Author's Note: All elements of the Bayonetta universe are the property of Platinum Games. Now that's a fancy pants way to start.
Chapter 5: In Charm and Allure
"Sometimes, our resident Cheshire needs a little training." Bayonetta smirked as Loki retransformed into himself. "Or restraint."
"Who was that? Your boyfriend, love?" Loki turned to her, slightly perplexed. "I must say, you chose the biggest pervert on this side of the world."
"Pervert?" She turned to him in surprise. "What on earth made you think that?"
"He couldn't take his eyes off of your tits." Loki smiled as she blushed slightly. "And I would know, because he was staring right at me."
"He is allowed to look!" She defended, then changed the topic. "So, little one, what is this 'Sovereign One' business all about? Are you some long lost King of Hearts, separated from his Queen?"
"Sorry love, haven't got a clue." He replied, beginning to walk ahead. "I don't suppose you know?"
"Why would I ask you if I already knew?" She gave him a look, and he shrugged.
"I don't know, love." He returned her look of annoyance with one of questioning. "Maybe it's because you just happened to be here when the angels show up. What the fuck are you, anyway?"
"I am an Umbra Witch." She glared down at him, letting her Left Eye glow red. "And the Umbran Elder, the wielder of the Left Eye of Darkness!"
"Impressive titles." He snorted and walked away. Biting down a growl of rage at his attitude, she followed him.
"Now, this way is the way to Fimbulventr." He gestured ahead to the relatively untouched street, and Bayonetta frowned.
"How do you know this is the way forward?" She raised an eyebrow as her long strides matched his pace easily. "You don't even know why you want to go there, yet you somehow know the way forward?"
"Call it a feeling, love." He gritted his teeth. "I feel like this is the right way forward."
"In my experience, that is called a woman's intuition." She turned her gaze to navigating the streets, taking care to keep the mortal realm in the same piece as she walked.
Loki then slammed his hands onto his head and collapsed to his knees. Her eyes rolled slightly, and she continued to walk onwards.
"What's wrong now, little one?" She turned around when it became evident he wasn't going to follow her. He summoned a card with a small burst of blue energy, and she stopped as he pointed it at her in a warning.
He then screamed and stood up, both hands now back onto his head. Reality started to flicker around him, and she drew her guns up in preparation for a fight. Loki screamed again, and images popped out of his head and in front of the pair.
"What's this?" She dropped her guns and stepped forward, eyeing the images with suspicion. Inside of them was Loki, and a hooded boy that looked exactly like him, but was dressed in blues and blacks.
He tossed the card and it shattered the images, breaking her out of her distraction.
Then she became acutely aware of the sound of rushing water to her right, and a quick glance showed her a massive tidal wave heading in their direction.
"Well, shit." She muttered under her breath and prepared to transform with snake within. Loki, however, seemed to remember something as he clapped his hands together, and blue magic poured out from them. Letting some of it wash over her, she gasped at the sensation.
"Pure time…" She absorbed it, then activated a heightened version of witchtime. Loki nodded to her and transformed into a squirrel. Letting him jump onto her back, Bayonetta transformed into a panther and sprinted across the now hardened water.
Jumping onto the other side of the quay, she retransformed as Loki did the same.
"Where did you learn that trick, little one?" She asked, impressed. "Witch's, or Sages for that matter, can only influence time, not utilise it."
"C'mon love!" His jittery and terrified voice reminded her exactly who she was speaking with. "Y-you think I'm just going to tell you my secrets when I don't even know who's side you're on?!"
"Yes." She answered coolly, and he rolled his eyes as he started to walk, gesturing as he did so.
"Alright! It seems I can control the 'Remembrance of Time.' That's a big deal here." He stopped outside of a pair of sealed stone doors, and she appraised him.
"It seems?" She questioned, and he scratched his head.
"I mean…" He trailed off, then remembered his statement. "No! I have nothing else to say, love."
"The Remembrance…" She glanced at the silver Umbran watch in her hand, reading the time left for Jeanne. A little under three days.
"What's that you are looking at?" He glanced over to see her put the watch onto one of her sleeves.
"Right." She sent a wicked punch into the door, opening it. "Let's go."
…
"What do you mean, hasn't been as truthful as she presents herself?" Damien asked, perplexed. "She has told me nothing but the truth!"
"Let's not worry about that." Temperentia glanced to Hope, and she returned it with a nod. "We have more important matters to attend to."
