Journey to Hell

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious.

A/N:

Chapter 26 (Boosting Morale to Fight Fear)

"This isn't a question of doubt, but can we really take Samil?" Andre asked as the crew made their way towards the large building. Tori studied the palace and debated whether to ignore the question or not. "Pride almost destroyed us, and it took a long time to recover!"

"We do have Barbas to face," Tori spoke under her breath. Even outside the palace door, she could feel the effect of Fear creeping up on her. Samil's guard dog was waiting for them inside, and he was surely worse than Pride. Another thought she had was that the only reason Samil was stronger than Fear might be due to the inability to succumb to Fear's power. "We're human, going up against two incredibly strong forces-but we have to believe…to have faith."

Sinjin pushed his hands carefully into his pockets and turned his gaze over his shoulder. "The one thing we haven't done since we were at that library was contemplate any sense of spiritualism." The others agreed with him and Tori stopped before the door. "I think we all know by now there is a God, that he exists…"

"Maybe there is," Beck replied, "I haven't seen Him or Satan. I've only seen that messenger guy." Though they hadn't seen him either since the bridge, but she could feel him around. "What are you saying, Sinjin? You and Tori are the two that are probably the most 'spiritual', considering the Vega family's Christian and you're marrying into them. I have doubts with my mother forcing shit down my throat, Jade's agnostic, Robbie's Jewish, Andre doesn't do anything religious or spiritual and I don't know about Cat."

"No," Cat folded her arms and turned her gaze over to Beck. "I believe and I have faith. We all have doubts, Beck, even the Vegas. Nobody's perfect and everyone sins. I don't think anyone doubts right now that there is a God, the existence of Hell kind of makes me think that there is one-"

Robbie interrupted and Tori tore her eyes from the door so she could listen to this conversation. "Especially considering that stranger that keeps popping up has talked about both Satan and God. He mentioned God can't walk around Hell, and the weapons we have are from both God and, well…Satan."

"Maybe we pray." Tori crossed her arms and leaned back against the door. She didn't doubt that they could get through this, but she didn't know what God could do for them at this point. She also didn't know what Lucifer was doing while Samil was busy attempting to overthrow him. "Pray that we won't succumb to Fear, and of course pray that we can overcome Samil. Or is that too generic?"

Sinjin glanced at her and looked up with slanted eyes. "The last time I went to church, we were taught that God can do the impossible but not what is humanly possible. He also said we need to take initiative." Sinjin rubbed his neck and pulled his hand away with a heavy sigh. "In other words, we can pray for a kid to have a great cake at his birthday party, but then we actually bake the cake because God isn't going to snap his fingers and have a cake appear."

"As nice at that would be." She chuckled at him and shook her head. "So we could at least pray for strength, pray for unity and cooperation." The group exchanged contemplative looks and murmured at the possibility. "We can keep our faith strong and keep the teamwork up, we won't let the next two demons destroy us if we do our best."

Andre bowed his head and closed his fists. "But what if they do? What if they kill us?"

"No…" Tori narrowed her eyes at him. "We don't die. Just remember those three words: We don't die. Keep fighting and if you fall, get out of the fray for a while if you can."

"Okay."

With a deep inhale, she looked towards the door, studying it. She had every bit of faith in the group, despite how terrified she was. All of them were. They would keep pushing, and so would she. "With that said. Let's do what Sinjin suggests, and let's pray." The group moved into a circle, joining hands and bowing their heads.

Whether their hearts were in this or not, it was something of a calming gesture regardless. They could surely boost their energy and their own faith due to confidence. If God heard the prayer all the way from Hell, then perhaps He would give them some strength and capability to face even the most lethal of demons.

But for now, it was Fear they had to conquer first. Until then, they would pray as well that God would protect Trina until they got to Samil, that they would be able to get through to him. They didn't know what they were going into and they wanted to be prepared and not taken by surprise.

Certainly they were not the only people praying for success, but if they were, they would more than rely on each other and boosting their own morale. "Let us not be taken by surprise," Tori whispered, "No matter that we each have different views, different journeys-if there was a time to come together, it's now more than ever."

Inside the giant throne room it was a different story. For Trina, she was only spiritually awake and aware. She could see and hear almost everything going on, but she could not move from her position and only saw through her closed eyelids.

"She should be mine," Spoke the voice of Barbas. "How intriguing it would be to rule over this one." Trina felt a flicker of disgust and turned her head to Samil, seated beside her. He had his arm angled on his arm rest and his index finger tapping his left cheek. "You are only power hungry, but you are weak. You are not stronger than I am. I am Fear, I am in everybody's heart."

