Respect Your Elders
Cordelia looked up in surprise at the pretty young woman who had just entered the office. "Anya? What are you doing here?"
"I have some information for Angel, and since I don't really know him, everyone in Sunnydale figured it would be best if I brought it. I don't have any emotional attachment to him, no trauma, etc. Is he here?"
"Yeah, go right in."
Anya stopped for a moment, an interesting look on her face. "Hmmm."
"What?" Cordelia asked, not sure if she really wanted to hear it.
"I was just thinking. If Xander had never cheated on you with Willow, I would never have come to Sunnydale to enact your vengeance. I would never have become human, I would never have gone to Prom with him, and I would never have had sex with him."
Cordelia almost choked. "Excuse me?"
"Yes. You never did, did you? Sleep with him, I mean. So, although I am naturally against any and all acts of infidelity, I would never have picked him up on the rebound if he hadn't kissed Willow, causing you to dump him and call me. So, perhaps instead of being irrationally jealous of her, I should thank her instead. It's interesting to think about." Not noticing the half-astonished half-furious look on Cordelia's face, she went into Angel's office.
He was reading a volume of demon lore when she came in. She dropped the packet of information on his desk. "From Giles," she explained.
"You're...Anya, right?"
"Yes. In that folder is a lot of information we've picked up about various demons. Perhaps some of it will be of use to you. Good luck." She turned to go, but an odd little smile appeared on her face, and she pointed at the book. "I'm in there, you know. Chapter Five and Eleven."
Angel looked at her in surprise. "I'm missing something, right?"
"Didn't you know I was a vengeance demon?"
"I seem to remember something like that, but-"
"Oh yeah. I, like you, was once a player for the dark side. But no longer."
Angel closed the book. "Really."
"Yup. But I think I really prefer being good. More perks, you know? Like love, and that funny look demons get right before they die. I never noticed that when I was hellbent on maiming and revenge. But carnage can get old, you know?"
He shook his head. "I never got tired of it, pre-soul."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, when you get as old as me, then we can compare notes."
"How old are you, exactly?"
"A lot older than you, Mister Two and a Half Centuries."
"How do you know how old I am?" Angel asked.
"Spike told me. Now he's a mere infant, but you're not much older. When you break five hundred...well, I'll still be quite a few centuries older, actually. In any case, by five hundred, maybe you'll be a little more level headed. Have a little more perspective. Where are you from, again?"
"Galway."
"Oooh, Galway. I had fun there, but that was actually around 1650. There was this rash of betrayed woman. I think one woman in particular had something to do with luring the weak men away from their wives. Anyway, a marvelously inventive pox and a large amount of fenceposts later, they had learned their lesson. Lessons."
The look Angel was giving her was anything but typical of the brooding vampire. "You mean...that was YOU?"
"What? You've heard of it?"
"Are you kidding? Threats of you kept children in Galway eating their vegetables and going to bed on time for years. You were called...oh, what was it...right, the Fearsome Shebeast of Grivlen."
"Oh, stop," Anya blushed.
"My older brother used to tell us the tale of your horrors. We couldn't even sleep after one particularly gruesome version."
"Well, I don't like to mention my past triumphs. I think it really freaks Xander out, for one thing. But yes, that was definitely one of my shining moments."
Angel looked at her in confusion. "I thought you said you liked being good."
"I do. That doesn't mean I can't look back at my demon days with a certain sort of nostalgia."
"But doesn't all the killing you did make you feel-"
"Guilty? Why should it? I was a creature of evil. It was pretty logical that I should act evil. Besides, it isn't like they didn't deserve it."
"Yes, but can anyone really ever deserve a fencepost in their-"
"Look, my boy," she said, sitting down. "I don't regret what I did, because I had no reason not to do it. I had no soul, and I had no conscience. Neither did you. Don't you think it's even somewhat...pretentious to think you have anything to do with what Angelus did?"
"Pretentious?"
"Taking credit that isn't yours. To assume credit is to identify yourself with the act, and you aren't even capable of the lesser of Angelus's atrocities in your souled state."
"I don't know if I-"
"I heard all about your little reputation. 'Most Vicious Killer in Europe'. Well, that's just great. Of course, I didn't need to kill in order to get my reputation. But, back to the case at hand, your soul wasn't there, wandering around with Darla and her jerk of a sire."
"You knew The Master?!" Angel's astonishment grew. After his time with Buffy, he should really stop assuming that just because a girl looked like a normal eighteen year old meant that she was a normal eighteen year old.
"Knew? Try made."
"You're not a vampire-"
"No, not made into a vampire. He cheated on his wife, she called me up. You don't think he got that ugly puss because he 'lived for so long'? Is that what he told you? Oh, how pathetic. No, his wife came up with it all by herself. He was too ashamed to be around humans with such a horrible face, and it was in hiding that he joined the ranks of the undead."
Angel just shook his head in amazement. "So, basically, Xander Harris is dating one of the greatest forces of evil in all of history."
Anya smiled.
"Well, if anyone deserves you, it's him."
"A statement with many meanings if ever I heard one."
"Well, thanks for the stuff from Giles and for the, um, history lesson. As well as reminding me about my own importance in the great scheme of things."
"The great scheme of things is nowhere near over. You may yet realize your potential, oh grand-childe of a pink mouthed wrinkly faced cheating bastard." She stood up, then suddenly leaned over the desk to look at him closely.
Ever uncomfortable with the scrutiny of others, Angel blinked in confusion. "What?"
"Just trying to figure out why Buffy seems so lost when you're not around. I mean, gorgeous, yes, but that can't be the real reason." With a sigh, she straightened. "I should go. The sooner I get home, the sooner Xander can 'welcome me back'."
"More than I needed to know."
"Nice talking to you. And if it's any comfort, a lot of the younger demons were very frightened of you. Bye." She nodded and left, waving at Cordelia on her way out.
"I just talked to the Fearsome Shebeast of Grivlen."
Picking up his book, he skipped to Chapter Five.