Nina works some nasty mojo on Willow. Then she learns about Mal's death, and vows to make Angel and Connor pay.
Faith runs by Nina to her right. Nina turns, leaps at Faith and hits her in the head with a flying left hook kick. Faith's forehead smashes into a stone gate column. Nina adds a left hook to Faith's right cheek, knocking her down. Spike grabs Nina's arms from behind. Buffy comes in and hits Nina with a left cross and a right hook. Nina knocks Buffy back with a right kick to the chest. Then she breaks free from Spike's grip, turns round, picks him up off his feet with a right uppercut and sends him flying back into a tombstone with a right kick to the chest. Abandoning Faith and Spike, Nina leaps at Willow, who forms a forcefield around her body. Nina shakes her head.
"You really think you can build one I can't break?," she asks Willow before reaching her right hand out to pierce the shield. It breaks. But before doing so, it elongates towards Nina, pushing her back before popping. This knocks Nina on her butt. For the first time, Willow's hurt her. Buffy stands over Nina, holding a rock eighteen inches in diameter. She throws it down. Nina is able to put her arms up just in time to deflect the stone away from her head and keep it from getting smashed. Buffy leans down and lands three right crosses to Nina's face. Nina eventually pushes Buffy to her left and vaults to her feet.
"I wasn't planning on getting rough tonight," Nina tells them. "But let's just say that you've both inspired me." Buffy lands a right hook kick to Nina's face, then tries a left roundhouse kick. Nina ducks the roundhouse, then levels Buffy with one of her own. While Buffy's down, NIna kicks her in the back with her right foot, causing Buffy to roll twelve feet away. Willow shoots bolts of electricity out of her fingertips. They strike Nina, causing her to shiver on impact. "Got me feeling all tingly inside," she tells Willow. Buffy steps up and connects with a right hook. Nina lands a right uppercut to Buffy's stomach and a right roundhouse kick to her face. She blocks Buffy's right kick and lands a right kick to Buffy's ribs. She blocks Buffy's left jab and right cross, countering with two left jabs, a right cross, a left uppercut and a right hook. Buffy goes down. NIna slowly approaches Willow, who fires an orange ball of energy at NIna. She disappears. The orb hits the right stone gate column, destroying it and some of the adjoining wall. Nina rematerializes behind Willow and puts her left arm around Willow's waist, running her right hand through Willow's hair. Standing fifteen feet to Willow's right, Buffy can only watch, lest Nina decide to take advantage of Willow's vulnerability and kill her. Nina glances at Buffy, enjoying the look of powerlessness in her eyes. She pulls Willow's hair away from the right side of her neck, and puts her mouth to Willow's right ear.
"You're going about it all wrong with these remote spells" Nina explains. "To do good magic, you need something to touch." Nina smiles, then licks the right side of Willow's neck as Willow looks sickened and nauseous. Nina then spins Willow behind her and walks away. After nine revolutions, a very dizzy Willow stops spinning. Buffy charges Nina and throws a leaping right kick. Nina blocks it, throwing Buffy down on her butt. Always one to try harder when things got tough, Buffy stands up and threw a right hook. Nina blocks the punch with her left arm and puts her right hand under Buffy's chin, forcing her eyes to look upwards into Nina's face.
"No thinking. All instinct and reflexes," she tells Buffy. "Like a wild animal. And you call me dumb." Nina tosses Buffy twenty feet back and to the ground. She holds up her right index and middle fingers, which are covered in blood that was leaking out of Willow's ears. She puts the fingers next to her hair and looks at Willow. "See. Same color." Then Nina puts the blood to her lips, closes her eyes and begins chanting. "Utilo olen xan colo eltimosh sai." She opens her eyes, and they glow brightly in Willow's direction for an instant. Willow immediately looks disoriented. Nina walks up to the injured Buffy. "This would be when the regrets start. Me, I regret not being able to let my boyfriend fight you. You got a boyfriend who you think could take me?"
The crypt door opens. Faith enters. "Faith!," Anya exclaims. "I'm so happy to see you." Anya thinks for a second. "That's definitely something I never thought I'd hear myself saying." Faith loosens the screws holding the shackles around Anya's wrists and frees her.
