Ghost Zone
Yusuke and Bayonetta rested on an asteroid, gasping for breath as they dripped with soul sweat. "You're pretty good… for an adolescent brat."
"I could say the same about you. I didn't expect a hooker to be this tough~" Yusuke remarked.
"Very well, smart mouth. Perhaps you'd like to see Madama Butterfly's TRUE potential!" Bayonetta whipped out a gun and fired—
A gold-coated blade whipped and blocked the bullet. "This ends now… Bayonetta." declared Balder.
"Baldy?! Where'd you come from?" Yusuke asked.
"You've done your part, boy. Now, leave us be. This matter is mine to settle."
"Dammit, you can't keep us banned from this mission forever, old man!"
"Have you not been informed, boy? I have lifted the KND's ban. You are free to assist with subduing Skull Face and securing the Lost Voices."
"Wait, seriously?!"
"Yes, seriously. However, the matter with Bayonetta is mine to settle. Perhaps you can speak to my Angels and they can instruct you further."
"Oh, whatever, old man. Fighting ladies ain't my style, anyway." With that, Yusuke flew away.
"So, want to hit on me again, Baldy?" Bayonetta asked.
Balder sheathed his weapon. "Cereza… you must remember."
"What did you call me?"
"Cereza… look at this." Balder reached into his robe and withdrew a large, stuffed doll. The left side of the head was pink with a blue button eye, and the right was black with a red diamond eye. It wore a ragged dress of patches and had a red stitched mouth.
"I'm too old to play with dolls, love."
"You made this, Cereza. You made this on your homeworld… before…before you were abducted by…" Balder seemed to hesitate.
"What do you know…what do you know about my past?!" Bayonetta demanded. "Am I… is my name really Cereza?"
Balder gasped: Bayonetta withdrew a blue orb from the back of her dress: the Voice of Lost Time. "Is my name… really Cereza?"
"Is my name… really Cereza? (Is my name… really Cereza?)" The Lost Time repeated these words in both English and an unknown language, glowing brightly.
"Cereza! We must not let Skull Face have the Voices! Please, give it to me! Give me the Voice and help me subdue Skull Face. I promise, we will open the tower and I will return what you have lost. I will return your lost memories! Cereza… let's be a family." (Play "You May Call Me Father" from Bayonetta.)
". . . . ." Bayonetta glared and stashed the Voice away. "I always believed there was something about you… something I hated about you… but I don't trust you in the slightest. I won't be fooled. We're too close to opening the tower. I won't let you stop me!" Bayonetta flared with Dark Chi, summoning the spirit of her Zanpakutō: Madama Butterfly had great, dark wings with crescent moons on either top side. She had black, textured skin, a white head with red eyes, and a butterfly-shaped headpiece.
"Cereza…"
Boss fight: Balder
Balder danced toward Bayonetta, twirling the Holy Glaive like a baton, Bayonetta dodging with her nimble ability and kicking bullets toward him when an opening presented itself. In the midst of a flip, Bayonetta blocked and stopped the glaive with her leg, allowing Madama Butterfly to sock him in the face and banish him from her master. Balder aimed the glaive skyward as holy light shone above the Ghost Zone, blasting down powerful beams that Bayonetta ran from. The shower of beams was random and rampant, but Bayo was able to make her way to Balder and land blows with her blades.
Balder sprouted the peacock feathers that were his wings and took flight. Bayonetta grew butterfly wings and pursued, the two engaging in the air. Balder zoomed around the space and left spheres of Pale Lightning. Bayonetta used Witch Time to catch up to Balder and evade the spheres, but the Angel was already flying to the next location, repeating his tactic. After one escape, Bayonetta decided to shoot a lone bullet directly ahead before going into Witch Time. As Balder attempted to evade the bullet with amazing speed, Bayonetta used her power to manipulate its trajectory. The slow-motion allowed for precise directing as she slowly guided it into Balder's left eye.
As he flinched from the impact, Bayonetta lunged forward and stamped a heel into his stomach, blowing him directly into the floating door of a Ghost House. This happened to be the home of Vlad Plasmius, the retired supervillain slouched on his couch. "Hey! Can't a free-roaming Ghost Nomad have his peace?!"
