Title: And the rest is.
Author: Charlie Timeline: Post BtVS S7 & AtS S5. Sequel to "Best Laid Plans" and "A Fair Exchange.
Summary: The face we see isn't always the one that is visible?
Feedback is always appreciated.
Author Notes: Round and round, the ship goes. Where it lands, the Author doesn't know. Will it be (A)my, (B)uffy, (C)ordelia, (D)awn, (F)aith, (F)red, (H)armony, (K)ennedy or (W)illow that wins the Xandman? Vote now.

"Buffy, I don't know about this. It sounds really dangerous."

"I agree with Willow."

Buffy glared at Kennedy, then looked around the room. She saw similar misgivings on the faces of the others present. "Look, I know this sounds a little crazy."

"Buffy, this isn't crazy. This is dangerous. A person's life is at stake. Xander's."

"All of our lives were at stake back in Sunnydale, but we did what we had to do and we won."

Buffy walked over and stood in front of Willow. She grasped the other woman's hands in her own. Her own uncertainty was mirrored in the redhead's eyes. The slayer took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Will, you know what Cole said. Xander's pain and part of the reason why is our fault. We've got to help him, somehow."

"But this... Buffy I don't know. Messing with magic like that... It could kill him."

"Not to be mean but Willow's right."

Buffy's attention shifted to her right where Fred sat. The mousy, one time physics student continued, "Magic dealing with other magic is almost completely hypothetically and the results are completely unpredictable."

"We know that, we've done it before with the slayer scythe and activating all the potentials. Oh and that time in Minnesota too."

"Please Willow, can we at least look for something?"

The witch and former hacker stared into the blue green eyes of her best friend and nodded. "Okay I'll look thru the books we have, maybe something there can help us. But I just want you to know, I'm only agreeing to look."

Travis watched the two women clasp hands. While he was outwardly calm, inside he was laughing. The liquid he had used originally had been purchased from an occult merchant some years before. Once in a person's system, it brought about a deep coma-like state from which there was no escape unless the antidote was used. And the vial that contained the antidote was half a world away in Europe locked in his personal safe.

Silently he stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on each woman's shoulder. The half demon smiled as each turned and looked at him, "Thank you Willow. I'm sure if there is a way to help Alexander, you will find it."

Buffy and Willow smiled but then the red head her attention back to the other woman, "Buffy there is one thing I have to do first."

"What?"

"I have to talk to Xander myself."

Buffy nodded and then looked around the room, somewhat surprised.

"Where are Angel and Spike?"

Cleveland

The '98 green Saturn pulled into the empty parking lot of the closed video store. It's two occupants stared down the street, noting the yellow police tape around one of the buildings. After a few minutes, the driver exited the car with the passenger following him, complaining all the way.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen, went from a Jag to a ruddy four door sedan."

"No one forced you to come along Spike."

"And miss the opportunity to see the great one at work. Why I shudder at the thought."

The two vampires quietly slipped into the back alleys and made their way to the house. Reaching the back door, Angel paused to note frame was splintered and the knob looked slightly bent. Then he entered the building with Spike in tow.

"Remember don't touch anything, we don't need to give the police any fingerprints."

"I know that you poof."

Angel didn't bother responding as he started carefully looking around the apartment. The house furnished like one would expect given it's owner. Photos adorned the wall, knick-knacks were scattered throughout the home. He still smelled the faint scent of human blood in the air and tracked it upstairs. In the bedroom upstairs is where the scent was strongest. Angel noted the broken window as he made his way to where the bed was. After examining the bed for a few minutes he left and went back downstairs. Spike was in the kitchen apparently rooting through the girl's things.

"Spike!"

The blonde vampire turned around in surprise then he saw who it was.

"Oh it's only you."

"What are you doing?"

"Just looking for a bit of Wheatabix. Ran out yesterday and Andrew hasn't gone shopping yet."

"Come on, we have to get back to the school."

"Oh all right, bloody Elton John-like ego has to do things his way."

Sacred Heart Hospital

"Are you sure about this?"

"No but that's why I have to talk to Xander first. He might know more about what's going on."

Kennedy kissed her girlfriend, "Be careful Willow".

