Behind Semila and Natasha towered the portal. The blue and orange energy rippling from it moved in strange, unnatural patterns. This portal wasn't like the rift in time they had just used to go to the hospital. That one had been abnormal, more like a tear in the space-time continuum than an actual portal. They had travelled to another time, but Sem wasn't sure how they had done it. As far as she knew, only John could travel through time that way. Not even Anubis could do that.

Semila's muscles trembled and she closed her eyes for a second. The cuts were bleeding, and the bruises she'd obtained throbbed a dull ache all over her. She had one half-dissolved boot on, stained sock peeking past the toes of the boot, and her white t-shirt had torn in a few places, not to mention the fucking demon blood and ichor all over her jeans and face. She knew she wouldn't have time to heal herself now. That took prayer and quiet time, and she didn't have any time for that now what with all of hell out to get her.

So Sem breathed deep and steeled herself to the inevitable. She'd have to join the fight. She took a step forward, but Natasha grabbed her shoulder.

'Sem, no.'

The Dark One now looked more haggard, with demon blood and ichor on him. The cavern was a mess, piles of disintegrating bodies, ash, smoke, and a godawful stink, and this Dark One just kept pelting waves of demons back with the energy balls. Demons of every size and kind imaginable.

'We should go through the portal now, Sem. Fighting here isn't gonna do us any good. The Dark One will defend the portal until we are through.'

Sem didn't like it, trusting her safety to a man who could wield such dark and terrible power. 'I don't like this,' she said.

'Don't you trust me by now?' Natasha asked.

Sem snorted. 'And why would I do that? You're on their side, Natasha. You nearly got me fucking killed earlier!'

For a moment Natasha stood silent, staring down, and removed her hand from Sem's shoulder. 'That wasn't supposed to happen.'

'Yeah, sure,' Sem said, summoning her knife.

'We should go through the portal though, angel. Isn't that why you came here in the first place?'

Though she hated to admit it, the succubus had a point. They had come to go through the portal and get John the photo. 'Fuck,' she growled, and waved a hand, her knife disappearing. 'Okay, let's do this. How does it work?'

The succubus smiled and hooked her arm around Sem's shoulder. 'Let me show you.'

They turned towards the portal, but a shadow engulfed them.

'I don't think so,' said what Sem assumed must be one of Shank's buddies. He had a similar look to him, the inexplicably colossal body, heavy armour, a fire sword, and this one had a fire helm too that lit and burned, as if his face was burning. Was this a flame demon, maybe?

'Satan spare us,' Natasha mumbled, and Sem took a moment to scowl at her.

'This is bad.'

'Flame demon?' Sem asked.

'No.' The succubus tugged her daggers from their holsters and rolled her shoulders. 'My pet, give me full body armour, the tight one with the interlocking scales and the open-eyed helm.'

The sheen warped from t-shirt, jacket, jeans and boots to full gold-plated body armour that made Natasha's green eyes glow.

Sem stared. Fucking weird things happened in Hell, and that was saying something coming from her. 'So what is he?' she asked.

Just then the thing took a grating step forward and spat flames straight at her. She felt the heat searing the skin on the back of her upper arm as she leapt away. The jacket material was melting into her skin, so she tugged it off, roaring in pain.

Natasha growled a low, feral growl and threw her dagger at the thing's eye. The beast caught the dagger easily, twirled it, and threw it back at Natasha with unbelievable force and speed. Natasha dove out of the way just in time, and had to leap across a large lava pool in that instant to compensate for the sudden momentum.

'He is Molech,' Natasha shouted. Molech swiped his sword at her and she dove aside. 'Lord of flames, the false god who wants for burned human flesh.' She leapt backwards as another stream of flames shot from the monstrosity. 'We have a bit of previous, Molech and I. I'm guessing,' she shouted as she back flipped away from another deadly stream of flame, 'that he has come for a bit of payback.'

'Payback for what?' Sem asked as she took a step towards the succubus.

The succubus dodged backwards, just avoiding the sword edge. 'Stealing a part of his essence!' Another jet of flame sailed past her face. 'I bound them to the gauntlets Twelve was wearing.' She rolled to one side and cast a glance at the pool Twelve had fallen into earlier.

'Holy shit,' Sem breathed. She summoned her knife and took a deep breath. Her reddened arm was burning like this fucking hell hole, and it only served to piss her off further. Anubis had said it would be fucking unguarded for fuck's sake.

Molech roared and swung his sword at her, but Sem dove sideways. He advanced, stepping too close for comfort, burning heat radiating in a wide circumference around him. Natasha jumped with a yell and jabbed a dagger in his shoulder, distracting him for a fraction of a second. The move gave Sem time to get out of his reach. Leaving the dagger where it was, Natasha leapt away and Molech spewed flames in her direction. The flames engulfed her, golden armour and all. Sem wondered whether the sheen was flammable as she ran back a few more steps, trying hard to think of a plan.

