“Did you know that the most sensitive parts of the human body are the fingers, and the mouth?” The Shaman startled Willow out of her troubled sleep.

“You speak English?” Then she realized the words were only in her mind. The Shaman was using telepathy in order to communicate to her. Willow concentrated but her magic was still tapped out, or not usable. She’d have to do with the old fashioned way. “Um, no? Why do you ask?” She strained on her bonds but knew it was hopeless. The Shaman stood in the doorway glaring at her, only the whites of his eyes showing out of his black face, which was partly covered by a filthy looking turban.

He remained silent and motionless. Willow was afraid, but she was also getting angry. “What is it that you want? Why have you taken my magic? Who are you?” The questions flew out of her as she glared right back at her captor.

“You are the one,” his voice echoed again in her mind. It caused her spine to tingle and goose bumps to appear on her arms and legs. “The one that altered the course of nature, that which had been set forth far before your time. Stupid little girl, playing with dark forces for which you lack understanding, and know nothing about.”

He took a step towards her. “Where there was one, now there are many.” He reached out his hand and Willow was jolted with an electrical force. Her hair stood on end and her limbs stiffened. Pain shot out of her fingertips, an agony she had never felt before. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Then she slumped in her chair and knew nothing more.

* * *

Giles was jarred out of sleep by a firm knocking on the bedroom door, followed by Brooks opening it and peering in. “Rise and shine, gentlemen. We leave in one hour. Breakfast shall be on the table in twenty minutes.” Then he firmly shut the door and left them to their own devices.

Xander was still heavily snoring. Giles touched the boy on his shoulder to awaken him. “Xander. Xander. Xander!” Finally Xander groaned and cracked open an eye. “Do you need the facility first or shall I?” Giles gestured towards the water closet. Xander groaned again and pulled himself out of the bed, lumbering into the bathroom. Giles smiled and pulled on his robe.

Cautiously he padded down the hallway to knock on Buffy’s door. “Buffy? Are you awake?” He chuckled to himself as the feeling of déjà vu came over him, only this time it was with a feeling of renewed friendship and trust. When there was no answer to his knock he slowly turned the door knob and poked his head in. The bed was empty and Buffy didn’t appear to be in the room.

As he turned to leave he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Buffy was coming out of the bathroom which was attached to the bedroom. She had a towel wrapped in her long blonde hair and another wrapped around her body. Steam poured out of the bathroom door and she didn’t notice him frozen in his spot right away. When she looked up she stopped in her tracks, surprised. “Giles?”

Giles face was turning crimson. He knew he should apologize and leave, but he couldn’t seem to do either. Buffy stood stalk still, startled by his presence, and not a little unnerved. “Giles?” she called again.

His eyes traveled from the tips of her toes, up her wet bare legs, and then up to the bottom of the towel just above her knees until they came up to her face. Her expression of surprise and mirth and embarrassment all mixed into one finally jarred him back to his senses. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry…I…er…Buffy…I knocked….” then he turned and ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Buffy stood there for a moment and then began to laugh. She laughed and laughed, crumpling onto the foot of her bed as the tears streamed down her face. It took her five minutes to compose herself long enough to get dressed and dry her hair.

Buffy was the last to arrive at the breakfast table. Giles had his head bent over the map. She could see that his ears were still a bit red, and he hardly looked at her in greeting. That caused her to snort again. Xander gave her a curious look as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. “What’s the what, Buff?” She sure seemed in a good mood. That was unlike her.

Brooks plopped a plate down in front of her. “Eat up. We leave in fifteen minutes.” He’d spent the past evening securing their gear in the jeep and packing up food, necessities, and other supplies. Brooks may be old, but he was seasoned and experienced. He could pack in his sleep.

Buffy waved off Xander and started in on breakfast, munching on a piece of toast. “What are you looking at, Giles?” She couldn’t help but giggle at her question.

He gave her a pointed look and then returned to the map. “I’m going over our route one last time.” Buffy rolled her eyes. It’s not like Giles could know anything by that map. Brooks was their guide. “Relax and eat. What more could you possibly learn from that thing anyway?”

