Dark clouds lined the city as Sam and Gabriel landed among the campus within Palo Alto, freezing rain stinging Sam's cheeks as he shivered. Gabriel took in a shaky breath, his wings glowing and providing a bit more light against the almost black sky.

"W-what the hell is going on?" Sam chattered, bundling closer to his jacket as the rain slid from his hair down his neck, causing chills to run up and down his spine.

"Lucifer is angry," Gabriel whispered, panic in his eyes as he dragged Sam towards the dorm, a sinking feeling in his chest.

"Why are they coming here, Gabe?" Sam whispered as the reached the entrance of the dorm, heat flooding around them, but they had no time to relish in it as they hurried towards the stairs.

"They're screaming. They want me to feel the same pain I forced on them," Gabriel choked out, his wing wrapping tightly around Sam and not giving a second thought to the alarmed stared of other students as they passed.

A door burst open near the end of the hallway and Lucifer stalked out, a snarl on his face as he glared at everything in his path. His eyes met Sam and Gabriel and he let out a growl, slamming his fist into the wall and not even sparing it a glance as it cracked and crumbled underneath his knuckles.

"Castiel is not in there," Lucifer hissed, and Gabriel took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair as he let out a string of swears.

"Sam, where else would they be?" Gabriel asked, a desperation in his eyes as Sam swallowed, clenching his jaw as he tried to think.

"Let me call Dean," Sam suggested, pulling out his phone and tapping on Dean's number. He held it up to his ear, and when Dean answered, he could have cried out in relief.

"Where are you and Cas?" Sam asked, a slight panic in his voice as the situation was finally sinking its way into his mind. It was obvious that Dean realized the fear, as he was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"We're picking up medicine for Castiel at the pharmacy," Dean answered, a wariness to his voice that Sam recognized well, "Why? What's going on?"

"The monsters are after Cas. Get away from windows and doors until we get there," Sam ordered, forcing himself to remain calm. He didn't wait for Dean's response before he hung up, as he knew his brother would do what he said before he turned to both of the angels.

"They're at the pharmacy," Sam said, only to freeze when he a screech in the distance, a faint echo that managed to permeate the building in seep into the hallway.

"The Maneluctus are closing in," Lucifer spat before disappearing with a flutter of wings. Sam barely had a chance to blink before Gabriel grabbed his arm and he was flung into the flurry that raced around him and left him stumbling back as they landed, his back finding an aisle shelf that held him, though just barely.

He shook his head, trying to be rid of the dizziness before he opened his eyes, searching the pharmacy, relief flooding through his chest as he saw both Dean and Castiel alive and well, in the far corner away from any of the windows and door that lined the shop. 

Lucifer stood guard at the entrance, and when Sam got close enough, he could see Castiel was frozen,  eyes wide with shock and as Sam grew closer, that gaze turned to him.

"Sam...what did you do?" Castiel asked, his voice rough and ragged from illness. Sam flinched, but he just gave his brother a regretful glance before looking back at the angel and shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter now. We need to keep you safe, and we can't unless they are dead," Sam replied, glancing back at Gabriel and frowning when he saw that he was teleporting the staring bystanders from the building with quick touches.

A screech reached their ears, deafeningly loud, and Sam barely had a chance to clasp his hands over his ears before the glass in the windows and door cracked and shattered, a Maneluctus barreling into the pharmacy and knocking Lucifer back with a strong swipe, decimating several aisles as he flew towards the back wall. It lunged at the fallen angel, and Sam wrestled his gun from his belt, taking quick aim and firing, successfully hitting it in the jaw and gaining his attention from the Devil. It screamed in anger, launching itself instead at the hunter with its jaws splitting wide and its claws bared for ripping him to shreds.

Gabriel met it mid-air, slamming his left, largest wing into the creature and knocking the Maneluctus through the brick wall of the building and into the storage room beyond it. It let out a cry of pain, but pulled itself from the rubble, blood flying from its mouth as it hissed at the angel before charging at him.

Sam didn't miss the quirk of a smile that flashed Gabriel's face as the archangel twisted in the air and the Maneluctus flew past him. What he didn't see was Lucifer suddenly being there to meet the creature, part of a shelf in his hands as the Maneluctus landed on it, shoving it through his chest and out through the other side, tearing out half of the creatures inside with it. It struggled for only a moment before it fell still, and its eyes clouded over with white as Lucifer tossed it to the side where it landed on the ground with a harsh thump.

