Last chapter for this year and it ends with a big bang!

See you next year with a brand new chapter ;).

Chapter 33

Only slowly Dean regained consciousness.

His eyes took some time to get used to the pale light of his environment.

He heard voices, screams...

Next to him something broke, on his other side something was thrown against the wall and briefly a pair of feet appeared in front of his eyes, which disappeared so quickly from his sight, as they had come.

Pain, so much pain inside his body, just like a parasite which ate its way through his body, his muscles hardened and his senses clouded. Sweat stood out on his forehead, covered the rest of his battered body. He tasted blood in his mouth and when he tried to move, he gasped as the pain threatened to overwhelm him.

Yet he fought bravely against it, and he made it to open his eyes completely after several attempts.

What he saw made his eyes widen in shock!

The pure chaos reigned in the room in which he found himself.

Furniture was destroyed around him, blood covered the walls and the floor and here and there he saw white, black and golden feathers that covered the ground and mingled with the blood.

It looked like a scene from a terrible horror movie!

Only laboriously Dean managed to get to his feet again and he almost jumped out of his skin, when a loud "DEAN!" sounded in his ears, and only a little later a strong arm was put around his shoulders and steadied him.

Beside him stood Sam and fear was visible in his eyes.

Fear, that mingled briefly with relief.

Relief, that his brother was awake again.

"S-Sam?"

Talking was difficult for him, because his body was still dominated by pain, but relief was now also to be seen in his eyes. He was glad to see his brother, was glad that he was still alive, because he had already expected the worst when he saw all the blood on the walls and on the floor.

"Don't talk Dean. Save your strength, we have to get out of here!"

"W-where...where...is Bobby?"

"He's safe. Gabriel took care of it. I will tell you everything later. Come now, we must get out of here immediately!"

Sam's words sounded in his ears, as if they were coming from far away.

He cared for nothing more in his surroundings, when he made the first steps and his eyes finally saw the reason for this mess, as he stepped out of the house.

Outside, in front of the house, seemed to rule a veritable war.

A war in which heaven and hell fought a fierce battle!

He saw Gabriel, how he was fighting against a crowd of bloodthirsty demons.

Here he beat some of them down to the ground with his golden wings, there he forced another down with an aimed blow on the back of his head and there he slit another's throat open with his archangel sword that the demon died with a loud scream on his lips. But other demons pounced on him and tried to kill him and Gabriel could hardly fight against them, because he was too weak already. It had taken all of his strength for being able to bring at least Bobby in security. Sam had insisted that he should save the rest of his forces to be able to help Castiel and Sam would take care of his big brother himself, like he was doing it now.

Gabriel had agreed only reluctantly, but he hadn't had much time to think about it.

The attack had come quickly.

After Castiel had awoken, he had thrown Lucifer into the next wall almost immediately with a single movement of his finger. His body had begun to glow and even Gabriel had to look away. Enochian words had come from the mouth of the Seraphim.

Words, so ancient as the planet itself.

Words that had even the Devil shivering in fear...

As the blazing bright light was gone, Castiel's wounds had closed and his wings were better again; looked as if nothing had happened.

But his mind seemed to have changed, because Castiel had not responded to Gabriel's words, when he had spoken to him. No. Once the Seraph had seen Lucifer, he had pounced on him like a wolf, who plunged on his helpless prey in his bloodlust.

The Morningstar had fought as good as he could, but when he realized that he had no chance against Castiel alone, he had called for help.

Then the demons had come and this once so quiet, idyllic place had turned into a battlefield.

A battlefield, through which Sam and Dean ran right now!

Sam just wanted to get away from this terrible place, just wanted to bring his brother to safety. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gabriel who killed another demon, who had tried to attack him from behind. Enochian words slipped over the lips of the messenger angel. Words, that were addressed to his brother Castiel, who was fighting against a crowd of demons not far away from him.

When Dean looked at him it made him speechless.

There was nothing more to see of the otherwise clumsy angel whom he had once met. There was no longer a confused twinkle in his eyes, which Dean and his brother had always loved to look at and the otherwise soft features of his face had hardened in his bloodlust. Dean was not even sure whether Castiel still recognized them or not.

"Dean! Watch out!"

When the hunter turned his head, he saw how Sam slapped a demon right into his face, who had tried to attack them. Dean turned his face away from Castiel, leaning with one arm on his brother, the other he had pressed against his broken rib. The pain that shot through his body made him almost see stars, but he tried to pull himself together, to concentrate and to keep moving.

They had to get away from this place immediately!

Away from the demons, away from Lucifer...and away from Castiel...

More demons tried to attack the brothers and only with great difficulty Sam and Dean managed to fend them off and keep running. More and more demons seemed to pay attention to them, because there were more and more of them who attacked them. Gabriel tried to help them, but he couldn't since he was still encircled and attacked by demons.

"Come on Dean, faster! We must get out of here!"

Dean had a feeling as if his lungs would jump out of his chest.

Each breath burned like fire in his lungs, every hard step let his body tremble in pain and he was panting and gasping for breath, but he kept moving. His will to live was stronger than any pain could be, and he forced his body to keep moving.

