DISCLAIMER – The characters DO NOT belong to me, they belong to their rightful owners (07th Expansion).

(And this story has A LOAD OF SPOILERS)

OTP's for this chapter? – None. Or you may think its AuroraBattler, but actually it's not. I don't know~ EVERYBODY loves Battler, so yeah.

OTP's for the ENTIRE story? – BeatriceBattler, (yuri maybe) ErikaBern(not really an OTP but still.), MariaErika (but still.) and AmakusaAnge

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CHAPTER 1 –Witch of Theater

It was silent. A lone man was sitting on an armchair, his face resting in his hand. He had a bored look on his face, and was staring into space. In his mind was recalling the gruesome scenes that seemed to repeat over and over again. It didn't seem to bother him, though.

"Ushiromiya Battler?"

The redhead looked up to see a woman – in her late-twenties – standing in front of him, her face calm but her eyes dancing mischievously. She wore a pink kimono and a green band with a logo – that seemingly resembles an army badge. Her jet-black hair matched her personality, elegant and graceful.

"Who are you?" The man – whose name was Battler - said quietly, his eyes now turning from black to brown. She didn't respond, her smile wavering a little. He could not recognize her, but she reminded him of someone. He shrugged. The black-haired woman chuckled and went to sit in another armchair. She expected Battler to be irritated, but he wasn't. He was just ...quiet.

"My name is Featherine Augustus Aurora, but you can call me Aurora. I am the witch of theater, and I've been…" she let her sentence trail off, and slowly making a small smile on her face.

Battler shrugged again, "Not a surprise."

"Not a surprise?"

"…Maybe."

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It continues on forever.

Minutes seemed to come as hours, days. The two Game Masters showed no signs of talking, as if they were talking with their minds; they weren't. Battler was locked in his own world, and Aurora was watching the 5th game, where Natsuhi was criticized by Erika Furudo. She was disappointed, not because of the criticism, but the fact that Battler would refuse to cooperate with her. She looked at Battler, desperately trying to make eye contact, but in the end was again, a failure.

Aurora leaned nearer in her chair cocked her head to the side, trying to see what Battler was thinking. He looked at a portrait of a blonde woman – who was the so called "Beatrice, Golden Witch" – whose hair was let down and was sipping on a cup of tea. Seeing the portrait convinced her that Battler was well known for that woman. She would always see him mouthing the words, "I will avenge you, definitely" and "Just you wait, Beato". Aurora had to speak up, because she knew that staying silent isn't going to help.

"Ba-"She started and stopped when Battler aimed his gaze on her.

"What?" Battler muttered, annoyance slowly building up in him.

Aurora remained unresponsive; not fully aware of the situation Battler was in. She usually sees Battler happy with 'her' until now. He completely changed. He wasn't Ushiromiya Battler, one who has the power to use blue text, which is about theories he could use; he was Battler the Endless Sorcerer, one who is a Game Master and has the power to use golden text, which are interpretations that are straight to the point. Aurora bit her lower lip and finally understood the cause. She knew it.

"It's…Lambda and Bern, isn't it?"

The silence seemed to pierce Battler. He found himself staring at the Witch of Theater in irritation, then uneasiness. He slowly placed a hand on his forehead; covering his eyes as if he wanted to hide them from the world. He wanted a time alone. But Battler knew he couldn't. A bird in its birdcage, he knew. He gritted his teeth, "Damn…"

"Aurora…I-"Battler stopped, unsure of what to say. It was his turn to look into Aurora's eyes. He didn't notice it until now: She knew something. She knew something he didn't. It was almost as if she was sending a message to his mind; something that is constantly repeating itself," I know more than you do. I know more than you do."

He couldn't take this much longer. He wanted to know.

Battler hesitated, "I want to know-"

"They're my students."

The words escaped from her lips in a quick manner, almost inaudible to hear them. Silence passed by and then, as neither dared to speak. Battler would just stare at her in disbelief, not wanting to accept that both Bern and Lambda were Aurora's students. He felt a little frightened of it as this witch had a lot of tricks up her sleeve compared to Bern.

But in her eyes, she didn't want anybody to be scared. It was just… a witch's instinct. To make people frightened, to know who was boss.

"You mean-"

"I know." Aurora looked down at her lap, waiting for Battler to say something; he didn't. She looked up again, worried, which was unusual for a witch because one should be calm. But Aurora was anxious, she could only sit still, and was now in a situation she never wanted to be in. For a witch, telling a secret was a bullet to a heart. Aurora told hers, and she was startled at herself.

There, there I said it! Those words kept echoing in her mind, suffocating her, piercing her.

There! I said it!

She wanted to escape, she wanted to leave but she couldn't.

There! I-

"How were they?"

She was caught Battler looking at her, cold but curious. Aurora felt fear and surprisingly, relief.

"How were they?" She asked.

A/N – Wow, this is my first fanfic. THE FIRST ONE!(or at least, that's what I think).

Of course, its only the first, so it isn't that much good. BUT STILL!

I love Featherine Augustus Aurora, she is so pretty but cruel. For some reason she reminds of the Black Witch Maria keeps blabbering about. And that...I think I made Aurora like Beatrice, the TSUN mode. Erm… this is kinda like a story of Aurora talking to Battler about how she spent with Lambda and Bern, and how she meets Ange, and Battler talking about his goal to revive his beloved witch Beato *laughs* So, next chapter will be coming up! Chapter 2- An Image Makes Two xD See you there~

- RozErika