"Thought she'd rough you up a bit more," Faith comments upon noticing how bruise-free Anya is.
"Well, it's not like I was capable of putting up much resistance. Speaking of which, where's Buffy?"
"I thought Slayers were special," Nina says to Buffy as she gets up. "Chosen to fight and defeat evil. Which, I guess, in this scenario, would be me." Buffy throws a right jab and a left roundhouse kick, both of which Nina blocks before landing a right hook kick, straight left kick, right roundhouse and left hook kick, all to Buffy's head. She goes down hard. "Looks to me like the only difference between you and every other human on this planet is, everyone else is smart enough to run away when I come around." Buffy looks to her left at Willow, who no longer appears to be in the game. "Don't bother," Nina says before kicking Buffy in the face as she tries to stand up. "I already took care of her. Showed her more than her eyes could handle." Buffy stands. Nina lets her land a right hook. Nina responds in kind. Buffy goes down yet again. "My boyfriend said you're supposed to be one of those extra special Slayers. The best of the best. If that's true, I'd like to see how easy the other Slayers are." Nina picks Buffy up and hurls her forty feet across the road. She lands on the jagged pile of rocks left behind from Willow's unintended destruction of part of the gate and wall.
Willow stands there as if she can't tell where she is. Nina walks up and shoves her left index and middle fingers into Willow's mouth, putting Willow's own blood on her tongue. "How's it taste?," Nina asks as she holds Willow's jaw open and removes her fingers when Willow tries to bite them. "Now, now. Remember to play nice." Nina casually lands a right roundhouse kick to Willow's chest, knocking her to the ground. Then Nina calmy walks away with a pronounced bounce in her step. Everything's been coming up roses for her the past few days. A few seconds later, Faith and Spike run over to Buffy, who's lying there on the rocks. She looks up at them. They can tell she's had a thorough thrashing.
"Where's Willow?," Faith asks.
Buffy looks very concerned. What with getting beat up and all, she had forgotten about Willow. Buffy struggles to her feet and staggers over to Willow, who's sitting on the grass on the other side of the street. "Willow? Willow, are you okay?," Buffy asks.
"Buffy, is that you?," Willow asks back.
"Of course it's me. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong? I'm blind. That's what's wrong."
"What the hell," Faith exclaims. "How?"
"She did a spell."
"Omigod," an exhausted and horrified Buffy sighs. "Willow, I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. It's okay. It was just a spell. I can undo it." Buffy and Anya help Willow to her feet. Anya looks at her eyes.
"Your eyes are fine."
"No Anya. I'm pretty sure they're not."
"No. They're fine. You just can't use them. There's a difference. All the blindness spells I know alter the appearance of the eyeballs."
"Me too. Not that I ever thought of using any," Willow adds defensively. "But you're right. That would seem strange."
"We'll help you get better," Buffy promises.
"First, help me get home."
Angel and Connor lie on the floor of the lobby, with their very bloody shirts off and their stab wounds bandaged. Fred's heel, Cordy's thigh and Wesley's foot also have bandages wrapped around them. Lying on the floor behind Angel and Connor are Mal's bones.
"Just get me into bed. I'll be fine," Connor insists before coughing up more blood.
"Sure. And then we can leave you alone to choke to death on your own blood," Cordy responds.
"There isn't enough left in me to choke on," Connor darkly jokes.
"We'll get you upstairs once we can clean these wounds a little better and get your pants off. Of course, I won't be doing that last part," Cordy nervously adds.
"Nothing you haven't seen before," Connor quips.
"I'd slap you if you hadn't just save all our lives."
"I can take my own clothes off."
"How? You can't even bend your knees. Or your back. I think we need to get some ice on that knee. It's the size of a cantaloupe."
"How's he doing?," Angel asks Fred and Gunn.
"Like you," Fred responds. "'Cept a little less broke."
"Course, our kind can't get as broke as your kind can before breaking," Gunn notes.
"Take me over to him," Angel demands. They're on opposite sides of the circular couch.
