Buffy Logo 'Goodbye Iowa'
Story Code '4ABB14'

by Marti Noxon
Buffy

Buffy tells Giles and the Scoobies about the events in the sewers, surmising that Professor Walsh must have wanted her dead for a reason, which could be something to do with ‘314’. After Buffy orders the gang to hide at Xander’s for a while Riley arrives to see if she is alright; she tries to tell him what Walsh did, but Riley cannot come to terms with the idea of her betrayal. Riley finally recognises Spike at ‘Hostile 17’, and accuses Buffy of harbouring a known target of the Initiative; Spike leaves and Buffy attempts to talk to Riley, but he walks out on her. Meanwhile, Adam emerges from the sewers and encounters a young boy. The next day, at Xander’s, Buffy and the other watch the news, and see a report on the young boy’s death. Meanwhile, Doctor Angleman enters the 314 lab and discovers Professor Walsh’s lifeless body. Riley endeavours to talk to Forrest about Walsh and Buffy, but his teammate doggedly believes that whatever his leader’s reasons were, they were legitimate; Graham interrupts with the news that Walsh is dead. They examine the professors body, Forrest noting that her injury looks like a stake wound. Riley confronts Forrest, but Doctor Angleman breaks them up, telling them that the government has suspended all Initiative operations until further notice; Riley orders the troops to look for the Polgara demon and eliminate it. Buffy arrives at the boy’s murder scene to look for clues, as she too suspects the Polgara demon escaped; Riley finds her and informs her of Walsh’s death. Willow and Tara attempt to perform a demon-locating spell to find the Polgara demon, but as Willow pours her sand onto the floor, Tara hides her sand under the bed; Willow opens her eyes, and thinks that the spell failed. Buffy goes to Willy’s bar to try and elicit some information, but Riley walks in and accuses her of socialising with more demons; when he then grabs Buffy she notices that his hands are shaking. A woman tries to leave the bar, but Riley pulls a gun on her. He is obviously confused, and he slumps to the floor. Buffy takes him to Xander’s basement, and as he rambles, she notices a rash on his hand that he continuously scratches; she pulls a scarf from her hair and wraps it around the rash, and Riley then falls asleep. Giles and Anya then tell Buffy that they do not believe it was a Polgara demon that killed the boy; Buffy asks Xander to accompany her to the Initiative. Later, Buffy, now dressed as a scientist, and Xander, in his army gear, infiltrate the Initiative’s underground complex; they overhear Doctor Angleman commenting that the Initiative soldiers have unknowingly been fed performance-enhancing chemicals in their food, and that Riley is the only one that they have not treated for withdrawal symptoms. Riley abruptly awakes and asks for Buffy, and when Willow tries to stop him leaving, he shoves her to the floor and heads off to find the Slayer. In the Initiative, Buffy and Xander follow Doctor Angleman and confront him; Riley arrives, telling them that the security monitors are off-line. Doctor Angleman confesses that Professor Walsh wanted Buffy dead, and begins to tell them about 314, but Riley cuts him off as he does not want the memory of Walsh tainted. They are interrupted by the arrival of Adam, who pulls a stack of computer discs from his pocket and inserts them into the disc-drive implanted in his chest; he recalls the files on his own creation, a biomechanical demoniod, telling Riley that the two of them are connected because Walsh created them both, and then detailing the chemicals that were fed to him. Adam then knocks Buffy to the floor and sends Riley flying across the room with a punch; after flooring Xander easily, Adam then extracts his bone-skewer and kills Doctor Angleman. Riley attempts another attack but Adam uses the skewer to impale him in the shoulder. Buffy tries attacking Adam, but her blows have no effect on him. Initiative troops burst into the room, but Adam is able to escape through an air vent. Riley is sent to a military hospital to recuperate. Spike goes to Willy’s Place for a drink, but finds that he is now reviled by the demon community for his apparent allegiance with the Slayer, and they threaten to kill him. The next morning, Buffy and Willow worry about what to do about Adam. In the infirmary, Riley is getting better, Buffy’s scarf wrapped around his hand to motivate his quick recovery.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Amber Benson (Tara), George Hertzberg (Adam), Leonard Roberts (Forest Gates), Bailey Chase (Graham Miller), Jack Stehlin (Doctor Angleman), J.B. Gaynor (Little Boy), Saverio Guerra (Willy), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Amy Powell (Reporter), andy Marshall (Scientist #1), Paul Leighton (Rough-Looking Demon), Karen Charnell (Shady Lady)
Directed by David Solomon

TX (US): 15th February 2000
TX (UK - Sky One): 7th April 2000
TX (UK - BBC): 25th January 2001

Notes:
*Featuring Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Riley, Anya and Tara