"Not everything we did was because of Chuck. It was us the blood, the sweat, the tears. That's us. There's no way that Chuck lets us die like this," Dean said.
"Hi, Sam," Chuck greeted.
"You're weak," Sam retorted.
"We're connected by these wounds. But all good things must come to an end."
The Grigori hissed. "You cannot change my mind."
"God lied to me. I will help you. To bind the spell together, the nectar from a Leviathan blossom that only grows in one place. Purgatory," Michael said.
"Sam, smash it," Dean demanded. "Now!"
Chuck groaned and Sam said, "I can't. I'm sorry. I-"
"Sammy lost hope, and now I'm free," Chuck explained.
"Grigori. They were some of the first angels on Earth," Castiel said.
"And they've been hunting humans, feeding off them," Sam added.
"It's time," Billie told Jack.
"Being normal-" Sam began.
Dean cut him off. "Is fine. But you three and me? There's zero about our lives that's normal. If we don't fix this, we might kill each other by accident."
Sam sniffled. "So, uh Alaska?"
"Alaska," Dean and Seylah agreed.
BAR
Leonard sighed. "Come on, Joey. Give me a chance."
Joey scoffed. "Bank side."
"What? No."
A coin shimmered and Leonard repeated, "No, no. No." A cue chalk rubbed and Leonard gasped. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" He breathed heavily and lunged at his opponent.
"Hey! No fights," another man said as Leonard grunted.
The man kissed the lucky coin.
"Aah! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Leonard cried.
"Hey! Stop! Come on!" another man cried.
"You know the rules," the man told him.
"Just -- Just one more game, please. You know I'm good for it. Aah!" He was forced from the bar.
"Sorry, pal. You're out of luck."
Leonard sighed. "Come on! Come on!" He panted.
Leonard left the bar and walked out to the parking lot. "G-Great, Leonard."
He dropped the blank coin. "Great."
A truck horn blared and the truck hit Leonard.
BUNKER
The door creaked and Castiel called out, "Sam? Dean? Seylah?" He noticed a note from Sam telling him where they'd gone. "Alaska."
IMPALA
Sam's phone constantly chimed and Dean said, "Silent mode's always an option."
"Yeah. Right. Sorry," Sam replied.
"And how's Eileen doing?"
"She's hanging in there. She thinks our plan sounds a little too good to be true."
"You know, maybe she's right. I mean, how long have we been on the road looking for some place Garth says will supercharge our luck, maybe? And I mean, luck? Is that really even gonna fix our whole "problem"?"
Seylah shrugged. "Well, it couldn't hurt. That's what you two always say, right?"
"And I don't know how much more of this "normal life" crap I can take, between the credit cards, the car trouble, the constant freaking heartburn."
"Well, you know, if you changed your diet you-" Sam cut himself off. "All I'm saying is that this place it's not even in the lore. Other than Garth, no one's ever even heard of it."
"No, it's there. It's gotta be. I mean, Chuck didn't do this to us just to teach us some messed-up lesson. You know, he wants us off our game. He wants us weak. 'Cause he's coming for us, Sammy, Sey. And when he does, if we haven't figured this out, we're DOA."
BUNKER
A phone rang and Castiel answered. "Hello?"
There was radio chatter and a railroad crossing bell clanked.
"Uh, yeah, uh, uh, Jeb Evans, Sheriff's Department, Cushing, Oklahoma. Uh, uh, I'm looking for an FBI Agent Watts?" the sheriff said.
"Um, yeah, Agent Watts is working a case in, uh, Alaska. This is Agent, uh, Lizzo."
"Hmm. Well, I guess a fed's a fed, right?" He chuckled. "Listen, we got a homicide down here, and my file says that our suspect might be one of yours."
"The murderer is someone we're looking for?"
"It says Agent Watts started a file on him last spring and to call with any information regarding a, uh, Jack Kline?"
Castiel held the phone a moment. "Jack."
"That name ring a bell?"
"Yeah."
IMPALA
Brakes squeaked and Dean tapped Sam's shoulder. "Hey. Hey."
"What are we doing? Why did we stop?" Sam asked.
