LTVS: Centre of the Spiral

*Do not read beyond **this point** if you want to avoid being **spoiled!***

***Layla the Vampire Slayer* episode**

RandomTuesday

Bentham

LittleRedDot

*"My place, once, was to listen to you. My place,* now*, is to kill you."* - Katherine Winters

**Centre of the Spiral** is the forty-eighth episode of Layla the Vampire Slayer and the twenty-sixth episode of Season 2. It is the penultimate episode of Season 2. As with the previous two episodes, this one features LittleRedDot as Katherine Winters.

## Synopsis

Katherine Winters goes to leave Janet's house as the others prepare to start researching. Layla Smith spots her and intercepts her. Katherine says that she's going to find Thom Huell. Layla asks what if he realises that Katherine has her soul back. Katherine is confident that she can convince him that she still has a mutual interest in undermining the Watchers Council. Layla points out that lying doesn't seem her forte. Defensively, Katherine says that none of this - researching, friends etc - was, and that she was used to doing things by herself. Layla says it's been 10 years and things have changed. Katherine asks what she's supposed to do but sit there and feel guilty about what she's done to them. Layla points out that she seemed really into books and any help with research could be useful. Katherine asks what she should do. Layla asks the others what's not covered.

Robert Davidson is attempting to hack the Watchers' Council to reassign his father as Layla's Watcher. His brother, Barnaby Davidson, is looking into a spell to reveal the truth behind illusions and to figure out the spiral part of Thom Huell's ritual circle built into the architecture of the school. Imogen Parker is looking into the fundamental of spirit spells and pentagrams, while Layla was going to read through the book on Enochian symbology.

Katherine pulls Layla to the side and says she's hungry. Layla asks what her plan is. Katherine says she has to find something. Layla asks if she's going to kill someone. Katherine says she's trying not to. Layla offers to go with her to make sure she doesn't. Katherine cries a bit. She says she could do with some time away from the others and asks if Layla has any research to do. She does, but she feels like she has an obligation to Katherine. She admits she can't fully trust her. Katherine accepts that. Layla gives Barnaby her number and leaves with Katherine.

Robert enters the Watchers' systems and realises that most of the stuff is dealt with by non-computerised systems or non-networked systems. He uses previous reassignment orders to forge a fax reassigning George Davidson to Little Rosewater out of a need for immediate back-up. This doesn't take him so long. Barnaby easily finds the spell "Lifting the Veil", and on the first read through gets a pretty good grasp of it. He accidentally casts it as he's reading it, and Imogen chastises him. He accidentally casts it again. There is a slight shudder. The air becomes very warm, and there is a slight intensity around Barnaby, moving towards his chest. For a fraction of a second, everyone else sees another form. It's a Drox. It then disappears, and Barnaby is pained. The couch begins to smoulder. Barnaby concedes that Imogen was right and he'll practice it elsewhere. They try to dissuade Barnaby from leaving.

Imogen intends to reverse-engineer the intent of the spell from the layout of the ritual diagram. She is certain that the circle is a containment. Since it is built into the fabric of the structures, it seems to be a boundary wall. The pentagram is a magnifier, focusing the power towards the centre. The hypothesised spiral would gather energies from the outside towards the centre. From her experience with dark magic and their established knowledge, she guesses that the elements would focus (potentially literal) Slayer blood towards the centre. It stinks of a massive sacrifice. Were the potential Slayers killed followed by the Slayer, the Slayer could be completely untethered. This could result in the end of the Slayer lineage. However, ending the spell would not require the pentagram. It would amplify the Slayer magic, which could link to a rebinding. That being said, to overcome Enochian magic some knowledge of Enochian magic or access to Celestial magic would make it easier. Any further conclusions would be limited by a lack of knowledge about the nature of the ritual circle i.e. the layout of the school.

