Author's note: I do not own any part of Bayonetta
Chapter 13: Truth
The house was deathly silent, except for the small sounds of someone tinkering. The various lamps were lit, but no one was truly at home. They all felt like aliens inside their old abode.
Balder sat on his old chair as Rosa busied herself with getting the house up and running again. He honestly felt like shit. He rarely swore, for he didn't see the point, but he honestly did now. He had done terrible things, and he had enjoyed them.
A Lumen Sage, who was supposed to be the exemplar of impartial, unbiased judgement, had enjoyed passing it under a falsehood.
That girl, who was completely innocent in all of this, was on his mind. The Witch, Bayonetta. Her life was now in ruins because of him. All because of him. He knew it in his soul. Wiping away a small patch of dust, he clenched his hand in anger, trying to quell his fury and despair.
"Balder?" Rosa had taken note of his actions and was sitting opposite him, her hand on his own. Her eyes, hidden behind the strange butterfly glasses she wore, stared at his with sympathy and sadness. "What's wrong?"
"Bayonetta." His voice was harsh on his own ears, and he flinched at its sound. "What happened to her was my fault."
"What did you do to her?" The witch was beginning to stroke his hand with a thumb, trying to calm the man.
"I… I stabbed her, then cut her…" He was beginning to shake. "I enjoyed it…"
"What drove you to do that?" She asked gently, trying to not hit any of his nerves.
"I was bought to the future by a man." He began, his voice oddly calm. "He told me that a being named Loki had ordered the deaths of my clan, and then- and the-"
"It's ok." She stopped him before he broke. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to."
"No. I need to say it." He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "He said they had you two tortured to death… That you both suffered for breaking their foolish tenets!"
"At least that is obviously false." She cracked a small smile, but he continued, unperturbed.
"He then told me that Loki had escaped to the future, to escape both me and him, where only he and two witches remained alive." He looked to the side and pulled his hand away from hers. "I planned revenge for too long, on a simple lie."
"It's not unfounded vengeance." She reached over and turned him back to face her. "If someone told me that you were murdered like that, I would've done the same thing."
"He offered me a way to make them suffer as much as I have." He pushed her away and refused to meet her eyes. "A curse upon my blade; whatever it touches, will never heal."
Rosa drew herself back at that. "What?!"
"Even if she can continue to live, Bayonetta will not live a good life." He buried his face in his hands. "I've forgotten my place and my tenets. I ruined everything for her, for what?!"
"It's ok." She pulled his hands down, and he saw her concerned face looking at his with a soft look. "You didn't know any better."
"I should've known better… I did know better! I'm not worthy." He shook his head and tried to push her away. "I'm not worthy of your forgiveness."
"Balder Onythyll!" She hissed sharply, and he flinched at her tone. "As your wife, I decide whether I want to feel sympathy, sadness, anger, whatever at your plight! And you are in no position to decide whether you are worthy of forgiveness! Now, do not think that you are not worthy, since you obviously regret all of it! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Rosa." He meekly replied, shame lacing his tone. Her look softened again, and she placed a hand onto his shoulder.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not your fault. You were merely a pawn in someone's game. What is wrong, can be made right again." She turned and looked over at the stairs. "You do know her name isn't Bayonetta, right?"
"I know. She doesn't want to tell me, for some god forsaken reason." He followed her gaze. "She probably doesn't want to see me; you should check on her."
"I was planning to." She began to walk towards the stairs, then stopped and turned back to the Sage. "Make yourself useful and fix the running water. I do think we are going to need it."
"Right." He finally broke into a smile. "My love."
…
Rosa opened the door to her daughter's bedroom to find her propped up on the head of the bed, sleepily looking around, her face paler than normal.
"Oh, hello." Bayonetta greeted tiredly, looking over at the witch in black and red. "Who are-"
"There's no need to keep up the pretence, Cereza." She shook her head, small tears forming her eyes. "I know who you are, and you know who I am."
"Mummy…" Cereza began to cry, and Rosa wanted to run to her and comfort her. Instead, she held down the temptation and walked over and sat down on the bed, next to her. "It's…It's really you…?"
"My child, it is me." Rosa gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You've grown so much, and so beautifully."
