Author's note: I do not own anything from Bayonetta.

Chapter 11: The Lumen Sage

He felt the rocky texture underneath him immediately as he regained consciousness. She heard the roar of a storm, and the whispering of things unexplainable to a mortal pecking at her psyche and sanity. She could sense companionship and belonging, whereas he sensed distrust and rejection.

She was the first to realise where they were.

He was the first to realise they had made it.

"Well, my fellow travellers." Loki was standing on an outcrop as both Bayonetta and Damien stood up, their eyes blinking as they tried to adjust to the light. "Welcome to hell, love. You can thank me for saving your butts another time."

"What happened?" He whispered to her as he tried to balance himself.

"You got swatted, and now the little one has remembered everything." She replied, stretching her joints. He started in surprise, but caught himself.

"You remember everything?" Damien turned to the boy, his eyes wide.

"Yep. My name is Aesir, I am the God of Chaos and I have the power of time at my fingertips." He smiled confidently at them, a smirk nearly gracing his lips. "And you two need to find your friend."

They both smiled at him, then turned their attention to the view behind them.

"So, this is Inferno…" She said as she watched the weather of the realm of demons with a look of derision, her forearm aching. The immediate view was a bunch of brown rocks, and in the background was a tornado of red dust. Behind her was a cliff, and she was almost certain that Loki was standing on the edge of one too. "What a lovely place."

"It certainly hasn't changed." Damien muttered as his wing unfurled, shielding him from the dust. His hands glowed green as he began to heal himself. "How much time do we have left?"

"A day." She glanced at the watch with a grim look, then met his eyes with firmness. "Since time doesn't exist here as it does in the mortal realm, we need to be quick and precise; we can't afford to dally around!"

"Let's get going then." Damien anxiously peered over the drop, noting the strange rock formations beneath them. "No point in discussing that we don't have enough time."

"How will we know how to find her?" Loki piped up from ahead of them, turning around to face them. "We can't search the entirety of Inferno in just a day! That is a fool's errand, love, and you know that."

"He has a point." The winged man's face fell, despair beginning to lace his tone. "How are we supposed to find her?!"

"Don't use your eyes." She rolled hers as they both mentally slapped themselves at their idiocy, Loki taking it much more harshly than him.

"Stupid Loki!" He muttered to himself. "Just because you just regained your memory, doesn't mean you can be complacent!"

"Hey, it's ok." Damien smiled at him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I forgot, and it's one of my strongest abilities."

"Well, are we all ready?" Bayonetta interrupted them, and they both stared a little foolishly at her. "We can't afford to waste any more time!"

Damien nodded, then suddenly became alert. Shuraba snapped into his hand as he whirled around, suspicious. He glanced to the top of the cliffs behind them, then spotted someone at the top. His eyes narrowed, then fell as he recognised who it was.

"We aren't alone." He hissed as he glanced to the witch, his face starting to go red in anger. "You again..! How did you get here!?"

"Huh?" Bayonetta whipped around, her senses telling her that someone else other than the three was somewhere behind them. "Who?"

"It's him!" Loki finally realised who he was talking about, following his gaze. "He fucking followed us!"

Bayonetta felt her forearm throb, and her anger grew. He couldn't be here. But then again, he had been a thorn in their side for too long; and this time, she was going to remove it or at least find out why he wanted to be stuck in them. "Leave him to me."

"Cereza!" Damien turned to her, his eyes wide. "You know his blade… whatever it is, it isn't just metal! Let me fight him!"

"I only need to delay him. And we know you will kill him mercilessly or die trying." She tossed Jeanne's watch to him as he stared at her in shock. "If I do this, you two can focus on rescuing Jeanne. You've been here before, and Loki is no slouch. He can help in a lot more ways than I can."

"Bullshit." He coolly replied. "You know I can take him."

"I want to do this myself; he and I have a score to settle." She looked at him with a serious expression. "I want to prove it to myself."

Damien looked torn, but ultimately he conceded by turning away.

"You sure you are going to be ok, love?" Loki put an arm on her wrist, his eyes soft. "There's going to be no help if he-"

"If I die, let Jeanne know that she needs to get me." She smiled grimly, understanding his warning. "If it ever comes to that. Now go, before I fucking make you!"

