Legends and Monsters
Disclaimer: I own none of the intellectual properties used for this fanfiction. No profit is being gained.
Summary: Xander meets some interesting people while on his summer vacation. Oh, and a freaking dragon, too.
XXX
"Washington...the final frontier. These are the voyages of the slacker Xander Harris. His five year mission: to enjoy what he can with fifteen dollars in his pocket and a rusted old car, to enjoy the stars above him in Mount Baker-Sasquatch Forest, to make enough money to get home. To boldly go where no Xander has gone before."
The dark haired boy who went by Xander Harris was in the back seat of his 1957 Chevy Belair, lying down with his head resting against the door. He was staring up at the stars, his mind wandering as he considered his situation. He was parked illegally in one of Washington state's most visited parks, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and had every intention on spending the night there. It was still decent out, and he could pull the top up to make his night a bit warmer. In the morning, he planned to get an early start making his way back down south to California. It had been just over two months since he'd left for his great Kerouac inspired road trip, and he had spent most of his time exploring the west coast. He'd seen Los Angeles, San Francisco, the great redwoods, Legoland, The Rock (during which he'd been politely but firmly asked to stop asking everyone if they could smell what he was cooking), and lots of other locations between Los Angeles and Washington state. All in all, he was fairly pleased with how his trip had gone.
Only now, the summer was coming to an end in the next few weeks and there were some places he wanted to hit before arriving back in Sunnydale. Besides, he'd have to find a job sometime soon to pay for gas to get back home. And he had a powerful need to eat sometime soon, though he wasn't too concerned. He'd had the wherewithal to purchase a pole and a beginner's tackle box and, after obtaining a Washington fishing license, had spent the day catching fish. With the aid of some gathered wood and a cigarette lighter, he'd made short work of the few ones he'd caught. In the morning, he would likely do more of the same, but that didn't bother him too much. He'd rather spend time catching fish than going back home.
As he considered the future, his mind turned to Sunnydale and his friends. Just about now, Buffy and Willow would be lying down in their beds, enjoying the summer lull from demonic activity. Willow had probably been reading from her book of spells, or maybe even practicing them just before bed. Buffy would have finished in the cemetery, one of them at least, patrolling for the odd vampire that would show up. He wondered idly what Oz or Giles were up to, but his thoughts lingered on Oz a bit longer than he'd like. Specifically, he wondered what Oz and Willow were up to. He tried his best to put those thoughts out of his mind, for several reasons, but only succeeded in placing himself in a funk.
He wondered for a split second where Cordelia was and what she was doing, but he put that thought out of his mind as well. By his reasoning, he had no right wondering what his ex was doing. He'd given up that privilege the moment he'd begun cheating on her with Willow. With those thoughts in his mind, he was officially depressed. Still, he couldn't help but think such things. His mind often turned to its darkest corners when he was alone, which was one of many reasons he preferred to be in the company of others.
He forced himself away from such thoughts, locking them in the deepest parts of his mind while he meditated on the stars. They were always his favorite part of the night, even while on patrol; though it was rare he got to indulge in his gazing on those nights. There were some moments of his life where the only thing that got him through to the next day were the stars, and it was that sense of magic that had driven him out on the open road.
Of course, the open road had its dangers, so when Xander heard the noise coming from the trees, he reacted instinctively. Drawing out his .9 mm handgun, he lifted himself up a bit and looked out at the trees. There was a bright light in the darkness, one he recognized as likely being a flashlight. So he leveled his arms against the car door and honed in on the potential threat.
A man dressed in olive green pants and a similar jacket came through the trees, his flashlight just barely illuminating his face. He was dark haired and had a light beard and seemed to be unaware that Xander was there. His eyes caught sight of the car and the occupant and, when he saw the pistol aimed squarely at him, he stopped and raised his arms.
"Easy there, son," the man said, "Just take your hand off the trigger."
"Who're you?" Xander demanded.
"Ranger Nick Crawford," the man told him, "Look, I don't mean to be a dick, but would you put the damn gun down?"
Xander considered him for a moment before lowering the weapon, "Sorry, Sir. I didn't know who you were."
"Well, strictly speaking, you shouldn't be out here, let alone carrying that gun. Let's see some ID."
