Chapter Text
Simon Lewis was what many mundanes would call awkward, nerdy, annoying, and the list goes on and on. Yet through all the taunts and harshness he faced he kept his cover well. Play the part, don't make any mistakes, and protect the girl. Easier said than done considering that he had to keep himself hidden from the eyes of those in the Shadow world. Which was immensely hard, especially due to exactly what he was, but easy due to the same fact.
Contacts, spells, an entire fake life, was harder than he had originally thought. Still, it gave him a thrill he had not had in years. One of the harder things was when decades before his plan was set into motion, he had to leave a few people behind in his quest. He was the only one who called it a quest, but he would deny that any day.
His plans were shattered when he was out with a friend and the warning alarm was set off. Of course, he had seen this coming, with Clary regaining more and more of her memories, that had to be pushed further down each day. He expected a few things when he showed up at her house. None of those things came true except for the fact that the place was trashed.
Apparently his plans would be put into motion a lot sooner. Still, he had a cover to keep, so he walked, not portal led, to his home to avoid unnecessary attention. His skin was itching as soon as he stepped foot in Clary's home. It crackled with energy, and he knew he had to find Clary soon, if not all the secrets he and Jocelyn had worked so hard to keep hidden would be diminished.
He growled as he stormed into his apartment, his anger growing by the second. He knew he should have asked where she would be going.
Pandemonium of all places she could wind up. The one night he decides that he deserves a night of fun without having to worry about Clary or Jocelyn is the night that both of them go missing. He figures that Jocelyn is far away with Valentine but Clary could be anywhere.
He didn't have time to figure out specifics, he thinks as he changes into clothes without traces of magic on them. He can't risk anything at this point, and sets off to find Clary.
'Okay, plan 1, call her' He thinks as he grabs his phone from his pocket and turns the corner towards the Institute, leaving his van.
"Why is it that you haven't answered my calls in two days?" He asks, putting on his best distressed voice.
"Things are all ripped apart," She answers quietly through the line and he curses mentally. Of course she knows.
"Where are you?" He asks, pushing to see what she'll tell him. "Find my friend is saying you are in an abandoned church, I'm outside," He tells her and he can feel the shit storm coming his way. Unless he cakes even more protection on himself as he waits, which is exactly what he does, and he can feel himself sweating under all the spells wrapped around him.
"I see you," She says happily and he is really hoping the others inside can't sense anything other than mundane on him.
"I don't see you," He says, he's lying, he can see her, not physically, but he can.
"Give me five minutes, I have to get dressed," She tells him and he is suddenly very aware of the fact she could have been seriously injured and healed.
"Dressed? What are you doing undressed in an abandoned church,, Clary, is... is there a meth problem we have to talk about?" He says in a worried voice, and thinking 'keep your cover, keep your cover'
It works because the next thing out of her mouth is, "Simon, just give me five minutes, okay?" with that she hangs up.
'Five minutes,' He thinks, 'To get used to three more spells,' he breathes a heavy sigh, 'This feels so heavy, how much longer can I keep this up,'
He walks towards the doors of the building, rocks moving and crunching under his feet. He is standing there for a few minutes, finally catching his breath. When Clary finally comes out he sees she is talking to a Shadowhunter, asking why he can't see him.
Of course, now he has to act like he can't see someone. Someone who seems a little conceited.
"What do you have on?" He asks Clary, his voice trembling as he feels one of the smaller, less important glamours break. "Let me take you home," He says as he pulls off his jacket.
He can feel her next words before she speaks them, "I don't think I have one anymore," She says looking into his eyes and he notes the rune on her neck. She knows more than she should.
"Why? What do you mean?" He asks playing dumb as best he can.
"Clary Fairchild."
"Clary what's going on?" Simon asks as he ignores the Shadowhunter fighting with one of Valentine's men. "What are you looking at?"
He almost winces when he sees the man break the Shadowhunters hold and when Clary gasps, "Clary?"
He watches as the fight ends and Clary runs over to them, still Simon acts like he can't see a thing.
