LTVS: Broken Faith

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

***Layla the Vampire Slayer* episode**

RandomTuesday

Bentham

*"We're a team, Layla, and that means that you alone can't do this, and we can't do it without you."* - Robert Davidson

**Broken Faith** is the thirty-ninth episode of Layla the Vampire Slayer and the seventeenth episode of Season 2.

## Synopsis

Layla Smith spends the last of her money to buy a battered, khaki Land Rover and minimal provisions. It's a beat-up all-terrain vehicle, though there is slippage on the rear wheels. She heads off into the Sahara in the general direction of the tomb. Back with the others, the radio is on in the humvee as they chase Layla's lead, and it sounds normal to Robert Davidson, despite his recent experiences. Imogen Parker realises how Robert might hear the dead and turns it off. She asks when the hearing started. Rob says after he left the hospital. They ruminate over the trauma while Barnaby tries to cheer them up. Barnaby asks Robert for help with preparing for the trip. Imogen makes sure that everyone is equipped for the weather. Robert knows that as it's April, the temeprature in the Sahara will only be in the 20s, but at night it will drop to the low 10s. He makes sure they have jumpers and warm clothing for the night.

Barnaby speeds and runs past a sign saying the road is closed due to an accident. He gets stuck in a pile-up, which will delay them for hours. Layla, meanwhile, is uncomfortable with driving on poor roads and is driving carefully. She loses sometime as she loses the path for the tomb. By midday, the team are in the town of Gabès, where Layla's last phone signal was. Her laptop is still transmitting Layla's position in the Parc Nacional de Jbil, and her exact route. The internet is choppy and everytime Rob has to go plug it in he gets wary of it. Barnaby offers to do it for him. Imogen feels that Layla's too stubborn to ask for directions and suggests they just chase Layla. Barnaby charges after Layla at speed, avoiding a roadblock and makes good progress. They skip the part where Layla had to backtrack. Layla's search for landmarks goes swimmingly, though she sees camel tracks indicating someone's been here recently. She heads directly for the tomb, though it is still some distance away. She's about 4-5 hours away. She powers on, but can't make as much progress. It's midnight and very dark, so she decides to stop for the night.

It's very cold, and she huddles down for the night. For the others, earlier, the tracker finally disappears. Rob figures that the tracker had an internal battery that ran out. Imogen urges haste. Robert asks Violet if they can do a tracking spell, and she agrees, though advises Barnaby to not just follow it blindly. Imogen takes off Layla's t-shirt (to some ironic heckling from Barnaby and peeking from Violet) and puts on a jumper, using it to cast the spell. As the girls cast the spell, Barnaby's phone rings. It's Janet. There's a lot of crackling on the line. She says she needs to talk to Rob. He passes the phone. Janet says something about Charity then says sorry. The line's gone. The phone rings again but Janet can't say anything. Rob takes out his sunlight torch and realises his stuff doesn't work here. Barnaby encourages Rob to make a mundane assemblage using the car's radio aerial. It doesn't work. Janet calls again and says it's too late before the line continues crackling.

Robert doesn't know what to do. He tries and calls back so that Barnaby can see whether he can hear her, but nothing. Barnaby says they'll get Layla and fuck up Charity. They try to call Mr. Davidson, but Barnaby's phone dies. Barnaby says he's sorry. Rob says nothing and they drive on in silence. Barnaby drives slowly in the dark, carefully avoiding the obstacles. At midnight, Barnaby wants to bed down for the night, as he's not confident in his driving skills and he wants them to cool down. Imogen accedes in a huff. During his watch Robert manages to charge Barnaby's phone via the car engine. There is no signal. During a shift change, Barnaby wakes to speak with Robert. He tells Robert that he knows that everything seems really awful, but he wants to help. He says he doesn't know if it's going to be better, but he says he forgives Robert for everything, and that everyone else does too. They know he works so hard to keep them alive and fight demons. Barnaby thanks that Wrathbert were Robert's inner thoughts. He thinks he spent a lot of time thinking about himself and not his family, because it's new and foreign to him. Despite that, it's the most amazing thing to have a family. He tells Robert how important he is to him, and promises they'll be friends and a family again once everything blows over. After everything, they don't want to neglect him again.

