LTVS: Crisis

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

***Layla the Vampire Slayer* episode**

RandomTuesday

Bentham

*"Janet. We're going to find your fucking boyfriend. Let's go."* - Barnaby Davidson

**Crisis** is the thirty-sixth episode of Layla the Vampire Slayer and the fourteenth episode of Season 2.

## Synopsis

At the Davidson household, Layla, Imogen, Barnaby, Violet and Janet are still reeling from the revelation that Robert Davidson is probably possessed by the cardinal sin, Wrath. Layla asks whether any of the options to remove Wrath from Robert are viable. Layla suggests locking-in Robert, which Barnaby and now Imogen are against. Barnaby suggests they find a host for Wrath that is somewhat more insistent, though Imogen feels that is just spreading the infection. Layla thinks it's more important to stop Robert from doing any damage. Barnaby cautions that there may be no way to reverse the locking-in. Imogen agrees. Provoking Robert into getting Wrath's control to escalate, thus reducing the time necessary, then purging the Sin from him may be the better option. Barnaby asks if they can get him to punch Charity.

Barnaby says he's got something important to deal with and they are suspicious. He tells them that he's going to tell his dad. George is helping, but not with the research. Barnaby goes to the kitchen. His father is watching Match of the Day and notices his son is upset when he enters. He asks if he's okay. Barnaby says no, and spills the beans. He tells his father about Rob's possession and how they only have a difficult choice ahead of them. Barnaby tells him that he (and himself) should be there once they've gotten a plan together, as they're his family. George offers to go look for Robert and to take his phone with him, but Barnaby thinks it's a bad idea. They're uncertain what his mental state is, what he's doing, what he's capable of doing. He tells his father that he needs to think straight about this. George shakes his head and insists he has to try. Barnaby tells him to come out and talk to the others to prepare himself before burying himself in his father. George awkwardly hugs back and tells Barnaby to stay safe. Barnaby says "you too".

George prepares to go kit up and asks where his shotgun is. Barnaby, who has taken said shotgun, says he doesn't want his dad taking a shotgun to go see his brother. George says it's for anyone else. Barnaby says he doesn't think it's a gang. George says he does have bean bags, and Barnaby eagerly asks where those are. He says they're under the counch in the box. Barnaby tells his dad to look for the shotgun there and places the shotgun there as his dad is getting kitted up. George walks in a bit later with a plate carrier without plates, a baseball bat wrapped with kitchen towel and duct tape. George tells them he's going to look for Rob, and Imogen and Layla are also against it. George says he at least has to try. Imogen asks what he thinks he can do; talking to him isn't going to work. Layla thinks that "Janet way" of doing things is a bad idea, and Imogen retorts that it worked once with Janet, and that it's the best version really. They look over at Janet. She says she remembers something cutting through the haze before she started to feel other emotions. She assumes it was sheer force of will.

Barnaby declares that he's changed his mind and that he's going with George. Layla suggests they all go in that case. Barnaby says that he's going to talk to him and try to get through to him as he did with Janet. Layla asks what if it transfers to him, and Barnaby says he'll stop that from happening, because he's really stubborn. Imogen and Layla snicker a bit. Imogen then says that their course of action will only get them stuck in a cycle until it gets stuck in someone they can't help. Either way, it needs to be stronger. Imogen suggests they just stay low for the time being to plan something out. Imogen just about convinces George, who reluctantly agrees to wait a couple of days. He insists he won't wait any longer, as he can't lose anyone again. Imogen says that if Rob's near someone who is affected by another Sin, it will go faster. She thinks Ned is affected by gluttony, since his eyes went orange. They tell George who Ned is, and Violet says that Ned's kind of hot. Imogen calls him an idiot and implies that Violet has no standards.

Layla still doesn't quite understand Imogen's line of reasoning. Imogen takes out the book and explains the Sin has to be powerful enough to be hurt when exorcised from the host. If weak enough, it will just migrate to another host. They're going to try and not hurt Robert in the process of the explusion. Layla states they need to isolate Robert and hope that the aura doesn't make people angrier like Janet. She mentions when Janet was affected by Sloth, Barnaby had to be thrown out of a window. Imogen mocks him, and Janet admits the defenestration was a bit amusing. Layla feels it was the best option. Imogen and Violet break down into laughter. Imogen, teasing Barnaby relentlessly, asks Janet whether the robots were anatomically correct. Janet blushes furiously.

