We open with Cordelia and Xander getting their caps and gowns in the lounge.  Cordelia bitches about the colour, and Xander says he thinks it'll look dignified, which is important to him 'cause he thinks he's been too lucky for too long.  He says there's no way he's getting out of this school alive.  After an amusing "Aliens" reference, we cut to Willow and Buffy in the hallway.  Willow and Harmony sign each other's yearbooks, and Willow expresses surprise that Buffy's not more nostalgic about leaving high school.  Buffy says she wasn't planning on going to graduation, because she's gotta fight the Mayor during his Ascension thingy.  Xander joins them and is surprised that they haven't heard....the Mayor will be the guest speaker at Graduation. Cut to some random guy's apartment.  Faith knocks on the door and is let in after she says she works for the mayor.  He expresses surprise that a politician would be interested in "his work".  Faith addresses him as professor, and in short order stabs him with a knife.  The camera pans back toward the door and we see a sketch on the wall of an erupting volcano on a mountain. At Faith's place, the Mayor tidies up while Faith tries on a modest summer dress.  She steps out and the Mayor says she looks beautiful after she says she feels stupid in it.  He tells her that nobody knows who she is...not even she does.   They have a father / daughter type moment as he tells her how proud he is of her, and obviously Faith is soaking it all up, despite her tough girl attitude.  He tells her that the Ascension isn't just his day...it's hers too. At school, Willow locks her bike up as Percy comes up, excited that he got a B minus on his History final.  Willow's proud of him until he expresses joy that he'll graduate tomorrow and then he can "forget all this crap".  Oz joins Willow and they talk about the impending Ascension.  Cut to class, where Xander comes in late.  The teacher goes on about how even though they've all finished their finals, this is still his classroom and they will all participate.  He calls on Xander and he guesses an E.  The teacher says no, it's not E, and puts the little head up on the game of Hangman he's drawn on the board.  The teacher continues the game as Anya (who's sitting next to Xander) leans in and asks Xander out that weekend.  He kinda snarks at her until he realizes she's trying.  He says maybe if he survives the Ascension, they could hook up and.he trails off as he sees the expression on her face after she heard the word "Ascension". In the library, Buffy holds up a paper to Giles that says "Professor murdered", and she tells him she thinks Faith is responsible.  Giles reads that the Professor was a geologist, and Buffy wonders why the Mayor would send Faith to kill one random guy if he was already planning on taking out the whole town.  Giles deducts that the Professor must have known something.  They (Giles, Buffy and Wesley)  decide that Buffy will go to the Professor's apartment and find out what she can, and they warn her to keep an eye out for Faith, though Buffy thinks she wouldn't still be hanging around the scene.  She expresses a little animosity toward Faith, and Wesley warns her not to let her feelings about Faith interfere with her work.  Just then, Xander and Anya come in, and Xander tells them that Anya's the only living person who's ever been to (and lived through) an Ascension. Anya tells her story:  She says it was about 800 years ago, and the demon the person ascended to decimated the whole town.  Wesley says that the demon Anya's described doesn't sound all that fierce, and Anya explains that none of them have ever really seen a true demon before.  Buffy doesn't understand, and Anya says that the demons that walk the earth now are hybrids....demon / human mixtures, like vampires.  When you Ascend, you become a true demon.  They're " a lot different."  Cut to the courtyard where Snyder is explaining the seating arrangements and such to the Mayor.  Mayor Wilkins says it all looks great, and mentions that he and Snyder both know things are "different" in Sunnydale, and that Snyder's done a great job.  He says that Sunnydale owes Snyder a debt, and it will be repaid.  Snyder looks honoured. Back in the library, Anya's saying that the demon the Mayor will be ascending to doesn't sound like the one she saw 800 years ago, just as Willow and Oz come in.  Willow seems a bit resentful that Anya's there, but backs off when she realizes that Anya might have information they can use.  They're all interrupted, however, when the Mayor comes strolling into the library unannounced.  Everyone backs away from him and they face off, Buffy hiding the newspaper about the murdered geologist before  Wilkins can see it.  Wilkins says Faith told him this is where the gang hangs out and "concocts their little schemes", and he notes their reading material (about him).  Buffy snarks something about how the Mayor just loves to hear himself talk, and he laughs and says to Giles "That's one spunky little girl you've raised.." (pause) "I'm gonna eat her."  Giles snaps and grabs a fencing foil from the table and plunges it into the Mayor's chest.  The Mayor recoils, but reveals that he's not hurt as he pulls the sword from his chest and wipes the blade off before tossing it back to Giles, who catches it effortlessly.  He smiles and tells the gang not to miss his commencement speech the next day, and walks out. Out in the hallway, Xander stops Anya and asks her where she's going.  She reveals that she's afraid of the Ascension, and runs off.  At the Summers house, Joyce comes home to find Buffy packing her (Joyce's) stuff.  Buffy tells her to get out of town that night, and Joyce guesses offhand "What, is there some horrible demon that's going to destroy the school at graduation?"  At Buffy's look, Joyce realizes she's hit the nail right on the head.  Buffy says she wishes she could be a lot of things for her mom.a better student, etc.....but there is one thing that she can do better than anyone else in the world.  But she can't do it and worry about Joyce at the same time.  Joyce wants Buffy to come with her, but Buffy says she can't.  When Joyce argues further, Buffy says that if she stays, she'll get Buffy killed.  Joyce agrees to go. At Willow's place, we pan up from AmyRat in her cage, to see Willow and Oz still trying to find out something useful about the Ascension.  It's a no go, however, and Willow rants about how she's not a real witch; she can't even turn Amy back into a person.  