Chapter 147 & 148 – Him & …Him
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[Warning! Warning! The Jenova Cells Encroachment Has Risen to 1%]

[At 3%, Damages to Cloud Strife’s Psyche will become Irrevocably Damaged.]

[Warning! Jenova Cells Encroachments have reached 1.1%]

“What, Echo, what is going on!”

[The energy from Space Stone is accelerating the Progression of Jenova Cells. Currently, Cloud’s psyche will irrevocably break from the pressure of Space Stone and Jenova.]

“No, no, no, I don’t understand! He was able to take on 50% of Jenova’s encroachment. He didn’t have any trouble! Why at 1%,” Aerith paced around in her office, beside the floor-to-ceiling glass wall behind her chair, looking at the thousands of wizards filling the streets and still Apparating.

[Things have changed. Current 1% of Jenova Cells are equal to 100% of Old Jenova’s Encroachment.]

“What the hell is that supposed to mean—” Aerith froze, “This is about my dream, right? I figured out the reason why Jenova Cells changed, and it was sad; it was something so sad that Cloud had to remove my memories. Right?”

[…]

Tifa stepped in front of Aerith, cupping her cheeks, stopping her, “Aerith. Listen. We can’t wait any longer. It’s time.”

Aerith ground her teeth in anger, “Damn it! I would have punched him myself if he weren’t about to be killed!”

She marched out of the room, finding the member of Order, the prominent Aurors, all in one room, ordering them, “The time is here!!! We are bringing the fight to them!”

Before anyone could cheer, orange sparks appeared in the room, and a portal appeared in front of them. They all gasped, taking a step back, watching the portal become bigger, and the Centaurs stepped in, bowing towards Aerith.

“We, the Centaurs, are here as promised.”

“Not in the mood for small talk. We need to help Cloud, so be ready to kill them!”

“Right,” The Centaur said when another Portal appeared, and the Goblins stepped out, “Where is the war!”

This time, Aerith didn’t even get a chance to speak when another portal appeared, but then House Elves Apparated without the need of the portal, led by Kreacher. He bowed, eyes closed, “We are here to fight for you.”

He opened his eyes, staring at her, “Remember your promise.”

Aerith glanced at the last open portal, the woman floating out of it, and respectfully greeted her, “Ancient One.”

“Miss Gainsborough, this is the first time we are meeting.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Are you going to fight?”

“No, Minister. Ancient One can’t fight our wars.”

“Hm,” Aerith looked over to Dumbledore, who walked in front of everyone else.

“Dumbledore.”

“Ancient One,” Dumbledore nodded, “The International Community has decided the Separation between the Sorcerers and Wizards. Even if we fail, Ancient One will not allow Voldemort to run wild so that the International Community will interfere.”

“And if and only if they fail can I interfere,” Ancient One replied, “Now then. It’s best if you hurry before Miss Lockhart gets into trouble.”

“Tifa?” Aerith jerked her head towards her office, only to realise it was empty. She parted her lips, and the next instance, she puffed cheeks, “Her too!”

She felt a weight on her shoulder, looking over to Fred and George, taking her anger out on them, “I am the Minister!”

“Yeah,” Fred grinned.

“Lead us to battle, Minister.”

Aerith exhaled, taking a deep breath, “Let’s do this then. Everyone! March forward!”

Riverdale, The House,

“Tifa!”

“Here, I am here,” Tifa hugged Yelena, kissing her head. She raised her chin to look up at Natasha, taking her palm, “Are you ok?”

“Yeah…it’s Cloud…he disappeared. We went out to search, but he wasn’t there.”

“I brought them in right away,” Molly hastily explained.

“Thank you, Molly,” Tifa kissed Yelena’s cheek again, “Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon. I have to go.”

Her body started to turn red blocks, disappearing from their sight, disappearing from this dimension, and appearing in the Mirror World.

“This war will be over before they ever get here.”

Tifa released a relieved smile, “You are wrong about that, Cloud.”

She didn’t get the same reaction that she thought she would. More than that, he didn’t seem like himself. His skin was covered in blue metallic veins, running through his face, over his eyes, and the energy was increasing, almost like flames, swaying with the wind, “Stay back. Girl.”

Tifa felt a sudden aversion, the feeling that something was wrong in the world, “Who?”