Barnaby takes Janet aside and asks her if she's okay with pretending everything's normal. She says yes. Barnaby says they don't want her to get hurt. Layla hopes that there's an emotional connection between Janet and Rob that can be manipulated. Violet suggests that if they can get Robert's emotions to become conflicted, they can help Robert. Imogen decides to research how they stopped the Sins in the first place. Barnaby will look into strength of emotions and its effects. Layla will research ways to aggravate Wrath in order to expunge it (while also trying to divert Robert's attention) and Violet will look into the conflict of emotions thing.

Imogen's sources are largely third-hand accounts (at least), as the Sins were locked in prison in Heaven before written language was a thing, about 80,000 years ago. A time when true demons had only started to be reduced, true demons being the largely unkillable sort. The true demons were eventually defeated at some point and half-breeds became the norm. Humanity rose at some point and so did seven emotional-based Passions. Two of the Passions vied for leadership (though not at war, only disagreement). A third was locked in Heaven for acting out of betrayal. The Passions could warp people around them to grow stronger and carve out huge domains. After a big battle they were captured and locked away. The timeframe is about the time of the start of civilisation in Mesopotamia, perhaps before that.

Barnaby has to work with Violet occasionally as he can't read the Sanskrit in the book he's researching from. She flirts with him. He otherwise notices that the Passions will be strongly attracted to both emotional states , but are even more attracted to how deeply embedded an emotion in one's soul. A constantly angry person is more appealing to Wrath than someone who is furiously angry at one point, for instance. The Passion/Sin will feed on and propagate the emotion until the person can only feel one emotion. The more they feel this emotion the greater the likelihood of outbursts. They will also break their normal boundaries, which will accelerate the rate of possession. The book refers to the Sins as more akin to an elemental force than a consciousness. If the possessed is pushed to a point the emotion will spill over and radiate out of their body into nearby people with an aura. At this point they are nearly consumed. He also learns there are things than can quench the emotion.

Violet learns that there are opposing emotions, and some are more powerful than others. Some are more powerful at defeating individual sins, and some negative emotions can overpower an individual sin, but is less effective. For instance, using Vengeance to try and dislodge Sloth from Janet was less effective than Love, as it is a negative emotion. Layla has less time to research but finds that the Seven Sins tend not to overpower each other well. There are also sub-emotions, such as Vengeance (aligned with Wrath, but also Pride). More benevolent emotions are stronger, and temperance tends to help. By this stage, they have about exhausted all of their resources. Layla, in the rest of her time, tries to find Rob and tries to be as kind as possible to him. She doesn't find him in his workshop or in his dorm. She notices that he's been sleeping in the workshop, and there's a lot of traces of food there, typically cheap food bought in a hurry and in large quantity. Layla spots the half-eaten wrench. She also finds bits of a rocket launcher that looks like it's from Robbie's body, and signs that Robert left in a hurry, taking everything with him. As she returns to the Davidsons', she notices footprints indicating that someone tried to sneak in a couple of days ago. It doesn't seem to be Robert as although a key was used, the footprints are too light for him. She notices mud on the carpet too.

Layla tells everyone what she saw. Janet is unsure whether Robbie's body could be cannibalised for some use. She says she didn't really understand how it worked when she assembled him. Imogen criticises superscientists for messing with magic they don't understand. Barnaby has a coughing fit. Layla bites her tongue. Janet hopes that the fact that he didn't take the rocket launcher is a good sign. The others think he'll just make another one. Layla asks George if he's seen him, he says not since Wednesday. The prints would have been from around Thursday. George and Imogen go look to see if any of the books are missing. Imogen loses count and is unsure. Layla and Barnaby look for missing kit and tools. Barnaby remembers that they also kept magical artifacts in the house, and they realise that Robert took the staff Bur'nakk used - the Staff of Anubis. Barnaby's pimp hat is also missing.