Shit, the teenager thought to himself while pulling out his wallet. The ranger examined his card for a moment before speaking into his radio as he stepped away. Xander was a bit worried. He'd had the pistol since high school, but had never had an opportunity to use it, or at least, not one when he'd known he'd need it. There were plenty of time he wished he'd had it, but fate just didn't work out that way. Now, since he knew he was parked well far away from the legal parking areas, he was seriously worried he was about to be hauled off to jail.
He idly considered making a run for it, but immediately dismissed that idea. As far as the world was concerned, he'd never broken any law. If they did decide to charge him, he doubted it would be too bad.
The ranger stepped back over to him and handed him his ID, "Alright, kid, you definitely aren't supposed to be here. Wanna tell me what you're doing parked illegally in the middle of these woods?"
"Just enjoying some fresh air and looking for some pic-a-nic baskets?" Ranger Nick glared at Xander for that, and the young man got serious, "Sorry. Look, I'll be honest, I'm doing a road trip and I ran out of money so I decided to crash here tonight. I figured no one would look for me."
The ranger eyed him for a moment before saying, "You've read Kerouac, right?"
Xander gave a self-deprecating laugh before nodding his head.
"Didn't know you kids still do that." Ranger Nick grinned slightly as he leaned against the car, "I did the same back in 77, long before you were even a thought. Wound up spending more than a few nights just pulled over on a dirt road, sleeping till it was time to go again."
"Already done it a few times." Xander groaned while readjusting himself in his seat, "I spent almost a week in my car back in Oregon."
"Yeah, can't say I blame you. In my day, a man could just find a spot for cheap, not like how it is now. You gotta sell a kidney to afford stuff these days. How much longer's your trip?"
Xander explained how he was planning on winding things back down to California. The ranger nodded and turned his gaze up to the sky as he contemplated the situation. After getting a feel for the young man, Ranger Nick didn't see the need to place him in a cell, but he couldn't stay here. He knew of a couple of regulars who'd purchased cabins in the area that might be willing to have a guest, provided he worked to earn his keep. Somehow, he didn't think that would be a problem for this boy.
He nodded to himself as he came to a decision, "Alright, kid, I'll tell you what: I don't think you're a menace to society, so I'm not gonna bring you in. But I can't let you stay out here in these woods. So, how about you give me a lift to my jeep and I'll lead you up to my cabin? You can take my couch and, in the morning, I'll see about putting you to work."
Xander couldn't help but nod, instantly and vigorously. His trip had taught him the value of a couch, and his back was aching for one. As to the work, he was fine with that. It would at least earn him his keep, maybe even earn him enough to get back down to California. The ranger nodded and climbed into his car, pulling a radio from his belt to check in. Xander started his car up and drove back down along the dirt road he'd taken to get to that point in the woods.
"How far to your jeep?" Xander asked once the ranger was done.
"Not too far," the ranger said, "You actually really lucky, son. We've been having some problems out here these last few weeks."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, had a few hikers go missing," Ranger Nick elaborated, "This happens, y'know, but these hikers were experienced. One of them I've known for twelve years, and he's been up here every summer, hiking, camping and fishing. He knows this park, least as well as I do."
"What happened to them?"
"Dunno about most of 'em, but one we found," the ranger shivered in a way that had nothing to do with the weather, "Man had a hole in him, went straight through to the other side. I ain't never seen anything like that. Not in all my years in these woods. I've seen folks eaten, mauled and just plain destroyed, but nothing like that. That ain't a fate you want, son."
"No, Sir, it is not," Xander said seriously, a little too seriously; he was beginning to get an old feeling, one he knew way too well. "Anything else strange?"
"Animals dropping dead," the ranger said, "That one's a little more generic. We think there's a new predator in town, got forced out of its home up North. This might be something we've never seen before, though. Thing took out a bear, left nothin' but the head."
"Think it might be connected?"
"I doubt it." the man stated calmly, "If this thing could take apart a bear, why would it leave a man nearly whole expect for a giant hole?"
"Maybe it didn't like the taste," Xander suggested, though he inwardly doubted it.
The ranger seemed displeased hearing him talk like that, but he had to acknowledge the point, "Maybe. You can go ahead and slow down, it's just around this bend."
Xander turned the corner and came upon a clearing where a tan jeep with police lights was parked. He pulled to a stop just beside it and let the ranger get out.
"I'll drive slow as I can," Ranger Nick said as he walked towards the jeep, "These roads can mess up a car like nobody's..."
