Mal was sitting on the iron grating above the cargo hold when a small figure appeared in the gloom, her bare feet making no noise against the metal floor. A canvas rucksack was shrugged over her thin shoulders and a wicked looking knife strapped to her side. She looked like she was going somewhere.

"Not running away," River said, not turning around.

"Didn't say you were, Albatross. Just sayin' it sure looks like it. I've done a fair bit of running my own self, I know what it looks like."

River turned to him, her pale face shining in the murky light.

"Seen things that can be avoided, if warned in time. Need to go help stop the advancing dark. No point being a white hat if you stay in the cupboard."

Mal was used to River's cryptic way of speaking by now. He didn't try to understand it.

"You been waiting till we were planetside before leavin'?"

"Couldn't take a shuttle. Don't want to leave you short handed in a pinch," she replied.

Mal stood, coming down the last few steps till he was on the cargo hold floor.

"Seems to my reckonin' I'm short a pilot," he replied.

River smiled.

"They need me more," she cocked her head. "Yes, it will be dangerous. But Spike will look out for me."

"And If I'n I don't trust Spike?" asked Mal.

"You don't trust anyone but your own self," River replied.

Mal couldn't help but smile at this.

"That's not true. I trust Zoe," he reached out and put a hand on the younger girl's shoulders. "You got to make your own way in the world, Albatross. If'n you want to go planetside for a while, I can't stop you. You're all grown up now, ain't nobody can tell you what to do but your own heart."

"I left a note for Simon," said River. "Please tell him not to worry about me too much, I'll send you a wave when I can."

"Don't stay away too long. You always got a place on Serenity, long as she's in the air," Mal said gruffly.

River looked at him steadily with her large, dark eyes for a moment, then nodded.

"Goodbye, Cap'n. Be safe."

"And you."

Mal watched as she walked to the small cargo exit, and slipped through it, the door clanging hollowly behind her. The girl River was gone, and would never return. The woman River might come back to them, someday.

Shenxi Anderssen had been a part of the Summers Academy for as long as he could remember. He was part of a long and glorious tradition of Watchers, those tasked with guiding and preparing slayers as they fought the agents of darkness in this world. He had been born at the Academy, to a slayer mother and a watcher father, and had been raised there. When the time came, he had taken his place as a watcher himself. He had seen many strange things in the hallways of Summers, demons and hellbeasts and every shape and size of slayer imaginable. This was right up there with some of the strangest.

The girl looked no bigger than a child. She was a tiny wisp of a thing, her long, fragile dress much too thin for the cool autumn air outside. Dark hair fell like a curtain around her delicate face. But it was the eyes that unnerved Shenxi. He had seen eyes like that before, in the faces of some of the older slayers. Eyes that had seen too much.

They had denied her entry to Summers, of course. She didn't have an ident card, and nobody recognized her. Couldn't let just anyone in, this was an important facility.

"She needs to see him. You will let her in," said the girl, her voice calm and sure.

"I'm sorry, miss," said one of the sentries. "We can't let you go further than here."

The girl cocked her head, assessing them. Then, she was a blur of red dress and dark hair. A sentry lunged for her, but she cut him down with a sweep of arm. Another tried to charge her, and she did an impossible flip, vaulting over him to land behind and cut his legs out from under him. It took less than a minute for her to be the only one standing, holding her graceful ballet pose amid a puddle of groaning sentries. She picked her way through the carnage, her face as calm as glass. She walked towards Shenxi, her bare feet making no noise on the marble floor of the lobby. They stood frozen for a moment, staring at each other. Shenxi had grown up with impossibly strong and skilled women all around him, but he had never seen a slayer empty a room so fast.

"You will take me to him," she said.

Shenxi opened his mouth, and then closed it. He took a breath, and forced himself to speak.

"Who are you?"

"I need to see the one called Spike," the girl replied. "You will take me to him. Now."

Shenxi could do nothing but nod.

"We cannot go running into this blindly!" a dark haired watcher snapped, her black eyes flashing as she surveyed the room. "This is Wolfram and Hart we are talking about, not an unorganized demon guild!"

"Sure we can!" A slayer objected. She was standing, punctuating her points by banging her fists against the long mahogany table. "It's what we do! We run into things blindly!"

"We could do with a little more preparation," another watcher objected, drumming his fingers on a demon lexicon. "You must see that."

"All I see is a bunch of watchers crying about prep work will those scum demons take over the planet, one company at a time!"

The shouts of objection rose from the table, everyone speaking at once, demanding to be heard.

Spike ran a hand through his gelled hair, slouching against the wall at the far end of the board room.

"Bloody hell," he muttered. "This is goin' splendid, innit?"

"Have to start somewhere," his companion replied.

Spike snuck a glance at the watcher who stood beside him. Maren's well-fitting dark suit emphasized her pale face below a sweep of dark, smooth hair, the skirt short enough to show off her long, toned legs that ended in black pumps. Since picking him up, she had been his constant companion, nay, shadow. If Spike didn't know better, he'd think he had been assigned a minder. It was getting bloody annoying, but so far Maren hadn't done anything to annoy Spike other than tailing him to meetings. He could shake her lose if he needed to.

Around them, the din rose, unchecked.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" a voice rose above the shouts.

"What do you propose we do? What can we do against them?" demanded an elderly watcher.

The doors of the board room flew open, banging harshly against the walls. The sound startled the council members, who fell silent at the noise.

"We fight," said a calm voice from the doorway. "We fight the Wolf, Ram, and Hart."

Council members strained to see the small figure in the door, but Spike didn't need to. He already knew who it was. A growl rose in his throat, and he pushed through the crowd of stunned council members until she was in sight.

"I told you not to come," he snarled, glaring at her.

