Chapter 7: The Lost Holy Grounds
"It's time for you to go now, my love." Cerezo stated while rubbing his wife's knuckles.
They were standing outside waiting for Sola to get on the helicopter that would escort her to a safer location.
This morning was the day the sage had to let her go. He couldn't have her in the city with her condition. Cerezo would never be able to fully concentrate on fighting if he was worrying about her safety.
Time was running out. Soon Father would welcome the Creator to Vigrid. There was no telling what would happen.
Sola, ever the obedient wife, sadly nodded in acceptance to Cerezo. The woman knew that she would never truly be involved in matters of the light and dark. A mortal had no place interfering in the quarrels of the Overseers.
"We'll be waiting for you." She looked down, placing his hands on her growing belly.
Cerezo could feel his little girl vigorously moving in her mother's womb. It looked like his daughter wanted to be apart of the excitement. He could tell this one was going to be a handful compared to his other children.
Wishing them both goodbye, the sage gave his wife a long farewell kiss. He might never see her again if their plan went awry. Cerezo finally let her go and helped Sola onto the helicopter, watching as it took off with a flock of Affinities guarding it.
"Isn't that sweet? You sent your little mortal away. Aren't you just the perfect husband, sage?" That mocking voice could only belong to that wretched witch.
Behind Cerezo stood Jeanne in all her arrogant glory.
He absolutely couldn't stand the woman. Her very presence filled him with an uncontrollable fury that engulfed him at times. The sage could feel lightning surging off his body.
The crackling magic didn't scare Jeanne. She just kept walking closer and closer.
"Oh, you're ignoring me now, are you? Well maybe I should just shoot that helicopter out of the air. I'm sure watching it burn and crash would most certainly catch your attention. After all, I still need to pay you back for earlier. No one lays hands on me and lives." Her biting statement set Cerezo off.
How dare she threaten his wife and child!
"I don't care how useful you are to my Father, witch. I'm going to kill you and send you into the deepest depths of Inferno!" The hatred in Cerezo's voice was almost palpable.
The air around him was crackling from the intensity of his magic.
The Umbra Witch, Jeanne
Let's waltz
Smirking, Jeanne leapt forward and swung her leg at Cerezo. Jumping away, he threw off his cumbersome robe to reveal his sage suit.
Much like my Bayonetta's, the suit was produced by hair and clung to the sage's skin in an array of white and gold. The top portion of the suit split in the middle, billowing out at the waist and flapping in the wind like wings.
Cerezo could see Jeanne raising her gun and firing an army of bullets. He cradled his palms together to summon a bow and grabbed it by the middle shaft. Swiftly, all the bullets were sliced in half by him swinging the bow around in tune to the trajectory of the bullets.
The bullets were soon replaced by Jeanne's long limbs. Each kick and punch was met with the bow. When the sage found an opening from one of Jeanne's high kicks, he ducked and pushed magic into the bow. The energy converged, creating an arrow of light. The arrow took flight.
Jeanne managed to dodge the arrow of light by activating Witch Time.
"I see. So you wish to go all out, do you? Then I will be happy to oblige you." Cerezo sneered.
This kind of battle was going to require his full focus and attention, so he placed his golden glasses on. The silver locks that had fallen into his face from the sudden motions was smoothed back as well.
Cerezo could see much clearer now. Jeanne wouldn't have an advantage over him with his sight enhanced.
He activated his own Light Speed and caught up to her, firing arrow after arrow after the witch. their fight became a mess of them zooming all over with bullets and arrows chasing raining destruction.
Jeanne started slowing down.
Seeing his chance, Cerezo flipped in front of her, rotating his body so that he could kick her back. Jeanne landed painfully on the ground. The sage jumped into the air and prepared the bow. Pushing even more magic into it, he charged it with lightning so that when it hit her, she'd be scorched.
"Cease your foolish games!" Father's voice boomed in Cerezo's head. Along with the command came psychic pain so strong that he dropped the bow and fell to the ground, clutching his head in pain.
The screeching noise was unbearable! He hated being punished in this manner.