"Is he dead?" She asks pointing to the body on the ground.
Simon rolls his eyes in his mind, 'She is really bad at keeping secrets'.
"Is who dead?" He asks and he can feel the magic glamour coming off of the man. He puts his best surprised face on and says, "What the..."
Clary asks the Shadowhunter to deglamourize, which he does.
"Um, what is happening?" Simon asks, swallowing hard, the glamours and spells are strong around him, but the glamour that broke earlier is making him feel anxious.
"We don't have the luxury right now kid, everyone back inside," The Shadowhunter said and walks to the entrance of the building. Simon puts his head down and sneers, 'If only he knew,'
"Clary, who is this your meth dealer?" Simon asks, knowing he sounds a bit stupid.
"I've seen him before," Clary says pointing to Valentine's man. "At the police station."
"He's a member of the Circle, Clary he's here for you!" The Shadowhunter says.
They go back and forth for a few minutes, which mainly consists of Simon attempting to get her away from the Shadowhunters. He fails miserably, as he expected.
"Mundane, we do not have the time," The Shadowhunter- Jace apparently- tells him, poking his chest. Something bubbles inside of Simon's chest, pushing to get out but he ignores the burning and goes inside the building.
When Jace burns a rune onto himself and grabs his hand he does his best to be as annoying as possible, "Come on buddy, I'm not your type...," He trails off, acting like the building wasn't already the Institution when he walked in.
He was surprised he could even get in, he figures it has something to do with the fact that Jace unknowingly gave him access.
He wants to wipe the smug look off the hunters face when he acts astonished at the sight.
"Clary, is there a war going on I don't know about?" Simon asks her all the while knowing truly what is happen. He deserves a medal, truly.
"There is now," Jace says and does the stereotypical Shadowhunter ominous walk off. He kind of hates most Hunters.
"I think my mother is at the center of it," She tells him, and Simon only wishes she knew truly what is at the center.
He is getting the answers to all the questions he asks and he is snubbing as much of it as possible.
"Your thing?" He asks, making a face when Jace says it.
"He means a Shadowhunter," Clary tells him with ease and he is genuinely surprised she is so calm about all of this. "It's what they do, protecting humans from demons."
"Demons? Right, that makes perfect sense, cause there are demons running all around New York," Simon says incredulously, thinking it is quite funny that he gets to knock on the entirety of the Shadowhunters bases without getting into actual trouble. As well as the fact that they have a half demon in their building right now. Damn, he is good. He deserves an Emmy.
"That is the first correct thing you've said all day," Jace tells him dismissively, and he rolls his neck.
He hears another Shadowhunter approaching them before he sees them and when they say, "What is going on? Why is there a mundane in the Institute?"
The Shadowhunter gives him a look and Simon knows if he can trick a whole building of Shadowhunters his protection and glamours are working fine. More than fine if he does say so himself.
"A Circle member followed him to get to Clary," Jace says and Clary is quick to add something.
"Circle rune, just like the guys that took my mother."
"What exactly is a circle member?" He asks, looking around at them, wondering just how much they will say. "And why are they trying to kill us?"
"All we know is a long time ago the circle led a revolt lot of Shadowhunters got killed including my father," Jace tells him, a solemn tone in his voice.
"And since the revolt we have been forbidden from even hear about the Circle," The other Shadowhunter notes. Simon remembers it, the time when the revolt happened. He was conveniently in the U.K at the time, away from any danger or immediate threat.
"How is that even possible? It's your history?" Clary says, and Simon can tell she is at least a bit saddened by this news.
Jace scoffs and says, "Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter?"
"Yeah, yeah you're right," Clary starts and Simon can feel one of her 'wisdom' phrases coming on. "And now the only person who knows the truth is missing so I don't care about your rules or what's forbidden. there has to be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken my mother," She says, looking at the now three Shadowhunters.
Wonderful, Simon can feel exactly who is going to be mentioned as the people who can help.
