AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7

The Lumen Sage was a tall, pale man. He wore a long, white robe, a peacock draped over his sholders and a golden half-mask. His silver hair was slicked back immaculately, and his face wore a smile. A haunting, kind smile was his lips, and Cereza was hugging him as if a lost child would.

"Mummy!" The child in question called out to Bayonetta. "Bubby! I found Daddy!"

"Little one!" Bayonetta called back, running down the stairs towards the podium in the centre of the stage. Sephiroth followed suit, staring at the man who had tormented him with unbridled hostility. They ran down, and then stopped as they both crashed into a Lumen barrier.

"Little one!" She screamed as she slammed her fist onto the barrier. The sage smiled as she desperately slammed the barrier again and again. Sephiroth caught her before she could break her fist on it.

"You were always the most emotional witch I had ever laid my eyes on." He began anew. "Never taking a second to think, always ruled by your heart. Such is a trait of the Umbran clan; yet it is taken to new heights by you." Shaking his head, he looked down at the child in his hands. "Isn't that right, my dear, sweet child?"

"Yes Daddy!" Cereza enthusiastically agreed. "Mummy wasn't very nice at first, but now she wants to be with me no matter what!"

"Is that so?" He turned back. "And what of my former experiment? The thing that refers to itself as… Sephiroth?" The name dripped out of his mouth with contempt.

"Bubby is the best!" She clapped her hands. "He can do anything! He makes sure that Mummy and Uncle... Cheshire are safe!"

"Cheshire?" The man shook his head. "I honestly thought you lost that doll long ago."

"Not that Cheshire, Daddy, the other Cheshire." Cereza explained simply. "My new uncle!"

"The other? New uncle? What have they been telling you?" The Lumen Sage frowned, and then flinched as a window behind him exploded. Following a large chunk of metal was a mortal man, a serious expression etched onto his face.

"Luka!" Bayonetta exclaimed in surprise, smiling slightly. "You made it!"

"Well, now this is a family reunion of the ages." Luka smiled at the four people in turn. "We have the daughter, Cerezita." Cereza smiled back at the man, waving her hand.

"The brother, Sephiroth." The winged man nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes focusing on the Sage.

"The mother, Bayonetta." The witch blushed slightly as his choice in words, and his tone.

"And last, the Father, the head of the Ithavoll IT company himself, Balder." The Lumen Sage continued to frown, eyeing the man with an unreadable expression.

"Aren't you all a happy bunch?" He shook his head as he regarded them all. He then turned to the irate Sage standing in the centre of the room. "You know, after I grew up a bit and mother let me, I looked into the last case my father ever took, and there is a lot of unexplained happenings that all tie right back to you."

"Oh. You must be Luka." Balder stared at him, recognition flickering in his eyes. "You are the child of the late Antonio."

"That's right!" Luka smiled in victory. "And you were the person that hired him for his last investigation. And then he dies from accidentally undoing Bayonetta's seal, and nothing comes of it. No reimbursing, no report, nothing!"

"You're beginning to go on the same path your father did." Balder shook his head. "Naïve mortal."

"What do you mean?" Luka looked back in confusion. Bayonetta and Sephiroth looked on in anger, albeit in simmering hate for the latter, as both began to realise what had transpired.

"Luka, Luka, Luka. About the time I started this particular… experiment," Balder gestured to Sephiroth, who stiffened in response. "Your father began to look into to my business here. He was nothing at first, a minor presence in the grander machine, but when he began to disagree with my practices and morals, he became an increasing liability and annoyance. When I discovered the location of what I held closest to my heart, I sent him to retrieve it, and to rid myself of his menace."

"You…" Luka realised what he meant. "You killed him!? You sent him to do your dirty work and killed him for it?"

"Yes. Jeanne and I were preoccupied with other matters, and we could not spare ourselves for such an expedition without progress being lost. He was the perfect volunteer; he was the most curious mortal I had ever seen, far too curious for his own good. And now you will suffer the same fate as him." Balder finally smiled. "It's poetic, really. Like father, like son."

