Author's Note: Slight revision here too, folks. See my note on chapter two for explanations.

Chapter Three:

Buffy stood in front of her mirror, wearing the white dress as she tried to decide whether or not to go to the dance as her mom had suggested. The dress was even more beautiful on her than it had been hanging up in the closet. She gathered her long blonde hair in her hand as she played with different styles.

Pounding on the stairs alerted her a split second before Joyce hurried into the room, grabbing the doorframe to steady herself. "Buffy? There's something on the news. Willow!"

Buffy whirled around, her hair falling around her face in a golden halo as the sun reflected off of it. "What about Willow?"

Joyce gestured for Buffy to follow her as she led her into the bedroom and flipped on the news. The pretty anchorwoman was relating the story. "…The bodies of the three Sunnydale High School baseball players were discovered earlier today in the audio-visual lab at Sunnydale High, the victims of an apparently brutal attack. The names of the players have not yet been released to us. According to police, the bodies were discovered by two sophomores at the school, Cordelia Chase and Willow Rosenberg. When asked what the two girls were doing at the school on a Saturday morning, it was Miss Rosenberg who offered a reply."

The screen cut to a taped interview with Willow, who had tears streaking down her face. "The boys had promised to bring the sound equipment to the Bronze last night, so we could set up for tonight's dance this morning. When they never showed up to help and we realized that they hadn't brought the equipment, Cordelia and I came to the school to see if we could find them." She gulped back tears. "We didn't expect to find them like that…"

The anchorwoman reappeared. "In other news…"

Joyce flipped off the set and turned to Buffy. "Poor Willow."

"I'm going to go and see what I can do." Buffy said, heading for her room and grabbing the leather jacket that Angel had given her. As she headed out, she paused and gave her mom a hug. "Mom, were you going to go out tonight?"

Joyce shook her head. "Why?"

Buffy shrugged into her jacket. "I'd just feel better if you were here, especially with that guy on the streets."

"You be careful too, Buffy." Joyce said with a smile as Buffy headed out the door.

Buffy headed straight over to Willow's house, and knocked. Willow answered the door and let Buffy in, then retreated to her room and curled up on her bed, her knees drawn up to her chest as tears streaked down her cheeks. Buffy sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Willow into her arms. "Ssh…its okay Wills." The two of them sat there for a long time as Willow cried.

Finally Willow stopped crying as she looked at Buffy. "Buffy, I've never seen anything like that before. I mean…I've seen so much. I thought I could take anything. But, Buffy, this…this was different."

"It'll be alright." Buffy said quietly, pushing her own problems to the back of her mind as she focused on Willow. Her friend had been so strong this year, so eager to throw herself into the fight to help Buffy after learning the truth. Seeing her this distraught hurt, and Willow didn't need to know about the fate hanging over Buffy's head.

"I'm trying to think how to say it… to explain it so you understand." Willow went on.

Buffy looked at her friend firmly. "It doesn't matter as long as you're okay."

Willow looked at her friend, sadly. "I'm not okay. I knew those guys. I go to that room every day. And when I walked in there, it…it wasn't our world anymore. They made it theirs. And they had fun." Another few tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at her friend, confident the Slayer would know what to do. "What are we gonna do?"

"What we have to." Buffy said, rising to her feet and exhaling softly, planting a firm resolve in her mind as she pushed all her fear and worry out of her mind. Now wasn't the time to think about Giles' chilling words, his certainty. This is the Codex…there is nothing in it that does not come to pass! Now was the time to simply do what she had to, what she had been Chosen to do. She looked seriously at Willow. "Promise me you'll stay in tonight, okay?"

Willow nodded and Buffy turned to leave, preparing to face what she apparently had no way to escape. Willow called as Buffy was about to leave the room. "Buffy?" When she turned back, Willow was smiling at her. "I like your dress."

