1. Default Chapter

**Xander on Safari**

**Part of the Omniverse Project**

**By Benji: The Vampire Confuser**

_Xander Harris and all related Buffy characters belong to Joss Whedon. Bill Weasley and all related characters belong to JK Rowling. Annie and all related characters belong to Sam Raimie._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

From:

To:

Subj: Here I am.

Well Buffster, our plane landed this morning in Cape-town, and we've still got quite a ways to go yet. We're taking a bus to…somewhere, I forget. Then we're loading into a bunch of jeeps to go out to the building site. I've sent word to G-Man, who tells me that the one I'm looking for should be somewhere in that vicinity. But honestly, who knows how much time I'll have to look for her? We're not just building a few houses here, we're building an entire village.

Hope all is well with you and Dawnie. You learn Italian yet?

Your friend, Xander.

* * *

Dear Buffy,

Well, we've arrived. Depending on the speed of the mail delivery service, by the time you get this we should be well set up. The plans for the buildings are already laid out, tomorrow we get right to work digging the foundations. Some of the locals have insisted on lending a hand. It's gonna be their village after-all. Seems the missionaries have taught them that whole, God helps those that help themselves routine.

I think I may have found our girl. Young kid, about maybe eight. She seems to fit the profile, so I'll be keeping an eye on her. (no pun intended)

I'm getting along okay with the rest of the crew, so far no holier than thou types, though maybe if I mention my best friend the Witch they'll go running for the hills.

Well, I hear the dinner bell, so I'd better finish up. Write back and give me the 411 on everybody, and in return I'll tell you about the cute chef they've got working with us.

Sincerely,

Xander.

* * *

"Evening Annie," Xander said, sidling up to the counter. "What've you got for us tonight?"

Annie, a tall brunette with cat-eye glasses that didn't seem to suit her (Xander thought she was wearing them because they seemed cooler than regular glasses), smiled at him as she answered. "I decided to give everyone a taste of home." She said. "You want a burger or a hotdog?"

Xander chuckled, and shook his head. "I'll have a burger thanks." Burgers and Hot Dogs? Cooked in the grand old American fashion, on a bar-b-que. That was a nice touch, though pretty simplistic for her. Annie was the first person he'd ever known who literally could trip over her own feet. She'd first signed onto the crew as one of the construction detail, but that had ended in absolute disaster. Fortunately she'd managed to not be sent strait back to the states by demonstrating that there was one place where she had the grace of a ballerina. The kitchen.

Annie was possibly the greatest cook Xander had ever seen, and was quickly becoming quite charmed. Not just from her cooking, but from the conversations they'd had. Both had taken a while to find their niche. Annie finally found hers as a chef and a hostess, though she still liked to try things a bit more grandiose, like building a village for instance.

Xander could relate. He'd tried to save the world by standing shoulder to shoulder with Buffy. He'd dreamed of being the big hero. But what he'd come to realize was that sometimes, it was the little people who made the biggest difference.

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"So boss, tell me," Marcus, the man in charge of the mixing crew asked as Xander sat down across from him. Marcus, a former Dreadnok had been impressed by Xander. Mostly because Xander was the only man he'd ever known who REALLY wore an eye patch. That and the fact that when asked, Xander would explain that a satanic preacher had put out his eye. Now that was hardcore. "What's a macho kid like you doing wearing a necklace?"

Xander glanced down. Sure enough, the pendant that Willow had given him had fallen out of his shirt, and hung free for all to see. He quickly stuffed it back into his shirt. "It was a gift from a friend." He said evasively. What was he supposed to say? "Oh this here medallion will instantly transport me to England should I ever find myself in a sticky situation." That explanation wasn't exactly conducive to keeping a low profile.

A sudden crash from the grill saved him from any further questions, as everyone looked to see what had happened. Annie had dropped a plate of burgers, and had somehow managed to upset the cart of silverware as well. A smattering of applause accompanied the laughter, and Xander recognized the humiliation on Annie's face. He'd seen it countless times in the mirror.

"Hey!" he shouted, glowering at the workers. He'd learned a few months ago that a glare from a one eyed man did wonders for getting his point across. "She's the one who feeds you remember?" The laughter died.

