Previous Chapter Recap: Last time on Bayonetta 2! With Balder as their new ally, the heroes made fought their way to the sacred mountain of Fimbulventr to rescue Lori from Loptr's clutches. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to stop Loptr's from obtaining the Eyes of the World and ascending into the God of Chaos Aesir. Now the heroes must defeat the mad god and prevent his rule of humanity.

Author's Note: Well, here it is. The final chapter. In hindsight, I don't think this story came out as well as I hoped it would, but it was an experiment and experiments don't always go as you'd like them to. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed reading it as I've enjoyed writing it.

A groan escaped Loki as he stirred himself out of unconsciousness. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself back at the temple gates. "Where... Where am I?" Loki asked.

Safe and sound." Luke said. "We're at the temple gates."

"WHAT?!" Loki practically screamed. "What the hell am I doing here?! I need to get back there!"

"Whoa, kid. Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Luka pointed upwards, looking at the spatial distortion surrounding the mountain's summit. "You see what's going on up there, right?!"

"No fucking duh!" Loki replied. "And I'm the only one who can stop it!" He pulled out his card with the hole in it. "Remember my trump card? This thing is the only way to stop Loptr. Now, do you wanna have an argument about keeping me safe, or do you wanna save the human race?!" Luka hesitated for a moment, then grasped the bridges of his nose in exasperation. "I'm so gonna regret this." he muttered. "Come on."

Luka pushed the gates open and the two ran back inside the temple.

Loptr conjured two large orbs of energy and threw them at the trio. They dodged the the orbs and Bayonetta opened fire on Loptr. Slowing down time, Loptr brushed the bullets aside and fired a beam of energy at Bayonetta. Bayonetta turned into a swarm of bats and reformed in front of Loptr to deliver several punches to his face, ending with a roundhouse kick.

Loptr retaliated with a kick of his own, only for Bayonetta to duck and perform a sweep kick, knocking him off balance. Pit leapt into the air and performed a double-footed stomp on Loptr's face, sending him to the ground. Using Loptr as a spring, he leapt off of him and fired several arrows from his Bow of Light at point-blank range. Loptr rose into the air and conjured two giant ethereal arms in an attempt to crush them.

Pit blocked with his Mirror Shield while Bayonetta defended with her guns. Seeing an opening, Balder rushed forward and delivered a dropkick to Loptr's face. He then followed up with several fireballs. Bayonetta fired two missiles from her Lt. Col. Kilgore rocket launchers while Pit fired a charged arrow. For a moment, it seemed to work, but when the smoke cleared, Loptr stood completely unharmed.

"It's flattering to see the kind of show you put on for your most dangerous enemies." Loptr said. "But ultimately it's meaningless. Let me show you what I mean." With a wave of his hand, Loptr opened a portal behind him and out from it flew a fleet of Vigrid's Valkyrie Military Transports. The planes began carpet-bombing the arena. "Okay, that's just cheating!" Pit complained.

Slowing down time with their powers, Bayonetta and Balder grabbed the bombs and threw them back at Loptr, who merely conjured an energy barrier to defend against it. Loptr then rushed forward and punched Balder away before turning and swatting away Bayonetta and Pit with a single kick. Loptr then rose into the air and conjured several energy bullets around him before raining them down on the trio.

The trio dodged the energy bullets and Bayonetta attempted a rising Afterburner Kick only for Loptr to grab her by the ankle and throw her at Balder. Pit flew in behind him and tried to slash at him with his blades, but Loptr turned and grabbed the angel by the throat. The divine being chuckled darkly.

"You... You and your friends have been quite the thorn in my side." Loptr said. "The Eyes of the World grant me sight beyond sight. I can see your world as well. A world filled with false gods and idols. Before you die, you can take comfort in knowing that once I have brought this world under control, your world shall be next." Pit glared at Loptr, snarling. "You. Won't. Get. The. Chance!" Pit shouted as he threw a smart bomb right at Loptr's face, staggering him and forcing him to release Pit.