Cereza opted to say nothing and buried her head into her mother's chest. Rosa smiled wistfully, resting her head atop her own, listening to her sobs with both a mixture of sadness and contentedness.
"I'm so proud of you, Cereza." She whispered. "You been such a brave girl, and you exceeded all of my expectations, even what I thought was possible."
"Do you-" She looked up with tears in her eyes, and she nodded in confirmation.
They stayed in an embrace for a couple of minutes, relishing in an opportunity both of them had never thought possible; the elder never imagining seeing her this old, and the younger never imagining to see her mother again, let alone feel her touch.
"Your father told me that you are both from the future." She felt her daughter stiffen underneath her, and she frowned slightly. "What wrong? Why haven't you told him who you are?"
"It's…" Cereza swallowed and reburied herself into her mother's chest. "Complicated."
"Complicated how? What could possibly make it complicated?" Her frowned deepened and her eyes widened. "This goes beyond him being lied to, doesn't it?"
Her daughter weakly pushed her back, and then grabbed her hands with her right. The lack of strength in her frightened Rosa, but she was careful not to let it show. "He hurt me, he hurt Jeanne, he hurt-"
"He hurt you?" She looked at her suspiciously. "He hurt Jeanne? How?"
"He wanted to…" She whispered, swallowing. "He wanted to make another child of light and dark, fulfil the prophecy and remake the universe in his own image. He made brother, and nearly succeeded."
"Brother? What? You are an only child!" Rosa recoiled in shock. "He cheated on me!?"
"No! He didn't!" She pleaded. "He changed someone else to share our DNA! Our blood!" She added, noting her confused look.
"He made someone your brother?" Her eyes widened at the realisation. "But…" She shook her head. "He knew the prophecy was false! Why would he need another child of light and dark?"
"The prophecy?" Cereza looked into space, puzzled. "Is false?"
"Yes. The calamity that was centred around you was just a lie." She nodded, then her look hardened "Why would he follow it if he knew it was just a trick?"
"He wanted to awaken Jubileus. It all was to awaken Jubileus" She answered, and Rosa stared dumbfoundedly at her. "He succeeded, but we stopped him."
"Hold up; the Creator, Jubileus, was reawakened in the future?" Rosa asked, her words tripping over each other. "How are you even still alive?!"
"I summoned Sheba." Rosa went slack jawed at those words. "And then brother destroyed the statue with Meteor."
"You summoned Sheba?! He summoned Meteor?!" Rosa tilted her head and stared intensely at her. "Where did you two get so much power?!"
"Spoilers for tomorrow." A red light appeared in her left eye, and Rosa went pale.
"You… our Left Eye…? But…"
"Jeanne will challenge me, as a means of sticking it to the Elder's." Cereza explained, and Rosa laughed briefly.
"Yeah, that's like her. And I take it you win?"
Cereza nodded, and then caught sight of something behind her. Her breath hitched, and Rosa recognised the presence as well.
"You are the Left Eye?" Balder asked, walking into the room, his voice full of awe.
"She is." Rosa had noted that she was now trembling slightly, and she figured that she didn't want to talk.
Balder awkwardly stepped to the other side of the bed, and gently took Cereza's hand. "I just want to apologise for everything I have done. I know it's meaningless, but I swear upon whatever is left on my honour to set this right." He kneeled, and Rosa's eyes widened at the intensity of the look in them. "I promise, Bayonetta, that you will not be the collateral damage to my mistakes."
Cereza was staring at him with a mixture of apprehension, fear and nervousness. Then she broke down, and tears began to flow from her eyes. Balder's eyes darted to hers, and she could see the panic within.
"I didn't say the wrong thing?" He asked, his voice strained. Rosa shook her head.
"I don't know what you have done, bu-" A touch from her daughter silenced her. Looking at her in surprise, she watched as she moved her good arm to atop Balder's own.
"I haven't had a family for five hundred years." She whispered. "I forget what it's like, sometimes…"
"I swear it." Balder's eyes hardened. "I swear I will make things right. On my honour, you will be shed of this accursed existence."
Rosa smiled at him, and then at Cereza.
They were a family again.
"Just, one question." Balder interrupted the happy silence. "What happens to the Umbra in the future?"
