"I have some things for you two," Xander said instead, trying to brainstorm what that energy in Dawnie was.

"What kind of things?" Joyce asked.

"Something's that can help you stay safe. Dawnie, this is the Chime of Ktido. Basically it'll sound an alarm, letting all of us know if you're in trouble. Emergency, scary kind of trouble, not oops! I forgot to do my homework kind of trouble." He playfully tugged on the ten year old's long hair.

"No superpowers of my own?" She pouted.

"Oh no, not until you grow up." Xander told her. "And most definitely not without your Mom's permission. You're still little, Dawnie and the rest of us are going to look out for you. Got it?"

"Fine." She mumbled. "I get that I can't talk about it either. I have read the comics, I know some people were scared of mutants and tried to hurt them."

"Mutants?" Joyce asked.

"We're not mutants, but we do have some things in common with them." Xander answered. "Mutants in the comics are another state of human development. Many of them developed powers. Most of them were naturally occuring, others were the result of experimentation. Many of them were heros, others just tried to live normal lives and others hurt people. Which made other people afraid they all would hurt people."

"Lumping them in with the monsters." Joyce glanced at Willow, who'd said that earlier. "While I am very scared right now, it's more fear for you guys, especially Buffy. Someone did this to her, made her like this. Like what happened to some of those mutants you mentioned. And other people might be afraid of you as a result."

"Unlike Buffy, we don't have to even have powers." Cordelia told her. "I could put down my sword and walk away, go back to being Queen C and pretend it never happened. Abandon Buffy to fight alone. But she can't get rid of her powers, she can't walk away and we won't make her fight alone. We can't and live with ourselves."

"And we can't leave you two vulnerable and ignorant." Jenny stated. "The things Buffy's had to deal with, they know she has these powers, some of them come looking for her."

"How?" Joyce wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she knew she needed to know. How else could she keep her baby safe?

"Those cowards didn't just make a living weapon." Buffy said grimly. "They made a lure, some of them can sense me and I can sense some of them. And some of them like to challenge themselves against me. Against us."

"There are more of you? These people did this to more kids?" Joyce's outrage spiked, more little girls 'chosen'.

"We don't know how long they've been doing it." Buffy replied. "Hundreds, thousands of years maybe. One after another. Without the vampires the biggest numerical threat is gone and they might know how to stop more from being this or it may stop happening to other girls by itself. We don't know."

"But because some of them can sense Buffy and because some of them are intelligent, they might target her family to get to her." Jenny said softly. "One already did."

"When? What was it?" Joyce tried to think of a time they'd have been in danger and she hadn't known it. Or was it happening now?

"Last Spring." Buffy answered. "Darla, that girl who told you she was my tutor, she was actually a vampire and she attacked you. That's how you ended up in the hospital, she hurt you."

"But she's gone now?" Joyce checked to be sure.

"She didn't survive the night. Not that she was alive, vampires are or were, dead bodies controlled by something incorporeal." Buffy answered. "But yeah, she's gone, along with all the other vampires."

"This is called the Ring of Zona." Xander held out his hand and showed Joyce a dull gold colored square shaped ring with a design etched into it. "With it you can make someone else invisible, if something attacks you and Dawn before we can get to you, all you have to do is aim it at her and activate it. She'll go temporarily invisible."

"Cool! Being invisible sounds so fun!" Dawn crowed.

"When you have control over it, maybe." Cordelia smiled sadly, remembering Marcie, a girl who didn't have control over it and went crazy.

"It'll help me keep Dawn safe." Joyce picked up the ring from the palm of Xander's hand. "I trust you, Xander." She told the young man. "Cordelia told me about you saving her from some guy who wouldn't accept no for an answer." She slipped the ring on her finger. "How do I activate it?" Xander explained and Joyce tested it on Ted's robot body. Soon she could make it invisible and bring it back at will. Yes, this would help keep Dawn safe.

"And this is a warp cloak." Xander showed Joyce the last item he had for her. "With this you have a limited teleporting ability. You and Dawnie can escape from something threatening you. These things can help keep you safe, you need to keep them with you or nearby."

"Thank you." Joyce tried to wrap her mind around all of the revelations, the secrets revealed tonight. The monsters these kids were fighting with limited adult help. All of them chosing to help because someone forced Buffy to fight and her friend's refused to abandon her, refused to make her fight those things alone.

What kind of cowards forced children to fight monsters?

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A/N I figured Joyce would prefer not to have actual weapons, but still be able to protect both herself and Dawn.