A/N: I actually have quite a few of these Buffy: The Vampire Slayer YAHF ideas in the works... This is just the first one I've gotten enough finished of to publish anywhere. This one is definitely one I want to come back to as it is one of the very few The Librarians X-over fics in existance and, to my knowledge the first Librarians/Buffy X-over fic in existence.
This ficlet idea comes in 3 parts, the first part being Halloween, the second taking place sometime just before Glory shows up in Sunnydale (Xander has taken up the role of The Librarian and has somehow found The Library at this point and travels the world) and the third taking place at some unspecified time, though likely after Graduation.
For those who are fans of The Librarian Movies, or the TV series The Librarians on TNT, in this YAHF idea, Xander becomes a version of himself that basically takes the place of Flynn Carsen, The Librarian Prime, in another reality. Buffy, and then later, Faith would have been his Guardians (taking the place of Nicole Noone and Eve Baird). Though it is uncertain why Flynn and Nicole parted ways, Librarian Xander and Guardian Buffy were involved until her death- the details of which will be shared at a later time.
I highly encourage anyone who has not seen either the Librarian Movies or the The Librarians series to check them out. They are pretty cool, despite the movies being straight to TV movies and the first season only being 10 episodes long. Still, The Librarians have been picked up for a second season, which I can't wait to start up again, especially as it looks like Noah Wyle (who plays Flynn Carsen in both the Movies and the TV Show) will be a regular cast member instead of a recurring cast member.
YAHF: Xander, The Librarian
Xander cursed when he saw that the toy gun he'd been about to use to complete his soldier costume run off with a ten year old. He couldn't really fault the kid his choice even if it did make it more difficult for him. It was back to the drawing board as they say. After a moment of aimless wandering while the girls were still cooing over Buffy's choice in costume that she was going to wear for Angel, and he did his best not to grimace at the thought, he spotted something glittering out of the corner of his eye.
What he found was a brass color coated plastic pocket watch. Curious, he checked out the price. Xander noted it was much cheaper than the fake rifle he was planning to buy as the inkling of an idea formed in his head. The watch reminded Xander of Giles, all prim and proper as he was. The teen would be surprised if the Watcher didn't actually own one of his own- a real one.
"Finding everything all right?" said a voice suddenly from behind him. Xander jumped a little, startled by the stores proprietor.
"You really shouldn't sneak up on people, especially not in this town," Xander commented, not even thinking about how that might sound to someone both not from Sunnydale and not aware of the things that went bump in the night- or rather the fact that those things were actually real.
"I'll keep that in mind," Ethan replied. "So what little trinket has caught your fancy then, eh?"
Xander held up the fake pocket watch. "Still the two dollar costume king."
"Oh, what are you planning going as with that?" Ethan inquired with interest.
"I'm thinking a librarian," Xander replied.
"A librarian?" Ethan said with a bit of disappointment. "That doesn't sound very exciting."
Xander shrugged. "Doesn't have to be an ordinary librarian. Besides, the G-man is an okay guy."
"G-man?" Ethan asked Xander.
"Giles, the librarian at our school," Xander answered.
"I once knew a Rupert Giles, when I was younger," Ethan told him. "Had a bit of a falling out though. Haven't seen him in years."
Xander was surprised by this. "That's Giles' name. Wonder if they're the same guy."
"Stranger things have happened," Ethan stated. "Though the Rupert I knew wouldn't have allowed anyone to ball him 'G-man'."
Xander snickered. "I think he's given up trying to get me to stop. Power through persistence."
"Well if it is the same man, he's gotten soft in his old age," Ethan replied. "Let's get your purchase sorted out, shall we?"
It was a couple hours later when Xander arrived at the Summers' home where he was set to meet up with Buffy and Willow before they were to make their way to the school for a night of conscripted escort duty for a bunch of young kids. He briefly checked himself, making sure the suit he was wearing was smooth before knocking on the door. As he anticipated, it was answered by Buffy's mom, Joyce.
"Hey, Mrs. S," Xander said with a smile.
"Xander, come in, the girls are just about ready," she took a moment to inspect his costume. "I have to admit, you look pretty good, but what exactly are you supposed to be?"
"I'm The Librarian," Xander said.
"A librarian?" Joyce said in confusion, her expression not to different from Ethan's earlier that day.
"Not an ordinary librarian, of course I'm one who runs a magical library who uses his knowledge to protect the world from the weird and strange and things that go bump in the night," Xander explained he then held out the pack he had brought with him that was slung over his head, situated on his right him and hanging off his left shoulder, the strap wrapping around his torso. "See. I even have a standard vampire hunting kit- stakes, holy water, crosses..."