"Damien, I know you have every reason in the world to not help us, or even side with us, but please." The angel grabbed his hand, and to it's surprise, he didn't pull away. "Help us. Become our unofficial Overseer."
"You might want to." Khepri stated, and he turned to look at the demon. "It's not exactly going to hurt anyone."
He hesitated, then nodded his head. "Alrighty then. How?"
The entire room when silent.
"Do you know how, sire?" A random Joy asked, and Temperentia frowned.
"I never learnt the ritual." The Auditio growled in anger, and Hope stepped forward in shock.
"But how?" It exclaimed, gesturing at the colossal angel with surprise. "You attended thousands of them, at least!"
"I never thought it was worth learning."
"Then how am I supposed to become your Overseer now?" Damien angrily kicked the floor. "If there is no way to bind with you or become a Lumen Sage?"
The Auditio screamed and drew its fist back, preparing to punch the wall, until it realised something.
"Ahem!" Khepri stood forward, her heels clicking on the stone. "I know the ritual."
"As I suspected…" Temperentia smiled in relief, then frowned. "But how?"
"Mistress of Time? I can just see the ritual if need be." She smirked. "And besides, I've personally been to one."
"What?!" The Auditio thundered, and the angels began to whisper amongst themselves. "Impossible! I would have sensed you!"
"You weren't looking in the right spot." She shrugged, then turned to her contracted. "Are you willing to spread your soul amongst four beings?"
"Yes." He answered without hesitation. "Anything for her."
Khepri nodded. "Then repeat after me."
He nodded in return, then paused to listen.
"I swear, until all suns have set, to always guard the light and keep it safe. I swear to keep the forces of darkness at bay, no matter the cost. I swear upon my honour as a Lumen Sage, that the balance will be kept." She incantated, and he repeated her.
"Lord Temperentia! The Manipulator of Winds, the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance!" She called out, and memories swirled in all the angels. "A contract has been offered!"
"Damien, I accept your plea for aid, and your request for a contract." Words that were spoken millions of times poured from its lips. "May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you on your journey and path to enlightenment!"
A small glow appeared on his chest, and Damien collapsed, breathing raggedly. Hope stepped forward, but a glance from Khepri stopped it.
"May the light shine forever more!" Temperentia finished, and the glow faded.
Damien kept breathing, letting the new powers settle. As far as he could tell, nothing was new; aside from being able to summon Temperentia in battle, the effects had simply augmented his existing abilities.
"How do you feel?" Hope appeared in his vision, its mouth in a tight line of concern. He reflected on the question, searching.
How did he feel?
"Honestly?" He turned to her. "I can't tell you."
"That's the normal reaction." Khepri smiled in relief. "At least nothing went wrong."
"If you all will excuse me." The Auditio closed its eyes. "I will rest. Damien should return to the mortal realm soon."
"I agree." Khepri looked at the suitcase. "But before all of that, we have some clothing we need to see."
"Huh?" Hope looked at her with a questioning glance. "What clothes?"
"The ones in the suitcase. Duh." The mistress of time rolled her eyes. Damien frowned at her, then turned his attention to the case. He then, and only then, realised what he must have looked like.
"I probably should put on a new change of clothes, Rodin didn't give me these for nothing." He glanced at his hole-ridden cloak. The angels and demon nodded emphatically. Kneeling, he undid the clasps and opened it. Hope gasped, Khepri frowned and Damien looked at it in confusion.
"A white robe?" He pulled it out, then corrected himself. "A white coat?"
"That's a Lumen robe." Hope corrected him. "The last one of those I've seen was on Balder."
"Interesting choice, Rodin." Khepri whistled. "Sometimes I wonder whether that man truly doesn't have foresight."
"Is there a place I can try it on?" He turned to the Joy. "It's better than nothing, I suppose."
"There is-" Hope then suddenly grunted as Khepri kicked her. "What in the name of Jubileus was that for?"
The demon turned away, grinning. Shaking its head, Hope turned back to him. "There is-"
She was silenced as Khepri placed a hand over her mouth. "There's nothing, my contracted. Now change."
Damien raised an eyebrow, but proceeding to let his coat fall to the floor, revealing his bare chest. Hope began to struggle violently, then freed herself to turn around, her cheeks rapidly becoming crimson. The winged man closed his eyes in embarassment as Khepri laughed and laughed hard.