"Wha-" Luka suddenly felt himself being lifted up into the air. "What-"

Bayonetta's eyes widened as she realised what fate had truly befallen Antonio all those years ago. Angels burst into the mortal realm and had grabbed each limb and began to pull in each direction, trying to rip him apart. Cereza had seen what was happening and had begun to scream, hiding her face onto Balder's shoulder. Luka also started to scream as his limbs stretched and contorted. Bayonetta had restarted her assault on the barrier, punching into it desperately.

"Luka!" She screamed in desperation, a wicked weave slamming into the barrier to no avail. Balder smiled at her antics.

"A soft spot for a mortal?" He sighed. "The emotions of a witch. You can't penetrate that, only someone with equal power can. Not some demon-infested girl."

Bayonetta glared at the Sage. "I'm just glad I did bring someone then!"

Sephiroth's palm exploded as a massive meteor smashed against the barrier and tore through it. He then sent a firestorm into the room, incinerating the angels instantly. Balder had no choice but to erect a smaller, but stronger barrier around himself to keep him from dying, and Bayonetta threw herself at Luka to protect him.

As the fire cleared, the five of them remained. Balder drew himself back to his true stature and levelled his gaze at the one-winged man standing across from him. Luka and Bayonetta looked up at the two from their position, and then back to each other.

"Luka, get out of here." Bayonetta whispered to him. "You're not going to survive anything that might continue on in here."

"I agree." Luka whispered back. He then blushed as his eyes met hers again. "I'm sorry for the accusations, I really, really am. I hope you can forgive me."

"Cut the semantics, Cheshire." Bayonetta blushed slightly. "Just get out of here before he obliterates the tower and everyone in it."

Luka nodded. Scrambling to his feet, he ran up the stairs and out of the study. Bayonetta gracefully stood up and turned to the two men staring at each other.

"You have grown much, 10978." Balder smiled thinly. "Such power is what I imagined for you when I created you."

"My name," He angrily whispered. "Is Sephiroth! It's not a number; that means nothing to me!"

"Ahh, a name." Balder nodded in approval. "Sentience does suit you. However, that is not your name."

"What?" Sephiroth replied uncertainly. Squinting his eyes, he frowned at the Sage.

"You see, when you survived the second treatment and the subsequent exposure to Jeanne, I began to place precautions in case you decided to and succeeded at leaving." He shifted, and then smiled at him. "A sleeper spell, designed to make you into the perfect experiment."

"A sleeper?" Sephiroth's eyes widened, and he began to back away. "You're lying! You have to be!"

"I had plenty of opportunities to simply have Jeanne activate it. I chose not to, because in your stupidity, you decided to simply walk right back here." Balder gestured to the two people facing him. "Two children of light and dark. At last, the conditions are nearing completion."

"I don't have an Eye of the World." Sephiroth backed against the door, trying to open it. "And there is no fucking way I am fighting you for yours!"

"Unfortunately, Damien, you won't have much of a choice." Balder shook his head. "Don't you know why your eyes are gold?"

Sephiroth bolted upright, the colour draining from his face. "What did you call me?"

His voice did not hide the terror he was showing.

"Your name is Damien. I made Jeanne make you forget that, don't you remember?" He taunted, slightly smiling.

"I have a name?" He was shaking. Bayonetta wanted to step forward and stand by him, but something told her to stand back.

"Yes, Damien." Balder's eyes glowed as his power began to visualise. "As the old legend states, names have power," He placed his hand onto Cereza's shoulder. "And they always will. You are here to accept your place by my side, are you not?"

Sephiroth began to sway as something began to invade his mind. "Yes. Father."

"Sephiroth?" Bayonetta reached out to him. He snapped upright and slapped her hand away.

"My child, look at your brother." Balder began to speak. "For he has accepted his power, and his true potential."

The two wings sprouted out of beneath his coat. His blonde hair began turned silver and began to grow. His eyes began to glow white as Balder's influence grew stronger.

"Daddy? I don't like this." Cereza whispered. "It's scaring me."

Bayonetta knew what was coming next and didn't like it one bit. "Fight it, Sephiroth!"

"It's no use, Bayonetta." The name also dripped out in distaste. "For he is now mine, as he was created; the true Umbran/Lumen hybrid. Now, go and fetch her Eye for me. I desire it much so."

Shuraba appeared in a flash. He took a stance, and then spoke.

"My destiny is to wield the Right Eye, as both a Lumen Sage and an Umbran Witch." His voice was now a dry monotone. "I will begin my service to Jubileus by taking the Left Eye of the Umbran Clan and delivering it to the Father for the reawakening."

