The knocker on the door to apartment hung ominously in the center of the dark wooden door. It's gaping maw and bared teeth threatened to eat Dick's hand as he reached towards the knocker only for the door to open just as Dick's fingers touched the aging brass.
"The Batman said to expect you." A steely voice came from the door's opening as a man stepped forward from the dimly lit interior. A streak of white parted the man's deep auburn hair indicating an age which didn't match the smooth features of his harsh face. Were Dick not familiar with Jason Blood's
ailment, he would have assumed the other man to be barely older than himself.
"We apologize for meeting you on such short notice Jason Blood, but our friend Raven is in danger and we can only assume it's due to the return of her father, Tri-." Koriand'r stopped as Jason raised a hand upon the mention of Trigon's name.
"Stating his name will only draw his attention to us here. And if I'm to help you find your friend, I can't have a demon breathing down my neck." Motioning for the pair to enter, Kori gazed around the dreary interior. Aged books decorated the walls as book shelf upon book shelf covered every corner of the room. Dark colours dominated the interior with splashes of blood red added the only evidence of life to the blacks and browns.
"Your friend, she's the demon's daughter correct?" Jason asked as he took a seat at a small round table. Laying directly in the center was a large crystal orb that seemed to glow if only briefly as both Dick and Kori took a seat.
"That's correct. After the team went our own separate ways, Raven returned to the monks of Azarath believing she would be safe from Tri-," Dick paused as he caught himself.
"The demon's reach.""Azarath should have been safe." Blood mused as a hand made its way to his chin.
"I'll try contacting the monks." He stated, reaching forward and placing both hands upon the orb in the center of the table. Like a drop of ink in a glass of water, a bead of deep indigo appeared at the center of the orb before it slowly spread through the once clear material turning it a deep opaque blue.
"I can see the monks..." Jason's voice became strained as the darkness was broken by several dots of light.
"They're all... dead." He croaked as the distinct smell of sulfur began to fill the room.
The bang echoed drowning out the crash of the crystal as it shattered against the floor. A cloud of smoke blinded the three it erupted from the center of the table before toppling it. Looking it up, Dick's eyes were met by a pair of amber ones as a strange blue imp stared back, hanging from the ceiling by it's pointed tail.
"What the..." The rest of sentence was suddenly drowned out as a another bang rang out.
From within the second cloud of smoke, another identical creature appeared, lunging towards Kori only to be swatted harmlessly away by the alien Princess. Suddenly the bangs began to erupt in sequence, the apartment filling with smoke and the overwhelming odor of sulfur.
"Neyaphem!" Jason's voice range out through the blinding thicket. All manner of appendages wrapped themselves are Dick's body as the imps dug their teeth and claws into his skin. From a couple feet away, squeals of pain followed flashes of brilliant verdant as Kori easily defended herself against the tiny attackers. Fighting against the demonic creatures, Dick managed to free an arm as he reached into his jacket. Drawing one of his escrima sticks, the '
buzz' of the tazer came to life before he stabbed it into the blue body of an attacker. The creature screeched in surprise before teleporting away as Dick managed to free himself. Drawing the other escrima stick, Dick found himself back to back with Kori as the she fired 'star bolts' from her hands as the pair fought back against the overwhelming horde of Neyaphem.
"What happened to Jason?" Dick yelled over the screeching creatures.
"Gone, gone the form of man." An omnious voice rang out as the smoke began to clear. Pulling an imp from his face, Dick turned to see the source was none other than Jason himself.
"I believe he has revealed himself." Kori replied flatly as a brilliant beam of green erupted from her eyes pushing an imp back to the oblivion it had appeared from.
"Rise the demon Etrigan!" As the words left Jason's mouth, the man seemingly vanished from the room. In his stead, a hulking monster was left. Pale yellow skin was pulled taunt over a wide maw as sharp teeth hung over the bottom lip. Two horns curled forward from atop the beast's head, their sharpness matched only by the ancient armor it wore.
"Damn you imps back to the hell whence you came!" Ripping the Neyaphems from his body, Etrigan slammed one down in front of him.
"Go with limps, go with tails hung in shame." A gout of fire spewed forth from the demon's throat as Etrigan made short work of his attackers. The flames spread across the room as the creatures ran every which way, portals opening all around Dick and Kori as the room was flooded with purple smoke. Suddenly an imp attached itself to Dick's chest, teleporting them both before letting go of Dick as he reappeared outside the building. Feeling the air rush past him, gravity took a hold of Dick's body as he realized he was several feet above Gotham's skyline.
A blur of orange suddenly caught Dick's eyes as he noticed Kori speeding towards him. Angling himself, Dick directed his body through the air only to collide with Kori as she caught him in her arms.
"Nice catch." Dick shouted over the roar of the wind as Kori turned around and headed back towards Gotham.
"You always seem to be falling for me." Kori replied as the pair flew back into Blood's apartment.
"Tell Azazel that Etrigan sent you." The roar of Etrigan's voice could be heard as he slammed another Neyaphem into the ground only for the creature to flee in a burst of smoke.
"That looks like the last of them." Dick replied as he stepped forward.
"Leave, leave, Etrigan! Fade O'demon and return the man!" As Bruce had prepared Jason for the arrival of Dick and Kori, so Bruce had prepared Dick in the event that Jason be forced to revert to Etrigan. Apparently the demonologist's transformation had been a rather unpleasant experience for Gotham's Dark Knight.
"Thank you Nightwing." The returned form of Jason Blood said as he leaned against a nearby wall. The apartment around him laid in ruin as the carpet smoldered whilst books were strewn everywhere.
"Whilst you were attempting to live up to the latter part of your name," Blood paused with a wizened smirk before continuing.
"I managed to extract some information from one of the Neyaphem, their lord, Azazel, is the one who took your friend. It seems he had managed to take her to-" A Neyaphem leapt through the air, landing on Koriand'r before disappearing in another cloud of smoke, the girl vanishing along with the imp.
"KORI!" Dick yelled as Jason placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Watch out!" The demonologist threw Dick back as his outstretched hand emitted a blast just as another portal opened. Repelling the creature back, Jason raised his arm and cast a ward around the room.
"Where did they take them Jason?" Dick asked turning to the other man.
"Latveria."