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The World Inverted

'I know some of you might want to skip this chapter because it won't be so Arya and Alec heavy, but it actually has some really important Alec and Arya scenes later on when they leave the portal so do watch read it because it's a really good chapter. And they have some scenes between fake Alec and Arya.'

ARYA COULDN'T COMPREHEND THE BEAUTY AROUND HER. As she walked through the Seelie woods, it was the most peaceful place she had ever encountered. The sun broke through the trees and scattered like glass on the ground, the air carried the soothing sound of wind chimes and the atmosphere was radiant with tranquillity. Had their mission not been so important she could have admired the Seelie land for hours.

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore," Clary commented as they strolled beneath the trees. Arya and Jace shared a confused look but continued to follow Meliorn nonetheless.

While the favour has been endowed to Arya, this was also partly for Clary's compensation, since doing this she would be able to find her father.

"Welcome to the Seelie glade, Arya Legacy. The remotest edges of it." He welcomed the girl who was looking around like this was something out of her dreams.

"How did we get here?" She asked amazed.

"There are entrances all through the mundane world," Jace explained.

"You just have to know where to look," Meliorn assured.

"Why did we have to come here to find Valentine?" Arya questioned although she also wasn't complaining.

"Because of your necklace." He explained, pointing to Clary and the crystal which she held around her neck. "It's a portal shard." He observed.

"Tell us something we don't know," Jace mumbled.

"How does it work?" The Seelie continued to question—ignoring Jace's comments.

"When I touch the crystal and I think of someone, I can see where they are." She explained and Meliorn nodded his head along as she explained.

"I'm curious, Shadowhunter, who knows so much about portals..." He mocked Jace and Arya couldn't help but laugh a little earning her a glare from the Blonde himself. "...did you ever wonder why this portal shard doesn't behave the same way normal portals do?" He proposed.

"Normal portals can only take you to places you've been. I guess I never really thought about it." He said coldly.

"I see Isabel is the smart one in the family." He said making Clary laugh and Arya scoff.

"Actually, that position is mine." She contradicted and Jace stopped to glare at all three of them but the Seelie continued to explain.

"Your portal shard works a certain way because it's a piece of a portal from another dimension." He revealed and nobody expected it.

"Another dimension?" Clary questioned, shocked.

"You're saying there's a portal in some other universe that can take us to anyone if we just think of them?" Jace asked with a stony expression. Arya knew why he was in such a mood, of course, it was his parabatai's fault, but that didn't stop her from hitting his arm and giving him a look to play nice.

"If you can find the only portal still standing in that dimension...it will take you to valentine." He explained and the three shared a hopeful look.

✧

"One Second." Alec excused himself, leaving the conversation to interrogate his sister who had just arrived back from their mission to save Meliorn. "Where have you been?"

"Where I needed to be," Isabel said vaguely and bitterly. "Away from you and your fiancée." She added with a scowl.

"Jace, Clary and Arya are on the run. I can't protect you if you don't tell me the truth." He exclaimed and Isabel glared at him for speaking about their friends—their family—with such a bitter tone.

"I don't need protecting." She seethed with narrow eyes. "Meliorn's alive. That's all that matters." She insisted and tried to walk away before Alec's hand grabbed her bicep to stop her.

"Just...Hey, just...tell me this. Is there any way that Raj could have seen anything incriminating?" He asked her hopeful her answer was no.

The siblings looked over at the agent and the head of the institute conversing a few meters away from themselves. "I don't think you can call it an attack if no one got injured. We were ambushed." He insisted.

"How is that possible?" Lydia frowned in frustration. "Nobody outside the institute knew about the mission." She complained.

"It was dark. We couldn't see much." He excused. "There were wolves...and the others were hit with Vampires." And Lydia's mind went straight to Arya. She had her own suspicions and Raj was slowly confirming them. "But I swear, the one that got me...moved a lot like a shadow hunter." He revealed and Lydia's gaze firmly placed its self upon Isabel and Alec. Wondering where the rest of their posse was. Where Arya Legacy was hiding.