Bayonetta grimaced but took her stance, her promise to him repeating itself through her. "The treasure, Our Umbran treasure, will not fall into another's hands!" She spoke in defiance, her eyes blazing. "And neither will he!"

Balder and Sephiroth spoke as one. "Then we will take it from your corpse!"

And the battle begun. He lunged at her, blade flashing. She parried it and gave him a kick to the stomach. Winded, he fell to his knees.

"Sephiroth, fight it! I know you are in there!" She dropped her guard. He snarled and dashed forward. Barely realising, she activated witchtime and began to weave her hands around, using the Scarborough Fair to deflect the furious barrage of swipes he was dealing in the split second.

Resuming time as normal, she turned around to find him behind her, already relentlessly attacking her again with swipes from the sword. Weaving through the combination, she struck at his chest, sending in a barrage of punches. His left hand moved with unnatural speed, deflecting each fist. Catching one, he spun around and launched her into the walls of the auditorium.

Crashing into the chairs, she groaned in pain, then stood up. From behind, Balder was smirking at the pair, with Cereza looking at the pair in worry.

"Stop fighting!" The girl said, burying her face into Balder's shoulder. Sephiroth paid her no heed and started to circle her.

"Show me your potential, Damien." The Sage called out. "Show me what you have learned!"

The silver haired man clenched his fist and drew it to his chest. His eyes began to glow brighter as the wind throughout the room began to pick up.

"Sephiroth, please!" She held a hand out, imploring to him. "I've already lost one friend today!"

He ignored her, gesturing to the heavens. Glancing outside, she noticed a meteor storm approaching, aimed at the tower's tip, and everyone inside of it. Jumping to the window, she summoned Madama Butterfly's fists, letting her push the rocks out of the path of the tower.

Sensing something from behind her, she ducked down as the Shuraba snaked into her vision. Kicking his knee, she slid underneath him as he fell down, grabbing his ankle as she stood up. Tossing him across the room, she sent a wicked kick into him and winced as he crashed through the wall and out onto the roof of the building proper.

She turned at pointed a gun at the Sage. "Let them go."

"You haven't defeated him yet." Balder smiled at her. "And why should I? You are hardly in a position to bargain."

"I don't want to fight anymore." She dropped her gun arm, looking down. "I just want to go away from this nightmare."

"It's funny. You felt the same when your mother died." Balder moved forward, stroking his chin. "A witch's emotion was what destroyed the clan, and is now what will wipe it out."

"You killed the clans!" Bayonetta retorted, the fire jumping back into her eyes. "Not the weakness of the Umbra!"

"But it was. The ability to emotionally react to the mortal's betrayal left all the Umbra vulnerable." He tilted his head. "Just like your inability to disconnect."

Sephiroth flew past him, slamming into her and throwing them both to the ground. He grabbed her throat and placed Shuraba on it, the blade slightly biting into the flesh. She froze, unwilling to believe her friend would think of doing such a thing.

"You see, the reason why we won the war, and Damien here won the battle, is because we were willing to part with any connection, any relationship we had in order to achieve our true goal." The sage spoke. "You can't disconnect Damien the enemy from Damien the friend. That is why you fail."

She began to ignore him and focussed on the emotionless man holding her down. "Sephiroth, please, I know you are in there!"

He stared back at her blankly. "Sephiroth is not my name. It was a name this weak vessel named itself to give itself an identity, so it could feel more… human."

He began to squeeze her throat tighter. Bayonetta saw dark spots prickling at the corners of her eyes as she began to struggle to breathe.

"Damien, please…" She choked out. "Please, don't go…"

His eyes hardened. "You think you can win me over through pity? The Father has promised me more than your petty excuse of companionship. He has promised me paradise!"

"You're…my…best…friend…" She gasped out, nearly ready to fall unconscious. "I… don't care… about the past… I just… want… you… me… Luka… Cereza…"

She weakly reached up and touched his cheek. "Family… our family..."

His grip loosened immensely, and her head fell back and hit the ground hard. Damien looked back at her, shock etched onto his features. He turned to look at Balder, as if in confirmation. He turned back, his eyes returning to their unnatural golden shade. Bayonetta noticed and almost smiled but didn't quite have the strength to do so.

