Chapter 10: Prophecy Girl

May 7, 1997 – Wednesday

Streets of Sunnydale

Somewhere near the school Buffy lay on the ground a vampire standing over her. As she rolled backwards and came to her feet, she held a stake in her hand. The vampire snarled at her and when he saw the stake he hesitated. Buffy smirked as she slammed the stake home and he crumbled to dust.

"Three in one night," she said as she wiped her brow. "Giles would be so proud."

Sunnydale High School

Giles poured himself a cup of tea as he pored over a book in his other hand. Never taking his eyes off the book, he walked over to his desk and sat. "O Dáskalos tha sikotheí," he said in Greek before translating it to English. "The Master shall rise... Yes, this is it." He read over it again as a frown began to crease his face. "The Master shall rise, and the Slayer...My God." As he read farther, he grabbed another book to compare the passage to. "Oh…no…" he said in realization when he saw the passages matched.

He reached for his teacup just as ripples began to appear in the liquid. He looked at his tea, his brow furrowed. And that was when he felt it, an earthquake was shaking the room and the tea cup shook off the desk and crashed to the floor.

May 8, 1997 – Thursday

Sunnydale High School

Giles emerged from his office heading for the book cage as Buffy walked into the library. She noticed the crack in the floor running across the library. "Morning. Wow," she said. "That damage looks fairly structural. Are we safe in here?"

Giles looked at Buffy. "Buffy..." he said, trying to conceal a rush of emotion.

"Do I have something on my face?" Buffy said trying to puzzle out his expression.

"No..." he told her, "and yes, we're safe." He shook himself and then turned back to his books.

"How're you doing there, Giles? You get much sleep?" Buffy asked looking at what Giles was wearing. It looked like the same clothes he had on the day before.

"I've been working," Giles admitted.

"Me too! Yes, I went hunting last night and it's awfully sweet of you to ask." Buffy said as Giles pulled out two volumes. He then walked over to the main desk, on which were piled several others. "It's getting hairy out there, Giles. I killed three vampires last night. One of them was practically on school grounds."

"Their numbers are increasing," Giles agreed.

"And they're getting cockier. I'm not loving it. Last night was a pretty close call." Buffy explained.

Giles nodded absently. "Yes..."

"Giles, care," she said as she began to worry about Giles. "I'm putting my life on the line, battling the undead! The least you could do is exhibit some casual interest. You could go, hmmm."

Giles glanced at Buffy and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you're all right but I need to verify…I just can't talk right now," he explained.

"That's okay. I can't put it off any longer. I have to meet my terrible fate," Buffy said sarcastically.

"What?" Giles said clearly alarmed.

Buffy smiled. "Biology," she called over her shoulder as she headed into the corridor.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Wow, that was... boring." Buffy said as she, Xander and Willow headed down the stairs into the quad.

"I don't feel that boring covers it," Xander admitted.

"No, boring falls short," Buffy agreed.

"Even I was bored. And I'm a science nerd," Willow admitted with a sigh.

Buffy looked at her redhead friend as she shook her head. "Don't say that."

Willow smiled. "I'm not ashamed. It's the computer age; nerds are in. They're still in, right?" she asked suddenly worried.

"So, Rutherford, have you decided who your taking?" Xander asked changing the subject. "You know to Spring Fling."

"Not sure I'm actually going to go," Buffy admitted. "I've never really been one for dances," she lied. She had always wanted to attend a dance, in a pretty dress, her hair and makeup done. But she couldn't do any of that since she was still seen as a boy, not that she was ready to come out of the closet just yet. At least not till she told her mother, and after the nightmare that came to life surrounding her mother's potential rejection, she wasn't sure she was ready to tell her mother.

"Why?" Willow wondered. "I'd go with you."

"I appreciate the thought, Will," Buffy admitted. "I love you guys; you both know that. But…" She turned and walked away from her friends with a sigh.

"Do you think he wishes Angel was going with him?" Willow asked Xander as they watched Buffy wander off under the archway.

"I guess that's the only kind of person, male or female, who can make time with him," Xander said with a sigh.

"That's really harsh," Willow informed him with a sigh.

"I didn't mean it that way, you know that," Xander admitted sadly as pebbles started to rain down on them.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy continued to walk seemingly lost in her thoughts when the first pebbles hit the ground. "Check it out! It's raining stones!" said someone behind her.

Buffy looked back over her shoulder and sighed. "Figures."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Hello?" Giles said in the phone as he sat at his desk. "Yes, this is Rupert Giles. Yes, I have. It's, um—I need to talk to you. Here. No, I realize that. Come after sundown." He hung up just as Ms. Calendar walked into the doorway of his office.

"Hey," she greeted. "Bad time?"

"Not the best," he admitted sadly.

"You know, that outfit looks just like the one you wore yesterday, only wrinkled," Ms. Calendar noted looking at his wrinkled clothing. "Were you here all night?"

"I'm sorry…" Giles apologized, "…but I'm really not up to socializing right now."

