-*-*-*-*- Jem -*-*-*-*-

Jem had been listening to the conversation between Magnus, Tessa and the two strangers for the last five minutes. Not that they knew that. They thought he was completely out of it just because he was giving all his energy to Will. Even when Cecily came in and sobbed, he didn't exactly respond more than shifting in his seat. But heard everything, including the fact that they were future Herondales.

That was a little bit hard to chew, but if it meant that Will would live, Jem would believe anything right now.

And so he forced himself to stand despite every muscle in his body screaming at him to stop. He practically dragged himself to the door just as the younger stranger told Tessa and Magnus of a cure.

"Tell me," he demanded, making everyone turn to him in surprise.

"Jem!" Tessa exclaimed, reaching for him to keep him steady. "You should sit down and rest. You need to conserve all the strength you have for Will." Jem only smiled grimly, kissing her temple lightly before turning to the two boys in front of him.

"You said you were Herondales," he said to the boys. After Magnus allowed the older one to speak again, he confirmed their story, telling Jem of where they came from and how they got here. They said that their names were Jace and Kit Herondale, although Kit didn't look entirely comfortable with the name and said he preferred Rook. After explaining who they were, Tessa looked to him for an answer.

Considering their words and clothes, Jem believed them, knowing that just about anything could happen nowadays, especially with the Black Volume in possession of the Unseelie King.

"And in the future, there is a cure for demon metal?" Jem persisted.

"My dad said there was," Kit said with a shrug. "So yeah."

"What is it?" Jem asked forcefully. "Where can I find it? You need to tell me how or my parabatai, your ancestor, will die." Jace glanced at Kit.

"You better know this kid, or we aren't going to be born," he said. Kit gulped.

"Well, dad always said that everything in the world has to have an opposite for there to be balance," he said slowly. "You know, vampires against werewolves, demons against Shadowhunters, light against dark and so on."

"So you're saying that we have to find the opposite to demon metal?" Magnus said curiously.

"Yeah," Kit said. "That's what dad said." Jem turned around, running his hands through his hair. He took deep, ragged breaths as he stared at his motionless parabatai, his mind racing at a hundred miles an hour. He knew that Will didn't have a lot of time and Jem couldn't keep giving his strength to him forever. So he had to work this out.

For Will.

"There's only one thing that I can think of that could be the opposite of demon metal," he said slowly. "And that's adamas."

"Of course," Magnus said, nodding. "Fight the weapons of demons with the weapons of angels." The boy, Kit, nodded too.

"Yeah, that could work," he said. He then looked to Jace. "So we've helped them, can we go home now?" Jace gave him a grim smile.

"Nothing is ever that easy," he replied. His gaze met Jem's and he seemed to be studying him intently. His golden eyes were strangely focussed. Jem stared back, wondering if all future Herondales were as cryptic and sarcastic as this one was.

Actually, it shouldn't surprise him.

"So now your cure is sorted, can someone please explain what's going with the Unseelie King and everything?" Jace finally said, that same strange look on his face as he watched Jem. "It's not like anyone has explained it to us yet." Jem only sighed and glanced at Magnus.

"I'll take then to Charlotte," the warlock replied. "She'll be able to explain better than me. In the mean time, I'll get Henry to contact the Iron Sisters about adamas. Hopefully they might know something."

"Thank you," Jem said quietly. Magnus led the two boys back down the corridor, Jace giving Jem one last lingering look before turning the corner and disappearing.

"That was interesting," Tessa breathed. Jem didn't reply, only slumped against the wall. His fiancé gave him a worried look and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jem, maybe you should go and rest," she suggested softly. "I can watch over Will."

"He needs me," Jem protested weakly.

"What he needs is to know his parabatai is safe and well," Tessa replied. "An hour won't hurt to restore your strength, Jem. And I promise I'll come and get you if you are needed." The look on her face meant she wasn't going to be argued with and so Jem reluctantly agreed, using the wall to support himself down the corridor.

"Thank you, my love," he whispered. "And look after Cecily too."

