Conversations with Dead People (Anya & Open?)

[thefirst]

It knew. The First knew its chosen victim would be here in this coffee shop today just as it knew the grass was green and the sky was blue. It would confront her here, in a public place where she couldn't run, couldn't fight, couldn't make a scene. Not that she would want to once certain "measures" were in place. The First had a talent of knowing exactly which form to approach people in. Not that there was much to choose from considering who its chosen victim of the day was. The First considered appearing to her as one of her many victims, but that would almost certainly push her in the wrong direction.

Anya Jenkins had once been an agent of the First's. Not that she ever knew that, of course. But any creature who considered themselves evil or even committed an act of evil, they were all agents of the First in a way. The First was evil itself. Evil personified. And The First did not like losing any of its subjects to the side of light. It was such a disgusting waste to see a demon who once had been one of the most powerful and most merciless of her kind now being reduced to some wannabe-human. All because the Slayer and friends had DOMESTICATED her. The Slayer would get hers. But not now. Right now The First was going to focus on Anya. No, not to recruit her, not because it wanted her to join the ranks of evil again. But because it wanted her to suffer for her betrayal. If The First could convince this reformed demon to commit even one terrible act of vengeance, it knew how much it would affect her. This woman had been driven to the brink of suicide the last time she committed a murder. History could repeat.

It walked into the cafe with a smug expression on its face, and no one even shot it a second glance. To the customers in the cafe, it was just another human. A tall human woman with fair skin and big brown eyes with long brunette curls that rained down her back. She had a refined presence in both the way she dressed and moved, and a mischievous look in her eyes. The woman sat down at a table in plain view of the door (or she appeared to sit down; she was not corporeal) and watched the goings on of the shop.

"Can I get you anything?" asked one of the waiters there.

Halfrek the vengeance demon glanced at him and smiled. "Not just yet. I'm waiting for a friend."

[Anya]

Rule number one of starting off her day: Anya. Needed. Coffee. It was a necessity. If she were to be deprived of her coffee, bad things would happen. Customers in the department store would be sent running home screaming about the "crazy pmsing psycho-blonde" who'd nearly called security on them. So, yes, coffee equaled good. Of course, it'd probably result in some violent sort of caffiene rush for the already-hyper vengeance demon, but in this case it was definitely the lesser of two evils.

Early in the morning was the perfect time to hit up the cafe she frequented, right before things got busy. Too much human interaction was never a good thing for a gal like Anya. Even with the handful of people scattered around the cafe's tables, the demon was a bit edgy as she scurried onto the scene, immediately making a beeline for the counter. Today was a to-go sort of day, to be certain. Ignoring most of the odd looks she received as she zipped over to the counter, the blonde shot the cashier a rather hurried smile. "Hello, I'll have a..." she began breathlessly, and then...her gaze drifted over to the table she had just passed. There by herself sat a woman that Anya hadn't initially paid any mind to, having been entirely focused on reaching her caffeine source. But now...

Those dark brown ringlets, that rather superior expression she was currently fixing a waiter with...Anya knew this woman. But...but her presence here was impossible. She was dead. Halfrek was dead. Anya had actually watched the murder of the other vengeance demon, helpless to do anything to save her...so this had to be some kind of horrible trick. Or maybe she was dreaming. Or...hallucinating from lack of caffeine! Yes, that had to be it. Absolutely. So why was she abruptly turning around, leaving the counter and the sufficiently irritated cashier behind, and heading over to the table where the woman who was so-very-much-not her former friend sat? This was stupid. This was ridiculous. This was...

"Hallie?" Anya asked tentatively. Her light brown eyes scanned over the other demon anxiously as if searching for some kind of flaw; some glitch that would prove this entire affair to be unreal. But at this closer distance, there was no way to deny it. The woman Anya was staring at was undoubtedly Halfrek. Hallie, her long-time rival; Hallie, her long-time friend; Hallie, the innocent bystander who had died because of Anya's own foolishness.

But...how could this be possible?

