Giles hides Mal's existence from Buffy. Welsey hides Mal's presence in Sunnydale from Angel. Mal talks with Nina about his human life. She talks with him about her dreams for their future. And Mal finally comes face-to-face with Angel and Connor, all of them prepared to fight to the bitter end.
Mayor Santos walks back into her office.
"What's the verdict?," she asks Giles, who, still thinking about Angel, is momentarily startled by her presence.
"It's not your problem. I meant, it is no longer your problem. The creatures, or, creatures, as it may be, struck in Los Angeles last night. After they struck here."
"These demons don't care for the Hellmouth? Not that I'm complaining or anything."
"Apparently, they were only passing through. Thank you, Stella, for the opportunity to, ah, well . . . " Giles's thoughts trail off as he walks towards the door.
"Wait. Rupert. I know this is probably a bad time to ask, and, that, well, I may sound more than a little insensitive, but are we still on for this evening?" Her smile reminds him that there are things other than death and fighting for him in this town.
Giles thinks for a few seconds. He feels no urge to put the Slayers or the Potentials in the path of Nina. "Yes. Yes we are. And I'm looking forward to it."
Stella smiles again. "Okay. See you around 8:30, then."
By the time Giles returns home, Buffy has been awake for a while. Obviously, she is worried by the new developments. Giles wants to tell her something. Though not necessarily the truth. "Buffy, I was just on the phone with Wesley. Late last night, there were fifteen deaths in a Los Angeles suburb. The attacks were identical to what occurred here. The nature of the wounds proves both were perpetrated by a pack of migrating Orshkag demons. That type of demon tends to feed heavily before hibernating in a very dry environment. Wesley believes they are now in the Mojave Desert. Angel and Connor have picked up their scent, and later on today they plan to track them to their nest. Now that the demons are asleep, killing them shouldn't be too difficult."
"So this wasn't Nina? Or the First?"
"That appears to be the case."
"And Angel's going to handle it?"
"Angel and his friends."
"Okay. I guess that's, one less thing we have to worry about. I still can't help but feel like I dropped the ball on this one. These Osk-Kosk demons – "
"Orshkag."
"Had an all-you-can-eat people buffet right under my nose. This is my town. I'm supposed to stop things like that." Mal knew she'd feel this way.
"You can't blame yourself. It happened in the blink of an eye. And without any warning. Orshkags are very fast on the eve of hibernation. Even if you had received word of the attacks at the moment they began, they would have been gone by the time you arrived on the scene. You can't get them all, Buffy."
When dealing with Angel, Wesley was similarly evasive. Telling him that Mal had been in Sunnydale would have only distracted Angel. Besides, he had even more distressing news.
"Did you see the stuff I found at the theater?," Angel asks Wes.
"Yes, but - "
"Vassalage. Sub-vassalage. Territorial assignments. A vampire feudal system. I can't tell how extensive it is, or how many vampires have signed on - "
"Angel, there's something about Mal's history which I neglected to tell you last night. Or, rather, I chose not to tell you at that time. But, now that you're rested, I believe I need to."
"Get on with it. Can't be worse than what I already know. Unless you're going to tell me he used to be a vampire with a soul. Lessening the value of that already cheapened distinction."
"Mal has a special method for killing his opponents. Including his vampire adversaries. Simply put, he beats them to death."
"I don't get it. You're saying he'll try to beat me into unconsciousness before staking me?"
"No. I'm saying he won't stake you. Or decapitate you. Or set you on fire. He won't kill you in any of the conventional ways."
"Conventional ways? Those are the only ways."
"Not necessarily. It is possible that, at some point, a vampire's body could become so broken that it would no longer be able to hold itself together. The vampire would begin hemmorraging and, you understand why this is difficult for me to discuss with you."
"So that's what he meant."
"That's what who meant? Mal? What did he mean? And when? Angel, I'm not following."
"Mal said Slayers died before he was finished with them. They were too fragile, because they were human. He needed something that could take more punishment. And that's why he picked Connor and me." Angel pauses. "Finally, some good news."
"What? I don't understand."
"From what you said, he'll take his time. Which gives us more time, and more chances, to kill him."
"No. I'm wrong. Clearly, you don't understand. Long before death, you and Connor would become incapacitated and unable to fight back."
