gone. At least there were no casualties. “And keep that Warlock on a leash, don’t let him close to my crew.”

                “Well… and someone needs a muzzle,” Alec could hear Magnus say, and he gave him an awkward, apologetic smile. This girl was insufferable. Magnus just shrugged, like it did not bother him at all.

                And then there was a silence. Shooting ceased. Everyone was checking the field; it seemed the Daemons were gone.

                “I need someone to take Ensign Fairchild to the infirmary. Lieutenant Dearborn, here are the coordinates. ASAP.”

                He did not hear any answer, but he saw that she gestured at her squad, and they went to the cave. Meanwhile, Alec’s crew gathered far enough from the Daemonic stench that still lingered. They all opened their helmets and were still cautious.

                “Where’s Clary?” Jace blurted as soon as they met.

                “She’s okay. Her implants overloaded, but she’ll be fine.” Alec said.

                “Oh no! I saw it once, it looked agonising. Can I do something for her?” Simon said, and he turned to go to her, but Alec stopped him with swift movement.

                “She’ll be fine. It’s part of being Nephilim. She’ll know her limits better with each mission, trust me.” Alec said and stared at Simon. Even if they tried to avoid it, sometimes it just happened. Simon lowered his gaze and looked rather pitiful.

                “Anyway, we should check the houses. I’m afraid I know what we’ll find there, let’s scatter around.” Alec said, and it was an order. He almost started to feel at ease in his role, even though he knew what they would find.

                Lord Montgomery whirred and rose, with Simon slowly following. Alec’s heart sank, but with renewed resolution, he went and checked one of the houses. And it was exactly as he expected. Two lifeless bodies were drained completely. That Warlock must have activated the artefact, and it started the same process. But this time, Alec did not feel as helpless as before. He had a culprit, he knew his goal, he had the power to find the artefacts before they detonated, and he just had to be quicker than the Warlock. He would save all the people he could.

                His team was well-rounded, with every person having their place in it. He was proud of them. He learnt this thanks to Magnus. The chaotic storm was averted, and Alec knew he needed him because now they had started to understand each other.

Chapter Text

                Clary spent three days in the infirmary. Alec had to stay for two days. Even with Magnus’ help, medigel and healing through the enhancement, they wanted to make sure that the acid had not caused more damage.

                She slept for most of the time, but what was curious was that Jace sat by her bed whenever she was asleep, looking worried. Alec knew that Jace had witnessed implant overload many times and knew it was painful, but usually not life-threatening unless Nephilim were left completely untreated. That was why they had a cooling unit in their suits.

Their body would just shut down together with the implants and fall into unconsciousness before it could do severe damage. Nephilim rarely fought alone; it made sense, they needed someone who could still take them to safety if something like that happened.

                What was weirdest was that whenever Clary was about to wake up, he left, as if he had never been there. Alec did not understand that but decided not to prod. It was Jace’s business after all, and Alec knew he would do the same thing for him.

                Up to now, Alec had had some small crushes, but it usually never went further than a first date. Either Alec did not have time because of his work and ended it when he was unable to get to a second date, or he did not like the guy after knowing him better, and one time he even ended a date abruptly, because he was absolutely repelled by his behaviour.

                Jace never bothered him further than “How did it go? Not good? Well, the next one will be better.” And that was it. Jace himself had a lot of hookups until recently, which made Alec wonder what was happening, but he never pried.

                Izzy, on the other hand, was too curious. She always wanted to know all the details; she tried to analyse what went wrong and tried to hook Alec up with another one. Alec got so frustrated that he started rejecting any matches she suggested immediately, like that bartender not a long time ago. It was not that he was not interested at all, he just did not want to go through all the awkward phase, when he was not even sure they would like each other. The attraction could be there, but not enough to bother with all the trouble.

                And now he knew that something in that cave on Eletania had happened. Something in him had changed. He still saw Magnus’ tanned face illuminated by the pleasant blue light; he had never seen anything so beautiful. Whenever he focused, he could also feel the light touch on his cheek when he tried to wake him up. It was so gentle, if he were awake, he would unconsciously lean into it. That would bring just trouble.

                Even the silly flirting, if it was flirting and not just Magnus’ sense of humour, he had just not shown to Alec yet. Just thinking about it made his heart pound like crazy and his head spin. He almost choked when Magnus jested about getting naked. And what was worse, this was stronger than any crush he had ever experienced.

                But a Warlock? His parents would kill him if they knew. And the gossip about his rank and many other small things that sometimes hurt him would get even worse and maybe change into something twisted. He could not risk it, could he?

                It might also target Magnus, even if Magnus would reject him, and other Nephilim somehow knew. It made no sense. How would they even know? But Alec was troubled by things out of his control that did not happen and might never happen. The worst and impossible scenarios popped out one after another, and it got almost out of control. Each idea was worse and less realistic than the previous one.

                So, naturally, he decided not to do anything about it, so that he would finally stop thinking about it, shutting down any thought of him. Warlocks should be their new allies, not… this. He expected that the crush would pass soon, as it always did. It had to. That was his focus now.

                That day, he was released from the infirmary. He knew that Izzy and Jace would want to see him soon, but what he had not assumed was that they would bring Magnus too.

                When he opened the door, he froze, not expecting that just the sight of him would make his heart flutter. He felt a firm grasp of invisible hands on his heart, gently touching… it left him breathless. Fuck.

                “Alec! Feeling better?” Izzy asked and invited herself in. She went past him and sat directly on one of the armchairs.

                This brought him back to the present, and he awkwardly looked at her. “Yeah, sure. Better.”

                Jace proceeded, and Magnus stood hesitantly in one place. He was usually very self-confident, and this was maybe the first time Alec had seen him slightly falter. “Can I join?” he asked and raised his head to look directly at Alec, not even a hint of mischief. He was being earnest. This was even more difficult than if he had joked around.

                “Of course, come in, Magnus, come in,” Alec blurted, trying to sound casual, but failing. He cursed himself. It was hard trying to do two things at once. First, he tried to look like he did not care at all, and second, he tried to be interesting enough to catch his attention.

                Alec was unsure what he wanted more at this time, but he knew that he should be professional, and the first option was correct. But… correct for whom? His parents? An army? Offspring? It was not himself, that much he was sure of.

                Magnus beamed when he heard his name, his eyes sparkled, and he studied Alec’s face for a few seconds. “Thank you, Alexander.”

                Alec tried to control himself and just closed the door behind him, taking a few quiet deep breaths before he came to them. This was not going well. This should not be happening.

                “Alec, you should get another armchair or a couch. What if Clary and Simon want to join us? Look, now there is not even enough seating for us.” Izzy said as soon as Alec joined them.

                “Well, he could sit on my lap, I don’t mind,” Magnus said, and Alec shot him an angry look. Yes, back to anger, it worked before. It could hide everything. Was this a joke or a flirt? “Or not… Can I sit on the table?” A joke, perhaps.

                “Please, do,” Alec said exasperated. He would offer that he would stand the whole time, but this was also a solution, if Magnus did not mind. Alec’s brain had no capacity to come up with anything else at the moment.

                Izzy and Jace looked amused, even though they tried to hide it. They must have known that it was not wise to make Alec feel embarrassed right now.

                Magnus made himself comfortable, and even on the table, he looked so elegant. Alec tried not to look at him, so he sat down and then turned to Izzy.

                “Okay, why did you come? All of you?” Alec asked, flustered.

                “To check on you? Also, Magnus has some information about the Warlock.” Jace said and nodded at Magnus. Now it made sense why he was here. Alec thought for a while that he was here for something different. This made the tension that was building in his body temporarily leave.

                “Yes, well, Alexander,” he started, it felt so weird that he did not call him Captain Lightwood anymore, and the same hands that had his heart clutched when he saw Magnus today pushed up to the surface every hidden part of his heart, he had no idea he even had before.

                “You were right, I actually knew him. We met a few times; he helped me with some research in the past, but it’s been a while, so I did not recognise him right away. His name is Malcolm Fade. While you were resting, I did a background check.”

                He turned to him with his data pad and showed him his photo. “Apparently, his girlfriend died in the war. And… this is rather curious; she was an Offspring.”

                An Offspring? That really was interesting. Offspring and a Warlock, and during a war, nonetheless. Alec just nodded, not saying anything.

                “Remember what he said? It was like he was blaming you, Nephilim, but also me, a Warlock. I don’t know what exactly happened, but if we figure it out, it could help us at least know why he’s activating the artefacts and luring out the Daemons. After its activation, a wormhole opened, and Daemon’s activity got even stronger. I got this confirmed from our side.”

                Alec’s face was solemn. Focusing on this fact reminded him that his work was important. Of course, he would overcome this infatuation sooner or later. Sure, anytime, easy. Focus.

                “Okay, what can we do about it?” Alec asked. Now it felt like he was interviewing a specialist on his team, relying on Magnus’ expertise and advice for the first time.

                “Not much, I’m afraid. My scanner should catch up when another artefact awakens. Then we must hurry and hope we can face him.”

                Alec looked serious, brows furrowed, deep in thought, and then he nodded. “Thanks, Magnus.”

                “It’s my job,” Magnus smiled and gently tapped Alec’s shoulder. Alec knew that this friendly touch would linger for a long time. It was warm and made his heart sink, because it was brief and not the kind he was craving for right now.

                Jace and Izzy exchanged looks. They were silent the whole time, and Izzy tried to conceal a smile. Alec frowned and got up.

                “Well, uh… if that’s all… Thanks for visiting, I guess... I need to rest now.” Alec said and did not exactly lie. He needed to process this information about Malcolm and come up with a strategy on how to face Magnus calmly next time, because this caught him off guard. Yes, he would deal with this feeling before it could come out. He could do it. It was easy.

                “Sure, Alec. Rest well,” Jace said, and everyone got up too.

                Izzy took Jace by the arm and rushed him to the exit, leaving Magnus behind. Alec watched her go, and his panic was rising. Magnus was not moving; that could mean just one thing. They would be alone.

                “Are we good now?” Magnus asked when he noticed what was happening. Izzy and Jace were gone already.

                “Yes. I’m sorry for not trusting you before.” Alec gave up at this point. He was not sure if he was cursing his sister or if he was praising her. If Magnus wanted this talk right now, he would get it.

                “No, it wasn’t just your fault. I should have respected your lead at least a little.” Magnus apologised, but then he grinned. “But you deserved some of it.”

                Alec let out a deep sigh, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, but then he returned the smile. Maybe he actually deserved it; he felt at ease now. They seemed to be on good terms.

                “Care to… join me for a drink sometimes?” Alec asked suddenly. He surprised even himself. That much for containing the growing feeling.

                “What are you doing, Alec?!”

                His heart could now jump out of his chest. He tried to act normal, but it was harder with each second. Why did he do it? What was happening? But… friends could go get some drinks too, right? Or did Magnus see right through him? Oh no, oh no, no, no.

                “Me? A scary Warlock?” Magnus chuckled, and he looked into Alec’s eyes with a soft smile on his lips. “But with you? Anytime.”

                And Alec knew he was screwed.

                Alec woke up at eight in the morning. The horror washed over him when he realised what he had done. He asked Magnus out; he actually did it. And he was quite sure that Magnus fully understood that it was meant more like a date than anything else. His smile was coy, he shortly took Alec’s hand into his hands, they spoke for a while, and then he left, leaving Alec speechless and hungry for more.

                He looked at his hand and still felt the warmth, that pleasant tingle under his touch. He could not believe he did that. Was it even a good idea? He also could not stop thinking about his parents, and what the Offspring Council would think?

                No, it was a bad idea.

                His intercom started to beep and blink. He came to it and pressed the button. It was his mom.

                “Good morning, Alec, I have some good news for you. You’re getting an offshore leave; you need to rest after the last mission. I know you always wanted to visit the Citadel, how about going there?”

                “I’m glad, but is it wise? What if another artefact activates? I think that Mag… mister Bane already informed you, right?”

                “Well, that’s why you all will go. After they let Ensign Fairchild from the infirmary. If anything happens, you’ll leave immediately for the mission directly from Citadel.”

                That made sense. He never thought that she would remember he wanted to visit the Citadel. This made his breathing easier; his mom understood him.

                “Thank you! Do you know when they let her out?”

                “Tomorrow. So, get packing, Alec. I hope you’ll get some rest, and your missions will go even better. You’re going in two days from now.”

                Of course. It never was just a wish for him to have a good time now, wasn’t it? It was always about the performance. But the thought counted.

                Alec did not have many things to pack. Just some uniforms, which were in perfect form, then some shirts without holes that he could find. Most of his clothes were black or long since faded. He did not care how it looked if it fulfilled its purpose.

                He decided to check on Izzy, because it would be her first visit too. Oh, how thrilled she would be.

                He met with Isabelle in a common room. There were only a few such rooms in Idris; they had some board games, access to drinks and data pads with books. It was ideal if you wanted to meet with more people on an informal occasion or just relax somewhere else than your cabin.

                Surprisingly, next to her was also Simon. His head was in his palms, staring at the floor. Isabelle had her hand on his back and looked at Alec, quickly removing it.

                “What happened?” Alec asked.

                “I am sorry, Captain, may I speak freely?” Simon said and raised his head. Why the sudden formality? He was usually formal with him, but this was over the top.

                Then he noticed a group of Nephilim next to them. Maybe he wanted to act by the book when he was within earshot.

                “Sure, Ensign.”

                Simon lowered his voice. “I… I should not hold you back. Clary was hurt because Jace and Izzy had to go back to me.”

                Izzy shook her head and looked at Alec. “And here I thought that you were an expert on self-blame, Simon makes great competition.” Then her gaze went back to Simon. “Simon, you’re important. They would overwhelm us anyway; we needed the backup. If you weren’t behind, we’d still go back.”

                Alec was suddenly not sure he had made a good decision back there, but it made sense. Maybe Izzy was right; he went with it this time, because everyone got out alive, and they got some information.

                “Yes, I gave the order. Now, go check on Ensign Fairchild; she’s much better, it might lift your spirits. They should let her leave the infirmary tomorrow, and we’ll have an offshore leave. All our squad, with Magnus too. In case the artefact wakes up, we will need him.”

                Simon let out a shaky exhale and nodded. Isabelle patted his back and gave him a reassuring smile. Simon weakly returned it and was on his way, taking a last glance at them as he was leaving.

                “So…” Isabelle started, mischief glinting in her eyes. “How did it go yesterday? You know… when Jace and I left.”

                “This was a low blow, sis,” Alec growled. He felt a blush rising to his cheeks. He did not expect this so soon. But it was Izzy after all.

                “Seriously, just tell me! I saw how you two look at each other!”

                Her words were oddly calming. So… did Magnus look at him the same way as Alec did? Hope and a fear of the unknown were both so loud in his head, he was not sure what he wanted to listen to.

                Alec cleared his throat and barely visibly jerked his head to the side. The group of Nephilim was still there. Fortunately, it was not Zara Dearborn and her squad.

                She gave up. Even Izzy had her restraints; she was not stupid and knew that if anyone knew about it, what kind of reaction it would stir.

                “Okay, so, the Citadel, huh? I saw some photos, but visiting it…”

                “I can’t wait. We don’t even know who exactly built it. Was it some ancient alien race? Warlocks moved in first; they were the ones who found it, and then they let everyone join them one by one. I heard that the technology there is so advanced.” His knowledge was now useful. He was always interested in the Citadel. “They even have an AI guide. Maybe I could chat with it without feeling awkward.” Alec joked.

                Izzy chuckled. “You could train your flirting on it; I think it would come in handy soon.”

                “Could you stop it? I thought we already left this topic.” Alec frowned and lightly shoved her arm. He could not believe it!

                “But I can't! This is like… you know, first time seeing you… like this.” She said, because she did not want to reveal more in this public place.

                “Like what?” Alec crossed his arms, pouted and did not look at her. Then she finally dropped it, and they spent some time chatting about the Citadel, looking for available data and places they just must visit. They both were excited, even though for different reasons.

                On the day of their planned offshore leave, after an early breakfast, everyone gathered by the docks. There were other Nephilim squads, and many regular soldiers. That would explain the sudden influx of new people on Idris over the past days. Someone had to cover for their offshore leave; it was probably arranged the day they were confined to the infirmary.

                Alec noticed Zara Dearborn. It was almost inevitable that she would go too; luckily, she was too invested in talking to her crewmates, and she was also turned back to him, so he easily avoided her.

                Further searching the crowd, he felt slightly nervous. His mother said Magnus would go too. They have not spoken or seen each other since the incident in his cabin, and for Alec, it definitely was an incident. But at least he spotted Jace, slowly pushing through the crowd, Alec made his way to him.

                “Jace! Here!” He called out to him.

                Jace looked at him and waved. Clary stood next to him, but she was so small that she was barely visible from a distance. It was strange how much strength was in such a tiny body.

                “Where is everyone?” Alec asked, and no, he absolutely did not mean Where is Magnus? Never.

                “Dunno. I saw Izzy not long ago; she was looking for Simon. And Magnus left by his personal vessel.”

                Magnus left already, and he did not even let him know. But maybe this was not important; important was that they would meet there, and Alec still had his contact.

                What was surprising, even more so, but not so much after giving it some thought, was that he had his own vessel? Maybe he got paid a lot as an external expert. Alec figured that it could be stressful for him, being the only Warlock on a smaller vessel, not the luxurious spaceship like Idris was, where people were spread out more evenly.

                Then the doors opened, and everyone started to slowly pour in. It was almost endearing how Jace protected Clary so that she was not accidentally shoved or elbowed. He walked right behind her, making sure she had enough space.

                Going through the mass relay on their way was inevitable. It was a colossal device that allowed travel from one relay to another. It made the travel much easier, because it was instantaneous.

                Alec had already travelled through it a few times, but it was not that often. They gathered their squad and were now seated in a lounge room with a large window that let them gaze into space.

                “Look! A mass relay!” Simon said excitedly, and everyone turned their heads. They were getting closer.

                Two metallic arms grasped circles that were rotating like a gyroscope. Alec knew from the books that the arms should be about fifteen kilometres long. Inside was a sphere that shone in a clear blue colour. The colour reminded Alec of biotics.

                When he realised that, he scolded himself. Everything reminded him of biotics, but… the colour was so bright, it was mesmerising.

                Then they entered the field, they were instantly propelled into the relay and in a few moments, they emerged on the other side of the connected node.

                “This is so fascinating,” Simon was whispering almost religiously, and he was right. No matter how many times they used it, it was always so full of wonder.

                And behind it was the Citadel. Its five flat arms were connected to a circular hub, and they were illuminated by millions and millions of lights. Almost everyone present was now admiring the view.

                “This never gets old,” Alec heard in the crowd, and he understood why. It was incredible just to think that this was artificially built, and millions and millions of people could live there; it was amazing. But the Citadel was a wonder by itself; there were speculations that the same alien race that built the mass relays also built the Citadel, and it looked like a similar technology. Almost every node led here, so it would make sense.

                “Enjoy the view, greenhorns,” a Captain from another Nephilim squad told them and winked at them, he must have noticed their gawking. Alec was not sure what his name was, so he just nodded and slightly smiled.

                They were slowly getting closer, and finally the lights changed into skyscrapers, and when they got even closer, they could recognise huge parks full of fountains and artificial rivers.

                Docking went smoothly, and they could finally leave. Excited chatter could be heard all around them. Even if they would get a sudden call to action, just this view was worth it.

                “Oh, I must visit Chora’s den!” Jace said. It was a nightclub; Alec was not surprised. But it seemed that not everyone did their research before.

                “What is it, some bar?” Clary asked.

                Simon’s face flushed red. “Uhh… yeah, you could say that.”

                “What can I say? I am a man of exquisite taste.” Jace said and shrugged with a smug smile.

                Alec frowned and thought to himself something about a terrible taste. He, on the other hand, wanted to visit the Flux because he heard that many Nephilim choose it as their place for drinks and other similar entertainment. It was not exactly what he usually enjoyed, but Citadel was not visited so often, so he had to make the most of it. Now… would Magnus still want to go to drinks with him? Alec wondered where he would meet him.

                With this in his mind, the door opened. Since they did not land on any planet, but went from one sanitised place to another, and the pressure did not have to stabilise, they could go right out.

                                                                                        Citadel… here I go.

Chapter Text

                The Citadel was everything Alec had expected. As they left for their rented apartments, he already saw pale Vampires, hairy Werewolves, and exotic-looking Warlocks on the way. All the buildings were exquisite, tall, and technology was high peak; it was nothing like the buildings outside the Citadel. Offspring were rarer, but still present; it was like they were scared to live here. They were quite new here after all, compared to other races.

                He had never seen every subrace living together like this; it was like utopia. Something he had no idea he wanted before, but now seeing it, it made perfect sense. They were all descendant of the same species after all.

                Vampires were strange. They had a lot of technology they did not want to share. They kept to themselves. There was a rumour that their technology ran on blood, but Alec did not believe it. Unethical research was more believable. Nothing could stop them; their thirst for power and knowledge was insatiable. Of course, not all of them, but if you found an unethical study, it usually belonged to Vampires. Abducted Offspring situations occurred throughout the galaxy, and the leads usually led to Vampires. They shut down many of their facilities, but they never learned. These were forbidden and frowned upon even by their government and all other subraces.

                Their lifespan was almost as long as that of Warlocks, but it could be a result of their experiments instead of evolution. They preferred night but could withstand even direct sun; it was just uncomfortable, so the more sensitive wore suits to reflect it.

                Apartments were in the Wards; those were the five gigantic arms full of lights that Alec saw when they were landing. Unfortunately, Offspring Council was not able to get them a place in the Presidium, which was supposed to be the richest part of the Citadel. It could be found on the circular hub of the Citadel. Presidium had an artificial day-night cycle, which consisted of six hours of night; the Wards lacked that.

                At least they were privileged enough that everyone had their own apartment. As they made their way to it, Alec noticed the pleasant temperature. It was a wonder that the artificial place was able to maintain everything in such a manner. Everything was so clean, even the air, and he wondered who took care of it to be that way. Small creatures on four legs sometimes ran around; they were not taller than one meter. They were sticking their funny arms into all kinds of devices, as if they were fixing them.

                He noticed that he could not stop gawking at everything. The Nephilim, who called them greenhorns, was right. But Alec was not alone in his never-ending wonder; everyone was stopping at various places and pointing their fingers everywhere. They were like a bunch of tourists, so after a while, Alec felt ashamed. At least they were not shouting and taking pictures. Now, standing in a long corridor before their apartments, trying to decide which belonged to whom. Before they split up, Jace asked.

                “So? What’s the plan? Someone wants to go to Chora’s den with me tonight?”

                Izzy made a disgusted noise. “Really? You want us to go to a strip club?” She did not say a thing when it was mentioned before, but no one asked her to go. This time it was different.

                And then Alec saw Clary’s bewildered expression. Now she understood why Simon was so red in the face and why Jace made jokes about it. When Jace saw her expression, it was like he changed his mind the moment he looked at her.

                “It was a joke, Clary, we can go to Flux!”

                A ghost of a smile ran across Alec’s face; he was pretty sure Jace wanted to visit it, but something was definitely going on between him and Clary, so he decided going there would be a mistake. It was amusing in a way.

                Then Alec noticed that his data pad beeped.

                               Are you on the Citadel yet? You must’ve landed by now.

                It was Magnus. Alec’s heart skipped a beat, and he tried to contain himself. No, this had to stay a secret. He took a sneaky glance at his team; it seemed they were too busy planning and stashed the pad into his pocket.

                “Well, see you at lunch,” Alec said.

                “And what will you do until then? Psyching up for a crowded place?” Jace asked with a crooked smile.

                “Obviously,” Alec said and hurried away before they asked more questions or worse, found out and wanted to join him. They suspiciously looked at him, but then they continued their banter like nothing had happened. His crew must have assumed that Alec needed some alone time.

                Just when he entered his apartment, he tossed the bag into a corner and immediately responded.

                                Yes, landed. I’m in Wards, alrady in my apatmnet.

                Alec noticed his typos after he sent it and groaned. He wanted to throw the pad on the bed in frustration; he knew his hands were shaking as he typed, but he should have checked it more carefully. At least he did not have to wait for the answer for too long.

                Have some time? How about meeting at Presidium? Reservoir would be nice, ask any Avina on the way, it’s the AI.

                So, he would finally see it, the Citadel’s AI guide. He heard she looked like a Warlock. He mentally prepared an excuse for leaving in case he met anyone outside. No, he did not want them to know about his meet-up with Magnus. The questions would not stop flowing in, and he did not feel up to it.

                Sure, I’ll unpack and be there.

                This time, he made sure no typos were sent, reading his short text at least five times. He did not plan to unpack, just to calm down.

                A worry washed over him. Was this a date? Or just… something? He promised Magnus a drink, but a reservoir sounded like anything but that.

                Just to be sure, he checked himself in the mirror. Patted his hair quickly, splashed himself with a small amount of cologne and searched for the best-looking shirt he could find in a hurry and his jacket. Oh, he was never this nervous even before an actual date, and he had no idea what this was.

                He took a last glance at his room. It was a simple but efficient. It had everything he needed. A bed, a small bathroom in the next room, a coffee table with two armchairs, a working space with a place for data pads or computers and a window that led to a small alley of trees. This place, even though artificial, looked better than most farming colonies. If they could just use the same technology on them, it would change a lot.

                Alec was not sure if he should take his small pistol just to be sure but decided not to. He was able to defend himself even without it, if it came to a fight.

                He sneakily checked the outside, and he relaxed when he noticed everyone had left already. Quickly making his way towards the Presidium, he was admiring the view. He reached the nearest AI node and pressed a button to activate it.

                “I am a personal Citadel guide, Avina. What can I do for you, Captain Alexander Gideon Lightwood?” it said. Alec blinked; it even knew his whole name.

                Avina looked like a pretty Warlock lady. She had purple skin, and he could see through her, as she was holographic; it was like she was full of wires that were shining on her body everywhere. It was more like little stars connected. Her voice had a pleasant, low tone, lightly buzzing with an electronic undertone. When he focused on her face, it was like she had lizard speckles all around it. Only her eyes were a little disturbing. It was like staring into a galaxy, right into the centre of it. Even though Alec was not attracted to women, he thought she was cute and wondered if Jace would flirt with her.

                “I’m looking for a reservoir in the Presidium.” No need for small talk with AI.

                “Please bring your data pad closer. I will send you a map.”

                This was useful. Alec appreciated it; he did as he was asked, and the map was brought up.

                “Thank you,” Alec said and turned the AI off.

                “Thank you for using Avina, have a pleasant day. Avina on standby.” He heard her say, and she was gone. Another point on his checklist was marked as completed.

                Alec had to use the rapid transport system to get there, but it was not uncomfortable. The flying car was fast, and the transport was paid for by Starfleet, so he chose the most comfortable way.

                If the wards were nice, Presidium was something else. Not just that it looked clean, it also had this luxurious feeling. Long bridges above artificial rivers were everywhere. There were tall buildings made fully out of glass. Alec could imagine living there, overlooking this amazing, peaceful scenery every day. It could get boring after some time but having a place here to always come back to, that would be nice. Not even Admirals had that, only some top Offspring diplomats who were highly skilled and held the peace lived here. It was their work that made it achievable. Otherwise, it was mostly full of Warlocks and Vampires, but it was even rarer to see a Werewolf here, even though Wards were full of them.

                The closer Alec was to the reservoir, the more nervous he became. He went through a different quarter, the glassy houses were gone, and instead, he saw a huge number of iron structures. He could imagine it held many less expensive apartments. But the view had to be exquisite anyway.

                Then he could see what a reservoir probably was. Small fountains, he heard the soft trickles of water, and it was almost an out-of-the-world experience. Trees were on both sides of the pavement, with grass everywhere around them. Some colonies were full of greenery too, but never this luxurious; the closer he got to the centre, the more water there was. It was like a huge pool, just waiting for him to dive in, even though it was forbidden, of course. Every few minutes, water shot up in the middle, and then it stopped again.

                He could not help but stop and admire the view. His anxiety was eased, and he put his hands on the railing and leaned on it. Taking a deep breath, he could not help but smile like an idiot.

                “Waiting on someone, my dear Captain?” he heard an amused velvet voice behind his back. He would recognise that voice anywhere. Alec closed his eyes for a second to calm himself before turning around, it was Magnus.

                “Oh, uh, hi, Magnus,” Alec said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, and Magnus chuckled.

                “Enjoying the view? How’s your offshore leave so far?”

                Alec knew he could do it. It was just a small talk, or whatever this was. Time to man up and stop worrying so much. It was Magnus; they worked together quite well. They even had some arguments, and Alec stood up to him, nothing was awkward, until Alec realised his feelings.

                So, Alec raised his head and looked at him properly. His clothes were exquisite, as usual. Too flashy even for a Citadel, Magnus knew how to look stylish and capture attention at the same time. This time, he had glittery make-up that made him look even more exotic and beautiful. The Warlock oddity, cat eyes, were like a magnet; it was hard to tear away from them. He never thought he would find a Warlock so attractive, and yet, here he was.

                “Alexander? Citadel to Alexander!” Magnus leaned in closer and waved his hand in front of Alec’s face.

                Alec snapped out of his daze, ashamed, he blinked. “Yeah, the leave is nice. Sorry, this view is just so mesmerising. It’s like I’m in another world,” Alec said to cover for his awkwardness, and he looked at the water around them.

                “Oh, I bet it is,” Magnus smirked. Of course, he had to notice his gaze just now. It was different from when he focused on the healing in that cave on Eletania, where he probably missed it… in that cave where everything has changed.

                Alec looked around again and saw a bench. He motioned with his hand to it, and both slowly went to sit on it. “So? You just wanted to show me the beauty of the Citadel?” Finally, finally he got it together.

                “But of course, I actually happen to have an apartment in the Presidium, so I come to Citadel whenever I’m not doing research somewhere on site. Or like now, on Idris.”

                “Now you’re just boasting!” Alec said, the corner of his mouth shot upwards, he turned to face him directly and rested his arm on the bench. Warlocks were the ones who owned most places on the Citadel, and if Magnus was the specialist they said he was, it made sense.

                “Perhaps, but it’s true”, Magnus admitted. He mimicked Alec’s posture and just barely brushed his finger against Alec’s as if by accident. It looked completely natural.

                Alec’s breath hitched, but he tried to play it cool. His eyes wandered to their hands, but he quickly looked away. If he could just… take his hand, it would be nice.

                “So, what about we play a little game? I’d like to know you better, as an Offspring, as a Captain, as you,” Magnus said when he saw Alec’s gaze.

                “A game, huh? Well… why not?”

                “Okay, I’ll ask you a question, and you answer, easy, then it’s your turn. If you wish not to answer, you have just one chance. So, pick carefully, and then we stop. The same applies to me.”

                This made sense, Alec was awkward, and a game like this should help him talk, just answering questions, it did not seem like a big deal. Even though… it might get tricky. If he wanted to know more, he must answer, or he won’t know more. Also, he should leave more personal questions for later in case Magnus did not want to answer. Fair deal, and so it began.

                “First, something easy. Tell me, how do your implants even work? I saw some studies, but I want to hear it from you as a user.”

                Easy for Magnus, talking about a science, his expertise, but Alec could talk about this easily too; this much was true. Magnus probably did not want Alec to feel uncomfortable right away. Easy questions first, so that the game would not finish abruptly.

                “Well, they cut your back to access your spine, then they put the implants around it. It sends impulses directly to your body, heating it with every use, and it also strains your muscles harder than moving without it active if you’re not careful. Is this what you wanted to know?”

                “Right. And the overload happens when the body overheats. This is not a question, I would not use it on something I know,” Magnus grinned when he saw Alec’s look. He just wanted to make sure without asking. Cunning. But Alec did not decide to call him out on cheating. They just barely started. “Your turn.”

                “How does biotics work? There’s always this blue light around you. How is it possible?”

                Unlike Magnus, Alec did not do any study, but he was curious. It was a similar question; he also went easy at the beginning.

                “Well, these are electrical impulses from the brain. My nervous system can generate a mass field and thus manifest in the things you saw.”

                Alec raised his eyebrow and slowly nodded, more than impressed. Magnus was absolutely brilliant, and with this knowledge about his powers, Alec thought Magnus had a sexy brain, if you could call it that way.

                After this, Alec tried the same stunt as Magnus before, and he just reached for his hand, but the result was not as subtle when he rubbed his fingers against Magnus’. He could not help it.

                Magnus could not miss that it was on purpose, and Alec watched as he shifted in his seat and moved closer. He gently rested his hand against Alec’s, gently stroking it with his thumb and continued like nothing had happened.

                “Okay, the first one was easy. Now, with you, being here with me… like this,” Magnus’ look fell on their hands, and Alec’s breath hitched, “are you interested in men, or is this just you… exploring the possibilities?” Magnus said as if he had just asked how his day was.

                This was not so hard. Alec came to terms with it a few years ago. Whenever it was brought up, he did not deny, not anymore. “Men, men only. I’m gay,” he said simply, and Magnus nodded, appreciating his honesty.

                “Any other questions?” Magnus asked nonchalantly, and instead of just touching his hand, he now interlaced their fingers together.

                Alec’s mind went blank for a second. The touch was so natural, as if they always meant to be like this; he did not even flinch, just went with it as if he did it daily. He tried to think of anything, and it occurred to him. “How old are you anyway? You saw my file, I even told you my age! But I wasn’t allowed to look into yours, my father said he doesn’t have it.” Alec now realised that he must have teased him when he asked about it. And Alec, direct and sincere as usual, just told him.