"Ranger?" Xander asked, concerned for the man's sudden silence.
The man shushed him and crouched down, turning his flashlight on. He was standing in a pit, about five inches deep, from what Xander could see. The young man got out of his car and stepped over to him, watching as the ranger felt the earth with his hand.
Finally, the man righted himself and turned to Xander, "This is unreal."
He stepped out of the pit and shined his light down, allowing the Scooby a full view of it. Immediately, both his eyes bulged as he recognized what he was seeing. The pit was roughly two feet long and about a foot and a half wide. There were three long, wide triangles on the left side that went deeper into the earth at the end, and to the far right, past the edge of the pit, was a hole no larger than six centimeters. The hole was so deep, it was pure black. Xander had a suspicion that if he were to stick his finger down the hole, he wouldn't be able to feel the bottom.
"You ever seen tracks like that?" Xander muttered, his voice trembling a little.
"This ain't Jurassic Park, kid," the ranger whispered back, "Those tracks're fresh, like real fresh. Whatever made 'em just came by."
The ranger moved swiftly over to his jeep and opened it up, pulling out a shotgun as he said, "Get your keys, kid, we're taking my jeep and tear-assing back to the station. Ain't no way we're fuckin' with somethin' that big."
That was an attitude Xander approved of wholeheartedly. The ranger started the jeep up while Xander returned to his car. He quickly grabbed his keys and turned off the engine, but the moment he did, he paused. There was a new sound, a sound that he did not like, not even a little. He glanced up, careful not to move his head too much.
There, in the dark, were a great pair of eyes staring at him. If he were to spread his arms out on either side as far as he could, he suspected his hands would be about as far apart as those eyes were. They were a dull green, barely reflecting the light from the jeep. Xander stayed as still as he possibly could, his eyes locked on the beast. He took slow, shallow breaths, his body tense as fear gripped him. This was a familiar sensation, one he'd experienced many times back in Sunnydale. But the only time he'd been faced with something that large had been the Mayor. Something told him this wasn't the Mayor, and if it was, well, he was royally screwed.
"Kid," Xander didn't turn as the ranger whispered to him, "Don't move. I'm gonna fire a warning shot, see if I can scare it off."
Xander highly doubted it would work, but he wasn't in any position to argue. The ranger aimed his shotgun straight up and fired off a blast, causing Xander to wince as he heard it. The creature, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice.
"Ok," the ranger whispered, "I'm not gonna do that again, kid. Might need the shells. I want you to slowly, very calmly, back away from it. Don't turn your back on it, that might signal it to-"
The ranger's radio went off, a sharp, static noise that drew both Xander and Ranger Nick's gaze. The instant Xander took his eyes off the creature, it pounced. Xander looked up as it let out a vicious, blood curdling roar, growing immensely larger as it leaped at him. The young man dove to his left, just barely getting out of the way. The creature smashed into his car and, in a devastating crunch of metal and glass, it was destroyed. The sheer momentum the creature had used propelled it forward, though, and it rolled into a heavy tree with such force that it shook and swayed as though hit by a hurricane.
"GET IN THE JEEP!" the ranger shouted, releasing shot after shot at the massive beast.
Xander rose from the ground and pulled out his pistol, taking shots as he backed away to the jeep. The ranger stepped backward as he shot, and the two climbed into the jeep. The creature had risen by this time and seemed to not have felt their shots at all. So when the ranger pushed down on the accelerator, it snarled at them and took off. The two men felt the thudding from the massive claws as the beast came for them, and heard the snap of its jaws.
"What the fuck is that thing!?" Xander shouted.
"Hell if I know!" Ranger Nick responded. He picked up the radio in the jeep, his vehicle bouncing up and down, "Station 11, this is Nick, we've got an unknown big fuckin' thing chasing me in my jeep!"
Nothing but static came from the device. With a massive growl, the ranger tossed the radio aside and pushed down even harder on the gas. The creature let out a thundering roar that reminded Xander of Godzilla. They came upon a turn in the road and the ranger turned sharply, not even slowing down. The force of the speed and the sharp turn caused the top-heavy vehicle to lift from the right side, so high that Xander thought it was going to fall over.
Their bodies were jerked back violently as they felt a massive force hit them from beneath and the world became a hazy, spinning whirlwind. His head hit the ceiling and the dashboard several times, busting open in a stinging spray of blood. They rolled around until coming to a sudden stop as the roof caved in at a sharp angle, driving itself down into Xander and Nick's heads. The Sunnydalian felt his entire world blur in front of him and couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of bile burst up from his stomach.
