He scrambles over her - he's still holding his knife -

Nausicaa punches him in the back, before grabbing for his arm.

 As she grabs him, he slams the back of his head into her nose.

Fuck ow - that's enough to crack her nose - but she keeps her grip.

He'll try, awkwardly and without leverage, to stab his knife into her hip - but she'll be able to keep him off Gaara.

That gives her a shallow cut.

She grabs his wrist and tries to break it.

Crunch.

Wrist: broken.

Presumably he drops the knife and is now easier to grapple into submission!

He is.  He doesn’t bother calling for more backup, either.

She ties and gags him, then checks out her cut - it's shallow she thinks - and Gaara's injuries - not too bad...

Is there anyone else coming?

Not so it's obvious in the next few seconds.  No sign of Vanessa herself yet either.

She and Gaara will keep moving then. Carefully. And - she guesses they need to check on the human captives? Maybe set them free if they can?

Indeed.

In fact, the next room is the sitting room, with comfy and ornate couches arranged around a glass coffee table, and three locked, heavy-looking iron doors on one wall.  A ring of keys hangs innocently from a small hook set into the wall, between two of the doors; there’s something uncomfortably domestic about it.

She shudders, grabs the keys, and starts unlocking the door closest to the rest of the lair while Gaara keeps watch.

There's a couple people in raggedy, filthy clothes sitting on the floor inside, and a bucket.  One shrinks back when the door opens; the other doesn't bother moving, just whimpers quietly.

"This is a rescue," she says. "Come on, let's get out of here - "

They hesitate.

One of them, the woman who shrunk back from her, whispers: “Did you kill them?”

"The ones here are tied up, but I'm getting you guys out before I go deeper."

“Do you know - ” she says, and she breaks off and gestures weakly at her face, her forehead.  “They’re not - normal - I think they’re stronger than normal people - ”

"I know about them. What I'm using could hold a Grizzly."

“Who are you?” she says, voice wondering.

"Part of a group that goes after jerks like this."

She gives a weak, vaguely hysterical little giggle, but then nods and says “Okay” and gets to her feet, and helps the other prisoner to his feet as well.

"My friend's gonna check the way's clear first, okay? Then you guys need to get away from here - there's a car," and she gives the make and model and location, "that a friend of mine's driving. Old white guy. He'll wait for everyone to get out then get you guys to a safe house."

She nods.  “Are we still in Sunnydale?  They knocked me out when they got me - ”