"Of course Willow knows that. That is why she does regular cleaning exercises to prevent such damage from occuring." Giles said.
"What are cleansing exercises?" Willow asked.
Giles stared at her and then said. "Willow, you assured me that you had done your research. That you understood the ramifications of learning Magic. I gave you several references to study, all of which discuss in detail a variety of cleansing exercises. Did you lie to me?"
"No. Well kinda. I skimmed them. They were so boring, Giles. I can learn more on my own. I don't need those books."
"You are a very stupid child. Magic is not a computer program, Willow. Without the necessary steps and prerequisites, you are essentially building a house without a foundation. Sooner or later, it is going to collapse on you. Who knows what kind of damage you have done to yourself."
"You're the one who let her do that curse, Giles." Xander said. "You bear responsibility here, too. Not to mention, you weren't checking up on her. You just assumed she was following the directions."
"I thought letting her do that curse might save the world by stopping Angelus. But you are correct, I should not have just assumed anything."
"What are you talking about?! Willow saved Angel." Buffy said.
"She condemned the soul to suffer, Buffy." Xander said softly. "That's how the curse works. As long as the soul is suffering, Angelus is locked up tight. And it isn't sex that broke the curse, it was a moment of peace. A moment when the soul wasn't suffering. So ask yourself this, what else could give the soul a moment of peace? Friendship, satisfaction in a job well done? The possibilities are nearly endless. Which means sooner or later, it's going to break again. And the soul will suffer every minute until that happens. We stopped the world from ending by condemning a soul to Hell. And it was unnecessary. You made choices that led to this. Giles made choices that led this. The Kalderash made choices that led to this. Which means it could all have been avoided. All the death, all the pain avoided. That's what is meant by both the castor and the victim being affected. Who knows what punishment awaits in the afterlife?"
"But I was just trying to help!" Willow protested.
"The problem with that, Willow, is that you never stop to think if help is needed or wanted or if the method that you've decided to use, is the best one. You act as though you're infallible. You're not. Neither is Buffy. None of us are. But you and Buffy, your actions have been bigger and have affected more people and therefore the consequences are bigger. But neither of you have managed to learn that because Giles never imposes consequences for your actions. Which has led to you thinking that there are no consequences for your actions. Just like he gives you credit for other people's work. It makes you think, only your contribution is worthwhile. Faith, for instance. Finch's death was an accident, but Giles only told you that. He never bothered to tell Faith that. Then you and Angel decided to chain her up and lecture her on good vs. evil. You convinced her, she was evil. You're chosen methods of 'helping' just made things worse."
"He's right. Willow, you and I are going to sit down and discuss in depth what you have been learning and you have been skipping. And we are going to determine just how much damage you have done to yourself. And there will be consequences this time." Giles said grimly.
"And I don't need or want your help, Willow. Don't you dare try to use Magic on me against my will. I'm fine, but if you doubt that, then I'll let Giles check me as well. And now I'm making another choice. Faith needs help. I have the ability to heal. I'm going to go to the hospital tomorrow and heal her."
"Xander, she's evil!" Buffy yelled.
"No Buffy, she's confused. Because of you and Angel and Giles. Giles was supposed to be her Watcher too, but he never did anything for her. She lived in a crap hole that you knew vampires could get into and you knew she was there. Did you know she had to rob vampires just to pay for a roof over her head? I saw her do it a couple of times, but it wasn't until the Sisterhood of Jhe thing, that I found out where she was living. I had assumed that since Giles was supposed to be taking care of her, that he was actually doing the job he was being paid to do. My bad. You know what they say about that word assume, it makes an ass out of you and me. Go ahead and check me, Giles. You, I'm willing to let work Magic on me"
Giles gathered his supplies and cast a diagnostic spell on Xander.
"I am seeing no Magics at all. You are clean. You are healthy and whole."
"There you see, Willow, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about it. I'm not a monster, I'm not a demon, I'm not a mutant. I'm just a souped up version of myself. No different then Wicca Willow or Slayer Buffy. Satisfied?"
"Fine." Willow muttered, somewhat resentfully.
"Now I am going to check you, Willow." Giles said.
Willow stood still while Giles cast his diagnostic spell. They could all clearly see, Willow's aura was cloudy and sickly looking.
"Willow, you have done considerable damage to yourself. You need to do cleansing exercises. Several most likely. Once we have talked, we will try several different ones to determine which ones works best for you. We will talk, in depth. Bring your supplies. I do not think you can be trusted with them at this time. The cloudiness of your aura could affect your mind, your way of thinking."
"Fine." She muttered again.
