AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything here at all!
The end of the cave system opened onto a cracked and broken street. To the left stood a giant coliseum, looming over the pair. To the right…
Vigrid burned. The town was alight with flame, each antique house and building crumbling. Bayonetta looked and felt a pang of sadness, and guilt began built up in her.
This was her fault. She could feel it in her heart. Whatever had occurred with the girl had attracted the Auditio, and it had destroyed the town, and killed everyone in it. Her guilt quickly turned to rage as she turned away from the depressing scene.
"Sodding Laguna…" She hissed. "If any of the fucking churches knew about what their holy figures do, they'd disown them in a heartbeat…"
"I think I can stand…" A weak voice said to her from her arms, and she gently placed Sephiroth down, sitting him up on a rock. He grimaced in pain as his eyes shifted to hers, and she placed a hand in his forehead, only to draw it back at the temperature of it.
"Bloody hell, did you dunk your head in lava?" She looked at him with sympathy. "What is going on?"
He held a hand to his head as he replied. "My halves are trying to get me to fuck the Auditio or kill it. It hurts."
Bayonetta couldn't help but let out a small laugh. He gave her a pained grin in response. "At least someone is enjoying this."
"How do you feel?" She asked, helping him stand.
"Like a rubber band that has been stretched in two directions." He looked over at the burning city. "That's our fault, isn't it?"
"If you think about it, the only way it's our fault is if you believe in the butterfly effect." Bayonetta smiled, trying to lighten his mood.
It didn't work. "Then it is…" He looked onwards to the coliseum. "I suppose that's our final destination and where we split?"
She knew that it probably was. The city limits were supposedly right here, at this coliseum. She had little to no idea what lay beyond, and then she realised that she had just gotten used to Sephiroth tagging along. Her mind began to whirl as she began to ponder whether it was worth letting him leave now, especially since they had not trained properly yet.
"You know, if you really wanted to, you could tag along with me to Ithavoll." Bayonetta threw the idea at him as they slowly walked to the coliseum. "I could definitely use the company in more ways than one."
"Ithavoll?" He choked out. "You're going there?"
"Yes, it's my destination on this little holiday of mine, darling." She frowned back at him. "Have you been there before?"
"I was made there." He scowled at her. "I'm not going back anytime soon."
Bayonetta didn't answer. She felt it wouldn't be right for anyone to try and convince him. Her heart slightly fell at his proclamation, and she realised she was going to be alone again.
…
The pair entered the coliseum to a strange sight. The Auditio was waiting for them, as if it was its nest. The two draconian heads snapped and growled at the pair, whilst the main head smiled at them.
"Greetings from Paradiso." It rumbled. "Were you the two that woke me from my slumber?"
"Possibly." Bayonetta answered. Her hands were poised to grab her guns at any time to defend herself if need be. Sephiroth on the other hand, was clutching his head in pain.
"Tell me child, has the war ended?" It addressed her, ignoring the man at her side. "I tire of this fight against the Umbra."
"If I were your child, I'd make an awfully ugly witch." She managed to dodge the question. She hoped it didn't notice. "Your face is one only a mother could love and one I could never forget."
It laughed, sending vibrations throughout the stadium. "You have a mouth, child, and you use it well. Do we quarrel?"
She shook her head in response. "I don't believe so, unless you want to continue what we started in the church?" She was also hoping it didn't want to fight; she didn't think she could fight it and protect Sephiroth from anything that it might do.
"Ah, you were that one. Apologies. We do not quarrel then. May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you." And with that it began to rise, leaving the coliseum and the pair.
"That went well." Sephiroth remarked from beside her, his voice still betraying the pain he was in. She nodded, still watching the angel rise.
"My good luck streak has returned, I believe." She smiled. "Maybe I should take you to Vegas, one day."
A cracking voice was all they needed to hear to let them know that it was all about to go to shit.
"Fortitudo!"
A small red figure appeared at the lip of the coliseum. The Auditio turned to face the newcomer, and both Bayonetta and Sephiroth growled at her appearance.
"Jeanne?" She asked for confirmation, and Sephiroth grunted. He held one hand up to his temple, and seemed to be massaging it.
"Another witch…" Fortitudo greeted the figure. "Do we quarrel?"
"Not if you know what is good for you." Jeanne answer. "You have forgotten your place, Fortitudo, and your purpose!"
"My purpose is to eliminate the Umbran threat." It thundered. "Unless there is another clan hidden away, it has been neutralised. There is no reason for us to continue this folly."
Jeanne scoffed. "That is where you are completely wrong! Your purpose, idiot, was to capture the bearer of the Left Eye, of which you both failed and somehow managed to get yourself sealed away!"
Bayonetta felt a memory rush through her as the other Umbran spoke. Holding her head, she doubled over as it overwhelmed her senses…
She was sitting in her cell, watching the witches convene. The last bearer had fallen the night before, her arrogance allowing her contracted Infernal's to drag her soul and body down to them. And as was tradition, the strongest witch was to now to gain the right to become the bearer of the Left Eye, the fabled Umbran treasure that was gifted to them by the old God.