"Sorry," Cordy says as she walks over to Angel. "You'd bleed on each other. How is he?," she asks Fred about Angel.
"He feels softer than usual."
"Angel's been tenderized," Lorne adds. "They both have."
"Hello. Is Giles there?," Wesley asks on the phone.
"Who's calling?," Andrew asks back.
"This is Wesley."
Andrew gets excited. "Really? Oh. Sorry, Wesley. Wyndham Price." His heart jumps when he breathlessly add the two last names. "I should've guessed from your accent. How is life as a," Andrew takes a deep breath, "Rogue former British agent."
"Is Rupert Giles there?"
"No. I can take your number and he can call you back."
"Just tell him I called."
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Wesley. I'll be sure to pass that on." Wes hangs up. Andrew is a bit flush from the conversation with the man he believes is the closest living embodiment of his Timothy Dalton James Bond fantasy. Wesley walks towards the others and shakes his head.
"I'll never understand Buffy's willingness to tolerate fools."
"You get Andrew?," Lorne guesses.
"Who's that?," Angel asks. "I thought you were talking about Xander and Spike."
Nina pops into the Orpheum Theater. "Mal? Lover? Your baby's here. Where are you, honey? You like my new clothes? I got them just for you. Say, how do you feel about witches? I found a cute one. Real feisty girl. She helps Buffy, but she's fair game. We can tie her up, take turns. Or, if that's not your thing, you can just watch the two of us. You know, before you drain her. But that's tomorrow night. Tonight, it's just you and me, lover." Nina looks around the cavernous theater. "And all this space. No windows. Guess that means we can go all day. Where are you, Mal? You should be done with them by now. This isn't like you, baby. You're not one to keep a lady waiting. Fine. I'll find you myself."
The Potentials sit around the living room in a circle.
"They've been gone a long time," Rona notes.
"She'll be back," Kennedy promises. "They'll all be back."
"I'm sorry, but what's to stop her from killing Anya?," Amanda asks. "She could do it in an instant."
"Same goes for Spike," Ariella comments.
"He was supposed to turn against us," Fadila reminds them. "But he hasn't. So why should the First keep him alive?"
He's not a Slayer. He's not a Potential Slayer. He's not a Watcher," Madari answers. "Those are three good reasons."
"Buffy will protect them. And so will Willow," Kennedy assures them. Buffy may occasionally have feet of clay, but Willow's never let Kennedy down.
"Even Spike?," Ella asks.
Kennedy shrugs. "I think it's kind of a package deal."
Buffy walks through the front door. She has two black eyes, swollen and bloody lips and nose, and a big purple bruise on her right cheek. Spike and Faith also look hurt, though not nearly as bad as Buffy. Willow holds onto Buffy's arm. She doesn't quite look like her usual self. Xander and Kennedy run over to them. Willow takes the railings and heads straight upstairs, naturally not noticing them. Kennedy follows, very worried. Xander hugs Anya.
"Thanks," Anya tells him. "Though, I'm the one who did absolutely nothing. Then again, I think a hug might hurt Buffy right now." Not wanting to let the Potentials see her so injured, Buffy also went upstairs. Faith and Spike followed, thinking she might want to talk strategy.
"What happened?," Xander asks as he and Anya walk into the dining room.
"The usual. Nina drew them into a fight. And the unusual. Nina has a thing for Giles."
"That's strange," Xander responds.
"I know. I assumed she'd have a thing for you. It gets weirder. She thinks I'm his girlfriend."
"What!? Why would she think that? What would the two of you do to make her assume something was going on?"
"Relax. It's simple. She thinks Giles is expecting to have sex. She assumes it's with someone in the house. Simple process of elimination."
"Why would she think about something like that? Something so, disturbing?"
"I know Xander. It's also hard to imagine one of your parents having sex."
"Very not fun. And better yet, why would she even care?"
"I think she's bored. But she knew Faith had sex not too long ago, and that Buffy hasn't gotten any in more than a year. So clearly the First has been dishing the dirt."
"And, why would an all-powerful evil entity - "
"Give a damm? You got me."
"You think she took you because she thought you had a connection to Giles?"