[thefirst]

The First quietly tracked Anya's movements as she hurried into the cafe. It wordlessly waited for her to notice it. She was so frustratingly oblivious, it was actually beginning to wonder whether it was going to have to make the first move here. But sure enough Anya happened to turn toward its table eventually. Within seconds she was making her way over as The First knew she would. The temptation of being reunited with a long gone friend or family member was too great for most to ignore; even for those who actually knew that it was all a charade. Playing it off as being unaware of Anya's approach, The First idly directed its gaze out the cafe window. Only a matter of time now.

When the vengeance demon spoke, The First...no, Halfrek. Anya had already fallen for this impersonation, and to pull this off The First knew it had to assume Halfrek's identity entirely. So when Anya spoke, Halfrek instantly turned toward her. Blinked once and with just the right amount of surprise (Halfrek never portrayed any emotion too extremely) she smiled slowly. "Well, well!" said Hallie with a tilt of her head. "Anyanka! What a pleasant surprise this is." The brunette woman threw back her head and gave a giddy little chuckle. An exact imitation of Hallie's self-indulgent light-heartedness. "Except to be honest, it really isn't so much of a surprise. You know dearie, you should really be a little more careful if you're looking to hide from D'Hoffryn. It's all over the demonic grapevine that you settled here in New York."

Halfrek made a soft tsking sound, the interpretation of which she'd leave up to Anya. Hopefully it would make the demon nervous though. In fact everything about Halfrek's demeanor was subtly uninviting at the moment. Her smile did not quite reach her eyes. She sat stiffly in her chair, leaning ever so slightly away from Anya. And the cheerfulness of her tone was forced. All of these things were typical of Hallie whenever she was being judgmental. Despite her friendly words, Hallie was sending Anya a clear sign: Keep your distance. Firstly she didn't want Anya getting any foolish ideas about running up and trying to hug her, but mainly she was going to slowly but surely play up Anya's guilt. By the end of this conversation, Anya would be convinced that her friend blamed her entirely for her death.

"Why don't you sit down for a moment?" Halfrek motioned to the chair across from her. "I'm sure we have so much to catch up on!" Now something else to set off a couple of warning signs(but hopefully, the wrong ones). Surely even Anya wouldn't believe that Halfrek just coincidentally ran into her here. Or that Halfrek was so casual about "suddenly" seeing an old friend again. And by mentioning D'Hoffryn earlier, she was aiming to hit just the right angle.

This wasn't a friendly visit. This was business. Business on behalf of the other vengeance demons Anya had decided to abandon. Or at least that was what she would hopefully believe.

[Anya]

Dear ol' Hallie seemed to be taking this all in stride. Well, that made one of them, at least. Anya simply gaped at her old friend as she turned toward her, seeming quite ready to exchange pleasantries. Or as close to pleasantries as Hallie ever got, at least: 'Lulzno, nice try, but you can't hide from the rest of us vengeance demons'. Gee, wasn't this a warm little reunion? Although to be fair, Anya realized that she had no reason to expect more. After all, their friendship hadn't exactly ended on a cheery note. What with Halfrek...going up in flames and all. But surely she didn't think Anya had meant for that to happen?

...But if she did, that at least explained why she seemed to be a willing agent of D'Hoffryn's again—unlike Anya herself. If this was the case, then it only brought up about a thousand more questions in addition to the ones the blonde already had. For the moment, Anya was much more concerned with talking things over with Hallie than with the fact that there was every chance her former friend was here to exact some kind of punishment for leaving the demonic business. Surely if she could just talk to Halfrek, just for a couple of minutes, they could get this all sorted out?

And so with a nervous smile, she hesitantly took the seat across from the other vengeance demon. "Hallie," Anya decided to first address her with a gentle reminder. "It's 'Anya' now. Just Anya." The brunette's tendency to address her by her demonic name was a habit that Anya had tolerated in the past—it was difficult to just up and ask someone to stop addressing you by the name they'd known you by for a thousand years—but as of late, Anya was making an extra effort to disconnect from her past.

