Season 4 Episode 16 - Who Are You?

Outside of Buffy's house, FiB holds Joyce's hand as she watches BiF get moved into the ambulance on a stretcher. BiF is barely hanging on to consciousness, and can see the blurry shapes of FiB and Joyce, but she seems unable to speak. The detective on duty confirms that "this Faith chick" is dangerous, and as he leaves, FiB says softly, "She truly is."

The women go inside, and Joyce wonders what drives Faith to such behavior. FiB reasons that maybe Faith likes being that way, but Joyce insists that Faith must be truly unhappy. FiB recoils at being hugged by Joyce, and Joyce tells FiB that she's missed her and she'd like to spend some time with her soon. FiB promises that they will, and goes upstairs to take a bath. In the bathtub, FiB relaxes and takes in her new body, stretching out her arms and legs. Upon getting out of the bath, she stands in the mirror and practices being Buffy, making facesand rehearsing such lines as "You can't do that! It's wrong!"

Back at the hospital, BiF has come to and is fighting to get away, trying to explain what's happened. They give her a sedative to knock her out.

Over at Tara's, Willow worries about where Faith is. Tara reassures Willow that she's safe here, since no one even knows Tara, let alone that Willow's there. Willow feels bad and explains that she does want Tara to meet her other friends, but she kind of likes having something that's just hers. Tara understands, and confirms, "I am you know... Yours." Willow smiles at her.

In Buffy's room, FiB finds a decent outfit to wear, and then finds Buffy's passport. She heads to Joyce's room, where she uses Joyce's credit card to arrange for a 10 a.m. flight somewhere. Just as FiB gets off the phone, Joyce comes in, and FiB tells her she was just getting her mail. Joyce tells her that Giles called and wants her to meet up with them over at his house. FiB figures that she's got time to kill, so she decides to head over. She picks a lipstick off of Joyce's dresser, and Joyce notices that it's the same one Faith picked. FiB tosses it to Joyce, telling her to burn it, and Joyce looks after her as she leaves.

In the back of a police car, BiF starts to come to. Suddenly, a red armored truck charges in front of the police car, causing the car to hit the truck. Two men (the ones who got out of the helicopter and turned up at Giles' last week) get out of the truck and hold a gun on the cops, breaking BiF out and taking her into the truck, "By order of the Watchers Council."

FiB arrives at Giles', and makes herself comfortable, even though she doesn't know who Anya is. Giles tells the gang that Faith has been captured by a special operations unit of the Watchers Council. FiB finds this quite amusing, and explains to the gang that she's just happy about Faith being out of the picture. FiB stares at Willow and imagines plunging a knife into her stomach. Willow notices the stare, and FiB claims that she would never let Faith hurt her. Anya reveals that she and Xander have plans for candles and sex, and FiB jokes that they wouldn't want to cut into that seven minutes. Xander and Anya are offended, but FiB tells them to lighten up; they're out of danger. Giles reminds her that they still have Adam to deal with, and FiB stalls by asking Giles what's up with him. She reassures the gang that they can have their fun, and she'll be out there doing her job, patrolling as long as it takes.

We next see FiB dancing the night away at the Bronze, having quite a good time with the guys there. She steps off the floor and dances right into Spike, whom she doesn't recognize. Spike thinks she's there to give him a hard time, and she realizes that he's a vampire. When he tells her to sod off, she begins to walk away, which only offends him more. "Oh fine, throw it in my face. 'Spike's not a threat anymore, I'll turn my back. He can't hurt me.'" FiB recognizes the name Spike, and is entertained by the idea of him having a chip in his head. He is further annoyed by her amusement, and is about to tell her why he hates her so much, but she's got her own theory: "Because I'm a stuck up tight-ass with no sense of fun?" Spike is thrown by her insight, and FiB continues, and pushes Spike up against a wall, telling him that she could do anything and have anyone — including him. She leans in close and tells him, "I could ride you at a gallop until your legs buckled and your eyes rolled up. I've got muscles you've never even dreamed of. I could squeeze you until you popped like warm champagne, and you would beg me to hurt you just a little bit more. And you know why I don't?" Spike stares at her with what certainly looks like longing, and FiB answers, "Because it's wrong." She giggles and walks away. Spike stares after her, and threatens that when he gets the chip out of his head, they're going to have a confrontation. "Count on it," FiB smirks, and she slithers out. Spike throws his beer bottle against the wall, and storms away in the other direction.

