Mal obligingly leaps down to the street. He points to his spotless white suit. "All that blood, and not a spot on me." Connor wants to charge in, but Angel, who stands to Connor's right, holds him back. He knows that if they make the first move, Mal will just block it and counter-punch. "Smart man," Mal says, pointing at Angel. "Maybe you won't be the first to die."
"You're right," Angel responds. "You will." Mal rushes in, then jumps back a few inches out of range. Connor takes the bait, launching a right hook kick. Mal ducks under the kick and sends his right foot for Connor's left knee. He cries out in pain and falls to the ground, temporarily hobbled. Angel steps forward and sends a right hook towards the crouching Mal's face. He pivots back out of the way and pops Angel in the nose with a right roundhouse kick, then puts him on his back with a straight left kick to the chin. Mal leaps forty feet forward so that he is within fifteen feet of all of Angel's friends. They clutch various weapons. The moment Mal lands, he lets out a loud snarl. The sheer volume, to say nothing of the ferocity of tone, causes the five of them to flinch. Before they know it, Mal has disappeared. When they see him again, he's leaning against Angel's car. The car is upright, resting on its front headlights. Mal leans his left shoulder against the vehicle, arms folded and calmy smiling. Angel runs over. Connor limps. Angel's shaking his head. Mal is nodding his. His pushes the bottom of the car with his left hand, and it comes tumbling down, crushing Angel's windshield. Nina told Mal how she trashed Spike's ride, and he believed in borrowing good ideas. Maybe it would further enrage Angel, and cause him to do something stupid.
Cordy and Fred point their crossbows and fire, aiming for the eyes. Cordy for the left, Fred for the right, just as they had planned. Mal is caught slightly off-guard by their unexpected choice in targets, but he manages to raise both hands and catch the arrows when they are between two and three inches from his eyeballs. (Cordy and Fred had spent the past few days doing practice shooting in the basement.) He tosses both arrows back, hitting Cordy in the left thigh and Fred in her right heel. They were holding the crossbows up at shoulder level, and he worried the weapons could block a body shot, which would be just the morale boost they needed. So he went for a less damaging but more hittable shot. He is disappointed that he missed Fred's Achilles' Tendon by an inch. Both of them flinch and go down in pain. Angel and Connor look at Cordy. Wes and Gunn look at Fred. This is just the diversion Mal needs. A few yards down the side street from Angel's overturned car is Wesley's motorcycle. Mal lifts it up by the front wheel, spins around several times and flings it in Angel's direction. Tossing a Harley sixty feet through the air is hardly an exact science. The bike veers towards Connor, who stands to Angel's left. Angel notices the projectile a split-second before Connor. He steps to his left and pushes Connor to the ground. This saves the son, but places the father directly in the path of the extremely heavy projectile. It pins him to the ground. Mal shrugs at his good fortune. He hit his intended target after all. Connor gets up and helps lift the bike off Angel's chest. Then he helps Angel to his feet. Mal was bringing them closer together. Which is just as Mal intended. The more they love each other, the more concerned they will be about each other's injuries, and the more mentally distracted they would be. Were Angel saw strength, Mal saw potential weakness.
After Connor helps Angel up, and Lorne helps Cordy up, and Gunn and Wes help Fred up, they notice that Mal is gone. He whistles loudly from a block to the north. "Arriba! Arriba!," he yells out. Mal wants to get the fight away from the police officers. Angel tells his friends to put the weapons back in their cars and drive up. The weapons are heavy, and he fears Mal will simply run his friends ragged. Connor and Angel slowly approach, trying not to get too far ahead from their weapons cache, and buying all the time they can to recover from their injuries. Connor's knee feels inflamed. And Angel didn't like getting his rib cage pounded by a motorcycle. Especially a Harley. He wonders why Wes couldn't go for a lighter Japanese model. Meanwhile, Mal, takes the time to survey the next cross street and see what opportunities it has to offer.
