Summer 2003, Cleveland, Ohio

"Yo, B! Check it!" Faith called.

Buffy spun her head in the direction her companion indicated. Across the park, leaning against a tree was a young woman maybe a year or two younger than Buffy and Faith. A riot of sandy colored curls fell around her face and over her shoulders as her solemn grey eyes focused on the group of mini-Slayers carefully following Robin's martial arts training.

Buffy turned back to Faith, "Friend of yours?"

"Nope." Faith popped the end of the word a bit.

"I'm thinking we should introduce ourselves."

Faith grinned, "Five by five."

She was so engrossed in the group across the park that she didn't notice the blonde approaching her until she was nearly on top of her. Turning to flee she was immediately blocked by a grinning brunette. With her back against the tree and one on each side, she was trapped. But for some reason, the usual flight or fight (and honestly, it was usually fight for her) wasn't there. Power emanated from the two women, more strongly than any of the girls across the park, standing in front of her. Somewhere in her brain, she knew it should frighten her, but instead, she felt strangely comforted.

Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two women, who were now sharing a confused look. The brunette looked her up and down before finally breathing out a single word, "Damn."

She finally found her voice, "Can I help you?"

The blonde perked up, "Oh! Us with the rudeness. Sorry. I'm Buffy, this is Faith."

"Okay? Again, can I help you?"

Faith spoke up, "Why are you here?"

"It's a park. Public property."

Faith laughed, "I like this one."

Buffy tried, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Neither are you by the looks of it."

Buffy shrugged, "Southern California."

Her eyes widened before she could stop them. Her last stop before Cleveland had been the crater that used to be Sunnydale, "Well, that's nice. Still haven't told me what you want with me."

"You were watching our group." Faith interjected.

She shrugged, "It's interesting."

"Probably the only interesting thing in this shithole. So what brought you here?"

"Just followed the pull." She answered absently as she watched the group again. Then she realized what she'd said, "Shit. That sounded crazy."

Faith and Buffy shared a bemused glance.

She lost her patience, "What the hell is going on?!"

Buffy smiled, "You're a Slayer."

"A what?"

"We need Giles. Come with us."

Still not quite understanding why she was trusting these women, she followed.

"Oh shit! You never did tell us your name." Faith looked at her.

"Legacy."

Faith chuckled, "Is there some rule that Slayer's can't have normal names?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Giles, Slayer spiel, please."

Giles fought the urge to roll his own eyes and turned his attention to Legacy, "'Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.' Of course, that's not exactly the case anymore. Originally, the new Slayer was called when the previous Slayer died. Buffy died, temporarily, when she was sixteen."

"I drowned." Buffy offered helpfully.

Giles went on, "She was revived. But not until after Kendra had already been called. Kendra was killed by Drusilla, a vampire, thus calling Faith. The rest of you were given your power by a spell a few months ago, initiating every girl who ever might even potentially be a Slayer – activating her power."

Legacy bit her lip, "A few months ago?"

Giles nodded.

"Uh… hate to put a chink in your story, but… you sure you don't mean a few years?"

All three heads snapped in her direction.

She recoiled a bit, but her voice was steady, "The whole Slayer thing explains a lot of what I've run into. I'm guessing monsters are drawn to the challenge or something?"

Buffy nodded.

"Okay, but, uh… well, I've been at this three, four years now."

Buffy and Faith looked to each other, then to Giles, confusion clear on their faces. Giles was just as confused, and shook his head. Silence rang out for a few minutes before Faith's head snapped back toward Legacy, "Three or four years?"

Legacy nodded.

"When, exactly?"

Legacy shrugged, "Closer to four is the best I can give you. My life kinda went down the crapper around then, so it's all kind of a blur."

Faith bit her lip, "Uh, I think I may be to blame for this one. Well, B's to blame, but I'm the one who died."

"What?!" Buffy exclaimed.

Faith almost looked sheepish, "I, uh… kinda flat-lined at one point when I was in that coma… or so I was told."

Buffy paled, "So I did kill you."

"So not permanent! And long established that I deserved it!"

Buffy didn't look convinced, but let it drop.

Giles seemed to be talking to himself, "Fascinating… four years. Yet no Watcher found…" realizing he was muttering to himself, Giles looked back to Legacy and spoke at a normal volume, "If Faith's theory is correct, and I see no reason to doubt it, then you're the last of the truly called Slayers. Your power will easily be on par with Faith and Buffy's. I just can't imagine how you survived four years in this life with no Watcher."

Legacy shrugged, "Just got lucky, I guess. I took martial arts and dance from the time I could walk. The first couple times a vamp attacked me I was caught off guard, but not too long after it all started I managed not to kill one and he spilled the dirt on the not-so-fun uglies that go bump in the night. Still didn't know why the hell I could take them out, but they kept coming, so I made it work."

Giles shook his head in amazement, "Well, I certainly think it's time you learned the how's and the why's, if you're interested."

