"Huh," Charlie 'huhed' looking around at the gaping pit that was once Sunnydale. "This is...a large...sandy hole."

After a restful night of sleep, Charlie and Cas had broached the question of transportation over breakfast. Selena had just smiled and looked to Simon. Apparently, Simon had a knack for mechanics and restored junk cars in his spare time. Simon had promised them the keys to a car once they were safely in Oz. Charlie and Cas had been forced to wait around most of the morning while Reigna and Simon had said heartfelt goodbyes and gathered up their things. They mostly just stayed out of the way, not having spent enough time with anyone to have developed a bond. Eventually, Simon and Reigna were ready.

Armed with pilfered junkfood and luggage, Charlie, Cas, and the wayward winged monkeys piled into the nondescript sedan and rode off into the horizon. Reigna and Simon had chittered quietly to each other in the back seat in their native language. Charlie turned the radio to the only music station coming in clearly and hummed quietly along. Cas had stared silently out the window, his adorably squinty eyes squinting adorably in the sunlight. With the aid of Charlie's conveniently compatible technology providing GPS directions, by noon they had reached the scorched desert sinkhole that was once the battleground for the universe.

"What did you expect, Charlie?" Cas asked scornfully. She shrugged.

"I don't know. Something...more substantial. Cooler. I felt like there'd be...I don't know. A vibe."

Cas rolled his eyes and turned to Simon.
"Is it here?" Simon closed his eyes. He had insisted that Reigna wait by the car, afraid that the sandy tomb may yet hold some unforeseen dangers. She had smiled indulgently and graciously allowed him to go on alone. Simon now breathed deeply, stretching his preternatural awareness to its outermost reaches. After several quiet moments he opened his eyes and shook his head.

"No."

Charlie let out a frustrated groan./p

"You're sure?"

Simon nodded.

"I would be able to feel if it were. It...pricks at us," he said with a disgusted grimace. Charlie sighed.

"Well, the good news is I guess I don't have to go digging around here. Literally. Bad news is now I gotta track down that Wells guy and, assuming he's alive, hope he knows something. And convince him to tell me."

Cas privately thought that he likely wouldn't be able to see Charlie through to the end of the journey. Just standing there with the heat of the desert sun beating down on his human form was making him sway on unsteadily his feet.

Simon huffed impatiently. "That has nothing to do with me. I did my part. Now it's time for you to do yours. Send me and Reigna home!" His demand was tinged with desperation.

Cas looked at Charlie, who had her hand in her pocket, presumably fingering the key to Oz. He stepped close to Charlie and leaned in next to her ear.

"He and Reigna can sense the Cap. You stand a greater chance of finding it if you keep them with you." Charlie pulled back her head and stared at Cas in shock. He looked back at her complacently. "Ultimately it's your decision, but once again, my time with you is limited." Charlie's expression melted from shocked and angry disbelief to inner conflict. Cas felt a twinge of guilt for being the cause of that turmoil, essentially asking her to weigh her own goals against the promise she had made. He truly wasn't an angel anymore.

"HEY! Who the mother fucking hell do you mother fucking sons of bitches think you are and what the goddamned mother fucking hell do you think you're goddamned well doing here?!"

Cas, Simon, and Charlie turned towards the source of the angry expletives that was coming towards them in a cloud of kicked up dust. Shit-kicker boots crunched their angry way across the baked sand as a tiny asian woman with a wicked looking samurai sword and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much leather for this environment glared at the three of them simultaneously. A truly impressive feat for a two-eyed individual. She stopped several feet from them, still eyeing them fiercely.

Cas spun away from Charlie and placed himself between her and the newcomer, although he knew in his present condition he might very well be the one needing protecting. He needn't have worried. All the stranger's attention was focused on Charlie.

"Girl! I thought you went home. What the hell are you even doing here?" she asked with irritation. Charlie blinked, opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Luckily, the impractically dressed female didn't seem to mind. "Shit, and here I thought I was gonna have to beat down some morbid-ass intruders. They recall you? Tsk. Typical! Watcher HQ bullshit can't find it's own ass with a flashlight and a tracking spell. Who the fuck are these assholes?" she asked gesturing imperiously at Simon and Cas.

