It feels as if everything comes down to this moment. Not the pasts few days or even weeks, no, ever since the outbreak, this is it. All the billion people that have died all over the world, all the pain and sorrow that you went through, the life you've led so far, and it's in your hand to finish it right here, right now. If you could defeat Lucifer then surely that would mean no more apocalypse, no more lost battles, no more deaths. Your family would be safe to live whatever is left to their lives in the most comfortable way possible. The Winchester brothers are sure that after defeating Lucifer, the virus that turns people into walkers would banish along with the influence that the archangel has over Pestilence; one of the horsemen and the one responsible for bringing the disease to earth. Sure, things wouldn't be back to normal in the blink of an eye. All the people that died would remain that way, and the chaos will not disappear with the Devil, but it would be an improvement to the life you're having right now. You'd only have to watch out your back for other humans and maybe one or two random monsters. Eventually, you hope, life would return to its normal course and society would go back to its previous order. The only thing you had to do for that to happen is defeat Lucifer. Of course, it's easier said than done.

That location provided by Crowley leads to the outskirts of the state, a few hundred miles further from where your campus is located. You made the decision to part early in the morning. However, before then, you took a long day planning your attack. It's kind of impossible to surprise someone like Lucifer, but that's part of the intention. You hope he won't be expecting you to go directly into his lair. Of course, it would be too dumb for any human to try anything against him, yet that is exactly what you're going to do. However, even if he might be surprised by your presence, that does not mean that he won't be ready in case of an attack. Crowley not only provided the location of the archangel, but also intel on his camp base. None of the horsemen are serving the Devil, at least not anymore, they have scattered across the planet to cause havoc. There are some demons as Lucifer's lackeys, but according to Crowley, there aren't as many as one would expect. Apparently, Lucifer doesn't like to surround himself with scum too much. When the information was given, you questioned Crowley about the source, and he claimed that he had allies in Lucifer's base. You took the information but also created a plan to work around it in case of betrayal. Whether Crowley is on your side or not, you're about to find out. One might think that it's too reckless to get involved in a scheme with unreliable information, but you're getting kind of desperate. It's worth a shot.

There are two teams in your plan, well, three, if you count the ones staying home. Carl is going to stay behind with Father Gabriel and Judith. They're supposed to be guarding and taking care of your sister. Needless to say that Carl wasn't thrilled about not going into battle. On the other hand, Father Gabriel was grateful for not having to face the Devil Himself, as he put it. The rest of you are divided into two teams. The bigger one would create a diversion to attract the demons and kill them, the other would sneak into the compound and kill Lucifer with the Colt. It was a dangerous mission for everyone involved, but the Lucifer team had to be more stealthy. So, no one was surprised when you volunteered to go with the Winchester brothers to find the archangel. Your quiet ability with the knives is needed to go unnoticed. That's how you came to the possession of some cool iron-throwing knives. They wouldn't kill the demons, but they would do enough damage for Dean to finish them off with the killing one. Besides the brothers and you, the Lucifer team also welcomed Daryl Dixon. The reason is quite simple: his crossbow is also noiseless. Thus, he also got brand-new iron arrowheads.

To say that you're nervous is an understatement. The compound where Lucifer is hiding looks ominous as you stare at it in the distance. There's a distinctive smell of sulfur in the air that signals the presence of demons. You cannot guess how many because there's no one in sight, but if you can smell them from afar, then they're definitely not just a couple. If you create a distraction, then all the demons would be directed to that place, and they would leave Lucifer on his own. In order to do that, everyone had to gear up for the occasion with anti-possession tattoos. It was hard to find tattooing ink on such short notice, so Castiel got it up on himself to mark everyone, even if they were not fighting. When your turn came, you can safely say that it hurt like a bitch. Nevertheless, it was a necessary thing to do for the upcoming battle. You cannot afford to lose one of yours by possession. Another improvement that you decided upon is the use of branded bullets. Before dying, Eugene came up with the idea of drawing tiny devil traps on the side of the projectiles. His theory was that it would allow you to keep the demons inside their vessels as long as the bullet remained in the body. You have yet to test that theory, but it makes sense.

"There is a strong presence on the south side of the building," Cas explains. "That is probably where Lucifer is right now." The sound of his voice is harsh and almost robot-like. You assume it has to do with angels being warriors, he carries himself like one.

"Then team Beta will go to the northeast part to start the battle with the demons. That way, you can sneak up on the southwest to get to Lucifer." Your dad says.

