Christian looked between the two boys who pleaded with his sister. By looking down at the mundane boy, he knew that Simon wasn't the right person to stay with. Simon wasn't the person who could help them with the enemies they seemed to be facing. Jace had proven he was ready to protect his sister when he killed the demon. "Clary, Christian, come on. We gotta go." Simon pleads with the twins. Clary looks up at her brother who nodded his head. 

"Simon, I think Jace can help us." Clary admits. 

"What? Christian don't tell me you're siding with her." 

"We need him, Simon."

"Come on." Clary says as she pulls Simon towards the institute. Christian walks ahead of the duo and rushes ahead to catch up with Jace.

"How do we know this Mick Jagger-looking guy is even gonna try-"

"Mundane, we do not have the time." 

"Just trust us, Simon." Christian tells his friend when they step into the seemingly abandoned building. "Don't worry about what you'll see." He tries to warn Simon. Jace takes out his stele and creates a rune while Simon did the opposite of what Christian advised him to do. Simon gasps while Clary agrees with his gasps.

"He's like burning himself." 

"I hope it doesn't hurt as much as it looks." Christian mumbles to his sister. 

Jace grabs Simon's hand harshly. "Buddy, what's going on, man? I'm not your type, man. I don't even..." Christian frowns and faces the institute's space as it looks like it rebuilds itself. "Where are we?" Simon stammers. "What the hell? Is there a war going on here that I don't know about?" 

"There is now." Jace answers as he struts forward. 

"I think our mother's at the center of it." Clary goes on to follow Jace. 

"I'm just as shocked honestly. It's still unbelievable." Christian tells Simon. Even if he felt in some way he could be apart of this world, it shocked him that he could be an angel. It was impossible. 

"You coming?" Jace calls out.

"Yeah." The boys answer. 

"What is this place?" Simon asks Jace. "There's a lot of gear in here. What'd they do, rob a tech shop?" Christian chuckled before standing behind Jace and Clary's small figures to watch the screen. Jace pulls up the recording as two police wander the grounds. 

"So this cold blooded killer is gonna help us?"

"He's not a cold blooded killer, Simon." Christian says trying to defend the blonde.

"He's protecting us." Clary then defends. 

"Specifically you. It's sorta our thing." 

"Your thing? You guys have a thing?" Simon wonders in fear. Christian frowns at Simon for the fact he was acting this way. Jace was helping them and Simon acted like he was the enemy. Christian didn't trust Jace either at first yet he warmed up to him as he protected his sister when he couldn't.

Clary turned to Simon and says, "He means a shadowhunter thing. That's what they do, protect the humans from demons." 

"Demons, right. That makes perfect sense cause there are demons running all around New York." 

"That is the first correct thing you've said all day." 

"NYPD," the recording says. 

"Won't they find us?" Clary asks Jace.

"No. Our wards will deter them. And the NYPD will do their typical mundie thing for a few hours and then the area will be clear." 

Christian turns his head to see Alec walk towards them with a grimace on his face. "What is going on? Why is there a mundane in the institute?" He asks Jace in disbelief. 

"A circle member followed him to get to Clary and Christian." 

"A circle rune, just like the guys that took our mother." Clary then continues. 

"What exactly is a circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" 

"All we know is... a long time ago the Circle led a revolt. A lot of shadowhunters got killed including my father." Jace answers the mundane. Alec then cuts in with his own form of explanation.

"And since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle."

"But how is that even possible? It's your history." 

"Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter?" Jace kids with Clary and walks away.

Christian fidgeted with his hands and shook his leg as he looked around the institute. This was a lot for him and his sister, so much to learn. He didn't know if he was brave enough to handle this like his sister seemed to. He was ready to protect her whenever, but otherwise he felt like he could melt. 

"Yeah, yeah you're right. And now the only person who knows the truth is missing. So I don't care about your rules or what's forbidden. I'm- there's gotta be someone who knows why they've taken my mother." 

"There is." Jace turns and doesn't look back, "you coming?" 

"Yeah." The twins answer him. 

"No, no, no. Not you."

"Hey we're a package deal." 

"Yeah we go, he goes." Christian continues. 