"This is Cas and Simon. They're friends," she said with wavering confidence. The other woman seemed not to notice. She scoffed again.

"Taking them to see the famous site of destruction and devastation? We're not a goddamn tourist attraction! Although that would certainly rake in the dough. At least with the supernatural set. Fuck it's hot! Leather may be sexy and tactically advantageous but it does. Not. Breathe! If you're done showing your buddies around, what say we go inside? There's a freezey pop with my name on it." With that, she turned and abruptly started walking towards one edge of the sinkhole, opposite where Charlie and Cas had parked the car. Charlie exchanged a brief, puzzled look with the others before quickly following after her. Cas and Simon reluctantly followed suit.

After several minutes of walking they climbed up the edge of the sinkhole and arrived at an unassuming trailer overlooking the pit. The woman, still nameless, kicked the door unceremoniously open, revealing a makeshift office of sorts. She bi-passed a desk heaped with papers and an ancient looking book to grab several freezey pops from a mini-fridge humming away in the corner. She tossed them at each of the assembled humanoids.

She ripped hers open with her teeth and leaned against the desk, causing a precariously balanced pile of papers to teeter worryingly. She regarded them all once again.

"Who the fuck are all of you?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, I know Vi, obviously, but who the fuck are the rest of you assholes?" After a second's hesitation, Charlie decided to just roll with it.

"This is Castiel, and this is Simon," she said stiltedly, gesturing to each in turn. Cas nodded shortly. Simon was ignoring the proceedings in favor of trying fruitlessly to defeat the plastic separating him from his icy treat.

The woman tilted her head and scrutinized Castiel.

"Can see he's not human," she gestured with her chin toward the disinterested Simon, "but what the fuck are you?"

"What makes you think I'm not human?" Castiel asked, just the barest hint of curiosity underscoring his otherwise neutral tone. The woman let loose a bark of rough laughter.

"Experience!"

Cas nodded at that.

"You are correct. I am not human. I would rather not discuss it. It should be sufficient that I pose no harm to you, and that Vi," he said, looking towards Charlie, "vouches for me." The woman seemed to consider this before shrugging.

"Ah hell, what the fuck. I ain't exactly human myself, by my calculations," she said, finishing her pop. "Shit, I hate this assignment. Spending hours a day watching a giant hole in the ground, chasing off occult wannabes and UFO nuts on the slight chance some crazy shit might go down unexpectedly. Fucking boring bullshit! That's what it is. Can't wait to switch out."

"Hey, uh, thanks' for the popsicle," Charlie said, gesturing at her still unopened desert. "We were pretty much finished looking around. I just wanted to know...do you happen to know where Andrew Wells is currently?"

The woman's eyes widened fractionally.

"You mean you haven't heard?"

Charlie exchanged a look with Cas, which was not lost on the Slayer.

"Heard what?" Charlie asked eagerly.

The slayer frowned at Cas and Simon, both of whom were paying attention now.

"You sure you want to discuss this now?" she asked, making her reservations painfully obvious. Charley nodded decisively.

"These two can be trusted." The slayer seemed to measure them for an additional second before shrugging it off.

"The word from on high is that he got attacked by this weird shadow monster thing."

"Shadow monster?" Castiel echoed. She nodded.

"Yeah. Like nothing we've never seen before. Old, powerful, but with a crippling light allergy. By a weird stroke of luck Xander was there and he managed to call up the reinforcements before things got really hairy. Don't worry," she added, seeing Charlie's disturbed expression. "He's gonna be okay. He's recuperating in the secure ward of LA Watcher HQ." She looked at Charlie thoughtfully.

"Hey, if you got time, you should go visit him, Vi. I know he'd love to see you." Charlie blinked, and then smiled slowly.

"You know what? Yeah. I think I'll do that."