"Something's going on, Rupert," she informed him. "And I'm guessing you already know what it is."

"What do you know?" he questioned as he looked up at her.

"I've been surfing the net, looking for unexplained incidents," Ms. Calendar said thinking back to what she had found. "People are always sending stuff my way; they know the occult's my turf. Here's the latest." She held up a set of papers she had printed out. "A cat last week gave birth to a litter of snakes. Which promptly ate her." She flipped to another printout. "Family was swimming in Whisper Lake when the lake suddenly began to boil. Two deaths." She flipped to a third. "Mercy hospital, last night. A boy was born with his eyes facing inward."

"Where did these take place? What countries?" Giles asked his interest definitely peeked.

"That's the great thing about the net," she told him. "You're connected to the whole wide world. Except these things all happened within three miles of here." She tossed the papers on his desk. "I'm not stupid. This is apocalypse stuff. You throw in last night's earthquake and today's impromptu rendition of 'Singing in the Gravel' and I'd say we've got a problem. I'd say the end is pretty seriously nigh."

Giles sat there for a moment studying her, wondering if he can trust her. "I don't know if I can trust you."

"I helped you cast that demon out of the internet," Ms. Calendar reminded him. "I think that merits some trust. I'm scared, okay? Plus, I got this crazy monk in Cortona emailing me about some Anointed One."

"The Anointed One?" Giles questioned with a frown. Buffy had dispatched the Anointed One, hadn't she? "But he's dead…"

"Someone's dead?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Who is this Monk?" he asked.

"Brother Luca something," Ms. Calendar answered. "Keeps sending out global mailings about a prophecy."

"I need you to talk to him," Giles informed her suddenly concerned that the Anointed One might not be dead after all. "Find out everything he knows."

"Rupert, you haven't told me jack, so what's with the orders?" she asked a tad bit angrier than she intended.

"Just do it. And then I'll explain," he promised.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Thanks to Giles, Buffy had found out where the faculty restroom was. Which gave her privacy to do her business without worry about a boy walking in on her. It was one thing she had always dreaded was using the boy's bathroom.

She stood in front of the sink looking at the mirror before bending down to splash water in her face. It was then that she noticed the sink was filling with blood.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Giles?" Buffy called out as she rushed into the library. "You're not going to believe—" Her gaze was drawn to the office where she noticed Giles and Angel were having an urgent conversation.

"Angel…?" Buffy said as she moved toward the office, quietly excited. She had almost reached the door when she overheard their conversation.

"It can't be. You've got to be wrong," Angel objected.

"I've checked it against every volume I have. It's real," Giles explained to the vampire.

"Well, there's got to be some way around it," Angel said shaking his head.

Giles sighed, he wished there was a way around this. "Some prophecies are dodgey. Mutable," he said. "Buffy herself has thwarted them time and again." He held up a book. "But this is the Pergamom Codex. There is nothing in it that does not come to pass."

"Then you're reading it wrong," Angel told him, refusing to believe what Giles had told him.

"I wish to God I were," Giles said with a sigh. "But it's very plain. Tomorrow night, Buffy will face the Master. And she will die."

Buffy stared at both her watcher and her boyfriend as she absorbed the information she had just heard. Then suddenly she began to laugh. Attracted by her laughter the two men turned and saw her standing behind them. She turned and walked toward the middle of the library as they followed her, looking a tad guilty.

Buffy turned back to face them anger evident on her face. "So that's it, huh?" she asked. "My time is up. I remember the drill. One Slayer dies, the next is called. I wonder who the next one is." She looked at Giles pointedly. "Are you going to train her? Or will they send someone else."

Giles sighed, this was not how he had planned to tell her, if he told her at all. "Buffy, I…" he started unable to think of what he could really say to sooth her.

"Does it say how he's going to kill me?" Buffy said as she sank into a chair. Angel walked over to her and in an attempt to comfort her his hand brushed her cheek wiping away her tears. "Don't touch me!" They could see she was nearly about to break out crying. She looked up at them angrily. "Were you guys even going to tell me?"

Giles sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to. That there was some way around it."

Buffy instantly stood up her mind made up. "Oh, I've got a way around it. I quit," she said with passion.

"It's not that simple," Angel objected.

"I'm making it that simple!" Buffy screamed. "I quit! I resign! I'm fired! Someone else can stop the Master from taking over."

"I don't know that anyone else can," Giles tried to explain. "The signs all indicate—"

"The signs?" Buffy screamed even louder as she picked up a book and threw it at Giles, who barely managed to duck out of the way. "Read me the signs!" She picked up another and that one also she threw at her Watcher. "Tell me my fortune! You're so useful, sitting around with your books. You're really a lot of help."

Giles let out a resigned sigh. "I don't suppose I am."

"I know this is hard..." Angel said trying to be comforting and obviously failed.

"What do you know about it?" Buffy snarled at the vampire. "You're never gonna die."