Barnaby asks whether Imogen has been researching spells; she hasn't. He says it's good and explains the staff's absence, and the staff is specifically meant to nullify magic use. Imogen visibly struggles to keep control and says she'll set it on fire and then set Robert on fire, then put it out. Barnaby asks how exactly she's going to do that. She asks for the cage spell and Barnaby hides it. Layla tells Violet about the staff and Violet says she knows, as she's been around Barnaby's father before. After pressure she admits they went on a date. Layla tells Janet that she's probably their best bet. She says that they're his friends, but they admit they know how dangerous he can be. They try to think what he would make; Imogen thinks he'd make something that would be non-discriminatory. Layla suggests that Robert fixed up his mech suit.

They ask Janet what the rockets in Robbie were powered by. She tells them they were chemical rockets. Layla asks what they were, and she tells her that Robbie would have to consume stuff that would be conventionally used to make explosives e.g. a source of fuel, an oxidiser (bleach or ammonia) etc. Barnaby asks how to find out where he's gone. Layla suggests Ned has been helping Robert. Barnaby suspects Janet's old lab, and perhaps where he built the apparatus to contact James. Barnaby explains to Janet how that went and feels some guilt over it. Janet suggests she tag along to identify superscience. Imogen suggests Violet come with her to the Alley, which Violet sees as an opportunity to go shopping. Imogen also suggests they raid the [{Greater Rosewater History Museum|Museum]] in Greater Rosewater if it has any Mesopotamian artifacts.

Layla, Barnaby and Janet go to the pool, which seems to be open, which is undamaged. Barnaby asks Janet if she can get it. Earlier, Imogen tried to pickpocket Barnaby's card, but fails. She asks for it to take it to the Alley, and he gives it to her after she tells him there's a good Kitcoin-GBP exchange rate. Barnaby has enough notes and coins to pay for trunks. They notice the showers are out of order, and the floor is broken. Layla asks Janet if there's any other way to get in; there isn't. Janet is afraid of breaking the rules and stays outside, but the other two slip past the tape and in. They ask Janet how to activate the lift, and she pulls out a ring and twists it. Nothing happens. She thinks the bomb broke the lift. Barnaby asks how they get past the floor to climb down; Janet says she forgot that or to put an emergency ladder. Barnaby suggests they brute-force it, but Layla disagrees due to the people there. Barnaby tries to hotwire then stamp the lift into working, but gives up.

At the lightning tower, there is no sign of Rob. The tower has been dismantled, and there is a circular area of dead grass, about 1m radius. They step into the area to check it. Layla feels the hair on her skin stand on end. There is something there, a slight breeze. Barnaby thinks there's nothing there and wants to leave. Layla wishes she had Robert's glasses and feels around. Still nothing. They suggest that when they ripped Heaven open, and this was the result. Barnaby feels that it's not related to Rob and thus not an immediate priority. As it's on a hill they look down at Little Rosewater, and nothing seems out of the ordinary.

Imogen and Violet return to the Alley, passing a horn-crowned grey demon with three pairs of nose slits and a red-carapaced elephant demon. Imogen waves at the demon who waves back. There are vampires, a kelpie. They go to Ra's Magic Shop, which Imogen helped clean up outside. Ra appears in his robes when they enter and greets them warmly. Imogen asks for information about the Seven Passions. Stony-faced but intrigue, Ra asks why she's asking. Imogen tells him that "something" let the Sins out. Briefly, Ra's face flickers, a flash of emotion that is quickly replaced by stoicism. He says it's worrying. Ra says that the Sins are more like primordial emotions, less powerful than true demons unless they manfiest. She tells him they have manifested. Ra says that if they did manifest, there would be hellfire, apocalypse etc. Ra agrees that it would be bad, particularly for business. Imogen wants to know how to put them back in Heaven. Ra says he knows the knowledge she seeks. It is very rare, and there is a cost.

