Chapter 147: Little Monsters
In a darkened alleyway, Piper and Buffy hide behind a stack of rubbish and discarded junk, the screams of a demon in pain fill the air causing them to cringe. Paige and Phoebe orb into the alley behind them just as Dawn shimmers in.
"Ok, let's vanquish this demon." Paige said.
"Shh! Something beat us to the punch." Piper said.
Paige, Dawn and Phoebe walk up next to Buffy and Piper to look at the sight. They see the demon on the ground and another creature above it tearing its flesh off with its teeth.
"Eew. What is it doing?" Phoebe said.
"Apparently eating the demon." Buffy said as they watch the creature stick its hand into the demon's chest and takes something out.
The creature puts whatever it took from the demon's chest into a pouch.
"Or storing it." Dawn said as the demon turns to dust and disappears and the creature stands up.
"What is it?" Phoebe asked.
Piper shook her head as she indicates herself and Buffy. "We don't know. And I don't wanna find out. Let's get outta here." She stands up to leave and inadvertently makes a noise.
The creature looks up at them and Paige gasps. It hisses and flicks its forked tongue in their direction. Then it speeds toward them, knocking them of their feet.
Paige, Dawn and Phoebe fly backward into the pile of junk at the base of the far wall and they fall to the ground.
Standing alone, Buffy and Piper turns to face the creature. Piper using her exploding power blasts it, but nothing happens. Buffy powers up a fireball throwing it at the creature which doesn't seem to phase it either.
Piper blasts it again and again, trying to get out her and Buffy from their trapped position. Buffy continues flinging fireballs. Neither attack has any affect on the creature.
Dawn gets up and throws an energy ball at the creature. The electricity from the energy ball electrocutes the creature as it screams in pain, then bursts into fire and flame and is finally vanquished.
Paige and Phoebe rise to their feet and they along with Dawn go over to Piper and Buffy. "You ok?" Phoebe asked.
Piper nodded. "Peachy."
"With the side of keen." Buffy added.
They turn their heads when they hear a noise coming from the discarded burlap sack on the ground. They cautiously approach it as Piper and Buffy kneel down and pulls the cloth aside to reveal a human baby under it. The baby smiles and coos at them, then flicks its forked tongue at them.
Piper and Buffy flinch in surprise as Phoebe and Dawn's eyes widen. Paige on the other hand just stare at the baby. "Cute." Paige said as flicks its forked tongue.
Later back at the Manor the baby is in Wyatt and Celia's playpen chewing on a teething toy. Paige, Dawn and Phoebe stand side-by-side looking down at the baby.
"I still can't believe we vanquished his mommy." Phoebe said.
Paige nodded. "Yeah, but we didn't know it was a mommy, and besides, mommy tried to kill us."
I know. Still, look at how cute he is. So adorable. Oh, except when he does that weird little thing with his tongue." Phoebe said.
"I wonder why he looks so human." Dawn said.
Phoebe shrugged. "I don't know. But he won't for long."
Piper and Buffy comes down the stairs in their hands they both hold a baby monitor.
"Ok, Wyatt and Celia's upstairs, so at least he's ..." Piper said as Wyatt orbs down into the playpen next to the baby just as Celia flames in next to Wyatt. She and Buffy turn watch their children as the baby smiles at Wyatt and Celia. "... safe."
"Don't worry about Wyatt or Celia. They've got their protective bubbles. They'll use the if they need it." Phoebe said.
"Plus, it looks like they likes their new friend." Paige said.
"That is not a friend. That's a demon." Buffy said.
Dawn shook her head. "No, he's just a baby!"
Piper frowned. "'Scuse me. Were you at the same vanquish as us? Because it took all three of us to stop its mother."
"It doesn't mean he's gonna turn out that way." Paige said.
"Dawnie, Paige, he doesn't have a choice. It's genetic." Phoebe said.
Paige shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Okay. Maybe I'm a little biased because I am, in fact, adopted, but I really think there's something to the whole nurture versus nature thing and predicting how a kid is gonna turn out, you know, the classic environment versus biology argument."
"But this is not a child. It's a demon." Phoebe said.
"Ok. Why don't you go over there and see if you can sense anything evil." Dawn said.
Phoebe looks at the baby in the playpen. "All right." She walks over to a seat near the playpen and looks at the baby. She shrugs, "Nothing ... good or evil."
"My point exactly! Clay to be molded." Paige said.
