A Golden Illusion
An Umineko no Naku Koro ni Story
Disclaimer: I do not own Umineko no Naku Koro ni, and this story is for free entertainment purposes only. Please also note that this contains spoilers for Episode 4 of the Visual Novel.
Summary: In the Golden Land, Maria is finally able to have the relationship with her mother that she has always dreamed of. Beatrice, in a strange moment of sadness, goes to bring back forth a magical version of something dear to her like how Maria can with her mother. But even she, the Golden and Endless witch, understands the greatest flaw in magic—all illusions have to be shattered one day.
Bold means red, by the way, and Italics mean blue.
~~~~~~U m i n e k o~~~~~~n o~~~~~~~~N a k u~~~~~~~~~~K o r o~~~~~~~n i~~~~~~
"Uu! Uu-uu! Mama, play with Maria more, more! Uu!" Maria shouted, waving her arms all over the place and laughing, not caring about anything else in the world. Rosa chuckled at her behaviour, gently admonishing her before following, saying something or other about how they should do some more of the wolf and sheep puzzles, and maybe even go and get some ice cream. The child laughed at that, waving her wand about once more. This was something she had dreamed about for such a long time, and now, it was happening! Mama finally loved her, and didn't need to worry about her work or other things anymore!
All because she had reached the Golden Land with Beatrice.
The Witch of Origins giggled again, before beginning to drag her mother away to another part of the beautiful rose garden, shouting out "uu~!" every once in a while. How long had she waited for this day? How long had it been since she had been able to have this much fun with Mama? A certain figure caught Maria's eye though, and before she could go play with Rosa any further, she shouted out;
"Beato, you should play too! Uu!" Skipping happily along the golden paved path, Rosa laughing behind her, Maria stood in front of the Golden Witch, an innocent and bewitching smile on her face. Beatrice cackled, smiling at her.
"No, no, Maria. You should use this time to play with... Rosa," the witch had said, straining out the last part. Maria seemed surprised, but quickly shrugged it off, saying something like, 'come join in when you want, uu' or something to that effect, before running off to her previous destination. Rosa, however, stayed in front of Beatrice for a while, staring at her.
Beatrice lightly scowled. Rosa's eyes... were dead. Any and all signs of life were completely fake, unreal. Every emotion that this... "Rosa" felt was false. Her voice, while sounding happy and joyful to Maria, was empty, void of any emotion when it passed Beatrice's ears. The witch looked away, pointing to Maria. "Rosa" smiled—incredibly fake, even when it was so similar to the real Rosa's smile—and ran after "her" daughter, replying to the young girl's shouts of excitement with ones of equal standard, leaving behind the Golden Witch.
Beatrice sighed, a stern and strained expression on her face. Even after reaching the Golden Land with Maria, there was something that she seemed to lack here. Why had she been able to see through the magic, her own magic, and see that "Rosa" was nothing more than a fake? She couldn't still be attached to that game, no, to him, could she? The witch cackled half-heartedly. She had denied him completely in a combination of red and blue text. He no longer existed. But, then again, neither did Rosa, really.
And that didn't stop Maria.
Beatrice stopped, and instead turned to look to the young girl and "Rosa". The two of them were having fun, playing all the games that Maria had always wanted to do with her, without any interruptions, refusing to acknowledge how unrealistic this all was, and how fake "Rosa" was.
"Oh~? Is the great Golden Witch getting jealous of Maria? I knew you were childish, Beato, but I didn't think you were that bad," a voice called out from behind her. Beatrice turned around quickly, startled. That voice... but, that's impossible! She had killed him! Denied him! So... how could he...?
Battler looked to Beatrice in surprise. Had he startled her? Somehow, that thought made him laugh, as he began to chuckle a little bit. The witch, however, was not amused. A grim expression appearing on her face, she demanded;
"What are you doing here? I denied your very existence using the blue text—you have no right to be here." That only seemed to make Battler laugh even harder, as he was now holding his sides. Beatrice huffed, cheeks going a little red in embarrassment. "W-what's so funny?" she asked, fists shaking. Battler waved his hands in front of him in some sort of defence, trying to get his laughing fit under control.
