The months following Day of the Nightmares as Xander labeled it in his journal were peaceful as far as Sunnydale was concerned. He and Jesse patrolled and spent time with Cordelia and Amy and Buffy, while Buffy followed her own patrol route. Spring was nearing its end and summer and summer vacation with it was just around the corner and the kids were excited for the Prom and the end of their Sophomore year. Xander and Cordelia were enjoying some quiet time together and discussing Cordelia's expectations for the Prom and he was assuring her that he'd dipped into his road trip fund to get a tux that wouldn't embarrass her. A statement that had her glaring at him as she reminded him that feelings and things were more important, why else would she date a Doofus like him? when an earthquake suddenly began to shake everything.
"Cordy!" Xander yelped as several things on the shelves on her walls fell off and nearly hit her. He grabbed her and got her out of the way.
In the library, Giles watched helplessly as his beloved books fell off the shelves as he experienced his first ever earthquake.
In her classroom Jenny Calendar looked up, alarmed, something was wrong and it wasn't the earthquake.
Jesse and Amy had been dancing at the Bronze when the earthquake started and Jesse grabbed Amy and pulled her under the stairs. "Get under the stairs, people!" He yelled to others who were looking around wildly, trying to understand what was happening. "It's an earthquake!" As if that had started braincells that had short-circuited processing information again, people hurried to join them.
Under the Earth, the Master raised his hands and shouted. "YES! YES! Shake, Earth! This is a sign! We are in the final days! My time has come! Glory! GLORY!" He looked over at a child vampire, maybe six or seven years old. "What do you think, 5.1?" He asked after it ended.
"Uncle Rory says his kill count is higher than ever." Xander told Buffy, as the two sparred the next morning. "Mine and Jesse's numbers are too, what about you?"
"Definite increase." Buffy agreed. "I got one nearly on school grounds last night."
"They're getting bold again, just like they did before the Harvest rite that Master guy used to try to escape." Xander observed. "I wonder if he's up to something again. Didn't you say Giles had found a prophecy a few months ago that might have been about him?"
"Yes, when we babysat that grave that never produced anyone. It talked about a vampire called the Anointed One, whatever that's supposed to mean." Buffy answered, barely managing to avoid a roundhouse kick from Xander and struck out at his exposed side. He twisted aside.
"That same night Jesse and I ran into a bunch of vamps." Xander reminded her. "Including one who had no idea he was a vampire and kept quoting what I think was the Bible. He talked about judgement and stuff. A maybe religious guy and a title that sounds religious as well. They could be linked or I could be hearing zebras."
"Zebras?"
"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. Meaning it might be something similar, but different at the same time."
"Oh, like the religious guy looks obvious, but the Anointed One might be something else. A different vampire."
"Exactly. Whether all this vamp activity is related to that Master guy or not, just the fact that their numbers are increasing again and at the same time getting bolder, means we need to be alert, just in case."
Jenny Calendar entered the library and looked around. "You got everything cleaned up pretty nicely."
"Yes, it was mostly just books coming off the shelves. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Well, since the Day of the Nightmares, as Xander calls it, you know that I do Magic. Specifically I'm a technopagan and well, I've been surfing the 'Net, looking for unexplained incidents. You know, people are always sending stuff my way. They know the occult's my turf. Now, here is the latest. A cat last week gave birth to a litter of snakes. A family was swimming in Whisper Lake when the lake suddenly began to boil. And at Mercy Hospital last night, a boy was born with his eyes facing inward. I'm not stupid. This is apocalypse stuff. And throw in last night's earthquake, and I'd say we've got a problem. I would say the end is pretty seriously nigh."
"Buffy and Xander and his Uncle Rory are concerned over another increase in vampire activity and the fact that they're getting bold again. The children are speculating that the Master may be attempting another escape attempt and aside from a prophecy I found months ago that went nowhere, we have no information to go on."
"The Master?"
"Very old vampire, head of the Aurelius Line. He became trapped somehow several decades ago in a botched attempt to open the Hellmouth. Earlier this year he attempted an escape using a ritual known as the Harvest. He was stopped. He may be trying again."
"You told me the Hellmouth was some sort of portal to an actual Hell and is the reason there's so many vampires in Sunnydale any way, they're drawn to it."
"Yes and demons as well."
"So badness all around."
"Quite."
"I'll let you know if I find anything else."
"I'd appreciate that. Information always seems to be sorely lacking when it comes to these types of things."
"These types of things?"
"Potential apocalypses."
"Ah, the end of the world is nigh." She sighed. "And I thought this was going to be a fairly quiet job."
"You're a technopagan who rolls bones for divination and does Magic. I think the children would say, quiet isn't in your wheelhouse."
Surprised, Jenny laughed and headed back to her classroom.
A/N Jenny's list of portents is from foreverdreamingdotcom transcripts.