AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from the Bayonetta series or the Sephiroth name.
The trio arrived at the airport mid-afternoon. Parking the van outside of the forest the east, they began to trek towards the base, entering the forest without much complaint.
"They have made good headway with the repairs." Sephiroth said as they walked. They had initially tried to enter the same way they had left, but a few glares and construction fences had convinced them to find another route. "Considering we- I somewhat destroyed the base two days."
"Why did you do that?" Luka asked, his eyes staying on the wandering Cereza in front of them. "Or rather, who caused you to do that?"
"The angel we encountered was called Temperentia, and he was one of Auditio." Sephiroth answered, his voice growling slightly.
"An Auditio?" Luka looked at him in surprise. "Aren't those the four leaders of the Lagunan religion? Well, the ones below Jubelius."
"How do you know that?" He asked sharply, turning to .
"It's the main religion here in Vigrid. I grew up learning all about it." Luka glanced at him in confusion. "Didn't you?"
"No, I did not." He answered, frowning. "Either way, this particular Auditio was the main driving force from Paradiso for the experiments the Father was undertaking. It tested me on more than one occasion himself, using angels to gauge my abilities."
"Why would angels allow this experimentation to occur?" Luka shook his head. "Aren't they supposed to be benevolent; aren't they supposed to be the good guys?"
"What is good? What is evil?" He answered. "Angels have caused me nothing but pain, yet my greatest ally has been a servant of a demon, and I am allied permanently with one as well? What do you make of that?"
"It just feels wrong." Luka returned to observing Cereza. "Demons and witches shouldn't be the good guys."
"Why do you think that, Uncle Luka?" Cereza turned to him, taking the lollipop he had given her out of her mouth.
"Well, witches normally do bad things for their demon, and demons always do bad things." Luka explained himself.
"But Mummy is a witch, and Mummy doesn't do bad things." She frowned. "She protects people from the monsters. When I grow up, I want to be strong like Mummy!"
"I don't know, Cereza." Luka shrugged. He was out of his element here. "I really don't know." His nose twitched. "That smell again?!"
Sephiroth immediately grew suspicious, and summoned Sharuba to his fist. Closing his eyes, he cursed at what he sensed. "They've found us."
Cereza ran to Luka and hid between his legs. Scooping her up, the man stared at him in surprise. "Who has found us?"
"The Lagunan." He answered as he opened a way into Purgatorio. Stepping through, he said two final words to the pair. "Find cover!"
Luka could only stare in astonishment as the trees and shrubbery began to sway and break unnaturally. A tree snapped in two and fell towards them.
"SHIT!" He cursed and ran to the side, letting the trunk fall. Crouching behind it, he looked over to see the same scene as before.
"What is going on?" He squinted at the clearing, trying to find a clue.
"Go Bubby!" Cereza seemed to know what was going on and was cheering on Sephiroth.
"How can you see?" Luka looked down at the girl.
"You need to open your eyes, Uncle Luka." She replied innocently.
"Gah! Forget about it."
She started thinking, and then looked at him with surprise. Taking off her glasses, she attempted to hand them to him. "Wear these."
"Cerezita, this is hardly time-"
"Uncle Luka! Wear my glasses!" She demanded, shoving them to his face.
"If you say so…" He placed them onto his nose, and nearly fell over in shock from the sight. Sephiroth was fighting two or three dozen strange, birdlike beings wielding various golden weapons. He was twisting and twirling, his katana defecting and cutting through each thing with ease. Ripping the glasses from his face, he stared at the now clear area with horror.
"What the fuck…" He placed the glasses back on to see one jumping at him, its eyes intent and ready to kill. Screaming, he shoved Cereza to the side and held his hands in front of him in a futile effort.
A gunshot rang out, and the thing went flying back, bleeding from the forehead. Turning around, he saw a tall, slender figure in black standing there, blowing the smoke from her gun.
…
"Must I say; hello boys?" Bayonetta smirked as the angelic host and Sephiroth turned to face her. "You are being awfully rude to my friends here, and I think I might have to punish you."
"Bayonetta…" He was looking at her with undisguised awe. She gave him a smile.
"Now, Darling, what did I say about getting distracted?" She scolded him, still smiling. The angels' starting chittering nervously amongst themselves, seemingly worried at this turn of events.
She was back, baby!
He understood her point and threw himself back at the Affinities. The Applaud was staring at her in shock, its staff held low.
"Impossible…" It whispered. "You were banished into the realm of light! You can't have escaped!"
