Andumbulu Part Two
Sep. 24th, 2007 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vinniebatmanTitle: Andumbulu, Part Two
Author: vinniebatman, written for![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
fall_for_sx.
Fandom: BtVS
Spoilers: Season 7 of BtVS, Season 5 of AtS. Ignores the Buffy comic
Pairings: Spander
Rating/Warnings: Adult for the gay man on man loving! (yay!) Oh, and major character death.
Summary: When Xander goes missing in Africa and is feared dead, Dawn and Spike are sent to investigate. What they find is a secret behind the creation of the slayer line.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy characters or any characters or ideas from the film Taafa Fanga.
MAJOR Author's Note: This story was inspired by a film I saw called Taafe Fanga (Skirt Power) from Mali. The film is is very entertaining, but is primarily about women's rights and gender equality. It also featured some of the local Dogon beliefs. The information I have on the Dogon and Tellem cultures comes from wikipedia and the above film. I was able to locate. What information I did find was about the basics of the Tellem and Dogon beliefs, but little else. Therefore, the interactions and powers of the Tellem and Andumbulu in this story are creations of my own mind and are, as far as I know, untrue. Aside from the basics of the spirits, all else is fabrication on my part.
A/N 2: All translations are in mouseover, thanks to the lovely Ms.noandwhere. Also, I don't know french that well, so all french translations are from some random online source.
Beta: A million thanks to the wonderfulsuki_blue. You are beyond awesome!
All Parts Archived HERE
* * * * * * * * * *
Author: vinniebatman, written for
fall_for_sx. Fandom: BtVS
Spoilers: Season 7 of BtVS, Season 5 of AtS. Ignores the Buffy comic
Pairings: Spander
Rating/Warnings: Adult for the gay man on man loving! (yay!) Oh, and major character death.
Summary: When Xander goes missing in Africa and is feared dead, Dawn and Spike are sent to investigate. What they find is a secret behind the creation of the slayer line.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy characters or any characters or ideas from the film Taafa Fanga.
MAJOR Author's Note: This story was inspired by a film I saw called Taafe Fanga (Skirt Power) from Mali. The film is is very entertaining, but is primarily about women's rights and gender equality. It also featured some of the local Dogon beliefs. The information I have on the Dogon and Tellem cultures comes from wikipedia and the above film. I was able to locate. What information I did find was about the basics of the Tellem and Dogon beliefs, but little else. Therefore, the interactions and powers of the Tellem and Andumbulu in this story are creations of my own mind and are, as far as I know, untrue. Aside from the basics of the spirits, all else is fabrication on my part.
A/N 2: All translations are in mouseover, thanks to the lovely Ms.
noandwhere. Also, I don't know french that well, so all french translations are from some random online source.Beta: A million thanks to the wonderful
suki_blue. You are beyond awesome!All Parts Archived HERE
* * * * * * * * * *
It had taken a while for the Scoobies to fall asleep. But a few hours after confirming Xander's death, Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Giles had cried themselves to sleep. No one had mentioned returning home as Willow was far too tired to pull off that kind of spell. Finally, the village was silent and still. Out across the hills and grasslands, Spike could hear chanting. He didn't know if it was the greatly feared spirits of the Tellem or another tribe. Frankly, he was beyond caring. Xander had seemed like a cockroach to Spike, an annoyance that would never go away. But now that Xander was actually gone, for good, Spike found himself feeling... odd, as though the shell of his skin had stretched until his soul and demon didn't fit. He would have thought he'd have been glad that Xander was gone, or apathetic in the least. But the world without the loyal, sweet boy seemed a darker place.
Standing, Spike put out his cigarette. There were still two hours until sunrise, but he felt so tired. Turning, he went back toward the village and gathered his things. Walking out, he climbed into a cave high on the cliff. It faced south and was deep enough that he should be safe for the day. He pulled out a sleeping mat made of thick foam and charmed by Willow. While it was by no means as comfortable as a bed, it was far better than sleeping on the stony ground. He stretched out, pillowing his head on his hands as he listened to faint noises outside. Shutting his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it, telling himself to relax. As his body did so, a noise drew Spike's attention. Something was coming. It was outside the cave, its movements silent. But whatever it was, it couldn't hide its heartbeat. Spike tensed, narrowing his eyes as he feigned sleep.