He was back.

"Go on, take her life; claim the Left Eye as your own, as you were created to!" Balder said from behind. "Do as your destiny require!"

"I am…" Damien started, then turned and glared defiantly at the Lumen. "Not your weapon!" Dashing forward, he attempted to slice through the Sage and end it all. Sighing with dramatic flair and shifting the terrified Cereza around to make himself more comfortable, Balder snapped his fingers and he froze mid-leap.

Approaching the paralysed man, the Sage seemed to be disappointed, if anything. "I had such high hopes for you, Damien. I felt that, even though you had escaped and taken my chances of the resurrection, you would always come full circle. And here we are again; the ultimate failure."

Bayonetta had recovered enough to leap at him, but he merely held up a hand and telekinetically threw her back. "You grew far beyond what I thought, what the angels thought, what the Audito thought was even possible. You could've been the right hand of Jubileus, as they remade the world for a true order!"

"No order…" Damien gasped out, partially breaking through the paralysis spell. "Is better than what you desire!"

"Is it really?" Balder tilted his head as he studied the Shuraba. "You were rejected by mortals when we found you and are rejected by mortals now from what you've become; even you would agree they deserve this."

"We aren't gods." Bayonetta stood up, trembling slightly. "We are observers, Overseers of the light and dark, protectors of the mortals; not their controller!"

"My child, you have so much to learn." Balder smiled as he turned to face her. "Mortals destroyed your life and your only family; surely even you would want to wipe the slate clean."

"Never!" Bayonetta fired her guns, unloading into Balder. He merely rolled his eyes, clicked his fingers and time slowed to a stop. He grabbed the bullets, one by one, and reversed them into her. When time resumed, she barely recognised that the bullets were now flying at her and needed to dodge lest be shot. Throwing herself to the side, she landed ungracefully on her stomach and turned to face the Sage.

"Now, don't be afraid." Balder began to walk towards her. "We will fulfil the prophecy together. We must-"

A roar from behind him interrupted that train of thought. Fully breaking free, Damien had launched himself again, this time Shuraba was wreathed in flame and aimed directly at his skull. Sidestepping him at the speed of light, Balder grabbed the sword and wrenched it from his grasp. Flying into the wall, Damien only had the ability to look up to see Balder shatter the blade in two.

A primal scream filled the air as the weapon-less man threw himself at the Sage for a third time. But this time, Balder had decided he had had enough. Pulling his leg back, he aimed for the midsection and kicked the winged man into the wall, stunning him. Splaying open his fist, a golden laser of light fired from his palm and hit the defenceless man in the chest, blowing him through the wall and out of the top of the building.

"No!" Bayonetta screamed as she ran to the hole and could only watch as Damien plummeted from the top of Ithavoll. She turned back to the smirking Balder and the terrified Cereza. "You monster!"

"Well, I guess my plan has gone right out the window." He laughed. "Such a shame that sacrifice had to made."

"You are truly beyond salvation, monster." Bayonetta glared at him with contempt.

"He was the monster, my dearest." She couldn't tell if he was talking to her or the girl in his arms. "Such a creation should have never been allowed to live, even if he was necessary for my plans."

"He was a human! A living being!" Her eyes blazed with fury.

"And as such, the creator can destroy." Balder smiled. "His life was not worth keeping him around."

"Daddy?" Cereza's weak voice halted the pair from their verbal battle. "You created Bubby?"

"Yes, my child." Balder turned to her. "He wasn't born your brother, but then I made him yours. No child should ever be alone; I swore that when I found out how the other witches treated you."

"You made me a Bubby?" She looked confused.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Bayonetta's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"Watch your language." Balder reprimanded. "I simply converted his DNA and genes into that of me and your mother."

"What does that mean, Daddy?" Cereza asked.

"I added the necessary things that make you, you." Balder smiled. "He was your half-brother, in a sense."

"You tore his genetic family away from him?" Bayonetta began to tremble with rage. "You're fucking sicker than I thought."

"It was all for this." He tapped the corner of his right eye. "As part Lumen and part Umbran, he was supposed to activate the true potential of the Right Eye of the World, as you will with your Left Eye."