"But you could fight. You, and Gunn, and Fred, and Cordy. And even Lorne."
"I don't think we would be able to do much on our own."
"And that also gives us an insight into his tactics. He'll probably try to go for body blows. Maybe some throws. We know what to be prepared for."
"You're taking this news better than I had anticipated. Far better, as a mater of fact." This distresses Wesley. "Where is Connor, by the way? He seemed somewhat out of sorts last night."
"Connor's fine. He's sleeping. I'm going to go take a nap myself." Angel heads back upstairs. Wesley doesn't know what to make of his "What me, worry?" attitude. Wesley certainly is worried. That afternoon, he tries to discuss his concerns with the others.
"Are we even sure Mal's still around?," Fred asks. "Last night was strangely quiet. Maybe he had something to take care of in one of his dimensions, and he's gonna make us cool our heels for a week."
"Angel returns, our morale goes up," Gunn theorizes. "But the longer he waits, the more we lose our edge."
"And the more time we have to worry," Cordy adds.
"Mal is here," Wesley maintains.
"Then where was he last night?," Gunn asks.
"In the suburbs. You've read the same historical sources I have. You know he doesn't like to dawdle."
"Then why didn't he try to make us fight last night?," Gunn asks. "Angel and Connor were here. He wasn't. That's stalling in my book."
"We should prepare as if he will attack as soon as possible."
"Damn right," Gunn concurs with Wes. "You think I was arguing for something else? We got Angel. We're in business. We're ready for Mal."
"I don't share your cockiness," Wes responds.
"You think I'm cocky? We're twice as strong as we were before. And if I can hurt Mal, Angel and Connor can sure as hell dust him. Especially with all of us backing them up."
"Mal has beaten Angel and Connor individually," Wes reminds Gunn. "He has killed Angel. Twice. He has every advantage."
"Who are you workin' for?"
"In order to defeat Mal, we are going to have to do everything right. We're in the toughest fight of our lives."
"Mal had to separate us to psyche us out. He didn't wanna face us all right away. He had to weaken us first. Make us think we didn't stand a chance."
"Stop it!," Fred interjects. "Mal's tough. We know that. We don't need to have this argument."
"I think we do," Wesley responds. "Are we going to stake him? Cordelia's crossbow bolt bounced off his chest. What about beheading? Gunn garroted him hard enough to kill a regular vampire. The normal methods won't work."
"For us," Cordy begins. "But not for Angel. I'm sure he's strong enough to jab a stake into Mal's heart. Or swing a sword through his neck. I believe in Angel."
"As do I," Wesley insists.
"Maybe not as much as we do," Fred shoots back. The three of them are reviving old suspicions of Wesley's loyalty which go back to when he betrayed Angel. Wes recognizes this. He suppresses his anger and tries to respond.
"Blind faith won't help Angel. He needs more than our cheerleading." Wesley leaves the room.
"Was that last crack about me?," former cheerleader Cordelia asks the others. Wes decides to dial up Giles.
"I found the Orshkag demon," Dawn reports to Giles. "But it hibernates in arid, high altitude environments. The Mojave Desert is very low altitude. Why would it go there?"
"Usually," Giles nervously responds. "But not always. It doesn't always seek high altitude environments. The deciding factor is the aridity." He wasn't dumb enough to make up a demon. The Orshkag was the best thing he could think of to explain away last night's killings.
"And it tends to eat people whole," Dawn adds. "There was nothing in the paper about bodies being eaten."
"Out of respect for the victims' families."
"And they're not migratory. According to you, these things traveled more than 100 miles in less than a day. That's unheard of for a land animal. Even ones who do migrate."
"Dawn, please. You should be researching the First." The phone rings. "I should go get that." Giles is relieved to be done with that. "Wesley? Did something happen?"
"Not yet. I am calling to tell you that Angel and Connor may fight Mal tonight. If I do not call by sunrise tomorrow, assume we are dead, and prepare accordingly."
"Okay. i don't mean to criticize, but why so defeatist?" Now Wes was getting it from Giles.
"I'm not being defeatist. Just careful. We will be able to tell you if we win."
"But if you lose, you won't be around to tell the tale. Forgive me. I understand now."
"Mal may be tempted by the chance to kill two Slayers at once."