"That's a pretty heavy supply train you're lugging," Mal notes, pointing to the cars. "So what happens if I destroy THOSE machines?" He walks toward Angel and undoes the three buttons on his jacket. Angel throws a left jab. Mal blocks it, but as he does so, Angel swings his right arm for the left side of Mal's face. And in Angel's right arm is a large, heavy wrench, which smashes into Mal's left cheek. As the wrench thuds against Mal's face, Connor swings a sledgehammer. It comes down onto the top of Mal's head. The sequence of blows startles, hurts and enrages the vampire. He hits Connor with a right jab, then lunges at him and knocks Connor back with a left hook. Two quick right jabs and another left hook put Connor down. Angel hits Mal in the lower back with the wrench. Mal swings his left fist behind him and nails Angel in the nose. He spins around and follows this up with a right hook kick and a left roundhouse kick. Angel can't defend against this whirlwind attack. Mal turns to face Connor, but gets hit with the sledgehammer in the left side of his jaw. He leaps at Connor and tries a flying right kick. Connor anticipates the attack and moves out of the way. He swings the sledgehammer for Mal's mouth. This time, he grabs the hammer with his left hand and the wooden shaft with his right. He rips the hammer away from the shaft. Connor resourcefully tries to stake Mal with the broken piece of wood. Mal grabs it with his right hand. He starts swinging the wood for Connor's face. Connor predictably dodges the blows. Mal clocks Connor in the right temple with the hammer, causing him to fall down, dizzy.
Mal easily spins away from Angel's attacks from behind. Angel turns and charges Mal, standing between Mal and his son. Mal plays fencer and stabs the broken wooden shaft for Angel's heart, forcing him to back up. Realizing he's underarmed, Angel holds up his left hand. Gunn tosses Angel his baseball bat. Mal makes a move for Connor as he's getting up. Angel rushes over and tries to pound Mal with the bat. Mal spins around, avoids the bat and sweeps Angel's legs out with a right roundhouse kick. Angel realizes he has to be more careful about falling for Mal's feints. Mal stands over Angel, holding the stick in his left hand as if about to stake Angel. Connor comes at Mal from his right and tackles the vampire. Angel realizes his son also needs to remember not to fall for Mal's stratagems. He forgot what daddy told him about the mean vampire wanting to beat daddy to death, instead of staking him. Connor tackles Mal. While they're down, Connor lands a right punch to Mal's nose. Mal smacks Connor twice upside the head with the heavy hammer. Connor gets the worst of it.
Mal stands up while Connor struggles with yet more concussion-related vertigo. Angel pounds Mal in the right temple with his bat. Mal flings his stick onto the roof of the building to the his left. He puts his fists in front of his face. Angel hits Mal's left rib cage with the wrench. Mal steps forward and lands a right jab. Mind you, he still held the hammer in his right hand, which made the punch to Angel's mouth vastly more damaging that it would have normally been. Angel grabs his mouth in pain. Mal hurls the hammer onto the roof in a gesture of fair play. Connor lands two right crosses to the left side of his face. Mal kicks Connor in the stomach with his left foot, knocking Connor back six feet. Mal looks to his right and rushes Angel's friends. Wesley points his pistol. Connor's right behind Mal, so Wes can't fire. Mal stops on a dime, picks him right foot up behind him, catches Connor in the chin and lifts him two feet in the air. Mal then puts his right foot down and nails Connor's chest with a left reverse kick before his feet return to the ground. Connor flies ten feet back. Mal spins to his right, leaping fifteen feet. When he lands, Angel is between Mal and Angel's friends. He wants to frustrate their attempts to get involved. At least until things get desperate and they are moved to try something foolish.
Angel lands a right uppercut. Mal connects with two right jabs as he retreats. Angel ducks his left hook and lands a right hook. Mal connects with two left hooks to Angel's ribs and a stinging right jab to his sternum. Mal then grabs Angel and tosses his back into the wall right behind Mal. Connor comes up. Mal finds himself sandwiched. He slides to his left, leaps onto the wall twenty five feet in front of him, and scales it. Mal comes down on the sidewalk behind Angel's friends and to their right. Angel ditches the wrench. He and Connor rush over to protect the cars. Angel notices that, among other things, Mal has pulled down the traffic lights at either end of the block. He did this while waiting for Angel and friends to catch up to him after the motorcycle stunt. Mal takes off his white coat, spins it around theatrically in his right hand, then tosses it on top of a parking meter. He holds out his hands, beckoning his opponents onward. Angel leads the way, with Connor ten feet behind Angel and five feet to his right. He knows Connor's gotten the worst of it so far, and that Connor can take less punishment than he can. Plus, there's that fatherly urge to protect his boy. Mal wades in. Angel blocks two of his right jabs. He blocks one of Angel's left jabs. Angel steps forward and lands a right hook. Then a right kick. Mal staggers back to near his jacket. His rips the parking meter out of the sidewalk, flings his jacket off to the side and clobbers the side of Angel's left knee with it.