✧

"These trees are where the alternate dimensions intersect the Seelie realm," Meliorn explained once they reached a clearing further through the woods. The light broke more freely here but the trees were more compact and taller.

"How is it possible that the Clave doesn't know about your dimensional doorways?" Jace questioned curiously.

"They are our most guarded secret. We are their protectors." He explained, leading them towards two thicker tree stumps which blended over at the top to create a Circle between them. "Only Seelies know of their existence." He added, wearily looking at the other three now that he knew they knew too.

"Then why are you telling us?" Clary questioned.

"I owe you a life dept...and I don't like being indebted to anyone." He explained and Arya nodded.

"What would happen if—" Clary started.

"If the Seelie Queen finds out I've shared this with you? I could be executed." He admitted and Arya was thrown off. Why would he be risking his own life for them again? There were other ways to pay off a debt.

"Well, we'll be extra careful then," Jace assured, even with his stony exterior, he also didn't want harm to come to anyone who didn't deserve it.

"There is no you in this scenario. Only Clary and Arya go in to find the Portal. My debt is to Arya and Clary must be there to find Valentine." He explained and Jace frowned.

"You've given us no reason to trust you Seelie," Jace argued. He didn't feel right about letting Clary go in without him when he cared about her. And he also couldn't allow Arya to go in without him when she was like a sister to him.

"He brought us here." Arya reasoned. "And he's risking his life to help us." She added and Meliorn nodded at her, taking his stance before the arch in the trees.

Green glistened between his hands and he began to bend the greenery around the tree back to clear the circle. "This will establish a connection to the other dimension." He explained once it appeared as if transparent water now filled the archway.

"What's it like? The other dimension. Is it like this one?" Clary asked wanting to know all the risks before she considered entering.

"It is...but it isn't." He told them vaguely.

"Could you be more vague?" Jace asked harshly and Arya hit his shoulder again.

"It is an alternate timeline in a sense. There, Shadowhunters and demons no longer exist." He explains, the doorway to the dimension starting to show the more that he used the green escaping his hands to summon the portal.

"What?" Jace asked confused.

"The downworlders have conformed to the mundane way of life to avoids detection." He explained.

"What happened to the shadowhunters?" Clary asked.

"Their services were no longer required, because they won the war against the demons, centuries ago. Once they sealed the rifts between their worlds...their culture faded away. Once you arrive in the alternate dimension, you will assume the body of Clary and Arya in that world. You will think

"But we'll still know it's us, right?" Clary wearily asked. "We'll know we have to find the portal?"

"There's a catch," Jace grumbled, rolling his eyes. "With Seelies, there's always a catch."

"Your alternate selves could consume you if you let it."

"Is there a way to not let it?" Arya questioned hopefully.

"Focus on the differences between that world and ours. Find something or someone to keep you grounded to this one. Help each other stay grounded." He suggested.

"Easy enough," Arya mumbled.

Meliorn cast a few more short waves of the green sparkle coming from his hand and then the door to the portal became whole, sat there like it had been carved there all along.

"It will be more difficult than you think. If you don't hurry, you could cease to be this world Arya Legacy and Clary Fairchild." He warned and both girls shared apprehensive looks.

"And be stuck in that world forever." Arya breathed out. But as far as they knew, this was their final chance at freeing the world of Valentine. One final option. They had to do it, no matter the risks.

✧

Nightfall had arrived in the Seelie realm and it was time for their mission to begin. Clary tucked the mortal cup inside the card into the pocket of Jace's Leather Jacket. "I just need to know it's safe." She sighed, entrusting him with it. "Just in case I don't make it back." She breathed out.

"You're coming back. Both of you." Jace insisted.

"What do either of us know about inter-dimensional travel?" Arya scoffed, walking away to let the pair have their moment while she spoke with Meliorn.