He spread his other arm out, gesturing to the scripture on the walls. "It was prophesied that two children of light and dark would gain the ability to reawaken either the Creator or the Destroyer through the powers of the Eyes of the World, and as such the wielders of the light and dark swore to never allow any union between them to come forth. When you were born, Cereza, the clans feared that the second child would come into fruition and the prophecy would become true. The Umbran and Lumen came to an agreement that you were never to be trained, never to be shown the power of light or dark; that way we could both know that the existence of a child could be wrought, but not continue the prophecy. The witches lied and began to train you in secret, to be a weapon that could be deployed against any foe. That backfired when you inadvertently arose to become the holder of the Left Eye, to which my fellow Sage's fears began to cloud their vision and they tried to kill you before another child could be conceived. We failed, but in our efforts, we turned the populace of Vigrid and Europe against the Umbran Arts, and they finished all of you for us. All but two; the one we wanted dead, and her best friend."

His eyes hardened. "Then that meddling Jeanne hid you away. She never told us where you were, even though she was my puppet for a hundred years. Since you were still alive, and Jeanne had wisely made herself infertile to prevent me from getting my children the natural way, I needed a new method to get those were both of light and dark. I decided to try and make my own Umbran/Lumen hybrid, using mortals as the experiments, and the cells from me and your mother. Only one survived all we could throw at him, and now he is dead."

"My name is not Cereza." Bayonetta snarled. Balder rolled his eyes.

"You'll find, my sweet child, that it is." He answered. Her eyes widened, and she began to connect all the dots, all the clues into one possible conclusion.

"You are not my father!" She screamed in horror. "My father can't be a monster like you!"

"I was hoping for a more amicable reunion." Balder shrugged. "I am Balder, I am the last of the Lumen Sages, but you may call me your father."

"Mummy?" Cereza's voice called out. "What's going on? Daddy's scaring me…"

"Don't be scared, my sweet child." Balder was speaking to both. "Since the rebirth of Jubelius is inevitable, and I don't have a suitable candidate for the holder of the Right Eye, it seems I have to put my daughter to use. Do you want to help Daddy?"

"Little one!" Bayonetta interrupted her before she could answer. "Don't!"

"Mummy!" Cereza cried out, clearly in distress, she turned to her and held her arms out. "I want Mummy!"

Balder's eyes went venomous. "You turned my daughter against me."

Bayonetta merely met his gaze with a look of pure defiance.

"Never the matter." He let Cereza fall, catching her telekinetically. "The participants don't have to be willing."

She realised what he was going to do and jumped forward, trying to grab her.

She was too late, and Cereza was absorbed into Balder. He glowed a bright white, then blue, then dimmed down to a deep blue. He gasped at the newfound power surged through him, revelling and relishing its potential. Two wings sprouted from his back, resembling the tail of a peacock. Blue lines ran down his clothing, giving him a tranquil look, meeting at his chest where the sleeping head of Cereza rested. He looked down at her and smiled, his right eye glowing blue. "Now, my dear, sweet child. We will awaken the Creator and lay the path to a new universe, one full of order!"

"You aren't going to fucking succeed." Bayonetta drew herself into her stance. "You will have to kill me!"

He shook his head in disappointment. "You will rethink that, my child."

Bayonetta sprung forward, and Balder glided forward to meet her.

…

Jeanne watched the chaos at the top of the Ithavoll tower unfold amongst the gathering crowd. They had begun to congregate when someone saw meteors heading towards the tower, then them being deflected by giant fists. She had a sinking feeling that Balder had either Cereza or Sephiroth under his control, and the battle for the Eyes of the World had begun truly. The remote control for the city's defences remained in her grasp, her thumb fingering the trigger.

She wasn't prepared in the slightest when a winged figure was launched in a flash of golden light out of the top of Ithavoll. The crowd gasped and pointed at it and she just stood there, mesmerised.

Sephiroth had been beaten. Whether this meant Cereza had fallen to Balder and the end of the world was near, she did not know. She hoped not, because there was simply no way she could fight both Cereza and Balder at once. She would die trying, but the end of the world would happen.

She noticed his wing was flapping around, and his arms were waving about, like he was trying to regain control over his movement. He was still alive.