"Yeah, I don't know about that." Buffy said.
Phoebe nodded. "Still, the question remains, what are we supposed to do with him?"
Chris orbs into the room, his back to the playpen. "So you vanquished the demon?"
"Yes ... and no." Piper said as Chris raises his eyebrows to that cryptic answer.
"Well, the good news is the demon you sent us after is, in fact, uh ... gone." Dawn said.
"And the bad news is is whatever ate it ... left us that." Phoebe points to the playpen as Chris turns around and sees the baby. It flicks its tongue out at him.
"I think he likes you." Paige said.
"I don't care. Vanquish it." Chris said.
"Chris!" Phoebe said.
"I mean it. Now." Chris said.
Dawn shook her head. "No! We are not vanquishing a baby. What's wrong with you?"
"I'm just concerned that this could be the future evil that gets to Wyatt and Celia." Chris said.
PAIGE shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous."
"What? I'm being ridiculous?! There's a demon in the playpen." Chris said as the telephone rings.
"I'll get it." Paige said as she turns to leave the room.
"Hey, if it's Jason, tell him I'm in the shower." Phoebe said.
"Are you avoiding him?" Buffy asked as she and Piper takes a seat across from Phoebe.
"Uh ... kind of. I, um ... sort of told him that I loved him last night." Phoebe said.
"Oh. And this is bad?" Piper asked.
Phoebe shook her head. "No. Except I said, 'I love you, too,' as if he said, 'I love you' first, which he didn't."
"So, wait...you told him that he loves you before he told you that he loves you?" Piper asked.
Phoebe nodded. "Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm."
"Yeah, that's not good." Piper said.
Phoebe sighed. "Yeah. I'll be lucky if he doesn't move to Hong Kong permanently now. I really thought I had my empath power under control."
"Forget that. What are you gonna do?" Chris said.
"What am I supposed to do? I mean, you tell a guy that you love them, and they bolt. It's just what they do." Phoebe said.
Chris sighed. "About the baby. I meant the baby. We gotta do something."
The baby coos as every looks at him. He sees a pacifier across the playpen and flicks his tongue stretching it out across the playpen and picking up the pacifier with it bringing it to his mouth to suck on.
"Fast." Chris said.
Moments later Dawn, Buffy and Phoebe watch as Piper is playing peek-a-boo, or at least trying. She has her hands over her eyes as Wyatt watches her. "Where's Wyatt? Where is he? Look, look, wait. Listen. Where's Wyatt?" She moves her hands away from her eyes to look at Wyatt as she playfully gasps. "There he is! Look! Look!" She covers her eyes. "Where's Wyatt? Where's Wyatt?" She moves her hands away to look at Wyatt. "There he is!"
It's obvious that Wyatt's not interested. He shakes his head and goes back to play with Celia.
"All right." Piper said as she gave up.
"I don't think distracting him or Celia is the answer." Chris said.
"Which was why I gave up with Celia a couple a minutes ago." Buffy said.
"Celia… Wyatt, bad demon. Very bad demon." Piper said.
Paige walks back into the conservatory having just got off the phone.
"Hey, was that Jason?" Phoebe asked.
Paige shook her head. "No. That was my raison d'etre."
"Pardon?" Dawn asked.
"That was Darryl. I've been wondering why the temp agency hasn't called, and now I know why. I needed to be free to help him." Paige said.
"To do what?" Buffy asked.
"Well, to save an innocent. Why else would he have called? And, more importantly, why else would I have been the one to answer the phone?" Paige said.
"'Cause you were the closest to it?" Dawn said.
Paige shook her head. "No. Because it's my reason for being. Call me if you need help." She heads for the door.
"What? - You're just gonna let her go?" Chris said.
"You're welcome to try and stop her." Piper said.
Phoebe nodded. "I should go talk to Jason."
"And her, too." Buffy and Dawn said.
Chris shook his head. "Wait. Stop. Where are you going? Are you slightly concerned that there's a demon in the house?"
"Chris, this is a baby, ok? Relax." Phoebe said. "You three call me if you need anything."
"Love you, too." Piper, Buffy and Dawn said.
Phoebe shook her head. "Don't."
"Sorry." Piper, Buffy and Dawn said.
"And you three are okay with this? Them dumping this in your laps?" Chris said.
"Well, they don't seem too worried." Buffy said.
Chris looks down at the playpen. "Well, they should be. I need to figure out what kind of creature we're dealing with here." He turned and leaves the room.
