Khadija had insisted on returning with them- and who could deny the ancient sorceress?

The homes of the gods were burning. Darkseid was preparing to take the Earth. Warriors of all peoples had coalesced to fight- and their masses still mightn't have been enough.

The planning had been done. The military strategising was finished. With their sacred deities under attack, most the leaders of those who'd gathered upon Themyscira parted for their homelands: to take their part when the inevitable occurred- for some, to reach up to their heavens in any way that they could to help their holy ones.

It had been but an hour- less- since Hermes himself had descended to deliver the damning message of the gods. Batman and his closest- Selina, Dick, Robin...- prepared to return to America, even if but for a short sojourn. There was much to do, including assembling the Titans in the call to action.

Khadija would not be leaving her grandson out of her sight, not for a moment.

It was as she started on Hippolyta, hands on hips and eyebrows harsh, that Damian crumbled. He fell to the floor, stopped only from hitting the solid marble by Raven's instinctive magic around his form, easing the drop. The witch ran to his side, dropping to his level and holding a glowing hand over his forehead.

Khadija was opposite her a second later, calling Damian's name to rouse him. She received no response. Batman and Dick joined those assembled around the boy, fretting and demanding answers. Khadija ordered Raven to move her hand from his forehead and placed the index and middle fingers of each hand to his temples, her eyes taking the signature all-encompassing glow of magic.

Batman knelt besides his son's girlfriend, "What happened? Is this magic?"

In a quiet voice as smooth as a clear, running stream, the warrior sorceress leaned over her grandson's body and spoke to the two, "It's Anubis, without a doubt. Damian is bound to Anubis- their auras are in most areas intertwined. I know this kind of godly bond and, Raven, you've likely done your research in to it." She frowned and tried to drown out the concerned babble behind her. "The gods' realms are under attack and Anubis carries a spirit of the duat. If he's crumbled so...then we can only presume the Egyptians are falling to the God-Eater..."

"What does that mean for Damian?" The man asked, meeting her eye with profound melancholia. "My son has collapsed- I need answers."

Raven's empathic second sight looked in to the metaphysical: the smoky blackness of the death-god's aura seeped in to Damian's fiery emeralds and mellow flames. And within those domains of being, the empath perceived the currents of emotion as they interacted with one another, changing direction and growing stronger with the changing moods. Anubis's blackness was greying. Damian's currents remained flowing in his comatose state.

Emotional manipulation was a talent that the witch could exercise if she so needed. She could reach a spiritual hand between the meeting points of the currents and separate them, moulding and patching as she liked. If Raven could part these intricate membranes of feeling, divide a million small rivers at once, could she not then part the sea?

Khadija voiced that verbal conclusion just as Raven came upon the thought.

The sorceress' face brightened, "Raven, dear cambion, your empathic abilities far surpass even my years of experience- I sense that much. I see
the auras as you do, fellow witch," she gave the first inklings of a smile, "if we could split the consciences as you would the emotions...surely that might recover Damian. The two wouldn't be unbound but it could relieve him of the pressure of a dying god."

Raven ran over the clear countenance of her love. She rechecked the currents of his aura and wondered if he dreamed- if so, what did he dream of? She would like to have thought that he dreamed of their tender moments sitting together on the sofa, reading with Titus sprawled across them, or the both of them huddled over  The Modern Mage's Manual at the kitchen table, clasping mugs of tea. Damian's dreams had a tendency to be extremely polarised: harsh sweating torturous episodes of old memories; serene floating whimsies of nothingness- green fields and pattering rain. She hoped it was more the latter and, upon a much later midnight reflection, thought it much nicer that he drift in blissful serenity than dream of life (lovely though their time together was).

Raven assured the both of them that she would do her best, which had to be enough. The calmness across his face was a disconcerting peace.

As Khadija was summoned away, she gave Raven's hand a reassuring squeeze.

The witch closed her eyes and whispered her mantra, positioning her essence over the seam joining Damian to the god.

***
Jessica stared around the room at all the expectant faces, glad that the ring would be doing all the talking for her. The recollections of the Guardian's were vast, encompassing a time millennia ago when the God-Eater was caged.

To understand how and why the God-Eater was created is to understand the balance of the universe. For every force in the world, there is an automatic counterpart, it's inadvertent, inverted equal; not always noticed, often of other realms entirely, but existing all the same.

Thus, the creation- the existence- of the gods too created their opposites. But the creation of the divine is a complicated science, more essence and feeling than concrete muscle and bone. The bane of the gods was not multiple, but a single entity, ravenous, immense. And as powerful as their combined forces.

The first time the God-Eater was found, it had tracked the godly scent from a dank corner of primitive Hell. Those were the days of vengeful floods and upturned cities against the disbelievers. So when the creature passed through the veil and in to the mortal realm, the celestial hand descended and cursed the creature- that it's gelatinous nature be frozen like stone and it's strength fall to low human blows- so that the mortals might subdued it. Their magical arts had them cast the creature in to the deepest space, within a cage dimension of its own.

But by the time Darkseid had broken the God-Eater out, the kingdom had long since lifted its touch from man's world. There would be no help from above.

"What the heck can we do then?" Selina Kyle was the first to speak, following the supposed end of the ring's explanation (obviously a much more factual affair than the dramatised version related through the author). "The ring's just said that this God-Eater is a strong as aaaall of the gods put together...in one body. And if it just goes for the gods that means that Darkseid plans to take the Earth once the gods are out of the way."

"That does make sense." Superman frowned. "Darkseid is not something we want to deal with at all...he might not attack if the first step fails..."

Next to him, Khadija folded her arms strategising, "Their forces are all split while the creature's power is completely centralised. That works heavily against them in this instance."

Unfamiliar with godly magic, Selina asked why that was, considering their number could all attack the creature at once, while it could only focus its efforts so far.

"The gods are all derived of godly energy, exiting in multiple personalities but holding very much the same essence. Aphrodite and Hathor and Áine... same spirit, different expression. When these personalities interact, it is borderline paradoxical. But the personalities retain the ability to concentrate in to one power: the three goddesses may all become divine love itself if they so push themselves-"

The discussion continued, whilst the God-Eater broke through the gates of Olympus. Superman remained silent, thinking of what Robin's grandmother had said. If they were all of the same godly stuff originally, then were divided in to groups like 'controls lightening' and 'oversees death', then split in to their own personalities...could the process be reversed all the way?

The God-Eater was all of their equal, not beyond that.

Superman voiced his thoughts to the wizened warrior, with a polite interjection. She placed a hand on his shoulder and Clark was surprised to find her almost as tall as he was- and far more humbling to stand before. She patted his arm and smiled, "I shall make a disciple of you yet young man, that is exactly it! We must unite the gods."

A.N:

Ooh we're still moving on with the storyline at a bit of a snail's pace- but that's okay, I enjoy taking my time with this.
Well I hope you liked this chapter my darlings! I've got nothing more to say other than thank you and I love you!

-Bats :)