The next morning following gym Buffy headed for the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and trying to make some sense of her post gym hair absently turned on the water. After looking in the mirror for another moment she looked down and saw that blood was pouring from the faucet. This day was not starting out well.
Xander barged into the library. "We've got a big problem."
"Bigger than the blood that was coming out of the faucet in the girl's locker room?" Buffy asked.
That stopped Xander in his tracks and he blinked. "Okay, I hadn't heard about that, but it might be related. Several kids are dead. They were in the student lounge and apparently they've been there overnight because they're starting to get ripe. Vampires. Last time it was one body left on campus, this time it's half a dozen."
"Oh gods." Buffy muttered. "That's beyond bold, that's the vampire version of na na, you can't catch me."
"Combined with the portents Ms. Calendar mentioned finding and the earthquake and I'd say we very definitely have a problem." Giles agreed. "Most likely connected to the Master and another escape attempt."
Ms. Calendar arrived a few minutes later. "Rupert, I'm getting a global alert about someone called the Anointed One. Any idea who that might be?"
"That prophecy I mentioned yesterday that involved us babysitting a grave that produced nothing? That might have involved the Master. It included someone known as the Anointed One. The one lead I thought we had on him didn't produce any results though, as I said. What are the specifics of this alert? And who is sending it?"
"Someone calling himself Brother Luca. His alert includes a biblical reference, which I looked up. Isiah 11:6, 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. That mean anything to you?"
"The Anointed One may be a child." Giles said thoughtfully.
"You're saying this Master guy is using a kid in some way?" Xander asked. "He's what, planning to sacrifice the kid or something?"
"That's one possible interpretation." Giles agreed. "Or a child with power that the Master turned might also be a possibility."
"A vampire child?" Buffy asked, horrified. Xander was right there with her.
"It's too bad we don't know any Damonfeuer." Xander muttered.
"Damonfeuer?" Buffy asked.
"Dragon Wesen, they breathe fire. Both males and females can often be found in the military. Not just because they like to fight, but because they have a high sense of honor and I believe that dying in combat is their preferred way to die. And they're not afraid of Grimms. But I was thinking about the fire breathing part. It works to destroy vampires after all. If only we knew where the bastard was."
"Dragons? They're real?" Buffy asked.
"At one time they must have been." Xander answered. "All Wesen have a real counterpart in the world, even if their counterpart is extinct nowadays. Even the manticore and the Mauvais Dentes, saber tooth cat Wesen."
"Wesen go back that far into prehistory?" Giles asked, surprised. "They may actually predate the Slayer."
"Guys, focus!" Buffy said. "Xander, you can satisfy Giles' curiosity later. Right now we have a possible apocalypse to deal with."
"Yes, of course." Giles got his mind back on track. "The prophecy said, 'The Slayer will not know the Anointed One and he will lead her into Hell."
"Hell, like the Hellmouth?" Xander asked. "And how do you know it's about Buffy?"
"Because I'm the Slayer, Xander."
"You're the Slayer now. Vampires can live for centuries. This Master guy's already been trapped for decades right? The Slayer doesn't necessarily mean Buffy, it could be a future Slayer."
"I'd say there's merit to that thought if it wasn't for the portents." Giles answered. "It seems likely it's about Buffy."
"Okay, than here's another question, just because this prophecy says the Anointed One will lead Buffy into Hell doesn't mean she actually has to follow this Anointed One anywhere. If he's a vampire, just dust him and call it a night."
Silence as the three others stared at him. "Buffy following this Anointed One may be the only way to stop the Master from his attempt to escape." Giles pointed out.
"And it might not be. Where exactly is he trapped, do you know?"
"Not precisely, but underground is most likely."
"Fighting underground in the sewers is suicide. On the other hand, if the Master does escape it's into a town with a few hundred Wesen in it, maybe 70% of which can match or outclass a vampire. None of which like vampires. Add in two Grimms and the Slayer and we have a better chance of destroying him permanently if he does manage to escape."
"So we can risk letting him escape because if he does we can destroy him more easily." Giles said thoughtfully. "I hadn't considered that. And it's entirely possible that his attempt will once again fail and he will remain trapped."
"I can ask for volunteers and we can sweep the town and destroy any vampires we can encounter." Xander decided. "And we wait to see if the Master actually does manage to escape or remains trapped."
Buffy was very glad her mother was in the know, because she very much needed her support after dusting the child vampire that approached her that night while she was helping with the sweep of the town. It was the first and hopefully last time, she'd ever dealt with a child vampire.