In Little Rosewater, Katherine tells Layla that the last few times she fed, she just killed people. She doesn't know how not to kill people. They find walking very odd due to how fast their minds are going. That being said, they recall that vampires can feed without killing, for instance when they are interrupted. The victim would just be anaemic. However, vampires don't really willingly stop feeding due to the excitement of it. Katherine brings up the prospect of trying to feed from old people in a nursing home. Katherine says she doesn't really club. They go to *The Basement*. They try to sneak in via the bathrooms. With Layla's help, Katherine gets in, but lands face-first on the wet floor of the gents' loo. Layla sneaks out, but Katherine leaving the toilets gets noticed by some drunk lads who go "wheeey" in the usual manner. They try to play it off as going to the wrong loo. The place is pretty dead.

Layla asks whether she should go for the vigorously-dancing old Chinese man or the three lads. Katherine suggests the DJ, as he has to take a break. Layla says that the more she plans this, the creepier it'll be. Katherine frustratedly says that she knows. Katherine, who has never asked a guy out in her life (despite what Charity has done), awkwardly leans on the booth. The DJ sniffs her and asks if she's feeling alright, as she smells of urine. She tries to flirt with him. She fails. The DJ makes excuses. Layla decides to try and help her out. She puts her hand on Katherine's shoulder, which is damp. With prompting from Katherine, Layla outright proposes a threesome. The DJ asks if there's a shower at their place. Katherine asks if there's a shower here. They don't. Layla says that she'll take off her clothes. The DJ says he can take a smoke break now. There is a debate over how long the "act" will take between a naive Katherine, a blunt Layla and the aroused DJ.

Katherine drags the DJ out. The smell is more intense now, but the DJ seems enamoured with the offer. Layla keeps lookout, but the DJ wants to make out with Layla first. After an awkward pause, Katherine grabs Layla and makes out with her first. She beckons the DJ over, who starts taking off Katherine's shirt. As the shirt comes off, she bites into his neck and covers his mouth. Layla backs off. Katherine enters vampire form as the blood pumps into her mouth. It is not merely food, but sustenance. It is a need. The guy's eyes roll back, and he seems to be enjoying it. Katherine keeps eye contact with Layla, who purposefully looks away holding Katherine's shirt. As it is Katherine's first time feeding as a human-souled vampire, she becomes lost in the ecstasy. Layla is a bit distracted but eventually notices and tries to break them up. Layla barely manages to get Katherine away; the DJ is very pale and woozy, though he did enjoy it. Katherine finally gets a hold of herself, wipes her mouth, puts her shirt on and looks away. The DJ wants to keep going, but he's too woozy.

Layla suggests they take the DJ to the bouncer. She tells Katherine about how she's still in vampire form (Katherine eventually dismisses it) and tells her how it didn't look like she wanted to stop. Before Katherine can reply, Layla asks her to help him, but they don't know what to deal with him. They haven't really thought this through as they go through a variety of options. They eventually decide to call 999 using a phone box. She gets put through to the ambulance, but Layla hangs up. The phone rings, and Katherine picks up. She tells them about the man and hangs up when they ask for her last name, as she gave "Charity" as her first name. Katherine says she feels really bad and wants to go home. The two awkwardly walk back.

When they arrive back at Janet's house, everyone else has finished their research and decided to take a look at the school. They notice that Katherine both smells of urine and seems less fatigued. Imogen notices a spot of Layla's lipstick on Katherine's lips. She asks if they had fun, and Layla quickly says they didn't. Layla asks for the bathroom. They explain that Katherine went to *The Basement* to feed, and Janet becomes less open. Imogen gets some spare clothes for Katherine. Katherine sadly walks off. Imogen knocks on the loo and gives her the clothes, suggesting they go to a blood bank the next time. Katherine yells that she asked if there was a hospital. Imogen explains that yes, there is, Greater Rosewater Royal Infirmary, where Charity ripped her arm off. Katherine asks isn't it very far, and Barnaby said that he could have driven her there. Imogen also points out that there's a field full of sheep. Katherine gets a bit hysterical, asking why nobody told her she can drink from sheep. Katherine's enraged, and punches a hole through the wall.