"Last call on food for the next few hundred miles."
"Grab something out of the cooler."
"Oh, yeah, no, I polished off the last of the sandwiches while you and Sey were out."
"We're on a budget," Seylah reminded him. "Papa says that's important."
A bell chimed as they walked in and Dean asked, "What can we get for, uh, $4.60?"
"Um, a slice of pie and a cup of coffee?" the waitress said.
"Of course. Three forks? Damnit, I was hoping for a cheeseburger."
"You can't even digest cheese anymore," Sam said.
"Dude. Lactaid."
"All right. So, if Garth is right, we take this road, but, honestly, it doesn't look like there's anything up there."
"Hey, how long have you lived here?" Seylah asked.
"All my life," the waitress replied.
"Great," Dean answered. "Can you tell us what is up that road?"
"No. Are you for real? Did Candy put you up to this?"
Seylah shook her head. "No, nobody put us up to this. We're -- We're just headed that way and wanted to know if there's anything up there."
"Um, forget it. Sounds nuts."
Dean chuckled. "Nuts is good. Yeah. A few Mister and Miss Freakin' Peanuts here."
The waitress chuckled. "Okay. There's... There's kind of this, um, urban legend around here, about this place in the middle of nowhere."
"It's a-a pool hall that is magic?" Sam asked.
"Magic pool hall?" Dean let out another chuckle.
"I told ya," the waitress said. "They say that if you get up there and you win, then you come back lucky."
"Like, hit the Powerball lucky. Sounds good to me."
"Except for no one ever does."
Seylah leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"Um, one of our regulars, Leonard. The bank was coming for his house, so he went out to find the place and he never came back. Heard he had some sort of accident." A phone rang and the waitress said, "Excuse me."
"Yeah. Okay. I guess now we know what the downside is," Sam said.
"Eh, not from where I'm sitting," Dean replied.
"A-A pool hall that makes you lucky or might kill you?" Seylah questioned.
Sam nodded. "I mean, it sounds like a demon or a witch or-"
Dean cut him off. "Or it could be awesome. It's pool. The -- The -- The game of champions, kings. My game. Hell, our game. How many honest-to-goodness great memories do we have hustling pool?"
"Yeah, because we had to. To eat."
"Okay, well, my point is, is that if pool is the way that we get our mojo back, then maybe we ain't as screwed as we thought."
"Hey, you guys drive an Impala? I, uh, think you have a flat," the waitress informed.
Seylah let out a sigh and muttered a curse in her native language under her breath.
BUNKER
"Okay, you got the video, right?" Sheriff Evans asked.
"Uh, yes," Castiel replied.
"Okay, so, so, vic was a local doctor, and the office security cameras gave us a good idea of what went down."
"Just an idea?"
"Y-You'll see. Now, Dr. Sariel was a good man. He delivered both of my kids."
"Jack," Castiel noted when Jack appeared in the office on camera.
"This thing's got people pretty spooked."
The screen crackled.
Castiel frowned. "I don't understand."
"Me, neither. Signal goes out for about 2 and a half minutes, during which time, the suspect kills the doc in his office."
"Why?"
"Keep watching."
The crackling stopped as Jack yanked something from Dr. Sariel's chest.
Castiel leaned closer. "Is that-?"
"That's his heart."
POOL BAR
The engine puttered and Dean said, "Relax. We might actually have some fun."
"Right," Sam replied, closing his door. "Dean, Sey, we don't even have beer money, much less whatever the buy-in is here."
"Hey, we'll figure something out."
They walked inside and the bartender asked, "Get you something?"
Dean cleared his throat. "Yeah. Three waters, por favor."
"Hey, uh-" Sam began.
"Evie," she told him.
"Evie. Say, listen, if, uh, me, my daughter, and my brother here wanted to get ourselves a game-?" Sam trailed.
Billiard balls clacked and Evie called out, "Pax. Three more for ya."
"Hey, you remember a guy who was in here a few weeks ago? Uh, name was Leonard?" Sam wondered.
"No. Sorry. Follow me."
"Oh."
Pax cleared his throat. "So, how'd you guys and girl find us?"
"Uh, a friend," Seylah lied. "Sort of."