Legacy nodded enthusiastically.

"Welcome to the club, then." Faith punched her on the arm and Legacy had to withhold her wince, she wasn't used to anyone else being as strong as her, "Let's find you a bunk."

Fall 2003, outside London, England

Legacy was hanging upside down, knees hooked over a bar, in the basement gym they'd set up under the manor that was now serving as Council headquarters. Faith was hanging next to her. Both had books in hand. It had become a competition to see who could hang upside down longer without getting a bloody nose, and so far it was a stale-mate.

"Bleeding yet, Lace?" Faith asked.

"In your dreams." Lacey, that's what most everyone was calling her these days, and she actually kind of like it, snarked back.

"Don't need dreams for that, just a sparring mat." This was an ongoing joke. Neither could best the other, because Faith didn't have Lacey's martial arts background, and Lacey didn't have Faith's down and dirty style, or the extra experience. They were teaching each other.

Lacey dropped her book to the ground, knowing Giles and Willow would both be furious if they saw her treatment of the old tome, but she was not getting off that bar, and she was tired of trying to focus on demon histories. She took to scanning the room instead. The mini-Slayer's were scattered through the room, sparring or just talking. Lacey was still amazed at how many of them there were. Suddenly, a number of the girls squealed and bolted toward the door, tackling someone who had just entered. About a minute later, a very fine specimen of man stood amidst the chattering girls. His tall, well-muscled frame was wrapped in worn denim and leather, his feet clad in motorcycle boots. Dark hair fell around his face and one chocolate-brown eye glanced over the room. The eye-patch covering the other gave him an air of mystery and danger that worked for him. His easy posture and relaxed grin gave Lacey the impression he didn't have a clue what a tempting picture he was.

Without taking her eyes off him, Lacey asked Faith, "Who's the eye candy?"

Faith lowered her book and looked toward the door, beaming when she saw him and yelling across the room, "Xan-man!"

Tall, Dark, and Handsome immediately shook the mini's off and headed in their direction.

He stopped in front of them and eyed Faith, "Are you in training to be a bat?"

Faith snorted and smacked his abs.

"Ow, with the Slayer strength. I ditched the mini's loving just to be abused?"

Faith winked, "You know abuse from the real deal's better than love from the back-up."

He would have been offended for the mini's if he didn't know she was joking. He shrugged, "Maybe, but with you I can never tell the difference between abuse and lovin'."

Faith laughed.

"Seriously, I don't even get a welcome hug?"

Faith seemed to consider for a moment before turning her head toward Legacy, "Draw for now?"

Legacy considered refusing, just because she could, but she'd rather get a proper introduction to the hunk currently watching them, so she shrugged, "Fine. On three."

Faith dropped into a handstand and Lacey did a flip. Faith flipped her off, "Show off."

Faith stood and stretched before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around the guy. Finally, they turned to Lacey.

He smiled at her, "Who's the newbie?"

"Not exactly a newbie." Lacey corrected.

Xander looked confused.

Faith answered, "Long story short, remember that coma? Well, I died for a bit. Lacey was called. She'd the real deal. Almost four years now. No one knows why she never had a Watcher."

Xander seemed to take it in stride, "Oookay, then."

Xander stuck his hand out, and Lacey reached to shake it automatically.

"Lacey, this is Xander. Xander, this is Lacey. She thinks you're hot."

Faith shot Lacey a cheeky grin and Lacey glared at her back as she sidled away.

Fall 2004, Africa

Xander's eye kept drifting down the village street to where Lacey was single-handedly battling 4 vamps in the main square. He had just dispatched one of his own and was chasing another one who was heading toward Lacey. He knew Lacey could handle herself; she was just as strong and fast as Buffy and Faith and when it came right down to it, she was a better fighter (not that he'd ever tell the girls that, because they all will forever be better than him, and he can handle pain, but that doesn't mean he seeks it out.)

He finally overtook the vamp, tackling it to the ground and staking it as it rolled, but before it could spring up. Standing and dusting himself off, he turned his gaze back toward Lacey just in time to watch her take out two of her vamps in one clean spin and using the distraction to leap behind a third and stake it. Down to one. Xander shook his head, he didn't know what he'd been so worried about. Scanning down the village streets, Xander watched their group of minis efficiently taking out vamp after vamp and smiled.

His gaze returned to Lacey just in time to watch her behead the last vamp and notice another readying to leap off the roof above her head.

"Ace! Up!" he called frantically, eye widening as she turned her gaze up just for it to land right on top of her. He darted across the square, but the panic rising in him didn't get the chance to take over as he watched the vamp turn to dust on top of her, her stake in a white-knuckled grip as she glared furiously at the cloud of dust.

Xander laughed as he offered a hand to pull her up. He laughed because if he didn't laugh, he would cry. Lacey grasped his hand and let him pull her up and tightly against him.