"You think I want anything to happen to you?" Angel said with a sigh. "Do you think I could stand it? We just have to figure out a way—"

"I already have," Buffy reminded him. "I quit, remember? Pay attention."

"Buffy, if the Master rises—" Giles started only to be interrupted again by Buffy.

"I don't care!" Buffy screamed. "I don't care. I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die. I don't want to leave my little sister who has been through everything with me, who supported me from the moment I told her I was trans. I don't want to die having never been a real girl."

"You are a real girl," Angel countered.

"You know what I mean, Angel," Buffy said sadly. She closed her hand around the cross he had given her the night she met him. With one smooth jerk she yanked the chain off her neck and let it drop onto the table.

Neither man said anything as Buffy hurried out of the room.

Summers Home

At dinner Dawn watched Buffy, with quiet concern as she pushed food around on her plate. Her mother must have noticed it too, the unexpressed grief in Buffy's fake smile that evening, the tears.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Dawn passed by Buffy's bedroom and noticed her sister crying softly. She was curled up into a ball on her bed, clutching an old photo album.

"Dawn, you can come in."

Dawn crossed over the threshold and entered her big sister's room. She moved to the bed and sat down beside her sister. "Buffy, what's wrong?"

Buffy sniffled away the tears, sitting up straight on the bed and reached out to hug Dawn. "If anything, ever happened to me, you'd take care of Mom, right?"

A cold icy fear gripped Dawn's heart; Buffy sounded serious. Breaking away from the tight embrace, she narrowed her eyes at her sister, "What's going on?" She felt so inadequate in the midst of Buffy's storm of tears.

"Nothing." Buffy shook her head and stopped crying. Pretending she was fine, she went on, "I love you, Dawnie. I want you to know that, okay?"

Dawn nodded.

"Rutherford," Joyce said as she stepped into the room looking at her son with concern. "Are you all right?"

"I guess," Buffy answered.

"You're probably just full from that bite of dinner you nearly had. Feel like telling me what's on your mind?" Joyce wondered.

"I wish I could," Buffy admitted sadly.

"Don't tell me," Joyce said. "You don't have a date to the prom tomorrow night? Or Spring Fling, or whatever they're calling it?"

"No," Buffy answered.

"Well, I suppose then this isn't the best time for this, but…" Joyce said as she swung Buffy's closet door open. Hanging inside was a handsome suit. "I thought you could wear it."

"Mom, we can't afford that," Buffy informed her mother. It wasn't that she didn't like the suit. It would look good on any boy. But it was just not what she had always dreamed of wearing to the prom.

"The way you've been eating?" Joyce said. "We can afford it. I think you should wear it. To the dance."

"I'm not going to the dance," Buffy stated.

"Why not?" Joyce wondered sadly. "Homecoming, my freshman year at college, I didn't have a date. So I got dressed up and I went anyway."

"Was it awful?" Dawn wondered.

Joyce nodded. "It was awful. For about an hour."

"Then what happened?" Buffy asked glancing toward her sister.

"I met your father," the mother of two answered honestly.

May 9, 1997 – Friday

Summers Home

Buffy sat on her bed, staring at the suit. She knew that she would have to fight the Master alone, that she would have to leave Dawn to grow up without a big sister, that she would never see her dreams fulfilled. She had never seen or read The Codex but talking to Giles and Angel she had gathered enough to know it was supposed to be infallible. She would fight the Master, and she would die seen only as a boy.

"Rutherford!" Joyce called out from downstairs. "There's something on the news. Willow."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

When Buffy came down the stairs, she had a steady determined expression fixed upon her face. Gone was the worry and heartache, replaced with a hard look in her eyes.

Dawn watched her sister stand by the door for a minute, take a deep breath and then leave. It was at that moment when she really started to worry about her big sister. She knew something was about to go down as she remembered the promise, she had made…'Because I am not going to let you,' she had said adamantly. She quietly slipped out of her house and hurriedly followed after her sister.

Rosenberg Home

Willow sat on her bed, her knees drawn up and clearly freaked out over what had happened. "I've seen so much, I thought I could take anything," she said trying to explain to Buffy what had happened. "But Rutherford…This was…this was different, it…"

"It's okay..." Buffy said trying to sooth Willow.

Willow let a sigh. "I'm trying to think how to say it. To explain it so you understand," she admitted.

Buffy smiled. "Willow, as long as you're okay—"

"I'm not okay," Willow admitted. "I can't imagine what it's like to be okay. I knew those guys. I go to that room every day. And when I walked in there, it was... It wasn't our world anymore. They made it theirs. And they had fun." She looked at Buffy in time to notice Buffy look away, obviously thinking. "What are we going to do?"

Buffy turned back toward Willow and smiled. "What we have to," she said as she stood up. She realized she couldn't escape destiny not when her friends' lives were on the line. "You'll stay in tonight, all right?"

Willow looked at Buffy not realizing that this might be the last time she saw Buffy alive. "We'll get together tomorrow and figure out what to do."