"Do you think that—I mean—Since it's..." Arya tried to find the words to ask her question to the Seelie.

"Do I think your parents might still be alive in there?" He asked, predicting what she thought causing her to nod. "They very well may be. This is the dimension where we won the war against demons and since Valentine won't have ever become what he did in this dimension, there is a chance that they never died." He explained and Arya felt sick. She knew it was a possibility but now Meliorn confirmed it. She was nervous.

"It's time." He called and Clary and Arya stood before the portal with Jace a few strides behind them.

"Meliorn, I appreciate the risk you're taking. But if me and Clary find this portal. We're going to need more than the pair of us to fight against valentine. We're going to need Jace." She explained and Meliorn nodded.

"If you find the portal, you may come back for Jace. Shadow hunters need Seelie permission to pass through, only demons can travel through unaided." He explained and the pair nodded.

Meliorn muttered an incantation in a language neither recognised and the doors to the portal opened, revealing the passage. It glowed purple and red like fire and the pair walked through without hesitation.

✧

Arya's eyes shot open once she finally connected with her portal self. She looked around. She was lay asleep in bed and her old room but it looked different now. The bed was bigger, the walls painted a crisp white with posters of bands plastered against the walls. Her sides were littered with items and she quickly pulled herself out of bed and changed into some random outfit she found in her draws.

The brunette headed out into the kitchen area of the apartment she lived in. She looked around and it was the same as when she had been younger, only it was cleaner. As if on queue her parents appeared from the kitchen.

"Morning bug!" Her mom called, pulling her into a hug. The smell of her perfume was the same as when she was younger and she could feel herself drifting out of herself.

She shook her head vigorously and snapped away from her mom, tears in her eyes. Images of her parents were flashing through her mind and it was overwhelming.

"What's wrong bug?" Her dad asked, appearing from around the corner wearing his usual blue shirt and black jeans ready for him to go to work.

"N-nothing." She mumbled, walking into the kitchen with her mother's hand on her back. She sat down at the small circular breakfast table. A bowl of fruit sat in the centre of the table and a plate of croissants and pan au chocolate sat beside it.

Her parents were smiling and watching the Tv while she sat silently and wordlessly watching as he once deceased parents ate breakfast around the table like nothing had ever changed.

"You're up early today." Her dad surveyed. And as much as she wanted to sit there and spend time
with her parents after so long, even being around them was making her drift off into the dimension her.

"Oh, yeah, I have to go and meet a friend so I'll see you later." She excused quickly.

"Isabel?" Her mother asked and Arya quickly nodded.

"Yes. Yes, Isabel." She confirmed.

"Okay, well, we'll see you at the party later?" Her mother confirmed and her daughter nodded. "Take this with you!" Her dad then called throwing a croissant at her.

She nodded and ran out of the apartment and down the street in search of Clary. She was surprised with how fast she found her but she figured that's how the dimension worked.

"Oh, thank god I found you." She grinned, pulling the girl into a hug that they both needed.

"Hey, look, I found both of you." Simon grinned, coming over and grabbing both girls with an arm around their shoulders and pulling them over to a table where the others were.

"Hey! There you are!" Isabel grinned, running over in a star wars top and a patterned unbuttoned shirt that Arya would never see her wearing in real life. The girl lead Arya over to the table while Simon did the same to Clary.

"There you are." Alec grinned, pulling her into his side with an arm around her shoulder, kissing her cheek with a big grin. "I've been texting you all morning." He complained and Arya frowned.

"Oh, yeah, right. I left it at home by accident." Arya excused and he hummed, tilting her head to kiss her and catching her lips on his. She kissed Alec back but could feel herself melting away into the world.

"Too much PDA!" Isabel squealed, scrunching her eyes closed.

"Just can't keep my hands off her." Alec smiled kissing her cheek with a grin. Arya laughed awkwardly before Clary came running over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her along with her.

