Out in the McKinley High courtyard, a warm breeze flew through Buffy's sandy hair before any of the others showed up, and a small boy stood off in the distance of the thinly trimmed football field, staring at her. God, how she was sick of creepy little kids.

"Help me," he said as she approached, unconvincing.

"It's okay," she said calmly, "I know who you are."

The Anointed One held out his small hand, and she took, letting him lead her away. She didn't look back.

xxx

"She what?" asked Rachel, her hands balled into fists at her side as she stood in the choir room, amongst the small crowd of the other glee club members, her cheeks turning a worrying shade of pink.

"Yeah, she what?" asked Puck, his shoulder bumping against Quinn's, a thick eyebrow raised.

"And she knew about this prophecy of yours?" asked Rachel, "What do we do?"

"We stay calm, first of all," said Mr. Schuester, holding an ice pack to the side of his head.

"Calm?" asked Rachel.

"I think he's right," said Finn.

"No, Finn! I'm horrified and I intend to remain that way."

"Rachel-"

"How could you let her go?" Rachel asked Mr. Schuester.

"I did not let her go," protested Mr. Schuester.

"How can we help her?" asked Quinn, raising her soft voice above the hub bub of the room.

"Uh, I'm sorry to bring this up, but isn't there also an apocalypse to worry about?" asked Mercedes.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Puck.

"So much for staying blissfully ignorant," sighed Mike, sitting at the piano bench with his girlfriend.

"It's okay," Tina patted his back, "I'll explain it all later."

"Once the Master gets free, the Hellmouth opens, the demons come to party and everybody dies," said Kurt.

"What?" exclaimed Puck.

"I don't care. I apologize," said Rachel, "But I just don't. We have to help Buffy."

"We don't even know where she is!" said Mr. Schuester.

Rachel turned and grabbed Quinn by the shoulders, staring into the girl's pale green eyes.

"Quinn, you can do something right?" asked Rachel.

"What are you talking about?" asked Puck, standing protectively close to the mother of his unborn child.

"A locator spell or something? Those are possible, right?"

"Quinn, what is she talking about?"

Quinn bit her lip, looking nervous. "My water broke."

In an awkward silence, everyone stared at the water spilling down the pregnant girl's leg from under her satin dress.

"Oh my God," breathed Puck.

"We have to get her to a hospital," said Will, standing up.

"I have my car outside!" said Kurt, heading towards the door, as everyone else flooded out, Quinn repeating breathing exercises and Puck clutched her, walking away, everyone flooding out.

"Guys, you can't all fit in my car!" cried Kurt.

"Puck has to come!" cried Quinn, clutching her stomach, "And... Rachel."

Rachel looked surprised that she was wanted at the birth of Quinn's child, but she shook her head. "I have to find Buffy."

"Rachel, you can't," sighed Finn.

"I've got to try!"

As most of the glee club left, Piper Saberhagen chewed her fingernails and sat on one of the choir room's plastic chairs. "I'm so confused," she sighed to herself.

xxx

"Well, look who's here. Jew Nose. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Mind if I come in?"

Rachel hadn't seen Santana Lopez since the start of the school year, and she was glad not to. She avoided a lot of slushie facials and catty name calling. But right now, Rachel didn't know a better place to start than the address Tina gave her.

"Make yourself at home," Santana rolled her eyes as the smaller girl brushed past her and walked in in a silly gold dress, "What is it with you glee club losers thinking you can barge in any time you want?"

"You haven't changed, Santana, but that's hardly the point. Buffy is gone to fight the Master. None of us know how you know her, but we know you do, and that you can help."

"She'll die," sighed Santana.

"We're not going to let that happen."

"And what do you propose we do, Berry? You're more helpless than anyone in this town."

"This Master person is underground, correct? Maybe you can help me find her."

"You're way out of your league, kid. You think you can swoop in a save the Master from killing Buffy, by, what? The power of your screechy voice. You're not Jigglypuff, hon. And you can't help her. The Master will kill you before you take a breath. I've had the displeasure of messing with her cronies. She's got some serious followers, Stubbles. She's like the Voldemort of Lima."

Rachel sighed. "I don't know how to put this to you, Santana," she said, before pulling a cross out of her purse and holding it up to the Latina 's face.

Santana cowered back, growling lowly.

