A/N: Hello guys. I'm soooooooooo sooooooooo sooooooooo sorry for not updating in like, what 4 weeks? I was very busy with school and that kind of crap so, yeah, I'm sorry. I do hope that you like this super duper long chapter that I've written. Plz review and once again, I'm freaking sorry.

I apologize for all the spelling/grammar mistakes.

ENJOY!

*Disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters :(

Magnus' POV

It was one of those nights when Alec had tons of work so Magnus decided that they could stay for dinner at the institute. The whole family sat at the kitchen table eating the take-out, except for Jace. Jace went to his room to change after training. It was very peaceful and quiet while everyone was eating their dinner until they heard a high-pitched shriek coming from Jace' bedroom.

The four shadowhunters quickly stood up and reached for their weapons. They rushed out of the kitchen towards Jace' room, ready for battle. They were out of the room so fast, that they didn't see the smug smiles on both Rafael and Magnus' faces.

Magnus picked Max up and walked towards Jace' room with Rafael at his heels. Magnus and Rafael quickened their paces when they heard the laughter.

Alec's POV

Alec sprinted towards Jace' room with Clary Izzy and Simon at his heels. His heart was racing and he feared for what could have happened. "JACE!" Alec cried out when he saw his parabatai on the floor, staring in his room with horror filled eyes. Alec knelt down next to Jace and checked for injuries, he was relieved when he didn't see any. "What happened?" Alec asked.

Jace simply lifted his arm and pointed at his room. Alec turned his head to see the room and his worries turned into shock. Jace' once clean and tidy room is now filled with ducks, not real ducks, but rubber ducks and plushies.

His bed, floor and desk were filled with bright yellow rubber ducks and plushies. His walls were covered in duck posters and duck feathers. It was quite a sight to take in.

After a moment of silence, Simon burst out laughing. He was quickly followed by the rest. Only Jace wasn't laughing.

"How can you guys laugh at this horror?!" Jace asked in disbelief. "M-my room is now tainted by these evil creatures!"

Alec's eyes watered from laughing, he was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt. Izzy and Clary were lying on the ground laughing and Simon was clutching his stomach with one hand and had one hand placed on the wall for support. Every time the laughter died down, one of them would look at the room or Jace and they would start all over again.

"You!" Jace cried out. "You did this!" Alec turned and saw Magnus standing a few feet away from him with Max and Rafael.

"What did I do?" Magnus Asked. If Magnus knew something, he certainly didn't show it.

"Don't deny it," Jace said. "I know that it was you. No one else could have done it."

Magnus set Max down and Max followed Rafe into the room. The two children were having the time of their lives, playing with all those cute plushies.

"It wasn't my idea," Magnus said simply. "I simply provided the stuff."

"WHO BETRAYED ME?" Jace Yelled.

"It was my idea!" Rafe said cheerfully. "Do you not like it?" Rafe pulled a sympathetic face that Alec knew he faked. But Jace didn't know that.

"I-I…." Jace was, for once, at a loss of words. Which made everything even funnier.

After a while Alec decided to help Jace out. "Rafe," Alec said. "This was very funny, but you know that uncle Jace doesn't like ducks."

"I did not know that Daddy," Rafe answered. Again, he made a sympathetic face. "I thought he'd like it."

"You know that it doesn't work on me, Rafe," Alec said. "I know you too well."

Rafael's sympathetic expression turned into a mischievous smirk. "I had to try," he said with a shrug. He sat down on Alec's lap and played with a duck plushy.

"Wait," Jace said confused. "You did this on purpose? How could you do this to your poor uncle Jace?"

"Shut up Jace," Izzy said. "You're such a drama queen."

Jace eventually forgave Rafael. How could he not, after all, it was April Fools' Day.

...TIME SKIP...

Rafael's POV

"Come on Max, you can do this," Jace said. "It not that hard."

"It is!" Max yelled from above. "I've already tried like a million times. I'll never be able to do this."

"Maybe we should take a break," Rafael suggested.

"Good idea," Jace said. "Go take an hour off to strengthen up." He left the training room and left the boys alone.

"C'mon on hermano," Rafe said. "Just try one more time."

"No," Max said. "I can't. I'll just fall again. It doesn't matter anyway. I'll totally fail the test tomorrow no matter what."

"Don't say that," Rafe said. "You can pass the test. You are at the end of the course, just try it. It's easy."