"I will," she replied. "Get some sleep, James." He nodded, turning the corner and heading to his room.

-*-*-*-*- Jace -*-*-*-*-

That Charlotte woman was definitely terrifying. She reminded Jace a little of both Clary and Maryse back at home. They could never be argued with.

God, his family must be so worried. After all, Alec had watched him disappear into black smoke before he could do anything. He knew Clary would be terrified for him, but he also could feel the strain on his parabatai rune from the distance. It wasn't just geographical, it was temporal as well. He wondered if Alec could feel the same.

After Charlotte had sceptically explained the faerie situation to both Kit and Jace (not that Kit cared), she told a girl called Sophie to take them to their rooms. Kit crashed out as soon as he saw his bed, but Jace was wide awake.

He couldn't stop thinking about the parabatai he saw. First off, he was sure the silver haired boy was Brother Zachariah, or James Carstairs as he was now known. The other Magnus had called Will.

But that couldn't have been the Will Herondale. If it was, then that was the guy everyone expected him to be. But there he was, dying because the Unseelie King wanted revenge while his already ill parabatai desperately struggled to keep him alive.

Jace knew what that kind of heart wrenching hopelessness felt like. It was only a few years ago that he almost lost Alec. He had felt like it was the end of the world, but even then he still had hope that Magnus could fix him. Jem and Will, though, they had hardly any hope. By the Angel, what they must be going through... He couldn't even begin to imagine.

Sighing, Jace stood from his bed and opened his door, trudging down the silent corridor. If he couldn't sleep, then he should probably try and find out a little bit more to what was going on around here. Charlotte mentioned how the Unseelie King had kidnapped Will, tortured him, stolen his memories and then stabbed him with a demon metal sword all for the sake of a Black Volume ritual that somehow brought Kit and Jace to the past. If there was anyone who could help explain this, it was Magnus.

As Jace walked past an open door in the corridor, he spotted Magnus sitting in an armchair to the side to a bed, watching over the boy who lay there. Jem was curled up on his side, his silver hair sticking up at odd angles and his eyes closed. Blue sparks floated above his head, swirling in a calm spiral. Sleep made him look younger, the stress lessened on his face.

"Can I help you, Mr Herondale?" Magnus suddenly asked, turning towards him. Jace stood in the doorway, for once unsure of how to answer.

"I-er- I was looking for you," he finally said. "I was just wondering if you could explain why the Black Volume spell brought Kit and I here." Magnus regarded him with cat eyes, gesturing for him to come in.

"I have been thinking of this myself, actually," he said as Jace sat down on the window seat. "If I am honest, I really don't know. We aren't even sure what the spell itself does yet. When that becomes clear, perhaps the reason for you being here will become clear too." Jace bit his lip to stop himself from arguing. He didn't really want to annoy the one person other than Jem that he actually trusted.

"What are you doing here then?" he asked instead, gesturing to the still sleeping Jem.

"He has trouble sleeping," Magnus replied softly. "His past nightmares and present ones stop him from resting. I thought it was the least I could do. He needs all the strength he can get if he is to support himself and Will." Jace knew of what happened to Jem. He also knew of what will happen to him. But like Magnus said before, he couldn't say that without causing damage to the entirety of time itself.

"You're right," Jace said, looking down at his hands. "A parabatai's strength is only as good as his partner's."

"Exactly," Magnus said softly. Jem flinched in his sleep but a quick snap of Magnus' fingers sent more blue sparks into the spiral, and Jem's face instantly relaxed. "If I can help Jem, then I can help Will." He hesitated. "The same concept goes for you. Helping you will help us."

"But I don't know why I'm here yet," Jace pointed out.

"Well, we should find out soon," Magnus said. "I can feel the darkness of the spell building. It's only a matter of time until it explodes."

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

I'm back!!!!!!! Hiya guys!

So, lot's of feels in this one so I hope you brought your tissues! Hope you enjoyed this one. The final battle is coming up soon so hold onto your seats!

Don't forget to comment and vote!

Love y'all!

CricketCat