Ra will only exchange it for a pact. Ra wants Imogen not to interfere in his business "in this regard". Imogen objects to the wording. Ra says he knows exactly what she's looking for and what she would need. Ra specifies he knows where to find the information on how to trap the Sins in Heaven. Imogen asks whether he would rather she or himself deal with the Sins manifesting. Ra would prefer it so long as she does not interfere with his business. She retorts that his business had better not interfere with hers. He calls it good enough. Ra darkens the entire room, so that they're surrounded in a black smoke. Ra tells her that there were Seven Sins, each with their own separate temperaments. Pride was a bit of an asshole, wanted the Sins to look up to him. Envy was envious, etc. But one Sin objected with the one-sided nature of the other Sins' desires. One Sin wanted it all to themselves, and was quite different, for greed was all-encompassing. Greed wants everything because it exists. Millenia ago, Greed could remain free in exchange for the others being stored for eternity.

Manifested Greed would be bad for business, much like the others, but Greed is smarter than the rest and has a long-term plan. Greed found people who would be useful - people of power. Greed was nearly manifest then it held itself back. Greed passed through various disciples, whom it burnt out, then moved to a Fae-type realm. It was all very lush, then Greed dropped down a shopping mall. Ra gestures, and they're in the main street of the Alley. Ra reminds Imogen that half-demons can also feel emotion, and every one of the shoppers there partakes in Greed. He singles out Imogen herself. She says she probably has other things; he says she's probably greedier than most. Ra mentions that Humanity gained a reputation for Greed, and criticises the desire for money, and to ane xtent, love. Imogen tries to direct conversation away from capitalistic issues.

Ra says about a millenium Greed found a powerful warlock in mainland Europe and made a deal. It supported powerful regimes: Napoleon, the Tsar [Nicholas II]. At this point Ra starts to talk in the first person: he went to Germany during the Great Depression. He supported the Nazis, and he says they're not nice fellows. Imogen calls him out for his hypocrisy and says it's a pleasure to finally meet him. Ra says that he facilitates greed in exchange for power, life and "fun". Imogen asks whether he'd be happy to see the others locked up again. He says they'd certainly impinge upon his business. Imogen asks how they do it.

Ra says that there are seven stages to manifestation. The first two are a bond to the subject. Then there is possession, where the Sin inserts itself into the host. Fifth and Sixth are manifest possession, where the emotion is vulnerable if the host is damaged. It would be scattered for millennia; less a problem for her than for him. The seventh stage would be a dimension-shattering event and where the host ceases to be a person. Imogen declares that Ra isn't helping her yet. Ra remarks that if he did not know better he'd think she were more prideful. She retorts that he doesn't know her very well, and he targets her crippling insecurity. He says her angst is "lovely". He explains all the Sins had emotions themselves, though the other six are less angry at eachother now. Imogen makes a point about common enemies and he is delighted. Violet is noticably out of sorts.

Ra suggests that they just kill the hosts. Imogen is uncomfortable with moving in that direction. Imogen says she's not that trustful of his moral compass, considering he started mass genocides. Ra objects, saying that he didn't start them. Dead people don't give as much greed as that's another bloke's domain. Ra is a bit dismissive of the softer options, Imogen presses him for more, since she wants more things. He chuckles and says she has something with her arguments. Ra offers a deal; he is still Ra ("stage 6.9"), as Greed deliberately stops from manifesting, and the entire dimension is his aura. She finds it impressive, and he says he's found a lot of time to find ways to channel his aura. Ra finds Imogen a particular interest to him, and Imogen exchanges a glance with Violet over demons' attraction to her. Imogen asks whether there's something about her - perhaps it's because she's actually a terrible person. Ra says it's not his jurisdiction. He does not care for the others' dominions.

Imogen points out that if they are in Heaven, he can't get them. He wants the Sins for himself, rather than out of his control. Ra offers to make Imogen stronger, and tell her weaknesses, in exchange for the other Sins. She would also be "marked". Ra would still point out that she'd still be Imogen, and not a mere minion. He says it would make her "slightly more greedy", and that nobody would really notice the change considering how greedy she already is. He points out that she was too greedy to ask for her friend's credit card, after all. Imogen says she'll think about it, and Ra says he doesn't mind waiting: he's been doing it for millenia. Imogen thanks him for his help and says she'll buy something to make herself feel better. She thinks better of it and storms out. She paces around and decides to buy something for her friends (so that she's not "buying it for herself). She asks what Violet wants and she points at a necklace; she says it's pretty. It turns out to be magical and rather expensive. The two haggle for a bit. Imogen takes a deep breath and suggests they buy ice cream. They decide to buy a lot of the good stuff. They return to the Davidsons' with ice cream, some gaudy gifts and a ton of gaudy crap. Imogen has been using the ice spell to keep the ice cream cold.