"Did your, uh, friend say how we wager?"
"Yeah, listen, uh, money's a little tight right now," Sam said.
"Yeah, we don't bet with money. We use this." He pulled out a coin.
"Okay. What are we looking at?" Dean asked.
"Go ahead. Touch it," Pax said and Dean touched the coin and it shimmered. Pax clicked his tongue and sighed. "Not great. Not the worst, either."
"And that means?"
"Well, you see, everybody walks in here with a certain amount of luck. That glow that's you. About average."
"Yeah, that sounds about right."
"But you set that coin on on that table, you get yourself a game. And you win? You just might see your fortune improve."
"And if he loses?" Sam questioned.
"Play again. Have a good time. You know, keep playing. But if the coin goes blank, that means you're out of luck. You gotta leave. Questions?"
Seylah frowned. "Yeah. What is this place? Who owns it?"
"I just work here." Pax scoffed. "Look, if you don't like it, uh, the door's open."
"When I win, can I split it?" Dean asked.
"The luck? It's yours. You do what you want."
"Yeah. Uh, just give us a second. Thanks."
The three of them stepped to the side and Sam immediately protested. "No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. No way."
"Man, I've been slinging pool cues since before you were born," Dean said.
"What? When you were four? Really? What, between nap time and snack?"
"Look, we barely made it out of that monster fight club, okay? We need this. And you know it. Now, look, you're better than me at pretty much everything, okay? That's okay. I'm not mad. I'm proud. But I can wipe the floor with you when it comes to pool."
Sam scoffed and inhaled deeply and Dean said, "Good. All right. Okay, pal, let's give it a go."
WAREHOUSE
"I'm a Grigori. Each of our names inscribed on our swords. A brotherhood of perfectly crafted beings."
A gate squeaked.
POOL BAR
Sam sighed. "So, how long are we supposed to just wait around?"
"You know, if the fish aren't biting, throw 'em a little chum." Dean sniffed and groaned. "I don't know, Sammy, Sey." He cleared his throat. "I'm a little rusty."
A woman chuckled, walking up. "Go on. Rack 'er up."
"Mm, yeah. Yeah."
"Decide not to play?" Evie asked as Sam and Seylah sat at the bar.
"Uh, yeah. It's not really her or my thing."
"Hmm," Sam hummed after a moment. "So, what's her deal?"
"Who? Moira? Been here a while. Guess her sister's still in a coma," Evie replied.
"So, she's playing to wake her up?" Seylah asked.
"Everybody wants something."
"Yeah. Hey, do you ever smell anything weird, like rotten eggs, or-?" Sam trailed.
"Just Charlie."
Sam looked across the bar at a bearded man and sighed. "Right. What about Have you ever noticed little bundles laying around?"
"Uh no." Evie chuckled. "Look, you're all new. I get it. You're trying to figure this out. I guess it is pretty unbelievable. Places like this don't exist for no reason. Most people think it's a Godsend. Take that guy. Loves his wife, but she has expensive taste. He came here from Atlantic City, not a dime left to his name. Or her three kids, works doubles, buys a scratcher every night. They both deserve a lucky break. And they almost got one. They went on a streak, could have walked away winners, but they kept on playing till their luck went sour."
"They're not actually winning?" Seylah asked, looking at the people Evie had pointed out.
"Not anymore. Like I said, they should have walked away."
The man sighed as his coin shimmered blank. "Damnit." He removed it and walked away.
WAREHOUSE
A buzzer blared and machinery powered up.
The Grigori appeared behind Jack and held a knife to his neck. "Why are you following me?"
POOL BAR
"It felt like a warning, like like she was telling us to cut our losses," Sam said.
"Come on, man. I'm on a roll," Dean replied.
"Dean, you won one game. Listen, I think this place sucks you in, right? And if you keep playing, you'll lose. And if you keep losing-"
"You go all Leonard."
"Exactly. All right, so, we need to minimize our risk and maximize our profit, right? It's kind of like that action we took back in Tallahassee. Remember that?"
"The -- The -- The "Fast Eddie"? I don't remember."
"It was Dad's favorite, from the movie. Paul Newman. "The Hustler.""
