A/N: Time to get to the angst hehe.

******?????? POV******

His whole body glowed. It was the only light in this dark place, aside from the faint hue of blue. Small, v shaped marks running along the neck of the dragon before him. This dragon was lost in an endless void. And such was not the reality he had intended.

One lone claw reached out to run along the smooth scales on the prince's cheek. For the black dragon's part, his unconscious form shivered, curling further in on itself. It took one touch to bring up the memory of pain. The lack of trust, the surge of hurt . . . oh, how sorrowful it was. There was a pulling sadness beyond this darkness too. When two beings were meant for one another, their pain was shared no matter where they were or how far apart they seemed.

The dark collar, obstinate when it came to the suffering of the dragon it ensnared, continuing its evil magic.

It severed hope, light, salvation; it brought pain, despair, suffering.

"You never deserved this. I am deeply sorry."

It was by no means his fault, and yet it felt right to say.

For so long, he had watched events continue to unfold in this world. How humans had grown to fear and hate dragons. Neither side seemed to understand what the true enemy of this recent mess was. The truth was a long time coming. But one of the only dragons who knew was here before him now, holding back a gasp of pain.

"You'll have to wake up, and soon."

He had a great many powers at his disposal, but this was something he knew could not be his doing. The person responsible for the prince's hurt needed to step in. Magnus had to come to his predestined.

"And he best come soon, and he better know what to do."

The void was a cage of darkness. If a soul was trapped here too long . . . who knew what the repercussions would be.

*****Clary's POV*****

The valley had been a place of beauty. Her heart had sang it's unknown song of happiness the first time she laid eyes on it. There was a deep understanding, a knowledge that this was the place she was meant to be. Meeting Jace and finding out her true heritage served to further affirm what she was already beginning to understand by that point. So this valley, this place that was meant to be a source of realization and comfort and wonder.

It was never supposed to look like this.

Her heart seized with ice cold fear.

Heat poured out into the sky with billows of smoke. The air was choking, so little oxygen in the sky which tried to match the flames in their intense orange. The world was a mess of red. It was not the friendly glow of a sunset, or was it the citrus of oranges . . . this was a murderous sort of color. And it was capable of taking lives.

"What do we do?" Her voice felt scratchy when in came out. As a dragon, the smoke was incapable of choking her the same way it would a human. But it felt like she might as well have been choking. Simon was doing enough coughing for the both of them, eyes screwed as his lungs filled with the foul clouds.

"Simon." Izzy worried. "Are you okay?"

"Ngh. I'll-I'll be alright. But back to Clary's question, what a-are we going to do?" He ended with more wheezing, but managed to get the point across.

"We have to get to the heart of the chaos." Jace was telling them, golden wings blending in with the brighter gold hues in the fire. There was something to be said of how beautiful he looked in this backdrop, but she refrained from saying so. They had a valley of dragons to be worrying about after all.

"And how should we do that? This place is a mess."

Maia voiced what most of them had been thinking. How would they manage to get to the heart of what was likely going to be a massacre if they did not do something fast. The valley so full of flames offered no hedged solutions, smoke continuing to rise into the air. Upon closer look there were dragons in the distance. Some were corpses on the ground, unmoving despite the painful heat. Her heart clenched painfully at the tiny body among them, forcing her to look away from that and at the dragons in the air. Those were the ones breathing their own whirls of elements. Blue dragons who were trying to drown the fire in water to no avail, light green ones trying to choke out the flames with a vacuum of wind . . . then there were the dragons adding to the chaos in battle against hunters.

"We should find King Robert. He'll know what to do." Was what she eventually decided. Normally, Alec was the one she would say was best to turn to. While the two of them had started off on rather . . . rocky terms with one another, even she knew Alec was a good and capable leader. He had been raised to make quick, smart decisions with the fate of others to bear in mind.

Something his father taught him. Maryse too. And both of them have to be in there. Her green gaze stared off at the caves. The palace caves, where the Lightwoods lived were a small chasm of darkness. It was hardly visible with all this fire, and yet she instinctively knew where to look for it. If the other Lightwoods were not there then the only other place was the council area. But that place was swathed with so many dragons and hunters . . . there was no navigating that place safely. But if we did have to maybe Jace or Izzy know a secret way in—

"What about Alexander?"

Her thoughts cut off. Magnus was being the quietest among them, his normal chatter shut down since Alec had been taken away. A story I don't think we'll ever have the full details to. Poor Magnus must really be hurting. It was a huge contrast, Magnus worrying over a dragon when he used to hate them so much. That's what love does to you.

"Funny that you're the one to ask that." Jace growled, fire flaking out of the corners of his mouth. When the golden dragon heard what Magnus had done he was furious. It took Luke, Simon and Ragnor to keep him from tearing Magnus limb from limb. Their protests and Luke's dragon form slipping out to grab at Jace's back held him back.