Balder propelled out of the house, throwing around its furniture from the force. Bayonetta lashed kicks that Balder countered with his own, then stretched his peacock feathers around for back attacks. Bayonetta blocked them with her wings and performed a sudden spin to whack him away with said wings. "Excuse me!" Vlad flew out and said to Bayo. "I hope you plan to help reorganize my-" Bayonetta grabbed and threw him at Balder, who twirled his glaive to cut out Vlad's past self as Vlad Masters. He casually tossed Vlad away and returned to clashing with Bayo's blades.
"In the past, it was illegal to have you, Cereza. It was illegal for spirits to mate with mortals until a 'loophole' was decided. But that's why I couldn't be there for you. And I couldn't forgive you after…"
Bayonetta summoned a Demon Arm to grab Balder, using two other fists to pummel him, but he opened his own portals to summon Paradiso fists and counter them. He escaped his bind with his own strength and imbued Light Chi onto his blades, extending them as he lashed strikes from greater range. Bayonetta slowed time for brief intervals to dodge the glaive and try to cut him in turn. However, Balder suddenly summoned an Angel Arm to blast out and punch her, sending Bayo flying across the Ghost Zone. Bayonetta splashed in the River of Revulsion, the foul-smelling yellow liquid infecting her nostrils.
Bayonetta flowed down the river as a giant, red-eyed monster threatened to slurp her in with the flow. She looked up at Balder and decided to swim toward the monstrous ghost, flowing down its gaping mouth. The beast panicked as Bayo slashed it up from the inside, then she began to kick its pieces up at Balder as they exploded. The stench-filled liquid soaking his feathers, he struggled to swing his wings when Bayo came for the next round. She jabbed a heel up to shoot his head, followed by a brutal kick to the side of it, but her follow-up was blocked by a light shield of his creation.
"Your childhood had been tainted and cursed. And that's why I used my power to remove that piece of your past. I thought perhaps you would start anew as a responsible grown woman, but you continued to attack us, continued to oppose the gods. Your past is locked in the Tower of Babel, Cereza. I will return it to you."
"You had plenty of time to do that, Balder, but I'm close to reclaiming my past with my own two hands! It's too late to bargain with me! I won't let you trick me!"
"On some level, you remember, Cereza. That's why, 23 years ago, you defended the DNK from my unlawful invasion. You defended them because it was your instinct. Let that instinct awaken again. Skull Face will destroy the KND if his plan comes into fruition."
Bayonetta unloaded a storm of bullets from four guns, so Balder flew far away. She pursued as he launched strings of light in the formation of guitar strings, flying at different angles. She dodged them all and flew toward the Angel. Balder conjured a giant ball of light and kicked it to her, but Bayo summoned Madama to bash the sphere back. Balder sliced it in half, but positioned his glaive to block from her next onslaught. "Since when do you care for the KND?"
"Since…since my eyes were open a tad." Balder became more slow in his attacks, but was still quick to block Bayonetta's. "Cereza… remember your true name… your true identity… Trust in me, and I will return it to you."
"…" Bayonetta softened her resolve. She seemed to consider his words.
"AAAH!" A bullet struck Balder's back. "AAAH!" Three more were shot. The Angel turned, glaring at the man responsible. "Skull Face!" The villain was posed calmly with his gun arm reached. "SKUUUUULL-!"
Balder flew to strike him, but the bullets transformed into a mucky armor to bind him. "We have no time to waste on these harpies, Bayonetta. Hurry and finish him."
"No! Cereza… stop him… He must not succeed!"
Using a spell, Bayonetta sealed Balder in a coffin. With both blades ready, she slashed the casket repeatedly and rapidly, so by the time it fell apart, Balder was riddled with cuts. His feathers scattered about from his broken wings and energy leaked like blood. "Cereza…" Balder's glaive disappeared as he floated sickly in the ghostly space. "Just once… call me 'Daddy'…"
"Let's go, Bayonetta. We will regroup with the others and make the journey to Babel. With this… all the keys are in hand. It is time to restore the voices of the lost cultures. Including yours…" (End song.)