His vision was fluid, like he was in the water although he knew he was perfectly dry. He felt a strange, pulling sensation, the kind he associated with going to sleep. His mind drifted back to one other occasion, the time when his arm had been broken and he'd lost consciousness just before Willow had tried to ensoul Angel. The same dizzy and sinking sensation had hit him then, and he'd known that it was bad. This time, it was even worse. He couldn't feel his body, though he could see a trickle of blood hitting the olive material beneath him.
That olive fabric reminded him of someone, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember who. All he knew for sure was that something was terribly wrong. The metal was warped and broken, with parts of it exposing the ground below them and the air above them. The night was warm, but to him, it was very cold. The sinking feeling was pulling him down even further, and he believed he was hallucinating. The ground shook with heavy thumps, strong enough to lift the metal off the ground. He turned his head to look up at what had been his side's window and blinked. His vision went completely black before grudgingly returning with spots littering his view. He decided that he must be hallucinating, because there was no possible way what he was seeing was real.
Hovering over the door was a massive creature, easily three or four times as large as him. The creature had a large, long head with jutting teeth that were easily as long as his hand. Its scales shined brightly in the dim light, and he felt something dripping off the beast onto his body. He couldn't say what it was, but he was hoping it was just water. Its eyes were a dull green and slanted like a cat's, and it seemed to be considering him. He could see something behind the eyes, some kind of an...intelligence. Its face seemed damaged somehow, dented. It was like someone had taken a hammer and driven it into its face. There were scars, some fairly fresh, that spread all around its face and neck.
He felt his breath flee as the beast slowly came down into the overturned vehicle, the metal creaking and bending against the massive weight of the beast. Its nostrils (which were large enough that he could shove his arms inside) took in his scent, seemingly considering him for its dinner. The roof of the jeep ground out a devastating whine as it opened its mouth, giving Xander a glimpse at the vicious looking fangs behind its scaly maw. He saw two fangs larger than the rest, situated right beneath where its eyes would be. They seemed to grow longer as he stared at the creature and, well, he must be hallucinating now. There was a glow emanating from where the fangs met the roof of the mouth, an venomous green glow that followed along the veins in the tooth until they reached the jagged point. A speck of liquid dripped from the fang and fell down onto his arm and it began to sizzle and smoke.
He was surprised he couldn't feel it, but then, it was probably a good thing. The beast leaned away from the jeep, getting ready to strike out, and Xander's senses returned to him. He'd faced death before, of course, lots of times. But this was one time Buffy wouldn't be there to save him. So, he did the only thing he could think to do: he tried to save himself.
He had the gun in his hand, though how it got there, he couldn't say. Maybe he'd never let it go. He knew it wasn't empty, the slide was closed and the hammer was back. He had one, maybe two rounds left. It wouldn't be enough, he knew, but damned if he'd go down without a fight. He dragged his arm up and leveled it with the nose, hoping that he could send a bullet straight up its nostril and into its brain. It probably wouldn't hurt the beast, but it might make it go away. He squeezed it as hard as he could; he was scared he wouldn't be able to apply enough force. He felt his arm jerk hard to the right as the shell hit his cheek before rolling off. He saw the beast jerk back away from him and heard it emit an eerie groan, like a ship groaning against the wind. It cried out and snarled, getting off the vehicle with enough force to twist it back around the tree it had hit. The gun fell from his hand and he screamed as his entire body went livid with pain, but his own scream was drowned out as another inhuman cry burst out from the creature. His body vibrated a few times as several loud, hard thumps echoed from outside. They were followed immediately by the sounds of earth shifting and the groan of falling trees.
Something had happened to the creature.
He heard voices outside, all of them shouting at once some strange word he didn't recognize. Then, there was silence. He realized they must have killed the creature, whoever had come. If he could, he'd thank them, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to. His entire body felt like one massive bruise, his head was pounding and his blood was all over the metal and his flesh. Even though he had a greater sense of things now, he still was woozy in the head and he was having difficulty processing what was going on around him. He was likely in shock, too.
And possibly hallucinating again, or so he thought when a head popped out from the passenger door. It belonged to a brunette girl around his age, and her mouth was wide-open as she stared down at him.