"And if I didn't warn them, Buffy and Faith would never see him coming."
"I expect to call you. But if I can't, I just wanted you to have fair warning."
"Well, er, thank you, Wesley. I know it must be difficult for you to plan for such an eventuality, but it was good of you to tell me this. Best of luck." Giles hangs up. Now he's been infected by Wesley's dread. And before this, he only had to fear the killings of the Potentials, the deaths of the Slayers, and the possible end of the world. All of which he and the people around him had some control over. But he knew Wesley had done the proper thing. Mal was the most prolific Slayer killer of all time. He no longer lived in this world, and therefore shouldn't care if it gets destroyed. What was to keep the First from using him to further its ends?
It's early evening. The final sliver of sun is descending below the horizon. Nina and Mal lie naked on a beach in Malibu, about ten miles north from where they entered the ocean nearly twenty hours earlier. The waves break and lap up against their bodies. Nina gazes at the orange, pink and dark blue sky.
"This must be the most romantic moment in the history of the world. Am I right?," Nina asks him. She's giddy with love.
"I'm sure you'll say the same thing tomorrow night."
"I hope you're right." Nina rolls back on top of Mal. "It's still light out. Do you need me to stay on top of you some more, make sure that sun doesn't do anything horrible to that magnificent body?"
"It's gone, baby. If it wasn't, we'd still be under water."
"I'm glad you suggested that," Nina says as she licks Mal's chest and stomach. "All of a sudden, I'm feeling jealous of the fish."
"You wanted to stay?"
"With you? Forever." They kiss for a little while.
"Remember what I said last night? About you being built to move?," Mal asks Nina. "That's what gave me the idea. It's harder to move while you mate on land."
"Some of those fish sure looked shocked."
"I don't think those sharks had ever seen people swimming faster than them."
"I think they were more shocked by what we did while we swam," Nina jokes, kissing Mal some more. She sits up, her knees straddling Mal.
"Get down, baby," Mal tells her. "The people living in those homes back there might sees us."
"So what? Let 'em try to stop us. This world is ours. We can do whatever we want, wherever we want." Mal pulls her close and rolls over so he's on top. Nina laughs and puts her left hand to his face. A look of tenderness comes over her. "What were your parents like? Do you remember?"
"I don't remember my mother."
"Why not?"
"She died two days after I was born. I was a killer right from the start."
"It wasn't your fault." Nina looks sad and concerned. She wants to comfort her man.
"You're right. But it was my nature. It's always been my nature."
"No Mal. It's your nature to make people happy. Ecstatic. Believe me, I know. What was your dad like?"
"He was nice. But busy. Always tending the herds. He found a new wife after my mother died. She never liked me. He did. But we both knew I had seek out my own fortune."
"He abandoned you?"
"No. But I left at fourteen. To work for a tool maker. Which was normal. First I made arrow heads. Sickles. Helmets. Then I learned how to use them. And I found a better job."
"Did you have brothers and sisters?"
"Two sisters. One brother."
"You guys get along?"
"My sisters and I got along very well. My brother was always suspicious, since I was older. He worried I would take his birthright."
"We didn't have to fear things like that," Nina recounts. There was always plenty of land when I was young. My older brother and my younger brother didn't have to worry. Neither did I."
"Were you married?"
"Please. How old do I look?"
"Old enough to be a mother in this world."
"You take that back!" Nina pushes Mal over, sits up, straddles Mal with her knees and slaps him.
"I wasn't insulting you," Mal insists. "When have I ever insulted you?" No man would, looking at Nina from Mal's current vantage point. In his defense, Nina does look to be in her mid to late twenties.
"Maybe in a few years I would have been betrothed. Like my older brother was."
"He's the one who didn't make it?"
"Poor Danul," Nina sighs despairingly, leaning down and resting her head on Mal's chest. He slowly strokes Nina's wet hair.
"You can't go back," Mal tells her. "No matter how bad you want to."
"I know. The worst part is being alone. But now I have you." Nina smiles and rubs noses with Mal, then lies there cheek-to-cheek with him. She sighs happily as they hold each other tight. Nina playfully licks his face and ear.
"But do I really have you?," Mal asks back. "You're not going to be here for long. And how will I know where to find you next? Or how long I'll have to wait for you to appear there?"