The silence that followed was awkward, to say the least. All the questions that had been running through her mind only moments ago had abruptly left her, and now Anya was left to fidget slightly as she rested her hands upon the table. "So..you're still working for D'Hoffryn?" It was meant as a casual question, but it came out sounding a lot more accusatory than she'd intended. This stiff, oddly formal interaction was definitely not working for her. It was just that, once again, it felt as if Hallie were judging her. Anya had forgotten how annoying that could be...except this time, she wondered if she actually deserved it.

"I don't understand!" the demon blurted out, unable to ignore her inquisitiveness any longer. "What happened to you, Hallie? How are you here?! You...I mean...you were..." Anya glanced around the cafe nervously, suddenly aware of how strange their conversation would sound to anyone nearby. Lowering her voice, Anya fixed Halfrek with a wide-eyed, almost fearful stare. "...I watched him kill you."

[thefirst]

Under the surface of its masquerade, The First glared with disgust at the formerly heartless vengeance demon. She was so sweet and earnest and genuine. It was absolutely sickening. But the only thing Anya would see was Hallie giving her a condescending smile after being corrected. "Oh, of course sweetie. You go right ahead and call yourself whatever you want. It's just that sometimes, old habits die hard, I guess." Hallie chuckled as if she were making a joke. It was only in this way that she acknowledged the snide double meaning of her words. This was proving to be very entertaining. Halfrek's normal passive-aggressive tendencies were the perfect cover to really do some damage without raising suspicion. But she was only just getting started.

Anya had picked up on the hints about D'Hoffryn as intended. They were off to a pretty good start. Halfrek's smile only widened when Anya directly asked about it. No real point in answering if the demoness already worked out the answer. A further discussion of that would be forthcoming, but for now Halfrek intended to sit and bask in Anya's obvious discomfort. She was really making this too easy.

But her smile disappeared with Anya's next statement. Instead Halfrek replaced it with a perplexed frown. Like she somehow didn't understand what Anya meant. She let the look of confusion linger just long enough to let Anya worry and to savor the blow she was about to deal. "Anyanka don't you think your memory is being just a little bit selective? D'Hoffryn didn't kill me."She said this as if it were common knowledge and raised her eyebrows at her "friend" as if she were concerned for her sanity. "You did."

She stopped for a moment as if she realized she had said too much. Then she hurriedly added, "Of course D'Hoffryn brought me back just like he did you, so why should it matter? No hard feelings, dear.." Though her detached casualness would indicate otherwise.

[Anya]

Evidently Hallie was still very much rolling with the 'superiority' thing; a trait she hadn't lost since they'd competed for the top vengeance gigs back in the day. And Anya, while certainly not the most perceptive gal in the world, knew the other demon well enough to ascertain that she was more than a bit miffed. Feeling as though she really had no right to protest, the blonde endured her former friend's subtle taunting in silence, lowering her gaze to the table as Hallie giggled something about 'old habits dying hard'. This was Halfrek, after all. When you threw in the term 'forgiveness' and associated it with a world-class vengeance demon, it kinda turned into an oxymoron.

It was only when the brunette spoke her next words that Anya found herself unable to deny the urge to protest:

"D'Hoffryn didn't kill me. You did."

At this, Anya literally winced as if the words had actually slapped her across the face. It certainly felt like they had. Halfrek blamed her. There was absolutely no doubt that this was true now, and yet...the blonde was still stunned into disbelieving silence. This experience was so akin to the various nightmares she'd had since Hallie's death that she had to wonder whether she was even awake. Stuttering soundlessly over words that wouldn't leave her throat, she could do nothing but gape at the other demon with a mixture of unmasked shock and hurt. What was she supposed to do? Deny it? "I..." Even as Hallie quickly tossed in some insincere bit about there being 'no hard feelings', Anya barely processed it.

Because here was the flaw in her 'being human is better' logic. Here was the one incident where someone had died, not because of her demonic actions...but as a direct consequence of not fulfilling them. And really...Anya had no idea how to respond. "But...n-no! You don't...you don't think I meant for that to happen?!" The note of desperation was evident in her voice as she spoke, moving her hand slightly almost as if she intended to try and reach out to Halfrek...and then thought better of it. Instead she settled with pleadingly searching Hallie's detached expression, looking for any indication that her words might be getting through.

