Life is (Not) a Fairy Tale, fic

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Title: Life is (Not) a Fairy Tale
Author: maryperk73703
Era: Post Season 6 and beyond
Rating: PG for now
Summary: The search for True Love’s Kiss proves difficult
Note: cross your fingers that I can get another chapter ready for the Nov 29th free for all day.

Chapter 1

Once upon a time there was a beautiful Slayer named Buffy Summers. She was brave and helpful and well loved by her friends and family. She was caught up in a powerful spell, cast not by an evil enemy, but by a friend trying to help.

The friend, Willow, cast a spell based on the fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. It would take true love’s kiss to wake the slumbering Slayer.

All of Buffy’s friends and family thought that they knew who Buffy’s true love was, and some of them hoped that who they thought it was, quite simply, wasn’t.

Her sister Dawn hoped it wasn’t Angel. She didn’t think too highly of the vampire.

Her friend Willow thought it had to be Angel. Buffy still pined after him, or so it seemed.

Her friend Xander thought it would be him. After all, he was the one that stuck around through thick and thin.

Her Watcher, Giles, thought that it might be Riley Finn. The soldier was human and, in Giles’ opinion, the best match for Buffy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“So, what do we know about the spell you used, Willow?” Giles asked.

“Buffy will be in a state of suspended animation until she is kissed by her one true love,” Willow stated. “We just need to get Angel to visit her.”

Giles shook his head. “No, I think it will be Riley, and I meant tell me about the spell you used. It could help us determine the cure better.”

“I used this one.” Willow gave Giles an open spell book and pointed at the spell. “This one.”

Giles took the book from Willow. He read through the spell. “This one is incomplete.”

“What? No.” Willow pointed to the next page. “See? It ends here and a new spell starts up.

“There’s a page missing.”

“Oh crap. Do you know what was on the page?” Willow asked in a hopeful voice.

Giles shook his head. “Unfortunately, not. I’ll have to do some research. This book is one of the rarer in my collection.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Angel showed up first to kiss the fair maiden into wakefulness. He went away disappointed.

Riley travelled in from Brazil … no, Bolivia … No, it was Belize. He wasn’t any more successful than Angel had been.

Xander tried his luck next, much to Anya’s displeasure. He didn’t have any luck waking Buffy and he had to deal with a pissed-off fiancé.

Oz blew into town with the rest of his band. When asked how he heard the news since none of the Scoobies had contacted him, he shrugged and mentioned that he heard it in passing in a demon bar in Cleveland. Each band member took a turn kissing the Slayer. Nothing happened. So, they played a couple of gigs at the Bronze before they went back to their tour.

From there the list grew; Jonathan Levinson, Andrew Wells, Warren Meers, all the males that were still around from Buffy’s graduating class, several guys from the college.

None of them were successful.

Dawn contacted Buffy’s old boyfriend Pike from before they moved to Sunnydale. No man that kissed Buffy woke her up.

The Scoobies even got desperate enough to let some of the ladies try; Willow, Tara, Faith, and much to Xander’s chagrin Anya. She just told him that it served him right.

Several supernatural entities from around the world, and Sunnydale, swanned into town for a kiss. Close to home, Clem, snuck in to give Buffy a tiny little peck. He just had to be sure.

Dracula tried and failed. He hit on Dawn while he was in town. For his trouble, he permanently lost an eye and a fang. Rumor has it, that his brides abandoned him and he’s a recluse in some Romanian castle.

The Immortal also tried and failed. He too hit on Dawn while in town as he didn’t believe the stories told about how she reacted to Dracula’s come-on. It’ll probably take a while for his penis and testicles to grow back.

Dawn’s reputation grew on a daily basis after that.

Time passed as it does. Time stands still for no man, except the slumbering Buffy. She looked the same as the day Willow had cast the spell on her. The same couldn’t be said of her friends and family.

A decade after Willow had cast the spell, Dawn called a meeting of Buffy’s friends. She opened the meeting with a question.

“Has anyone heard from Spike?” Dawn turned to Angel. “How about you?”

“I only know he’s still alive,” Angel replied. “I haven’t heard anything about Spike in years. Not so much as a whisper. Drusilla didn’t mention him the last time I saw her. If it weren’t for the fact that I can feel him, I would think he dusted.”

Dawn nodded. “Spike is the only guy close to Buffy that hasn’t tried to wake her up. I think we need him.”

“Well, Giles hasn’t tried,” Xander pointed out.

Giles rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I knew it wouldn’t work, but I did try just after Riley tried. Riley was who I thought it would be I decided that Buffy might be pining for me. She did have an extreme reaction to Joyce and I that one time.”

“Oh.” Xander deflated. “But Spike tried to … you know.”

“Did Buffy tell you that or did you just decide on that?” Dawn asked. “Besides, you did the same thing and she let you stay around. Not to mention, she didn’t dust him, and the chip would have stopped him if he had tried.”

Tara raised her hand. “Oh, the chip didn’t work on Buffy anymore. The resurrection spell changed her on a molecular level … or maybe being in heaven did.”

“Well, if he didn’t hurt her back then, he won’t hurt her now,” Dawn replied. “We need to find him.”

“How?”

