Part 10:

"This is so awkward!"

Anyanka stood in one corner of the cell, appearing to any and all observers like a young girl who expected a severe talking-to after having messed up badly. The fact that she was not young in any sense of the word did little to dispel her discomfort. She had messed up and messed up good. And it seemed the only way to undo the damage she had done was to give up everything that made her who she was.

Not that the people currently around her knew any of that or would be interested if they did.

"You," Cordelia yelled at her. "You did this! I made this stupid comment and you somehow turned it into a magic spell! What did you do? And why? Why did you send the entire world to hell?"

Anyanka opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the rather interesting-looking young man chained to the wall beside Cordelia. She needed a moment to realize that the man in question was none other than Xander, the one whom Cordelia had originally felt resentment towards. It was that resentment which had brought Anyanka to Cordelia in the first place.

"Would somebody please explain this to me?" he demanded. "What the hell are you talking about? This girl didn't send the world to hell, Akathler did! What does she have to do with things?"

"Bint's not human," the broken vampire on the floor said. "What are you, girly? Some kind of new torture demon the poof recruited?"

Taking a deep breath, she started her explanation.

"I'm... well, a demon, duh! A vengeance demon to be precise. We aid scorned women. Well, not just women, but I kinda specialize. Anyway, when a woman is scorned and wishes ill on the man who scorned her, well..."

Cordelia looked at her with disbelief in her eyes. "That's what you were after? Is that why you kept pushing me to wish something icky to happen to Xander?"

"To me? What did I do this time?" Xander asked, more confused by the moment.

"You didn't," Cordelia said. "At least not anymore. I can't believe... how did you turn some lingering resentment towards Xander into... this?"

Anyanka looked down.

"All vengeance demons are given the power of the Wish. We... well, when a mortal makes a wish, we can make it happen. We're supposed to make it happen in a bad way, of course. We're demons after all. Once this woman wished her ex-husband would never fuck around again, so I made his dick fall off and..."

"Too much information," Xander yelled, straining against his bonds. "What does that have to do with us being in hell?"

Cordelia looked at him. "That's what I was trying to say just a second ago, you idiot! This isn't the way the world is supposed to be. Buffy stopped Angel! She didn't hesitate, she beat him! Akathler was sealed, the world didn't go to hell! Only now everything has gone wrong just because Ms. Demon-of-the-Year here is such an overachiever."

"I didn't plan this, okay?" Anyanka whined. "The power of the Wish is... well, sort of unpredictable, especially on a Hellmouth. You wished for the past to change. Didn't you watch enough science fiction movies or what? Changing the past can always lead to bad stuff."

Cordelia fumed at her, rage and insanity dancing behind her eyes. "Why are you here, Anya? Do you enjoy watching the misery you've caused?"

"No, none of that!" Anyanka hesitated a moment, looking at Xander again. "Okay, maybe it is a bit of a kick to see the one who caused you misery to end up like this but... that's not why I'm here."

Cordelia shared a look with Xander, seeing the utter devastation on his face. She wasn't sure he believed any of what he was hearing right now, but she had figured out a few things. Xander blamed himself for her extended stay at Angelus' mercy in this screwed-up world, that much was clear. And it was killing him. God, she had never wanted anything like this, not for him, not for anybody else.

She could almost feel the memories of that other Cordelia hammering away at her mind, threatening to overwhelm her. Soon she wouldn't remember how the world was supposed to be. Soon she would be part of this.

"Turn it back," Cordelia yelled at Anya, desperation in her voice. "I don't care about any stupid demon rules or whatever! I take back my wish! Make the world as it was before. Do it! Please!"

Anyanka looked at her, seeming torn.

"It's... well, it's complicated, okay? I mean, wishes can be taken back. Used to be that didn't work, but there was that whole affair where we were sued by wife whose husband died because of a wish and how she didn't have a livelihood anymore and all of Arash Ma'har had to chip in for the settlement and..."

"Bint sure is a babbler," Spike commented.

"Look, it's not easy for me, okay?" Anyanka told them. "To take back a wish... I'm not even a hundred percent sure it can work. Some vengeance demons have done it in the past, but most of them ended up powerless. This is a tremendous decision for me, okay? I'd be out of work. Just... just because your lives have become a little more difficult, I'm supposed to end mine? That's not exactly fair, don't you think?"

Everyone just stared at her for a moment.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Cordelia yelled. "Not exactly fair? You sent the entire world to hell, you stupid bitch! You fucked up so bad the word 'fair' isn't even in the dictionary anymore. I don't care if you have to line up at the unemployment office for the rest of eternity. Put the world back the way it was!"

Anyanka inched back from Cordelia's yell.

"Okay, maybe I should put it back, but... it's difficult. And I'm gonna need your help, Cordelia."

"My help? What can I do?"

"You made the wish. Only you can take it back."

"I already told you, I take it back! There! Now put the world back!"

Anyanka rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you really think it's that easy? If it were that easy everyone would be playing around with time and history. I mean, amateurs like that Sajan demon think they are the grand muck-a-mucks of time travel, but..."

"Shut up," Cordelia yelled again. "Okay, what do I have to do?"

"You... well... you need to...," Anyanka paused a deep breath. "You need to take back your wish and then... then you need to stab me in my centre."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Come again?" Xander asked.

"Can you do that right here?" Spike wanted to know. "Because I haven't had a good show in quite some time, and..."

"Not like that, you pervert," Anyanka thundered at him. "She needs to..."

Whatever else she was about to say never made it past her lips, because quite suddenly a pair of hands grasped her around the neck from behind and twisted, quite efficiently breaking it.

Anyanka slumped to the floor at the feet of Angelus.

"I didn't quite catch all of that," the vampire cackled, "but killing her seemed like the best way to shut her up, wouldn't you agree?"

TO BE CONTINUED