Cut to the library, where Giles is yelling at his computer. "Session interrupted? Who said you could interrupt, you stupid, useless fad? No, I said fad, and I'll say it again." Xander, who walks in with Oz: "And at that point, I'll become frightened." Oh, come on, he's hilarious. They exposit that Giles's books are locked up in City Hall. Xander looks over Giles's shoulder: "Frisky Watcher's Chat Room! Why, Giles!" Ha! And I'll lay money that that URL exists. Buffy storms in, all business, and soon makes them realize that no one knows anything about the kids, not even their names. She also points out that where the pictures on the posters could have come from is a mystery. They realize that research is in order, and Oz gets on the computer, but says that Willow would best know the sites they need. Buffy says Willow's mom unplugged her phone, but Oz says they don't need it.

Willow's computer beeps. She gets up to get it. Oz says they're linked. Willow gets busy. Ew, not like that. Since this recap is running long, I'll cut to the chase. The same two kids have turned up dead every fifty years dating back to 1649 in Germany, and witches were always blamed. The 1649 kids actually had names: Hans and Greta Strauss. Sheila busts into Willow's room and unplugs her laptop, saying she won't have Willow communicating with her "cyber-coven." Willow wonders if that means that Sheila believes her about the witchcraft. Sheila says yes, and Willow smiles. "Now all I can do is let you go with love." Scary music plays to tell us she's not kidding. Willow asks what that means, but Sheila exits and locks the door. I do like this episode a lot, but who has a bedroom door that locks from the outside? And what about the other door to Willow's bedroom that leads, you know, out of the house?Giles has a breakthrough: He remembers a theory that many regional stories have "very literal antecedents." Buffy and Xander "huh?" him, but Oz translates: "Fairy tales are real." Giles says that some demons thrive by fostering hatred and persecution among humans. Oh, those demons! Why even bother with the explanation? I mean, at this point we've seen so many demons in the Buffyverse that there's probably one that "thrives" on making left socks disappear from laundries around the world. And also, it's kind of "Day Of The Dove" from the original Star Trek. Blah blah blah Salem-witch-trial-cakes. XM. Buffy says she's going to tell her mom the truth so she can defuse the situation, but then Plot Device (who? Exactly) runs in, nose bloodied. He exposits that his dad and his dad's friends attacked him, and that they were talking about a trial down at City Hall. The gang tells Michael to stay there and hide, and they leave.