He was expecting a head shot, and could have blocked it. But the leg shot sweeps his legs and knocks Angel down. Connor rushes in and sends a leaping right hook kick for Mal's head. He brings the meter up and swings it over his head, catching Connor in the stomach. Connor's body jackknifes until his hands nearly touch his toes. Mal then brings the giant, coin-filled mace onto Angel's right foot as he's standing up. This sends him back down. Mal swings three times for Angel's chest. He blocks two of the blows, which only serves to hurt his elbows and forearms. The third blow catches the top of Angel's sternum. He's beginning to taste blood in his throat. Mal's done this before, and it's clear he knows how to take a vampire apart piece-by-piece. Connor comes at Mal from behind. This only causes Angel more heartache. The boy blocks his face, so Mal smashes his heavy club into Connor's left hip. Connor winces and wobbles a bit. Mal clobbers him in the chest, putting Connor down. Then he nonchalantly tosses the meter through a window to his right as he moves rightward, away from the charging Angel.
Angel speeds up and catches Mal. He pounds him twice in the back with his right fist, then lands left uppercuts to Mal's stomach and chin. He thrusts Mal against a street light and wails away. Mal blocks a left hook, but Angel lands a two right hooks. Mal laughs. He can tell that he's getting under Angel's skin. The laughter only further infuriates Angel, who throws three quick left jabs, landing two. Mal grabs Angel's shirt and head-butts him in the nose. He throws Angel behind him, face-first into the windshield of a parked car. He grabs Angel again and throws him the other way, clanging his head into a parking meter. "I love these things!," Mal exclaims. Connor comes at him from the left. He blocks Connor's right kick, grabbing his foot, but Connor does a back flip to get free. Angel is still struggling to his feet. Mal's repeated blows to his brain have left Angel dizzy. Mal sees the teetering Angel to his right, the rejuvenated Connor in front of him, and decides to go for the boy.
Mal charges, and Connor, for once, backtracks. He's waiting for Angel to bum-rush Mal from behind. "I heard the craziest thing last night," Mal tells Connor as he advances. "Did you know there are two Slayers just up the road? Two! Crazy. You and your daddy could have had yourselves a nice father-son gang-bang." Mal laughs as he backs Connor up onto the sidewalk. He hears Angel stalking him from behind. "Seems the blonde one's real special. A creature of destiny, like your old man." By now, Angel's not quite sure if Mal's really saying this, or if he's hearing things. Either way, it angers him and takes away the dizziness. "But I bet she'd like you better, boy. You seem like the wild type, and I suspect that's the way she likes it." Mal pivots left and backs away just in time to avoid Angel's attack. Connor and Angel are now right in front of him, Angel to Connor's right, on the outside of the sidewalk, away from the buildings. If he really is imagining all this Buffy talk to pump himself up, it's working. The two of them launch a concerted attack, kicking and punching away. But Mal just calmy backs up, keeping just out of range. He moves in rhythm to Prince's "Controversy," which he hums. After about forty feet of evading, he leaps ten feet up onto a lamp post, grabs it with his left hand, spins around it like Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain" (he's seen it), and flies over Angel's and Connor's heads. They turn and attack. This time Mal holds his ground. He blocks most of their punches, but they still land quite a few.
"Not bad," Mal tells them before kicking Connor in the chest with his right foot. Then he blocks Angel's right uppercut and throws Angel to his left. He crashes through the window of a sporting goods store. "Better," Mal adds. (The downed traffic lights and their accompanying wires block the street, and hence keep traffic away.) Connor charges. Mal hits him in the gut with a left hook kick. Connor responds with a right kick to Mal's stomach. Mal knocks Connor down with a right roundhouse kick. Then Mal leaps into the store after Angel, who lies in wait. He pounds Mal's noggin with a bowling ball. Smarting from the blow, Mal ducks down, grabs Angel by the knees and throws him in the air. Angel does a forward flip and lands on his feet. Mal hits him with a left reverse kick, knocking Angel into a display case. Angel hurls a rack of clothing at Mal, blocking his view. Angel rushes up and pushes Mal back fifteen feet into the camping equipment aisle. He tumbles to the ground. Covered in tents, and concealed by the darkness, Mal manages to slip out of sight. Angel listens closely. But Mal's movements are soon drowned out by the sound of golf balls smashing the remaining windows. Angel prudently backs up towards Connor. He doesn't know it is golf balls that are doing the damage. That might have tipped him off to what's next.
