- “Sling all the little barbs at me that you want, Anyanka, it doesn't change the fact that this girl was in pain, and none of you could hear it. I could hear her crying out everywhere I went in this town. It was unbearable. And none of you knew..”
- ―Halfrek[src]
Halfrek or Hallie was a vengeance demon and was implied to have been Cecily (the girl who Spike pined for as a human).
Halfrek
- “Daddy issues.”
- ―Anya Jenkins[src]
Halfrek was a long-time associate and sometime friend of Anya Jenkins, who knew her from her days as a vengeance demon named Anyanka. The two had worked together in the past, notably during the Crimean War and the Russian Revolution. However, Halfrek's raison d'etre differed from Anya's. Whereas Anya was an avenger of scorned women, Halfrek's "thing" (as Anya put it) was to exact vengeance for children who have been wronged by their parents or guardians. Anya attributed this to "daddy issues". According to Anya, Halfrek was considered a great beauty, though whether as a demon or a human wasn't specified.
Even after Anya ceased to be a vengeance demon, she continued her friendship with Halfrek. Just as Anyanka used the name Anya when masquerading as a human, Halfrek's mortal persona went by the name Hallie.
Halfrek posed as a guidance counselor and coaxed Dawn Summers into making a wish. Feeling that no one wanted to spend time with her, Dawn wished that people would never leave; Halfrek therefore cast a spell that prevented anyone from leaving the Summers residence. The crisis ended when Halfrek herself was caught in the spell and had to break it. Halfrek also appeared as a bridesmaid at the failed wedding of Anya and Xander Harris. In parallel, she cast a curse on a unworthy father to his 11 old year daughter, so that he pays her fervently with checks in the point to have scratched hands. Halfrek attempted to coax Anya back into vengeance, but Anya had spent too long as a mortal; while she was initially successful in her return to demonhood, she subsequently regreted the deaths she had caused. Anya thus asked D'Hoffryn (the head of the Vengeance Demons) to restore the lives of a group of men slaughtered as a result of one of her wishes; D'Hoffryn agreed, but destroyed Halfrek's body and soul before Anya's eyes in order to accomplish what she had requested.
Cecily Addams
- “You're beneath me.”
- ―Halfrek/Cecily[src]
Cecily was an upper class object of the then-human William's affections in Victorian England circa 1880. Cecily spurned William's advances, saying he was "beneath her", and upsetting him greatly. This set in motion the events that lead William to accept comfort from Drusilla and become a vampire. She was actually "on a job" at the time that William fell for Cecily. The night William became a vampire, she caused the deaths of the rude party-goers who had laughed at his poetry.
- Halfrek: “William?”
- Spike: “Hey, wait a minute.”
- — Halfrek and Spike[src]
Halfrek recognized Spike in 2002 and called him by his human name, William. Spike also recognized Halfrek, but when asked to explain this they both sheepishly denied being acquainted.
Powers and Abilities
- “Like I would be stopped by a sword in the chest. Flesh wound. Honestly, Anyanka, you used to know better.”
- ―Halfrek[src]
Halfrek possessed the regular abilities of Vengeance demons contained in a pendant she wore on her neck. These powers included Super Strength, Wish granting and ability to shift between demonic and human appearance among others.
Super Immunity: She was able take a sword to the chest without any signs of injury after briefly falling to the ground unconscious.
Telekinesis: When Anya tried to take Halfrek's pendant while she was unconscious, Halfrek was able to push her back with a shift gesture of the hand.
Empathy: Due to her specialty in neglected children, Halfrek could sense Dawn's pain and heard her cry at every corner of Sunnydale which she found unbearable.
Immortality: Halfrek existed at least before the French Revolution and had not aged since.
Teleportation: Halfrek could teleport to any destination at any given time.However, this could not be done when she was in the Summer's residence when she cursed it, repeatedly trying before she was imformed of what she got herself into and she broke it. When teleporting, she often did it in a uppish fashion, gracefully waving her wands for effect or simply by clicking her fingers when the moment was lost during Buffy's birthday.
Voice Manipulation: When having mistaken Xander for one of her victims, Halfrek spoke to him in a loud, deepended voice before seeing Anya where she reverted to her normal tone.
Behind the Scenes
- She was portrayed by actress Kali Rocha.
- Rocha and Joss Whedon have both confirmed that Halfrek and Cecily were indeed the same entity.
- Cecily's surname was implied to be "Underwood" in the episode "Lies My Parents Told Me", but stated to be "Addams" in the script and credits of "Fool for Love" and the non-canon tie-in novel These Our Actors.
- Kali Rocha later guest-starred on Bones with David Boreanaz (Angel) and T.J. Thyne (a lawyer in Angel Season Five). This show include also many actors of Buffyverse like Clea DuVall (Marcie Ross), Brent Jennings (Absalom), Gregory Scott Cummins (Big Ugly), Bianca Lawson (Kendra Young), Harry Groener (Richard Wilkins), Edward Edwards (Travis), Channon Roe (Jack O'Toole), Michael Cudltiz (Big Bob), Andy Umberger (D'Hoffryn/Ronald Meltzer), Tracy Middendorf (Tina), Michael Mantell (Oliver Simon), Beth Grant (Maude Pearson), Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates), Colby French (Tay), Justina Machado (Jo), Melissa Marsala (Judy Kovacs), Edwin Hodge (Keenan), Mik Scriba (Sam), Tom McCleister (Lorne's mother), Kate Norby (Elisabeth), David Denman (Skip), Kristoffer Polaha (Dylan Blim), Jim Ortlieb (the translator in Lullaby), Mark Harellik (Kurskov), Clayton Rohner (Lee DeMarco), Azura Skye (Cassie Newton), Randy Oglesby (Oliver Seidel), Jack Kehler (Manjet), Joel David Moore (Karl), K.D. Aubert (Nikki Wood), Gina Torres (Jasmine), Bonita Friedericy (Patience), Patrick Fischler (Ted), Danny Woodburn (Finger eating demon), Rod Rowland (Corbin Fries), Ryan Alvarez (Pee Pee demon) and Adam Baldwin (Marcus Hamilton).
- Rocha also appeared in TiMER, which starred Emma Caulfield (Anya).