Tower of Babel
The skies surrounding Babel were clouded in light and darkness as the Divine Angels were engaged with all kinds of monsters. Not only were Hollows involved in the conflict, but a swarm of Nightmares from Castlevania were assisting them.
Ash Landers fenced with Claude Faustus, their swords like the wind. The clinging was quiet as each impact was swift and brief. "I know about you, Ash Landers." Claude said. "You are the 'Positive' of Sebastian Michaelis, my wretched rival who stole young Phantomhive away from me."
"Don't associate me with that filthy demon." Ash sneered. "And how did you come to be up here anyhow, Claude?!"
"I am sustaining myself with the particles of souls who were accepted to Spirit World. I have done the same to our dear party guests."
"AH!" Ash was tackled by a vampire woman. He frantically drowned her in soap bubbles to cleanse her curse, turning himself into a woman in the process.
"My master, Dracula hosted a masquerade ball earlier, and he cursed many of the guests into becoming vampires. We will claim this tower for our acquaintance, Skull Face, and we will reclaim Dracula's bride."
On the ground level of the valley, Pyramid Head raised his Great Knife and struck down, carving a long gap in the ground and splitting the Phantom Thieves apart. "Damn this guy!" Ryuji shouted. "How did Skull Face get this freak to work for him, anyway?!"
"That's just how the cookie crumbles." Morgana replied, scampering up from behind to land clean, quick cuts to Pyramid's legs. The beast spun and swung down, missing the cat, but a whirlwind of cuts was still sent out to scratch him. "But we can beat him if we keep trying! I wanna save the Backup Brigade as a surprise as long as possible."
Ghost Zone
Skull Face calmly walked with Sandman across the acropolis. "Your desire to find the Voices, Sandman… it wasn't just your desire. It was my influence. During our first encounter, I infected you with one of my parasites, and it clicked with you through use of my persuasive words. When I invaded Heaven's Hotel, I simply wanted to prevent you all from antagonizing us, by turning you into stone. But in the event some of you survived, I thought I could use you to my advantage, and so I was prepared. You ended up becoming a very lucky, unknowing ally, Sandman."
Valentine was waiting by a convertible with three rows of seats, a driver at the wheel. "My parasite also has the power to infect your brain and allow me to take control. It only works when a person has lost consciousness under total exhaust. I plan to use this in the Mortal World, too. When people have given in to the parasites, they will awaken in a zombie-like state, go out, and infect as many people as possible. That is the 'instinct' I have implanted into the parasites. However, your parasite's instinct is to find the Voices, and it affected you very subtly. That's why your instinct told you to leave the labyrinth. And the reason you didn't feel the need to recover the Voice from Dracula's castle? It was because I already had it. All this time, your interests and mine were as one."
"I've received a call from Ibara." Valentine told him. "There is a man with him who holds the Voice of Stolen Truth. He will surrender it to us, in exchange that we not speak a word about the 'lie' he has offered to the Voice."
"How curious… I'll have to ask for details, but if his words hold true, I have no reason to decline. And what of Bayonetta?"
"She had an encounter with Balder, but the parallel of yourself helped her subdue him. They also awakened the Lost Time's spirit."
"Excellent. Let's regroup and head for the tower-"
"Unmask, Arsene!" Joker suddenly pounced Skull Face and tried to rip off his mask, but the villain struggled, grabbed Joker's hands, and threw him off. Joker summoned Arsene to attack, but the spirit was intercepted by a being with baby-blue armor, pink shoulder pads and rims, along with large, upright horns. The spirit punched Arsene in the gut, then smashed down on the head, the attacks knocking Joker about in the same manner.
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap!" Valentine declared, rolling under the car and coming out with a clone of Joker. The copy attempted to attack the real Trickster, but Alucard lunged out and slashed him for a bit before tossing the fake away.
"It seems exiting the maze was a wise decision." Alucard stated. "So, these are the villains behind everything."
Skull Face pointed a finger: Morpheus emerged from Sandman and sprayed gas at the group, Joker and Alucard leaping back. "What have you done to Sandman?!"
"The Sandman serves me!" Skull announced. "He has played you all for fools! He searched for the Lost Voices under my instruction, made you work for him for my sake."
