18. Killed by Death

Complete story — includes the ending

Buffy falls ill from flu, collapsing during a fight with Angelus, and is taken to hospital. In an apparent dream, she sees a boy outside her room, followed by a demonic figure. When Buffy wakes, she overhears a conversation about experimental treatments, and finds the boy, Ryan, who warns her that "Death" visits the hospital regularly. She enlists the help of her friends to investigate. They learn that Dr. Backer, who works at the hospital, has a history of controversial experimentation on children. Later, Buffy watches Dr. Backer attacked and killed by the demon, although she can no longer see it. Cordelia and Giles learn that the demon is called Kindestod (German for "the child's death"), while Buffy and Willow learn that Dr. Backer's treatment was working on the children. Realizing that Kindestod is only visible to the sick, Buffy re-infects herself. She finds all the children gone, and sees Kindestod heading to the basement. Kindestod attacks Ryan there, but Buffy intervenes while Xander rescues the children. After a fight, Buffy breaks Kindestod' s neck.