                “So, you snooped, huh?” Magnus chuckled. It obviously did not surprise him. “Well, I’m a Warlock, we live up to a thousand years. But I’m about four hundred.”

                Well, that stung. Four hundred, he had to have a lot of experience, romantic or working, both were intimidating. Alec lowered his gaze. “I see… we Nephilim can live up to two hundred, thanks to implants,” Alec said, but he knew that not many lived that long due to the dangerous missions they partake in. Magnus did not comment, but Alec felt the air grow heavy.

                “Okay, why Jonathan’s Offspring? Who’s Jonathan? Warlock's sources did not cover that much, and I didn’t have time to pick them up on Idris.”

                Alec smiled. Again, an easy question, perhaps to lift his spirit, or maybe he really was curious, presumably both. “Well, Jonathan was the Fleet Admiral of our Ark that came to this corner of the galaxy. He was a founder of the first colonies, and there’s a legend that he was given the implants by Angels, whatever that means. Maybe some aliens with wings, it could be anything, really. I’m more interested in recent Offspring and Nephilim history. I didn’t study even the old religion that originated from Earth,” Alec shrugged.

                He had some image of Angels in mind but was not exactly sure what was meant by it. In history books and files, they were always gigantic, with huge white wings looming above the small Offspring people.

                “Earth… it would be nice to find it and live there again,” Magnus mused. He suddenly looked distant, but then he blinked, and it was gone. It was common knowledge that all subraces dreamed of finding the Earth.

                “My turn,” Alec said. “What exactly is your expertise? I know you’re a scientist, but even you must have something you prefer to study.”

                “Yes, artefacts. Daemonic in nature, to be precise, but now that I have commenced to work with Offspring, I’ve found that different ones are on your planets, colonies and scientific centres. They emit this remarkable pure aura. Now that you mentioned, it could be of Angelic origins, if we could employ that terminology like that. Maybe I should pick up a study of some of the Earth’s origin…” Magnus drifted off and continued, and Alec found it fascinating and maybe even a little endearing. He was so deep in his own zone now, completely captured in his interests, it was even like he turned off his jovial side suddenly and even his language completely changed.

                Alec did not hear the words anymore; he just watched Magnus enthuse about it and listened to his velvet voice. It was like having a lecture from the brightest person just for himself, not sharing with anyone. This moment belonged to Alec and Alec only.

                But then he stopped and looked directly at him, which made him concentrate again instead of just thinking of how Magnus’ perfectly curved lips moved, how distant and dreamy his look was, as if imagining different and unknown worlds, aliens, and technologies.

                “But I’d love to study you,” he said with a cheeky grin and a glint in his eyes. Alec’s heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his gaze. His cheeks were hot, but he was smiling.

                “Well… that could be fun,” Alec whispered, still not looking at him, and Magnus beamed. He released Alec’s hand and then moved even closer again.

                “So, now let’s get a little personal again. I heard that the enhancement leaves scars. I’d like to see it, not here obviously… But I heard it’s like wings, maybe something about the Angels is true. When I tended to your wound, you still had your shirt, so… could you describe it?”

                Alec watched as Magnus now had his hand on his elbow and was moving it soothingly to Alec’s hand and back. He wanted to see them… his scars from enhancement, the scars that could not ever be healed because the implant was there, doing its work every day, sticking out in various miniature dots. Nephilim were not ashamed of it but talked about it mostly only among themselves.

                “Wow, about our scars... We don’t talk about it much. Well… There are scars along the spine and on our shoulder blades… You could call it wings, I guess. When the implant lodges in and connects, it imprints there; you can still see parts of it on our backs. Spine and shoulder blades. It never goes away; it also grows with you. Even people with later enhancement have it. That’s what makes it look like wings.” Alec tried to concentrate on the question, which was a little too personal, so he managed to ignore the pleasant touch.

                What did he say? He wanted to see the scars? Alec licked his lips and gulped.

                Magnus moved even closer and reached out to his back, gently sliding his hand on his shoulder blade, looking over Alec's shoulder as if trying to imagine it. Alec wore a jacket; otherwise, Magnus could feel it through the fabric.

                “I would ask if it ever hurt, or is uncomfortable, outside of overloading, but it’s not my turn,” he said in a barely audible voice. He was so close now; Alec could smell a gentle tone of sandalwood, and it made his head spin. If he did not feel out of place, he would just grab his perfectly fitted suit and pull him closer, maybe even kiss him. But this was not a place or time for something like that. Alec’s urge surprised him, so he composed himself and tried to look anywhere but at Magnus, not to give in to it.

                “No, it doesn’t, unless I’m using it, I’m not even aware of it. Answer free of charge,” Alec’s voice was hoarse. He had a hard time concentrating, still thinking about just yanking his suit. Alec slowly raised his hand to at least touch his chest as he felt Magnus’ hand slipping lower from the shoulder blade with each second, but then his data pad beeped, and he abruptly pulled back. It was a call from Izzy.

                The panic rose, and he looked at Magnus. Just a second ago, he could almost kiss him, and now he had to deal with the reality again.

                “Sorry, I need to take this,” he said, and Magnus nodded, shifting back to the other end of the bench and removing his hand from Alec’s back.

                “Alec! Where are you? We’re looking for you at your apartment. Let’s go for lunch.” Izzy almost scolded him.

                “I… Uhh… went for a walk, I’m in the reservoir,” Alec said. He tilted the camera so that Magnus would not be visible. She did not have to know everything.

                “Okay, meet me at Apollo’s Café. Avina will help you find it,” Izzy said, and she was glancing at the background. “But it is so pretty there, you did better research than I! I must visit the reservoir too.”

                “It is, we might go here later. Well, see you in a while,” Alec said and shut down the pad, and then he looked apologetically at Magnus.

                “Sorry, I promised them to go for lunch. I didn’t even notice what time it is already. But we still must go for that drink,” he said. He didn’t want to go yet, but he was not ready to tell them he liked a Warlock, even though he knew that at least Izzy suspected something.

                “Sure, we can go tonight.”

                “Yeah… about that… Well, you know, all our squad goes to Flux, you could join us.”

                “An Offspring lair, huh? But, if the whole squad is there, I guess I can.”

                “Then it’s settled? I’ll be there at six.”

                Magnus nodded. “Six it is.”

                And Alec was on his way, backing up, still looking at Magnus with a silly grin on his face, he almost barged into a column. Magnus was amused; he had a similar silly grin as he watched him, his arms crossed. That almost impact made Alec turn back in embarrassment and watch the road, quickening the pace, almost utilising his implants to get out of here sooner.

                 Tonight, maybe tonight, something nice would happen. Alec had to make this clear, if they started dating, or what all this that happened in the reservoir meant… They did not speak about it, but it was obvious that something had started.

                                                             Tonight.

                The warmth from Magnus’ touch still lingered, and he felt like he was not walking, but more like floating.

Chapter Text

                Apollo’s café was modest, but it had an amazing view. They sat on the balcony and looked directly at the monumental buildings at Presidium. But it was not enough to lift Alec’s mood. He stabbed his lunch more forcefully than necessary for the third time. It made even Jace raise his head to give Alec a weird look.

                “Alec, I thought we were here to have fun. Do you miss fighting so much that you try to kill your food?” Jace asked.

                But Alec did not answer; he just shrugged and then poked his utensil into the food again.

                “This was supposed to be a vacation. You can’t mope all day,” Izzy added, and Alec ignored her. The truth was, he missed Magnus, and not just that, he hated the way they had to part. The timing was the worst. If he wanted to keep this a secret until they got a little serious, or at least until they figured out what they even were, he had to endure for the sake of secrecy.

                But he was not being candid with himself. He was afraid of the reactions. It was encouraged to find a partner in squads, especially among Nephilim; it was something about a stronger bond, eventually, more Nephilim babies. Also, moving a person to a different squad if needed was easy. So, this was not the issue, but he knew what was.

                Maybe… his parents did not have to know, even if they started a relationship. He was so worried about what would happen if they knew he liked a Warlock. He could take just small steps at first. He could start with his crew, because he expected he would be unable to hide it when they arrived at Flux, and then the rest… it would depend on their reaction.

                “Leave Captain alone, he had a rough time,” Clary murmured. It was a surprise, but they went through that situation together; she might have felt responsible for the danger she put them in.

                “Thanks, Ensign,” Alec said, and he focused on his food again.

Alec almost wanted to hide in his apartment and wait for the evening, but he was forced to go visit the reservoir again and all the other places while checking his pad, even though he knew no message would arrive. He knew it was a useless thing to do, but he could not help himself.

The minutes dragged on, and it was almost unbearable; the waiting was killing Alec. But Alec endured worse, so he just gritted his teeth and forced a smile now and then, hoping no one noticed how often he checked the time.

                When they went back to their apartments to prepare for the evening, Alec finally gathered the courage to even talk about Magnus.

                “So… Magnus will go with us to Flux, is that okay with everyone?” Alec asked in the best casual way he could manage at this point.

                Suddenly, Izzy’s eyes went wide, and it was as if something finally clicked in, and a small lightbulb flicked above her head. Alec hated that look.

                “Yes! He should, he’s part of the team after all!” She said before anyone could even react. But judging from their expressions, it did not bother anyone. At least this helped Alec to relax. His team was on the same wavelength on some important things.

                “Now, excuse us, I have an important meeting with our captain,” Izzy said and pushed Alec to his apartment.

                The rest were watching them in puzzlement, but she had already shut the door behind them.

                “You! You were in the reservoir with Magnus, weren’t you?!” She shot as soon as they were inside.

                “I… uhh… why would you say that?”

                “We didn’t look at the reservoir together when we planned our trip. How would you know about it in such a short time?”

                “Avina?” Alec tried. But Izzy scoffed with her arms crossed.

                “Okay, it doesn’t matter. Now, show me your clothes, I won’t let you go to Flux in some tattered shirt. Then I need to help Clary, so hurry up.”

                Rummaging through his suitcase, she found a nice pair of trousers and a dark blue shirt with short sleeves that still looked quite new. With a remark that it would match well with his eyes, she rushed off, leaving Alec confused. But he listened to her advice about clothes; she was the expert here.

                As they were almost at Flux, Alec saw from a distance that Magnus was already waiting there. It was as if he did not want to go inside without them. Offspring lair, he said. Alec hoped it would not be so bad.

                He wore different clothes from those in the reservoir; that outfit was more casual. This time, he had a silky red shirt that just asked Alec to gently feel it. The pants were so tight, it was hard to tear his eyes off, so Alec looked at his eyes, trying not to look weird. He had golden glittery eyeshadow that made him look exquisite. His hair was chaotic, but Alec knew he had carefully styled it.

                As soon as Magnus spotted them, he beamed. Alec suddenly had a hard time breathing, and he was glad that it took a while until they reached him.

                “Here goes my lovely crewmates!” He greeted them with zest. “Came here to save the poor young and lost Warlock?” Alec was not sure about young, but for a Warlock standard, he was not old. He smiled at the joke and caught Magnus’ careful glance, Alec lowered his head, a smile never leaving his face.

                “The captain said you would go with us. I think it was a great idea, we can treat this as a teambuilding of sorts,” said Clary, and smiled as well.

                So, Magnus joined them and took place next to Alec; he was so close that their shoulders were almost touching, and Alec’s eyes were sparkling like jewels.

                “Is it that bad inside?” Alec asked, suddenly worried.

                “For you? No. For me… well, I was never inside, so I can only guess. I usually visit Omega or Silversun, and I even throw parties at my apartment. We can always change the locale.”

                Alec nodded, and then they entered. The place was huge. On one side was a dance floor, which was full of people, maybe even some Nephilim were among them. The music was loud, and it had electronic undertones mixed with machine-like sounds. It had a nice beat. The lights were vivid and blinked in the rhythm of the music.

                As they made their way further, Alec saw an alley of softly beeping gambling machines. This place had everything. In the corner was a huge bar, with many tables and chairs. They had to bring two more chairs, but all fit around one table. After some small talk with Magnus, getting a drink and dinner, they felt at ease. Just a small party of friends, no dangerous missions, life-threatening situations. At this time, as Alec was searching for Magnus’ gaze repeatedly and easily finding it every time, he felt complete. Even though he loved his siblings and even though he rambled about how Simon and Clary were reckless, he was fond of them to some degree as well. He sometimes felt like he was still missing something and the void slowly filled with each look, each accidental but also nonaccidental touch at the same time.

                It was time for dancing, at least according to Izzy. Alec declined; he did not feel like dancing, no, not now that Magnus was here. He was not confident in his skills and was afraid of embarrassing himself. When he couldn’t be persuaded, Magnus promised to take care of him, and everyone except them left for the dance floor.

But the evening was far from over. Alec felt a sharp look from the table on the far left, just as the rest went dancing. Zara.

                Suddenly, Zara got up, with two more of her squad mates and went directly to their table. An angry look on her face. “What’s this scum doing here?” She spat and looked directly at Magnus; her friends exchanged amused looks.

Alec's jaw tightened, and he felt anger slowly boiling inside. Then he realised that this did not deserve even an answer, and he thought that she was not worth Magnus’ attention. Magnus wanted to say something, but Alec gently touched his thigh under the table and then got up.

                “What do you want, Zara?” Alec asked, his voice sounded completely tired. The anger was gone, and all that was left was just resignation. Resigned that they had to deal with her instead of having fun. She was not worth it.

                “Nothing, I just want to have a drink in peace and not watch my back in case this bar explodes.”

                Alec could not believe it. It did not make sense. How could Warlock make the bar explode? And which Warlock cannot control their biotic power? Maybe some baby, but not an adult. Alec was not sure if it was her lack of information, provocation or rather ignorance.

                “If you have problems with self-control, Zara, take it elsewhere.”

                “This is an Offspring place. Why is he here?!” She pointed her angry finger at Magnus, ignoring Alec’s answer. Her crew nodded their heads. They sounded almost like her echo.

                “He’s now part of my crew if you didn’t notice.”

                “Of course. Your father is one of the Admirals, so you can bend the rules however you want. Get him out, your rank does not work on me here, nor your made-up rules.” Things she said did not make sense, so full of envy, or she wanted to provoke them and make them leave. What did Magnus do to her? They were not even looking in their direction before.

                And then, Magnus stood up. “Miss, I don’t think you understand the situation, or even how the Offspring space fleet works,” he said, and his hand sparked with biotic, just barely. Only Alec, Zara and her friends could see it.

                Alec shot a quick look at him. Oh, Zara did not want to make him angry, but he knew Magnus knew better than to pick up fights in a bar.

                “And what can you do to me? Attack me here, and then lose your precious contract with Nephilim. I bet they pay you a fortune!” She mocked, and Alec rolled his eyes.

                “No one is interested in your threats. They are plain anyway, since you had to bring your friends,” Alec said and sneered at them, which made her scowl, and she moved her hand in an annoyed gesture at her escort.

                “I won’t forget this,” Zara said, and then she left.

                “Well, that was as enjoyable as tripping on an ice planet without a space suit,” Magnus said and sighed.

                “What about… we change a locale? I don’t think it’s very pleasant for you here,” Alec said, and Magnus smiled, grateful.

                “Well, at least I know which place to avoid,” he said in a light tone.

                They waved at Izzy, who noticed they were leaving, and she nodded with a knowing smile, and then she leaned to Simon and continued to dance with him. Alec was sure he did not want to see more, so he made haste.

                As they went outside, Alec felt that Magnus took his hand. Alec’s heart fluttered. He was still not used to this feeling, so he stopped and looked at him, making sure that this was real.

                He was gathering the courage to ask him what they were. But Magnus spoke first. “My brave Nephilim,” he joked, but maybe he meant it at least a little.

                “What? She was a pain; someone had to get rid of her.”

                “But still… people usually expect me to defend myself.”

                That was understandable. Alec saw his power; he knew his quick wit, and he could just imagine what others thought of him, but still, he did not understand why no one would defend him. He thought it was given that you protect people you care about.

                “Why? I could never let it go,” Alec now held both Magnus’ hands, his voice was soft. He was staring into the beautiful, cat-like eyes that hid a secret spark, a spark he discovered just recently. Why didn’t he notice it before? Tonight, the spark was especially strong. But the question still lingered, and he was afraid to ask. What am I to you?

                “And that’s why you’re so interesting,” Magnus whispered and took a small step closer. With his hand, he removed a single strand of hair from Alec’s forehead, taking in his facial features.

                Was Alec interesting? It was a good thing, wasn’t it? But then he saw out of the corner of his eye Zara again, did she… saw them? And if she did, did it matter?

                “Let’s go, lead the way to the next locale,” Alec said. He did not want to unnerve Magnus with that stupid girl. It took Magnus by surprise, but he agreed.

                “Okay, our next stop is Silversun! My favourite, I didn’t visit it for more than a month with all that research. I miss it.”

                The place was huge. It was nothing like Flux. Shiny holographic signs were everywhere. The casino, bar, strip club, and even a sushi bar. All too exotic. You could choose anything. Maybe Magnus enjoyed the variability of this place.

                Magnus let go of Alec’s hand, and he spread his arms wide. “Welcome, better than Flux, isn’t it?”

                Alec smiled. More exclusive, that was for sure, but just as he wanted to say something, suddenly a person went directly to them. It was a lady with blue skin and white hair, a Warlock. It was more like she was passing by than going to have fun in Silversun. She wore something like a uniform, but it was not Warlock’s army uniform; Alec could not recognise it. As soon as Magnus noticed her, he beamed.

                “Catarina! How are you? Long time no see!” he said, and Catarina smiled.

                “I’m in a hurry; they need my help with an injury. One drunk Werewolf danced so vigorously, he hurt himself and took down by accident a few other people. But I wanted to say hi.”

                “Oooh, those Werewolves, they know how to party!” Magnus chuckled. Then he turned to Alec to introduce him.

                “This is Alexander, he’s my…” Alec noticed the small pause, he waited for what he would say with bated breath, “Captain, in the new job I told you about.” Of course, this confirmed it. Then… what were they?

                She gave him a knowing smile. So, at least he talked to his friends about the job with Nephilim.

“Take good care of him, you hear me? If he’s injured on your mission, I’ll haunt you,” she said, but then she smiled. “But he’s more than capable of protecting himself. Need to go!” And she was gone.

                “Well… that was quick,” Alec said.

                “Yes, she’s always too busy, well, let’s go before…”

                But then another person came, this time a Werewolf, who greeted Magnus happily. And after they got to a bar, it was another… and another… Everyone seemed to be asking about another party in his apartment, well, because of course, he was back, which called for a party. Some were just being friendly because they had not seen him for a long time or were mad at him. Alec could just guess one of them was his ex or something from their exchange, but it was an Offspring, which was curious. A common civilian, but Offspring, nonetheless.

                After the eighth person, Alec started to get exhausted. This place was not pleasant for him, and Flux for Magnus. He was not sure what the solution could be and tried not to look too annoyed when a Vampire came to them.

                “Magnus Bane, uh,” he said with a scoff. This Vampire looked too young to be here, but Alec knew it was not the case. Many Vampires looked much younger than they were. He did not say anything else, and he was gone, and that was the last straw, even for Magnus.

                “Perfect greeting… so much like Raphael, but we’re friends. Well, okay, I admit. I forgot how it goes when I’m gone for more than a month.”

                “Are you always this popular?” Alec asked. He expected a lot, but not this. Well, not everyone liked him, but that goes together with being known around.

                “Mostly… I guess. I never thought of it.”

                “So… is this over for tonight?” Alec asked. He already had enough, being tired from all the interaction, the loud crowds, music, lights, everything. He had terrible dates before, but mostly because of the other person, not external factors. This was new, and it felt awful because he could not do a thing about it.

                “That was a lovely first date, wasn’t it?” Magnus scoffed bitterly. Alec was at least glad they both saw it as a date. “Well… but I could fix it, we could go to my personal apartment, if you’re okay with that. We can have a nightcap. I have a wide range of great drinks.”

                “Anything but this,” Alec said, surprising himself. But he felt so drained. The first date and their destination was Magnus’ home. But, well… this was an emergency. They were not doing something wrong. It was just having a drink, just to get away from all these people.

                On the way to Magnus’ apartment, Alec did not speak much. He had no idea that Magnus was this social. Maybe it was also because he threw parties here. Alec knew Magnus had no problems getting friendly with people, that much he saw how easily his crew accepted him despite the first impression.

                They were so different. Magnus was like a shining star, a star everyone looked at, longed to interact with or admired from a distance. And Alec was just a common Nephilim, one of many. Just a disposable, trivial soldier who was promoted because he was always responsible. He was okay with their differences at first, but now that he witnessed it firsthand, he suddenly was not sure that Magnus would want another date with him.

                Did he even deserve Magnus’ attention? He shot him a sidelong glance, and Magnus smiled at him. At least Magnus said he was interesting. That sentence still made his heart feel warm. It was something.

                They arrived at a luxurious quarter in Presidium on the Citadel. Alec really felt like Magnus was out of his league. His heart sank. Alec’s cabin on Idris was so plain, and he wondered what Magnus’ apartment would look like since the quarter looked like this.

                He was quite correct, the apartment they stood in front of was huge. It had two floors, there was a camera guarding the exit, Magnus came closer to it, and he let the scanner scan his eyes.

                “Welcome home, Doctor Magnus Bane,” the communicator said.

                “Doctor? Why does no one call you that?” Alec asked.

                “I avoid it. It means nothing, just because I’ve studied something, being called a doctor doesn’t feel right. And I think your Nephilim admirals enjoyed calling me just mister, well, I asked them to anyway,” Magnus shrugged.

                Magnus was anything but modest, so this surprised Alec. But in a way, it made sense that he could be seen as nerdy. It did not fit Magnus’ image he just saw at all. This was not modesty; it was a carefully crafted image. Maybe… Magnus was different underneath all that social pompous self. Alec saw a glimpse of it when Magnus started talking about his expertise in the reservoir.

                The place was luxurious. Magnus’ chaotic style was all over the place. Just from where he was standing, he could see a bar, digital paintings and even oil ones. Those were rarely to be seen; not many people enjoyed them. He saw a billiard table, and a corridor that led perhaps to a bedroom and more private places. Alec wondered if he had his scientific equipment there.

                Suddenly, there was unusual movement on the floor. A small robotic cat ran to them and was now nudging Magnus’ leg.

                “Chairman Meow! I’m glad you activated as I entered, unlike in the morning when you totally ignored me. I must convince the Nephilim to bring you to Idris this time!” Magnus said and petted the robot. It purred in an electronic voice, and then it came to greet even Alec.

                Alec smiled, he knew that robotic pets existed; he had already seen a few, but they were never on Idris. “Does he like me?” he asked as he was petting him.

                “I hope so, I would never reset him, I let him evolve on his own.”

                It seemed that Chairman Meow was okay with Alec, but after a while, he got bored and ran away.

                After Chairman Meow left, Magnus went to the bar, and Alec followed him. The Warlock stood there, pointing his ringed finger at the bottles one by one in a very graceful movement, then he stopped.

                “Perfect, I think you’ll like this one,” Magnus said and poured them both a glass. “This is directly from Thessia, our homeland planet. The first planet we fully colonised in this galaxy.”

                Alec raised the glass, and Magnus toasted. “To us, hopefully, we’ll laugh at this bad date in the future.”

                A smile crept on Alec’s face, and he joined the toast. “To us,” he repeated softly. The liquor was sweet, not too strong, and it tasted great.

                “You really have great taste,” Alec stated the obvious, but Magnus seemed flattered.

                “That I do, that’s why you’re here with me now,” Magnus' smile was coy, he put down his glass and came closer to Alec.

                Alec’s breath hitched. This was it. The moment that would decide everything. Alec’s kisses so far were only soft on the lips, but he somehow knew that tonight it would be different. Putting down his glass, too, he lowered his gaze and blushed slightly.

                “I’m trivial, Magnus. I don’t even know why you chose me,” he whispered.

                Magnus’s gaze was now soft; he shook his head and brushed Alec’s cheek with the knuckles of his hand. He did not deny that he chose him; maybe next time he would tell Catarina he was his boyfriend.

“How can you say that, my sweet, honest, brave Captain?” Magnus was now so close that the light, pleasant scent of sandalwood enveloped him completely, and Alec took a deep, quiet breath to inhale it fully. He raised his head to look at Magnus.

                “It’s not bravery, it’s learnt drill,” he said.

                “I know bravery when I see it.”

                No one ever told him he was brave or interesting. Too direct, possibly, but not honest. With Magnus, Alec felt special. He felt a hand moving to his chin and slowly lifting it. As in reflex, Alec’s eyes closed, and the soft lips were now pressed against his. He slid his hands on Magnus’ shoulders and slowly embraced him.

                Magnus’ hands moved to the small of his back, and he returned the embrace. Their hearts were pounding, and this gave Alec a little satisfaction. Perhaps he was not the only nervous one here.

                They broke the kiss and looked into one another’s eyes. Half-lidded, darkened with desire, this time, Alec initiated another. He was unsure how to proceed, but Magnus was an amazing kisser. He expertly parted Alec’s lips with his tongue and gently deepened the kiss. Feeling his legs getting wobbly under the sensation, Alec grasped at Magnus’ shoulders, softly moaning. This was the first kiss of this kind for Alec, and he could not wish for it to be any better. He was not sure if Magnus knew how inexperienced Alec was.

                “This was an amazing first kiss,” Alec said. He had to let him know, otherwise… who knows what Magnus would expect of him tonight.

                “First? Really? Then… I have this amazing experience just for myself,” Magnus said. He was surprised at first, but it did not faze him at all. After it sank in, he seemed even satisfied.

                “Well… I don’t count quick pecks on lips.”

                “I see, so I wasn’t your first date.”

                Alec nodded and leaned in closer, so that he stayed in his embrace. He felt a gentle caress on his back, and he knew that Magnus could feel the small flat discs on his skin; this time, he did not wear a jacket. The dots were not thick, barely recognisable along his spine, and Alec tensed.

                “It’s the implants, isn’t it?” Magnus whispered, hardly hiding his excitement, and just with a tip of his finger, he touched one of them. Then he moved his hand to Alec’s shoulder blades and found thin lines made of them. He gently caressed it.

                “Yes… And I know you wanted to see.” Alec was unsure how Magnus would perceive it, so he wanted to show him as soon as possible. To be free, to show him his true form.

                “Are you sure?”

                “It’s just my back, it’s okay. But you might want to turn off the lights.” Oh, it was more than that; they both knew it. Not because of the half-nakedness, but because of what the implants symbolised.

A trust. Secret. Intimacy.

                Magnus chuckled, perhaps to hide the nervousness.  “How can I see anything if I turn off the lights?” Alec noticed; he wore humour as armour.

                “You’ll see, I promise.”

                Magnus clapped his hands, said lights off, and they turned off. Alec took a deep breath and slowly removed his shirt. His hands were shaking.

                The shirt was on the counter now. He knew what his back looked like. Black dots along the spine were visible, one on almost every vertebra, about two centimetres in diameter each, but if you focused on them, you could see them clearly even without light. A scar along it was never fully healed, leaving a silver line. The rest of the implants were lodged into the skin on the shoulder blades in thin lines, dot next to dot. It almost looked like wings.

                “Now, I’ll activate improved sight,” Alec said, and a soft white light with blue undertones lit the room. If the lights were still turned on, he would not see it; this apartment's lights were too bright.

His body had barely warmed up from the usage. He knew which ones were now lit. Then he changed it, improved breathing, speed, and aim. Every time, a different set of dots emanated a soft glow, except for the spine, which was lit all the time, whenever anything was active.

                Then he stopped sending impulses and shyly turned to Magnus. He was afraid to look at him. After all, this was artificial, not a natural part of the body. Whenever Alec touched it, it felt so alien, even though it was almost like skin on touch, fully fused with his body, it warmed up whenever he used it and always reminded him of his duty.

                But as for Magnus…

“It’s beautiful,” Magnus said, breathless. “May I…?”

                Alec was relieved, but still felt shy and anxious, then he nodded and felt just the slightest reverent touch on his back. His back softly glowed, maybe all the implants were now fully lit, as he was in a different state of mind. He shivered under the touch, in need of more and with a soft exhale, he closed his eyes.

                “I take it I’m your first Nephilim?” Alec asked, barely audible.

                Magnus gently stroked his shoulders and then came closer. He embraced him, and then he pressed his hot lips to one of his shoulders.

Magnus purred into his ear in a dangerously low tone. “You are. Now, get dressed, Alexander. I don’t want to rush things, and you don’t make this exactly easy.”

                Alec shivered after hearing his name, slightly leaning his head closer to Magnus’ lips. The desire burned so strongly, his heart could jump out of his chest anytime, but he complied. He listened to his heart, now it was time to listen to reason again. He dressed up and went for another kiss.

                “Come, I’ll show you something too,” said Magnus after they parted their lips, and led Alec to the balcony. It was currently night cycle on the Presidium, and the lights looked like small stars. Hundreds and hundreds of buildings in front of them. “I hope I’ll see you here every time we’re on the Citadel.” A quiet vow wrapped in the most casual words.

                Alec knew what that meant; they really were together. He put his arm around Magnus’ waist, snuggled against him and nodded. “Yes, and I want to visit the Citadel only with you around.”

                And then they silently watched the beautiful view in a tight embrace. No, this was not a date that went wrong. This was the beginning of something new.

Chapter Text

                Alec woke up at five in the morning in Magnus’ arms in his bedroom, both fully clothed. His heart started to pound when he remembered the evening. Was this even real?

                Looking at sleeping Magnus, Alec could not help but to admire him; he was beautiful even without his make-up, which reassured him that it was not a dream. It was too early, but he decided he must sneak back into his apartment. He did not want to admit to his crew that he was dating Magnus, even though he wanted them to get serious. Feelings or duty? What was more important?

                But for now, Alec kissed Magnus on the cheek and whispered. “I need to go… can we… can we keep this as a secret for now?” he pleaded.

                Magnus sleepily opened one eye and then closed it again and slightly frowned. Alec felt so giddy just looking at him, but then he wondered how many people saw him like this... He hoped that one day Magnus would talk about his life, other than his research, funny stories and interests.

                “Mmm… how long?” Magnus murmured.

                “I’m not sure… I’ll start with Izzy, I think she knows anyway, then we’ll see, okay?”

                Magnus mumbled something and pulled him back to his embrace.

                “How do I leave this hi-tech place?” Alec whispered against the crook of Magnus’ neck.

                Magnus sighed. He was not too happy with this. “You can just go, it’ll let you, going inside is what’s difficult.”

                “Thanks,” Alec said softly and kissed him. Magnus smiled against his lips and leaned into the kiss, then he let him go. On his way out, he saw Chairman Meow resting in a docking station. He never imagined he had one of those; he couldn’t wait to get to know Magnus more.

                The Citadel was buzzing with life as usual. Shuttles whooshing in the air, people rushing, busy with their lives. No wonder, since so many people lived in one place, and Wards did not have the night cycle. When Alec arrived at his apartment, it was six in the morning. He decided to sleep some more; it was an offshore leave after all. He wondered when Izzy and others finished their party.

                Just as he was drifting to sleep, the data pad beeped. His hand reached for it sleepily, and there was a text from Magnus.

                I miss you.

                He should’ve stayed. To black hole with all the secrecy. But… he was afraid, but not just because of himself and his parents. He knew that Magnus could now be a target, too; he saw it with Zara. But he had to take the leap of faith, prepared to fight for both.

                Miss you too.

                He replied and then easily fell asleep.

                When another beep from his data pad sounded, Alec got up, eager if it was another message from Magnus, but when he saw that it was email, he frowned. It was nine in the morning, and the content was his mother informing him about a mission.

                Going through the file, Alec furrowed his brows. They were supposed to locate a person from ExoGeni Corporation. He was accused of smuggling Nephilim implants to Vampires, here on the Citadel. Alec got his photo; it was a simple Offspring technician. His hair was dark, it had started greying already, and he had green eyes. Their mission was to find the crates on the Citadel and any possible leads that the technician had stolen them, also, if possible, the technician himself.

                Scrolling further through the documentary, he found out only his name, Jack Crow. They did not have much information on him, other than this and his occupation. It was like someone had erased the data.

                As he was reading further, he saw that this was supposed to be a mission without Magnus. Alec’s mother did not want to involve him; that was an order. But… he was a part of his team now. It did not feel right. Or maybe he should assist on the mission only when the artefacts were involved? And this time, there were even Nephilim implants, Offspring’s top-secret technology.

                Alec was not sure how to handle this order, lying to Magnus, but also disobeying direct orders? Both were wrong. But it would be easy to sneak Magnus on the mission here in the Citadel, even though he would disobey.

                He sent the mission information to his team, then he faltered. He found Magnus’ contact, and his finger hovered above send. Then he deleted it and chose a different approach, which was, as usual, honesty, but obedience.

                We've got a mission here on Citadel, but Vice Admiral excluded you. I don’t think you would be paid for it. It should be easy, we’ll be fine.

                With a heavy heart, he stashed the pad and wore a simple bulletproof vest under his shirt and a jacket. It should give him at least some shields.

                The warehouse was in a different Ward than where they had their apartments. On their way, Alec checked his pad many times. The simple answer Okay was haunting him. Was Magnus disappointed?

                But there was no time for this. They had a mission to complete, stealthily enter the storage and find any possible evidence of the smuggling. Switching the focus to the mission, Alec checked his equipment again. A small pistol should suffice; anything else would tell anyone immediately that they were most likely Nephilim. They tried to hide it today.