Buffy, Piper and Dawn look down at the three babies in the playpen.
Later Chris is reading from the Book of Shadows. "Vicious demons with supernatural strength and venomous claws, manticores communicate with high-pitched cries and tend to travel in packs." He nods. "Great. I say we get rid of the little brat before the pack comes looking for him."
"Ok. Fine. What do you suggest we do with him, call social services?" Dawn asked.
Chris shook his head. "No, I suggest you vanquish it."
"Chris, Buffy and I are mothers. We can't go around vanquishing babies, no matter how evil they are." Piper said. "Right, Buffy?"
Buffy nodded in agreement, "Right, Piper."
"It's not how evil he is. It's how evil he's gonna be. You gotta stop looking at him like he's a little baby and start looking at him like he's an unstoppable killing machine, because that's what he is." Chris said.
"We realize that, but still –" Dawn said.
Chris shook his head. "— But still nothing. You three are supposed to protect the innocents, right? Think of all the future innocents you can save by vanquishing him right now."
"Don't you think I know that? I'm scared to death of what he could possibly to do Wyatt ir Celia, but we can't even separate them." Piper said.
Chris sighed. "Payson, Dawn, Piper, there's one thing you three can do, and you know it. And you'd better do it fast before any other manticores show up. There's no known vanquishing potion."
Piper, Buffy and Dawn look at Chris.
"We just ... can't do it." Dawn said.
"Ok. Well, if you three won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to Leo." Chris said as he orbed out.
Piper, Buffy and Dawn and looks at the playpen. Inside the pen, WYATT and Celia are playing peek-a-boo with the baby. Wyatt covers his eyes, the baby shimmers out. Wyatt uncovers his eyes, the baby shimmers back in. They watch amused.
This time Celia covers her eyes, the baby shimmers out. Celia uncovers her eyes and the baby shimmers back in and squeals with delight.
Wyatt and Celia look at their mothers and aunt.
Later Piper and Buffy carry Wyatt and Celia into the attic.
"Ok, listen to me. Wyatt you will not orb down to your little friend." Piper said.
"Celia you will not flame down either." Buffy said. "Do you understand us? No orbing or flaming."
Piper and Buffy put Wyatt and Celia down in the playpen. They are not alone for long as the baby shimmers into the playpen next to Wyatt and Celia.
Piper sighed. "I give up."
"Ditto." Buffy said.
"Whoo! I have had it with men. They are incorrigible." Phoebe said as she walked into the attic.
"Well, let me tell you, little boys are not much better." Piper said.
"I could understand running if he didn't love me back, you know? Fight or flight. It's the nature of the beast." Phoebe said.
"Speaking of that –" Piper said.
"But he does love me. I know. I felt it, you know? So what's the big deal? Why is he running?" Phoebe said.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you probably won't be alive much longer to worry about it." Buffy said.
"Thank you, yes. That makes me feel so much better." Phoebe said.
Buffy sighed. "I'm just saying, if this doesn't work, we may not be able to vanquish the manticores when they come to pick up their little one."
"Oh, you two figured out what they are?" Phoebe asked.
Piper nodded. "Yeah. And it's not good, believe me."
"So maybe Chris was right." Phoebe said as Dawn walked into the attic.
"Yeah, I know, but ..." Piper shakes her head. "... I can't."
"I can't either." Buffy and Dawn said.
Phoebe sighed. "Piper, you said it yourself. He was born evil."
"I know. And I still believe that. I do. But something just doesn't add up about him. Why isn't Wyatt or Celia using their protective shields? Why doesn't Wyatt or Celia think he's evil?" Piper said.
"Well, we gotta keep Wyatt and Celia away from him." Phoebe heads for the playpen and picks Wyatt up. "
"Phoebe, wait –" Buffy, Dawn and Piper yell out.
"You stay away from my nephew and niece, ok? And don't shimmer after them either, or I'll bind your powers." Phoebe said.
Suddenly, the baby starts to cry with an unnatural high-pitched wailing sound.
"Phoebe, hurry! Put him back down." Dawn said.
"What? Ok ..." Phoebe puts Wyatt into the playpen, then turns around to look at Piper, Buffy and Dawn.
"Why?" Phoebe asked as The Beast shimmers into the attic just behind Phoebe.
"That's why." Piper said.
The Beast backhands Phoebe and she goes flying across the attic, straight into Piper. He turns to the playpen as Wyatt and Celia's protective force shields go up around the entire playpen. The Beast tries to reach in for the baby, but the dual force shields prevent him.
