When Sam's feet touched the ground he was standing in front of an old but beautifully designed white Baptist Church that must have been abandoned for a while since the paint was starting to flake off.
Sam didn't have much time to marvel at its architecture before Castiel and Michael were on either side of him.
"Lucifer is expecting us." Michael frowned and narrowed his eyes.
Before Sam could ask him if he was having second thoughts about attacking Lucifer right away Michael started walking up the steps to the church's massive front doors. His head was held high and he moved with purpose. Michael was still confident he would win the battle even without the element of surprise because he was still in a better position than Lucifer. Dean had said yes and Sam had said no.
Sam glanced at Castiel and the angel's expression reminded him of Dean whenever he was about to charge right into danger. Sam liked to call it his "What the Hell" expression. Sam wasn't surprised Castiel had picked it up.
Castiel pulled out the angel knife he always carried in his trenchcoat and Sam followed the action by taking Ruby's knife out of his jacket.
"Ready?" Castiel asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Sam answered as he wished mentally that he had the Colt. It could have come to great use in the fight.
Sam and Castiel climbed the steps together and entered the church on the heels of Michael.
The inside of the church was almost pristine. Besides the dust the place was in great shape and the windows that let in patches of sunlight brightened the mostly dark place. It seemed odd to find Lucifer there, his back turned to them as he stood at the front alter staring at the crucifix that was hanging upside down on the wall before him. Sam secretly wondered if he had flipped it over himself or if it had already been that way.
"Hello, brother," Lucifer said almost casually as he turned around to face the doors where Michael, Sam, and Castiel were standing. "Or should I say brothers?" he corrected himself his pale eyes focusing on Castiel for a moment.
Neither Michael nor Castiel spoke back. The air was tense, and Sam noticed that the sunlight wasn't shining into the church anymore. A cloud was blocking it.
"So this is it, huh?" Lucifer sighed. "You are so set in your ways you cannot see my point of view; you want to kill me? At least we can fight on fair grounds since you brought Sam to me?"
"I will never say yes to you!" Sam protested.
Michael followed with "I did not bring him here to force Sam to agree to be your vessel. He's chosen his side and wants to help fight you and your blasphemous creations."
Lucifer began walking towards him looking almost sad. "You cannot even be fair then? You hate me that much, brother, that you won't even give me the same chances as you have?"
"You've had your chances," Michael said as he took a step forward. "God was willing to forgive you for not listening to Him until you created Lilith. And I…I was willing to forgive you until you began going through the motions of raising the Horsemen instead of coming to me for forgiveness. You have not learned your lesson, you continue to kill for fun, and you want to take God's place. No matter what happens Lucifer let me tell you this: You will never be Him. You will never have that kind of power, you will never be that…"
"Loved?" Lucifer finished. "I never wanted love, Michael. It was never my forte."
Michael's eyes narrowed even more. Lucifer was only two yards away. To have him so close made Sam nervous, fearful. He still could hear his bones snapping. Sam began holding onto Ruby's knife so tight his knuckles became white.
Lucifer grinned and looked up at the balcony above Sam, Michael, and Castiel so they looked up as well.
From above four demons jumped into the small group and knocked Sam and Castiel to the ground as Lucifer charged the distracted Michael. He tossed him into the wall and Michael slumped to the ground.
Sam and Castiel meanwhile stood up and began punching and kicking the demons that surrounded them. They took turns stabbing them as Lucifer grabbed Michael by his throat and threw him into a bench. "You know for an angel in his true vessel-you're still so weak."
Michael spat blood and rammed himself into Lucifer. After they had fallen to the ground Michael began punching Lucifer as more angels and demons stormed into the church. All hell was breaking loose.
Just as Sam had finished killing the fourth demon another came up from behind him to try and strangle him. Sam dropped Ruby's knife and struggled to grab the demon's hands. When Sam broke from the death grip he flipped the creature over his back to the hard floor. Then he kneeled on the ground to take the knife again and shove it into the demon's chest. Yellow light flashed and Sam quickly stood to stab another demon that was fighting Castiel in the neck. As the demon fell Castiel gave Sam a nod and they turned away from each other to fight others.
Demons weren't the only creatures to worry about. Two angels vesseling a strawberry blonde female and an Asian male were attacking their fellow angels. Michael's allies weren't the only angels in the building.
Castiel teleported to the male and stabbed him in the neck before he could kill anymore angels but he couldn't reach the blonde before a demon knocked him to the ground.
Michael and Lucifer, meanwhile, were back on their feet and using their telekinesis abilities to throw each other into whatever they could see. A window, a statue, the benches, and the wooden alter.
"Lucifer surrender now and I will spare your life," Michael panted as he stood above Lucifer after throwing the Church's alter on him.
Lucifer was crumpled over in pain but he looked up to Michael and hissed, "Never."
He tripped Michael with his right foot and Michael fell onto his knees. They both stood again in unison and Lucifer flung Michael into a white column causing it to break. Michael groaned, but Lucifer had only taken one more step before Michael threw Lucifer into a second pillar which almost broke off.
"I wish I didn't have to do this brother but you leave me no choice," Michael breathed as he raised his knife.
Lucifer was weakening quicker then Michael. His vessel, Nick, was very broken and his skin was covered in cuts. He could not stand before Michael was upon him and it took all his strength to prevent Michael from stabbing him.