"I'll be free. Someday. They promised me that. If I do enough good work, they'll give me and Seth our lives back."
"You believe them?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't work, and they'd be in trouble."
"But they need you. Won't they always need you?"
"Not always. Not forever. They do the tough places first. And leave the ones they can do without me for after I'm gone. Plus this world's really important to them. It's their biggest prize. If I win here, it'll count for a lot. Who knows? Maybe this one'll put me over the top."
Mal kisses her neck, puts his right hand on her stomach and wraps his right leg round her left left as she lie there on their backs. Nina smiles and moans. She puts her left hand on his stomach and her right hand on the back of his head. "Then we can go anywhere we want," Mal promises. "Rule EVERY world. You have no idea what you could do if your power was unleashed. If you only had to serve yourself."
"And you." Nina kisses him and smiles. They roll on their sides and face each other. He runs his left hand down her right leg. "I hope Seth likes you. I'm sure he will. How couldn't he? After he sees how happy you make me feel. What's wrong, Mal? You look upset."
"I just don't want to get your hopes up. Once you're free, you'll be mortal."
"Yeah."
"Which means you'll die."
"A couple hundred years from now."
"And you'll age."
"Slowly. Very slowly. You won't stop loving me?"
"I would never leave you, Nina. You're so much more interesting than anyone else I could find. But you would be disappointed."
"With you? Mal, I don't see how that's possible."
"I can't grow old with you. I can't give you children."
"True. But neither can anyone else. Except for Seth, and that would just be gross. Hey! If that vampire can have a child with a human, couldn't you have one with a Titan? I have connections. You have connections. We could pull some strings. You rule worlds. I destroy them. We gotta be powerful enough to make a baby. Which do you want? A son or a daughter? Cause either way, they're gonna be the hottest, most powerful person in the universe." Mal can tell Nina's serious – about the child, and about them. He can see the stars in her eyes. She was so beautiful, and wonderful to be with. But he didn't want her to get the wrong idea about him.
"It's not in my nature to create life. Even if I wasn't a vampire. And I could never be a good father. I'm sorry. It's just not who I am."
"Do I look cut out to be a mommy? But I will. When I'm older. And more mature. You can grow too. Become more mature. Maybe not on the outside. But on the inside. I know you can."
"Nina, I'm a selfish man. That's why I've survived this long. I think only for myself. You have to understand that about me."
"That's not true. Look how happy you've made me."
"I don't believe in happiness, Nina. Happiness doesn't sustain a man for dozens of centuries. I believe in struggle."
"I know. You like winning. So do I. We're like the biggest winners around." She kisses his neck and runs her hands over his body. Titans are very tactile, and she so loves touching him.
"I'm never going to get to Heaven."
"So what? Isn't being with me Heaven?" She gets on top of Mal, licks him all the way up from his belly button to his lower lip, them bites his lip and kisses him. Mal realizes she could have a point. But he stays on message.
"That's not my point. I'm never going to Heaven, and I don't care. Because I don't want to go to Heaven. You know why? There is no struggle in Heaven. There is nothing to fight. No pain. No hardship. You're just happy, and content, forever. And I could never live like that. It's too boring. And least in Hell, I could fight."
"But you'd never win."
"Still. I could try. And fighting and never winning would be better than never getting the chance to fight." All this talk of the afterlife gives Nina an idea.
"You know something? One of my targets was in Heaven for a little while. You've been around here a long time. Know any humans who've had that happen to them?" She rests her head on his chest, smiles as he embraces her and waits for his answer.
"The Egyptians had a story about that. It was a tragedy. The person always wants to return to the afterlife. Living is too painful once they've experienced what's to come. The lesson of the story was that death is natural and good and shouldn't be meddled with."
"Did that really happen?"
"Could have. I don't know. You never do with fables. Because that's not the point."
"So you think she wants to go back?"
"Unless she's like me. Or, unless she's been back long enough to get over it. In the fable, Heaven is a drug. The greatest drug. The Opium of the Divine, I suppose. So the person brought back to life is an addict. They crave a fix. Something to take them out of reality, even if only for a few minutes. However, I suppose that since it's a drug, if the person is strong enough, they could kick it. But maybe the Egyptians didn't know what they were talking about. I do know one thing. I'm famished."
