Inspired by the challenge set down by Acolyte of the Blood Moon. What if Harry was the reincarnation of a certain green-eyed SOLDIER? Hopefully fast updates, if people like it.
Disguise Materia is mental property of dantesdarkqueen, to whom I bow before and praise for her awesome FF7 stories, incuding Evidence of Sephiroth's Humanity. Why are you reading this? Go read that! Now!
BTW, Riddle Wraith, greivergf, sdphantom10, Sarpedan, and FFfanforever came the closest to figuring out who have the Enemy Skill before! I wold have taken anyone from AVALANCHE, but Cloud and Vincent were the ones I usually gave that one to. Congratulations, you win a cookie!
Never a Memory...
The disguise Materia felt rather delicate, that sharp brittleness of a dying materia singing in their minds, but every time they practiced with it, it seemed to sound a little stronger. But they weren't sure if it was close to birthing a new sphere, or if it was leveling. Still, with any luck, it would last long enough for them to get in and out of the Ministry.
"I don't remember this type," Harry said off handedly a day later as they stalked a trio of potential marks through the streets of London.
Ron's eyes went out of focus as he delved into ancient memories. "It was rare even in Midgar," he offered after a second. "It was a mutated Manipulate to begin with, and the Turks had the only copies." He ignored the pout from Hermione; Genesis would have loved to play with something as rare as this, not to mention how useful it would have been after he'd defected. Sephiroth would have gotten good use out of it too, especially for those rare times the man had wanted to get away from Shinra Tower. It would have been easier than trying to hide all that hair up in a hat or hood every time he wanted a chance to breathe. "After Meteorfall, we never had a chance to level up any pieces so we could offer them to the rest of the world. The WRO had the only pieces that survived."
The young General blinked, staring at the orb in his bracer. It explained how fragile the little orb felt, it was either from that time period or birthed not long after it. The last person to have used it would have been a historical figure, Yuffie or Valentine or one of the Turks. No wonder it was so delicate, and he and Hermione glanced at each other, the same thought running through their minds. Either they would treat this one like glass, or they would get the best use out of it for as long as they could.
And Hermione prayed that if it had to shatter that it would birth a new one beforehand.
Their marks ducked around a corner, and seeing that no one else was down the alley, the trio pounced, baton and sword hilts smacking against skulls almost in unison, catching the now unconscious wizards as they fell to the ground.
IDs were swiped, along with wands, and eyes were checked and weapons were tucked away. They had found that the Disguise Materia would change everything except for eye color, so they would have to do their best to match up eyes as close as they possibly could. Two had brown, and while the other didn't have Harry's green, the hazel would have to be close enough. One by one, the Materia activated, bright green swirls that changed Ron into a frumpy and grizzled looking older man, bent over himself. Hermione turned into a haggard looking young man, brown hair and brown eyes and the short sleeves of her robes that ended at her elbows, indicating a janitorial position. And Harry became a young man, also in short sleeved robes, but with the fresher face of someone straight out of Hogwarts.
Ron nodded, the Turk in him coming to the forefront. "Alright, no one notices the help," he muttered, the trio dragging the bodies into a building. They had chosen well, it was an old abandoned factory. With any luck, no one would come across them. And with Hermione casting sleep on them, they wouldn't wake up for hours. "As long as we act like we know what we're doing and keep our heads down, it should be easy enough to get to the archives and pull the information we need."
"Try not to get separated," Harry ordered as they exited the factory, heading towards the restroom entrance. "Don't forget, this magic will only last a hour before it needs a fresh casting."
Hermione's eyes were fixed on the line ahead of them, the trio slowing down so they wouldn't have to join immediately. "And if we get caught?"
"I'll hit you with a new disguise. Trust me, you'll know."
They went silent as the line shuffled forward, each of them taking a different stall to try and look natural. Harry took a deep breathe a few minutes later, climbing on top of the toilet. This was going to be stressful as hell, the three of them deep in enemy territory.
With any luck, they would be in and out before anyone knew.
~~~...~~~...~~~...~~~
"They're muggles," Hermione whispered in disgust, staring at the statue that had taken the place of the original fountain. Her eyes went hard, though she ducked her head so that someone would see. "There is no dream, no honor remains! If we have to escape, I'm changing that thing beforehand."
"Keep calm," Harry whispered, but his own eyes were flashing with anger at the throne crushing the vacant-faced people. The only reason Ron didn't say anything was because he was keeping himself wrapped in old memories, Turk professionality at the forefront. A goofy bastard Reno might have been, but there was a reason he has one of the few Turk Survivors of Meteorfall.