"You really thought this out," Joyce said impressed. "But why not just go as a vampire hunter?"
Xander shrugged. "A hunter a vampire would be wary of, even if it was faster and stronger. A 'simple' librarian, on the other hand..."
"Who would expect you to actually be dangerous?" Joyce asked rhetorically. Xander nodded in agreement.
"I even got a pair of my grandfather's glasses to complete the look," Xander replied, taking a thin rimmed golden framed lens-less pair of glasses out of his pocket and putting them on his face.
"Very sophisticated," Joyce complimented.
"Thanks," Xander replied with a smile on his face.
"Xander!?" said a voice with a tone of mild disbelief, as if the speaker wasn't quite sure what she was seeing.
Xander turned to Buffy. Upon seeing her, his heart skipped a beat. Despite her choices and her reasons for wearing the dress, he knew she looked damn good in it. In his own weird way, he decided to let her know, even if it meant keeping himself in the friend-zone, something he'd been questioning if he even wanted to get out of considering what happened between them at the Bronze when she'd come back from L.A. "Lady Buffy, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe. I completely renounce spandex."
Joyce raised in eyebrow at the declaration, but didn't question it, though she could make a few guesses as to what might have transpired.
Buffy blushed slightly and then grinned at Xander. "Just wait until you see Willow!"
Joyce could barely hold back the sigh at the antics of her daughter and her daughter's friends. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Xander only had eyes for Buffy, despite Willow's longstanding crush the young man, which he'd yet to notice. It was subtle, but easy to see if you knew Buffy as well as Joyce did that her daughter at least had some passing attraction to Xander, even if she decided not to acknowledge it for the sake of her's and Willow's friendship.
Almost as if on cue Xander spotted his longtime best friend. "Willow, that's a mighty nice 'Boo' you've got there."
It was easy for Joyce to spot the nervousness in Willow's demeanor, despite the sheet, not to mention the look of distinct disappointment on her daughter's face. She didn't have to know what exactly had went on upstairs to already have a good idea as to what had transpired.
"Willow…" Buffy groaned in complaint.
"Ready to go, ladies?" Xander asked.
"Yeah," Buffy replied with a sigh.
It was Willow who asked the question on both their minds. "What exactly are you supposed to be, Xander?"
"I'm Xander, the librarian," Xander explained.
Both Buffy and Willow looked at him with strange expressions on their faces. Xander simply rolled his eyes.
"Librarian?" Buffy inquired in a tone of disbelief.
Xander sighed. "I'll explain on the way."
Xander was escorting his group of kids when Ethan's spell hit and for a brief moment he was disoriented.
"Whoa!" he said. Checking himself real quick, he was relieved to find no lasting harm had been done to him- which was the good news. The bad news, he had no idea just exactly where he was. He was also alarmed to find himself amidst the presence of several different types of magical creatures- some seemingly demonic in origin, others not so much. Noting that he had his trusty pack with him, he hurriedly opened it to see exactly what he had with him, quickly taking note of the vials of holy water, stakes and crosses.
His face turned into one of disgust. "Vampires…"
"Xander!" came a familiar shout.
"Wills!" Glad to be able to see a familiar face amidst the chaos, he turned around to face his addresser, only to lose his smile shortly thereafter. "What happened to you?"
"I-I'm not sure..." she replied. "Last thing I knew, I was escorting the children like I was supposed to be and the next thing I knew, we all suddenly started becoming our costumes."
"Hmmm..." Xander said as he took a thinking pose.
"Xander?" Willow inquired searchingly.
"Costumes?" Xander replied. "What did I go as?"
"A librarian," Willow said, looking at Xander strangely. "A librarian of a magical library."
"And the reason for the Van Hellsing kit?" Xander replied.
"Van Hellsing kit?" Willow inquired.
"The vampire hunting kit in my pack," Xander elaborated.
"Oh," Willow replied before she looked startled. "You don't know?"
"I'm still Xander Harris, just not the one you remember," Xander replied. He then decided to introduce himself. "Alexander Harris. I'm The Librarian. Now, the Van Hellsing kit?"
"Well... Um..." Willow floundered wondering what any one of the others would do in her place. She opted for the Xander route. "The world is much older..."
"Let's skip ahead a bit," Xander interrupted. "I'm the Librarian- the one who protects people from the strange and the weird and the things that go bump in the night."
"Like the Slayer?" Willow asked.
"Slayer?" Xander inquired.
"You know, one girl in all the world who does what you do," Willow answered.
"Doubtful. With a title like that, her duties seem to be a bit more generalized," Xander replied.
Further debate was halted when they heard a nearby scream.
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.