Pit then pulled out his Cancer Claws and delivered several rapid punches to Loptr's face before kicking him away. Bayonetta kneed him in the chin and kicked him in the stomach, blasting him away with the Lt. Col. Kilgore rocket launcher summoned on her heel. Balder separated his Holy Glaive into twin swords and dived at Loptr, slashing away at him. Loptr summoned his ethereal arms and pushed Balder away with a double palm thrust.

"Insects." Raising his hand, Loptr created another portal, this one right above them. From the portal emerged a "System 16" Stunparon satellite. The satellite opened fire with its laser, completely destroying the platform they were on and knocking Balder aside. Bayonetta summoned Malphas' wings and Pit activated the Pegasus Wings to stay aloft.

"Now do you realize your own futility?" Loptr taunted. "Mortals cannot triumph over a god."

"Newsflash, Loptr." Bayonetta replied as she activated Umbran Climax. "You're not the first god I've killed."

"Dude, I take on gods every day." Pit boasted. "You don't scare me." Loptr attacked by opening multiple portals and unleashing a swarm of Gjallarhorn surface-to-air missiles. They dodged the missiles and Bayonetta used her Alraune whip to grab Loptr by the neck and pull him towards her so she could deliver a Wicked Punch. Pit flew at him and delivered another punch with his Taurus Arm, then fired several arrows of light at him.

Loptr opened a portal and summoned the satellite once again, having it fire a sweeping laser at the two heroes. Bayonetta transformed into her Crow Within to dodge the laser as she flew at Loptr, firing feathers at the God of Chaos. Loptr retaliated with a beam of energy, but Bayonetta dissolved into a swarm of bats to avoid it. Once reforming, she pulled out her Takemikazuchi hammer and attempted to bludgeon him, but Loptr blocked it with the cuffs on his arms.

Pit seized the opportunity and rushed over to punch Loptr in the gut. Bayonetta then followed up with a punishing headbutt. Wiping the blood from his nose, Loptr opened another portal, this time summoning an O'Neill cylindrical Space Colony and sending it hurtling at the duo. "Are you kidding me?!" Pit shouted. Bayonetta flew into the colony and grabbed the antenna. Mustering all of her strength, she slowly flipped the colony around and threw it back at Loptr.

Loptr screamed and threw up an energy barrier as the colony collided with him and exploded. The force of the explosion was strong enough to shatter his barrier and send Loptr flying, but he quickly regained his balance. "Man, this guy's tough!" Pit said.

"He's a god. What did you expect?" Bayonetta replied. "But still, we have to keep fighting! If he wins, everyone loses."

"Right." Pit said.

Meanwhile, back at the throne room...

Luka and Loki made it to the throne room. Still exhausted and woozy from having his Sovereign Power drained from him, Loki slowly made his way to Aesir's throne. "Kid, you gonna be ok?" Luka asked.

"His first mistake was thinking that all I had to me was some shit Sovereign Power." Loki said as he pulled out a few cards. "Stupid fool doesn't get why I'm the better half."

"I thought you were all out of cards!" Luka said.

"A real trump card's the one you keep hidden until just the right timing, mate." Loki said as he laid his cards on the table. He then flipped the cards over. Three of the cards depicted the Eyes of the World, the fourth card was the card Bayonetta shot, and the fifth and final card depicted a dark void. Once he flipped the cards over, they began glowing with a blue light.

"I trust you're both ready for oblivion?" Loptr mockingly asked. "Of course, I really don't care if you're ready or not." Before he could do anything, however, he felt a sharp pain in his head, as if something was being erased. The Eyes of the World disappeared, returning his eye color to its normal blue. His blue skin and gold markings disappeared, the gold accessories he wore lost their color and crumbled to pieces, and Loptr himself shrank back down to his original size. The dimensional void around them dissolved and they found themselves back in the throne room.

Loptr turned to the throne to find Loki and Luka there. "Wh-what have you done?!" he asked.

"The real power of Lord Aesir, the God of Chaos, is 'nothingness'." Loki explained. "The power to erase anything and everything from the world. Even the very things that created it."

"NO!" Loptr screamed.

"Whoa! Hold on for a second, kid." Luka said. "What happens to the world if you-"

"Any good card player's a gambler, right?" Loki asked. "Either the world will be destroyed, or it will create its own path. Human free will will determine which way things go."