Buffy throws a fireball at The Beast. "Hey! You get away from my kid and my nephew!" She continues to throw fireball after fireball till finally the Beast shimmers out of the attic.
Suddenly, The BEAST shimmers back into the attic behind Buffy and grabs her with a roar. He shimmers them both out of the attic.
Phoebe, Piper and Dawn stares at the empty space in disbelief.
Paige walks into the attic carrying an ice pack. Dawn sits at the table scrying for Buffy. Piper is tending to Wyatt as Phoebe tends to Celia and the baby who is sleeping quietly while Wyatt and Celia still awake watches them.
Paige gives Phoebe the ice pack, who puts it on the back of her neck.
"I feel really bad that I wasn't there to help you earlier." Paige said.
"Oh, I don't think you could've helped even if you were there. Thanks. That thing was just as powerful as the manticore." Phoebe said.
"Buffy threw fireball after fireball and it didn't seem to phase it." Dawn said.
"Are you three sure it wasn't a manticore?" Paige asked.
Piper nodded. "Yeah, we're positive. It was more, I don't know, like, beast-like."
"What do you think it wanted with the baby?" Paige asked.
"I don't know, but I think it's really weird that is showed up right after the baby started crying. You know, as if it could hear him." Phoebe said.
Paige nodded. "Maybe we can get the baby to cry again and lure The Beast here, and torture him into coughing up Buffy."
"It's a great idea, but we don't have a potion yet." Phoebe said.
Dawn let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't find Buffy anywhere."
Paige turns around to the potions table. "Ok, let me get started on the potion. The good news is if he wanted to kill Buffy by now, he probably would have. And undoubtedly he's holding her hostage somewhere, probably magically cloaked and warded so she can't flame out. And I think he's gonna use her as leverage to get that baby, just you watch."
"Since when did you become an expert on hostage situations?" Piper asked.
"About an hour ago." Paige said as Chris and Leo orbed into the attic.
"Hey." Chris said.
"Shh, shh. Keep it down. Don't wake the baby. Trust me." Paige said.
"Where's Payson?" Chris whispered.
"That's a really good question." Piper said.
"Wait, she's missing?" Leo asked.
Chris frowned. "Did the manticores take her?"
Phoebe shook her head. "No, some other creature that wanted the baby."
"Damn it, you should have listened to me. You should have vanquished him when you had the chance." Chris said.
"Well, it's good that we didn't because we're gonna need the baby to get Buffy back." Dawn said.
"You guys, shh. Keep your voices down." Phoebe said.
Paige shook her head. "I am not convinced that that baby is inherently evil, which means he's probably not even responsible for any of this."
"Oh, come on! Will you please talk to her?" Chris said.
Leo shook his head. "Not everyone is born morally neutral, especially not demons. They're predisposed to evil."
"Predisposed, yeah, but it doesn't mean they can't be raised to overcome it. You can't predict whether a kid is gonna be good or evil based on his genetics." Paige said.
Chris shook her head. "Paige, we're not talking about kids. We're talking about demons."
Paige sighed. "No, we are talking about a demon kid who so far has played nothing but nice with Wyatt and Celia."
"Ok, you guys, this is all irrelevant. We need the baby to find Buffy, so let's just focus on that, shall we?" Dawn said.
Leo nodded. "She's right. Although I think I should take Celia and Wyatt just to be on the safe side."
"What if the other baby wakes up?" Piper whispered.
"They won't be able to follow me where I'm going." Leo said as he picked up Wyatt and then Celia.
"It's gonna scream bloody murder and call half the manticores in the city to come save it. Maybe The Beast, too." Paige said.
"We have to be prepared." Phoebe said. "Ok. Go, just quietly."
Leo orbs out with Wyatt and Celia as Chris orbs out also. Piper and Phoebe get to their feet and heads towards Paige and Dawn and the potions table. "Let's get started on that potion." Piper said.
Somewhere in San Francisco at The Beast's home Buffy is sitting on the floor of the living room, her hands securely tired behind her back. She works on getting herself free. As she works on the ropes, The Beast walks rapidly across the doorway, keeping out of her sight.
"Hello? Who's there?" Buffy called out.
The Beast peers behind the door frame. "I want the child."
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"I want the child!" The Beast repeated.
