The mayor gives Faith a dainty knife blade as a gift and announces the arrival of a very special box. He warns her to be careful with her knife: she might put someone's eye out. She asks who's he has in mind.
Buffy and Angel do slaying double duty. They each handle a vamp and creatively dust them. She sighs and he asks what's wrong. She feels like their routine is getting old: all slay no fun.
Buffy's mom is completely ectatic because Buffy got into a great college: NorthWestern. Buffy tries to get around the subject of how she can't leave Sunnydale, but she doesn't say anything. Buffy heads off to school and Joyce calls the family.
Willow tries to console Buffy about not being able to leave. Willow has been accepted to Oxford but doesn't want to leave the country. Xander plans to travel. Cordelia wanders around the subject of where to go and does the "insult Buffy" thing.
Buffy tells Wesley that she wants to go to college in another place… away. She tells Giles about getting into North Western. He is happy. Wesley forbides her from going. She says that she'll try to stop the mayor, ascension, and Faith , so that that way she can go.
The box arrives. A plane flies in, carrying a very tribal looking guy. He starts load the box into the mayors limo. He doesn't want to give it away, but Faith shoots him with an arrow. She takes the box o the mayor, and Buffy is watching.
Buffy follows the limo and goes into hijak mode. He tells her what's in the box. It basically has big evil that the mayor needs to ascend. The group sets out on a mission.
Xander hits the town. He sees Cordelia trying to buy a prom dress. He's very bitter and goes in to tease about how he thinks she didn't get in. But, she shows him all of her acceptance letters. He says it's on account of her father's money. She asks him to go away.
Buffy, Willow, and Angel start on City Hall to get the box. Oz and Xander are left to do a spell to do a spell to destroy the box. They have a moment of Oz talks about Willow and Xander is slightly jealous.
Meanwhile, Willow does her end of the spell and the curse is lifted. Willow jets and Angel lowers Buffy into the room and she grabs the box. An alarm sounds, and Buffy's wire gets stuck. Some vamps bust in and Angel comes in to help. They go into full fight mode. They grab the box and run, they get out and go to the mansion.
The mayor is not happy about them getting the box. Faith comes in and has Willow. The Scooby Gang realizes that Willow is gone. They plan to make a trade for the box.
Willow escapes from the room she's being held in and hears the mayor tell Faith he plans to kill Buffy. She does some first class sneaking and finds her way into the mayors office. She discovers his closet full of sacrificing materials and the books of ascension. She sits and reads through some of them. Faith comes in on her and Willow goes the verbal route. Then she almost knifes Willow. But the mayor intercedes.
The gang locks them selves in the cafeteria and the mayor walk in with Faith who has Willow. Buffy and the mayor finally meet. He brings up Angel and Faith. Angel gives a good verbal comeback about Faith's insanity. The mayor goes into Buffy and aging and moments of true happiness. He calls Angel selfish, brings up hell.
Snyder busts in with two cops and thinks it is a drug deal. The cop takes the box and then Snyder sees the mayor. He appologizes for the misunderstanding. The mayor warns the cop not to open the box, but he does and a serverely creepy black spider/buggy thing jumps out and goes clingy on his face. It proceeds to eat his face (ick) and kill him.
Then it escapes. Then it jumps onto the mayor. But, it obviously can't kill him. Another one escapes into the room. Buffy closes the box and one jumps onto her back. She falls back and it gets smushed. Then Faith uses her knife to kill the other. The mayor informs them that there are about fifty million more in the box. So, humanity is doomed, etc. Snyder is creeped and actually asks them to be dealing drugs instead.
Willow is back. They go to the library and tells her story including all about the books of ascension. She only absorbed a little and hands Giles some of the actual pages. Wesley gets bitchy and pulls guilt trip on Buffy.
Buffy goes into deep thoughts the next day about being stuck in Sunnydale. Willow tries to console her. She tells her that she got accepted into Sunnydale University and is staying with Buffy. (yea!) Buffy tells her there are better schools, but Willow tells her she wants to stay. The Faith thing made everything clear to Willow. She wants to fight evil and help people. The commence mocha drinkage!
Cordelia is with the perfect prom dress, but a lady comes in and tells her to get back to work. Cordy has a job at the store where the dress is. She has it on layaway.
Buffy and Angel have a graveyard moment. She discusses her college plans and then goes into the relationship. But, there is a sense of no okayige. They look sullen about facing reality.