"There is. Coming?" Jace asks and walks past where they stand.
When Clary moves to follow Jace stops him, telling him he could die if he stepped into the training room, and he truly doesn't want to test that. He guesses they didn't think of who he thought of. When he questions what runes are, the girl Shadowhunter answers him.
"They give Shadowhunters our demon fighting powers," She says and shows the rune on her arm and he shivers. Just the sight of runes can give him the creeps.
"So hot...," He says semi-quietly as he starts to sweat once more near the glowing rune. which is mistaken for calling the Shadowhunter hot, which she is, but Simon has morals. "The rune," He says quickly, and it's probably the first true thing he has said in a while.
The girl laughs a bit at him and tells Clary she will watch over him. She finally gives him her name as well as the stoic tall Shadowhunters. Alec and Isabella, the names sound familiar.
"I'm Isabelle," She says with a seductive smile and she puts her hand out to shake his. This is the ultimate test of his spells, skin on skin contact.
He takes her hand in his and she doesn't falter, "Lewis, Simon. Simon Lewis. Two first names am I still talking?" He asks and he is actually that awkward talking to someone he really likes. Even after all this time he hasn't lost his oddness.
Isabelle giggles as he rambles, he hears Clary say something about 'if anything were to happen to him'
"Go on, I'll be fine," He tells her. He kind of wants to get out of the Institute as soon as possible. It is putting major strain on his spells.
Before Jace leaves to their destination in the building he whispers to Simon, "Hey, uh, don't eat the food. Dangerous," with that he walks off behind Clary.
Simon gives him a confused look as he is pulled away by Isabelle. He needs to find out exactly what is happening. He has been an outsider to the Shadow World for years, people left behind, unable to reach him. While he is with Isabelle he hears Jace mention warlocks and does his best to listen without casting magic.
"Warlock?" Clary asks him.
"Yeah a warlock, Clary. Their immortal beings, half demon, half human, sometimes their fingers spark," Jace is telling her, and Simon remembers the last time he did extravagant magic. The last time his fingers sparked.
"Dot!" He hears Clary say loudly, "My mom's assistant...," She keeps talking but Simon is just happy he never met Dot, warlocks can sniff out other warlocks with ease if they are strong enough. He clues back into reality when he hears Clary say, "Where's Simon?"
He has to stop listening at that point because Isabelle comes into the room with a plate of food and a large smile.
"So what happens to humans if their...runed?" He trails off an points to his own neck. He doesn't know much about Shadowhunters, now would be a great way to find out.
"They usually die," Isabelle tells him, "Sometimes they go crazy, when that happens we call them the Forsaken, then we kill them," She says with ease and it gives him the idea that she possibly has had to deal with one in the past.
"Right, So the rune on Clary's neck...?" He asks, wondering how much these people knew.
"A healing rune, Jace used it to save her life," Isabelle tells him and he nods.
"So Jace knew she was a Shadowhunter?"
"He was almost certain," when she says this Simon gets off the bed, but is greeting with Isabella blocking his way, "Where could you possibly be going?" She says, a hand on his chest pushing him backwards.
"I'm going to get Clary, to protect her from Jace," He says, and he know he sounds weak, any mundane would that says they can protect a Shadowhunter.
"And why would she need protection from Jace, he is the ultimate protector?" Isabella asks him and he has to think of an answer a mundane would say, not that he doesn't trust the likes of Shadowhunters.
"What makes Jace so special?" Simon asks her.
"Fastest, strongest, fiercest," She answers him, then she puts her hand on his chin and he resists the urge to push her away, "And hello, have you seen the guy?"
He mumbles out an apology, and looks around, his skin crawling, itching, and burning all at the same time. His fingers feel like they are going to burn away, being so close to so many Shadowhunters kicking his senses into overdrive.
He can tell the girl is flirting with him and it confuses him, almost as much as the food she brought him, which he won't be consuming.
He continues to ask questions about the Circle and such and when she makes it clear the Circle isn't good for anyone he knows exactly what she means.
