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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is probably the last chapter of this fiction. Thank you for reading. I will most assuredly write an epilogue, at least.
ALL MANNER OF MONSTERS


Chapter 25: ‘Head Of The Monster’


Summary: The aftermath of the violent end to Riley Finn!


Chapter 25:


“Buffy!” Spike cried wildly, “Buffy, please, baby, calm down!” He begged his lover as she continued to scream uncontrollably.

‘Oh, Jesus,’ Spike groaned, ‘Finn’s blood and brains, all over Buffy’s pretty dress.’ Spike dared to look at what was left of Riley Finn’s face and felt a rush of physical sickness overwhelm him.

“Buffy,” Spike rasped, “please, please baby, calm down. For me, please,” he pleaded again, unable to reach her with his bound hands. Andrew had still neglected to untie either Spike or Buffy; which made sense really. The poor kid was standing, frozen in shock at the horror of just what he had done.

Buffy heard William’s pleas and forced herself to really listen to them. She knew she ‘had’ to calm down and get hold of herself, especially before the law actually arrived at the Finn mansion.

“Oh God, Oh God, Oh God,” Buffy began to wail mournfully, unable to really look at her dead ex-lover on the floor of his own study. “Cover him up,” she begged Andrew, her gaze was still focused on the bloodied hem of her dress. “Please Andrew,” Buffy cried again, “cover his head and face at least,” she wailed desperately.

Andrew seemed to have heard Buffy’s desperate pleas, finally coming out of his shell-shocked daze. The young man shook his fair head and slowly walked over to a recliner that had an afghan cover on it. He slipped the cover off of the chair and placed it, carefully over Riley’s bullet mangled face.

“I…” Andrew sputtered the first words from his mouth since he had shot Finn. “I don’t know what…” he choked out, a glazed look of shock in his blue eyes.

“Untie me, Andrew,” Spike ordered the stunned young man in a fairly calm voice. “Now, Andrew,” he stated evenly, his indigo eyes kept watch on Buffy. He saw that she, at least, had controlled herself enough to stop her mournful wailing and chanting.

“Andrew,” Spike hissed harshly at the young man, afraid he was losing him. “Untie me at least. I’ll take it from here, okay,” he added.

“Okay, Mr. Giles,” Andrew mumbled. He stumbled over to where Spike was tied into the chair and began to work the ropes that bound him.

“I’m sorry Mr. Giles,” Andrew rambled remorsefully, “I should have untied you, much sooner but…there,” he grunted when he had loosened that final knot.

Spike tossed the loose ropes from his arms and hurried to the couch, to Buffy. He kneeled in front of her and took her hands in his.

“Please, baby,” he murmured softly, tenderly stroking her blood splattered tiny hands. “I love you so much. You have to stay somewhat calm here, for me,” he finished by kissing taking her in his embrace.

“I, I can do it. I can stay calm, baby,” Buffy stammered harshly as she glanced over at Riley’s covered body. The blood from Riley’s death wound was now seeping into the afghan, spreading in both directions from his face.

“We have to think fast and clearly, Princess,” Spike murmured. He was still holding on to her so tightly it was a wonder she could take a breath.

“I can hear sirens now, sweetheart,” Spike whispered into her ear. “We have to act, quickly, to help out Andrew. Understand?”

Buffy pulled back and looked into William’s blue eyes. She could see the worry and yes, even the horror in his eyes. It made her body tremble all over again.

“I love you too,” she murmured, cupping Will’s chiseled face with her hands. “What can we do, to help Andrew,” she asked in a shaky voice.

Spike barked ‘Andrew’ at the young man gruffly as he turned to face him. The FBI agent could see that the poor kid was absolutely frozen horror now.

‘It’s finally hitting him,’ Spike surmised correctly. ‘Andrew’s just figured out what he’s truly done and what the repercussions might be.’

“Andrew,” Buffy gently called to her friend. “Please listen to William, okay? Will’s going to help you, Andrew, but you have to pay attention and follow his instructions. Okay?” She pleaded in a low, raspy tone.

“O…okay Miss Summers,” Andrew mumbled hoarsely, his eyes wide with fear. “But that’s ‘my’ gun,” the young man pointed his shaking finer at the offensive piece of metal on the floor in front of them.

“This is what we’re going to do and say to the others when they get here, understood?” Spike stood up and walked over to Andrew quickly, taking his hand and placing it on the young’s man’s trembling shoulder. This forced Andrew to look directly into Spike’s hard eyes.

Andrew just nodded his head while Buffy whispered a quick ‘yes’ from her place on the couch. Spike frowned, briefly, then began to speak in an even, authoritive voice:

“You realized what was happening Andrew and you grabbed your gun, the one you use for protection. You then coerced Graham and Forrest into a room and locked them in. Right?”

“Right Mr. Giles,” Andrew replied in a slow mumble.

“After you’d secured them, Finn’s minions, you burst your way into this study and ordered Mr. Finn, at gunpoint to release me and get away from Buffy. Correct?”

“Yes, Mr. Giles,” Andrew responded mechanically.

Spike continued:

“Riley balked and threatened ‘you’ then he made a move towards you. You, Andrew, fired a warning shot at the ceiling.” Spike leaned down, grabbed the gun and with both hands, shot the ceiling himself.

