"Jeanne…Jeanne…Jeanne…" A voice similar to Bayonetta's was heard in the group's heads as they saw a vision of another Bayonetta, except this one had long pink hair pulled up in a pony tail and wrapped in a yellow bow. Her outfit consists of a two-piece set of a black top and shorts with straps all across, yellow stockings strapped like chaps, black high heels stylized after sneakers, and a silver jacket, zipped down to her stomach. The back of the jacket also unzips.

Bayonetta β1

The Street-Smart Witch.

"Jeanne!" B1 cried out as she watched the Alternate Jeanne be sent flying by the boar-like Homunculus as she laid dead at B1's feet before B1 looked up at the Homunculi with a glare and stood up, a glyph depicting a spider appearing on her back. "MALPRG ROR!" she chanted as a glyph appeared above her and dropping out of it was a large spider-like demon as it faced off with the Homunculus. The Homunculus attempted to charge the spider demon before it spat out a web and immobilized the homunculus before slashing at it with one of its claws as the vision soon ended.

"What was that…" Bayonetta asked.

"That was… you, Bayonetta. Only not you." Volta said. "And it looks like the Homunculi already killed this world's version of Jeanne."

"Odds are, that cherry blossom haired Bayonetta's out here in the city somewhere kicking some Hommunculi butt." DW typed.

Just then a magic circle appeared in the sky and dropping down from it was the spider demon from before, except it wasn't alone as a centipede-like demon skittered out as well.

The spider demon had a white exoskeleton with a particular affinity to fire. It wears a crown of skulls atop its head, and similar skull adornments are visible on its legs, along with sharp blades. It appears partially doused in flame, and the inside of its mouth resembles molten rock to hint further at this connection. While the centipede has skulls adorning the back of its head and spikes running down the length of its body along multiple blue eyes and possesses a set of powerful mandibles/jaws,

SPINNER OF FLAME

PHANTASMARANEAE

ERADICATOR OF PARADISE

SCOLOPENDRA

"Phantasmaraneae…and Scolopendra." Simon said.

"Hmph!" Phantasmaraneae scoffed as he stomped up to the group, his visor splitting to show hsi multiple eyes. "Look at these tiny things, Scolopendra! I thought I had smelled some decent prey. But it's just an ugly witch and her followers!"

"Yes…but this one seems quite different from the rest." Scolopendra said as he directed his gaze at Simon.

"Well, at least one of you is a bit more perceptive." Bayonetta said as she tapped on Phantasmaraneae's head.

"Keep buzzing, woman! Maybe I'll just stomp you all right now!" Phantasmaraneae said, bringing his claw down before stopping as he had it around Bayonetta's head who had a confident smirk all the while. "Hmph… You're a tough one, aren't you! Reminds me of the master. …All right. It seems like the strands of fate bind us. I'll stick with you for a while." he said before disappearing as a symbol appeared on Bayonetta's back.

"And what about you my scurrying friend?" Simon asked Scolopendra.

"I could ask the same of you. Do you wish to align yourself with me, the one who could coil around the world of chaos and crush it in one fell swoop?" Scolopendra asked.

"But of course, I think you and I could get along quite well, decimating any enemy in our path." Simon said with a confident grin.

"Hmph, very well. My powers are yours now, let us drown our enemies in a boiling river of blood!" Scolopendra said before vanishing as well as a symbol depicting a centipede appeared on Simon's back.

"Feels good having a real demon contracted to you, huh?" Ragna asked.

"It does. I think I finally understand it now. Becoming an Enhanced means not everything about who you gained the power from is truly yours." Simon said. "I inherited the Umbra Witches fighting skills and magic…but not the contracts with Infernals."

"Anyway, I think our next move should be finding Phantasmaraneae's real master, the Bayonetta of this world." Lysithea said. "If the Homunculi and Tormal are trying to wipe out our Multiverse one world at a time, killing the ones who defend the worlds would be a priority of theirs."

"Good call, Lys." Hapi said.

"Judging from the area, we seem to be in Shinjuku now." Aya said.

The group walked ahead a bit as they saw a chopper flying overhead before it was shot down by a group of bird-like homunculi. They were relatively small Homunculi with a roughly spherical body, two oversized hands formed from fused Strati, and a cannon-like weapon mounted to its back.

Light Aerial Unit

LACUNOSUS

The Lacunosus trio then started flying around and shooting at the group.

"Let the marksmen handle this!" Connor suggested as he shot at one of the Lacunosus with his rifle, scoring a few hits.

"Chamber Shot!" Noel called, merging Bolverk into one gun and firing a few shots as well.

Kiana and Chris also supported Noel with bullet fire while Gunvolt fired his Dart Leader which tagged it on contact before electrocuting it with his Flashfield as the lightning crackled at the tagged target before the Azure Striker used his lightning to slam the Homunculi to the ground.

