The full moon lit up the night sky as Buffy and Noxi walked through Eastwick Cemetery. Buffy had taken a liking to the new slayer. She had spunk and attitude something Buffy could relate to. So far the night had been fairly quiet. Between all of the girls Vi was the only one to find and stake a vampire.

Buffy kept her eyes opened as they walked. "So I saw that movie you recommended. The one with the guy you said was really fun to look at."

"Ryan Gosling. He is so delicious."

"He wasn't really that hard to look at I'll say."

"That is one thing I miss about civilian life. Don't get me wrong I love the school and I think it's great but the whole girl to guy ratio is way out of whack."

"Well the way I understand it the slayer gig is kind of a no boys allowed club."

"Yeah I get that. I just wish we had some more guys here. I mean hell even a few hot watchers."

"Giles keeps saying they are going to start training more but I don't know how I'd feel about dating a watcher."

"Really?"

"Giles reminds me of a kindly father figure type and I really don't want to get all bumpity with that."

"Well yeah but not every watcher is going to be like Giles. They aren't all trained to be about Tea and books and this is how we've done it for 100 generations. Right?"

Buffy offered a simple shrug. "Kind of asking the wrong person?"

"Well Xander isn't like that."

Buffy smiled and nodded. "No he is not. But Xander also claims he's not a watcher."

"Really? What does that make him then?"

"It makes him Xander." She shifted a little looking at Noxi. "Speaking of him. I kind of have been wondering. What is the story with him and the whole dating thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well it's like you said. It has to be a mans paradise here. I mean you have how many girls and he is one of the few guys."

Noxi bit her lip feeling like she was betraying him a little by saying this. "A lot of girls kind of consider him to be a bit of damaged goods?"

"Kind of cruel to say isn't?"

"He's amazing and I know a lot of the girls have thrown themselves at him. He has a past though and it's a past that he has trouble working through."

"See this is the stuff he won't tell me. It's so frustrating because I'm trying to be his friend and trying to get to this place where we can be just like we were but I need to know the details."

"The last battle on the hell mouth in Sunnydale he lost someone. Someone that meant a whole lot to him."

Buffy was the first to see it. "Speaking of close." She pointed just past the tree to see a vampire carrying something. "You ready for this."

Noxi radioed in the vamp letting everyone know there location and looked at Buffy as they ran to the vamp. The vamp itself was fat, lazy and slow. Buffy round house kicked the vamp and he dropped what ever it was he was carrying. It gave a wet sploosh sound as it hit the ground. The vampire looked at Buffy.

"I didn't do that I found it that way I just figured why let it go to waste."

Buffy's eyes turned to the dropped item and she started to figure out what it was. It looked like a body stained red with blood but not a bone to be found. It was just a meat sack pretty much.

Buffy looked at the vamp wanting answers. "Where did you find this?"

The vampire looked terrified he knew he was out of his league. "if I tell you will you let me go."

Buffy sighed "I give you my word. I will not kill you."

The vamp nodded and quickly spit out, "I found that behind the old ice cream store. In town."

Buffy looked to the vamp and smiled. "Thank you very much."

With that Noxi pulled the trigger on her crossbow sinking the arrow direct in to his heart. The vamp looked shocked. "But we had a deal?"

Noxi shook her head "She said she wouldn't kill you. I never made such offer." Buffy grabbed the radio from Noxi. "Sargent Rock you there?"

Xander answered the call "Here and listening what's going on."

"You might want to come check out what we found. We are over by the big Oak on the south side."

Xander laughed and looked at the hand held tracker all the girls wore. "You are on the North side. Man you are terrible at direction."

"Just get your butt over here." A quick jog put Xander in front of the tree as Xander looked to Buffy.

"So what should I see?"

Noxi pointed at the disgusting boneless corpse. "It smells really awful."

Xander sighed and looked at it for a second. "The bones are gone."

Buffy nodded. "Which got me thinking. Maybe what ever got this thing was the bone cruncher that did the memory erase to me."

Xander looked at the body and sighed. It was most likely a homeless person. It was sad to say but they were easy targets cause no one ever reported them missing. It killed Xander a little to know this was just one more indignity they weren't able to save him from.

He stood up from inspecting the body. He took out his radio. "Beyonce and Gaga I need you guys to grab a bag from the van and meet us to assist with a clean up."

The code names were silly but in the military it was standard and the girls found it somewhat amusing. A few minutes later Vi and Jasmine showed up carrying a body bag. Buffy looked at Xander.

"What's the plan?"

"Well I want Giles to see what he did to this guy. Examine the body and when he's done we can give them a proper disposal."

Jasmine put on some plastic gloves and knelt down gagging at the smell. "Dear Lord this thing smells awful."

Xander shook his head "Remember this was a person. A victim who was attacked. He had a name and probably a family. They deserve respect."

Jasmine looked down feeling a little ashamed at her comment. The girls lifted the remains in to the bag and two of them carried it to the van.

Xander took out his phone calling ahead to Giles telling him what they found. As they pulled up to the loading dock he looked got out of the van and looked at the girls.

"Okay I am going to need a volunteer to help me carry the remains."

Buffy felt she had a vested interest so didn't hesitate. "Xander I can help."

He looked to the rest of the girls. "Okay good job tonight. Get some rest." He looked at Buffy and sighed as he opened the back doors to the van. "I kind of figured you would want to be the one to help."

"If this poor guy was the victim of the bone cruncher that wiped my mind then I want to be the one to track him down."

Xander grabbed the loops on the bag as Buffy picked up her end and started carrying. "If it's possible to find this guy Buffy we will."

