This fic takes place after 'Not Fading Away'. I was reading the transcripts for that episode and I figured that signing anything involving one's destiny would cause major conflicts. This is what I think might happen. All characters belong to Josh Whedon, WB, and UPN. I am not making any money from this.

Warning: Some cursing.

Thanks to Jennifer Marie for her help.

A Different Type of Shanshu

Part One

By Marie Nomad

There was nothing but ruins as Buffy and her friends walked through the remains of Wolfram and Hart. "Looks like there was nothing left." Buffy said as she looked around. The explosion was in the news. The devastation would have been horrifying if it weren't for the fact that all of the buildings had been cleared out by a company looking to buy them out. The only people that died were a few homeless and a bunch of lawyers. Buffy didn't feel the urge to look into this until there were reports of flying monsters going about. They hopped a private jet to LA and ended up here. After destroying the rest of the demons, the team ended up searching for survivors. The explosion had been a week ago and they were sifting through the rubble.

"That's the last of it." Willow said as she got out the rocks from her hair. "The portal has been closed and I can't sense any more evil. They did it, they actually saved the world."

"And we weren't there to help them." Buffy said regrettably. It ate at her heart that they weren't there until it was too late. She should've been there for the city for him.

"We stopped it from getting worse. Besides, they could still be alive or undead." Willow said confidentially.

"Maybe, just work on finding more survivors. I have to talk to Charles Gunn. Remind the slayers if they see any vampires that look like Angel, don't dust them. Unless they are attacking you."

"Right."

Buffy hated hospitals, they smell sterile and the doctors really never knew what was going on. Gunn was barely alive when he was found and brought to the hospital. Thanks to some slayer blood transfusion, he was healing faster than normal. She entered the private room where Gunn was lying in his robe with tubes up his nose and monitors beeping all the time.

"Hey, B." Gunn said as he smiled at her. "Did ya find anything yet?"

"Nothing."

"Oh." Buffy sat down and shook her head. "How are you feeling?"

"That slayer blood transfusion is making me much better. I'll be out of this hospital in just a day or less." Gunn said as he grinned.

"You seem to be in a good mood for someone who got stabbed in the gut." Buffy observed as she leaned back.

"Well, I've been through a lot. Stabbed in the gut before, shot at, and even had my heart taken out every day for two weeks while I was a prisoner in a hell dimension, long story. This… this is nothing."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't be. It could be worse." Gunn snickered and winced in pain.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I don't really want to be a lawyer again. I like dusting vampires and making sure the neighborhood is safe from them. When I was dusting all those vampires, my pulse was rushing and I felt alive. I will dust any vampire, except for Angel and Spike they-." Gunn stopped in mid sentence. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Buffy's jaw dropped. "Spike?! How did you know Spike? Is Spike alive?!"

"Well… yeah, sorry, he didn't want you to know." Gunn said feeling very afraid.

"Damn him. If I find him again, I don't know whether to hug him or stake him." Buffy rubbed her forehead. "Anyway, we can use someone with your abilities, would you like to stay with us?"

"Well, I'll think about it. I mean, I got stabbed in all. I need some time."

"Of course. Sure. We'll help take care of the bills. You just rest. If we find anything, I'll let you know." Buffy got up and then said, "Say, Charles-"

"Gunn, just call me Gunn."

"Gunn, has Angel ever… never mind." Buffy walked out of the room.

XXX

She moved the next bunch of rocks from the rubble. It was all she could do. Every time she found some ashes, she found herself wondering if it was Angel or even Spike's ashes. The pain of falling for a vampire is that when they die, all they leave behind was ashes. Nothing to make them different than the other. She lifted a slab of rock and saw a familiar looking blood covered sword. Fearing the worse, she lifted it further expecting a pile of ashes and saw a doll.

It was a muppet doll that she would expect on the now cancelled 'Smile Time' show. He was slightly worn and had on black pants, a black duster, and a blue shirt. Looking at it, only reminded him of Angel. She heaved the rock away and the sunlight went down on the doll as she picked up him and the sword.

