Fic: R,R&R Book II (1a/?) NC17 B/W/T

Title: Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation Book II

Author: The Bear!

Spoilers: None really, this is in the Triadverse AU and follows The Please Trilogy and The Triad Trilogy

Pairing: Willow/Buffy/Tara primarily, but other Scoobies are hooked up as well.

Summary: With Glory defeated, things should quiet down for a while... shouldn’t they?

Warnings: NC17 overall (Ch 1 is relatively tame. PG13)

AN: Chapter 1 is split into 3 parts

Disclaimer: If I owned ‘em, they’d have to show it on the Xstasy Network.

========== BtVS ==========

Chapter 1

“Rupert, is all this research really necessary?” Joyce asked tentatively. “I don’t mean to question you...”

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes for a moment. “You needn’t fear questioning me Joyce,” he said gently. “Though, I do appreciate you waiting until ‘the children’ have gone...”

Buffy, Willow, and Tara had left not long after Faith, Xander and Dawn’s departure, leaving the apartment comparatively quiet and empty.

‘Not so empty as it once was...’ he thought happily as he looked at his lover.

She was blushing, as she tended to do anytime he described the Scooby Gang as ‘the children’.

“I suppose I am... waiting for the other shoe to drop, as they say,” Giles said, trying to sum up his rather nebulous feelings on the matter.

Joyce walked over to him and sat down in his lap, bringing a smile to his face as it ever did. “Something has happened to increase the already present abilities and powers in these girls... something so very extraordinary... I fear there may be an unknown cost down the road, as it were.”

“And you’d like to know what it is, so you can be ready for it,” Joyce said, staring intently into his eyes.

“Yes,” he answered succinctly.

Her smile once again melted Giles heart. “You tease me, calling them ‘the children’ as though I were their mother, but you love them like a father just as much as I could ever be their mother...” she accused him gently, and not for the first time.

“I...” he started to protest, as he always did, that he was Buffy’s watcher, and it was his job.

‘Oh bugger it, I’m not fooling anyone, certainly not her...’ he decided.

“Yes,” he admitted with a chagrined smile.

“Ah ha!” Joyce crowed, grinning delightedly. “I knew it, you’re just an old softie at heart!” She snuggled up against his chest with a happy chuckle.

Giles laughed as well, the feel of his lover’s lithe frame in his arms filling him with nothing but joy.

“Are they really so much different?” she asked softly. “I mean, the thing at the docks was pretty amazing, but...”

“It is rarely the showy magic that takes the real power...” Giles explained. “The building was a simple corrugated metal structure, and while extremely impressive, it is nothing compared to what she did to the firearms.”

“Really?” Joyce asked with surprise. “I guess I really don’t understand magic... I mean, turning something invisible seems like it would be almost a parlor-trick...”

“A glamour to make them appear invisible is the equivalent of a parlor-trick... such as the glamour that made us seem to switch places with Gunn and Faith, though even that was extraordinary in it’s tactile component.” Giles said.

“You mean the way you felt like you were wearing different clothes, and your body seemed different shaped?” she asked.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Normally a glamour is a visual effect only. Touching someone, or something, under a glamour gives it away, sometimes even disrupting the spell altogether... however, the effect Willow rendered on the firearms was entirely different.”

“Mmhm? How?” she softly asked.

“Willow... changed... the very structure of the materials that made up the firearm. Not a temporary effect, a permanent alteration of the very nature of the metal and plastic that formed the weapon... and without compromising the utility...” Giles said in wonder. “The steel, brass, and lead in each gun actually passes light. It is as invisible to light as the clearest glass, yet it remains strong and durable in a way that glass could never match... It is essentially an entirely new material. Willow created materials that previously, at least to my knowledge, did not exist in this world before last week.”

“So... you’re saying that’s not a normal, or even a powerful normal spell?” Joyce asked, sounding still confused, but making an effort to understand.

“That, is an understatement of epic proportions,” Giles said, his voice filled with awe. “Not only did she manage that, that... well, frankly, that *impossible* task, she did it with absolutely no preparation, no incantation...”

“But I heard her say something,” Joyce interrupted.

Giles barked out a short laugh. “Willow seems to have a sense of showmanship, a... flair for the dramatic, if you will...”

“What do you mean?” Joyce asked.

“Willow said, “Onde lasciate dell'esposizione chiara con non diminuito” which is extremely poor Italian translation meaning ‘let exposed waves clear undiminished’ or some such nonsense.” Giles explained.

“I don’t understand...” Joyce said quizzically.