"I've always made making the impossible my goal in life." She winked at it. "Now, you and me; shall we try the impossible? Or are you not man enough to go for a girl like me?"
The Applaud jumped at her, raising its staff and attempting to squash her. Parrying it with a kick, she followed up with four direct punches to its abdomen. Channelling her magic, she sent a barrage of red, phantasmal skulls into it, finishing it with a wicked punch directly to its face. It flew back and was caught by a slice from the katana. Grinning at the sight, she focused on the rest of the flock. Utilising a Bullet Climax, she began to pick off the angels that weren't engaging the winged man.
Sephiroth had improved, again. He moved with confidence, and none of the original problems that plagued him were there. His stance was nearly perfect, his strikes were with purpose and precision, with not as much power behind them. He other fist was wrapped in fire, and he used it to send small bursts of flames at any Affinity that got too close.
She felt pride swell through her. Although she was curious as to why he had abandoned his defensive mindset so quickly. She did put that down to being swarmed by a flock of angels; he simply couldn't be defensive, unless he wanted to be stuck here for an eternity.
Slicing down the last Affinity, he stood there, breathing heavily from the exertion.
"That was fun." She said, walking over to him. "Slaying these angels has never not been-"
"Shut up." He stopped her. Turning to face her, she noticed the relief and happiness that was in his eyes. "Just shut up and let me enjoy this moment."
"You missed me?" Her eyes fluttered. "Awwww…"
He threw himself at her and hugged her tightly. Surprised at the motioned, she ungracefully caught him and returned the favour, taking care to not touch his wing.
"I thought you were gone forever." He was sobbing into her shoulder. "I can't be this leader, I'm not as strong as I thought I was, I thought it was going to be a matter of time before he found us…"
He had several mental barriers still, ones she couldn't easily fix. "You were doing well enough here, Seph. You have improved a lot from the bumbling man two weeks ago."
He muttered something.
"Sorry?" She pushed him back to arm's length. "What did you say?"
"I wasn't that bad." He smiled, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "I did survive for a year by myself, remember?"
"Of course." She smiled back. "You just got lucky."
"If you say so." He pushed her away. "If I had that luck I'd be in Vegas."
"Darling, you'd fit right in in Vegas." She gestured to the two watching them. "Shall we?"
He nodded. She was definitely back.
…
"Well, that's certainly different." Luka pulled off Cereza's glasses as Bayonetta and Sephiroth stepped back into the mortal realm. "Never thought angels would look like demonic turkeys."
"Don't believe everything books tell you, Cheshire." Bayonetta raised her eyebrows. "I thought being a journalist would tell you that."
"Books don't prepare you for that." He fired right back at her. Placing Cereza back onto the ground, he turned to face Sephiroth. "Your power… what is it exactly?"
"I'm not sure myself." He answered with a smile. "I'm one of a kind."
"That's my line, darling." Bayonetta slapped him playfully over the back of the head. Turning to Cereza, she kneeled and began to check over her for any injuries. "Did Cheshire keep you safe, little one?"
"Yes Mummy!" She answered chirpily. "He even gave me this!" She held out the lollipop. Bayonetta raised an eyebrow and turned to Luka, who was scratching the back of his neck.
"You do have some uses after all." She acknowledged, then turned to face the airport. "We need some sort of transport if we want to reach Ithavoll."
"I can fly anything you give me." Luka boasted. "Just get me a vehicle, and I'll work my magic."
"Better make it quick." Sephiroth cut into the conversation. "Chances are the Laguna will return."
…
Jeanne frowned at the sight of the four people from atop the hanger.
"Your little plan failed, it seems." She said, lip curling. "Sapientia did do its job correctly, so perhaps you underestimated your experiments skill, or hers."
She tilted her head. "You want me to fight him? How are you going to get her away? She clearly still isn't ready, and I'd rather not test his abilities with her getting in the way."
Her mouth then curled into a malicious grin. "Undo the seal for Iustitia? My, I thought you would never ask…"
…
Bayonetta felt something was off the minute Sephiroth had said that. And to his credit, he did as well.
"Another one?" He frowned. "I thought the rest of the Auditio were in Paradiso."
"Auditio?" Luka eyes widened. "Isn't that what you fought here before?"
"Yes." She answered, turning to face the airport. "One was sealed away here, during the witch-hunts."
"Who broke the seal then?" Sephiroth's mind brushed against hers as he telepathically began to reach out and find anyone else in the area. She had a suspicion of who it was, she just wanted confirmation.