She could still recall D'Hoffryn's words clear as a bell, naming the price for the reversal of the murders she had committed: the life and soul of a vengeance demon. And Anya had accepted those terms just like that, not knowing... "Hallie, when I...when he...I thought he was going to kill me." She wanted to explain, to elaborate, but right now she was finding it even more difficult than usual to form a coherent sentence. And the blatant indifference that Hallie had been displaying up until now certainly wasn't helping.

[thefirst]

The immense satisfaction at Anya's devastation didn't show through in the slightest. Hallie only gave another condescending smile. Like she was looking down on Anya for showing emotions that were so human. After the vengeance demon was done speaking Hallie let a very long pause follow, giving Anya plenty of time to wonder if shed said the wrong thing. Anya had made a genuine heartfelt attempt to reach out to her, and Hallie was about to completely brush her off and make light of it. "Well I must say I never expected YOU of all people to try to lie to make me feel better. But it's not necessary, I completely understand! You were just trying to get ahead, get what you wanted, and I was in your way. We're demons, sweetie. It's perfectly natural."

"It's the new you Im seeing a problem with. "Anya". The fact that youre even trying to apologize to me at all is the very thing I find so disturbing. You are a vengeance demon, after all. And to tell you the truth your behavior is starting to worry me." Hallie shook her head slowly in a "what a shame" kind of way. "When D'Hoffryn sent me here after you, I never expected to find you like...well.." She trailed off without finishing her thought. Here she confirmed that D'Hoffryn indeed sent her here on business, but now she was going to aim to give Anya even more to worry about. First she was appealing to Anya's emotions, now she was going to appeal to her sense of righteousness and pride. There were always two ways to look at morality. Through Halfrek's memories, The First could remember a time when Anya herself had thought like that.

"Do you remember when you were considered the most powerful vengeance demon ever to have walked this earth? Do you remember when even I envied you?" Hallie leaned forward across the table a little. Her smile was gone, her expression now serious. As if she earnestly believed what she was saying, as if she was trying to get through to Anya. "I do. I remember a time when you knew who you were. When you sought vengeance against those who deserved it on behalf of those who couldnt get it for themselves. But now youve given up it all up. Youve stopped with all that because your friends tell you its wrong to live that way. Because society tells you its wrong to live that way." Halfrek stopped for a moment to let her words sink in. She took a few seconds to watch Anya. Remained silent. And then suddenly, she giggled heartily.

"Oh no, here I go getting my feathers all in a ruffle. Do excuse me." Laughing again, she let a smile creep back onto her features. "But just answer me one thing. Do you know who you are now? In this world that you gave everything up for? Who are you now?"

[Anya]

That was it? Hallie didn't believe her? She wasn't even going to give her a chance to explain? Of course Anya was quite familiar with a demon's tendency block out any real human emotions—she herself had practiced that kind of indifference for centuries—but she still couldn't understand how Hallie could be so...heartless. Or had she always been this way, and Anya had just been too similarly demonic to notice? Because if Hallie really thought so cynically on their friendship that she insisted that Anya had planned to murder her, well then...this was more than just a misunderstanding. If the brunette was going to be angry because she thought that Anya had caused her death, then so be it...but the fact that Halfrek thought she'd done it intentionally was a sharp reminder of how very different the worlds of demons and humans were.

And then, just when she was pretty sure things couldn't get any more awesome, Hallie started on the whole 'vengeance' deal. Immediately, Anya stiffened...realistically she knew she probably should have known this was coming, what with the other demon here on behalf of the forces of darkness and all...but even so, it wasn't something she wanted to hear. As Hallie spoke, some of the shock faded from Anya's light brown eyes, replaced by a somber sort of sadness. Her old friend had already proven that she could care less for the human 'weakness' that Anya portrayed by reaching out to her, and now...now her words about the wonders of demonhood, which once would have certainly stirred the blonde's pride, only increased the sinking feeling she was experiencing. Things really were different now.

