Season 6 Episode 3 - After Life

Buffy is back, but is she really all there? We join Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara assessing the damage left by the demon biker gang, The Hellions. Apparently, without their leader, Razor, the gang of nasties bail out of Sunnydale. Meanwhile, back at the Summers' house, Dawn attempts to re-familiarize Buffy with her life. While explaining to the Buffster about things that have changed since she was in the Hell dimension, a concerned Spike comes looking for Dawn. Not only does he find Dawn, however, he also finds himself face-to-face with Buffy. Almost immediately, Spike notices that Buffy's hands are mangled from digging herself out of her grave and attempts to patch her up. Just then, the rest of the gang rushes to Buffy's side and Spike exits the house and begins crying outside. Anya and Xander question whether or not Willow actually brought back Buffy right and an angered Spike slams Xander against a tree asking why he wasn't told of the gangs' spell. As the vamp puts it, "The thing about magic? There's always consequences. Always."

Later that night, strange things begin happening after Buffy sees a picture of her and her friends transformed into a picture of a bunch of skeletons. Not long after that horrible sight, a possessed Buffy attacks Tara and Willow. Meanwhile, across town, a possessed Anya attacks Xander. The gang gets together and Anya informs everyone that an alternate dimension hitchhiker is haunting them. After they decide that they have to kill the creature, Buffy enters and the Scoobies inform her that she brought back a demon from Hell with her. As soon as Buffy decides to accept her responsibilities as a Slayer again and go on patrol, we see that Dawn has been possessed by the hitchhiker and blows fire out of her mouth at the gang. Meanwhile, at Spike's crypt, the vampire paces and punches the wall, when suddenly, Buffy comes to visit. Spike tries to be lighthearted and concerned, but The Slayer doesn't really respond to him.

The Scoobies try to figure out how they can dispel the demon that they brought back to life and Willow decides that the creature lives because of Thaumogenesis: a side effect from performing the spell to resurrect Buffy. Willow also tells the gang that the demon will dissipate unless it kills Buffy. Unbeknownst to Willow, however, the demon, possessing Xander, overhears her revelation. Almost immediately, the demon attacks The Slayer. Xander and Anya rush to Buffy’s aid as Willow and Tara chant a spell at the Magic Box to make the demon solid so Buffy can kill it. In the nick of time, the spell works and Buffy decapitates the demon with an ax. Xander, Anya and Dawn watch in horror.

In the end, Buffy sends Dawn off to school and then meets the gang at the Magic Box to show her appreciation for bringing her back from the dead. After a group hug, Buffy exits into the Magic Box alley, only to find Spike waiting outside. Buffy tells the vamp about her supposed horrible experience in the Hell dimensions, stating that the real world that she was brought back to is actually Hell and that her friends can never know what she has experienced.