"You mean, underwater, that wasn't your mouth growling?," Nina jokes. "What about the people you ate?"
"The six I found on the two boats I capsized? Just a snack."
"I asked you if you wanted to go up onto that island last night. You said no" She means Catalina Island, more than twenty miles off the coast.
"I wasn't hungry then. I also need a shower. Get off all this saltwater."
"They got showers in those houses up there? They got people, too, don't they?"
"They should."
"All right! Two for one."
"I can't get in."
"I can."
"You really are the best." Even Candace, for all her love, wouldn't help him with his killing.
"Thanks. I know," Nina answers with a giggle. She runs up the beach to a Malibu mansion. Mal follows her. He can tell that she's not terribly self-conscious of her nudity. The people she surprises sure will be. Nina leaps up onto the patio and bursts through the sliding glass doors. Mal hears screams from inside. A woman flies out the window, crashes through the patio's railing and falls to the sand. Mal grabs her and drains her. He hears a man in the living room trying to reason with the bizarre naked woman who's just broken into his house. She throws him out another window. Mal catches and drains him. About ten seconds later, a baby flies out a second story window. Mal rushes to get under him and catches the baby. He returns to his human face and looks at the boy, who is understandably crying.
"Hi little guy. Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you," Mal whisper. He walks away from the child's dead parents and carries him into the house, then walks up to his bedroom. He places the baby in a crib, tucks him in, and tries to sing a very, very old lullaby to the baby in a dead language he can't possibly understand. Nina walks up and puts her arm around Mal.
"What did I say about you being a good father?"
"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?"
"You're right. Back to living for the moment. Come on. I already turned on the water." She takes Mal's hand and runs with him into the shower.
Around this time, Angel assembles everyone together.
"Are we going to find him, or let him find us?," Lorne asks.
"When he's ready, he'll give us a sign."
"And then what?," Connor asks.
"We fight him. The two of us. Together."
"Two?," Gunn asks. "What about the rest of us?"
"You'll help. But you won't fight." This surprises all of them.
"What!?," Gunn exclaims.
"I don't understand," Wesley adds. They can't understand why Angel's sounding like Connor.
"If Mal gets his hands on any of you, you're dead, and there's nothing I can do to stop him. The only way I can save you is by keeping you at arm's length."
"You don't think we can help you?," Fred asks.
"Wrong. I need all of you. Connor and I have to stay light. You'll be carrying the weapons. Giving us what we need when we need it."
"I ain't nobody's caddie," Gunn declares, expressing the disappointment of everyone.
"Think about it," Angel responds. "He'll take his time with us. But not with the rest of you."
"This is our fight, too," Cordy tells Angel.
"No it's not! You want to help kill Mal, you do things my way. Otherwise get the hell out."
"You expect us to stand idly by while you get beat to death?," Wes pointedly demands to know.
"I can't just stand by watch you two die," Cordy adds. "Angel, none of us can."
"You didn't let me finish. Mal will be going back and forth. If one of us is standing, and the other one's down, he'll go for the one who's standing. This will give the other one a chance to get up. If either of us can't up after a ten count, or if we're getting beaten while we're down, then you can attack. You won't fight until we need you to. Hopefully, you won't have to fight at all. But I am not forcing you to watch us die. We'll keep you safe. You keep us safe. It's that simple. Now let's get our weapons ready."
After having some wet and wild freshwater fun in the shower, Mal dries himself off and finds some clothes to put on. "Promise to see me when you finish your job?," Nina asks.
"Absolutely. I'll meet you at my theater. It's got a wonderful balcony." Nina smiles eagerly. "A lot stronger than the one at that house."
"Until then." Nina puts her arms around Mal and gives him a passionate kiss.
"You're leaving dressed like that?," he asks his naked girlfriend. He's not sure if fighting naked is a good strategy. (Though it could rattle Spike, and possibly Willow.)
"I can teleport to where there's more clothes."
"I forgot. Are you going to do something tonight?"
"I wasn't. But, now that you mention it, I could have some fun. They like to hide in their house. But I think I know how to lure them out."
"That's my girl."