"I know what you are. I can be oblivious at times, but I'm not dumb. Your family abandoned you here and all of a sudden you're an acquaintance of Buffy's. You saved us from that night with Suzy Pepper, and... well, look at you. Pale skin. Red eyes. My best friend is a slayer. I've picked up a little bit of an instinct. At the end of the day, you're a demon like the rest of them, but Buffy seems to think otherwise. For whatever reason, she trusts you and she keeps your secret, even from the people closest to her. I don't think it's fair for her to stick her neck out for you when you won't even help her from certain death."

"That's the point, Berry ," hissed Santana, "Certain death. Meaning, there's nothing we can do about it."

"I beg to differ. You're going to help me help her, whether you like it or not."

Santana scowled. "What are you, in love with her?"

"Aren't we all?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana scowled.

"Buffy is important, to everyone. She's a good person. The best person I know. She deserves to be saved."

xxx

Buffy had only been in these sewers once before, and she didn't feel much safer with a crossbow in her hands. She wrinkled her nose at the smell. It wasn't long before she was following the Anointed One into completely new territory, past the infrastructure of the sewers and down a stony underground path lined with lit torches. He stopped just before a wide opening, gesturing for her to head in before he turned around and left. She walked deeper into what she suspected was the Master's lair, but she couldn't see much in the dim light. She could only smell damp rock.

"Welcome, Marilyn. You didn't have to get all dressed up in that horrid shade of gold just for little old Sue Sylvester," she heard the Master's voice say.

"Thanks for having me," Buffy muttered, and the Master stepped forward in a bright blue tracksuit, a subtle smile on her thin lips, "You really oughta talk to your contractor. Looks like you got some water damage."

"Fun, the feeble banter portion of the fight. My excellent fighting skills were honed by the Nazi hunting parents, but my wit and charm is all my own."

Buffy shot a bow at the Master's chest, but she caught it in one pale hand.

"Nice shot, Jessica Simpson, but you're not gonna kill me with that prehistoric contraption. Didn't your watcher dish out for something a little more modern? Or did he blow all his money on copious vats of hair gel and chin diapers?"

"I thought the feeble banter part of the night was over," Buffy rolled her eyes after the chin diaper quip.

"Hold your lace panties on, Brooke Hogan, I want this night to last."

"I don't," grumbled Buffy.

"Well, allow me to oblige."

Sue Sylvester threw the crossbow out of Buffy's reach with the flick of her bony hand and clutched Buffy's neck, lifting her inches above the ground.

xxx

"Okay, so the vampires have been gathering. They know he's coming. They'll be his army," Mr. Schuester repeated, leaning over a pile of books spread over the top of the piano, with Tina by his side.

"I wonder how Quinn's doing."

"Now's not the time to worry about that."

"Sorry. Do you think they'll gather at the Hellmouth?"

"The last time the Master tried to rise was the Harvest. He sent a bunch of vampires to get him fresh blood. That was at Breadstix."

"Oh my God. We have to go help the people at Breadstix!"

"Come on, my car's in the lot."

Will and Tina rushed outside to the parking lot as the sun set over Lima, Will fumbling for the car keys in his pinstriped trouser pocket.

"What if the vampires get to Breadstix before we do?" asked Tina, her thin black eyebrows knitted together.

"We don't have to worry about that," Mr. Schuester gulped and lost the grip on his car keys, staring ahead at a wide gang of vampires just beyond his outdated blue car.

At least forty of them, headed their way. As Tina turned around, the vamps were blocking the entrance to the school behind them, slowly swaggering their way, looking cocky and ready to kill.

"Why are they coming here?" asked Tina.

"I don't really care about asking why right now," Mr. Schuester frowned.

They stood back to back, grimacing at the oncoming horde of vampires with no avenue of escape. They were startled as they heard the sound of a revved engine and a red Mercedes pulled up to them, the passenger door flying open.

"Get in!" Morgan Ru called loudly.

Mr. Schuester got in and Tina threw herself into the backseat, breathless with relief.

"What do we do?" whimpers Morgan.

"We have to get back to the choir room," said Mr. Schuester.

"Choir room. Right. Great."

Morgan slammed her foot down on the gas and the car peeled away, Mr. Schuester and Tina bracing themselves as they clutch onto their seats.

"We generally walk there..." Tina mumbled as Morgan's car rumbled over the entrance steps and slammed the front door off of its hinges.

The car charged down the hall at a dangerous speed, vampires following closely on foot. Morgan slammed on the brakes as soon as they were outside the choir room.

"Out!" she yelled, and the three of them sped out of the car and fled to their safe haven.

xxx

Fighting against the Master was virtually useless. Despite her frail appearance, the demonic woman had the strength of a linebacker, and was limber, too. Buffy's only remaining instinct was to run. Every time her sharp nails twisted around Buffy's neck, the slayer was sure that this was the end, but she kept escaping Sue's clutches, eager to live just one more second. The Master grasped Buffy by the shoulders, in a crushing bear hug.