A figure crept into the cave, something human or human like. It crawled on its hands and feet with a sensual, inhuman grace. As it got closer, Spike got read to attack. A fraction of a second passed and the creature was close enough. Coiling his body, Spike sprung into action, flinging himself toward the creature. But the creature cocked it's head to the side, and Spike found his body slammed back onto the ground by an invisible force. A pressure stretched his arms and legs out until Spike lay spreadeagle, helpless. Spike inhaled deeply. The creature smelled of animal blood and African earth, with a hint of something human, something familiar beneath it all. It was exotic and familiar, a combination that was proving to be rather arousing. The creature moved closer, the shape of the body human, the movements purely animal. The creature inhaled deeply, then exhaled and continued to scent the air with tiny sniffs. It moved closer in the darkness, growling softly as it moved into a crouch, straddling Spike's form.
It was Xander.
In the dark, Spike's demonic eyesight could see it. It was still an it. Xander was dead, buried in the ground. This wasn't Xander but a feral creature, staring down at Spike with two eyes that weren't dark enough. The scent was different, earthier, muskier. He smelled less than human, but that smell was so damn appealing.
"What are you?" Spike ground out.
It didn't reply, only cocking its head to the side again. Leaning down until its face was right in front of Spike's, the creature growled again.
"Dead," it growled.
Spike frowned; whatever this creature was, it certainly wasn't dead. It had a heartbeat, it breathed. It leaned closer and started sniffing at Spike's neck. A warm tongue darted out, tasting his skin. The creature then raised its head a few inches, looking down at Spike's face.
"Dead," the creature confirmed. Leaning down again, the creature continued its exploration. Sniffing, its nose hovering barely an inch over Spike's stomach, it slowly moved lower. Resting it's face on Spike's lower abdomen, it sniffed again, inhaling deeply.
"Smells good," it purred, eyes fixed on Spike. For a moment, it silently regarded Spike, its lips quirked up in a near smile. Suddenly, it recoiled, brow furrowed as it looked down at Spike. It cocked its head to the side again.
"Don't like you," it muttered hesitantly, confused. Slowly, it crept away before scrambling out into the night.
Clenching his jaw, Spike strained against the invisible force holding him down. As the sounds of the creature's escape faded, the bonds fell away. Rolling onto his feet, Spike dashed out of the cave and into the village. He raced down the dust foot paths, running around the buildings before he crashing into the barrier guarding the small house the Scoobies were housed in.
"Red, Niblet! All of you!" he yelled. He could hear them waking inside and only a second later, Buffy was at the door. Her eyes were rimmed in red.
"What's wrong, Spike?" she asked, her body tensing. Willow, Giles and Dawn walked up behind her.
"There's something out there; not human, but it looks just like Harris."
Buffy's face went blank as fear, hope, rage and anguish flickered through her eyes. Around them, Spike could hear the sounds of the villagers stirring because of his cries.
"It looks like Xander?" Giles frowned.
"Yeah, except it's got two eyes, and they're not even the right color," Spike explained.
The quiet murmurs of the villagers were silenced by a shriek. A woman came running into the center of the village, speaking rapidly in Dogon. Ambara pushed her way through the crowd to stand near the Scoobies.
"Elle a dit que le Tellem vient dans le village. Et quelque chose d'autre est avec eux."
Buffy frowned. "Okay, can we have that again for the people that sucked at French?"
Spike, Giles, Willow and Dawn rolled their eyes.
"Hey!" Buffy cried, "I was slaying while learning; it's not my fault I didn't learn French!"
"She said the Tellem were coming along with something else," Dawn explained.
Giles turned and walked into the back of the hut before coming back out, a bag in his hands. He quickly pulled out weapons and handed them to the group.
"The tell-who-what-em?" Buffy frowned, swinging her short sword through the air.
"The Tellem. They built these dwellings into the cliffs before being driven out by the Dogon. According to legend, they were witches," Giles explained.
Once armed, the group walked into the center of the village where the Dogon stood crammed by each other, looking at Buffy and the others. Everyone fell silent, waiting. The quiet was once again broken, this time by the sounds of voices talking excitedly. Several torches had been lit, bathing the village in an orange glow. Slowly, several small figures emerged. The Tellem looked like African Pygmies, their short bodies decorated in woven clothing and bright red grass skirts. The only thing that gave them away as being something else was their eyes. Their eyes glowed red, the fearsome sight at odds with their carefree smiles and relaxed bodies.