"It was wrong to live that way. Hallie, for hundreds of years all we did was hurt people. How is that even living at all? I...I wish I could make you understand..." But Anya knew she couldn't. Seven years ago, if someone would've tried to give her the whole "LOVE PREVAILS :DD" speech, she would have cackled in their faces...and then probably snapped their necks for their trouble. The actual good side of human nature, and Anya's personal reasons for embracing it, were something that Hallie, devoted as she was to the vengeance trade, would probably neither accept nor understand unless she too had actually experienced it.

She let out a soft sigh as her friend began to speak again, expecting some similarly persuasive tactic to get her to return to the 'dark side'. Actually...she almost would have preferred that to what she got. Because as soon as the other vengeance demon voiced her question, Anya drew a breath in preparation to answer it, and then realized that...she had no answer to give. Nervously, she reached up and absentmindedly brushed her hair out of her eyes as she tried to form some sort of reply. But none came. Truth be told, Hallie had just struck a serious nerve. An insecurity that she'd been repressing for a long while: what was her place in the human world? She'd been so confident with her place in the demonic one, but that had been a long time ago. It'd been so easy to think of herself that way: Anyanka. Infamously powerful, unconditionally merciless, tasked with taking vengeance on those who deserved it...and she'd believed they all deserved it.

And...who had she been after that? Xander's girlfriend? Buffy's tag-a-long? 'That stupid blonde chick who always says the wrong thing'? In all honesty...Anya wasn't even sure she had an identity in the human world. And lately she'd been able to forget that nagging little detail with her whole 'quest for redemption' and all. Because this particular issue wasn't one she really knew how to face.

Shaking her head confusedly, she made an attempt to steadily meet Hallie's gaze. "It...it doesn't matter who I am." she said with less conviction that she would have liked. "But I'm not who I was. I need you to accept that," Anya paused uncertainly for a moment."or leave me alone if you can't. ..I really am sorry." Hallie probably wasn't going to take too kindly to another apology if her previous behavior was anything to go by. But Anya's whole 'say what you think and screw everyone else' policy was one that didn't abandon her even at a time like this.

[thefirst]

Hallie observed that it looked like Anya's developed human nature was almost completely dominant over her natural demon one. When Hallie spoke of the power Anya once held, she hadnt even batted an eye. Except to conjure up some sob story about how "hurting people was bad and she couldn't do it any more!" The First couldn't wait to crush that sense of righteousness right out of her. But all in good time. For now Hallie played surprised when Anya offered her an ultimatum. Accept who she had become, or leave. The First was actually a little surprised that she was brave enough to be willing to sacrifice her oldest friendship for "the greater good". Anya had come a long way even since her selfish human days. Too bad all that progress would be for nothing once The First was finished.

"Oh my." Said Hallie quietly. "You really are quite the hero now, aren't you? Almost as noble as your friend Buffy." She knew that if she pushed too hard it could scare Anya off. But even if that happened The First planned to wear her down slowly anyway. As long as it could keep Anya convinced that her pal Halfrek was alive and well. But it did not fail to notice how hard its question about identity hit the vengeance demon. Even as Anya tried to convince Hallie (and herself) otherwise. This was definately a weakness it could use.

"But no need to get excited. I'll leave if that's what you want." Halfrek almost made to get up but never took her eyes off of Anya. "I do wonder what I'm going to tell D'Hoffryn though. As I'm sure you can guess, he is a little disappointed in you. In fact once he finds out there's no hope of re-recruiting you, I can only imagine what he'll think!" She shrugged and then pretended to study Anya for a few moments. The First produced a perfect imitation of Hallie's disapproval which slowly switched to an emotion that was a little softer. With a long sigh as if actually resigning herself to being a little less formal with her so-called friend. "I'm only telling you this for your own good." She said with Hallie's usual superiority, but also with something that almost sounded like sincerity.

"Despite the fact that you seem to have abandoned me and everyone else you were ever loyal to in favor of this brave new world you're not even a real part of. And never mind that "hurting people" is the only thing you were ever really good at...I'd still rather not watch D'Hoffryn send you up in flames. It is not fun, believe me." She finished with a click of her tongue.