"Yet you are not in mine, Barbas, and for that reason you are weaker."

"Mark my words, even you have fear. Do not take me for a fool, you are only able to remain strong against it. As we speak, people are rallying against you." Trina looked upwards as a strange sensation began to fill her. They were coming, but what were the chances of them defeating Samil? They were human, and he was almost a god. "The Seven are dead, Samil. Defeated and slaughtered by humans."

"Humans gifted with powers of heaven and weapons of hell. The warriors are near death anyhow."

"The last human to sweep through Hell was centuries, and that was only one man who pulled someone from this place. This is a group, and you have done nothing to take them. All you have done is entertained yourself with measly games! You have let the Seven perish, you have sent hundreds of demons to kill them and allowed for prisoners of hell to be destroyed and sent into the black abyss. You have not prepared for your own fight!"

"Do not question my methods!" Samil rose up and slammed the end of his scythe on the ground. Trina felt the foundation of the building tremble as his voice seemed to bounce off every wall. "I will use this woman to birth the child that will allow me to destroy Lucifer, I will be the next God of Hell. Hercules did not face me! A group of teenage misfits, heroic wannabes cannot defeat the god of Hell!" He spread his arms out and turned his head back with a laugh.

Trina wanted to talk back to him, to tell him how stupid and arrogant he was to claim himself a God before even being one. Her paralyzed body frustrated her as did the lack of free will. She was disgusted in herself for being in such a vulnerable situation.

"Do you see that many still support Lucifer?" Barbas ripped out a deep laugh that seemed to overtake Samil's powerful voice. "Demons everywhere have simply allowed that group to pass without assault because they do not wish you to win. As we speak both angels and demons are lending the group their energies." Samil scowled and narrowed his eyes as Barbas's voice sharpened. "You may tell me that you do not fear this impact, but I can see all fear Samil. Even God and Satan could not lie to me if they wished to conceal their worries. There is confidence, and then there is cockiness."

Samil appeared to contemplate for what felt like an eternity. Trina turned her gaze onto him, still feeling a strange, yet soothing warmth growing inside of her. It was frightening, but at the same time, she knew it not to be dangerous. This energy was familiar and it seemed to connect her to her home on Earth, reminding her of the faces of those that she cared for and the dreams she saw for her future.

They still existed.

Samil sat down slowly and placed his hands on the top of his scythe, narrowing his eyes at Barbas. "Why do you question me?" Trina struggled to open her eyes and mouth, wishing to scream as this growing energy slowly overtook her. She was going to lose consciousness, but she would allow it. Her eyelids lifted only a centimeter, revealing a very light pinkish glow.

Her ears filled as well with the sound of a baby's cry, one that evidently neither men in the room could hear. It broke her heart and she wanted desperately to hold this child. What was happening to her? Samil promised no harm until after the challenge had been met, but this was not of him.

"I do not question your ability," Barbas replied scornfully, "I very well question your tact. Do you not already feel souls slipping away from you?"

"I did not give you permission to look into my mind."

"It is not your mind I can see, Samil. It is that black heart of yours. As we speak, you feel your power leaving. Or did you honestly believe that the group was truly alone? God cannot step foot down here, but He certainly can influence a group of humans. Satan himself can lend them his support. Even humans on earth who pray for them are giving them energy and drawing power away from you."

Samil's face tensed and veins began to bulge from his hand and arms as a sneer stretched across him. Barbas let out a sinister chuckle and turned away. "You are a fool, Samil. Even if those humans couldn't defeat you, you are well aware that they are not alone."

"That is enough," he growled.

"Is that not why you have employed me? Why you hoped that the Seven would destroy them? Pride was too arrogant to destroy Tori the first thing, too arrogant to kill the lot before things got bad. He thought too highly of himself, and he is dead. You hope that I shall destroy them by influencing the fear that is in their hearts, so maybe they will become a nonexistent threat…"

"Begone, I said!" Samil shot up and slammed his scythe into the ground once more, his shout echoed throughout the throne and shook every inch of the building. After a few seconds, another powerful sensation shot through Trina, but this time the others felt it. Samil's eyes narrowed and he growled angrily. "They've entered the palace…do your job."

"Whatever you say…" Barbas bowed and looked up at Samil with narrow eyes and spoke with deadly scorn. "Your majesty."