Lucifer wasn't going to give up. With all his strength he tossed Michael off of him into another column and the building groaned. It was becoming unsteady without all the support it had once had before the battle had begun. Michael and Lucifer were too busy to care, but Sam heard it, and it worried him.
"We have to get out of here," Sam told Castiel. "The roof's going to collapse."
Castiel kicked a demon in the knees and stabbed it with Ruby's knife. "Go now."
"What about you?" Sam inquired.
"Go! I'll be fine!" Castiel growled.
Sam nodded and sprinted for the door but the strawberry blonde angel hit into him causing him to fall.
He saw Castiel appear behind the rogue angel but she heard him and twisted her body around to stop the knife Castiel was about to shove into her spine.
She then tossed Castiel into the wall and he slid down onto his knees. He looked up and found that the blonde was standing over him, her knife at ready. She swung at him when their eyes met.
"No!" Sam screamed.
He flung himself at the angel and they fell to the ground. The blonde angel was furious. She threw Sam into one of the fallen pillars and his head smacked into it. Sam grimaced and raised his hands to hold his throbbing head.
"Are you always so foolish?" the strawberry blonde inquired as she stepped towards him.
"Are you?" a voice returned.
The female angel gasped as a knife slid through her throat. She fell and Sam saw that it was Castiel who'd done the deed.
"Cas…"
Before Sam could say anything more Castiel collapsed onto the ground. Sam noticed that he'd attacked the blonde too late. Castiel had been stabbed on his left side by the blonde angel's knife.
"Cas!" Sam scrambled to his friend's side and helped him sit up against a broken column.
"I'm fine," Castiel winced.
"Don't lie to me!" Sam yelled. "Just days ago you told me and Dean that you can't heal angel knife wounds anymore. That they can kill you even if you're not stabbed through the neck so don't lie!"
Just then Michael tossed Lucifer into another column and it crumbled to the ground. The roof moaned and it began to crack.
"I gotta get you out of here," Sam announced as he wrapped his right arm around Castiel's shoulders.
Castiel didn't try to stand. "Leave me here," he said.
"No, I'm not going to," Sam argued.
"Please Sam, you won't survive if the church falls."
"Dean will kill me if I leave you behind," Sam said in return.
Castiel starred up at him.
"That's right," Sam nodded. "He cares, and I care. You've saved us many times and we don't want you to die. So get up."
And Castiel did. Sam supported him as they limped to the door. As they finally walked out into the daylight the church creaked and shifted. Sam heard wood crack and the building started tumbling down. Sam and Castiel watched with weary eyes as in a matter of seconds the structure became rumble.
When it was over, Sam leaned Castiel against a lamp pole. The angel sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Castiel, Cas, stay awake!" Sam begged as he shook his shoulders.
Castiel opened his eyes halfway, and Sam sighed in relief.
"I'll figure out a way to get you somewhere I can treat your wound," Sam promised.
Castiel nodded and coughed. Blood came to his lips. It scared Sam. He and Castiel hadn't always gotten along, but he was still his friend.
Sam was about to spring into action when he saw out of the corner of his eye someone standing up in the rumble that was the church. He turned quickly to face the man fearing it would be Lucifer.
Sam gasped. It wasn't Lucifer but rather Michael. He was moving towards Sam. He had a slight limp and there were cuts on his face but he was otherwise unscathed.
Sam was speechless. All he could do was stare at Michael as he approached.
It was only when Michael was close that Sam remembered that Castiel needed help and spoke up. "Heal him, please."
Michael glanced at Sam wearily and then at Castiel as his cuts disappeared from his face. "I can't promise anything."
Michael kneeled beside Castiel and laid his right hand over Castiel's bloody side. Sam watched anticipating a light to come out from it or something, but nothing happened.
"Why isn't it working?" Sam demanded.
"I'm too weak," Michael said sadly to Sam then looked at Castiel. "I can't help you. I am sorry."
Sam shook his head. This couldn't be happening.
"I can't do anything more here," Michael told Sam. "Lucifer has been defeated for good."
"Then let Dean go," Sam requested.
Michael gave him a nod and Dean's body began lighting up. Sam closed his eyes and when he reopened them it was Dean who was looking down at him, not the angel who had possessed him just seconds before.
"What happened?" Dean asked with confusion in his voice.
Before Sam could answer Dean's gaze fell upon Castiel whose eyes had closed.
"Cas!" Dean kneeled next to the angel and tried shaking him awake but it didn't work.
Sam checked Castiel's breath and his pulse. He realized the angel wasn't breathing and his heart wasn't beating anymore.
"Sam, we have to do something!" Dean shouted.
Sam looked up into Dean's eyes with sadness and a heavy heart. "He's gone, Dean."
Dean gaped. "There must be something we can do."
Sam heard sirens in the distance. The police were coming.
"Dean we have to go," Sam told his brother as he grabbed Ruby's knife from Castiel's opened right hand. "We can't be here when the cops arrive. We have no way of explaining everything."
"No," Dean protested as Sam stood up. "We're not just going to leave him here."
"Dean please," Sam begged. "We have to hurry."
Dean tore his eyes away from Castiel to glance at Sam's expression then he looked back at the angel's empty vessel. He closed his eyes for a moment, reopened them, and stood quietly.
"Follow me," Sam said.
Dean glanced at Castiel one last time and looked back up slowly to nod at Sam.
Then, together, they ran away from the approaching sirens.