"There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your mundie boyfriend." Christian's heart felt as if it stopped in fear but his expression dropped when he saw that Jace had meant his sister and Simon. It wasn't love he was sure of that, it was his idea of what could be. Yet time and time again he saw that these things that he hoped for himself wouldn't happen. 

"He's not my-"

"I'm not like- we're just friends."

"Best friends." 

"Okay so we know this, so Simon can come?" Christian cuts them off from embarrassing themselves further. 

"Yeah I'm tough. I can handle runes. So uh, bring on the runes." Christian closes his eyes and sighs. "What exactly are runes?" 

"They give Shadowhunters our demon fighting powers." Izzy answers Simon as she approaches them. She activates one of her runes on her arm. 

"So hot." Christian ignores what he says and hopes they can soon just go. "The rune." He clears his throat multiple times. 

"Don't worry, I'll watch over the best friend. In fact I was about to make breakfast."

Jace inhales and leans in towards Simon. "On second thought, the runes might be less lethal." 

"Please excuse my brothers lack of manners. This is Alec, and I'm Isabelle." 

"Lewis. Simon Lewis. Two first names. Why am I still talking?"

"See, best friend here's safe and sound." 

"Jace if anything happens to him-"

"Go on guys, I'll be fine. I think." Christian sighs and turns away as Clary asks Jace where they were going.

"Training room." Clary leaves without another word and Christian goes after her with a second look at the Lightwoods with Simon. 

"You think he's okay with them?" Christian asks his sister.

"I hope so." Christian stayed silent until he spoke up again.

"He seemed fine to go with Isabelle." Clary sighed and stopped, staring up at her brother. She didn't know whether to slap him or hug him. But she knew he needed to stop. "I know what you're thinking. And I'm trying, it's not like I want to, I'll get over it, it's a small crush."

"I know Christian. I just want what's best for you. We have a lot more to worry about." 

"Trust me, I know. I wish we didn't. It's still hard to believe." Jace comes around the corner approaching the twins who stop speaking once he comes. 

"Let's go." He tells them. The three walk up the steps into the training room and find a pair sparring. 

"Who is that guy?" Clary asks Jace.

"That's Hodge Starkweather, our weapons trainer." Jace answers as Hodge flips himself up during the training. "And more important for us, a former Circle member."

"I thought you weren't allowed to even speak about it, why would they let a former member in?" Christian wonders. 

"After the uprising, Hodge repented and he was sent to live and work here to make amends. But he's forbidden to ever leave the institute."

Christian frowned and stared at the older man as he defeated the shadowhunter with a broken staff. He didn't seem like the men who threatened his family so easily under the demand of someone named Valentine.

The man puts on a tank top before turning to the teens. His eyes stray to Christian and the color in his face looked as if it drained. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the tall boy until he managed to tear his eyes away from him to his sister. "Jocelyn." 

"Uh, I'm Clary. Jocelyn Fray is my mother." Clary tells Hodge. 

"Well she was Jocelyn Fairchild when I met her." Clary breaths out seeing that someone had known her mom before everything happened. "And she was my best friend." 

"She's been kidnapped." Clary says. 

"By someone named Valentine and his men." Christian adds. Hodge ignores his gaze and turns to Jace as he speaks.

"By the circle, Hodge." Hodge stares at Jace in disbelief. 

"But that's impossible. Valentine's dead," Hodge looks up at Christian with a glare and then turns to his sister as he continues, "and the Circle died with him." The circle rune on his neck burns a bright red as he grunts in pain. 

"What's happening?" Clary asks in fear.

"I swore a vow never to speak of what we did. This is the Clave's way of making sure I keep that vow." 

Clary turns to Jace and says, "We can't torture him, Jace. Is there anyone else we can ask?" 

"We don't have a choice, Clary. We have to continue." Christian mutters to her as he looks at the man in pain.

"If the Circle really is back and they've taken Jocelyn, our leader... our leader of the Circle was Valentine Morgenstern." The rune sears once more as Hodge stammers on through the pain. Christian winced seeing the amount of pain they were putting him through for the small amount of information. "We thought he wanted to protect humans like all Shadowhunters. But we never realized the lengths which Valentine was willing to go... the people he was willing to sacrifice." The rune once again burns him as he carries on. "Most of humanity would die if we carried out Valentine's plan." 