Sam sighed. "All right, fine. One more game. One. Okay. Now we just gotta find our Jackie Gleason."
Joey sighed. "What did you say your name was again?"
"Well, my name's Dean Winchester," Dean said. "And I'm gonna kick your ass. Now, what kind of name is, uh, Joey Six?"
"Oh, it's just something they used to call me back in PBR."
"Professional bull riding circuit. Nice. Tell me. How was that? Corner pocket."
"Good times." Joey cleared his throat. "And some not so good. Double or nothing says you miss that shot."
"You trying to hustle me, Rodeo?"
"I thought you were gonna kick my ass."
"All right."
The onlookers cheered and Dean won the game by bouncing the ball over another to get the 8 ball in.
"Helluva shot," Joey commented as his coin shimmered blank.
Joey stepped outside and the three hunters followed.
Joey breathed heavily. "Hey. Good game. Guess you can hustle a hustler."
"Yeah, I guess you can," Dean said.
Joey coughed heavily and Sam and Seylah stepped closer to him. "Stay back." He expectorated blood. "Damnit. Let an old man go die in peace, huh?"
Seylah frowned. "Wait, you're dying?"
"Cancer. I came out here to beat it." He chuckled. "I did win me an extra year. Been saving this." He breathed and coughed heavily. "Yeah, I liked that leathery son of a bitch. Yeah, when he bet double or nothing, you cleaned him out."
The three of them walked back inside.
"Okay, well, plan worked. Let's hit the road," Dean decided.
"What about everybody else?" Sam asked.
"Just give me some time, all right? I-I need to figure this out."
Seylah looked up. "Uncle Dean, we're in a fight with God, okay? And we just, as you really like to say, got our mojo back."
"You really think there's enough luck in that coin to make up for whatever Chuck took from us?"
"Why don't I give it a whirl?" Dean suggested.
"How?" Sam asked.
"I'll go for a quick drive. If Baby treats me right, then I know we're out of the woods. But when I get back, it's adios."
WAREHOUSE
Sheriff Evans sighed. "Oh, uh, Agent Liz-"
"Lizzo. Evans," the sheriff introduced.
"Hi."
"Glad you came."
"Glad you called."
"So, local transient spotted our boy in some sort of an altercation."
"Did they say with whom?"
"No. She ran the other way when she saw the other guy had a sword. Looks like he used it." The sheriff pointed to the blood on the ground.
"Are there any abandoned buildings in town?"
"Yeah, I-I guess. I mean, there's, uh, plenty of old cattle barns, empty warehouses, old church, that kind of thing."
"Church. Where's the church?"
"Uh, two blocks down on your right."
"Thank you." Castiel began walking off.
"Uh, agent? I called you for answers."
"I know. And I intend to find them." Castiel walked away.
POOL BAR
"And then the Vikes finally win the Super Bowl," a man said.
"Right, that's great. It is. But is it really worth your life?" Sam wondered.
"Look, man, just just one more game."
Sam let out a frustrated sigh.
"Nice try," Evie said. "Too bad no one will listen. None of us are going anywhere.
"Are they trapped here? Are you?" Seylah asked.
The door opened and Dean said, "Well, car's dead. Again. Didn't even make it out of the parking lot. This coin," the coin clacked, "blows."
"I think you're right. Didn't have enough juice," Sam replied. "Hold on. No way."
"Hmm?" Dean wondered.
He scoffed. "At first, I thought maybe these coins were were hexed or cursed."
"Like the rabbit's foot."
Sam went on. "When you win, you're you're taking luck from whoever you beat, right?"
"Right."
"But Joey Six beat how many people? 30? 40? More? All of that accumulated luck should have been passed to you."
"Well, tell that to Baby."
"Exactly. It didn't. Because what if someone's stealing, every game, skimming luck off the top?"
"What -- What do you mean? Like, the house?"
"Her. I think." Seylah pointed to the woman on the coin.
""Atrox Fortuna"? "
"She's the Roman Goddess of Luck," Sam informed.
"Okay, say you're both right. What do we do?" They turned to Evie.
"I-I can't help you. I'm sorry," Evie said.
