CHAPTER 11

Hiei woke to find himself staring up at a blood red sky. What the hell? he thought sitting up. Where am I? He looked around himself. He saw a barren land with black stone and soil covering the ground. From the loud wailings he heard in the background he could only guess that he'd somehow ended up in Hell. After a few seconds he spotted a figure laying on the ground not far from where he was. It had short purple hair and was wearing a dark blue cape. Raven? "Raven!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and running over to her. "Raven!" He knelt down and started shaking her. "Wake up! Wake up!"

The half demon girl moaned and opened her eyes. "Hiei?" she said in a groggy voice. She sat up and looked around. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure," he said, also looking around. "but it looks like we're in the Netherworld."

"The Netherworld?" she asked, not quote understanding.

"It seems those robed things wanted to send you here for some reason," he said, helping her up. "Do you have any idea why?"

Raven thought about it a moment. "I don't really know," she answered. "What about you?"

He remembered something the robes had said. "They told me they were sending you to the "One" who needed power," he replied. "They said you were born with the power to summon him to earth. Do you know what they ment?"

Raven shook her head. "I already opened that portal," she said. "When my father came to this world."

"Do you think they know that?"

She shook her head again. "No."

Hiei folded his arms as he thought about it. "I wonder if they think your father was the "One" or are they talking about someone else?"

"I don't know," she said. again. "But maybe if we find it here we can make sure it doesn't come to our world," she looked up at his face. "I don't think the thing they want is friendly. What if they're trying to destroy earth?"

"Hn," he said looking away from her, anger written on his face. "I won't let them. After everything they've done so far, I won't let them have their way." He unsheathed his sword and took her hand. "Come on. Let's find it."

Kurama angrily turned to the robed creatures, standing like senturies around him. "Where have you sent them?" he demanded. "Tell me!"

The robes just stood there, staring at the fox demon and the alien girl.

"ANSWER ME!" Kurama shouted, startling Starfire with how loud his voice got.

The things still did nothing.

"I don't think they're going to answer you, Kurama," Starfire said, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking over it at the creatures. "They look like ghosts. What if the real ones aren't there anymore?"

"What?" he looked over his shoulder at her. "What do you mean?"

Starfire couldn't explain.

"I think I know what she means," said a voice in the crowd.

The two looked back toward the robes. They saw someone in stained armor pushing their way through the robes that seemed to evaporate when touched. When the person reached where the two stood Starfire gasped and exclaimed. "Terra!"

"Terra?" Kurama said, confused.

Terra nodded. "Hello, Kurama."

Starfire stared at them both, her mouth hanging open. "You two know each other?" she asked.

Kurama nodded. "We've met once before."

Hiei and Raven had been walking for about an hour but didn't seem to be going anywhere. No matter how far they went everything around them seemed to stay the same. "What the hell's with this place?" Hiei demnaded angrily. "What kind of place looks the same no matter how far you go?"

Raven could think of many things but chose not to stay any. If it had been Beastboy who said it she might have commented but this wasn't Beastboy. This was Hiei and he had good reason to ask such a question. Everything around them did look the same. She began to think they might be going in circles. Raven was about to suggest flying to get a better look around but she noticed Hiei freeze. "Hiei?" she said.

The demon was hearing voices. Hundreds of little whispered voices in his mind saying the same thing. "Portal... Portal... dark portal..."

What portal?

"Dark portal... dark... portal..."

Portal? he remembered Raven saying she was a portal. Was she who these voices were talking about? He looked back at her. She was staring at him funny.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Don't say it!" He said it anyway. "Portal..."

Suddenly the ground around them started shaking and a shadow rose up from the black earth a short distance away from them.

A/N

Oohhhhhhhhhhhh, so tired... so dozy... I am so sorry for taking so long to update. I'm sorry this chapter is so short... I'm just... so tired right now...