She remarks upon Oz's lack of panic, and he realizes she thinks he doesn't really care.  As she rants on and on and on, Oz interrupts her suddenly with a passionate kiss.  They fall back on to the bed, and the scene changes to Buffy at the murdered professor's apartment.  She's going through some of his stuff when Angel stumbles through the doorway.  He says he checked in with Giles, who asked him to back Buffy up.  Buffy says she can't make sense of any of what she's found there; she needs to take it back to Giles.  Angel takes the box of stuff from her and they walk out. Cut to exterior, Buffy and Angel walk out into the street (Where are all the cars in Sunnydale, anyway?  Everyone's always stopping to talk in the street, and they're never run down by any cars) and Buffy tries to brush Angel off.  They get into another mini-fight, when suddenly an arrow appears through Angel's chest; fired from the top of the Sun Cinema.by Faith.  Angel falls to his knees as Buffy tries to help him. Scene change:  In the library, Buffy pulls the arrow out of Angel's chest and bandages him up.  At the table, Wesley looks through the stuff Buffy brought back, and reads that the professor went on an expedition to Kwai, where he found a "very large" carcass underneath the deposits of a dormant volcano.  He'd thought that it might be the remains of a heretofore undiscovered dinosaur.  This gets everyone's attention.  They realize that it must have been the demon that ascended 800 years ago, and that the Mayor can be killed after the Ascension.  Buffy remarks that they don't really have a volcano around to kill the mayor with.  As they start to formulate a game plan, Angel tries to rise from his chair and collapses.  His shoulder goes numb, and he's feverish, making the gang realize that there was poison on the arrow.  Giles tells Buffy to get Angel to his bed before the sun comes up, and Wesley says he'll contact the council immediately for a listing of all known toxins on file. At Willow's, Oz and Willow lie in bed in the afterglow.  They're all happy.  awwwwww  : )  Then the phone rings; it's the call about Angel. At the Mayor's office, Wilkins sends Faith home for the night so he can initiate the ritual of "Gabrok".i.e. he's gotta eat some of those spiders-in-the-box from "Choices".  They have another almost father / daughter moment, in which it's revealed that the Mayor is quite fond of Faith, and she's starting to really trust him.  In the science lab at school, Willow sends Xander off to get some magic supplies, but he runs into Anya in the hallway first.  He wonders why she's still there, and she says she's all packed and everything, and wants him to come with her.  Xander's kind of touched, but says that he'll be staying.  Anya says if he stays he'll die, and Xander admits that that might be true.  At the mansion, Buffy tends to Angel at his bed-side, but it's not looking too good for him.  She hears the front door and goes out to join Giles as Wesley enters.  He says that the Council won't help in this situation because Angel's a vampire.  They refuse to budge on it; they want her to focus on the Ascension.  Buffy basically says "screw you, I'm not taking your orders anymore, or the council's", and quits.  Wesley tries to get Giles to talk some sense into her, but Giles joins Buffy in front of the hearth and supports her.  She basically tells Wesley to bugger off, and leaves to go help the others, leaving Giles to take care of Angel.  Back in the science lab, Willow fills Buffy in on the poison.  It's a "killer of the dead", and there are only one or two vague accounts of it ever being cured.  Oz finds the cure in another book:  the only way to cure Angel is for him to drain the blood of a slayer.  Buffy says that's perfect.  Obviously, she's ready to kill Faith.. In the library, Willow uses the computer to track down Faith's place, and Xander and Buffy get into the weapon's cabinet.  Xander's worried about her upcoming fight with Faith, and says "I just don't want to lose you."  Buffy says she won't get hurt, and Xander says that's not what he meant.   Buffy, however, is determined.  Montage.  Buffy prepares herself....Faith trains in her flat.  Angel's all sweaty and dying.  Buffy looks at herself in the mirror and walks away.  Willow finds the address.  At Faith's, Buffy shows up all dressed in leather....Faith apparel.  Faith notes the change in Buffy's demeanor, and Buffy tells her that the cure to Angel's poison is Faith's blood.  Buffy remarks that Faith said once that Buffy was just like her, but kept it all chained up.  Faith asks her if she's ready to cut loose.  They fight.  They do each other about the same amount of damage, before Buffy throws Faith out a window onto a rooftop-thing.  They fight some more, and Buffy snaps a handcuff on Faiths....hackling her to herself.  Fighty fight fight some more.  Angel's room:  Willow and Oz look on as Angel continues to thrash in pain and cry out for Buffy.  The library:  Giles finally finds a reference to the type of demon the Mayor's going to be ascending to, and Xander practically gulps when he sees the three-page-pull-out picture.  The Mayor's Office:  Wilkins finishes eating the spiders out of the box, just as a vampire comes in and tells him that there may be trouble at Faith's.  Wilkins looks worried. Back at Faith's, outside.  Buffy and Faith fight some more.  Faith breaks the chain on the handcuffs, and they're separated again.  Buffy pulls out Faith's knife from "Choices", and Faith says "That's mine".  Buffy tells her she's about to get it back.  She stabs Faith in the gut with it, and yanks it out again.  Faith says "You did it...you killed me.  It won't help your boy, though.", And jumps off of the building down into a passing truck, where she loses consciousness.  Buffy runs to the edge of the building and watches in horror as Angel's chance to be cured drives away. To Be Continued....    FLAWS:   Eh, not really a flaw, really.but more of a question.  How does Anya have all these clothes?  How does she have money?  How does she have the car she tells Xander is outside waiting for her?  How does she have a place to live?  How does she have anything, really?  She was a demon....and she unexpectedly became human.  Where did she get the funds to become self-reliant as a teenaged human girl? THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE:      Decent.  And also major setting up for Graduation Day part 2.   BEST LINE:   n/a

"Graduation Day pt.1"