"I know a foul scent when I smell one," Alucard said, "and yours has polluted Sandman's being. Release him at once!" The half-vampire ran around to slash Skull Face, who nimbly dodged the thin blade and shot bullets into Alucard's stomach. The parasites tried to grow into a fiery suit and burn him. Alucard backed away and forcefully tore off the armor, but he was struck by a clone of himself summoned by Valentine.
"The world as you know it is about to change! Today is the day Babel opens. Let's go, Valentine! Sandman!" Skull Face climbed in the back of the convertible. Sandman joined him and Valentine took a middle seat. The driver stomped the gas and flew the car across the Ghost Zone.
"Joker, pursue them!" Alucard ordered, grabbing the former's clone and slamming him to the ground. "I am concerned for Snake and Emily, I will stay behind for their sake."
"Just let me grab this first!" Joker grabbed the mask of his clone and ripped it off, causing the parallel Joker to be sealed inside it. Alucard was left to battle his own clone.
As Joker flew after the car, the mind-controlled Sandman shot Pale Lightning at him, but he began to feel fatigue. "That's enough, Sandman." Skull Face said. "Using too much chi will exhaust the parasite, too. I'll end this boy. Five Dragon Destruction!" The villain's dark clothes shone white with energy as the heads of five dragons burst from him.
This seems like a good chance! "AAAAAAHHHH!" Joker cried out in pain as the energy dragons feasted on his form. The blinding light of the attack blocked Joker's pain from Skull Face's view. After the dragons disappeared, he saw that Joker was terribly torn up and "bloody" (since the blood was just energy).
"I never got to thank him for retrieving the Lost Time for me. So sad." Skull Face remarked, Joker's body shrinking from view as they drove further away.
However, the real Joker had quickly hidden inside the floating door of a Ghost House. He had slapped on the mask taken from his clone and made the clone suffer the damage. "Sorry to use you that way." Joker said, peeking out at the scene. "I can't face them alone. I should stay behind and watch for now. But… what of Gohda and Maria? Where have they…?"
"Go away, man!" Box Ghost shouted from inside the house. "You're interrupting the best part of the movie!"
"Watch out!" Toiletnator shouted at the screen. "The witch is right behind you!"
"Tell me when she leaves!" Dr. Light cowered. "I'm scared of witches!"
…
Elsewhere nearby, amongst the combat between Angels and Hollows, Death the Kid had ridden his skateboard across the Ghost Zone. A storm of bullets flying toward him, Revolver Ocelot was the sniper. "So, the Demon King has paid us a visit." Ocelot remarked, twirling a gun on either hand and alternating fingers with them. "It's not a good time to be out on your skateboard."
"Can't you twirl those things with better symmetry?!" Kid demanded. "The right gun is on your ring finger and the left is on your index—gah, now it's on your thumb!"
"Did you only come here to criticize my gun-work?" Ocelot narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps I should step up my game." An entire ring of guns flew out of his coat, rapidly rotating around him at multiple angles. The rotation stopped as the guns formed various shapes around their master. Meanwhile, Ocelot twirled his own guns on his nose and ponytail respectively, then moved them to his ears.
"…I don't know what I'm looking at." Kid said. With a quick motion, he grabbed his guns and shot, Ocelot dodging the flurry of bullets. Ocelot's rotated in a circular fashion and unloaded a cyclone of bullets. As Kid evaded them, some of the guns from nearby Divine Angels directed at Kid and shot at him.
"I have total control of all guns within a very wide radius! You can't avoid them all!"
"At least it seems like you can't control other Zanpakutō with this ability." Kid said as Patty, who had floated behind Ocelot, kicked one of the bullets into his back.
"Ack! Wretched fairy!" Ocelot spotted the tiny spirit and tried to shoot her, but quickly evaded Kid's next attack.
Further from the conflict, Ibara and Gohda waited on an asteroid, the butler holding the dollhouse and Ibara the Voice. They saw a pair of headlights shine from around a green mass of ectoplasm. This was revealed to be a convertible, Gohda swallowing as he recognized Skull Face. They parked the car beside them. "Y…York-san?!" Gohda stuttered.