Damien gestured to Loki as the boy transformed into a squirrel and jumped onto his back. With one last look at her, he jumped off the edge, his pair of wings slipping out to carry his descent. She smiled and hoped for a peaceful journey, then her face grew stony as she turned to see the Sage standing up behind her, his gaze fixed upon hers. He mask again hid all signs of humanity, but his posture was enough to convince Bayonetta that he had come for a fight.

"Umbra Witch…" His voice was a growl as he stood there. "Where is he? Where did you hide him this time?"

"What do you want!?" She summoned a gun and pointed it at his chest. "Or better yet, why do you want him!?"

"That monstrosity is merely one of many things on my list of people to die for sins that shall not go unpunished." He pointed at her, his voice not masking the hate within it. "You are also one of them!"

"What the fuck have I done to deserve your ire?" She growled, stepping forward. The ache in her forearm was long forgotten and the wound itself was nothing but a speck in both of their minds.

"You killed my clan." His glaive snapped into existence as his hand fell down to his side. "You murdered my wife and child! Your impudence will cost you your life!"

"I have done no such thing!" Her second gun appeared in her other hand in a flash. "And the only Sage I have ever killed had it coming!"

"You lie!" He jumped into the air, his glaive twirling. Bayonetta sent a few warning shots in his direction, then leaped forward with an afterburner kick to meet him. Connecting with his glaive, she twisted through the swing, sending his upper body off balance and sent a roundhouse weave into the now vulnerable Sage's side. He roared in pain as it connected, sending him flying into the cliff behind them. Watching him slam into the rock with great satisfaction, she saw his mask partially shatter.

"Surrender, or it will be more than that mask you will lose!" She landed and began to walk towards him, both guns held out. The Sage leaped back to his feet, his right eye exposed to the world.

And it was glowing blue.

"The…?!" She stopped in shock. "The Right Eye? But-"

"You recognise who I am, witch?" He snarled as he tore his mask off and tossed it to the ground, smashing it into pieces. "Do you recognise who I am?! What I have become?!"

His hood fell back to reveal an eerily familiar face. High cheekbones, golden eyes, long silver hair and pale skin met hers. A golden monocle rested upon his left eye, and his right was tainted with blue.

He looked exactly like her brother, yet different enough. Like he could have been his father.

"I don't care who you are, Sage!" She lied, concealing both her shock and uneasiness of the situation, remaining visibly confident. "All I care about now is stopping you before you hurt me or my friends!"

"You murdered innocents!" His voice was now pure rage, and his body shook with it. "You slaughtered them, tortured them, destroyed my life, and you don't even care enough to know my name!?"

"Your name can be fuckhead for all I care!" She let her power flow into herself, her sleeves and cloak disappearing to reform as her hair. "You have gone too far this time, Sage!"

"I haven't gone far enough!" He swept his arms out wide as two giant peacock wings sprouted from his back. His glaive reappeared in his left hand, and a blade of pure light appeared in his right. "Tell me, Umbra Witch; what is your name?"

"It is not of your concern, Lumen Sage!" Bayonetta answered, taking her stance against the floating man. "Shall we continue what was started five hundred years ago?"

"Your overconfidence will be your undoing." The Sage snarled, his face oddly calm. "Let it be known that you, Umbra, will be the first witch to die at my hand! I swear it upon the corpses of my wife and child, and my remaining honour as a Lumen Sage!"

"You will not defeat me." She snarled in return, steadfast against the rising doubt and curiosity within her. "I have people who need me."

"And with your defeat, shall my clan be avenged!" He flew forward, screaming as he did. His glaive twirled on his hand, then he twisted and threw it into the ground. The ground shattered, and Bayonetta took to the skies, letting Malphas's wings carry her aloft.

