Chapter 544
When Hades brought back people to fight in the final battle they were both blessed and cursed with this time. Blessed to be able to see their loved ones again, cursed to have so little time. Rupert Giles would've once loved to meet former slayer Kendra and her watcher Merrick, or original slayer Sinea. But with so little time he had other prioritie, making love to Jenny, giving Buffy one final pep talk. Then Giles saw Ethan on the floor, drinking some of what was likely the last liquor left in Sunnydale.
.
Ethan: Want some?
Giles: I'm good.
Ethan: You screwed up my plans you know.
Giles: How?
Ethan: If Hades had brought you back earlier, I never would've given blood. My instinct would've been to just get drunk on a beach for my final hours. Now, in a fit of stupididty, I was willing to give my life to save the world and honor your memory.
Giles: If this is the end, it's a good time to stand with the rightous.
Ethan: What's it like, on the other side?
Giles: I don't remember much. I think they do that on purpose, guess they're big on mystery. Mostly I remember wanting to help my friends, but being unable to do so. I remember that Hades offerred me a chance to go back, but he warned of consequences to me. I fear the consequences, but I still volunteered to come back. I don't know how many spirits refused.
Ethan: What if this is the end? What if not enough people volunteered, there won't be enough energy to stop the Master. Will the light and the darkness work together to create a new universe? And if so, what happens to us? Will we make different choices, live different lives? What would be different? Or, and this is the part that really terrifies me, what if the First wins? What if this is the great loophole by which the darkness ultimately wins? My beliefs tell me that, however long it takes, good will win as all souls shed their darkness. But if the world ends, maybe evil won't create life again. If the darkness is stronger, could it then overpower the light Then, that's it. No life, no goodness, no Heaven, no Hell. Just darkness, perpetual, never-ending. I thought the end of life would be the light winning, I was a fool. The light wouldn't want us gone, only the darkness would. That, is what we're on the cusp of.
Giles: I'm scared too. That you're right, of the consequences that Hades warned me about. That despite our best efforts, it'll be insufficient to stop the Master.
Ethan: I should be drunk on a beach, or stealing an un-guarded ferrari. Instead I did this, and I don't even know why.
Giles: Because you're a better person than you claim to be. You had to choose between good and evil, you chose good.
Ethan: I guess I did. On the off chance I survive, I'll make you regret it.
Giles: Fair enough. It would be hard to call all we've been together fun, but I a glad we went through it together.
Ethan: Likewise, friend.