You have been studying the possible entrances and weak spots since you arrived. There hasn't been much activity, but you can feel the energy irradiating from the building, even if you don't have powers like Cas, it's obvious something is going on there.

"I won't be able to keep us under Lucifer's radar much longer," the angel speaks, "we have to move now before he finds out that we're here."

Castiel is also coming with you to help in the Alpha team, and even though you feel more relaxed by having an angel on your side, it doesn't entirely calm your nerves. You try your best to keep them under control, but if Sam's look on you is any indication, you're not doing a very good job.

"Alright, give us a minute, and we'll head in."

Everyone knows why Sam is asking for time, everyone can understand it, and yet nobody dares to voice it. He's giving you a moment to say your goodbyes. Of course it would be ideal if no one were to die this day, but it's nearly impossible for that to happen. Team Beta is the one that has the 'easiest' targets. Still, the recent attack on the campus proved that it was hard to stand your ground against demons. People died that day. Even if you had learned from your mistakes, many things could go wrong. Then there was the obvious danger of being team Alpha. There are fewer people to make it easier to sneak in without the archangel noticing, it had to be a surprise attack if you dared to have a chance against the Devil. Nonetheless, he could snap your neck with the blink of an eye if he wanted.

In Sam's dream, Lucifer was... weaker. Since he has been wearing for years a vessel who is not Sam Winchester, his true vessel, Cas has the theory that Lucifer has debilitated. The archangel's powers are destroying the body. Thus, the incompatibility and deteriorating state of the body are causing his mojo not to fully kick in. One of the many reasons why you shouldn't let Sam Winchester agree to be Lucifer's vessel. And that was another thing that brought discussion yesterday. Should you let Sam go into the compound, or should he stay on campus and away from the Devil? Obviously, your boyfriend had plenty to say about staying. The conversation took a few nasty arguments in favor and against, and at least an hour. You decided to stay neutral, although you fully trusted Sam to be in Lucifer's vicinity and not say yes to him. He trusted you enough to take care of yourself, so you do the same. In the end, obviously, Sam was allowed to come to the compound.

"Hey," your dad approaches you with that serious expression on his face. Even though he carries a serious demeanor on his face, you can tell by the slight wrinkle on his eyebrows that he's worried about you. "I know that you are a grown-up, badass hunter now, but I want you to be careful. You're my little girl, you know?" You're not mentally prepared for this sort of goodbye from your father, and yet you don't question it when he embraces you in his arms.

The feeling reminds you of your childhood and better times. You can almost hear your mother commenting on how you were always a daddy's girl. From your father's shoulder, you can see Daryl and Carol speaking softly to each other, Tyreese has an arm around me Michonne in a friendly embrace, and sad smiles on their faces. There's a lingering sensation of terminating in the air, even clueless Castiel can feel it because he remains quiet despite his insistence on moving forward on the plan. No one wants to say it, but you might not come out of this one alive.

Still, you refused to say goodbye to everyone to try and be optimistic, so the only other person you allow to hug you is your best friend. Glenn comes forward with worry in his eyes, and he's quieter than normal. For your sake, he manages to smile at you and crack a bad joke. You pretend to laugh and then tell him to be careful. The next thing you know, Sam is holding your hand, guiding you to the southwest entrance and away from the rest of your family. You take one last glance at them, and for some reason, you know that some will never come back.

When you arrive where you're supposed to, you wait until Cas can give the sign that it's ok for you to move forward. Team Beta has to make the distraction possible before allowing you to enter the compound. They have to attract as many demons as they can to where they are so that you don't encounter many along the way until Lucifer's quarters. For you, the time passes by agonizingly slow. You cannot hear anything and that only makes you worry more. There are no alarms, or even screams. It's just too quiet. Castile mentions that it probably has to do with magic, because he ensures you that your family is maintaining the plan. Apparently, he can feel it somehow. Eventually, Cas says that most of the demons are now in a battle with the Beta team. You're trying not to think about how they're doing, or else you'll get distracted. Instead, you focus on the task at hand. Stepping into the compound proves to be easier with Daryl's help. He has a great sense of direction that none of you have. Sure, it could be easier just to allow Cas to zap you up to wherever Lucifer is, but that's not very stealthy. A key part of this needs for Cas to remain unknown to the archangel until the last second.

Daryl goes to turn a corner, but stops in his tracks before doing so. "There are some demons guarding that door."