"You're right. I am your girl." Nina pauses for a few seconds as she shows Mal a soft, tender smile, then kisses him again. She wraps her legs around his waist, squeezes tight, leans back so her body's parallel to the ground, holds her arms out, lets Mal get a good look at her bare body, then teleports away. Mal smiles smiles and gives a big sigh. Nina's nearly tempting enough to keep him away from his big fight. Nearly, but not quite. He walks into the hallway and is about to go down the stairs, but hears the baby crying. He remembers the child, runs into the bedroom, pulls him out of his crib, and leaves with the boy in his arms. Mal rushes to the neighbor's house and knocks loudly on the door. When they open it, they find a baby on their doorstep. Mal has already returned to the other house. He takes their car keys, starts up their H2 Humvee, and backs out of the garage without opening the garage door. The couple next door picks up the crying baby, sees the car burst out and drives away, and shakes their heads. For the moment, they're not sure where this child comes from. But Mal is confident they're not going to let him die. Meanwhile, he has things to do. Like eat. He can't kill a champion on an empty stomach.
Mal parks outside of a military base north of Los Angeles and leaps over the barbed-wire fences. He loves killing soldiers. He loves killing them because he respects them, having been one himself. A little while later, he sees a sargent leading twenty soldiers. They march in two rows of ten, parroting the cadences he barks out. Bringing up the end of each file are two lance corporals. The soldier in front of the one on the left realizes he's not hearing anyone behind him. A few seconds later, so does the man to his right. Neither of them looks back to see the corpses. Before they have a chance to, Mal stands fifteen feet in front of the sargent. Mal is wearing a captain's jacket, courtesy of a kill he just made. He stands straight up, his head held high, his arms behind his back, looking quite official. However, the sargent is confused. He's never seen this officer before in his life. For the moment, he stops.
"Are your men prepared to die?," Mal asks. "And are you prepared to die for them?" While he asks this, the two men in back see what has happened to their corporals. They are too scared and bewildered to say anything. After all, what on earth could have killed them so quickly and quietly?
The sargent is confused. He recognizes the name on the jacket. And the man standing before him is definitely not the man that jacket belongs to. But before he can say anything, Mal goes bumpy. At that point, the sargent is speechless. Mal quickly lunges forward and drives his fangs through the man's forehead and into his brain, killing him instantly. The sargent falls dead. The eighteen remaining men run straight for the barracks. Which happens to be the smart thing to do. It's closer than the command post, and Mal can get into the command post but not the barracks. Still, they're not going to make it. Mal leaps over top of them, landing between the soldiers and their home. He begins taking them out one-by-one as they flee, desperately calling for help. Mal will be finished draining them before help arrives. Which is fortunate – for those who try to help.
After outrunning several military vehicles and leaping over the multiple exterior fences. (Because of Mal's speed and the darkness, they don't get a good look at what they are chasing.) He returns to the vehicle and drives away. First, he heads back to the theater, opens a closet and gets out some of his own clothes. He likes to dress for success. But he's still hungry. His body requires enormous amounts of energy to function properly. Before heading out, Lou and Vic come to see him. They've been waiting all day. Mal forgot about meeting with them. And if either of them saw Nina, they would understand why. As it is, they hide their annoyance and dutifully report to their Great Leader. The big move went off without a hitch. They're the only game for vampires in town. No surprise there. Lou then reports on their attempts to extort night clubs with the help of the gangs, who of course now work for them. Two clubs were terrified enough to pledge protection money (no need to collect anything yet). They were probably terrified by the recent spate of killings, and all the dead cops would have deterred them from trying to contact the police about the gangs. (The gangs weren't going to attack them. But Mal assumed some of the club owners might not believe in vampires, but all of them would believe in organized crime.) Yet one of the three clubs had the audacity to refuse their offer. They didn't fear the gangs. Lou suspected they already had an understanding with those groups. So Lou and Vic had gone bumpy. That didn't do the trick either. The club owner knew about vampires. And he knew vampires had always been around. So why should he start paying them off now?
Mal recognized that this man had a valid point. And he was eager to address it. After telling Lou and Vic to go make the rounds through the neighborhoods and ensure that all the captains were following orders, Mal drove off. While Parliament's "Give Up the Funk/Tear the Roof off the Sucka" blares out of his speakers, Mal plows the Humvee through the front door of the club. He hears a few screams. That's nothing compared to what's about to happen. Mal stands on the roof of the truck. A few people can see his face in the darkness. Many others can see his glowing red eyes.