While the three marksmen attacked the Lacunosus, a Floccus soon spawned.

"A perfect opportunity to try out our new toys, wouldn't you say, Simon?" Bayonetta asked, hefting G-Pillar.

"Indeed." Simon said as Hypnos and Nyx did a 180 turn with the blades pointing out as he grabbed onto the handles of his guns.

Bayonetta swung G-Pillar around, hitting the Floccus a few times before Masquerading with Gomorrah as she did a rising drill attack. "Burn!"

As for Simon, he did a mix of swordplay and martial arts with his kicks as he entered his Masquerade form with Alighieri, taking on the form of a demonic knight before finishing with a sword thrust as a large sword popped out of a magic circle next to him. "Drop dead!" he said as the large sword impaled the Floccus as it soon exploded.

Connor then shot the Lacunosus dead center a few times before firing his pistols off and backing off. "Ignatz!" he said as Ignatz jumped in front.

"I've got it!" Ignatz complied, finishing the Lacunosus off with a straight shot through it as it blew up.

Noel herself pulled out Fenrir and fired a barrage of bullets before finishing with missile launch as the next Lacunosus exploded.

Kiana then fused his handguns into one large gun and fired a powerful beam at the last remaining Lacunosus. "Gungnir Fire!" The beam pierced through the body before it exploded.

"Nicely done, Kiana." Starlight complimented.

"Heh, nothing to it." Kiana smiled as her gun reverted back to the handguns and holstered them.

After dispelling the barrier the group pressed forward, but their way forward was blocked by fire.

"We can take the heat, but that's a bit much." Bayonetta said, looking up to see a leaky water tank. "That water tank looks useful. Don't think any of us will be getting close though."

"Ooh, I know! Phantasmaraneae can scale up the buildings through the flames and crush that tank to douse the flames, no problem!" Peacock said.

"Excellent idea, my cartoonish little birdie. MALPRG!" Bayonetta chanted, summoning Phantasmaraneae as he scaled up the wall and knocked the water tank over as it doused the flames before he soon disappeared, allowing them to continue on, fighting more Homunculi before hearing a familiar voice.

"...Damn… YAH!...Whoa!" Viola's voice could be heard.

"That voice…?!" Bayonetta said.

"It's our dear little hiree, Viola. Good to know she's still alive." Nine said as Cheshire could also be heard growling.

"Oof… Thanks, Cheshire. Hey, what's that? Come on, Cheshire!" Viola said as it soon ended.

"Someone's having fun. At least kitty's landed on her feet." Bayonetta said as the group reached a large intersection before a large homunculus leaped out of a building from a digital billboard. It was that giant boar-like Homunculi they saw in the vision as it had tusks and a horn.

Heavy Bestial Decisive Unit

ASPERATUS

(Cue: The Heavies *3rd Climax Mix*- Bayonetta 3)

"Well look who showed up. Picking on another version of a friend of ours wasn't very nice." DW typed.

"It's time to tie you down tight and teach you how to behave…with a bit of help." Bayonetta said. "MALPRG!" she called, summoning Phantasmaraneae as he spat out some webs and immobilized the Asperatus.

"Nowhere to go now. Let's carve this pig!" Hitomi said as she made the first strike and slashed at Asperatus with her claws all over its sides.

"Voltaic Chains!" Gunvolt summoned his chains onto the immobilized Asperatus and electrocuted the chains to damage it further. "If you think it's the webs you have to worry about, try adding electro chains into the mix!"

"Hammer Knuckle!" Miriam called, summoning one of the Glutton Train's fists in the Asperatus' direction, hitting it on contact.

"Allow me!" Mei followed up by attacking the Asperatus in multiple angles with her katana before leaping above it and delivering a plunging stab before jumping away, allowing Seele and Kirika to attack it with their scythes with a double rolling slash.

Ajna let out a battle cry as she changed into her Heruka form and fired a large beam of Iddhi, annihilating the Asperatus.

(end song)

The group then heard rumbling as they turned to see the Iridescent diving towards them

"Aw, crap! Move it!" Hitomi said as the group took off running as Iridescent started plowing through buildings.

"I don't think we're gonna outrun a giant shark fortress!" Peacock said.

"Jump!" Simon said as the group leaped into the air with Bayonetta landing on Phantasmaraneae who swung by and the group on Scolopendra who skittered across the ground and onto the building just in time.

(Cue- The Demon Rider- Bayonetta 3)

Both infernals navigated the buildings as the city itself was being warped in reality as Iridescent destroyed it. They fought through Homunculi blocking their path as they navigated across the crumbling city roads and buildings.

"This is crazy. As the Homunculi trash the city, the entire world gets torn apart." Giovanna noted.