Rob says it would be nice. Barnaby says that though they hang out for research, they should hang out like brothers for once. Robert says he wants everything to be normal for once. Barnaby agrees, but before everything can be normal they need to solve the problem, and they can't do everything without him. Robert thinks he can't do anything out here. Barnaby points out that Robert just jury-rigged a way to charge his phone from his car. Robert points out he can't help out in a fight. Barnaby thinks he can, as Robert still has his ingenuity, and assures him he's amazing. Robert wants it over and wants to go home. Barnaby says he needs Robert here otherwise he'll die of "frostbite and irony". Barnaby assures him they can help Janet, and that there's no reason to need to hope, as Robert's smart enough. Robert thanks him for being a good brother, even if he hasn't had much experience in it. Barnaby calls him an awesome brother. They bro-fist.

Layla has a poignant experience which she can't tell whether it's a dream or not. She hears faint dripping, which, when she opens her eyes, is blood dripping down from something onto earth. There is a flash of lightning, and around her is scrubland. Around the pool of blood is desert. Coming up from the blood is a beam of timber. When she starts to look up, she wakes. She remembers it with perfect clarity. She awakes in her car and gets ready to set off in the dawn. She gets to the tomb after midday, delayed by soft sand. There is a depression in the ground. It was once a trench, but weathering has taken its toll. Off to oneside are stones that are upright up to the level of the ground; there are crossbeams on top. It's like a sunken stonehenge, and there are dark passages into the earth. There are eight in total. She gets ready and descends into the depression.

She notices something different. She can't feel the sand beating against her legs, as it is against the rest of her body. Sand is not entering the depression; it is devoid of sand. There is carved, scratched writing and symbols on the side of the stones. Some of them have been defaced, but either way she can't read it. Each of the passages go at different angles, with roughly-cut stones. Layla notices that three of them have extra graffiti, which is in Latin. She can sense a slight breeze coming from one of them; the other two are bone dry. She goes down one of the entrances without airflow.

Behind Layla, Imogen and gang are woken up by an antsy Imogen. Imogen wakes Violet up to re-do the direction spell. Re-using the t-shirt dampens the effect, but Imogen puts so much energy in that the sunglasses Imogen's using start lurching in one direction. Robert checks for missed calls; there are none. Barnaby speeds off, and Robert is roped into navigating. They quickly spot the depression and get there by 3:30 pm. They don't suffer heatstroke and notice Layla's beaten-up Land Rover. A storm appears to be coming.

Earlier, Layla heads down, the passageway winds and narrows. Eventually she'll only have to walk sideways, and she does. At one point it becomes too narrow for entry. She puts her bag in first, but there's a groan and a bone lance shoots through the bag. She easily dodges the volley of missiles, but had to abandon her bag. She raises her lantern and sees behind her skeletons that have been pincushioned. Eventually the spikes get so dense that nobody can get through. It's clearly a trap passage. Layla tears at her bag to get its contents, and manages to free it. She realises she is breathing in bone dust and standing on bits of bone. She says sorry to the dead and goes back up into the other passage without air. It doesn't wind as much, nor does it go up and down like the other passage. It feels like a better-constructed passage. She enters a long, straight room. There are very old, warped, bowls that look like they were oil lamps along the ceiling. They have warped in the centre, which she assumes is due to extreme age.

She can see sparkles along the walls. They are covered in writing and depictions, and the sparkles come from gems. Every "i" is capped off with a startlingly pure gemstone. They tell a story of sort, starting with some type of blackness, depicted by a massive, flawless, black gemstone. A small gold line comes out and is the linear path of the story. From the blackness came beings which stalk some country or continent. Humans appear, and eventually one among them is imbued with power. Three powerful figures imbue them with power within black smoke. From thence on, that figure becomes represented by a diamond, with a rose tint. The figure defeats the powerful beings, then dies. Another, similarly-coloured though differently-shaped figure appears. They die, and the cycle continues until the facade ends. It ends in a hunter-gatherer civilisation. The following facade is an origin story for some evil beings, and potentially their end.

