Several months ago, in a European monastery, a terrified group of monks hide behind a massive door, which is being battered by a powerful force. They barely manage to complete a spell before they fall into the hands of the enemy. Buffy takes on a Motorcycle vampire. He's a tough customer, but really no match for the Slayer. Their fight takes them onto an industrial property and as Buffy leaves the scene, after dusting the monster, she is stopped by a night watchman. He assumes she's looking for a rave in one of the abandoned warehouses. She quickly agrees to leave, but the guard surprises her by asking if she lost a small ball that glows yellow. She doesn't know what it is, but she takes it anyway. Buffy's mom is still suffering ill effects from her fainting spell, so Buffy makes her breakfast, which her little sister is quick to take credit for. Buffy seems jealous as her mother mothers Dawn. Joyce practically throws Buffy out of the house when she hears that Giles' grand opening of The Magic Box is today. Upset at Joyce's fawning over Dawn, Buffy drags her sister away to the opening. Buffy enters the magic shop to find Giles bedecked in a silly maroon Wizard's outfit, complete with white stars and a pointed hat with a chin string. Without a word, Buffy's look convinces Giles to go back to tweed. Giles is embarrassed to admit to Dawn's questioning that the shop is already open, but there are no customers yet. He is tuned in enough to Buffy to realize right away that something is wrong and she describes her mother baffling illness. Riley and Willow arrive and she is disappointed that Giles isn't wearing his wizard suit. Buffy pulls the glowing ball from her bag and asks their help in unraveling the mystery. Riley suggests that they patrol together tonight in search of clues and after some hesitancy Buffy agrees. For spite, Dawn betrays Buffy's reservations about patrolling with Riley since he now has only human strength. In the awkward moment, Riley retreats to the training room. Before Buffy can rush Dawn out the door, Willow pleads for mercy for Dawn. Buffy is upset at her antics and jealous that she gets so much quality time with their mother, while Buffy is stuck being the grown-up. She wishes Dawn had never been born. The sisters are still bickering when they arrive home to find Joyce obviously suffering. Buffy rushes to get her mother some medicine. As she leaves the hospital pharmacy, she meets the doctor that treated her mother, wheeling in an obviously disturbed man on a stretcher. The doctor is surprised to see Buffy restrain the agitated patient so easily and kids her about being a superhero. The man grabs Buffy's arm and rants that the medicine will not help, nothing seems to help. Buffy recognizes the night watchman. The madman tells Buffy that she will not escape them, in fact, her family will not escape. Buffy wonders about the cryptic warning as they wheel the man away. Back at the abandoned warehouse, the sole surviving monk marks a map by candlelight. Suddenly a huge metal door shudders with a loud pounding. The monk is terrified and dreads the approach of the "Beast". The massive door begins to buckle and finally flies free of the wall, leaving a gaping hole through which passes a young blonde woman in a fiery red dress and heels. Giles is giddy after his first customers. But Willow comes up empty on tracing the glowing orb. Anya comes in complaining about the prices and her lack of money. She offers to help Giles make contact with better suppliers at cheaper prices. Buffy comes in and tells them that her mother may be under a spell, in fact, they all may be. She thinks that the night watchman is tuned into reality, the reality that no one else can see, so we think he's crazy. Giles is skeptical, but willing to look at the possibilities, in hopes of curing her mother, by finding someone for Buffy to kill. Meanwhile, the blonde Beast is ranting to the bound and gagged priest. She is frustrated at being stuck in a mortal reality. She sounds like a spoiled socialite, but the monk's reaction makes it clear that she is to be feared. She removes the monk's gag and demands that he tell her the location of the Key. She abuses him, but all he does is resist and beg for death. In frustration, she talks even faster and more irrationally until she sounds manic. With a glowing light, she magically drives her fingers into the skull of a captured security guard. He suffers until she removes her hands and he falls senseless to the ground. She seems much better now. At Giles' shop, business is booming. Giles is driven to distraction by the many demands of serving all of the customers. Anya is behind the counter dismissing customers that have already paid, until Xander arrives to counsel her on retail etiquette. Buffy quickly explains to Xander that her mother is bewitched, but they have no clues to the cause. Anya remembers a spell that induced a trance-like state that allows the subject to see traces of magic energy. Giles is skeptical that Buffy can achieve the proper level of meditation, but she is motivated by the desire to save her mother and she won't be dissuaded. At her house, Riley quickly realizes that the tasks Buffy gives