"You will die!" He bellowed as he telekinetically began to grab all the debris around him, trying to twist it into a tornado. Transforming into a crow, she shot forward like a spear and retransformed to kick him in the gut, both interrupting him and throwing all the levitating rocks out of sync, causing them to plummet out of reach. Sending two wicked stomps at him, one connected and she grabbed him as she flattened him mid-air, grabbing his arm and tossing him towards a large outcrop below them, trying to get the fight back onto the ground. The Sage read her intention and whipped the blade of light like a lasso and latched it onto her ankle. Grunting in annoyance, she tried to untether herself from him. The blade burned at her gloves, and she figured that it wasn't going to loosen before they smashed into the ground. Sending some bullets at the Sage, who held up a small barrier to deflect them, she braced herself for impact.

However, the Sage didn't have a death wish and broke the pair apart before they both plummeted to their deaths. Twisting and landing in a crouch, she looked up as the Sage did the same. Letting the dust settle, they stared at each other; one with anger and the other with unbridled hostility.

"Why do you resist so much, witch?" He rose to his feet, discarding his glaive. "Do you truly seek to finish the job your clan started five hundred years ago?"

"I resist because I want to fucking live, idiot." She spat as she stayed in a crouch, looking up at him. "Do your worst!"

His eyes flashed as he launched himself at her again, his blade of light swinging in wild arcs at her. Backing off, she sent a few bullets at him to break his concentration, which succeeded. Breaking off his attack, a large Lumen barrier appeared from his free hand as he advanced towards her, snarling.

"Into the light!" He twisted around her and raised his hand, and she barely dodged his glaive as it shot up from the ground. Bayonetta tried to send a weave in his direction, but the Sage was simply far too relentless. He clicked his fingers and twisted around again as his glaive began to shoot out from all directions, trying to impale the witch. Bayonetta weaved through each attack, trying to keep her eye on the Sage.

"HONONOL!" A golden fist crashed into her, and she screamed as she flew backwards and landed in a heap. Groaning softly, she watched a smirking Temperentia fade away into dust as he unsummoned the Auditio.

"SIZICIEL!" She glanced up to see meteors flying at her. Cursing, she rolled to her left, letting them impact beside her as she flipped up to her feet. Glancing to the edge of the outcrop, she watched with apprehension as it began to crumble. Sending a barrage of weaves at the Sage, she watched with grim satisfaction as several caught him and threw him down to the ground. Capitalising, she pounced forward, firing a hail of bullets at his stomach. He twisted out of the way and rose back to an upright position as Bayonetta began to reassess the situation, continuing to keep the suppressive fire going, even though his flickering form meant she was hitting the rocks behind him.

"You cannot flee!" The glaive reappeared in his hands as he swung wildly again, this time the blade augmented by the energy of the light in his hand. The length of the blade forced her to retreat back, and she stopped about a metre from the edge of the cliff behind her. Summoning a small barrier, she utilised as a small shield as she parried each attack as they came.

"Farewell!" She screamed as a swing of his glaive slipped through her defences and sliced into her stomach. Sending a weave into his face, she created some space as she checked herself.

It wasn't deep. Good. She turned back to see the Sage recovering from her punch. His eyes betrayed his anger, and she reflected on just how much he looked like Damien right then. He swung his hand up, the blade of light extending out, trying to catch her from beneath. Slipping out of the way and activating witch time, she ran towards him, charging up a wicked weave. Ending the spell, she let it crash into him and he was now the one being flung back. Unfortunately, he regained his balance far quicker than her, and he twisted around in a backhand swipe, his glaive reappearing to slice towards her.

Kicking it back, she sent two normal punches to the side of his head, rocking and stunning the man. Sweeping her legs out, she tripped him and then tossed him up into the air with a wicked uppercut. The Sage roared in both pain and fury as a fireball formed in his hand, and he shot down towards the ground, slamming the fireball into the ground and sent a small explosive of fire outwards. Jumping over it, she knocked him back up with an afterburner kick and witch strike combo, then kicked his face with a downwards kick, twisting her leg over and throwing all her weight down. To her credit, she did manage to ground the Sage, but he slipped out from being slammed face first into the ground. Clicking his fingers and staring murderously at her, he summoned thousands of feathers behind him. Gesturing forward, he threw them all at the witch, trying to turn her into a pin cushion.