"Shit," she stated, turning to her left and shouting, "We got muggles here! They need help!"
She pulled out a long, thin stick from her jacket and pointed it at him then said "Mobilicorpus!" He felt his body lighten as he began to drift up towards her. He saw her stand up on the car and kept pointing her stick at him, guiding him up through the wreckage of the jeep before depositing him gently on the ground. Even though she had set him down as gently as possible, he felt his body cry out in agony and his entire world darken.
When he came to, he was no longer staring into the face of a brunette girl. Instead, a burly man with long, red hair was kneeling over him. He was pouring a strange, blue liquid over the wound on Xander's arm and, while he felt a bit sore, the young Sunnydalian had to admit, he felt a lot better.
"Wha-what happened? I saw a...thing."
"Yeah, a Canadian Angont," the man spoke with a British accent, and seemed as though he were speaking about the weather, "Vicious little bugger, but you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"
There was a note of sympathy in his voice, but somehow, Xander got the sense that the man was mad at him.
"I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Charlie Weasley," the man introduced himself as he put a cork in the bottle of blue liquid, "And you?"
"Xander Harris. Um, so, what's a Canadian Angus?"
"Angont," Charlie corrected, "A Canadian drake, very poisonous. This one's been attacked, too, driven out of its native land. Not to mention blinded in one eye, thanks to you."
"Charles," a soft, melodious voice called out, and a cute, blonde girl set her hand down on Charlie's shoulder, squatting down beside him, "Don't be mean. He's no idea what he's done."
"...Sorry, mate." Charlie offered with a sigh, "Don't mean too much by it."
Charlie clapped him gently on the shoulder and stepped away from him. The blonde girl looked after him for a moment before turning to Xander, "Don't mind him too much. He's got the creckles."
"...Creckles?" Xander asked, bemused.
"They're cousins of wrackspurts," the girl told him, "You said your name was Xander, right? How odd."
"Oh, yeah? Well, who're you?"
"I'm Luna," the girl smiled at him, "How are you feeling?"
He paused to consider before answering, "I'm actually feeling...ok."
"You should be," Luna said dreamily, "You barely had a scratch on you, least compared to your friend."
"Friend?" Xander asked, and it all came back to him. Xander's eyes widened in fear before turning his head in every direction, finding the ranger lying on the ground several feet to his right with Charlie kneeling over him. Xander rose to his feet, ignoring the soreness in his limbs and chest and made his way over to Ranger Nick. He sank down to his knees and stared down at the ranger. He was massively bruised, the same as him, but otherwise he wasn't too worse off than Xander. It didn't make any sense. Xander remembered, if only in vague bits, how hard the crash had been.
"Nick?" Xander asked, but he saw the man was unconscious.
"It's a bit odd," Charlie muttered, turning his eyes on Xander, "This man had five broken bones, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding. If we'd even been several minutes later, I don't think he would have survived. But you...massive bruising and a nasty head wound, along with your arm. How's it feeling?"
Xander held up his right arm; there was a large, garish blight on it, a burn mark that was shining in the night sky.
"It stings a bit," Xander admitted.
"And that's all," Charlie frowned lightly, "It's just a bit odd. Brilliant for you, but odd, all the same."
Xander paused for a moment to consider the man in front of him. He was a short, stocky man, though not an ounce of it was fat. He had very strong arms and several long healed burns. He was dressed in a pair of workmen's boots, jeans, a black shirt and a brown leather cutoff jacket. The jacket looked odd to him, somewhat...scaly.
Charlie followed his gaze and couldn't help but give a little smile, "Dragon scales, mate. Taken off one of my favorites, Reggie. Great beast, that. When he shed, there was so much left, we were able to make everyone a jacket."
"I would have taken one myself, but brown never was my color," Luna smiled, joining them, "If Albus sheds in the next few months then I'll take one. A deep blue dragon, same color as my house."
"House?" Xander asked.
"Oh yes, I quite miss it," Luna said, her eyes lifting up in thought, "Even if they would take my shoes sometimes."
He gave her an awkward smile, not quite sure what to say or do. Luna, like Charlie, was wearing a pair of boots, jeans and a jacket, though hers was just a blue flannel number with a strange, silver badge on it.
"What's...'MAC?'" he asked, reading off the badge. He received only a smile for his trouble before Luna turned and looked off into the distance behind him.