Mal comes out of nowhere and kicks Angel in the shins, knocking him on his face. "I wonder what this is?," Mal asks as he winds up the driver and swings it into the right side of Angel's skull, fracturing and slightly denting it. "I think it's some sort of mace. Except the shaft is too thin for a weapon." Mal rips the head off the club as Connor enters after hearing his dad groan in agony. Mal sticks the broken end of the shaft through Connor's stomach before he even knows what's happening. He runs the boy through before pulling it out. "And too easily broken," he finishes. Mal strides back outside as he licks Connor's blood off the shaft so Angel's friends can see. He then tosses the metal stick into the middle of the road, unbuttons the top button of his shirt and loosens his tie a little. Gunn and Wes wonder whether to help out. But before they can intervene, Angel emerges.
"So Mal. What else you got?," Angel asks. Mal confidently attacks with his back to the friends. He and Angel trade right hooks. Angel lands another right hook. Mal responds with a left hook. He knows that trading blows only helps him, since he has the harder knuckles and the tougher skull. Angel lands a right uppercut, but takes two right jabs and another left hook. Finally, Mal downs him with a right uppercut to the chin. Mal glances to his left. He wonders when Connor will be coming out. Angel looks up at Mal and grins. Connor came out long ago. He wasn't one to let a serious stab wound keep him down. While Angel took Mal's punishment, Connor snuck back to Gunn, who handed him a cement block. He smashes the block down onto Mal's head. The vampire falls to his knees. Connor kicks him in the face. Angel stands and punches Mal in the mouth as he tries to get back up. Blood running down from his lips and nose, Mal bounds up and pushes Angel twenty feet back. Connor hits his face with a right cross. Mal lands a left punch to Connor's stomach wound, smiling as he watches Connor wince. He puts Connor on his back with a right hook kick. When Angel comes at Mal from his right, he turns and ducks Angel's right hook. He blocks Angel's left jab with his right hand and punches Angel's left shoulder with his left fist, dislocating it. Mal then knocks Angel down with a right hook.
"You son's blood has a lot of energy. Like a Slayer's. Without the bitter aftertaste." He looks at the bloody boy as Connor stands up, and licks his lips. "In fact, it is extremely sweet. Do you eat a lot of sugar?" Connor looks down at Angel, and can tell he wants his son to retreat. When he does this, Mal looks to his right, making sure Angel doesn't get behind him. Angel stands up and runs away. He grunts as he smashes his left shoulder into a wall, getting it back in the socket. Mal walks after them. He wants to see what happens when Angel and Connor join up with their friends. Maybe the normals will get in the way. As he walks, Mal takes off his black tie. Angel sees Wesley brandishing his pistol.
"What the hell are you doing? That won't kill him."
"But a shot to the head could cause brain damage. Which would certainly make him easier to kill." Angel decides it's worth a try. Though the idea does cause him some slight worry. Everyone who ever shot at him aimed for the body. What if more people started shooting for the head? No vampire wants his brains blown out.
Mal has wrapped the necktie around his right fist. Angel comes from the front. Connor from the right. He eludes Angel's left jab and pounds him with three quick right jabs before sweeping out Angel's legs with his left foot. Sweeps don't cause much damage, but they get one fighter down and allow Mal to focus on the other one. Connor has already landed a left hook kick to Mal's right ear. Mal turns to face Connor, only to get clocked with a straight right kick. Mal responds with a left kick to Connor's stomach. He's starting to feel the internal injuries. Connor can't help but grab his stomach with his left hand. He throws a weak right hook that Mal avoids. As he dodges the punch, Mal unfurls his tie, wraps it around Connor's neck, squeezes it real tight, and ties a knot. Connor falls to his knees, desperately trying to rip it off. His face turns bright red. Then purple. The veins on his neck bulge.