"It's easy for you!" Max yelled. "You're a shadowhunter. This course is made for shadowhunters, Rafe. And guess what. I'M NOT A SHADOWHUNTER. I don't have your abilities."

"You can always use magic tomorrow,"Rafe suggested.

"No, I can't. Uncle Jace will know if I do and I will not only fail but also humiliate myself in front of everyone because I can't do it without magic."

"There has to be another way,"Rafe said.

"I'm just going to fake I'm sick tomorrow," Max said. "Let me know if you have another solution."

'Hmm…' Rafe thought. 'Another way…shadowhunters…magic…abilities….!' "Wait here!" Rafe yelled. "I have an idea. Don't go anywhere."

He rushed out of the training room and made his way to the library. When he found the book that he was looking for, he ran back to the training room while keeping an eye out for others. No one can know what he was planning. Otherwise, his plan won't work.

"I'm back!" Rafe said when he entered the training room.

"That took you long enough," Max said. He was sitting on a pummel horse at the back of the training room.

"Come here," Rafe said. "And stop complaining."

Max sighed but made his way towards Rafe.

"I can't see how a book of runes can help me," Max said when he saw the book Rafe was holding.

"Let me explain first," Rafe said. "This is not just any rune book. This is aunt Clary's rune book."

"Still not seeing how this would help me," Max muttered.

"Shut up, hermano," Rafe said. "I found this book while I was studying in the library last week. It has more runes in it than a normal rune book."

"I don't care if it has more runes in it than a normal book," Max cried. "I'm a warlock. I can't bear runes, remember."

"No, but you can bear this one," Rafe said. He opened the book and flipped through the pages until he found the rune. "This is the Alliance rune," he explained. "Aunt Clary made this rune during the Dark War. With this rune, shadowhunters and downworlders can use each other's abilities for a couple of hours."

"Why isn't this in the other rune books?" Max asked. "There has to be a reason why this rune isn't in the other books."

"I think that it's because the clave doesn't want shadowhunters and downworlders running around with different powers."

"Won't we get into trouble with the clave?" Max asked.

"There's no law against it," Rafe responded nonchalantly. "Well, not that I know of."

"How do you know it'll work?" Max asked softly. "What if I can't bear the rune?"

"Daddy and Pappa used it," Rafe said. "Uncle Luke too and Uncle Simon when he was a vampire. Max, you're 10, you are capable of bearing runes."

"That's so with shadowhunters, not with warlocks," Max argued.

"Papa is downstairs," Rafe said. "He'll know what to do if it doesn't work."

"Hmm…okey then," Max said. "But you go first."

Rafe nods. "We'll have to draw it where no one will see it." The two boys thought about it for a while and decided to draw it just below their hips so that their underwear would cover it.

"Ready?" Rafael asked when it was Max' turn.

"Ready," Max said weakly.

Rafael drew the rune and the two of them squeezed their eyes shut, waiting for something to go wrong. But nothing happened.

"Did it work?" Max asked softly.

"I think so, hermano" Rafe answered. "Let's try it out." Rafael dug into his pockets and pulled his witchlight out. "Catch." He threw the witchlight at Max, who grabbed it out of the air. The witchlight shone bright white at Max' touch.

The two boys stared at it in excitement. "IT WORKED!" They cried out. "IT WORKED! IT WORKED! IT WORKED!"

"Go try the course out," Rafe said.

Max nodded in excitement and ran towards the course. Max managed to complete the course in record time.

"By the Angle, Rafe!" Max said. "I did it! I can't believe I did it!"

"You did very well, hermano," Rafe said. He yawned. "Just remember to do it slowly tomorrow. No one may know. It's our secret."

Max nodded. "Of course Rafe."

Rafael yawned again. "Are you tired Rafe?" Max asked.

"It seems that when you use my ability, you're using my strength, hermano." Rafael answered.

"Oh, that's a problem," Max said. "I can't use your strength tomorrow. If I do, you won't pass the test."

"Don't worry Max," Rafael said. "If I go first and you last, then I'll have enough strength for the both of us." He ruffled Max' hair. "Don't underestimate your big brother."

Max nodded. Suddenly Max started to jump up and down.

"Max, calm down," Rafe said. "What do you want to say?"

"I just realized," Max said.

"What?"

"That you can do magic now!"