And that witch to many was Jeanne. The elder's faced her in a line, as she stood at attention.
"Jeanne De'Arc!" They began. "You have been chosen to undergo the trials to become the Left Eye, the overseer of the light and the leader of our clan. You have been chosen because of your skill, leadership and combat prowess, to which you are unequalled."
Jeanne, to her credit, did not exhibit pride or happiness at this statement. To them it was simply the truth, Bayonetta reflected. As far as anything went, Jeanne was the strongest witch in the clan, and the rightful bearer of the Left Eye. Nodding, the witch in red let them continue.
"To make this official, the Left Eye demands a trial by combat, as is tradition, by an opponent of equal or greater skill. You may make this choice, or we shall provide one for you given you can't select."
Jeanne nodded in confirmation. "I can choose anyone, right?"
The Elder's nodded back. "Anyone, as long as they fit the criteria."
Jeanne turned to her. "Then I chose the outcast, _!"
The Elder's immediately broke into shouting, the leader's voice carrying over the others.
"You can't! It is forbidden!"
Jeanne ignored them. "She fits the criteria you described; she is of equal or greater skill and is my choice. We have duelled before and are evenly matched." She tilted her head. "You also said I could choose anyone."
The Elder's all glared at her. Jeanne turned on her heel, and walked over to the cell, opening it.
"Will you face me in this hallowed arena?" She asked, reaching down to Bayonetta. Bayonetta reached back and allowed her to pull her off the ground.
"I accept your challenge." She smiled in response, ignoring the looks of the other assembled witches. "May the true Eye triumph."
Her trip down memory lane was interrupted by a strained voice whispering to her.
"Bayonetta?" She looked up to see Sephiroth's pained face staring in concern at hers. "Are you OK?"
"I am." She straightened herself. "At least I think."
The Auditio's booming voice then interrupted them both.
"My quest to find the Left Eye ended with the demise of the Umbran Clan." It growled with its twin draconian heads at her. "Jubileus will not be resurrected this time, unless the Father has another plan, or another Eye hidden up his sleeve."
The name did not mean anything to Bayonetta, but Sephiroth shot upright, his pain and mental battles forgotten. He squinted at the two figures in the sky, seemingly reignited by the words.
Jeanne gestured down to the pair. "Use your other sight, fool! The Eye still lives! If you can defeat her and take it, perhaps the Father will forgive you for your stupidity."
The Auditio growled, but turned to the pair in the coliseum, forgetting about the witch in red for now. "Apologies, but it seems we do quarrel. The glory of Jubileus will rise, and you are required for it."
Sephiroth shook his head. "We won't let that happen. We can't let that happen!"
Bayonetta gave him a glance, and then began to channel her power as her sleeves retracted, and the beehive splayed out and unformed, straightening itself out. "I don't like all this talk about resurrections and eyes, it bores me so much. We will continue what we begun?"
Fortitudo's main head grinned. "I apologise now for the defeat you will suffer later."
Bayonetta ignored the taunt and instead summoned Madama Butterfly to punch the angel square on the nose, striking first and gaining the upper hand. Roaring in pain, Fortitudo answered by launching twin fireballs, one from each head, at the two.
Jumping over them, the pair leaped up to engage the massive Laguna, and the battle began in earnest. Flipping and jumping away from its bites and thrusts with its heads, she took every opportunity to send wicked weaves into the main head. Sephiroth had grabbed onto the second head, and was pummelling it with mostly ineffective punches, but it was enough to annoy the head away from her. Shooting at the third head's eyes, she heard it roar and send a fireball in her direction. Slipping past it, she turned to see Sephiroth launch a giant ball of ice the main head, hitting it directly on its chin. Fortitudo screamed in pain, and slammed its heads around, trying to shake the persistent man off.
It succeeded, to Bayonetta's horror. It slammed its head into the wall of the coliseum, launching Sephiroth upwards. Turning around with the speed of the wind, it aimed at the helpless man with its tail like a baseball bat, and it scored a direct hit. Sent flying, Sephiroth hit the opposite wall hard, slamming into it, through it and well out of the coliseum and the battle.
Laughing, Fortitudo turned its attention to the witch. "It seems your friend is not a match for much. Will you fare any better, Umbra witch?"
"Enough talk." Bayonetta growled and began to formulate a plan of attack. "You will pay for that."
The Auditio answered by opening its mouth and shooting a laser of molten lava at the floor. She could feel the heat intensity of the beam, and she could sense the pressure building in the floor beneath her. Weaving her fingers, she activated her witch time as the floor exploded into fire, sending chucks of rocks into the sky. Nimbly jumping between them, she scaled the space between her and Fortitudo, leaping onto its right head.
