Everyone regrouped in the ops centre and Rafael made sure to listen out for details on how the evening had progressed. "What did you find?" the head of security asked.

"The box my mum used to keep Jonathan's things in." Clary replied.

"It was right where Izzy found Max." Jace explained.

"I know Max had his eyes on it." Alec confirmed. "He was so determined to prove himself."

"It's possible he found a way to use the box to track Jonathan." Jace continued and Rafael tuned out for a bit, turning his gaze to his exhausted brother.

"You should sleep for a bit, conserve your energy." Rafael prompted. Max looked like he was about to protest but sighed, knowing he wouldn't be of any help if he couldn't perform the spell. Rafael spotted the Shadowhunter that arranged their sleeping arrangements earlier. "Hey man." Rafael smiled apologetically.

"My brother's exhausted from fighting a hoard of shax demons today. Do you mind if he sleeps for a bit? Is there somewhere he can rest?" Rafael asked as nicely as possible. The Shadowhunter appeared indifferent about it.

"Sure, the spare rooms are down that hall then up the stairs. He can go in the one at the end." The man informed and Rafael nodded before turning to Max.

"Did you hear that?"

Max rolled his eyes. "We both know where the spare rooms are." He scoffed. Rafael shrugged and helped his brother up. "I can make it there myself, don't worry." Max assured. "Just stay updated on what's happening." Rafael agreed reluctantly and waved his brother away. He tuned back into the conversation.

"-without it. Alec, he could still be in the building." Jace cautioned. So they knew Jonathan was amongst them.

"We have to confirm he's still inside."

"He saw what the real Jonathan looks like, he will be glamoured as one of our own." Jace concluded and Rafael internally commended them on figuring it out as he turned to watch the perimeter for any sign of hellhounds.

"Hiding in plain sight." Clary added uneasily.

Alec breathed in and looked like he was forming a plan. "Okay ... okay Sebastian I want you and any other personnel on-" Rafael blocked out the rest of his father's words and his blood ran cold. Sebastian. That was Jonathan's alias. Rafael fixed the blond Shadowhunter with a gaze full of contempt. That man had caused so much pain and heartache in his family. He wished he could just end him there and then. He clenched his hands to stay in his seat and not throttle the person who attacked his uncle.

"-If Jonathan's still in the building, he's not getting out alive!" Alec assured right to Jonathan's face and Rafael would have been pleased if he didn't know that the bastard would, indeed, get out alive. Rafael glared as the blond half-nephilim, half-demon marched off to perform whatever devious deed was next on his list. Rafael hated having to be rational, but he really couldn't do anything that interfered with their timeline too vastly.

Just then Alec rushed past and whipped his phone out, finger pressing urgently on call. He groaned in frustration when the person didn't pick up. "Magnus please ... I need your help. I know things are complicated right now but ... I just ... I need you ..." Alec sighed heavily and stopped the voicemail. Rafael felt his heart clench - he hated seeing his parents sad. Although they had the occasional argument, they were too in love to ever continue for too long. Hearing the sorrow in young Alec's voice only made Rafael more aware of how it didn't start out so easy.

"Fuck this." Alec snapped suddenly and his son watched as he stormed out the institute to personally get his lover to help. Rafael sighed and dreaded the destination of the evening.

~

Max could only manage a couple hours sleep, his mind was too restless despite his body's protests. After a while he couldn't handle being alone in this foreign room in this foreign time without the comfort of his brother. He went in search for Rafael, hoping he was still in the ops centre. However as he rounded one of the corridors he stopped in his tracks and backed up. He swallowed the lump in his throat when he spotted his papa addressing his father and family about his uncle.

"Max's only hope for recovery now lies with brother Enoch." Magnus explained regretfully. Alec looked disappointed by the news and went straight to denial.

"There's gotta be something! Anything-"

"Brother Enoch." Maryse Lightwood said sternly and Max flinched a little at the sight. This was the Maryse Lightwood still struggling with her prejudices. Although she had come to love Max, he knew he made her sad at the same time - he was nothing like her son. He loved his grandparents but there was only so far their tolerance could go.

As the silent brother went to help little Max Alec became desperate. "No!" He exclaimed.

"Alec! I know you're scared..." Max tuned out of the conversation, shutting his eyes tight. He hated seeing the ones he loved so miserable and there was nothing he could do about it. After a moment he cast one last glance round the corner and saw his papa holding his dad's hand as a comfort. Max, despite the sadness it spawned, couldn't help but smile at the fact that Magnus would always care for his dad and would comfort him when Max couldn't. He let out a breath and headed to find Rafael.

