***Alec's POV***

Dream Sequence...

Alec walks down the forest path, his feet catching on the low hanging branches from the bushes lining it. He had been walking for some time now, unsure as to where he was going. Sharp rocks and thorns jabbed at his feet that were surprisingly barefoot. Pinpricks of pain shot through his body, but they did not deter Alec from his course.

Why am I here?

This was the same place he had met that little girl last time. Alec had hoped to see her again. Unfortunately, the Angel had yet to stumble upon her; however, he did hear a strange chittering in the wind. It was almost bird-like, but upon closer inspection it was the hushed sound of whispers. They were hard to make out. The atmosphere of the foggy forest was making it difficult to hear anything at all.

Like the last time he had been here, the space was hard to navigate. There were many winding paths. None of them seemed to lead anywhere from what he could see. It's like an endless maze in here. Like there's no way out. The thought of this being a possibility made him shudder. He tries to reassure himself by thinking that it was impossible for him to get lost in his own mind, only for his heart to plummet when he recalls a certain incident a few years ago.

"Entreat me not to leave thee, or return from following after me."

Alec knows that the use of the Adamas stone to track Jace had been a very particular circumstance that entailed an unlikely accordance of events. It was so rare for a Shadowhunter to lose himself or herself inside their mind, but it had happened, and it had frightened him.

I never want to go through that again. And besides, I'm an Angel now. An archangel at that, I don't think that kind of thing can happen to me now. Plus, as this is my memory, I don't think anything to crazy can happen here....like say some live changing revelation.

If only he knew how wrong he was.

"No....no...no. You're wrong, you're all wrong! She can't be gone! She just can't!"

The sound of an anguished voice makes Alec turn to the right. Where a patch of trees had once laid was now a scene commemorating something from long ago. There is the three winged nephilim. They are in a moonlit clearing, their bodies bathing in the silver light. Alec takes a step towards them, only to pause as he realizes what sits right around them.

Bodies lay haphazardly in the undergrowth. Dark, ichor like blood floods from the dead. The liquid stains the earth a putrid black. Alec feels his own eyes widening in horror as he recognizes the sharp lumps of wings lying on the ground with them. These are the fallen! But, who exactly are my kids mourning...

Alec thought at first that it might be him, but Daniel had said she, not he. So, the question was who in the world had just died? It must've been someone important. I don't think I've ever seen Daniel so upset, or Pippa and Harry for that matter. Indeed the three siblings were sobbing. Pain and misery came out of them in droves, so much so that his own eyes wanted to water.

"You're not supposed to be here." Alec turns at the sound of a small, childlike voice. The little girl is back once more. However, her dress is now a faded gray-black, much like the remnants of the hard fought battle scattered on the ground.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? This is my memory right?"

Not wanting the little girl to see the carnage (even though he has a feeling she probably already has at this point) one of his wings stretches out to obscure her view. The normally shiny white feathers seem to be made dull by the devastating atmosphere presented here.

The little girl shakes her head. Those big hazel eyes seem wise beyond her years. Alec has a horrible feeling this child knows exactly what is going on. It makes him sick inside to think that she might've dealt with such sorrow at such a young age.

"No. This is not your memory, but..."

"But what?" He hinges on the word like it was the key to something sacred, or maybe in this case, possibly his own undoing. It was hard for him to tell.

"This does connect to you. And no, you were not here for this moment. This is not about the shattering of your grace. This happens several decades later."

Alec had figured as much. "So....who exactly is this memory about then? Who, um," He licks his lips, trying to find a way to say these words less harshly. It doesn't come unfortunately. "who died here?"

The little girl's face darkens, her expression becoming unreadable. Alec looks at the three siblings there, his eyes widening in horror as he spots the change in his children. What had once been a comforting moment of hugs and a downpour of tears had transformed into a shouting, writhing mess.

"Daniel!" Alec shouts out with worry.

The eldest of the trio was crying out in pain. Daniel was writhing on the ground, his hands and wings and legs flailing wildly about with shocking spasms. It looked as though he was having some terrible seizure, but Alec knew instantly that it had to be more than that. He knew because on Daniel's abdomen was a rune that was glowing an unusual bright red. Hot droves of blood poured from it. The injury was of the abnormal sort, not a real wound physically but instead a mental wound that was so deeply connected to Daniel's being that it translated to the physical world.

A bolt of fear went down Alec's spine as he realizes just what rune had to be causing this pain to his son.

The parabatai rune.

Alec tries to rush towards the winged nephilim. Pippa watches Daniel with horror, while Harry does his best to pin Daniel down to keep him from hurting himself or them. The eldest is screaming in pain. His low timber voice aches with unruly pain, so loud that it must hurt. Alec can hear the reverberations of the words. They make his eardrums pop, but he is unable to hear what exactly Daniel is shouting out with such hopelessness.

The little girl grabs at his arm, turning his attention back to her. Those small lips are pursed into a frown. Her gaze is distant and filled with sorrow, almost as though she completely understood the pain Daniel was suffering.

Perhaps she did.

"You cannot go to them. It's a memory, so it would do you no good." The girl tells him firmly, offering no room for rebuttal.

Alec's mouth hangs open. "Surely you're wrong. There must be something I can do."

He struggles to move forward again, but like last time he is held back by some invisible force. Alec wants to cry out in frustration as he watches Daniel continue to scream until his lungs ran out of air. Eventually, the eldest slumps to the ground unconscious and the scene fades back into obscurity.