With no hesitation, she sprang into action, leaping from the ground and startling the crowd. Landing on a light post, she jumped onto the walls of Ithavoll and launched herself to intercept the falling man. Colliding with him, she grabbed him and slowed his descent, albeit landing heavily on a nearby building. Cushioning his fall, she landed underneath him and nearly was crushed by his weight.

Pushing him off her, Jeanne decided that laying there seemed like a terrible idea, all things considered. Sitting up, she noticed that he was trembling. He looked different. She tilted her head in confusion. They had met just an hour ago. What in the blazes had caused his hair to grow out and turn silver? Why did he have two more wings from his hips? He looked more like a Lumen Sage than a human now.

"I'm me, it's all me, no Balder…" Words poured out of his mouth, and his eyes were closed tightly in pain.

"Sephiroth?" She asked, unsure of what to do next. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a look of awe and surprise.

"Jeanne…?" He croaked out. "You stayed? You saved me?"

She managed a smile. "That I did." Her face then went serious. "What's happening up there?"

"Bayonetta is fighting Balder, most likely." He looked up at the building as he sat up. "He tossed me aside, as my usefulness finally ran its course."

Jeanne stood up, and then helped him up. "Her name is Cereza."

"That's the little one." Sephiroth stated, as he resummoned Shuraba, checking over the shattered blade, letting the shards fall to the ground. "Rodin is going to kill me…"

"Quick rundown; the Little one is Cereza." Jeanne shook her head. "Balder pulled her from the past to the present, in case you died or was lost from us permanently. She just got lost in transit, and you two idiotically bought her to where she needed to be."

"What?" He looked at her dryly. "You're fucking with me."

"I'm not." She turned their attention to the top of the tower. "We need to help her."

"I'm going to." Sephiroth turned to her. "You should evacuate this crowd. If worst comes to worst, then they're all going to die faster."

Jeanne began to indignantly protest, but then thought better of it. Nodding to him, she watched as he discarded Sharuba onto the building and jumped up, bouncing from building to building as he climbed his way back up Ithavoll. If she couldn't beat Balder the first time around, and Sephiroth had beaten her in their last meeting, then he fared a greater chance against the Lumen Sage.

Picking up the shards of the katana, she tossed them into inferno, mentally placing a reminder to return them to the weapon smith of old. Grabbing out the All 4 One, she took aim at the top of the building, picking out the Lumen Sage easily, and fired twice.

…

"Your skill as an Umbran Witch is unequalled." Balder complimented her as he regrouped. "But your power as an overseer is wasted."

She didn't take the bait, and instead focused on him. He was swift, just as fast as she was. He was strong, both physically and in the Lumen Arts, a proficiency he was sure to use. Could she beat him? Possibly, but it wasn't necessarily going to be easy.

"You still aren't using the powers your Eye possesses." He mocked her. "Why not? Are you afraid of your destiny?"

She ignored him and launched forward, kicking his gut. He doubled over, gasping. Kneeing him in the face, she swung her body around and attempted to roundhouse kick him into the wall.

It connected and threw him into the wall, just as planned.

"Impressive." He said, pulling himself down. "But not impressive enough."

She frowned, and then got knocked back by a bright light from his hand. Groaning, she remembered the laser was still something he could utilise. The ground then left her, and she found herself staring into his eyes.

"Where is your power that you are hiding, my dearest?" He asked her, his eyes searching hers. "Let it out."

A golden glaive appeared in his right hand, and he threw her at the wall. Smashing into it, she felt it give way and fall from the building. Looking up in a daze, she saw Balder flying after her, glaive stretched out.

So that's how you want to play… She thought, and then cast a time stop spell. The falling platform-wall slowed in its descent to a trickle, alongside the rubble beside it. Balder, however, was still falling towards her at the normal speed.

Shit.

Deflecting his strike, she played defensive whilst she tried to study his technique. He was fast, and flowing, and the similarities between him and Sephiroth were chilling. The only true difference was that he was trained with the weapon and was very willing to exploit something if he could find it.

Summoning a wicked punch, she tried to retake the offence. If her theory was correct, then his defensive skills wouldn't be that crash hot and she could turn the tide back into her favour.

She couldn't have been any more wrong. Balder sidestepped the weave and swatted her head with the flat edge of the blade. Becoming disorientated, she barely noticed him flying back.