Jeanne was in the same predicament, convulsing on the ground from the intrusion.
The force of energy in Cerezo's mind became too much and he yelled out of frustration. It was a struggle to remain awake. The only silver lining in this was Jeanne's shrieks.
The sound pleased the sage to no end. The witch deserved this and more for all she had done to his family.
"Where the hell am I? I better have gotten frequent flyer miles for that flight." Bayonetta complained.
She got up and took in her surroundings.
More floating ruins. Or, at least what she believed were floating ruins. The witch couldn't see anything below due to the fog.
Bayonetta couldn't believe that she fell asleep here, like some animal. How uncivilized!
But then again, she didn't remember falling asleep here. The witch must have passed out while she was falling. If so, thank goodness for her sturdy body.
Looking around, she found a statue that said Umbra Crescent Valley.
The name sounded familiar. The entire place was giving her a strong sense of deja vu. Especially the iron gate she had passed. Bayonetta couldn't enter the place due to the powerful barrier, but she could feel something on the other side calling to her.
The moment of nostalgia was destroyed by the arrival of a pair of angels. They were the Second Sphere, Grace and Glory.
The witch didn't really feel like playing, so she let the torture device finish them off. After turing the wheel, the stone hands of the torture device clapped together and smashed the twin angels into gory, little, pieces of flesh. Bayonetta was rewarded with their nice little claws and the other half of a broken disk for killing them.
Rodin would be thrilled about the new disk she was in possession and she got herself a new pair of toys.
"Huh? My lipstick." The witch muttered.
Down the road the onject was sitting upright in the middle of the road.
How curious. How did it ever get there?
When she picked it up a flash off to the side caught her attention.
It was her dear, Cheshire trying and failing to capture a photo of her. It was so cute how he followed her around.
Bayonetta decided to have a bit of fun.
"Nothing! Damn…What the—!?" Luka jumped backed in shock right as the witch finished the master piece on his face.
Bayonetta slipped back into Luka's realm to tease him. "I've often seen a girl without lipstick, but lipstick without a girl? Most curious isn't it Cheshire? What's also most curious is how a child like you has kept afloat in this town."
When Luka saw the witch right behind him he tried to glare, but it just didn't work well with her lipstick painting of a cat's features on his face.
"The…name…is Luka! And don't you think it's a little strange to be worried about my well-being? Sure the festival of Resurrection has peaked security. The thing only happens once every 500 years, can you blame them? Besides, when you look as good as I do, security isn't a problem. But a killer like you on the other hand…I'm sure you've found a way."
What a little detective he was and not a bad looking one either. Luka had grown up into a fine young man.
It was such a shame what happened to his father.
Bayonetta began to loose herself in her thoughts about those kids.
"Those children…I've seen them somewhere…" Bayonetta said to herself. She adopted a thinking position, ignoring everything, but the swimming sea of noise that entered her mind.
"My dear, sweet child…They are the key to your future. To save yourself, you must also save the children." The soft voice faded as soon as it entered her mind.
"Hey, don't go freaking out on me. We both know you came here for something. But what you don't know is the closer you get, the harder its gonna be for you to get away from me and what you've done. You'll have to fess up to it all! Ahh…I can't wait for you to get your hands on whatever it is you're after." The witch's silence had unnerved Luka.
Looking back at his face elicted a smile and chuckle from her. He still hadn't realized what was on his face and yet he was trying to be so serious. "Let me guess, you want a cut? Well, if you're still alive by then, perhaps you can appeal to my generosity?"
Luka scoffed and kick at the ground.
"Still alive? You may be standing right in front of me, but you're definitely not living in reality. Which is a shame, because the truth is always going to be the truth. All I see when I look at you, the real you, is the truth. The truth is you killed my father. I don't care who believes me, they can't reject the truth. The truth will set me free from your black stain on my life. The truth will allow me to expose you to the world. Then I'll have won. And I'll do it without stooping to your level, because I'm not a heartless witch like you." He ranted in one breath.
All that journalistic skill of his was making Luka think he could brazenly insult her and get away with it. She'd remind him of his place. As Bayonetta took a step towards him he took one back.