Down in the sewers, the apparent leader of a group of vampires is complaining that it's too crowded for hunting right now. They come upon Adam, and the leader tells him that this is their place. Adam reveals that he's been thinking about vampires. One of them charges Adam, who grabs him by the neck and easily rips his head off. Adam comments on the vampires' fear of death, and how being immortal actually causes them to fear it more than those to whom it comes naturally. He also says that he relates to the fact that they are in between two worlds, neither human nor demon. "Come," Adam invites them, "we have a lot to talk about."

BiF comes to in the truck, finding her wrists held together with a chain. She tries to tell one of the Watcher guys (Weatherby) that she's actually Buffy. The leader (Collins) comes by, and isn't convinced or even interested. He explains to BiF that she's just a package, and he doesn't really care what's inside. Weatherby tells BiF that the Watchers Council used to mean something, but she perverted it — he thinks they should have killed Faith while she was in the coma. Before leaving, he spits in her face. She just sits there and watches him close the doors.

At the Bronze, Willow is surprised that Tara has never been there. Suddenly she spots FiB, rooting for a guy in a beer-chugging contest. Willow brings Tara over and introduces them. They sit down, and FiB declares that she got tired and decided to let off some steam. Willow thinks it's good for her to take a little break. Willow goes to get herself a soda and Tara a water. FiB surmises that Willow and Tara have been hanging out a lot, and concludes that "Willow's not driving stick anymore," and that Oz is out of the picture. Tara begins to say something about Oz, but finds herself stuttering. FiB imitates her and asks if she's gonna get the sentence out sometime tonight. Tara is clearly hurt. Willow comes back, pointing out a vampire. FiB hesitates before remembering that she's supposed to go slay him. She follows him and his date, and makes quick work of him upon finding him feeding from the girl. FiB nonchalantly tells the girl that she'll live, and the girl grabs FiB's hand and thanks her profusely. This gives FiB pause, but she shrugs it off and heads back in. Willow tells her that Tara isn't feeling well, and she's going to take her home. She wonders if FiB will be in later, or if she's going to Riley's. This clearly plants an idea in FiB's mind.

In the warehouse where the Watcher's guys are holed up, BiF begins making quite a racket in the truck. One of the guys (Smith) goes in to investigate, and she manages to get her chain around his throat. He shouts, and the others come running. BiF orders them to unchain her, or she'll kill Smith, but Collins explains that before every mission, they put their affairs in order in case of an "accident." He apologizes to Smith, and he and Weatherby walk away. Weatherby comments that getting her across the border is going to be a lot more trouble than it's worth, and Collins isn't even sure if the Council can get them passage — he decides to call the Council, as it may be time for the contingency plan. While they talk, BiF throws Smith out of the truck (alive, of course). BiF looks befuddled.

At Lowell House, Riley is surprised when FiB shows up in his doorway, posing sexily. "Hi, baby," she greets him, as she toys with her hair.

Willow and Tara arrive back at Tara's, and Willow tells Tara that they'll get together with Buffy again soon, as Willow is sure that Tara will really like her. Tara tells Willow that Buffy was not herself — a person's energy is supposed to have a unity, but Buffy's was fragmented, like something forced in where it doesn't belong (plus she was kind of mean). Willow worries that Buffy is possessed, and Tara explains that if Willow can access the Nether Realm, she may be able to see what's wrong with Buffy. Tara warns that the procedure is very intense, and that she would have to be Willow's anchor. Willow reassures Tara that she trusts her.

Back at Lowell House, FiB climbs onto Riley's lap and begins to kiss him. Riley points out that the door is open, but FiB doesn't care — she figures they could learn a thing or two. Riley sets her down and closes the door, and FiB climbs on to the bed, asking Riley what "nasty little desire" Riley wants to try out ("Am I a bad girl? Do you wanna hurt me?"). Riley is confused, and wonders what they're playing. He tells her that he doesn't want to play, and he kisses her tenderly.

Meanwhile, Willow and Tara prepare their spell. They sit facing each other, one hand on each other's knee, and chant. A circle of light builds around them and begins to rise. The girls touch their left hands together and begin to sweat and breath heavily, staring at each other. The light suddenly disperses, as Willow falls back to the floor and arches her back, moaning.