                Finding the correct warehouse without Avina’s help was difficult. Even though they had a map from the Vice Admiral, it was not interactive, and that remote part of the Citadel was not as well-maintained as the rest. And what was strange, the small funny robots, Keepers, were not visible anywhere. Maybe they were just hidden somewhere.

                As they were checking the perimeter, Simon was the one who identified the correct warehouse. He did not have his drone with him; it would be too noticeable, but he still had his engineering skills and small kit. Carefully comparing it with the map, he confirmed it.

                “Captain, it should be here,” he whispered into the comm.

                Everyone used their implants to have light steps, so that they would not make too much sound, and they gathered there.

                Izzy nodded and slowly peeked inside. Then she hid again. With her hand, she showed two fingers, pointed to the left and then one finger, pointed to the right. Everyone understood.

                “Our guy?” Clary asked softly, and Izzy shook her head.

                “Neutralise, I don’t want them hurt,” Alec said, but then he turned to Jace, “Commander,” Alec whispered, and Jace sneered.

                Everyone snuck in, except for Simon, who was guarding the door. Being the support at its finest, as usual.

                Izzy and Clary went after the guy on the right; the rest was up to Alec and Jace. Thanks to the crates, it was not that hard to hide, but Jace was too impatient. He grabbed one of the guys and hit him on the temple with his pistol. Alec had to rush as the person on the other side was now also alert. Alec hurried up and stunned his guy. Then he quickly shot his gaze across the hall and saw Izzy sitting on the chest of the Offspring.

                “Like what you see?!” she said loudly, threatening, her eyes were like flaming daggers. The guy didn’t dare to speak, and she knocked him out.

                His sister was sometimes scary, and partly because of it, he was glad to have her in his squad. Alec just hoped that this was all, and no one else was hiding here.

                “Scatter around. Find a delivery note, anything. There must be some kind of list; if you can, peek inside the boxes, but don’t leave much mess.”

                They rummaged through the room, trying to find anything, while Alec restrained all three guards. Building gave out a feeling like it did not even belong to this wondrous Citadel. Alec wanted this to get over soon, but then Jace ran to him with a paper in his hand.

                “Look, this is strange. I think we need to check the contents of the crates, because it states here that inside are just clothes, medigels, and this is… it does not make sense, ingredients for pies?”

                “What a strange list. I don’t even know how to make a pie,” Alec murmured. He thought it was strange; it could get spoiled here even if it was in powder. He would not make a pie even if ordered. He wondered why he thought that…

                “This is clearly fake, it must be codenames, that’s how they smuggled it in here,” they could hear Simon say from the door.

                “Simon is right,” Izzy said, and she started to look if she could find any loose crates. First, everyone just felt them, but not a one was loose.

                “Captain, I think we need Simon to open it. I’ll switch with him, and I’ll keep watch”, Clary said, and Alec agreed.

                With his engineering tool, he made a quick process of one of the crates. Inside, as expected, were Nephilim implants. Everyone stared at it in disbelief; they had never seen it outside of the body. Small discs attached to wires with unusual material were inserted into a special cooling container, and the implant was floating in transparent liquid. Simon did not dare to touch it, so Izzy did it instead. She took one of the containers and closely observed it for a while.

                “So, this is inside of us…” she whispered in disbelief. Then she carefully put it back.

                “Our resources were right, open another crate, Ensign,” Alec ordered, and he tried not to look at it.

                Simon nodded; he was expecting more implants, but it was not true at all. He stopped and watched in disbelief.

                “We should have brought Magnus, Captain, look at this!”

                Alec hurried, and he froze. It looked like something Daemonic, but just taken apart. He quickly took a photo of it. He should have followed his gut; he had a feeling leaving Magnus out of this was not right.

                “And this is being smuggled to Vampires? Something’s not right… Alright, calling for backup, we need to raid this completely, seize everything.” Alec said and resolutely tapped his data pad. He hoped that Nephilim and other soldiers would be here soon. This warehouse belonged to the Offspring people, so they had the right to seize everything.

                But he also got mad at the orders he followed again. It was flawed, and he did not like it, and he knew it. Did Magnus not teach him anything? Next time, he would stand against his mother, respectfully, but firmly. Not disobeying orders, just questioning them, trying to choose the best approach.

                “I’ll send this to Magnus; he needs to come here. I don’t care what the order said, this might be some artefact,” Alec said as he was clicking his pad again.

                “You should have done so right away. Why didn’t you bring him?” Izzy asked.

                “Well, he would work for free, look into the briefing,” Alec sighed, but was he in the job really for the money, as Zara suggested? Alec did not think so anymore, perhaps that's why the text Okay hurt so much.

                Checking his pad again, he finally saw an answer.

                I knew I should’ve come. Stop caring about my compensation. Next time, just inform me and let me decide if possible. On my way.

                And the fuzzy feeling from this morning was gone in an instant. This did not start too well. Alec put away the pad and buried his face in his hands once he saw it.

                “Something wrong?” Jace asked, and Alec just shook his head.

                “It’s okay, Magnus is on the way.”

                Fortunately, Magnus was there sooner than the backup. At this point, the Nephilim would be more of a moving service, but that was okay.

                Clary let him in, and Magnus danced inside, his movements elegant, reminding them of a cat. “So, I heard you’re unable to lift a finger without me,” he said in an amused tone, but Alec clearly saw that he was disappointed. It occurred to him that this was perhaps the first time he had noticed his true feelings, true feelings hidden behind witty remarks. Now, even Magnus knew it would be easy to hide his presence from the Vice Admiral, since they sent for him.

                Alec immediately came closer, feeling awkward. “I’m so sorry, Magnus. I… I didn’t want to burden you; it was an order and…”

                Magnus silenced him with a movement of his hand. Alec looked like a kicked puppy, and Magnus sighed. He gave in. “Alexander, don’t look at me like this, just promise me, you will give me at least a chance to let me choose my missions, okay?”

                But this really meant trying to stand up to the higher ranks. But it was true that he did not even try to ask; he just accepted the order and was done with it. That was the worst; if he had at least tried, he would not feel that miserable now.

                Alec tried not to notice the meaningful looks Jace and Izzy exchanged and how Simon was confused. His self-control was slipping again; he wondered how long it would take for others to notice that something between them had changed and how much of a problem it would be.

                “I promise, I’ll ask Vice Admiral next time. I will at least try, but I have one condition…”

                Magnus raised his brow.

                “If it would directly endanger you, I will let you choose, but still try to talk you out of it.”

                Magnus huffed out a laugh and shook his head. He said nothing. Then they led him to the Daemonic thing, and he curiously looked at the implant in the crate next to it. Alec saw how he rubbed his fingers together and the way he looked at it, as if remembering something. Then he shot him a sidelong glance, and Alec blushed, averting his gaze.

                “So, what do we have here? Is this why I wasn’t invited to the mission by the Vice Admiral? To hide your Nephilim secrets?” Magnus said and pointed at the implants.

                Izzy shot an incredulous look at Alec, and he shrugged, trying to act cool. The red colour in his cheeks even deepened, so it was not very convincing. Oh, and now she knew, she definitely knew. Her imagination could even run wild, which was even worse.

                “How do you know what it is? You saw some during the war or something?” Jace asked.

                “Or something, yes,” Magnus was being cryptic, and a smug grin ran across his face. Then he faced the crate with the artefact.

                Alec noticed that he did not even wear his usual rings; perhaps he knew what to expect here, so he left them at home. Magnus took out gloves that looked almost like they belonged to a space suit and wore them. Touching the Daemonic item, looking at it from all angles, brows furrowed. Alec thought that he had that look again, that one that took him to a different world. It was endearing, and Alec could not help but smile fondly.

                “Oooh, the data I could get from this,” Magnus mumbled and removed his gloves and then he turned back at them. “I need this crate. All of it.”

                Nephilim looked at one another, and Alec was thinking about how to do it. Admit to his mother that he disobeyed orders? Not possible.

                “Okay, I must not let Vice Admiral know that you were here, but she should agree with this being shipped to you,” Alec said, and the photo of it was sent to the Vice Admiral.

                After exchanging a few texts, he had the resolution. “Yes, she agrees, but don’t ever let her know you were here. Because… you know, this,” Alec said and pointed to the implants.

                Magnus nodded, and barely noticeable, he rubbed his hand against Alec’s as he was leaving, so subtly it could be accidental, but Alec knew better. Smiling, he was glad; it seemed he was forgiven. He would not betray the trust. “Ah, Nephilim, what have I gotten myself into this time?” Magnus said with a fake dramatic sigh on his way out.

                Unfortunately, as expected, their offshore leave was cut short, though only for Alec’s squad. It was partly because of the discovery, they wanted Magnus to start working on it on Idris immediately, and the owner of the warehouse started to threaten Nephilim and said that he did have there just clothes and medigel. He said he had no idea that the implants and Daemonic artefact were inside.

                It was fishy, but they had no proof. The mission was too hasty, poorly planned. Alec couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong. It was not their fault; the warehouse was almost empty except for a few guards. Even interrogation of them did not help, because they were hired externally. They did not belong to ExoGeni.

                Alec knew it would take a while until they either got some proof or they would just have to let it go. And Jack Crow was nowhere to be found, which was not surprising, but disappointing anyway.

                Once Magnus got the artefacts, he almost locked himself in his cabin with the research. Although he told Alec to visit him anytime, Alec still felt as if he was disturbing him because he was so focused.

                When Alec met Jace at lunch, he needed to discuss his thoughts so far at least with him. They sat in the far corner, so that no one listened to them.

                “So, what do you think of our finds on the Citadel?” Alec asked, putting his food on the table.

                “Dunno… the briefing seemed rushed. Can you believe it? It was like we got just fooled.”

                Alec was glad that Jace saw it similarly to him. He frowned and nodded, deep in thought. “Exactly… did you see who sent the report? It was Commander Villalobos.”

                “Manuel? Isn’t he in charge of the seventh squad? I had a few missions with him, quite the asshole.” Jace said, then he stuffed his whole mouth with food. Hungry as usual.

                “Do you think he did it on purpose? Or was he just that sloppy?”

                Jace scoffed. “Well, with him, anything is possible. I think we should ask Magnus. He has his resources as a Warlock; perhaps he would know something.”

                Alec did not want to bother him, but he knew that again, they would need him. “You are right… But he is so busy.”

                “I have no idea what’s between the two of you, but I think he would help you. It seems you have a certain… spell over him, not that I care. It’s your business, unless you want to talk about it.”

                So, even Jace noticed and maybe a long time ago. As usual, he did not poke his nose into his love life more than necessary. Alec was grateful.

                Alec looked around, and then he yielded. “Okay, something is happening, but don’t tell anybody. Parents would freak out, after all… he’s not Nephilim, well not even an Offspring.”

                He promised Magnus that it would be official. So that he could stay in his cabin the whole night without sneaking out like on the Citadel. Izzy suspected him, and now Jace knew. All important people. Clary and Simon were next.

                Jace chuckled. “Well, yeah, I can imagine. No need to tell them.”

                So, there was perhaps no other option than to ask Magnus.

                Magnus was not answering the text, feeling anxious, Alec went directly to his cabin. After ringing the cabin bell shortly, there was no answer. Was he even inside? It’s been three days since they discovered the crates. But then the door opened.

                Magnus looked like he had not slept properly, but he still looked gorgeous despite it. It was a wonder that he managed to look that well. That, or for Alec, he looked attractive all the time, most likely both.

                “Alexander!” he beamed. “Why did you not let me know you are coming? Come inside,” he said and opened the door some more.

                “I did… sent you a text,” Alec answered and went inside.

                Magnus closed the door and started looking for his pad. “Sorry, I just got too into the research. It sometimes happens, but it is so fascinating. I think I would be able to create the artefact myself. It is like they are parts of it, just something is missing, it’s not whole. Unused artefact can hold so much new data.” Then he picked up the correct pad and checked it, frowning, closing many tabs, he then smiled. “Ah, here it is, oh. Sorry, an hour ago.”

                Alec sighed and shook his head. “You should get some rest, you know? I know this is important, but if you don’t rest, you won't make much progress.”

                The atmosphere felt a little awkward for Alec; it was a lot different here on Idris than on the Citadel. But it seemed that Magnus did not feel that way at all. When he put down the pad, he went and hugged Alec like it was something natural.

                “I’ll rest, but it’s nice to have you here,” Magnus said and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

                “I… I didn’t want to bother you. You were so busy last time I was here, and I see it still hasn’t changed.” Alec said, and he hesitated briefly. It did not feel right, but he had to do it. “But… I need to ask you for a background check, or if any of your friends could?”

                “Ah, asking favours. Well, what I wouldn’t do for you,” Magnus sighed, then they went to his couch. After they sat on it, Magnus scooted closer, slowly putting his arm around Alec’s shoulders. Alec did not complain; he smiled shyly and reached for his free hand, interlacing their fingers together. He missed his touch, his smell, his smile. It was like he was starved for it, and he did this to himself.

                “Well… they still did not find Jack Crow, and… look at this, this is the briefing, it is quite sloppy,” Alec said and took out his pad. “Do you think it was on purpose?”

                Magnus took the pad and started to read. “Well, someone made haste. It could be just written so that the order can come quickly. Anything else?”

                That much was true. “I just… I have many questions, and I cannot find an answer. Who is this guy? Where did he find the stuff? Is ExoGeni behind this? How Malcolm got the artefacts if they were shipped to Vampires?” Alec’s frustration with the situation finally blew up. Magnus gave him a small, knowing smile.

                “All the responsibility is on your shoulders. We both deserve some rest, I guess,” Magnus said. He saw how stressed Alec was. “I know just the thing,” he whispered and gently cupped Alec’s cheek with his hand.

                This time, Alec did not hesitate at all. He leaned in for a kiss immediately, surprising Magnus. He could tell by a brief pause before Magnus deepened the kiss. Alec poured his whole heart into it; it was passionate, almost knocking Magnus over on the couch.

                Magnus tried to balance himself and broke the kiss, not to fall over, with a silent chuckle. “So eager,” he whispered.

                “You work all day, it’s not my fault.”

                “Sorry,” Magnus said softly, and he leaned on the couch, pulling Alec down for another kiss.

                When Alec was leaving Magnus’ cabin, his head was still spinning. He never thought he could feel this way because of someone. They were just kissing, nothing else, and still… It left Alec dizzy, empty-headed headed and maybe even relaxed. Magnus was right that this would work on stress; it was a fascinating observation. Alec couldn’t wait to get more of this medicine next time. Magnus promised to ask Ragnor, his Warlock friend, for the background check. He was better at this, and Magnus was too busy anyway.

                With this being taken care of, Alec had one goal. Look into the files that were available to him. Everything about Jack Crow, all ExoGeni warehouses or factories and maybe even problematic Vampire smugglers. Sometimes it was not possible to accuse them of their deeds, as there was not enough proof. They had to use different resources if they were to find them. The Warlock-Nephilim alliance seemed like the best option. Just one thing was not sure… How much should Nephilim know about it?

Chapter Text

                It was never easy for Alec to ask the Admirals to let him choose his mission. But this time, he knew something was happening, and he had to stop it. Even though no artefact was activated, Ragnor found a clue about Jack’s whereabouts. He was supposedly hiding on a planet Noveria, an Offspring colony, one of Ragnor’s sources saw him personally. It was not surprising that a university professor on Warlock's home planet, Thessia, had a wide network of contacts. When Alec searched for information about him, he found that his field of specialisation was practically a Daemonic history on planets that subraces had cleared of them.

                It was now or never. He had to brief his mother or father, and at the same time, try not to admit he had this information from Warlock. He could not even tell them about Magnus being the source, for them, Warlocks were an unreliable source, good just for the artefacts analysis. Only if there was no other option, which he feared would happen anyway.

                He was still mad that Magnus was excluded from the last mission, as if just looking at the implants would ruin their Nephilim secrets. Nonsense. But he knew how some of the high-ranking officers thought; this was the pettiest thing and yet most likely.

                Alec was nervously pacing in front of the meeting room. He hoped he had his speech ready. Then he was finally let in.

                “So, Alec, is this formal or informal?” Father asked, and Alec faltered.

                “Both. It is about a mission. I was going through some materials, and I think I know where to find Jack Crow.”

                Alec hoped that his father would be too busy to investigate. He needed his approval for this mission.

                Looking doubtful, his father looked at him. “Are you sure? Even our specialists couldn’t find him. Did you hide something from us?”

                Alec sighed. This was a bad idea, but he had to be honest. He saw no other option. “Okay, I asked Magnus. He investigated his sources; we think he’s hiding on Noveria. I didn’t want to stress you with this.”

                “Magnus, is it? So, he fits well into your team?”

                Trying to conceal how tense he was, Alec just nodded. Then he gathered the courage to talk more about Magnus, not revealing how close they were. “Yes, he is a specialist and strong biotic. I think we should cooperate with more Warlocks. They deal with Daemons quite efficiently.”

                “Good, but do you think it’s a good idea to let him poke his nose into our business? ExoGeni is our main implant supplier; this person probably got bribed. ExoGeni cannot be behind this.” His father said and checked his pad. “Also, I don’t like the idea of a Warlock being around a sensitive mission like this. Well, but I’ll ask our person on Noveria, if it turns out to be true, be prepared.”

“Can I take Magnus too?” Alec asked.

Admiral sighed, but then he said. “I guess you can try, but tell Mr Bane this, we don’t have a budget for freelancers if it does not involve artefact activation. I guess this will convince him to stay on Idris. But if you wish, I’ll send him the briefing too.”

                Of course, the same old bullshit. Why wouldn’t they pay him? He would be out there risking his life with them. But he promised him to let him choose his missions if possible, and this time it was.

                “Anything else? This is very important. If Jack smuggles all those things, we need to capture him and question him.”

                “I’ll let you know, dismissed.”

                The mission order came in a few hours. Alec, being responsible as usual, prepared his team well, and Magnus was angry but still wanted to go with them. Jack Crow was spotted, and it was of utmost importance to get there before he could escape the planet.

                Simon piloted their shuttle like a professional, which he already was. Everyone knew the basics in case it was needed, but he perfectly fit the role. He could even navigate through mass relays, but he was not that confident in it yet; if he could avoid it, he did. Fortunately, Idris was currently not far from Noveria.

                When they were descending, Magnus complained. “Oh great, I knew this was an ice planet, but this is ridiculous.”

                But he had the right to complain; it was like they were entering a snowstorm. How could the colony even exist here? But the people lived here for at least a hundred years, so it had to be habitable. From the altitude, the houses were now barely visible.

                “You poor thing. They won’t even pay you, and now they want you to go freeze outside,” Jace joked.

                “I know, right? It’s not fair, I should choose a mission on a tropical planet next time. At least the travel was free.”

                Alec watched them with a fond smile. He was so glad that his crew liked Magnus.

                “Hey, ask Alec, he might help you keep warm,” Jace said and grinned. This was perhaps over the top, because Alec got tense. He looked around the cabin, trying to read the room. But not Magnus, not even Alec, tried to fend off the joke. It was just an awkward silence.

                “I knew it! Why didn’t you tell me?” Izzy said suddenly and bumped Alec’s arm.

                “For the same reason as you and Simon? I saw how you two danced in Flux. So don’t you dare to blame me,” and Alec did not deny. He just deflected the attention somewhere else. He wanted to know if he should start keeping an eye on Simon, or if it was Izzy just playing around as usual.

                “Don’t talk about me behind my back! I need to focus, soon we land.” Simon retorted from the control panel.

                Everyone laughed. This warmth, these people were not just his family and crew, they were his friends. People he could trust. Then Magnus leaned closer to Alec and whispered. “See? I knew that with your crew, it would be okay.”

                “I shouldn’t have doubted you… or in this case, them.” Alec said and reached for his hand and squeezed it, then he sneakily kissed his cheek and smiled at him.

                After they landed, it was time to find Jack. He was just a civilian, a technician of a big corporation, ExoGeni, but still… just a technician. So, they decided to divide completely, not feeling the danger of this mission. Secure the perimeter so that he had no way to escape. They had a rough estimation of his habitat.

                As was usual, people were greeting them happily as soon as they noticed their Nephilim space suits. A small badge of white wings was on their chests. Simon had the same badge, but the wings were blue. Magnus wore his classical Warlock suit, but when people saw he had arrived with them, it seemed they did not hesitate to answer his questions, too. The weather did not faze them at all. It was fascinating how they were completely accustomed to life on this planet. Heaters were everywhere around the small town, making the temperature at least bearable.

                Then they suddenly heard Simon on the comm. “Catch him! After him!”

                Alec quickly checked Simon’s coordinates and sent impulses to his implants. They saw a guy sliding on the ice, barely properly clothed.

                “Freeze!” Jace said, and then he snickered, but he did not stop chasing the guy.

                “Save your puns, catch the guy!” Izzy yelled at him.

                Jace had to use his implants at maximum now, because he was so quick, he was almost invisible to ordinary Offspring. Then he swooped the guy and together they slid on the frozen ground good few meters.

                “Don’t squirm! Come inside, you’ll freeze out here!” Jace’s voice was loud. He held the guy in a firm clutch and was dragging him back to the building he had run away from. The door was still open.

                “Let me go! I did nothing, hear me?! You have the wrong guy!”

                “Yeah, you tell us inside, save it,” Jace said and continued back to his house.

                The house was a common Offspring colony cabin. Rectangular, made of metal. The man stopped moving around and seemed resigned. Inside, they all opened their helmets, because it was not cold there.

                When they entered, Alec noticed that this man most likely did not live alone. The signs were everywhere, different-sized clothes, shoes. There must have been at least two of them. But… where was the other person? The furniture was not very expensive, just the basics.

                “Are you Jack Crow?” Izzy asked as Jace tossed the man into a chair.

                Man snickered. “No.”

                “Don’t lie! This is you!” Jace said and opened his pad, he showed him Jack’s photo.

                The man sighed. “What do you want from me?!”

                “Who did you smuggle those implants to? Also, the Daemonic artefacts?” Jace continued with the interrogation, while Alec looked around the room, searching for anything useful without touching.

                “Okay… I’ll tell you, but I need two things from you.”

                This was a surprise; he was willing to cooperate? Jace took another chair and put it in front of him. He put it backwards so that he could lean on it, directly staring at the man.

                “Talk,” Jace prompted.

                “Give me money, I want at least that much, so that I can leave and live in another colony.”

                Alec shrugged. That was perhaps possible if the information was good. “Well, how about half now, half after we find the warehouse you smuggled into?”

                He did not have time to answer because Magnus arrived, panting. He looked around, and his cat eyes could barely hide the surprise in them. “Johnny Rook! So, it really is you, I wasn’t sure! Still doing shady business, I see, you never learn. What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

                “Magnus!” The guy flinched when he saw him, and a weird shadow of fear ran across his face. Before, he was willing to talk, but the price could be high. “Look, I’ll tell you everything, I promise. Just… I need money, and I need you to save my son.”

                Now it made sense, the other person was his son, but how was it possible that he knew Magnus? How did Magnus know shady people like these? How many had Magnus known? Alec knew they would need to talk about it sooner or later. He did not like it at all. But he did not interrupt. Not now.

                “Wow, this scum has a son. Well, you promised him money already?” Magnus asked Jace.

                “Not yet, we’re in the middle of an interrogation,” Jace answered.

                “Good.” Magnus nodded. “Careful, Johnny. If you try to swindle them, I’ll find you and borrow the information directly from your brain.”

                Alec could not believe it. It was like he was skilled at dealing with these shady types. Almost like he did it daily. He was not sure whether he was impressed or unsettled, wondering about what Magnus’ chosen missions were before.

                “No! Please, not the mind meld!” Johnny covered his head with his arms. After their little talk in the reservoir on Citadel, Alec investigated some Warlock's abilities. This was one of them. If their nervous systems could create a mass field, it was possible they could join with another person's mind. Was Magnus just threatening him to do it forcefully, or did he ever…?

                His insecurity rose with every second; he started to realise that he practically knew nothing about Magnus. But Alec knew Magnus was a good person, at least now. But what about in the past? He was not sure anymore. He had to know, to know what formed him into the person Magnus was now.

                Jack, or was it Johnny? This was too confusing, but this Jack scoffed. “Magnus, what do you want? Since when you’ve been working with Nephilim?”

                “Not important. We’re asking the questions here. Johnny, we’ll look for your son but tell us everything.”

                Johny licked his lips, his eyes darted from Jace to Magnus, pupils dilated, then he started to talk.

                “Some money would be handy… Well, pay me if you find the info useful.” Johnny said then. “Look, don’t know much. I got employed at ExoGeni, then I stole a few things. Implants, I didn’t care what it was; money was good. Also, before my employment, I found some scrapes on other planets. Those were the weird things in other crates. I took photos, and Vampires wanted it too; they sent me to pick it up. I don’t know what they did with it after, but I sold it all. You seized my third shipment, damn, I knew I should pay more for erasing my data. That person had to be sloppy; I don’t know who snitched. He called himself the Menace. I don’t have any more implants, I swear!”

                “Who? What Vampires?” Magnus pressed once Johnny stopped talking; that was the information that seemed important to him.

                “Belcourt Corporation.”

                Alec noticed the small change in Magnus’ expression. It was just a flicker of pain, and then he controlled himself again. Then Magnus took out his pad and transferred some money. Alec was confused. He had not heard about this corporation before. Vampire business knowledge was not exactly his forte. Why did Magnus decide the information had some worth?

                “I knew it’d be handy!” Johnny said. “See, after you seized part of my goods, they took my son to punish me. Please, please find Kit. He’s all I have since my wife passed. He should be on Etamis! Belcourt Corporation has some facilities there. Here, I’ll give you coordinates, just promise me you’ll leave us alone.”

                Magnus rolled his eyes, like he did not believe him before. But the money he sent seemed to loosen his tongue. He really knew what he was doing.

                “Seems like truth to me, at least mostly. Tip him if you wish, I think we're going to Etamis,” Magnus said when he turned away from Johnny.

                “But I need mission permission from Admiral…” Alec said.

                Magnus sighed, his shoulders slumped, then he shook his head. “Nephilim and your bureaucracy.”

                Then they could hear a soft voice. Simon joined the conversation. “Well… I could fly there… It’s through the mass relay, but I can do it.” It had to be Simon; Magnus could drive through mass relays, but he was not familiar with Offspring vehicles.

                All the gazes were now turned to Alec; they waited for him, and Alec knew that whatever he decided, his crewmates would follow.

                “Etamis it is…” Alec said, his voice wavered, but he sent Johnny some money. He earned a wide grin from Magnus, which was worth this decision.

                Going through the mass relay with Simon without anyone to guide him through it was a different experience. He was hesitant and faltered when they were about to head into it. With Isabelle by his side, whispering to him encouraging words before diving in, the jump was perfect. After emerging from the mass relay, Simon shuddered. They floated for a few minutes outside of it. Simon was staring into the void, and Isabelle looked so proud.

                “Good job, Ensign!” Alec decided to praise him. He knew that they would need him to fly them through mass relays again and again. Simon was still visibly shaken, but Alec’s words added to his self-esteem.

                “I… am not so sure, but Etamis is in this sector, we’re here,” Simon said, and he kicked in the FTL – faster than light – motor and suddenly, in a minute or so, there was a different planet in front of them. It did not seem to be pleasant; there were not many oceans visible.

                They decided to ascend on a plain a few kilometres from the facility. Not wanting to attract the attention of the Vampires, it was a good idea. Unfortunately, not all of them could go. It would take too long to get there, and they had to take their Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which they called Mako. It was easier not to get noticed, and only three people could go.

                “So, we need to take Mako, anyone up for the mission?” Alec asked.

                Everyone wanted to go, but it was up to Alec to decide. “Okay, Magnus, of course. In case we find something Daemonic, and Jace. We’ll be back soon, I hope. If not, let Idris know.”

                Izzy and Clary looked mad for a second but accepted this as proper soldiers, only Simon was completely okay with being excluded.

                The planet looked as perfectly habitable from the altitude, but when they were riding in Mako, it was not so pleasant. Lichen was everywhere, and the water was there, but it was full of green algae. That is why it looked like there was no water. It was probably enough for the Vampires to live here, but the Offspring would not feel comfortable.

                The facility was soon visible. Proceeding with caution, Alec parked the Mako about one kilometre from it. Just seeing it gave Alec chills. The sterile-looking white building gave off ominous vibes. Unethical Vampires’ experiments were always disturbing; whenever Alec read through the information about missions he had access to. It ranged from trying to grow organs in people for harvesting them later for profit, not bothering to remove them if they were undeveloped, to forbidden genetic experiments to make them younger and further extend their lives. Alec could just guess what they would find inside.

                When they were close, they checked for any alarms and guards, having some instructions from Magnus on how the facilities are usually built, and then they tried to sneak in. As Magnus was a scientist, Alec expected him to work on ethical experiments with them in the past; it seemed logical.

                “Oh, this was such a bad idea,” Alec whispered when he saw the guards.

                “Why? We just look for Kit and we’re out. Then we provide the information to Nephilim, and they will raid it if we find something disgusting,” Jace said. For him, it was as clear as day.

                “Easier said than done, look, there are two of them directly by the exit, and who knows how many are close by.”

                Circling the facility, hiding behind rocks, they soon found a small shaft thanks to their implants. They showed it to Magnus, and he nodded.

                “Well, I don’t see it, but I’ll come closer, and I’ll distract them,” Magnus said. Then the blue light shone around him, and he moved with a rock on the other side than they told him the shaft was. The familiar tingling ran through Alec’s body. He closed his eyes for a second, enjoying the feeling.

                One of the guards gestured to the other one, and they left. The next step was crawling inside before they came back. Alec went first, Magnus then followed, and Jace got their backs.

                “As much as I enjoy the view, I hope we’re soon out,” Magnus muttered, and Jace huffed out a laugh.

                Alec smiled. Oh, he was nervous too, but did not react. He focused on trying not to make much noise. Seeing a small window with bars on their way, he peeked inside. It seemed completely normal.

                “This is insane. I never did anything as crazy as this. If they find us and this facility is clean, it would be a diplomatic incident.” Alec said. He could feel his panic rising. But he was sure that the Admirals would not allow such a mission, and they were doing something forbidden. Even if there were some illicit experiments, they could not admit they were here.

                “It’s okay, it is too important, we did the right thing, the boy could be in danger. It’s not his fault his father is a crook,” Magnus reassured him.

                Along the way, they had a glimpse of a few rooms. Everything seemed normal, no artefacts, nothing out of the ordinary, until they found a room with Nephilim implants. Alec’s heart stopped for a while. He was staring in disbelief and not moving. He felt like throwing up and tried to hold it together.

                “Alec? What’s wrong?” Jace asked, so Alec moved and let them see. He was unable to talk.

                Dead Offspring's bodies were piled in many transparent, tightly sealed containers as trash. There were at least ten of them, all bodies seemed to be either kids or young adults, implants hanging out of their bodies, not fully lodged, with deformed backs. The cause of death was a rejection, most likely.

                But these implants were different; instead of the usual black colour, they were crimson. Alec had never heard about anyone outside of Nephilim attempting the enhancement, nor did he know of an unsuccessful attempt. The test was almost flawless. If there was any hesitation, they rejected the applicant. At least that’s what he was told.

                “Look, there’s someone. He’s still alive!” Jace said and pointed inside. And he was right. He saw a young man huddled in a corner. He had blond hair and a beauty mark under his eye. He was about fifteen years old. One would expect him to look worried or tired, but his face showed pure anger.

                Alec turned back to Magnus; he had a distant look, as if some painful memory ran through his head.

                “Magnus? We cannot leave him here,” Alec said. He nodded, and then he broke the bars with a biotic pressure on them. When the blue colour had dissipated, they snuck in.

                Expecting the boy to look happy to see them, it could not be any different. “Nephilim?!” he said, wary. “Are you here to take me in? No, I won’t go with you.”

                “Look, either you let yourself get killed, or you go with us, this is up to you,” Jace said firmly.

                The boy was hesitant. “I’m not sure if death would not be better,” he murmured.

                But Alec was already by the console, trying to open his prison. Its blue bars were softly buzzing with electricity.

                “Why?” Accessing the console was surprisingly easy; a small card was dangling on the wall next to it. All Alec had to do was swipe it. It was as if the person taking care of this room was too confident. As if not expecting that anyone would know about this room. The bars disappeared, and the boy started to run to the shaft. But Jace was quicker; he grabbed him by the arm.

                “Not so quickly, what’s your name?”

                “Why do you care?” the boy spat, trying to squirm out of Jace’s grip.

                “Are you Kit Rook?” Magnus asked the boy, and his eyes went wide in surprise.

                “No way! Did my father send you?”

                Magnus nodded, probing him with his gaze. The boy probably noticed his eyes and the suit, and he calmed down a little. Then they heard steps coming closer to this room. Jace went first and pulled Kit out. Kit let him, it seemed he decided to go with them after all.

                Swiftly crawling inside, they hurried. Alec was last; he enhanced his hearing, trying to make sure they would not be discovered, and then he heard shouting. “The alarm went off, the Nephilim escaped! Find him!”

                “Quickly, quickly!” Alec rushed them, and Jace quickened the pace.

                Magnus had difficulty crawling as fast, but he did his best. Kit was surprisingly swift, and Alec was thinking hard about what he heard. Did they call Kit Nephilim? It could not be.

                They heard the alarm going through the facility, and Alec had to drop the enhanced hearing immediately. Luckily, Jace remembered the way, and he guided them through the shaft, waiting at some places for Magnus and Kit.

                After they emerged on the other side, they jumped off. Jace helped Magnus to land on the ground, and then Kit.