"Maybe. Oh, I almost forgot. She has magical powers."
"Nina?"
"She put me in a crypt, but set it up so vampires couldn't enter. And she blinded Willow."
"She did what!!!?"
"A little louder, so everyone can hear."
"Sorry. Oh God."
"With a spell. So it can be undone."
"Willow," Xander says to himself before running upstairs. Anya walks into the kitchen as Andrew comes into the dining room to talk to her.
"So what happened? How was life as a hostage? Were you scared?"
"Not really. But having your arms chained above your head for a half-hour really hurts the shoulders."
"Looks like they had to fight pretty hard to spring you loose."
"No. Nina didn't care about me. I was less of a hostage and more of a pretext."
"A pretext for what?"
"For showing the big guns they're not big enough. The bad guy, or girl in this case, establishing her invincibility. I've seen it all before." She walks into the kitchen and opens the freezer. "We got any more of those fudgesicles?"
Right then, Giles comes home, looking quite happy. "Hello," Giles says as he enters. "Did I miss anything?"
Andrew walks up to him. "Nina kidnapped Anya. But Buffy and Willow and Faith and Spike got her back."
"Oh really," Giles responds with concern. "Perhaps I shouldn't have left."
"Don't worry," Anya says, walking down the hall towards him. "You wouldn't have been able to stop her. Or even slow her down."
"And Wesley called," Andrew adds. "He just said to tell you he called."
Rupert's mind was on the kidnapping of Anya. But, after a few seconds, he remembers what Wesley's call meant. At least there was some good news that evening.
Nina materializes after performing her locater spell. She's standing on the balcony of the Hyperion, overlooking the lobby. She opens her eyes and checks it out. "This is new. Did you come here for an after fight snack? And who are those people? Mal, where are you, baby?" Nina looks up and down her side of the balcony. Then up and down the other. She's thinking of checking out the rooms when she looks down and sees the bones. Her heart sinks through the floor. "Baby? Lover? Honey? How?" Nina surveys the scene. An emasculated Pylean. Two human women. Two human men. All tending to two men on the floor. She could tell one was a vampire. The other was a young man whose not-quite-human power she could sense. They were both physical wrecks. Then it hit her. The vampire. His son. Mal's bones. He had lost. Somehow, he had lost. Mal was gone. Before they can notice her presence, Nina teleports into the forest on the hills to the east of Sunnydale. She starts smashing tree trunks with her fists, felling lumber left and right.
"The one man I meet who relates to me, who understands me, who satisfies me, who makes me happy. The one man, in my entire life, in all of history, who deserves me. Who I love. And they take him away. Thirty six of the greatest hours of my life, and those bastards take Mal away from me. My beautiful, brilliant, powerful Mal. How? How the hell did he lose!? How did those two measly, broken down creatures kill my Mal? How!!?" She keeps pounding away and screaming out in despair. Then Nina stops. "Wait. Why am I hitting these things?" Nina manages a tiny grin. "I can kill them. The vampire and his boy. Rip their hearts out. Rip all their organs out. Make them scream until their voices give out. Then I'll smash their skulls, scoop out their brains." She rubs her hands together. "They'll pay. They. And the others. Those humans. That demon. But only after I make them watch. Then I'll smear their guts over all of Buffy's windows, so they'll all know what's in store. Back to finish my baby's work. I think I'll start by ripping out their kneecaps." But Nina discovers that she can't teleport. Darla walks up to her.
"I'm sorry, Nina."
"What have you done to me?"
"You can't kill them. They're not involved."
"Not involved? They hurt me!"
"You're here to do a job."
"I work better when I'm happy. And Mal made me so happy. Ecstatic, actually. And constantly."
"Did he do that thing where he hangs you upside off a balcony and uses his tongue?"
"Were you spying on us?"
"Of course not," Darla responds with a smirk. "I understand the pain of losing the one man you belong with. Especially if the man has a body like Mal's."
"I know," Nina says, managing a small smile. "Absolute perfection. And he had the cutest chin. Those high cheekbones. Big, soft, tender, ferocious eyes. And those lips. And let's not forget his hair."