She jumped back, not because of Cloud, but because of the spells coming towards her, only they didn’t reach her. Portals appeared in front of her, taking in all the spells, and they appeared in the middle of the army, causing them to scramble. He didn’t teleport them towards the ones firing, but the ones standing in the middle or the back of the army placement. A massive space portal appeared below the giants and above the army, dropping them on the Wizards who ran or apparated to save their lives. As for the Dementors, portals appeared before them every time they moved, teleporting them back to the same place, confining them within a sphere.

[Warning! Progression 1.2%]

Tifa worriedly looked at Cloud, the space fissures in front of her, “Echo? What is going on? If Cloud currently has 120% of Jenova’s powers, then shouldn’t he be able to finish this in seconds?”

[He currently possesses the power to destroy the whole Galaxy with the strongest move. It’s unusable.]

“Why?”

[He’s not using the Space Stone, he is using the surge of energy to push through his limits. His power is in Overdrive, uncontrollable. Even a wrong twitch of his fingers might destroy the planet. This is precisely why the Personalities inside him are working together with him. One branch controls excess energy, while Shelke uses precise control to create the phenomenon in front of you.]

[If you observe, you’ll notice he is trying his best not to move. He is floating in the air, and that is all.]

“All of them? Together?”

[Precisely what puts him in danger. They are many minds inside one brain, controlling different parts of it. The only problem is the surge of energy; the Jenova Cells will push them together in one place. Hence, creating a single personality.]

[Cloud Strife. Will be lost.]

Tifa bit her lip, “How can I stop that?”

[End the War.]

“How can I?”

“We will end it.”

Tifa looked over to the voice, to the portal; an orange one opened behind her when she was too busy talking to Echo. Aerith walked over to her, taking her hand, looking up at Cloud in the sky and the massive army below. Many portals opened for a short while, all over the battlefield, and someone jumped in, and the portal closed. Soon, more of them opened one after the other, and Aerith asked her question.

“Echo. Why is he so worried about letting loose? This is Mirror World?”

“Oh, well,” Aerith took Tifa’s palm in her hand, grinning, “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“Yeah,” Tifa confidently smiled, looking forward, and a few moments later, she whispered, “Aerith…you need to let go of my hand. I use my fist?”

“Oh yeah,” Aerith took her palm away, placing her hands together, grinning as her body was covered with magical green energy as she spread out her hands, creating a silver staff, which she gripped, “Let’s finish this.”

Many entered the fray from her side, the Goblins, Giants, House-Elves, and more. Though it wasn’t random, a few had to settle the feud between them…

“Fenrir Greyback!”

“Lupin,” Fenrir laughed, “Ah, boy, what is it that you are here for?”

Lupin raised his wand, “To put an end to you, for all your crimes. You will be imprisoned, tried and judged!”

“Hahahaha!! I remember those idiots judging me. Oh, wasn’t it your father, shouting, screaming at them that I was responsible? What happened then?”

“Are you failing to see it, Fenrir?” Lupin used the Stupefy to keep Fenrir at bay. In the moments between, he glanced towards Cloud in the sky, “Don’t you see everything around us. Those fools who laughed, standing behind you, and those like my father, who saw you what you are—are on my side. Your Era is over, and so is your race. No one would have to suffer ever again!”

“SO WHAT!!! WHAT IF YOU FOUND A WAY TO REMOVE A PIECE OF ME!! ALL I HAVE TO DO IS SCRATCH YOU AGAIN!!!!”

Lupin scoffed, soldiering forward, barely dodging a spell from the side; he was nearly hit by another when Tonks entered his sight, using Protego to defend him, grinning, “Go. Kill him.”

Lupin pressed his lips to stop himself from smiling and marched forward, “Stupefy!”

“Like hell that’d work, boy!!” Fenrir slashed his sharp nails to cut him apart, but Lupin hurried out of the way, “Confrigo!”

Fenrir’s body burst into flames, and yet he didn’t scream. His body started transforming, becoming bigger, more muscular, and grey hair covering his body. He growled in a hoarse voice, “I’ll kill you!!”

“I’d like to see you try!!” Sirius ran, transforming into his Animagus Form in the middle of his leap, that of a black dog. He tried to bite Fenrir Greyback, forcing him to back away, and then he had to dodge the werewolves’ minions of Greyback.

“Diffindo!”

Sirius retreated to the one that saved him right now, “Bill?”

“Fleur?”

“Let us help,” Bill pointed his wand forward, standing back to back with Sirius, Lupin and Tonks, “We’ll protect your back.”

