Conversations with Dead People (Anya & Open?)

[Anya]

The vengeance demon didn't move a muscle as she watched the exchange between the two individuals who where quite possibly among the scariest bunch she'd ever met. And the both of them were currently displaying increasingly disturbing demeanors. Hazama's behavior was suspiciously casual and non-aggressive in contrast to when she'd met him before, and The First...well, the First was still taking Hallie's form, and Anya wasn't sure how much longer she could bear the almost-real image of her friend.

And yet despite the fact that she was currently panicked to the point where she was almost having difficulty breathing, Anya managed to make a couple of observations here. Like the fact that Hazama didn't seem to know exactly what The First was, or that The First, in response, was being more or less elusive of the revelation of its own identity. Hmph. Anya could certainly let that cat out of the bag...well, as soon as she remembered how to speak again, anyway. And then maybe these two would fight and...and kill each other! Well, if that was even possible. Anya had never quite understood the nature of the whole 'First Evil' mythology...and Hazama himself had seemed pretty untouchable as well, from what she could judge.

With that in mind, she was suddenly struck with the notion of another possibility. What if these two teamed up? Hell, what was to say that they hadn't already teamed up and this wasn't some kind of big, elaborate mind game...

Quite abruptly, Anya was shaken from these frantic thoughts when Hallie—no, The First turned and spoke to her again.

"Besides. Anyanka likes me better this way. Don't you? Why it's like...almost having your old friend back!"

..Ouch. For a long moment after these words were spoken, the demon gave no visible reaction. She still retained her uncharacteristic icy stillness and stony silence, her stare still fixed blankly on the entity across from her as if she hadn't heard what had just been said. But she had, alright. In fact, it was finally beginning to sink in...that all of this was really happening. The First was back. Probably for some kind of revenge, although Anya wasn't exactly sure why it had chosen to come after her first. But now that she was starting to come to terms with some of the shock, and process something other than complete terror...it was starting to hit her what had just occurred. The First has screwed her over. Big time. And if there was one thing that the normally sweet-natured demon did not tolerate, it was being taken advantage of.

The First had just crossed a line. And as Anya grew more and more capable of reflecting on this, her expression slowly changed from one of blank terror to something considerably darker.

"If I were you," she spoke in a quietly seething tone, "I'd start running now. Because when Buffy finds out you're here, she's gonna send you back to the hell you came from. Again." Despite the fact that she was still, in all honesty, scared out of her wits, Anya had taken about all the mindfucking she could handle. "That's if I don't send you there first." The trouble that Anya continued to have with all of her human emotions was that she frequently found it difficult to...balance them all. So she wasn't sure where this crazy mix of shock, fear, grief and fury was going to take her...but right now, she didn't really care.

"And you!" Anya continued half-hysterically, suddenly turning to glare at Hazama. "Make yourself useful! Do something...really scary and bad-ass! Or are you here to make my day a living hell too?" Actually, maybe it would be better if one of them just...killed her now. Just to put her out of her misery. Because even that would be a lot more fun than sticking around here...

[freeman]

The weather was beginning to warm up, ever so slightly. The Earth's tilt and rotation around the sun ensured that warm weather would return. Ah, marvelous science. Until the warm days returned though, there were plenty of ways to keep one's self from freezing. One of those ways was to get the blood pumping.

And that's where jogging and weight lifting came into play.

Gordon wasn't dressed like an Inuit, as he usually did in cold weather. He wore a thin coat over his sweat pants and sweat shorts, and white running shoes completed the look. And that was it. No toboggan, no earmuffs, no scarf. Not even a scarf. True, it was still cold out, but Gordon had grown used to it. His breath didn't even freeze when he exhaled, and there was a lot of exhaling to be done as he gasped for breath.

Academics were not renowned for their athleticism. At Black Mesa though, everyone was expected to stay in shape. They even hosted athletic events and had a kind of mini-Olympics entirely inside the compound. Gordon hadn't participated in those much, but that didn't stop him or another other Black Mesa employee from frequenting the on sight gym. After all, in a self-sufficient, isolated, paramilitary compound, sometimes your life as well as the lives of others depended on your physical prowess.

But the morning jog was over, and Gordon needed re-energizing. It wouldn't do at all to have a meal and then go jogging and working out. After all, a tasty breakfast is only good going down. Coming back up is an entirely different story. Thankfully, the workout was over, and with it the risk of vomiting.

Gordon had already used to the gym's facilities in the men's locker room to clean up. He had the same clothing he had on during his morning routine though, but thankfully didn't stink. Jogging briskly to the diner door, he came to an abrupt halt in front of it and pulled it open, crossing the threshold. He liked thinking of it like that, crossing a threshold, as though it were an adventure even though it was his everyday routine.

He would always go to the gym in the mornings and then go to this little cafe' afterward. As such, the staff had become familiar with him. Indeed, perhaps some of the customers had become familiar with seeing the proverbial mute as well. Perhaps the two women and man knew him, the ones he sat down near to and overheard the tail end of their conversation.

Interesting tidbits snuck his way, provoking him to raise his head up from his menu. A waitress came by and asked what he wanted. He gestured toward a sausage biscuit on the menu, as well as a cup of coffee. He didn't dare speak, for fear he might get distracted from what was being conversed over at the next table.

