After waking up and having her ear chewed off by an irate brunette, Leia was released from the hospital she'd somehow ended up in after she'd blacked out. Xander had wanted her to stay and have her head examined for possible brain damage, but she'd declined and ran off. Just like she'd used to... when she'd truly been a carefree thirteen-year-old. But a carefree thirteen-year-old wouldn't have been coming up with a plan to save Ithuriel City.

Leia's mind was racing, trying to remember what'd happened without bursting into tears. "Let's see..." She mumbled, writing on the whiteboard she'd stolen from her school. "I've got five years until the attack... Plenty of time..." Leia closed her eyes, flopping back on her bed. "But if I fail..."

"Come on!" Rex hissed, pulling her through the flaming streets, ignoring how eerily quiet the place was aside from the sounds of the fires raging around them. "We need to get out of here. It's not safe anywhere anymore!"

"But..."

Green eyes closed, a small sad smile on his face as he pinched her cheek. "We can think about things later." He sighed. "Right now, we need to move." His fingers wove through her own, gently squeezing her limp hand. "Come on, Leia." He pulled her across another street, freezing as he heard an odd whistling sound. "Move!"

"What-?!"

Hands collided harshly with her back, pushing her into a nearby alleyway, the sound of crackling flames filling the air behind her.

"Rex...?" She turned, her eyes widening when she spotted the man lying on the ground just outside the cover of the tall buildings she'd been shoved between.

"Run, idiot!" The blonde hissed, blood dribbling from his lips as she stared at the arrows littering his body. "And don't look back."

She shook her head, feeling the tears pouring down her cheeks. "He's still alive." She whispered, hope blossoming in her chest.

If she played her cards right, she'd be able to save him and everyone else who'd perished that day.

There was only one way to do that, though.

Get stronger. Much stronger.

And kill him.

Before he killed her again.

He was the one who'd orchestrated the whole thing. It'd been his flames that'd turned the city into ashes. His comrades who'd killed everyone she'd held dear in one single day. She'd only survived through a sheer miracle... and yet it had turned out to be a curse at the same time.

Though it'd be a while before her little curse kicked in, so she didn't need to worry about that just yet. She only needed to worry about training.

"Well..." She clapped her hands, staring down at her training outfit. Unfortunately, as much as she'd have liked to, she couldn't fight in her dusty old black jeans. "Ten laps around the city ought to be a start..." She smiled, collecting her keys, shutting her front door behind her. "Let's do this."

Joyful optimism didn't last long, though.

She'd barely made it onto her second lap around the gigantic city and she was already out of breath. Her legs were also cramping. Not a great combo. "You've got to be kidding?!" Leia spat, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. "I knew I was weak as a thirteen-year-old... but seriously. This is ridiculous!"

"Leia?!" A voice called, feminine brown eyes surveying her curiously as the gate guard and her partner trudged over to where she sat, panting. The brunette turned to the other guard, worry written across her face. "Search the area for anything out of the ordinary... You remember what happened last time the kid pulled a prank out here with explosives..."

"Yeah." The man muttered, wincing at the memory.

"Uh..." Leia's eyebrows twitched. "I haven't done anything."

Had she really been that bad? She couldn't remember much about her earlier years. After all, the memories that came after were like a living hell.

"Oh, so what are you doing this far out of town?" Curiosity and scepticism lined her face. "There's no reason-"

"I'm training!"

The brunette blinked.

"Stop looking at me like that!" Leia scowled, glaring up at her, struggling to keep the small smile off her face. Her smile soon vanished though, as she heard the woman frantically dialling her mobile phone.

"Xander, it's me." She spoke quickly. "Something weird is going on. Leia's out by the gates-" A garbled voice cut her off, but Leia couldn't make out the words. Another thing she needed to improve on. "No. She claims that she's training-" The sound of the call being ended rang out, followed by an odd silence as the woman stared down at Leia's confused expression.

"What's the big deal?" She grumbled, folding her arms.

"What are you up to, kiddo?"

"Nothing! For crying out loud, Carla!" She put her head in her hands. "Is it wrong for me to want to be stronger?"

"No... it's just out of character."

"Too right." Xander appeared with his usual scowl in place, grey eyes narrowed as he rested the back of his hand against her head. "No fever..."

"Drugs?" Carla queried, watching as the Head of the City Guards shook his head.

"The tests came back negative... and they checked for pretty much everything."

Leia stared at him. "WHAT TESTS?!"

A smirk appeared on his face. "The ones I had them run at the hospital, idiot." He said, grabbing her ankle. "Now I think it's time to go back there and get your head checked, because you're acting weird."

"I'm fine, so shut up and let me get on with my training."

"Pfft." He shook his head, dragging her along behind him as he walked back towards the heart of the city. "If you're saying stuff like that then you clearly aren't."

"Git!"

"Brat!"

Leia smiled sadly. "I missed you."

"And that right there is evidence that you need a head scan."