The red head blushed slightly and then took Xander's hands in her own. She concentrated on his face as she tried to re-establish the mental connection she once held with him. There was a flash of white light and Willow found herself on Sunnydale's main street again. She noted the lights were on in the Magic Box and made her way to it. Unlike the real Magic Box, there were no ringing bells here just a silent, empty shop.

The witch looked around noting the shelves were filled with their customary products. The displays were still setup as she remembered them. Even the books and magazines about which Anya and Giles had been fastidious were carefully and neatly arranged. She found him in the back room sitting on a weapon's chest that was near a window. The sunlight filtering in through the panes of glass cast him in a warm healthy glow. He also didn't seem surprised to see her.

"Hey Wills."

"Xander..."

Hesitantly she made her way over and sat next to him. In his mind, Xander still had both of his warm brown eyes, not like the cold impersonal ones she saw now.

"Whatcha ya doing?"

"Just thinking about stuff. I guess. Things I did things I didn't do. The usual."

"Buffy told me what happened. What you said to her. She was really hurt by it."

"Well I'm really hurt by what she DID not said."

Saying that Xander hopped off the chest and started walking around the room. He lingered at the training dummy, circling around it before continuing. "I mean after all this time, she still doesn't even know me."

"She knows your birthday?"

"Please she got me socks and a tie."

"You needed them though."

"Willow," He paused, "she didn't care that I had to stake Jessie. That I love Anya. Or what happened to Dawn."

"She did what she thought was the right thing Xander."

"Yeah, amazing how the right thing turns out to not involve me."

"Graduation, that involved you. Getting everyone ready to stop the big, slimy Mayorsnake."

"Yeah and if Riley had been, she wouldn't have paid me the slightest bit of attention. And she would have been right. Maybe if Riley had been there or Faith... maybe fewer people would have died. Maybe Harmony wouldn't be a vampire or Larry would be here."

Xander's shoulders slumped down as he leaned against the practice dummy. "I screwed up and because of me people got killed."

Willow opened her mouth to interject something but then he started talking again, "I guess that was when she decided I wasn't good enough to watch her back. I was just good enough to watch her pet vampire." The last word was punctuated with a punch that left the dummy shaking. His arms hung loosely at his sides as he stared at the dummy then looked over at his best friend.

"Help me Willow."

And then he was gone, no flash, no sparkles just gone. Willow looked around the room in confusion. One minute Xander was there and there were talking. The next he was gone and the room was empty. Hesitantly she looked around the empty room, finding nothing she went out the back door intent on finding him.

"Hey Red, what's shaking?"

Startled, Willow turned around and saw Cole sitting on a pile crates just outside in the alleyway behind the Magic Box. Cautiously she walked towards him until she was standing only a few feet from where he was seated. Cole merely eyed the witch with a bored expression on his face.

"Where's Xander?"

Cole shrugged, "He comes and goes. Not real coherent from time to time."

"I, Buffy and I want to help him. We-"

"Kinda late for that."

"I know he's not useless. He's got experience, skills from the army guy he was-."

"Gone."

"What?"

"I said they're gone. Wiped out. Erased. Faded away. He's got nothing. No soldier memories, no hyena senses. Nada."

"H-How do you know that?"

Cole frowned at her question. "Okay W, it works like this. You know your body has an immune system that works to remove anything it perceives as infection. Anything even transplanted organs, right?"

Willow nodded and the hunter continued. "The mind works the same way pretty much. Anything it perceives as been threatening, like say a whole bunch of new memories and thoughts that it personally didn't create, it removes. And that includes the memories X had as a soldier, even though he was 'Private Harris', that wasn't him really so his subconscious erased away those memories. And the hyena stuff is long gone."

"Can't we bring them back?"

He looked a little surprised at her question but shook his head. "Nope. He's already had his head messed with a couple of times before. You all have. If you try to bring back what he tried to forget, you could end up driving him insane."

Willow remained where she was, not having moved at all during his explanation. Cole looked over at the witch and took a little pity on her. "I know it sucks, believe me. Hell I don't like it and I've doing this supernatural crap for over a decade." He turned and looked up, "Looks like your quarter's up. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help."

Cole watched the witch disappear and shook his head, "Oh X, what am I gonna do with you?"