Verbena, January 2519

It had taken less than 10 years to realize the side effects of Willow's activation spell with the Scythe. Over 500 years later, it was blatantly obvious how far those side effects had reached. The Slayers didn't age. Neither did the Watchers, for that matter. They could still be killed, and many had been, but the core of the Scoobies had all lasted the centuries. Well, not all. Xander's absence was still a physical ache for Legacy.

At five-hundred-and-thirty-something years old, she barely looked a day over twenty-three. The same could be said for Buffy and Faith. They weren't sure how the magic had chosen who the Watchers were; Giles was perpetually the fifty-something English gentleman, Willow and Dawn had made the cut, as had Robin and Andrew. Occasionally someone even ran into Oz, though it had been almost a hundred years since anyone had seen him last – and his survival could possibly be attributed to the whole werewolf thing. The best they could figure, anyone who had spent any more than a couple weeks researching or patrolling with the Scoobies had been counted as a Watcher.

It had been a surprise to them all that humanity was the downfall of Earth in the end. They had all expected yet another demonic apocalypse, but humans had just used the planet up. So they left with everyone else on the exodus from Earth, because the monsters did too, and it was still their job to fight them.

They had settled on Verbena. They kept a large ranch, and people were good at letting them have their privacy. Minis were spread throughout the Verse. New minis continued to appear over the years, but only those who had been directly touched by the Scythe spell back on Earth were graced with immortality, the new ones had slightly extended lifespans, but lived and died per usual. Regardless, they were still found and told of their heritage and trained. It was interesting, though. The 'Verse was so much bigger than Earth had been, yet the number of Minis never really grew proportionally.

The Slayers kept their eyes on things. Willow had helped develop half the technology the Verse used, so it wasn't hard to keep a line on things. The Miranda wave stirred up the first real excitement since the Unification War. It took some doing, though, even for Willow, to track down the broadcast. Eventually, she tracked it back to a 'Mr. Universe'. They'd snuck into his compound. "They" being Legacy, Faith, and Buffy. Even they, the oldest Slayers, were amazed at the evidence of the battle that had taken place. They'd gotten the name Mal and something about a sword off a fembot, which Buffy then promptly destroyed, muttering the whole time about the old Buffybot.

Now they were home and arguing about what to do with the information.

Giles was being logical, "It really doesn't concern us. Certainly, the Reavers are monsters, but apparently man-made monsters. That's not exactly our area of expertise."

Buffy responded historically, "Adam was a man-made monster. The Initiative was government. Humans. We took them on."

Faith was curious, "I just want to know how they got to Miranda. That's a hell of a lot of Reavers to go through."

Dawn was irritated, "I don't see why we can't just leave it alone. Trouble finds us on its own. Why should we go looking for more?"

Andrew, as always, was trying to placate with food, "Who wants roast for dinner? I made fresh bread, and I can whip up a pound cake for dessert."

Robin chose not to have an opinion this time around, "What do you think Lacey?"

Lacey knew he only asked her because he and Faith were having some sort of tiff and it annoyed the hell out of her when he asked Buffy or Lacey's side of an issue, and she couldn't help but smile as she answered. "I think we should leave it be for now. See how the Alliance reacts before we get involved."

Willow looked at her curiously, "You think that's what we should do, but that's not what you're gonna do."

It wasn't a question. Willow had gotten really good at reading Legacy over the years. Willow was the one who had gotten her over losing Xander, and it had bonded them. Spike had helped too, more than she would ever admit to anyone. She didn't think anyone realized what a lasting effect losing Buffy had, had on him, but it made it easy for him to relate to Lacey.

Legacy shook her head, "I'm leaving for Persephone in the morning. I'm not particularly looking for these folks, but I won't be disappointed if I find them. I've been on the ranch too long, I need to get back out into the Verse."

Willow nodded, "I'll start working up some protection spells and helpful trinkets."

She got up and left before the table erupted in overlapping voices. Someone leaving the ranch was always debated, no matter how often it happened. Legacy decided to follow Willow's example and just walk away. She had to pack, anyway.

Persephone, June 2519

The docks had been busier than usual, and Lacey was grateful this bar was relatively quiet. The usual rowdiness of a weekend and hustled pool games, but the place was only about half full, had halfway decent beer, and they played good music. Her stool had a good view of the door and she carefully analyzed everyone who came through it. A dark skinned woman dressed in leather with a riot of dark curls to rival Lacey's light ones glided up to the bar and sat around the corner from Lacey. Lacey noticed she used the mirror behind the bar to watch the door as she ordered a drink. The woman tracked a real big guy in real goofy orange hat as he made his way casually to the other end of the bar. The process was repeated as more people entered the bar. A tall man with brown hair and blue eyes, standing straight in his brown coat, came in with a little slip of a girl with big brown eyes and long, dark hair. A niggling sense of recognition edged at her brain in a manner that Lacey recognized meant it was memory of the Slayer collective, and not necessarily her own, but she dismissed it for the time being. Shortly following them was some city dandy and a girl with friendly brown eyes and grease smudged on her cheek. After everyone was settled, the woman relaxed a bit.

The big guy in the goofy hat had spent the time critically running an eye over everyone else in the bar. Legacy noticed when his gaze finally landed on her and turned to a leer. She turned her own gaze directly to him and raised an eyebrow. He had the smarts to look away, but he kept glancing back in her direction. She hid her smirk in her beer. He wasn't a bad-looking guy. A little rough, sure, but that didn't bother her. His grey-blue eyes could pull a girl in easy if he knew how to use them for something other than a leer. She just wasn't interested tonight. She hadn't spent the last 500 years alone, but there had never been anything serious since Xander, it just didn't feel right to give anyone else that much of herself.

Roughly an hour later, the whole group she'd been watching convened into one big booth. Whatever business they'd had concluded, it was apparently safe to be seen together. Clever, Legacy thought, Don't let them know how much backup you've got. She wasn't sure why she was so fascinated by the group.

After another couple drinks, Lacey let herself be enticed to dance by some sweet local. After a good half hour of dancing she collapsed into a chair at a table just next to the group she'd been so intrigued by all night. If anyone asked, she'd say it was just a coincidence. Anyone who knew her would laugh at that. Truth was she was nosy as hell. She signaled the bar tender, and within a minute had another beer in front of her as she settled back into her chair to eavesdrop.

The city dandy and the sweet-looking girl were on the dance floor, clearly not interested in anything but each other. The little waif of a girl was happily dancing with anyone within reach.

The leather-clad woman was talking, "I don't know, Captain. I don't like the numbers."

The big guy grunted, "Me 'n' Vera oughta count as two."

'Captain' sounded agitated, "Jayne, your mouth is talking again. Fix it. Zoe, I don't like it none too much either, but we need the job."

"Yes sir." Zoe sounded resigned.

The younger girl seemed to tire of dancing and spun off the floor, stopping dead as she locked her eyes on Legacy. Standing so close, it hit her like a ton of bricks, and Lacey dropped her beer, possibilities flashing through her mind as she shot to her feet. Lacey was aware of the three people also standing, hands on weapons, as her gaze locked with the girl's. Suddenly the young woman smiled brilliantly and all but threw herself at Legacy, who caught her instinctually and held her tight.

"The girl knew you would come." the girl said as she stepped back, releasing Lacey.

Lacey smiled at her and heard a throat clear. She turned with the girl to face the three people standing just outside the booth, hands still on weapons.

"Friend of yours, River?" the captain asked the girl.

The girl, River, smiled brightly as she shook her head, "She is here to help."