"She's alive," Xander said in astonishment, not noticing Willow's startled look.
"We've got problems!" came the shout of a familiar voice of Xander Harris as he rushed in from the front door of the Summers' residence. Despite the fact that the windows on either side of the door showed the outside in mid-afternoon, the view behind Xander was much different, as there was a Library situated behind him.
Joyce entered the living room from her kitchen. "Xander, you're back! What's going on?"
"I need to see Buffy, it's urgent," Xander told her.
"Xander!" Dawn shouted as she rushed down the stairs. Knowing what was about to happen, Xander braced himself for impact- one that came in the form of a small brunette missile by the name of Dawn Summers. "Xander, I missed you!"
Xander couldn't help but grin at Buffy's younger sister. "I missed you too, Dawnie, but I'm here on urgent business."
"Why is it that you never come to just visit anymore?" Dawn complained with a pout.
"Sorry, Dawnie. I promise I'll try harder to do just that, but right now we have bigger fish to fry," Xander replied. "A bigger bad than any we've ever faced before is on its way. We need everyone here ASAP!"
Joyce looked startled at that. "What's going on?"
"I'll explain once we get everyone here," Xander assured her. "It's nothing immediate, but definitely imminent."
Giles was the last to arrive with Faith as the others waited patiently for Xander to begin. Buffy hadn't really wanted either her mother or younger sister present, but Xander was having none of it.
"Alright, Xander, what's going on," Buffy immediately demanded.
Xander took a deep breathe. "Have any of you noticed anything strange going on... Well, stranger than normal?"
They each looked to each other in confusion. Giles spoke up, "Perhaps you could elaborate?"
Xander pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Any spikes in magical energy? Strange people suddenly appearing? An increase in demon activity outside the norm? Rumors about a strange magical artifact?"
"As far as we're aware, nothing out of the ordinary has happened," Giles replied.
"Maybe you should say what you came to say, boytoy," Faith told him.
Xander took a steadying breathe. "A few weeks ago, I was in Nepal when I heard rumors of a Beast. Naturally, I began researching and tracking it down. You wouldn't believe the number of texts that reference something called 'The Beast' or the number of creatures and beings that hold that title- each and every single one of them vicious, hateful creatures hell-bent on destruction. I mean, what's up with that? There's got to be at least two dozen different creatures called 'The Beast'. Talk about unoriginal."
"Focus," Willow chided him with a smile.
"Sorry," Xander replied, smiling back at her. "Anyways, despite my lack of luck figuring out what it is, it wasn't hard to find its' trail. It carved a path of destruction wherever it went, leaving behind either a lot of dead bodies or a bunch of mindless crazies."
"Mindless crazies?" Giles inquired.
"I can't explain it any better," Xander replied with a shrug. "It's like the Beast, whatever it is, sucked out their minds, leaving little more than babbling husks of people who were only a fraction of what they used to be."
Giles frowned. "I don't know of any creatures capable of that."
"Neither do I," Spike replied.
"Neither does the Library," Xander added. "Other than a vague reference to a 'Beast of Glory' that was apparently defeated centuries ago in a completely different dimension, but I have no concrete leads. I did catch a break though. In one of the villages, there was a survivor who hadn't gone completely insane who told me that the Beast mentioned something about a 'key'. Now that I had an idea of what the Beast was after, it was just a matter of time before I figured out what it was. Which brings me to some good news/bad news stuff. Good news, I found out that the key the Beast is looking for his called the Key of Dagon and managed to find the monastery where it was being hidden. Bad news, the Beast got there before I did. Good news, The Beast didn't get the key. Bad news, she has a general idea of where they sent it. Good news, I managed to find out where the monks sent the Key. Bad news, they sent it here, to Sunnydale or, more specifically, to the Slayers. Good news, we're not the only enemies the Beast has- there's actually a secret order scouring the globe for signs of either the beast or the key to destroy one or the other or both. Bad news, they're a bunch of zealots who care little for collateral damage and will destroy the town and anyone in it if it meant destroying the key."
Giles groaned. "Don't tell me..."
"The Knights of Byzantium," Xander stated, confirming what Giles dreaded to hear.
"I take it they're bad guys," Buffy asked.
Xander winced. "No, they're actually white hats like us... Only compared to them, we're more like grey hats. They have a very us or them attitude. Considering our current modus operandi, we'd be classified as 'them'."
"But why?" Willow asked. "We fight on the same side."
"Angel, Bracken Demons, Willy's Bar, Spike... Need I say more?" Xander asked rhetorically. "We are willing to deal with demons if it suits our purpose and have even allowed hostiles, like Spike, to live to kill another day and have a live and let live policy when it comes to demons who don't prey on humans. We also go out of our way to not kill humans who deal with demons if we can help it- they wouldn't see the point in holding back, even if the human in question had no idea what they were dealing with."