"Yeah. I heard you the first time." Buffy said as The Beast walks into the room and hides behind a bookshelf. "Look, if you're trying to scare me, it's not gonna work 'cause I've seen worse. Really."
The Beast shook his head. "I doubt it. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't do as I ask."
"Who are you kidding? You need me, otherwise I'd be dead already." Buffy said.
The Beast steps out into the open. "Don't mock me!"
"Ok, easy, easy. Sorry." Buffy said as The Beast steps behind the lampshade. "You're not a manticore, are you? So why do you want the kid anyway?"
"That's not your concern." The Beast replied.
"Well, it is if you want my help." Buffy said. "I'm not just gonna serve him up to you as a snack."
The Beast shook his head. "That's not why I want him. How'd you get him away from his mother anyway?"
"We vanquished her." Buffy said.
The Beast sighed. "You have no idea what you've done."
"We got a baby away from a demon, and I'm not gonna give him up to another one." Buffy said.
"Then you'll die!" The beast replied.
"The hell I will." Buffy said as she powered up a fireball burning through the ropes, freeing herself. She throws the fireball at The Beast and misses hitting the wall behind him. It's enough to provide her some cover to get away amidst the debris and runs out of the room and heads for the front door. The protective shield around the house zaps Buffy and she's thrown back into the house.
Buffy gets to her feet and runs into the nearby bedroom where she hides and peers out of the bedroom doorway. She gets a good look at the mess in the house. Seeing that there's no one there, she tries to make a break for it. She takes a couple of steps and stops as she looks down and sees a broken framed photograph of a smiling young man. She looks around and sees a baby toy near the picture. She picks it up.
Buffy turns around and comes face to face with The Beast. He growls and grabs her as they both stand up.
"Last chance. Help me get the child or die." The Beast said.
"What are you doing with this?" Buffy asked showing him the baby toy.
Angry, The Beast tosses Buffy across the room and she lands on the bed. "What is the matter with you? Do you have a death wish? I've come too far. I've gone through too much to lose him now. Don't make me kill you!"
"Why don't you just do it? What are you waiting for? " Buffy said. "Get it over with!"
"I can do worse than kill you. I can keep you here. You'll never see your child again. Think about it." The Beast shimmers out leaving Buffy alone.
Buffy glances down at the toy in her hand.
At the Manor Paige adds an ingredient to the potion and it explodes. "Well, can't think of anything else to add. It's the most powerful potion we've ever made."
"I agree. I guess it's time to wake up the baby?" Phoebe said as her cell phone rings. She answers it as the baby starts to stir as he opens his eyes. "Hello?
"Hey, it's me." Jason's voice came from the phone
"Oh, hey, Jason." Phoebe said a little distracted.
"I, uh ... I didn't want to leave like this."
"Uh, I can't really talk right now. I'm kind of busy." Phoebe replied.
"Oh, really? Come on, Phoebe. Why do you always have to make things so difficult?"
"Oh, I make things so difficult?" Phoebe asked as the baby stirs and coos. Paige looks nervously at the playpen. "And how exactly do I do that? By being honest with my feelings and by making you be honest with yours?"
"You know it's not that simple."
The baby starts to cry in a high-pitched wail.
"Ok, I really have to go now." Phoebe said.
"Phoebe, wait."
"Have a good flight." Phoebe said as she hung up the phone. "Piper! Dawn!" She looked to Paige. "Toss me a vial."
Paige tosses Phoebe a vial as Piper and Dawn run into the attic grabbing a vial themselves.
A manticore shimmers into the room next to Paige. She turns to look at him, but the manticore backhands her. She goes flying across the attic to the other side.
The manticore takes a step next to Phoebe as she throws the vial, vanquishing the manticore in an explosion of fire and smoke.
"Paige, you ok?" Piper asked.
Paige groans as two more manticores shimmer into the attic behind Phoebe. They growl at Phoebe as Dawn throws her potion vanquishing one of the manticores. The other manticore backhands Phoebe across the face sending her flying across the attic toward the opposite wall and crashes next to Paige.
The last manticore hisses, it's forked tongue tasting the air around it as it advances on Piper. Piper gets ready to throw her potion just as The Beast shimmers into the attic. He growls and hits the manticore. For a long moment, the two creatures stare at each other. Finally, the manticore disappears into a pile of dust.
The baby coos as The Beast looks up at the playpen. Thinking that the baby is in danger, Piper turns to face The Beast as he picks up the baby. Piper throws the vial and hits The Beast in the back, injuring him. He turns around, growls and shimmers himself and the baby out of the attic.