While this was happening, Cordy handed Angel a poleaxe, which he took in his right hand. Mal dodges the downward swing, but Angel nails him with a right kick. He swings the ax back-and-forth in a figure-eight. Mal backs up and easily avoids the blade. Then Angel lands a left hook, quickly switches the ax to his left hand and connects with a right uppercut. He takes the ax in both hand and swings some more, forcing Mal to remain on the defensive. After lulling Mal into a pattern of dodging side-to-side, Angel stabs the spear on the end for his neck. Mal arches his back until it is parallel to the ground, barely avoiding the point. Angel then kicks Mal in the groin with his right foot. Normally, Angel refrains from cheap shots. But with Mal, he'll make an exception. While Mal groans in pain, Angel takes a quick swing for his knees. Mal does a back flip to avoid the ax. Angel can hear Connor wheezing and he glances to his left. This was the sort of distraction Mal had been hoping for all along. He leaps at Angel and knocks him fifteen feet back with a straight right kick to the chin. While Mal lands the kick, Cordy finds Connor's dagger and tosses it to him. He cuts the tie loose, and starts to breath again. With Connor is still on his knees, Mal kicks him in the mouth with his left foot. Connor falls on his back, his mouth full of blood.
While Mal laughs, Angel pounds him with a left cross. He follows this up with a right uppercut. Angel knows he has to pick his shots. Mal's facial bones are so hard that hitting them more than a few times makes your knuckles bleed. Mal responds with a right jab to Angel's left eye. It's starting to swell shut. Angel responds with a right kick to Mal's rib cage. Then a leaping left roundhouse kick to his face that takes Mal completely by surprise. He responds with a right kick to Angel's stomach. Angel lands a right cross to Mal's mouth. He responds with a left hook to Angel's rib cage. Angel can feel the bones crack. Mal pushes Angel ten feet back, but he stays on his feet. Mal steps forward, prepared to knock Angel down before Connor mounts another attack. Wesley is twenty feet in front of Mal. He steps to the right and leans his body rightward to ensure he has a clean shot. Then Wesley fires his .357 Smith & Wesson. The bullet strikes Mal in the center of his forehead. Then it bounces off, ricochets down and passes clean through Angel's stomach. Wesley can't believe it. He feels horribly guilty. Angel doubles over in pain. Some of that internal bleeding will now become external bleeding. Mal turns right and kicks the charging Connor in his left knee, which Mal's already compromised. He decks the lame boy with a left hook. Mal puts his right hand to his forehead and feels blood where Wesley shot him.
"Do you know how much those things hurt?," Mal asks Wesley with a gleeful laugh before kicking Angel in the stomach with his right foot. He boxes Angel's ears, and Angel falls to the ground. "Who's next?," Mal asks Angel's friends. He leaps forward and to his right, landing on the roof of Cordy's car. The impact shatters all the remaining windows and dents the roof. Mal goes bumpy and growls at the five of them as they stare up at him. It's his way of showing that the rules are different with the normals. They wisely decide to stay put and allow Mal to preen until Angel and Connor can back them up. When the two of them do stand up, Mal does a back flip and lands in the side street heading north.
In his arrogance, Mal allows Angel and Connor to employ surprise. The cars block him from seeing them re-arm. By now, he's not afraid of any of their weapons. When they approach, Angel, as usual, is in the lead. He has his hands behind his back. Mal mostly notices the oozing wound on his stomach. As well as his battered face. In his right hand, Angel holds one of the traffic lights Mal pulled down. He swings his right arm. Mal prepares to block the punch. But the traffic signal overwhelms him. Angel pounds his arms twice. Then he nails the top of Mal's head. After that, he smashes the yellow light into Mal's nose. Then, he brings the bottom of the signal onto the top of Mal's head. His knees start to buckle. Now Connor goes to work. In his right hand is a brick. He pounds it into Mal's left eye. Then into the left side of his head. Then up into his chin. His fourth swing is for Mal's nose. Mal ducks down, and the brick hits his forehead. It breaks apart. Mal gives the surprised Connor a left hook to the face. Connor stays on his feet and lands a left hook of his own. He's starting to notice that his knuckles are swollen and bleeding. Mal lands quick left and right jabs to his sternum, right on top of Connor's heart. Angel clobbers the right side of Mal's face with the traffic signal. Mal circles round, faces Angel and kicks the signal out of his hands. But now, Mal's back is to Angel's friends. And they intend to take advantage of this.