Cas takes a peek and nods, "yes, that's where Lucifer is. I can feel his aura from here."

"We should get rid of them quietly," Sam says.

You and Daryl share a look, "we got it."

Since your weapons are noiseless, you've worked with Daryl multiple times before during outings. You don't function as in sync as you do with Glenn, but you manage to do just fine. So, there's no surprise when you basically know each other's moves to capture and kill the demons. Daryl whistles slowly, catching the attention of the guards. There are two of them, and at the sound, one moves towards where you're hiding. The key, considering that you're standing in a narrow corridor, is being quick. Both of you exit at the same time with your weapons drawn. One of your throwing knives goes flying into the nearest demon, while an arrow pierces the chest of the other. You don't stop there, though, not even a second after the pain spreads through the monster's face, you throw your next round of attack. This time, it goes directly into their throat to prevent the scream from resurfacing. You walk to the demons, all while striking them two more times. Soon enough, the rest of the team catches up, and the demon killing knife does its job. It has been the fastest way you ever killed someone, but it needed to be done in that manner in order to not allow retaliation.

You approach the door with decisive steps, but all of your group hesitates a second before Dean throws the doors open. There, on the other side, Lucifer is waiting.

...

Everything happened too fast for you to take time to comprehend the situation. When you entered the room, Lucifer was definitely there. He was waiting for you, the attack to his demons and the recent dream with Sam had hinted to him that the Winchester brothers were nearby. He knew you were coming, and he was actually counting on it. In his perspective, he was killing two birds with one stone; he would get Sam within his vicinity and also have an opportunity to obtain the Colt; the only weapon capable of killing him. So, when you came inside, the devil was waiting for you. However, maybe the fact that he was too cocky and confident in his abilities, blinded him to request the demons' assistance, because he was alone. He was just standing expectantly with a smile on his face like it was Christmas morning. On the outside, he seemed like a normal man, well, as normal as one can seem with some sort of skin rash that disfigured his features to something almost grotesque. He was raw, pink, and red all over. There were even some places where blood seem to gush out, although he didn't appear to be bothered by it, or even show gestures of pain. To some degree, the human vessel might have even been attractive once, but not anymore. It was honestly disgusting to look at. Beyond that, there was also something quite unpleasant yet powerful in the atmosphere surrounding the archangel. He was, despite his appearance, someone to be feared and maybe even to be respected.

When you entered the place, he opened his arms, welcoming Sam Winchester like a long-lost child. He smiled, and you could see that he had a sharp tongue when he tried to strike a conversation with his possible new vessel. Nevertheless, one of the key points in your plan was that you wouldn't let Lucifer get a hold of what was going on. You need it to attack him as soon as you stepped inside in order to have a remote chance of winning. Thus, that's why things happened too fast to comprehend them. Daryl, you, and Dean, would distract Lucifer with pointless attacks like flies to an elephant while Castiel will hold Lucifer's mojo long enough for Sam to strike the devil right in the middle of his head. At least, that was the theory. Things didn't quite work out as planned. As expected, everything started fine. You, Daryl, and Dean managed to shoot a few bullets at the archangel. He barely seemed phased by it, but his body betrayed him when blood splattered everywhere. That's how you realized that he might've been unkillable with normal weapons, but his healing wasn't kicking in as suspected. However, he was still an archangel, and before you knew it, he had sent all of you to the nearest wall. Your back hit the hard concrete, and you heard something crack. Someone screamed, and for a moment you couldn't focus on your surroundings. You thought that you heard gunshots going off, but that might have been the pounding on your ears. Eventually, your eyes opened long enough for you to focus on the scene in front of you.

Castiel's eyes were shining blue, and out of his back, you could see reflected on the wall two big black wings. He seemed majestic while holding down Lucifer with what appeared to be invisible chains. The eldest brother was furious, to say the least. Castiel was saying something, but you couldn't figure out what it was due to the ringing in your ears. In your line of sight, you couldn't see where your boyfriend was. Further to your left, Dean was lying on the ground with a big pool of blood under his head. Was he dead? You didn't know, but what you did know is that Daryl's body was twisted at an unnatural angle. You wanted to get up and continue fighting, but when you moved, something prevented you from rising. Maybe it was the pain in your rib cage, or perhaps the dizziness in your head. You knew you were about to pass out. Yet, you wanted to see the outcome. You held long enough to see Castiel blowing up into a million pieces and to vaguely hear the whistle of a bullet.

A/N: One chapter left guys!