He was all talk, like most mortals.
"Whoa, what are you going to do!? Kill me in plain sight? Go ahead. It would only prove everything I've said about you. Well, that, and sadden the hearts of a number of young ladies. Claire, and Trish, and Silvia, and Ammy... Oh you don't want to piss her off let me tell you. Hell hath no fury! What the…?" Luka was cut off by the witch barreling into him.
Despite the surprise that didn't stop Luka from feeling up Bayonetta's bottom and holding onto it while burying his face in her chest. He inhaled her perfume.
The little dog!
They landed on the ground with the witch straddling the journalist. His face took on a dopey look. The red lipstick blended in with the furious blush overtaking his cheeks. Before a word could be uttered, Bayonetta pressed her finger to his lips, quieting the motor-mouth.
They platform they'd just been standing on had collapsed.
Bayonetta stood and prepared to fight the annoying Second Sphere Fearless in Purgatorio.
The witch checked back for Luka, but he must have swung away at some point. At least the boy could recognize danger. Must come naturally to journalist.
Further down the road, she encountered a ramp that led upwards towards a portal. There was no way for her to reach this without a higher level of Witch Walk. Off to the side was another contraption with a wheel.
What wonder awaited her this time?
Bayonetta used both hands to turn the rusty wheel and could see a picture turning on the contraption. The picture went from being a bright sun to a dark moon. Amazingly enough, the entire space around her began to reflect the contraption's image. The sky grew darker and a full moon shined through.
This thing was quite the Heavenly Manipulator. The power to control the moon and sun, was beyond what the witch expected to find. The Umbra and Lumens were really something back in the day.
Now she could adequately walk along the ramp and into the portal. Bayonetta expected to be brought to another realm, but instead the thing shot her out like a bullet. She went soaring through the sky at an extreme speed and was going to crash into the side of a mountain.
A group of Harmonies from the Second Sphere slammed into the witch and pushed Bayonetta off her original course.
What was worse, being slammed into a mountain or being hit out the sky like a baseball?
For the angel's help, Bayonetta treated the three flying mantises to a date with the claws she got from the earlier angels. Nothing like killing angels with their own weapons to make her happy.
Running up the mountain proved to be a challenge. The witch had to constantly dodge and flip around swirling gusts of air. At the top of the stairs she encountered a glowing, red crescent-moon elevated from the ground. Stepping on the thing seemed to make it pulse. There were ledges that led directly over the crescent moon.
"Hmm, let's see what a little height will do for a lady." Nimbly, Bayonetta jumped from ledge to ledge, hearing the clack every time she hit the cobblestone.
Once the witch reached the top she made sure to be aligned with the crescent moon. Satisfied, she flipped off the ledge, pushing magic out towards her feet to prevent her from breaking her legs.
The force of the landing pushed the crescent moon down into the ground. The light faded from it, but a wall raised itself in response to the lack of magic from the symbol. Inside the opening she was constantly drenched by droplets of water. Even worse, it seemed this place was a tower.
A tower with a long winding staircase. The thought of climbing all those stair already exhausted her.
"Child, why must you always cause problems? I have told you not to interfere with Jeanne. She has a purpose and that purpose cannot be accomplished if you kill her before the time is right." Balder couldn't keep the irritation from his voice.
For someone whose dominion leaned more towards light, Cerezo often displayed characteristics associated with darkness. The old sage could understand the boy's deep hatred for the Umbra spawn. Balder, himself had no warm feelings towards her or any Umbra for that matter...not after what happened with Rosa. Balder, however, did not allow those feelings to conflict with his plan.
They were too close to the end!
The time was nearing for the revival and return of their creator. The old sage could tell from the constant throbbing he felt in his right eye. The pain at times often forced him to retire.
The time for frivolities was over. With this in mind, Balder could not allow his son's childish emotions to displace years of planning.
Cerezo stood in front of his desk, looking off to the side with his arms crossed behind his back. A stiff and formal posture. The boy was a grown man with his own family and children, but he still couldn't look Balder when being reprimanded.