While this group of people were fighting against Werewolves, another stood in front of the Dementors.

“Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!” “Expecto Patronum!”

“Expecto Patronus!!” Harry screamed at the top of his voice, and a bright light that surpassed those of the other members of Dumbledore’s Army spread out, turning into a Stag, attacking the Dementors while the other Patronus did the same. The portals that surrounded the Dementor disappeared, appearing elsewhere on the battlefield.

As much as they wanted to fight the Death Eaters, the Giants or anyone else, they were the only group that practised Patronus Charm together, so they could fight in unison, keeping the Dementors in check. Though one member was missing from Dumbledore’s army, another soon left, holding a sword on his waist. One, if others saw, would be familiar with.

The only ones of note left were the Giants and Spiders; the Giants on Voldemort’s side were fighting against the Giants from their side.

“Tifa! You are ok!”

“Hagrid, Madam,” Tifa smiled at Hagrid and Madam Maxime, looking over her shoulders at the other Giants, “I don’t like spiders.”

“Why! Spiders are so cute!” Hagrid protested.

Madam Maxime laughed and patted Tifa’s back with her giant hands, “Fight with us!”

“Yes,” Tifa made a fist, taking her stance, looking at the army rushing towards her, “I am ready.”

Madam Maxime looked at Hagrid, who seemed distracted, “Hagrid!”

“But~! But~! Who is fighting the Spiders?!”

“The Centaurs and Aurors are taking care of that.”

“Oh, those poor Spiders~!”

Tifa sighed, standing straight, raising her hand to effortlessly stop the kick from the giant, cocking her head, “Do you want to go and fight there, Hagrid?”

“Uh,” Hagrid darted his eyes between her, Maxime, and Tifa’s hand that stopped the Giant.

As if to reassure him, Tifa lifted the giant by her grip on its leg and threw him over the other giants stopping them from reaching them, “You can go. We’ll be fine.”

“H-How did you do that?”

Tifa pressed her lips into a smile, “Take it as gravity magic.”

She could manipulate her Personal Gravity, and that meant manipulating the Gravity of those or things she touches. The moment she came into contact with the giant’s legs, lightening its weight to put more force in a throw, she stopped its kick with her strength. Even without the gravity manipulation ability, her strength easily rivalled that of the giants.

“You are so amazing!” Hagrid muttered, wildly shaking his head, “No need! I’ll fight with you!”

“Then all of you!! Chargee!!!” Maxine shouted at the top of her voice, charging forward to fight against the giants.

There were many fights on this battlefield, though there was only one that mattered the most, the fight between the two Wizards, Teacher and Student, one that had been in making a long while.

“Dumbledore!” Voldemort fired a Killing Curse without a moment’s notice, and though it did not hit, Dumbledore used his wand to telekinetically lift a part of the broken house and stop the spell.

He didn’t speak; he didn’t even wait when he flicked his wand again, firing a spell countered by Voldemort, causing a collision between rose and blue lights, striking against each other. The lightning blasted everything around them, and everyone from both sides backed away, creating an empty area.

“Today you die, Dumbledore!!!”

“It’s over for you, Lord Voldemort,” Dumbledore flicked his wand, causing the lightning to hit everywhere around Voldemort, breaking the ground. The crackling sound resounded everywhere around them.

Voldemort let go, voicelessly twirling the wand, breathing out and resealing a Fiendfyre spell upon Dumbledore, one that took the shape of the snake, circling Dumbledore.

“Hahahaha!! Over?! You dream! Dumbledore!”

Dumbledore flicked his wand up, and the blood from the battlefield rose, collecting around his wand, taking the shape of a phoenix, which tackled the snake, mixing with it, breaking it apart. He released control over the blood and waved his wand to raise stones from the ground, throwing them at Voldemort.

Darkness rushed out from Voldemort’s whole body, destroying the stones to the point that they turned into dust, floating around them.

Most of them were fighting in groups, races, against each other, and in all of them, there was a boy, holding the Sword of Gryffindor on his waist, running through the crowd. There were two, born on the day the seventh month died, one was chosen, and the other was forgotten. One lost his parents forever, and the other found them after sixteen years.

The forgotten boy ran through the battlefield with the wand in his hand, his own that his mentor got for him, and the Sword of the Gryffindor, which the phoenix dropped in front of him when he decided to take this mission.