He never got the chance to go further than the small clearing they were in.
The ground began to shake as something began to awaken. A huge, green tentacle with a venus-flytrap mouth burst out of the ground, separating Bayonetta from the trio. She jumped gracefully out of the way, noticing the trail of the tentacle leading into the airport and started to run towards the base.
Sephiroth grabbed both Luka and Cereza and pulled them out of the way. Cheshire went flying from her grip as she was pulled out of the way, the girl screaming for her lost doll. Luka turned back to see what had happened and instantly regretted it.
"So that's an Auditio?" Luka screamed as the trio ran back to the forest. "That's one creepy looking fucker there, I can tell you that."
"They all look fucked up." Sephiroth replied as he gestured for them to stop. "We should be safe here."
"Safe here? This where you got swarmed before!" Luka didn't understand. "What the hell makes you think that it's safe now?"
"The Laguna are over there." Sephiroth pointed back to Iustitia. "And there isn't another place that isn't horribly exposed."
Luka conceded the point. Sephiroth then stiffened as a familiar presence began to flicker at his senses.
"You did decide to join the party after all." He said to himself with a snarl. He turned back to Luka and Cereza.
"New change of plans. You try to find some transport, and I'll go deal with the other witch." He briefly said, and then stalked off into the forest.
Luka stared in shock at his retreating form. "Another one?!"
Shaking his head out of his stupor, he looked down at the terrified Cereza who was clinging to him. Smiling a little, he spoke to her; "Come, Cerezita. We have to find a helicopter or plane or something that can get us in the sky."
"We are going to fly, Uncle Luka?" Cereza's voice was full of wonder, already distracted from her lost toy.
"That we are."
…
Vigrid airport was falling apart for the second time that week.
Bayonetta watched as tentacles burst from the ground, pulling the Auditio free from its underground prison. Shivering in repulsion, she saw the Auditio in all its glory.
It was a ball formed from faces, ten to be exact, with each mouth having a tentacle coming out of it like a tongue. The three main faces had three massive tentacle-tongues that had a smaller head on the tip, thus bringing the total faces to thirteen.
"As it was foretold…" It spoke with a childlike voice, only increasing the repulsion she felt. "The Umbra witch-"
Already tiring of yet another angelic monologue, she had kicked a nearby boulder into one of its various faces. "Can we skip the pillow talk and start round two? I'm itching for something."
It laughed, gurgling like a newborn.
"Ewwww." She shuddered. "What the fuck are you?"
"I, Iustitia, will deliver the Left Eye to the Father, as it was prophesied." It gargled, a pair of venus-flytrap tentacles readied themselves to strike.
Bayonetta rolled her eyes and took her stance, letting her power flow out alongside her hair. "Let's dance, boys!"
…
Sephiroth found her exactly where he thought she would be. Leaning on her motorbike, hand on hip, accentuating her curves. Her other hand was playing with a gun, holding it near her face so she could observe it easily. The strange gurgles of the Auditio was the only sound as the two stood across from each other.
"Jeanne." He said, emotions barely held in check. She looked up and arrogantly flashed him a smile.
"Ahh, the experiment. It's good to see you survived Temperentia." She stood up from the bike. "It is a massive loss if the Father decides to repeat his experiment, as he just lost his biggest backer in Paradiso. Although your death would have not have fazed us from simply trying again."
"That's still your biggest concern?" He asked incredulously. "This experiment?"
"What, you think your life is worth a damn?" She laughed. "You are just one of many experiments the Father has attempted. You're nothing."
She then appeared to reconsider that. "Although, giving yourself an identity is somewhat making yourself something." Shaking her head, she pointed a gun at him. "Just give up and come back. You're nothing to this world, and you are nothing to her. You'd be better suited as the Father's replacement, as is your purpose."
A crumpling sound resonated throughout the air as her bike imploded into a small ball. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, she looked down at what was left of it.
"You know that that was bloody expensive." She looked back. "But no matter. You'll pay for that when you're back in your pen."
Roaring, Sephiroth launched himself at her, Shuraba appearing in his right hand. Surprised at his recklessness, Jeanne took a step back and played defensive as he swung the long katana like a feather, only much faster and heavier. Each swing was aimed at her body or limb, and Jeanne almost felt the boredom start to creep up on her as she easily sidestepped each attack.