“It means nothing. It was just for show. Clearly she could have said anything she liked- or nothing at all. The magic came from an exercise of will... she simply *made* it happen...” he said wondrously.

“And that’s not normal?”

“An incantation is used by a practitioner of magic for two primary reasons; in order to focus their will and attention, and to invoke certain powers related to a desired effect. It can also be a ritual summoning of an intelligent power, either demonic or benign,” Giles began, settling into lecture-mode. “Some very powerful practitioners, primarily those who are the so-called ‘born witches’- practitioners who were born with magical powers and abilities- can cast simply by exercising their will.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Joyce admitted.

“Think of picking up something, a stick on the ground for example... you simply will your arm to move, your hand to grasp. You do not need to tell them what to do, they are inherently attuned to your mind’s desire,” he said as an analogy. “Magic is generally more like training a puppy to fetch the stick, you command, and cajole and hope for the best. If one is very good, very focused and willing to invest the time, one can train the puppy to do many things, and do them well. However, there is always an element of uncertainty. Is the puppy tired? Hungry? Simply unwilling to perform today? All of these are metaphors for possibilities when using magic.”

“But Willow and Tara’s puppy is different?” Joyce said.

“Hmm, What would be an analogy for what they do?” Giles wondered aloud. “Do you recall that ridiculous film wherein the US President was replaced with a body-double by his chief of staff?”

“I’m not sure...” Joyce began.

“There was a scene where he was visiting a manufacturing plant of some sort, and was controlling an enormous set of robotic arms...”

“I once caught a fish *this big!*” Joyce suddenly said, holding her arms out wide.

“Yes, exactly!” Giles said with a laugh.

“It was called “Dave.” I’m surprised that you would have watched a movie like that...” Joyce said, sounding surprised.

“Yes, well...” Giles said, sounding embarrassed. “I had a great deal of free time on my hands between the time we destroyed the high school, and the time I acquired the Magic Box...”

“Anyway...” Joyce prompted with a snicker that boded much teasing in Giles future.

“Right, yes... In any case, the large robotic arms are the simile for what Tara and Willow do, save for the fact that in Willow’s case especially, the arms would be many, many times larger.”

“Really?” Joyce said, sounding somewhat awed now that he had provided a frame of reference with which she could work.

“I do not think it is an overstatement to say that Willow Rosenberg is quite likely the most powerful human being on the face of this earth,” Giles said seriously.

“I can’t wrap my mind around that Rupert,” Joyce said, sounding a bit frustrated. “I hear the words, but they don’t mean anything. What does that mean for us? or for her?”

“Very good questions,” Giles said resignedly. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any of the answers... and thus the research.”

“Isn’t that a good thing, having the most powerful human on the face of the earth on our side?” Joyce asked after a moment.

Giles sighed. “That is also a very good question to which I don’t have a good answer,” he admitted. “Certainly, it is quite handy when it comes to everyday slaying. Also, it makes the likelihood of a significant threat to the Hellmouth unlikely.”

“That sounds pretty good to me, Rupert.” Joyce cajoled.

“Yes, it does,” he admitted. “My concern is that, as a powerful force for good, she, and perforce we, may become the target of those who are a powerful force for evil.”

He felt a slight shiver from his lover and decided, ‘More than enough for one night.’

He began to move his fingers in slow circles where they lay about her waist. He nuzzled her hair and allowed his warm breath to blow across her ear as he softly spoke. “Let us change the subject, shall we? There are other topics I would rather we explore this night...”

“Why, Mr. Giles,” Joyce said coyly. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Hmm, if you must ask, then clearly I am not doing it properly...” he said in a low, gravelly voice as his hands grew more adventurous.

“N-no!” Joyce gasped as Giles let his thumb graze the underside of her breast. “No, this feels pretty proper to me...”

Giles smiled with pleasure at the hitch in her breath. ‘Goodness I am constantly amazed that my touch so affects you...’

“Mmm, why don’t we go upstairs and see just where all this propriety can take us,” Joyce said in a drawn out groan.

Demonstrating that he still held the vigor of youth, Giles stood, sweeping her into his arms. As he headed for the stairs, he said, “Yes, I think we should definitely do some exploratory research on that subject.”

“Long, deep, hard research,” she agreed in a husky whisper before using her mouth to treat his ear with some entirely non-verbal communication.

========== BtVS ==========

“So, how are the magic lessons going?” Buffy asked, her tone betraying the fact that she wasn’t totally on board with the idea of teaching her little sister the magic arts.

Tara smiled as she looked out the windshield of ‘their’ van. ‘It’s only fair that we kept it; after all the council won’t be needing it anymore,’ she thought with a smile. She was riding shotgun while Willow drove. Buffy sat between the two witches, snuggling against Tara, while occasionally reaching over to touch and stroke Willow.

