The Return of Evil:
Chapter Three
Cloud tapped Vincent on the left shoulder as they continued down the trail of dirt and pebbles. "Hey, where exactly are we going? I'm getting kind of bored…"
Vincent stopped and turned to face his companion. "Cloud, are you entirely sure you are feeling all right?"
"I'm pretty sure…"
"You have been acting… different… Did you consume one of those cookies?"
"I didn't! I just remember smelling them and saying they smelled good!"
"You smelt them?"
"That's what I just said!"
Vincent did not respond and thought for a moment before turning back. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I didn't think it was that important…"
Vincent sighed and continued walking. "We're following the Tonberry; they're extremely slow, so we should be able to track it down…"
"How do you know it went into the forest?" Cloud inquired while catching up to his comrade. "I can smell it…"
"…That's… interesting…" the blonde responded. "I'm curious though… Why would a Tonberry even give us cookies? It doesn't sound very normal to me…"
Vincent nodded. "I believe something is controlling the Tonberry… Someone, or something, may have a grudge against us…"
Cloud shrugged. "Well, we won't know unless we find it, right?"
"Yes…"
Suddenly, the sky darkened; Cloud and Vincent looked up to see a bolt of lightning falling straight at them. "Move!"
They both jumped in opposite directions, avoiding the powerful Bolt spell as it crashed against the ground, causing a great explosion.
"Fools… were you looking for me…?"
As the smoke cleared, it revealed the form of a Tonberry standing on a tree branch.
"I didn't know Tonberries could talk!" Cloud exclaimed as he looked up at the small, green monster. "You're… correct… normal Tonberries cannot speak…"
"Then what is it that separates you from normal Tonberries?" asked Vincent as he crouched upon the tree branch across from the Tonberry. "This… does…"
The monster's knife gained a bright blue aura as it flipped off the branch and slashed vertically in the air. A massive energy blade shot forward; Vincent jumped off as it obliterated the tree and continued rupturing the ground and surroundings for a few more miles after that.
Cloud watched in awe. "That's… not good…"
The Tonberry touched the ground a few yards away from its followers. "That is only a small amount of my power… Our empress has granted the strength of JENOVA cells to me and my colleagues…"
"JENOVA cells…?" Vincent readied his weapon. "Who is your "empress", and where did she acquire JENOVA cells?"
"Why, from our captive, Sephiroth, of course!"
"Sephiroth?" Cloud and Vincent said in unison. "Yes, now, fools, allow me to show you power beyond anything your feeble minds can comprehend!"
A massive golden aura surrounded the Tonberry as he began to grow. "That's not any better…"
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Sephiroth sat patiently in his small prison, thinking. He had his plan ready, but he just had to wait for the right time…
He would wait for the moogle to bring him his lunch; from his dinner visit the night before, he noted the fact that the moogle carried a device which would trigger the mechanism around his neck.
So, Sephiroth would lure the cute creature towards him, strike him quickly before he could use the device, and then leave the cell through the entrance opened by the moogle.
It just so happened that the moogle entered the room at this time…
It walked over to the cell, pressing a small red button on its chrome remote. The invisible barrier liquefied apart, allowing the moogle to step inside. As it was about to set the tray of food down, however, Sephiroth knocked on the floor. It stopped.
"Hey, moogle, over here…" It seemed hesitant, but it walked over to the former SOLDIER commander. He waited for it to come close enough, before his hand shot out and slammed into the moogle, knocking it against the invisible wall; it fell to the floor, silent.
"Perfect…"
Sephiroth stood up and crushed the remote device with his foot before walking out.
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Vincent rolled out of the way of another flame blast from the huge Tonberry. "Foolish mortals… Our Empress shall not be denied!" it yelled in a booming voice.
Cloud stepped out into the open, holding his Buster sword at the ready. "Who is your empress anyway?" he questioned before charging the Tonberry.
"You won't need to know, as you'll be dead!"
The Tonberry blocked the slash with its knife and crashed its lantern into Cloud, the impact sending him sailing into a boulder.
"You are no match against me!"