                As they were running to Mako, a luxurious car just arrived. A beautiful blonde-haired Vampire lady got out of it, and she noticed them. Her eyes went wide in surprise as her look landed on them, but she did not order her guards to seize them. She just scowled and properly inspected them.

                Magnus stopped in his steps for a second, panic in his eyes, but then he continued. There was no time to think about it; they all squished inside of Mako, and Alec quickly stepped on the gas.

                “That was close!” Jace said.

                “This was disgusting. The facility should be raided, this shouldn’t happen,” Alec murmured, he felt the anger boiling inside of him, and he clutched the steering wheel too tightly.

                How did he not know about the Offspring disappearances? He focused too much on mysterious findings when he was browsing through the mission briefings; nothing else interested him lately. But now, he saw at least ten bodies; he wondered how many were there before.

                He expected Magnus to say something, but he was quiet. Alec’s eyes darted to him, and Magnus was deep in thought. Maybe it was disturbing even for him.

                “Alexander, I know we’re escaping, but you don’t have to flip the car on the roof,” Magnus said jovially after a while. Again, with the jokes. Something was off.

                Alec was silent. Why did the woman just let them be? Who was she? She knew Magnus; that much was clear. Alec hoped she was an inspector, maybe someone who would shut down the facility. Even Vampires despised experiments like this. There had to be some explanation.

                Driving too sharply into the turn, Alec growled.

                “What’s wrong? We got him, well… that woman saw us, but maybe it’s nothing,” Jace said.

                Alec clapped the steering wheel in silent anger. “Didn’t you see that? Innocent people are dying, and we do nothing. What are they trying to do? Build their own Nephilim army? We didn’t even find the artefacts; do they give them directly to Malcolm?”

                “We will, we’ll send our people there or inform the Vampire government,” Jace said.

                “You don’t understand? If that woman were part of the company, the chamber and implants would be moved. We will never find it again; the experiments will continue! Who was she?!”

                “Alec is right, that will most likely happen,” Magnus said. No traces of a joke. “She was the CEO, Camille Belcourt.”

                Alec went too fast into another turn.

                “And how do you know that Magnus? You know each other, I saw the look on your faces. Why did she let us go?”

                “I don’t know… and… It’s complicated,” Magnus whispered.

                “Okay…”

                There was a heavy silence on the rest of the way.

                After they finally rode back to their shuttle, Alec asked Simon to lift off immediately. Alec still did not speak much. It was not Magnus’ fault; he would tell them about Camille and everything. Alec hoped. He needed to know why he knew someone who had a company that did disgusting experiments like these. But they still had to solve something.

                “Kit, I heard they called you Nephilim, why?” he asked, and the boy shot him an angry look. Alec was still fighting with the disturbing images in his head, and it was hard to be kind to him.

                “Dunno, they’re idiots or something. You never know with these types,” he said. Alec did not trust a word he said. If his father was a crook, this boy could be the same.

                “Show me your back,” he said resolutely.

                “No.”

                Izzy caught on that something was up. “Oh, if I were you, I would do it.”

                The boy snickered, but he showed them his back anyway. But… nothing was there. No implants. “See? I told you, they’re idiots.”

                But it was Magnus who put two and two together. “You’re implant compatible, aren’t you? That’s why they took you. And all the others. Of course, Johnny lied that they took you as punishment. There had to be at least some compatibility.”

                A panic was visible on the boy’s face. “No!”

                “So, you’re fugitive, you refused the implants, or your father did on your behalf. Your father had to be desperate if he asked us, Nephilim, to find you.” Jace said.

                “NO!” the boy yelled, pressed against a wall like a trapped animal. His breath was shallow, and his eyes darted around the room. “I don’t want to have my body disfigured, never! You can’t do this to me! I don’t care for your laws!”

                This felt like a sting to Alec. But he knew that at least Magnus accepted him the way he was. Nephilim looked at one another. The law was clear about this, any compatible Offspring must have gone through the enhancement. But this boy was so scared. Scared of what would happen if he had it.

                “Look… It’s not so bad,” Alec started slowly, and this time, a dark shadow ran across Magnus’ face.

                “Alexander… he should choose himself; don’t you think?” he said.

                Yes, it was right. This was not a correct approach. Enhancing everyone, even those who refused, who feared it. That was wrong. Alec was silent.

                “I don’t want to. Ever. I’m no fighter, I’m just a smuggler’s son. Don’t think I have some illusions about my father, but he’s much better than your bunch.”

                Jace approached the boy, and he started to back up, but Jace gently put his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, no one will force you. Right, Alec?” he asked and looked at Alec. “Look, we'll give you back to your father, and you can contact me anytime if you change your mind, okay? We won’t snitch. But if he ever deals with Vampires again, you bet we’ll find you both!”

                Kit was surprised. It was as if he never expected that this could happen. He slowly nodded. Jace patted his arm and went to sit again.

                “All is well, but what do we tell the Admirals if we don’t turn Johnny in?” Clary asked after this was settled.

                “I would just admit that we have a lead to Belcourt Corp,” Jace said.

                “Seems reasonable. Maybe they would find what they need. But Magnus,” Alec said and turned to him, “We should… talk about it back on Idris, okay?”

                Magnus sighed, forcing an amused smile. “Well, if you wish to have me all for yourself, then of course.”

                The uncertainty in Alec rose; he needed to know it all. To know everything about Camille, about Johnny, and maybe Magnus’ past missions. He trusted, he just trusted, he would tell him everything. He was his boyfriend, wasn’t he? Then why did Alec feel like something was now slipping through his fingers?

Chapter Text

                After they returned Kit to Johnny, they went back to Idris. They promised not to talk about his compatibility. When Alec thought about it, just a few weeks ago, he would have immediately handed him over to Nephilim without question.

                But Alec was also anxious. How did Magnus know Johnny? And more importantly, Camille? Vampires lived almost as long as Warlocks, so at what point in Magnus’ life did they meet? An evil corporate CEO, that’s how Alec would describe her, and Magnus, what was their history? Malcolm must have had the artefacts from the Belcourt Corp. What did he promise in return?

                The briefing went smoothly. Alec just said that they found Johnny, got information from him that led to the Belcourt Corporation, and he escaped. This time, Alec’s father was disappointed. Having a civilian to escape Nephilim was a shame. It was as if his father did not believe him, but still trusted that Alec knew what he was doing.

                Alec was resting in his cabin, reading before sleeping. It was hard to focus, as he was preparing questions for Magnus. He did not want to pry much, but still needed some answers.

                Suddenly, he heard someone ringing a bell at his cabin. He grunted and set the pad on the table. After opening, Magnus stood there, smiling as usual.

                “Good evening, Alexander. May I come in? I brought gifts and kisses,” he said with a bottle of wine in his hand.

                Alec hesitated. But he told him that he wanted to talk, he was just not ready yet. But maybe that could wait. He invited him in.

                “I could never turn you down,” Alec said.

                Magnus beamed, his eyes sparkled, and Alec felt like he could forgive him anything at this moment.

                Magnus put down the wine on the table, and as they sat on Alec’s armchairs, Magnus complained. “You should get a couch; your sister was right. How can I cuddle you like this?”

                “Well, once when you were here, you offered that I could sit on your lap. Does the invitation still count?” It was strange to Alec that the awkwardness he felt sometimes around him was all gone. No traces of tension, just never-ending fondness.

                Magnus was caught off guard; he stared at him for a second, then an amused smile ran across his face. “Sure, suit yourself, well, if the armchair can handle the epicness of us both at once.”

                Alec shook his head, but he was smiling softly. He brought the chair closer, so that they could at least hold hands. It would be uncomfortable; maybe he should get the damn couch. The room was now much warmer with Magnus around. Even though it was rigorously tidied, it completely changed and brightened with his presence.

                As he reached out for Magnus’ hand, he decided it was not time to ask all those questions yet. Just some would be enough.

                Just one. The one he feared the most. “Magnus… how do you know the CEO Belcourt?”

                Magnus’ shoulders slumped, and his expression was wounded; he did not dare to look Alec directly in the eyes. It was as if he had not expected it to happen so soon. But Alec was straightforward; he could not be any different. “Does it really matter? Alexander, it’s in the past. I care for what we have now, let’s not look back. And whatever we saw there… I believe Nephilim will stop it.”

                That was not exactly what Alec wanted to hear. But maybe it was too soon. Maybe just Magnus did not want to open his heart to him because what they had was quite fresh.

                “Okay… but you will tell me when the time is right?”

                Magnus’ face was unreadable. “Well… I’ve lived for four hundred years. Sure, you don’t want me to tell you all those boring details of my life. For you, it would be like an eternity.”

                Alec’s heart sank. This was evasive. Way too evasive.

                “Well… I’d like to know you,” Alec said softly and gently traced Magnus’ hand with his thumb.

                “Hmm… I could tell you why I was prohibited from going to Tuchanka, before Werewolves destroyed it.” Magnus beamed. But Alec was quite sure this was not exactly what he wanted to hear right now.

                “Thank you… I know the story must be fun, but I hoped for more of a… personal story. Like… Where are you from? What about your parents? Has anyone ever broken your heart? On our last mission, I realised I know nothing about you, and you know almost everything about me.” Alec spoke softly, as if he could spook Magnus, and he was hypnotising their joined hands.

                “I don’t see why it’s important…” Magnus whispered and got up, helping Alec to stand up and then embracing him. “Some things are better left forgotten… We don’t need them anymore.”

                Alec returned the embrace and rested his head on his shoulder. It was pleasant that Magnus was taller than Alec, even though it was just a tiny bit. It had its appeal.

                “Okay… but if there’s another surprise…” Alec straightened up and looked at Magnus, but Magnus did not look at him; instead, he fixed Alec’s shirt at the collar.

                But Alec thought they needed their past, if nothing, it still showed the path the person has come since the beginning. The way they grew and made them into the person they are now. He told Magnus almost everything important, but why couldn’t he do the same at least with something? Alec would wait; he just needed to be sure that this would lead somewhere eventually.

                “Let’s not think about that now, not today,” Magnus said and kissed Alec. The kiss was slow; he could almost feel Magnus’ pain through it. What was he hiding? There had to be something he did not want Alec to know. Did Alec make him remember something bad?

                When they broke the kiss, Alec had another question. A safe question. “You won’t talk about that… But how about mind meld? How does it work? You threatened Johnny with it.”

                The pained expression was finally gone. “Oh, well. This is something I can tell you, alright. So far, I’ve used it only when I was trying to extract information.”

                “Forcefully?” Alec asked, a little disturbed.

                “A few times… yes. But trust me, they totally deserved it.” Magnus said and smiled crookedly. At least this made the tension in Alec’s back go away. Yes, he did it, but maybe only on criminals and people who hurt him.

“Also, I heard… that it could be used with your partner, but… I don’t think I ever plan to do it. I heard it’s harder to coordinate your own thoughts if you do.” Magnus added.

                Alec did not ask for more. It was as clear as day. If he did it, Alec might know an answer for all those personal questions, and Magnus did not seem to want to risk it. They would literally join their minds.

                “I see…”

                “Now, let’s have the wine, I’ll tell you about Tuchanka!” Magnus’ enthusiasm made Alec smile. It was at least some story.

                Magnus left in the middle of the night. After all, it was easy to leave the cabin when they were in Idris, unlike on the Citadel. Alec closed his eyes. After they drank most of the wine, they did not talk much.

                His questions were unanswered, but he still felt Magnus’ kisses all over his neck, his curious hands slipping under his shirt. Alec was satisfied with himself because he got bolder with each of their make-out session. Magnus’ body was so tender under his touch, the taste of it still on Alec’s lips, his sandalwood cologne lingered in the air. It was all so natural; he just followed his want for once and wished it never ended.

                Maybe Magnus was right, and there was no need for questions about his past if they were happy together. And Alec really was happy for once. He always thought that having a relationship was something he would never have, so he did not want to ruin it now.

                The slight tipsiness lulled him into a deep sleep. This time, he should visit Magnus tomorrow, unless they work.

                Another mission came three days from then. Alec completely stopped asking about all the questions that brewed up inside him. Magnus had some very persuasive arguments, none of them required talking, and it was also fun being around him. No one ever made him laugh and smile as much as he did. It was almost as if nothing else existed, but he was soon taken back to reality.

                “Another artefact activation, I’ll let Admirals know,” was a text from Magnus. So, Alec gathered the rest of the crew, and as they were checking their equipment, they got a mission briefing. Idris had already relocated so that their engineer did not have to ride through the mass relay.

                This time, they were quick and effective; it did not catch them off guard. Alec was quite confident that they would find it, deactivate and bring it in before Malcolm gets to it.

                According to Magnus’ latest research, after it was assembled, it was brought to a planet, where it absorbed the energy from the nearest star, until it fully activated and started to look for more energy.

                He was quite positive that the deaths of civilians were caused by the energy absorption that the artefact further required. There could be dormant artefacts, waiting for the right impulse to start looking for their victims. Alec enjoyed even intellectual talks with Magnus; he always felt like the knowledge enriched him.

                But something was still missing. He did not know how Malcolm used it to open the wormholes for Daemons to go through; maybe he just used the gathered energy. Also, his motive was missing. For that, he needed more data and Alec more information.

                “Everyone ready?” Alec asked once they landed, having their helmets opened, and all his crew smiled at him.

                “I was getting bored, sitting like this on Idris,” Jace said. Clary whispered something to him, to which he chuckled, and Alec saw that he gently touched her hand. Clary did not avoid it; she just watched him with a soft smile.

                “Let’s start with classic formation. Commander Herondale in front, Lieutenant Lightwood and Ensign Fairchild behind him, Magnus with me, Ensign Lewis backup, your drone ready?”

                Simon nodded. “Of course, Captain. Snugglebyte is armed and ready. His latest upgrade is perfect.”

                Izzy laughed and tapped Simon’s back while shaking her head. Even though she told Alec before that she had never seen Alec looking at someone as he looked at Magnus, Alec thought he could now say the same about her. She usually played with the guys and then dumped them, but she must’ve found something in Simon. Something Alec didn’t see.

                Exiting their vehicle, the crew gathered as they were now used to, even with Magnus’ addition. Snugglebyte was silently flying and happily blinking in the sky.

                “Two kilometres west,” Simon said, then their pads inserted in their armours blinked, Alec quickly opened and then closed the holographic interface just to check the location.

                It was at times like these that Alec realised he liked what he was doing. His reliable squad was by his side, each with their own strengths. With every step, he felt so light. There were no traces of Malcolm; this time, he was sure they would seize the artefact in time.

                “Captain, I have visual contact,” they heard in the comm.

                Alec tried to utilise improved sight, and then he saw it too. “Guard the perimeter, Magnus and I will go to the artefact,” Alec said. Magnus followed him.

                “I need a little privacy with our precious treasure, but don’t worry, no need to be jealous,” Magnus said and grinned at Alec. His grin was not visible through the helmet, but Alec could just imagine it when he heard his tone.

                “Okay, just don’t overdo it,” said Alec.

                Quickly kneeling next to the artefact, Magnus conjured a familiar blue sphere. Alec was now focused on Magnus, comm was silent as everyone scanned their surroundings.

                But this time it was a little different. Even though Magnus opened the artefact from the side and reached inside as he did before, it did not shudder and blink immediately. He saw a static run up to Magnus’ arm, not just his hands as last time. Magnus winced, and Alec got tense. This was different.

                “Is it working?” Alec asked, his voice trembling slightly.

                There was a silence, then the artefact blinked and fell, deactivated. Magnus shook his hand as if trying to chase away some redundant energy from his body. He grimaced. Something was wrong.

                “Of course, everything is in perfect order,” Magnus said. He was staring at his hands, flexing his fingers in gloves. Then he moved the cube up, encapsulated in the blue biotic field. It sizzled, Magnus’ hand trembled, and he was struggling to walk.

                “It wasn’t the same before. What happened?”

                “It’s perhaps too strong, some upgrade?”

                “Magnus, if the artefacts grew stronger, maybe we should find a different way to deactivate them, don’t you think?” This came out sharper than Alec wanted. He was worried.

                Magnus shrugged, and then they hurried to gather the crew. Just as they were preparing to go back, a Daemonic shuttle arrived.

                “There! Captain, let’s hurry! We cannot afford to repeat the situation from last time,” Clary said as she pointed at the shuttle.

                “But the Daemons… we should eradicate them,” Jace said.

                “Commander is right, it is our duty. If it is just one shuttle and without Malcolm, we can manage,” Isabelle said and prepared her assault rifle. Alec saw that she prepared incendiary ammo, quite pleased with herself.

                “Scatter, Ensign Lewis, guard the artefact, we’ll cover you,” Alec ordered, and everyone prepared into positions.

                This was a good decision; they couldn’t let Daemons run free on any planet. One shuttle should not overwhelm them.

                Magnus turned to Alec, and he just nodded. After that, he went to the front line closer to Jace. Alec prepared his sniper rifle, and together with Simon, they took out a few Daemons just before they jumped off the ship. It was not enough; it took a while for it to heat up again for another shot. After all the Daemons left the ship, Alec changed his weapon to an assault rifle, running closer.

                Noticing that Clary was more careful, Alec was satisfied. She did not use all her enhancements at once. It seemed that only improved sight and aim, so that her hands do not tremble, were used. His chest swelled with pride. She learned her lesson.

                On the other side, Izzy went crazy; her vigour left just a burning line, and an insane number of Daemons disappeared. Incendiary ammo was a good choice. She did not overload her implants; she used just speed and went wild with shooting.

                Jace was running from one cover to another, taking down every single Daemon on the way. Alec always admired how long he was able to have all the enhancements activated. He used to be jealous of him, but not today. Today was a great day. Almost…

                “Hold the line!” Alec ordered and found himself a cover after he dodged a few shots on the way. Most shots were caught by his shields, but he couldn’t risk it anymore.

                Suddenly, there was a burst of blue energy. A huge biotic wave travelled through the empty space. Alec gaped in awe. Did Magnus get stronger, or did he always hold back? Another wave threw many Daemons to the ground at once. Magnus’ body trembled; Alec was not sure this was natural. This seemed wrong.

                “Magnus! What’s happening?!” he asked.

                “Not much, just got too excited.”

                Another wave almost blinded Alec. Then Magnus hid behind a blue tree on the way, panting. Was his biotic causing him pain? He slumped on the ground and prepared a pistol.

                Snugglebyte dove on one of the Daemons, and Alec used this as an opportunity to run to Magnus.

                He crouched next to Magnus, checking him. “What is it?”

                “I…” Magnus said but didn’t finish.

                “Let me guess, it's complicated,” Alec spat, clenching his jaw. He needed to know he was okay.

                “I need to do some checks, I don’t know, okay?” Even Magnus’ voice trembled.

                Alec sighed, he regretted lashing out at him, and watched as the rest of the crew cleaned the Daemons. This time, no wormhole for another ship was opened. It was as if this one was just guarding the artefact.

                Finally, there was quiet. Magnus was tired, and he leaned on Alec as he got up. Struggling back to the shuttle, they made their way.

                “What happened?” Izzy asked on the way.

                “Not much, it just got too hot seeing our Captain in action, I swooned,” Magnus joked, and Alec resignedly smiled. Maybe if Magnus checked the artefact, he would know why that happened.

                On their way back, Magnus got better soon. It was just some temporary exhaustion; even so, Alec was worried. His biotics got so much stronger for a while. What if the artefacts were causing him pain? Even last time, he seemed surprised, as his hands glowed for a second. They deserved rest after a successful mission.

                Alec started to get paranoid after what happened. Magnus seemed to be okay, but the doubts in Alec grew. He was afraid to ask about anything, too afraid he would ruin what they had. He did not want to lash out again. What he had was too good to be true; having to lose it was his inner nightmare. He felt noticed, for the first time in his life and was clinging to it with all his might.

                Resting in Magnus’ cabin in the evening, the next day, he watched with a fond smile as Magnus handled the new artefact, while Alec was reading news and various available mission briefings.

                Magnus had the cube connected to his electronic devices, checking seemingly infinite numbers on displays with a complete focus. This time, Alec did not feel like an intruder. Sometimes, Magnus let the analysis run and sat next to Alec.

                “So? What did my favourite captain find this time?” Magnus asked, and he let his hand gently slide to Alec’s thigh. A weak electric impulse ran through Alec’s body. He revelled in the touch, and a barely audible sigh escaped his lips. They exchanged looks, and Magnus suggestively smirked. Alec smiled with a slight blush on his cheeks and lowered his gaze back to his pad.

                “Nothing much… just as I was afraid, there is an influx of Offspring disappearances. It was there all along, I just did not notice. I was going through the missions about various mysterious finds before, and I did not pay attention to anything else. The pattern is visible, look,” Alec said after he composed himself, and then he showed him a few briefings and two news articles.

                Magnus made himself comfortable and let Alec lean against him on the couch, nestling on his lap. Magnus supported his back with his hand, and the other he put on his chest. Then he took the pad and went through the articles.

                “Hmm… this is rather disturbing,” Magnus said, visibly affected. His brows were furrowed, and Alec could also feel that his heart rate rose.

                “We’ll stop this. If you could just… tell me something at least about that Belcourt corporation.”

                Magnus sighed, then he nodded and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but an email arrived.

                “Wait a second, I’ll read this, it might be a mission briefing,” Alec said and opened it. Magnus waited.

                But just as Alec saw the header, his vision got blurred, and he felt his temple throb. With shaking hands, he opened it.

                “Something wrong?” Magnus asked. Alec did not react and started to read.

Dear Captain Lightwood,

I am writing to inform you that I know about your unsolicited searches of my facility. I find it of utmost importance to inform you that you should stop your actions immediately. As we both know, it could start an unprecedented diplomatic issue. I would have to escalate it to the Offspring Council, and it could bring you many regrettable inconveniences.

Everything my researchers work on is under strict observance of our government. I would never do anything to endanger the peace among our species or conduct unapproved experiments.

Also, sending my warmest greetings to Doctor Magnus Bane. I know you are fortunate to have him on your team. I miss his company as he surely misses mine. I know we'll pick up where we left off rather sooner than later.

Best regards,

Camille Belcourt | CEO | Belcourt Corporation

                Alec finished the email, staring at it. He couldn’t breathe.

                “Magnus… you slept with her? The CEO from hell?! That’s why you didn’t speak? What else are you hiding? That you were conducting similar experiments at Belcourt Corporation?!” Alec immediately jumped to his feet, showing the email to Magnus’ face.

                He skimmed through it and looked at Alec with a solemn expression. “But that was a hundred years ago. I haven’t seen her since. No, I despise these experiments too, you should know that much.”

                “What else are you hiding, huh? Maybe my parents were right, you are dangerous, and you should never see the implants!” Did Magnus come to Idris by accident, or was this all planned? Was he playing him? No one ever made him feel this way. What if all of it was just an act? Maybe he could not be loved, and this was all just Warlock’s ploy to get Nephilim secrets.

                “Alexander!” Magnus said, shocked at Alec’s words. He was staring at him, eyes wide. But Alec had had enough.

                “Stop it, just stop. I… should go. We’ll talk later.”

                And then he left the cabin without another word. Just as he was leaving it, he met Zara, who was staring at him in disbelief.

                “Had a good time?” she asked, mocking.

                “Not your concern, Lieutenant,” Alec said and was striding down the corridor directly to his cabin.

                Alec could not sleep. He was lying on his bed, staring at the email from Camille. So, she hid the experiments, but where to? And that was what Magnus was hiding… Alec searched for her images everywhere. The lady had a style; she was elegant, well-dressed as suited for a CEO, unlike Alec and his unified soldier clothes. It did not bother him, and he did not plan to change, but the difference was evident.

                Alec was almost sure that Magnus would not conduct or even approve these cruel methods. He planned to let Magnus defend himself after he cooled down. He deserved that much.

                But the sleep still did not come as easily until late morning hours. When he was not thinking about Camille, he still felt the soft kisses, gentle touch on his thigh, the way his eyes sparkled anytime he looked at him when he was working. It hurt so much that Magnus did not trust him; he thought they were already over it. Or did he trust him with his life, but was scared to share the past? What could he hide other than that he slept with this CEO? A hundred years ago, as he said, which was something unimaginable to Alec.

                Exhaustion finally came; it was four in the morning.

                With the difficulties with sleeping, it was almost afternoon when he woke up, and it even took some time until Alec gathered the courage to talk to Magnus; he found many technicians walking through the corridors. They were whispering about something and saluted when they saw Alec.

                Puzzled, he continued further, and then he saw people bringing out many electronic devices from Magnus’ room.

                “What are you doing with Mr Bane's stuff?” he asked one of them. His stomach twisted. What was happening?

                “Didn’t they tell you? He did something disgusting; he molested one of our Nephilim high-ranking officers, I don’t know which one. Could you believe it? If it were a regular Offspring person, but a Nephilim? How dare he even touch them?”

                “Wait, how do you know?” Alec asked, his hands were trembling. This could not be true.

                “Well, Lieutenant, I mean, Commander Zara Dearborn saw it. She claimed she doesn’t want to compromise the person, so she didn’t specify. She told us everything once Bane was out. They forced him to leave already, fortunately. I feel so sorry for the Nephilim, having to suffer something like this.”

                Alec’s eyes went wide. It could not be. So… she saw them at Flux and yesterday, as he was leaving his cabin, and Magnus was now gone, gone because of her. And there were people on Idris starting preposterous rumours about Magnus.

                “Where is he now?”

                “He was part of your crew, huh? Disappointment, isn’t it? Well, he was relocated to Alicante, our other Nephilim ship. He should continue his experiments there. Glad he’s gone, this felt wrong.”

                No, not like this. They should have talked. Magnus would tell him more, and Alec would calm down. That was the plan, and he was gone. His head started to spin.

                “Gotta go,” he said and rushed to find the Admirals. He despised the hateful words this technician was spouting. He had to get Magnus back and could not listen to this nonsense anymore. He trembled, and he was not sure if it was with anger or distraught. He could not believe that people still hated Warlocks this much.

                Finding his mother during a video call with someone in a Nephilim uniform, Alec looked at her from the door. She excused herself and shut it down.

                “Alec! What are you doing here? Couldn’t you book a meeting like a civilised person?”

                “Vice Admiral, I need to speak with you, now,” Alec said. He did not feel up to speaking with her informally. She nodded, but she had her lips firmly pressed. “Why was Magnus Bane transferred to Alicante?”

                She looked at him and slowly shook her head, as if she could not believe what she had just heard. “You should know this better than anybody! Just when I reconciled with the thought of not having your Nephilim grandkids, I was informed by the Offspring council that you were having an affair with our Warlock specialist! The shame!”

                “How did they know?” Alec asked. He did not deny; there was no need for it anyway, he just needed to know if it really was Zara. But… it was not an affair, Alec felt it was something more.

                “One of our officers saw you, she is trustworthy, because many people in Flux saw you too. What did you think, Alec? Couldn’t you just find some nice Nephilim? Or at least an Offspring?! What if he saw our implants, or did he already? He’s a scientist for goodness' sake!” His mother was uttering the words through her teeth, staring Alec down.

                Now, Alec knew how pathetic he was when he accused him of being dangerous. When he heard these words from his mother, it was clear that he was blinded by rage, and none of it could be true. That was not his Magnus.

                “So, you solved it for me, perfect,” he scoffed. He would never have stood out to his mom before, but this was too important to him. “Now tell me, how are we going to deactivate the artefact without him?”

                “Easy, you won’t, if you need a biotic for a fight with Daemons, I can get you one, but these missions are now reassigned to Mr Bane’s new crew. Don’t you dare to have another affair with the new Warlock!”

                “What? So that’s what you think of me… I wonder why I was promoted…” Alec muttered, and he stormed out. He could hear her calling his name, but he did not care. He would fix this, even if it meant breaking every possible order.

Chapter Text

                Alec repeatedly tried to contact Magnus, but his email was immediately returned with an error, as if the Council had made sure that he could not contact him in the official ways. He considered borrowing his sister’s pad, but he was afraid she had the address blocked too, or asking Simon to fly him to Alicante, but he knew very well they would not let him in. He had never in his life felt this trapped before.

                He tried to avoid Zara whenever he could. After being certain it was because of her that Magnus got relocated, he had no idea how to deal with her. She was even promoted for it!

                After agonising for a day and one boring and weird mission with Daemon eradication, he decided to at least ask for the replacement Warlock his mother offered. And so, he did.

                All his crew were standing in one line, waiting for the meeting they were called for. Vice Admiral stood there as a statue, with a completely solemn expression. The meeting room was almost empty as usual, with only a small elliptical table in the middle of the room. It could be used as a device for calls, and it had a holographic interface. Whoever was on the other side could project themselves directly into this room. Otherwise, the room was surrounded by metallic fences.

                Vice Admiral looked at them as they followed the protocol flawlessly. “Third squad, let me introduce you to your new crewmember. Ragnor Fell, a renowned professor from Thessia. He was so interested in working with us that he got himself permission for a few months. I just completed all formalities with him,” she said and pressed a button.

                They were now looking at his holographic self. It was projected above the middle of the table. “Nice to meet you all, expect me tomorrow,” he did not seem to be pleased. Why did he even choose to work with them then? It was as if he suppressed a frustration.

                “Good, thank you, Mr Fell,” the Vice Admiral said and turned off the call.

                Alec had a hard time hiding his excitement. That was Magnus’ friend. Maybe he could help him. Nephilim could be careful, but this was a chance.

                “I hope you’ll be professional,” the Vice Admiral said. “The council warned me that you could get demoted if anything like that happens again, Captain. So, control yourself.” She was not as fierce as last time; it was like she just repeated the words she heard, relaying the message to Alec word by word.

                Alec’s heart sank. He wanted only Magnus, not because he was a Warlock, but because it was him, Magnus. Demotion… because of what? Because of love? And Zara got a promotion because she was a snake? That was not fair.

But even still, Alec nodded, saluted and left; everyone else went after him. They didn’t even know why Magnus was relocated, Alec did not tell them, and it seemed no one else told them either.

                “Why Ragnor? Could you finally tell us where Magnus is? We know only that he’s gone and was missing on our last mission,” Izzy immediately asked.

                “On Alicante,” Alec said, jaw tense, he was flexing his fingers and staring directly in front of him. His steps were heavy, angry.

                “Why?” Izzy asked again.

                “Let’s go to your cabin, I’ll tell you everything,” Alec said, meaning Jace, Clary, and Simon should go too. Alec needed them to know, as it was time to finally speak about it. He let it brew inside of him for too long, and they deserved to get all the information because they liked Magnus as a crewmate.

                After they gathered in Izzy’s lounge, some of them were talking among themselves about Ragnor. When everyone gathered, they slowly stopped.

                “What’s going on? Does anyone have any idea?” Jace asked.

                “I heard something about… Magnus molesting a Nephilim, what’s wrong with these people? He’s not like that, and I thought Alec was dating Magnus,” Clary said hesitantly.

                “No one molested anyone,” Alec rolled his eyes, and his face twisted in disgust.

                “Then why did he go?” Clary was still confused.

                “Because… Zara saw us in Flux and… when I was leaving his cabin in the evening.”

                “And that is a problem, why…?” This time, it was Izzy who asked.

                “She probably started the rumour… You ask her… I don’t know… My mother told me something about shame, a shame I brought on Nephilim. So… we lost our artefact missions, we lost our specialist, I lost…” Alec said, and then he suddenly stopped talking.

                He felt guilty because he underestimated the hate among Nephilim. He felt anger because he underestimated Zara; everything was falling apart. And the worst part was that he still had to know if things between him and Magnus were even okay. He lashed out and was afraid that this could not be fixed. Magnus would not talk, and Alec suddenly felt like Magnus did not trust him. But how could he know since he couldn’t even reach him? His mind was spiralling into the worst-case scenarios, and he was not sure what to do about it.

                “Then call him, let’s put together a plan on how to get him back,” Jace said.

                “That’s… impossible, they blocked my communication with Alicante altogether. I’m not sure how your devices are, but this is not the time for it. We’ll get Ragnor to our team, he’s his friend, maybe he could tell us something,” Alec said, he was picking at his nail, not looking at anyone.

                The real reason why he didn’t want to try another device was that he still needed some time to think it through. It was hard to articulate his needs; he was always bad at it. And now he needed to get Magnus to understand why he needed to know all these things. He was afraid that if he failed, he would meet with only rejection.

                “That’s horrible!” Izzy furrowed her brows, and she had that scary look Alec knew very well. “I’ll talk to Mom, this cannot continue!”

                “No! No… It’s okay… I just wanted you to know the real reason, even though I knew you would not think that he molested someone. Go on, try to contact him on your behalf,” Alec said, still not looking at anyone.

                Clary immediately took her pad and tried. Then she blinked and raised her head slowly, looking directly at Alec. “It won’t go through…”

                Alec sighed and rested his head in his palms; he did not want to see the expressions of pity from his crewmates. He did not expect that. It was worse than he thought. Izzy patted his back; he did not even flinch.

                “Our chance is Ragnor. Until then… I don’t know how to contact him yet,” Alec said, and then he got up. “I’ll meet him tomorrow.”

                The next day, Alec was prepared to speak with Ragnor. Ragnor agreed to meet with him after lunch, to Alec’s relief. He knew that Ragnor must have had some knowledge about Magnus' whereabouts. He could also know what was happening on Alicante. Surely, they could not block Ragnor’s communication before he even stepped on the ship.  They booked one of the smaller meeting rooms.