"Who is this man?" Skull Face asked. "Why does he seem to know him?"
"G…Gohda!" Sandman's head began to throb as he squirmed. "GOHDA!" He flipped out and grabbed him by the neck. "Gohda! What have you… been hiding from me?! Have you been working for Skull Face all along?! Just how did you find a book on the Voices, anyway?!"
"Y-York-san, please! You do not understand, you…"
Sandman punched Gohda's jaw as he fell on his back, dropping the dollhouse to the side. Gohda got up and extended his energy blade, slashing as Sandman evaded him. Sandman grabbed Gohda's arm and twisted it, then kicked the butler down again. However, Dark Bullets struck the hero and brought him to his knees. "GWAH!" Gohda yelped when two heeled shoes crashed beside his head: Bayonetta was standing directly over him.
"Who is this strapping young man?" Bayo asked, tilting her head down at him. "Is he our new hired maid?"
"Supposedly, he wishes to align with us. He brought us the last Voice." Skull replied.
"I see…" The witch looked to the discarded dollhouse. She stepped over Gohda to retrieve it, letting the house rest on her palm. "Another man who plays with dolls?"
"P-Please return that!" Gohda stood up in worry. "That is very…"
Bayonetta peered into a window, seeing Maria's tiny form asleep on the bed. "There's a kid in here."
"If I may have that…"
"Get back in the car, Sandman." Skull Face pulled the weakened man back inside. "Ibara, what of Meloetta?"
"She's a little broken up." Ibara held open the sack of stone pieces. "But I can repair her on the way."
"And here's the Lost Time." Bayonetta tossed the blue orb in the air. It bounced off Gohda's head before landing in Skull's arms. He also took the Stolen Truth from Ibara.
"And with this… we have them all." Skull Face placed them on the floor of the car, along with the Lingering Regrets and Unwanted Feelings. "Let's make way to Babel. Valentine, create more clones of us to distract the Angels. Bayonetta, fly ahead and take down any foes on the path. …And keep that dollhouse with you."
"Wait, you can't have Maria-chan!" Gohda yelled.
"If you are truly on our side, we will let you have her back. This Stolen Truth feels real, but it's always safe to have leverage."
"But she can't be there when the tower opens!"
"We will return her then. For now, be patient and get in the car."
"…" Gohda bit his lip and climbed in a middle seat, glancing to Sandman worriedly. Ibara climbed in the front seat, dumping out Meloetta's parts. Bayonetta narrowed her eyes a tad, glancing into the dollhouse.
"D4C!" Valentine rolled under the car again and came out with parallels of Ibara and himself. They went to join the fake Skull Face that had attacked Balder earlier. "Once you disable your power on her," he said to Ibara, "I will threaten Jirachi to make her comply with our demands."
"I'm not disabling my power." Ibara claimed. "If I do so on her, then all the statues will be freed. However, this 'Stone Formula' can break the spell, too." He held up a cup of yellowish-brown liquid. "I can free a single statue without freeing all the others."
"Then I'll meet you at the tower." Bayonetta attached the dollhouse to her back and grew dark wings. The witch flew ahead with full speed.
Once Valentine was back in the car, the driver put it into gear and drove forth, keeping a safe distance from the Angels. Skull Face positioned himself to face the weakened Sandman. "They say there is no black and white, Sandman. Although my appearance may contradict it, I was human too, once. I only act with compassion, rather than cruelty, even though souls have been hurt along the way. But it is a necessary evil." (Play "Sins of the Father" from Metal Gear Solid.)
There were a great many, eerie sights to see of the Ghost Zone, yet only Valentine and Gohda seemed to appreciate them. Ibara was hard at work fixing Meloetta, and Sandman could only listen to his captor. Joker tried to follow behind them at a reasonable distance.
"I was born in a small village… A small village in a world called the Negatar Realms. We were part of the Fear Nomads. Well, perhaps I shouldn't say that. I was among the ones born without fearbending, the ones who had to live at the base of the mountains. It was a biased culture, but it was my culture. Until… that day. Negatar Gnaa destroyed every one of us. He hailed from the south while I lived in the north, but no distance was too much in his bloodthirsty quest. I was the only other survivor of the Fear Nomads. I fled to the Shadow Kingdom, but I was sold into servitude. I was passed around, and eventually, aliens arrived on the planet and bought me. Everyone considered me highly valuable, a remnant of a race lost."