"They have a very black and white view of the world, one that quite a few Watchers share," Giles replied. "If not for my reputation and your track record, Buffy, select members of the Council might have tried to have you removed as The Slayer."
"They still tried anyway," Buffy replied aggravatedly. Giles winced when she said this.
"Yes and no," Xander defended Giles. Giles was impressed that the young man didn't react when Buffy's glower turned to him instead. "You know I hate the cruciamentum as much as you do, but it IS an old council tradition. They'd have done it to you even if you were like Kendra. No one's denying the fact that there were more than likely members of the Council hoping you'd fail and bite the big one, but they didn't go out of their way to kill you."
Buffy huffed, but didn't argue further.
"So what's the plan?" Faith asked Xander.
"Find The Key," was his reply.
"That's it?"
"That's all we got to work with," Xander rebutted and then sighed. "It may not seem like much, but at least we have advanced warning that The Beast is on its way here. Hopefully, by the time it arrives we'll have figured out how to take it down."
"So what does this Key look like?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know. Honestly, from what I could tell, it could be anything," Xander replied.
"What do you mean?" asked Joyce.
"I mean it is a magical construct," Xander explained. "When the monks had it in their possession, it was a glowing emerald sphere of pure energy. Their transportation spell was attached to a transmogrification spell so it could literally be anything; a jewel or amulet, an animal, an actual key or even a person."
"Why would they send it here?" Willow asked.
"Giles?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow.
"My guess would be the Hellmouth," Giles theorized. "It's likely that this beast that Xander has been tracking may have acquired an artifact or ability to trace the key to wherever its current location may be. The energies of the Hellmouth might be able to mask its location, effectively hiding it from the Beast for a time."
"That's what I was thinking," Xander agreed with a nod. "Unfortunately, that only buys us time to find the Key. It does nothing to keep either the Knights of Byzantium or the Beast from wreaking all sorts of havoc while they're here."
"Do you ever wonder what it's like?" Buffy asked Xander from where they stood on the roof of The Magic Box.
"What, what's like?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You know… What it's like to have a normal life- like before I dragged you all into this," Buffy confided self-deprecatingly.
Xander shrugged. "Not really."
"Why not?" Buffy asked incredulously.
"I chose," Xander replied.
"What the huh?" Buffy inquired. "Care to vague that up a bit?"
Xander smiled at her response. "You might have been called Buffy, forced into this life of the strange and unusual, but I chose this. Twice, in fact. So I'm pretty sure I'm exactly where I need to be."
"And none of it bothers you, not even the tiniest bit?"
Xander was silent for a moment, carefully considering his response to her inquiry. "No, not really. Like I said, I chose this life. Perhaps, out there in the multiverse, there's a version of me who was forced into his destiny. Who didn't ask to fight against vampires and demons and those who would use magic to harm others, but I'd like to think he was making the most out of his calling even though it chose him and not the other way around."
"So that's what you think I should be doing?" asked Buffy. "Making the most of things."
Xander hesitated for a brief moment. "If anyone deserves to complain about how crappy their destiny is, it's you. There's no denying it- it sucks. I just don't see the point in you being miserable because of it, if you don't have to be."
"You make it sound so easy," Buffy commented.
Xander smiled a bit. "It's not. Far from it, really." He then half turned to Buffy. "But then, the things worthwhile rarely are." He paused for a bit, thinking in the comfortable silence between them before addressing her once more. "Buffy… What you've given me… You've given me a life of mystery and misery, of loneliness and adventure. More than that, you've given me an opportunity to make a difference, to save the world- twice before Friday. What we do matters, Buff, even if the rest of the world never realizes it. Meeting you, in this life and the next, has given my life purpose beyond anything I could have ever hoped or imagined. There is no place on this, or any other Earth I'd rather be than be right by your side holding back the forces of darkness."
"Really?" Buffy asked in a rare moment of insecurity.
"I swear on my love of Twinkies," Xander replied breaking the tension and making Buffy smile in gratitude.
"I'm not sure what to say…"
"Then don't say anything," Xander told her as he brushed an errant lock of hair behind her ear.
"Hey guys," Willow said as walked through the door. Xander jerked his hand back as if scalded by hot water, both slightly jumped, startled and Buffy took half a step back from Xander. Willow looked at the two of them inquiringly. "Am I interrupting something?"
"What's the what, Willow?" Xander asked, ignoring her question entirely, no showing an ounce of awkwardness or embarrassment- in contrast to Buffy who ducked her head slightly and was blushing profusely.