"You must have heard the prophecy," Sue said into her ear, "What with that self-hating Asian nerd on your team, I'm sure you think you've got the upper hand, academically. But that's the thing, Slayer. As extraordinarily intelligent as I am, it all comes down to gumption. Some have it, some don't, and by gosh, Dolly Parton, you don't."

Before Buffy could stop her, the Master sunk her porcelain teeth into Buffy's milky white neck, and her eyes widened in a state of shock as she felt the blood draining out of her torso, helpless to stop it.

"Wow," sighed the Master, her lips slathered with the red liquid as she let go of Buffy, the slayer sinking to the ground, "That booze is better than any crushed iron tablet smoothie I've ever had."

Buffy sunk face first into a wide puddle in the rocky ground, her body relaxing into unconsciousness as she passed out, the water smothering her face. As Sue reached her hand out, the force that trapped her in her dim lair was no longer there, and she stepped through, a smug smile on her face as she ripped through the force field, the sound of thunder rolling behind her as she walked away.

"What was that?" asked Rachel, shivering in the depths of the rocky corridor.

Santana had led her through the sewers to the deepest part of the earth they could access. "It's too late," sighed Santana, biting her plump red bottom lip, "Come on!"

She couldn't tell if the midget was keeping up or not, but Santana thundered through the tunnels, and kept running until the space became wide and surrounded with lit candles. If her heart could beat, it would have ripped a whole right in her chest when she saw the slayer lying face first in a small pool of water, unmoving. She sprinted through the water to lift Buffy out, clutching the soaking girl in her arms as Rachel Berry finally arrived behind them in a pair of heavy loafers, out of breath.

"Buffy," she gasped, as Santana pushed the wet blond hair out of the slayer's face.

"Fuck," Santana said under her breath, terrified.

After all the blond had done for her... This couldn't be the end.

"She's dead," Santana muttered when she couldn't hear Buffy's heart beating through her pale chest.

"No. That's impossible," said Rachel, rushing closer and falling on her knees at Buffy's side, scuffing her white tights on the floor of the cave.

"She's not breathing," Santana said, struggling to stop her hands from shaking under Buffy's cold, damp body.

"CPR," Rachel mumbled, too stunned to form a full sentence.

"You have to do it," Santana said urgently, pushing Buffy onto Rachel's lap, "I have no breath..."

Rachel shrugged off her cardigan and remembered what she learned from Health Class the day their teacher brought out that barbaric rubber mannequin. Only Buffy was not a doll. She was a person. One of the most important people in the world.

With her nimble fingers, she opened Buffy's mouth and brought her shaky lips down to the slayer's, blowing in air quickly and pressing down on Buffy's chest.

"Come on," she pleaded quietly, tears brimming in her eyes as she pressed down heavily.

It seemed hopeless, until the slayer's eyes fluttered open, and she spluttered water out of her mouth, coughing and sitting up on the damp floor.

"Buffy," Rachel smiled, sighing with relief as her best friend awoke, coughing the water out of her lungs.

"Rachel?" said Buffy, as the brunette stroked the blonde's hair, smiling ecstatically.

"Welcome back," smiled Rachel, still in her gold Regionals dress and strappy heels.

"Regionals..." Buffy croaked.

"I didn't go. This was far more important."

"But... The show must go on?"

"The show's over," frowned Rachel, "But there's another one happening right now. And we have to stop it."

Buffy nodded, disoriented, and stood up with the help of Rachel and Santana on her either side. Her wet gold dress clung to her body.

"The Master?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"She left," said Santana.

Buffy gulped, and pushed forward on her shivering legs, her knees knocking together.

"Wait, you're still weak," said Rachel.

"No," Buffy shook her head, "I feel strong. I feel different. Let's go."

She strode forward with determination, ready to avenge her own death.

"How do you know where the Master will be?" asked Rachel.

She tried to keep up the pace with the long-legged Santana and the fast and furious Buffy Summers as the girls strode confidently towards town.

"I know," was all Buffy replied with, ready and determined when a vampire popped out of an alcove, snarling with his demonic wrinkled brow.

"Oh, look, a bad guy," Buffy rolled her eyes, and sent a stake flying into the vamp's chest.

It wasn't long before they reached McKinley High, through the back entrance. "You two wait here," said Buffy, "One way or another, this won't take long."