"But I still don't understand any of this, how does our mother relate to any of this?" Clary asks. 

"Jocelyn was a member of the Circle as well." Hodge whispers out as Christian's eyes widen as he glares at the man. 

"No that's impossible, you're lying. Our mother wouldn't be on the side of the man you're describing, she's a good person." Christian says in defense of his mother as Clary stutters through her defense and disbelief.

"The important thing is that Jocelyn left the Circle. And so none of this even matters because Valentine died in a fire years ago." As she explains, the rune burns him as he groans in pain again while Jace tries to steady him.

"I'm sorry, but we can't ask you to do this." 

"Clary, we don't have a choice. You understand that Hodge, right?" Hodge looks up at Jace and knows he was right. 

"Jace is right." He turns to the twins and continues on through the burning from the rune. "Valentine nearly destroyed the shadow world and humanity along with it. If he'd gotten the cup-" 

"Wait a minute. My mother told us she hid something from someone. If it's this cup-"

"Clary, the Mortal Cup is the most important object in the shadow world. Whoever possesses it can create more shadowhunters." 

Hodge continues for Jace, "And in the wrong hands can control demons. If Jocelyn hid the Cup from Valentine then she's in more danger than you can possibly imagine." Christian backs away in the realization of how much danger his mother is in. He couldn't do anything to stop anyone from hurting her and he was failing her. 

"I hate to make you suffer like this." Clary gasps out as she stands over a screaming Hodge. Hodge turns to Clary.

"I'm so sorry. Your mother was only trying to protect you. And now you must protect her." Christian walks over to the man, clutched fists as he thinks of what could be happening to his mom. "Stop Valentine before he destroys us all."  Hodge gives another look to Christian as he nods to the boy that reminded him of the one who was feared most now. 

Christian turns back and runs after his sister and Jace. "-but in the shadow world, no training and no plan gets you killed."

"What's happening here?" He asks the two.

Clary trembles and looks up at her brother. Christian puts an arm around his sister while trying not to glare daggers into Jace. Clary just sighs and rips herself away from Christian's embrace and backs into a wall. 

"Okay, so we know that Valentine is back and wants the Cup," Clary says trying to recap, "and for some reason he thinks my mother has it."

"Could she?" Christian gave Jace a side eye. "Have the Cup?"

"No." 

"I don't know." Christian looks at his sister in disbelief. He didn't want to admit that his mother really would have kept so much from him. She told him everything, or so he thought. He couldn't help but question now every single decision she has told him or every time he was caged in. 

"Look, Clary, Christian. You know about runes. You've drawn them. You... you know something. Think, please." Christian sighed and closed his eyes. 

"I've tried, Jace, okay? It's just this empty blackness. Christian too, right?" The two looked to Christian who sat with his eyes closed.

"Nothing but the dark." He says dryly.

"Your memory's been wiped." 

"That's not possible." Clary denies as she faces away from Jace. "Is it?" 

"Absolutely... if you know a warlock."

"A warlock? What's next, fairies?" Christian sighs out.

"Yes, Christian. A warlock. Immortal beings, they're half-demon, half-human. Sometimes their fingers spark." 

"Are you kidding me?" Christian rolls his eyes at Jace's reaction when Clary remembers Dot.

"Dot, my mom's assistant. Her hands had this purple glow when she opened the wall and my mom pushed us through and we ended up at the police station." 

"That was a warlock. Dot must have been a warlock. Only warlocks create them."

"Wait so you're saying if we find Dot, she could help us find the Cup and get my mom back?"

"Unless she's working for Valentine."

"Even better." Clary states with a smirk. 

"She'll lead us right to him." Christian finishes knowing he'll have to prepare one day for when he faces this man who took his mother from him. 

"Where's Simon?" Clary then asks as she walks off into the institute.

___

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the short ish chapter, but Im gonna update again soon I just wanted to give you a chapter now. Hope you enjoy, vote and comment!

Who would you like Christian to interact with more in the future? 

I plan on updating soon for chapter 6! Thanks for all the support!