Willow's eyes widened. She could feel their power; they were no longer living, but in life they had been magic users, and their skill had only grown in death.
But their power was nothing compared the creature that accompanied them.
The chatter of the Tellem died off as something moved through the crowd. The being was tall, nearing seven feet. Like the Tellem, it was dressed in brightly colored woven clothes and grasses. But this creature wore a large mask, painted in bright colors, its eyes glowing red. As it drew closer, its strange gait drew attention downwards to its feet, which were backwards. A few of the villagers cried out in fear, drawing away from the being.
"Oh good Lord," Giles whispered. "It's an Andumbulu."
"A what?" Dawn asked, her wide eyes fixed on the creature.
"A spirit, a very powerful spirit," Giles answered.
"No," a voice boomed. The voice carried several threads of sound, some high pitched, some low pitched, giving the voice a multi-tonal quality that filled its listeners with awe. "I am Andumbulu."
"Fucking Hell," Giles swore.
Willow, Dawn, Buffy and Spike turned toward Giles, their eyes wide.
"Oh God, it's the end of the world," Dawn whimpered. "Again."
"What is it, Giles?" Buffy whispered urgently.
"She's not a spirit, she's a god, a god of the Dogon underworld, to be precise."
"Oh shit," Buffy swore.
"I do not come here to claim," Andumbulu said.
"How does the god know English?" Dawn asked.
"Elle ne parle pas l'anglais. Elle parle Dogon," Ambara explained, frowning.
"I don't think she's speaking English," Giles muttered. "I think that's just what we're hearing."
Andumbulu fixed her eyes on the Westerners before she began speaking.
"After the god Amma created Earth, dark creatures covered her. When they left, a new breed was created, turning the Earth red with the blood of the innocent and she wept. The gods decided to create a child who would be born and grow strong to fight the darkness, to create a balance and give the light a chance to thrive. So the Earth took part of her strength and placed it inside an unborn girl. But some of the gods feared giving a girl such strength. Amma saw her power, her strength. He saw her future and wanted to control it. He took the power from the girl, and the girl died before she was even born. Amma tried to hold the power, but no man can ever hold it. It fell away to dust, so Amma sought to create it again. His acolytes, the Shadow men, found the strongest Dogon girl, certain that they could control her. The forced the strength of darkness into her, breaking her mind. And the Earth saw this and wept.
"So unknown to Amma, when the first slayer died, the Earth captured the power of the slayer and in the blink of an eye took it inside of herself and swallowed the darkness, allowing the power to be reborn with love. She protected the second daughter of the slayer line, the love of her heart keeping the slayer strong despite the control of the Shadow Men. Yours is the first generation in which the slayer line has been surrounded by love and kindness. Your friend gave all he was to the slayer line. Many years ago, he took the first Slayer into himself to protect life, and though she left, some traces of her remained. So when your friend came to Africa, the Earth recognized that a part of her had returned. And when he died, the Earth saw that he still had much to do, more of our daughters to protect," Andumbulu intoned, turning to look straight at Ambara. "So we buried him inside of the Earth, and now we return him to his family, reborn of the Earth to protect the line."
The Tellem parted as another creature crawled forward, it's body low to the ground. It darted forward before crouching beside the African Goddess.
"Oh my God, it's the Xander thing," Dawn said, her voice thin.
Andumbulu reached out with of her hands and ran it through the creature's hair. It arched into the touch, smiling.
"You brought Xander back?" Buffy growled, her voice low.
"He never left. The Earth held his spirit inside her while his body was being reborn," Andumbulu answered. "We gave him a stronger body, one that will last as long as it must, so that he may better guard our daughters."
Willow raised her hand, stretching it out toward Xander. Light surged out from the palm of her hand, circling Xander. When she lowered it again, tears started falling.
"Xander?" she asked tremulously.
Xander crawled forward, his head tilted to the side, scenting the air.
"His eyes are green, why are his eyes green?" Dawn asked. At her question, all studied Xander's eyes. They were a bright, emerald green. Xander's eyes crossed as though trying to see his eyes before he finally squeezed them shut. When he opened them again, they were brown. He slowly rose to his feet and shook his head before looking at Willow.