Concurrently, Riley and FiB have finished making love, and Riley looks down at FiB, saying (for the first time) that he loves her. FiB is clearly thrown by this, and pushes Riley off her, asking, "Who are you? What do you want from her?" She tells him that this is meaningless, and he wonders what happened. He wraps a sheet around her and holds her lovingly.

Down in the sewers, Adam tells his new minions that he has something that they don't have — the knowledge of his purpose (to extinguish life). Adam tells them that they are to let "them" know that Adam is coming. He asks the vampires to think about what they fear most.

The next morning, FiB puts on a shirt of Riley's and sneaks out. Downstairs, she runs into Forrest, who comments that she's not letting him get much rest, and he needs it, because they have a mission. FiB scoffs at him, and tells him that she's been fighting demons since before he could shave. "Yeah," he smirks, "you're a killer." FiB jumps to the defense, asserting, "I am not a killer! I'm the Slayer, and you don't know the first thing about me." Forrest wonders if she really cares what he thinks. She says no, and walks out.

Collins has gotten word from the Council that they can't get passage; the Council has ordered that Faith be killed. He orders Weatherby to get some gas with which to torch the warehouse, and Smith points out that BiF could have killed him but didn't. Collins isn't impressed, and he sticks his gun into the bars of the truck door. BiF, however, is lying in wait, and wrestles the gun away with her feet. She uses it to break into the front of the truck, and drives away.

FiB is at the airport, and checks in for her flight.

Over at Giles', BiF arrives. She tells Giles that she's Buffy, but Giles, of course, doesn't believe her. He reasons that if she's Buffy, she'll let him tie her up, but she insists there's no time. BiF implores him to just look into her eyes and be intuitive, then rattles off some facts that only Buffy should know. Willow and Tara come running in, and Willow explains what happened. She hands over a contraption they've conjured which should allow them to switch bodies again. Xander calls, telling Giles to turn on the TV. There's breaking news of three "disfigured" men who have taken some church parishioners hostage and have already killed one of them. At the airport, FiB also sees the news report.

Inside the church, Adam's lead minion is commenting on how his fear of the church was all for naught, and since the Lord isn't showing up, they'll just have to start killing off his people. Outside, a police sergeant gets off the phone, confirming that he's been ordered to defer command to Riley. Riley orders them to back off until the troops get there, as this is a military operation. Riley heads toward the church and spots FiB, who plans to charge in. Riley wants her to wait until the troops get there (he only happened to be there himself because he was late for church), but she doesn't want to wait. "I'm Buffy," she says, "I have to do this." She heads in. She tells the vampires that they are not going to kill these people — "because it's wrong." One of them attacks her, and she throws him aside. The leader realizes that she's the Slayer. "The one and only, " FiB responds.

Outside, Giles, Willow, Tara and BiF arrive in the Council's armored truck. The police order them away, and Giles begins to shout and wave his arms about, claiming that they have to get inside to save their mothers and "tiny, tiny babies."

Inside, the vamp leader tells FiB that they aren't afraid of her, or anything anymore. Fighting breaks out. FiB dusts one, and another runs outside, only to be pushed into the sunlight by Riley. BiF sees Riley and runs up to him, throwing her arms around him. "It's okay, Miss," a surprised Riley says, "get yourself out of harm's way." BiF begins to explain, but decides against it, instead asking how many are in the church. Riley begins to answer, but pauses, wondering, "Who are you?"

Inside, the vamp leader is telling FiB that Adam has shown him the way. Suddenly, he turns to dust, and BiF appears behind him (a la "Consequences," when Faith did the same to Mr. Trick). The girls fight, and FiB begins to really whale on BiF, beating her head against the floor and shouting at her (but really at herself) that she's nothing but a disgusting, murderous, bitch. BiF manages to grab FiB's hand, and light passes through them as they switch bodies again. Faith gets up and runs out, and Buffy just sits there, in awe and out of breath.

Later that day, in Riley's room, Buffy hangs up the phone and confirms that Faith has disappeared, and the Watchers Council guys have cleared out as well. Riley doesn't understand how this happened, and Buffy explains only, "Magic." As Riley berates himself for not picking up on it, Buffy realizes that he slept with her. "I slept with you," Riley defends, but Buffy clearly isn't too keen on the concept. Buffy comments that she doesn't think Faith is coming back.

Fade into elsewhere, where Faith is sitting alone in a boxcar on a moving train, looking dejected and empty.