Bayonetta threw herself to the side again and heard the rock behind her shatter from the force of the feathers. Returning her full attention to the Sage, she had noticed that he was now back on the ground somewhat permanently, his gaze trained on her. Twisting herself up to her feet, she pointed her guns at him in a warning.

"Are you frightened, witch?" He asked, baring his teeth and mockingly gesturing towards her. "This blade has struck you twice, and yet you are still standing. I would be surprised at your will to live, but it is to be expected with monsters like you. You will die, witch; it is inevitable."

She glared at him, then sprang forward, guns blazing. He smirked and raised his hand.

"LAVAVOTH!" Several vents opened up around him, and her eyes widened as she flew across them. Lava burst out in pillars, rising and obscuring him from her vision. She quickly transformed through bat-within to avoid the flames, and then grabbed onto his head as she retransformed, her Left Eye glowing a dull red.

"What are you doing?!" He bellowed as he tried to throw her off. "Get off of me!"

"Finding out from the source." She grimaced, and then her Eye began to glow brightly as it recognised its twin. Doing what Damien had once described to her, she gathered her psyche and pushed. "Because I want to know!"

He screamed as she entered his mind, and familiar memories flashed before her eyes:

the feeling of love and determination as he held a small baby in his arms.

the feeling of happiness and belonging as a very familiar girl talking to an extremely familiar woman as the Sage laughed at her inquisitiveness.

the feeling of shock and betrayal as he discovered the Sage's sent to find him and his daughter.

the feeling of confusion and sadness as he walked into a place Bayonetta had seen once, full of dead bodies and destruction…

"Loki; why do I care about a person called Loki?" The Sage tilted his head. "To what importance is he, especially to me?"

"The being called Loki consorted with the Umbra and lied to them about a plot to overthrow the darkness and replace the trinities with light." The Prophet answered. "He convinced them to kill each Lumen Sage, their trainees and their families, all to further his intentions."

"What intentions?" The Sage's attention was fully on the cloaked man. "You mean to tell me they died because your other half lied to them?!"

"Not exactly; they were all becoming a threat to Loki's plans to recover his lost power. So he simply made sure that they weren't going to interfere, ever." The Prophet smiled sadly. "They didn't suffer. I can tell you that."

"The Witches and the Lumen were always at odds with each other, especially after my daughter was born." He looked to the side and kicked a rock away in anger. "It wouldn't surprise me if they went to war with each other, but for the Elder to listen to someone that isn't her or Sheba? I doubt your words."

"You have to accept it as the truth." The man looked solemn. "For it is the truth."

"What happened to Rosa? Cereza? What happened to my wife, and my daughter?" He turned back, his mind racing as he finally realised what he couldn't sense. "Where are the Umbra? What time is this!?"

"Right after your power was stripped of you, the Umbra were advised by Loki that letting them both live any longer would simply be a threat to the safety of reality. Something you know to be false." The Prophet said simply. "They told your wife of your supposed passing, and she hung herself with a rope they offered as consolation."

"You lie!" The glaive sprang into his hand and he pointed it at him, shaking in rage. "You lie! The Umbra swore they would not harm her!"

"Did the Umbra not lie to you before?" The Prophet shook his head. "After realising she was dead, the Elder ordered that Cereza was bought before her, for now she had no describable purpose. They stripped her of her sight and her speech through… primal methods, then bound her in a cage for her to starve to death, all whilst calling out for her mother or father to save her."

He collapsed to his knees, screaming in agony, his hands on his head. "No… They can't have… They would not have stooped to those lows! I should have been there for her!""

"I'm sorry, Balder." The Prophet bowed his head. "I… wish I could've done something to help."

He didn't want to believe, but he could feel it in his heart.

They were gone.

What was the point? His family was dead. Everyone he had known was dead. He was the only one left. His heart ached as he felt tears flow from his eyes, his body trying to remain calm and collected. He was a Lumen Sage; his emotions were not allowed to get the better of him.

His hands were beginning to crack the stone beneath him as he tried to release something, anything from what he felt. His breathing was beginning to hitch, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he too was cracking open, his emotions out for the world to bear.