Barnaby and Imogen open a book and find out that technically vampires can feed from sheep, though it would be very gross. Katherine says that she was just trying to keep them safe, and between sobs turns into a vampire. Imogen and Barnaby attempt to reassure her while being weirded out by the vampire's facial features. Violet comes down and makes a non-sequitur, and they tell Katherine that Violet's a human now (mostly, Barnaby says, before getting a book in the face courtesy of Imogen). This cheers Katherine up somewhat. Katherine awkwardly walks out in a midriff-exposing outfit. She tries to make it look Eighties-style. Robert and Barnaby notice Katherine wiping lipstick off her face. She says it's not what they think it is. Janet says she thought it was blood. Imogen that they need to take a look around the school and relates her research to the others.

Barnaby explains that if he casts his nullification spell, it will stop both the sacrifice spell and the Hole in Heaven spell. Imogen asks to take a look at it, as she is sceptical of the spell's power to stop the ritual due to the fact that it is built into the school's foundations. He gives it to her. She finds that spell will end an in-progress or powered spell, but not a ritual that isn't being fed. She says that they'd have to cast it at the moment of him casting the spell, which would be mid-slaughter. It might work on the spell holding Heaven open, which may delay his progress. Barnaby wants to examine the derelict building where he suspects the spell starts. Katherine asks that if there is a way to botch every separate aspects of the ritual. Imogen suggests that they probably have to do some property damage, get all the girls out of the school, close the Hole to Heaven and make sure none of the Slayers are near it. She suggests both Layla and Katherine stay outside the circle in the utilities diagram. Katherine asks about blowing up the pipes, and Imogen and Robert nod. She asks how they plan to evacuate the girls. Imogen suggests that an explosion of sufficient magnitude would help encourage an exodus. Katherine suggests a gas leak.

Robert's laptop starts to reboot by itself. It starts getting messages. It's a message from James, saying that he's being pulled, and he doesn't know where. Robert relays the message to the others, and Layla explains Robert's condition to her. James replies to Rob and says he's cold, dark and alone. Barnaby offers to do the spell now but doesn't have the required item belonging to Thom. Katherine vaguely remembers a shimmer in the passageways, perhaps an illusion. She remembers an old room with a worn cot with a woollen blanket. That bed might have been his. Imogen cautions against doing it near where Thom Huell is. Furthermore, she suspects that spells would have a hard time crossing into that area. Barnaby goes off to prepare to dispel the illusion down there. Imogen suggests that while they have quicker minds they keep researching and only do the spell when later. Imogen suggests that she, Robert and Barnaby go to investigate the spiral. She suspects that Katherine's blood is less important to the ritual and recommends she come along too. Layla encourages Katherine to control her vampire face while emotional.

Imogen looks at Layla and tells her not come after them if they end up in trouble, as they will be bait. She forcefully reiterates that she cannot die within the circle. Layla will stay and study the book on Enochian lore. Rob recommends that Janet stay, as if he ends up in trouble, he's got his suit. Janet says that before he leaves she needs his help with fixing her mother’s "polarity inverter". He knows it's nonsense, and they walk off. She kisses him away from the others. He gives Janet the contact bracelet. She asks him not to die. Layla quickly understands the basics of Enochian thanks to the spell, but also due to having some primal resonance within her with it. The book is predominantly reference material, but she goes through most of the important stuff. She doesn't fully understand it, but she recognises what each character means. Most are divided around defending, protecting, binding or hiding. Some are offensive in nature - binding-based - but most are defensive in nature.

Imogen, Barnaby, Robert and Katherine make their way to the bulldozed building. Robert and Imogen can see a small channel, like a pipe, in the ruins, leading down towards the foundations. They also see a nearby bit of turf, around which is an outline. They go walk over and examine it. Katherine is confused about Robert's 3D glasses and Barnaby tries to explain it. Imogen calls him over to tell him that there might be an illusion there. She tells him to do the spell. He takes out a vial of reagents, mutters the words of power and throws the vial at the grass. Instantly, Imogen notices a hollow sound on the ground, like she's standing on something that has been turfed over. She tells Barnaby well done, and says it was very impressive. Katherine rips the turf apart, and it exposes some sheet metal. It has a handle, and it appears to lead down somewhere. Barnaby phones Layla and tells them they're going to explore it. Katherine opens it. Rob shines his torch down it, and it seems to go down 2.5 metres. There is no ladder, but the brickwork offers a route down. There are runes carved into a certain section, and there’s a chunk of very old stone, older than the brickwork, with a groove down it. It leads away from them.

