Dramatic Inevitability

Warning, game heavy stuff

So, Thursday night, in 's Buffy game, amidst all the other plot craziness going on, Charity went on patrol and found herself face to face with Zach, the boy who lived across the hall from her who, before he became a vampire (which Charity blames herself for), was a friend and a roommate to Max, the boy she has a crush on. When it came down to it, she staked him, but had a really hard time with it, almost hesitated enough to get herself hurt.

Afterwards, I mentioned that she was going back to her dorm room, and made a joke about her having a "sad Slayer montage". (If you've watched many episodes of BtVS, you know exactly what I mean.) As a group, we jumped on that, and spent several minutes detailing the shots and images. It stuck with me, so I decided to try and write it up, a la the campaign trailers I've been doing. (Also, for the truly interested, Charity's in character journal entry about the whole thing can be found here.)

MUSIC: "Do What You Have to Do", Sarah McLachlan (lyrics here)

FADE IN: Fight. Sounds of Mel yelling. Charity plunges a stake into Zach's chest, who promptly dusts (although not the cool dust effect, as has been pointed out, this is only first season).

Silence.

MEL: He would have just kept coming after us.

CHARITY: I know.

MEL: He was already dead.

CHARITY: I know.

Charity turns and walks away as the music starts. She walks through the darkened Ann Arbor streets as the opening lyrics are heard, "What ravages of spirit conjured this temptuous rage, created you a monster broken by the rule of love..."

Interspersed with a pensive Slayer walking the streets, in flashbacks, are various shots: The girls meeting Zach and Max on moving day, Zach asking Oriel out--repeatedly, always emphasizing Zach, the loner, not quite part of the group. Zach, the day of the truth spell, trying to ask out every girl on the hall. Zach, vamp face, moving through the tunnels under town. ("Fate has led you through it, you do what you have to do...")

By the end of the first verse/beginning of the second verse ("I have the sense to recognize that I don't know how to let you go..."), Charity reaches her dorm. Reaching the top of the stairs, she pauses, glancing at Max's door--should she go in and tell him? She turns away with the lyrics, "The yearning to be near you, I do what I have to do..." As she turns, the scene flashes on Zach's death again: stake plunging in, Zach's startled face, then dust.

Charity's room. The girls seem to be asleep at first, but Charity sees that Oriel is awake. The music fades after another repetition of "I don't know how to let you go."

CHARITY: Zach won't be bothering you anymore.

Oriel looks back for a moment, wordlessly nods. Is it possible she understands? Music comes back up on a repetition of "I know I can't be with you; I do what I have to do..." Close shot on Charity's face, cherry red hair like a stain against her pillowcase. A shaft of light from the window catches her expression at a slant, sorrowful but trying hard to be resolute, as the music repeats, "I don't know how to let you go..." Finally the song ends with no real resolution, it just stops, feeling unfinished.

BLACKOUT

I love gaming angst, I do.