"The Cardinal Virtue of Chastity!" She proclaimed to the embarrassed angel. "That is exactly what you are!"
"Shut. Up." The two words were enough to make Khepri fall over, laughing harder. The angels surrounding them began to snicker, and even Damien broke a smile.
…
"You don't just walk into Fimbulventr, love." Loki stopped her on a tall bridge they gazed upon the side of the mountain. "We are going to have to get creative if we are ever going to make it."
"Creative how?" Bayonetta felt that something was slightly off. Not enough to warrant her guns out and blazing, but enough to set her on edge. "Unless you have a teleportation device nearby, we are going to have to walk."
"You? Walk up a mountain in those heels?" The boy turned to her and grinned. "Fat chance. Now, look over there."
She followed his pointing hand to a strange building that looked like a mace implanted hilt first into the ground. "That's the Cathedral of Cascades and, if memory serves me right, it was used for ritual worship of the mountain."
"Ritual worship of the mountain…" She repeated, her mind spinning. "Are you saying there's something in there we can use to get to the top?"
"My powers should be able to control a device called the 'Bridge to the Heavens.'" He nodded, then grimaced. "Unfortunately…"
He gripped his head in pain as he trailed off. Bayonetta stepped forward, her face showing concern. "Little one?"
"It can only take us halfway up the mountain." He painfully spat out. "I remember now…"
"You've been here before?" She put a hand on his forehead, noting the lack of body heat underneath her glove.
"Possibly." He shook away the pain and grinned at her. "An express pass, right, love?"
"Seems something finally came to mind, little one." She smiled back. "While you are in the remembering mood, you wouldn't happen to know where the entrance to Inferno is up there, would you?"
"Inferno?" His grinned faded into a look of confusion. "You must be in some shit if you are thinking about going there."
She stared at him with a serious expression. "I have a party I need to attend, and I have no intentions of being late."
"Let me put it this way, love." Loki gestured at the church, and then to Fimbulventr. "Once we get to the mountain, you'll get your choice of going up or going down. Fimbulventr doesn't let you stick around."
"And which way will you be going?" She offhandedly asked, and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his temples.
"Shut up!" His voice sounded terrified, and she saw his blue eyes for the first time. "Just get me to the mountain!"
"Little one!" She reached out, and he slapped her hand away from him, pulling out cards and throwing them. She swayed to the sides to dodge them, her face showing the confused hurt she was feeling.
"Get away from me!" He half threatened, half warned. Bayonetta frowned, holding her hands up in a peaceful gesture.
Hold on.
Warned?
The bridge exploded as a typhoon rose from the water beneath them, sending Loki flying and Bayonetta into a defensive pose. The serpentine angel from before rose out of the swirling mass of water, grabbing the helpless boy with one clawed hand, using the other to guide it back into the typhoon.
"Bothersome child." It stated, its main head watching Bayonetta with contempt. "The Prophetic one tires of your reluctance to continue your ascent of the mountain, and he demands your presence immediately!"
Bayonetta had heard enough, jumping off of the bridge with a wicked punch, sending it straight into the nose of the angel.
"Give him back!" She grabbed a car door and began to ride it in the water, using a mixture of witchtime, witch walk and serpent-within to keep her upright. "We will get up the mountain at our own pace!"
"Umbra witch…" The Angel dove into the typhoon, hiding itself from her. "Why do you pursue me?"
"This little one has made me a deal." She chased after it, firing pot shots at anything that appeared above the water. "He's my guide, and he is not done guiding."
"Then follow me, if you must." It dove into the spout itself, and Bayonetta gave chase, jumping off of the makeshift surfboard and diving after it.
"I think we want to be going in entirely different directions." She muttered to herself, transforming into a snake to follow it. The familiar sense of Paradiso filled her, and she passed through the portal without much difficultly, retransforming into her humanoid form.
…
Damien approached the laughing Madama with annoyance.
"You've been laughing for five minutes." He folded his arms. "Come on, pull yourself together."
"But it is so tr-" Her eyes widened and she hurried to stand back up. "What the fuck."
"A Sage has not step foot in Paradiso in over five hundred years." Temperentia looked at the white clad man with reverence. "The last to do so was your progenitor, and that was to poison our judgement."
"You look exactly like…" Khepri stopped herself. "No, I can't say that."