Luckily he was still by the monitors, looking frustrated at the results. Max smiled at the sense of familiarity and security that Rafael gave him despite the painful reality around them, his throbbing parabatai rune and the lack of his family and friends. "Hey." Max spoke softly and Rafael jerked to attention. He smiled at Max's ruffled blue hair but it dropped a little when he noticed something amongst the birds nest.

"Maxie." He said in a low voice. "One of your mark's is showing. Might want to strengthen your glamour." Rafael whispered. Max frowned and reached up to find one of his horns showing. He flushed and concentrated his magic once again. Generally he wasn't ashamed of being a warlock and it was a lot more accepted at the institute in his time but he knew the reaction would be less than great in their current situation.

Just then Rafael's attention snapped to one individual who started talking to Clary. His eyes narrowed and he turned to Max. "That's Jonathan." He hissed and Max's eyes went wide. It was the blond head of security. "His alias is Sebastian. You were right, it did start with an 'S'" Rafael sighed and watched curiously as they interacted.

"Clary's tricking him into holding electrum." Max mumbled.

"Shit's about to go down." Rafael grimaced. The next couple hours were a blur as the sun began to rise. Both Lightwood-Bane brothers witnessed the whole Jonathan attack failure then deflated when they saw their papa leaving the institute with tears in his eyes not long after.

"Dad's probably a mess." Max whispered.

"They both are." Rafael agreed. "I heard the other Shadowhunters talking and uncle Max is okay." Max felt relieved despite knowing the outcome.

"That's good." He smiled. "So, any progress on the demons?"

"No ... they didn't even attempt a breach. What's stalling them?" Rafael asked angrily. "Look we should get some rest. I'm sure that if they attack we'll know about it but I need my strength if we're going to be along for this confusing ride." Rafael admitted, feeling his eyes getting heavy. Max agreed and helped his brother towards the spare rooms.

"Rafael! Max!" They heard Isabelle call and turned to see her jog towards them in those ridiculously high heels. Rafael smiled tiredly in reply. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping me find my brother, I don't know what I'd have done if we didn't find him sooner. So thank you." She smiled, eyes a little red.

"We didn't really do anything but we're glad he's ok. I hope you're able to get some rest." Max smiled.

"Oh I wish ... Alec's called us into a meeting about what happened with Jonathan. Where are you boys headed?" She asked, changing the subject.

"We were hoping to get a few hours sleep because we need to get back to tracking those demons as soon as possible. We've contacted our team and they're staying at a friends. We'll regroup when we can." Max explained, feeling responsible to take on the charade for once. Rafael needed rest and shouldn't have to think so hard.

"Ok you boys get some rest, I'm sorry you came in the middle of it all. If I get a chance to spare I'll help you with your demon problem. If not I'll get Alec to assign a Shadowhunter to help you on the case in the institute." Isabelle smiled and patted Max on his arm. She felt strangely fond of the blue-haired boy. He reminded her a lot of her Max and her protective streak was still raw. She watched with a smile as the brothers helped each other to their room and hoped that once everything was over they'd have the chance to really talk. They seemed nice and there was something comforting about them that Isabelle found herself wanting to explore further. 

~

Rafael and Max had finally got the rest they needed and decided to spar. Like their father is provided much needed stress relief and their iratzes had already gotten rid of the previous day's kinks. They had a quarterstaff each and circled each other on the floor. Rafael watched his brother quickly assess the situation, looking for any directional decision's in the boy's eyes. He saw the decision made in hardened blue eyes and prepared as his muscles twitched and he struck fast and hard. Rune's already activated, Rafael dodged with ease and went to get his brother in the back as he flew fast. His reflexes were good though as he blocked the blow.

Max's arms strained a little as he pushed back against his brother's strength. Rafael was the strongest warrior in the institute, Alexandra coming in close second. Max wasn't sloppy by any means but he had to focus on the skill of physical battle as well as mental when his magic came into play. Despite the conflict, he managed to keep up and found his parabatai's skills comforting. He made a quick decision, ducking under his brother's staff and kicking him behind the knee.