Buffy looked down at it, almost having forgotten that she was wearing the beautiful dress. She looked back at Willow and smiled weakly, her voice soft and haunted. "Take care." It felt like a final good-bye, but Willow was too upset to notice, as Buffy slipped out, heading for the school. She needed to apologize to Giles, and then find out what he knew, so that she might have a fraction of a chance of surviving this night.

Sunnydale High School

Buffy approached the school, resolved to find a way to make it through this night. As she entered and headed for the library, she passed the computer lab. Pausing, she turned and looked back, then pushed the door open and walked into the lab. The room was dark, all the computers shut down for the night.

She hesitated for a long moment, then took a seat at one of the computers and turned it on. While Willow was the computer savvy one, Buffy knew enough to get by. As the computer came to life, Buffy entered her school id and password, and then opened her email program once the system acknowledged her.

This definitely wasn't her strong suit, but this was something that she had to do. There was someone else that deserved a good-bye. She hadn't talked to Scott since the divorce, although they frequently traded emails, whenever something important happened. He sometimes felt like the only person who could understand what she was going through…well, minus the demons and the vamps and the all around slayage talk. It was hard to find words to describe her activities without giving her secret away, but she had managed thus far.

She thought about what she wanted to say for a long time. Finally, the words started to come and she began typing.

I know I've been promising to call ever since we moved, but there just hasn't been the time. I'm sorry. I miss you a lot, and I hope that you're doing well at that school of yours, with all your friends. Even though I've never met them, I feel like I know them, just from your descriptions. I could probably identify them all on sight, especially the pretty redhead you always talk about. As far as I am concerned, you should just go for it. Speaking as a girl myself, we don't like to be kept waiting. Get a move on, buster.

Have you ever found yourself at a point where you wonder if it is all worth it? All the struggle, the heartbreak, the sickness as you try to adapt to life's hits? I think I found myself at that point yesterday, and I've come to realize some important things. No matter how you feel about life's little jokes, in the end, it all comes down to doing what you can to make the world a better place You can blame Fate or Luck, or the Powers That Be, but ultimately it's all about accepting the cards that you are dealt. Life is so very short, and you need to seize what joy you can, when you can. Living here in Sunnydale has made me realize that, and in a way I'm glad. On the other hand, I also wish that I wasn't so aware of what goes on in the world these days. It would be so easy to just pretend that I don't care, but I do.

Scott, I really, really miss you. It's been forever since we've seen each other. We need to change that as soon as we can, if we get the chance. Maybe over the summer…anyway, I'd better go. I've got some stuff to do. I'll write when I can. I love you.

She reread what she'd written and nodded. That was as good as it was going to get. She was sure her cousin would understand. He was always so serious about things, and he'd mentioned in past letters about the unfairness of the world. She didn't want to worry him, but knowing Scott, he'd worry anyway. If she lived through this, she'd have to call, if only to hear his voice.

Sending the email off, she waited for confirmation that it had gone before logging out and powering down the computer. Standing, she smoothed the skirt of her dress, and then headed out of the lab and towards the library.

She approached and could hear the murmur of voices again. Pushing the door open silently, she listened while standing back in the shadows. Ms. Calendar was perched on the study table as Giles laid out an arsenal of weapons.

"Precisely." Giles was saying in response to something that Ms. Calendar had said.

"The part that gets me is where Buffy's the vampire Slayer. She's so little."

"Don't let that fool you. All right, I've told you enough. Did you get in touch with this Brother Luca?"

"As far as I can tell, nobody can. He's disappeared. Did send out one last global, though. A short one."

"What did it say?" Giles asked as he studied a sword and then decided to put it back.

"Isaiah 11:6, which I dutifully looked up." Ms. Calendar replied, reaching for a Bible that she had bookmarked. Giles beat her to it, however.

"'The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf, the lion, and the fatling together, and the little child to lead them.'"