"Oh yeah… We'll just see about that!" Cloud rose from the remains of the boulder and flexed out his hand. "Flare!"
The explosion damaged the Tonberry, causing it to stagger back. "Your pitiful attacks don't affect me!"
Cloud backed away, grounding his teeth. "Darn…"
However, as the Tonberry prepared to attack, it stopped. "E-Empress!"
Its body began to tremble. "Y-You never said he w-was needed alive!"
"Hey, Vincent, what's going on with him?" Cloud asked. "He seems to be speaking to his empress… but…"
"N-No, I do not… want to die!" the Tonberry yelled as its body suddenly exploded in a flash of navy fire.
Cloud and Vincent shielded their eyes from the light. The flash lasted only a split second and the two were able to allow their eyes to adjust.
"Whoever this "Empress" is, she doesn't seem to care much for her colleagues," Vincent commented. "I'll say… but what do you think he meant by that? About wanting 'him' alive?"
"He could've been referring to either one of us; perhaps someone else…"
The sky darkened, all of a sudden, and rain began to fall. Cloud held his palm out to out to feel the droplets of water. "Wasn't it… a clear, sunny day a second ago…?"
"Yes, look," Vincent stated, raising his golden claw and pointing at a massive, dark shape coming into view in the sky. "Great… now what?"
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Tifa walked out of the town, grimacing at the rain. "You can run, Cloud, but I'll still find you…" she muttered.
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The lone moogle pushed the grand, silver doors open and walked into the large, beautifully decorated chamber. Marble tiles reflected the moogle as it scurried across the floor towards the somewhat small oak desk.
Light, green paint covered the great walls, and dark green banners hung from the ceiling.
A huge chandelier swayed slightly in the air as the woman watched the lightning flash and the thunder boom from behind the great glass window taking the place of the wall behind the desk.
"My Empress, Sephiroth has escaped…"
"Is that so…?"
"Yes, My Empress, what are we to do?"
"Allow him to act freely… He isn't a threat now that our weapon is complete…"
"But, My Empress, what of Tonberry? These two rogues-,"
"They will be dealt with accordingly, but, for now, we must prepare for my announcement…"
"And for my final report, My Empress, it seems as though Tifa Lockhart did not react as we thought to the effects of the cookie…"
The Empress clenched her fists. "…No matter… but how did she react…?"
"From what we have concluded, the complete opposite of her former personality… She seems, however, to be obsessed with, as well as following, Cloud Strife…"
The Empress turned to her personal servant. "Nicholas, make sure that Miss Lockhart meets a swift end; I will not have her interfering…"
The moogle nodded somewhat and began to scurry away, its red pom-pom bobbing up and down.
The Empress's long brown ponytail waved as she turned back to the window. "Now is the time…"
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Cid and Barret sat quietly at the bar, sipping their tea. "I daresay, this tea tastes much better than of the beer," remarked Barret as he flexed out his small finger while taking a sip.
Cid nodded in agreement while Red XIII lay drunk on the counter.
However, the television set nearby suddenly crackled. Everyone inside looked at it to see its current image fade away into static, and then slowly show the face of a young woman. Barret dropped his glass.
"It is… impossible…"
"Aeris…?" Cid thought aloud, bewildered.
Indeed, the face of Aeris Gainsborough was shown on the screen. Her emerald eyes seemed to stare into everyone. The image appeared on every television screen around the world, and four large holograms had appeared on all four side of the black shape in the sky.
"Hello, my peasants… What a nice day, is it not?"
The rain seemed to increase in ferocity as she said this.
"I speak to you all today, for a single reason… to announce myself as the sole leader of your feeble world… You shall all experience my great power!"
The image fades into a vertically moving shot which shows a great, black castle in the center of the dark clouds and lightning.
"This grand castle was created in the span of a single day… this display of might is only the tip of my power… the power of your own planet!" Aeris exclaimed as the screen then showed a cannon protruding out the base of the castle.
"Witness the power of your new master… the almighty Empress Aerith!"
Cid and Barret were speechless. "'Aerith'?" Barret asked.
"It seems so…" confirmed Cid. Red XIII remained unconscious.