No Place Like Home

The first scene, with a caption that reads "two months ago", shows some monks performing a ritual and muttering about having to protect the Key. Suddenly the door flies open....

Buffy is fighting a vampire. After she dispatches him, a security guard kicks her off the "private property", but only after giving her a glowing orb.

Joyce is worried about her recurring headaches. Buffy takes Dawn to the magic shop. At the magic shop, Buffy and Riley experience some tension because (as a result of last week's surgery episode) Riley is not as strong as he was, and Buffy doesn't want him accompanying her on patrol.

Buffy goes to the hospital to pick up a prescription, and encounters Ben the intern, along with the growing number of crazy people that seem to be inhabiting Sunnydale.

A young blonde woman menaces one of the monks from earlier. He calls her "the Beast". Somehow, she manages to stick her fingers into his skull. A white light emanates.

Buffy tries to do a spell to discover if something supernatural is causing Joyce's headaches. There is no spell on Joyce, but in her trance, Buffy looks at Dawn and says "You're not my sister!". Buffy calls Giles to tell him about her spell, and he informs her that the orb she was given is called the Dragon Sphere, and is used for protection against evil.

On her way to search for the "ancient evil", Buffy catches Spike standing outside her window. They argue for a bit, mainly adding to the "Spike has a big crush on Buffy" atmosphere. Buffy finds the monk, and basically gets the crap kicked out of her by Evil Blonde Girl.

At the magic store, Giles offers Anya a job.

Buffy manages to escape with the monk, who tells her that she "must protect the Key", and that it has been sent to her in human form, as Dawn......