Buffy blinked in surprise. Should I be worried that he knew that so quickly? she wondered, impressed as ever by Giles' knowledge. Apparently so was Ms. Calendar.

"You know your text."

"Yes..." Giles replied absently. "'A little child shall lead them...'"

"That's kinda warm and fuzzy for a message of doom." Ms. Calendar observed.

"Well that depends on where he's leading them to." Giles pointed out, as he came over with several long knives and began checking each of them. "Aurelius wrote of the Anointed One, 'The Slayer will not know him, and he will lead her into Hell.'"

"So Luca thinks the Anointed is a kid."

"If the vampire that Buffy killed was in fact not the Anointed, then it may well be," Giles agreed.

"Well then we need to warn her," Ms. Calendar pointed out. Buffy smiled at that. At least Ms. Calendar was on her side and was obviously trying to help, and wanted her kept in the loop.

"I don't intend on involving her at all," Giles replied, making Buffy focus back on the conversation.

"What do you mean?"

Giles put his weapons down and leaned on the table, staring directly at the computer teacher. "Buffy's not going to face the Master. I am."

That was it. Buffy had to put a stop to this. She stepped forward, making no effort to hide her presence. "No you're not."

Both of the adults looked over at her as she approached them, her shoes clicking on the tile floor as she approached. She put her hands on her hips as she faced Giles. "So I'm looking for a kid, huh? And he'll lead me to the Master?"

Giles faced her sternly. "Buffy, I'm not going to send you out there to die. Now you were right. I-I've waded about in these old books so long, I've forgotten what the real world is like. I-It's time I found out."

"You're still not going up against the Master," Buffy said, matching him stare for stare.

"I've made up my mind," Giles said, although now he sounded a bit petulant.

"So have I," Buffy said, not backing down.

"I made up mine first! I'm older and wiser than you, and just…just once do what you're told! All right?"

Buffy wanted to smile. She couldn't believe that they were standing here having this argument. She could see the fear in Giles' eyes. It was fear for himself, but mostly fear for her. Now that she thought about it, every time she'd seen him the day before, he'd had the same fear in his eyes when he looked at her. "That's not how it goes. I'm the Slayer." And for the first time since she'd been Called, she really believed it.

"I don't care what the books say. I defy prophecy and I am going," Giles said, resolutely. "There's nothing you can say to change my mind."

"I know."

Giles blinked; startled that she'd given in so easily. He started to reach for a knife, as Buffy started to turn away, but before he touched it, Buffy spun and threw a solid punch that impacted him squarely across the jaw. He stood slack-jawed for the barest instant, before collapsing to the floor, his glasses flying off. Ms. Calendar hopped off the table and hurried to him, gathering his head into her lap.

Buffy spotted Angel's cross lying on the table and picked it up, fastening it back into place around her neck. The weight of the silver felt good, something familiar and comforting. Something of Angel's that she could carry into the fight with her, and a symbol of who she was. She glanced down at Giles and Ms. Calendar. "When he wakes up, tell him…I don't know. Think of something cool, tell him I said it."

"You fight the Master, and you'll die," Ms. Calendar said, meeting Buffy's eyes with her own exotic, dark ones.

"Maybe," Buffy replied, picking up the crossbow and checking the bolts. "Maybe I'll take him with me."

With that, she left. Now that she'd made the decision, she was calm. This was just another fight, after all. And wasn't she the Slayer? Even if she failed to kill the Master, another girl would come along, and would make the attempt. Plus, Angel, Giles, and her friends…they were still there, and she knew they'd carry on the fight if she couldn't.

As she exited the school, brandishing her crossbow, her skirt swishing around her legs, she heard a small voice. "Help me." Turning in the direction of the voice, she saw a child, no more than nine years old. His eyes were wide as he looked at her.

She walked up to him and studied him for a moment. "It's okay. I know who you are."

The little boy reached out his hand and she took it, falling into step with him as he led her towards her fate. The Master was waiting.