"Then why warn us in the first place?" Sam asked.
"So you'd take your family and go."
Seylah frowned. "Wait, why are you here? Does she have something over you?"
"I came to play. I lost. I'm only alive 'cause she lets me stay. Long as I keep working."
"So, if you don't play yourself to death, you work yourself to death. Is that it?" Sam guessed.
"Yeah, that's it."
"Is she here?"
"I don't know. I only talk to Pax. Her son." She pointed to the man they'd talked to to play earlier.
CHURCH
"You should heal that," Kabiel said as metal clinked. "I know what you are. You're powerful. Why not use it? Fight back?" He chuckled. "As a soldier, I respect your silence, tactically misguided as it may be. For example, when I ask why are you killing my kind, you should answer so I won't hurt you."
"Why did you kill them?" Jack asked.
"We Grigori have our own frequency of angel radio. Did you know that? Before he died, my brother called to me."
"Did you want him to? To draw me out? Kill me, too?"
POOL BAR
"Pax. Hey, uh, can I ask you a question? Where's your mom?" Sam asked.
"Fortuna!" Dean called, putting a knife to Pax's neck. "We have your son."
"Enough," a woman in black said.
"Fortuna?"
"That's one of my names."
Seylah narrowed her eyes. "We know you're skimming luck off what we won. We want it back. Or he or I kill him." She pointed to Pax.
"Well, you probably could. His daddy was human. But, no."
"Mom," Pax said.
"I'm sorry, baby. I can always make more sons."
Pax grunted as Dean let him go.
"Then play me for it," Dean said.
"I played you already," Fortuna reminded him.
"Then we go again."
"When I play someone, I get a read on them. And you you're just a beach read. Sexy, mm, but skimmable."
"Beach read? Lady, I'm Tolstoy."
Fortuna laughed. "That's very funny." She walked up to Sam. "This one here. He could be interesting." She looked at Seylah. "She might be interesting as well."
Dean frowned. "Wait. No, no, no. That's -- Unh-unh."
"Fine. Yeah, I'll play. But not for our luck. I'll play for the lives of everybody in here," Sam told her.
"No. Only for your luck. And if you lose, I get your lives. Come on, you threatened my baby, my livelihood. An example must be made. So," Fortuna sighed, "are you in?"
CHURCH
Jack grunted and his ropes creaked as he coughed lightly. "You can't kill me."
"I can make you suffer. You killed the last of my kind. You ate their hearts! This is more than fair," the Grigori said.
Jack chuckled. "Fair? The last one I killed was pretending to be a doctor." He coughed lightly. "Feeding on the souls of humans he was supposed to heal. You do it, too. Only you like children."
"Who told you that?"
"Death."
The Grigori screamed as he was killed and his attacker breathed heavily. The sword clanked to the floor.
"Jack?" Castiel asked.
Jack looked up at Castiel who untied his ropes and they hugged.
POOL BAR
"Guess that makes me solids," Fortuna said as Sam played. "So, why do you need this luck so bad? Girlfriend problems? Liver failure?"
"Accursed by God," Sam replied.
Fortuna groaned. "Life's a bitch, then you die."
"The God literally cursed us," Dean said. "You've met?"
"Yeah. Little guy, squirrelly as hell."
"Yeah, that's him."
"Well," Fortuna sighed, "welcome to the club."
"The club?"
"Yes, the club. God created the world, but you know who created us gods? You did. You humans. Sort of. When you apes first climbed down from the trees, you didn't pray to him. You prayed to the the sun, the womb, the rain, and the stars. Well, at first, the creator was furious. How dare you not recognize his beneficence? But soon enough, he birthed us Ra, Anu, Hera, Mixcoatl, all the rest."
"Why?"
"Why?" She scoffed. "Why?" The music stopped. "To take the blame. Bad harvest? Stillborn child? Our bad. Not his. Plus, we made for epic stories. But his ego could only handle that for so long. Now he's happy to hide behind whatever religion has the best syndication deal. While we survive on scraps in the wilderness." The music resumed. "Most gods, they're forgotten. But I'm old. I hold a grudge. Oh, well. What are you gonna do?"