Suddenly, his face broke into a wide smile. It was like someone had returned the sun to its rightful place, and the world was suddenly bathed in warmth. Xander's eyes were filled with love, his stance changed from feral hunter to happy puppy.
"My Wills!" he cried, running forward to pull her into his arms. He easily twirled around with her in his arms while Willow cried.
"It's you, it's you," she wept into the curve of his neck. Xander stopped quickly and dropped a dizzy Willow onto her feet before gathering Dawn and Buffy into his arms. He also lift them as he hugged them tightly.
"Hey, easy on the human!" Dawn choked out.
Xander's eyes widened before he released both sisters. He then turned to face Giles, pausing. Giles smiled and opened his arms, allowing Xander to pull him into a most undignified bear hug. Once the hug ended, Xander turned and pinned Spike with a dark, intent gaze.
"Hi, Spike," he whispered.
Spike acknowledged him with a wary nod, remembering Xander's earlier declaration about not liking him. With a burst of unnatural speed, Xander rushed forward and pulled Spike into his arms.
"Hi, Spike," he repeated, resting his head on Spike's shoulder.
Spike awkwardly reciprocated, tensing as he heard Xander sniffing delicately. Pushing Xander away in the least noticeable manner possible, he looked into Xander's eyes.
"Sorry," Xander murmured, a blush sweeping his face. "I couldn't help it; you smell good."
With one last glance into Spike's eyes, Xander's eyes flickered from brown to green, then back again. Turning away, Xander walked back over to Willow and the others, leaving a bemused Spike in his wake.
"Not the only one that smells good," Spike murmured, smirking as Xander suddenly turned to look back at him. Apparently the second eye wasn't Xander's only new feature.
* * * * * * * * * *
STORY CONTINUED HERE
Standing, Spike put out his cigarette. There were still two hours until sunrise, but he felt so tired. Turning, he went back toward the village and gathered his things. Walking out, he climbed into a cave high on the cliff. It faced south and was deep enough that he should be safe for the day. He pulled out a sleeping mat made of thick foam and charmed by Willow. While it was by no means as comfortable as a bed, it was far better than sleeping on the stony ground. He stretched out, pillowing his head on his hands as he listened to faint noises outside. Shutting his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it, telling himself to relax. As his body did so, a noise drew Spike's attention. Something was coming. It was outside the cave, its movements silent. But whatever it was, it couldn't hide its heartbeat. Spike tensed, narrowing his eyes as he feigned sleep.
A figure crept into the cave, something human or human like. It crawled on its hands and feet with a sensual, inhuman grace. As it got closer, Spike got read to attack. A fraction of a second passed and the creature was close enough. Coiling his body, Spike sprung into action, flinging himself toward the creature. But the creature cocked it's head to the side, and Spike found his body slammed back onto the ground by an invisible force. A pressure stretched his arms and legs out until Spike lay spreadeagle, helpless. Spike inhaled deeply. The creature smelled of animal blood and African earth, with a hint of something human, something familiar beneath it all. It was exotic and familiar, a combination that was proving to be rather arousing. The creature moved closer, the shape of the body human, the movements purely animal. The creature inhaled deeply, then exhaled and continued to scent the air with tiny sniffs. It moved closer in the darkness, growling softly as it moved into a crouch, straddling Spike's form.
It was Xander.
In the dark, Spike's demonic eyesight could see it. It was still an it. Xander was dead, buried in the ground. This wasn't Xander but a feral creature, staring down at Spike with two eyes that weren't dark enough. The scent was different, earthier, muskier. He smelled less than human, but that smell was so damn appealing.
"What are you?" Spike ground out.
It didn't reply, only cocking its head to the side again. Leaning down until its face was right in front of Spike's, the creature growled again.
"Dead," it growled.
Spike frowned; whatever this creature was, it certainly wasn't dead. It had a heartbeat, it breathed. It leaned closer and started sniffing at Spike's neck. A warm tongue darted out, tasting his skin. The creature then raised its head a few inches, looking down at Spike's face.
"Dead," the creature confirmed. Leaning down again, the creature continued its exploration. Sniffing, its nose hovering barely an inch over Spike's stomach, it slowly moved lower. Resting it's face on Spike's lower abdomen, it sniffed again, inhaling deeply.