Angel shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I’ll put out the word that I’m looking for family. Hopefully, that’ll get us some news.”

“I could try scrying,” Willow suggested. “Hopefully I can find something of his to use.”

“That skull ring is still in Buffy’s room,” Dawn said.

Giles shook his head. “No, Willow, I need you to go on a trip. I have a good lead on a copy of the book the spell came from.”

Wesley perked up. “You’re looking for a spell book? Maybe I can help?”

Potent Spells; Light and Dark by Charity Taylor. My copy is missing a crucial page, and I can’t seem to find a complete copy,” Giles said. “I have a terrible feeling that this will be my last chance to get my hands on one. That’s why I need Willow and Tara to get on it.”

Wesley placed his briefcase on the table. He opened it and lifted out a dark gray book with a blank cover. “I copied this from Wolfram and Hart. I’ve been travelling and tying entire libraries, both public and private, to it. Let’s see if I got lucky.”

Wesley laid his hand on the book. “Potent Spells; Light and Dark by Charity Taylor.”

The book glowed for a moment.

“Okay, what page are we looking for?” Wesley asked.

“281,” Giles replied. He moved to look over Wesley’s shoulder while the younger man flipped to the page. Both he and Giles read the page in question.

Giles stood up and put a hand on his forehead. “Well, that complicates things.”

Several voices sounded at once. “What?”

“Because Buffy’s one true love wasn’t found in ten years,” Giles stated. “She’s stuck for 100 years. It says that the spell takes on ‘The Sleeping Beauty State’, which it doesn’t explain.”

“We need to make plans to make sure she’s taken care of,” Dawn replied. “And that the Council doesn’t get their hands on her. They’ve been harassing me about taking custody of her. Angel, can you arrange that? You will have to be her caretaker. I will trust that you will make arrangements in case you dust or become Angelus again.”

“Of course, I can. I’ll still look up Spike just in case, though. I don’t like it, but if he’s her one true love, they should be together.” Angel rose to his feet. “I’ll get back to Los Angeles and start right on that. Wesley?”

Wesley shook his head. “I’m going to consult with Rupert. Maybe we can figure out what the whole ‘Sleeping Beauty State’ means.”

Angel left Sunnydale. He thought that it was strange that the traffic out of town was quite heavy. The cars seemed to be packed up with clothes and other household items.

A mass exodus from Sunnydale? Weird.

By the time Angel pulled into the Hyperion’s underground garage, he didn’t even realize that reality had changed. He had an overwhelming urge to find Spike and keep him close. Otherwise, he’d forgotten all about Sunnydale, Buffy Summers, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, and the spell that the Slayer was caught up in.

Cordelia met him at the door. “When you and Wes … When you decided to go off for a drive, you should remember your cellphone.”

“I have my cellphone, Cordy.” Angel pulled out the phone out of his pocket. “Sorry that I worried you. It won’t happen again. Who is Wes?”

Cordelia shrugged. “I don’t know. Now, we have a new case and a new researcher to break in.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

100 years later to that very day.

Angel surged to his feet. “Buffy!”

Charles ‘Chuck’ Gunn IV stared at Angel in surprise. “Boss, who’s Buffy?”

The office door flung open. “You pillock, you spelled me to forget!”

Angel shook his head. “No, I didn’t. This must be the ‘Sleeping Beauty State’ part of the spell that Willow did.”

“That doozy bint was always messin’ with things she shouldn’t. She brought the Slayer back from the dead.” Spike slumped in a chair. “She was in heaven for 147 bloody days, you know.”

“What are you two talking about?” Chuck demanded.

“Buffy Summers. She was the Slayer over 100 years ago,” Angel started out.

“Best damned Slayer there ever was,” Spike grunted. “Hundred times better than that snooty little bimbo prancin’ around now.”

Angel continued as if Spike hadn’t spoken. “Her friend Willow did a spell on her to help her find her true love. After a decade of people kissing her and failing, it came to light that because she hadn’t found her true love, she’d be stuck in suspended animation for 100 years with some sort of ‘Sleeping Beauty State’ going on.”

Spike grunted. “Did you kiss Buffy?”

“Everyone did, except you, Spike,” Angel said with a nod. “After ten years, Dawn decided we need to find you.”

“Why’d I forget?” Spike muttered. “I can’t believe I forgot about Buffy.”

Chuck cleared his throat. “I’m assuming you forgot, Angel.”

“I did, but now I remember. Dawn called a meeting in Sunnydale to discuss things.”

“Sunnydale? I don’t think I’ve heard of it,” Chuck said.

“Yeah, it’s the town up the coast where Buffy lives,” Spike replied. “Good old Sunnyhell. Home of the Hellmouth. Boca del Infierno.”

“I left to come back to Los Angeles, leaving Wesley behind. I was supposed to do two things.” Angel sat back down, suddenly tired. “I need to make arrangements for Buffy’s long-term care to keep her away from the Council and to locate you, Spike.”

Spike stared at Angel. “I guess that explains why you were so gung-ho on findin’ me,” he grumbled.

“I suppose.”

“Now what?” Chuck asked.

“Road trip!”

Originally posted at https://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/713671.html

maryperk73703

maryperk73703