Wesley steps forward. He believes it could work if he is closer to his target. Wesley gets his gun to within ten feet of the back of Mal's head. He fires. It bounces off the back of Mal's skull and travels downward through Wesley's right foot. "Bloody hell!!," Wesley yells as he hops away. He can't remember the last time he used that phrase. Then again, he's never shot himself in the foot. This shot stings even more than the first, but Mal pretends to ignore it. He knocks Angel down with a right hook kick, and puts Connor on his back with a left roundhouse kick. Mal proceeds to kick Connor three times in the chest with his right foot. Angel said they could help if Mal was hitting them while they were down. Fred decides to take a shot. She swings a metal chain above her head and throws it at Mal's right leg. It wraps around his right calf. Fred pulls, hoping this will take him down. Instead, Mal gives her a lesson in his version of Newton's Third Law of Motion. For her action, Mal provides a superior and opposite reaction. When he feels his leg being tugged back, he swings it forward. This pulls Fred forward and to the ground. At least he's anchored in one place for as long as Fred can hang on.
Angel lands a right hook kick, and Connor connects with a straight left kick. Mal can only kick with his left foot, and his opponents stay out of his punching range. Gunn tosses a crowbar and a sword over Mal's head. Angel grabs the crowbar and Connor grabs the sword. They look at each other and instinctively switch. Angel swings for Mal's neck. He ducks. Angel swings downward. Mal lurches forward and out of the way, dragging Fred along with him. Gunn runs up and takes hold of the chain, allowing Fred and her skinned elbows, skinned knees and bloody face to retreat. Plus, she already had that arrow hit her heel. When Mal steps forward, he reaches out his left foot and kicks Angel in the chest. Connor pounds his face twice with the crowbar. Then he smacks Mal's left knee, to see how he likes it. Mal takes it a lot better than Connor. But Connor then spins and lands a right roundhouse kick to Mal's face. The next time Angel charges and swings for his neck, Mal jumps straight up over Angel's head. The chain didn't prevent him from doing that. But it did keep him from having a good landing. Gunn, his feet firmly planted far apart as if he's in a tug-of-war, yanks the chain while Mal is in midair. This pulls his right leg back and causes him to land in a split. On the way down, he was able to stick his left leg forward and kick Angel in the face, knocking him back two steps. Connor swings for the downed enemy. But Mal takes the crowbar in his right hand and pounds Connor's Adam's apple, giving him even more trouble breathing. When Angel steps forward and swings, this time to amputate Mal's outstretched left foot, he's ready. Mal puts his flexibility to use, bending down so his stomach touches his thigh. He reaches out the crowbar, catches Angel's blade in the slit, and twists, yanking the sword out of Angel's hands.
Finally, Mal stands up. He decides it's time to take care of this infernal chain. Mal turns around and runs straight at Gunn. With the slack gone, he has no control over Mal. Charles runs back, trying the regain control and buy time for Angel to catch Mal. He knocks Gunn out with a left hook. Then Mal turns, leaps in the air and hammers Angel's face with the chains around his right foot. He rushes towards Connor, only to see a biker zooming up behind him. It's Wesley. He can barely stand, but Wes can still ride. He feels awful about hurting Angel, and wants to make up for it. Besides, this is why he brought the bike. It was time to see how the archer handled some heavy cavalry. Connor helps by staying in front of Mal and keeping him busy. He blocks Mal's right jab and right hook kick. Mal blocks Connor's straight right kick. Then Wesley zooms by to Connor's left. He carries a short-handled heavy-bladed ax in his right hand. If it doesn't decapitate Mal, it should stick in him. And, failing that, it would certainly knock him down and leave a nasty mark. Wesley swings down for Mal's face and neck. He ducks low, spins around and lands a right roundhouse kick to the bike's engine. Naturally, Mal beats the Harley hands down. It shoots leftward into the wall. Wesley flies forward, hits his head and rolls. Luckily, he had his helmet on. The others were so preoccupied with helping Angel that they hadn't even noticed Wesley was gone. Wes rips off his helmet, lies down and lets the concussion take effect. He's never had a bike accident before, and this was definitely the wrong time for his first. After helping Gunn get up, Fred rushes over and makes sure Wesley's still alive and conscious. Mal tosses Angel into one wall and Connor into the other. Things are indeed beginning to look bleak. However, Mal is also hurt. Nowhere near as bad as Connor and Angel, but much more than he's used to.
NEXT: The dramatic conclusion