"Tomorrow," Buffy agreed as she walked to the door. "Take care," she said as she walked out of the room.

Willow looked at the door for several minutes after Buffy had left and then realization began to sink in. She wouldn't see Buffy tomorrow, that Buffy believed tomorrow she would be dead.

Sunnydale High School

"Depends on where he's leading them to," Giles said. "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?" Ms. Calendar said thinking back to what she had heard.

"If the vampire Buffy killed was not in fact the Anointed, it may well be," Giles said as he loaded weapons into a bag.

"Well then we should warn her," Ms. Calendar said wishing she had Buffy's phone number.

"I don't plan to involve her at all," he admitted as he looked at the crossbow that still lay on the table.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she began to realize what he intended to do.

Giles sighed as he reached for the crossbow. "Buffy isn't going to face the Master. I am."

"No, you're not," Buffy said as she walked into the library, a newfound determination on her face. "So, I'm looking for a kid, huh? He'll take me to the Master."

"Buffy, I'm not sending you out there to die," Giles said as he looked at Buffy. "You were right on multiple fronts. I've waded about in these old books for so long I've forgotten what the real world is like. It's time I found out."

"You're still not going up against the Master," Buffy objected.

"I've made up my mind," Giles countered. "Plus, you should have the chance to be the girl you've always dreamed of. To be the big sister you've always dreamed of."

"I know I should but sadly that's not how it goes," Buffy reminded him. "Besides, I'm the Slayer."

"I don't care what the books say. I defy prophecy, and I am going. There's nothing you can say will change my mind." Giles was so determined as he made that announcement that Buffy would have smiled had the situation been different, had they not been arguing about which one of them was going to go and face the Master, which one of them was going to die.

"I know," Buffy said again as Giles turned from her obviously considering the matter closed. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself. Then she drew back her fist and hit him hard knocking him unconscious. She then walked over to the table where she had left her cross. She picked it up and returned it to where it belonged, around her neck. "When he wakes up, tell him…I don't know. Think of something cool, tell him I said it," she said as she picked up the crossbow.

"You fight the Master, you'll die!" Jenny said trying to convince the teen not to go.

"Maybe..." Buffy agreed. "But maybe I'll take him with me." She reached into her jacket and held out an envelope. "Tomorrow. Would you go by my house and give this to my little sister?"

Ms. Calendar hesitantly took the envelope. "What's in it?"

"Telling her goodbye," Buffy answered sadly. "She's been through everything with me since I came out to her. I owe her that much and more."

The computer teacher looked at Buffy and slowly nodded. She watched as Buffy walked out of the library to meet her destiny.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy exited the school and found Collin standing not far away, looking at her. "Help me..." he said.

Buffy smiled. "It's all right. I know who you are," she said as she walked up to him. "Let's go."

Collin nodded as he took Buffy's hand and led her away from the school.

Unseen by the child vampire or Buffy, Dawn followed them as her worry mounted more and more.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Xander and Willow listened as Giles and Ms. Calendar informed them on everything that had transpired.

"He what?" Xander yelled.

"I knew it," Willow said as she looked at Xander. "I told you something was going on with him."

"And he knew about this prophecy of yours?" Xander said as he glared at Giles. "Oh, man! What do we do?"

"We stay calm, first thing." Giles told them.

"Calm!?" Xander yelled, clearly freaked out.

Willow sighed. "I think he's right," she agreed.

"I'm sorry—" Xander said as he waved his hand at Giles. "Staying calm may work fine for Locutus of the Borg here but I'm freaked out and I plan to stay that way." He turned and glared at the older man. "How could you let him go?" he growled.

"As the soon-to-be-purple area on my jaw will indicate, I did not let him go," Giles explained looking Xander in the eye. "Rutherford does as he will."

"Well, how can we help him?" Willow wondered.

Before Giles or Xander could answer Ms. Calendar spoke up, "I'm sorry to bring this up but we've also got an apocalypse to worry about."

"Do you mind?" Xander said as he glared at the computer teacher.

"How come she's in the club?" Willow added.

Ms. Calendar sighed as she looked at Buffy's friends. "Hey, once the Master gets free, the Hellmouth opens. The demons come to party and everybody dies. We have to prepare. Rupert, you know I'm right."

"I don't care. I'm sorry, I don't. I got to help Rutherford," Xander objected.

"But we don't even know where he's gone," Giles reminded the boy.

"No, but I can find out," Xander informed him as he took off.

Electrical Tunnels Beneath Sunnydale

Collin led Buffy slowly through the darkness down the tunnel. They then veered off into an older, rough-hewn opening that led farther down into the earth.

Behind them Dawn kept pace, turn for turn.

Angel's Apartment

Angel had been looking through his own books for some way to keep Buffy from dying. It was at that moment that he heard someone pounding on his front door. "Well. Look who's here," Angel said when he opened the door to find Xander outside.

Xander brushed past Angel. "Mind if we come in?" he told the vampire.