Layla and Barnaby awkwardly accept. Violet eagerly wants the stuff if they don't want it. Imogen explains that Ra is greed and started the stuff. Imogen complains that Ra wanted her for a sidekick. Barnaby says she's a sidekick already and looks at Layla. Imogen throws the ice cream at Barnaby's face, then explains everything to them. Layla and Barnaby ask how he's going to take their powers, and Imogen says she has no idea. Imogen suggests they also consider doing something about Ra too. Layla tells Imogen not to make the deal. There is knocking at the door. Barnaby answers it and Ra is outside. Ra says he brought some things and to see whether Imogen has made a decision. Barnaby says that Imogen's only been her for 5 minutes. Barnaby is uncertain about letting him but they tell him it's his house and he lets him in. Ra enters and puts down some boxes. Ra says that the things are loaners, and warns them. He doesn't use an auto-retrieval spell to punish people who steal from him. Imogen asks for a due day slip for the stuff she nicked - he says a week.

Ra pulls out a double-edged curved knife without a guard, with small notches along the blade. That's for killing the Sins, as it's particularly sharp. He asks for a book first from Imogen then Barnaby. He gives him a first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Ra puts no effort in moving the blade against the book and it is practically cut in half. He chants over it, repairs the book and throws it back at Barnaby. Barnaby chucks it away and says he doesn't need it as it's Rob's. He takes out some Matryoshka dolls and says that they can strip the charm from it to power something "for a good cause". Imogen tells Ra she doesn't want to be his minion. He says he doesn't want her to, just to promote greed, and the world has plenty of it already. Imogen says that there's no reason to have her then. Ra explains that the items are to help them defeat the other six Sins. Ra explains that to kill the Sin (basically), the host's soul needs to fully depart the body. Ra approves of her thoroughness.

Ra says that if they want a better chance of Rob surviving, that's where his deal comes in. He states that giving her more power results in a side effect (the greed). He says her form is still quite malleable and she has no resistance to it. Again, Imogen resists the offer for now, but the offer is still on the table. Ra declares he has also brought pizza. Layla is suspicious; Ra says that in the other Sins' absence, the world is "relatively" fine. Imogen laughs aloud. Ra goes back to emphasising his point after Barnaby starts on the pizza and emphasises that some people in the past didn't hold up their part of the bargain. Ra is confused by Imogen's comment about calls into Heaven. Layla offers a different deal, just to get rid of the Sins. Ra says that they'll be a problem for him later. Imogen asks what if they're already gone. He tries to narrow down which one is gone, but she refuses to answer. Ra offers to tell them how long they've got if they've sent it away. Imogen asks at what stage does eye colour change - apparently late 2, possibly stage 3 or 4. Aura depends on the type of Sin, typically around 5 and 6.

Gluttony's aura is quite noticable at 3 and 4, especially at higher levels. Desires to eat things that aren't food are higher levels. The Sins are immune to each other since they are pure. Imogen lets out that Rob is infected by a Sin and near Gluttony. Ra said that the person he made a deal with to keep them safe the last time didn't hold up their end of the deal. He says that naming them is above his pay grade. Imogen asks whether it's God, again he refuses to answer. Ra remphasises that not permanently killing the Sins will be a problem for successive generations, and asks whether they can deal with that. He suggests they probably can. He notices Layla doesn't eat any of the pizza. He thanks them for the stimulating conversation and leaves. Layla says Ra's up to something and Imogen agrees, while tearing into the pizza.

They think Envy's still there, as Horus Grant wasn't far along when they killed him. Layla suggest they try to bind the Sins themselves. Ra isn't necessarily the only source of information. Barnaby will look for Robert, following the trace of hungry people if Ned is with him. Barnaby elects so search at night. There is some stuff missing around the school - the PA equipment, along with the stuff for the school dances. The cafeteria has been cleaned out. Barnaby sees one of the janitors doing his rounds and follows him down a dark hallway. The janitor bends over, holding something in his arms, and looks at it very intently. Barnaby hears a trickle of a heavy liquid. As the moon moves, Barnaby can see it is blood. He takes out a stake and spins the janitor around. The janitor is chewing on his own skin. The janitor cries out for food and Barnaby socks him in the nose, knocking the janitor out. Barnaby calls the cops he found a guy eating on his own arm and rips off a bit of the man's jumpsuit.

