Chapter 1: The Prologue: The Vestibule

"In your wickedness, you have broken the ancient commandments and crafted a bond with one of the light. Our laws are clear. They demand you be eternally imprisoned. As for the impure children, the girl must be kept from the path of the dark arts forever and the boy shall go with the light dwellers." A voice decreed.

Within the highest tower basked in moonlight, the fate of two children had been decided. The Grand Witch had passed her verdict.

The two twins would never know the joy of a complete family. They would always be torn apart and separated.

The parents who were like night and day could do nothing but stand and hold each other hoping that what they were experiencing was nothing more than a nightmare. A nightmare that they would awaken from. But as they saw the two sides of their worlds, one of light and one of darkness coldly staring them down they knew they would receive no mercy.

The room that was filled with people began to fade away to the two parents. Knowing that they would soon be parted, both Mother and Father held on tightly to the other and gazed into the sweet faces of their newborn children. One boy of light who had the angelic face of a cherub and one girl of darkness who was as red and sweet as a rose.

The beauty of the children brought tears to the mother's eyes. She knew that she would have to let go of her son and lose the very man she loved with all her heart.

The world could truly be a cruel place.

Suddenly, the two parents were separated by the very people they viewed as brothers and sisters. Wanting just a moment more together, the parents desperately held onto the other's hand, trying to defy everything that dared to keep them apart. All that mattered was that they deeply loved one another and wished for nothing more than to be together as a family.

Both man and woman shouted and screamed for the other, declaring their love to world and hoping that light and dark could be one. But forces beyond them saw them finally broken apart. The man of light was forcibly dragged by his brothers out of the room to be taken back to his home where he would punished for his crime. The woman of darkness was forced to watch her beloved light taken away from her while her sisters chained her up like a dog and escorted her to the lowest level of tower where the dungeons were to become her new home.

Long since erased from the records of time, there once existed two European clans who served as overseers of history for the powers that be: The Umbra Witches, dwellers of the darkness, and the Lumen Sages, controllers of light. The clans paid each other great respect, and their efforts to maintain the balance between them defended the just passage of time.

Yet, one day, that balance was toppled. The once harmonious clans fell into disagreement and stoked the flames of hatred against each other, resulting in an era of strife. The conflict between the Umbra and the Lumen threw all of Europe into a chaotic loop of battle, ambush, assassination, and casualty.

It was truly a gruesome war.

Despite the tremendous radiance of God shining upon them, the Lumen Sages were gradually weakened by the assault of the secretive dark witches. Years after the balance was lost, the war had ended in the Umbra Witches' favor. Their victory was short-lived.

Fearing the witches' dark abilities, humans began to condemn the remaining Umbra. They launched the witch hunts, rounding up the battle-weary witches with little resistance and subjugating those who wished to continue the struggle. Human faith in the miracles of their God pushed the witch hunts further, and soon the Umbra Witches, keepers of the darkness, were extinguished from the Earth.

All but one.

The moon was eerily dull as if all the light had been smothered out. For the moment all was well within the realm of mortals.

Within another reality in between the Trinity, commonly known as Purgatorio, the struggle between light and dark raged on.

Brilliant lights of gold beckoned the arrival of the heavenly Laguna. An army of Affinities descended to chase after the two Umbra Witches that had escaped them on the crumbling clock tower.

"Jeanne!". The Umbra Witch cloaked in midnight black robes, fearfully called out to her dear friend dressed in similar red robes.

The explosion had pushed them apart into a downward fall towards the ground. The Midnight Witch couldn't bear the thought of losing her only friend and being left alone with the awful creatures attacking them. No matter how angelic the Affinities appeared with their golden halos and white wings, to her they would always be scary monsters.

"I'm OK!" Despite her words and reassuring red smirk, Jeanne's fair face looked worn out. Even in mortal danger Jeanne had to portray a sense of confidence due to her upbringing.

Luckily, Jeanne couldn't see her comrade's relieved smile. The Midnight Witch knew that if Jeanne saw her smiling she'd be put off by the ridiculous show of affection. Back to back as sisters of the dark, they pressed forward and faced the Affinities in a flittering dance of bullets and magic.

"Let's go Jeanne! Just stay close to me!"

"Rise my child! Rise to realize your true potential! Unleash your power and awaken the Eyes of the World!" The smooth, melodic voice echoed within the witch's mind and woke her up from her dream.

"Bloody Hell! Can't a girl get her beauty sleep without being disturbed by insufferable creeps?!" Rising from her grand bed made for a queen and pushing the drapping curtains out of her way, Bayonetta made her way to the bathroom, grabbing her cellphone along the way to see that she had a message from Enzo regarding a new job.