He turned and let out a frightened gasp at what he saw. It was the same creature as before, but now he could get a good look at it. It was longer than a school bus, and at least as wide. The legs were the size of oak trees and its tail as big as his car. The beast had massive, sharp spikes sticking out of its back and tail. They ground the metal chains that had been wrapped around the beast, but there was something off about them. Some of them appeared to be missing. Its back was terribly scarred and it appeared to be burnt a bit, as though something had tried to attack it from its side.
"What happened to it?"
"Most recently, you." Xander turned his head to the right, towards the tail of the great beast, and saw the brunette once again. She was strikingly beautiful, dressed in a pair of jeans and boots like the rest, but she wore a black shirt and a red flannel jacket. She was staring him down, just barely not glaring at him.
"Robin," Charlie admonished, "It's not his fault."
"It literally is his fault," Robin disagreed, "He's the one who shot the angont in the eye!"
"Well, it was about to eat him," Luna reminded her, twirling her wand in her fingers before sticking it behind her ear, "I can't say I blame him too much."
Robin glared, but didn't refute the point.
"Ok, who the Hell are you people?!" Xander demanded, having reached the end of his patience.
"We're with Magical Animal Control," Charlie stated, "Well, rather, Robin is; we're just consultants."
"I was helping contain a pack of drakes that were too close to a muggle campsite when we were attacked," Robin said, "Two of them were taken by poachers, the other three ran. When we finally found one, the alpha, she'd been badly injured and was on the border. The MACUSA allowed me passage across and contacted Charlie's Romanian dragon program."
"We're considering relocating the animals overseas if we can't stop the poachers," Charlie picked up, "How's the drake?"
"Drake?" Xander asked, confused.
"Drakes are a breed of dragon that don't have wings," Charlie answered, "I'm sorry, mate, but we need to finish securing the angont. Give us a minute, yeah?"
Xander nodded, not really sure what else to say. Something was wrong here, and as he watched the three...wizards, he figured, gather around the 'drake,' he considered what was going on. It sounded like he'd stumbled on something magical and dangerous, which put this squarely in Hellmouth territory. He wished he had a cell phone or something, so he could call up Giles. He probably would have heard about this 'Magical Animal Control' and what Medusa was. Especially with how open these folks were being with him.
A hint of fear slithered down his spine. They were being very open on the details with him, far more open than he would ever be if he were in their position. Why, though? Were they just being honest, or was it pity? He had been pretty banged up. Though even that didn't make sense, considering how easily 'Charlie' healed him. He dismissed pity easily enough, but that lead him back around to the question: why were they telling him so much?
Luna had set down a large suitcase and, with the tap of her wand, it expanded to the size of a large shipping container. The three wizards gathered around the 'drake' and shouted 'Mobilicorpus' at once, and the large beast was lifted up off the ground. As they guided it gently into the case, Xander's mind clicked. 'Robin' had said three drakes had fled into America, and one of them had been found. This made the second one they had found in the States...which meant there was one more left.
They were trying to gain his confidence so they could question him. That actually didn't bother him too much. If they were tracking these things to keep them away from humans, then he had absolutely no problem with that. Shit, he'd help out if they'd let him. Though as he watched these three wizards guide the massive beast into the case, he couldn't help but shiver slightly. On second thought, he could stand being on the sidelines for this one.
But even as he considered this, one more thought found its way into his mind. If they wanted to question him, what would happen after he helped them? Would they simply let him go? Looking at them, at their power, he found himself doubtful. No one with that kind of power, let alone an entire organization, ever just let people know about them. His thoughts turned to the Mayor as he considered this, and he couldn't help but feel this was the truth. They were disarming him, making him lower his guard. They would get whatever they needed from him, then they'd kill him.
But would they? He considered each of them. Charlie struck him as a capable fellow, even as an ex-soldier, but not a cold-blooded assassin. Luna...nope, not a chance. Robin...possibly. She struck him as a bit like Buffy and Faith, strong and capable. If killing someone was the norm for them, then she might be the one to do it.
He came out of his thoughts in time to see the beast fully inside the case. It was somewhat staggering, actually, to see the kind of power these people wielded. Willow took a lot of control to levitate a pencil, let alone make a suitcase the size of a freakin' semi. For them, it was like child's play. The three wizards stepped outside the case and, once they were off to the side, Luna once again tapped it with her wand and, with an audible snap that frightened several birds, it shrank and slammed shut. Robin stepped forward and picked the case up, carrying it as if it were empty.