Barnaby tracks the blood trail to a stairwell. He then goes to bed. The next morning, Layla wakes up. It's cold, and there's a throbbing headache at the back of her head. She's alone, and the bed is cold. There's no sign of Imogen. The window has been cracked open a bit, and it looks like Imogen was there, but hasn't been there for half an hour at least. The window doesn't appear to have been messed with, and Imogen's stuff is still there. Layla goes to the door and sees a post-it note there. It reads "If I can't have them." She recognises it as Robert's handwriting and rips the post-it off. She walks out in her tank top and pyjama tops into the hallway, which is similarly cold. It is about 4 am. She knocks on Violet's door; it's unlocked. The girls aren't there, and some of Janet's stuff is gone. She grabs the books, goes back to her room and kits up (a lower garment and her jacket), heading for Barnaby's room. Again no response from Barnaby. Some of Rob and Barnaby's stuff; no Barnaby.

Layla is consumed by a feeling of loneliness, that none of her friends are here. Layla tries the other doors in the hallway; there are no unlocked doors but also no response. She jimmys the door and there are two guys inside, and they're asleep. Layla goes to Rob's workshop. It's locked and the lights are off. She walks in and hears a phone go off nearby. Layla goes to answer the phone, which is in the school lobby. The place is still dead quiet and Layla picks up the phone without a word.

Robert answers. "Hello Layla. Let's play a game. You have to choose who to look for: Imogen or Barnaby." Robert tries to appeal to Robert, but the message is on a loop. She hangs up. After five seconds the phone rings again with the same message, and Layla rips the phone off the wall. As she heads back for the workshop, another phone rings and she ignores it, resisting the urge to immediately find Imogen, Imogen wakes up with a pounding in her head, a headache and a smell of disinfectant, damp, mould and urine. She's stuck in a toilet cubicle, and she's a bit blasé about it. She's not restrained, checks if she's actually awake and looks under the loo door. She can see school shoes outside off the ground, apparently hanging. As she looks through the crack of the cubicle she sees four people suspended in mid-air in a line. There is no ligature attached to the ceiling. She recognises the loo as the biology bathroom. She takes a deep breath and opens the door. The four people, in school uniforms, are impaled to the wall via a pipe to the stomach. The first one kind of looks like Robert.

She looks around with the Sight and can't see anything. There is a note on the body. It reads: "You did this." Imogen snorts and sees that all of them have notes. The second is a repeat of the first, body, note and all. The third has eyes painted on, staring forwards, with a note saying: "You won't." The last body is Imogen. Imogen tells herself it isn't real and questions where she is. Imogen walks past and makes to leave, but is stopped by a burst of static. Robert tells her that Layla was given the option to come and look for her, but chose to leave her, and that she caused this. Imogen refuses to believe it, but as she steps towards the door, everything becomes really dizzy. She drops to the ground, and remembers when she saw her classmates pinned to the wall. The scene repeats again and again as she lies helpless on the toilet floor.

Barnaby wakes up with a headache too. His left eye is unable to open, taped in something. There is a pain on the top of his head and part of his face feels warm and sticky. There is something blurry - glasses askew on his face. On the wall there is a post-it note that says "See through my eyes." Barnaby takes the glasses off and gets up. It's a bedroom, with blood across the walls, holes in the plaster board. To his left is a bullet-riddled body. Barnaby tears off the post-it and tries to not look at the body. There is carnage everywhere, but otherwise it is serene. There is something at Barnaby's feet that he can't bring himself to see. There is a phone ringing nearby and Barnaby eventually picks up. Robert tells him that Layla abandoned Barnaby just as they abandoned him, and that she caused this. Barnaby becomes dizzy; his hand touches the blood, which is slightly dry. Barnaby's injury around the top of his head pounds and bleeds. Barnaby eventually claws his other eye open before his world swims away. Barnaby relives that night and sees James die over and over again from every perspective.