It was time to take back the offensive. Blocking a swing that was aimed at her neck, she felt the blade bite deeply into All 4-One. Throwing it off, she fired her two handguns at him, forcing him to weave and retreat backwards. Slamming her foot into the ground, she summoned a wicked kick to squash him, of which he slipped pass. Fire encased his left fist as he splayed his hand and shot it at her, flamethrower style.
"So close!" She taunted as she dodged through it, activating witchtime to find the optimal path through his attack. Slamming the butt of her right handgun into his chest, she pushed him up into the air, causing him to grunt in pain. Jumping after him, she used an after-burner kick to throw him away, until he smashed against the wall of a hanger and stayed there. Landing on the small crater, she caressed his face as he grimaced in pain.
"Your power is weak. I don't know how you managed to defeat Temperentia, let alone a lonely Affinity." She shook her head, pursing her lips together. "You are nothing but child's play."
His arm shot out and grabbed her neck. Firing a shot in response in his direction, she sensed it miss and then felt herself hit the area next to the crater hard. Smashing cleanly through the concrete, she fell into the hanger, bounced and then stopped. Pulling herself to her feet, she snarled in anger as he jumped in after her. Firing her guns, she jumped up to meet him.
…
Weaving through the tentacles, and becoming amazed at the denseness of the angel, Bayonetta saw the most peculiar sight on the ground.
"Cheshire?" She scooped the doll up as she ran to the right, more tentacles slamming into the ground behind her. "What are you doing here?"
The doll, to her relief, did not answer. Placing it into Inferno, she weaved through two more tentacles, and then ran towards the main body. Falling for her trap, Iustitia hissed and growled as its tentacles tied themselves together in one giant knot. Transforming into a panther, she jumped up onto its face, activating witchwalk. Landing on the nose, she gave it a good stomp and the heart of the tongue fell out of its mouth.
Allowing her power to fill her body, she let it flow into her right arm as she brought it back. Sweeping across in one motion, she cut clean through the heart and separated the tentacle from its body. Iustitia screamed in pain, freeing its tentacles and began slamming them everywhere.
"Silly, I'm up here…" She shook her head in mock shame. The tentacles whipped at her, and she almost regretted those words. Almost.
Jumping onto a tentacle, she immediately lost balance as it whipped around erratically, trying to throw her off. Waving her arms around, she regained her balance to see a flytrap mouth flying at her, mouth agape.
Stepping to the side, she jumped onto that one as well. Running on it, she saw several more tentacles take aim at her.
"Jesus Christ…" She said to herself as she dodged them yet again. "Can't you try something else? You're boring me…"
It either did not listen, or simply did not have the power to do anything else. Leaping onto another one of the main faces, she dropkicked the nose as she landed to force out the heart. Charging her arm up yet again, she saw a tentacle fly towards her, trying to knock her off its face. Slipping up to the bridge of the nose, she smiled in satisfaction as it smashed into itself. Diving forward, she released the pent-up energy as a giant backhand, literally slapping the heart to pieces and tearing the tentacle off.
The Angel screamed yet again, its tentacles now whipping around in a frenzy. Jumping from the Auditio, she watched it turned its final tongue to face her, this one's head glaring at her.
The tentacles grabbed the ground and tore it apart, grabbing a giant chunk and hurling it at her. Summoning Madama Butterfly's fists, she stopped the chunk of rock and punched through it, only to see another fly at her. Gritting her teeth, she slammed this one into a standstill, and then punched through it and into the last tongue. It collapsed to the ground, moaning. Jumping onto the tongue, she ran up it and drop kicked the final head. The heart popped out of its mouth, and she gave it a swift kick to cut it in two. It screamed in pain, and Bayonetta felt as if it was time to finish this. Jumping from the Auditio, she landed back onto the runway and took a pose as her demonic power flowed through her.
"TOLEC VOVIM!" She screamed, and Scolopendra appeared from a portal to the left. The centipede demon set its sight on the now mostly helpless angel, and it roared in glee.
"Go get him, boy!" She commanded, and the Infernal obeyed.
…
Jeanne had realised that he was beating her in a battle of pure magical prowess. For every summon, wicked weave or basic spell she used, he had an answer or worse for them.
However, she had also realised that a close-quarters fight relying on strength and combat prowess would serve her better. The Shuraba, even though it was fast, was a lot slower than her punches and kicks, and her augmented strikes would throw him around the area with enough force for her to capitalise for an advantage. Even if she wasn't slapping him around and he had the rare opportunity to attack her directly, she would dodge, blow him a kiss and enrage him further. However, each swing he managed to land felt like a car hitting her, and she knew she could not hope to test him directly in a battle of strength.