"So much for our leverage." Piper said.
At tbe Beast's home Buffy stands at the front door throwing fireball after fireball trying to use her powers to break through the force shield so she can flame out.
Finally, the fireball zaps the door and electrical shocks run up and down the frame. Thinking that was the one to break through the shield, Buffy cautiously reaches for the knob. She grabs it and opens the door stepping outside into a residential neighborhood. She looks around up and down the street knowing that this is just another piece of the puzzle that's not adding up.
Behind her, she hears The Beasts's heavy breathing and knows that he's returned. Knowing that she's free to leave, Buffy instead, heads back into the house. She walks into the bedroom and sees The Beast hunched over the baby, softly cooing to him.
"Shh. You're ok. It's all right. You're home now." The Beast said.
Sensing that he's not alone, The Beast turns around and sees Buffy watching from the doorway. Their eyes meet and a strange bond of understanding passes among them.
At the Manor Paige takes a sample of the manticore's blood off of the attic floor. She gives the sample to Phoebe.
"This had better work." Paige said.
"Oh, it will." Phoebe said as Leo and Chris orbed in.
"We just got back from talking to The Elders, and they're in agreement. If we can't return the baby safely to the manticores ..." Leo said.
"... we'll vanquish him." Chris finished.
Dawn sighed. "Talk about your moot points, people."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris asked.
"Well, do you notice anything missing?" Piper said.
Leo and Chis turn to look at the playpen.
"The baby?" Leo asked.
"What happened?" Chris said.
"The Beast took him ... right after the manticores kicked our asses." Dawn said.
Phoebe sighed. "This is all Jason's fault."
"How's that?" Leo asked.
Phoebe shook her head. "Oh, you're a guy. You wouldn't get it."
"Wait. How are we supposed to get back Payson if we don't have a baby?" Chris said.
"Well, we're gonna try to have another little get-together with the manticores. See if we can't strike some sort of deal." Piper said.
Phoebe nodded. "If we can join forces with them to kill the beast, then they can get their baby back."
"And we get our sister back." Dawn said.
"And what if they don't want to join forces?" Leo asked.
Well, then we hope we have enough of these fancy little things to go around." Paige said.
"No. No way. It's too risky." Chris said.
"Well, blood is thicker than water." Phoebe adds the manticore blood to the scrying crystal before handing to Dawn who starts to scry with it.
At The Beast's house, he roars as Buffy tries to clean and dress his wound. "Well, quit moving around so much. You're just making this more difficult."
"Just leave me alone." The Beast said.
Buffy shook her head. "Why? So you can die? Hey, it's your choice. I'm just saying if we can't stop this bleeding—"
"Fine. Whatever. Just hurry up." The Beast interrupted.
Buffy smiled. "You're welcome. Who did this to you?"
"Your family." The Beast said.
"Oh. Sorry. Actually, if they used the potion I think they did, you're lucky to be alive. You should have been blown to pieces." Buffy said.
"How do you know?" The Beast asked.
"Well, 'cause I made it." Buffy said.
"Aah!" The Beast said.
"Oh, come on. Show a little spine. What kind of demon are you?" Buffy said.
The Beast shook his head. "I'm not a demon."
"Then what are you? I saw a picture of a man in the bedroom. Oh, come on. I've been around a lot of demons, and they don't usually live in neighborhoods right out of Home & Garden." Buffy said.
The Beast sighed. "Is that why you're helping me? You think this is some sort of hideous curse or something?"
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, basically."
The Beast stands up and moves away from Buffy. "Well, then go. I don't need your pity. That's no what happened, and that's not who I am." He glances over at the baby. "Not anymore, anyway. Just leave us. Go."
Buffy gets to her feet and approaches the BEAST. "Us? You mean you and your ... son? What happened?"
"Manticores mate with humans to create hybrids so they can blend in. Hide in plain sight. They kill their mates after conception, but I got away. Ever since, all I could think about was saving my son. So he wouldn't have to be raised like one of them. The only chance I had to do that was ... to turn myself into this, to become powerful." The Beast said.
"But, um, how?" Buffy asked.
"I just started mixing potions ... using whatever I could steal from them. I didn't know what I was doing, but I didn't care. All I cared about was finding a way to fight them ... to find him. I didn't care what would happen to me. I just wanted my son." The Beast said.
"You know they're gonna try and take him back." Buffy said.