Rafael's knee bent but he followed the motion, rolling forward and twisting so fast the he swiped his brother's feet out from under him. Max let out an 'oof!' as his back hit the ground. Rafael chuckled and stood, looming confidently over his brother. "Nice technique and reaction time but you let your guard down when you thought you'd gotten me. Don't stop there, keep attacking until you know I'm down for certain." Rafael instructed and held out a hand for his brother.

"Solid advice." A voice complimented from the side. The brothers jerked their heads to the training room entrance. Alec and Isabelle stood there, similar expressions and stances. Isabelle uncrossed her arms and grinned brightly at the boys as Alec gave a small impressed smile - only the lifting of the corner of his mouth really.

"Thank you, I train the others at the institute." Rafael smiled and made his way towards the head of the institute, Max following suite.

"Really? What family do you come from?" Alec asked curiously. Rafael froze for a second, brain running on fast forward as he struggled to grasp a lesser-known Shadowhunting family name.

"True...wright." Rafael blurted out. Max almost gave an exasperated sigh, he was pretty sure that was made up.

"I haven't heard of the Truewrights." Isabelle said thoughtfully.

"Our legacy isn't very vast and our name relatively new." Rafael tried to explain. Alec seemed to accept that as he looked ready to change the conversation. "Isabelle here said you helped out in the ops centre yesterday when things got crazy during lock-down." He started and Rafael gave a nod.

"He got the operating systems back up in record time once Sebas- I mean Jonathan disabled them. Thanks to that we were able to save and find some institute footage regarding the elite guards. The quick back up also alerted the other Shadowhunters earlier about the crisis." Isabelle explained with an impressed smirk. Rafael felt himself flush a little and just knew his brother was giving him a smug look.

"Impressive." Alec agreed.

"U-um, thank you sir." Rafael couldn't help but get flustered. It's not like he didn't compliments from the older version of his father, but he thought it particularly difficult to impress the young and stubborn version of Alec Lightwood-Bane. No doubt he had other pressing matters that may distract from small feats like helping out with the security system. Isabelle seemed insistent that he get recognition though. Both brothers could tell they'd gained her trust and she wanted to help them.

"How's your field-work?" Alec addressed the younger brother.

"Ready and awaiting orders sir." Max replied automatically, both brothers had gotten past the shock of their situation enough to function as usual. Max was a good warrior and completed orders with vigour. He didn't want to fall behind his brother. Alec looked pleased with the response and turned to Isabelle who Rafael noticed was wearing her gear.

"Then you can suit up and accompany my sister on mission. Rafael, I appear to be lacking a head of security. What would you say to a part time position? I assure you we'll help with your demon problem as soon as possible. We'll get some other Shadowhunters scouting for any unusual demon activity."

Max and Rafael's pulses sped up, both honoured. Rafael was acting-head back home and head of security was a position of honour and he felt overwhelmed that he displayed enough skill and competency to not only gain their trust so quickly but be offered a sought after position in a prestigious institute. "I'd be honoured s-sir." Rafael couldn't help stutter. Alec gave a nod.

"I trust my sister's judgement and you've both proven to not be involved in any of the chaos that ensued yesterday. We'd appreciate any assistance you can offer." Alec replied justly before turning to Rafael. "Shall we?" he pressed and Rafael stood to attention.

He turned to his brother. "Good luck Maxie." He gave a reassuring smile at his brother's anxious gaze. He knew Max didn't like being separated but being on mission would put him in his element - he should be alright.

"You too Rafa." Max turned his attention to Isabelle as Alec and Rafael left to sort out the business of the day.

"Well you're all warmed up, grab your blades and let's go." Isabelle grinned brightly and Max couldn't help but return her enthusiasm. He loved his aunt Izzy.

As Rafael and Alec walked to his office in comfortable silence, Alec felt the need to clarify something that's been bothering him. "Look." He started firmly as Rafael fell into step with him. "My head of security just turned out to be a psychopathic murderer in league with Valentine and I usually wouldn't be so ready to accept another outsider for the position. I didn't have a good gut feeling about Sebastian but he saved my sister's life so I ignored it. I have a good gut feeling about you so you better not betray this offer of trust do you hear me?" Alec warned.

Rafael could see the exhaustion and sadness in his father's eyes and he wished he could reach out to comfort him but knew that wasn't possible. All he could do right now is try and ease his mind about Rafael's loyalty. "Of course sir. I welcome punishment if I don't fit up to your standards."

Alec raised an eyebrow but kept quiet. Once they reached the office, they went straight to business.