[Anya]

The unexpected comparison to Buffy, especially edged with that mocking undertone, took her slightly aback. Yeah, being compared to the vampire slayer, who was probably more of a 'hero' than Anya would ever be, was really great for her identity issues. What with all the taunting, pointed comments coming from Hallie, Anya was starting to wonder if D'Hoffryn had sent the passive-aggressive other demon here simply to antagonize her. If that was the case, it was probably about time to wise up and make her exit...or at least put her foot down. But the thing was, Hallie was supposed to be her friend. And however screwed up the brunette's sense of morals were, Anya somehow felt almost hesitant to leave her. And THIS was why she seriously hated this whole 'emotional attachment' business sometimes. It had a knack for screwing up her judgment.

She was still all caught up on Hallie's previous question when the other vengeance demon brought up D'Hoffryn's potential reaction to her defiance. At this, Anya clenched her hands a bit tighter with a sudden jolt of unease. D'Hoffryn...as their serving 'leader' and the most powerful of their kind, he had the ability to dispose of any of his followers(former or no..) at any given time...which he'd certainly proven when he'd sent Hallie up in flames. In fact, the blonde had asked herself several times why he hadn't just done away with her already since she'd up and deserted. Mostly, she figured he'd either forgotten about her or decided she wasn't worth wasting his time with. But now, Hallie was bringing up a new possibility...that D'Hoffryn had just been biding his time, assuming that he could eventually make Anya rejoin him.

And let's be honest here. Anya wasn't some noble martyr...she was actually terrified of death. Being an immortal being for most of her life, she'd never much worried about it. But as a human, she'd already faced it once. ..Not that she could remember much of it, but even so. Anya was definitely not anticipating having her life snatched away from her a second time...

Then there was the fact that Hallie was even bothering to warn her about this at all. Was it just some persuasive tactic, or was some form of actual concern? There did seem to be something genuine in her old friend's expression, and yet at the same time she kept dropping horrible comments like how Anya had no place in this world; how she was only ever good at hurting people. The words stung a lot more than she'd care to admit. Of course they weren't true...she was good at lots of things. Like...dealing with money...and...well.

Oh god. What if Hallie was right?

Stammering slightly in her confusion, the demon thumped her hands down on the table. "Why are you doing this to me? Y-you're sending me all of these mixed signals, and I...I just..." Anya trailed off, her eyes darting around the cafe. Hallie was giving her so much to deal with, so much to think about...guilt, fear of death, memories of the past...her own lack of confident identity. It was all too much.

"...I just don't know what to do." Anya confessed at last, the strength in her voice faltering. "I...I'm so lost..." It was a confession she'd only once made to anyone before. Ever. In eleven hundred years. And the person she'd confided in had been Xander, but now Xander wasn't here, and Anya wasn't even sure if Hallie would even understand. But they were friends. Or they had been, once. Surely it was still alright for Anya to confide in her?

[Hazama]

"Ah, well, you see, she's sending mixed signals because she's lying. And also dead."

An amused voice echoed from behind 'Halffriend' or whatever the hell her name is, or rather, was. Is. Was. Whatever. It didn't really matter. Then, the green mane of Hazama leaned over from the booth behind 'Harlodfina' (or whatever). His smiling face looked at 'Herofuckno' (or whoever) with a playful intensity. Hazama's wide, golden eyes swept over 'her' body, as his grin grew fat.

"So then, Hallmark (or whatever)! How're ya' doin' it? Are you a shape-shifter? Another daemon? Frank Hoffa or whatever the hell his name was (Anya's boss)? Nah, of course your not him! You wouldn't have time for mercy if ya' were! You'd light ol' Anya like a cigar you would you would!"