Satisfied, he went to Annie's aid. _This isn't like her._ He thought. _She's clumsy as hell, but not in the kitchen._ He soon found the reason. The young girl who was probably the Slayer he'd come to find was babbling away in her native language. He didn't understand a word of it but from the supplicating gestures she was making, as well as her frantic attempts to clean up the mess made him guess that she had aided in making it.

"Hey," Xander said, crouching to help as well, "Need a hand?"

Annie looked at him gratefully, swallowing back tears. Xena did NOT cry. Okay so she wasn't really Xena reincarnated, but Joxer had always looked up to her anyway. Besides, all her fellow Xenaphiles told her she looked just like Lucy Lawless.

Between the three of them, they got the mess cleaned up quickly. The young girl disappeared quickly, apparently still mortified at what she had done.

"I almost stepped on her." Annie explained. "I turned around and she was right behind me. Scared me to death."

"Yeah," Xander grinned, "I used to do that to my mom. She never turned around though."

"Thanks for helping."

"No problem."

They stood there, silently for a moment.

"So anyway I should-"

"Yeah," Annie said quickly, "I should too."

The rest of the day proceeded without incident. Almost. Xander, having impressed the foreman with his knowledge and skill had been made his right hand man. They went over the plans for the schoolhouse with the chief of the village.

"You want it here?" the chief asked, his English thickly accented. He pointed to a spot on the map.

"Yes." Jenkins, the foreman said. "It's a central location, makes it easier for the kids to get there." He saw that the chief was worried. "What's the problem?"

The chief frowned. "No problem."

"Good because-"

"Except, ground, maybe not good."

"What?"

"Ground, is, how you say, cursed."

"Cursed?" Xander asked. What the hell was it with him? Every time he came across a school it had to be on un-holy ground? "What do you mean cursed?"

In the native language that Xander could not decipher, the chief called out to someone who nodded. He turned to Jenkins and Xander. "I call for Mokele. He explain."

A few moments later, an old man with many piercings and tattoos arrived, walking with the aid of a staff, hung with feathers and, Xander was almost certain it was a demon skull.

The chief and the shaman spoke for a moment, then Mokele began to speak. The chief translated.

"Is old story." Went the tale. "Long time ago, when great great grandfather was young, powerful Shaman was buried there. If ground is ever disturbed, great terrible things happen."

"Okay," Jenkins said slowly, "But as I was about to say, your son already approved these plans. We broke ground there this afternoon."

Xander and the Shaman blanched, while the chief merely winced. As Mokele and the one eyed Scoobie headed for the construction site, he heard the chief mutter something that he was willing to bet was something along the lines of "Oh yeah, I forgot."

* * *

"These people really believe in this curse stuff?" Jenkins asked disbelievingly.

"You believe Jesus rose from the dead?"

"What?"

"It's the same thing to them. To you it's mumbo jumbo Sci-Fi stuff. To them it's religion."

Jenkins shrugged. "All fine and good but this puts us in a hell of a bind. We gotta find a new place to put the school, and half of the town's freaked because we disturbed the ground." He looked a little uncertain for a moment. "Nothing weird's happened since then has it?"

Xander grinned. "Not that I've noticed no. Magic's a tricky thing…or…so the movies would have us believe." He winced inwardly. _Nice save Harris._ He thought.

"I told the chief we can put the dirt back but that Witch Doctor guy isn't sure that'll do it."

"What's he suggest?"

"Hell if I know, but the chief tells me that the old man knows what to do."

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them. A young man with long red hair and wearing clothes that seemed to not fit him too well stood behind them. "I'm Bill Weasley, can you tell me where I can find Mokele the Shaman?"

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Times were tense for Bill Weasley these days. Newly married, country gone horribly awry, half his friends on the run from the government. And here he was, in the middle of Africa to break a centuries old curse that might already have been triggered.

As he followed the one eyed Muggle to the site, where Mokole was already hard at work, he did his best to ignore the looks he was getting. He'd been out among Muggles enough to know how to dress like them these days. So that wasn't it. No he imagined it was his face. Even his guide had taken a few curious looks at the scars. Bill could tell he was itching to ask. But to his credit, he held his tongue and appeared to be doing his best not to stare.

Bill was somewhat curious as to how the young man had lost his eye. He got momentary amusement from the notion that this boy and Mad Eye could trade stories. Then he remembered what had happened to Moody, and the amusement died.