Restoring time, the Auditio seemed confused as to where she had disappeared to, until she summoned a stomp from Madama Butterfly to slam into the head she was standing on. Somersaulting off and grabbing the chin, she pulled down with all her might, flipping over the stunned angel and sending it crashing onto the floor. Landing beside the head, she summoned two fists from Madama Butterfly and lifted the Lagunan like a hammer and started slamming it around in a casual fashion.
Almost sighing audibly at the ease of it all, she let Madama Butterfly leave her for the moment. Grabbing the snout with both hands, she tensed, twisted it slightly to the right, and then threw all her strength behind one massive twist to the left. It was enough to shatter its armour, dislocate its bones and tear through its flesh, decapitating it cleanly. Letting the head and neck fall to the ground, she briefly looked away as demonic hands rose from a portal underneath, grabbing and pulling the fallen head into Inferno.
Slowly, in what she assumed was great pain, the Auditio stood back up. Its remaining head growled at her and lunged forward, trying to squash her. Sidestepping it, she summoned a boot from Butterfly and slammed downwards, pushing the head deep into the ground of the coliseum. As it struggled to free itself, it simply fell onto Bayonetta to kick, punch, shoot and wicked weave the head until she eventually pummelled her way through it, decapitating that head as well. More Infernals appeared from the portal to grab the second head, and they pulled it through without a fuss.
"Giving up already?" Bayonetta taunted the mostly harmless Auditio, wagging her finger at it. "Surely you can go another round?"
Fortitudo merely bellowed in response, causing the coliseum to shatter around her. Leaping up into the air, the Auditio seemingly commanded the coliseum to arise with it. Leaping onto the sides of the coliseum with little effort, she again weaved together another time spell, and released it at the apex. It, to her astounding run of luck today, ignored her attempt of slowing time down and continued to move at normal speed. Slamming into the walls where she stood, it had given up on any finesse or strategy and was simply trying to squash her like a cockroach.
Her lip curled in disgust at the comparison. Jumping to yet another part of the coliseum, she looked up to it trying to swipe her with its tail, like it did to Sephiroth earlier. Shrugging, she simply caught the tail, swung it around and threw the Auditio across to the other side of the coliseum.
"A GRA ORS!" Her hair left her body as her incantation finished, and a giant bird flew after the flying Auditio. Catching up to it easily, it smashed the helpless angel into the coliseum, and began pecking at it like a woodpecker, destroying the main head by putting a giant hole in it. Summoning Madama Butterfly's fists again, she broke apart the wall she was standing on, grabbing them and threw them towards the stunned Fortitudo. Resuming time properly, she watched with apathy as the rocks flew with great speed into the already battered Auditio, tearing a hole directly through the main head.
"You know, you're far less ugly when you are screaming." She commented, reactivating witch time as to not fall to the Earth.
"The prophecy was true…" The dying angel gasped out. "Your power… is indescribable… Incredible…"
"Prophecy?" Bayonetta frowned, then stepped forward. "Explain yourself!"
"I, Fortitudo, am but a simple sacrifice for the resurrection of the Creator." It ignored her. "May the Creator, Jubileus, grace you on your journey."
Rolling her eyes at its pretentiousness, she snapped her fingers. A portal to Inferno opened behind it, and arms grabbed at it. Screaming in pain, and defiance, the weakened Fortitudo was dragged in and was no more.
A sharp pain interrupted her thoughts, and she placed a hand to her temple. It was for naught, as the pain intensified, and she lost consciousness.
…
Sephiroth awoke amongst the rubble. Shaking his head to refocus his thoughts, he noticed immediately that the coliseum he was just in had somehow gotten about a kilometre in the air, and the Auditio he was fighting was now headless and being pecked on by a giant bird.
"I've seen stranger things…" He said in wonder. He watched the Audito get pulled into Inferno, and his two sides began their war anew. Clutching his head, he tried to ignore the cheers of the Infernals and the wails of the Laguna. Getting to his feet, he tried to spot Bayonetta amongst the ruins of the Coliseum.
He found her falling to Earth.
"Bayonetta!" He screamed, then leaped after her. Jumping off the falling rubble, he noticed his two sides were increasing in their battle for dominance as he approached her. Catching her, he nearly blacked out from the pain he was undergoing. Gritting his teeth, he fought through it and tried to jump back down.
Instead, he began to lose consciousness, as the pain overwhelmed him. Seeing a path and road in the distance, he launched himself with whatever strength he had left in that direction, hoping he had enough to make it there with her in one piece.
…
Jeanne shook her head with disappointment as she watched the events unfold.
"What a colossal waste of time and effort." She began to talk to herself. "One Auditio, especially the most stupid and overconfident of them all, would not defeat Cereza and you know it."
"Although." She placed a hand on her chin. "It seems that our little experiment has no skills we can truly examine. Aside from that brief use of ice magic, but we already knew he could do that. Just not to that extent."
She seemed to wait a moment before continuing. "Yes, I agree. It's time to use one of the Auditio we know won't fuck up fully."
Turning, she walked back to her bike. Getting on, she grimaced to herself. She had a meeting to look forward to.