"This is what happens when you refuse me!," Mal bellows. Then he roars. It's a terrifying roar, like a lion's, but louder and with deeper harmonics. It easily drowns out the loud music. Once he's done roaring, the music is drowned out by the screams. Mal leaps down and makes quick work of the numerous bouncers and security guards. Then he starts punching people out and throwing them into walls as they try to escape. Mal works his way to the dance floor, bashing heads and snapping necks. The music has stopped. Mal notices the dj is leaving his booth. Mal grabs a screaming young woman and drags her towards the dj.
"Make my funk the P-funk!," Mal yells at the young man. He just stands there, shaking. "I said, make my funk the P-funk!!!." Then he bites into the woman's neck and drains her as she vainly struggles. By the time she ceases to struggle, the dj has rushed back into his booth, found the song, and put it on. "Thank you!," Mal yells out as he bites into a man and kicks back the people trying to flee the VIP Room. Not knowing what else to do, the dj keeps the music coming. He doesn't know it, but he's spinning for his life.
Obviously, in a club filled with hundreds of people, Mal can't kill them all even if he wants to. And he doesn't. His appetite has its limits. Pretty soon, one of the fleeing patrons calls Angel Investigations. Lorne answers.
"Thank you. We'll be right there. Go straight home, as fast as you can." Lorne hangs up and looks at the gang. "Someone's having a massacre at the White Lotus. Three guesses?"
"Hottest club in town," Cordy notes. "Full of the rich and famous. Perfect target for Mal."
"It's time," Angel says as he stands up and looks at Connor. "Let's go."
The White Lotus is just off Hollywood Boulevard, only a few miles west and north of the Hyperion, and Angel arrives before the police. He parks around the corner, and Connor and him get out of his car. Wesley parks his bike nearby. Lorne gets out of his car, and Cordy, Fred and Gunn get out of hers. The weapons are all in Lorne's and Cordy's vehicles. Everyone coalesces around Angel.
"I'll go check it out. Connor, you stay here with them," Angel commands. "He shows, you scream."
"You can count on it," Lorne assures Angel. Like the others, he has a lot more butterflies in his stomach than usual. Connor and Angel are the only calm ones. Their bodies have had time to heal, Connor believes in his own invincibility, and Angel has an abiding faith in what Connor and him can accomplish when they work together. It's a faith that's never before been put to the test.
Inside, Angel finds a slaughter. Mal drained twenty, and killed about thirty more he didn't have the stomach to feed off of. Piled by the front door are the security guards. More people lies along the walls and atop the bar. Others are on top tables. and couches. The dance floor is littered with corpses. Funkadelic's "Flashlight" plays loudly. In the VIP Room are a host of people who appear to have died in agony. Mal simply crushed several of them into the walls at a time. Throughout the club, the smell of blood and guts is overwhelming, especially to Angel. But he can hear someone breathing. The dj's still in the booth. Still spinning. Too scared to come down. Angel realizes he must have watched the whole horrible thing. Angel hears the cops arrive in force. Six cars with twelve officers, plus an armoured van carrying six members of the SWAT team. After everything that's happened this week, they're not taking any chances. They waited until they could respond in force, which is why Angel beat them there. He picks up the dj and carries him out the rear exit, past more bodies. Angel quickly rushes around front and drops him off near an ambulance. They tell he's in shock, and wrap him in a blanket. He returns to his friends. The music still pumps out of the building. Angel and the others here a familiar voice singing the song's refrain.
"Everybody's got a little life, under the sun, under the sun, under the sun!"
Mal stands atop a three story building across the street and two blocks down. He certainly is dressed to be scene. A white suit, white shoes, white shirt and black tie. Around his neck he wears a golden chain, from which hangs a golden cross. Angel wears a long-sleeved black v-neck shirt with black pants. Connor wears jeans, a brown long-sleeved t-shirt, and an olive-green t-shirt on top of that. They walk over to Mal.
"Why don't you come quit playing game, come down here and fight like a man?," Angel challenges. He's ready to make Mal pay.
NEXT: The fight. And Angel and Connor will not be walking away from this one.