A/N: I'm on fire with these different ideas. Shame the same can't be said for my current active fics. Hopefully this gets a bigger response than some of my other latest ideas have gotten so far. I am very so much looking forward to any and all useful feedback. In the mean time, enjoy this Buffy-Halloween fic idea.

YAHF: Art of the Deal (Once Upon A Time/Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Xander could only stare in horror at the weapon that laid in his hands.

It was the key to his destruction.

When he had chosen his costume, it had been on a lark. Buffy wanted to do the whole medieval thing, so he decided to get in on the act by going as one of the more dubious characters from the world of fairy tales. And now, he was staring at the bane of his existence, an enchanted dagger- a kris, really- with a name engraved on it.

ALEXANDER

Xander could take solace in one thing, if nothing else, and that was if the magic held true, he could not be killed and was, in effect, immortal for all intents and purposes, minus for the innocently menacing blade that he delicately handled. On the other hand, it was likely he now possessed the powers of the Dark One.

Xander gulped. 'Will the others still trust me? Or will I just be another piece of the strange and the weird that goes bump in the night that they'll have to slay?' He shook his head. 'They trust Angel and he's a vamp.' Even as that thought crossed is mind, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

If nothing else, he knew he had to tell Giles. Hopefully, he'd know what to do. At the very least, he had to give the dagger to Giles just in case he went bad. Already he could feel the tainted power of the Dark One affecting him in small ways- or perhaps it was the Hellmouth, or his proximity to it. Or a combination. All he knew, from Rumpelstiltskin's memories, is that the magic of the previous evening was beginning to affect him more than he could possibly 'see' given how inexperienced he was with using his powers.

Magic always had a price.

Carefully wrapping the kris in some old clothes, he gently set it in his book bag and made his way towards the school, intent with finding out what his possible options were, though something in his gut told him that Giles would be of little to no help. When it came down to it, it would all come down to him and he would have to choose whether to be good or evil no matter how dark his powers were. He'd seen the struggles Rumpelstiltskin had gone through- wanting to get back at those who'd mocked him when they had no idea what he'd struggled through, wanting to be someone of significance, wanting to protect his son and have him look up to him like he would a hero from the old tales, wanting to get his son back after a foolish mistake on his part had cast him away, Belle and her love for him and his for her in return and warring with wanting to be a good man and a powerful one. Struggling with wanting to strive for redemption with her and rejecting her for the sake of finding his son, the one person who'd always stood by him no matter his faults, when he was simply a crippled deserter and coward named Rumpelstiltskin and not the feared and reviled Dark One. And yet, Belle had done what no others, not even his wife or Corra had done and seen the man behind the facade of the Dark One and the crippled coward.

Xander closed his eyes at the onslaught of images.

Rumpelstiltskin was evil, no doubt about it. But how much of that was because of circumstance? Things were hardly black and white. There were shades of gray and a myriad of other colors that didn't quite fit the traditional color scale between the light and the dark. And while Xander could not say he agreed with many of the actions Rumple had taken, he did understand why those choices had been made and could not honestly say one way or the other that he wouldn't have done the same in many of those instances. As evil as Rumpelstiltskin was, there was good in him and he struggled with that on more than one occasion.

As he had hoped, Xander was the second to arrive at the school, only shortly behind Giles.

"Xander, what are you doing here so early?" Giles inquired.

"There's something I need a bit of help with. A big something," Xander replied worriedly.

"What is it?"

"Not here," Xander answered as they walked down the hallway towards the Library. The teenager kept darting his eyes every which way as they got nearer to their point of destination. Even after they arrived at their destination, Xander fidgeted a bit, so Giles put his things away and began to get ready for the day while Xander gained the courage to say what he needed to.

"So what can I help you with, Xander?" Giles inquired. "I assume it has something to do with what happened last night."

"In a manner of speaking..." Xander replied. "Have you ever heard of an entity called The Dark One?"