"You worthless little BASTARD!" Loptr said as he charged at Loki. Before he could attack however, Bayonetta grabbed his wrist. The Umbra Witch was glaring daggers at the fallen god. "My, my, how the mighty have fallen." On the last word, Bayonetta twisted Loptr's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. She then kneed him in the chest and punched him in the face, sending him flying across the room until he landed at the feet of a revived and furious Balder.

Balder grabbed Loptr by the hair and pulled him up, looking him square in the eye. "This is for Rosa." In his other hand, Balder charged up a fireball and fired it at point-blank range, blasting him away. Loptr struggled to get up, but was soon kicked to the ground again. This time by Dark Pit. The Rodin had transformed from a golden Arwing to a golden version of the Great Sacred Treasure's Mech Armor Mode. Having seen the spatial distortion around the mountain disappear, he called off his contest with Jeanne to help Pit.

"Don't worry, I'm here to-" Before he could say anymore, Dark Pit looked around to see that everyone was pretty much okay. "Aw man, I missed it!" he complained.

"ENOUGH!" Loptr shouted as he staggered and struggled to get to his feet. "I am a god! You're all beneath me! Every last one of-" Loptr's tirade was cut off by Dark Pit, who grabbed him by the head. "You talk too much." Dark Pit said as he began slamming Loptr around before throwing him away. "Puny god." he said.

"I think it's time to end this." Bayonetta said. "Don't you agree, Balder?"

"Indeed." Balder said. The two of them began to dance. "A GRAA ORS! TABAORD! AVAVAGO!" Bayonetta chanted. Balder then followed up with a chant of his own. "SIZICIEL! HONONOL! OBELISON!" Their hair swirled together in a brilliant spiral of black and white as a portal opened up. This portal was a mixture of the Umbran and Lumen portals.

A fierce rumbling shook the mountain as something emerged from the portal. What emerged was a gigantic woman who looked to be a fusion of Queen Sheba and Jubileus the Creator. The left side of her body was that of Queen Sheba while the right side of her body was that of Jubileus the Creator. Her "dress" was a mixture of Bayonetta's and Balder's hair. This was Omne, the Controller of Creation.

"The Controller of Creation?!" Loptr shouted with awe, unconsciously backing away. "I-I-I thought she was just a legend!"

"More like legendary!" Bayonetta replied. "Omne, dear, care to do the honors?" Omne responded with a wink and began charging energy in her feet. Once charged, she ran forward and delivered a dropkick so powerful that the force of it separated Loptr's soul from his body. His body was sent flying out of the mountain and into the horizon. Outside, Jeanne saw Loptr's body heading towards her.

"That's my cue." she said as she opened the cockpit and stood up. "OXEX RACLIR!" she chanted, forming a portal to Inferno. From it emerged the demon Gomorrah, who wasted no time devouring Loptr's body. Its hunger sated, Gomorrah gave a satisfied roar before retreating into Inferno. "Good bad dog." Jeanne said with a smirk.

Back at the mountain, Loptr rose to his feet. He was now nothing more than an incorporeal spirit. "If it comes to this... It will just begin anew." he said. "I'll return to another place in time. Create a new era... One that cowers to my will!" Loptr outstretched his hand and created a portal behind him. "Shit! He's trying to shed his body and return to the spirit realm!" Loki said. "He'll just be reborn in a different era!"

Balder jumped in front of the portal just as Loptr started to run towards it, causing him to run right into his body. Loptr furiously struggled to escape, but Balder's own will prevented him from doing so. "What are you trying to do?" Loptr asked. "Do you think you can contain my power? Have you lost your sanity?!"

"Sanity is a requirement for our kind!" Balder replied, echoing Bayonetta's earlier statement. "You will never see another era trapped inside me. Only an endless circle of time!"

"Mate, that's pure evil you're dealing with!" Loki warned. "It's a poison that will live inside of you forever!"

"Then so be it." Balder replied solemnly, his body emanating a golden light. "What's wrong can be made right through human hands!" With a shout of exertion, Balder sealed Loptr's soul within his body. "Cereza... listen to me." Balder said.

"You... you know my name?" Bayonetta asked.