                Ragnor came into the room, looking at Alec with a solemn gaze. He was dressed simply, and this time, Alec noticed not just his green skin and horns, but also extra finger joints. It was interesting. Alec wondered if Nephilim would find it disgusting. A memory flashed in his mind, Magnus had cat eyes as a Warlock oddity, but… also no belly button, which he discovered just recently. It almost made him blush.

                “Hm, so we meet again, Captain Lightwood. Do you know why I even agreed to this? Magnus was whining, my Alec, my Alec… I had to stop it. Poor Catarina, now she must face it alone.”

                “He did?” Alec asked, his eyes shining suddenly. He was so afraid that Magnus hated him.

                “He’s pretty annoying, that much I can tell you,” Ragnor chuckled.

                Alec wondered how close they were, since Ragnor did not always talk nicely about Magnus.

                “Okay… do you know why I called you here?” Alec asked.

                “Hopefully you won’t whine too, I could not bear that.”

                “No, I just want to ask about Magnus. How is it for him on Alicante? Can you contact him?”

                “Oh, he manages. That other Nephilim group is not as friendly as you are, which I think is a good thing, but it’s not terrible. But I can’t contact him, not from my device. I promised that if I’m on Idris, I won’t. That was the only demand the Offspring council had when they assigned me to your crew. Anyway, if you need something from him, I still have my sources. I could, let’s say, contact his close friend on Citadel, and she can forward the message,” Ragnor said while tapping his chin as if he was deep in thought. Then he grinned.

                Not as friendly as he was? Yeah… Alec could imagine what he meant by that. This much Alec hoped too. What if Magnus decided to stop whining, as Ragnor called it, and found someone else?

                “You’d do that? I knew you were the right Warlock for the job.”

                But writing the message was more difficult than Alec expected, even though it was the only thing Alec wanted for the past few days. Just a way to let him know that he still cared. He wanted to let Magnus defend himself or promise that they would talk eventually. At least about the important parts, like… Camille. Alec did not believe that Magnus would be part of some disgusting experiments, but there were still things he wanted to know.

                All he managed was:

                                                             I hope you’re doing okay. I’m worried, let me know soon. Alec

                Ragnor raised an eyebrow when he saw the message. It was as if he expected something completely different.

                “It’s okay, Catarina will send it. Hopefully, we’ll hear from them soon.”

                “Thank you, Mr Fell. Or is it professor?”

                “Just call me Ragnor, you’re Magnus’ boyfriend after all, and he is my friend.”

                Alec beamed and nodded.

                Even though Alec was calmer, now that he knew that Magnus was doing okay on Alicante and his new group was also at least a little open-minded when it came to Warlocks, he still asked Ragnor every day if he had got an answer. But nothing. Ragnor always waved it off, saying that Magnus probably got too absorbed in the research.

                But what if his communications had been cut off? Someone like him would probably feel like a trapped animal. Alec could not bear that thought. It’s been three days and still nothing.

                He even visited Ragnor’s cabin once during the day. It was strange seeing it full of books, like actual paper books. Not even one of Magnus’ devices, jewellery or randomly placed data pads. And even though Ragnor was annoyed and full of snarky remarks, he still seemed to care deeply about Magnus. It was nice knowing that he had someone who looked after him.

                How many artefacts had been activated? Was Magnus still hurt when he deactivated them, or was it just a one-time deal? Alec just wanted to hold him in his arms, feeling his heartbeat, revelling in the distinct sandalwood fragrance, maybe even run his hand through his silky hair. He would do anything to at least be able to do so. But he had no plan so far.

                The good thing was that he got some action to keep his mind occupied. Their first mission with Ragnor was supposed to be in another small colony. This one was self-sustained but was unable to supply other cities or planets with food or anything else.

                As they were preparing in the armoury, Jace approached Alec.

                “What do you think about our new Warlock? He’s always so grumpy… I miss Magnus,” he said. Alec just bitterly smiled. “Yeah! I know! You must miss him much more, but… is he really his friend?”

                “I think so, he seems to be a good guy,” Alec said, and shrugged. Ragnor was not exactly a pleasant company, but the more time they spent with him, the funnier and less terrifying his moods were, and the more they liked him.

                “He probably is. You were this grumpy not long ago, too,” Jace said and poked Alec’s shoulder.

                “I was not!” Alec defended. At a time like this, he would usually laugh, but the laugh did not come. Not this time.

                After even Ragnor arrived in his space Warlock suit, they gathered, and the space belonged just to them. The space… so dark, and empty. It was exactly how Alec felt inside. He had caught a glimpse of what would make his heart full, and again, they took it from him. Perhaps he did not deserve it. He should just work and forget about everything…

                But he did not want to. No. Not anymore. He would fight and be bold and happy. One day, he would be. Magnus showed him that it was possible.

                Just before they landed, Alec checked the briefing again. It was only a trivial Daemonic activity. These things were so common before their mission, when he first met Magnus. Even though it had been a few weeks, it felt like they had been together for Alec’s whole life. A fond smile crept on Alec’s face as he remembered the way he had fun on their expense on that mission. At that time, it seemed rather rude.

                “What’s so funny, Captain?” Ragnor asked when he saw him.

                “It’s nothing, I just… remembered something. Let’s go, the Daemons won’t kill themselves.” Alec said, and Ragnor sighed.

                “Yeah… of course, this is exactly why I should stay on Thessia. Magnus is lucky that I’m his friend,” Ragnor said.

                As they were in their usual formation, this time it was Ragnor who walked next to Alec. Alec was trying to make sure that Ragnor had similar abilities to Magnus so that he knew how to utilise him.

“So… what can your biotics do? Magnus could lift enemies into the air, let them fly for at least a minute in one place, also trash them around. Sometimes he created a barrier. What are your skills?”

                “Okay, so he is capable of Lift, Throw, Barrier, Singularity and maybe some other things,” Ragnor said.

                “These moves have a name?” They heard Simon in the comm. He seemed genuinely intrigued.

                “But of course! Ah, Magnus. Just being flashy, keeping the best part to himself. Well, I cannot do Singularity. That is perhaps what you described; it looked a little like a black hole?”

                “It did,” Alec answered. He never thought about it.

                “Good, don’t expect it from me,” Ragnor simply said.

                When Alec remembered their first mission with Magnus, the information exchange was in no case this smooth. He really was a chaos incarnate, a storm that ran through Alec’s life and took down every wall Alec built around himself by doing whatever he wanted. Alec admired it. It was part of his charm, and he was glad he learned something from him. Being a little selfish was something he still tried to discover.

                Simon’s drone was buzzing, and Alec looked at it. The small, slowly flashing lights were above them, and Alec wondered how Simon had named him for this mission.

                “So, how’s your Snugglebyte ready for this mission, Ensign Lewis?” Alec asked as they were slowly approaching the coordinates from their briefing.

                “It’s not Snugglebyte, Captain. It’s Church-o-tron,” Simon said, pride clear in his voice. A soft chuckle from Clary and Isabelle made him feel better. He was glad he asked.

                Alec was unsure what he would do if they encountered the artefact. It was not possible. Would the Nephilim send them on the same mission? Could it mean that Magnus would be here too? His heartbeat quickened when he just imagined it, even though deep down he knew that they would not let that happen.

                They would send Alec and his crew only on some trivial missions. Nothing interesting, nothing that would feel like they are saving all the humans. Just the eradication of a random Daemon’s nest. It felt like a punishment after the exciting missions with Magnus.

                “I have a visual, Captain, patching it through,” Simon’s voice echoed in the comm. Then they all received the location on their devices.

                “Perfect, Lieutenant Lightwood, stay with Ensign, we’ll make haste,” Alec ordered, and Isabelle complied. He did not want to repeat the situation when they had to go back to him, since he did not know how many Daemons, how intelligent and strong, could be there.

                They sent the impulses to their implants, and Ragnor started to complain again. Alec was almost sure he heard “now we’re freaking running, stupid Nephilim”. Ragnor was grumpy, but Alec was almost sure he avoided strong language. It was perhaps due to his occupation.

                This planet was a desolate place. At least at this part, they could see only mountains and barely any green lichen. It was not a frosty planet, more like tundra. After running over a smaller hill, they could see what Church-o-tron saw, too. Few Daemons were aimlessly roaming the space.

                “And they send us to do this?! Ridiculous,” Jace scoffed and pointed at them. “You did nothing wrong, Alec. Why are we assigned to this mission? We are one of the best squads!”

                They came closer, and from a distance, Ragnor used his biotic power. It could be Lift or Throw. Alec did not see much difference, even though he now knew some names for the powers he used; to him, it did not seem that important.

                Alec just realised that Ragnor’s biotic power was different. Sure, he could do almost the same things as Magnus, it had this blue colour as all biotics had, but… He did not feel the tingling on the back of his neck, the soft shiver. He missed the familiar feel. Now he perhaps found the answer to whether the rest of his crew felt the same when Magnus used his powers. They did not.

                Jace immediately ran closer and, with vigour, took out the Daemons that were now getting up, with his assault rifle. Ragnor’s biotic power was much weaker; it did not keep them lying on the floor as long as Magnus did. But despite it, Jace took out even the others with ease. No one had to lift a finger. They were not even armed and moved too slowly.

                “This is not just ridiculous; this is even demeaning. Waste of our talents,” Jace said and sat down on the nearest rock.

                Clary sat next to him. She patted his back and sighed. “That’s true, this is not right. I say we take a break here, let’s wait for Lieutenant and Ensign. I am not exactly in a hurry to go back to Idris.”

                “Of course, sitting in this desolate place is so much fun compared to reading a book,” Ragnor grumbled, but he sat next to them.

                “Well, think of it as a strike,” Jace said and smiled. They had their helmets closed, but when they were not moving, at least part of Jace’s face was visible.

                Alec was glad that at least they could laugh. He felt responsible for another boring mission. It was because he fell in love with a Warlock. Maybe… maybe if he stepped down as a Captain, it would change. Or just his presence in the team was what doomed them to this kind of treatment.

                He went to check the perimeter because he could not stand that it was his fault, even though they acted like it did not affect them that much. Jace deserved so much more. He was one of the best soldiers.

                But as he was walking around, he saw a small object hidden among the rocks. He crouched down to it., It was dusty, so he cleaned it with his hand. His eyes went wide in surprise. It was a part of the artefact, the smaller parts they found on the Citadel. So maybe where Daemons were, there were these parts? But they were hard to find. Johnny must have had a good eye for these kinds of things, and maybe even he could put up a fight. These Daemons were so weak, even he could probably overpower them. But this thing was just a small irregular piece, big enough to fit into his palm. The ominous wires were attached to it, a crimson colour well visible. He took it and carried it to Ragnor.

“Look what I found; can you tell me more about this?”

                Ragnor held it in his hand and shook his head. “You pick up some trash and expect me to decipher it here and now?”

                Alec was disappointed. He tried to take it back, but Ragnor moved his hand so that he could not snatch it. “Not so quickly, I am perhaps a history professor, but I know a Daemonic artefact when I see one. Well, but it would be best to send it to Alicante, right?”

                “Sure,” Alec said. He would love to get packed with it and shipped to Alicante, too. “Still no word from Magnus?”

                “No, but it starts to get weird. He often is absorbed in his work, but for five days? That is too much even for him. Catarina would let me know if he answered. I will check with her just to be sure.”

                Then he tapped his pad a few times, and they waited. Falling into some small talk, Isabelle and Simon arrived a long time ago.

                After fifteen minutes of idle chatter, Ragnor shook his pad. “An answer, let’s see… She wrote… well, no, she knows nothing,” he said, and his brows furrowed. Even through his helmet, they could see.

                “Okay… let’s stop this silly strike, it is time to go back to Idris,” Alec said, and they agreed.

                When they got back, they were greeted coldly. Alec was worried; it was as if the whole ship pointed fingers at them, gossiping behind their backs. Alec could see it in every look, every move, the silence when he passed two or more people at once. His first thought was that Zara was unable to hold it in and finally talked.

                Exhausted, he decided to lock himself up in his cabin. It was the best solution to avoid all these people. He even had dinner in his room. He could not shake a feeling that something was very wrong. He remembered Catarina; she was so happy to see Magnus on the Citadel, and Magnus was delighted as well. Alec hoped she would help Magnus if anything happened.

                Suddenly, he had a call. He saw his data pad lit. It was someone unknown. He picked it up and saw a young Vampire. He thought for a while that he had seen him somewhere, but he was not sure where. Perhaps on the Citadel? That evening, when he had a date with Magnus, he met a lot of new people.

                “Hello, Captain, I’ll cut right to the business. I owe Magnus a favour,” he said, and Alec was puzzled. So, he would get an answer to his message from this guy?

                “Okay?”

                “Listen, Magnus was kidnapped when they were on the mission. Your beloved Nephilim, don’t talk about it, trying to negotiate his release. They didn’t tell it even to Warlocks yet.”

                Alec’s heart almost stopped. What? How? Why?

                “But… How do I know it’s not a trap? Who are you?”

                “I’m Raphael Santiago. Go ask Ragnor if you don’t trust me; he knows me well.”

                “Let’s say I trust you… Tell me, why won’t you just inform the Warlock government?”

                Raphael slowly shook his head; it was a wonder he did not facepalm. “Are you really this naïve? Do you think they would trust a Vampire? They could think I just try to fight for more power in our business world. They trust the Nephilim now.”

                This time, Alec nodded. Ragnor was one of Magnus’ best friends, and that much he knew already. He was willing to listen, at least, then decide how to proceed. “So, where is he? What happened?”

                “Camille… is my previous boss. I stopped working for her a long time ago; she was too obsessed with prolonging her life and still looking young. I can just imagine that she tries to force him to work for her. As a Vampire and her ex-employee, I have my sources… Anyway, Magnus is on Etamis, but which facility it is, you need to find out by yourself. I can help you along the way.”

                Alec’s legs gave out, and he sank onto the armchair. How could he think that Magnus would still romantically think of her? He was such a fool. And Magnus’ new squad could not even protect him. So, Camille made sure to intimidate Alec not to enter any of her facilities ever again; she had to prepare for it since the day they saw her. But… she did not know Alec. She had no idea what he was willing to risk for Magnus.

                Alec thanked him and went directly to Ragnor. He was shaking; it was hard to contain his pounding heart. His stomach twisted whenever he remembered the experiments. Was he forced to work on something like this?

                Magnus was kidnapped by the CEO from hell, and Nephilim did nothing! Just nothing to get him back, for… how many days? Negotiating, he was almost sure they did not even try. Keeping this secret from Warlocks was easy since he was on Alicante. Did they not realise the threat that Malcolm was? He was letting out Daemons on various planets. They could take over any planet if Malcolm let them out.

                This time, all his careful thinking was gone in an instant. The plan was simple, confirming Raphael’s reliability with Ragnor and then stealing a ship to fly to the nearest planet with a big population, where he would find a pilot who could take him to Etamis through the mass relay.

                He would go alone, no one could know about it; he would not put his crewmates in danger and let them be sued for insubordination. It was his responsibility; they were punished because of him. He had to be stealthy. Even if he did not like it, the diplomatic relationship between the species was in danger. He knew that much because of the email he got from Camille and the way Raphael informed him.

                He would get Magnus back, this time for real.

Chapter Text

                Once the initial shock from Magnus’ kidnapping passed, Alec had to come up with at least some plan. He needed to focus; this mission had to succeed.

                Just to be sure, he asked Ragnor about Raphael. Ragnor seemed to be in a good mood when Alec mentioned him. He told him that he was trying to understand Vampire dialect without using any help from any device, with Raphael as his tutor. Alec tried to act as if he were asking just out of curiosity. The way Ragnor talked about Raphael was a clear indication that Raphael was at least trustworthy. Ragnor even admitted that he was his good friend.

                Now, finally fully trusting Raphael, he called him back. Raphael picked up the call soon. It was evident he had expected it.

                “So? What’s the plan? I was told that Nephilim can keep up with any other subrace. I hope you’re able to pull this out. If you want to chicken out, just let me know so that I don’t waste my time on you,” Raphael said.

                “Listen… I’ll get to Virmire and find a pilot,” Alec said.

                “You can’t drive through mass relays?” Raphael seemed disgusted. “Why did I choose you?  Maybe the Nephilim that fought in the war were cooler. Of course, Magnus chose someone in his league as his boyfriend. It’s disgusting and he’s so lame.”

                Alec furrowed his brows. He wondered why Ragnor talked about Raphael so fondly, but it had to be that both were grumpy. He could imagine them having fun on Magnus’ account together. He decided to ignore his insults; this had to be done as quickly as possible, and it seemed that he really wanted to save Magnus as much as Alec did, despite it. Maybe Magnus liked grumpy people.

                “It’s okay. I’ll get rid of my fleet suit, and I’ll find someone. My personal bank account is not tied to Nephilim, I can manage,” he also did not spend much of his savings. He had everything he needed on the ship. If he used his personal savings, they would not track him that easily.

                “Well… if there is no other option. Then call me later and hurry up. You’re going alone?”

                “Yes. I cannot ask my crewmates to join me. We would stand before the fleet court for insubordination. I’ll be the only one risking it,” Alec said. Well, even Ragnor was now his crew, he did not want him to have any trouble.

                Raphael nodded; he understood Alec’s reasons. “You going alone might be better after all.”

                “Good, I’ll call you later,” Alec said and ended the call.

                Alec wondered what kind of favour Raphael owed him. Another part of Magnus’ life that was a mystery. Alec decided to take his weapons from his room rather than the armoury. No one would miss it.

                His next stop was a shooting range. He carefully stashed some special ammo in case he would need it. Incendiary was a must, also cryo. This time, he even took phasic rounds, because they would go through the shields of Vampire armour. He was not sure if he would fight them or not, even though he would try to avoid it at all costs.

                And then there was the most difficult step. Stealing a ship. Just a small vehicle would be enough; he had to get to Virmire. Idris was currently in a system that could reach this planet. It was a garden world, a place where it was easy to live even for Offsprings, but as Nephilim were too busy with the Daemons lately, no one was able to keep the place in order. Various outlaws and criminal organisations had their bases all over the place. Alec was sure that he could find a pilot there. Hopefully, a pilot who would not ask many questions. If he needed a place where people minded their business, Virmire was the place.

                Bringing his bag full of weapons, he had three small pistols, a sniper rifle and an assault rifle. Then he quickly donned armour, choosing a regular soldier's armour to hide his identity as a Nephilim as much as possible, and hurried towards the docks. The worst thing was that it did not have a cooling system in case he overloaded his implants. But since he went alone, it did not matter that much, even though he could at least activate it before fainting. He knew the symptoms very well, and he could probably pull it off.

                He was glad for basic training. Sitting in a cabin, he started the motor. Then he heard a voice that was hailing him through the comm.

                “Fighter 06, I don’t see your departure authorised. Please respond.”

                “Respond, my ass…” Alec muttered. He knew if he responded that it was him, they could deny him access, since his communications with Alicante were cut off, and he was probably banned from going there anyway. Screw the bigoted Offspring council.

                “I repeat, respond.”

                It was time to execute his plan. “This is Commander Vilalobos. I need to take this beauty for a spin.” He cringed, but it seemed to work because the door opened, and Alec hurried out. The nervousness rose as he was leaving, but no one dared to question or check the Nephilim. No one dared to expect deception like this. The Offspring's blind faith in Nephilim worked for Alec’s benefit for once.

                Alec turned the course to Virmire, and after he got further away from Idris, he started the FTL motor. It took a whole hour to get there.

                For all that time, Alec imagined what Magnus must feel now. Did he hate him for prying? Was it even a bad thing that Alec wanted to get to know him? Were they on a break? But Ragnor said he was whining about him. So much was left unresolved.

                He was worried about Magnus being forced into something he did not want to do. What kind of tech could Vampires have to be able to contain Magnus’ biotic abilities? Maybe they got something powerful from Malcolm after he got the cubic artefacts… But as Nephilim had their secrets, Vampires had them too.

                His mind could not stop worrying, so it was a relief once the ship stopped and he started to ascend to Virmire. The lower he was, the more he could see of this planet. It really was a green paradise. Palms, oceans, it would be a perfect world to rest here. The problem was that he knew about the criminal activity, which ruined the image. He would not feel safe here, and he wondered why Nephilim would let get overthrown a nice planet like this by criminals. The Daemonic activity got worse, but they controlled it even before it happened.

                He left the vehicle a kilometre or so away from the main commerce hub. A lot of ships were parked there, and his Nephilim one would get lost within them. It was risky to use it anyway. His main goal was to get a civilian Offspring suit or maybe even a Warlock suit and then find a pilot. The shape should fit, and it was compatible with Offspring to keep his life functions in perfect shape, even in space. He would not risk a Vampire or a Werewolf. Those were too different for him to use. Werewolves could withstand higher temperatures, and Vampires required much less oxygen and filters than Offspring.

                As he was approaching, he could see the stalls everywhere. If he were here on business, he could seize half of the good just like that. There were prototype weapons, weird-looking tech, probably without a license, perhaps bought from Vampires, some plants that Alec would put into the hallucinogens bracket and maybe some forbidden stimulants. Some had a fake Nephilim wings badge; it was marketed as stimulating the body to work almost as a Nephilim’s. Alec was sure that it was false marketing, only a placebo.

                Just the Offspring people were present. It made things easier, but he knew that outlaws and criminals would not be too happy if they knew he was a Nephilim, not just an ordinary Offspring. Even his Starfleet suit stood out; he had to get rid of it soon.

                He chose a stall with a bored-looking female. She was staring into her pad, and behind her, he could see many old armours. Still fully functional, but they had long lost their shine.

                “What you want, soldier?” she said as she noticed he was looking at her.

                Alec kept still, trying not to seem too eager. Her tone was not very pleasant. “I could make an exchange with you. My armour for… that one,” Alec said and pointed at one that looked to be in the best shape and would fit him.

                She checked him from head to toe, and then she raised her eyebrow. “Well, if I add that I should probably be quiet about this, I take it. Is it new?”

                Alec nodded. His armour was in perfect shape. Nephilim on Idris had access to the best of the best, and the regular soldiers working with them had access to the same supplies, except for Nephilim armour. Changing into his new armour was easy. He was glad that the lady took his offer. He was afraid that it would be too suspicious. Leaving as few digital footprints as possible was a good thing.

                Next step… Finding a pilot who would not ask too many questions and would safely bring him to Etamis.

                When he found lodging for tonight, he decided to call Raphael to inform him about the process. This time, he had to pay with an actual money transfer. Raphael was not amused.

                “So… you got only a suit? You’re not even on the way to Etamis?” Not amused at all.

                Alec grunted. He should not call him. His nerves were frayed, and he was not in the mood for this. “I’m doing all I can, okay? No one should find me here; I’ll find a pilot tomorrow in the morning.”

                “I’m starting to regret asking you about it… Look, if you’re not within twenty-four hours on your way to Etamis, I’ll find someone else,” Raphael said and ended the call.

                That did not go too well. Alec just leaned on the cheap bed, regretting having to sleep on something as crappy as this. He stared at the ceiling, noticing that the plaster had already started to peel. This was not a classical metallic building.

                What was Magnus doing? Was he in pain? Was he worried, scared? Was he disappointed in him?

                Forcing himself to sleep worked this time, but during the night, Alec had a feeling that he heard some angry voices in the corridor. That woke him up, and he used his enhanced hearing.

                “So is the Nephilim here or not?!” The voice asked. Alec was not sure if he recognised it.

                “No Nephilim! How can I know?! I offer maximum privacy to my customers! Don’t you dare to question my methods!”

                The other voice Alec could recognise because it belonged to the owner of this place. Just to be sure, he decided to sneak out. He took his bag full of weapons, wore his new armour, with helmet open, and using his implants, he climbed out of the window almost without making any sound.

                Raphael was right; it was clear he was not safe here, and he should hurry. He had to find his ride, urgently. Someone must have already seen through his ruse. It was just a matter of time. He hoped that the woman he gave his armour to would not talk.

                As he was climbing down the second floor he was in, and before he jumped off, he stopped and looked at the sky. It was all black; the planet had a night. He was grateful for it. Back on Idris was an artificial day in the corridors all the time. Alec did not experience being on a planet at night too often.

                Suddenly, he wanted to see the Earth. Earth was supposed to be beautiful, with perfect nights and days. Sometimes all the subraces were overcome by this unexplainable longing. It had no reasonable explanation, but it was deeply ingrained into their very souls. Even though no one knew where it was or how to get there, the legend about it was the most favourite, and it still strongly resonated with all the human subraces.

                Silently jumping off the building, he went to find a different shelter or a pilot. Almost no one was present on the market at this hour. Sure, he could just try to lie down somewhere in the alleys, but he was not sure if he would not be robbed blind.

                Trying to look as if he belonged here, he strode the main street. He had to do it. Magnus could be in danger or at least in a very uncomfortable situation. He was running out of time. Raphael gave him an ultimatum; he had to act quickly.

                He encouraged himself and stopped the first person he saw. It was a man, a drunken Offspring. He would probably forget that Alec even stopped him. “Hey, where can I find a good pilot?” Alec asked.

                The Offspring man measured him with a hazy look and closed one of his eyes, perhaps to focus on him better. But then he waved his hand somewhere to the side and hurried away. “There.”

                “At least he said something…” Alec whispered to himself, but he checked the location. It was a bar, of course. He never thought that he would have to learn skills like this. In a shady bar, trying to find a pilot who would not try to swindle him. It was time to dive into the underworld and not drown in it.

                Just as he entered the bar, an unpleasant smell hit his nose immediately. Stale stench of booze was in the air. A few gazes were immediately shot at him. He was sure some were even hostile. He felt so much out of his element.

                As he walked inside and carefully scanned the badly lit room, he noticed a small shift in the seat next to where he was standing. As if the person were trying to hide. He immediately looked at them, and the person darted out. He did not even have to use his implants to grab him by the arm.

                His eyes went wide in surprise. “Johnny!” Alec said. But Johnny put his finger on his own lips and gave him a dirty look.

                “Silence,” he whispered. “What do you want?”

                Johnny realised he could no longer hide. His posture looked surrendered, and Alec felt this was his chance. They went to sit at the table he had previously occupied.

                “How’s Kit?” Alec asked, speaking softly, even though he knew there was no time for small talk.

                “Came to grab him? Not possible, he’s well hidden,” Johnny said and crossed his arms.

                “No, not at all, tell me… do you know how to drive through a mass relay?”

                It seemed Johnny immediately knew what was up; he looked him up and down, and he had to notice Alec did not wear a Nephilim suit. “It’ll cost you, where to?” he said.

                “Etamis,” Alec muttered, looking awkwardly at the table. “It’s nothing, really, you just leave me there and go.” He tried to be careful, remembering how Magnus was strict with him. Johnny was a professional crook; he had to expect him to try to swindle him anytime.

                “Okay, but if you suspect me of working for Vampires, I’m done with them. Really,” he tried to reassure him.

                Alec nodded and tried to get a bargain. Johnny asked for a lot of money at first; he must have looked desperate. Mentioning saving Kit, not taking him in, and not giving Johnny to the authorities… It made the price bearable. Alec was proud of himself; he had no idea he had it in him. Maybe the price they agreed on was still expensive, but it was better.

                “Well, I’m in a hurry, so… could we go now?” Alec said when they agreed on the price. Half now, half after he was on Etamis.

                Johnny nodded and quickly finished his drink and sent a payment for it.

                No inconveniences showed up except for seeing a Nephilim squad on the way. Alec was able to pull Johnny aside, pretending he did it for him.

                “You really need that ride, huh?” Johnny whispered as they disappeared into the back alleys.

                “You should be glad I noticed them,” Alec said.

                Then they arrived at Johnny’s vessel. Surprisingly, it was almost new cargo ship, and they hurried inside.

                “No questions. Okay? Or I won’t go anywhere,” Johnny said.

                He had to be confident that everything he had in his vessel was perhaps slightly illegal, but nothing that would anger Alec. This was calming, maybe even Johnny could learn to do his shady business and have it at least within certain limits. If he sold some fake Nephilim stimulants, Alec realised he would not care that much. Not now, when he needed a ride. And that seemed to be exactly the case, as Alec looked at weird boxes full of pills with a rip-off Nephilim badge.

                He wanted to ask if it had any weird effects, but he bit his tongue. Not the right time for it.

Johnny was driving his vessel with confidence. Of course, as a smuggler, he had to travel a lot, so this was comforting.

                At first, the silence was natural, Johnny just focusing on the way, and Alec checking his pad for any news. He did not dare to enter the Nephilim database for mission reports. They would immediately know his current location. Was he now a fugitive? Him? The perfectly obedient boy, who always did what he was ordered. The responsible one, who held back his wild siblings?

                “So… how do you know Magnus?” Alec asked.

                Johnny looked at him sceptically. Then he turned back to the control panel. “Well… I stole some Warlock tech, wanted to smuggle it to Offspring. They put Magnus on my tail, ruthless that one. But he developed it, I guess it was personal,” Johnny said and chuckled at it.

                This was further evidence that Magnus had a moral compass. So far, everything he heard about him was within ethical limits that Alec was okay with, so why did he not want to talk? Maybe he did something when he was young and was ashamed of it?

                It was another piece of his history, and Alec thirsted for more. “Anything else you could tell me?”

                Johnny shook his head. “Not much, just this, as Offspring to Offspring, resisting mind meld hurts like hell, especially if you resist an insanely strong person like Magnus. Don’t ever do it, just let them take whatever they need and be done with it, or don’t even let them start!”

                Well, this was interesting information. Not the kind Alec was looking for, but interesting, nonetheless.

                On the way to Etamis, Alec was back to checking the news. He somehow expected to have his face all over the news, but nothing like that happened. Nephilim would keep it under the rug, as always. It could not taint their image, but he already knew that they were looking for him.

                A strange sighting of wormholes opening and a Daemon infestation was in one of the planet clusters. Of course it was. Magnus was gone for almost a week, and no one was there to stop it. A few other missing Offspring young adults. Alec now knew what to look for, so it was easy to check the news.

The alliance between Camille and Malcolm was screaming at him. He understood why they needed Magnus’ brilliant mind. It also helped that no one was there to stop the artefact activation. This made sense. Was there even some treachery in the ranks of Nephilim? Alec did not want to point fingers, but Zara was suspicious just because of her unexplainable hate for Warlocks, for Magnus.

                Alec was pulled out of his thoughts by Johnny. “We’re here, now, my money.”

                Alec nodded and paid.

                No one could know he was here on Etamis; even so, he was afraid they would track this transaction anyway. He hoped that when the time came, he would have Magnus somewhere safe already.

                That they looked for him on Virmire was logical, but Etamis was not so straightforward. He was convinced that there still would be time for him to get Magnus out and then… what then?

                “Johnny? Do you need this motorcycle right now? How much do you want for it?” Alec asked on his way out.

                “Well, you can have it, but… I need to buy a new one, something reliable…”

                “Johnny! Give me a fair price,” Alec said flatly. He was aware of what he was trying to do now. It was not that difficult to deal with him after he knew what to expect.

                In the end, they had an agreement, and Alec left his cargo ship. This motorcycle was black and blue, and light blue holographic lights illuminated its interface. The elegant round shape entranced him. It was a good idea to get a ground vehicle for travelling on this planet. He connected his data pad and started the engine, calling Raphael immediately. His face was projected on the interface. This motorcycle was perfect.

                Raphael picked up soon. When he checked Alec’s surroundings, he raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t sleep? Why are you on Etamis already?”

                That was some greeting. Raphael was most likely on the Citadel. “Nephilim were after me; it seems they did not take lightly that I left without orders.”

                “At least it forced you to hurry. Now we need to figure out which facility Magnus is in.”

                Alec smirked and then ended the call. He sat on the motorcycle and was on his way. He suddenly felt free, like he was finally doing something even for himself. His own decision, something that would make him proud and happy. The landscape full of algae and lichen on an inhospitable planet for Offsprings was passing before his eyes. Everything he was doing right now made perfect sense.

                Alec had no idea where to begin. So, he decided to choose one facility at a time, and he lodged every day in a different place, never sleeping more than four hours. He always went as far as he could manage from the last one. Then he watched it almost all night and part of the day with his improved sight before moving to another. So far, everything seemed to be in order.

                After camping out at the third one, he had a feeling this was not a good plan. Raphael’s sources did not have much new information either. Sometimes he suggested which one Alec should check, but all their tries ended in disappointment. Camille or her car was nowhere to be seen; she could be anywhere. They agreed that where Camille was, there should be Magnus too.

                Another two days passed by, and Alec was always changing his location; he started to get nervous. Even Raphael was in a worse mood than usual. They have already checked five facilities.

                When he was changing his location for the day, he noticed a strange empty plane on the way. He kept to the side of the road just to be sure. Everywhere on the planet were at least some trees, roads, or buildings. This empty place was unusual. He immediately called Raphael.

                This time it took him a long time. When he picked it up, he seemed to be sleepy and annoyed. That would explain why it took so long.

                “What do you want, Lightwood?” he asked.

                “Could you check this location? As a Vampire, you should be able to find quickly what was here before,” Alec said and turned around so that Raphael could see the empty plane behind him.

                “Coordinates?” Raphael asked. He was cold, but his voice showed a hint of sudden interest.

                Alec nodded and immediately started to look for it. After sending it to Raphael, Raphael turned away, and it seemed he typed something on a computer nearby. When he turned back, his expression changed again. It was less dismissive, almost like he gained some respect for Alec.

                “Well, maybe Nephilim can do something useful after all.”

                “What did you find?” Alec asked, and he could barely hide his impatience.