Katherine doesn't remember anything about it, but Imogen recognises the runes as part of a spell she's familiar with. It's part of a spell to draw blood towards them. It's a passive rune. Imogen goes a little pale, looks at Rob and goes a little paler. She explains it to them. Barnaby asks if they can disrupt or destroy it. Imogen says they'd have to go further down get a better view but explains that the person only has to be in the vicinity and can be alive. Robert wonders if the time Mr. Miller kidnapped her was meant to be a test run. Katherine asks for the flashlight, but Imogen and Robert advise her against it. Barnaby suggests that he goes in first with the flashlight. Katherine follows him down. The channel goes off, almost straight, down a narrow gulley. There are a couple of doors leading off to side rooms down there. Barnaby wonders whether they can grab the cot from where they are. Katherine is uncertain. Barnaby has a theory that the spell will rip the blood from everyone on campus and walks down further to examine the runes. After a while, up top, Imogen looks at Rob and they both agree that the other two shouldn't do it alone. Imogen skittishly goes down. Rob drops down, smacking his head on the wall.

After a debate on what they are doing, they continue. Imogen notices a change in the runes. While the ones leading down from the surface moved the blood inwards, these now dissipate the energy, causing the blood move via gravity down the spiral. Imogen imbues a rock with sunlight, warning Katherine that she won't like it and might feel uncomfortable. Katherine feels like she's near an oven, and she gets pretty burnt behind the retinas when she looks at it directly. Barnaby asks if there's a way to break the spiral. Imogen assumes that they'd need to break the entire spiral to sufficiently disrupt it. Katherine suggests stopping the blood flow downstream. Barnaby would prefer to stop the ritual altogether. Imogen is concerned that there may be other entry points, as is Barnaby. Imogen bets that one of the channels goes to the death bathroom. Katherine remarks that it couldn't be worse than the one where she ended face-flat on the floor.

They keep going down, noticing a slight curve. The passage they're in does two doglegs, however. They figure they're below the boarding house. Imogen figures that whatever goes up is in the wall before them. Imogen suspects that the channel heads to the Hellmouth. She and Barnaby see a gap in the stonework ahead and guess that's an entrance from the school. Katherine has a flashback. She remembers the centre of the spiral, a room with a high vaulted ceiling of old stone. In the centre is a modern art exhibit. A 3D sculpture, of metal, with a lot of spikes and points poking outwards. It is vaguely regular and uniform. It is, basically, a spiky ball. She remembers walking through a door - possibly the one before them - and ending up there. Katherine grabs Barnaby before he can open the door and tells him not to. She vaguely sees another door, older, wood with iron bands. There's a small room inside, but it matches her memories of Thom's room.

The four frantically whisper about what to do. Robert says that he wants to stay there, as he's bad with the sneaky business. As Katherine attempts to take charge, there is a booming imposing voice. It tells them to stop whispering. The walls behind them start closing. Katherine and Barnaby fail to grab it. Imogen fails to telekinetically stop it either. Another section opens up, a long passageway Barnaby's torch can't see down fully. Imogen questions where the voice came from, Rob suggests it could be in their heads. They see the passageway heads closer towards the centre of the spiral. Imogen stops Barnaby from calling for help, and Rob deactivates his contact bracelet. Katherine suggests she at least try to feign a commonality with him. Rob is dubious, suspecting that he already knows that Katherine's with them.

