Chapter 59: All Do-Gooders Do Good

 

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"Do good." Titan smirked.

"Huh?" I asked.

"A Do-Gooders do." The Master said.

"What?" I asked, "All Do-Gooders Do Good?"

"What about the ones who don't?" Oz asked.

"Like who?" I asked.

"Willow." Connor said.

"But Willow's reformed." I said.

"Is she?" The Master asked.

I frowned, "What about non-Do Gooders?" I asked.

"They do." Oz said.

"This is all confusing." I said, "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"No." "Yes."

They said at the same time.

"Which is it?" I asked.

"Both."

"Who are you?" I asked, turning.

"Who is anyone?"

"I'm just asking because there's..." I turned back towards Oz, Connor, Titan, and the Master, but they were gone, "Where'd they go?"

"Where everyone you love goes, away."

"I certainly don't love the Master and Tita...What are you?" I asked, around and finally settling on a figure moving towards me in the distance.

"Can't you tell?"

"No." I said, squinting. I felt a hand on my shoulder, then turned to see the gray me from so many times before.

"I'm what you already know." It said.

-           

Doug sat in the Arcanum, looking through book after book, trying to come up with a way to deal with Gemma. He'd gone over the night he found out about Gemma over and over in his mind. What could he have done? Nothing, but he could have saved her, if he'd acted. Doug angrily flipped through the books, grabbing at any hope of saving Gemma.

"They drained her." I said, standing a few feet away.

Doug didn't look up, "I know," he said, "That's why I'm trying to find a way to undo it."

"You can't. There is no way to fix this." I said.

"If this was Lestat, you'd be doing anything possible." Doug said, "This is just like Lestat."

"But this isn't Lestat, it's..." I stopped, "I'm so sorry I let it happen."

"This isn't about you." Doug said, "This is about Gemma! She's out there, right now."

"Trying to take us down." I added, "I'm sorry, but she's gone."

"You're such a hypocrite!" Doug said angrily, "You're such a hypocrite."

I scratched my head, "Yeah, I am." I said, about to walk away, but I didn't, "Maybe I should have killed Lestat a long time ago, but I didn't. Lestat helped us..."

"Gemma helped us too!" Doug said, "Did you forget that? Did you forget how many spells and potions that she's helped us with?! She died helping us."

"Who doesn't?" I asked.

"It's not some joke." Doug snarled, "It's real."

"What have I been saying for the past few months?" I asked, "Lestat's gone, we're severely outnumbered, and you're on the verge of a serious break-down. It's all on track."

"They don't really expect us to do this forever, do they?" Doug asked.

"Who?" Kelly asked, joining us.

"The freakin powers up there who're probably laughing their asses off!" Doug blurted, and then he was solemn.

I felt really bad, "They might, but I don't." I said vaguely.

"What do you expect us to do?" Kelly asked, "We can't just forget all about this, in a few nights, Charity's going to be a virtual Hell Goddess herself."

"Fuck that!" Doug said, "We've got to stop them!"

"The thing is, we need to focus more on stopping her and less on..." Kelly trailed at the end of her sentence.

"What? Save Gemma?" Doug asked.

"It's not right." I said, "But this is the life we live."

"So, I just abandon her?" Doug asked.

I walked over to the chest and dug through for a second, then pulled out a stake and walked over, sitting it on the desk, "No, you're going to give her what she deserves."

"Death?" Doug asked.

"She's already dead." Kelly added.

Doug sighed and slammed the books closed, "I'm not giving up." He said, leaving.

"What are we going to do?" Kelly asked.

"How's Cale?" I asked.

"Not in battle condition." Kelly said, "He's talking more."

"She really did a number on him, huh?" I asked.

"He could stand to have a little more blood in his body." Kelly nodded, "I just came to pick up some books, and he's on a study thing."

I nodded, "Make sure he's good." I said.

"We don't really have a plan, do we?" Kelly asked.

"Don't worry about the plan, you just need to make sure he's okay." I said.

"What about you?" Kelly asked.

I sighed, "What about me?" I asked.

"This is all just a front, I know you, and you're scared." Kelly said.

"All this is spinning out of hand and it all starts with me." I said, "That's where it's going to end."

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.

"It means that I'm ending it all." I said quickly.

"You have a plan?" Kelly asked.

I picked up a sword, "I go, I fight." I said.

"That's not a really great plan, you said yourself that there's hundreds of vampires down there." Kelly panicked, "And they're expecting you."

"Well," I said, throwing the sword on the round table, "They're going to get me." I said, leaving. On the walk home, I thought about what I'd just decided and stopped when I saw an older gentleman on my doorsteps, "Can I help...Giles?" I asked as he turned to me.

§   

Doug found himself in his house, rummaging through his things later that night. He found crucifixes, holy water, spell books, candles, and everything and anything that could help him or stop Gemma and there was a knock on the door. Doug walked away from his stash and put stuff back, heading to the door. When he opened the door, a distraught Gemma stood in front of him.

Doug jumped back, "What the hell!" he said, "Gemma."

"Doug, I need help." Gemma said, looking over her shoulder, "I'm a vampire."

"I noticed." He said.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Gemma asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Doug said, "Because you're a vampire."

"A vampire." Gemma said, "How surreal is that? Please help me."

Everything in Doug's body screamed for him to say no and slam the door in her face, but his heart beat for her. It ached, actually aching, for her, "Come in." he said.

Gemma smiled and walked past him, sitting in the living room. She was disheveled and her hair was a mess. Doug noticed that she was very sensitive to sounds, like when Doug shut the door.