When the flames stopped they revealed Natasha pelting further. Her armour glowed like hot coals, but she seemed none the worse for wear. She was out of reach of Molech's breath. They had to kill this Molech, and they had to do it now. Every breath he took meant fire, and he was colossal. Did he even have any weaknesses?! 'Fuck,' she spat and charged again. Go for the feet, right? He wore plated boots somewhat like the sabatons and greaves the la-de-da Angels wore, ones like her father wore.

'Dark one' Natasha shouted, 'can you pull the Sentinel from the pool?'

The man didn't turn, he was too busy throwing balls of death at anything that moved. One ball stopped and hovered above the pool of lava where Twelve had fallen, it grew to the size of a large man, and slipped into the pool's fiery depths.

Molech moved forward, cutting off Sem and Natasha. He took a deep breath, his barrelled chest nearly doubling in size.

'Get behind me Sem,' Natasha shouted. 'I will absorb most of the heat for you.'

Sem dove behind the armoured devil, shielding her face from the heat to come.

The Dark One turned, a blueish-white ball in his hands. 'Molech,' he shouted, 'catch!' He threw the ball with both hands, and turned back to the rest of Hell.

The ball travelled as fast as an arrow, freezing the walls of Hell as it sped to its intended target. Molech turned, catching the ball full in the chest. The flames on his body died to wisps as the cold worked itself along the demigod's body. He turned back to Natasha and Sem, taking lumbering steps forward as he reached out, intent on squashing the succubus' head. Ice crystals formed along his body, and he slowed to a stop inches away from the pair, frozen in place like a monstrous statue.

Sem peered from behind Natasha's golden armour. 'What the fuck just happened?'

Natasha looked at the Dark One and smiled. 'You see Semila' -- A hint of pride entered her voice-- 'he is more powerful than you could imagine!'

The demons were hiding behind anything they could find now, desperate to avoid the black balls of death, hissing and jabbering among themselves. The Dark One stood with shoulders slumped, breathing hard. Nothing moved for a few tense moments, then the Dark One's hands moved as if conducting an orchestra, and demons before him leapt from rock to sheltering rock. A man-sized black orb shot out of the flaming pool, gushing a wave of lava which threatened to cover the Dark One where he stood. Another blueish-white ball shot from the Dark One's hands, solidifying the lava inches from his face.

The man-shaped black orb hurtled against the cavern wall, cracking like an egg. Out of it sprawled Twelve, glowing as red as the lava itself. Semila gasped. It couldn't be. Who was this Dark One?! She squinted at him, frowning.

Twelve slowly rose to his feet, shook his limbs, and walked over to Natasha, each step hissing against the cold floor of hell which had been frozen by the Dark One's ice ball.

'Good to see you Twelve,' Natasha said. 'It really is. I'd give you a hug but I feel you need to cool down a tad.' She smiled up at the glowing sentinel as he neared. 'Now big boy, if you wouldn't mind, this troublesome demigod needs a good thumping.'

Twelve looked behind the golden-armoured Succubus. 'It is good to see you alive Sem.' He gave her a smile and she blinked away tears. Then he turned and punched Molech. A crack appeared down Molech's jaw, spread down his neck and torso with a loud cracking noise, then sputtered to a stop at the groin. Semila crouched, mouth agape as she watched Twelve, glowing red, walking and talking.

Natasha walked forwards and placed a jewelled dagger blade in the chest crack. She gave a slight twist, and Molech split in two. The two halves of his body toppled sideways and shattered into a thousand pieces as they hit the cold floor of Hell.

Natasha turned to Sem and shrugged her shoulders. 'Huh. Well I never!' She stepped over the pieces of the demigod and towards the portal.

The sound of bells permeated the cavern, and all at once the demons backed off, running and scraping away into their tunnels, screeching and jabbering. Sem stopped dead when she saw the fear on Natasha's face.

'Do you hear that, boy?' Shank's voice sounded from further down the cavern, out of view. 'That is the master, he's coming for you boy, he'll eat your fucking soul. Yours too angel, daughter of Gabriel. And you, the traitorous succubus, you will be given to me and I will torture you for eternity. You will beg for a death that will not come, I guarantee it.' His voice faltered and spluttered into hacking coughs.

The Dark One laughed, cold and empty. 'I thought you were dead Shank, you must have fast healers with you. Tell your master to come, I do not fear him. I think it's the other way around, he fears me. Why else would he send his cohorts and not deal with me himself? Tell me Shank, will you kneel and give fealty to me when the time comes?'

The Dark One took a step back towards Natasha. 'Go Natasha,' he said in a low voice, 'I cannot hold Satan off for long.' Natasha faltered as she walked. 'But you said-'

'I know what I said, but just not at this moment. Go, go now and get the damn photo!'

Natasha bowed her head. 'Yes Dark One, as you command.'

She turned to Sem and grabbed her hand. 'Come, it's time Semila.' With that she dragged the angel toward the portal. The cavern shook, throwing both angel and succubus to their knees. 'He's here!' Natasha said, her eyes wide with fear. Sem tried to stand, but the fear was too much. She stayed low, as if bowing to the new evil that had arrived. Two large and rather hot hands picked them up, Twelve walked to the portal and threw the two women through. The last thing she saw was a man, red, in the centre of the cavern facing the mysterious partner of the Succubus.