him to help with the spell are a transparent smokescreen to make him feel needed. He assures her that he has made the adjustment to being weaker. They kiss good-bye and he leaves her to her ritual. Buffy makes the preparations and settles into a lotus position. Her sister Dawn pesters her through the door, until she tires and goes away. Buffy sits still as the hours pass. She sits without motion, through the day and deep into the night. Eventually, she rises into a world of haze and unnatural colors. She walks through the house looking for mystical clues. Everything seems normal, even Buffy's mom seems better. Joyce decides to go out for a while, but before she does she notices that Buffy seems strangely distracted. Behind her, Buffy sees a family portrait on the wall and is stunned to see the image of her little sister Dawn, fade in and out of the picture. Every picture that includes Dawn has her flickering in and out of existence. After her mother leaves, Buffy cautiously approaches her sister's room. Inside, Buffy can see the image of two rooms alternating. One is a typical teenage girl's hideaway and the other a storeroom of stacked boxes and furniture. When Dawn arrives to complain about Buffy invading her space, Buffy watches as her sibling fades in and out of reality. Buffy grabs Dawn and demands that she confess what is going on. When Dawn threatens to tell mom, Buffy throws her against the wall. The tension is broken when Giles calls. The shop is buzzing with customers, but despite the distractions Giles manages to tell her that she found a Dagon Sphere, an icon used to ward off an unspecified ancient evil. Giles warns her to approach such a powerful evil carefully as she plans to revisit the warehouses. She doesn't tell Giles what she discovered about her "sister", because she realizes Dawn is listening. She leaves, but tells Dawn she will be back before Joyce returns. Outside she is surprised to find Spike smoking behind a tree in her front yard. She punches him before demanding an explanation. He covers by saying he was just out and about, but she doesn't believe him. He makes feeble excuses for being in the neighborhood, but she doesn't have time for him. Before he leaves, he makes several catty remarks about Riley and about Buffy's life. After he leaves, Buffy notices a half a pack of cigarette butts on the ground behind the tree. She doesn't notice Dawn in the window, watching her. Buffy approaches the warehouses with flashlight in hand. Inside, she finds the damage from the ruptured vault door. Joyce's mom arrives home early, feeling badly, to find Dawn waiting for her with a cup of tea. Buffy finds the monk and tries to free him as the Beast sneaks up behind her. Buffy isn't surprised and spins to grab the woman by the throat. With a backhand swipe, the blonde hurls Buffy across the room to fracture a cement wall. The gang at the Magic Box are recovering from their exhausting day, except for Anya who is full of energy and ideas for tomorrow. A tired Giles offers her a job and, pleasantly surprised, she accepts, quickly warming to the idea of being employed. Giles tells Willow and Xander of Buffy 's plan to search the warehouse and assures them that she will be fine as long as she doesn't rush in. Back at the warehouse, Buffy is breaking another cement wall with her face. The Beast complains about the amount of time it is taking to kill Buffy and suggests ways to make it end more quickly. Buffy mounts a rally, but it isn't enough to save her, only enough to tip off the monster that she is dealing with no ordinary human. When the beautiful creature throws Buffy near the monk, Buffy grabs the wounded man and runs for a large window. She hurls them both through it, using her body to cushion his fall. The Beast is angered to the point of stamping her feet, which causes the already damaged cement and steel walls to collapse, burying her, at least temporarily. Despite Buffy's pleas, the monk can go no further. She begs him to continue to safety, but he must stop and tell her to protect the Key. If she doesn't keep the key from the Beast, many more lives will be lost. The Key was only a form of energy until the monk and his companions were forced to hide it from the Beast. They molded the energy into a person and sent that person to the Slayer so she could protect it. Buffy realizes that the holy man is talking about Dawn. The monks created the memories that make them all think that Dawn is real. In fact, now Dawn is real, a real human girl, that Buffy must protect. Dawn is innocent of any deceit, she doesn't even realize the truth, only Buffy knows as the monk quietly dies. Returning home, Buffy finds her mother and the Key sitting on the couch together. An angry Dawn leaves the room and Buffy follows. She apologizes to Dawn who protests that Buffy hurt her arm. Buffy apologizes again. Dawn tells her of a fantasy that she has that Buffy is adopted and not a real member of their family. As Dawn heaps abuse on her, Buffy remembers that Dawn has always done that. The false memory stops Buffy and reminds her of Dawn's special status. She sits with her new sister and gently strokes Dawn's hair as they both worry about "their" mother.