The other wall is incomplete; only half is finished. It depicts powerful objects, which were entombed and placed in a box. Layla tries to shorthand copy down the facades. She continues on, going down a steep pathway. As she goes down, she notices that there are semicircles along the sides of the walls. She examines them and hears a hiss. A number of snakes crawl out of the holes. Layla grabs her long dagger and prepares to decapitate them. There is no resistance and the snake splits in half. Layla tries to intimidate the snakes, but fails. Layla puts down the lantern and takes out her other dagger. Behind her, up the stairs, a large python appears, covered in dark green and tan. Each curl fills up an entire step. It doesn't look natural. It tries to make eye contact with Layla. She hears in the back of her head an alien voice, interspersed with hissing. It tries to tempt her; if she gets it what it wants, it promises her everything. Layla looks away and asks what it wants.

Layla looks up at the ceiling and sees thick bands of wood, intertwining. Layla asks what it is, and the voice says that she'll know when she sees it. Layla says she'll think about it when she sees it. She hooks her lantern onto her belt and jumps up, grabbing onto the wood and using it to traverse down. As she does so, the bands don't seem like wood, but more like ancient roots. The snakes don't bother her. After 50m, her hands are burning. At the bottom is a huge chamber, so large she cannot see the end, the walls or the roof. She lands on flagstones interspersed with grass, some of them broken. In the centre his a huge tree, and from each of the limbs sprouts branches and trees. It's incredibly ancient, and though there is no sunlight, it's still alive.

Layla reflects, and, in general, feels she wants peace. Up high in the tree, hidden by the leaves, is a single apple of pure gold with a rosy red tint. It radiates power and Layla feels a connection with it. She feels that if she were to eat that apple, she would have enough power to defeat evil and defend everyone. She climbs the tree, and pricks some protrudences that look like thorns. She gets to the apple. In the back of her mind, the voice calls at her to take it. She takes off her scarf and wraps the apple in it. As she does so, her hand touches the apple and very deeply in her soul there's a sudden lurch. There is a sensation of falling, a shift in reality, and she feels disorientated. She feels some kind of warning to stop herself from grabbing the apple. It's completely at odds with the apple's eminating aura. Despite this, she pulls the apple of the tree. As she does so, all the blood vessels in her hand start to turn slightly grey.

Outside, they make the way to the entrances in the depression. Three of them have writing in Latin, which Imogen can understand. One says "trap: long way fall"; another says "spikes: those who enter do not leave". The other says "careful: temptation lies within." Imogen tells them and walks to the others and tries to comprehend the language. They're in a language related to Sumerian. One says that it leads back to the surface, another that it connects to another path back to the surface. One says, "the bodies of those that failed", another says "fear: madness lies within." There's one she can't understand. The one that warns about temptation has writing in the same script, and additionally warns of what they seek; only those that are strong enough may pass. Imogen relays this and suggests they either go to the one she can't understand or the one with temptation. She asks Violet if she can have a go. She doesn't get more than Imogen does, but notices that they were written at different times, with different dialects.

Imogen tells Barnaby to investigate, as he's an investigator. He protests that he's not at home, but goes and checks the entranceways. The Layla-tracker is pointing underground uselessly. Between Robert and Barnaby they notice tracks, though they can only suggest that Layla entered into either the one marked "fear" or one of the Latin-graffiti'd one. Imogen asks how they feel about temptation. They hope that since they know it's coming, they can try and resist it. Barnaby asks what Imogen's going to do when she sees Layla. She says she doesn't know and just wants to find her. She walks past, whispering that if she wanted to kill her, she'd probably already be dead. She says she's kidding, the others aren't convinced. Barnaby points out that she's tempted to kill Layla. As they descend, Rob's torch brightens. He's not sure whether it's a trick of the light, but perhaps it got brighter as he descended. He resists the urge to jump forwards.

They move down and there is the smell of disturbed earth, dust and powdered bone. They eventually make it into the room with the jewelled descriptions. Barnaby really wants the gems, but Imogen slaps his hands. Robert reminds them about the temptation. Imogen asks whether he's seen *Aladdin* and warns him the place could turn into lava. She herself narrowly avoids the urge to steal, thanks to prior knowledge about temptation. Imogen touches the gems and they feel like they're held by magnets. She attempts to be better than Barnaby and snaps at him. Rob gets much the same gist as Layla, and guesses it's about the Slayer after he perfectly recalls when Penemue mentioned shamans cooking something up in Africa. He recognises the three figures as the shamans. He explains it to the others. Imogen sees Violet pawing at the jewels and Imogen keeps referencing *Aladdin* (one of the few movies she's watched) to try and dissuade her. Barnaby starts taking photos of the walls; at the very least he can sell them.