The two were locked in a dance to the death, with each trying to push the advantage to themselves.
"For someone who spent most of their training cowering and having the shit beaten out of them." She taunted as she side-stepped a slice. "You are surviving a lot longer than a puppy would."
He didn't answer and focused on her. Calming himself down, he forced himself to focus on the knowledge of the fight, as Bayonetta had taught him. He knew from the few strikes he did land on her that he was physically stronger than her. That meant if he had any chance of defeating her, he needed to hit her, which was proving difficult with her speed. He just needed to be able to slow her down, which also seemed difficult considering she had witchtime available to her. A plan began to formulate in his mind as he twisted pass a wicked weave. Poking Shuraba at her, he tried to push her back. Taking his bait, she jumped nimbly out of the swing.
"I honestly don't know why Bayonetta keeps you around." She dodged yet another swing and fired her guns at his head. He leaned backwards and launched a fireball aimed at her stomach. She jumped backwards as the firestorm exploded and incinerated the surrounding area. Landing and perching on top of a pole, she stared down at the man amongst the flame. "You're very boring for someone of her tastes."
Sephiroth stared at her, discarding that one and trying to think up a new plan. She was too fast. If he wanted to beat her in anyway, he had to catch her. Noticing the nick in her weapon, an idea began to form.
"You don't even fucking talk. Bayonetta doesn't go for the silent types, you know?" She examined her gloves briefly. "She'll never accept you for who you are."
In the split second she turned away, and during her speech, Sephiroth vanished and teleported next to her. It seemed that Jeanne had somewhat anticipated this and began to sway out of his way, but she didn't anticipate what he was swinging at.
The Shuraba bit deeply into the gun on her left foot, shattering it's firing mechanism and rendering it useless. Sephiroth smiled as his plan worked, and the katana was jammed into her, connecting them. Her speed was rendered ineffective and now he had the advantage. Jeanne cursed at this new predicament, and immediately reached down to release the gun and free herself. As soon as she did, his hand closed over her throat and pulled her from the pole, both tumbling back to the earth. His hand never left her neck and he retained full control of the situation.
Slamming her into the ground, he saw the concrete crack and break beneath her. Lifting her up, he began to let his rage, hurt and anger of twenty years out and a newfound strength filled him. Repeatedly and without mercy, he slammed her into the ground, smashing ribs, bones, flesh, the concrete and the earth itself. She cried out in pain each time, and by the time he was beginning to let up, she was begging and pleading for him to stop. Her arms lay limply by her sides, her clothing torn and her breathing was erratic.
He released her and kneeled to her side. She groaned and trembled as pain shot through her at every move. He stared in hatred at her, relishing in the victory.
"You took everything from me." He said quietly. "You stripped my mind of everything, and then took away my humanity."
Jeanne began to realise what he was going to do and pathetically tried to brush his hand away from her throat. She was not successful.
"I am going to take every little scrap of memory that you possess." His eyes began to glow as his magic began to gather inside of him. "And then I'll kill you."
"No wait, you don't… no, NOO!" Jeanne screamed as her mind felt the intruder, and the intruder began to rip apart everything. Grabbing her head with both hands to focus, Sephiroth ignored her increasing screams and thrashing. Memories flew through his mind, her memories…
A little girl, dressed in a patchwork dress, stood in front of her as she declared universal friendship…
Her heart falling with regret as she stabbed her masked Umbran sister and sealing her memories away…
An angelic figure invading her mind and her screams as she lost all control…
And with that a huge angelic mental counterattack screamed into Sephiroth's mind, and huge golden chains shielded her mind from any further probing or destruction. This wasn't Jeanne, he remembered her mind being extremely like Bayonetta's. This was something else. And if that final memory had any indication, then that other thing was inside her mind.
She was just a puppet.
Releasing her and falling backwards, he looked at her in shock and regret. Everything she had stood for in his mind was for nothing. She didn't deserve to be turned into a vegetable. She wasn't who he should hate. She had no control over her actions. She was just a mannequin whose strings were held by another; him.
His eyes widened as he fully processed what he was about to do. His own words came back to him: "I don't think it's morally right to mess with someone's head." Looking down at his hands, he suddenly felt immense shame weighing down on him.
…
She felt like death.
Jeanne began to drag her own carcass out of the crater, pull by pull, painfully gaining ground away from the winged man.
The Father's voice was telling her to get out of there, and she was happily following his direction. At the very least, her innards were pulverised, and at worst she would be dead come two hours.