“Well, we aren’t actually doing any magic yet,” Tara explained to her lover and pet. “We’re starting with the basics; meditation, focusing, that sort of thing.”

“The boring parts...” Willow muttered.

Tara smiled at that. ‘My fiery witch, so impatient sometimes...’ Tara thought tolerantly. ‘She does apply herself though.’

Buffy leaned away from Tara and moved more firmly against the redhead, saying, “Pet, I want you to know that I appreciate you taking the time and helping Tara teach Dawn. If she’s going to learn magic, I want to be sure she gets the best training possible, with all the fundamentals and stuff...”

‘And that’s why she applies herself so diligently...’ Tara thought gleefully. ‘Mmm, I can feel her melt all the way over here!’

“O-of course Mistress,” Willow said in a low, but intense, voice. “You know I’d do *anything* for you, Mistress!”

“I do know that, pet,” Buffy said in a joyful voice. “Even if it means the boring basics of witchcraft 101.”

“It’s not that bad,” Willow admitted, slightly sheepish. She perked right up as she continued, “Plus, it’s important stuff, even more important with what we’re gonna teach her...”

“Whaddya mean?” Buffy questioned hesitantly. “What are you going to teach her...?”

Tara took over the explanation at that point. “Whatever is happening to us it not only made us more powerful, but Willow managed to make a kind of leap into an entirely new kind of magic...” she said, her voice filled with the wonder and awe she had been feeling all week since Willow first demonstrated this new magic.

“Not me- we,” Willow said self-effacingly. “You were right there with me, baby!”

“Yes, I was able to see and understand what you did, but the initial leap was all you Willow,” Tara corrected. “Don’t be afraid to take credit; I would never have imagined it in a million years if you hadn’t done it first!”

Willow blushed and ducked her head slightly, though she didn’t lose sight of the fact that she was driving.

“How is it so different?” Buffy asked. “I mean, it’s all just magic to me...”

“I guess the effect isn’t really that different in a lot of ways...” Tara began, trying to work out the best way to explain it to someone unfamiliar with magic. “Take a basic spell that most witches learn really early; ice into fire. Basically, the spell you cast calls for the element of fire to move into the space currently occupied by the element of water. You’re using ritual language and actions to ask one element to supplant another. The amount of power you put into the spell dictates how much of the ice changes into fire.”

“But that’s not how this new magic works?” Buffy asked, clearly struggling to follow along.

“We no longer need a spell... we’re not invoking elements any more,” Tara answered. “Now we can look at the ice, see the... shape, I guess. And then we can change that shape, just by willing it to be so...” Seeing the look of incomprehension on her lover’s face, she shrugged and said, “It’s hard to explain. I guess the most important difference between this and witchcraft is that there aren’t any spells, no invoking of spirits or elements. You just make things happen by... willing them to happen.”

Willow interjected, “It’s a lot more precise than witchcraft. There’s a much higher degree of control, and it lets you put the power to use more efficiently.”

Buffy shrugged. “Ok, if you guys say so,” she said, apparently giving up on understanding and settling for acceptance. “And this is what you’re going to teach Dawn?”

“Yep!” Willow answered succinctly.

“But, if there aren’t any spells or stuff, how will you teach her?” Buffy asked.

‘And once again my Slayer demonstrates that ignorance is not the same as stupidity,’ Tara thought with a sense of pride.

“Very perceptive, my love,” Tara said, stroking her hand along Buffy’s thigh. “Unlike witchcraft, this is going to be a magical discipline that can only be taught by someone who knows it.”

“You won’t be able to pick up a book and figure it out on your own, like I did,” Willow added.

“It’s almost more like teaching someone a physical skill... like when you teach someone a tennis swing by holding their hand and moving them through the motion so they understand it by doing it,” Tara explained.

Buffy snuggled even more tightly against the taller blonde at Tara’s touch on her thigh. “Mmm, and how will you ‘show’ her?” she asked.

“Well, once we teach her to center herself and focus her inner eye, we think we can link with her, and then it’s just a matter of doing something- through her,” Tara answered, her own voice low as she was affected by her lover’s touch.

“Mmm, so you’re gonna hold her brain and move it through the motion so she understands by doing it?” Buffy almost crooned, turning an allegorical question into a sexy groan.

‘So, so, so very sexy my Slayer is!’ Tara thought joyfully.

“Mmhm, just like that,” the blonde witch crooned back before allowing herself to be distracted entirely.

========== BtVS ==========

TheBear!

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