It'd been years since Pritchard had talked with Will. Sure, he still kept an eye on the boy when he could, but he hadn't returned to that near-death state.
And now he was being told that he had to pick someone up. He already knew it wasn't Will, and he was at a loss about who he would meet.
This time he appeared in the castle, invisable to everyone except the one person he had to pick up. Inevitably it would be someone he'd been close to during life, like Halt or Crowley.
He froze mid-step. Crowley, his first apprentice. Crowley lived in the castle, and while Pritchard had helped some in Duncan's upbringing, Crowley had become the Ranger Commandant.
Hoping he wasn't right, he took off to the rooms where he knew Crowley had been staying, and Crowley had just woken up from some sort of dream, probably a nightmare from the way he was breathing hard.
Suddenly Crowley's head snapped his direction, and Pritchard felt a sense of pride in how well he'd trained Crowley. He'd been completely silent, but Crowley had still figured out he was there.
Then he realized Crowley was looking right at him, and his heart sunk.
"Pritchard?" The word came out as a whisper. "Wha- how?"
"I'm sorry." Pritchard said, words barely louder than Crowley's. "Crowley, I was sent because your time has come."
"It's time for me to die." Crowley said, and Pritchard nodded. "But- what about Halt? He'll miss me."
"Halt will be fine." Pritchard promised. "He can survive without you, and if he needs help, Will and Gilan will make sure he gets it." He took a breath. "And the Ranger Corps will survive to. We need you."
"We?" Crowley asked.
"The Rangers." Pritchard said. "The dead ones, that is. We're hard pressed, and we need you and your training." Crowley looked at Pritchard, before a grin appeared on his face.
"Let's go then." Pritchard could see worry in Crowley's eyes for everyone he was about to leave behind, but the simple fact that Crowley trusted him after all these years nearly brought tears to his eyes.
Pritchard rested his hand on Crowley's shoulder, and suddenly Crowley's spirit left his body, and the Ranger looked at himself in awe, before they left the mortal plane.
"Alright, so what needs done?"