"Angel, where are you?" Buffy wondered out loud as she stood up holding the doll to her chest.

"Buffy?"

Buffy froze as she heard the voice. The voice of the man that had haunted her dreams since she found out about the adverted Apocalypse. She looked around again and then down at the doll who was looking at her. "A-A-Angel?!"

"Hey, I'm under the sun and I'm not getting burned." The Angel Puppet said as he glanced at his hands and scowled. "Oh crap! Not again!" Buffy's jaw dropped as the puppet quickly examined his body while still in her arms. "This is a joke! A stupid joke! I can't believe they did this to me! I know that I shouldn't have signed it away but come on!" Angel moaned as he hit his head on Buffy's arm with a very soft thud. "This sucks." He looked up at Buffy again as if he just realized that she was there and said, "Oh… ah… hi."

Buffy snickered as she held on to Angel. Angel stared at her and said, "No… don't…"

At that, she couldn't hold it. She collapsed onto the ground laughing her head off. Tears of joy came down her face at the sight of Angel alive, not evil, and not a vampire. "You are so cute! So short and adorable and your hair!" She ruffled his hair.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Angel tried to push her away with little success. "Please!"

"Okay… okay." Buffy stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm just glad that you're alive or undead or… whatever muppets are. Maybe, we should have Willow take a good look at you."

"Great, but first, what about the others? Are they…"

Buffy smiled at him. "Well, Gunn is in the hospital and doing better. We gave him a transfusion of slayer blood and it is helping him. The doctors said that they never met a guy so pain tolerant before. We haven't found Spike yet… why didn't you tell me he was alive again?"

Angel looked down sheepishly and said, "You didn't ask?" Buffy scowled at him. The former vampire fiddled with his hands. "Sorry, this puppet form makes me say the stupidest punch lines. But, seriously, I thought that it was Spike's decision to tell you or not that he was alive."

"When I get him, I don't know whether to hug him or stake him."

"Ooh ooh! Stake him stake him!" Angel hopped and then put his hands over his mouth.

"Puppet thing?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah."

"We better go and get you to Willow."

XXX

Willow was mixing up the latest batch of healing salve in the Hyperion Hotel where they were staying. The building was still standing despite all that happened. It had what she needed and it was well stocked. It even had some pig's blood in the fridge. After closing the portal, she had been busy doing non magical stuff to help out. "Willow! I found Angel and he needs your help!"

"Really?!" The witch dashed out of the make shift medical center to see Buffy coming up with an Angel doll in her arms. She can sense the magic coming from the doll. "Oh boy."

"Tell me about it." Angel said as he pulled himself away and landed on his feet. "I think that I'm no longer a vampire but I can't really tell and I was hoping that maybe…" All of a sudden, Willow picked him up and hugged him.

"You are so cute."

"Will!" Buffy cried out and the witch blinked.

"Sorry, I can't help it. I mean, he's adorable." Willow said as she held the puppet up. "I have to wait until we get the clean up done. If that's okay with you."

Angel shrugged, "I guess. I've been through this before and I know what to expect. Besides, there's so much to do. Say, Buffy, can you take me to visit Gunn? I want to see if he's okay."

"Sure. Yeah. I'm sure he would be so thrilled to see you even if you're…"

"Oh, trust me on this, he won't be that shocked." Angel said as Buffy lifted him again. "Ummm… do you have to carry me? I can walk."

"Just so you won't attract attention." Buffy said as she patted Angel on the head.

XXX

Gunn was asleep peacefully as the drugs and the slayer blood worked its magic. He knew he shouldn't be too worried about his friends. He survived and he was human. He was nothing compared to the vampires and the ex-god he was fighting with. Still, those monsters wanted them more than they wanted him. They could get captured or worse. He had seen what they could do. They are sadistic creatures and the demonic ones are worse.

"Gunn…"

Gunn slowly opened his eyes at the voice. "Angel? Is that you?" He gazed up and cleared his vision. Staring back at him was a puppet version of his old boss. "Great, now I'm seeing things."