"You could pour blood on his belly. Watch it fall off his stomach muscles, filling the spaces in between like perfectly-straight canals in some imaginary city, with his belly button a tiny pool in the middle. And then slowly drink it up, licking and slurping."
NIna gives Darla, who seems to be enjoying this a little too much, a suspicious look. It almost sounds to Nina like Darla's recounting some flashback. But she assumes it's just a fantasy. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
"Always. I know so much, there's never time to tell you everything."
"I meant about Mal. About my baby. My lover. My one and only." She starts wailing away at the hapless trees yet again. Someone's going to notice the swath of destruction in the morning and just shake their head. "Why can't I kill them!? Why!?"
"You know why."
"They're against us, aren't they? The two who killed Mal?"
"In the long run. Which is why they will die. But not now. Only after."
"That's not good enough. They have to know why they'll die. They must know it's for Mal."
"You can't hurt them until you take care of Buffy. You want to take your vengeance out on someone? Take it out on her."
"She hasn't hurt me. She can't."
"Yes she can. By stopping you before you can have your sweet vengeance against that vampire and his boy."
"You're the one who's stopping me."
Darla thinks about this. Nina, of course, can't appreciate the irony of Darla pleading with her to spare Angel's and Connor's lives. The First considers choosing another form, but decides against it, since Nina likes and trusts Darla. "You want to make them suffer? Then don't put them out of their misery. Make it long and slow. Make them know what it's like to fight for a losing cause, to see their world dying all around them. Make them know your pain."
Nina calms down. "Okay. But they will suffer. And they will die."
"If you make them," Darla reassures her. Nina walks away. She wants to be alone in some barren wilderness for a while, like her brother. She's beginning to understand his thirst for solitude. But, unlike Seth, Nina could have her catharsis. And thanks to Connor and Angel, Sunnydale was far more than just another job to her.
Connor's propped up in bed. He picks up the phone and dials Dawn. "It's me."
"Connor. You sound sick."
"No. I'm good." He coughs twice and grabs his broken ribs.
"You don't sound good."
"I'll be fine. That thing that had me upset: we killed it."
"You and Angel? Together?"
"Sort of. I mean, I killed it. But he helped out." Dawn could tell he was stretching the truth to make himself look good. "But it's over. Everything's gonna be okay. Well, as okay as things can be without you. I really miss you, Dawn. Especially now, when I'm hurting after a tough fight."
"I'm sure this won't be the last time."
"Hope it's the last without you around. When does school end?"
"About a month. Assuming we all make it out alive."
"Are things bad?"
"In Sunnydale? Always. You've been here."
"I know. It was a vacation compared to LA."
"Well, you've had a rough couple months. But that sorta stuff's never happened there before. In Sunnydale, we have stuff like that all the time."
"So you're saying it's usually better around here?"
"It was when I lived there. Or, think I lived there. Eleven years, and just a couple vampires. Ask your dad. It's not exactly apocalypse central."
"And so what if it is? So what if bad things keep happening? I'll be fine long as you're around."
"That's sweet, Connor. As long as that wasn't a wish. Or a prediction. I'd like to think bad luck doesn't follow me wherever I go."
"No Dawn. You're the only good luck I ever had. What I meant was, I can take anything if I have you. I'd rather live in Quor Toth with you than here without you."
"Let's not put that one to the test."
"Can you visit this weekend?"
"You're talking about LA, right?"
"Yeah."
"Sorry. School."
"Not on the weekends."
"School work. Plus no car. Plus, my sister."
"Since when did you let her stop you?"
"Since just about always. And, things are a little hectic around here. This really wouldn't be a good time to cause a distraction."
"You wouldn't be distracting anyone over there if you were here."
"Trust me. I would. Let's just leave the visits until the world's no longer in danger of being devoured by the Hellmouth."
"Isn't the Hellmouth always gonna be there?"
"Okay. Until the First's no longer doing the devouring. And when that's the case, Buffy will probably be so happy she won't even care if I come down to see you."
"Can't wait."
"And Connor, I'm really glad I was right about you and Angel working good together. And it's great the two of you are finally getting along."
"We are?"