Angel sighed as he closed the door after the boy. "Everybody's visiting lately," he said. "I really should clean the place up."

"He's gone," Xander said.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked suddenly worried.

"Rutherford. He's gone to face the Master," Xander informed him.

Angel looked at Xander and could see the truth in his statement in the boy's face. "He'll kill her."

Xander's brow furrowed at the use of the female pronoun. His worry for Buffy had him easily cataloging that for later, right now he had to save his friend. "Rumor has it," he interjected. "Except we're not going to let that happen."

"What do you propose we do about it?" Angel asked looking at the boy.

"I know you can find this Master guy," Xander answered returning his gaze. "He's underground, right? Some old church? Take me to him."

Angel shook his head. "Your way out of your league, kid. The Master will kill you before you can even breathe—if you're lucky."

"How can I say this clearly?" Xander said as he withdrew a cross from under his shirt and held it in Angel's face, causing the vampire to back away. "I don't like you. At the end of the day I pretty much think you're a vampire. But Rutherford, man, he's got a big ol' yen for you. I don't get it. He thinks you're a real person. Right now, I need you to prove him right."

Sunnydale High School

Willow watched the door, worrying about Xander and Buffy. Behind her Giles and Ms. Calendar were trying to work out what to do.

"The Master is as old as any vampire on record," Giles said looking at the books in front of him. "There's no way to tell how powerful he will be if he reaches the surface."

"Okay. Here's my question. The Hellmouth opens," Ms. Calendar said as she looked at Giles. "Where? If he's underground, and it's right where he is, where's it going to open?"

"Good point. Check through the Black Chronicles," Giles instructed. "Willow."

"Huh?" Willow said as she turned to look at Giles.

"Can you look through the town histories please?" Giles said. "Search for any common denominators. Location of incidents and such."

"Right. Okay." Willow agreed as she walked over to the computer. She threw a last look at the door before sitting down.

"How big is a Hellmouth, anyway?" Ms. Calendar wondered.

Giles shrugged. "I don't know. Hellmouth-sized."

Master's Cave, Hellmouth

Collin led Buffy into the ruins of the old church that had become the Master's prison. He stopped and indicating she had to go on alone. Buffy nodded as she stepped into the open space. He passed by Dawn on his way out as she watched from the shadows.

"Welcome," the Master called from somewhere in the dark.

"Thanks for having me," Buffy said trying to find the source of his voice. "You really ought to talk to your contractor. I think you've got some water damage."

"Ah, good. The feeble banter portion of the fight. Darling, why don't we just cut to the—" He was cut off as Buffy spun and shot a bolt directly at the sound of his voice. He caught the arrow inches from his heart. "Nice shot."

Electrical Tunnels

Angel led the way down the tunnel as Xander followed. He noticed that Xander was staring at him. "What?" he said as he glanced at Xander.

"You were looking at my neck," Xander said as Angel looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You were checking out my neck! I saw that."

"No, I wasn't," Angel countered.

"You just keep your distance, pal," Xander said ignoring what Angel had said.

Angel sighed. "I wasn't looking at your neck!" he countered again.

"I told you to eat before we left," Xander replied not believing the vampire.

Master's Cave, Hellmouth

Buffy quickly reloaded her crossbow, never taking her eyes off the Master. "You're not going to kill me with that thing," he said.

Buffy smirked. "Don't be so sure."

"You still don't understand your part in all this, do you? You're not the hunter. You're the lamb," the Master said as he stepped back into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

Sunnydale High School

"I've got nothing specific in here," Ms. Calendar said as she looked at the book in her hands.

"Nor I," Giles said as he looked up from a book he held. "The Vampires have been gathering. They know he's coming. They will be his army."

"You think they'll gather at the Hellmouth?" Ms. Calendar questioned.

"Well, the last time the Master tried to rise was the Harvest," Willow reminded them. "He sent a bunch of vampires to get him fresh blood. Maybe this is the same."

"Where did that go down?" Ms. Calendar asked.

"The Bronze," Giles answered.

"The prom," Willow said suddenly afraid for her fellow students.

"That's tonight isn't it?" Ms. Calendar asked.

"It is," Willow answered. "There will be people already there getting ready for it."

"You to go," Giles agreed. "I'll concentrate on demon killing."

"My car's in the lot." Ms. Calendar informed them.

"Stay close together. And be careful," he advised them.

"We will," Willow informed him as she and Ms. Calendar left through the library doors.

Master's Cave, Hellmouth

Buffy walked slowly about; crossbow ready. "For somebody all-powerful, you sure do like to hide," she said.

"I'm waiting for you. I want this moment to last," he said. To Buffy it sounded like his voice came from the other side of the room.

Buffy spun around, standing next to a pool of water. "I don't," she admitted.

The Master smirked as he grabbed Buffy from behind, knocking the crossbow to the ground. "I understand," he told her.

Sunnydale High School

Ms. Calendar and Willow were rounding a corner of the building heading straight for Ms. Calendar's car when Willow suddenly asked, "What if they get to the Bronze before us?"