Rachel and Santana didn't like the ominous sound of that promise, but they watched obediently as Buffy climbed a fire escape to the roof of the school.

xxx

Meanwhile, Will, Tina and Morgan Ru broke a sweat pushing all of the choir room furniture in front of the choir room doors, blocking out the vampires that scratched against the door with their dangerous nails and fangs.

"They're getting in through the back!" screamed Tina, her heart pounding wildly as vampires scratched and banged against the windows in the back wall of the room.

"The shelves!" Morgan thought on her feet, pulling Tina towards the half-filled bookshelves and struggling to lift them to the back of the room. Just as they attempted to shove one shelf in front of a window, a hand broke through the single paned glass and grabbed a hold of Morgan's wrist. She gasped and retraced her fighting techniques from her toddler years, and bit the vamp's hand.

"See how you like it," she spat.

"This won't hold for long," cried Tina, her back against the book shelf, and Mr. Schuester straining to keep the piano in front of the door. She screamed wildly when something wrapped itself around her ankle - a long, slimy tentacle made from what looked like charred flesh, poking out of the linoleum floor and slithering around Tina's leg. The ground rumbled and the linoleum sliced open, more tentacles slithering out of the broken ground, breaking the wooden pillars where the chairs were set so that jagged pieces of wood protruded from the floor.

"The Hellmouth," muttered Will, his eyebrows knitted together, horrified.

Morgan screamed for Will as she grabbed Tina's arms, pulling her away from the slimy tentacled beast. Will whipped around to the piano where a box of weapons laid, picking up the sharpest thing he could see. With one whip of an axe, he cut the tentacle clean off that was gripping Tina, and the girl ceased the screaming. She eyed the split ground with horror, though - there was more where that came from.

xxx

"That's it," Sue Sylvester sighed with pleasure, "Crawl out of the Hellmouth and eat these worthless bottom feeding glee clubbers. Thrive in my world!"

"I don't think it's yours just yet," said Buffy, climbing up the fire escape with her gold dress flowing behind her.

"You..." said the Master, whipping her head around and frowning on the roof of McKinley High, "I killed you! You're dead!"

"I may be dead, but I'm still pretty," smirked Buffy, "Which is more than I can say for you."

"You were destined to die, Marsha! It was written!"

"What can I say? I flunked the written."

"Come!" shouted Sue, holding out one sharp fingered hand, and gripping Buffy's slender neck, "Did you really think you could best me here when you couldn't downstairs?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "You have blood breath."

She sent a back fisted punch into the Master's bony face.

"Save the hypnosis crap for the tourists," she spat, and kicked the Master down hard.

The Master came back with a grab at Buffy's ankle, pulling her down to ground.

"Where are your puns now, Slayer? Is your smart mouth gonna help you when your world will be my Hell?"

"You're that amped about Hell?" asked Buffy, "Go there!"

Buffy kicked the Master off of her and pushed her down with such force that she broke through the roof, falling through and landing in the choir room among the wild tentacles, Tina, Will and Morgan Ru. The Master landed on one jagged piece of wooden chair and gasped, her skin fading away like dust to leave nothing but pale bone lying on the floor.

The tentacles slithered back through the crack in the ground, losing their grip around Tina's ankles. The girls quietened their frightened screams and Mr. Schuester set down the axe, flabbergasted. All was strangely quiet as the danger lurked back to where it belonged, and the others blinked at each other, wondering if it was all really over.

It wasn't long before Buffy, Rachel and Santana joined them, caked in dust and sweat. Buffy stared at the lifeless bones of the Master, speechless.

"Vampires?" asked Will.

"Gone," said Rachel.

"The Master?" asked Santana.

"Dead," said Will, "The Hellmouth is closed... Buffy?"

Buffy tore her eyes away from the bones, and Will noticed a hint of a tear down her cheek. "Sorry," she said, a little breathlessly, "It's been a really weird day."

"Yeah, well, you died and everything," shrugged Santana.

"Wow," sighed Tina, "You died?"

"I should have known that wouldn't stop you," smirked Will.

"What do we do now?" asked Rachel.

"I don't know about you guys, but I want to get out of here," Will nodded, his eyes trailing to the split in the ground.

"I hear there's a Regionals after party," Rachel said hopefully, "It could be fun."

"Buffy?" asked Tina.

Buffy smirked. "Sure. We saved the world. I say we party. I mean... I got all pretty."

"What about her?" asked Santana, eyeing the Master's bones.

"She's not going anywhere," said Buffy, staring absentmindedly at the bones once more, "And I'm really, really hungry."