Robert draws his companions' eyes to the wall with the artifacts depicted. They get the gist that they're there for safekeeping, to be kept away from the Big Black Gem and other evil creatures. There are some they don't recognise; it's also meant to repel people too. There are a couple of artifacts that could look like spears. Imogen suggests it's a bad idea to take the spear out of here. Barnaby copies some of the drawings and they go on. Further down, Layla gets off the tree and heads down, through a door. She walks for a good half an hour down a largely flat and wiggling corridor. She ends up in a big, black void with a plinth. The light of the lantern is being absorbed by the darkness. The cliff face the plinth comes out of is sheer, and when she whistles it echoes for a while. She turns around and heads back. Upstairs, Imogen sees the same snake traps and hears the hissing. She warns them, and a snake comes out. Robert mumbles about it being snakes, and Imogen tries to use her telekinesis to throw it away. More snakes appear and they try to run away from them down the stairs. Barnaby dodges one, which scratches his sock. It feels warm, and there's a prickling sensation in his ankle.

Acrid, grey-black fumes come off his ankle. More snakes appear. Rob's torch has gotten brighter and he points it at the snakes. About half of those before them shy away from its beam. Imogen imbues sunlight on a pebble, but fails and ends up blinding Barnaby, his eyes eminating light. He missteps and stumbles hard. They huddle around Barnaby and try and drag him forwards. He stumbles again but they make it past the snakes. They make it to the massive room with the tree. Rob's torch grows even brighter and they're amazed at how the tree is still alive. Imogen catches movement at the top of the tree. Amongst the green leaves, someone is curled up in a foetal position, naked and writing in pain. Around them, barbed thorns crush them and rip into their flesh. They are squealing in pain. Imogen hears Layla whimpering. Imogen tells the others.

As for Robert, up in the tree, he sees a small glowing hunk of metal, with a vibrant inner light. He shines his torch at it, and there's a slight pull towards it. The torch brightens considerably and it gets warm in his hand. He thinks it is a powerful element that could be used to harness the greatest of superscience items. He can't see Layla; part of him is overcome by the magnificence of the item. He steps closer, and tells them what he sees. He mentions he can't see Layla. He and Imogen ask what Barnaby sees. Barnaby sees shifting leaves. He thinks it is something very compelling for his book, but feels that his friends need him more for now. For Imogen and Robert, for them, the world begins to fade. The colours become muted. Imogen feels a pull, but senses something is wrong, since nobody else heard Layla scream and Robert saw something different. Barnaby still can't see anything for a while. Eventually, in one of his polaroids, he also sees another naked sobbing form in a foetal position, trapped by thorns. It's James.

"[Barnaby]'s to oblivious to be affected by temptation!" - BenthamPlays

Barnaby exclaims that he's dead and tells Imogen that he's dead. He points at the tree and asks what's going on. He demands to know what magic is going on. Robert is still intrigued and confused about the tree and the bit of metal. He moves even closer, and he tries to climb the tree. Violet can't see anything and asks what's going on. Barnaby tells her it's magical and to ignore the tree. Rob falls off the tree and Barnaby catches him, and they drop to the ground together. The impact knocks Robert back into being aware of what's going on. They ask him what he sees. He states there's a device of sorts. Imogen starts to explain to Robert before turning around and yelling at the tree. She doesn't want its "Layla", nor the real one, who abandoned her. Layla hears this as she enters the room from the other end.

She hides initially before recognising the voices and stepping out. Everyone else is distracted by Imogen yelling at the tree until they eventually hear Layla's footsteps behind her. Barnaby sprints across the room and tries to hug Layla. Robert looks a bit dissapointed now that the thing isn't going to solve his problems. Layla returns Barnaby's hug before pushing him away and chastising him for being here. They call eachother stupid, and yell at each other about their intentions. Layla's demeanour changes when she sees the others. Imogen ignores her. Layla orders them to leave. Barnaby hugs her and tells her to make him. She drags him out. Imogen demands Layla let Barnaby go as Layla turns her attention to Robert. Layla gets mad at them for being concerned about some "little snakes" and tells them to stop following her. Imogen says they chose to be here; Layla replies that they chose stupidly. Violet puts on her slippers.