They slunk by the statue, heading for the elevators, Ron pressing the button for the archive floor. As crazy fast as the box was, they refused to make a peep, swaying with the jolts and stops. They had been lucky so far, slinking by the wand station un-noticed and having a box by themselves. On the wall was a poster, and they were quiet as they read it. They were expecting this, but to see Harry's face under the title of Undesirable No. 1 was still a bit of a shock, though they noticed it was an older picture, back when his hair was still mostly black and only starting to grow out.
What was a true surprise when they exited the elevator was the other posters on the walls of the floor. Hermione and Ron had their own posters, as well as the Order including Remus and Tonks as well as a handful of Muggleborn students that they knew had gone into hiding instead of risking Hogwarts. As dire a situation as this was, the part of Hermione that whispered in Genesis' voice was rather flattered that they would consider her to be as much of a threat as Harry. Reno just plain didn't care.
The Archives were quiet, except for a rustling deeper within the level, and while Hermione and Ron started looking for the newest files, Harry ducked back, grabbing a broom that was leaning against the corner to pretend to be cleaning his way towards the noise. It took all of his training and mental discipline not to freeze at the sight of the rows on rows of young women, working on posters like robots, with Umbridge marching up and down the isles with that vile little smile on her froggish face. His lips thinned under the Disguise. especially when she cast some sort of stinging hex on one woman who was a half second slower than the others, only for him to sink fully into the persona of the General at the sight of Moody's eye on what had to be the door to Umbridge's office.
This bitch. The absolute gall of her! The only way she could have that eye is if she had been part of the attack that night. If she hadn't been a Death Eater back in Fifth Year, she certainly was one now, and therefor a target to the young man. Carefully he slunk backwards, still pretending to sweep until he was well out of the sight of the hall, joining the pair behind him. Hermione and Ron had found the information they needed, copies placed in both their pockets, but they paused at the look on Harry's face. Even through the Disguise they could see Sephiroth's glare, fit to set the room on fire.
"We are not leaving quietly," was all that Harry said, his voice dropping unconsciously into a baritone as he glared back in the direction of the Toad. The pair could feel the anger rolling off of the wizard, and they carefully peeked around the corner, only to drop back immediately when they saw who was there. "G, do we have anything that can inflict Blind?"
Hermione shook her head even as she plunged her arm into her bag, tactical mind already seeing where he was going with the request. "The only Materia that did that were the artificial ones, and they were so fragile to begin with that none survived the centuries. However," and she pulled out the familiar Enemy Skill, "we do have Bad Breath in here, and if they're confused they won't be able to report back accurately anyway."
"And everyone will get at least two ailments with that, yo."
A terse nod as Harry gently took the orb, switching it out with a Fire, and paired up with an All. "As soon as I cast, if she isn't one already then make sure to Toad the toad. We will not leave without her, and as far as I am concerned, she will not last the night." They all nodded as one, Ron switching out a few Materia to make sure he had a Seal and Mini ready for this operation. This would have to be fast and quiet, and they would have to head for the exit as soon as they were done.
The air was still as they crouched next to the opening to the hall, the air growing tense as Harry silently held up a hand, counting down three, two... one!
With a flash of magic the hall erupted into chaos, the three dozen women all being inflicted at once. Some had become Toads or miniatures of themselves, some were trying to use their wands to reverse the affects on themselves and the others to no avail, and most were spinning in confusion, the world shifting and bouncing about wildly as they tried to fix their vision.
Umbridge had been Silenced and Confused, and Ron snapped out one of his fastest castings at her, smirking in triumph as she shrank down into the form of a warty little Toad. She had been close to the trio, and Harry scooped her up as Hermione quickly pried the eye out of the door. As fast as the attack started they were moving again, heading for the elevator, praying that they would get out before someone managed to raise the alarm. The Toad squirmed in Harry's pocket, and the young man slapped a hand against her roughly, stunning her as they exited back into the Atrium.
"Hey, you! you're not supposed to be down here!" The trio paused, turning to stare at the man barking at them, his stance and clothes marking him as a Pureblood. "Get back to your post, Halfblood," he sneered, looking straight at Harry.
A smirk. That was the only warning they got before the young man decided to test out his newest Materia. Comets rained down in the Atrium, smoke and fire filling the air even as the trio started running for the Apparition Points, Hermione's wand springing into her hand as she fulfilled her earlier vow.
Using the Materia had strengthened their magic and control, and as they dived for the Apparition point, the foul throne on the broken bodies of Muggles changed into a Trio of Men, tall and handsome and armed with swords, marble flowing into the images of the Three First Class SOLDIERS of the old Meteorfall Legend, a plaque reading Nothing Shall Forestall Our Return. With a pop, the three were gone, leaving behind broken bodies and a story that would spread to the oppressed with the speed of gossip through the mouths of the survivors of this attack.
phew, this one was a trip to write! Hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.