"If I stray from my path..." Balder began. "You... must be the one. The one to stop me." Struggling to fight the tears in her eyes, Bayonetta cried out, "Balder!"

"Cereza... Just one time, call me... Daddy." Balder pleaded. Bayonetta hesitated for a moment, but soon whispered, "Daddy." Balder closed his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Cereza." he said. "My dear, sweet child." With that, he was pulled back into the portal. "DADDY!" Bayonetta yelled as she impulsively reached out to grab him. But she was too late as the portal disappeared. Bayonetta silently wept.

Pit walked over to her. "Bayonetta...?" he asked. "Are you..."

"I'll be fine." Bayonetta replied as Jeanne entered the inner sanctum. She turned to see Loki climbing down the stairs, only to collapse on the ground. "Little one!" Bayonetta ran to Loki's side and knelt down next to him, cradling him in her arms. "It seems... the world's still in one piece." Loki said.

"It seems so." Bayonetta replied. Loki got out of Bayonetta's arms and sat down next to her. "You don't need the Eyes of the World, love." Loki said. "I believe in your kind. You can create whatever future you desire."

"What will happen to you?" Bayonetta asked.

"I think I'll take a little break." Loki replied. "This world doesn't need me anymore, right?"

"Will I see you again?" Bayonetta asked.

"Hard to say." Loki replied. "I'll come back to this world someday, so if you're lucky, maybe we'll meet again, love."

"Little one, I-" Bayonetta started to say, but Loki cut her off. "I'm not little." he said. "And I have a name. It's Aesir- I mean, my name is Loki. And I think you can quit treating me like a kid now."

"Then I'll call you by your name when I see you again. As a man." Bayonetta replied with a playful poke on Loki's head. Loki sighed in exasperation. "Bloody hell." he said. "That's fine, I guess. At least I know what I want to be when I grow up, right?!"

"Still, it's kinda hard to believe you're a god." Pit said.

"Yeah, kinda hard for me too, mate." Loki replied. "You guys really helped save the world."

"Protecting humanity is our job, after all." Pit replied with a smile.

"Well, I think I've got enough power for one last trick." Loki rose to his feet and outstretched his hand to create another portal. "That should lead back to your world." he said. "But you better hurry. It's not gonna last long. Especially now that I'm fading away." Loki's body began emanating blue light. "See you around, mates."

"Goodbye, little one." Bayonetta replied. "And you can call me Cereza."

"Sorry, love, but you still don't strike me as a Cereza." Loki laughed as his body faded into particles.

"Come on, Pit, it's time to go." Dark Pit said.

"Well, Bayonetta, it's been one crazy adventure, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't fun." Pit said.

"Quite right." Bayonetta replied.

"You know, I'm tempted to kill the both of you and take your laurel crowns as trophies." Jeanne began. "But you did save my soul, so I guess you're not all bad... for angels that is."

"I'll... take that as a compliment." Pit chuckled nervously.

"Think we'll meet again?" Bayonetta asked.

"Well, there's the Smash Tournament." Pit said. "If you're chosen to participate, we might end up meeting again."

"Oh? Well it's only fair to warn you: I won't hold back." Bayonetta said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Pit laughed as he and Dark Pit walked through the portal, finally returning to their world.

Meanwhile, in Dyntos' Workshop...

Dyntos and the others waited anxiously for any sign from the twin angels The tracers on their bracelets had been disabled so they were unable to track them. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, a portal suddenly opened up in the workshop. "What the heck?!" Came Dyntos' startled reply. Arlon and Phosphora dropped into battle stances as they prepared to meet whatever would emerge from the portal.

What came out of the portal, however, was Pit and Dark Pit. "Hey guys. Sorry to keep you waiting!" With joyful tears in her eyes, Palutena ran forward and embraced the twin angels. "Guys, I'm so happy you're okay!" she cried.

"Well, look who's back." Viridi said. "About time too."

"It warms my heart to see you both back safe and sound." Arlon chimed in.

"So what happened?" Phosphora asked. "From what Viridi told us, you guys had quite an adventure."

Pit and Dark Pit exchanged glances at each other and said. "You don't know the half of it!"

500 years earlier in Bayonetta's world...