"He said she was free to make her own decisions. A real girl, not a broken doll any more. Why is he surprised when she makes a decision on her own?" River asked.

Spike ground his teeth together. She shouldn't be here. He specifically left her on Serenity so she wouldn't get involved. He had lost too many friends to Wolfram and Hart already.

"And if the enemy knows about your ability?" he growled, flashing his sharpened incisors at her.

River smiled slightly.

"Can't hide forever. It's time to know and be known."

He was furious that she had disregarded his warning, of course. She should be on Serenity, as safe as possible for someone who lived on a smuggling ship. He had tried so hard to keep her out of this. But under it all, he couldn't help being a tiny bit proud of his girl. Standing there in her red dress and her eyes flashing, she looked like a queen.

Beside him, as always these days, Maren raised an eyebrow.

"Do you two know each other?"

"We are each other," River replied, cocking her head at the watcher. "I will not interfere with your mission."

Maren's eyebrows rose even further, like two pale birds about to take flight.

"What do you know of my mission?"

River shook her head.

"She hears when she doesn't want to, sometimes," she turned to the council, who were now staring at her as if she were some particularly fascinating demon species. The slayers among them were fingering their weapons, but so far no one had moved.

River smiled.

"I am River Tam," she said. "I am here to help you defeat the Wolf, Ram, and Hart."

Maren turned to Spike.

"Who is she?"

Spike shook his head.

"Don't look at me, pet. I told her to stay home. But it seems my girl's not a girl any longer," he glanced at River. "You want to be a part of this? Fine, congrats. You're in. But don't blame me when it all goes to a hell dimension in a handbasket."

River smiled beatifically at him. She knew she had one this round.

Shenxi was just looking for a little peace and quiet. Usually, the flower gardens supplied that. It had been a favorite haunt of his since he was a child, when he was small enough to hide in the flowers, and only his mother's superior slayer senses could find him. Now, it was a place of retreat.

Except for today. Today, someone was talking loudly near the balcony. Shenxi couldn't help but cringe. The balcony was his favorite place. It overlooked Saharah, the beautiful desert city, providing a stunning view of the many lights below and the mountains in the distance. Summers Academy had moved in when Saharah was nothing more than a few buildings and a saloon, and claimed its spot on one of the hills overlooking the city before the land got swallowed up by shanty towns and air ship docking bays. Shenxi came here to think and to enjoy the view. But tonight the balcony seemed to be occupied. As he crept closer, he could make out two figures against the fading sunset. His eyes widened. It was that girl again! The scary one. And with her, the vampire, Spike.

"Of course I'm cross, love. You weren't supposed to be here," Spike said, leaning against the balcony wall, his back to the view. "You're supposed to be tucked up safe in your beddy bie, waitin' this war out. Do you know what those people could do with a seer of your strength?"

"Do you know what your people can do with a seer of my strength?" River replied, looking up at him.

"You are supposed to be the ace in the hole. Never show your enemy all your weapons at one time."

"Not a weapon," River reminded him, her voice rising sharply. "Not a weapon to be used and thrown away. Bent but not broken. Make my own fate. World without sin won't come unless we fight for it, and I want to fight!"

She glared up at him.

"You can't stop me."

"Yes I could," Spike said, flashing his razor-sharp teeth at her.

River glared at him, her body coiling like a spring.

"Try."

Spike took a step back from her, and sighed.

"I can't stop you from doing whatever you want, love. It goes against everythin' I've been yellin' at your brother for, for the past six months. But I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

She took his arm and slowly turned the vampire so he was facing her. She was a head shorter than him, and had to crane her neck to look into his face.

"Not a child any more, Spike. Make my own decisions."

Spike looked down at her, running his fingers through her tangled dark hair.

After a moment of silence, she smiled.

"I know. But can't keep me away forever."

"I wanted you here with me, love, I promise. But I've lost enough fights to know this won't end happily ever after. For either of us."

"Got to try," River reminded him. "Always got to try. (Chinese for "I love you" here)"

"You too," Spike murmured, pulling her closer so that their foreheads touched.

Shenxi was just about to leave the two alone, when River went suddenly stiff. She jerked out of Spike's arms, wrenching herself away.

"Coming. Coming fast," she moaned.

"What is it, River, love? What do you see?" Spike asked.

River opened her mouth and let out a blood curdling scream.

Shenxi had surged forward before he knew what he was doing. Others were gathering as well, slayers sliding into defensive poses, some pulling out weapons from pockets.

"Can I help?" Shenxi asked, breathlessly. River was pulling at her dark locks and waling, a high, eerie sound.

Spike held a hand out to stop him.

"Don't come any closer," he barked. "She's a seer, she's havin' a vision. All of you, stand back."

River reached out her arms in front of her, like a blind man.

"The stars in the Black. They're so bright. Trying to blind me. Making it so I can't see. Can only look for black in the Black," she gasped. "They're so bright."

"What do you see, River?" Spike repeated.

"A moon. Far away, hidden. All the stars have gone out. Only the Black. Black as their hats. Many, many. Doorway has been opened, all coming through. Beat down for 500 years, vampire with a soul defeated them and became a real boy. Amassing forces, coming, coming for us," she shuddered "Spike!"

Spike put his hands on her arms.

"I'm here, River, love. I'm here."

She sagged in his arms. Her eyes opened, and they were not frenzied, but clear again.

"Ibis," she said. Then, the energy seemed to run out of her. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she crumpled. Spike caught her, swinging her up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a leaf.

"What's happened? What was that about?" Shenxi asked Spike, still shaken by what he had witnessed.

Spike eased River's head onto his shoulder, settling her in his arms. He flashed Shenxi a mouthful of teeth.

"We may not lose this war after all," he said. "We've got ourselves a starting place, mates."