"Who?" Damien tilted his head. "Who do I look like?"
"If I tell you-" Khepri began.
"Yeah, yeah. Something wrong will happen in the future." He nodded, then frowned. "So, who is this Prophet?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?!" He shouted in anger. "It's obvious that knowing who this person is will help me in the long run!"
"I can't tell you because I do not know!" She replied, anger flashing in her eyes. "Whoever the Prophet is, they simply do not exist in a way so I can see who they are!"
"What do you mean?" Hope had returned, its features under control. "You don't know who he is?"
"Whoever it is, they exist outside of time." She turned to the angel. "A force beyond reality itself."
"Beyond time?" Damien felt a sense of déjà vu. Khepri nodded, keeping her face in the opposite direction.
"Your fate is not the same." She revealed. "To be beyond time is to exist within it, but to be unreadable and directionless. You simply will not exist in this time."
Hope turned to the winged man "What?! What does she mean?"
"Cease this." Temperentia rose, looking to the roof of the cavern. "There is a dis- Umbra?"
"Umbra?" Khepri frowned, then unfocussed briefly. "Oh."
"Bayonetta?" Damien leaped onto the shoulder of the Auditio. "She's here?"
"Glamor." It growled, staring off into the distance. "She will deal with it."
…
Bayonetta opened her eyes as her wings snapped out, the angel ahead of her speeding up.
"Come on!" She urged herself, speeding up to match the pace it was setting. Madama! Can you give me a boost?
She smiled at the answer. Letting Malphas's wings fade away, she curled into a ball.
"PDEE BARMA!" She felt a demon form behind her, and a hand enclosed her. Three seconds later, she was hurtling towards the angel, her eyes narrowed and focused on one thing.
"Fire!" She screamed as two fists appeared by her sides, Madama Butterfly flying alongside her. Smashing into the angel's stomach and face, she sent a flurry of weaves into its face as Butterfly grabbed it to keep it from moving.
The angel roared in pain, and tried to shake clear of the Infernal holding it. "Impudent witch! Stop interfering!"
"I don't recall asking for anyone's permission." She smirked as the flesh tore away to reveal a mechanical skeleton. "I interfere where I like."
"The overseer of darkness, protecting the Sovereign One?" It seemed to laugh. "He was right, right down to your words!"
"Actually, I was wrong about our final destination." She jumped back. "Butterfly! He's all yours!"
The Infernal looked at her, a question in its eyes.
"Oh fuck, I forgot about the boy." Flying forward, she set a weave into its face, and it spat out an unconscious Loki, and then sent several sharpened icicles in their direction. Cursing, she dodged the projectiles and watched as Loki plummeted back through the portal, and towards Noatun. Glancing up at Madama Butterfly, she nodded to her.
Butterfly opened a portal to Inferno behind her and began to enter it, dragging the screaming angel with it. Letting the wings fade, she followed after Loki, letting gravity take her.
…
"The threat to the Sovereign One is finished." Temperentia announced as it floated back down, Damien looking at it in confusion.
"Sovereign One?" He questioned. "What else haven't you told me?"
"All will be revealed in due time." Hope answered as he jumped to the ground. "You need to head back."
"As do I." Khepri opened a portal behind her. "My presence here will attract something unhealthy."
"Madama." Damien stopped her, and she turned to him in annoyance.
"What? You can talk to me at any time, and you know that."
"I just want to say thank you." He looked down in shame. "For sticking with me through all this time."
Her face softened. "I knew you would do the right thing. You are welcome, my contracted."
She disappeared, and the red portal faded to nothing. Damien turned to the Auditio, looking at it with acceptance.
"You must make haste." It's fingers began to spin, and a portal opened up. "I can speak telepathically to you as well; do not hesitate to ask upon my counsel if need be."
"Understood." He nodded, then turned to the Joy.
"Good luck, Overseer of Light." It smiled. "We are counting on you."
"I will stop this." He swore to them. "This realm will become normal again."
He turned and jumped into the portal, disappearing and reappearing back in the mortal realm. He immediately frowned at his surroundings.
"Vigrid?" He looked around in confusion. "Why am I here? Bayonetta isn't here!"
She is in Noatun. Temperentia answered. This way.
Images appeared in his mind, and he understood which direction he needed to go. His wings sprouted from underneath his cloak, and he leaped to the sky.
Ten minutes.
Ten minutes until he could set this right.