"I'm not a hallucination!" At that, Angel shook Gunn again with his felt hands. Gunn moaned his eyes shot opened and then he looked at him again.

"Angel!" Gunn grinned as he picked up the plush man and hugged him quickly.

Angel returned the hug and the much taller man set him down on his side. "How are you feeling?" The ex-vampire asked.

"Oh, I'm cool. Stab wound in gut, nothing wrong with that. But, what about you? Why are you a… puppet? Did one of those demons put a whammy on you?" Gunn asked concerned.

"No, all I remembered was collapsing after fighting the last of those monsters and waking up in Buffy's arms under the sun as a puppet. It could be the Shanshu prophesy since we just went through Armageddon."

Gunn held up his hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's impossible. Where in the Shanshu did it say that the vampire with a soul becomes a puppet?"

"Well… it might be possible… after I signed it away." Angel said hesitantly.

"WHAT?!" The two exclaimed and then a doctor walked by. Buffy quickly closed the door and whispered, "Angel, you signed your ticket to being Human. Are you nuts?!"

"Yeah! You've wanted to be Human ever since I met you." Gunn said as he was feeling frustrated at it again.

"It was so I can get full trust of the Black Thorn Circle and I… really didn't think that I would live past this." Angel looked down at his hands again. "I thought that I might change but I really… really didn't expect this."

"You can't just sign away your destiny." Buffy argued.

"Yes, he can." Gunn said his eyes became glazed as he scanned his mind for the right legal information. "According to the Demon Law Database, section 234-5382-666-02, a destiny can be erased and if the person who signs it tries to fulfill that destiny, then that person's future becomes void."

"Okay… in English?" Buffy asked as she tried to figure out what the guy just said.

"If he tries to become Human, he will die." Gunn translated.

"I'm here now!" Angel yelled.

Gunn pondered as he tried to think of any loopholes. "Yeah, say what name did you sign under?"

"Angel, what else?"

The dark skinned man sighed in relief. "Good. Because in order for someone to sign away their destiny, they have to sign under their born name or their vampire alias which isn't Angel but Angelus. If that happens, then if you tried to fulfill that destiny, you will be forced to revert back to a form you had before. Which is a puppet."

"But, why don't I have my vampire powers now? The first time, I still have my abilities." Angel was confused. He had been confused and stunned since he first woke up as a puppet.

Gunn stared out and shrugged. "Damned if I know. Man, thinking all this legal stuff is making my head hurt. I need some sleep."

"Oh, sure. Sorry. I just well…" Angel looked down feeling very guilty.

"Hey, I'm cool. I'm going to get out tomorrow. You just try to get better." Gunn held out his fist.

Angel tapped his fist with his own. "You too."

Gunn grinned as he closed his eyes and slept. Buffy picked up Angel and said, "We better go."

"Right."

Buffy glanced at Angel as she drove down to the old Hyperion. She smiled at him as she kept on driving. Finally, Angel asked, "What?"

"Nothing." Buffy sighed and then her cell phone rang. The slayer pulled into the parking lot and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, B, this is Vi. I found a vampire in the sewers who's English, bleach blond hair, and has a huge crush on you."

"Oh thank God, you found Spike."

"Yeah, and some strange blue demon woman who looks just like Fred! She's rambling about pain and stuff and Spike is actually protecting her."

"Good, can you get them to the Hyperion?"

"Yeah, he's a little beaten up and so is the blue demon but we'll make it."

Buffy hung up and said, "Great news, Spike's alive. Now, I can beat up on him."

"Damn it! Now, he and Illyria will see me as this!" Angel picked up a blanket and flung it over his head. Buffy shook her head. While before when Angel had to worry about the sun, she didn't mind seeing him covered up like that but now he just looked immature.

"Get yourself out of that. You can't hide under that blanket."

"I can try. Spike will laugh at me. Illyria… I don't know what she would do." Angel's muffled voice said from under the blanket.

"Who's Illyria? Is she a relative of Fred or what?" Buffy asked.

Angel took off the blanket and clutched it in his hands. "Didn't Giles tell you?" He whispered sounding hurt.

