Just something I had to do after rewatching Buffy season five. Been a long time since I've dabbled in the Buffyverse, so I apologize in advance if this is crap.
Sunnydale
Night
Under Glory's tower, Buffy Summers, the vampire Slayer, battled the god Glory. Buffy struck Glory with the troll hammer that had once belonged to the Troll Olaf and Glory's head whipped to the side.
"Stop it," Glory said, sounding like a spoiled child.
"You're a god," Buffy said before striking Glory with the hammer again. "Make it stop."
Glory landed on her back a few feet away and Buffy walked over to her. Buffy struck Glory in the face multiple times with the hammer. She raised the hammer to strike once more when something happened: Glory's hair shortened and darkened as her feminine face turned into the masculine face of Ben. Buffy paused as she stared down at him, mixed emotions welling up in her.
"I'm sorry," he said pitifully, sounding like he meant it.
Buffy's first instinct was to walk away, to just leave him to his self-pity and go save Dawn. Only the last several months, where she had been forced to question her first instinct, stopped her.
If she walked away right now, Glory would be back, she knew. And she'd go after Dawn again; she'd try to destroy the world again. And this time, she'd be more prepared now that she knew what the Scoobies were capable of together. She would not underestimate them a second time. Her friends would all be killed. Her sister sacrificed. And the world destroyed.
Tightening her grip on the hammer, Buffy steeled herself for what she was about to do.
"Yeah. Me to," Buffy said her voice shaking slightly.
Buffy then brought the hammer down on Ben's face. There was a cry of pain but nothing else. He didn't move again. Buffy stared at him for a moment, grieving. Not for him or even what she had done. Simply grieving that it had needed to be done at all. Buffy then turned and raced towards the tower, towards Dawn, determined to end this.
Admittedly, Giles killing Ben was badass, but Buffy sparing Ben and Giles 'she's a hero you see' speech was beyond stupid.
By Giles' own words, Buffy knew if she didn't stop Ben then and there, Glory would come back and destroy the world. And she still didn't do it. That's not heroic, that's the coward's way out. In the words of Android Sixteen from Dragon Ball abridged-
"You think you're better than everyone else. But there you stand, doing nothing. As evil triumphs and your pacifism crumbles into blood stained dust, the only victory afforded to you is that you stuck true to your guns. You are a coward."
Buffy is not a hero for letting Ben live, despite what Joss Whedon may say on the subject. A true hero values saving lives over their ideals. Buffy shows herself to be a coward instead of a hero in this scene. And the 'she doesn't kill' excuse falls flat as well because just a few episodes ago, she killed ten Knights of Byzantium, confirmed by their leader. So it's a little late to be playing the moral high ground Buffy.
And don't get me wrong, I like Buffy, but this whole scene was just stupid.