                “There used to be a facility, but it is long gone. I have a photo that is at least three years old, but this place looked nothing like this.”

                Alec utilised his implants for better sight, but they were of no use. There was literally nothing. Then he took a rock and threw it with his enhanced strength. It sailed through the air; if he did not have improved sight, he would not see it and then… it disappeared.

                “I just threw a rock, and… it’s gone. I didn’t see it fall.” This was exciting. Alec never saw anything like this. It was almost like… a Seelie technology? A perfect stealth that hid them from every race that tried to enslave them. But if that was right, how did Vampires get it?

                Raphael confirmed his thoughts. “Seelies,” he said simply.

                “But how? Why do we know nothing about it?”

                “Well, from what I know about Belcourt Corporation, if they discovered something that could further prolong our life, anyone would let them secretly work on it.”

                That would explain the email and why it was so passive-aggressive. You could feel her confidence from every word. It was as if she knew that Alec was not sent by Nephilim.

                “Find me a way to get in without anyone noticing,” Alec said, and Raphael nodded and ended their call.

                Then he hid his motorcycle in the forest and decided to lie down nearby and watch for any activity. Would he see Seelies? He never did, and even no one of his closest people did. The Seelies went into hiding, and only a few lucky Nephilim reported ever seeing them. Did they also work for Vampires and Malcolm? Or did Vampires steal their tech?

                Just hold on, Magnus… I’m coming. Even if I should lose what we had, I’m still coming; I could never let anyone I care about suffer.

Chapter Text

                Alec was waiting for any information from Raphael. So far, only two huge vehicles had entered the blank space. It was as if they instantly vanished, even though with his enhanced hearing, he could still hear the motor going. Alec never saw a tech like this. No wonder no one could find Seelies if they had developed something like it. The thought of them having stealth technology even on their ships, was fascinating.

                Alec could imagine that they would see anyone approaching from afar and would be able to force him to turn back or kill him. Just how could he get in?

                He still waited and tried to find some weakness in the stealth tech. His pad blinked, and he immediately snatched it. He crawled back to the bushes and answered the call.

                “So, how do we get inside?” Alec asked.

                “I have a person who works for the Belcourt Corp, she is my loyal spy. She should get access, pick you up and bring you Vampire clothes. Try to blend in.”

                Alec wondered if part of his reason for damaging Camille’s business was not also because he wanted more power. Vampires were like that. But if his practices were ethical, then it would be better for him to have more power than Camille.

     Alec was relieved. For Raphael, having a spy like this was perfect. He could not do this on his own; he would either get shot or locked up if he tried to go inside. Even though he had good tactical skills, this time he did not have the means to execute a good plan, and since the help was offered, why not take it? It would take him much longer if he were purely on his own. How did this happen? How, from hunting Daemons, did Alec get to infiltrating Vampire facilities?

                “Okay, but tell me, what did Magnus do that you owe him a favour?” Alec asked, but Raphael shot him a disgusted look.

                “It doesn’t matter, but trust me, I hate having debts, especially to someone like Magnus Bane. Now, meet her here; she will be there in about an hour. Her name’s Lily Chen.”

                So even though Johnny talked about Magnus, Alec realised he would not get anything out of Raphael. He decided to stop trying.

                The coordinates he got from Raphael were not that far. Alec sat on his motorcycle, which he already loved very much and was sad at the thought of leaving it here after he rescued Magnus. If possible, he wanted to take it back to Idris. If there still was a place for him… the thought of having to hide as Kit did was not exactly comforting.

                A van arrived, it had the Belcourt Corp logo, and Alec was wary. Raphael mentioned that Lily worked in that company, so it made sense. When the car stopped, a girl in a Vampire suit with an open helmet stepped out. She had perfect makeup and long black hair. Alec could imagine that in civilian clothes, she was very fashionable.

                “You’re Alec Lightwood, sweet cheeks?” she asked and checked him from head to toe, a flick of interest that was unpleasant for Alec was in her eyes.

                Alec blinked. What did she just call him? “I am, and please don’t call me sweet cheeks,” Alec said and grimaced.

                She chuckled. “Why? Oh, I forgot, you’re Magnus’ boyfriend.” Then she shrugged and waved her hand for Alec to go inside.

                Alec wondered why someone like Raphael had her as his spy. But maybe she was capable, even though she looked like she was a trouble. She opened the back of the vehicle, and there was a simple Vampire suit.

                “Take it, try to hide that you’re Offspring, it has a Belcourt logo,” she said. Alec nodded and grabbed it, but when she was still looking at him, he returned the gaze and scowled at her.

                “What? Nephilim are pretty, it’s not like you’re getting naked,” she said and rolled her eyes.

                With a sigh, Alec decided to ignore her. He changed the suits and closed off the helmet. It should hide that his skin was not as pale as most vampires’; it should also hide his teeth, which would give him away. Vampires resembled the Offspring the most; they even had similar physiology in some aspects. Maybe that is why Offspring people were often abducted for experiments by them.

     Only some Warlocks, like Magnus or Malcolm, were this much like them too. Some Vampires wore the suit almost all the time during the day, because it was uncomfortable for them to be out in the sun. He hoped that in the facility, it would work in his favour.

                He turned back to Lily and then sat inside the vehicle with her.

                “Now, this will be fun, I don’t even know if they let me in,” she said. “But don’t worry, I have a plan. You just focus on finding Magnus. Give me your contact.”

                “Okay, what’s your plan?” Alec asked and pulled out his data pad; they exchanged the information between their devices.

                “Well, I’ll distract the guard, and you sneak in, you have some special power or something as Nephilim, right?”

                “Not sure if it works like that…” Alec suddenly doubted. Was this girl really his ticket in? But with the car, they were at least able to get in through the stealth tech without someone shooting them down.

                “Well, do your best, angel. I’m your only chance if you want to do this quickly,” she said and started the car, and Alec hated that she was right.

                The way into the facility was okay, going through the shield went smoothly, and when they passed it, they both were marvelled by it. There was nothing, and suddenly, a huge facility. It was even bigger than the one where Alec found Kit. Even this one was eerily sterile looking; just remembering what could be happening inside made Alec shiver.

                “We are getting near the gate, get ready,” Lily said and then stuck out her head.

                “Where are you heading?” the gateman asked.

     “To Area B, just bringing some components,” Lily said. It seemed she did her research. Then she just casually flashed her employee card, and the gateman nodded and let them in. She was more capable than Alec had expected. It really looked like she belonged here. The gateman looked briefly at Alec, but when he saw that he wore a Vampire suit with the Belcourt Corp logo, he looked back at his data pad.

     “Strict area or not, gatemen are still the same everywhere,” Lily said, laughing. “Bored and stupid.”

     Alec smiled. And then focused on the road in front of them. They rode to a parking lot marked with a huge letter B.

                Next to them was parked another vehicle with the Belcourt Corp logo. Alec just overheard two Vampires talking as Alec and Lily were leaving.

                “But really, why must we pick up this Daemonic crap all over the galaxy, instead of creating something useful?”

                “Yeah, you tell me. I got almost shot down by a Daemon, we were promised that we’d be safe. If it goes on like this, I want more money. Most of the Daemons are stupid. No wonder the boss hires more and more people.”

                Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a crate full of pieces of the well-known tech when they opened the back door of the vehicle. So, it was not just Johnny who gathered it.

                But he did not hear more, and he also thought he had heard enough. He and Lily hurried inside.

                “I guess we find some disgusting things inside…” Lily whispered, and this was the first time Alec had seen her tense. She had to overhear it too. He checked his sides, where he had stuck two small pistols. He was worried that they would be needed. One he had for himself, the other in case he found Magnus and he needed it. The rest of his weapons were inside Lily’s car.

                When they entered the facility, they could see the turnstiles. Lily waved at Alec to come closer. He did not like being this close to her, but he understood what she tried to do.

                “Okay, no one is here now, if it does not work, you jump over and run; it will start the alarm. I don’t know if I have access to this facility, but I should,” Lily warned Alec, and he nodded. They stood uncomfortably close, and Lily put her employee card to the turnstile. It softly beeped, and they both quickly entered at the same time.

                Lily sharply exhaled. “Well, well. I’m the employee of the month,” she grinned at Alec. Alec felt the tension in his back slowly recede. Even his heart slowed down. He was ready to kick in implants and just run around, but this was much better.

                “Thanks, look, there’s a map,” Alec pointed his finger. They looked at it, but the names of the departments did not say much.

                “A1 - Blood experiments, B2 - Genetic experiments, A2 - Artefact research, B1 - weapon development, C1 - Daemonic research…” Lily read and mumbled to herself.

                “Lily, he could be anywhere. But I would go here,” Alec said and put his finger on Daemonic research. It was on the other side of the building. That meant trouble.

                “Yeah, the artefact research is right here; it would make sense to put him somewhere further away. Or we could split, you go back, and I will check the artefacts.”

                Alec nodded and tried to remember the exact way. He forced himself to look as if he belonged here, as if he were just on some errand. If he looked lost or confused, it would be suspicious.

                His gaze was now on the high ceilings. What kind of monstrosities were hidden here? Every wall was completely white, without any decorations. Only small arrows with the letters and numbers of the departments were visible. C1, that was his goal.

     Just to be sure, Alec used his enhanced hearing again to avoid any surprises. But he started to feel a little tired. With going on with little to no sleep for days, his body did not cool off as much as it should have after using his implants for scouting the surroundings. But he was so close now, he could almost feel it.

     Most places had a door with just a small window. On every door was a number. Whenever Alec passed by it, he tried to see what was inside. What if Magnus was in one of them after all?

     He could not really tell, but in one of the rooms, he saw unconscious Offspring people with tubes connected all over their bodies, and in another, there were strange creatures he had never seen before. As if they tried to breed some kind of chimaera. He did not want to look inside any other room; his despair grew with every glance. But he knew that he must go on. What if Magnus was experimented on as well? So, he forced himself to at least check every room he could.

     This was a house of brutality and madness. How come no one knew about this? At least for three years, according to what Raphael found today. He was pretty sure that he would do everything in his power to shut down this place after Magnus was safe. No one should suffer like that. Even if he had to come back here and do it himself.

     Maybe Vampire government covered this, but once the word would go out, there was no other option than to close it, because this many tortured Offspring in one place was not acceptable, when it came to diplomatic relationships. Alec was pretty sure that he could even find implants here, which meant the worst offence for Nephilim people. Their most guarded secret, the thing they were most proud of.

     The next department was weapon development, and then… Daemonic research. When he passed by weapon development, it was the least ominous place. It even had glass walls, so Alec could see well inside. Many Vampire researchers were controlling big screens with data pads in their hands, some were operating huge metallic arms, others were carefully packing weapons into boxes, and there was a person who was steadily pacing the room, checking everyone else.

     Just one department left… his heart was pounding like crazy, and his breathing got ragged. Suddenly, his data pad beeped, and he almost jumped. He opened it and checked the message.

     “Magnus isn’t here, Lily. OMW.”

     Alec just hoped he was in the right facility. Thanks to Lily’s interruption of his thoughts, he was not in such a distraught.

     When he arrived at the C1 department, he started to carefully peek into the rooms. Some were empty, so he had the time to look properly. In one of the rooms, he saw weird people behind blue buzzing bars. He pressed his head closer against the small window.

     The people there had pointy ears; their eyes were striking. The colour in them was unusually full. They were very pretty, even though they were most likely almost starved. Some of them were tinkering, others looked too tired to do anything. Except for pointy ears, eyes and strange hair, they looked a little like Offspring people, but they were nothing like any other species Alec knew. Then he realised it, those were Seelies! But… if they had a stealth technology, they could be useful allies. He immediately sent Lily a message.

     “Found Seelies. They imprisoned them, forcing them to work. Free them if you can, room 203 in C1. I look for Magnus.”

     He could free Offspring on the tubes or anyone else, but those people seemed too hurt, some looked like they were on the brink of death, they would not be able to walk. But these Seelies, even though weak, could help with the escape. It pained him that he was unable to help the other people.

     The reply came shortly after. “Are U out of ur mind?! Coming.”

     Looking in another room, Alec finally saw the artefacts. Small parts like the one Alec gave to Ragnor were being assembled by a group of Vampires. And then shipped to Malcolm… Alec thought.

     His temples started to pound; maybe he would find Magnus continuing with his research. Maybe everything was okay.

     Another room. Daemonic cubes in one place, carefully stashed in boxes, prepared to be moved. His breath got short again. Where could he be?

     And then he saw him. In room 333. Magnus was sitting on a bench behind the same prison bars as Seelies were. His face was buried in his palms, the black nail polish was mostly peeled off his nails, and Alec had never seen his fingers look like that. His hair was a mess, but not a carefully crafted kind of mess as usual. His expensive clothes were crumpled, and Alec would even say he had lost some weight.

     For how many days has he already sat here? Alec spent almost a week on Etamis and five days waiting for an answer that never came on Idris.

     When he realised what was in front of him, he immediately barged in. “Magnus!” he said.

     But Magnus reacted slowly. He raised his head and sleepily looked at him. Magnus had no makeup, and his eyes were so tired. His gaze was almost dead, no spark of recognition or joy that he saw him.

     Then he scoffed. “Perfect start, I did not even notice you already started the neurotransmitter. Alec’s voice from a Vampire suit. What images will you send me today, hm? Stop it, stop it now. I won’t cooperate even if I see him dying over and over again.”

     “Magnus, it’s me,” Alec said, and his voice broke. Did this mean…? That couldn’t be…

     “Of course it is. What now? Implant overload and painful death? A clean shot to the head? I’ve seen it all, just stop,” his voice was barely audible, with a hidden trace of threat. Even when cornered, Magnus still had his dignity.

     Alec's heart broke into a million pieces. So that was what they were doing to him? If he could just touch him, do anything to convince him that he was real. Alec looked around the room; this time it was not as easy as their last visit. No card was dangling near the control panel. He had to convince him; seeing him like this was like looking into some nightmarish dimension. A dimension that should never have existed in the first place.

     Then Alec got an idea. He could convince Magnus that he really was here, the real Alec. Whatever they did to Magnus could not break him completely. He was sure he could make him see the reality.

     “Magnus, listen to me. Do you remember our awful date? Zara was such an ass… and then I got overwhelmed in Silversun. I had my first real kiss, and you saw my implants, and for the first time in my life, I felt accepted, loved,” he said as he was slowly opening his helmet. It was the first thing that came to Alec’s mind.

     Magnus suddenly jumped to his feet, his eyes wide. “Alexander?!”

     “Yes… It’s me… I’m here,” Alec said, his voice sounding like he was on the brink of tears. “But how can I get you out?” he croaked.

     “You’re insane. Completely insane,” Magnus whispered. He slowly went as close to the bars as he could, and he watched him in disbelief.

     Alec managed to hold back a sob and calmed himself. He had to stay strong for Magnus now. His safety was the most important thing. “Maybe I am, just tell me how I can get you out?”

     Magnus sighed and sat back on the bench. “I hate you seeing me like this…” he muttered. “Okay, see that control panel? There is a cable in the cabinet below. Connect it to your pad.”

     Alec nodded and did exactly as he was told. He noticed that Magnus tried to groom his hair with his hands while Alec was working, and he trembled slightly.

     “I saw the Vampires entering the code many times; you just need to access the console. They underestimated me; it’s not surprising.”

     Then he guided Alec through the process. Alec saw many numbers running on his pad; he waited.

     “Are you alone here?” Magnus asked.

     “No, Raphael and Lily helped me, but only Lily is here,” Alec said as he controlled the ongoing process on his pad.

     “I see… well, Raphael has a lot of connections, and Lily is very competent; he probably knew Camille had me. Camille was obsessed with long life and staying young before, but what happened to her now, I wonder… It is a little sad, really. She was not so bad when I knew her… Raphael must have suspected her. He’s a good man.”

     Alec looked at him, silent. Trying to understand why Magnus finally brought her up. This waiting felt a little awkward.

     “I owe you at least that much, sorry… I should have spoken about her sooner.”

     “How did she get you?” Alec asked, avoiding the topic that still felt sensitive to him, Magnus’ past; he wanted to know, but not now. They had to escape.

     “Belcourt Corp developed some field against biotics with Malcolm, it’s even in these bars, and the Nephilim I thought were friendly were not so friendly after all. Lieutenant Ashdown surprised me with the tech, and then I was here.”

     That explained a lot. Maybe it was all Zara’s trap? They would figure it out later. The console access suddenly appeared on his pad, and Alec’s face lit up. He looked at Magnus, who had this painful longing written all over his face. Then Magnus told him the code, and the bars opened.

     Alec immediately ran to him and firmly embraced him. He clung to him like a drowning man, burying his nose into the crook of his neck. He didn’t care what state Magnus was in; he finally had him safely in his arms. He was back. Now he had to make sure to get him to safety. Magnus was first taken aback, but then Alec felt that he gently returned the hug as if he did not believe that this was real.

     “Where’s Lily?” Magnus asked when they parted. But he did not have to ask, because a siren suddenly sounded through the facility.

     “Well… releasing the Seelies,” Alec said.

     “Damn!”

     Alec closed the helmet again and led Magnus towards the room with the Seelies. They were running outside the room, with Lily standing on the side, moving her hand to urge them to run faster.

     “Just go!” Alec yelled at Lily, and she nodded. She joined the Seelies and prepared her pistol.

     “How do you feel, Magnus, up to some fight?” Alec asked because after they passed some rooms, he could hear angry voices, and Alec hid behind the nearest corner with Magnus by his side.

     “A little, I’m shaken, but not depleted,” Magnus said. Alec gave him one of his pistols.

     Alec activated his implants for better sight and aim; he needed it a lot, because his hands were still crazily shaking.

     “Then go protect the Seelies, I’ll have our backs,” Alec said and started to shoot. He aimed for hands and legs; he did not want to kill them. Those were Vampires, not some Daemons.

     They were proceeding slowly, shots were buzzing everywhere around him, and Alec was glad that his Vampire armour had a strong shield. He was able to let it regenerate when it was hit too often. Even though they scratched him a few times, thanks to the enhanced sight, he was able to avoid it as much as possible. It left just a few shallow wounds on his shoulders and one thigh.

     Proceeding further, Alec could feel a weak throbbing at his temples. This was bad. The fever had already started, and if he continued like this for too long, his implants could get overloaded soon. He did not let it show, not wanting to worry Lily and Magnus.

     “Almost there! Alec, let’s go, all these Seelies can fit in my vehicle,” he could hear Lily saying.

     He fired his weapon a few times, and they were now jumping over the turnstiles. The alarm had already sounded, so it did not matter. Alec was last; he covered them with his pistol.

     “Just go! Seelies are without protection!” Alec ordered and hid behind one of the turnstiles. “I’ll catch up!”

     Magnus hesitantly left after Lily, but Alec could see how worried he was. What he experienced here had to be terrible.

     After a few shots, he felt his fever rise even more. His breath was harsher, and the pain in his head multiplied. He could do it; he had to, just a little more.

     He waited for a while, shot down a few Vampires, he had a huge advantage when his implants were activated, and then he decided it was enough time for Magnus and the rest to run to Lily’s vehicle, so he kicked in his implants to reach inhuman speed, hoping that he could still hold on.

     When he was outside, Lily was just closing the door behind the Seelies and was entering the driver’s seat. Magnus waited for Alec inside, and Alec quickened the pace even more. They had to get out, Seelies were defenceless; he had to protect them and Magnus too. His vision got blurred, and he could barely see. Trying to focus, he managed to blindly enter the vehicle. He felt Magnus’ hands on his arms, pulling him in. He closed the door, sat down, and then everything went black.

Chapter Text

                Alec felt an ache all over his body; it burned. His temples were thrumming; it was like someone repeatedly stabbed his frontal lobe with a knife. He was disoriented, and all around him was darkness. He heard just two panicked voices.

                “We need to cool him off, Lily! Just… something, anything! Damn, not now, not now… I cannot lose you again… I just can’t…”

                “Okay, okay, but they are onto us! I need to shake them off first.”

                He was not sure, but he felt someone touching his forehead. Then his armour was being stripped, and everything vanished again.

                It was like a bad dream. Alec hated how his consciousness swung back and forth; he could not breathe properly he was all sweaty. Voices around him were all mumbled, and he was not even sure who was there with him.

                “Help me already! I cannot carry him alone! He’s burning!”

                “Alright, alright, but where to? They look for him all over this sector already.”

                “We take him to our queen.”

                “Your queen? And now that is where?”

                “Don’t worry, we have…”

                And the rest was unintelligible.

                When Alec came to, he was submerged in ice-cold water in a tub. He wore nothing but his trunks; otherwise, his clothes were gone.

                His head pulsated with well-known pain because the implants overloaded. He glanced around and noticed that Magnus was almost holding his hand and was sleeping, his head resting against the tub. Maybe he held him, but when he fell asleep, his hand just slipped. Alec tried to focus on his surroundings.

                He was not sure if he was on a spaceship or a planet. Everything around was almost like he was on a garden planet, but indoors. How could plants grow on the walls? Then he glanced into the next room. The room was decorated with red and white fabric all around the edges. He had never seen a room like this. Almost as if a tech did not exist at all. There were some basic displays for temperature, air, and a little intercom by the door, but nothing like on Idris.

                After touching his forehead, his fever was almost gone. Then he touched his shoulder blade, hissed and immediately pulled out his hand as he almost burned it on the implant. He should have known better. The edges could withstand the heat, but touching the implant directly at this state was a bad idea.

                Alec looked at sleeping Magnus. His nails were again perfectly trimmed, and black polish was flawlessly applied. Alec smiled. He knew that it was important to Magnus to look properly groomed. He even had makeup, but it was slightly smudged. Alec fought with the urge to tangle his fingers into Magnus’ hair.

                Then he wondered how long he had been unconscious. He did not remember much since their desperate run to Lily’s vehicle. He submerged back into the pleasant cold water and closed his eyes. It was not exactly Nephilim medicine, but it was helping. Except for the terrible headache, he felt much better.

                Just as he was getting comfortable, he noticed that Magnus was sleepily watching him.

                “You feel better?” Magnus whispered. He must have known that Alec’s head was killing him.

                “I’m… aren’t you cold?” Alec whispered too. Every loud sound was like a sting of a needle. Even the whispering was uncomfortable.

                Magnus splashed his hand in the cold water and then shrugged. “A little, but it is fine. I’m here to add more cold water once it warms up.”

                “Where are we?” Alec asked.

                “The Seelie spaceship. Their stealth technology is unparalleled,” Magnus said a little louder, but then he stopped talking, because Alec winced.

                “Sorry…” Magnus whispered again.

                Alec faintly smiled and closed his eyes; he needed more sleep. He reached out for Magnus’ hand and felt relieved when Magnus held his. He relaxed back into the tub with cold water.

                Alec woke up again, this time he lay on a bed in the next room he saw from the tub. Alec tried to touch his implants, and they were not so hot anymore. Even his headache started to recede. He searched the room, and Magnus was now striding towards him.

                “Alexander, rest,” he said as he sat next to him.

                “No… I’m okay,” Alec said, but it was only partly true. His head still hurt, even though it was just a faint, barely present pain. He could endure it quite easily.

                “Are you sure? You’re still pale,” Magnus said softly, and he avoided Alec’s eyes.

                Alec was sad that they were awkward again. He loved being with Magnus so much, but after what happened, it was difficult, and everything changed.

                “So… we’re on a Seelie ship, right? What happened when we got in Lily’s vehicle?” Alec asked. Yes, getting the much-needed information should ease the atmosphere as usual. That always worked for them.

                “We are. Well, we escaped, and then when we got out of the car, you were… you… I was so afraid that this was another…”

                It was rare to see Magnus stumbling for words. Alec’s heart throbbed. “I know, you saw me die over and over again,” he then said softly, and Magnus just nodded. He was staring somewhere behind Alec with a distant, serious look.

                “Yes, but this was a reality. I just knew that we must cool you down, but we had nothing. I just removed your armour, but it was not enough. You burned all over your body.”

                Magnus fell silent for a while. Alec looked at his hand, and now he noticed faint burnt circles on his palm, and he could imagine they led to his forearm. Did he touch his implants directly? For how long? It was almost healed now, but Alec recognised it. If he had his Nephilim armour, this would not have happened; it was heat-resistant with a material like no other and had a cooling unit. Alec was not the only one who had gone mad.

                When Magnus noticed his gaze, he quickly turned his palm down so that Alec did not see the burnt-out circles on it.

                “But your fever went down slowly, I’m not sure, you came to once or twice, hard to tell. And the Seelies knew where to look for their people on Etamis. They hailed their ship, and we brought you here. As you saw, the tub with cold water lowered your fever. We didn’t have Nephilim medicine.”

                This made sense.

                “How long… how long was I out?”

                “Four days…” Magnus whispered, his hands slightly trembling. “It was hard to at least hydrate you.”

                “Four days…” Alec repeated softly. So many things could have happened.

                “Because we saved her people, the queen gave us this quarter. The Nephilim are looking for you everywhere, Alec. We need to stop Malcolm, and no one except for us knows how. But Seelies are our allies; we have a common enemy. Malcolm and Belcourt Corp hurt them. They were hunting them for their stealth tech.”

                “I see… How about our crew? Your tech?”

                “I’m not sure, but I’m in contact with Catarina and Ragnor; he was sent back to Thessia. Something about a bad influence. I don’t have my devices back yet; they are probably still on Alicante.”

                Alec scoffed. Of course. But now, could Warlocks stop trusting the Nephilim? Maybe they could help them.

                “Can we… can we get them here?”

                “Now, don’t get ahead of ourselves,” this time, Magnus smirked. It was the first time since Alec woke to see him confident again. “If we manage to negotiate with the queen, she has promised us a ship. We have a crew, and I think that I could get us reliable people too.”

                Alec sat up straight. “A ship? With a stealth tech?”

                “Yes, she did not want to tell me more; she’s waiting for you to wake up, no need to rush.”

                Alec’s eyes sparkled, and he swung his legs off the bed. This sounded too amazing to be true. To have a legendary Seelie ship with stealth. They could go anywhere without Nephilim finding them easily. They could even disarm as many artefacts as possible, in case Magnus would not be hurt by it.

                “Then, what are we waiting for?!”

                “Calm down, first. I need to tell you the rest, so that we have something to negotiate with. Queen and her migrant fleet are extremely cautious,” Magnus said, so Alec stayed on the bed.

                “Migrant fleet?” Alec asked.

                “Yes, that’s why you rarely see any Seelies. They migrate with their invisible ships. As you can see, they managed to get everything they needed inside. They can grow all the much-needed crops here. It is fascinating, really. All they must do is get water on some of the garden worlds. They have artificial sun; they have completely focused on a different aspect of tech than everyone else. All the flora you see here is real.”

                Alec gaped at him, and Magnus smiled. Alec lowered his gaze; he must have looked silly now.

                “Well… and what do we have to negotiate with?” Alec asked.

                “We can take down Camille and Malcolm. Actually, I pretended for two days that I was willing to cooperate. Just when Camille realised that I’m not coming up with anything new, she started to suspect me.”

                Alec was now grinning. That was his brilliant Magnus, as usual, he could almost hug him.

                “Look, Camille experimented with the implants, and as we know, it prolongs Offspring life, right?” Magnus said.

                Alec nodded. He expected a Nephilim army, but… he started to see the pattern here.

                “What we saw was an experiment with polluting it with Daemonic tech, so that it would work properly on Vampires. Due to all their past genetic experiments, and even with Daemonic artefact and tech, it seemed to be the only way for it to work. Could you imagine? Vampires with even more enhanced reflexes and everything…” Magnus shuddered.

                “Okay, but why test it on Offspring?”

                “That was the first step, because you have similar physiology for this. Once the first Offspring would survive the modification, she would start to test it on Vampire volunteers, and trust me, they are obsessed with prolonging their lives by any means necessary. She would have no trouble finding the volunteers.”

                Alec slowly shook his head. This was worse than he thought.

                “But what about the artefacts? I heard that Vampires are gathering the pieces all over the galaxy.”

                “Exactly. They put it together, and then they give it to Malcolm. I tried to hack into files I did not have access to. I got into only some of them. Malcolm was supplying them with Offspring people. It seems that some Daemons are way cleverer than we thought. They were the ones abducting them all over the galaxy so that it does not fall on Vampires.”

                “This is insane. So… why is Malcolm doing this? Opening the rifts and sending Daemons on all the planets?”

                “Well… this is something I don’t know yet. But if we help the queen take down Belcourt Corp, put Camille at least in a prison, and we promise to stop Malcolm… she might give us the ship.”

                “We would do it anyway, right?”

                Magnus nodded and smiled. It was now personal; Alec felt the same.

                “But… Alexander, but you seem to do much better. And I think… I think I owe you something,” Magnus muttered and avoided his eyes again. “But only if you agree,” he added hastily.

                “What is it?” Alec asked. What did Magnus owe him? He owed him nothing. Alec would save him every time. Always.

                “Because when I saw you die, again and again… I realised that I would hate to lose you because of something like this. What I offer is something that would exhaust me, but it won’t harm you, I… I’d like to mind meld with you,” Magnus said, and now he was looking directly at Alec with a steady gaze. His hands were tightly clenched.

                Alec's heart stopped for a second. He stared at him with his mouth open.

                “So… that means, our memories and thoughts would just mingle together?” Alec said, and then nervously licked his lips.

                “Yes, but only if you wish,” Magnus emphasised, and he extended his hand to Alec, waiting. He spoke softly as if he were afraid of what Alec would say.

                “I want that,” Alec said and took his slender hand.

                They were comfortably lying on the bed, snuggled together. He breathed in a well-known sandalwood scent and looked into his beautiful cat eyes. Alec at least dressed up his shirt and was now staring at Magnus. A memory of Johnny telling him not to resist the mind meld once it started came up. He was prepared.

                Magnus had one of his hands on the nape of Alec’s neck. “Okay… I just want to warn you, whatever you see is not exactly pretty, and I’m sorry if I see some of your memories. This is not interrogation, because with you around, it’ll be… intimate. I will let our minds flow freely. If you want me to end it, focus on the words. If you don’t want to be with me after you see this… I’ll be okay with it. But! We still need to imprison Camille and catch Malcolm,” Magnus said.

                “Nothing I see will make me hate you,” Alec whispered, but Magnus smiled and shook his head. His smile was so painful that it was tearing Alec’s heart apart. He knew Magnus never performed any other mind meld than interrogation; his heart was thumping strongly. So, this was Magnus’ first intimate mind meld? Since Magnus took his first real kiss, Alec would have some of his firsts too. For some reason, it felt great.

                “It’s okay… so…?”

                Alec nodded, and Magnus pressed his forehead to Alec’s. “Embrace eternity…” Magnus whispered, and his eyes got entirely black. There was no other colour than black; it was terrifying and mesmerising at the same time. The well-known tingle on the back of his neck was back, and Alec knew he needed to feel it again. And then – it was there, a tug on his mind, he closed his eyes and saw images.

                He saw glimpses of himself. Smiling, being shy, focused, kissing Magnus’ torso and neck, nervously touching him when they first made out, and feeling the fireworks that sparkled inside of Magnus anytime he looked at him. It was as if some never-ending loneliness budding in his heart was chased away just by his presence.

                Alec pressed his physical body against Magnus, and he softly sighed. He had no idea Magnus felt this strongly about him. It triggered a similar reaction, and many of Alec’s thoughts rose to the surface, the same moments just from his perspective. Both feelings were now indistinguishably entangled. He felt Magnus in his head speaking. “It’s… amazing…” Magnus whispered breathlessly. It was as if it surprised even him. “But I need to show you something else. I’ll try to focus,” he said.

                The vision shifted.

                He was on some planet. In front of him was a cubic artefact, a very well-known Daemonic cube. He could recognise it everywhere. Magnus went closer to it, and he felt so happy. Alec felt his genuine happiness at the discovery.

                “Aren’t you a beauty?” he could hear Magnus coo at it. He went closer, and then the light started to blink, and Magnus just curiously cocked his head. Suddenly, a huge wave of red energy blasted from it, and it lit the place completely. Magnus was blinded, and it threw him to the ground. When he got up, his hands were shaking and his biotics felt weird. Even though Alec did now know it, he knew it felt weird. He tried to use Lift and felt that his power got even stronger.

                “This is perfect!” Magnus rejoiced. After trying it again, it faded away. He was fascinated. He needed to find more. Something else in him stirred; it was as if he found something he was good at, which confused Alec. Magnus was a brilliant scientist, a party animal. Why did it make him so happy?

                The image suddenly changed. This time, he was with Ragnor.

                “Magnus, you said it powered you up? Well, since it killed some Offspring people, we should follow the signal. It works differently on them than it worked on you. Did you at least find out anything?” Ragnor said.

                “I did. When I got hit by the wave for the first time, I saw these strange visions. I think I might be able to disarm it before it goes off and power myself up even more. Just imagine, I could sweep off all those pesky Daemons by myself. I just need to study the cubes.”

                “What visions?”

                “I’m not sure yet. It is like… like I know where Earth could be. I see this beacon, a perfect sky, everything is so jumbled… I need more, more artefacts.”

                “You’re crazy. But what if I can get them for us? You would have your study, and it would help people.”

                “That works for me. What’s the catch?” Magnus asked.

                “You would have to work with Nephilim, starting… right now,” Ragnor said with a wide grin that suggested he was entertained by the thought.

                And then the vision changed. But this time, Alec’s mind was spinning like crazy. They were inside his mind for a change.

                Alec saw his mother. She was in pain. Holding her underbelly, tears coming out of her eyes because of it. She was pregnant; even though her belly was still small, it was already obvious.

