Chapter 4

"What did she mean?" Buffy asked in a small voice as her bottom lip trembled. The usually strong slayer showing them all for the first time how truly vulnerable she was.

"I'm pretty sure it's nothing, Buffster," Xander hastened to assure her. "It's just Ahn. She says stuff. Nothin' to worry about there."

Willow gave her male friend a look of ill-conceived patience. "I don't know, Xander. It seemed kinda specific to me."

Giles lifted his head, sighing deeply. Removing his glasses to absentmindedly clean them as he considered the words he had heard. Returning his newly polished ocular enhancers, the watcher stood, speaking as he made his way to the basement door. "I would have to agree, Willow."

Raising his voice slightly, Giles called down to the angry ex-vengeance demon. "Anya?"

With her features set in grim determination, Anya just looked up at Giles. Waiting.

"We do need to discuss this, dear. Please join us."

Anya gave a little huff of displeasure as she made her way up the stairs, mumbling all the way about 'stupid human perceptions' and 'damned Council ignorance'.

Crossing her arms defensively as she faced the group, Anya asked impatiently, "What do you want to know?"

Buffy lifted confused eyes to establish contact with the angry girl. "I get the feeling that I've just been judged and the verdict isn't all that high on the acceptance scale. Why?"

"Why would it be, Buffy?" Anya asked sadly. "You have no idea who you really are. None of you do. None of you face the facts. None of you ask the important questions. You're all so busy living in denial that you're missing out on all the benefits. Buffy, you treat being the Slayer as a job, not a calling. As a burden, rather than the gift that it is. You have no idea that there are benefits, because you've never been interested enough to look. Giles is still thinking with Council mentality that the Slayer is the Council's weapon, and Willow and Xander treat the scoobies as if it were a social club."

"What is it you think we are, Anya?" Giles asked gently.

"Champions," she replied succinctly.

"You think you're just a watcher, Buffy's just the Slayer, and Willow and Xander are just the Slayer's sidekicks. You're more than that. All of you." With a hard look at them all, she continued. "And it's really past time that you all realize that."

"You think we're champions?" Xander asked with a surprised grin.

"No, Xander. I think you're supposed to be champions, but that's never going to happen if you don't start changing the way you act. You need to understand the mission, and you need to stop denying things that you don't want to hear."

"I don't deny stuff," he blustered indignantly.

Everyone looked at him with matching expressions of disbelief.

"Xander Harris, the only reason I didn't show up after you tried to rape Buffy that time you were possessed is because vengeance demons aren't allowed to grant wishes for champions," Anya informed the posturing male.

"HEY! No fair...that's wasn't my fault!"

"But denying that you remembered it is," Buffy stated quietly, her feelings of betrayal were more for his lack of apology than anything else.

"Actually, Buffy, I need to share the blame there. I encouraged Xander to say that he didn't remember the incident. I apologize. I was wrong," Giles offered with dignity.

At his slayer's nod of acceptance, Giles turned his attention back to the ex-vengeance demon. "What part of the mission is it that you feel we fail to understand, Anya?"

"Well, the first thing you have to get over is that whole concept of evil being black and white!" Anya snorted with disgust. "With that mindset; you would have to protect serial killers, terrorists, rapists, and murderers, but the pizza delivery guy- who has never hurt a living thing- gets to die because he's a demon. How can that be right?"

She rushed on, not giving them a chance to answer her. "None of you seem to get the fact that just as not all humans are good, not all demons are evil. You need to KNOW that. You need to understand that. To blindly hate all demons because you've met more than a few that are evil makes you a bigot, not a champion."

"She's got a point," Willow sadly admitted.

"A perfect example is Spike. He's changed. Tara's seen it in his aura. Joyce and I have seen it in his actions. Wesley is so stunned by the changes that he's opened his home to Spike while he recovers from Riley's attack. But none of you can see past his past actions. None of you are willing to see his potential. You all use that whole 'we learnt our lesson with Angelus' argument and say that without a soul, there is no good in him, but that's not the lesson you should have learned. The truth is, without a soul there is no good in Angelus. That's it!"

Whirling abruptly on Buffy, Anya continued to fire her points with unrelenting accuracy. "I've heard the story about him helping you with Acathla. You say he acted out of selfishness...that he only helped to save Drusilla. Think about that. He helped you save the world to keep someone he cared about safe. Oh, yes, that's very selfish," she mocked derisively. "You acted reluctantly because of duty. Giles wanted vengeance. Xander wanted see Angel dust because he was jealous that you loved the vampire and not him. If you judged Spike's reason against all of yours, his doesn't look all that bad does it?"

"If I waste time wondering if every demon I come across is good or not, how do I do my job? How do I stay alive?" Buffy asked.

"Stop thinking of it as a job, Buffy. Think of it as the calling that it is and then learn what that means before you go out and do it. Stop avoiding research. Take the time to understand what exactly it is that you are supposed to be doing. Personally, if it was me, I'd be trying to work out what the prophecy is all about," Anya mildly commented, her voice hinting that she thought her suggestions should be obvious.

"Huh?" Buffy's eyes widened at the word 'prophecy'.

"Prophecy? There's a prophecy now?" Willow eeeped in horror. The last time a prophecy had been involved, Buffy had died.

"Good Lord, are you sure?" the rattled watcher asked.

"Are you telling me you didn't know about it?" Anya whispered in shock. "No wonder you're all so screwed up. The first part of the prophecy was fulfilled when Buffy was brought back to life. Spike's transformation completes it." Moving towards the secret drawer in the sales counter, Anya continued. "I think you better look at it."

As she passed the treasured tome to the watcher and showed him the prophecy in question she had one thought.

'So glad I'm not the one telling Buffy she's immortal!'