Live Through This, Part One

"Live Through This, Part One" was the first issue of the Angel & Faith comic book series.

Synopsis
In his' journals Giles had recorded an event in which Giles was magically doing battle with a demon who was possessing a little girl. During the battle, Giles pondered to himself the question that people seemed to frequently ask him, concerning as to why he didn't have children. Determining that "other people's children are quite enough," Giles selflessly sacrificed an important part of his life in order to anchor a spell to bind the demon until he could completely vanquish it. After promising the girl's mother, Anne, that he would return, Giles then discussed the unspoken purposes of the Watcher's files, saying that "So, that when the end comes for me, others might have the information they need to take up the burden. May God have mercy on their souls."

Years later, Faith and Angel were now fighting the same demon. While Faith was telling herself that Angel could do this, Angel was doubting himself. However, once the demon said something about Angel's "master," meaning Giles, Angel vamped out and bit the little girl in order to convince the demon that he was killing its host so that it would leave. Faith and Angel then started hacking away at the demon until Angel destroyed its brain - consequently causing the sacrifice that Giles made to spill out and bathe Angel in the memory of the day that Giles fell in love with Jenny Calendar.

Angel became overwhelmed and had flashbacks of when he killed Jenny as well as when he killed Giles himself. But the demon was dead and the mother and child came back into the room. Angel and Faith told Anne that the job was done, and Angel apologized for biting her daughter and explained why he had to do it. Anne assumed that Giles sent them, stating that she knew that he wouldn't just forget about her and her situation and while Angel hesitated, Faith confirmed this. On the way from the house, Angel felt bad telling Anne that they were sent by Giles, but Faith told Angel that it was right thing to say, for the mother's sake. Faith then questioned as to why Angel was catatonic one minute, being read the Watcher's Diaries by her, and in the next minute, he was in his "helping the helpless" clothes. She then asked Angel if he was going to go spacey again now that the job that roused him from his catatonic state was over. He said no, but headed home, telling her that she had places to be.

A young British woman named Nadira was attacked while walking in the street. Nadira, who was a Slayer, defended herself and nearly staked her attacker who turned out to be Faith testing her reflexes. They headed to a club together, and Faith coaxed her to talk about the death of her squad. Nadira's related that a brother/sister team of humanoid demon people were massacring the Slayer team with weapons of energy and eye beams of green light. They were called Pearl and Nash, and they seemed to love what they did, and were supervised by Twilight, who did nothing to stop them. Nadira said that she almost died and that Willow found her and healed her. She didn't tell Faith about it before now because she'd heard things about her relationship with Buffy, and Buffy's relationship with Angel. Nadira had mixed feelings about Buffy, acknowledging that she had probably already been punished enough, but couldn't forgive Pearl, Nash, or Angel, and wanted revenge on them all.

Elsewhere, Whistler was doing his famous speech at a bar. He exclaimed that he was about maintaining balance, and that because Earth had been cut off from the mystical dimensions, he couldn't contact The Powers That Be, his precognitive abilities were gone, and that it was Angel's fault for blowing off what Whistler told him. He asked his audience to help him because the world still needed to evolve; it was dead but didn't know it yet, and someone needed to do a lot of ugly damage to save them all. Whistler said that it wouldn't be easy, and they would probably have to go up against Angel. He handed a beer to someone whose hand was drenched in blood. It was Pearl and Nash who appeared to have massacred all of the patrons in the bar. The duo accepted Whistler's proposition for the sake of bringing in the next stage of evolution and getting payback on their old boss.

Back at Giles' flat, Angel and Faith are arguing about what Nadira told Faith. Angel says that he did enlist Pearl and Nash as a part of his plan to bring the bad guys together and focus them so that Buffy could stay strong. He was doing it, he says, to keep the world from going to Hell like L.A. did (which apparently no one remembers but him). Angel explains that Pearl and Nash are the spawn of a demon and human woman, and that the two worshipped Twilight as a god, having been told by their mother that they were the "Adam and Eve" of the next step of evolution. Angel says that he tried to keep Nash and Pearl contained, but couldn't because they feed off pain. Angel then reveals that there were times that he was more under Twilight's influence than others, which affects his memories of those times. However, when Faith offers up an excuse that it wasn't him, he claims the fault is still with him because he didn't ask the questions he should have or take whatever chances he had to think about what he was doing. He tells Faith that he was weak, and claims that he has more death on his conscience than Angelus ever did.

Faith tells Angel that it's nice of him pick up the ball for Giles, but that he has to stop obsessing over every detail of Giles' life if he wants to take his place. Angel replies that he could never take his place... But he is going to bring Giles back to life.

Continuity
The story is set after "Last Gleaming", but before "In Perfect Harmony".

Individuals

 * Angel
 * Faith
 * Nadira
 * Pearl
 * Nash
 * Rupert Giles
 * Hannah
 * Whistler
 * Buffy Summers
 * Willow Rosenberg

Species

 * Vampire
 * Human

Locations

 * London

Collections

 * Live Through This