Buffy shook her head. Something in her gut told her that it was bad and for once it wasn't her Slayer's instinct.

"Illyria was an ancient god who infested Fred and killed her. It possessed her body and turned it into a shell. She's not powerful now and I don't think that she could take over the world. She helped us stop the Apocalypse."

"Wait, an ancient god was infecting Fred and you didn't say anything?! And don't say 'I didn't ask'." Buffy asked feeling very insulted that not only that Angel kept her in the dark about Spike and about Fred too.

Angel stared down and finally he said, "I did try to tell you guys. Wes tried to call Giles to get Willow to come but… he didn't trust me. You didn't trust me! No one trusts us! We work for an evil law firm now! Who cares if we were just trying to turn it into good or whatever?!" Angel sighed as he buried his head in his hands. "I'm not evil. I know that I'm not evil."

"I trust you." Buffy cooed as she patted Angel on the head awkwardly. "What made you think that I don't trust you?"

"Andrew told me when he picked up Dana."

Buffy took a deep breath. "I swear, I did not tell him that! We don't trust Wolfram and Hart as a company. I know that you would have done everything you could but there are others that could trick you or overwhelm you. Besides, don't believe a word Andrew says. He had done a bunch of evil things and he was human."

"Oh." Angel tried to smile at her and then just settled for a nod. "Sorry, I snapped. Puppet hormones."

"Do puppets even have hormones?" Buffy wondered and shook her head. "Never mind. Remind me to give Giles and Andrew a piece of my mind after we get through this."

"Gotcha."

XXX

He was not having a good day. On the other hand, he hasn't had a good day since the last time he died. Well, there was that Halloween Party but that was mystically induced positive thinking and maybe that day after he finally beat Angel to a pulp but that was it. Spike winced as Willow mended his wounds. He was bothered. In the great smackdown for all, he lost his link with Angel. It wasn't a real deep link like he had with Drusilla but he could sense when his grandsire was alive or dead. The connection was broken and he felt nothing. That either means that Angel was dead or that he was no longer a vampire. And since he was stupid enough to actually sign any chance for humanity away, he must have been dead. He had spent a week trying to find out what happened to the others and keeping an eye on Illyria.

"You know, Buffy was mad when she found out that you're not dead." Willow said as she finished the bandages.

"I'm still dead just not dusted yet." Spike glanced at Illyria who was shaking. "Hey, Blue, are you holding up?"

"My mind… The Wolf, Ram, and Hart had weakened. The chains have lessened… a cry echoes throughout my being. I am she and yet I am not." Illyria gazed at him. "Am I still here?"

Willow stared at her and said, "Fred? What did they do to you?"

"You knew the vessel that housed my essence. You are the spellcaster help me with this pain. I wish to get rid of this pain since my guide died. I made the armies pay with my pain and crushed their spines yet I need more." Illyria said as she held her hands over her stomach.

"That's grief, Blue, it's normal." Spike said as he glanced at her.

"I do not wish to endure this grief."

"We all don't."

"Wait a second, you're not Fred?" Willow said as she tried to comprehend what happened.

"No, she's not." Buffy said as she walked in with Angel walking behind her. He hid behind her legs and she felt it. The little guy was too embarrassed to let anyone else know that he was puppet sized. "She's an ancient god who possessed Fred and well… killed her."

"What?! If she's an evil entity then why is she still here?" Willow exclaimed and then looked at Illyria. "No offense."

"I am not offended. This existence is nothing compared to what I was before. I was all powerful with armies groveling at my feet and the power to do anything I desire. Now, I am little more than human with feelings of pain that I do not want."

"It's grief, it's normal." Angel spoke up and then everyone looked down at him. "Crap."

Spike's eyes widened as if his heart was working, it would have been pounding. "You're…"

Angel scowled at him and turned away. "Don't say it."

At that, he couldn't resist himself. "You're a bloody puppet, again!" He laughed and Angel launched at his throat. The puppet landed on top of the vampire and started hitting him on the face. Spike landed on his back and laughed.