"Come on Jace. It's not worth the fight now!"

"Don't do anything you'll regret Herondale."

But their words did not slow down Jace's steam of anger. He would say his peace.

"It's YOUR fault he's not with us now. That he, that he's . . ." Anything else Jace was going to say trailed off as anger transferred into distress. Warily, Luke let go of Jace, as did the others. When Jace did speak again his voice was hoarse. Filled with sadness, Clary felt her heart ache for him. "That he's gone."

"Don't say that Jace." Izzy flapped forward, her dark eyes glistening. Clary was reminded all the more of the pain Isabelle had to be going through too. Jace and Alec were not blood siblings, yet the love they held for one another was great. Isabelle and Alec were related by blood, and their relationship retained the same warmth. "You can't think this way. Alec . . . he will come back."

He has too went unsaid. Judging from the grim expressions everyone else wore, Clary guessed the others also understood just how dire things were becoming. And thinking of it seemed to make the smoke around them thicker. Simon's coughs grew more intense. Ragnor hunched forward a little, breathing heavier. Magnus appeared unaffected, yet perhaps he was unable to comprehend the thick air with such a distant gaze. Maia was holding the hem of her shirt over her mouth; it was a temporary fix for the harsh air.

"If we're going to bring him back we need a plan first. And not one out here." She gestured to the humans and warlocks with them respectively.

Jace pulled himself out of his Alec induced stupor, offering a sharp nod. "Then let's get to the caves."

*****Jace's POV*****

Coming back to the caves should have been a happy occasion. Far too many times had he spent celebrating with his siblings over a good training day or a hunt laden with prey as they bumbled further into the tunnels leading home. The atmosphere was different from the happy warmth of before. Cold seeped from the walls. Stone was not meant to give off heat, not when it was surrounded by a river, but this still came off as strange to him. Jace let his wing tips brush on both sides of the tunnel. The coolness would have to keep him grounded. Clary walked underneath one outstretched wing. Her heat was a nice contrast, a welcome one to his inner turmoil.

"Where is everyone?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Perhaps further in." Izzy offered, though she came off hesitant. His younger sister trailed carefully at the back of the group with Simon slumped on her back. The usually talkative male was rather quiet as he tried to regain clearer air to fill his lungs.

"This place is so dark. Dragons must have night vision." Maia muttered.

"You're about right Maia dear." Magnus agreed. "They have far better vision than humans."

"And warlocks too." Ragnor added in. "But considering dragons are reptiles, and magical reptiles at that it is to be expected."

"Magical reptiles, that's a new one." Luke huffed.

"More like murderous kill your family reptiles." Maia muttered.

Jace tensed a little, and he felt the other dragons with him do the same. He knew a little of what Clary's friend had went through. She's like Magnus was when he first got here. It's not like we really have time to unpack all her trauma now though. Bringing Maia along was a risk, but this was not the type of thing they could change now. And Maia might be of use yet he just did not know how exactly the girl would fit into this mess.

"Night vision or not, we're coming up to a cavern ahead so watch your step." Jace advised, mostly for Clary's sake. Her dragon form made her more agile, yet there was something to be said for her lack of experience in this second skin. Her footsteps, while quick, were also clumsy. If they were aiming for the element of surprise there was no way they'd keep it for longer than a minute if that.

"Got it." Clary replied, wingtip brushing the underside of one of his own wings. The sensation sent a bolt of warmth through his otherwise tense muscles. It had been awhile since his body was lax. Not since . . .

Alec . . .

Where was the dragon prince? Where was his Platonic? Their bond that was normally so steady inside his soul was a severed chasm of darkness. There was so much shadow, and with this lack of light came uncertainty as well as pain. His brother in soul was in trouble; he was deeply hurt. I'll find you Alec. I'll help you.

He would not let his brother down, not when Alec had done so much for him.

The memories surfaced amidst the pain.

Jace did his best to hold back the welling moisture in his eyes. A new scent had entered this space as they went deeper into the cave. It was one he and Isabelle were all too familiar with.

*****?????? POV*****

Curled up, shielding all the pain inside in the tightest of balls this dragon remained. Consciousness was stripped away from the realm of reality. It took with it any chance of the soul inside reaching back to others. This darkness the dragon was in the center of was all encompassing. There was no escaping it, no fleeing of his own accord. No amount of screaming, crying or begging was capable of bringing about salvation.

Not that he could do any of these to begin with.

However, this dark dragon was still capable of feeling.

And someone else, past the void reached out to him, with the same subconscious strength accustomed to their shared connection. It was so familiar. It brought with it a memory, bittersweet with an eventual happiness.

This memory touched the damaged soul.

And the tear that slipped from a closed eye was no simple consequence.

********

A/N: So double update was fun to do! Lots of stuff to come so stay tuned! And don't forget to vote and comment.