“But, Mr. Giles,” Andrew whimpered in terror, “I didn’t shoot the ceiling and……”

“That’ll explain why ‘you’ have gun powder on your hands, Andrew,” Spike explained calmly.

“After that, Riley got your point and untied me,” Spike began again. “You then turned your gun over to me and I went to check on Buffy. Riley started for us; you cried out a warning to me and I turned and shot Finn in self defense.”

“But, but I shot Riley,” Andrew sputtered in a half-hearted voice. “He was a monster, he had Warren murdered and…..”

“And dozens of others,” Buffy interjected in an unusually harsh tone. She stood up, ignoring the blood on her dress and the body on the floor.

“Riley murdered more people then we’ll ever know.” Buffy rasped as she welcomed William’s embrace about her shoulders. “He ‘was’ a monster, Riley was,” Buffy continued sadly. “He deserved everything he got and then some.”

“If you take the fall for Finn’s death, Andrew,” Spike began, “you’ll have to be tried. In the Federal courts, I'm afraid, Andrew. Do you have any idea what that means?”

“I…I,” Andrew hissed, his face as white as a ghosts.

“It’ll mean that the best you can hope for is a manslaughter charge, Andrew,” Spike answered for him. “It’ll mean that at the least and maybe even a second degree homicide charge. You’re a good bloke, Andrew. But the courts and laws are made for men like Riley Finn. Think about this; could you possibly make it in a county jail? How about Federal prison, mate? How long…..” Spike was interrupted by Buffy.

“You wouldn’t last a day, Andrew,” Buffy whispered sympathetically. “Not even an hour, honey,” she finished with a sniff.

“I can’t let you take the blame, Mr. Giles,” Andrew began carefully. “I couldn’t live with myself if……”

“Personally, I think you deserve a fucking medal, Andrew,” Spike snorted. “But like I said, the courts won’t look at it that way. This way, if I say ‘I’ shot Finn? It’ll be in the line of duty and you’re home clear.”

Andrew looked at the ground, then at Riley’s already cold body. “I’m not a coward Miss Summers, Mr. Giles. I just…..”

“Accept it, Andrew,” Buffy whispered as she pulled the young man in for a hug. “Please,” she whispered into his ear, “for me?”


Before Andrew could answer, the study doors flew open and at least twenty or more various law enforcement personnel burst inside. Led, unsurprisingly enough; by Rupert Giles and Xander Harris.

“Okay, Mr. Giles,” Andrew hissed fearfully. “I’ll back your story,” he squeaked.

“Son!” Rupert Giles cried with relief when he spied his only child standing next to Buffy Summers. Rupert was silently thrilled that both his son and the mother of his granddaughter seemed all right.

“Dad,” Spike responded in confusion, unused to this emotional persona of his usually calm father. Actually, he had never been so damned happy to see his formidable father in his life. The blond FBI agent was never so shocked before in his life, either. Not so much as when the usually stoic Rupert Giles grasped his son and pulled him to his body.

“Oh Jesus, William,” Rupert rasped emotionally; barely able to conceal his tears of joy. “I thought I’d lost you,” he finished with another sigh of relief.

“Not that lucky, Pops,” Spike chuckled sarcastically with a smirk. “You know you’ll never lose me, Old Man,” he added affectionately, allowing old Rupert to hug him tightly.

Rupert pulled back, finally and glanced over at the young, tiny blond woman who stood, smiling next to his son. The older man smiled weakly and mumbled, “you must be Buffy, eh?” He gave his future daughter-in-law a warm, loving grin.


“Is that Finn?” Xander grunted, pointing to the still body on the floor. Harris grimaced as he noted the large amounts of blood that pooled around the huge body.

“Yeah,” Spike replied evenly. “After Andrew here saved the day? Finn went for Buffy and me. You know the old saying, Xander,” he grumbled, “cut off the head of the monster? The whole body dies.”

“Okay,” Xander grunted again with an indifferent shrug. “I guess the mighty do fall, huh?”

“They do,” Buffy whispered softly. She had left William’s side and now stood over Riley’s body.

“The mighty do fall, don’t they,” Buffy repeated Xander’s question.

Andrew stumbled over to Buffy and took her by the hand. “I’m sorry Miss Buffy,” he mumbled evenly, “but I…..”

“No,” Buffy sighed sadly. “You don’t need to be sorry, Andrew,” she whispered in response, squeezing his hand gently.

“Riley Finn ‘was’ a monster,” she continued mechanically. “He made his life and lived it by the blood and misery of others. Riley sealed his fate years ago and this was the only conclusion for him,” she finished in a strained voice.

Buffy looked down at the lifeless body of the man who had controlled Dawn’s life and her own for so many years. Riley had held Buffy, Dawn, Joyce and Hank, William and so many others hostage for so long. Now? He was dead and hopefully, everyone under his vicious thumb would be free forever more.


“It’s like you said Andrew,” Buffy murmured, “Riley ‘was’ a monster and this was his preordained fate from day one.”

She gazed down, almost indifferent to the sight of her dead captor. An old poem, something from an old tome came to Buffy’s mind:



“All manner of monsters,
They rule this world;
Through fear, control
And their lethal lies.


When heroes arise and
Their bravery unfurled?
They cut off the monster’s head,
And It’s cruel body dies”


A/N: Well, that’s basically the last chapter, folks. I’m definitely going to write another chapter or at least an epilogue (a long one!) to finish this story.

Thank you for reading and please review, spufette.





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