"Don't worry about it," Ms. Calendar said having spotted something.

"Don't worry? Why not?" Willow questioned as they came to a stop. She followed the computer teacher's gaze and saw what she had, vampires.

Because they're not going to the Bronze," Ms. Calendar informed her student as at least twenty vampires headed straight for them. She looked toward her car as fear spread across not only hers but Willow's faces as they spotted three more vampires walking past the car.

"What do we do now?" Ms. Calendar asked having noticed four more vampires between them and the door they had just come out of.

"I vote panic," Willow suggested.

Master's Cave, Hellmouth

The Master held Buffy by her arms as she tried to break free. "You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was going to break free and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They didn't tell you everything," he whispered intimately into her ear. "You're the one that frees me. If you hadn't come, I couldn't go. Think about that."

The Master buried his fangs into Buffy's neck causing her to cry out in pain. He shook with the power he was drawing from her. Her cries became a mewl, the expression of pain and horror freezing in her eyes. "God, the power!" he said as he reared his head back.

Buffy's eyes slowly closed as she sagged in his grasp. He let her fall to her knees and then face-down into the pool of water. Then he turned and walked over to the mystical barrier that held him prisoner. He pulled his hand back and then shoved it through. The barrier rippled and then disintegrated as he stepped through. He headed up into the tunnels above.

Dawn came out of where she had been hidden and ran to Buffy. She slowly pulled her sister out of the pool of water and turned her over, laying Buffy's head in her lap. "I am not going to let you," Dawn said looking down at her sister's silent form. "You need to wake up, Buffy. You need to come back, not only for me, but for yourself. So, you can live your dreams and be the girl you know you've always been."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Xander and Angel were nearing the Master's cave when they heard the sound of the mystical barrier disintegrating. In the distance they could see a glow briefly illuminate the walls around them.

"What is that?" Xander asked looking at Angel.

"It's too late," Angel answered. "He's gone up."

"Come on. Come on!" Xander shouted as he ran off leading the way. They ran into the Master's cave and found Dawn cradling Buffy's head in her lap. "Dawn?" he said in clear surprise.

"Xander?" Dawn said looking up at her sister's best friend. "She's not waking up. Please she needs to wake up."

Xander glanced between Angel and Dawn wondering once again why they were using female pronouns when referring to his friend. He set those questions aside again knowing he had to do something. He glanced at Angel. "Help me lay him out," he informed the vampire.

Xander and Angel moved Buffy from Dawn and laid her flat on the ground. Angel put his ear to Buffy's lips and then looked up at Xander. "She's not breathing," he informed the boy. "I can't breathe for her; I have not breath."

Xander nodded as he leaned over Buffy and started CPR. He pumped his friend's heart rhythmically. When he stopped the chest compressions he blew into Buffy's mouth. "Come on. Come on," he pleaded after he completed the steps a second time.

Sunnydale High School

Ms. Calendar and Willow were backing slowly up, with nowhere to go.

"Why are they coming here?" Ms. Calendar wondered.

"Nor caring," Willow answered.

It was at that moment a car pulled up next to them with Cordelia behind the wheel. "Get in!"

Master's Cave, Hellmouth

Xander continued to repeat the CPR steps as Dawn and Angel watched. "Please, Buffy," Dawn begged as she brushed Buffy's hair aside. "Come back."

"Breathe!" Xander ordered.

Buffy's eyes suddenly flew open as she sucked in a huge gasp of air, coughing powerfully afterwards.

"Buffy?" Dawn cried in relief.

Buffy eyes focused on her sister. "Dawnie?"

"I'm sorry, Buffy, I followed you," Dawn said as she put her arms around her sister. "I told you I wasn't going to let you die."

"Yes, you did," Buffy answered. She looked up at Xander and Angel and her eyes went wide before she looked back at her sister. "Did you call me…?"

"I did," Dawn said sheepishly. "I was just happy you were awake."

Buffy sighed as she looked up at her friend. "I'll explain to you and to Willow, I promise, Xander."

Xander nodded as he looked at his friend. "Okay," he agreed. "Till then, welcome back."

"Thanks," Buffy said as she smiled at him.

Sunnydale High School

"I was sitting where Kevin and I used to park, and suddenly these things were coming at me—I tried to get out but the gate's locked," Cordelia explained as a vampire jumped on her car. "Who are these guys? What do we do?"

"We've got to get to the library," Willow said.

"Library. Right. Great," Cordelia said as she slammed her foot down on the gas pedal and spun the car around. Willow and Ms. Calendar braced themselves as they realized how she planned to get them there. She drove the car straight at the doors that Willow and Ms. Calendar had exited minutes before.

"Of course, we generally walk there..." Willow said.

Cordelia crashed her car through the doors and drove down the hallway, a vampire clinging to the hood of her car. Behind them more vampires follow. Suddenly she slammed on her brakes right outside the library doors sending the vampire on the hood flying off. The quartet jumped out and ran inside the library. Cordelia was the last one in, closing the door behind her as a vampire was inches from grabbing her.