The car was swerving over a valley of ice, the air becoming incredibly chilly. "When I died, I was not as unfortunate as the other Negatives. I managed to make my way to the Underworld and join the crowds lining up to be judged. In my life as a slave, I had never committed any serious crimes, so I was welcomed to the spirits. Eventually, I became friends with Ibara, a Historian from an ancient culture who worshipped Medusa. Long after his passing, his culture and teachings, albeit dark, had been forgotten. Then there's Valentine, America's noble 23rd president. Our teachings were forgotten, and our culture either evolved or was extinguished. We longed to restore what was lost. So, we set our eyes on Babel. We tried to think of a plan to not only restore the forgotten voices to the universe, but to destroy the lingua franca that ruined them. Even with the Lost Voices, Babel alone was not enough to realize our goals."
The car flew through the portal back to the Underworld. They began to speed down the sloped path that would become flat along the Sanzu River. "Then, one day… I found… this." Skull Face opened the barrel of his gun as the tiny, floating light dot came out. "This spirit… is extremely small… but extremely deadly. It is so small that it can tap into the very core of chi paths and manipulate them in unforeseen ways. It has the ability to adapt with any chi or creature it latches onto and reproduce its cells from memory. This spirit… is what I used to upgrade my ability. By adapting with my parasite spirits, and combining their chi with the Music Chi from a certain source… it became able to produce the Vocal Parasites."
"Gah!" the driver yelped when the car suddenly slowed. "Dammit, we got a flat! Damn spike rock in the middle of the… Man, I need to call somebody." He pulled out a phone and dialed.
"My meeting with this spirit was rather sudden." Skull Face continued as the tiny spirit floated before Sandman's eyes. "I was going about my business… and was suddenly miniaturized on a dramatic scale. I was about even with the spiritual cells, or perhaps smaller. The spirit did this to speak with me. She explained that she had been watching us in secret, and that she knew of our goals. The culture which she had been born to had long been erased and forgotten by the universe. Of course, there are quadrillions upon quadrillions of 'cultures' consisting of the countless cells that make up the universe. Would those 'voices' even be recorded in Babylon?"
"Hey, they came fast!" the driver said as a repair truck was driving up the road from the beach. "Yeah, sorry for makin' you come out this far." They set to work in replacing the tire as Skull Face resumed.
"This spirit's plight seemed more hopeless than our own… so, I accepted her aid." The spirit softly landed on Skull Face's gloved palm as he held her closely. "She's quite adorable, if I say so myself. Precious, but lonely. And yet, she possesses great potential. I have to wonder where she came from? Perhaps she was the very first cell born from Arceus in the creation of the universe. Who knows?"
Once the car was fixed, it continued its drive across the road. It reached the Coast of Fallen Angels and treaded across the white sand. Their drive continued on the main land, making the journey to Castle Hell and the heavenly light above it. "But you know what I learned, Sandman? What the spirit learned? These Lost Voices are the same. The spirits which inhabit these orbs were born from the voices of all their peoples. They developed consciousness of their own… and they have come to regret their decision. They feel lonely and forgotten. They want to be remembered. This is what we learned as my parasites adapted with these Voices."
"Anybody hungry?" the driver asked. "I wanna stop by McBurner's. Heard they got a wicked new kind of burger!" With that, he drove the car through a Drive Thru of the restaurant.
"But we will help them just the same. Once I have access to the voices inside Babylon, I will mix them with the voices of the lingua francas, imbuing those people with the knowledge on how to speak them. When they become adapted with these languages, they will slowly become one with the cultures that once spoke them, whether they be Olde English or Ancient Octarian. That was the dangerous price in creating the Tower of Babel. That is why the gods kept it sealed, that these voices can collide and clash with one-another."
