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Freefall, Part Three is the third issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine comic book series. Written by Andrew Chambliss and illustrated by Georges Jeanty, it was originally published on November 9, 2011 by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis

Spike has heard rumblings. Someone, or something, is coming for Buffy — and now, after she recklessly slipped out of police custody, the SFPD is certainly looking. When Buffy's family and friends deny her refuge from the cops, she turns to the streets and slaying, where she discovers there's a new kind of vampire slayer in town...

  • Buffy stakes her way into a new kind of trouble![1]

Summary

Buffy and Severin are still in the alley after he reveals his power. He claims he doesn't know how it works and wants her to help him figure it out. As she whisks him away from the crime scene, she explains that she was getting the blame for the bodies and, if he wanted to help, he could give her a place to sleep.

Detectives Dowling and Cheung go to Buffy's apartment and ask Anaheed about her. Elsewhere, Spike talks to a realtor gnome, who says he set up the "something nasty" searching for Buffy in a place where no one will find him. The creature in question is sitting in a cell in Alcatraz, looking at a newspaper article about Buffy.

Buffy wakes up in Severin's plush apartment. He brings her coffee and tells her his story: he was a trust fund kid and he wanted to be a vampire. His girlfriend Clare had a plan to get herself sired by an old friend-turned-vamp called Alessandra, and then sire Severin in turn. Severin describes being horrified as he watched Clare being drained then rising as a mindless beast. Clare attacked him and his powers were involuntarily activated, killing her as soon as he touched her.

Buffy says that Severin wouldn't have been better off as a normal vampire and that she would have slayed them both. He says that all vampires are now waking up feral, so he kills them, as well as any vampire still siring them. Buffy works out the connection to the destruction of the Seed of Wonder based on the timing of events.

The detectives visit Xander and Dawn and about Buffy as well. Buffy then texts them, Willow, Spike, and Andrew, asking them to meet her at Severin's place. Dawn and Xander arrive, and Buffy calls Willow again, using Dawn's phone because she thinks Willow will refuse to talk to her. Willow picks up, but she isn't receptive until Buffy starts talking about the consequences of breaking the Seed, then consents to attend the meeting through speakerphone.

Buffy introduces briefly Severin and prioritizing on investigating the change in vampires. Dawn mentions the Slayer Handbook that Giles left to her, which interests Severin, but Buffy says she can't go back to get it. Willow and Buffy talk about how demons can no longer cross dimensions to inhabit human bodies. Xander dubs these creatures "zompires."

There is an argument about the next step. Xander, Willow, and Dawn don't want to get involved, but they go want Buffy to go to the cops before things get worse. Severin wants Buffy to help him take out a nest, saying she can't trust the police. Xander and Dawn leave, asking Buffy to be careful, whatever she decides.

Spike finds the demon in Alcatraz; they fight briefly, until the demon, introduced as Eldre Koh, claims that he is only seeking Buffy to thank her. The end of magic released him from the prison where he was being held, so now he's bound to Buffy in according to the code of the Nitobe. Spike doesn't buy it and brings up the rumors he'd heard about someone trying to off Buffy. Koh answers that those aren't about him, but the prophesied Siphon, who rips mystical energy from all those he touches and is supposedly heading straight for Buffy.

Buffy and Severin head for the nest that he told her about. He says not to worry about him; he gets stronger with each vampire he kills. He says that after they take out the nest he might even be stronger than her. As they enter it, Buffy sees the lair already full of dead bodies. Severin turns to Buffy, energy crackling all around him, and answer: "I know."

Continuity

  • As Severin reveals his desire to be a vampire, Buffy asks "You too?" in reference to her previous encounter with a group of teenagers of the Sunset Club who planned to be sired ("Lie to Me").
  • Buffy declares that "a couple of months ago" was still after the destruction of the Seed, establishing that months have passed since Last Gleaming, Part Four.
  • Xander appears to forget Dawn's birthday. While seeming like nothing, this foreshadows Dawn's fading out of existence — along with the memories of those who know her — because of the end of magic (Welcome to the Team, Part Three).
  • Xander establishes the last time the Scoobies had a meeting as three years before, when he still had both of his eyes ("Dirty Girls").
  • Andrew is seen working with a robotic arm at his apartment, foreshadowing his involvement in putting Buffy's mind in a Buffybot (Apart (of Me)).
  • Xander is responsible for finding a name for the newly risen vampires. Faith and Angel would use the name "zompires" as well in In Perfect Harmony.
  • Eldre Koh finally reveals his identity and allegiance to Buffy, having first appeared in Freefall, Part One.
  • Koh tells Spike about knowing demons older than him that fear the arrival of the Siphon, as the Magic Council will reveal in Welcome to the Team, Part Two.
  • Severin is finally revealed as the threat Spike has been hearing about since Last Gleaming, Part Five.

Appearances

Individuals

Organizations and titles

Species

Events

Locations

Objects

Death count

  • Clare, sired by Alessandra then siphoned by Severin (in flashbacks).
  • Dozens of vampires, siphoned by Severin (only mentioned).

Behind the scenes

Distribution

  • Freefall, Part Three was the 64th best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 33,485 sales in November 2011 at comic specialty stores.[2]

Collections

Pop culture references

International titles

  • French: Chute libre, chapitre 3 (Freefall, Chapter 3)
  • German: Im Freien Fall, Teil drei (Freefall, Part Three)
  • Italian: Caduta Libera, Parte 3 (Freefall, Part 3)
  • Spanish: Caída Libre, Parte 3 (Freefall, Part 3)

Gallery

Covers

Cover artwork

Preview

Quotes

Dawn: "He forgot my birthday because he was supposed to plan something ahead of time."
Xander: "It's still ahead of time. And now we're fighting in front of the police. Which means that you can see that the fight is very real and very ridiculous."
Dawn: "Speaking of Slayer. Buffy's calling a Scooby meeting."
Xander: "Is this three years ago? Nope, still missing an eye."
Willow: "How did we not think of this sooner? When someone becomes a vampire, a demon possesses their dead body. But without the seed, demons can't pass into this world. The demon has to possess the vampire's body from another dimension."
Buffy: "Which means everyone who's turned since the seed was destroyed is a zombie vampire."
Xander: "Zompires! I've named them. My work here is done."
Spike: "The Siphon? Sounds like an infomercial for a bloody vacuum cleaner."
Koh: "You mock what you don't know."

References

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