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Buffy

 

Season 3 Episode 01 - Anne

With considerable finesse and aplomb—but, unfortunately, not so much in the way of success—Xander, Willow and Oz have spent the summer fighting vampires in Buffy's absence. School is starting the next day, but they're still focused on their missing friend. Buffy is dreaming that she is on a beach with Angel, who puts his arms around her but then says, "I'll never leave... not even if you kill me." Buffy wakes up disturbed, and looks out the window of her small apartment at a downtown city street.

Buffy is a waitress at a small downtown diner, where she goes by the name "Anne." She seems spiritless, broken, not even raising her voice at being harassed by a couple of piggish men. She serves a young couple who have just blown all their money to get each other's name tattooed on their arms, and the girl, Lily, asks if she knows Buffy from somewhere. Buffy says no and leaves the diner. Meanwhile, back at Sunnydale High School, the first day of school gets underway. Oz shows up, and Willow finds out that, much to her consternation, after not graduating last year and then skipping summer school, he has to repeat the twelfth grade. After much worrying, Xander and Cordelia's reunion is a decidedly awkward, uncomfortable affair, and they part ways almost immediately. Giles gets a lead on Buffy's whereabouts and leaves to catch a flight to Oakland.

As Buffy walks down the city streets, Lily, the girl from the diner, catches up to her, calling her by her real name. She remembers Buffy because she was one of the members of the vampire-wannabe cult that Buffy's friend Ford tried to offer to Spike. As she thanks Buffy for saving her life then, an old man pushes his way past them, muttering "I'm no one," and stops in front an oncoming car. Buffy rushes to push him out of the way, but gets hit by the car herself.

Buffy gets up pretty quickly and, despite the concern of the gathering crowd, runs off. As she hurries away, she runs into a man who introduces himself as Ken, who tells her about "Family Home," a center for runaways. Buffy declines his invitation to go there. At the Bronze, Xander, Willow and Oz are discussing their amateur vampire slaying when Cordelia walks in, and Xander has an idea. "We need bait," he says. Giles goes to the Summers house, explaining to Joyce that his lead in Oakland didn't pan out. Giles tells her not to blame herself for Buffy's leaving, and Joyce says she doesn't—she blames him, for taking Buffy away from her.

Lily comes to the diner where Buffy works, and tells Buffy that her boyfriend, Rickie, is missing. Buffy declines to help, saying she's sorry but that isn't who she is anymore, but Lily pleads and Buffy finally agrees. The blood bank where Rickie and Lily occasionally gave blood for money is no help, so they split up and Buffy finds the dead body of an old man with Lily's name tattooed on his arm. Lily takes the news badly, accusing Buffy of bringing whatever it was that killed Rickie with her from Sunnydale. Storming off in a huff, Lily meets Ken, who invites her to Family Home. Buffy, determined to make things right, breaks into the blood bank and searches their records, finding Rickie's record marked "Candidate," along with a few others. The nurse reluctantly admits that she gives "them" the names of healthy young kids. "They" are apparently Ken and his Family Home, where Buffy pushes her way in just as Lily is about to go through an initiation ritual. As Buffy and Ken fight, all three are sucked through the oily, gooey cleansing pool into an underground chamber. Ken's face falls off, revealing him to be a demon. They run, but are stopped by a ledge which looks out onto a huge underground world full of sackcloth-clad humans, being driven to work by demonic overseers. Ken then knocks Buffy cold.

Back in Sunnydale, as Cordelia argues with Xander over her role as bait, a vampire sneaks up and attacks Willow. Xander rushes to her rescue, and then Cordelia to his. Together, they manage to kill the vampire, and the flames of passion between them awaken anew. Buffy comes to in a cell with Lily, and Ken tells them that time passes much more quickly in this netherworld, so they could be gone for a hundred years and only a day would pass in the real world. He works his human slaves until they're too old, and then returns them to the world above, just like what happened to Rickie. A demonic overseer bullies the new slaves into renouncing their identities—everyone answers the question "Who are you?" with "I'm no one" until he gets to Buffy. "I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," she says with a cocky grin and proceeds to demolish the overseer and the guards. As she provides a distraction, Lily leads the slaves away, but gets caught herself by Ken. When Buffy sees Ken holding Lily hostage, she stops fighting, but then Lily pushes Ken off the ledge and Buffy and she make their escape. Ken pursues them, but as Buffy wrenches a heavy iron gate open to let the escaping slaves through, Ken rushes up behind her and pushes her away. Buffy falls through the gate, which falls, trapping Ken beneath it. Buffy kills Ken, and the slaves escape through the portal, which disappears just as Buffy and Lily make it through. Buffy gives Lily her job and her apartment. The doorbell rings at the Summers house, and Joyce answers it to see Buffy standing there. After a moment of stunned surprise, she sweeps her daughter into a tearful hug.

  
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