It isn't much later when Simon is back with Clary trying to convince her to just leave with him.
"Let's get out of here, just you and me," He whispers, he made a promise not just to Jocelyn but himself as well and if he fails, he will feel terrible.
"Simon, there are demons out there, actual demons with tentacles that want to murder us, do you know how to kill a demon?" Clary says, babying him, and he thinks, not for the first time, if only she knew what he was capable of.
The guy, Alec, comes in and tells them he doesn't approve of the mission and that he spoke with the Clave. That they are sending scouts, he insults Clary and Jace as well as Isabella defend Clary.
"... There's this thrift store in Greenpoint," Clary starts to say about Dot but gasps as the stone around her neck glows and Simon curses himself. How did he completely not see she had that around her neck.
"What's wrong, what is it?" Jace asks her, and Simon can guess that she just saw a vision of Dot in the moment.
Clary's eyebrows knit together just so and she gives them all a determined look, "Weirdly I think I know where Dot is," She tells them
"Great," Simon says pulling the keys to his van out of his pocket, "I'll drive," He sees the looks all of them are giving him, did he blow his cover, "What unless you have a Shadowhunter mobile or something?" He says with a laugh and Isabella lets out a small huff of a laugh and he smiles. He thinks he's funny.
Next thing he knows they are running down an alley with Clary screaming for Dot. When she actually takes off he sees the Pandemonium sign and swallows, praying for a miracle that no warlocks are there. Especially not a very specific one who would know him on sight.
He is following Clary through an oddly empty Pandemonium as he gets flashbacks to sweaty bodies and warm drinks...
It was decades, the last time he was in Pandemonium. Less modern, less stiff, still free. He could do what he wanted, who he wanted, and be fine. Not thinking of consequences when he met people, forgot names and faces within months. At the time where he was at his most free. He just was, no hiding the fact that he could portal around the world, or do anything he wanted within a reasonable limit. He was with others than understood. Grinding and drinking and breathing (or not in some undead species cases). It was the last time he lost himself in music. Let himself go, no worry about who was watching. The taste of magic on his tongue.
Snapping out of his haze of memories, he feels magic pulsing through the air as Clary stops and says Dot was only trying to help her.
She grabs at the stone on her neck and sighs, "And now she's gone."
"Clary, I... I'm so sorry," Simon tells her and he means it, losing one of his own stings at least a little.
"No you don't understand, Dot's like my big sister," Clary says, grasping that something bad may happen.
"No, it isn't safe here," Alec says, "We have to go back to the Institute right now," He tells them all, trying to hold his ground. Simon can tell he is one of the good little soldiers.
"So what now, Valentine has my mom and Dot, we're just going to give up?" She asks the Shadowhunters yet Simon still feels bad for what she has to go through, "What about my memories, they can't just be gone."
"There is another option," Jace says, now this is where they go where Simon thought they would be originally.
"Don't even," Isabelle says at the same time Alec monotonously says "Absolutely not."
"I'm not afraid of the Silent Brothers," Jace says with a shrug of his shoulder.
"Who are the Silent Brothers?" Clary asks Jace, interest in her voice and Simon can only imagine the danger she is about to be put into.
"Shadowhunters with superior powers," Jace tells her and Isabella picks up where he stops.
"They posses the ability to recover memories," She says.
"A process that can also kill you," Alec adds in, his tone not showing even a hint of caring. "So there's that."
"Your bedside manners are dismal," Simon tells him, still relishing in the fact that he can essentially openly insult Shadowhunters.
Alec goes on to explain how many Clave rules they have broken and how he won't let them go to the City of Bones. The three go back and forth on the fact that it is Clary's decision before Clary herself says if there is no other way then she will do it. Simon wishes he could help but only the warlock that locked away her memories could get them back.
Clary says, "That settles it," When no one offers up another way to unlock her memories and Simon almost misses Jace saying something to Alec as he feels a glamour getting stressed when Isabelle grabs his arm in both hands and pulls him close, walking out with him.