We return from commercial to zoom in on a panic-attack-ridden Willow. She's writhing on the ground in England, not far from where I spent a good portion of my summer, and boy, am I bitter about that. After I found out that this was filmed a mere fourteen miles away during the time I was there, I almost vowed from that day forward to be as spoiled as spoiled can be so that such a tragic occurrence could never happen again. Fourteen miles to Giles! That's a mere 8,300 roundabouts! (That joke kills in the ex-pat crowd. Trust me.) Giles holds Willow, counseling her to breathe slowly. Would that I could be so lucky. And I probably could have! Damn! Willow pants and then flinches suddenly as her palms touch the grass. Apparently, not everything in the earth is "good and pure and rootsy." Thanks for the newsflash, there. Willow seems awfully surprised by this information for someone who went to Hellmouth High. Magick drugs really do fry your brain. Anyway, the whole point of this scene is for Willow to ominously warn Giles that the Hellmouth is going to open at some point this season.

Pan down down down down to the basement, where Dawn and Kit have fallen. I guess the fall didn't kill them after all. Well, on the bright side, at least y'all still know what to get me for Christmas. Dawn dusts herself off, and the girls go in search of some stairs.

Hallway. Buffy's still hanging around the campus. Principal Wood is still tormenting Buffy by telling her that the school board recommended he take a gander at her file. Aren't those things sealed or something after you graduate? Whatever. I'm not paid to be an authority on permanent record protocol, so I'll just let that slide. Buffy has forgotten that once you've escaped high school, the principal is unable to intimidate you ever again, and she agitatedly protests that her past is more "plaid" than checkered.

Kit and Dawn are still searching for an exit. Suddenly, Dawn gives her first patented ear-shattering scream of the season as we run into Carlos, a kid who went down to the basement to smoke but then was accosted by creepy dead people. That happens more than you might think. On cue, a creepy dead person shows up to harass them: "Do you really think you can run away?" They back away. "I tried to run too," interjects another zombie kid from behind them. Ruh roh! They're surrounded on all sides. Dawn quickly remembers that Buffy gave her a present this morning. "What is it?" asks Kit. "A weapon," snaps Dawn as she whips out her new cell phone.