"If you were curious, Loki is still very much alive in this time. Along with him are the two remaining Umbra Witches." The Prophet mentioned, and Balder's eyes snapped to the figure, his emotions partially forgotten.

He couldn't save his daughter, or his wife. But he could still avenge their deaths.

Or was it revenge? He didn't know, and to be frank, he did not care. He wanted justice.

"Where?" His voice sounded alien, even to himself. The rage it contained was foreign to his normal, calm, self.

He focussed on it, drawing strength from it. Everything else became a small dot in the back of his mind.

He kind of liked it.

Bayonetta felt herself being thrown out and off the Sage, but her hurt and shocked face told the story.

She knew who this was. She knew his pain. She understood his pain.

Her father's pain.

"How dare you?!" Balder looked at her in absolute fury. "You seek to understand?! You understand nothing of my agony!"

She looked up to see him staring at her with murder in his eyes. Momentary confusion filled them as he saw her numbed expression, but anger quickly replaced it.

"You pity me?" He snarled, summoning his glaive back to his hand. "You took everything from me!"

He jumped, raising the blade above his head, roaring as he bought it down in a massive slam, throwing all of his weight behind it. Sluggishly, she crossed her guns to meet it, barely holding back the swipe from cleaving her in two.

"You will not be forgiven!" He hissed as he pushed down harder, rage fuelling his strength. "You will never be forgiven!"

She swallowed and tried to find the strength to fight. The strength to do anything. All she had to do was send a weave into his side, and then capitalise from there.

She couldn't.

He was broken. She felt it and had seen it. She couldn't fight him. Her leg buckled, and she fell to a knee, her eyes beginning to form tears.

Didn't he have an Eye? Couldn't he see the truth?

"On my soul as a Lumen, you will draw your last breath before me!" His arm pushed down further, and the ground shuddered and warped beneath her. "You will die for your sins!"

She looked up, and saw the lipstick tube again, and this time she finally read what was inscribed on it.

For the birth of our daughter, Cereza. In our everlasting love; Balder and Rosa.

She couldn't. No more.

She slipped out from under the swipe, letting the glaive slam into the ground with enough force to cleave off the edge of the outcrop. She turned to him, letting her guns drop to the ground, her arms returning to a neutral position. Balder's eyes widened, then the fury returned.

"You dare to mock me?" He summoned the glaive back into her hand. "Fight, Umbra!"

She stared at him with eyes full of concern and pain, watching his expression move to puzzled. Her resolve hardened as she replied.

"No."

Three seconds passed.

"What?" Balder's eyes narrowed, his posture exhibiting confusion.

"I won't fight you." She shook her head, and her hands fell into a peaceful gesture. It took a second for the Sage to realise her intentions, and his face contorted back to anger.

"Then you will die!" He rushed at her and grabbed her in a choke. She felt her primal fight or flight desire kick in, but she quelled her instinct to fight back as her father lifted her up with one hand, his eyes burning holes through her. Twisting and throwing her at the wall, he didn't wait for her to impact and followed through with his body and threw his glaive after her with a backhand toss. She slammed into the wall, and then barely registered the golden weapon entering her shoulder and ploughing through it, pinning her down. She screamed in pure agony as he stalked towards her, eyes blazing.

"How does it feel, Umbra?" He hissed as he pulled his glaive in two, leaving her trapped. "To know a fraction of my pain?"

"Stop…" She whispered, and then felt a punch break her nose.

"You! You do not have the right, to tell me to stop!" He grabbed her face, making her look him in his eyes. Her eyes begged and pleaded, but his were having none of it. "You deserve more than a quick death, Umbra."

"Please…" She tried to reach out, then felt her hand shatter as he kicked it, and then stomped on it while it rested against the wall. Screaming in pain yet again, she watched helplessly as his eyes finally expressed a positive emotion.

Relief and satisfaction. Bayonetta felt sick as she realised what was about to happen. What was going to happen.

He was going to kill his own daughter to avenge the death of his own daughter.

"Prepare to meet your destiny!" He drew his glaive back, and she closed her eyes, thinking of Luka.

The blow never came. Opening her eyes, she saw a small blue barrier holding it from slamming into her head. Hope blossomed in her heart, but then it fell to despair as she recognised the spirit behind them.