"…"

Rafael had completely forgotten that he could use Max' abilities now. Excitement swelled inside him. 'Magic!' Rafael thought. 'I can learn MAGIC!' To be honest, Rafael has always been quite jealous of Max. His little brother could do both magic and train like a shadowhunter. Even though Rafael liked being a shadowhunter, he always wanted to be able to do magic like his papa and Max.

"Rafe?" Max' voice brought him back to reality.

"Yes, Max?"

"Aren't you excited?"

"Max I'm super excited!"

That brought a smile on the young warlocks face.

"Imagine what we'll be able to do!" Max said.

"Able to do what?" A voice said behind them.

The two brothers turned around and saw Jace.

"Eh..." Rafe said. "I eh… Was giving Max a pep-talk!"

"Yes, he was," Max said nodding.

"I was telling him about eh… What we will be able to do if he completes the shadowhunter training," Rafael said. "He would have magic and awesome shadowhunter skills."

"Hmmm," Jace said as if he was thinking whether he would accept this excuse or not.

"Just like yours!" Rafe added quickly. "He'll be as good as you, uncle Jace."

Talking about Jace distracted him. "Well," Jace said. "He will be a great warrior, I'm sure. But as good as me, I doubt that."

"You're right," Rafael said. "As good as you would be ridiculous."

Jace nodded.

"Max will be even better!" Rafe exclaimed.

"Yes, t- Wait! No that's not what I-" He was cut off by Rafael.

"Go Max! To be better than Uncle Jace, you must pass this test!" Rafe said.

Max nodded and ran towards the training course. He took it slowly this time, but he did it perfectly, just as how Rafe would have done it. When Max finished, Rafael fell onto his knees. He was very tired.

"Rafe!"Jace said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rafe said. "I-I'm just so surprised that Max did it." He forced himself to stand up.

"So am I!" Jace said. "What did you tell him?"

"Oh," Rafe said. "Just that he needed to believe in himself to be able to achieve great things."

Jace nodded slowly.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Rafe said. "I'm going to have a shower before dinner."

Rafe left the training room and walked towards his bedroom at the institute. He managed to take a quick shower before he collapsed on the bed.

Over the years, the boys managed to keep their secret and train.

After every training, they would go to the library, where Max would teach Rafael the spells that Magnus had taught him. In return, Rafael would teach Max how to use his Seraph blade.

Whenever the two of them got to train alone in the training room, Max would train with Muriel, his seraph blade. Sometimes Rafael would use his magic to throw objects at Max and Max would deflect them with his blade. Whenever they hear someone approach, they would quickly switch places.

The brothers worked hard to make it work, they trained hard and set up rules.

Rafael would work hard on his stamina so he wouldn't tire out so easily and Max would practice magic more often so the both of them could do magic without tiring him out.

Rafael would not use magic in the presence of Magnus or other warlocks in order to keep it a secret. He would also bring an extra seraph blade (Muriel) and witchlight when the two of them go on patrol.

Even though they went on patrols, they weren't allowed to do anything to endanger themselves. So every time they noticed something off, they had to call Alec instead of dealing with the problems themselves.

"Come on dad," Rafe pleaded. "We really want to go with you and uncle Jace."

"No, Rafe,"Alec answered sternly. "It's too dangerous."

"But Dad I'm 15!" Rafe answered. "You're being a hypocrite. Aunt Izzy told us that she was 12 when she killed her first demon, you were probably around the same age."

"Please daddy," Max pleaded. He used his powerful puppy dog eyes against their father.

"I think that they should go," Jace said. "It's probably just a pathetic little demon. Nothing to worry about."

"Hmm…" Alec wasn't convinced jet.

"I'll go with you," Isabelle suggested. "If it's just one demon like Jace says, then I'll be able to see my nephews in action. And if there's a problem, then I'll be there to fight."

"I can always portal the two of us out of there is there's a problem," Max added quickly.

That seemed to convince Alec. "Oké then… But if something happens then I'll hold you responsible" He said to Jace.

"Yes!" Rafe and Max said in unison. "Thanks, dad," Rafe said. "We'll go get ready."

After a few minutes, the two brothers were ready for action. They were waiting on the. Alec had told Max to make a portal for them, but since that Rafe just learned how to make one and no one else was around, he made one.

"Perfect," Max told him.

"Rafe?" The two boys jumped at the sound of their father's voice.

