"I've got something."
Everyone stopped what they were doing. Sara set down the book she'd furiously been leafing through, and Gavin looked over the pile of books in front of him. Alex looked up from her laptop, where she'd been searching through artifact directories. Even Roland glanced over from where he was talking quietly with Camille. Eight hours of reading and searching for clues had everyone irritable and desperate.
Claire held up the handwritten journal she'd been trying to decipher.
"Does it say something about a Hand?" Gavin asked, pulling his hair off his face and into a messy ponytail.
"Not exactly. This is a log of items back from the last time Lucifer was out. Most of the stuff is pretty detailed but this just says 'Nevada Crypt, various religious paraphernalia.'"
Camille frowned, taking the journal and glancing at it. "I know this crypt," she said. "It's one of the smaller ones, nothing Lucifer was ever concerned with. I doubt he even knows where it is."
"It's better than anything we've got so far," Gavin supplied.
"It can't hurt to at least check it out," Alex agreed.
"It's too dangerous," Roland said bluntly, standing. "I'll go myself."
"You don't even know what to look for," Claire argued.
"Do you?" the demon retorted, and Claire narrowed her eyes but decided she liked Roland the Demon.
"I'll go," Sara said, standing. "I guess somehow I'll know where or what it is."
"I can force you to stay here," Roland told her.
"You could," she replied simply. "Or you could come with me and we could help my father together."
The demon had to admire her courage and determination. With a glance at Camille, who gave a defeated shrug, he looked back at her, and nodded.
It took about four hours to get to the crypt, which was hidden beneath an old, broken down church on the outskirts of a small town. It was late, but there were no stars or moon visible, and it was totally quiet save for the far off rumble of thunder. Sara shuddered at the ominous sound.
Camille parked the SUV and everyone exited the vehicle, armed and more than ready for a fight. Everyone looked at Sara, who looked uncomfortable.
"What?" she demanded.
"Do you . . . you know," Alex started. "Feel anything?"
"No," Sara said, annoyed with herself. "I don't know how it works. How am I supposed to know if we're . . . close . . ." her eyes widened slightly as she caught a glance of the back of her hand. Her veins were pulsing a very faint red glow under her skin. She quickly ripped off her jacket and looked at her arms, revealing more of the same pulsing light.
"Rad," Claire said, but she was obviously nervous. "You're like a human lava lamp."
"Shut up, Claire." Sara took a deep breath. "I guess we must be close."
"I'll keep watch out here," Roland said, standing by the gap where the church door used to be. "If you need something just shout."
Sara nodded, and followed Camille into the church.
"It's just up here," the demon said, stopping in front of a large statue of the Mother Mary. Camille took a step back before slamming her foot into the statue. It cracked in half, and Camille pushed it the rest of the way over.
"That was pretty awesome," Claire said finally, breaking the awkward silence as the others stared at Camille with awe.
Camille looked amused. "Come on."
She opened the trap door the statue had sat upon, and led them down an ancient looking stone staircase until she reached a large wooden door. She pushed it open, and the girls and Gavin flipped on their flashlights.
"Here," Camille said, lighting the torches that hung on the walls. The room was illuminated with light, allowing them to see just how much stuff was in the crypt. Crates and barrels were everywhere and shelves were lined with dusty artifacts and boxes.
"It'll take forever to go through all of this!" Claire complained.
"No, I don't think it will," Gavin said, staring at Sara.
Sara looked down at herself, finding that the pulsing glow had turned into a swirling golden-red light. Her arms shook violently with the tension and pressure inside her, and she felt a painful stabbing behind her eyes, head pounding.
Her knees started to shake, and Gavin caught her before she went down. Sara leaned against him, breathing heavily.
"We don't have to do this," Gavin told her quietly. "If this is hurting you we can turn around and leave. You're not obligated to do any of this."
"I'm fine," she gritted through her teeth. She looked around, stopping when her eyes blurred for a moment before landing on an object that emitted the same eerie glow as her veins.
She pushed herself up and towards an ancient looking chest. There was a heavy lock on it, and she glanced at it.
"I have some bolt cutters in my backpack," Gavin said. "I'll run up to the car and grab them."
In response, Sara grabbed the lock in her fist and ripped it off in one fluid movement, tossing it aside.
No one said anything for several long moments. Of course, Claire was the first one to speak.
"I'm sorry I called you a lava lamp."
Sara smiled through the pain. You could always count on Claire to lighten the mood.
Sara lifted the lid of the chest. Inside was something wrapped in old cloths, and she pulled them aside, revealing a coiled bronze snake. Blinking, she started to reach for it.
Camille suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Don't touch it," she warned. "Whoever touches the Hand will absorb its power; in your current condition there's no telling what it could do to you."
"Don't worry – I'll take it off your hands for you."
Sara spun around, and Camille stepped in front of her, drawing an angel blade. Claire lifted her blade, too, and Gavin and Alex cocked their guns.
Lucifer leaned against the door, hands shoved in his pockets and looking relaxed, if not amused.
"I wasn't expecting to find the Powerpuff Girls and Friends," Lucifer continued. "But boy am I glad I did. This makes things so much easier – what's that saying, killing two birds with one really sharp knife or something?"
"Run," Camille told Sara, never taking her glance off Lucifer. "Get yourselves out of here. I'll take care of him."
Lucifer raised his eyebrows at her, withdrawing his hand from his pocket and snapping his fingers.
With a terrible snap, Camille's back broke completely in half. She collapsed to the floor, but at the last moment poured out of the vessel in a cloud of black smoke, disappearing.
