"DOWN!" Dawn yelled at Xander as she took aim and fired the crossbow into the vampire coming up behind him.
"Heh, heh… nice reflexes, Dawn." Xander wiped the dust that had settled on his shoulder before turning around to face the others. "Is it me or is there more vamp activity lately?"
"Vamp and other assorted demons. I'm thinking there might be a convention in town." Buffy said as she staked her fifth vampire of the night.
"Ooh, maybe we should start selling tee-shirts at Willie's… 'My sire went to the Hellmouth and all I got was this lousy tee-shirt'." Xander said with a wink over his shoulder at Dawn.
Before Dawn could make a sarcastic comeback she felt an electric current run through her body. She gasped in shock as her arms stiffened out to her sides while her eyes glazed over.
"DAWN!" Both Xander and Buffy yelled as they rushed to the teenager's side. Buffy reached her just as Dawn's knees buckled and she gently cradled her.
Buffy turned pleading eyes to Xander, "I can't go through this again. I can't lose her, too." She turned her attention back to Dawn and softly stroked her cheek, "Come on, Dawn… Wake up."
Dawn's eyes cleared and she blinked a few times trying to gather her racing thoughts. Buffy's worried face swam into view and Dawn gave her a shaky smile. "Well, that was unexpected."
"Are you all right?" Xander knelt down next to them.
"Yeah, let me just catch my breath. Just a little bit of sensory overload."
Buffy helped Dawn sit up but she couldn't make herself break contact. "You sure you're all right? You gave us quite the scare."
Dawn's head cocked to the side, as she seemed to be listening to an inner voice. "Buff, what does it feel like when you get your Slayer tinglies?"
"What? You want a Slayer lesson now?"
"Just answer."
Buffy rolled her eyes, if she lived to be a thousand she'd never figure out her little sister. "Well, first there's a prickling along my skin. Kind of like when your foot's a sleep and it begins to wake up."
"Then does it make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end and you're filled with this kind of knowledge of how to kill it but you don't know where it came from?"
"Umm, yeah except for the filled with knowledge part. Dawn, what's going on?"
But Dawn didn't answer; she jumped up and scanned the area. "Don't you feel it?"
"Feel what?" Buffy tried to sort through what she was feeling but there were no Slayer tinglies except for the mild one she got around Spike.
A sound to Dawn's left caught her attention. As she turned her body she automatically brought her leg up into a roundhouse kick.
" 'ere now, what's this li'l bit? Tryin' to take my head off?" Spike smiled as he grabbed Dawn's leg before it made contact with his head.
Dawn blushed a bright red and was glad it was dark so no one could see her embarrassment. "Sorry, Spike I didn't know it was you."
Spike's smile faded as it finally registered that he was feeling more than one Slayer.
"What's going on? Why do I feel two Slayers?"
"I think I've just been Chosen." Dawn said shakily. "Oh god…. Do you think this means Faith died?"
"NO! NONONONONONONO. I mean it. You are SO NOT the next Slayer." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Dawn like it was her fault.
"WHAT?!? Do you think I want to be Chosen? I SO DON'T want to be the next Slayer. I can just see it… Poor Dawn can't do anything on her own, has to be a Slayer like her sister." Dawn crossed her arms and glared at Buffy.
"FINE!"
"FINE!"
"Umm, let's go see Giles. Maybe he can figure out what happened", Xander quietly suggested. It was best not to call attention to yourself when the Summers girls were arguing. They've been known to turn their wrath on an innocent bystander.
~~~~
"GILES!" Buffy yelled as they entered the Magic Box. "Dawn thinks she's been called. Tell her it's not possible."
Dawn opened her mouth to yell at Buffy but the look on Giles' face stopped them all in their tracks. "What? What's wrong?"
"I had a visitor earlier this evening that brought some very interesting news."
Anya rolled her eyes, "Must you be so melodramatic? God, I can't believe I thought I was engaged to you." She turned back to Buffy, "Tara's a mage and aliens are coming."
"Ooookay. I think I speak for all of us when I say, HUH?" Xander turned to Giles for an explanation.
"It seems that Tara had a rather unsettling experience last night. She was meditating when she went into a trance-like state. When she came out of it she had magickal knowledge beyond anything I've seen and she knew of the Amtuths, except she called them Furlings."
"What? How do you know it was the Amtuths?" Buffy asked.
"Because when she came here trying to find out what had happened to her she spotted my books and gave a perfect translation of one of its passages."
"Okay, that kind of explains the Tara is a mage but what about the aliens are coming."
A sudden bright, white light filled the Magic Box causing its occupants to shield their eyes briefly. Dawn, Spike and Buffy went into battle stance while Xander grabbed a weapon from the nearby case.
"That is still a rush."
"WILLOW?!?!"
"Hey guys, surprised to see me?"
"Uh, yeah. You could say that. Though not so much surprised to see you as how did you just pop in here?"
Willow grinned at Xander, "I've been learning some stuff while I've been away."
Spike's eyes narrowed as he noticed who was standing behind Willow, "Thought you were going to take GI-Joe home."
"Who's his friend?" Anya asked. She didn't like the way Xander couldn't take his eyes off the tall redhead.
"OH, I'm sorry. Guys, this is Penthesilea."
"Penthesilea? Like the legendary Amazon?" Giles asked incredulously.
Penthesilea smiled and gave a brief nod.
"Penthesilea was one of the greatest of the Amazon warriors. She was the daughter of Ares and Orithia and was very skilled with weapons and battle."
Willow grinned over her shoulder at Jack, "Wow, almost word for word what Daniel said. No wonder they got along so well."
"I will answer any question you might have, but first have there been anyone like me here recently?"
Xander gave her a goofy grin,
"Believe me I'd remember if there had been anyone like you around here."
Anya hit Xander on the back of the head as she flounced away to greet a customer that had just entered the store.
"P-perhaps we can finish this discussion in the back room." Giles indicated for the others to follow him into the training room.