He implored to the heavens, chanting in Enochian. Bayonetta looked up, trying to figure out what was happening, and then the world went white as a laser shot down from the skies. Screaming in pain, she felt her witch time spell begin to falter, but not yet break.

The laser stopped, and Balder had charged in, his glaive swinging for her neck. Blocking the blows as they came, she began to retreat, giving him more ground and sending her closer to the edge. Ducking under a blow, she swept his legs out and kicked him back with a wicked stomp.

"AVAVAGO" She screamed, summoning Gomorrah. The Infernal appeared behind the pair and immediately began to chew on the Lumen, savagely chomping on him. A large barrier of light emitted from the Sage, trapping the jaws open. Balder floated outside of the barrier, turning to kick it into the throat of the Infernal and snapped its neck, all in one clean motion.

Bayonetta did not try to contain her surprise or shock. The Sage turned to her, wiped his hands and gave her an arrogant grin.

"TOLEC VOVIM!" She summoned again, and Scolopendra dove out of the building, wrapping itself around the Sage. It screamed into the air, trying to constrict and crush the Sage. However, Balder exploded the demon with a burst of bright energy, spreading his limbs out. The bloody flesh of the demon landed around her, amidst her growing fear of the floating man.

Balder charged down at her, glaive reappearing in his left hand. He swung it in an arc, aiming for her midsection. She blocked the blow, but the strength of it jolted her arms, leaving her open to his punch. Crumbling, she fell to the ground, feeling blood pool around her teeth.

"You are nothing, my precious daughter." Balder proclaimed, dispelling his glaive and spreading his arms out as she lay on the wall. "You are not worthy of the title witch, not worthy of the Umbran Eye and certainly not worthy of the title of my daughter!"

Bayonetta spat blood from her mouth. "Like I bloody wanted to be, Sage."

He ignored her. "The Left Eye has not awakened, even though the prophecy has been met." He turned away, seeming to ponder. "What have I done wrong? Oh, Creator, what have I done wrong?!"

"I told you before; I ain't fucking going to let this happen." She pulled herself to her feet, stumbling towards the floating Sage. "You will lose, Sage, even if I die for it!"

"What, you're going to defeat me?" Balder turned back to her, smiling softly. "You've already lost."

A quick swipe from his glaive sent her flying towards the edge and she struggled to stay onto the platform. "You can't defeat light with darkness; the light encompasses all." He began to stalk her as she saw something flipping between buildings, rising towards them from below. "And soon, so will order."

She recognised the figure and smiled with relief. Turning back to the sage, she tilted her head. Two bullets came from nowhere and slammed through his right forearm, causing him to drop the glaive and grab his arm in pain. He glared at the ground, pinpointing the almost invisible figure instantly.

"You…" He growled, and then turned back to her. "Never the matter; you can't win now."

"Oh, I'm not going to defeat you." Summoning both a boot and a fist to strike at him, both slamming into the surprised man and knocking him up into the air. Pouncing like a tiger, she grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, both facing the building as the figure arrived.

Damien arose, like a phoenix from the ashes as the pair stood up on the wall. The Sage turned in surprise, and Bayonetta smiled a bloody smile.

"He will finish you for me." She grinned like a madman, and Balder's eyes widened in a new, unknown emotion, that the Sage had never truly felt before.

Fear.

The winged man slammed into the sage, his fists pummelling the face of his tormentor.

"Don't kill him!" Bayonetta pulled him away. "That's Cereza in there; you might kill her too!"

Snarling, he spread his arms out wide, calling out to the heavens, imploring for their power. As if in response, the satellite Balder had been utilising shot down, it's targets now not Bayonetta any longer, but its creator.

"No!" Balder screamed in agony as the laser blasted into him, stunning and incapacitating him for the briefest of moments.

"Seph-Damien!" She called out, pointing towards Balder's chest. "Separate them, now!"

In those precious moments, Damien struck. Pouncing onto the Sage, he reached in mentally and physically. Pulling apart the psychic barriers holding Cereza in, he pulled once, sharply and with great precision, and took the Sage's daughter out.

Quickly retreating, he clutched Cereza tightly and possessively. Balder had returned to his original state, but his normally emotionless face was filled with anger.