A grin crossed Lucifer's face and even Gabriel let out a gasp of relief at having the thing killed so quickly. The fallen angel looked towards the three humans, that grin becoming slightly softer, only to fall from his face and one of panic and shock to replace it.

"Cas! Move!" Lucifer shouted, his wings surging him forwards, and when Sam looked back, his eyes were wide when he saw the other Maneluctus launching from the ceiling, straight at Castiel as a menacing screech of victory left its torn jaws. Dean started to move to save the ex-angel, but there was no way he could move fast enough, not with his human speed.

Yet, Lucifer was there in an instant, grabbing Castiel and pulling him close to his chest, his wings spread above them to protect the ex-angel from the attack. The claws sank in and tore at Lucifer's flesh, and there was nothing that the fallen angel could have done as his eyes shot open and his body convulsed, though he still resolutely held onto Castiel with all he had.

Gabriel was there in the next moment, his hands glowing gold as he stabbed his hand into the creature's chest with unbelievable speed, ripping out its heart in the next instant and kicking it off of Lucifer just for good measure. The organ fell from his hands where it squelched to the floor and blood pooled out around it, and Lucifer released Castiel before collapsing to the ground, blood escaping his mouth as he coughed and struggled to breathe.

"L-Luci?" Castiel whispered out in the otherwise silent room, save for Lucifer's wheezing. He fell to his knees, reaching out slowly and letting his hand touch the fallen angel's shoulder. Lucifer let out a soft cry of pain, shaking, and Sam drew closer, only to stop when he saw the damage done to fallen angel's back.

Lucifer's wings were torn and ragged, only a single feather still resting on the left one as it strained to remain alive against the blood that gushed from the wounds around it sluggishly. Yet, that pain was nothing when he saw the right one, and Sam nearly lost the contents in his stomach when he realized that the wing was no longer attached to Lucifer's body, crumbled to the floor and forever still as blood gushed from where it once attached to his shoulder.

"C-Cas. So g-go-od to se-e you ag-a-in," Lucifer choked out, each breath escaping him in a gasp in jerking his words from his lips. Castiel began to cry, his hands shaking as he reached out and took Lucifer's bloodied hand, and it wasn't until Dean placed a hand on his shoulder that Castiel was able to speak.

"I missed you," Castiel said, sniffling before he began to cough, rough gasps that drug out his lungs and made his face twist in pain. Dean crouched beside him, rubbing his back gently until it ceased, before frowning and looking down on the still convulsing angel.

"M-iss-ed you to-o," Lucifer said before falling silent, unable to speak as blood filled his mouth to the point that no amount of coughing and spitting could be rid of it. Gabriel took a deep, shuddering breath before he stepped forwards, his hands still glowing from the recent fight.

"We...can't let him suffer, Cas. The healing process, it would..." Gabriel said softly, trailing off, and when Lucifer looked at him, there was nothing but acknowledgement in his eyes, and it tore at Sam's heart when he saw the fallen angel was beginning to shed tears, his hand tightening against Castiel's hold, only to weaken when he no longer had the strength.

Castiel let out a sniff, fresh tears beginning to fall, "I know," He said softly, holding out his hand to Gabriel, who seemed to understand as the angel blade fell from his sleeve and into his grip before placing it in Castiel's. The ex-angel stared at it for a moment before looking back at his brother, lip quivering as the tears dripped onto the floor, mixing with the angel's blood.

"I'm going to...stop the pain, okay?" Castiel asked, letting his hand slowly move from Lucifer's hand and squeezing the angel blade between both his hands and raising it, a choked noise leaving his lips as Dean reached out, letting his hands squeeze the ex-angel's before releasing.

"I love you, Luci," Castiel cried, squeezing his eyes shut as he raised the blade a bit higher before he drove it down, hitting the fallen angel directly in the chest. Lucifer's eyes shot open wide, blinding light overtaking his mouth, nose, and eyes before there was a soft explosion and his wings disentegrated and he finally fell still. Castiel let out a loud sob and turned, hiding his face in Dean's chest as he cried, and Sam looked to Gabriel, his throat clenching with sorrow as the angel crossed over to him and encaptured him in his arms.