"That was close." They both said at the same time. This was more difficult than they thought.

Soon after Clary explained what she had seen on the TV that morning when sitting with her mother and Valentine—of all people—they arrived at Magnus new place of work. Clary explained to her what their plan should be and they followed it closely, in the short amount of time they were in his office they managed to remind him of who he was—a warlock and managed to get him to try and get his magic back.

They left shortly after when Izzy texted them '911'.

This world was like a dream. They had to deal with normal girly issues like covering a bruise on Isabel's face—which was her 911 message. They both were with the people they cared about deeply and they both had their parents. It was the perfect example of the perfect life. But they really just wanted to be in their old one.

So when it finally got to the party later that night, they started their plan.

It was slightly more difficult than they had hoped however when they both got cornered by their fake boyfriends.

"Hey, I've barely seen you all day." Alec smiled, moving a few prices off hair from over her eyes. "I missed you." He smiled, pecking her on the lips with a grin.

"Yeh missed you too." She rushed out, her eyes searching for Clary across the room and spotted her talking to Jace and her father—Valentine.

Even seeing him made her nervous but she couldn't have a breakdown now. Not in this dimension. And knowing that her parents were dead and that Valentine was the one that killed them was the only thing keeping her focused.

"Darling, Alec!" Her parents called, approaching the couple. Her father had his hand looped around her mother's waist and they looked completely
exquisitely happy. "Where have you two been hiding." Her mother joked and the couple chuckled, Alec, swinging an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his chest.

For a moment, she thought that it might just be best to stay here. To stay where her parents were and where she was with Alec. It was undeniable that she loved him—in and out of that dimension—even though she was furious at him in the other dimension.

Those thoughts were quickly broken away however when Valentine and Clarissa walked over and started to chat with her parents. Fawning over how cute Arya and Alec looked together.

"I've just got to go and talk to Clary." Arya excused herself when she spotted the redhead calling her over. The pair quickly escaped, alongside Magnus Bane, searching for the portal. Arya could feel herself slipping and the faster she escaped this world the better.

"This way, let's go," Arya mumbled, pulling them through the loose panel in the wall, oblivious to the fact that both Fake Alec and Fake Jace had spotted them disappearing with Fake Magnus Bane.

"What are we even looking for?" Clary asked once they had descended into the basement beneath the institute. It was full of boxes and only statues which it usually wasn't so Arya tried to focus on that minor difference while they were searching for the right place.

"I'll know it when I see it," Magnus assured, his hand running across the stone wall.

"What if this doesn't work?" Clary stressed.

"It will, biscuit. I can feel it." Magnus assured the two girls as soon as Jace and Alec appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"You know if you wanted to break up with us then all you had to do was say," Jace shouted over at them.

"Yeah, you didn't have to ignore us all day and then sneak off with some guy," Alec added.

"I can't believe this." Jace sighed.

"From both of you," Alec added.

"This isn't exactly a good time guys." Arya tried to get them out of the situation and back to real-life situations.

"You know what would be a good time for me, Arya? Never. We're done." Alec shouted at her.

"Same here," Jace called, the pair turning away from their now ex-girlfriends just as a demon dropped down in front of them.

Arya didn't hesitate to kick it away and get everyone behind herself and Clary. "What the hell is that thing?" Jace called out in fear.

"Let's go," Clary shouted, pushing Jace while Arya pushed Alec towards the exit, away from the demon.

But while Clary was comforting Jace, a golden glow appeared around him and that's how they knew that the real Jace had appeared. "Jace, is that you?" Clary whispered hopefully and Jace nodded.

"Oh, thank god," Arya stressed. Ignoring the fake Alec who sat on the stairs sulking.

"You okay?" He asked the pair. "Want to fill me in?" He asked and Arya and Clark shared looked, especially when Jace looked toward the shaking boy on the stairs.

"Jace! Look out!" Arya screamed when the demon suddenly appeared again. She