10. Into the Abyss

As discussed in the briefing, Miss Martian and Aqualad went to support another team as a distraction against Brother Blood and his minions. After all, with hell being all fire and brimstone, neither the Martian nor the Atlantean would have been much help.

As the portal opened, Supergirl, Superboy and the Meta Killer went in first. After they secured their position, next was Kid Flash and Nightwing. When Zatanna and Raven finally entered, the first thing the magician noticed is the sudden change in her magic. She already expected it to be different. However, what she didn't expect was how her magic felt here. Every time she uses her powers, she could feel how chaos tugs at the very fiber of her being.

A loud screeching comes from one side and the magician chants her spell. "TAOLF PU!", yells Zatanna and the creature, a small red impish demon wielding a flaming sword suddenly floats up from its hiding place. Toji quickly dispatches the struggling demon before moving on and cutting up the rest of the creature's comrades. 

All around them, the group takes care of a small group of demons, with Wally taking care of any that tries to escape. After a few minutes, the group manages to clear them all with Toji walking around and cutting up any remaining stragglers. 

"That wasn't so bad", says Wally as he munches on a snack bar. 

Raven huffs. "Those are bloodletter scouts and from the looks of it, those were just part of the lower class. Trust me, the real army would be far worse". 

"Way to keep our spirits up, Goth-girl", responds the speedster.

Before they can continue, Nightwing stops them both and takes out the magic compass. "Alright, the portal to Brother Blood should be that way", he says as he points past some rocky mountains. "Raven, got any ideas else to what to expect in this place?"

Zatanna observes as the pale woman looks at their surroundings. "That's Neron's Pass. I know a passageway that could help us cut through the mountains. It's not too far from here but the place is well guarded. We'll need to go past a war-camp to get there".

"Any other way we can get there?"

Raven shakes her head. "Not unless the Kryptonians carry us the rest of the way. All the other passages would take us about a month to cross. The invasion would have started by then. Plus, looking at everyone here, I doubt any of you would want to stay here longer than you have to. I can see some of you are already feeling the effects of hell". 

The group sighs at that. Everyone knows what Raven meant. Zatanna could already see that both Supergirl and Superboy had a tough time taking care of those demons. Even Kid Flash seemed slower for some reason. There's no question that the problem was this place. The only ones who weren't affected at all seems to be Raven and Toji. 

"Well, no point overthinking things now", says Nightwing. "Alright, everyone. Let's head out".

---

As they traverse the nether realm, Zatanna and Raven walks in the middle of the group while the rest of the team surrounded them.. All around them, Zatanna could here demons shuffling around but none were brave enough to attack them so far. Still, everyone is alert. 

"Um- hi", says Zatanna to the girl beside her. "I don't know if you still remember me. We didn't really talk much ever since we met at that alleyway. I'm Zatanna". 

Raven looks at her uncomfortably. "I remember. I never got to thank you for helping me that day".

Zatanna smiles. "You're welcome. It's not everyday you get to help someone from the other side, you know. Actually, supernatural stuff like this happens pretty often. It's just that this was the first real mission my dad sent me out to do. And you're actually the first dem- being from the other side that I met that didn't try to kill me".

"It's alright. Everyone already knows what I am anyway".

"Okay. Fair point. So um- what's it like? Living here?" says the magician. 

"It was hell", answers Raven plainly, still checking their surroundings for any ambush. The group then continues their march in quiet awkwardness.

"So like, what's the deal with this whole invasion thing", finally asks Kid Flash. "You know, other than demons wanting to invade Earth, of course".

Raven raises an eyebrow. "What else is there? They want to come to your world. What else do you wanna know?"

"Oh come on. Earth always get invaded by something. And they always for whatever reason. So what is it this time? Power? Resources? They running away from something?" asks Kid Flash with a shrug.

"Souls, maybe?" adds Nightwing.

There was a long pause and Raven thinks about it for a while. "Yes", she finally answers.

"Which one?" asks Nightwing.

"All of them".

"What the hell would demons run away from?" asks Kid Flash.

"A lot. Trust me, there are things far worse out there. Nightmares buried in the very depths of the universe" says Raven. 

"So, what? Demons are invading Earth because they want a new hiding spot".

Raven shakes her head. "No. They're taking Earth so that when the nightmares buried in the depth finally come out, the demons would have something else to sacrifice". 

---

Brother Blood looks at the servant kneeling before him. The man had come running to him about the sudden attack on the fortress' barrier. The heroes were getting more and more desperate, now sending in children to fight for them. Even here, Brother Blood could feel them trying to force their way through. 

"Come", says Brother Blood and the hooded servant slowly walks towards him. 

Then, the leader raises his hand, showing his pointed nails. With a quick slash, the servant's neck opens and blood gushes on the floor. 

Brother Blood chants and the blood curdles, eventually forming into a horned figure. "They've made their move", says Brother Blood as he kneels before the figure. 

The figure shifts. "Let them come. They'll deliver her to me". The creature then falls to a bloody mess and Brother Blood looks at the now dead servant. "Thank you for your sacrifice brother. You will not be forgotten. What we do, we do for the Light".

---

A.N.

Hi peeps. Updates aren't doing to well. The story is there, just don't have the time to write it. Still, I don't want any of this to end so instead, I'm gonna be doing this manga style. One chapter a week until Christmas. By then hopefully, I'll be able to have more time to write again.

And again, thanks for reading. Cheers.