"Impressive artistry from a killing machine." Bayonetta said.

"Impressive isn't the word some of us would use." Lorenz said.

The group soon reached a parking garage as it was crumbling down before soon reaching the exit as Iridescent nearly got them before the Infernals jumped out of the way to a different part of the city as rubble came flying toward them, only for Phantasmaraneae to shield the group from being crushed.

(end song)

"The master calls… Farewell, witch." Phantasmaraneae said before he vanished as did Scolopendra.

"Well, we enjoyed the ride while it lasted. Let's do it again." Bayonetta said as Phantasmaraneae's symbol disappeared.

"No. Just no." Chris deadpanned.

"I may be a thrill-seeker, but this is a little too much for comfort." Kanade sweatdropped.

Traveling on foot, the group battled their way through more homunculi hordes as they made their way to a dual office building in the distance.

The sky suddenly darkened red a bit as clouds parted to show the moon as a strange creature was stepping close to the edge of the center walkway of the building. It then jumped down and slammed on the ground, almost crushing the group.

The creature who attacked them was a large hulking wolf-like humanoid with purple fur with yellow-magenta accents and a white flowing mane. Its lupine head has four red eyes on each side of his face and ornate golden horns, while structures resembling stained-glass butterfly wings protrude from its jaw and shoulders. It wore a maroon cape with a stained glass pattern on the tail ends. It also had ornate golden adornments on his wrists and knuckles, lace-diamond bands around his thighs, and large, bright yellow curved claws on his hands and feet. A constellation-like marking is also present on its abdomen and eyes.

"By the Goddess…What is that?" Marianne asked.

"At last, someone with no strings attached. And what's your name, our furry friend?" Bayonetta asked as the creature charged at them, avoiding Bayonetta's gunfire in the process. It pounced on the Umbra Witch, but she entered her Madama Masquerade and blew it back with a punch, the creature recovering afterward as it gave a silent roar.

"Okay, so you're not much of a conversationalist." Connor noted to the beast.

"Y'know what? Let's just name this thing so we know what to remember it by." Hitomi recommended.

"Nice thinkin' Hitomi! Ooh! Let's call him Strider!" Peacock suggested.

"At least you didn't call him Razor. The name is already taken by someone else." Zi-O said. "He's human, but raised by wolves."

Strider still looked eager to fight the whole group, despite taking a hit from one of Bayoentta's Wicked Weaves.

"You know, I rather enjoy teaching obedience." Bayonetta said, licking her lips. "I'll have you rolling over in no time, Spot."

Strider planted his claws on the ground before roaring again, ready for another go.

(Cue: Red Moon- Bayonetta 3)

Twilight Wanderer

STRIDER

Strider fiercely went on the attack, nearly striking the group with his massive claws.

"Not an angel or a demon, but not quite human either… Who are you?" Bayonetta asked.

"Probably a werewolf, from the looks of it." Starlight assumed.

"If this thing was a werewolf, don't you think some of us would've sensed a human presence in him by now?" Hilda asked.

"Hey, you're right!" Shirabe said. "We either didn't sense it yet, or it's really good at masking it?"

"Whatever it is, it wants to kill us, so how about we tell it not to? Preferably by hitting it back?" DW asked, hitting it with his Blaster.

"Dark Water's right. Focus, everyone!" Ignatz said.

"BALZARG!" Bayonetta called, summoning Madama Butterfly only for her to be instantly sliced in half by Strider.

"He just sliced through Madama Butterfly like it was nothing!" Mari said in shock.

"Okay, that can't be good." Miku remarked. "Any ideas, guys?"

"Fight back against this thing and hope it doesn't rip up to shreds?" Connor recommended.

And so they did just that. Strider was a tough opponent to handle, even by monster standards. He was then stunned as Bayonetta leaped into the air with a metal muzzle and chain as she clamped it onto Strider's mouth and held him down by her heel. Eventually, the clouds parted as the red moon shined down, allowing Strider to break and grab Bayonetta before tossing her onto one of the buildings as she landed on it with her witch walk as Strider followed after and slammed one of his claws onto her as she blocked it with her guns, causing them to skid across the building.

"Whatever this thing is, it draws its power from moonlight, just like how Umbra Witches do." Lysithea said..

Bayonetta and Strider engaged in battle before crashing into another building, and a few minutes later Strider was sent flying out of it with Bayonetta crashing it down in front of the group.

(end song)

"I'd think you better start heeling if you know what's good for you." DW typed.

Bayonetta then leaped off and pinned Strider down with one of Madama's heels and ground into him a bit. "Now why don't you sit for mummy." she said.

Strider soon stood back up as he held his right arm before leaping away and out of sight.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have rubbed his nose in it." Bayonetta said.