"What is this?" Balder asked rhetorically and turned as he returned the glaive to his side. "Why are you, of all people, interfering!?"

"You do know the deal, Balder." The Prophet smirked as he floated forward. "Although I must admit your trick to leave me in both Purgatorio and the mortal realm was smart, but very predictable. But alas, the bitch must live. She has got an important role to play still."

"My revenge is far more important than anything you could stop it for!" He turned, pulling the second half of the glaive out of her. Bayonetta collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily and in tremendous pain.

"Is it?" The Prophet raised an eyebrow as his spiritual form began to walk towards them. "Are you going to kill her?"

"She deserves it!" He roared, pointing the reformed glaive at him. "If you want to stop me, then you will fall too!"

"You're going to betray me." He sounded unamused, almost bored. "For reasons I cannot begin to fathom."

"If it comes to it, I will!" Balder stepped forward and threw his glaive at the spectre. The Prophet sighed, and held up a hand, telekinetically catching the glaive before it hit him. Waving his other, he froze the Sage in place with a paralysis spell.

"Why must you always do this…" He shook his head, and then clicked his fingers. The glaive then shot back at Balder, much faster than it was thrown and almost indecipherable to the human eye, and it pierced him in the stomach. The Sage gasped, and his power wilted away as he was flung back into the wall where Bayonetta was, bouncing off it and landing in a messy heap. She reached out to him, and he knocked her hand away with a weak push.

"Don't touch me!" He hissed, his voice not bothering to hide the pain he was in. Ignoring him and the agony in her body, she crawled until she was between him and the Prophet. Defiantly looking up, her determined eyes sent a single message to the bemused spirit:

You will not harm him.

"Ah…" He smiled, his eyes twinkling. "You have discovered the truth."

"Stop this." Her own voice sounded weak to even her, and the spirit laughed.

"This is the natural proceedings of things, my Left Eye!" He smiled. "However, I guess it is time for me to do this; what it is I am meant to do here."

Bayonetta wasn't listening. She had turned back to the rapidly fading Balder and was checking him, trying to make sure he was still alive and was going to stay that way.

"What are you doing?!" He drowsily asked. "Cease your actions, witch!"

"It's time you two died, and in a way where you won't be coming back." The Prophet was walking towards them now. "The past offers some sanctuary for me; perhaps my other selves won't screw up this time."

She didn't care. Balder was about to lose consciousness, and she grabbed his hand.

"Stay with me." She whispered as he fell into the realm of dreams. "Stay with me! Balder! Daddy!"

"Don't worry, Bayonetta." The spirit was next to her. "Or should I say, Cereza?"

"Don't call me that!" She snapped, and then screamed as her shoulder began to burn.

"Oh, are you sad that your father here hates you?" He then adopted a playful tone. "That Daddy dearest doesn't love his dumb daughter? Foolish girl. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I'll tell him the truth." She wavered, as her vision began to swim. She was losing consciousness, fast. "He'll know it. He'll realize it!"

"You think he will just accept it?" He taunted, leaning down to her. "You do not understand…"

"He has the Eye." She murmured. The Prophet sighed and closed his eyes.

"Let me put it this way; he hates your existence! He will stop at nothing until you are dead. And you know that." He reopened them, focussing on her like a laser.

"He has the Right Eye." She shook her head, trying to keep herself awake. "He will know the truth when it is revealed to him."

"He doesn't want the truth; what he wants is revenge." The Prophet smirked. "And I was the one to give it to him."

"He wants his family." She whispered, fighting to keep herself awake. "I will give… give that to him…'

"Either way." He stood back up and looked down on the pair. "It's time for you two to have a little travel and give myself a chance to obtain the Eyes before this all started. Let's just say, if you want to come back, forgiveness is necessary. If you can both find it."

Kicking Bayonetta in the head, he knocked her out in a single blow. Clicking his fingers, he opened a blue portal on the wall behind them, and he gave the pair a light push to send them through it.

"Adios." He waved, and then slammed a palm against his forehead in frustration. "Idiot! Why did you send them there, and then of all times, especially with the new lie?"