The experiment was far stronger than either of them had realised. She smiled bitterly, knowing that Balder was happy with the newfound revelation. She was too, in a way. He was perfect.
Now, she just had to focus on not dying, and sneaking aboard whatever plane or helicopter they decided to steal. That would be the next logical move, considering she had beaten the stupid Auditio and he was finished with her.
…
Iustitia had to be the most disgusting thing she had ever killed.
Even though she had remarked earlier to Cereza that cockroaches were the most disgusting thing she had ever seen, it had now been trumped. This…thing had taken pole position and she wasn't sure whether something would beat it.
Maybe if it's faces were replaced with cockroaches. Bayonetta shuddered at that possibility. Or children zombies.
Watching Scolopendra squeeze the Laguna from within its vice, she tilted her head at its baby-like crying.
"You know, crying like a baby isn't going to win you sympathy points." She resummoned the doll from Inferno. Holding Cheshire to her ear, she pretended to listen to it. "Show it mercy? You must be pulling my leg…"
"Such power…" The muffled sound of the Auditio wailed out. "The Father will be impressed indeed…"
"I always here about this father… Does he not know that I don't have daddy issues?" Bayonetta rolled her eyes. "If he isn't going to play nice, I'll have to punish him too."
The Audito smiled underneath the demonic centipede. It laughed at her, and her eyebrows furrowed in indignation.
"May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you…" Iustitia gargled it's last as Scolopendra crushed it into a small, fleshy ball, which dropped into Gommorah's awaiting mouth.
"That takes care of that." She looked at the doll in her hand. "Now, where did those three end up? I suppose two of them are adults, so someone should've been responsible enough."
She turned on her heel and began to walk towards the hangers, spotting Luka and Cereza. "Where and what the bloody hell did he get up to now?"
The pair spotted her and gave her a wave. Stepping out of Purgatorio, she handed over the toy to the increasingly joyous Cereza.
"Now, little one." She smiled. "Try to take better care of him."
"Thank you Mummy!" She held the doll close to her. Luka seemingly relaxed, but then grew a little stiff.
"What was that thing?" He asked. "That thing was terrifying!"
"That was Iustitia." She answered. "A former Auditio, and something the Umbran sealed away in the later stages of the Witch Hunts. It supposedly represents life and the earth, but I don't see the connection."
"You are not wrong." Luka scratched the back of his head. "I think Sephiroth headed into that hanger, judging by its condition."
Bayonetta turned her head and saw the hanger in question he was referring to. "I'm honestly surprised it's still standing."
Luka walked off, seemingly anxious to find the winged man. Bayonetta was about to follow him when Cereza's voice stopped her.
"Mummy, are you looking for something?" She froze. How did she know?
"Yes, I am." She turned to the girl. "Cereza, do you have anything that is really important to you?"
She held out Cheshire. Bayonetta smiled and kneeled in front of her. "I mean, really special."
Cereza's eyes widened. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Bayonetta's Umbran watch.
"Huh?!" She looked down to see hers still there. "Where did you get that?"
"You gave it to me Mummy, for my fifth birthday." Cereza held it tenderly. "It's my most special thing."
"Well, Cereza, when you have something special." She grabbed one of her ribbons and pulled it from her hair. "Never let it out of sight. Always keep it close to you." She grabbed the watch from her and tied the ribbon through it, and then placed it around Cereza's neck. "You must always keep it safe and treasure it forever."
Cereza nodded, her eyes serious. "I will Mummy. I promise."
She ruffled her hair and stood up. "Come, let us join Luka before he starts missing us."
…
The trio found Sephiroth amongst the ruins of a hanger. He was kneeling in a deep crater, eyes closed, and small tears running down his cheeks.
"Well, this all looks…horrible." Luka glanced around at what remained. "What the hell happened here?"
"It looks like you got into a play date with someone." Bayonetta cocked her head at him. "Was it not fun?"
"Jeanne was here." He said. "She's in trouble."
"Her?" She replied in confusion, whereas Luka turned to Cereza and mouthed 'who?'
"Something is up with her. I saw into her mind, and what I saw wasn't Jeanne." He looked up and she saw the tears in his eyes. "I hurt her."
Bayonetta didn't understand what he meant by any of it. But she did understand that the man was hurting, and she empathised with him. Kneeling to face him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled gently. "I don't understand exactly, but we need to go."
He weakly smiled back at her, and then stood up. The three of them left, leaving a perplexed Luka behind.
"Wait, you're telepathic?!"