"You're risking your lives for each other."
"Doesn't mean we're getting along. Not yet, anyway. I think he's finally coming round and showing me respect."
"Connor. Please stop giving him a hard time. Let me put it this way: if you're really nice to him, he'll probably be so happy he won't even mind me coming round for a visit."
"Oh." Connor smiles. "You really think?"
"Well, yeah. If he lets you hang around after everything you've done, Angel must be desperate for your love and affection. It's the only explanation."
"Could I use that against him?"
Dawn groans. "I'm not telling you to exploit his love. Just to try loving him back for a change. Good things will happen."
"Like the two of us living together?"
"Connor! I'm not talking about us. Sometimes you really worry me."
"Don't worry. I'll behave."
"Well, let's hope you don't get too boring," Dawn jokes.
"Don't think I've ever been that," Connor jokes back.
"And I don't think you ever will." They hang up. Giles enters.
"Sorry if I'm disturbing you, Dawn, but we're researching Willow's, umm, ailment, and we need all hands on deck."
"What ailment?"
"No one told you?"
"Told me what?"
"Nina used magic to take away Willow's sight."
"What? Oh no. And Willow can't undo it?"
"It doesn't appear to be any standard blinding spell. Hence the need for intensive research."
"Okay, okay. I'll be right down." Dawn rushes downstairs with Giles. She realizes that sometimes she worries so much about Connor that she forgets about matters closer to home. Back in LA, Fred walks into Connor's room.
"Hey champ," she says with a big smile. "How ya holdin' up?"
"Okay."
"You look scared."
"And you look happy. The last time you smiled at me like that was right before you tasered me. Which was right here."
"Connor, please. Why would I taser you?"
"I dunno. Cause you don't trust me."
"I'm not the type to hold grudges. Unless you do something, really, really bad to me. Like sending me to a demon dimension cause you're jealous of my scientific talent. Okay. I'm rambling. But you and me, we're all squared up."
"Five by five?"
Fred looks a little confused. "I suppose. If I said that. Or even knew what it meant. But we're okay. You were a real hero out there tonight." Connor smiles. Fred rubs his hair playfully. He winces.
"Ow. That hurts right there."
"Sorry. Sleep tight." Fred kisses him on the forehead, turns off the light and leaves the room. The whole mommy role feels very strange to her, though she knows it would feel even stranger to Cordy. Besides, she's beginning to understand how sympathetic Connor can be when he's badly wounded.
Nina spends the night strolling down the beach, listening to the waves. Darla walks up and puts her right arm around Nina's shoulders.
"I'm sorry. I really am. He must have meant a lot. Cause I've never seen you like this. He was different. Not like the others."
"Mal made me think about the future. Our future."
"Together? You know how hard that would be for a woman in your line of work."
"Yeah. But he made me dream. Didn't matter that if it was all a fantasy. Cause it was such a great fantasy that all I needed was the tiniest chance it could ever come true. Just that little bit of hope. And now it's gone. And nothing matters. I can grind all my enemies into dust - "
"You have. On more than one occasion." This causes Nina to flash a small, quick smile.
"I know. But this time it won't make me happy. I feel numb. I pounded that Slayer. I totally messed-up that witch. Normally, that would make me feel fantastic. But now, there's nothing. Can you bring him back?"
"Excuse me?"
"He's dead. You can bring back dead people. You could change into him. And since I can touch you, I could touch him again!"
"It's hard to do that for people who don't die in this town. Almost impossible. Unless it's to tempt one of our enemies. I'm sorry."
"Guess that was too much to ask."
"Nina, I have an idea. After you defeat the Slayer. Both Slayers. All Slayers. Forever. After that, they'll be the mopping up phase. You know how that can drag on for a while. Well, once the Slayers are gone, I'll see what I can do about bringing Mal back. It won't really be him. He couldn't do anything."
"Except me. You mean it?"
"Of course. For you, I can bend the rules."
Nina smiles. "Well then. Guess I got my motivation back."
"Poor Buffy," Darla sarcastically comments. "She's gonna pay for a vampire she didn't even slay."
NEXT: Dawn's visions get her into trouble.