Chapter thirty-eight.
And now to reveal it all! Well, some of it anyway…
I do not own Umineko no Naku Koro Ni or Naruto.
"How nice of you to come, Deidara!" Called Beatrice with an air of smugness that made Deidara angrier than he had ever been before.
"What's going on? Why did you bring me here? And why is Tobi here as well?" Deidara snarled, taking a couple more steps into the room, avoiding the fluttering butterflies as her walked.
"Shhh…all in good time, Deidara!" said the witch with a grin.
She stood up, walked slowly around the armchair and put her hands on her hips.
"Allow me to introduce my old master to you: Uchiha, Madara." Beatrice said, gesturing towards where Tobi sat in the armchair that had been next to hers.
"What the hell? Who are you talking about? That's Tobi!" Deidara spluttered, completely confused now. Tobi remained silent, which was unusual.
"Ah, yes…well that's what you've been led to believe isn't it?" replied the witch with a sense of smug satisfaction, "This dear fellow here was the original person who summoned me, al those years ago."
Deidara crossed his arms, attempting to make sense of the situation
"Wait; let's say I believe you, and that Tobi is this 'Madara' person. In the letter you led us to find earlier, you said that your master was dead."
"He is dead. He died some time ago. Well…perhaps I phrased that a little wrong…" Beatrice pondered her eyes still full of amusement.
"He formed a deal with me you see. A period of my service to time in return for his soul. The deal's contract expired a little while ago, so therefore his soul now belongs to me. The fact that he is now unable to do anything against my will now renders him dead to me. Or at least, his spirit has been crushed. But no, he isn't 'physically' dead." Said the witch with the look of one having to explain something simple to a child.
"Enough of this nonsense! I came for answers, not more riddles!" Deidara said, the information making his head hurt.
"Why of course! Naturally, I will answer any question you may want explanation to." Beatrice said with a gracious smile.
"Fine then!" Deidara growled, "How did the corpses get into the chapel when the door was locked? What happened to Kiba's body? Why were these crimes committed and what, are you?"
Deidara could feel his voice rising with every word he said, his clenched fists shaking with anger.
"I see. In which case I shall answer all of those questions, but on one condition," the witch paused and in that moment her eyes widened and her smile grew unnervingly wide, "that you, Deidara, acknowledge me as a witch and surrender to me, becoming my furniture!"
Deidara gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. He knew this had been coming all along. With a sigh, he relaxed.
"And when you do, I want you to kneel and kiss my toes; after all, I called you here to surrender." Continued the witch.
"Fine…I'll kiss you or whatever you want. Just as long as you tell me the answer to my questions…I…recognise you as a witch." Deidara said in a voice that was defeated and without feeling.
"Well said." Chuckled Beatrice.
At that moment, the clatter of footsteps cut through the silence of the gardens as Neji and Hanabi ran, avoiding the potholes and overgrowth that had, in places, grown across the pathway.
The two of them were panting as they finally reached their destination; the door of the imposing chapel. The rain had completely died away now, leaving a night that was clear but cold, the faint stars and sliver of a moon donating barely any light.
Neji hurriedly fitted the key to the chapel that he had taken from its last owner into the lock and pushed open the heavy double doors. Once more he ran, up to the table where the grotesque corpses were starting to smell more than ever. Reaching into the bright pumpkin that stood at the table's centre, he drew out one of the gold bricks.
"This should be enough…" he murmured.
"Hanabi, could you pass me your bag?" He asked his cousin.
Neji took the bag and dropped the golden brick inside, glad that it just about fitted. Hanabi took her bag back and held it close, totally unaffected by the death all around her.
"Kihihihihi!" Giggled Hanabi.
Neji looked at her apprehensively, gripping the gun tightly in his hand.
"We'll be able to meet Beatrice very soon!" Laughed the young girl.
"You know don't you? Where is she?" Neji asked urgently.
"Kihihihi! We'll meet her in the golden land!" Hanabi answered.
Neji stood up straight and spun around, looking everywhere for any movement. His eyes were cold and searching, but desperate. His fists shook, betraying his fear.