Anya would likely think that Hazama was stalking her, that he intented to do sinister things right 'bout now-- which was all bull-shit. This just so happened to be where he decided to eat today, where he planned on ordering a nice eggs benedict with a tall glass of milk as he read the newspaper, waiting for Relius to show up so they could get away from that damn hotel, as well as Takamakahara's sight...and then Anya strolled in and sat next to 'Hairfreak' or whoever, the name of which he remembered from the dossier...100% dead she was, but Hazama decided to just sit back and listen to use the information he got later if he needed it...but then, 'Hostelfrankie' decided to lie, which Hazama could both tell from subtle nuances in her voice...but also with conflicting stories in the dossier. Dead was most certainly dead with 'Hopefountain', and so Hazama wanted to figure out who the imposter was-- and if it was a third party that he didn't know about, well, that'd be fun to. If unlikely.

[thefirst]

"I...I'm so lost..."

Hallie's expression was full of condescending sympathy when Anya spoke these words. But really they were like music to the First's ears. This was absolutely perfect. Anya was choosing to confide in who she believed to be her friend. And she was so confused and distraught that it would not be hard at all to do finish this up as planned. "Oh sweetie. You really are." Hallie's sugary sweet voice cooed. "But if you will just listen to me, I think I can..." This offer was interrupted when a new voice broke in. A green haired man leaned around the booth to speak with them. Or more accurately, blow The First's cover. Hallie turned slowly to look at the newcomer. She was still in-character as she arranged her expression to look both surprised and annoyed.

But actually The First was calculating. It wasn't sure how it had missed the presence of another evil being here. Because the First knew this man just as it knew all who ever dabbled in darkness. Hazama. The details on Hazama were not as clear as they normally should have been, as the First got the reading that he was from some kind of other dimension. But the First knew that Hazama was powerful. And that he would prove to be a key player in the balance of this dimension.

But that still did not excuse such a rude interruption. It looked like The First's cover was about to be blown. How unexpectedly annoying, and just when Hallie and Anya had been making such progress! Even though with some help from Hazama Anya would most likely soon figure out what was going on, the First did not change its facade. Keeping Hallie's form and personality would both draw this out for as long as possible, and provide an opportunity to mess with Anya even more. Surely the vengeance demon would find Hallie's image even more upsetting when she realized it was just a mask for the force that once caused Anya's death.

"Oh dear." Halfrek's cold brown eyes did not waver. "That IS just a little bit rude, going around making accusations like that. I'm not sure I'm inclined to answer any of your questions...with an attitude like that." Although as soon as she caught on Anya would probably spill the beans on The First anyway. And of course Hazama would know that the real Hallie was dead, The First did not doubt this. But the First had been focusing its attention on Anya for a while now. If it understood correctly, she and Hazama had a little bit of "conflict" in the past. If The First could not yet turn Anya upon an innocent, then perhaps it could at least inflict some of her demony rage on Hazama right now. The First stared at him for a moment longer before it turned back to Anya with a knowing smile.

"So tell me, Anyanka. Is this one of the wonderful new friends you've made in this world?"

[Anya]

Anya jumped rather violently upon hearing that all-too-familiar amused voice, nearly falling right out of her chair as Hazama quite casually peered around the opposite booth to address them. Okay, no. No way. This had to be some kind of awful nightmare, because there was absolutely no way that Anya could have actually been experiencing a day this horrible. All she'd wanted when she'd come in was a single cup off coffee. Really. Just one. She had no memory of signing up for a session of 'look how much you suck!' with the only other demon she'd actually considered to be her friend, followed by a nice round of 'lolz Imma kill you!' with the man who'd proved himself capable of doing just that during their last little showdown.

Impulsively, the vengeance demon sprang to her feet, resulting in some unnecessary clattering of her chair that earned her quite a few strange looks from the people around them. At the moment, however, Anya was a little too freaked out to notice or care about making a scene. Her horrified gaze fixed on Hazama, she automatically called out to warn her friend. "Hallie—!" And...that was when Hazama's words actually sunk in. Lying..? ...DEAD? Thrown by the sheer abruptness of this comment, Anya stopped speaking. Blinked once. And then allowed complete bewilderment to take over her features.