"I apologize for my childish actions, Father. I allowed my emotions to get the better of me. It will not happen again." He bowed his head in penitence.
At least Cerezo wasn't as temperamental as he used to be. Balder remembered there were many times he had smack the child into the ground for his obstinate attitude. It seemed as his boy grew older The old sage spent more time discipling Cerezo, which was the exact opposite with Cereza. She bloomed from a father's affection while Cerezo bloomed from a father's severity. Balder was immensely proud of the man Cerezo's became, but often he wondered if he should have been less hard on the boy.
The right eye was beginning to bother him again. The old sage could feel it twitching beneath the gold mask. He placed a hand on the glass and used a trickle of magic to dull the pain.
"It is forgiven. I have a more important matter for you to attend to, my dear son. I need you go guide your sister." Balder smiled benevolently at his son. "I have brought the younger versions of yourselves here to the present. Go and help your sister unlock the keys to her future."
"What is the meaning of this? This is now not once, but twice. Explain this meddling in our affairs!" The angel bellowed.
The wind howled and whipped all over, but the vicious wind was nothing compared to the angry angel in the sky.
Bayonetta idly watched the angel coverse with Jeanne. The image just did not fit for some reason.
"The only ones meddling are your hapless minions. This will be taken care of in the manner I see fit. Your assistance is not required." Her voice rippled with anger.
It seemed the bad guys had a lot of internal fighting going on.
The angel vanished in a shimmer of light.
Rather than directly address me, Jeanne pulled out her compact mirror and checked her face. The woman knew Bayonetta was there. She could possibly be even more conceited than the black witch, which Bayonetta almost found impossible.
"I suppose coming here has given you a second wind. Feeling better, Bayonetta?" The kind words were dulled out by the oozing sarcasm in Jeanne's voice.
"Who are you? And don't you dare say my long, lost sister." The idea of being related to the smug blonde grated on Bayonetta's nerves. She had no interest in getting touchy-feely with someone as hot and cold as her.
"Sister?! You've quite the active imagination. You and I once fought for the jewel upon the Umbra throne. And now that you've returned, my sleeping beauty, it is time to finish that fight. No time for daydreaming."
Again, Bayonetta had that same vision of being stabbed by Jeanne.
The hesitation allowed the red witch to get behind her with a gun. Thus, they began another dance of spinning guns ricocheting off the other. They both flipped onto they hands and fought with they legs, shooting until the hand-guns fell back for them to grab. In sync, they jumped back and stared the other down, waiting to see who'd take the first shot.
Neither of them were able to take a shot as the rock they landed on cracked and crumbled away.
"Those cretins fouled it up again! But perhaps this can be to my advantage." Jeanne smirked.
The witches jumped to the top of a tower to continue the fight. Bayonetta didn't waste time using bullets. Summoning the Wicked Weave, she used Madame Butterfly's hands to pound away at Jeanne but they were all countered by the red witch using the same technique.
"What's the matter sweetie? Afraid of something, are you?" Jeanne stood and adjusted the black feather that was in her short hair. Everything that came out the woman's mouth seemed to mock her opponent.
"Afraid? Me?" Bayonetta's indignant reply had the opposite effect of what she was expecting.
Jeanne drifted back form the fight. "This is a waste of my time. You're still not ready."
Her abrupt departure offended the black witch. Bayonetta moved to chase after her until, but stopped as she witnessed Jeanne use a wonderful bout of magic to turn into a brilliant, red jaguar and sprint off.
Bayonetta wanted that power.
Her magic hummed again, but instead of pushing outward she could fill it traveling all over, wrapping the witch in a cocoon. Bayonetta started running and found her body transforming of its own accord, as if it already knew the mechanics of the magic Jeanne used.
The Beast Within came out and she swiftly moved forward as a black panther. Changing back to her human body was just as easy as flipping a switch.
"Oh my…that was bloody amazing."
Elsewhere, a girl moved the Bayonetta toy from the Pennetum Mountains to the Lumen Enlightenment Commercial District.