"We're gonna fight him," Seylah said in a determined tone.
"Are you, now?! And when you lose?"
"We lose swinging," Sam replied. "Eight ball, corner pocket." The music intensified.
"You little minx. You got me talking. You're good."
"I learned from my brother. All right, you know the deal. Even up."
"What do you say we make it interesting? Okay? You're gonna fight God. That's the stuff of heroes, right? So, you're gonna need the luck of heroes Hercules, Cuchulain, Gilgamesh. I helped them all. I can help you, too."
"What's the catch?" Seylah asked suspiciously.
"Another game. Double or nothing."
"Double. That's how the cowboy died," Dean remembered.
"Mm-hmm," Sam hummed, turning back to Fortuna. "Yeah. Deal. But not for more luck. For them. If I win, you have to let them go."
"Honey, I'm not stopping them," Fortuna said.
"Okay, then when I win, you have to give back the luck you stole. Close up shop."
"What is with you and these losers? They're nothing! They don't matter."
"They matter to me."
"They matter to us," Dean added.
"Well, fine. Rack 'em up," Fortuna said as billiard balls clacked and up-tempo jazz music played. "Eight ball, corner pocket." The pool cue clacked. "You challenged the Goddess of Luck in her own joint. What did you think was gonna happen?"
"Well, we had to try."
"Well, that was stupid," Seylah muttered.
The door closed as they left the bar.
"Thought she was gonna kill us," Dean said.
"Yeah, she doesn't have to. Our luck will do that on its own. Dean, we can't just -- just leave them," Sam replied.
"No. I know. All right, well, let's go find some Wi-Fi and see what kills Lady Luck. Then we'll circle back."
The door opened and birds chirped. "Hey. What -- What's going on?" Sam asked.
"What happened?" Seylah wondered.
"She -- She shut it down," Evie told them.
"What?!" Sam cried.
"Why? Because of you. She said she thought your kind had gone extinct."
"Our kind?" Dean asked.
"Heroes. Like the old days. And, uh, she gave me a message. She said, "Don't play his game. Make him play yours.""
The coin shimmered as Dean touched it, followed by Sam and Seylah.
"Come on," Dean said, turning the ignition. The engine started and revved and he chuckled. "Ohh! We're back, baby! All right, this is it. Last scratcher. Come on, come on." He blew on the scratch ticket. "What the hell?! I mean, so much for that "Luck of Hercules" crap."
"So, we didn't win the lottery. But no car trouble. Uh, credit cards work. Oh, and back-to-back bacon double cheeseburgers didn't kill you, so-" Sam trailed.
"That was beautiful, by the way. I'm just saying would it have killed her to give us a little extra?"
"Well, she thinks we're real heroes. Maybe they don't get all the shortcuts."
"Friggin' gods, man," Dean muttered.
BUNKER
"Cas?" Dean called.
"Hey," Castiel greeted.
"Everything okay?" Sam wondered.
Castiel ushered for Jack to appear.
"Hello," Jack said with a wave.
"Jack?"
"It's really him."
"Jack!" Seylah screamed, running to hug him and he hugged her in return.
Sam hugged Jack. Dean placed a hand on Jack's face, glancing to Castiel for reassurance who looked at him before Dean accepted it was his surrogate son.
Sam exhaled sharply. "Jack, you you ate their hearts?"
"I had to."
"And you let him?" Dean asked as they sat down. "Hmm. You could have called us."
"Every day I wanted to come home, but I couldn't."
"Why not?" Seylah wondered.
"Because if I don't stay hidden, if I use my powers, my grandfather he'll know I'm back, and he'll try and kill me. Again. He's afraid of me. And that's why we had to wait."
"Billie kept him hidden in the Empty until Chuck went off world," Castiel explained.
"She let me out when it was safe."
Dean frowned. "Safe to what? Eat a bunch of angel hearts?"
"Safe to do what I have to. The hearts, they were just the beginning. They made me strong, but I-I'm not strong enough. I -- If I do exactly what she says, if I follow her plan, then I'll get stronger and I'll be able to kill God."
Seylah grinned. "Oh hell yeah."