"S-sorry, Beato," he choked, "but... hearing you speak... in such a voice... is just so unlike you! More befitting for an old granny. Oh, wait; you're over 1000 years old, so of course you're an old grandma!" He was laughing at her again, shaking uncontrollably, whilst pointing at her in his usual fashion, yet bearing none of the malicious hatred or grieving anger. Beatrice scowled again, cheeks flushing an even brighter red than before. The nerve he had, to speak like that to her, the Golden Witch!
"Oh, really? So you finally believe in witches, and that I, Beatrice, the Golden Witch, truly exist?" Beatrice cackled. Battler didn't reply, instead deciding to look at Maria and "Rosa", a look of distaste across his face. Beatrice in turn sighed, clearly unhappy about it either.
"...Rosa-oba-san's dead. Maria and I were the only ones left before the 10th Twilight—she shouldn't be here," he said bluntly, folding his arms. A displeased expression rose to Beatrice's face, as she elegantly held her pipe close to her.
"You, Battler, were extremely lucky to be able to survive long enough to be granted access to the Golden Land," she started, her tone serious again. Battler said nothing of it. "That's why you're both here now. Rosa, however, was not fortunate to even survive the first Twilight of this game. This is a resurrected form of her, shaped into the mother Maria had always wanted." Silence fell between the two, golden leaves and flower petals being thrown into the air around them. Neither of the two could bring themselves to say anything, or do anything. It was over. They needn't struggle anymore.
They had finally reached the Golden Land.
"... So this is the Golden Land? The decorator really didn't like other colours much, did he?" Battler chimed, looking around, a smirk slowly rising to his face. Beatrice herself also smirked, sensing the boy's challenging behaviour coming.
"It is the Golden Land for a reason. Not like a human like you would be able to understand," she chortled, thoroughly enjoying the expression rising to Battler's face. He was grinning, that spark of determination in his eyes burning brightly. She was smiling now, fully enjoying the moment, and forgetting about everything else. Here she was, with the one and only Ushiromiya Battler, and they were once again debating on how these things were done—magic, or logic? Drawn-out fight, or a quick blow to the intended area? Witches, or humans?
A strong wind blew throughout the Golden Land, unnoticed by both witches and their counter-parts. The golden petals danced among the golden butterflies, creating a beautiful scene of innocence and tranquillity. The happiness brought by the Golden Land was absolute, an eternal peace forever covering the land. Time was unimportant in this place, and all problems forgotten. The only emotion understood in this place was happiness, joy.
"See~, Battler~? Isn't it so much more fun when you believe~?" the Golden witch danced, twirling around in a pile of golden leaves. The red-head chuckled, before running towards her, replying to her unnatural and insane arguments and closed rooms with his own twisted logic.
"Oh, so what would I be? Ushiromiya Battler, the Everlasting Phoenix, prepared to fight to the end!" he joked, grabbing a hold of Beatrice's hands as he pulled her further into the rose garden.
They were dancing now to an invisible beat, holding hands tightly as they twirled each other around, laughing like innocent children, yet in sync with each other to terrifying degrees, near impossible to see each other as enemies over a forgotten game of chess, mysteries, and deaths.
"...Hey, Beato?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you ever want... 'more'... out of a relationship?" Battler awkwardly asked. The dancing grew quicker somehow, the tension beginning to rise. Beatrice seemed dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. And... were her cheeks getting warmer?
"M-more?" she innocently asked, daring herself to look into Battler's eyes. They had a far-away look to them, as his cheeks began to redden slightly. The witch couldn't help but stare as her breath got caught in her throat, and dare she think that her own golden butterflies were somehow trapped in her stomach. Battler coughed;
"Well... I just wanted to know if you wanted anything 'more' to come of this. Am I here simply to play? Or do you want this relationship to go further?"
"W-what? What do you mean?" Beatrice couldn't understand what Battler was saying. This wasn't like him at all and... and how could he have known? Her feelings...!
"Ahh!" In all the excitement and confusion during their dance, the duo had tripped over the own feet and landed in a crumpled mess on the grass. Beatrice couldn't breathe because of two things—one Battler was right on top of her, and, two, his face was so close to her own. Neither of the two could move, as if somehow paralysed by the odd and awkward situation. The witch's cheeks were quickly going red again, her heart racing at unnatural speeds. This situation was... unbearable! How come Battler wasn't getting off of her, scrambling whilst apologising and saying that it was just joke?! Why?