With a groan, Charlie stretched and turned towards Xander. The redhead settled down to a squatting position, running a hand through his long hair as he looked Xander in the eye.
"So," Charlie started, "I imagine you have a few more questions, and I want to answer them. But-"
"You have questions of your own," Xander surmised.
"Right in one," Charlie agreed.
"Are you willing to help?" Robin asked, her arms folded as she looked down on him.
"I want one question answered before I do," Xander said, "What happens after I answer?"
"You sign a piece of paper, and when you do, you'll never be able to tell anyone what happened," Robin said; there was an edge to her voice, a kind of harshness that struck Xander oddly. It sounded like she was overcompensating, trying to be meaner than she actually was. She was lying, and she was lying badly.
"I don't think he believes you," Luna said with a small smile, "I wouldn't believe you either. You have a grumpy face."
"I do not have a grumpy face!" Robin said in shock.
"Kind of a grumpy face," Charlie shrugged.
"You're kind of a grumpy face!" Robin shouted.
"Ok, that makes no sense," Xander commented.
"It literally makes perfect sense!" Robin responded.
"Okay, okay," Xander grinned lightly, "Tell me the truth, guys. No bullcrap. What's gonna happen?"
"I'm going to point my stick at you," Luna lifted her wand, "Say something, you'll fall asleep and wake up in your cart, and you won't remember a thing."
"Y'know it's not normal procedure to tell the muggle they're about to be obliviated, right?" Robin inquired.
"He don't seem like a normal human to me, bit too...calm," Charlie figured, "You've seen stuff, magic, haven't you?"
Xander could only nod. He didn't want to give them too much, but he didn't want to be mind-wiped either.
"Well, if he'd been indoctrinated into the Secrecy Statutes, he wouldn't even need to ask who we are," Robin reasoned, "So..."
"Either way, we gotta do this," Charlie muttered, not really liking the idea, "Listen, we'll try and make this as painless as possible. We'll fix your car up, give you some money. That's the best we can do for you."
Xander frowned; he didn't like the idea of being mind-wiped, but from what they were telling him, he wouldn't have a choice. These people didn't seem like they wanted to hurt him, well, not really anyway. They seemed like they were just doing their jobs, which didn't provide Xander much comfort. He hated being in this situation, but...he'd have to make the best of it.
"Can you make my car not about to fall apart? With lots of cash?"
Charlie grinned, "Muggle lotteries are pretty easy to fix."
"And as for your car, well," Robin clicked her tongue and flipped her wand in her hand, "A '57
Belair isn't that great, but um, I think I can help ya with that."
"Know much about cars?"
"Dad's muggle-born," Robin grinned, "Taught me loads of car stuff. It was the only way he could connect with his magical daughter."
"Groovy," Xander muttered wondering what 'muggle' meant, "Alright, I guess the first thing you want to know is if I've seen any others? No, no I haven't, and I can safely say that, cause that thing is Godzilla's baby boy and it's freakin' terrifying. I'd know another one if I saw it."
Charlie nodded, "I thought as much, but we had to be sure. I have another question, though. Have you seen any other witches or wizards out here? Anyone acting oddly, maybe?"
Xander shook his head, "I haven't been in town very long. I've spent most of my time in the woods. It's cheaper and I like the stars."
Robin, Charlie and Luna nodded at that. Luna smiled, "I like the stars, too. Takes my mind off the wrackspurts."
"I dunno what those are, but I've always felt better looking at the stars," Xander smiled lightly, "Ever since I was a little kid. I'd spend as many nights as I could outside, or with a-a friend."
"I've spent lots of nights in the sanctuary, sleeping underneath the stars so we could care for the dragons," Charlie said, a nostalgic look on his face, " Can't wait to get back there."
With a groan, Charlie rose to his feet and pulled out his wand. Before pointing it at him, though, Charlie extended his hand to Xander and the Sunnydalian, after a moment of consideration, took his hand and let him lift him to his feet.
"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Xander. I just wish it could've been under different circumstances."
"Yeah, yeah, me too," Xander agreed.
With a gentle wave from Luna and a nod from Robin, Charlie raised his wand and leveled it against Xander's forehead. He muttered some strange word and, then, all was darkness.