"What's wrong the Shanshu thing didn't work out?" Spike laughed as he grabbed Angel by the neck and flipped him over. With his free hand, he pulled off Angel's nose. "Got cha nose!"

"Gib dat back!" Angel cried out as he tried to jump for it but it was out of his reach. Then, he went to a drawer and got out a huge stake, well it was huge for him, and marched to Spike.

Buffy came up to the two and said, "Stop it! Spike, give Angel back his nose! Angel put down the stake. Honestly, can't you two be more mature?"

Angel put down the stake and put it in the drawer and Spike toss the nose back to the puppet. "I'm just glad it wasn't me." He glanced at Buffy and said, "Hello, Luv."

Buffy marched up and punched him in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me that you're not dead?! I mean as in dead, ashes dead, not dead as in undead dead!"

"Well, I thought about it and I really wanted to see you again but how would it look if I come back after my blaze of glory and said, 'I'm back?'"

"Well… you should've at least called. I really am glad that you're back to being undead again." Buffy said as she smiled slightly at him.

"Glad to be back, Luv. So, are you still shacking up with the Immortal?"

"Spike!" Angel screamed as he reached for his stake again.

"Just asking."

"No, Morty and I kinda just broke up. He was fun but he tends to flirt too much."

"Oh good." Spike and Angel said at once.

"He was evil." Angel spoke up.

"Oh yeah, he was an annoying playboy who's caused Poof Puppet over here and me a lot of pain even while we were evil!"

"What did Morty do to you?" Buffy asked intrigued.

"He chained us up and slept with Darla and Drusilla." Angel replied.

"Uh huh."

"At once."

Buffy paled and shook her head. "Okay, enough. Get the images out of my head. That is so disgusting." Then she saw Illyria who was staring at Angel. "Illyria?"

Illyria glanced down to see Angel. "The half-breed's new form is so cute."

"Huh?" Angel said at the strangely uncharacteristic way Illyria was gazing at him.

"I have this sudden urge to hold you to my body." Illyria said as she pounced on the puppet and held him to her chest. "This comforts me. I like it. I want to keep this half breed animated life form and keep him as my intimate companion."

"No! Absolutely not!" Buffy yelled at the top of her lungs. "You can't have him! He's mine!" The slayer blushed as she put her hand on her mouth. Did she just say that out loud?

Illyria gazed at Angel and then at Buffy. All of a sudden, the ex-god dropped the puppet and held her head. "My head aches, the chains lessen. I… I…"

Willow sensed the power rising. "Everyone, get down!!!" She boomed and the group ran to side.

A bright light came out of the blue woman and Fred appeared beside her. "Wow, that was interesting." Fred said as she looked around. "Willow!"

"Fred?" Willow exclaimed.

"Fred! You're alive!" Angel gushed as he ran up and jumped at her only to go through her form. "Maybe not." He said as he pulled himself up.

"You're… a ghost!" Spike said as he came up and put his hand through Fred's arm. He remembered back when he showed up as a ghost. It was hard for him and Fred was one of the few people who was trying very hard to help him without expecting anything back.

"Yeah." Fred said as she felt herself and then looked down at Angel. "Angel, are you okay? I'm so sorry that Illyria was trying to claim you. I think that she just wanted you as a friend."

"So, you know what happened after you died?" Spike asked.

"Well, I don't know how but I just know. I think that I have some kind of mental link with Illyria here. I know that I wasn't there but I can just pick up information from her mind especially those when she was me. Then, I felt myself getting clearer and ended up here." Fred shook her head. "I never really thought that I would be a ghost. I mean, I always wanted powers like flying or super strength but I never thought that I would get powers until after I die."

"Your soul has not been burned up by my resurrection?" Illyria asked curiously, "It is odd that I could not sense you."

"Well, your level of thinking is so much higher than me that you probably don't even know that my soul is okay just trapped but enough about me what happened to Angel? He's a… puppet. And Charles, he's okay right?" Fred asked as she turned her attention to her friend.

"Gunn's fine, he's recovering at the hospital. He'll be out in just a couple of days." Buffy explained, "Angel… well, we figured that his shanshu didn't turn out right."

