Following the monk's revelations, Xander turned to Giles and said. "Find out everything you can about the Monk's of Dagan. They're probably connected to that Dagan's Sphere thing, the guys found. Everything, no matter how big or insignificant, Giles."
Giles agreed and Xander turned to Jesse and said. "I know diagnostic spells exist. I want you to work with Samantha and find out every spell you can. Confirm or deny what he said about the baby. We need to know, because this 'abomination' he talked about, may believe, like him, that the baby is the Key it's looking for. Everything possible without endangering the baby, Jesse. Promise me."
"I promise, man. Everything I can and I won't risk hurting the baby." Jesse promised.
"What do we do if this monk was telling the truth, Boss?" Kyle asked.
Xander looked at Cordelia, who was serenely sitting there with both hands on her belly, over the baby. "It doesn't matter if they made this baby out of you and Rhonda or Jesse and Faith or Giles and Tara. Whether this is a mystical surrogacy or adoption. The baby is real, it exists and is ours to love, to care for and to protect. This baby is Pack." He placed his hand next to Cordelia's and laced their fingers together, palms flat against her belly. "Ours."
One by one, each of the others, Tor and Heidi, Kyle and Rhonda, Willow and Tara, Giles and Jenny, Jesse and Sarah, and Faith each placed a hand on Cordelia's swelling belly. A wall of protection around an innocent not yet born child. A silent and heartfelt vow.
In the days that followed, Giles and the Research Team found that the Monks of Dagan were an ancient order from Europe. When or how they came to be the Guardians of the Key, was not something they could discover, however, or how long they'd had it. The Dagan's Sphere had also been in their possession. Tara speculated that perhaps the reason it was known as 'that which repels what cannot be named' meant that it had been created before the written or perhaps even spoken word existed. Which would make it very old indeed. As well as whatever it was supposed to repel.
Jesse and Samantha did diagnostic after diagnostic spell. What seemed like an endless number of them. What they found was shocking, to say the least. The baby was a Protector. The first known case of a baby being born a Protector. Oh, Protectors had long had children of their own. But Protectors were made, not born. They also found that it had three genetic strands. Something never seen in a human before. They matched them to Xander, Cordelia and Faith. Somehow, this baby, had two genetic mothers and a father. Whether any children descended from the baby would also be Protectors, or bear the extra strand, was not something they could discover.
Faith was in shock. She had never expected to be a mother, however obliquely. But a fierce determination grew in her heart. No one and nothing was ever going to be allowed to harm this child. She'd die first! Was her silent vow.
A few days later, Tor and Heidi reported what seem to a Renaissance Faire type of deal set up outside of town. Only it was missing any women in fancy dresses and seemed to consistent only of men in medieval armor and horses. Deciding more information was needed, Xander and Giles, along with the Pack, went out to talk to the Renaissance people. They met with General Gregor, introducing themselves as Protectors. Gregor proved knowledgeable about Protectors and was willing to speak with them. He told them they were on a holy mission from God. They sought the Key. "The Key is the link, the link must be severed." Gregor told them. "It is God's will. Without the Key, the abomination cannot do what it seeks to do."
"What is this abomination and what does it want to do?" Giles asked.
"The abomination is a hell goddess. Together with two others, she ruled over a hell dimension. But her lust for power grew too great, a war occured between her and the others. In the end she was defeated. She was imprisoned here, in our realm. A new born male child was created to be her prison, their life forces tied together. When the human dies, so too, will she. We've never been able to discover the identity of the male human imprisoning her. We've tried for years. We know he was raised by some of the demons that followed her into her exile. But that is all we know."
"Can you tell us anything about these demons or what the abomination looks like?" Xander asked.
"The demons are short, ugly creatures. Weak, bad fighters. The abomination looks like a woman. Being in this realm takes a toll on her mentally. She feeds on the minds of humans in order to maintain her sanity. That's why we're here. The increase in the number of people spontaneously going insane has increased dramatically here in Sunnydale and Los Angeles. We know she's near. We will find her. If we sever the link, it is believed it will break her will. She will retreat into her prison for good and die with him."
A plan was beginning to form in Xander mind as he carefully reviewed all the information gathered and all the events of the last several months. After thanking Gregor for his information and promising to be on the lookout for the demons or the abomination, they left and returned to the Magic Box.
Xander told the group he suspected that the weird hobbity creatures they'd been seeing around town were the demons that had raised the male imprisoning the hell goddess and probably were responsible for bringing her people whose minds she could eat. He ordered the Pack and Faith to discretely follow any they came across and report back. They left to do so. Xander began to collect the resources he knew he had available to him. He called his uncle Rory and asked him to come to his and Cordelia's home that night for a talk. Once he arrived, Xander explained his plan. They worked out the details and Rory left to prepare.
All that was left was to find the hell goddess and then Xander was going to explain in painful detail, just why you don't challenge a group known as the Protectors.