Layla walks into the workshop. In the middle, vaguely regaining consciousness, tied back-to-back, are Violet and Janet. Layla whispers to them if they're okay. Violet mumbles about not being able to go out with Imogen, as she's dating the Slayer. Janet is asleep. Otherwise the workshop is normal. Layla unties them and waits for them to come around. They ask what's going on. Layla says that she thinks everyone's having weird dreams and that Robert's messing with them. They didn't get any sticky notes. Layla turns the lights on and nothing appears to have changed. Layla tells them that they need to get out of here and figure out where the others are. Janet doesn't remember anything, while Violet denies remembering anything. The printer starts printing. There is a message followed by a list. The message tells Layla she chose poorly. Robert taunts Layla with what Imogen and Barnaby are going through. The list is a list of dead students. Layla tells Robert that she know what he's doing and it isn't going to work.

Layla removes the paper from the printer and asks the two for help. Violet's down for going to get Barnaby with Janet if Layla is going after Imogen. Layla gives them wrenches and takes one for herself, telling them to use them only if they have to. Janet and Violet get to Barnaby first. Barnaby comes to on the ground, tears down his face, with Violet holding his head and Janet cradling the body. Barnaby begs "Not again," before recognising Violet. She asks what he wears in bed, and he says not much. Janet asks if Barnaby's okay since he was screaming. He admits he was and demands if they're safe to leave. She tells him that the body's Robbie, and he's deactivated. It was just the skin of the Robbie-bot. Barnaby, in a temper, tells Janet that they're going to hunt down Rob. He marches out with the girls in tow.

In the bio loos. Imogen, who has already somewhat processed the event, is in a weird state of uncomfortable laugh-cackling of someone broken. Layla enters the loos and Imogen is on the floor, cradled in a ball. She tells Imogen to wake up, but there's no response but more broken cackling. After five minutes, with Layla splashing water on her girlfriend's face and talking to her, Imogen comes to. She says she's fine and continues laughing. She says that they're going to stop Robert like they stopped Mr. Miller and Penemue, and how they're going to stop Charity. Layla tries to appeal to Imogen's friendship with Robert, but Imogen says that "friends don't make friends suffer". Layla tells her that it's not Robert, it's what's inside him. Imogen says she'll destroy it. Layla tells Imogen she needs to get out of this state, but Imogen firmly says she's fine. Layla emphasises that Robert's toying with their emotions.

Layla helps Imogen to her feet. There is a pole through four mannequins on the wall. Imogen briefly contemplates throwing a fireball into the bathroom, but resists as she knows Layla won't like it. While Imogen and Barnaby are both enraged, Layla teeters on the edge, realising that Robert (or Wrath) is trying to make them angry and tries to maintain her emotional balance. They run into Barnaby, Janet and Violet, and the former explains what was happening. Imogen asks if she was topless, and Barnaby is too incensed to answer. He tells them they're going to a stairwell and explains what he saw a couple of hours ago. Then, the lights around the school go off and a bright beam of light shoots up from the school into the sky. Smoke and fog surrounds it. They recognise that as being where the Hellmouth would be, and Barnaby recalls that the stairwell would have led to the catacombs as well.

Barnaby goes back into the room, grabs the phone and takes it with him. Imogen grabs the Russian dolls and fertility statue. Layla checks she has the knife. Imogen asks whether they think he's actually at the Hellmouth. Barnaby thinks it's a misdirection, she thinks he's trying to kill them. Imogen claims that Wrath wasn't the smartest Sin, and Layla says they should probably expect the worst. Imogen drains one of the Russian dolls. A weird, grey fog with occasional bolts of lightning surrounds her hands. Layla expresses concern, but Imogen thinks that Greed just wants the other Sins to be dealt with. The power boost from draining the dolls gives Imogen focus and power, but also a lust for more of it. Imogen instructs the others to get rid of the staff. Barnaby checks that he has the instructions for the caging ritual, which requires 3 people and can be made permanent after the ritual by tattooing or carving the runes into the locked-in person's skin. Barnaby is certain he'll disarm the staff from Rob. Violet is uncertain about going, but Janet tells them that she has to go, because he helped her in the past. Violet runs off and returns with two bunny slippers. They ask her what's with them. She says that if she needs to run away, she can use the slippers to turn herself into a bunny.