He had to find the snake, the one that could be anywhere on the battlefield where the spell ran amuck. Where death was right around the corner, he searched to protect what he had, his parents, whom he found again, who would fight again, and who might die again. His friends and mentor were in the sky, protecting everyone.

He thought he had to find the snake, but he realised there was a portal in front of his eyes and the snake on the other side.

“Kill it. I must kill it!” Neville didn’t care; he jumped through the hoop, holding and gripping the sword, “I need to kill the Horcrux!”

He wasn’t the only member of Dumbledore’s party, the one who was after the Horcrux; there was another, not in the Mirror World, but Riverdale, on the same duty.

“Hermione!”

“Yeah,” Hermione was paying attention to the firefighting crew, the police, and many more departments. Even from Magic Divisions were hiding here and there. They all must have gotten reports.

“Someone’s here,” Natasha stood at the door, looking at Hermione standing outside, and her words shocked Hermione. She ran back inside to find a woman lying on the couch. She wasn’t anyone she had seen before, but she seemed to treat this place like home.

Hermione readied her wand behind her back in case this woman was a Wizard, which she likely was since she didn’t use the door.

“She’s…a Wizard. She apparated,” Natasha shrugged, looking at the black woman with the shade of brown skin. She wore a dark blue dress robe, lying on the couch, and she could swear this woman was a step away from taking off her clothes because of how restrictive she found them.

“Who are you?”

“Hey,” The woman sat up, “Sorry…I should be sleeping right now…I am still half awake. I came to see Cloud since there was a magical disturbance here. Some say they saw Giants. What is going on?”

“How do you know Cloud?”

“Is that what’s important here,” Natasha shot a look at Hermione, who hastily shook her head.

“Sorry! Voldemort brought at army over! He attacked, and then Cloud! He forcefully teleported the army away!”

“Excuse me?” The woman raised her eyebrows, standing up, “Tell me everything.”

[Hermione, it’s time. Get ready.]

Hermione nodded at Echo, which she could hear since she was part of the party. She ran outside, and Natasha followed, alongside the American woman, “Wait. Explain.”

“Give me a moment,” Hermione stepped out of the house, waving her wand towards the shrubs, and one by one, the Horcruxes started to float out in the air, rising in front of her, circling in the sky.

“Can you destroy them?” Natasha muttered.

“When Cloud broke up with me…he gave me a gift. He taught me magic,” Hermione confidently pointed her wand up, and blue liquid fire dripped from it, “It’s perfect for this situation.”

The fire created a circle, and a phantom rose, one very familiar to Natasha and the woman.

“Cloud?!”

Cloud’s phantom held the Buster Sword, bending its knees, and jumped up in the air, slashing all the Horcruxes at once. It dodged to the edge of the circle when a pillar rose, forming a sword which he took, piercing it in the first Horcrux, and it moved to the second sword, coming back to the centre to pierce in the next. It moved at a speed that they only saw streams of fire. It stopped for a moment when it jumped up higher, and they could see all of the Horcrux and the phantom came down, slashing all of them, breaking them apart, and black smoke came out, covering the air above the house.

Hermione watched the phantom land on its knee and rise, placing the sword on his back, before dissipating in blue fire, “Fiendfyre—Ver. Cloud Strife.”

In Mirror Dimension,

“No! Noooo!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!” Voldemort fell on his knee, being hit by the after-effects of his broken Horcrux, “Noooo!!!”

Voldemort’s whole body trembled; he held his head, his muscles visibly twitched, and it all started to change. His murderous aura spread out, his cat-like red eye changed colour, colour returned to his skin, and he became taller. Silver hair appeared on his head, becoming longer, reaching his waist, and loose black cloth over his body turned into a Uniform with black pants, a long black coat, boots, and white pauldrons.

He shook his head, “Disgusting.”

The man Dumbledore found standing before him took a deep breath, “Ah, the nostalgic scent of war. It is the same, the blood…it’s exhilarating.”

Dumbledore readied himself for battle when portals appeared, surrounding Sephiroth from all directions, but they were all cut apart at once.

“Now, now, Cloud. Why don’t you come here if you want to stop me?” Sephiroth looked over his shoulder, finding a blue pillar in place of where Cloud was. This time, another portal appeared in front of Dumbledore, and Cloud landed between them. He stopped on his knee, his one hand touching the ground, keeping himself up.

Cloud stood up, wrapping his palm around the hilt, raising his chin to look at Sephiroth, “I thought you might come out, Sephiroth.”

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