"What do you mean, what happens to th- oh, you did mention that there was only two of us left." Rosa looked down to Cereza. "Bayonetta, what happened to all of us?"
"You all die." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Every witch dies."
"What?" Rosa gasped. "Explain!"
"Impossible…" Balder was shaking his head. "The Umbra are strong, much stronger than the Sage's. How could they all die?"
"If anything, the time for whatever kills us all should be now." Rosa looked thoughtful. "Many of us are exhausted from the Clan Wars."
"The Clan Wars?" Balder looked to her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"The Lumen Sage's attacked us two months ago, determined to kill our daughter, and all the Umbra who had supposedly 'betrayed' reality. They must have found out we were training her in secret." She explained. "We had no choice but to kill them all."
"There is always a choice, you could have spare-" Balder was silenced by the raise her hand.
"They were blood-lusted. Many of them did… unspeakable things to witches they captured." She turned away for a second. "Including blinding them and leaving them in cages to rot to death."
Balder went pale at that, and she could see the recognition in his eyes at her words. "That is not the Lumen way…"
"I know. Something got to them." She looked down, clenching her fist. "If there was any other way, we would've spared them. But the magic inside of them… we couldn't recognise it, let alone reverse it."
"Why are you so calm about this?" Cereza's voice finally reappeared. "You are going to die!"
"Some things are set in stone, Bayonetta." Rosa looked to her daughter and smiled gently. "If I must die, then I have accepted that it must happen." She then turned to Balder and smirked. "But it's not going to stop me from trying to defy fate again."
"Defy fate again?" Balder raised an eyebrow.
"Please, I-" Cereza was silenced by her finger on her lips.
"Just accept what the future holds for you, Bayonetta." Her eyes twinkled. "You'll find it a lot more exciting that way."
The Sage rolled his eyes at her and gave them both a look of apathy. "Come along, you need to show me how to fix this god-forsaken plumbing again."
"Oh, Balder." Rosa rose and gestured for him to do the same. "Remind me why I married a man so technologically inept?"
"I do quite well with Lumen advancements." He argued, a smile gracing his lips. "Your Umbran 'improvements' to this house are but a mystery to me."
…
The night flew without too many hitches. Bayonetta slept peacefully, whereas Balder and Rosa slaved away at a multitude of tasks, trying to bring the abandoned house back to a semblance of life. Whereas all plumbing related repairs had been left to the Witch, the Sage had his hands full of finding wood, vegetables and fruits, all for the morning.
"Blasted garden." Balder said as Rosa wiped her hands on her thighs, watching him with curiosity. "Why could we have not planted food?"
"We did plant apples and carrots." The witch mentioned, and the Sage glared at her for a second.
"Yes, and that is all we have." He gestured to the rows of wild and overgrown flowers around them. "Whose idea was it for roses?!"
"Yours."
"I doubt it." Balder huffed, but something grabbed his attention. "What is this?"
"The laurel mandragora plant." She frowned as they both crouched around the small green bush. "I don't remember ever planting this."
"What does a laurel plant do?" Balder asked, and then they both remembered what it was from the rudiments of concocting they had both done at the same time. Glancing to each other, they could both see the hope in each other's eyes.
"They heal wounds." Her eyes widened. "But I've only ever seen people work with extract from it, or the roots."
"These plants are very rare and are very potent." Balder nodded. "We might be able to do something for Bayonetta after all."
"You need a cauldron." Rosa stood up and began to walk towards the house. "You are far better at this than I am."
Grabbing seven leaves from the bush, he turned and ran into the house. "Forget the cauldron. We do not want to lose the majority of their healing power!"
"Right." She changed course. "Let's get some real bandages then."
…
"Now, there is no promise this will work." Rosa said as she unpeeled her hair from Bayonetta's forearm, revealing the ugly wound underneath. "But it's better than not having anything."
Bayonetta opted to stay silent as the leaves were placed onto the cut, hissing at the contact. "That's not a pleasant experience. Or fun."
"That means it's probably working." Rosa smiled, then her eyes grew devious. "So, daughter of mine…"
"Yes?" Bayonetta gave her mother a weird look.