The Beast nodded. "I know."
"So let's get you fixed up so we can fight them together." Buffy said.
The Beast looked at Buffy.
In the Manticore cave, a pack of manticores feast on flesh, eatting like animals on the floor of the cave. As Paige and Phoebe orb in and Dawn shimmers in with Piper.
"Ooo." Piper said.
Paige waves to get the Manticore's attention. "Hey!" The manticores stop eating and look up. "Sorry to interrupt."
The manticores stand up to face the intruders as Dawn and Phoebe each hold up potion vials.
"Ah-ah-ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you." Phoebe said as the manticores growl.
"Do you think we have enough potion?" Paige mumbles.
"So ... who wants to go hunting with us?" Dawn said as the manticores growl and look at each other.
At The Beast's house Buffy walks out of the kitchen with a towel. "This is gonna be a little cold." She puts it on The Beast's back and checks his wound. "The bleeding's not stopping. You should come home with me, and we can do more there."
The Beast shook his head. "No, I can't."
"If you're worried about my sisters –" Buffy said.
The Beast shook his head. "It's not your family I'm worried about. It's the manticores. They'll be looking for me there. They'll be looking for him there."
"But you don't understand. We have somebody who can heal you once we turn you back into—" Buffy said.
The Beast shook his head. "You can't turn me back. No one can. Not unless I die."
"So how were you planning on raising your son?" Buffy asked.
The Beast sighed. "I wasn't. I figured I'd find someone ... after. All I cared about was saving him. That's exactly what I'm gonna keep on doing." He stands up and moves away.
Buffy puts a hand on his arm and stops him. The Beast glances down at her hand then back up at her. "You can't run forever, you know. Not for long. Not with that. And who's gonna save him when you're dead?"
"You have a way with words, you know that?" The Beast said.
"I quip a lot." Buffy said as Paige and Phoebe orb in at the same time as Dawn and Piper shimmer in.
"Buffy, duck!" Dawn said as they throw the potion vials at The Beast. Buffy throws a fireball incenerating the vials.
"What are you doing?" Buffy said as a couple of manticores shimmer into the room. They attack The Beast and pull Buffy toward Dawn, Piper, Paige and Phoebe. The manticore joins the other to attack The Beast.
"Let's get her out of here." Phoebe said.
"No! Wait!" Buffy said as Paige orbs her and Phoebe out just as Dawn and Piper shimmer out.
The manticores continue to pummel The Beast while the baby cries.
Back at the Manor Paige, Phoebea and Buffy orb into the foyer just as Dawn and Piper shimmer in.
"What the hell are you doing?" Buffy said in a panic.
"Saving your life." Paige said.
Buffy shook her head. "No, no, no. You don't understand. We have to go back. Hurry." She flamed out as Paige orbed out with Phoebe and Dawn shimmered out with Piper and back to The Beast's home.
Everything's deathly quiet; the manticores and the baby are gone. Buffy sees The Beast on the living room floor beaten and broken. "Oh, no." She rushes forward and kneels down next to him as he turns to look at her. She looks at the bedding where the baby was and sees that the baby is gone.
Buffy looks back at The Beast and with his last breath, he weakens on the verge of death, thus ending the potion's magic and transforming back to his human self as Piper, Dawn, Phoebe and Paige watch, completely stunned.
Moments later they return to the Manor where Paige orbs The Beast onto the sofa in the living room.
"Leo, we need you!" Buffy called out as Leo and Chris orbed in. She motions to The Beast. "Hurry. He's dying."
Leo rushes forward. "Who is he?"
"The Beast. Heal. Heal. Hurry." Buffy said.
Leo puts his hands over The Beast and starts to heal him.
"Where's the baby?" Chris asked.
"Manticores have him." Paige said.
Chris nodded. "Oh, so the plan worked."
"Yeah. A little too well." Pheobe said.
"And now we just have to get the baby back." Piper said.
Chris frowned, "What?!"
"Paige, Dawn, will you two go fill up some potion vials, please?" Buffy said.
"Yeah." Paige and Dawn said.
"Lots of 'em." Buffy said as Paige and Dawn head up the stairs.
"Hold up, are you serious? You finally get rid of the demon child and now you want to risk your lives trying to get it back?" Chris said.
"He's not a demon child." Healed, The Beast sits up on the couch as everyone turns to look at him. "That's my son."
"How are you feeling? Are you all right?" Piper asked.