Giles rushed up to them as they barricaded the door. "What's going on?" Giles asked.

"Guess!" Ms. Calendar cried as a vampire smashed the round window of the door and reached in trying to grab one of them.

Willow grabbed the library sign and began hitting him till he withdrew his arm.

"But why are they coming here?" Giles asked.

Masters Cave, Hellmouth

"Easy…" Dawn said as she helped Buffy to sit up.

"The Master…" Buffy said looking at Xander and Angel.

"He's gone up," Angel told her.

"Rutherford, you're still weak," Xander said as Dawn helped Buffy to her feet.

Buffy smiled as she looked at her friend. "No, I'm not. I feel strong. I feel… different," she said as Xander and Angel exchanged glances with one another. She headed for the entrance to the cave with a clear purpose. "Let's go," she told them. She glanced toward her sister. "When we get there, you are finding a closet and hiding till I come and find you."

"I want to help you," Dawn pleaded, afraid of losing her sister again.

"You will, some day," Buffy said. "I promise. But not till your older, not till you're at least as old as I am now."

Sunnydale High School

As Cordelia, Willow, Giles and Ms. Calendar barricaded the front door of the library they heard a crash from the back. "They're coming in through the stacks!" Giles called out.

Ms. Calendar looked at Willow. "Come on," she said as they ran to the back. They threw their weight against the door shutting it.

"The bookshelves!" Willow cried and they rushed around to the other side of a nearby bookshelf. They tilted the bookshelf over so it fell in front of the door trapping the vampires outside.

"My office," Giles said as he heard another crash and ran toward his office.

Cordelia turned from the door, it was enough of a distraction for a vampire to reach in and grab her. "OW!" she cried. "Somebody help!" she yelled.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Dawn followed Xander and Angel who flanked Buffy toward the high school. "How do you know where the Master's going?" Xander asked.

Buffy glanced at friend and smiled. "I know," she said as a vampire stepped out front of them. "Oh, look. A bad guy," she said sarcastically she hit the vampire knocking him to the ground. Never breaking her stride she walked with the others into the school. "Dawn, find a place to hide."

"Be careful," Dawn pleaded.

"Promise," Buffy answered as she spared her sister a brief bug before marching off toward the roof access door.

Dawn watched as Xander and Angel followed her sister and then she dove into the nearest closet and closed the door behind her.

As Buffy reached the door, she found the lock had been broken and the door was ajar. She looked at Angel and Xander. "You guys wait here," she ordered. "Keep the rest of the vampires off me."

"Right," Xander agreed.

Buffy turned toward Angel. "Angel, better put on your game face."

Angel turned toward Buffy and she could see his face had already morphed into his demonic visage. "I'm ready," he said.

"This won't take long," Buffy said as she started up the stairs as Xander and Angel turn and stand by the door like bodyguards.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Giles ran into his office just as a vampire broke the window. He grabbed and plunged it into the vampire's chest scoring a direct hit. He then moved a bookcase in front of the window to try and keep the other vampires out.

At the front doors Cordelia was beat on the hand that had ahold of her. "See how you like it," she said as she bit the hand causing the vampire to release its hold on her.

In the stacks Willow and Ms. Calendar held the bookcase against the door. "This won't keep them out for long!" Willow said as tendril wrapped her leg. The tendril yanked her off her feet as she screamed.

Ms. Calendar grabbed Willow and tried to pull her away from the tentacle. They both fell to the floor as she continued to tug on Willow trying to free her. "Giles!" she yelled calling for help.

And it was at that moment that the demon that the tentacle was attached to burst through the floor. Giles ran out of his office and stopped as he looked at it. "The Hellmouth…" he said.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The Master looked down at the demon through the skylight. "Yes…come forth," he said. "My child…Come into my world."

"I don't think it's yours just yet."

The Master spun around and his eyes went wide at what he saw, Buffy standing there newly baptized. "You…are dead."

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

"You were destined to die! It was written," the Master said stunned that she was there.

Buffy smirked. "What can I say? I flunked the written," she quipped again.

The Master reached out suddenly, clutching the air as though it were her. He locked eyes with her and stared, mesmerizingly at her. "Come here."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Ms. Calendar continued to pull at Willow sister trying to free the redhead. "Giles!" she called out. "Gape later!"

Giles shaken out of his stupor ran to the book cage and to the weapons cabinet. He grabbed an axe and ran to Ms. Calendar and Willow. He sank the axe into the tentacle holding Willow. Black ichor gushed from the wound as the demon screamed and a second tentacle burst through the floor.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy looked at the Master for a moment and then decided to play along. She moved toward the Master, never taking her eyes off him.

"Do you really think you can best me here, when you couldn't below?" the Master said as he moved toward Buffy as she came right up to him.

"You've got fruit punch mouth," Buffy quipped.

"What?" he said shocked that she hadn't been under his control.