“That’s what I tried to tell him.” Brooks said, sinking into his own chair. “We don’t even need the bloody thing, but Rupert has insisted.”

Giles took off his glasses and polished them with vigor. He ‘harrumphed’ as he placed them back on his nose. “You can never be too sure, nor research too much.”

“Yes, well, take a good look, Giles. A very good look.” Buffy blushed herself that time. What had come over her anyway? Giles’s mouth gaped open for a moment before he quickly shut it and looked down at his plate.

Xander looked at Buffy, and then Giles. His eyebrow quirked upwards. Something was definitely going on between those two. “Can we please keep in mind that we need to find Willow?”

Giles shook his head. “Quite right.” He sobered immediately and they all finished their breakfast in silence.

It was early morning and the sun was barely up, yet the temperature was already hovering in the seventies, (degrees in Fahrenheit). Despite the weather, they were all wearing long sleeve shirts and pants for protection from the insects and the jungle. Brooks had even given them various inoculations to ward off malaria and other African diseases. Giles had suffered his shots in silence. Buffy had frowned but remained stoic. Xander, on the other hand, had babbled incessantly the entire time so that Brooks had to threaten to tape his mouth shut. It had already been an interesting morning.

The landscape was boring to Buffy. She had always thought an African Safari would be a compelling adventure. But she saw no animals. Only sand and trees and an occasional shack. Of course, according to Brooks, they had not even entered the jungle yet. Supposedly they were on their way to Maun in Botswana. Brooks knew a man there that was an expert in the tribes of the area and he hoped to initiate his help in finding Willow. According to Brooks, if this man didn’t know, then they should all just turn around and head back home. Buffy had started to snark at him but the look on Giles's face made her hold her tongue. She knew Giles would never abandon Willow. They would not stop looking, no matter what. Giles had given her a small smile and she had kept her mouth shut, leaning her head back against the Jeep’s backseat.

As they drove, Brooks did a running commentary on the area. “Botswana took it’s name in 1966 when it gained it’s Independence from British protectorate of Bechuanaland. Mineral extraction, especially diamonds, is the predominate driving force in the economy. It also has the highest known rates of HIV and Aids infections, so please remember to always use protection.” He smirked as they entered into a small village. Buffy rolled her eyes, Giles blushed, and Xander continued to nap against the window.

The Kalahari Desert was to the Southwest, and Giles had a sneaking suspicion that would be there ultimate destination. Luckily they were not in the middle of the draught season, although wind and sand storms could arise at any time on the flat terrain. He sure hoped that they could trust Brooks. Buffy could defeat Lothos, The Master, and Angelus, but the desert was another thing entirely. Giles was getting more concerned by the moment, but he hid it well. His worries were only reinforced when Brooks parked the Jeep out front of what appeared to be a bar.

Buffy quirked an eyebrow at Xander and whispered in his ear, “Beer Bad.” Xander nodded in agreement. “Um, we aren’t wetting the old whistle in here, are we?” He nervously asked Brooks.

“Nope. Hana will be in here.” Brooks opened the door to the bar and held it for Buffy, a little grin on his face.

“Hana? Is that your contact then?” She asked as she entered the place.

“Indeed.” Brooks said, surveying the place. Buffy scrunched up her nose. It smelled, and the place was alive with so many flies that there was a constant buzzing in her ears. She gave Giles a nervous glance and he gave her the same worried look back at her. Then he tried to smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure Brooks knows what he’s doing, Buffy.”

“Yeah, sure he does.” Buffy watched Brooks approach the ancient looking man behind the bar and sunk into a chair. Then she shot back up out of it as something sticky stuck to her pants. “Ew?!” She caught Giles checking out her backside, most notably for the sticky substance, but she couldn’t help noticing that he seemed to take in quite the eyeful. “Giles?”

He blushed again, a record for one day, Buffy was sure. “Uh, it appears…clean.” He sat in the chair across from her and grabbed Xander by the elbow to drag him down as well. “We’ll wait here for further instructions.” He waved off the waitress that approached. At least, he thought it was the waitress.

‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’ Giles thought to himself.