"How… fertile is the future?" Her cheeks went crimson and Rosa began to laugh.
"My, my…" The elder witch kept on giggling. "You have been having some fun, haven't you?"
"Shut up."
"Aw, can't a mother get to know what her daughter has been up to?" She smirked. "I want to know whether you've been keeping the Umbran reputation."
"I stopped a year ago." She whispered. Rosa stopped laughing and gave her a questioning glance.
"You stopped? Don't tell me you became a nun and took a vow of chastity."
"No, I…" She swallowed, and her mother's eyes widened. "I met someone."
"You are married? Dating?" A pen and paper suddenly appeared in her hands, and she sat back. "Details!"
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Bayonetta pointed at her arm, and Rosa had the grace to look embarrassed.
"Oh, sorry." Grabbing the bandages and dropping the paper and pen, she began to wrap the cut, making sure the leaves stayed directly on the wound. "But still, details!"
"He's…" She hesitated. "He's everything I could've ever wanted, and more."
"How did you meet?" The undisguised pride in her mother's voice sent a strange warm feeling into her stomach.
"Oh… He announced that I had killed his father and that he was going to prove it." She looked sheepishly to the side.
"You killed a mortal?" Rosa's eyebrow rose, and Bayonetta was quick to shake her head.
"No!" Letting her clothing fade, she revealed the light cut on her stomach. "It was proven much later that f-Balder had killed him."
"Balder?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "What use could he have for killing a mortal? That's completely out of character for him, and I don't think an evil Balder would be that stupid to randomly kill people, especially mortals."
"One that knew his dark and dirty secrets." She answered. "One that was about to awaken the last witch and convince her to help him save thousands."
"Awaken the last witch…" She frowned. "You were asleep?"
"As a precaution, I sealed myself and the Eye away after the clan died out." She cursed as her mother began to apply the leaves to her shoulder. "For five hundred years, until I was awaken by this mortal, only to watch as Paradiso tore him apart for my f- Balder's thanks."
Rosa looked at her in astonishment. "You were suspended? For five hundred years?"
"Yeah." She swallowed, and her head became fuzzy. "I don't quite remember how, but I do know Jeanne was the one to do the deed, and then she wiped her own memory in order to keep my location hidden to him."
"I don't understand why he became evil." Rosa shook her head. "The Balder I know would never think to hurt his own daughter, let alone half of the stuff you are describing."
"I don't know! It could be something he had deep inside him, the whole time." She looked at her with wide eyes. "If that's who he really is, then I don't want him to be my father!"
"It seems we need to have a talk." Her mother said grimly. "Or that could wait until we either figure out something about why Balder went from a father to a raving lunatic, or we figure out why he has genocidal impulses."
…
Bayonetta watched as Balder performed a basic kata with his glaive, swinging it in slow twirls and slices against an imaginary opponent. Leaning against the doorway, she saw him finish with a flourish, and then bowed to the air.
"How long have you been watching?" His voice was calm and collected, but he did not turn to her.
"For at least five minutes." She admitted. "You are very good with that blade."
"This is but a mere fraction of my skill." He said, and she had to admit he was right. "As a Lumen Sage, I spent my lifetime practising and perfecting these skills, to the point where I was in contention to be the youngest bearer of the Right Eye."
"How young were you?" She asked, curious to learn more about her father.
"A ripe age of thirty-seven." He smirked as he finally glanced at her. "And I have carried the Eye for nearly one and a half thousand years."
"You're almost one and a half thousands years old?" She stared at him incredulously. "You look like you are only twenty-seven!"
"We do not age, Bayonetta." He turned to her. "You should know that."
"I do!" She put a hand on her face as she mentally kicked herself.
"Good." He looked at her, checking her wounds with a grave expression. "You are progressing well."
"Thank you." She looked at him with a smile.
"You really should not be up and about." He picked up his glaive and gestured to the door. "But if there is one thing I have learned about the Umbra, is that they are far too stubborn for their own good."
"That's how we are." She laughed but began to walk backwards towards the dining area. "Someone has to show some backbone here."
"I get enough of that from Rosa." He harrumphed good-naturedly. "Where is she?"
