"The Long Way Home, Part One" was the first issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series, which was part of the Season Eight meta-series.
Synopsis
Buffy Summers was leading a squad of Slayers, including Leah, Rowena, and Satsu, in a raid on a large, dilapidated church protected by a force field. She revealed that there were at least 1800 Slayers now active, 500 of whom are working with the Scooby Gang; spread over ten squads, and that there were two Slayers posing as decoys of herself lest she become an easy target; one literally underground and another in Rome publicly partying and dating the Immortal. Working with Xander, who was running things at Slayer headquarters in Scotland (Buffy referred to him as a Watcher despite his objections) with a team of computer workers, psychics and mystics, including a Slayer named Renee, Buffy and her squad found three monstrous demons surrounded by a trio of dead bodies.
After slaying the demons, one of whom Buffy impaled through the head with a crucifix, the Slayers investigated the bodies. Each one had an odd symbol cut into their chest, and Buffy found automatic weapons, which lead her to believe that the victims came looking for a fight. Buffy told Xander to send a copy of the symbol to Giles, when another Slayer found the machine that generated the force field, also presumably belonging to the victims. We got a glimpse of someone—just boots and cape revealed—floating above the church watching the Slayers.
In Sunnydale, General Voll of the United States Army surveyed the crater left after the collapse of the Hellmouth, calling the Slayers a threat to the United States government and likening their squads to terrorist cells. A government expedition was being led sixty feet under the Hellmouth, but was cut short when one of the exploratory members encountered something.
Back in Scotland, Buffy and Xander tried to puzzle out the meaning of the occult symbol; Xander called it a "guy with a monocle frowning," while Buffy opted for "a beautiful sunset." Xander mentioned to Buffy that she needed to talk to Dawn, so reluctantly she visited her sister, who was now giant-size and living in the basement of the headquarters. Buffy believed that her size was caused by Dawn losing her virginity to her ex-boyfriend Kenny, who was a Thricewise (the meaning of the terminology was unspecified). However, Dawn wouldn't divulge anything to Buffy, instead preferring to talk to Willow when Willow returned.
After a brief, bitter feud, during which Buffy mentioned that Dawn should be at Berkeley, Buffy went outside to reflect. She revealed that she and Dawn hadn't gotten along since the Hellmouth was closed and all of the Potential Slayers were activated, and that she missed her mom, her home, the gang, churros, and sex.
At a government facility, General Voll was shown an unrevealed creature captured from the Hellmouth (the "boyfriend" of the explorer's attacker), whom he met with disgust. General Voll was then informed of the attacker, whose first words to the explorer were reportedly, "I'm gonna help you kill her." In return for her help, she requested access to all of the government's magical hardware and a weapons lab for her "boyfriend." If they succeeded in taking down Buffy, she wanted release and full immunity for the both of them, as well as plentiful amounts of cheese. General Voll queried about the subject's identity, and she was revealed to be Amy Madison.
Continuity
The events took place after "Chosen" and "Antique", "Riley: Commitment Through Distance, Virtue Through Sin" and "Willow: Goddesses and Monsters", "Not Fade Away" and "The Wolf, the Ram, and the Heart, Part Six", as well as "Stranger Things", but before "The Long Way Home, Part Two".
Appearances
Individuals
- Buffy Summers
- Leah
- Rowena
- Satsu
- Buffy Summers (underground decoy) (Only mentioned)
- Buffy Summers (Rome decoy) (Only mentioned)
- The Immortal (Only mentioned)
- Andrew Well (Only mentioned)
- Xander Harris
- Renee
- Donna (Only mentioned)
- Rupert Giles (Only mentioned)
- Twilight
- General Voll
- Amy Madison
- Kenny (Thricewise) (Only mentioned)
- Willow Rosenberg (Only mentioned)
- Joyce Summers (Only mentioned)
- Warren Mears (Only mentioned)
Organizations and Titles
Species
Events
Locations
- Scotland, U.K.
- Sunnydale, California, U.S.
Weapons and Objects
Death Count
- 3 unidentified demons
- 1 member of the United States Armed Forces
Behind the Scenes
Trivia
Collections
Pop Culture References
- Wearing an eye-patch and leading a super-secret organisation, Xander believed himself to be a bit like Nick Fury.
Quotes
| “ | Buffy Summers: "I miss my home. I miss my mom. I miss the gang. And churros. And sex, great muppety Odin, I miss that sex." | |
| - The Long Way Home, Part One | ” | |
References