Tori stopped the group and looked around the room they'd entered into. It was a large circular room with a door in front of them and a spiral staircase that seemed to rise up to the heavens. "Did anyone feel that?" The walls and floor vibrated and sent a tingling sensation through her body. "It felt like the entire place was hit with some sort of earthquake."

"Yeah it was weird," Andre whispered and reached for his weapon. "Makes me think something big is going down." She rolled her eyes and looked towards him with a wide smirk.

"Something big is going on, Andre. Samil is here. So is the other dude." A painful sensation spread across her chest that caused her to wince and groan. The others moaned as well and she clenched her teeth. "It's okay, just fight through it."

Barbas. The demon of fear. Every so often a new demon, a prisoner of hell, would be promoted to this position and that demon would become one of the most powerful forces. Much like the Seven, 'Barbas' was only a title. The truth of the matter was that nobody could truly 'kill' the demon of fear. The moment of death, a new demon would be promoted to that place. He was as well the one demon that could not be sent into the black abyss, for only the demon that used to be Barbas could go.

Fear itself could never die.

Tori didn't know where this sudden knowledge had come from, but it felt as though someone or something were trying to prepare her for a particular face. "We need to be very careful," she advised, "The demon we are going up against is unlike anything we've faced…Even killing the demon could mean that another demon might appear in his place as the 'new' Barbas. We don't know for sure."

"Agreed," Sinjin replied. She could see him sweating, which greatly concerned her. As she turned to him, he looked down to his sword with a heavy sigh. "This could also be a bad time to tell you guys, but I'm not sure how many more souls I can take."

"What do you mean?"

"Back at the caves…You're not the only one that went through a horde of demons. Beck and I both are probably close to our limit." Her eyes widened and Jade threw her hands up to her mouth as the men nodded. Beck snorted and closed his eyes.

"I didn't want to say anything but I almost lost control in the caves, especially when going up against Sinjin's other." Beck took a deep breath and moved his hands up, staring down at them as he closed his fingers into his palm. "Told Sinjin if that happens, he was to put me down."

"Likewise for me."

She was angry at the two men for keeping quiet on this, but understood that they may have been too proud or frightened to bother the group. Now was a good time to bring it up, so she was pleased in that regard. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Didn't want you to think we were becoming a liability."

"Liability? You two are the stronger fighters in the team with the weapons you have." She crossed her arms and slowly lifted her fingers to the middle of her forehead, rubbing gently. "Okay, here's the plan." She lowered her hand and looked to the rest, ready to lead. "Both of you try your best to control yourselves. Sinjin, whatever you do, do not deal a killing blow. Same for you, Beck. Both of you can still fight, which is helpful…but you're going to need a lot of concentration."

"Got it, we'll do our best."

"Good. Try to stay out of the fray as much as possible too, so you don't risk yourselves. The last thing we need is to have to put one or both of you down. Let all of us handle the bulk of the fighting, you can provide enough outside assistance as grunts and tanks…" Sinjin and Beck nodded and Tori opened her mouth to continue, but stopped when she heard a slight creaking noise.

A strong and sinister energy pulsed through her body, nearly throwing her to the floor with incredible force. In a single instant her dried skin was moist from sweat being drawn to the surface, and her heart's incessant beating seemed only to increase in velocity.

As she turned her head, she saw a man descending the steps. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance." Her eyes widened when this man came into full view. He had on a constantly bleeding football uniform with two spiked shoulders, his hair was short and blonde, and his blue eyes were sharp and narrow. "I assume I don't need an introduction, but I will go anyway. My former human name is Samuel Ross, and you would only know me from a variety of other realms. All of which have been absorbed into me upon my promotion. That, however, is unimportant."

Upon closer inspection his form was more grotesque. The 'horns' that protruded from his blood drenched shoulders were sharpened knives that stretched above his head. His jersey had a series of tears and open wounds that bled profusely as though he had the inability to let his blood clot. There was a large gash that ran along his throat, and several gunshot wounds and slashes along his arms and legs. There was a long red scar that slid along the right side of his face, gliding past his open eye. Caked blood rested on the curve of his upper lip and along his eyebrows.

He spread his arms open and tore his lips apart from each other, allowing for blood to gush out of his mouth and through the cracks in his teeth.

"You only need to know me by my title…Barbas, the demon of fear, and you shall not pass without my say."

So is Samil sweating? Not really. But here comes the group's toughest fight yet. Get ready, it should be in no way underwhelming.