Buffy carried the bag with ease. Her enhanced slayer strength made it so she didn't even break a sweat where as Xander grunted carrying it. Buffy looked at Xander "The Vamp we staked tonight said he found the body behind the ice cream shop."

"Thank you very much for one more happy childhood memory which I can now connect with death and depression."

"Doesn't make me want to get a double scoop any time soon."

The first 6 months in they turned one of the childhood science labs in to a place for research. Giles was there waiting when they carried the bag in. Giles rubbed his eyes obviously weary and tired. As Buffy and Xander came in he looked at the bag. "I assume this is the remains you found."

One final lift from Buffy and Xander put the bag up on the table. Buffy looked at Giles. "I'm wondering if this guy met the same demon who erased my mind."

Giles looked at the zipper on the bag and knew he couldn't hold out any longer. "Only one way to find out I suppose." He unzipped the bag and the smell filled the room Giles quickly grabbed his handkerchief covering his nose and mouth.

Xander looked at Giles. "Forgot to warn you the smell is quite potent."

Giles eyes watered as he pulled the bag back. "Potent is a bit of an understatement." He looked to Buffy "It could be a while before I know anything if you want to go get some sleep I will come to you once I'm done."

"I'm not going to be able to sleep. I'll just lay in bed and toss and turn until you are done anyways. If you don't care I will just sit in the corner and wait."

Xander looked at her "I'll stay with you. I kind of wanted to talk to you about Fatih. She'll be back soon and you have no idea who she is so."

Buffy grabbed Xanders arm jumping up and down playfully "So it's Story time."

They had started referring to anytime they told Buffy a story from her past as story time. She still had a lot of empty gaps but they did what they could with what they remembered.

Xander pulled up a seat on the other side of the room. They were trying to distance themselves from the smell. "So where do I start with Faith."

Buffy sat in front of him. "She's a sister slayer?"

"Yes she is but she is not like the other slayers. I mean there is a difference in the sense she was a slayer back in the days when there was a CHOSEN ONE."

"So she was the only slayer?"

"Technically no. I mean you were the slayer first."

"You said there was only one slayer."

"Just listen and I will get you there I promise" He started with Faith's arrival in Sunnydale. He told her the story of Faith watching her first watcher die, her arrival in Sunnydale, The mayor, the coma, Breaking out of Prison, Closing the hell mouth and every thing in between. Buffy just listened and soaked it all in. When the story was done Buffy looked at him.

"So we have an escaped felon working with us. We trust her with the lives of other girls."

"Escaped felon yes. She's not really being looked for though. Willow is not only a really skilled witch but she is an amazing hacker. A few key strokes and Faith Lehanne never really existed."

"My question isn't about if she is going to get caught it's more related to trust. I mean she did some pretty horrible things."

"Yes she did but we have a running theme with in our group. Forgiveness."

"Forgiveness?"

"We have all made mistakes. Some of those mistakes might be calling up a singing dancing musical demon who makes everyone sing and dance or trying to burn the world from the inside out after you watch a maniac kill the woman you love."

"I trust you guys here. I know you people are not only my safe place but you are my family. So if you trust her then I guess I can too."

"That's the spirit."

"Xander I do have one question?"

"Go ahead."

"When you got to the part in the story with the guy Angel you didn't talk much about him. The others have told me things from my past about Spike and Angel. I've heard all sides from everyone. It seems like when you come to a part in the story with Spike or Angel you do what you can to dust over it. You don't speak much on them."

"That is a fair observation."

"Do you not have an opinion on them?"

"No it's not that. Buffy." He stood up and scratched his chin trying to find the right way to phrase it. "Buffy your mind right now is like a white piece of paper. I could tell you what I think but I believe I'm biased to them. I don't want to pass my strong feelings on them to you. You need to paint that white with unbiased memories. I don't know if I can offer any of those."

"The other girls have told me things from both sides."

"I understand that but I try to look at it from an outsiders prospective." He sat down again across from her. "Buffy there was this guy who was working with one of the most powerful vampires of all time. The Vampire used the friendship between him and the slayer. He knew he could get to her in a way he couldn't. So when the time came he served the slayer up on silver platter to the vampire and he did it with a smile on his face."

Buffy listened in shock and shook her head "Your telling me about something Spike or Angel did."

"No I am telling you about something I did. It was Dracula. He had both you and I under his thrall and he used that to his advantage."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"It's all perspective Buffy. If someone wanted to twist or pervert the memories from my past they could easily do so. They could tell you stories that would make you think bad of me."

Buffy let go of a breath and sighed. "I get it." She looked in his eyes. "So you served me up to Dracula?"

He nodded "Not one of my finer moments."

"Well I'm glad you told me and I don't hold a grudge."

"If it makes you feel any better I was his house boy. It was every bit as humiliating as it sounds."

Giles cleared his throat interrupting them. He pulled off the plastic gloves he was using to examine the body. "So I think I have learned all there is to learn from this chap."

Buffy stood up and walked over to the examination table. "So did this guy have a run in with the same demon who took my memory?"

Giles sighed and looked in her eyes. "I'd say there is a good likely hood. There are small traces of yellow blood on his hands which meant he most likely went down fighting. The bite marks are consistent with the Pilates Demon."

Xander stood besides Buffy. "The vampire Buffy took the body from said he found it outside an ice cream shop."

Giles nodded "That would make sense. This creature needs cold temperatures."

Buffy interrupted, "So an ice cream shop would probably have a deep freeze some where this place could live."

Xander knew what needed to be done. "Tomorrow me and a few of the girls will scope out the location and figure out the best way to go in."

Buffy turned around and stepped in front of him. "No. Xander this is me. I want this one. I am going to be the one to kill this thing once and for all."