"Whoa, his shanshu didn't work out right?" Willow asked, "Destinies don't change like that. Unless that the person signed their destiny away under a different name in blood."

"Who would be stupid enough to… oh." Fred said as she looked down at Angel who was scuffling his feet. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Gunn will be very happy to see you. He felt really bad for what happened." Angel said as he remembered how Gunn and everyone else felt after Fred had died. Gunn felt especially bad since he let the sarcophagus in through customs. He knew that it wasn't really his fault but he knew from past experience that Gunn needed redemption.

"Yeah, I know."

Willow watched the scene. Right now, hell had finished breaking loose, a vampire champion had been turned into an adorable muppet, and a woman who was possessed by a powerful and possibly evil entity died and somehow became a ghost while the entity is living. She had her work cut out for her. "Maybe we should take a good look at them."

XXX

Buffy watched as Willow finished her spiritual examination of Angel. They had to make sure that he was in no danger of becoming anything evil like Angelus although that a evil puppet is less than a threat than a real vampire, unless they watched the Chucky movie series.

"Well, you are definitely not a vampire any more." Willow said as she finished her chant. "I also don't sense the vampire demon entity within you either. So, if you lose your soul, you become a normal puppet."

"whew At least you don't have to worry about me becoming Angelus again." Angel said optimistically, "So, can you make me into a real man again?"

"Well… that's the other thing. You have no curse on your body whatsoever. Not the gypsy curse or any other spell. It's like you were born a puppet."

Spike snickered and said, "Are you sure you weren't like that when Darla turned you?"

Angel screamed as he held up a stake. "I was not born a puppet!"

"I know… I know…" Willow cooed as she pulled the stake away from the former vampire. "I mean, a higher power made that form a permanent form for you. I don't think that you could lose your soul now. I could try to turn you back into being a vampire or even a human but there's no telling what might happen."

"No, don't risk it for now. I don't want to make things worse than it was already. I guess I can get used to this, I mean, no more cravings for blood, no more fearing sunlight and crosses, no more in danger of losing my soul... I'll be fine." Angel sighed as he gazed out. He didn't like being a puppet but being a cute puppet was much better than being a super evil vampire. Besides, he didn't feel like fighting right now.

"Awww…" Fred cooed as she came up and put her hands through Angel's body. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I've been worse." Angel shrugged.

"We won't give up, Angel. We'll find a way around this." Willow promised. "Now, Fred, Illyria, you two are… tied together. Like spiritual Siamese twins."

"I get it. I've been through that when I was in that stupid amulet." Spike said, "I couldn't get out of LA in my ghost form, I keep on having to go back to Wolfram and Hart. It was fun annoying the Wee Puppet Poof over here but it was annoying. I can teach you to do stuff. Helped you like you helped me."

"That would be great." Fred said in relief, "This ghost thing is troublesome but someone with experience in the field will really be of service."

Willow and Buffy watched in amazement. Spike, the same vampire who had done so much pain, had actually willingly offered helped another woman. Angel wasn't that surprised. He saw how Fred treated Spike and how much Spike actually trusted her with his fate. Illyria gazed down. "I have no guide for this world. Wesley died and I cannot bring him back. I am alone in this world."

Fred looked at her and sighed. She knew that she should hate Illyria for what she did. But, after being in her for so long, she could emphasize with her. "I can be your guide. I know what it's like to be in a world where… things are different. People don't see you as what you are and you can't do as much as you want here."

"You wish to help me, even if I am the reason you are in your ghostly state? Do you wish to regain your body?"

"Yeah, but… but you've done so much for Wes and he believed in you. I can't let his work be in vain. Besides, I always wanted a sister!" Fred gushed.

"Sister? You are odd and yet you made sense." Illyria said as her lips twitched.

Angel put his hands on his face as he shook and said, "This is so touching!" He took a deep breath and calmed down. "Puppet hormones."

"Right." Buffy nodded.

Fred glanced at Willow. "Do puppets have hormones?"

"I don't know."

To Be Continued…