                “Mommy? Mommy, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Alec asked, and he could hear his own voice when he was a little boy.

                “It’s… It’s okay, I just need to go to the infirmary. The mission was too rough. I should have listened to the doctor and stopped working already,” she whispered, and Alec decided to help her on the way. When they got there, the doctors started to run around, panicked.

                “Will mommy be okay?” Alec asked one of the doctors. It was old Offspring lady; she looked at him sympathetically.

                “She will be, but… I’m afraid for the baby. Just go to your cabin. We will save your mommy, okay?”

                Alec nodded, but tears started to drop out of his eyes. He wanted a little brother, someone who would just hang around the ship with him. He would teach him shooting and how not to overload his implants, even though he was not proficient in it yet.

                “Mom was never the same again… she couldn’t have more children after that. I always tried to fill her expectations, because I felt sorry for her. She’s obsessed with grandkids,” Alec thought, and he could feel the shared pain as if Magnus was gently caressing his back. Then he noticed that he did. Not just with his mind, but physically. Alec snuggled even closer. They were now firmly entangled.

                “Sorry for peeking… Should I stop?” Magnus asked. Alec could hear him inside his mind and felt a gentle touch in his hair; he shivered, because their mutual feelings were meshed together, and he felt the softness that bud in Magnus’ heart. It took his breath away. Then Alec tried to send a thought of not stopping.

                Then Alec saw Camille. She was beautiful, younger than she was now. He could feel love for her, even though it was faint. Something happened, something that tainted that love.

                “Camille, please, don’t try that. It’s not perfectly tested yet. Do you know how many Vampires could get hurt?”

                “They will be volunteers, Magnus. It’s okay. Look, you’ll live for so long, and I… I might, too, but I’ll get older. If I can stop it, I will.”

                “Camille… you’re obsessed. Don’t do anything you would regret,” Magnus said with a glint in his eyes. But she laughed it off, oh, how he loved her laugh, but not this time… this time it felt different. Magnus was afraid she would go too far.

                “Please, don’t do it… I… I could not be with you anymore,” Magnus said.

                “Well, then don’t. Richard doesn’t complain,” she said, and Magnus’ heart got shattered in that instant. So, she was cheating on him after all. He was afraid of it… And even if he did not want to admit it before, he suspected her. It was just finally confirmed by her.

                “Sorry you had to see that…” Alec could hear Magnus say, but he was okay with this. This was exactly what he wanted to know. He urged Magnus to continue.

                This time, he was in some old lab. In front of him stood a man with cat eyes, just like Magnus had. The same tone of skin, the same colour of hair…

                “If you hate me for this… I’ll understand…” Magnus whispered in Alec’s mind, but Alec wanted to see it. Wanted to see it all, he pushed through it, and the scenery continued.

                “Will you be a good boy today?” the man said. Alec looked down and noticed that his hands were firmly tied. Then the man sighed. When Magnus, Alec, looked in front of him, the man had a small part of the well-known Daemonic artefact in his hand. Just the tiny part that Johnny and Vampires gathered.

                “No… daddy, please. It hurts. I don’t want to do this anymore,” Magnus pleaded. Alec knew immediately this was not the first time. How many times did Magnus have to endure this?

                “Be a good boy, you want to be strongest, don’t you? The strongest biotic in the whole galaxy?”

                “I… don’t…” Magnus whispered.

                “Oh, you do. Look, all your siblings were weaklings! Only your gene therapy went so smoothly that you are strong enough to withstand it. You’ll be so powerful! Make me proud!”

                “I… Okay…” Magnus’ voice was now small. The man grinned and turned to his machines. They were beeping ominously, and numbers were running on all the displays. Now, Alec noticed that on Magnus’ head was a strange metallic cap, and many cables were connected to it. He shivered, shivered in fear. The fear was well known; Magnus knew exactly what was coming.

                The man inserted the artefact part into his machine, and a blue light suddenly ran through the cables. Magnus cried in pain. His head hurt; his body was spasming. Then he yelled, and his hands got freed from the table, to which he was firmly tied. His hands shot up, and the man turned his head. Magnus got overwhelmed by the blue biotic light, and the man’s body lurched forward and hit the machine in front of him. The machine dented, and he was dead.

                The mind meld ended abruptly. Magnus panted and held his head in his palms.

                “I’m a monster, Alexander… an artificial, modified being,” he repeated softly, on the brink of tears. He shuddered, not looking at Alec.

                But Alec embraced him. Firmly, but gently. “That’s not what I saw…” Alec whispered.

                “Look at me, everything. My power, my intelligence, my body… It’s all modified. Nothing is fully real; that’s why the artefacts react differently to me than to other people. I’m fake, partly Daemon, more than most Warlocks are; we were exposed to the Daemonic presence more than other species, but I’m modified directly,” Magnus whispered, he was looking at his hand as if it were something alien. Something that did not belong to him.

                So that was what Magnus was hiding. But it could not be true. No, not when he made Alec feel what he felt for him. Even if all was artificial, or some of it, his love was genuine; otherwise, he would not share his deepest secrets with Alec. He could feel Magnus’ pain in the memories, his love for him. Everything was real.

                “Magnus… but your heart, your soul. They are real. When I was with you, I was truly happy. Happy for the first time in my life. Everything here, everything I feel even now, is real, don’t you?” Alec said and then took Magnus’ hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart. His hands were shivering ever so slightly, and his heartbeat was strong. As strong as Alec’s love for Magnus. He was staring at Magnus with a solemn expression.

                This was the first time Magnus looked into Alec’s eyes after the mind meld. His cat eyes had a strange colour, but not a single tear was shed. He smiled with a soft, barely visible smile. Then he embraced Alec and held him firmly. Alec was almost sure he heard a sob now. It had to be difficult to see his probably worst memory again as vividly as they did now.

                They lay down just like that on the bed, not saying anything for a long time. Alec was gently stroking Magnus’ hair and nuzzling his neck; the mind meld was very intense, and both were still shuddering. The queen could wait.

                Alec would never leave him, not for something like this, and Alec knew this was where he belonged. Into Magnus’ arms, and all was real.

Chapter Text

                After the remaining feelings from the intense mind meld slowly dispersed, they both felt visibly better. The air was still a little awkward, but mostly because they had never shared such a deep, intimate moment with anyone before. Even for Magnus, it was the first time.

                They were still on the bed, limbs entangled, eyes closed. “Remember when you woke me from my misconception in the Belcourt facility?” Magnus broke the long silence.

                Alec slightly pulled away from him so that he could look at his face. “Yeah?” Alec admired his cat's eyes; he missed them so much. Magnus was looking at him, and suddenly, Alec’s breath got caught. Something in his gaze was so tender.

                “You said that you felt accepted, loved… Thank you for doing the same for me. This is what I was hiding. No more surprises without explanation, I promise,” Magnus whispered.

Alec knew that Magnus was afraid that the images they saw at the beginning of the mind meld would shatter and disappear. He felt it, even though it was just in the back of their joined minds.

                Alec smiled and gently rubbed the knuckles of his hand against his cheek. Today was the first time he was consoling Magnus, and it felt surreal. He was happy to be here for him. “Now you won’t get rid of me that easily, you know that?” Alec joked.

                Magnus lowered his gaze and smiled. “I would never…” he whispered, but then he looked directly at Alec. “But there is still one kind of mind meld, but for that… we’ll need a different kind of atmosphere. But I’d hate to do something like that here on this Seelie ship,” Magnus said and smiled suggestively. His self-confidence was back. Seeing him like this was as if a huge weight was lifted from Alec’s mind, but it still caught him off guard.

                Of course, he knew what Magnus hinted at. And he was so happy to finally be here with him and have all these things resolved; he quickly composed himself. Yes, when they got to a different place, and it was safe there, he was ready to have sex. Alec smiled, and even though he blushed, he did not tear his gaze away from Magnus. He bit his lip.

                “I’m ready for that,” he whispered and stared at Magnus’ lips, and his breath got short. He needed the kiss, but he was not sure how to ask for it. It was a little embarrassing for him.

                Magnus leaned in closer, just enough so that Alec could feel his breath on his cheek. He was now fully aware of the well-known scent of sandalwood. Where did he get the shower gel here on this ship? Or was it his cologne as usual? But whatever was the source, Alec’s head started to spin. He pressed his lips to Magnus’ as if this could be the last thing he ever did.

                He could feel Magnus smiling against his lips. What a tease! He clasped Magnus’ nape with his hands, pulled him closer and deepened the kiss, all the embarrassment suddenly gone. All the fear of losing him, all the things he recently did, the mind meld, everything was poured into the kiss.

                The kiss left them both gasping for air and frantically running their hands over the bodies of one another. Alec was now pinned under Magnus and was baring his neck for him, accepting the desperate kisses, and Alec gasped, while running his hands along Magnus’ spine, pressing him closer.

                Then they heard a knock on the door, and a Seelie person came inside. He had black hair, striking green eyes, and what was interesting, a leaf-like mark on his cheek. Was it a tattoo? Some birthmark?

                Magnus glared at a man who had just walked in, and he straightened up and sighed. “You could at least wait for a while before you enter.”

                “I see that the Nephilim feels much better. Is he going to talk to the queen now?” the Seelie said and looked at them with his eyebrows raised as if he did not care at all what he had just seen.

                “I’m on my way,” Alec tried to look composed, but this was very annoying. He dressed up completely and looked at the Seelie, who was still standing by the entrance. Then the Seelie led them away from the room.

                When they walked through the ship, Alec saw the colourful flora everywhere. It was stalking the walls, and the air here was clean, in some corridors even humid, as if they were on some garden world. On the walls were even places where you could not see the wall at all. There were windows everywhere, windows that let them gaze into space. Beautiful yellow lights shone on the ceilings in rows. Alec wondered if they really would get an amazing ship like this.

                After finally arriving at the room with the queen, Alec saw she was sitting on something that looked like a throne from a fairy tale. Ornate, gleaming, completely alien. Her long, scarlet hair enveloped her unusual face. She looked so majestic in the strange clothes. It was as if she put on just some random white fabric and decorated it with jewels. Her eyes were completely blue; no other colour was there.

                “Come closer, Nephilim,” she said. “I see you finally woke up. I let you rest here, take it as a payment for saving my people.”

                Alec was not sure how to act. Was it a queen? He never saw a queen. The most peculiar beings he ever saw were Warlocks, but no one looked like her.

                “Thank you,” was all that he managed to say.

                “I heard a lot about the deeds of Nephilim. Tell me, can you take down the Belcourt facility? I need revenge. My people were not enslaved for many decades, until now. We were robbed and enslaved; that sure cannot go unpunished. Now that they don’t hold hostages anymore, it should be safe to do it. I don’t have any protection from Nephilim or anyone else, but I could make a deal with you, personally.”

                Alec had expected this. He was prepared since Magnus told him about having a common enemy.

                “It could be possible, but I need to contact my crewmates first,” Alec decided. Now that Magnus was saved and the mission was not exactly suicidal, since they knew what was inside, he could try to contact them. He needed to know that they were not punished for his behaviour.

                “What can you offer if we put the CEO in prison?” Magnus quickly stepped in.

                “As I told you, I have a small ship. It has our stealth systems, and if you prove you are worthy of being our allies and promise to hunt down the Warlock who helped to hurt my people, I can give you one. It can take up to fifteen people.”

                Alec and Magnus exchanged meaningful gazes. They could do it, with stealth systems and Magnus’ devices, they could try to stop Malcolm. And with their reliable crew.

                But Magnus looked at her sceptically. “Okay, and who will teach us to operate it?”

                The queen started to chuckle. “Magnus Bane, you truly are not the same as other people.”

                So, it had a catch after all. They would have the ship, but it would be useless; she might as well take it back. Her profit would be the closed facility on Etamis. Who knows what she would do? She was an ally, to some degree, but they had to be careful. It was like all of this was just a game to her.

                “Alright, I will let you have Nene,” she said and waved at an older Seelie in the corner. “But only if the facility is closed and the CEO is in prison or dead. And Meliorn here – one of my best warriors – he would accompany you to Etamis. Someone must make sure that you finish your mission.”

                The audience with the queen was over. Now it was their turn to contact the rest of Alec's crew and ask if they were willing to undergo something like that. Things have changed during the time Alec was gone. It would be best if they could also get Magnus’ devices.

                Magnus contacted Ragnor. Of course, he and Catarina already knew everything that happened. As soon as they were safe, he sent them an email, and then they had a call when Alec was still unconscious.

                “So, can we do it? Maybe it’d be enough just to take down the stealth tech and expose the whole facility,” Alec said when they were back in the room where he rested before. He sat on the bed and looked at Magnus.

                “I could ask Raphael for some support. You take your people, I ask mine,” Magnus said. He smiled and took a seat next to Alec. Magnus sat so close that their tights were touching. It was reassuring that even without explicitly saying it, Alec knew where they were standing at right now. It was really hard for him to talk about these things.

                “Uhh… I thought he already paid his debt to you by giving me the information,” Alec said, and he was confused.

                “He told you that? Ah, Raphael. Yes, I helped him once, but he just hides behind this aloof mask. He’s very loyal, not many people are.”

                “What did you do?” Alec was eager; he had been promised no more secrets, and this could prove it.

                “Actually… He wanted to leave Belcourt Corp at the same time as me. It was when I disagreed with the experiments they started conducting, even though they were still within the law. For me, as a freelancer, it was easy, but Camille didn’t want to let him go; she pulled every lever to keep him. When her lawyers threatened even Raphael’s family, I stepped in. With my connections, he was able to leave and start his own company.”

                “I believe that his company is more ethical. Is that right?” Alec said. Oh, how he missed being this close to him. Talking about absolutely anything, whether it was some trivial topic or something intellectual or heavy like this one.

                “Yes, he even has some Offspring and Warlocks as his employees. It is nice seeing this.”

                “And he lives on the Citadel?” Alec asked and slowly put his hand next to his, entwining their pinkies together. He noticed that Magnus wore just two rings. He knew he had a lot of jewellery back on Idris, but most must have stayed on Alicante.

                “But of course, you can send emails, make calls and meet with people. It is a strategic place; I think that even Camille has her apartment somewhere in the Presidium.”

                Alec was now relieved, so this was what meant no more secrets after all. He put his hand around Magnus’ side and leaned in. Their foreheads were almost touching. He could swear that Magnus was blushing for a second, and as Alec was looking into his eyes, he noticed that they were wide in surprise.

                “What happened?” Magnus asked.

                “Nothing… I’m just happy that you trust me.”

                “As you once told me, I would be an idiot if I didn’t trust you,” Magnus whispered, and they kissed shortly. A memory flashed in Alec’s mind. Magnus, with his face illuminated by a blue biotic light in a cave… That was where Alec started to trust him for the first time.

                Then they started with the planning. Alec managed to talk with Jace thanks to Catarina.

                “Alec? Is that really you? We missed you!” Jace was so worried that it was touching. After all, they were like brothers. Catarina was sitting next to the computer, and on her screen was Jace. She wore again a uniform that Alec did not recognise, the same one that she had on the Citadel. Her hair was white, and her skin was completely blue. It was fascinating.

                “What’s happening on Idris?” Alec asked.

                “It’s insane, completely. Commander Vilalobos is suddenly a Captain, and they’re not sending us, the third squad, on any missions, not even once, since you are gone. Your parents are in peril too. They are questioning them for letting you escape; the Council wants to suspend them. Zara’s father tries to convince everyone that they are covering you and your – sorry, Magnus, it is a quotation – filthy Warlock pet,” Jace said, and Magnus just shook his head.

                “It must be my charm,” Magnus said with a wry smile.

                “But I saw the news, read the reports! There are Daemons everywhere, Alec, and they are overwhelming the colonies. Like this, they could just wipe us out. Zara and her weird, bigoted crew expected to take them out easily, but it’s not happening. Amelia Overbeck even died; this is serious. We need to stop Malcolm.”

                Another Nephilim is dead. It hit harder than he would have expected. Since the war, it had happened less often, so this was a lot to take in. Alec watched as Catarina’s face twisted in pain. Even if she were a Warlock, the death of a person was never good. It did not matter that she was a Nephilim, most likely bigoted Nephilim, since she was part of Zara’s crew.

                “Listen, Jace. We might have a solution,” Alec said and looked at Magnus.

                “That’s great, where are you anyway? There are just so many flowers,” Jace said, and it was as if he noticed Alec’s surroundings for the first time.

                “We are on a Seelie ship,” Alec said and grinned, his eyes sparkled, and Magnus smiled at him. There was something so incredibly soft in that smile.

                “No way! So, it really exists?! Is it like… invisible?!” Jace exclaimed.

                “Yes! That’s the best part!”

                “Sweet!”

                “I know, right?!”

                Catarina was now chuckling. “They’re like kids,” she said, and Magnus slowly shook his head, smile never leaving his face. Even with everything falling apart, it was nice to appreciate the small things.

                “Tell me. What’s the solution? I don’t want to stay at this doomed place anymore,” Jace said, and he ignored them.

                “Well… we need you to get Magnus’ scientific equipment from Alicante and…” Alec paused, should he really ask so much of him? But the Nephilim were not exactly in good shape from what Alec just heard. “Just bring me a Nephilim suit, and if you can, the rest of the squad. If they are willing to take down some evil corporation,” Alec joked, but just partly.

                “So, we’re doing this? Yes! Finally, something useful,” Jace said, and his smile was so wide. It was like he caught a second breath.

                “Yes, we found the Belcourt Corp's hidden facility. If we take down their stealth systems and manage to put the CEO to prison, Seelie Queen promised us a ship.”

                “A ship with the stealth system just for us?! No way!”

                “Aaand… here they go again…” Catarina said just loud enough to be heard clearly, and Magnus giggled.

                “Yes!” Alec’s face was all lit; he ignored Catarina.

                And with that, the basic plan was about to be completed.

                Alec was anxiously standing on Etamis, with Magnus and Meliorn by his side. They waited for Jace and the rest of the crew. To make sure their mission was a success, Alec got stealth suits from the queen for everyone in the group. They even planned everything to happen during the night. Vampires hated the sun in most cases, but their vision was not as sharp as Nephilim when they used the implants.

                According to the information, the queen could not save the hostages because once the shields were down, Vampires would know where the core was and would go after them immediately. And maybe it was a good thing, because Nephilim and Warlocks had some advantages. They were rested and could make their way out. She did not want to risk the lives of her bravest and strongest warriors. Alec was not sure how the Vampires strengthened their forces after his last adventure. And yes, he would call it an adventure to stop thinking about all the terrible things he saw.

                While they were waiting, Alec decided to find his motorcycle he got from Johnny and hid it nearby. He grew so fond of it that he planned to take it with him. Meliorn did not want to allow it, but once Alec brought it, they put it in the Seelie shuttle anyway.

                Even Magnus liked it; he said that Alec was sexy when he was driving it, for which Meliorn rewarded him with eye roll and a sigh.

                The Nephilim shuttle landed not long after they stashed it. Alec was impatient; he strode towards it – oh – how he missed his crew. Isabelle got out first. When she noticed Alec, she immediately ran to him.

                “Alec!” she exclaimed and hugged him tightly. Alec hesitantly hugged her back and smiled at the rest of the crew. They came closer, Jace patted his shoulder, and everyone talked over each other. They were so excited to see Alec again.

                “Let’s put on the suits,” Alec said once they all greeted him. He noticed that Meliorn caught their interest once they realised that he was there with them. He guided them back to the ship and handed them the suits. Then he showed them a photo of the Seelie stealth generator. Their mission was to destroy it forcefully so that it could not be used again.

                As they put on the suits, Alec watched in amusement as Clary turned on the stealth, and Simon was in awe at the effectiveness of it.

                “Wow! Clary! I don’t see you at all, this is so amazing! Peak teach!” Simon enthused, then he tried it too, and all that indicated that he was still there was a content sigh.

                “You Offspring are strange, getting excited over something so simple,” Meliorn said with disdain, and he looked at Magnus, who just shrugged. Everyone else turned the stealth on after that. “Check your displays, I connected our suits, have helmets always on, you’ll see where everyone is.”

                Alec was relieved; he was not sure how he would see them. So, it meant that even if someone else wore this stealth suit, he would not see them, just the connected ones. Alec could see only their contours, but it was enough to know that someone from his people was there, and he was almost sure that he could recognise Magnus anywhere.

                “The generator will be in the middle of the building. Let’s go, try to be silent, if anyone hears you, run,” Meliorn whispered, and then there was a silence. Using their implants to have their steps as light as a feather, the Nephilim were ready.

                “Sure, our goal is to find a Vampire who is alone and take him down. Jace, Clary, I think you two are best for this. The rest must keep any potential threat in check and take them out, too, if needed. We need their cards; at least three or four, without them, we cannot enter, or the alarm would start. We can enter two at once, I’ve tested it,” Alec said. It felt like he was again a Nephilim Captain on a mission, but without the stupid rank system. He could not believe how comfortable he was in a leadership role. He missed the feeling, being surrounded by people he could trust, but he was not sure how he felt about the fleet now.

                Sneaking through the main gate was quite easy. Gatekeeper was absorbed in his data pad, unaware of the surroundings. They went under the tollgate, which was meant for vehicles.

                When they were closer to the facility, they spread out. Today, they had to pay attention to people outside with a different approach to infiltration than with Vampire suits. Alec wanted to give a signal with his hand, but realised they would not see him well. It was difficult; he could only whisper into the comm.

                Clary and Jace were nearing a Vampire who was just unloading boxes from his vehicle. His colleague was exiting it, on his way to help. They did not have helmets on. It was dark anyway; no need to shield from the sun, that could be uncomfortable for them.

                “Do it…” Alec whispered to the comm, out of habit, and one of the men turned around.

                “Did you hear something?” the Vampire asked his colleague.

                “Nah, you must be delirious from that disgusting stench of Daemons,” the other replied.

                In that moment, he was down, and the other one fell to the ground shortly after. They decided to tie them together unconscious and put them into their vehicle. They stripped them of their cards and swiftly continued inside. Now that they had stunned the first employees, they had to hurry. No one knew how long it would take them to wake up and try to get out.

                “Alec, you almost gave us out,” Jace whispered.

                “I had no idea that the comm could be heard from that distance. Or maybe you had heavy steps?” Alec whispered back. At least they tried it.

                Jace scoffed, and they stealthily continued. There was no time for this banter. “We need two more,” he said softly as they approached a pair of talking employees. They were too busy with their dialogue. One of them had the helmet closed.

                This time, Alec did not talk; he just looked around to make sure no one else came near them. The entrance to the facility was still far away. Anyone could see them, and they needed a place to hide them.

                “There are dumpsters, I can do it,” Clary whispered, and they already saw her silhouette circling one of the men. She jumped on his back, pressed the button of his helmet to open it, and the man tried to shake her off, but she was stronger. Then she hit his head very hard repeatedly with her pistol. The other looked around, scared. He started to run, but Jace jumped at him, grabbing his legs. The man fell face-first; he hit his head hard, but it was not enough. Jace grabbed his hair and banged his face on the concrete, and he was finally unconscious.

                “The dumpster,” Alec whispered, and he was not sure who, maybe Izzy, helped Clary with the body. Jace managed to take the second guy by himself. Good choice, not using implants when she could get help from others. This was also something Alec missed, watching his teammates performing so well and feeling proud.

                Now that they had four cards, they decided that Izzy would go first with Simon through the turnstiles, then Meliorn alone. They had to wait because some of the Vampires were around the entrance. It was fascinating how, once they had the card in their hands, it blended seamlessly with the tech and became invisible too. Clary wanted to go with Jace next.

                Then it was Alec’s and Magnus’ turn. Suddenly, a pair of Vampires entered. Alec saw Magnus’ silhouette disappear on the side, and he silently followed him. They waited with bated breath. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was already gone. They avoided them.

                “This is stupid, let me tell you,” one of the Vampires said as he put the card near the turnstile. “Why does the CEO listen to some stupid, purple-eyed Warlock? Since he started to visit this facility, it all went to shit. What’s his goal with that Daemonic stuff anyway? I heard he wipes out some Offspring colonies.”

                “Offsprings, I don’t care, but yeah, I should have left this place a long time ago; now they make it difficult. No way out,” the other said, sighed and used his card too.

                Alec turned around to Magnus’ silhouette and regretted that he could not see his face now. They waited until they could not hear them anymore. He reached for his hand and was surprised when he found it. The silhouette was enough. Magnus pressed his hand back in reassurance, and they went together without speaking to the entrance.

                Feeling the pressure of Magnus’ hand on his back, even through the suit, made him relax. If they did not have the helmets, he would kiss him. There was always time for that, but at least this felt like an embrace. Alec used the card, and they smoothly went through.

                They found the crew and Meliorn standing in front of a map of the facility, trying to figure out where the generator could be.

                Alec came closer and studied it for a while. “I think it will be in B1. There is this huge room, but it is full of people.”

                “I agree,” Magnus said. “They are producing and shipping weapons from B1. If we manage to pass the room, there are more rooms,” Magnus said and tapped the map, even though just his silhouette was barely visible. “I had no idea where the generator could be before, but it could be in that room, because they did not let me leave my station much when I pretended that I would cooperate. They especially kept me away from weapon research. I thought they were developing something special. Either generator is there, or some other terrible secret. Even though, after what we saw, I’m not sure what could be worse.”

                “This was a bad idea to try infiltration with this many people,” Meliorn said.

                “Maybe, but if we need to play with guns once the alarm starts, we have a much better chance,” Magnus said. He was right, the last time they were here did not go so well. Alec knew that if they destroyed the generator, it could start the alarm. But this time, he was ready; he was fully rested, he had his crew, and they had stealth tech.

                Once they decided that Izzy and Clary would cover the exit, Jace and Meliorn would scout the entrance to B1, and Simon would stay pressed to the wall on the other side, making sure no one noticed them, they started to execute the plan. It was obvious that Magnus would go with Alec to the room with the massive glass windows. Magnus knew the place at least a little, and Alec would not let him go alone.

                As they were getting closer to the room, Magnus suddenly reached for Alec’s hand, pulled him closer and whispered. “Before we enter, don’t you dare do something dangerous, be good, my Captain.”

                Alec understood why he said that. It was not that easy to get over the images they projected into his mind with a neurotransmitter.

                “I’ll be careful, promise,” Alec said.

                They waited for a while, waiting for the right time. And finally, one of the engineers went outside, holding his data pad, not noticing anything else around. Magnus immediately sneaked in through the door. It would easily give them away if the door opened by itself. Now it was Alec’s turn.

                Another Vampire that went through was too focused on her surroundings; it took another ten minutes for Alec to find the perfect opportunity. He was getting nervous, but even thanks to his implants, he finally slipped through.

                Carefully pressed against the wall, avoiding all the Vampires, they proceeded. This room was the least ominous of them all, just an ordinary weapon factory.

                “How’s the new source? How many implants did they bring?” they could hear a Vampire asking.

                “Not much, he wanted reassurance that we find the Nephilim who escaped them and the Warlock who was here, before he brings us more. How can we know? He should go find him alone. I had no idea that even those pure Offspring fight for power.”

                Alec wanted to stop and listen, but he saw that Magnus had already moved further, so he hurried up. Who were they talking about? Was it Commander – now Captain – Vilalobos? Or maybe Zara’s father? Jace said that everything got worse since he was gone. Perhaps it was not just Zara. They all hated Warlocks to the bone.

                How? Did Camille contact them after they escaped her facility? She had to be furious.

                They sneaked into the next room, which was empty, with just some machines. Then Alec checked the door to their left, which had a small window. He shook his head; it was barely visible, but it was like Magnus completely understood him. Alec saw his silhouette on the right side, and then he opened the door. Alec followed him.

                At the same moment the door opened, a single Vampire shot them a look.

                “Seelies!” he managed to utter, but he was already helplessly floating through the air, enveloped in a firm blue biotic sphere. Alec quickly jumped to him, Magnus released his grip, and the Vampire fell directly into Alec’s arms. Alec took him down with a single hit, utilising his implants.

                “We’re an amazing team, you react perfectly to my moves, Alexander. I wonder how you’ll react to them in bed,” Magnus said bemusedly.

                Alec closed the door and put the Vampire on the floor. “The best,” he replied with a strangled voice, blushing hard, trying to focus on the mission, but his heart was fluttering at the praise, and he was trying to ignore the flirting. Magnus chuckled at his answer.

                Then they turned their gazes to the machine the Vampire was guarding. It looked exactly as the photo Meliorn showed them. It was a box with various metallic tubes connected; it was buzzing with energy. On the display was a sphere that had a similar shape to the dome that was most likely covering this facility. Next to it was only one word in green colour. ON

                “How do we… what to do about it? We need to destroy it, but I don’t want to alert everyone with the noise,” Alec said after they studied the machine for a while.

                “Oh, let me at it,” Magnus said, and Alec saw his silhouette; he spread his arms wide, and he was preparing to use his biotic energy. Alec could almost imagine his focused look; it was always so exciting. He felt again the tingle on the back of his neck; he loved the feeling.

                A blue sphere enveloped the machine, and Magnus was pressing his hands slowly together. It was shrinking, and the metal creaked. Alec was checking the previous room, but for now it was empty. When he turned back, the display was sizzling, and Magnus clasped his hands. The sphere was not present anymore, and there was smoke coming from the machine, completely deformed.

                Alec came closer and, just to be sure, he pulled at some of the damaged tubes, ripping them from the walls. With his implants, it was possible.

                “A little bit of destruction always brightens my day. Let’s go,” Magnus said. At first, they moved slowly along the walls. Alec did not want to exhaust Magnus, because he knew they would need to sprint soon.

                “Now we run,” he whispered into the comm.

                Magnus opened the door, and Alec noticed that few people flicked their gazes to it. One of the Vampires strode towards it, but they were long gone.

                It was strange that destroying that machine did not start any alarm. But maybe they were unable to connect Seelie tech to their own?

                Alec scanned the room and saw all his friends and Meliorn prepared for their arrival. “Go,” Alec whispered, and they started to run.

                First was Jace, who used his implants but stopped before the turnstiles. He stayed there, and Melion jumped over. The alarm started, and it would probably have anyway, because they heard the engineers. “Seelies! Seelies, start the alarm!”

                It was a good choice to just flee instead of using the cards. Everyone jumped over, and this time Jace was last. He was covering them.

                Euphoria washed over Alec as his whole team rushed out. They did it! Now… for the rest of the plan. When they were outside, they could no longer see the see-through dome. It worked!

                The confused and angry voices behind them amused him. This was perfect; his crew was perfect. Together, they could stop even Malcolm and the starting Daemonic invasion; he just knew it.

                He realised he was even laughing. “We did it!” Alec rejoiced, but did not stop in his tracks.

                Everyone was ecstatic. He could feel it, even though he could not see their faces; they joined him, cheering from a mission well done. Their steps were light as a feather.

                When they got to the nearby forest, it was time to finalise their plan. Alec took a deep breath and turned off the stealth tech. He pressed a button, opened his helmet and took his data pad, starting a very important call.

                The person on the other side picked up. “Alec?” It was his mother.

                “Hi, Mom,” he said.

                “Is that you? Oh my, I was so worried! You… you were demoted the moment Jace and others went missing; they blamed you. You’re Ensign now,” she said.

                “He will always be our Captain!” Jace loudly said.

                “Listen… I’m on Etamis. Send your troops here immediately,” Alec said.

                “Wha… why?” his mother was confused.

                “Here are the coordinates, do it, now. Tell them that I’m here or whatever they need to hear; there’s a facility of Belcourt Corp. I was right about them; you’ll find a lot of disgusting things. They have implants, our implants, Mom. Someone in our ranks established another trade with them. Be careful. Put the CEO in prison, or something. We cannot allow them to have our implants!”

                He knew that his mother would listen to reason if he mentioned this. Maybe even the council would listen.

                “But… how? There was nothing,” she asked.

                “Seelie tech, Mom… But it’s gone. Go, raid it, but don’t appoint Vilalobos or Dearborn. Choose a different squad, maybe Carstairs or someone of the Blackthorns. I can’t go back now; we need to stop the Daemonic invasion. We know how,” Alec said.

                “Alec… Are you sure about this?”

                “You know better than I that there’s something rotten among our ranks. Don’t let them get to you,” then he waved at Magnus, and he reluctantly stood next to him. Alec put his arm around his shoulders.

                “We’re okay. And just to let you know, I love Magnus, I will never give him up, and we will stop this. You do your job, please. Arrest Camille Belcourt for misusing our implants,” Alec said, and the vice admiral's face twisted in pain. Alec was not sure how she took the fact that this relationship was so important to him. Maybe she did not realise it before. It was the first time Alec said out loud he loved Magnus, but Magnus already knew. He felt it during the mind meld, so this was not a surprise.

                “Okay… Okay… I will… take care, my son. Look after your crew, be careful,” she said and then ended the call.

                And Alec knew a new chapter of his life was about to begin. One, where he would be finally completely free.

Chapter Text

                Meliorn gave the queen his report, and she agreed to have them on the ship for a few more days until they know the result of their action. The vice admiral did her job perfectly. Alec was sure that she had joined forces with his father, the admiral. They were not on good terms that much, but this made them cooperate, Alec was sure.

Of course, the Vampire government denied any involvement in the Nephilim implant experiments. It all fell on Camille’s back, and as expected, she was sent to prison after a very short process. Everyone knew that Nephilim implants were sacred for Offspring people, and the proofs were irrefutable. Vampires handed her over to them; Nephilim were quick and effective. Alec knew that this was also because he had told his mother not to involve certain individuals and their squads.