[thefirst]

OOC: This topic is epicness and needs to be bumped

The First reveled in the pain and rage it had provoked from the shaken vengeance demon. Hallie's features twisted into a cruel smile, one that rarely would have been seen on the real Hallie's face. But this 'Hallie' just threw back her head and let out a delighted, tinkering laugh. "Oh I do enjoy your temper, Anyanka. It was part of what made you so...efficient as a vengeance demon. Such a shame to see how you've wasted your potential." She clucked her tongue as if this really was a pity. "Unfortunately I find it difficult to take your threats seriously. What is Buffy without her precious little Scooby Gang? She would never have come close to defeating me without the help of that witch and the other slayers. No, Buffy is alone. As for you,"

The First paused to look Anya up and down smugly. "Do enlighten me on what exactly you intend to do. All of your power, all of your formidability. It's gone now, washed away by that disgusting thing you call humanity." The First stood up from the table slowly. "Besides. You couldnt possibly raise a hand to hurt dear old Halfrek, could you? I think you've already hurt her quite enough." She knew that pushing the Halfrek angle would only provoke Anya further. If she could get this vengeance demon to fly into a rage then perhaps they could make some real progress. Then Hallie's eyes slowly traveled back over to Hazama as Anya turned her attention to him. What was she trying to do, get the green haired man to attack The First on her behalf? The First practically hummed with amusement.

"Yes. Do give the poor dear a hand. I can see that the two of you are such good friends." The First told Hazama in Hallie's friendly, condescending voice. "And I'd love some entertainment. In fact if its scary and bad-ass you want," It slowly wandered a few steps away from the table right over to the one where a silent, seemingly unsuspecting man was sitting. Gordon Freeman. The First knew his name like it knew the name of every face and it also had noticed from Gordon's stiff and attentive posture that the man seemed to be listening to what was going on quite intently. Well they couldnt have that, could they...

"I could just summon up a few nasty little creatures to tear apart this entire diner and everyone in it. Do you think that would be fun?" The First asked casually, looking from Gordon to Anya to Hazama and then back again.

[Anya]

ooc:// lawlz, it's back from the deaaaad!


Wasted potential?! She glared scathingly at the dark entity that had dared to take the form of her old friend, almost unaware of the fact that she was now gripping the edge of the table so tightly that it cracked dangerously. It was more than obvious that The First was trying to get a rise out of her, and she couldn't help it - it was actually working. "Buffy could take you on with both hands tied behind her back if you stopped hiding behind your little harbringer army. And so could I." she growled in response, fighting to keep her voice level and her slowly boiling anger in check. Perhaps this was a good thing, though, if The First continued to provoke her. Being angry was more useful than being afraid after all, and with every passing moment her fear was slowly being washed out by cold, spiteful fury. "And if you don't leave this city now, you'll find out just how much potential I have." In reality, she was painfully aware of the fact that she couldn't actually...hurt this thing. Not physically, anyway - but if it pushed her much farther she was going to use every spell she knew; every curse she was capable of performing - to banish this spirit back to the hell it had come from.

And that was when that next snide comment reached her ears - the one that so plainly suggested that The First was throwing Hallie's death back in her face. It was, truly, the last straw. The vengeance demon'd had just about enough of all of this, and no matter how much 'disgusting humanity' she possessed she was not about to allow anyone to walk all over her like some pathetic, helpless little puppy. Because at the end of the day, she was still a demon...and it was time that The First was reminded of that.

"You." she snarled through gritted teeth, rising to her feet again to maintain level eye contact. "Are. Not. Hallie." But before she could make a move toward the thing-that-looked-like-Hallie, it smugly began to stroll right along to a table a little ways away, settling itself near a man who Anya had seen around the cafe a few times before, but whose name she'd never actually learned. The movement was enough to cause her to hesitate a moment as she wondered exactly what The First was trying to pull here...a question that quickly became clear as soon as it voiced its thinly veiled little threat. Now, Anya wasn't quite sure whether this was the a bluff - did the First really have followers it could summon without breaking the seal? - or not, but she was more than certain that she wasn't about to take any chances either way.

At this point, subtlety and secrecy could go to hell as far as she was concerned. Momentarily forgetting that there was an equally dangerous threat to be considered from Hazama behind her, Anya snatched up a butter knife from the table, crossed over to The First's position in a few furious strides - and slammed the knife straight through 'Hallie's heart and into the wall behind her. ...Of course, her little attack wasn't exactly going to have any effect on a non-corporeal being...but that was sort of the point. There were plenty of people around to witness the incident, and, well...a woman stabbing another not-so-solid woman straight through the chest wasn't exactly an entertaining or amusing spectacle.

A few startled shouts rang out from some of the cafe's customers, many of them immediately rising from their chairs and some even making for the door - which was good. The sooner they all cleared out of here, the better, but Anya was barely aware of them anyway. At best, evacuating this place would ensure that The First couldn't carry out its threat - but otherwise, it was just a nice little way of out-ing it and spoiling its fun at the same time. Practically shaking with anger and standing nearly nose-to-nose with the deceptive form of her old friend, Anya narrowed her eyes and murmured, "Oops."

ooc:// d'oh, angry Anya .