Once again, Buffy already knew deeply inside that something was horribly wrong when her doorbell rang; it didn't sound any different than it usually did, and the one ringing it only did so once, not even pressing the button continuously, but still the knowledge that something dreadful was going on had settled in her mind the moment she had heard it. And still, she was shocked when she opened the door and found herself face to face with her best friend; one look at the redhead was enough to confirm her suspicions, and even before Willow said a word, Buffy knew that it had something to do with Pat, the simple fact that the witch looked as if someone had suckerpunched her in the gut and that the demon was nowhere to be seen being enough evidence for this suspicion.
"What happened?" she asked, without beating around the bush for long, simultaneously stepping closer to her friend, putting one arm around her and leading her into the house; and the moment the door had closed behind her, Willow's carefully maintained façade broke and a sob shook her body as she squeezed her eyes shut, her fight to regain control only becoming more difficult when she felt Buffy wrap both arms around her.
"I'm not even sure", the witch finally brought out the moment she could be sure she wouldn't burst into hysterical tears after all, "we went to get some coffee and this… this woman came, she broke the window and the door and she looked as if she's a thousand years old, all dried out and dead, she told me she wasn't here for me when I put up a shield and…" Realizing that she was babbling, and not really getting to the point, she took in a deep breath, momentarily closing her eyes again before she went on, now a bit calmer and finally able to tell Buffy in a coherent fashion what had happened.
"She used some sort of force spell against me", she let the blonde know, "and knocked me out, but the owner of the café saw what happened, and he told me once I came back around… She grabbed Pat and they vanished, God knows where she took her and what she's doing to her…"
"I'll call Giles", Buffy decided at once in reply, "I've never heard of something like this before, but maybe he'll know. And then we'll figure out who this woman is, where to find her, and get your girl out."
"Get me a map before you call him", Willow gave back, glad that at least, her mind was still working well enough so she had been able to think of that certain spell, "so I'll try to do a locator spell on her while you talk to him."
"Good idea", Buffy praised at once, "but, um, do you have everything you need for that spell with you?"
"Thankfully, yes", the redhead sighed, once more glad that she had had the presence of mind to take along the bags from the Magic Box when she had left the Espresso Pump, "we dropped by at the shop before we went to get coffee. I'll just need fire…"
Her heart clenched up again as she thought of the fact that, ever since they had gotten together, Pat always had been the one to provide the fire needed for her spells, and again she found herself wondering where her loved one might have been taken and what was being done to her right now; then, she forced those thoughts aside, telling herself that she had to keep her calm and concentration if she wanted the spell to work.
Together with Buffy, the witch made her way into the living room, receiving the map she had requested and spreading it on the table before she dug out the ingredients she'd need for the spell; and while Buffy went to get the phone so she could call Giles, Willow hurried to the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and a box of matches from there, then making her way back to the living room, quickly mixing all the ingredients needed for the spell in the bowl while Buffy was already talking to Giles, giving her best to describe the woman Willow had told her about.
Trying hard to ignore her talking in the background, the redhead focused on the spell, mumbling the words under her breath; and the moment she said the last word, she lit up one of the matches and tossed it into the bowl, holding her breath as she waited for the spell to take effect.
With her gaze fixed firmly on the map, she didn't even notice how Buffy moved closer to the table and looked at it too; frowning, she gave her best friend a questioning look when the map remained dark and no little light appeared to tell them where Pat was, Willow mirroring her expression half a minute later.
"Try to find out who this is", Buffy interrupted Giles' mumbling to himself about the possibilities of who might have done this, "I'll call you back…" Not even waiting for his answer, she hung up the phone, then looked at her best friend in concern, waiting for another minute to make sure no little light would appear before she finally spoke up. "Is it not working…?"
"No, I did it all right", Willow gave back, now growing nervous as she kept staring at the map, willing the light to appear, "I know I did, I could feel it…"
"…why doesn't it show where she is?" Buffy wanted to know, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer, something she knew for sure when the redhead replied.
"I'm not sure", she let the Slayer know, running a nervous hand through her hair, "it could be that whoever took her is shielding against such spells, if they know what she is, they might know about me, too… Or…"
She trailed off and swallowed heavily, prompting Buffy to sit down next to her and grasp her hand in a silent gesture of support, the witch briefly glancing at her before her gaze focused on the map again, the realization that she couldn't say the other possibility out loud hitting home painfully hard.
"Or she might be dead", Buffy said it for her, knowing that someone had to put it on the table; in response, the witch took in a deep breath, then shook her head, managing to sound surprisingly calm when she looked at her best friend again and replied. "No, she's not. I know she's not, I can feel it…"
After holding her gaze for a few moments, Buffy nodded, telling herself that surely, Willow knew what she was talking about; the thought of figuring out what was going on and then perhaps finding the demon dead pained her, and, not wanting to ponder it any further, she quickly added her own reason why this was highly unlikely.
"Also, it doesn't make sense", she told the witch, "why kidnap her if they're gonna kill her right away? She could have done that there and then."
"Yes", Willow agreed at once, thankful for the support, then changed by the topic by asking what Giles had said, her face falling again at the blonde's response.
"He didn't know anything right away", the Slayer let her know, along with an apologetic glance, "but he promised he'll look into it."
"Alright", Willow sighed after a moment, prompting Buffy to give her another reassuring smile, along with a tender squeeze of her hand; smiling weakly at her, the redhead gave her a thankful look, then glanced at the map again, just sitting there in silence for a while as she asked herself who this woman was and what she might want from her partner.
An hour later, the whole group had assembled at the Magic Box after Giles had called them one after the other and had told them that some research had to be done; so far, to Willow's dismay, he had no definite information about the woman who had attacked them, not even after she had given him a much more detailed description.
"We're looking for demons, witches, you name it", the Watcher told the assembled group after he had handed out the books and they all had settled at the round research table, "matching the description Willow gave us."
"Old and ugly, got it", Anya nodded, already opening her book; for a moment, Giles looked as if he wanted to protest, then just sighed and focused on his own volume, prompting the rest to do the same; for a while, the shop was quiet, then the small bell above the door rang, making them all look up from their research materials, at the young woman who just had entered.
"Um", she stated, looking a bit lost while Anya already started to rise from her chair, smelling a sale, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I'm looking for Willow Rosenberg?"
Surprised, the brunette sank back into her chair while Willow did get up, the woman immediately looking at her and giving her a smile, said smile lighting up her whole face and letting them all realize how exceptionally pretty she was.
"Yeah, that fits", she then said after giving the redhead a pretty obvious once-over, making her frown as she asked herself what that was supposed to mean; before she could ask the woman though, she already was speaking on, explaining her remark and causing Willow's eyes to widen.
"You'd be just her type", she let the witch know, still smiling, "so I'm not really surprised. Tell me, which name is your girl going with now?"
"…Pat", the witch made herself answer after a moment of stunned silence, "do you know her?"
"Oh I do", the woman replied with a light chuckle, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "In fact, I know her very well. I'm the one who made her what she is and cursed her."