"She's fixing more of the plumbing and is supposed to go and report back to the Elder later today." She answered, then added quietly. "How did you two meet?"
"Me and Rosa?" He stopped in thought. "That is an interesting story."
"Are you willing to share it?" She pressed. Balder laughed and looked at her with a grin.
"Curious, are we not?" He joined her at the table, leaning his glaive against the wall. "I think I was just fourteen years old when I first saw her. The Sage's loved to give their trainees trials by fire, but I guess that was to harden you up to the realities of the job of dealing with demons or the odd angel. We were dispatched to repair a small tear in Purgatorio, one that lead to Inferno. The Umbra had also assembled a team, but we arrived first. The only things there were a couple of lower caste demons, and the rift was repaired easily enough."
"That doesn't sound like that was all that transpired." Bayonetta implied, and Balder nodded.
"An ancient demon tried to make a break for it. He was pure evil, and his presence in the world would certainly lead to its doom. We tried to fight it, but we were hopelessly out of our league. It killed my team, was about to kill me, and that was when the Umbra showed up." He replied, his voice reflecting his sadness. "I was critically injured, but I was still trying to incantate the rites to banish the foul creature. It was about to lay waste to me, until they showed up…"
"No!" Balder screamed as the demon surfaced truly, Erik impaled on its fist. It noticed the small teenager standing in front of it, and it began to laugh. The other gathered trainees froze in fear, and the demon merely clicked its fingers and the ground itself reared to his command, forming spikes and stabbing each frozen Sage, killing them instantly. Balder threw himself to the ground as the spike behind him missed wildly, and he let a small calming spell ripple through him to keep his composure as he stood back up.
"Little boy." It pointed at him. "I am Malefagor, the incarnation of all that is wrong in this universe. Why don't you align yourself with me? I need a herald, and I can promise you far greater power than any angel could."
Balder ignored him and reached into his tunic to grab his pendant of Jubileus. Closing his eyes, he began to chant, unperturbed by the fact he could die at literally any second.
"Foolish mortal." His sealing spell was interrupted by a fist slamming into him, and then himself bouncing off a wall and then the ground. Crying out in pain, he felt that his arms were broken, and his left leg's shin was now protruding through his skin. "You actually thought a pathetic sealing spell would work on me? I've never met a being so idiotic."
"The power… and blessing of Jubileus… compels me…" He closed his eyes, blocking out the pain, and continued to chant. He could sense the demon walking towards him, and then he could feel it place a foot on his head. "I will… make… this right…"
"Your resistance is noted and respected." It laughed as it raised its leg. "But ultimately futile."
He prayed that Paradiso would find him worthy. He prayed that it found them all worthy.
A war cry interrupted his thoughts, and the demons attempt to kill him. Opening his eyes in surprise, he saw a troupe of Umbra witches charging down the hill, strange weapons in their hands, and weaves flying into the demon in front him.
"Umbra Witches!" The demon roared as it turned to face them, forgetting about the injured Sage trainee. "You will not stop me!"
"Distract it, or kill it." The leading witch cried out. "We cannot let it spread!"
Letting out a primal bellow, the demon lumbered forward, a sword of brimstone and hellfire hissing into its hands. One witch slid underneath its legs, and ran towards him.
"Little one!" The witch grinding to a halt in front of him, glancing over his body in concern. "Oh, thank the gods; you are still alive."
"Move…" He was feeling delirious from the pain, but Balder did not care. "I can fix this…"
"No you can't." The witch shook her head. "You're dying, for Sheba's sakes!"
"No…" He began to chant. "BALATA SONUF OD-"
"Stop!" The witch placed a hand on his mouth. "You are in no condition!"
He pushed her hand away, ignoring the agony in his arms. "-GAHLANA DOBITZA ALALARE-"
The demon had finally heard him and shoved away the witches. "Cease your words, boy!"
"-PUGO VEPE!" He gestured to the demon, and golden chains burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around it, throwing it and pinning it down to the ground.
"Impossible! You have no power over me!" The demon screamed, trying to free itself from the chains. Balder's eyes narrowed, and he weakly gestured to the witches nearby.
"Send it back…" His rolled back into his head as they nodded and the demon was promptly dropped back into inferno, and he fell into unconsciousness.