Battler was just... there, unmoving. He still hovered over her, his breath ragged. His eyes were glazed over, no longer looking at her properly. Beatrice gulped, slowly bringing a hand to his face, to make him look at her. They were staring each other down now, their heads slowly closing the gap between them. Oh, if Battler were only like this in actuality...
"H...Huh?" Beatrice whispered in surprise as Battler suddenly pulled back, a scowl on his face. Dusting herself as she got up, her cheeks still bright red and warm. She was over 1000 years old, so why was she so embarrassed over something as little as a fleeting kiss? Battler didn't respond, but his eyes seemed to have regained some light and awareness. The witch didn't understand. What was happening? What was she going through?
"Ah, it's useless, it's useless!" What was useless? What? Battler! "The Golden Land is a magical place, where all wishes are granted." Yeah, she knew that, so why on earth was 'Battler' of all people telling her this? "However, magic can only exist so long as that person believes." That... was true for magic—if one didn't believe, then the magic couldn't exist... No, wait, he couldn't mean...!
"You... you're not something I made, no! You can't be!" Beatrice screamed, rage written all over her face. "Battler" simply watched in disinterest, before sighing.
"You're a lot better than Maria—able to make up something that can acknowledge its own existence as itself, unlike that "Rosa" over there. I'd have been able to stay, and you would have been able to even change me to fit your needs—"
"No!" She was crying now, hands over her ears. She knew what was going to happen, but didn't want to believe it. She was so happy... when had she stopped believing? When?
"You doubted me, for just a moment," "Battler" said, simply watching the witch cry. "Right before we kissed, you wished for the real Ushiromiya Battler, rather than this... illusion in front of you." "He" looked sad now, as if coming to terms to his undeniable fate that awaited him. "As an illusion of Ushiromiya Battler made by Beatrice the Golden, I have, admittedly, acquired some of his characteristics—I don't exist, and have to use the blue text to get rid of myself—"
"Stop it!" Beatrice shouted, latching onto "Battler", openly sobbing into his chest. For an illusion, "Battler" seemed surprised, and decided to simply stroke the witch's back as she wailed. "I, I don't want you to go! Don't leave me!" Hair flying in every direction, her face a mess, Beatrice dared to look up. "Battler" simply looked down at her, eyebrow raised.
"Weren't you the one who completely denied me the first time?"
Silence. Beatrice was still sniffling, her eyes red from crying so hard. "Battler" slowly detached himself from her, and walked a few paces away from her. Another gust of wind blew through the Golden Land, this time leaving an uneasy atmosphere between the two. The illusion turned away from Beatrice, laughing.
"Well, let's begin, shall we?" Beatrice refused to answer. "Battler" forced a smile, already having understood that, honestly, she wasn't going to do anything, whether it be to assist him or stop him.
"Ushiromiya Battler is not here. Therefore, we can reason that I, who claim to be Ushiromiya Battler, am not real." Blue wisps seemed to have wrapped themselves around the illusion, similar to a snake wrapping itself around its prey. Beatrice looked down, distraught. "Battler" only snorted, the trademark grin of the one he was supposed to replace appearing on his face.
"If an illusion is to ever realise that it is not genuine, than it no longer has a right to exist." The blue wisps were like thread now, tightly weaved around his body in an over the top manner. "He" continued. "Therefore, the illusion can no longer exist... It was fun while it lasted, I guess. I do hope you have a happy ending, Beatrice, my Golden Witch."
A flash of gold. The blue thread had completely cut through the illusion with no mercy, with golden butterflies dispersing into the air and flying around aimlessly around the place.
Beatrice collapsed from exhaustion. This was... too much... Her Golden Land was... meant to be a place of happiness and joy and magic! How could this have...? The witch gave up thinking, and simply wept. It would be when Maria and "Rosa" came that she would stop, and that she and Maria would talk over tea about a very important rule in magic.
One must accept and understand love with magic, and must never doubt its existence, lest the magic—the illusion, be lost forever.
Fin