                Meanwhile, Clary managed to get Magnus’ equipment and all his other belongings from Alicante. She asked her friend Emma, and she, with her boyfriend, managed to smuggle them from the ship quite easily. Emma said that the Nephilim were in such disarray that it was too easy. She was also one of the present squads that raided the Belcourt facility. It seemed that Vice Admiral and Admiral chose her squad on purpose, and other very competent ones, which confirmed Alec’s assumptions.

                And as promised… they got their own Seelie ship. It was a beautiful, sleek ship with an uncanny design. It reminded him of an arrow, with a thin front, widening at the back. Two flat wings coming out the back, looking a little like fletching. On the side was a name written in white colour on a black background, Spectre. Alec loved the name; it fitted perfectly.

                Magnus already found out as much as he could, and this time, he was the one who acted like a little kid. He was so excited to use the ship, talking about ways the stealth system worked all the time. Alec always wanted to just smooch him whenever he started and watch his enthusiasm. It was not the ship itself that excited him; it was all the information he now had access to. Otherwise, he would probably join Alec and Jace when they were excited about it before.

                “Now, would you believe it? Nene said that it just bends the light and electromagnetic waves! I still don’t understand how it can be so strong that no other subrace has developed something to decloak them. It sounds so simple! But I guess being a migrant fleet helps too,” Magnus enthused once again. His cat eyes sparkling, he was wildly gesturing with his hands. There was more to it, but Alec knew that Magnus did not want to overwhelm him with too difficult explanation.

                As he patiently listened to him, Alec was glad that he was more himself than ever, that he finally let him see the real Magnus. They were strolling on the ship and looking at every crook and cranny to decide who would have which cabin.

                The ship was the right size for them. As the queen said, up to fifteen people could live on it. There were six of them and Nene, who was now at the helm. The whole of Alec’s team walked behind him and Magnus.

                Arriving at the captain’s quarters first, Alec was impressed. The room was big, colourful flora was everywhere, and the walls were completely covered in it. There was a double bed, as expected. It had an intricate floral design etched on its sides. Alec had rarely seen something so artistic.

                “Oooh, pretty. Well, I think we take it,” Magnus chirped and winked at Alec. He hugged his arm, and Alec almost choked, blushing. This was unexpected. Sharing a cabin was something that could not have happened on Idris. But he was not opposed to it, so he did not comment on it.

                Then Magnus turned back to the rest. “Now shoo, it’s ours!” he said with a fake scowl and then smiled.

                “Hm, the privilege of dating our captain,” Izzy muttered and smirked, but she was not angry.

                “Wait, is everyone okay with this?” Alec asked, and they looked at each other.

                “Sure, take it. I don’t care,” Jace said. Even Simon nodded, and Clary shrugged.

                “See? You have such a loyal crew, Alexander. Don’t you just love them? Because I do!” Magnus said, beaming.

                Alec smiled too. “Well… If you don’t mind, then - thanks, I hope your cabins are nice too,” he said.

                “Of course, and finally, you have a couch,” Izzy said and laughed. Oh, perfect. They will all make fun of him because of it forever.

                “What’s with the couch?” Clary asked.

                “Not much… you know, in his cabin on Idris, he had just armchairs. It brought some interesting interactions, I’ll tell you all about it later,” Jace said, a smug smile playing on his lips.

                “Hey!” Alec shouted out to him, frowning, and everyone laughed.

                “Don’t get offended, you can go utilise the couch right away to make up for it,” Izzy said and poked him with her elbow. Alec sighed and shook his head.

                “You know what? Let’s go check all other rooms first,” Alec said.

                The teasing stopped, and they continued their ship inspection. “Bunch of teenagers, I’ll tell you…” Alec muttered to himself on the way, and Magnus reassuringly patted his arm, a smile never leaving his face.

                After their cabins were assigned, Magnus moved his things into theirs. Alec agreed that they would share it; it was so exciting, even though he tried not to show it too much. They changed their clothes and then they took a shower in turns. Alec was thinking that he could join Magnus one day, but… he did not feel up to it yet, not today.

                Alec had just a bag full of weapons, special ammo and some spare clothes he brought from Idris when he left to rescue Magnus. He helped Magnus with all his equipment, and they put it in another room in their cabin, so that it would not disrupt their sleep. Not that Alec expected much sleep tonight.

                               Not really.

                                               He was actually full of anticipation and so, so tremendously nervous.

                Magnus was elated that Emma brought even his jewellery and everything that was in his room. Various data pads suddenly occupied almost every place in the room. Alec carefully watched as Magnus paced around the room and checked each of them. It seemed like Magnus had some system invisible to Alec, because he shuffled them around, and when he was satisfied, there was this triumphant smile on his face. A wave of softness washed over Alec as he watched him.

                “See something you like?” Magnus asked flirtatiously when he finished and came closer to Alec. He noticed how intently Alec was staring at him while resting on the couch.

                Alec raked Magnus with his eyes after the question, and he gulped. “That I do,” he said, in a hoarse voice. Magnus was already standing next to him, and Alec wrapped his arm around his hips, pulling him closer.

                Oh, he definitely liked what he saw. Magnus had loose black sweatpants that somehow still looked stylish, and a red satin shirt that showed most of his chest.

                Magnus looked domestic, but so sexy at the same time. He was barefoot, so Alec could now see that even his toenails were flawlessly painted black. He really put a lot of effort into his looks. Alec raised his head and looked at his eyes; the glittery make-up made them mesmerise, he grazed his hands over Magnus’ hips; it made him realise again that every part of his body was perfect.

                Magnus tangled his hand in Alec’s hair, and Alec slipped his hand under his shirt, pulling it up, so that he could kiss his stomach without a belly button. His kiss was tender, lips quivering; he could hear a soft sigh escaping Magnus’ mouth. His dark skin was so tempting to touch, to kiss, to caress.

                Alec looked up and saw Magnus’ half-lidded eyes. They went through a lot in the last days. He was glad they finally had a time just for themselves without interruptions, like Meliorn.

                Combing Alec’s hair with his fingers, Magnus smiled at him, and Alec got up. He was oh so ready for whatever was about to come.

                “Magnus… I…” Alec said, but Magnus silenced him with a kiss.

                “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said and looked into his eyes.

                It was strange how they seemed to understand each other since the mind meld. Sometimes, just sometimes, it was like they did not even have to speak to know what the other wanted to talk about. It never happened before.

                “But I want it, I never wanted anything as badly as this, I’m just… nervous, that’s all,” Alec said.

                Magnus gently cupped Alec’s cheek. “I think I can help with this; fortunately, I have all the things we need to make this experience as pleasurable as possible, all my things are here,” Magnus said and smirked.

                Alec watched him with his mouth half open, and his breathing got shallow; he nodded.

                Then they went to bed, and Magnus put on the table a lubricant. Alec blushed when he saw that, but this was exactly what he wanted. Magnus then lay down next to Alec and pulled him in for a kiss.

                “Just relax… Let’s start with something that’s not new for you,” Magnus whispered and slowly removed Alec’s shirt with his help. Alec felt the light, fluttering touch on his back, caressing his implants, while Magnus was kissing his chest. The heat was rising inside his body, but it was not from the usage of implants this time. With soft moans, he snuggled closer to Magnus, clawing into his back. Their bodies were pressed together, entangled in a silent symphony of passion.

                “Can we… try the mind meld now?” Magnus asked when they were both just in their underwear, almost breathless. He stared into Alec’s eyes, darkened with desire. It was hard to concentrate, but Alec nodded.

                “Yes,” he whispered.

                Magnus put his hands on the nape of his neck and did not tear his gaze away. “Then… Embrace eternity,” Magnus whispered back.

                This time, Alec knew exactly what to expect. He was afraid of similar visions as before, but it was completely different. He felt how they both yearned for the touch, kiss, and connection. It was hot, it was passionate, it was completely wild. No visions, just elevated senses, doubled thirst and want, confined in a small space of their minds, no longer being able to tell apart which feeling belonged to whom.

                Alec was not nervous anymore. He relaxed his body and let Magnus take care of him, gently caressing him and kissing back, enjoying the effect his touches had on Magnus. Just for tonight… just tonight… next time, he would be prepared to repay him twice.

                The next morning, Alec woke up sooner than Magnus. It was the second time he slept next to him; they had only their underwear on. Magnus was so exhausted after the mind meld and everything they did. It was even better than Alec imagined it would be.

                Now, Alec was staring at his sleeping face, taking in each detail of his beautiful face. The tone of his skin, the remains of hastily removed makeup, and how his lips were perfectly curved. His lips… Alec did not want to wake him up, so he only snuggled closer and tried to sleep some more, but even the slightest movement woke him up.

                “Hey…” Magnus said softly and slowly opened his eyes.

                Alec stopped moving and grinned at him. He leaned in for a kiss, since he was already awake, wanting it so badly.

                “Good morning, Magnus,” Alec said back in the same tone.

                Magnus exhaled and smiled at him, and he smiled the way that made Alec feel like he and Magnus were the only people in the universe. Just the two of them, nothing else existed.

                Then Magnus rested his head in the crook of his neck. “Alexander… my Alexander…” he whispered near his ear. A butterfly fluttered inside of Alec’s chest; he felt a pleasant shiver run down his spine. His mind went completely blank; he was unable to articulate any words at the overwhelming feelings that overcame him just from hearing his name being whispered with such softness. He just pressed himself closer, smiled and slowly traced Magnus’ back with his hand.

                But their peaceful moment was interrupted by the ringing intercom.

                “Oh no, what now?” Alec groaned and got up quickly, putting on his shirt on the way. Then he accepted the incoming call.

                “Hey! We were scared to go directly to your cabin, but Simon said he needed Magnus.” It was Izzy.

                “As you should! Never come to our cabin without calling first,” Alec said partly as a joke, but he absolutely meant it. Today, it would have been a very embarrassing moment even though their cabin was locked.

                “Who’s a teenager now, huh?” Magnus whispered teasingly after Alec’s outburst. He was no longer only in underwear; he had put on a purple satin bathrobe. Just one look at him, and Alec’s throat was dry. It was so different when he saw him in these domestic outfits, and this one was hiding just part of his body, running Alec’s mind wild, even though he knew what was under it.

                “What does he need, Isabelle?” Magnus asked now so that she could hear him. She could not see them, but talking to her half-naked would feel just weird.

                “Morning, Magnus, I have an important discovery! We could incorporate the stealth tech with Nene’s advice – she’s allowed to access some basic blueprints – and my idea into the Nephilim suits. I heard from Isabelle how dangerous it was when Alec wore a simple suit. Well, you and I can wear Seelie one.”

                “Oh, don’t even remind me. No Nephilim should go to a mission without their special suit,” Magnus said as he looked at Alec. If this were a video game, Magnus would have gained a negative trait from the event in Belcourt Corp. Something like unnatural, paranoid fear for Alec’s life, Simon would probably say that if he knew about it.

                After that, Magnus fully dressed, did his morning routine – which Alec subtly watched, fascinated – and gave Alec a goodbye kiss and went to work with Simon.

                When a brilliant scientist like Magnus and a skilful engineer like Simon pair up, great things happen. And so, these two managed to join the Nephilim suit with the basic Seelie stealth tech. Nene just gave them access to the blueprints because she said that this was not her field of expertise. She could perfectly pilot the ship, but that was all. Once Simon learned how to do it too, she said to find someone different to operate the ship when they were on a mission as soon as possible, because she did not want to join their fights.

                Meanwhile, Magnus discussed with Alec whether Ragnor should join them, and maybe Lily, because he knew that Raphael would want to stay on the Citadel. But since Raphael’s biggest rival, Belcourt Corp, was now in shambles, he could let Lily go. They were now free to choose any of their crew, since they were not part of the Nephilim star fleet. He thought that even Catarina would help, and Alec discovered that she was a doctor. Not like Magnus, but an actual physician. So that’s what her uniform meant.

                But, as for the artefacts, it was as if there was a quiet before the storm. No one dared to talk about it, not during the meals, not during their downtime; everyone avoided it. It was like they finally found their true home, not on Idris, but here aboard the Spectre as a family of sorts and were too scared that they would lose it.

                However, the peacefulness was about to change…

                They were all chilling in the lounge room. Simon was showing Izzy his newest video game on his data pad. It amused Alec that she actually looked interested; she never showed interest in these things before. They seemed to have a good time with his sister getting a little competitive.

                Clary was trying to subtly make out with Jace in the corner, not really caring about their surroundings. Result? It was not subtle at all. Alec thought, why wouldn’t they get a room, but he was already used to it after a week. He had Magnus here, so it did not make him mad.

                He was reading on his data pad with his head on Magnus’ lap, while Magnus studied something on his own, arm propped on the couch, and the other resting on Alec’s chest. The ship was cloaked on standby in a planet system that the Nephilim rarely visited, positioned near a mass relay to be able to do a quick jump.

                Suddenly, Magnus’ data pad started to beep. He frowned at it, Alec slowly straightened up and, with a worry written on his face, turned to him. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Even Jace, with Clary, noticed that something was happening.

                “It is here, my dear crew,” Magnus said. Alec put down his data pad. “Artefact activated, Simon, I think your drone could use some fun.”

                Simon smiled and nodded. “Of course, Midnight Burrito is always prepared!”

                He was rewarded with a grin and a kiss on the cheek from Isabelle. He seemed to be genuinely surprised, but his eyes sparkled.

                Magnus sighed, but then he chuckled. “And here I thought Kitty of Doom was crazy enough.”

                They all gathered to wear their upgraded suits, sending coordinates to Nene. It was strange how everyone fell into their role immediately. They could see that the ship just did the expected jump through the mass relay.

                Hurrying into the Seelie shuttle – which Simon and Magnus had already learnt how to operate – it was time to prepare.

                “Alright, here it is. Maybe we meet Malcolm, maybe we won’t, but we must not be separated. Be careful, use your implants only if necessary, we must hold out; we have no backup,” Alec started his speech inside. “We cannot afford any mistakes. Magnus, you sure you can disarm the artefact?”

                “Positive, Captain,” Magnus said with a grin, and Alec rolled his eyes at his rank being mentioned, but then he smiled. “Don’t worry, it just powers me up and brings more vision with each use. Just… stay away from me once I go near it, okay? I’m not sure how powerful I’ll get this time.”

                “Okay, I’ll trust you,” Alec said. “But we’ll protect you from Malcolm in any case. The artefact is our priority.”

                Meanwhile, Simon landed with the shuttle. They paired up their suits in case they needed the built-in stealth system.

                “Let’s stick with classic for now,” Alec said. “Jace, front, behind him, Izzy and Clary, then me with Magnus, Simon at the back.”

                “I noticed it on Etamis, but you call us by names? Where are our ranks?” Jace said.

                “I’m an Ensign, if you didn’t notice, Commander Herondale,” Alec said, raising his eyebrow.

                “No, you’re not, not to us, Captain,” Jace said, emphasising the rank, and patted his shoulder.

                “Thanks, but I don’t care for the ranks; they are now useless, so let’s go,” Alec said, and they set off. For this, he earned an approving nod from Jace. It was as if he didn’t expect Alec to say this, ever.

                Everyone stood prepared and ready for the action. Magnus glanced at Alec, and he showed him a thumbs-up. Simon’s drone was, as usual, happily blinking in the sky, with its cute face and weird, funny legs. Midnight Burrito, that was his name for this mission, and it felt strange to do another artefact mission after so many events.

                “Simon, how far is the artefact?” Alec asked, feeling the tension growing up.

                “Uhh… About three kilometres south,” Simon said, it was as if even he was surprised that Alec had dropped the ranks even during a mission, even though self-appointed. However, it was to be expected; they were not part of the Nephilim Starfleet anymore. “And… also biotic and Daemonic presence, must be Malcolm, they are getting near, but we are closer this time.”

                “Alright… everyone, get ready, this might get ugly!” Alec said and heard the whirring of lasers as everyone prepared their weapons.

                They hurried to the place; a scorched half-heart he had not seen for a while was on a stone on the way there.

                The pace was just swift enough for Simon to keep up, and they saw the artefact, but at the same time, Malcolm appeared. He was sitting on the back of a huge Daemon like some kind of flying mount. The Daemon had hideous membranous wings, and Alec was once again glad for the filters in his Nephilim suit. He knew that even Seelie suits had it. Even they were not immune to the stench.

                “Give up! This one is mine, there’s a colony nearby, I need it!” Malcolm raised his voice so that they could hear him; he majestically sat on the Daemon. It was almost admirable, if not for his sinister plans.

                “Why, Malcolm? You were not this insane when we worked together!” Magnus said as he was running to the artefact. Alec realised Magnus was stalling for time.

                “I’m not insane. My new allies can give me something you cannot, you understand nothing,” Malcolm said and made his mount do a circle around them, then he looked back at Magnus.

                “How can I understand if you don’t tell me?” Magnus asked and again tried to get to the artefact just a little bit closer, wildly gesticulating, while trying to make it look like he only talked to Malcolm and nothing else.

                Malcolm chuckled. “You will die soon enough, for real this time. A Daemon general has a body of my love, Anabelle, in stasis; he will revive her for me! He just needs a little favour, let them have another place to live in! It’s easy, I let them in by opening the wormhole, they pollute the planets and have a place to live, and I… I’ll have my love back.”

                Alec’s breath stopped for a while. So… that was the reason. What would Alec do in his place? He did not dare to think about it. Even Magnus seemed to be taken aback.

                “That’s not a reason to kill millions of people!” said Simon, who was the first to collect himself.

                “You’re stupid, you don’t understand a thing,” Malcolm said, and he ordered his Daemonic mount to dive in next to the artefact, he just pointed his hand at it, but Magnus was already near it. He enveloped the artefact in his biotic field, and with a flick of a wrist, he pulled it closer.

                “No! You don’t know what you’re doing! Stop it, I need it!” Malcolm yelled at him, but Magnus was already close.

                “Stay back!” Magnus exclaimed, and the squad stopped moving, and then they hesitantly retreated.

                Alec did not move; instead, he took a sniper rifle and aimed at Malcolm, then he shot once. He took down his mount, it dispersed beneath Malcolm, and he plummeted, but he acted quickly. He swung his arm towards the ground, and a blue biotic field was conjured around him, he floated for a few seconds before he safely landed. Malcolm shot an angry look at Alec, but Magnus had already stuck his hand into the field he created.

                Alec watched in horror as the blue static ran up his arm, Magnus cried in pain, tightly holding the hand that touched the artefact, and the huge blue wave covered most of his body. It was even worse than last time. Magnus shuddered and groaned, he fell to his knees, and the artefact then fell, deactivated.

                And then… the field enveloped him, this time his whole body and shot out of it. The huge wave in the shape of a dome was absorbing all areas around him and destroying everything in its path, even the artefact itself. The wave was roaring, making it uncomfortable to be near it, to even look at it. The blue biotic light blinded Alec for a few seconds.

                Meanwhile, it turned out that all Daemons and Malcolm just barely escaped. Alec’s squad was far enough away from the explosion.

                “This is not over, Magnus, Nephilim!” Malcolm said, and he mounted another Daemon, which took him to their shuttle. They did not fight; the rest of them boarded it, and they disappeared into a freshly formed wormhole as if they were scared.

                Alec ran to Magnus, calling his name over and over again, using his implants to reach an inhuman speed. The explosion was terrifying, and Magnus was lying on the ground without moving.

                “Magnus! Magnus!” Alec tried to wake him up. He held him in his arms, pressing him closer.

                After a few seconds that felt like eternity, Magnus groggily opened his eyes and tightly held onto Alec.

                “Malcolm is done for, I know how to get to Earth,” he said and tiredly smiled.

Chapter Text

                Magnus rested in the infirmary on board the Spectre. He felt better soon; it was as if the overwhelming power had left his body, just leaving him a little exhausted. But Alec convinced him to rest for at least half a day.

                After that, they agreed that they needed more crew members. Someone who could pilot the ship instead of Simon, if they decide to leave for Earth in a smaller shuttle, a doctor, and possibly someone who could assist Magnus with his research. Nene was blunt; she wanted to leave them as soon as possible. Even after they told her about the Earth, she insisted.

                But as for now…

                “Magnus, please rest. I know this is important, but don’t force it,” Alec said.

                “It is okay, I’ll just call my friends and check my machines,” Magnus said and tried to get up.

                Alec sighed and pushed him gently back into his bed. “Rest here, you can call them but stay here.”

                “But I could stay in our cabin, it would be the same,” Magnus protested.

                “No, it would not. You would try to… you know…” Alec said and avoided his look, blushing deeply.

                Magnus laughed and gently touched Alec’s arm. “Okay, you’re right. It would be very tempting,” he said.

                “And I wouldn’t have the will to say no,” Alec muttered, barely audible, lowering his gaze and his blush already receded a little. He imagined Magnus in his domestic clothes and felt a sudden warmth. Last time, when he was peeling Magnus out of his satin bathrobe, he almost tore it.

                Magnus pulled him a little closer and gave him a short, quick kiss on the lips. “We’re a perfect match,” Magnus purred, and then he took the data pad.

                Alec relaxed in his seat and watched as Magnus called Catarina. She looked exhausted.

                “Magnus, what is it? I’m rather busy,” she said.

                “Saving lives as usual?” Magnus chuckled.

                “You could say that… but I’m glad you got that promised ship. I hope you’re not calling just to brag about it.”

                “No, no, actually, we… found out something, listen, this is no joke, I know how to get to Earth, and we need you here,” Magnus said finally.

                Catarina’s expression suddenly changed. Her eyes were wide, and she was blinking incredulously. “No joke? Are you sure?” she asked.

                “Why would I joke about something like that?” Magnus said and furrowed his brows.

                “It’s no joke,” Alec said out loud, even though he did not plan to interrupt them or even join the conversation. Magnus smiled at him.

                Catarina took a deep breath. “I see… I see… well, in that case, you have a doctor. I’ll let you know once I arrange everything on Citadel so that I can leave as soon as possible, give me three days at least,” she said.

                “Catarina! That is perfect! I’m glad you will join us, we will stop Malcolm together,” Magnus said and beamed. Alec could tell how much she meant to him; he hoped that Catarina would like him, too.

                After that, she promised to let them know soon so that they could pick her up.

                “We have a doctor, who’s next on the list? How about Lily? You already know her, now that Belcourt Corp is dealt with, Raphael could send her with us. I think she would be a perfect pilot,” Magnus said after ending the call.

                “Well… she’s… interesting,” Alec said, a thought of her watching him putting on a Vampire suit suddenly flashed in his mind. He did not like it at all.

                “She’s okay, you’ll see, but for this, we need to call someone else first,” Magnus said. “And that is the renowned professor, Ragnor Fell!” Magnus said triumphantly, and Alec could see how excited he was. He must have missed his friend.

                “Ah, my dear cabbage will be so thrilled to join us. He was supposed to work with Nephilim instead of me; well, now he can work with Nephilim with me. I think he can help me with my visions! Even though I know how to get to Earth, there are still some things that I cannot decipher. If I show him my visions, which are now clear, he will decipher them better than I.”

                Alec smiled; what had he called Ragnor just now? Cabbage? This would be interesting…

                When Ragnor picked up the call, even he was hesitant, just as Catarina had been. “Magnus? What terrible idea did you come up with this time?”

                Alec silently chuckled. He started to like Ragnor when he was with them, so this approach did not surprise him.

                “Ah, my dear, sweetest peapod,” Magnus joked, and Ragnor rolled his eyes. Alec did not mind the cute nickname; he realised immediately that Magnus was teasing him, because Magnus shot him an amused look. “Listen, I have something that you just cannot say no to!”

                Ragnor hid his face in his palm, and then he looked at Magnus. “I’m almost afraid to ask, what is it?”

                “I know how to get to Earth! I just… need help with the visions I had. You are a historian; if I share them with you, I know you can help me.”

                “Earth, sure. Magnus, if this is one of your jokes…”

                “It’s not! I swear!” Magnus said, and Ragnor sighed.

                “Okay… I’m still on leave from university, since my job with Nephilim was supposed to last longer, so I can spend it with you. But you'd better have a storage for my books, if this is a flop, I can at least relax.”

                “Don’t you worry, my friend. There is another thing… we need a pilot, and I thought that Raphael’s friend Lily could do it. Could you talk to him and bring her here?”

                “Why me?”

                “Well… you are so friendly with each other. I remember last time we were out on the Citadel, you just had fun on my expanse,” Magnus said and pouted, as if he was remembering something very uncomfortable.

                This time, Ragnor chuckled. “But Magnus, you danced on that table after getting drunk, trying to seduce an ad on the wall, and we were so embarrassed, you can't blame us. Raphael got so disgusted that he left after you approached that ad.”

                Magnus looked like he was ready to bury himself in the ground. “Did you… Did you have to mention it in front of Alec?!” Magnus said, then he quickly turned to Alec and added. “In my defence, it was a very attractive-looking ad.”

                Ragnor smirked. “Count me in; we’ll decide on further circumstances through emails.”

                Magnus nodded and set aside the pad. Alec’s smile was so wide, it almost had to hurt. This was so much fun.

                “So… when will you dance on a table for me?” he asked.

                “Oh no, not you too. Please, don’t join them,” Magnus said, embarrassed, not looking at Alec. Alec was almost sure that he was red in the face, even though he tried to look away, and he could not help but hug him and kiss his temple, for which he was rewarded with a hesitant smile from Magnus as he curled into his strong soldier's arms. He obviously understood he would be accepted no matter what.

                Alec couldn't wait to get to know Magnus’ friends better. He never saw the elegant, sarcastic Magnus being this silly around anyone other than himself, but it was even more than what he already saw. He had never heard about any embarrassing moments before, at least not this much. It was interesting how much a person could hide behind a mask.

                First, they picked up Ragnor. It would be too dangerous to go directly to Thessia, so they agreed to meet him on a Warlock planet with less population density. Magnus insisted that he needed him as soon as possible. Lily was already with him, so it was easier to pick them up. Alec thought that the crew grew quite well and was satisfied with it, resolved to endure even Lily. She saved his life, too, after all.

                Unfortunately, they had to wait for Catarina, because, as Magnus said, she was always too busy. Their next mission was critical, but Magnus did not want to leave without her, and his visions were not fully deciphered yet anyway.

                After Ragnor arrived, Magnus spent most of the day with him, with their minds connected, or discussing what was already revealed. Alec saw the visions too, just once, because for him it was not very clear, and he did not want to exhaust Magnus, even though they were fascinating.

                Alec saw the perfectly blue sky, the beautiful, lush forests, and the city. There were strange towers as if made of glass around, and an artificial river of some sort. His heart yearned to go there when he saw the vision. However, he expected it to be long gone. The buildings were unlike anything he had ever seen before. The architecture reminded him of some old paintings featuring the allegedly angelic race. For Alec, they never were angels, only ancient aliens with white wings.

                It was on that day that they were supposed to pick up Catarina. Magnus was resting after he once again showed the visions to Ragnor. Alec had so many questions. Once Ragnor saw him, he smirked.

                “Well, I leave you to it, I’ll see you tomorrow, Magnus, Alec,” he said and left.

                Alec sat next to Magnus, putting his hand on his thigh. “How are you feeling? It must be exhausting.”

                “It is, but we made some progress. I always thought that Malcolm opens the rifts from here, but no… It is the opposite way; once it’s used, it stays open for him for a few hours, he needs fully charged artefacts to open the rifts from the other side,” Magnus said and shifted in his seat. He put his hand around Alec’s waist and pulled him closer.

                “I see, so I guess the plan is to wait until the rift is opened. We could not do it from here. And to be honest… I would hate to use it since it took innocent lives,” Alec said, and Magnus nodded, gently caressing Alec’s side.

                “I could try to feed it with my biotics, but… It is a little unstable when used on anything else than the mind meld.”

                “How is that possible?” Alec asked.

                “Well, a different part of the nervous system is activated during it. Even though my body can absorb an immense amount of the energy, I have my limits. I need it to let it slowly disappear before I use it again.”

                Alec looked worried, he brushed Magnus’ cheek and then kissed him shortly. “Is there something I could do?”

                Magnus smiled fondly and ran his hand up Alec’s side along his spine up to his hair, where he buried it and gently tugged at a few strands. “Not sure it would help, but…”

                Alec chuckled but at least leaned in for another kiss, because he took the hint. This time, Magnus held him firmer and deepened the kiss soon. Alec was not sure this was a good idea now, but he could not resist. After Magnus’ tongue touched his, he gave up and let himself get fully engrossed in it.

                “Okay…” Alec said, breathless, after they broke the kiss. “But nothing else, look at you, you’re so exhausted. Tell me more about Earth.”

                Magnus dramatically sighed. “If you insist… With Ragnor, we found out about a weapon against Daemons. In the vision was a message to guard it at any cost,” then he paused and was silent for a while. Alec did not rush him. “I can see the visions because of my genetic modification,” Magnus said and lowered his gaze. Alec gently touched his hand.

                “Otherwise, I would have died when the artefact went off, you saw it in my memory, right? Well, it is a beacon of some sort, and they are unable to go near it because of their Daemonic blood. Only humans can approach. Not Warlocks, though, we are too tainted, but you could.”

                “Okay, that sounds important, but do you know where it is?”

                “A little… we’re still working on that. But I already have a general idea. I just need to see the Earth, to see how much it has changed. However, it seems that the beacon was built by your mysterious Angel-like aliens. They most likely built the Citadel and mass relays. Isn’t it exciting?”

                Alec smiled and nodded; his eyes sparkled like little jewels. He never thought that he would visit the Earth. He was not surprised when Magnus gave him another quick peck on the lips, trying to prolong it, but this time, Alec had none of it. Magnus was visibly exhausted.

                “Come, it’s time to get some sleep,” Alec said, he entangled his fingers with Magnus’ and led him to their cabin.

                Meanwhile, Simon and Lily picked up Catarina, and their little crew was finally complete. Now it was time to wait for the right timing. They had to wait for a wormhole to open and, with the cloaking device activated, slip through it. It was risky, but that was the only way.

                Magnus’ alarm set for the wormhole opening cut through their room like a knife, waking him up completely just after a few hours of sleep. Magnus already linked his devices to Spectre’s systems, so it was heard all over the ship.

                “It’s okay, Magnus. Simon can read the location; you can still sleep,” Alec said when he saw how Magnus was still tired.

                “In no universe I would miss this, you don’t really mean it, do you?” Magnus said sleepily. Then he quickly got up to wear some decent clothes and just combed his hair quickly. Alec put on just as swiftly his usual Nephilim shirt with trousers meant for a mission where he did not need a space suit.

                “Okay, okay… You’ll sleep later,” Alec said.

                “You meant well,” Magnus said as he was passing around Alec and kissed his cheek, then they headed for the helm.

                When they were passing the ship, they noticed that everyone was already rushing there too. The excitement sparkled in their eyes. They would see the Earth, would they not?

                Simon was already sitting at the helm, Lily in the seat next to him, operating the support systems. It was not absolutely needed, but it was always easier to operate the ship if a co-pilot was present. The holographic interface was glowing under their hands, their gazes focused on the numerous displays.

                “The artefact activated, making the jump through the mass relay in three… two…” Simon counted, and everyone waited with bated breath. “One.”

                They saw that he pressed a few buttons in the interface, pulled a lever, and the jump was smooth.

                “Good, now, where is the wormhole?” Lily asked.

                “Let me punch in the coordinates,” Simon said, and shortly they travelled at FTL speed, still completely cloaked.

                “This is insane… can we… can we really let Malcolm have that artefact?” Jace asked.

                “We have no choice. This was Nephilim work, and they are completely useless, we need to go back to Earth and trigger the beacon, or we’ll never stop them,” Alec said as he was carefully scanning their surroundings through the displays in front of them.

                And so, they waited. They waited until the terrible deed was done, and the wormhole… it opened, letting an incredible number of Daemons through it. Simon did not hesitate; he immediately started the FTL motor of the ship, and Spectre inaudibly jumped forward, entering the strange corridor.

                The lights around them were now different. When the ship travelled through the normal corridor of the faster-than-light speed, they saw just smudges of blue or white colours. But this corridor was completely different. Red images of twisted creatures were visible for a few seconds before they disappeared completely. As if they were mocking them, but Alec was almost sure they could not see them. The colour around the ship was crimson red, a colour no one ever saw during their travels.

                Simon carefully controlled all the displays, and Lily helped him along the way. Their eyes were nervously flickering up and down, their finger nervously running all over the holographic displays, and then they finally emerged from the wormhole.

                When they exited it, just a vast space awaited them. “We’re here, the Milky Way,” Simon said breathlessly.

                “We left even the Andromeda galaxy, this is unbelievable,” Lily said, and she finally relaxed in her seat.

                They all felt that the air grew heavy, looking at the stars, which were so familiar and still so foreign at the same time. No one dared to say another word. They all just looked at the display in reverence.

                “Now, where’s the Earth, Magnus? I hope we’re not here just for sightseeing,” Ragnor said when everyone calmed down a little.

                Magnus finally woke up from his stupor. He looked around, and Alec gave him a reassuring smile. “Well, it should take a few days to get there, but don’t worry, my precious broccoli, I promise you’ll see it.”

                Then he stood next to Simon, and together they set their destination in this galaxy. The rest of the crew scattered around, lively chatting about the recent events. It was just in their genes to dream about the Earth. Vampire, Offspring, Warlock… it did not matter; if they had a Werewolf or most of the Seelies on the board, Alec was sure that the person would be excited too.

                                                 The Earth.