"...What are you talking about?" she demanded sharply, her eyes narrowing slightly as her words quite plainly accused him of trying to pull off some sort of trick. Or maybe there was a little glitch in...well, wherever Hazama got all his information from. After all, up until only a few moments ago she too had assumed Halfrek to be dead, and she'd actually been there to witness the death. "Hallie? What's he talking about?!" she re-directed her question at her 'friend', her gaze darting between the two suspiciously as Hazama went on to list the possibilities of whatever Hallie 'could be'...but that made no sense. Why was he assuming that she was any of those things?

It was then that 'Hallie' herself spoke, and the moment Anya heard the sudden icy, unsurprised edge to her tone...something clicked. Even as the being she'd assumed to be her old friend directed its last mocking question at her, the vengeance demon slowly sunk back into her chair. Not because she actually wanted to stick around or anything; she'd much prefer to run far, far away from the two of them...but at the moment, she wasn't sure she trusted her legs to support her. Staring disbelievingly across the table at the...thing that was most certainly not Hallie, Anya realized that it made sense. How could she have possibly been so stupid as to actually believe...or to trust anyone she knew to be dead after what had happened during her last year in Sunnydale?

As she processed all of this, the only readable emotion on her face was complete and utter shock. Seriously, all these evil-induced bouts of panic couldn't be good for her health...

Still sitting rigidly, her eyes wide and her face entirely drained of color, she looked almost comatose as she struggled to come to terms with what had just happened. "You...you're not...you're..." OhGodOhGodOhGodOh-ShitshitshitSHIT. ..was basically the gist of the demon's thought process at the moment. Her attention briefly switching to Hazama, Anya still found herself nearly incapable of choking out words, let alone forming an actual sentence. "H-how did you...?" But her sentence remained unfinished, left to drift into silence as she gripped the side of the table even tighter.

What had she ever done to deserve this?

[Hazama]

Hazama rested his head on the back of his booth, looking like a bored child observing some sort of cartoon show, but for his eyes narrowed at 'Hopelessfail' as she spoke, as if to focus a bit-- he didn't look infuriated or angry, more...curious. Obviously, if Anya was panicking so much over this shapeshifter (which Hazama assumed he was), this guy/woman/hermaphrodite was more than likely something veeeeery important...and Hazama still had little to no idea who he was. Did Takamakahara miss a spot? Impossible! He was a mechanical god of sorts, how could he?

'Veeeeery interesting...just how I like it!'

"Huh. Well, I suppose you got me there 'Hereticalfrenchmen' (or whoever), but you'll have to excuse me-- if theres one thing I hate in this world, it's liars. And you just so happen to be one~! So, c'mon, treat us to a show, show us a true form, h'up h'up!"

[/color]

[thefirst]

Now it was obvious that Hazama knew very well that this was not Hallie, and Anya clearly seemed to be figuring it out as well. So there was no real reason to pretend any longer. This was a very unexpected road bump. But not one that could not be worked around with time. "Oh yes, the lying. You'll have to forgive me." The First said quietly, and still with Hallie's voice, her face, her form. "It's just that humans, or in this case demons pretending to be humans are so gullible and prone to manipulation. It seems a shame to let those qualities go to waste." The First's eyes turned on Anya with a now openly mocking smirk. "Of course not everything I said was a lie...." It said reminding her of "Hallie's" earlier taunts.

The First didn't reply right away when Hazama suggested that it show its true form. The First only had one real true form, which it rarely ever took. That didn't mix well with this world. It usually took the form of whatever dead soul would most conveniently serve its purpose. It considered changing form to Spike, or Buffy, or someone else to provoke Anya. Or maybe someone Hazama killed in the past just for kicks. But no. Halfrek's form would do for now. And so "Hallie" raised her eyebrows. "That's a very interesting request, Mr. Hazama. Tempting. But we wouldn't want to make a scene, now would we?" The First looked calmly around at the other civilians in the cafe and sighed in mock regret.

"Besides. Anyanka likes me better this way. Don't you?" The First turned its gaze back on the vengeance demon it had been so intent on antagonizing. "Why it's like...almost having your old friend back!"