"Smells good," it purred, eyes fixed on Spike. For a moment, it silently regarded Spike, its lips quirked up in a near smile. Suddenly, it recoiled, brow furrowed as it looked down at Spike. It cocked its head to the side again.
"Don't like you," it muttered hesitantly, confused. Slowly, it crept away before scrambling out into the night.
Clenching his jaw, Spike strained against the invisible force holding him down. As the sounds of the creature's escape faded, the bonds fell away. Rolling onto his feet, Spike dashed out of the cave and into the village. He raced down the dust foot paths, running around the buildings before he crashing into the barrier guarding the small house the Scoobies were housed in.
"Red, Niblet! All of you!" he yelled. He could hear them waking inside and only a second later, Buffy was at the door. Her eyes were rimmed in red.
"What's wrong, Spike?" she asked, her body tensing. Willow, Giles and Dawn walked up behind her.
"There's something out there; not human, but it looks just like Harris."
Buffy's face went blank as fear, hope, rage and anguish flickered through her eyes. Around them, Spike could hear the sounds of the villagers stirring because of his cries.
"It looks like Xander?" Giles frowned.
"Yeah, except it's got two eyes, and they're not even the right color," Spike explained.
The quiet murmurs of the villagers were silenced by a shriek. A woman came running into the center of the village, speaking rapidly in Dogon. Ambara pushed her way through the crowd to stand near the Scoobies.
"Elle a dit que le Tellem vient dans le village. Et quelque chose d'autre est avec eux."
Buffy frowned. "Okay, can we have that again for the people that sucked at French?"
Spike, Giles, Willow and Dawn rolled their eyes.
"Hey!" Buffy cried, "I was slaying while learning; it's not my fault I didn't learn French!"
"She said the Tellem were coming along with something else," Dawn explained.
Giles turned and walked into the back of the hut before coming back out, a bag in his hands. He quickly pulled out weapons and handed them to the group.
"The tell-who-what-em?" Buffy frowned, swinging her short sword through the air.
"The Tellem. They built these dwellings into the cliffs before being driven out by the Dogon. According to legend, they were witches," Giles explained.
Once armed, the group walked into the center of the village where the Dogon stood crammed by each other, looking at Buffy and the others. Everyone fell silent, waiting. The quiet was once again broken, this time by the sounds of voices talking excitedly. Several torches had been lit, bathing the village in an orange glow. Slowly, several small figures emerged. The Tellem looked like African Pygmies, their short bodies decorated in woven clothing and bright red grass skirts. The only thing that gave them away as being something else was their eyes. Their eyes glowed red, the fearsome sight at odds with their carefree smiles and relaxed bodies.
Willow's eyes widened. She could feel their power; they were no longer living, but in life they had been magic users, and their skill had only grown in death.
But their power was nothing compared the creature that accompanied them.
The chatter of the Tellem died off as something moved through the crowd. The being was tall, nearing seven feet. Like the Tellem, it was dressed in brightly colored woven clothes and grasses. But this creature wore a large mask, painted in bright colors, its eyes glowing red. As it drew closer, its strange gait drew attention downwards to its feet, which were backwards. A few of the villagers cried out in fear, drawing away from the being.
"Oh good Lord," Giles whispered. "It's an Andumbulu."
"A what?" Dawn asked, her wide eyes fixed on the creature.
"A spirit, a very powerful spirit," Giles answered.
"No," a voice boomed. The voice carried several threads of sound, some high pitched, some low pitched, giving the voice a multi-tonal quality that filled its listeners with awe. "I am Andumbulu."
"Fucking Hell," Giles swore.
Willow, Dawn, Buffy and Spike turned toward Giles, their eyes wide.
"Oh God, it's the end of the world," Dawn whimpered. "Again."
"What is it, Giles?" Buffy whispered urgently.
"She's not a spirit, she's a god, a god of the Dogon underworld, to be precise."
"Oh shit," Buffy swore.
"I do not come here to claim," Andumbulu said.
"How does the god know English?" Dawn asked.
"Elle ne parle pas l'anglais. Elle parle Dogon," Ambara explained, frowning.
"I don't think she's speaking English," Giles muttered. "I think that's just what we're hearing."
Andumbulu fixed her eyes on the Westerners before she began speaking.