But the two didn't get far, despite all efforts, because they had forgotten an angel...

As soon as Lucifer stood before them, none of the brothers could look and before they realize it they were encircled.

The Lightbringer's body was covered all over with blood and you could see how the muscles of his human Vessel were shaking. Apparently Castiel had given him a hard time before Lucifer had gotten the chance to set his demons on him.

The Archangels eyes narrowed and a deep, almost inhuman-sounding growl came from the depths of his throat, when he fixed his piercing, red glowing eyes on Dean and Sam.

"Enough with your games!" he growled and he took a step towards the brothers who tried to step back, away from him, but they didn't get far.

When Sam heard the growl and smelled the foul breath he knew it was too late.

Although he couldn't see them, but he knew they circled him and his brother.

Hellhounds!

Lucifer seemed to want to do everything that Sam couldn't escape him this time.

An eerie grin crept onto the Devil's face and his eyes sparkled with something that sent a shiver down Sam's spine and instinctively he clung to his brother, held him close, tried to give him support, because he felt that Dean could barely keep himself on his legs any longer. He was too weak and the pain clouded his senses and it seemed as if he was about to faint again.

Lucifer's eyes wandered from Sam to Dean and his grin widened, the twinkle in his eyes became stronger and he spread his snow-white wings out, which he had visualized during the fight and which were now also full of blood stains.

"Dean is yours, but leave Sam alone, did you hear me?"

Low growling sounded and invisible claws dug into the blood-soaked ground, full of anticipation.

The eyes of the Lightbringer narrowed again and the grin faded from his lips and he raised his hand and pointed at Dean.

"Kill him!"

"NO!" Sam and Gabriel shouted almost simultaneously, but neither of them could stop the oncoming Hellhounds that ran to the two humans immediately after the command.

They hit Sam first, throwing him to the ground.

Mighty paws held the young Winchester onto the ground, foul breath stabbed him in the nose and a pained gasp came from his throat as more and more claws digging into his flesh and held him down.

Beside him, Dean fell to the ground and the older hunter began to scream, as the claws started to tear deep wounds into his body. Arms, legs, stomach, chest; nothing was spared and soon his blood soaked the ground and his vision clouded, as he could feel how death reached his ice cold hand out to him.

"DEAN!"

Sam squirmed wildly in the grip of the beasts, trying to kick, beat, even to bite them, but he didn't manage to break away from these monsters, and so he was forced to watch how the other Hellhounds tore his brother to pieces.

Even Gabriel couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes and he was trying to push the demons from his body with his last bit of strength. He even managed to do that, but he managed to make just a few small steps into Sam and Dean's direction, before the next demons were at his side and pushed him to the ground again. From the corner of his eyes he saw his brother Castiel, who just killed the last demon who had dared to attack him.

"CASTIEL!"

The Seraph turned his head in Gabriel's direction when he heard his name.

"Deus genesis in periculis versari!"

Almost immediately, the bright blue eyes of the angel went to Lucifer and he clenched his hands into fists so strongly that his nails dug into his skin. So much that a few drops of blood dripped to the ground and the feathers of his night-black wings stood up when his body was shaken by seemingly endless rage.

Lucifer's eyes were still directed at Dean and again a grin graced his face as he watched his Hellhounds in how they slowly tortured him to death. And here and there, his eyes turned briefly to Sam to be able to see pain and shock on his face. Lucifer knew how much Sam loved his brother. This had to be an incredible ordeal for him to lie there and watch helplessly how Dean was tortured and killed slowly. Soon, his soul would burn in hell again and the Lightbringer would personally ensure that no angel, not even Michael, would ever get him out there again!

But it shouldn't come that far!

A shadow fell over Lucifer and the angel lifted his head to watch for the source of the shadow and when he saw it, it made him speechless.

There, high above his head hovered his brother Castiel.

With his six wings he held himself in the air with ease, his eyes sparkled in a bright blue that burned into the morning star's eyes, but he didn't dare to look away. Castiel looked at him with so much hatred in his eyes, that Lucifer took a step back and out of the corner of his eyes he saw his Hellhounds and how they desisted from Dean and Sam to look to the Seraphim high above their heads and shorty after they burst into flames.

Yowling in pain the pack diverged.

Some tried to save themselves in the forest and others inflamed some demons near them, when they collided with them.

But neither Castiel, nor Lucifer, nor Gabriel, nor the Winchesters paid attention to it.

They all had eyes only for the mighty angel who hovered high above their heads and who still had his eyes fixed on Lucifer.

But soon the humans among them were forced to look away from him, as the heavenly light became too much for their eyes.

Then Castiel opened his mouth and spoke the sacred words that were as old as the Lord himself:

"Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt et terra gloria tua cæli. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis."

When those words left his mouth his whole body began to shine in a bright light, which became stronger and stronger and soon took over the entire clearing. The demons that had not yet fled got burned from the angel's sacred flames.

That was the last thing Sam and Dean saw, before their eyes closed and they fell into deep darkness...