Imogen says she hopes it wasn't true. Layla asks what; Imogen says that she hoped that Layla had a heart, and clearly she doesn't. Imogen says that Layla doesn't deserve friends, and perhaps never did. Layla, angrily, says that it's because she cares for them that she left them behind, pointing to their recent injuries. She states that they can't handle it, they're not Slayers and they're stupid. Imogen casts social paralysis, and Layla's mouth is frozen open. Her eyes are drawn towards Imogen, and her body is paralysed, locked-off. Imogen walks towards Layla and tells her she doesn't get to talk. She tells Layla that the only one in hospital who came to see her was Barnaby, who she is holding right now, and that Layla had the gall to break up with magical text message. She says that Layla either accepts that they want to be here, or she'll die alone like every other Slayer before her. Imogen then lets her go. Layla drops Barnaby and tells Imogen that she brought her arm back for her.

"You don't deserve friends, you never deserved us, but we're still here in fucking Tunisia with you because we care!" - Imogen Parker

Layla reiterates her point and tells Imogen she's full of herself. She then says that if she dies alone, that's fine. Them dying because of her is the problem. Barnaby suggests they take the argument to somewhere safer before they do something they regret. As he says this, there is the sound of chocolate being broken, and Imogen and Layla turns into rabbits. Barnaby turns around and thanks Violet profusely. Barnaby tries to pick up the bunnies, but while Imogen-bunny is cooperative, Layla-bunny runs around the tree several times. Barnaby comments that the dyed hair stays with the rabbits and looks nice, and both glare at him and be a nuisance. After a while, the two turn back into human forms, ending up sitting on Barnaby's knees. He picks both of them up, though Layla resists and he lets go of her. Layla complains about Violet's actions.

Layla turns to leave, before criticising Rob for going along with their plan. She tries to walk out, but all the walls except the one with the doorway going back down are flat. Robert notices that Layla's right arm is slightly grey, and her veins have a greenish tint. Robert asks her what's wrong with her arm, and she states that there's nothing he can do about it. Imogen sits down and starts eating while Layla paces around looking for an exit. Layla goes to cut the wall with the dagger. The dagger is up to the hilt in stone, and she pulls it out. She demands to know what they did. Imogen says it's too bad she doesn't have friends to help her solve the problem. Layla asks what they can do in a demeaning manner. Layla and Imogen have another argument again. Layla states to Rob that being a "naive highschool student who has a girlfriend" has made her weak. Barnaby suggests they walk down the end they haven't been down and Layla describes it and hopes they die.

Everyone else but Layla and Violet follows Barnaby. They get to the plinth. Rob sees a slight marking in a language he can't understand on the roof of the tunnel behind him. He asks Imogen to read it. It translates: "faith". Imogen, angry at Layla, strides across with faith in herself. Barnaby fails to stop her. Robert remarks that he's seen this before and kicks some dust over the edge. It bounces off something and falls. Rob remarks it was slightly different in the movie (*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*). Robert taps his toe where the bridge would be, but can't feel anything. Imogen yells to have faith and that it's magic. Barnaby yells to Layla about what they've found. Layla says that they'll be the end of her, and she leads Violet down. Barnaby steels himself and makes it across.

Robert waits for the other two. When they show up, he says that they're a team. She alone can't do it, and they can't do it without her. He walks across without a flinch. Layla sighs, calls them a bunch of idiots and walks forward. Her steps are solid, but suddenly her bag feels heavy, and she is pulled off. Violet attempts to grab her, and does, but struggles to hold on. Layla takes off her bag and drops it. Robert hears the commotion, turns around and yells that Layla's in trouble. He tries to help Violet hold Layla. The two just about manage to pull Layla back. Violet asks Layla about the lone wolf thing, but Layla strides off without a word. Imogen sees what's happening and walks on, but Barnaby joins the others. Rob, Violet and Barnaby hang back after Layla and Rob suspects that there's something wrong with her. Barnaby's convinced that Layla's just being stupid, but they'll keep an eye out. Rob says that Layla's stubbornness will get someone hurt.

