Family Reunion

Family Reunion is the third story arc of Angel & Faith, the comic book series which coincides with Buffy Season 9. Issue 11 is the first of the arc and will be released on June 27, 2012.

Characters

 * Angel (1/4)
 * Faith (1/4)
 * Willow (1/4)
 * Lavinia (1/4)
 * Sophronia (1/4)
 * Nadira (1/4)
 * Connor (1/4)
 * Gunn (1/4)

Part One (Issue #11)
The issue begins with a knock on the door, and it is revealed that Willow had arrived, much to Angel's surprise. She says that Andrew had said that they needed help, and Angel explains that he just thought that she's call first. She admits that this seemed like a "non-call" kind of deal, and that that she was around anyway due to her quest to restore magic, which took her here. She greets Faith pleasantly, and they exchange some humorous, friendly banter until Lavinia and Sophie interrupt. They appear somewhat rude but upon seeing Willow, they seem to know her, describing her as "that lesbian witch from America." Willow tells Angel that she knows them from her time in Giles's estate in Bath, and that she's surprised there here but points out that she can forgive murder if it means getting the job done. However, Lavinia then reveals to Willow that Angel is going to bring back Giles.

Willow quickly rounds on him and Angel attempts to explain but Willow beats him to it, explaining that she had figured out his plan to bring Giles back but he can't do it with magic so he's using magic items linked to key events in his life in order to assemble his soul back together. The scythe being one of those magic items since he was holding it when he died. Willow then lauches a open tirade against Angel, coldly telling him that he's being stupid, reckless, selfish, and delusional if he thinks this will end in anything other than a disaster. Angel says nothing against her critizism of him, instead asking her if Buffy knows about her meeting with him in London. Willow reveals that she didn't tell Buffy she was here as she's been dealing with her own problems(pointedly telling Angel it was none of his business before he asked) and that she also didn't want Angel bringing back bad memories of what happened to Giles, pointing out that Buffy went through a lot when she was ressurrected. Angel points out that she was the one who ressurected her but she defends herself, explaining that Buffy didn't die a natural death and that was when magic still existed but none of them knew how much suffering they would cause, especially Buffy. Angel then tensely asks her if she regrets bringing Buffy back, and Willow forlornly says she never has but she isn't sure if Buffy feels the same way about it.

Angel, frustrated, feels as if Willow only came to critize him but Willow says she didn't and that as bad as she thinks it is, she'll help Angel bring back Giles because she needs him to help her bring magic back to the world and for that to happen, she needs the aide of Connor. Willow explains that she needs to go to a dimension that still has magic but all the portals are closed except Quor'toth which can be acessed by a tear in reality. She intends to use the scythe to do that but needs something steeped in the essence of Quor'toth as a compass which is why she needs Connor to help since he spent the first seventeen years of his life there. Willow asks Angel if he can help convince Connor to come along with her since she barely knows him. Faith(who had previously been listening to Willow and Angel arguing with an annoyed, bored expression until Connor was brought up) speaks up, telling her that Angel and Connor aren't exactly on good terms and Connor had finally stopped calling altogether when Angel kept ignoring them and that they don't even know where he is. Angel says that Connor's in school, has a girlfriend, and is for the most part, happy as he has someone to check up on him. Faith then appears annoyed and hurt that he didn't tell her any of this, but Angel shots back that it was a family matter and therefore none of her business, saying that Connor is better off without him.

Angel then rounds on Willow, telling her that she expects him to go to the son he's never been there for and ruin the life he has now by sending back him back to a hell dimension he was forced to grow up in, saying "Here I was ashamed to see you." showing great disgust at the suggestion. Willow is then furious at this, viciously slapping him, angerily saying "Don't you dare! Don't you dare try and say I'm like you. This is all your fault! Thinking you can fix things! Running blindly down any path that might lead to redemption! And your doing it again! Never worrying about the consequences until it's too late! You've ruined everything Angel!". She then quickly becomes more emotional, grabbing him by his shirt and continued talking, "Can't you see what were missing? How empty the world is? There hasn't been a decent song, movie or book, since we lost the seed! Suicide rates are spiking! All over the world people are losing hope! It's just starting! It only gets worse from here! The world's dying and nobody will admit it! I need to save it. There's nothing more important. Why doesn't anyone understand...?" Willow then bursts into tears and falls to her knees, distraught. Angel goes behind her and touches her shoulder, an attempt at comfort, gently saying that they'll find Connor and she can talk to him but it's his choice whether he wants to do it or not. Willow sullenly agrees to his terms. Angel then points out that Quor'toth is a dangerous dimension, but Willow, now more in control of herself, reassures him that she won't stay there long and she merely wants him to protect her from the demons in there while she soaks up the magic, and that Angel can have what's left of the scythe to bring back Giles. She points out that they both need help and are both trying to do something that everyone else thinks is crazy, bluntly stating, "Resent me all you want. And I'll go on resenting you. Later." Angel then grabs his coat and leaves, saying that he'll make arrangments and they'll leave tommorrow. Once Angel leaves, Faith comes to Willow and says there's someone she'd like her to see.

The scene then cuts to Nadira, fighting 6-7 Zompires. She get's caught from behind, almost getting killed but is saved by Faith, who dusts him from behind, informing her that zompires are purely feral and very strong, not much for talking. Nadira appears hostile towards her, insisting that she shouldn't expect her to thank her for saving her life. Faith accepts this, admitting that what she did to her before was stupid and wrong but she's not here to talk about that and points out anyway that there's someone she'd probably want to see. She angrily tries to say she doesn't want to see anyone but stops when she sees Willow stepping out of the car. Willow at first wonders if she really knew Nadira, but she immediately recognized her, mentioning that Willow was the one who healed her and saved her life when her squad was slaughtered. This jogs her memory, remembering the Azores, and Willow quickly reaches out and hugs her, showing sympathy and reasurance that everything will be fine again as Nadira starts to cry. It then cuts to a more public scene, a coffee shop with small crowds of people where Willow and Nadira have spent some time talking. Faith is not with them, prefering to give them some privacy and wait it out across the street. Eventually Faith turns to them and says that Willow has to go with her now but it doesn't mean she's giving up on finding Pearl and Nash. Nadira says it's alright, as Willow told her that it was really important but warns Faith that there's rumors that there planning something and she's not going to stop looking for them when she's away. Faith understands, and gives her advice that she should "slay with a buddy" and keep her in the loop of Nadira's actions. Nadira then leaves and Faith turns to Willow

Trivia

 * Dark Willow Returns!