"Go tell you demon friends Daddy's back in town!" Lucifer called after her. He looked back at Sara. "So, you're the little hellspawn? Well, you're certainly not what I was expecting. What are you, sixteen? Seventeen? Put that gun back in its holster, Claire," he added loudly, glancing across the room to where Claire was slowly drawing her own pistol. "You know better."
Gavin cursed and Alex cried out as their weapons were thrown from their hands. With a wave of his hand, Lucifer knocked all three of them back. They slammed into the walls, crates and barrels collapsing.
Sara spun around, reaching for the Hand. She cried out as Lucifer appeared behind her, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanking her away from it.
"You don't look so good, kiddo," he told her, grabbing her wrist. When he touched her, the glow flared and Sara gasped, feeling as though her blood was boiling inside her body. Her heart was beating so fast and hard that it was painful, and she tasted blood in her mouth briefly, as though she were choking on it. "That's just a preview of what I'll do to you if you don't cooperate," Lucifer warned Sara.
Claire rolled over, ignoring the sharp pain of her bumps and bruises. She desperately felt for a weapon, her hand landing on Gavin's sawed off; she picked it up, aimed, and fired.
Lucifer let go, sending Sara tumbling backwards. Lucifer was bleeding steadily, the flesh blasted off of half his face. He looked angrily at Claire as she rushed towards him, angel blade in hand. He tossed her aside easily, and she landed roughly against the ground. Alex fired off several rounds into Lucifer's stomach, and he looked annoyed as he threw her backwards, slamming her face into the wall. She fell to the ground unconscious, and Lucifer glanced at Gavin as he rushed to load his gun. Lucifer knocked him back, trapping him as a pile of rubble fell over on top of him.
Sara reached for Camille's angel blade, wrapping her hand around it, but Lucifer snatched it from her and lifted her by the front of her shirt, slamming her against the wall. His face oozed blood from the raw shotgun wound, and he was obviously enraged that things weren't going to plan.
"I really wanted Crowley to be present when I tortured the living will out of you," he remarked, so eerily calm it was horrific. "But I guess this'll have to do."
Sara screamed as he shoved the angel blade through her shoulder. Gasping for breath, the wound flashing as though she'd been electrocuted. Her head spun and she reached for the blade, but Lucifer twisted it and she cried out again.
Claire slammed the butt of her gun against Lucifer's head, and he dropped Sara, turning and shoving Claire back effortlessly. She fired a shot, and it went through Lucifer's stomach, but he hardly stumbled.
Sara stumbled to her feet, yanking the blade from her shoulder and trying to catch her breath. Claire was coming at Lucifer again, but he backhanded with ease, pulling an angel blade from his coat and standing over her. Sara attacked madly, swinging the angel blade with both hands, only for it to collide with Lucifer's. Their blades slammed into each others, sending sparks into the air. Lucifer glared at Sara's blade and it burned hot, blistering the skin off her hands, but she ground her teeth and held on. Lucifer looked shocked, and the blade grew hotter. Sara pushed it forward, slamming it into Lucifer's arm. It only scratched him but he still hissed with pain, knocking it away.
For the moment Sara had to glance around, it was like time slowed. All her friends were down. Alex was lying unconscious on the ground, face caked in blood. Gavin was trying to push the rubble off of himself, working around the pain of his cracking ribs. Claire was trying to roll over and get back up, holding her arm.
Seeing her friends like this did something to Sara. Maybe it was courage, or strength, or some other cheesy bullshit like that - but whatever it was, it fueled her to stand up and come up with a plan. She glanced at the bronze snake, still coiled in the chest. She dove towards it, grabbing the chest and tilting it towards her.
Lucifer's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing. "No!" he screamed as Sara wrapped her hand around the Hand of God.
If Sara had been feeling scared, or angry, or hurt, it dissipated quickly. Her emotions were replaced with pure power as she stood up straight, eyes turning black, and then shining gold. Her entire body literally pulsed with energy as she looked towards Lucifer, who was looking frightened.
Sara smiled, but it soon turned into a sneer. With an angry shout, Sara slammed her arms out, hands connecting with Lucifer's chest. Ribs broke like glsass under her fingers and Lucifer's eyes widened as he was slammed backwards with a force strong enough to send him into the wall across the crypt, shaking the building on top and dropping stone and rubble on him. Sara felt something ripple through her and she slammed the power against Lucifer again, snapping his head and limbs backwards as the pressure pressed down on him. Blood vessels popped in his eyes and face as he struggled against the pressure. He reached for his blade.
There was a sudden flash of blinding white light, and Lucifer disappeared.
Breathing heavily as her body returned to normal, Sara looked around. Alex was still out cold, and Gavin was helping Claire to stand. Confused on what had happened, she looked around for an explanation.
Her father stood at the entrance, bloody hand pressed against a banishing sigil.
"Dad," Sara breathed. She started to take a step towards him, when the overwhelming sense of exhaustion and pain swept over her. Her knees shook and gave out, and she felt herself start to fall, head swimming and vision blurring. Someone caught her, and she blinked a few times, looking up at her father.
"Hi," she said weakly.
"Sara," he sighed, brushing some blood matted hair out of her face. "Somewhere, your mother is cursing my name."
Sara smiled. "Are Camille and Roland okay?"
"Beat nearly to death and you're worried about the hired help. Yes, darling, they'll be fine once they get back into their bodies."
"That's good . . ." she drifted off into unconsciousness as she spoke, wondering how long she was going to be grounded for when she woke up.