At Crescent Valley, amidst the storm and ruins, a lone figure floated in the sky near the Umbra Witch and Lumen Sage statues. It was Balder. The Lumen Sage's robe was now outfitted with several peacock feathers protruding from the back. Balder slicked his hair back, revealing a diamond mark on his forehead. With his power, he summoned a stone sword and had it impale the statue of the Umbra Witch.

Satisfied with his deed, Balder donned a golden mask that covered the left side of his face, giving a fiendish smirk. The Lumen Sage had completely succumbed to Loptr's evil. Gone was the noble warrior known as Balder. Now there was only Father Balder, the Tyrant Sage.

Present Day in Bayonetta's world...

It had been just after Christmas. Bayonetta and Jeanne were in the city doing some after-Christmas shopping. Bayonetta was wearing a pink version of her dress that was torn a few days ago. Jeanne walked out of the store, wearing a black dress of her own. "Sales are so much better after the holidays." Jeanne said as the two walked down the street, right in front of the toy store.

"And the distinct lack of acts of God doesn't hurt either." Bayonetta added. "Can you believe they tore my dress to shreds? Right about here, I think it was."

"Absolutely criminal." Jeanne said. "There is such a thing as a time and a place."

"Time? Oh..." Bayonetta's mind drifted back to Loki. At that moment, a couple pushing a baby carriage walked by the two witches. The baby dropped what appeared to be a card. One of Loki's tarot cards to be exact. Bayonetta reached down to pick it up, only for the wind to carry it away. Bayonetta looked on with a content smile and a lollipop in her mouth. "Cereza? Cat got your tongue?" Jeanne asked.

"No... No, I'm fine." Bayonetta replied. That's when pieces of paper started falling from the sky. On closer inspection, they were fliers advertising the Gates of Hell. Just then, Luka drove by in a pink car with Rodin standing next to him and tossing out fliers. "Hey, c'mon! How long do I have to keep doing this?" Luka whined. "Investigative journalism is big in January!"

"The Gates of Hell goes down, and so does your anonymous source, my friend." Rodin replied matter-of-factly. "Now keep driving."

"Alright, alright. I get it. I owe you." Luka said. "But I'm not the one with the endless tab. Where is that deadbeat, anyway?!" One of Rodin's fliers flew right in Luka's face. He managed to get it off, but was forced to swerve out of the way of an incoming car. "Well, those two are getting along nicely." Bayonetta mused. "Now to get those new heels. Come along, Enzo." she turned to give Enzo her bag only to drop it on the ground when she realized Enzo wasn't there.

"Damnit! I forgot Enzo!" Bayonetta exclaimed.

"I was wondering why there wasn't a short, foulmouthed Italian in earshot." Jeanne said. "Where did you leave him?"

"He said... he'd wait for me on the plane..." Bayonetta's ears soon picked up on the sound of a plane's propeller. The two witches turned to see Enzo's plane heading straight for them, being chased by a group of Acceptances. "Again?!" she asked, exasperated.

"What a day! WHAT A DAY!" Enzo screamed as he lost control of his plane, its propeller flying off and crashing through the store. The out-of-control plane closed in on the duo, but they kicked it into the air. Leaping through a portal to Paradiso, they landed on the plane. Bayonetta looked down at her dress, which was torn and had black oil staining the fur, and growled in frustration. "Wonderful! That's the second dress in a month!" she huffed.

"Another day in the life, Cereza." Jeanne replied. "Maybe you should try being nice to Enzo for a change?" Bayonetta shot Jeanne a look that pretty much said "yeah right". She then directed her gaze downward, noticing a tear in Jeanne's pants right along her butt. Noticing the tear, Jeanne hurriedly moved next to Bayonetta to cover it up. "Let's save the chit-chat for later." Jeanne said. "We've got work to do."

"Now you're speaking my language." Bayonetta said. "There's only one way to ring in the new year." The two witches tore off their outfits, revealing Jeanne's skin-tight red biker outfit and Bayonetta's Umbran battle suit underneath. The two witches drew their guns and prepared to fight. "Let's dance, boys!" Bayonetta said.

The End!

Well, that ends my tale. Onward to Sonic Mania!