Balloon demon

A Balloon demon was member of the Magic Council first formation. The seeming red balloon contained an amorphous monster, and had an obligatory symbiotic relationship with what appeared to be a young human girl.

Biography
The Balloon demon was present during the Magic Council reunion recruiting Buffy Summers. The Balloon informed the Slayer that the meeting wasn't about blame, but about giving her a chance to repair the damage that has been done to the Earth, referring to the end of magic. The Council needed her help against the "the Siphon" Severin, which growing power, according to the Balloon, "threatened the natural order of things".

When Buffy discovered the Siphon was using the Council to target Illyria, interested in her time travel abilities, the Balloon questioned if he could steal more than her mystical energies, which nobody knew for certain. The possibility, though, was apocalyptic, so the Balloon declared he must be stopped.

When Buffy, Illyria, Eldre Koh, failed to defeat Severin, who absorbed Illyria's magic, the Balloon stayed behind to inform the Council had ran away in order to prevent the Siphon to absorb their power too, and were regrouping without the trio. Koh asked for what they had promised him, for which the Balloon, floating away, answered that he had failed, so no promises were broken. The little girl fade away, magically transported into whatever location the red balloon was going.

In order to protect the Deeper Well, the Magic Council fought against Buffy, Willow, and Xander, while the Balloon was left guarding its entering alone. With the distraction, Severin and the rogue slayer Simone Doffler tried to sneak into the entrance, only to face the Balloon demon. Simone told the little girl, pointing a gun to her face, to let them in, and the child asked them to go away, saying they were upsetting her. The slayer told her to leave, as all her friend had done, and the child said she couldn't leave the entrance. She started crying and asked why wouldn't they leave her alone, which provoked the red balloon to pop and explode into a enormous amorphous monster, screaming to leave her alone. Simone futilely tried to shot the monster, who asked if she though the Council would leave the Deeper Well completely undefended. Severin, though, absorbed the child's magic, agreeing that "they practically did," while the monster disintegrated. The little girl's lifeless body lied on the floor, beside the burst red balloon that previously hold the monster, tied to a line.

Behind the Scenes

 * As most Magic Council debuting characters were never refereed by name, artist Georges Jeanty had the demon listed as "little girl/balloon" in his sketch notes.

Appearances

 * Welcome to the Team, Part Two
 * Welcome to the Team, Part Three
 * Welcome to the Team, Part Four
 * The Core, Part One
 * The Core, Part Two