The walls around them start to close in. Katherine leads the way. Barnaby awkwardly holds the torch above his head. Eventually, they end up at the end of the passageway. There is candlelight from ahead. There is the smell of freshly-moved stone and earth. Wax. Stale blood. They find themselves in a smaller room than they expected. It's the Hellmouth. Behind them, the pathway shuts. There are no exits. Katherine wants to wait, while Rob is urgently trying to find a way out. He comments he needs a metal thing to rip off. Imogen sarcastically points at the Hellmouth. The voice speaks again. it tells Charity that she's done well. He doesn't need the males, and orders her to kill them. Spill the blood on the seal. Imogen replies that he's tried that before and it didn't work. Katherine turns to look at the Davidsons. She mouths the question of whether they trust her. Barnaby nods quickly, slightly, but Rob takes a while. Katherine moves and feeds on Rob, trying to hold herself out. She tells herself that she needs to do it to maintain their cover, but she begins to enjoy it. So does Rob; it feels like pure bliss. He puts out a tiny fight.

Imogen looks around and tries to determine the location of the voice. At the very least, he doesn't seem to be in the room. Katherine looks at Rob and remembers that he's been the least aggressive towards her, and the least deserving of it. She whispers to him to play dead and throws him away. Barnaby rises to fight her. Rob doesn't play dead very well. Imogen goes all drama queen in the corner trying to help Katherine sell the betrayal in the corner. Barnaby gets bitten, but again Katherine regains control and hurls him to the ground. Barnaby is very good at pretending to die. Katherine acts all evil and grabs Imogen by the neck, proclaiming that she's done it.

The ceiling parts, to reveal a large domed chamber. Directly above the Hellmouth is the spiky ball of doomy stuff. Imogen recognises it as a way to shove a lot of ritual symbols onto a single object. A lot of them have Enochian symbols. She figures it's to obliterate or scatter whatever energies are directed into it. If the Slayer's magic was to jump, and couldn't move to another potential, the Enochian symbols could direct it towards the object. It would then scatter the magic, thus ending the Slayer line. Imogen recognises other runes though, dark ones. They reference a true demon and are intertwined with the Enochian runes. They are probably linked to summoning or manifestation. It would, specifically, manifest the true demon responsible for giving the Slayers power.

A figure in a big brown cloak appears on a ledge above them. A scar can just about be visible. He tells Charity her acting is very good, as is her friends', but he asks her whether she realised that he saw her enter. He asks why else he would have trapped them down here. She asks that if she has a soul, that she can't work to their mutual end. He says pretty much yes, but she will still be of use to him. He agrees that it is his loss, and one he is very sorry for. He tells the Davidsons to stand up. She tells them not to give him what he wants. He tells her to know her place. She says her place, once, was to listen to her. Her place now, is to kill him. She asks what he wants from them. Imogen asks if she got a scholarship from him and feels undervalued. He says that she could have done relatively well, like her sister. Imogen comments that there are no classes for witches. He says he'll put it on the list and asks how her sister is.

Thom Huell says he'll give Layla a call, and she'll come, as she's the Slayer. He takes out a shoddily-taken polaroid selfie of James. Barnaby says that he's just rubbing the salt in. Huell hands it off to a one-eyed henchman, telling him to deliver it. They tell Huell James is dead. In response he says there are fates worse than death. Barnaby waves the sunlight torch in Huell's general direction. He recoils a bit, and his cowl falls off. Patches of his skin are tightened, others are loose. He looks at Barnaby with anger and gestures. Rob comments on faces worse than death. Huell takes the torch from Barnaby with telekinesis after some resistance and breaks it. Rob mourns the lost afternoon's worth of work. Barnaby promises Rob he'll get him a new torch. They pointedly ignore him.

Katherine asks Thom if there is anything they can do. He says yes, before telling his minions to get in position outside the dorms. He asks her to do him a favour and climb out. She asks what's in it for her. He throws a phone down to her. She says she doesn't know how to use it. He orders her to call Layla or die. Katherine's connection to her sire forces her to do so without objection. She puts the phone away and grabs Barnaby's. He tries to get her to tell Layla to bring the staff, but she ignores him. She calls Layla and tells her to come or they're going to die. Robert grabs the phone telekinetically as Layla tries to ask they did. He yells that it's a trap before the phone flies out of his reach. Barnaby and Rob yell to get her to call in all the favours and bring the staff. She hears the bit on favours and Ra, then it dies. Janet mentions that her band says that Rob's in danger. Back at the Hellmouth, Huell tries to make Rob promise not to do that again. He asks for his phone back from Katherine. She takes it out, then smashes it in her fist.