His heartbeat pounds inside his chest with agonizing sorrow. The archangel feels a brief moment of shame them. Shame that he could not help his son welled up in his chest, squeezing his ribs so tight he wanted to let out his own pained gasps. Alec held back the urge with brutal force by biting his lip hard enough that he tastes the metallic tang of blood. The taste is so vivid that he almost wonders if the action translated to real life. That if he were to wake up now, blood would be painting his lips a bright ruby red.

"There is nothing you can do. I'm sorry." The girl told him with sincerity in her small voice. Little fingers reach out to run through his feather: a soothing gesture meant to calm him down. Alec can feel the tension leaving him, but shame still remains.

"I- why show me this? What purpose does this serve?" His heart and mind are screaming for answers that keep evading him. Alec must have them. If he waits any longer, he might just burst.

The small figure shakes her head. "I did not show it to you."

"Then how am I seeing it?"

"You forced it upon your mind. Or, more appropriately reached for something that wasn't there in your head already in the first place."

"H-How is that possible?" Alec asks, his voice stuttering out the words.

The girl rolls her eyes at him, as though she was hopeful he wouldn't make such a moronic statement only to be left utterly unimpressed. Alec wanted to glare at her for acting in such a way, but there was no way he would be mean to the child. She is just a little girl after all. What could she possibly know?

"I know a lot, thank you very much. Even if I am just a piece of your fragmented memory of someone you once knew. As for how you did it, even without being at full potential, you have untold power now that you've been restored to your archangelic state. Power that will allow you to bend reality to your will if you so chose." The little girl chose this moment to look up skywards, like she was referencing to something. "Though I don't think He would appreciate that very much. So I recommend not doing that."

Those words made him raise an eyebrow in confusion. Some of those statements made perfect sense, others...not as much.

"So if you're not real...then why can't you just tell me who you are?"

"I...I could. But, your mind is protecting you from this knowledge." Her eyes darken monumentally as she stares at him unblinkingly. It made Alec want to shudder, but he forced back the urge despite her next words sending tingles down his spine. "If you do this, if you open this Pandora's box...there will be no turning back. Understand?"

Alec's heart thumped against his rib cage; his shoulders were tensed up. This was indeed his chance to find out the truth. The little girl clearly didn't want to tell him though so he almost felt bad for his next words. In the end curiosity had won out inside of him.

And really, how bad can it be? Surely not any worse than what Daniel just went through.

Little did he know that the person whose name he so desperately sought was the same one who had caused Daniel so much grief. Little did he know how much sorrow this would cause him, and all the suffering that had yet to befall the family.

If only he had known...but even then, Alec probably would've still made the same choice. Sometimes fate just cannot be changed.

"Yes. I understand. So tell me."

She stares at him now, her expression carefully blank. Her hand flicks with a soft purple light. It gives way to a new scene, where just moments before Daniel, Pippa and Harry had been mourning someone unknown to him. The scene in front of him now depicted him with Veronica. A rush of happiness ran through him for reasons momentarily unbeknownst to him as he saw Remiel and Veronica cradling something in their arms.

His movements were not halted this time as he stepped forward.

Upon closer inspection of what the two had with them Alec realizes that the objects they were carrying were babies. By the look of things they were twins.

Whose are they....?

He was slack jawed when Remiel unwittingly answered his question. The red haired woman was smiling so lovingly at the children as her husband pressed sweet kisses to each of their little foreheads. The Archangel's hands glow with faint magic as he runs his hands down their backs, where tiny wings are nestled. One set is a deep black of an endless night- Daniel's unmistakably- the other a soft pearlescent pinkish-white that reminds him of the strong of pearls his mother wears around her neck from time to time.

"They are the first children of an Archangel. Our children...so I think it fitting that they have names from Heaven."

Veronica had no qualms with this. Judging by her agreeing nod and glittering green eyes this was something the pair had talked about before to great length. The little children slept on, unaware of the conversation at hand. And unaware of how much Alec's mind was being blown. His heart races as he tries to process what exactly is going on. The new angel struggles to come to the realization of what lies in front of him now.

"Whatever you think is best."

"Yes. So, our son will be named Daniel," that large calloused hand of Remiel's rested neatly on top of the baby boy's forehead. A soft blue light flows out of it. "He will be a strong leader, a guiding force that can use the ties that bind."

"And what of our daughter?" Veronica asks.

Remiel continues to smile. "Her name shall be Sariel, or Sara for short." He moves his free hand to rest on her little head. The baby turns slightly at the touch, but does not stir awake. "She will be the resolve that keeps everyone going, determined not to fail. Her gift will be seeing the possibilities of reality. All that the future holds will be possible for her to uncover."

At this point Alec's mind was filled with numb shock. The couple, ignorant of his presence disappears back into memory, taking their children with them. Still numb Alec turns to the little girl -Sara- with his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

"I-I h-h-ave..." Alec tumbled on the words. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth so he had to slowly enunciate each word with care. "I...I have another daughter?"

Little Sara gives a small nod. She says nothing to him though, despite the look of longing stretched out on her face. Alec tries to reach out to her, but in that next moment everything fades.

And Alec returns to the waking world once more, that unspoken name that had been long forgotten coming out on the tip of his tongue as everything fades.

"Sara."

*********

A/N: Wow! So this chapter is a bit short I know, but I think that as it's a big reveal that's perfectly fine. Let me know what y'all think in the comments and I see you guys next time!