Mr. Hyde : An Alternate Rodin Battle…
Bayonetta handed the Platinum Ticket over to Rodin. The huge bartender chuckled.
"I never thought this day would come. This baby here contains enough energy to return me to my original form…"
"And what would that original form be?"
"Once, I was an angel. THE angel. I made the Laguna's weapons and ruled a good-sized portion of Paradiso. And I was POWERFUL. But that all changed. I started seein' through all the propaganda, and I did NOT like what I saw underneath. So I quit. Got cast out of Paradiso. Most of my power was gone. But with this, I might be able to get it back. Now let's see what this baby can do…"said Rodin.
He closed his fist around the ticket, and the ticket absorbed into his hand.
Rodin's hands began to shake as an unimaginable amount of power flowed intop him. His feet left the floor, and he floated in midair. And then he began to speak, and it was then Bayonetta knew something was wrong.
"Cleanse the unholy, cleanse the unholy, cleanse the unholy, cleanse the unholy…"
"Rodin?" Bayonetta called.
The fallen angel gave no reply.
"Cleanse the unholy, Cleanse the unholy, cleanse the unholy …"
He tilted his head back, and the lenses of his sunglasses exploded outwards, revealing his eyes, which were now glowing and completely white.
"Cleanse the unholy, cleanse the unholy, cleanse the unholy …"
A portal opened behind Rodin, sucking both of them in. Bayonetta found herself in a world seemingly made of swirling colors, on a transparent platform over the swirling abyss below.
"CLEANSE THE UNHOLY CLEANSE THE UNHOLY CLEANSE THE UNHOLY CLEANSE THE UNHOLY…"
Rodin's voice echoed menacingly, as if hundreds of Rodins were speaking at once. He was also now wearing the elaborate golden robes of a high angel. Twelve golden-white wings materialized on his back. Then an enormous ornate halo appeared over his head. He glared at Bayonetta with those blank white eyes.
"I AM THE INFINITE ONE, FATHER RODIN. WHAT UNCLEAN DEMON DARES DEFILE MY ARENA?"
"Rodin, it's me Bayonetta!"
"HMMMM," he said, though it sounded more like a growl, "AN UMBRA WITCH. THE FILTHIEST OF THE FILTHY. I SHALL ENJOY TAKING YOUR LIFE."
Bayonetta didn't have much time to be shocked, because then Rodin lunged. He moved with incredible speed, and Bayonetta barely had time to get out of the way. She drew and activated Pillow Talk, her trusty…lightsaber thing. She began charging it, and as Rodin reeled back, and Bayonetta struck several more times.
"Rodin, don't make me do this!" Bayonetta said.
"HEATHEN!" Roared Rodin, and he kicked Bayonetta across the arena. She landed on her hands and backflipped to her feet. The battle that followed was of epic proportions. Rodin, enraged, used his full power, and Bayonetta used hers. She would charge Pillow Talk, and lure him toward her, then strike. He would hurl everything from fire to lasers to balls of blue energy, as well as charging her head-on. But finally, Bayonetta won. She was transported back to the Gates of Hell, along with the unmoving body of Rodin.
She looked down at the limp body at her feet. Should she finish him off? The wings and halo were gone, and he was once again dressed in his leather trench coat.
She couldn't do it. Rodin had taken her under his wing when she came of that coffin 20 years ago. She couldn't bring herself to kill the man who had done so much for her.
She sat down on the floor next to him and put his head in her lap. His aura still had the spark of life, so he was still alive. After a while, she heard a soft groan. Rodin's eyes fluttered open. They were no longer white, they were back to red.
"Bayonetta? What'm I doin' on the floor?" he asked, puzzled.
"Welcome back, Rodin."
"Back? I was gone?"
"You…don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
"I gave you the Platinum Ticket and you became an angel again. You kept repeating 'cleanse the unholy' and we were transported to another dimension. And you attacked me."
Rodin was stunned.
"I…I what?"
"You attacked me."
"And you beat me. So that's why I feel like I've been hit by a bus. I'm sorry, baby. I…I should've seen that coming…I should've known I would become what I was back then"
"Blaming yourself won't help anything. You're not the same person you were back then. What matters is you're back to the real you."
"Good thing, too, 'cause if angel-me had won, he woulda destroyed every 'unholy' thing in sight."
"That just makes having you back even better."
The occult arms dealer smiled.
"Baby," he said, "I think it's about time you got somethin' special."
Rodin got to his feet, went behind the bar and opened a secret compartment. He handed its contents to the Umbra Witch. They were a set of four golden bracelets.
"These are my most prized possession. There are some of the weapons I used when I was an angel. They can change shape into different weapons, l so I've kept them a secret…until now. I think you need 'em more than I do."
"How many halos?"
"None. Think of it as a reward for stoppin' angel-me."