"Sweetie", she said the first thing which came to her mind, even though it wasn't the smartest thing to say, "it's me, I swear it is, this… other person doing this to you, that wasn't me, you know that, I'd never hurt you like that…"

She racked her mind for something else she could say to make her believe that she was the real Willow and not the impostor who had hurt and tormented her; before she could come up with something though, a cold chill ran down her spine again, and this time, she wasn't even surprised anymore when the voice spoke up in her head once more, the way Pat flinched in her bonds making it obvious to her that now, she was hearing it, too.

They are coming back, and I can't help you to defeat them, the voice told them both, sounding kind and even a bit worried, step back, child, and I will shield you from their eyes and ears. Do not move and don't make a sound.

Footsteps approaching the cell made it clear to Willow that she had no time to ponder this, and even though it made her heart ache to move away from her injured lover, she did so, retreating to the far corner of the room; there, she stood in tense anticipation, forced to bite down on her tongue when the door opened and she had to watch an exact duplicate of herself enter, a perfect copy down to every detail she could make out.

At least though, whoever had spoken to her and hid her now was doing a good job, the impostor not even glancing into her direction as she walked over to the metal construct, a malicious smirk curling her lips as she looked at the demon, false sweetness in her voice when she spoke up, along with a cold contempt which sent shivers down Willow's spine again, the way how even her voice had been copied perfectly only adding to how disturbed she was feeling.

"So", the impostor was saying, looking at the helpless taller woman, "did you have time to think about what I said? Who am I?"

Be strong now, child, the voice spoke to her again, remain still, and I shall shield you from her.

"Not Willow", Pat muttered in reply, the voice falling silent just in time so the witch could hear it; and then, the demon briefly glanced at her, long enough for her to notice, but not for the impostor, the woman not reacting the slightest to her moving gaze, briefly making the redhead glad that apparently, the shield was only working for the impostor and not for her lover, still making it possible for her to see her.

A moment later, the witch had to painfully realize why the voice had told her to be strong – her impostor's face darkened, and then she lashed out and hit the black haired woman, the force of the blow throwing her head to the right, a low grunt coming from her while fresh blood started to trickle from her split lip.

"Let's try this again", the impostor said, her voice dangerously low now, forcing the real Willow to bite her tongue yet again so she wouldn't yell at her to stop, to leave her partner alone; and another moment later, she smiled to herself as, in a demonstration that her will hadn't been broken yet, Pat cleared her throat noisily in reply – and then spat a mouthful of blood right into the woman's face, causing her to flinch back in disgust.

"You are not my girlfriend", the demon snarled, clenching her fists even though it was a useless gesture as long as she was chained, "I don't know who or what you are, but you are not my Willow."

"Such a slow learner", the woman gave back, reaching up with one hand and wiping the blood off with her sleeve almost casually, "but it doesn't matter. We have all the time in the world."

She smiled again, then stepped closer to the demon once more – before she lashed out and hit her yet again, backhanding her so hard this time that the whole construct shook from the force of the blow, a low groan coming from the taller woman as she slumped down in the chains afterwards, close to losing consciousness.

"Now, now", the impostor shook her head, still smiling, "no falling asleep on me this time. I brought you a special present, you want to see it, don't you?"

Once again, it took almost all of Willow's willpower to remain still as she watched how the other woman removed a scalpel from her pocket, holding it up so the sharp blade caught the light; and when she started cutting and Pat began to scream, only the fact that her lover kept glancing at her again and again kept the redhead from looking away, standing there in helpless silence as she had to watch her loved one going through all this pain, asking herself what the owner of the mysterious voice was hoping to accomplish with this and what powers these strange people might wield if she obviously wasn't supposed to step up and fight yet.


Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the impostor obviously had gotten enough of torturing Pat and had left yet again, after taking the time to pull the black hood over the demon's head and making sure the chains binding her still were tight; and the moment the door had closed behind her, Willow was moving, hurrying to the metal construct and pulling the hood off again, relief filling her when this time, Pat met her gaze and didn't react the way she had the first time she had seen her.

"I knew it's not you", she brought out in a tired, pained voice, "I kept telling myself it's not you…"

"I wish I had figured this out sooner", Willow gave back, keeping her voice down to a whisper, not wanting anyone outside to hear them talk and come to check what was going on, "I'm sorry, Sweetie… But it'll be okay, I'll find Buffy and Giles and once the three of us are together, we can get you out…"

For a moment, Pat looked as if she wanted to protest, the thought of being left alone in this torture chamber clearly not appealing to her at all; then, she forced herself to nod, knowing that Willow was right and that she had to find their friends first before they could think of escaping.

"Stay away from them", she mumbled instead of pleading her to stay, "they're strong…"

Nodding, Willow wanted nothing more than to hold her close and give her some comfort after all the pain and horror she had endured the last few days; knowing that this would only make her pain worse though, she instead reached up and tenderly caressed her face, holding her gaze as she replied, her words making the taller woman smile weakly despite how much she was hurting.

"We won't let them get away with this", the witch promised, the tone of her voice showing that she meant every word, "we'll find out what they are and then we'll defeat them. And we'll get you out of here, I promise."

She briefly fell silent, then bent forward and tenderly kissed the demon; if it hurt her, Pat didn't let it show, nodding again when Willow reassured her that she'd hurry after she had pulled back again.

"I love you", the redhead added, caressing her cheek tenderly again, "and we'll be out of here soon. Just hold on a bit longer, okay?"

"Much easier now that I know you are here", the demon mumbled in reply; smiling at her, trying to not let it show how much the injuries of the taller woman were disturbing her, the witch briefly kissed her once more, then, with a heavy heart, forced herself to turn away from her and leave the room, closing the door behind herself without looking back, knowing she'd lose her resolve if she'd get another look at the injuries which had been inflicted on her partner.

It'll be okay, she told herself as she started her search again, moving on to the next door, always keeping her attention on the sound of footsteps and talking, hoping and praying to whoever might be listening that she'd find Buffy and Giles soon and that they'd be able to get their partner out of there before they tortured her even further.