Buffy swung and hit the Master full in the face. His head snapped back from the blow and sent him bodily to the ground. "And save the hypnosis crap for the tourists."

The Master roared as he stood. He leapt at her. She blocked his attacks and delivered a series of blows back at him that caused him to stagger backwards. He finally managed to land a hit with animal ferocity which sent her flying backwards.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The new tentacle swung at Giles who was knocked over the railing and slammed down on top of the table splintering it and upending it just below the skylight. Its jagged edge pointed at the sky.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Xander and Angel stood at the ready as two vampires rushed them. Xander pulled out a stake and a cross. He tossed the cross to Angel who accidentally caught it. "Ooh! Ow! Hot!" Angel cried as he tossed it back.

"Sorry," Xander admitted as he tossed Angel the stake instead. As the vampires attacked. He managed to get one to back down with the cross before punching the vampire in the face.

Angel staked the other vampire dusting him.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy and the Master traded blows. He eventually managed to grab her throat and held her there intending to bite her. She looked through the skylight right beside her, saw the broken table and smiled.

"Where are your jibes now?" the Master asked. "Will you laugh when my Hell is on earth?"

Buffy grabbed the Master by the throat and an arm. Her grasp was stronger than his as she removed his hand from her neck. "You're really that amped about Hell?" she said as she pulled him close. "Go there." She lifted him up and flipped him bodily over her head throwing him behind her so he landed on his back and crashing through the skylight. He impaled himself on the broken table and dusted leaving only his skeleton behind.

Suddenly there was a rending shriek from the Hellmouth as the demon tentacles withdrew back into the Hellmouth. Within moments everything was quiet. No vampires were trying to break in, no demons were trying to escape the Hellmouth, nothing.

A few minutes later they heard the library doors open and they saw Buffy, leading Dawn, Xander and Angel into the room.

"The vampires?" Giles asked.

"Gone," Cordelia answered.

"The Master?" Angel wondered having not spotted the skeleton yet.

"Dead," Giles answered looking at the skeleton. "And the Hellmouth has closed." He turned and looked at Buffy. "Rutherford?"

Tears began to drop from Buffy's eyes as her sister wrapped an arm around her. "It's okay," Dawn whispered soothingly.

Buffy managed to get her emotions under control as she wrapped an arm around her sister. "I'm sorry. It's been a really weird day," she admitted.

"Yeah, Rutherford died and everything," Xander added.

"Wow. Harsh," Willow said in surprise.

Giles smiled at Buffy with obvious pride. "I should have known that wouldn't stop you," he said intending it to be somewhat of an apology.

"See I told you, I would let anything happen to you," Dawn said as she smiled up at Buffy.

"You were right, Dawnie," Buffy agreed,

"Well, what do we do now?" Ms. Calendar asked.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd really like to get out of this library. I hate it here," Giles said.

May 10, 1997 – Saturday

Espresso Pump

Buffy sat with Dawn enjoying a banana split together as Willow and Xander sat down opposite them.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Buffy said.

"When I went to Angel's apartment Angel said that the Master would kill her," Xander explained. Then when Angel and I found you with Dawn in the Master's cave. Dawn said she as well. Then Dawn called you Buffy…When you realized what Dawn had called you, you said something about explaining later."

Buffy looked at Dawn who patted her arm comfortingly. She nodded, at least now she would have to hear her deadname a little less. "Angel and Dawn called me she because I'm a girl," she said she continued to look at her sister, one of the few people who had knew and was supportive. "And Dawn called me, Buffy, because that's my name."

"I don't get it," Xander said in obvious confusion.

Buffy was glad she wasn't looking at his face. "I was born, and I was a girl, and then some dumbass doctor decided I should be a guy because I have a dick," she said. "Like that even has anything to do with anything."

"But it does have something to do with something," Xander said. "That's how gender works."

"No, it's not," Dawn countered.

"Dawn's right," Buffy agreed. "Gender has nothing to do with what sex you are assigned at birth, because of what's between your legs. Gender isn't sex. It's perception. It's how a person identifies. And how come it's easier to believe vampires and demons and giant virgin-eating bugs exist than it is for you to just" —she sighed— "believe me when I say I'm a girl! I did want to tell you guys," she admitted. "Angel already knew, from the second he met me. Giles too, he even accidentally let it slip to Amy. Dawn, Dawn I told when I thought she was old enough to understand. Slayers are all girls. It's fate."

"We believe you," Willow said firmly. "It—it's just confusing. But you're right. This is a lot more normal than anything else we deal with."

Xander was looking down, but he nodded. "We're with you no matter what, Ruth—Buffy. We, you know, uh. We love you. Always will." He blushed bright red.

Buffy grinned. "I know," she said. "I love you guys too. And I understand that this'll take some getting used to. I just get frustrated."

"You have to hide all the time," Willow said softly. "That must be really hard."

"It is," Dawn admitted looking up at her big sister.

"At least I don't have to hide with you guys anymore," Buffy said.