The driver retrieved his order from the window and continued the journey to the castle. Once they were within range, Valentine applied his energybending to create a road of light sloping up to the Spirit World. "Controlling the voices will be simple with my parasites. And best of all, I will apply my own voice to them, too. All mortals who are infected by my parasites will have my words transmuted to their brains: they will be required to speak these new voices, for if they choose to speak their native tongues, my parasites will kill them. No longer will Goombas be forced to learn 'Toad,' or Zuna have to learn Gerudo or greater Hylian. The lingua francas will be destroyed! And when new lingua francas come into being, it will start all over again."
The heavenly light was growing closer. Skull Face stood to welcome the light of the Spirit World with arms spread. "I will become the new master of Babel and the master of the voices. No longer will cultures fear subjugation or destruction! The universe will live in peace under the rule of the parasites! This is what I died for! This is why the gods welcomed me to the Spirit World! This is why I was found by this spirit. Why I was found by… Synthia. And you, Sandman, who helped to realize this dream… have every right to come to the new world with us."
The car ascended above to the Spirit World. The ride was rather pleasant and peaceful, the passengers silent and listening to the radio. They followed a somewhat inconspicuous route to the Valley of Song, cutting close to Coffee Lake, driving over Night Light Valley, all the while Bayonetta distracted and took down any Angels on the way to the tower. Ibara was carefully and precisely gluing Meloetta's pieces together. By the time they arrived at the valley, Meloetta's statue looked good as new, almost resembling the very structure on which Babel was built. An army of Hollows and Dracula's Nightmares were fighting the Angels surrounding the tower.
Valentine opened the trunk and pulled out Jirachi's statue. Bayonetta flew over them and dropped the dollhouse, Gohda catching it in a panicky way. The spirits stood and began to fly to the top of the grander Meloetta statue, pulling Sandman with them. Gohda stayed behind to keep Maria from the Truth. A Belief swooped down to intercept them, only for Bayonetta to slice it in half.
They set foot on Meloetta's head and approached the tower patiently. The entrance was a great, stone door with the designs of four creatures inscribed on it, with holes underneath them. Ibara carefully applied a drop of Miracle Fluid onto the real Firstborn's head. The head shone with rainbow light as it regained color and life. (End song.)
"Uh…wh-who…who are you people?!" the Firstborn shouted in panic. "Where am I?! Why was I turned to stone?!"
"Don't you recognize this place?" asked Skull Face. "This is Babel, your tower. We have gathered the four keys needed to open it." The four orbs levitated around him. "But only by your voice will they fulfill their role. Now, open the tower! Now!"
"What are you planning to do?!"
"You'd best do as we say." Valentine threatened as D4C's spirit clutched Jirachi's statue in its hands. "As you can see, we have Jirachi. I will shatter and scatter his pieces across the Spirit World."
"Jirachi…!"
"We have no time to lose." Valentine proclaimed. "The spirits of the Voices have been awakened. Now, sing the song that will enable the spheres to open the tower!"
"Before long, Skull Face will have found the other Voices. I think we should attempt to secure them all, before he has a chance to steal them." said the Voice of Lingering Regrets, repeating Nolan's words.
"Is my name… really Cereza?" repeated the Lost Time.
"I wish to be with Dracula forever. There is not a man more amazing, none who warm my soul as he does…" The Unwanted Feelings repeated Kyla's words.
"The Spirit World… is known as the 'Golden Land.' The Ushiromiya Family and its servants, including myself, were taken here by the Golden Witch, Beatrice. When I return to Maria-chan… I will be with her family." The Stolen Truth spoke Gohda's words.
"…" Meloetta closed her eyes and began to sing nervously. As her ancient, foreign tongue reverberated across the air, the four Voices levitated and situated their selves in the holes.
"It's almost time." Bayonetta said to herself. "Just what part of me was locked inside that tower? What part of me… did Balder lock away?"
The great door echoed ominously and slowly opened. The Skulls took their first steps inside… as did Bayonetta.
"How old did you say you were again?"
"I'm 50 years old!" proclaimed the young girl.
"Fifty years old and that young? I see… you're very resistant to the disease. You'll fit in perfectly here! Welcome to the team, Number…"
"Numbuh Umbra! Cereza!"