"I can't believe I'm human again." The Beast said, amazed to find he was indeed human.
"Aren't you glad you didn't kill me now?" Buffy said.
Leo shook his head. "Not funny. I don't think that's funny."
"Agreed." Chris said.
"Oh, what? Are you two on, like, the same team now?" Phoebe said. "We're gonna get your baby back. I promise."
"Do we not have a say in this?" Chris asked.
Leo shook his head. "No, we don't. One thing you gotta learn about being their Whitelighter is once they make up their mind, that's it. Besides, I'm a father first." He glances at The Beast and the two share an understanding.
"So we're gonna have to separate the baby before we attack. You know that, right?" Phoebe said.
"Why?" The Beast asked.
"Well, because the potion vanquishes manticores. And ... your son is half manticore." Piper said.
In the Manticore Cave the manticores are sleeping in a group; the baby is awake and cooing in the center.
Paige, Piper and Phoebe orb in as Dawn and Buffy shimmer in behind a large rock in the back of the cave. They spot the baby immediately.
"See him?" Buffy asked.
Phoebe nodded. "Let's just hope he sees you before they see us."
"Should I just orb the baby to us?" Paige asked.
Buffy shook her head. "No. He'll probably just shimmer back, and then we'll be in trouble, but this is gonna work."
Piper and Phoebe turns to Paige and Dawn and motions for them to hand them some of the vials. Paige and Dawn digs into their bags and hands out some of the vials.
"Hurry. Hurry." Phoebe said.
"Thanks." Piper added.
"Hi!" Buffy said as the baby squeals and coos. "Watch!" Looking at the baby, Buffy covers her eyes and starts to play the game that she and Piper had played with Wyatt and Celia. "Peekaboo! You can do it. Come on. Come on." The manticores start to stir. She covers her eyes and tries again. "Peekaboo!"
The manticores wake and get to their feet, their forked tongues tasting the air around them. Buffy continues to look at the baby. "Come on. You can do it." She covers her eyes and the baby disappears.
The manticores look around seeing that the baby is gone as Dawn, Paige, Buffy, Phoebe and Piper stand up. The manticores see them and speed over to them. as Phoebe, Piper and Buffy throw their vials, hitting the manticores in their chests and vanquishing them. More manticores speed toward them, but the girls are ready and successfully vanquish them also.
When the last of the manticores are gone, the baby shimmers back into the cave, smiling and cooing. Buffy rushes toward the baby. "You're ok. Hi!" She picks up him. "Good job!"
"So much for nature being more important than nurture." Paige said as everyone smiles.
Back at the Manor The Beast leans over the playpen and stares at his son playing with Wyatt and Celia. Buffy enters the room pushing a stroller with a package on it. "Here are some clothes and a stroller." Buffy said.
The Beast turns around and picks up the package. "Sure you don't mind?"
Buffy shook her head. "No, not at all. Piper said Wyatt has outgrown it all, and neither she nor I see ourselves having more kids anytime soon, so enjoy."
"Thanks ... uh, for everything. I just - I wish there was something I could do for you." The Beast said as Paige and Dawn joins them.
"Well, you could tell us your name." Dawn said.
"Sorry?" The Beast said.
Paige smiled. "I mean, unless you prefer being called "The Beast"?"
He laughs. "Derek. My name's Derek."
"It's nice to meet you, Derek." Buffy said.
Dawn looks at the baby. "What's his name?"
"I-I never gave him one. Actually, I never - I never had the chance." Derek said.
"Well, now you do." Piper said as she walked into the room.
Derek nodded. "Well, I guess I should be going. That is if I can pry him away from Wyatt and Celia."
"Yeah. Good luck." Piper and Buffy said.
As if on cue, the baby shimmers out of the playpen and into the stroller, eager to get home with his dad. Derek smiles.
Paige smiled as t phone rang. "That is cute. I'll get it." She heads out of the room.
"Uh, you know, if you ever need us to bind his powers ..." Piper said.
Derek shook his head. "No. I mean, thanks. That's really sweet, but it's not necessary. He's a good boy, so ... it's just up to me to make sure he stays that way."
"In that case, he's in good hands." Buffy said as Derek leans over and picks up the package of clothes. "Well, take care."
"You, too." Derek pushes the stroller out of the room.
Paige walks back into the room, holding the phone and groaning. She looks sheepishly at Piper.
"What? What'd you do?" Piper said.
"I kinda forgot to reverse the spell I put on Darryl." Paige said.