Later that night, he held her just as tightly against him as they lay in bed. He hadn't said anything to her since the village, but she was used to it. He would talk when he was ready. She snuggled closer to him and thought back, as she often did, to how easy it had been to fall for him. The day she had met him was the first day she'd beat Faith on the sparring mat (she'd had to get her back somehow), but later she'd thanked the other Slayer. Xander's easy wit and unassuming charm had pulled her in as surely as her sarcasm and wounded past had drawn him to her. They'd hardly been apart since the day they met. When Xander's month of R&R had been over, Lacey had gone with him back to Africa. They had decided there were enough minis being found there that it was worth sending one of the true Slayers to train them. Lacey's bag had been packed before anyone else could volunteer. Buffy and Faith had exchanged a knowing look that made Lacey's regret over the hair-dye infused shampoo she had left in their shower immediately vanish.

"That was a close one." Xander mumbled against her neck, pulling her from her reverie.

"I'm still here, Xan." Lacey whispered against his hair.

He held her even tighter, as if to prove that to himself, "I know, but –"

She pulled back to look him in the eye, "But nothing, Xan. I'm here. Our work is dangerous. You are in just as much, if not more danger, than me every time we go out. You think I don't worry about you? But this is what we do. There will always be close calls."

"And one of these days, it'll be too close."

"Xan, I'm not gonna leave you like she did."

He gave her a sad smile, "You can't promise that."

"You're right, I can't. But neither can you. But we can damn well put a hell of an effort into it."

He smiled at her for real then and she leaned forward to kiss him as his grip tightened on her again.

Spring 2006, Cleveland, Ohio

The chaos of battle rang out loudly. Buffy was on one side of the warehouse, firing a crossbow with one hand and swinging a sword with the other. Spike was beside her, gleefully vamped out as he tore apart anything that came near. On the other side of the warehouse Faith and Robin fought back to back, each wielding some kind of spear. Willow and Dawn were on the catwalk above the middle of the warehouse, Kennedy standing guard on one side of them and two other minis on the other, working a spell to close the Hellmouth back up. Scythe in hand, Lacey spun around, her arms making a wide arc with deadly accuracy, as she fought her way toward where Xander and a group of minis were defending the stairs leading up to their spell casters.

They had known a cult was planning on opening the Hellmouth – it's why they were all back in Cleveland – but their timeline had been off, it had been open by the time their little Army had arrived. The warehouse over it had already been swarming Turok-Han, who had apparently made friends with a large pack of Hell Hounds.

Lacey swung the Scythe, decapitating on of the übervamps then ducking to avoid a lunging Hell Hound. As she straightened, she suddenly felt a piercing pain through her left shoulder. Xander's panicked face was the last thing she saw, and the fact that she was breaking her promise was the last thought she had, before there was a blinding green light followed by nothingness.

Spring 2008, outside London, England

Buffy and Faith gripped their swords tightly, even as they flinched away from the blinding flash of light making itself known on the back lawn of the Council manor. As it died down, both women blinked in disbelief. There, standing before them looking exactly as she had two years ago, Scythe still gripped in her hand, was Legacy.

Lacey had quite promptly passed out, only vaguely registering Buffy and Faith standing before her. Now she groggily fought toward their voices. Opening her eyes, she found herself in her old room at the Council manor, Buffy and Faith propped up on either side of her feet at the end of the bed.

Faith noticed her first, "Heya Lace! How ya feelin'? You've been out for two days."

Lacey groaned, "Like I've been hit by a train. How the hell did I get here?"

"We were hoping you could tell us." Buffy answered.

Lacey pulled herself into a sitting position and shrugged, "Last thing I remember was fighting to close the Hellmouth in Cleveland back up."

Buffy's eyes widened.

Faith made a choking sound, "Lace… that was two years ago."

Lacey paled, "Two years?"

Buffy nodded, "One of the übervamps stabbed you from behind with something, and you just vanished. We thought you were dead… Wound still looked fresh when you popped up here."

At the reminder, Lacey's shoulder started to throb in pain. She looked down and reached up to gingerly pull aside the bandage. Thanks to her Slayer healing, it was already just a scar, albeit a fresh one. It was less than an inch above her heart.

"How?" Lacey asked.

Buffy shrugged, "Willow and Giles are trying to figure it out. Weirder things have happened, and you're here now, so I don't think we're that worried about it."

Lacey nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall. Closing her eyes just brought back Xander's face, though, with the panicked look he'd been wearing when she last saw him, two years ago, apparently, and she sat back up quickly, "Where's Xander?"

Buffy's eyes filled with tears and Faith swallowed nervously. The panic must have shown on Lacey's face, because Faith leaned forward and grabbed one of her hands.

Her voice cracked as she squeezed Lacey's hand, "Lace… Xan-man… he… he's gone, babe. Demon got him in Africa just over a month ago."

Lacey felt the tears start to fall, and let her sister Slayers hold her together as her world fractured into pieces.