Imogen, ahead of the group, walks to another cliff face. It is labelled with the words, "Will be rewarded". She waits for Barnaby, Robert and Violet. Layla stops behind Imogen. The three at the back walk into the passageway and Rob puts on his sight glasses. Layla appears fine, but coming in front of Layla is something that resembles a spotlight being shone at him. There is another figure, shimmering with power. A relatively powerful witch, who isn't particularly well-controlled, and there is a tinge of very strong emotion and something a little darker in there. Robert warns them about the magic stuff ahead. Imogen calls the three to go ahead, and Barnaby calls Layla, who follows. Robert warns about potential traps. They walk into a room encrusted with gold: gold slabs, gold-embossed floor tiles, gold chandeliers made with crude techniques but decorated with precious stones. Along all the walls are heaps of treasure. Gold cups, plates of platinum, silver eaerrings, gemstones. Embossed armour and swords that gleam with silver light. The lights from the torch and lantern makes everything sparkle.

There are weapons and armour, and Layla looks for the spear. Imogen whispers "lava" to herself. Robert reminds them about temptation. Off to oneside are ancient tomes, and old scrolls. Robert puts his glasses on and is blinded by magical energy. Layla can't find the spear, being distracted by Imogen. Imogen's constant repetition of lava helps her resist temptation, which also helps Barnaby a bit. Layla and Robert notice Violet moving to a wooden idol encrusted with gems. Imogen's yelling of "lava" (and Rob's ineffectual persuasion) convinces Violet not to touch it. Imogen says that the spear might not be here, as it seems like a trap room. Imogen covers her eyes with her scarf, and she and Barnaby are distracted restraining themselves. Robert and Layla look away from the baubles and notice the less-spectacular things. There are unadorned items. At the back, propped up and nearly hidden by a pile of gemstones, is a relatively plain wooden spear with a flared leaf spearpoint. It is edge with red, gleaming metal. The centre is a chrome-like metal. It looks old and dusty, and the point is covered with ancient, dried blood.

Layla grabs the spear and it feels right in her hands. Robert sees Layla grab at mid-air and handle nothing. He asks what she's doing, and he can't see the spear. Imogen and Barnaby see it. Layla implies there's something wrong with Rob. Imogen and Layla notice movement in a pile of gems, and one giant crystal golem appears. Inside its chest is a slight mote of light. The golem stands up, gems scattering off it, and it swings its arm at Layla. She reels from the attack, drops the spear and climbs its back. Rob tries to activate his gear, but his armour doesn't activate. Imogen backs away and calls out that Layla's got this. Violet fails to successfully cast a doppelganger of Layla, but it copies Barnaby's movement. Barnaby swings with the Layla-doppelganger, which hits the golem and disappears, then punches the golem, slightly cracking its chest. The golem tries to throw Layla off, but fails. Layle examines the golem, which seems to be one singular unit and there is a scratch inside its head. The only way to damage it would be to deal enough damage that it becomes non-functional.

Robert tries his stakethrower, but it doesn't work either. Imogen does nothing. Violet decides to punch the golem and be helpful, but the golem just blocks it. Barnaby tells Rob to figure out how to crack the thing and Barnaby socks it across the jaw, resulting in a slight blemish. Imogen makes a retort about "we". The golem goes to clothesline Barnaby, and he dodges it. Layla pulls out one of the daggers, and tries to decapitate the golem. She cuts straight into it, but the head stays on. Rob tells Imogen that dead people can't learn lessons. He looks at the golem and the only blemish is a scratch in the centre of its head. It's a purposeful, precise inscription. He tells them that the instructions are probably in the head. Imogen signs and looks at the Davidsons. She casts weightless on the golem. It gets thrown around. Violet attempts to kick this thing, and hurts herself. Imogen asks Violet to do the targeting thing on her. Barnaby tries a jump-kick. Due to the weightlessness, while the Barnaby hits it, he hurts herself. Imogen yells out to hold onto it.