Giles' eyebrows raised reflexively. "Some vague references, but nothing definitive about him. He disappeared sometime after the Troll Wars, supposing he actually existed."

"I think I can say without a doubt, he did," Xander replied looking down at the counter, fidgeting with his book bag.

"What are you saying?" Giles inquired as he took off his glasses and began polishing them.

"Last night, I went as Rumpelstiltskin," Xander explained.

Giles thought for a moment. "As a creature of chaos and darkness, I suppose he, of all people, might know of it. What about it concerns you?"

Xander snorted in amusement. "Giles, Rumpelstiltskin didn't just know of the Dark One, he was its' host."

Both of Giles' eyebrows raised at that revelation. "Host?"

Xander nodded. "Rumple was its' last and most infamous host to the point that most people never even heard of the Dark One."

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think you need to start from the beginning, Xander."

"Trust me, I was possessed by him, and I don't think I've got it completely straight. Definitely adds a few twists on some old fairy tales though," Xander told him.

"Oh, how so?"

"Remember the Beast in Beauty and the Beast?" Xander asked and then answered without waiting for a reply. "Rumple. And despite falling in love she didn't break his curse and not because she couldn't or didn't want to, he wouldn't let her."

"Why not?" Giles inquired.

"That's a long story and you'd be surprised at how much some fairytales affected and intertwined with others. Rumple wasn't just the Beast, but also the Crocodile from Peter Pan," Xander informed the Watcher.

"Extraordinary," Giles replied. "We'll have to go through other stories and see what has changed over the years."

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "But that's not why I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" Giles asked in concern.

Xander opened his bag and pulled out a bundled shirt. Once he set it on the table gently, he began to unwrap it with great care revealing an inscribed kris.

Giles read the inscription.

ALEXANDER

"Xander?"

"That dagger appeared right after you broke the costume curse," Xander explained. "It is the only weapon known to magic that can kill The Dark One and it is passed on from host to host."

Giles looked up sharply at that declaration. "You... Xander, you're..."

Xander nodded. "I'm the new Dark One, effectively immortal and unkillable, except for that blade right there."

"Xander..."

"Giles, please. Take it, hide it. No matter what, I can't know where it is," Xander told him. "Rumple... Rumpelstiltskin was a contradictory character. His own flaws were... Intensified by the Dark One, but he was far stronger than all the other previous hosts. Stronger than even he realized at times... I will be corrupted. It's a matter of when, not if. I'm counting on you to do the right thing if I cross too far over the line."

"Magic like this..." Giles replied. "Xander, magic always has a price in one form or another and this blade is of very foul magic. I can already guess, but I need you to tell me to make certain, what would happen to the person who killed you with this blade."

Xander looked at Giles sadly. "They'd become the new Dark One."

"I see..." Giles stated. "Is there no other way?"

Xander shook his head. "Not without a lot of set-up and planning that would also end in my death. Me and the Dark One... We're one and the same for the rest of my life. The best we could do is break the Dark One's chain of possession like Hook did. Problem is, I barely have the faintest clue how he did it."

"Hook... Captain James Hook, from Peter Pan?" Giles inquired.

Xander nodded. "Although that wasn't his real name- it was Killian Jones. He didn't become known as Captain Hook until he went to Neverland, which was some time after Rumpelstiltskin took his hand." Xander shook his head. "They were quite the pair, Rumple and Jones. Like oil and fire and adding in Peter was like adding dynamite."

"One day we're really going to have to sit down and write out everything you remember about Rumpelstiltskin's life." Giles told him.

"I doubt even the most open minded people in the magical community would believe it," Xander pointed out.

"Despite all that's possible with magic, they can be a rather close minded bunch," Giles agreed. "Doesn't mean it would hurt to put it out there."

"Giles..."

"Yes, Xander?"

"I'm scared out of my mind."

"I'd be surprised and a bit concerned if you weren't."