"Papa?" Rafe said when he saw Magnus on the top of the stairs. "We didn't hear you. How long have you been standing there?" Rafael hoped with whole his heart that his father didn't saw him make that portal.

"Long enough to see you make that portal," Magnus answered.

Rafael's heart dropped to his feet. "Wh-what are you talking about papa?" he stammered. "That's impossible, I don't have magic. Max made that portal, didn't you Max?"

"Y-yes, of course I made it. D-don't be silly papa, how would Rafe be able to make a portal? That's crazy!"

"You must have drunk too much wine papa," Rafe said as he pointed at his father's wineglass.

"Yeah," Max agreed.

Luckily for them, Alec, Jace and Isabelle appeared.

"Dad! Uncle Jace! Aunt Izzy!" Rafael called out. "Come on! No time to waste."

The two brothers basically dragged the three elder shadowhunters through the portal. Rafe and Max managed to say a haste "Bye Papa." Before disappearing into the portal. Leaving a very suspicious Magnus behind.

The group of shadowhunters and warlock stood in front of an old factory. The sun has already gone under, so the only light came from a lamppost. They entered the dark building and they were swallowed by the darkness. Each of them took out their witchlight. Rafael almost made the mistake of handing Max his witchlight before remembering that there were others with them.

"Be careful," Alec whispered. "Be ready for an attack at any time."

They made their way through the factory, checking for demons behind every door. They had checked behind every single door, but there weren't any demons. The group was about to leave when Max spoke up. "Wait!" All heads turned to him.

"Look over there!" Max pointed at a pair of swing doors. Boxes piled up in front of the door, that's probably why they missed it.

"That must be the canteen," Rafe said. "I wondered where it was."

"Let's check it out," Jace said.

They headed towards the door and shoved the boxes out of the way.

"I'll open it on three," Jace said.

"One." Rafe's heart was racing

"Two." Max held his breath.

"Three!" Jace and Alec pushed the doors open. They froze at what they saw.

The canteen was filled with Iblis demons, there was at least two dozen of them. The demons were shaped like humans, but they were made out of rolling black smoke. Their burning yellow eyes stared at them, they were on the edge of attacking.

"Get out of here," Alec said through his teeth.

"Hell no," Rafe answered. "You'll die if we leave you behind."

"We can handle this," Jace said.

"There're like two dozen of them," Max said. "I doubt that you can."

Alec opened his mouth to argue, but before he could say a word, the Iblis demons attacked.

Rafael's fear has been replaced by adrenaline. He fought like he never fought before. He used his witchlight to temporally blind the demon, then he used his seraph blade to finish the demon off.

Max on the other hand, simply shot blue fireballs at the demons. It wasn't as effective as the seraph blades, but it worked.

They were all so busy fighting, that they didn't notice that the demons separated Rafael and Max from the others until it was too late.

Rafael had just killed an Iblis demon when he heard Max scream. A demon had him pinned down, while another loomed over him.

"MAX!" Alec cried out. He tried to make his way to his son, but he was too far away and surrounded by demons.

Jace and Isabelle tried to do the same, but they too, were surrounded.

Alec tried to shoot an arrow, but he couldn't get a clean shot. There was a huge chance that he would hit Max instead.

Rafael was the only one who was close enough to save his brother. He sprinted towards Max, but he stumbled and fell. The Iblis demon had Max' hands pinned down so he wasn't able to shoot fireballs anymore.

Rafael needed to something or his brother would die. Eventually, it all died down to one choice: His brother or their secret. Rafael didn't need to think to know the answered. He shot a fireball at the demon on top of Max and one at the demon that was pinning Max' hands down.

From the corners of his eyes, Rafael could see that his father, uncle and aunt have stopped fighting. He could also see that a demon was creeping up on his father, so he shot a fireball at the demon. "You're freaking welcome," Rafe yelled. That seemed to bring them back. They started fighting again. Rafael then turned towards his brother and threw his seraph blade at him, which he caught with ease.

"Muriel!" Max called out. The seraph blade lit up at the sound of its name. Once again, the battle at the side of their father stopped. So Rafael had to shoot another fireball, this time at a demon in front of his uncle.

"By the Angel!" Rafael called out. "Quit staring or you'll get yourselves killed!"

Rafael made, or rather, killed his was towards his brother.