They find it adorable. Violet then mentions that she needed the heart of the rabbit to do it. She starts on saying how she had meet back when, but trails off. They head down to the catacombs, following a faint trail of blood. As they near the door, fog rolls out of it. There is an odd smell with an acrid tang to it. There are flickering lights, and an odd whirring at the edges of their hearing. Off to one side is a fog machine. Layla turns it off, and after the fog clears the school's PA system can be seen around. As they walk further in, it starts. Layla cuts the wires to the nearest speaker, but the message continues. "Finally had enough of ignoring me? Then perhaps now you'll finally listen. It'll be too little, too late. And if you think you're coming here to kill me, then you haven't been paying attention." Imogen sighs, and Robert mocks them. "I know why you're here. I understand now. You decided to slay me, because I'm a monster, and that's what you do. But you don't slay all of them, do you Layla?" Robert criticises how Layla doesn't kill every demon she's met, only the vampires. He asks why the deep-cover Barnaby got a pass, or the Alley dimension, or the Alley pub itself. Robert asks her why she allows them to exist while students die regularly. He states he remembers the name of every dead student.

"But you'll never be on that list, of course.You're the untouchable Slayer. Nice and safe and protected by her special demonic powers and your sub-protective meat shield of weaker people." He attacks Imogen for not telling him about her magical powers until "she found someone to impress". He accuses her of caring for nothing and inflicting a horrible, painful death on others by draining the blood out of them. He accuses her of using him to throw bombs at enemies for her own convenience, and that it was natural that she was the first to decide he should die: she's tried plenty of times before. "And to think: we used to be friends." He turns his attention to Barnaby, "his constant daily reminder of what he should have been". He accuses Barnaby of being born with all the right things - handsomeness, strength - while he had to claw his way up. He asks how he was so blind to let the person who killed his mother enter his family. Once a demon, always a demon.

He turns to Violet, lashing out at her always changing sides. He says she still clings to her past, as she only knows how to kill people and use people. He accuses her of how she was happy to spread the dreams of Janet that he had in the past, but not the nightmares. He turns to Janet and accuses her of betraying him for everything he's done for her: saving her, opening his heart to her, trusting her. "And now you're here to kill me. But I think you're forgetting who you're fighting. The fight has already started. And I'm winning." Layla tries to rally the others, but Imogen and Barnaby aren't receptive. Layla's on the verge of tears and tells them that they have to be the ones to save him, or she doesn't know what she's doing with her life. They galvanised enough, but they are all still psychologically fractured. Layla feels guilt over the fact that she failed to help Robert get over his guilt. Violet is less hurt, but concerned.

They make it to the hellmouth, and there are more fog machines. it's clear that the lights were from the school dance equipment. Before them stands Rob, in full armour, and a beautiful blonde who is familiar to them all. Charity wears a smirk on her face. Robert declares that he's made a new friend, and they've made up over the sky-falling thing. Layla asks Wrath if it's a new friend. Robert is confused briefly but ignores it. Layla and Robert lock in a battle of words. Charity then steps forwards invitingly and flirts with Layla. Layla stonewalls her. She turns back to Rob, and tells him that he told her that they were going to somewhere "fun". Layla attempts to get through to Robert again, asking how any of them (apart from Imogen, who indignantly raises her voice at this) would try to kill him. Imogen rants about about clarification. Robert accuses Layla of brainwashing Janet, and Layla gets defensive. Imogen points out that Charity did enthrall his father into trying to kill him. They tell Robert he's smarter than that. Imogen asks whether Charity kissed him (in disgust), and she says they did "far more than that". Janet steps forwards and tries to slap Charity, but Imogen blocks her.

Robert says he's not done talking yet. There are heavy footsteps behind them, and out comes Ned, eager to eat them. Chewing with three-layers of shark teeth on a stake, Ned's eight-inch tongue flails around. He is bloated; most of it seems like excess skin. Driven by hunger, he charges.