"This is all so..."

"Surreal, yeah, you said that." Doug said uneasily.

Gemma nodded and wiped her eyes, "I can hear everything and I feel bi-polar, one minute I can be nice and understanding, but the next..."

"You can be kicking my ass?" Doug asked.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Gemma said, standing.

"Just calm down." Doug said, "Have a seat."

Gemma was shaking, "I woke up in the church, at the altar, alone. I woke up alone, Doug." She said, crying, "Then, she did things to me and he did things to me! It was so scary." She said, latching herself to him. Doug found himself torn between trying to unlatch her and not being able to form a thought.

"I'm so sorry." Gemma said, kissing down Doug's neck.

"Gemma." Doug said, trying to build the courage to push her away.

"I miss you so much." Gemma moaned, sinking her teeth into Doug's neck. Doug quickly brought up his hand, complete with crucifix and Gemma jumped back, "God Dammit!"

"Yeah, he did." Doug said, "He damned you."

Gemma chuckled, "Good thing for you, Charity doesn't want you dead." She hissed.

"Good thing for you I can't kill you yet." Doug frowned, "Now get out!" he said, spraying holy water at her.

She ducked and left the house quickly.

§   

I sat on the couch, across from Giles, who had been as silent as I had since we came in. There were a lot of questions, the main one being...

"Why?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" Giles asked.

"All the secrecy, all the sneaking. You should have just told me that Cale's my new Watcher." I said.

"Told you? Yes, I suppose I could have, then what would you have done?" Giles asked.

"I would have asked why I need one, and then put up with him." I said.

"But this way, you were able to connect with him, to bond with him." Giles said, "You connected with him in a way you never would have."

"This isn't my life anymore." I said solemnly.

Giles looked at me, "A slayer's life is never their own, as hard as you try." He said.

"It's not even just my life anymore." I said, looking up at him, "My friends are paying the price for knowing me."

"They will not leave you," Giles said, "If I've learned one thing, it is that there is such a thing as friends."

"Giles, you're not helping!" I said, "You've been here, you know this town is destined to do one thing, implode."

"Yes, it does bear a striking resemblance to Sunnydale." Giles said, looking around, "I was unaware of how much this looked like Buffy's home."

"So, why are you here?" I asked.

"The Master." Giles said, "Cale has informed me..."

"He's gone." I said.

"Excuse me, gone?" Giles asked.

"New big bad, Charity and Gemma," I said, "They took out the Master."

"Am I to understand that a Vampire Slayer is the new Big Bad?" Giles asked.

I nodded, "A big threat. Giles, I've been having these dreams...Something big is about to happen."

"I can feel the mystical energies here." Giles said, "I shall round up the best Slayers and..."

"No." I said, "All these people are trying to protect me and fight with me, I think it's time that I fight for myself."

"This could be very dangerous." Giles sighed.

"I'm a Slayer, I could die at any minute." I said, "And right now, it doesn't seem so bad, to just let go."

"So you will not fight?" Giles asked.

"I will, but this time, I don't know how much it'll do." I frowned.

Giles was about to ask me something when the door opened and Doug walked in, holding his neck. I stood up and walked over to him, "What happened?" I asked.

Doug was already panting, "Gemma, she came over." He said.

"And you let her in?" I asked.

Doug sighed, "Yes and she bit me, can we be moving on?" he asked.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked, joining us.

"Just a little blood." Doug said, looking at his hand, "And, maybe my soul."

"Did you drink of the vampire's blood?" Giles asked.

"Ewwww." We both said.

"Right." Giles said.

"I didn't mean it like that. Gemma was my girlfriend." Doug said.

"She just became undead." I said.

"So you are Doug, I've heard a terribly lot about you." Giles said, offering his hand.

Doug looked at his hands again and Giles retracted his hand, "Sorry, I'm a bit bloody." He said.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked.

"I'm great." Doug smiled, "I'm sorry, for freaking out earlier."

"I'm sorry, too." I said, "I shouldn't have gone that far."

"You're right." Doug said, "I just don't know if I can do it."

"If my plan works, you won't have to." I said.

"We have a plan?" Doug asked.

"I, have a plan." I said carefully, "I go and I kill or be killed."

"You? Just you?" Doug asked.

"I will not let that happen..." Giles said, "This is suicide."

"I've been thinking and someone is going through a lot of trouble to recreate Sunnydale and they are. They're doing a great job. The Hell Goddess, the Rogue Slayer, Titan, all the countless other things, and to top it off, the Master. Somebody's going for the big finish; the thing they didn't count on is Charity becoming Queen of the Vampires." I explained, "Whoever's orchestrating this wants me to go down into the cave alone and that's what they're going to get."

"Are we supposed to just let you go alone?" Doug asked, "To just say cool and let you go?"

"Alone." I said, "This whole reverse of Buffy's life is annoying and it ends now."

"I am against this idea, this is ludicrous!" Giles said.

"You won't be here." I said, turning to him, "You're leaving right now and if I die, you're not going to look back."

"Just turn my back and leave?" Giles asked.

"It's easy." I said, "It's what you have to do."

Giles frowned, "I could contact Buffy, bring Faith..." he suggested.

"They have things to do." I said, walking to my weapons trunk, "And so do I."

"There must be something we can do." Doug said.

"There is." I said, "I need you to pull off one of the biggest spells of your life."

"I'll do anything." Doug said.

"Good." I said.

"We should tell Kelly, she's not going to let you leave that easily." Doug said.

"By the time she figures everything out, I'll be gone." I said quickly.

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Thank you for reading.