"You oké, hermano?" Rafe asked when he reached Max. Max nodded. "Care to try out our new technique?" Rafe asked.

"You bet," Max answered.

The two boys now stood back to back. Both with a seraph blade in one hand and a fireball in the other. In no time they managed to kill all the demons that came upon them. They even managed to help the others out.

When the fight was finally over, Alec rushed over to Max and hugged him. "I was so scared that I'd lose you," He said to the blue skinned boy.

"Don't worry dad," Max answered. "Rafe saved me."

"Yes he did," Jace said. "With freaking magic! How did you guys pull that one off?"

"Well," Rafe said. "You know that rune that aunt Clary created during the Dark War?"

"Which one?" Jace asked.

"The Alliance rune, you idiot," Isabelle said. "You know, the one that allows shadowhunters and downworlders to share abilities for a couple of hours?"

"Ooh, that one," Jace said. "I knew that."

"How long have you guys been doing this?" Alec asked. "The two of you seemed to know what you did."

"About three years," Rafael answered in a small voice.

"I'm sorry but did you just say THREE years?!" Jace exclaimed.

Max and Rafael nodded softly.

"Wait, Rafe," Alec said. "Did you mark your warlock brother at the age of TEN?"

Again Rafael nodded softly. "We were alone in the training room and papa was at the institute too, so we figured that if something happened, he would know what to do."

"That was very irresponsible of you Rafael," Alec said sternly. "It could have gone horribly wrong!"

"Well, it didn't!" Rafael cried out. "And we freaking saved your lives with it tonight!"

"He's right," Izzy said. "We own them one."

Max and Rafael nodded in agreement.

"One thing, though," Isabelle said. "Why did you kept this secret?"

"Well, eh…" Rafe didn't know what to say. Luckily Max answered for him.

"We, erm, kinda used it so I could pass my tests," Max said with his head hanging. "I could never finish those training courses on my own."

"You did it for what?!" Jace asked.

"I can totally do it now!" Max added quickly.

"Yeah no doubt," Jace said. "But that's not where those courses were for."

"Cut the boy some slack," Isabelle said. "Those two saved your sorry ass."

"Let's head back to the institute," Alec said.

"Great idea, dad," Rafe said.

After a while, the group was back at the institute again. They were greeted by Magnus, Clary and Simon.

"Hey, guy- Why do you guys look so shit?" Simon noted. "I thought that it was just one demon."

"Well, Simon," Jace said. "Sometimes fate is an absolute bitch and sent you two dozen Iblis demons instead of the one pathetic demon you asked for."

"Wait," Magus said. "Two DOZEN?!" He scanned the boys for injuries. "Weren't you supposed to send them home if there was any danger?!"

"We tried but they didn't listen," Alec argued.

"Alexander, dear," Magnus said. "You should have tried harder."

"Calm down, Magnus," Clary said as she put a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "They're all right."

"They could have been not all right, biscuit," Magnus said.

"Relax, Magnus," Isabelle said. "Those two saved our hides."

"They did?" Simon asked. Simon, Clary and Magnus looked confused.

"These little bastards," Jace said while patting Rafe and Max' heads. "Have been keeping a quite interesting secret."

"Really?" Magnus said as he lifted an eyebrow. "Pray tell, what's the secret?"

Rafe knew that his lie earlier on didn't fool his father. He sighed and said in defeat, "We have been using aunt Clary's Alliance rune for a while now."

Clary and Simon's expression turned to a mix between surprised and impressed, while a large smile grew on Magnus's face.

"I knew it!" He called out.

"Wait," Alec said confused. "You knew?"

"Well, not exactly," Magnus said. "But I saw Rafael make the portal earlier."

"You did?" Alec asked Rafael. He looked impressed and proud at the same time.

Rafael nodded.

"Why don't we head towards the kitchen," Clary suggested. "There you guys can tell us all about your heroic actions."

"I don't know," Rafe said. "I think that I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." Het turned towards Max. "What about you, hermano."

"I think that I'll do the same," Max answered with a yawn.

"I think that we'll just stay at the institute tonight," Magnus said. "Goodnight." He kissed both the boys on their forehead. "We'll talk tomorrow."

The two boys nodded sleepily and bid the others goodbye.

And that was how the longest kept secret of the Lightwood-Bane family was revealed.

The END

That was it! I hope you've enjoyed it.

Plz review and again, I'm sorry.

Author out!