"Hmm looks like today is going to be a fun day even if I have to wear those dreary robes again." Bayonetta dressed herself in the pure white robes of a nun and chuckled to herself from the irony of the outfit as she exited her condo.

Although her entire body was modestly covered by her robes, all the males she encountered on her way to the graveyard couldn't help but admire the slow wave of her hips, the confident strokes her long legs made as she walked, and her beautiful face with a cute mole and striking gray eyes. Each one that Bayonetta caught staring, she made a point to wink at them, delighting in their embarrassment or in some cases their attempts to flirt back.

Elsewhere, high in the sky, a collection of followers of the Laguna gathered together in the hull of the carrier jet to preform their holy ceremony. In the shadows a woman in red gleefully watched the white robed fools preform their glorious form of butchery as they all stabbed themselves with knives.

They were a necessary sacrifice for the madame to achieve her goals. As their red crimson blood dripped to the ground, the men found themselves transformed into the holy sentinels of Paradiso. No longer were they mortal men, but Angels of the Affinity.

The canon folder Angels would serve the madame well.

Enzo's annoying chirping made it hard to concentrate on the words Bayoinetta was saying, but his incessant chatter came to an end when the grey sky turned gold from the rays of light. The depressing graveyard brightened considerably.

It was time.

"I see them. They are instruments of God, descending upon his heavenly rays to Earth. Dear Lord, grant us guidance and keep safe the souls of our loved ones for all eternity." Bayonetta muttered.

While poor Enzo was in the background screaming, she used her magic and opened a portal to Purgatorio. Bayonetta didn't want the mortal world getting trashed. Once she crossed over, the shimmering lights turned into Affinities, the Laguna's lowest level of Angels.

The creatures were small fry even with their big lances and swords, not even worth Bayonetta's time. But they sure were fun to play with. Dancing around the Angels, she couldn't help but laugh as her gentle playing included smashing them into the ground and throwing them around.

Bayonetta liked playing rough.

Little Enzo was scrambling around the graveyard, trying to avoid the hazardous battle. Suddenly, Rodin decided to crash the party by arising from his hole.

What an entrance the big hulk made.

He scared off the angels with his booming voice and terrorized poor Enzo by threatening to find the little man in Inferno for his never ending debt. Rodin did all this while leisurely smoking a cigar.

Typical Rodin.

Smashing the angels around was starting to get boring for the witch. One could only do so much with their bare hands.

"Do you naughty little angels deserve a good spanking?" Bayonetta taunted.

The drooling scoundrels had ripped up the witch's robes in the process of their battle, leaving all her lovely assets exposed to the world. Shedding off the ruined outfit, Bayonetta felt her magic humming throughout her body like a fire. Black hair elongated to cover her nude body and form the Umbra Suit. Like a catsuit, the witch's hair clung to every crevice of her body in shades of black and red with the prized golden, Umbra Watch sitting snugly above her breast.

Now it was on.

Needing a proper weapon for the battle, Rodin threw her his latest toys. Four Guns. A few shots and a few kicks with the guns caused the them to break.

The cheap things didn't even last long.

"Now this is cheeky, throwing me these cheap toys!" Bayonetta's glare didn't even seem to faze Rodin.

"Don't worry about quality. I've got quantity!" He just pulled out four more guns and tossed them to the witch.

Thus began tango of Bayonetta shooting and kicking with the guns until they busted and Rodin threw her replacements. Eventually, he ran out of replacements and threw her a cherry flavored lollipop in apology.

By now the Angels figured out they were fighting a losing battle, so like little children, they ran off with a screeching Enzo as their hostage.

Ah, Enzo just couldn't stay out of trouble.

Bayonetta managed to save him at the cost of his new car.

"You have any idea how much this is going to cost to fix!? How the fuck do I always get wrapped up in this shit!?" Poor Enzo was laying on top of his car crying over its impending remodeling.

If Enzo weren't so pathetic at times, Bayonetta might actually find his situation sad. Alas, Enzo's antics were just too amusing. Bayonetta checked on the car before turning the engine on.

"Engine still purrs nicely. Now, about this little thing you've been looking into for me, Enzo. Let's have a quick chat…" She fluttered her eyes at the man.

Silently, a young hooded man watched the woman known as Bayonetta drive off into the city. The man radiated the same heavenly brilliance as the Angels. Raising his gloved hand, the man opened a portal to Paradiso.

"We shall meet soon." He promised.

As the man entered the portal a stream of gold and violet feathers were left in his wake, the only reminder that the ghost-like man was ever there.