"I know you're here! Show yourself, Beatrice!" He yelled.
The hallway was flooded with golden light as the butterflies that now filled it swirled and fluttered through the air, their strange whistling accompanying them as always. The space was no longer empty, in fact, it was filled with people. To be precise, it was filled with demons. Rows and rows of the silent goat headed demons formed an orderly crowd in the hallway, their glowing red eyes devoid of emotion. At the head of them and standing at the opposite side of the room to the staircase, was Kakuzu.
"I present the Lady who has succeeded in her resurrection and returned to open the Golden land to us: Beatrice the Golden." Kakuzu announced.
From the top of the staircase appeared a hunched and wilting figure, his head bowed. It was Deidara. He was no longer wearing his Akatsuki robe, but was dressed in his usual short top with the fishnet that reached down to his belt in which he stored his clay, and the usual Akatsuki trousers and boots. However, his eyes were devoid of hope and light, his face a mask of defeat. Around his neck was an iron collar, cruelly chafing against his skin and with a heavy chain attached to a ring at the back. As he stumbled down the stairs, one could clearly see who was holding the other end of the chain.
Beatrice's lips were twisted into a triumphant smile, her face virtually glowing with her victory. As the pair reached the foot of the stairs, she gave the chain a yank that caused Deidara to jerk backwards in pain.
As they continued to pace through the crowd, one of the goat-men nearest her reached up and tugged at its head. The furry black head came away, revealing a voilet haired girl beneath. It had been a mask. Bernkastel sighed, her cold eyes observing.
"How pitiful." She remarked.
Beatrice and Deidara stopped as they passed her, Beatrice pulling the chain sharply to make Deidara stop.
"Bernkastel, how nice to see you at my little party. Telly me, do you like my new furniture?" she asked in a self-confident tone.
"An interesting hobby you have there." Replied Bernkastel, not caring to answer Beatrice's question.
Beatrice gave a little giggle and passed the lilac haired witch, moving on until she stood at the centre of the crowd of demons. She stood up straight as she looked around at them all, arms spread wide.
"Thank you all for gathering for my sake!" She declared, shining with cruel happiness and pride, "Look at the clock now; it is time to open the door to the golden land!"
At that instant, the humming and whistling of the butterflies that circled the room became a buzzing that filled Deidara's ears, so loud it felt like it was eating into his mind. The golden butterflies instantly changed direction and spiralled down to meet at a point just in front of Beatrice. The light from them was so bright he couldn't look directly at it. More and more of the golden forms were hurtling into each other at that one point, until suddenly, they disappeared to reveal the shape of a man.
Tobi was hunched forward, his arms outstretched. Deidara couldn't tell because his face was still covered by his mask, but his voice was desperate beyond measure.
"Beatrice! Don't leave me alone any more! Take me with you to the golden land!" his voice was trembling but he shouted none-the-less. It sounded edged with some great despair that clawed right into Deidara and made him want to run away, as fast as he could.
At once, the crowd of demons looked his way and piled over to Tobi, climbing over one-another in their haste. They surrounded him, their gloved hands raking down upon him, grasping his flesh on his arms, his legs, his face, anywhere.
Deidara winced and wanted to plug his ears as Tobi, or Madara's yells and screams filled the room. Blood was splattered over the walls and ceiling as the goat-men ripped him apart.
Deidara could barely believe what he had just seen, when Beatrice suddenly wrenched the chain violently and he was pulled across the room. He stumbled and tripped, falling to his knees onto the carpet, his head hitting the floor hard. The pain was just registering when he heard the witch's voice.
"Now, furniture, rub your head against the ground to show me how lowly you are!" ordered Beatrice.
She then walked away, laughing delicately as she did so.
Deidara lifted his wearied head, and his eyes widened. He was surrounded by the goat-demons. Some of them were covered in Tobi's blood, and all of them had scarlet hands. Deidara was rooted to the spot in fear as he heard their awful gargling growls and they closed in on him, grabbing his arms and limbs and face.
His yells and howls filled the room as once more; blood was splattered over the floor and walls.
Beatrice's laugh rose above Deidara's dying cries as she watched.