"I awoke in their care about four days later." He reminisced. "The witch who was with me had apparently stayed by my side, working overtime to heal me."
"Rosa?" Bayonetta asked.
"She was about sixty at the time." He smiled nostalgically. "She did not think of me more than a teenager who had just gotten lucky."
"So when did you two really meet?" She tried, but Balder shot her down with an annoyed look.
"That is private."
"Private?" Rosa piped up, walking down the stairs in her Umbran garb. "You do know that this is an open household, Balder."
"Some things are to remain for us to share." He folded his arms. "Are you leaving?"
"Yes. The Elder will expect something from me. I'll tell her the truth; that there is no threat here." She placed a hand onto his cheek. "I'll be back. I promise."
Balder's eyes softened. "Godspeed to you."
"I don't believe in your God." She laughed as she walked out. "And you know that!"
…
"Why did we get sent back?" Balder asked her as they sat by the fireplace. "To here, of all times?"
"The Prophet mentioned that it was something he had to do." She answered, sitting on the armchair perpendicular to how she was supposed to be, her legs hanging over one side. "And he also said that he was sending us here to die."
"That makes sense for you, since your friend wouldn't be able to rescue you." Balder reflected, taking note of how similar she was sitting to his daughter did. "But for me, that makes no sense."
"I guess." She looked into the fire, taking comfort in it. "He did say we could come back to my time."
"How?" He glanced to her, and his puzzlement grew at how sad she looked.
"If I forgive my father, we get to leave." She said in a small tone.
"Your father? What did he do?" He tilted his head. "Why can you not forgive him?"
"It's complicated!" She burst out to his surprise. "He hurt a lot of people I know, for little to no gain! And I don't even know why he did it!"
"Why do you think he did it?" He asked. "What was his end goal?"
"He wanted to reshape the universe into his own image." She answered, and he frowned.
"Oh…" He turned back to the fire. "That will probably sour your opinion of him."
"He killed thousands." She said, staring at the ceiling. "Murdered anyone who tried to stop him, then laid waste to an entire city to summon Jubileus."
"He did what?!" Balder stared at her incredulously. "That is…"
"Impossible? I know." She went silent. "I wish it was."
"If I ever meet this person." Balder's voice showed his anger, and she peered at him curiously. "I swear, I will kill him."
"I would like to see you try."
…
"Good news, everyone." Rosa returned through the front door the next morning with a smile. Balder paused in his cleaning and waited for her to continue. Bayonetta looked up from her breakfast and watched her expectantly.
"I have reported that no one was here." She grinned. "However, the Elder expects me to continue scouting the area for the signs of you, so I guess I'm here to stay."
"That is a welcome turn of events." Balder turned back to his task at hand.
"Also, congratulations." She smiled down at her, and Bayonetta frowned.
"For what?" She asked slowly, confused.
"You battled for the Eye last night." Rosa offhandedly mentioned, and she went pale. Her wooden spoon fell from her hand.
"What?" Rosa frowned. Bayonetta began to shake, and her mother dropped down and grabbed he hand. "Bayonetta, what's wrong?"
A huge rumble shook the house. Balder dropped the broom and ran outside. Rosa glanced to the sky, then back to her daughter.
Her tear-filled face looked back at hers. "This is the day, Mummy."
Rosa's face went pale.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Balder's sharp voice carried into the room as he burst back inside, grabbing his coat and glaive. "Bayonetta, what is going on?"
"What's outside?" The elder witch rose, Unforgiven snapping into her hand.
"Resplendence." Balder answered grimly. "A legion of them, descending upon the Crescent Valley. The Umbra stand no chance."
"Not if we don't do anything about it." Rosa raised her chin.
"I was about to suggest the same thing." He nodded, then turned to the witch at the table. "Are you coming, Bayonetta?"
Bayonetta stared down at the table, frozen at his words. Fight with her family, side by side? That was something she had dreamed about as a child.
And she had an opportunity to change history.
Making her decision, she felt the familiar weight of Scarborough Fair drop into her hands, and then the new weight of Love is Blue on her feet. Her hair wrapped around her body as she stood up, her eyes burning.
"Let's go and kick some angel ass."