She declares that he won't be telling her things to do any more. Huell says that he doesn't need all four of them. Thus, he offers them a deal. Apologise and ask for forgiveness on their knees or die. Katherine declares that she owes him nothing, and he took her life from her. He orders her to shut up. She just about holds true. He looks at her quizzically, as if he's waiting for her response. He turns to Rob after she mouths at him. Rob says he won't do it with any heart. Huell doesn't care, and tells him to do so, or he'll get him to shoot Barnaby. Rob does so with no effort. Imogen asks Huell that if they're going to die, does he need the Slayer here. Huell says he just wants to kill the Slayer with his own hands. Barnaby isn't sure if he's telling the truth or not. Imogen asks why he needs them there if he doesn't need Layla here specifically. Huell says that he has put his blood, sweat and tears into the school. Katherine says that he can't leave here. She is thrown against the wall. She laughs. Barnaby declares that they've got a roommate, and Katherine laughs even harder. Barnaby suggests that he should have moved in with them longer. Huell says like James. Barnaby says James will last longer than he will. Huell gives him half an hour. The ceiling closes over.

Layla regrets letting Charity leave with the others. She's unsure about calling in favours. She concludes that Imogen's right in telling her not to go there. Rob hotwires his contact bracelet to send a message in Morse to Janet. The alarm on her bracelet stops and starts constantly. Janet quickly realises that it's Morse. She finds it really smart before worrying.

`DONT REPLY DONT REPLY STOP TRAP HELLMOUTH HOSTAGE DONT STOP HE NEEDS LAYLA DONT STOP SPHERE RUNES RITUAL SUMMONS SLAYER DEMON STOP NEEDS SLAYER HENCE TRAP STOP PREPARE STOP EVACUATE DORMS COMPROMISED VAMPIRES TONIGHT STOP VIOLET RA? STAFF?? KNIGHTS?? WATCHERS?? STOP HE SEES HEARS KNOWS SHIFTS TUNNELS DONT GO STOP TRY RA MIGHT BE ON SIDE STOP...`

Layla asks what Janet can do. She suggests either pulling a fire alarm or calling in a bomb threat. Layla doesn't think that's enough. Layla knows she shouldn’t but feels like she needs to go. They ask Violet what she's doing next door. She says she's reading and didn't find anything. Layla tells Violet that they're in trouble and they need to help. Violet asks why. Layla says everyone will die if they don't. Layla tries to give her a pep talk to do something big to evacuate the school. Layla asks if she can burst the water pipes. Violet says not really and thinks it's too far down. Violet says that she's got a sneaky way in. She pulls out two bunny idols. Layla criticises Violet's lack of a plan. Violet says that she doesn't want Imogen or Barnaby to die. Layla says that it's not just them, but everyone. Janet has no ideas either. Layla marches off. Rob finishes his Morse message a bit just for Janet: the launch codes to the British Trident nuclear programme, giving her a way to launch them from the *Vanguard* submarines as a last resort. Every nuclear asset available in the United Kingdom, with the potential exception of the US nukes at RAF Lakenheath.

Layla refuses to go to Ra. Violet and Janet follow her. Violet has a crossbow and spell supplies, Janet her laptop. Layla sprints off. She gets to the school. She pulls all the fire alarms in the DT block, but nothing happens. There is the sound of shifting stone. The school phones are dead. Layla uses her mobile to call a bomb threat at the school. They believe her instantly. Layla runs to the outer edge of the circle. She starts trying to call Ra. He answers warmly. Layla cuts through and asks for his help. She asks for anything that can stop a really big spell. He can only offer it with time and preparation. He cannot offer it now. Layla says that a lot of people who are going to die, many of whom she cares for. She asks what he wants from her. He says he cannot remove the spell without investigation. She needs the Hole in Heaven closed. She says he knows she's good on her word and asks what he wants for it. He offers her a deal.