Which of course got him back to brooding on the current situation back home. Fleur had been almost ready to hex the door shut to keep him from leaving. But the order needed allies, and word needed to be spread. So when his old friend and mentor Mokole had contacted him regarding trouble in his village, he'd come. Getting out of the country hadn't been easy though. And he was certain he was being watched. But as an employee of Gringott's bank he'd managed it.

For his part, Xander was almost physically itching with curiosity about this Bill Weasley. And not even about his face. Well that was part of it. But mostly it was the mystery of his presence in the first place. Who was this guy, showing up out of nowhere wanting to talk to the village Shaman?

It had something to do with the curse, Xander was sure of that. Though Bill had refused to say why he was there. When asked, he'd only politely and evasively asked to see Mokole. And more than that the man seemed, uncomfortable in his own skin. Or maybe it was just that the clothes didn't appear to fit properly.

Xander decided to try again. "So, you're English right?"

Bill looked at him curiously. What the hell kind of question was that? "Yes. And you're American. I can't be the first Englishman you've ever met."

Xander snickered. "No, I've met plenty. Probably more than most Americans. Though I suspect that some of them were faking the accent."

Bill laughed. "I've heard some people do that."

"Have you met many Americans?"

"A few. Mostly tourists on holiday. Surprisingly few actually in England though. Most of them were in Egypt. Not so often now though. It's like something's scaring them away or something."

Xander looked at him to see if he was kidding. Could this guy actually not know what was going on in that part of the world?

Bill caught the look. Was something going on in the Muggle world that he should know about? He grinned, hoping that the man would think he was just kidding.

Xander snickered again, playing along. But he wasn't entirely fooled. "Could be. Oh, here we are."

Mokole, the chief watching with concern, was performing what looked like some sort of ritual at the dig site. The very tip of what could be the entrance to a long buried structure could be seen peeking out from the dirt. The diggers had gotten that far before the order to halt had gone out.

Actually they'd have had to stop anyway. There was no way they could build the school if there was some ancient tomb or any other archaeological find there. But of course, that wasn't the issue at hand. They were already reworking the plans to figure out where to put the school. But with the threat of a curse, the entire village was terrified, and even the skeptical Habitat workers were on edge.

Mokole was relieved to see Bill, for several reasons. For one thing, the young wizard was the best curse breaker he'd ever met. And it had not been easy to admit such a thing about a European. But of course it was also those rumors he'd been hearing about the Isles.

It was fortunate that Bill knew his language. That way they could discuss the situation freely, despite the hovering Muggle.

"Bill, I'm glad you could come. With the situation in your homeland, I was not sure you would be available."

"Well I couldn't say no to an old friend." Bill grinned. "Especially with an unknown curse. Those things can be nasty. Plus I'm hoping you can help me out with something."

"Whatever I can do, I will do it."

"When we've done with this I've some things to tell you that I hope you will tell others." Bill said. "But first things first. What seems to be the problem here?"

Mokole explained to Bill that long ago a very powerful Shaman had been buried on this spot, and as was common practice in those days, a curse had been placed on his tomb should the grave ever be disturbed. But unfortunately, the details of the curse had been lost.

"Has anything happened yet?" Bill asked.

"No, not yet. I hope that the workers stopped in time."

Bill nodded thoughtfully and crouched to examine the little bit of the tomb that was visible. Being careful to keep his back to Xander, he pulled out his wand. "Acclaro." But nothing happened. He frowned, and tentatively touched the tip of his wand to the stone.

Finally he turned back to Mokole, an unsatisfied look on his face. "Well there's definitely something there, but I can't be sure what without seeing the entire tomb."

Mokole blanched. His specialty was in healing charms, and helping plants grow. The occasional exorcism. But curses, particularly powerful ones were out of his league. That was why he'd called Bill in the first place.

"But what if the curse has not been triggered, and revealing the tomb does so?"

"Mokole relax. I'll place all necessary protections up before we uncover it. If the curse is triggered I'll know it, and counter it immediately. But we have to know for certain what we're dealing with here, and I have to see the entire tomb to do that. Can you remove the dirt around the structure?"

Mokole look critically at the partially excavated tomb. "I am not so young as I once was, but I believe I am up to the task. My hands have not started shaking with age yet."

"Good. Now, what do we do about the Muggle?"

They both turned to look at Xander, who was still watching, despite not having understood a word either of them had said.

"Hi." he waved.

To be continued...


End file.