"After the god Amma created Earth, dark creatures covered her. When they left, a new breed was created, turning the Earth red with the blood of the innocent and she wept. The gods decided to create a child who would be born and grow strong to fight the darkness, to create a balance and give the light a chance to thrive. So the Earth took part of her strength and placed it inside an unborn girl. But some of the gods feared giving a girl such strength. Amma saw her power, her strength. He saw her future and wanted to control it. He took the power from the girl, and the girl died before she was even born. Amma tried to hold the power, but no man can ever hold it. It fell away to dust, so Amma sought to create it again. His acolytes, the Shadow men, found the strongest Dogon girl, certain that they could control her. The forced the strength of darkness into her, breaking her mind. And the Earth saw this and wept.
"So unknown to Amma, when the first slayer died, the Earth captured the power of the slayer and in the blink of an eye took it inside of herself and swallowed the darkness, allowing the power to be reborn with love. She protected the second daughter of the slayer line, the love of her heart keeping the slayer strong despite the control of the Shadow Men. Yours is the first generation in which the slayer line has been surrounded by love and kindness. Your friend gave all he was to the slayer line. Many years ago, he took the first Slayer into himself to protect life, and though she left, some traces of her remained. So when your friend came to Africa, the Earth recognized that a part of her had returned. And when he died, the Earth saw that he still had much to do, more of our daughters to protect," Andumbulu intoned, turning to look straight at Ambara. "So we buried him inside of the Earth, and now we return him to his family, reborn of the Earth to protect the line."
The Tellem parted as another creature crawled forward, it's body low to the ground. It darted forward before crouching beside the African Goddess.
"Oh my God, it's the Xander thing," Dawn said, her voice thin.
Andumbulu reached out with of her hands and ran it through the creature's hair. It arched into the touch, smiling.
"You brought Xander back?" Buffy growled, her voice low.
"He never left. The Earth held his spirit inside her while his body was being reborn," Andumbulu answered. "We gave him a stronger body, one that will last as long as it must, so that he may better guard our daughters."
Willow raised her hand, stretching it out toward Xander. Light surged out from the palm of her hand, circling Xander. When she lowered it again, tears started falling.
"Xander?" she asked tremulously.
Xander crawled forward, his head tilted to the side, scenting the air.
"His eyes are green, why are his eyes green?" Dawn asked. At her question, all studied Xander's eyes. They were a bright, emerald green. Xander's eyes crossed as though trying to see his eyes before he finally squeezed them shut. When he opened them again, they were brown. He slowly rose to his feet and shook his head before looking at Willow.
Suddenly, his face broke into a wide smile. It was like someone had returned the sun to its rightful place, and the world was suddenly bathed in warmth. Xander's eyes were filled with love, his stance changed from feral hunter to happy puppy.
"My Wills!" he cried, running forward to pull her into his arms. He easily twirled around with her in his arms while Willow cried.
"It's you, it's you," she wept into the curve of his neck. Xander stopped quickly and dropped a dizzy Willow onto her feet before gathering Dawn and Buffy into his arms. He also lift them as he hugged them tightly.
"Hey, easy on the human!" Dawn choked out.
Xander's eyes widened before he released both sisters. He then turned to face Giles, pausing. Giles smiled and opened his arms, allowing Xander to pull him into a most undignified bear hug. Once the hug ended, Xander turned and pinned Spike with a dark, intent gaze.
"Hi, Spike," he whispered.
Spike acknowledged him with a wary nod, remembering Xander's earlier declaration about not liking him. With a burst of unnatural speed, Xander rushed forward and pulled Spike into his arms.
"Hi, Spike," he repeated, resting his head on Spike's shoulder.
Spike awkwardly reciprocated, tensing as he heard Xander sniffing delicately. Pushing Xander away in the least noticeable manner possible, he looked into Xander's eyes.
"Sorry," Xander murmured, a blush sweeping his face. "I couldn't help it; you smell good."
With one last glance into Spike's eyes, Xander's eyes flickered from brown to green, then back again. Turning away, Xander walked back over to Willow and the others, leaving a bemused Spike in his wake.
"Not the only one that smells good," Spike murmured, smirking as Xander suddenly turned to look back at him. Apparently the second eye wasn't Xander's only new feature.
* * * * * * * * * *
STORY CONTINUED HERE