"You dare to interfere?" He howled, then began to fly towards the siblings, hands stretched out. He instead ran into a fist from Madama Butterfly, and flew backwards instead, towards Bayonetta. Reapplying witch time, she pulled out her mother's lipstick tube. Placing it into the ammo slot of her right Scarborough Fair, she took aim.

"Don't fuck with a witch!" She snarled.

A small voice inside of her pleaded with her not to shoot. This was her father, and her only one, and killing him would mean her true family would be all dead. Another voice asked her if she could live with killing her own father. Could she live, knowing her own kin was slayed by her own hand?

Hell yes, she could.

She stopped hesitating and pulled the trigger. The lipstick fired away, flying straight into the forehead of Balder, burying itself halfway through his brain and killing him instantly. The body went limp, and then began to fall faster as gravity fully held onto him. Turning her attention to the other pair, Damien gestured with his empty arm. Understanding, she let time continue as normal and leaped into his arm, letting him carry the pair down to earth.

Landing onto a nearby rooftop, the three stayed together in a huddle. Damien held the girls against him, comforting Cereza and giving Bayonetta a small healing spell.

"Mummy?" The terrified girl opened her eyes and looked to the older woman. Bayonetta smiled at her.

"It's over, little one. The nightmare is over." She took her from Damien's hands and held her tight, as she imagined their mother would. Cereza began to sob into her shoulder, and she did not blame her at all. In her position, any one would've been terrified. Crooning softly, she whispered words of love to the child.

She heard Damien weaving a spell together from behind her, and she turned to face him. Splaying open both hands, she saw a small portal open from the ruins of Balder's office that had fallen around them.

"It's time we put her back where she belongs." Damien turned and faced her. She nodded, then followed him into the portal.

…

A room that could only be described as a prison greeted them. A small cot was placed in the centre, and a small chest of drawers was off to the side. The walls were made of metal bars or concrete blocks, and there was no colour in sight.

No wonder why Cereza had loved that hotel. Anything would've been better than this.

Walking over to the bed, they placed the trembling girl in the centre of it, both adults taking care to tuck her in.

"Mummy?" Cereza whispered. Nodding at Damien, who stepped backwards to give the pair a little privacy, Bayonetta turned back to the child.

"Yes, little one?" She smiled weakly, her resolve slowly breaking.

"Can you sing me the song, the song you always did?" She requested, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Of course, Cereza." Her eyes watered as she began to sing, lyrics from an unknown song flowed from her mouth, each line causing tears to fall out.

"Fly me to the Moon,
Let me play among the stars.
Let me see what spring is like on
A-Jupiter and Mars.
In other words, hold my hand.
In other words, baby, kiss me.

Fill my heart with song, and let me sing for ever more.
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true.
In other words, I love you."

Cereza had fallen asleep, and Bayonetta broke down. Ugly sobs wracked her body as she buried her head in her arms. She cried for Cereza, and how she had lived a life no child should deserve. She cried for Damien, who had never known what it was like to be normal, and had known nothing but a tortured experience. She cried and mourned the loss of her best friend, the betrayal and monster of her father and for the bastardization of her mother. She cried for herself, and the realisation of just how alone she was in this world. .

Damien's arms wrapped around her as he pressed onto her back, whispering words of comfort into her. Clutching onto his arms, she turned around and embraced him fully, crying into his shoulder.

"Thank you…" She finally whispered after about a minute. "Brother."

She felt a jolt move through his body as he pushed her back slightly to see her face. "What?"

"I'm her; this is the past." She looked at the sleeping child beside them. "And you were made using Balder and Rosa's cells; they're my…" She swallowed. "My Mummy and Daddy…"

He stared at her with wide eyes at the revelation. "You are my sister?"

"A half-sister, if anything." She smiled. "It's better than nothing."

He grabbed her and crushed her with a hug, his eyes threatening to spill even more tears. "I have a sister…" He choked out.

"Yes." She confirmed, breaking his grip and standing up. Grabbing him, she pulled him to his feet. "We need to leave; we've lingered long enough."

He nodded, then turned to the sleeping child. Leaning over, he placed a kiss on her forehead, smiling in sorrow as he did. "Bye, Cereza. May we meet again one day."

Bayonetta gave him a look, and he sheepishly smiled back at her, realising the error of his statement.

With one last look at the sleeping child, they both walked into the portal, closing it behind them.