A few days later. At the bunker.
Dean walked in "Hey, you got anything? "
Sam "Uh, this thing in Missouri. Not too far. Felt like a case, but I don't think it is. How about you? "
Dean nodded "Yeah, check this out. Last night, power goes out in Atlantic City. "
Sam asked confused "So? "
Dean "So local crews can't find anything wrong. There was no storms, nothing wrong with the grid. Still... darkness. "
Me "And you think...? "
Dean "Well, this weekend, the, uh, what was it, the Camelot Palace Casino, they're putting up the biggest keno jackpot ever. "
I asked confused "How's that important?"
Dean " Chuck said Amara loves keno. "
Sam "I thought he was kidding."
Dean shook his head " He's not that funny. "
Sam "You think Amara just popped up in New Jersey and caused a blackout?"
Dean "She's a player. "
Sam"It's weak."
Dean " Well, right now, weak is all we have, okay, 'cause nobody's found anything, and without Amara, we're screwed. So Atlantic City? All-you-can-eat prime rib. And possibly one all-powerful cosmic being. Come on, guys. Sounds like a road trip to me. "
Cas walked to us.
Me "Cass"
Dean "Hey, right on time. "
--
Cas "Well, I should go with you."
Me " Cass, it's probably nothing. "
Cass "Uh, so I'm, what, supposed to just sit here? "
Dean "Well, somebody's got to keep an eye on Jack in case Billie shows up for his, uh, thing."
Cass " Right, while you track down one of the most powerful beings in existence and lie to her face. "
Dean nodded "Exactly."
Cas " Dean, Amara's dangerous. You can't just charge in. "
Dean "We're not, okay? Plus, you know, she and I used to have a thing, so..."
I smacked the back of his head.
Dean grimaced "ow"
Jack "Sam, what's this case about? "
Sam shook his head"I wouldn't worry about it. I-It's, uh, not our kind of thing. "
Dean "You sure it's... it's nothing spooky? "
Sam "I mean, a kid got killed. It's tragic, obviously, but the local cops can handle it. "
Dean "Great. But you know what? Why don't you and Cass go run it down just to be sure? "
Jack asked excited"Really? "
Cass asked pissed off "What? "
Dean nodded "Yeah, you said you didn't want to sit around here after the whole Mrs. Butters thing."
Cass asked confused " Mrs. What? "
Dean "Just get out there, you know, stay busy. "
Cass asked confused "With a murder investigation? "
Dean nodded "Yeah. "
Cass "Elena?"
I shrugged " Dean's not wrong. And, look, this case, uh, maybe you can help. "
Cass sighed.
Dean "Alright, well, you guys go "Highway to Heaven" that bitch. "
We walked out.
Next day.night. In the Impala.
Dean" So Rowena's got Hell on lockdown, huh? "
Cas "Yeah, it would appear so. "
Me "Well, about time somebody took charge. "
Sam "Hey, how's Jack?"
Cass " Focused. "
Dean nodded "Well, that's good. "
Cass "We were with the police earlier. Another woman has gone missing. Apparently, she and Conner were from the same church group. "
Sam "Sounds like a real lead. "
Dean nodded "Okay, well, hey, uh, just, you know, be careful with those hallelujah types. I mean, most play it straight, but there's some that think that every Fed is Deep State. If I were you, I would divide and conquer. Have Jack drink the Kool-Aid and sign up. You go in flashing a badge, you know? "
Cass "Okay, I understand. How's the search for Amara?"
Dean " Well, it's dandy. We'll talk to you later. "
Then he hung up.
Me " Hey, you sure about this? "
Dean "Hey, like I said... we don't find her, casino buffet. Pretty good consolation prize. "
I shook my head "That's not what I meant. We've been on the road for almost two days, and I get not wanting to talk about it, I do, but, you know, what we're planning on doing, killing Amara. "
Dean shook his head "Well, we're not pulling the trigger. "
Me "Sure, but we still have to find her. And then if we find her, we have to lie to her. We got to set her up for her own death. "
Dean "Hey, man, Billie called us "Messengers of God's Destruction," okay? Did you think that was, what, gonna be easy? Bloodless? Mnh-mnh. We knew there was gonna be a catch. Least this time it's not you or me or Sam. "
At a gas station.
Sam "Not going in for a snack? "
Dean "Saving room. I got four hours till all-you-can-eat. I have a process."
Sam "Ooh, can your process last for six hours? Lane closures... I-76. "
Dean growled "Damn it! "
Sam "Pork rinds? "
Dean "Pork rinds"
My eyes widened and i hit Dean's arm.
He looked at me confused but then he saw Amara too.
Amara "I think we can do better than that. Hello, Dean. Miss me? You headed somewhere fun? "
Dean "Well, we were headed to you, actually. "
Sam "How'd you find us?"
Amara " I smelled you from two states over. You have a very distinctive musk."
Dean smiled " Thank you. "
Amara "And I got wind of your friend Castiel's angelic APB. I knew you were looking for me. "
I nodded "Yeah. We wanted to talk. "
Amara "First, lunch."
Dean " Pierogies? "
Amara "You're hungry, I'm hungry. I like new, Earthly experiences, and I have never had a Pennsylvania pierogi. "
In the diner.
Dean" We want to take your brother down, and we need your help."
Amara " What makes you think I'd do that?"
Dean " Because you've got beef with him... past and present. "
Sam"Amara, I saw into Chuck's mind. His memories. He asked you for help. "
Amara "Refusing to help him isn't the same as betraying him."
Dean " You know what he's been up to the past couple of months? Snuffing out universes, one after the other. "
Amara nodded "I know. I can feel it. He's very nearly done with the others."
Me " And you don't care? "
Amara shook her head "It doesn't matter. There's nothing you can do. "
Dean "There is. See, our pal Jack, he's a nephilim, and he's getting stronger every day. And soon he'll be strong enough to overpower Chuck. Now, we have a way to trap him, but we can't do it without you. "
Amara shook her head " No. "
Dean asked confused "No? "
Amara "No. I won't betray him like that. "
Dean "Why? I mean, I get he's your brother, but... "
Amara "Ugh, apologies, Dean, but you don't get anything. You see me sitting across from you. You see a woman. You see Chuck as a squirrelly weirdo. But you can't imagine what we really are. We came into existence together. We are the same. "
Me "The former Death, he told us you were the firstborn."
Amara " Or he told you what you needed to hear. Chuck and I, we're twins. Creation and destruction, light and dark, balance. And when we split apart, all this was created. "
Sam "The Big Bang? "
Amara shrugged, nodding.
Dean " Eh. When you split? So when... When he threw you in a cage. When he betrayed you. When he trapped you for an eternity."
Amara shook her head " You can't play on that, not with me. Maybe I'm a fool, but I believe caging me hurt him deeply. And I know for me to do that to him would be an agony. I'm sorry. I can't help you. "
Night. in the Impala.
I sighed.
Dean started the engine.
Sam" You know, maybe it's for the better. "
Dean turned the engine off.
Me "What's going on? What are you doing? "
Dean "Wait here. I'm gonna ask her something. "
Then he walked out and back into the diner.
I sighed and looked after him.