Chapter 37: End Of The Line

At the northern part of the plate, Vincent was wreaking havoc against the Mako reactor with one objective in mind, pure mayhem. His chaos aspect that took over wanted to destroy evey Mako reactor in the area.

He bombarded the Mako reactor in the area with all he's got, making it explode violently. Showering him with Mako and metal fragments. Most likely killing a lot of civilians as well that were nearby the reactor.

Due to the Mako that got on him though, he was able to dilute the chaos inside him enough and wrangled control forcefully. But it left him exhausted and vulnerable, he might be biologically immortal due to the experiments done to him. But that doesn't necessarily mean that he can survive anything and come back.

Vincent frowned heavily, looking at the destruction he caused. "I… I am a monster, Lucrecia. Is living my life still really worth it? How will our children react to me?" Vincent went melancholic and ran away to the night.

The northern plate was quickly being infested by the soldiers of Shinra. Avalanche's attack on their outposts was one thing, the destruction of multiple Mako reactors is a disaster for the company. So he decided to go underground into the sewers of Midgar and will come back to the slums through it.

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Ifalna and Aerith were travelling in the sewers for a while now, and of course they were lost. "Hah, where will we go?" Ifalna was trying to follow the lifestream. But the Mako reactors that were left just had too much presence.

And the Mako at the slums were also being siphoned actively to the upper plate. Beyond Midgar's city, it was already a wasteland with no plant life growing due to Shinra's abuse of the lifestream. "Mom, you're bleeding." Aerith looked at Ifalna with concern and she just smiled at her.

Ifalna was hit by a frag grenade and it exploded right in front of her. The metal shrapnel shredded her torso and limbs extensively. She was running on fumes as the modified Jenova cells tried keeping her alive.

"It's okay honey, we will escape from here I promise." Ifalna patted her head and Aerith frowned as she saw her mother lose a lot of blood. The Cetra sat down at a corner and was trying to feel for escape routes to follow.

She concentrated on her powers and communed with the planet, desperate to find a place with the lifestream. They might be safe now, but Shinra would definitely follow them as they are too valuable for Hojo.

With enough dedication and time, she was able to find a place where there was a part of the lifestream that was untouched. She looked towards the direction and it was at sector 5 of the slums. "Come, Aerith. We need to go now, or the bad people will get us." Ifalna held on to her hand.

"But mom, you're injured!" Aerith protested, but Ifalna just held her hand tighter and immediately started limping to the direction that she deemed was an escape route.

Travelling slowly, but surely. Ifalna thought that they were safe now, Shinra won't be able to find them in the labyrinth of a sewer system. "Come on, just a little more. We'll have more breathing room if we escape below."

But Shinra is indeed a company that is quite prepared for a lot of things. And even the sewers of Midgar have surveillance cameras. They quickly found the injured Ifalna that was being supported by Aerith. "Impressive, she is still alive even if she was hit by an explosive near point blank."

Hojo looked at Ifalna's wounds that have closed up considerably and was quite amazed by how a little amount of Minerva cells gave her so much vitality. Hojo used the majority of the Minerva cells they have created in Underground. Just testing enough of it on Aerith and Ifalna to see the effects on Cetra.

But due to their lack of usefulness politically and in battle, Hojo didn't waste much of the valuable resource on them. Opting to just research about their genes and try to unlock the power of the Cetras. Seeing if it was connected to their bloodline.

"Go and intercept them, they can't go to the slums. They can hide like rats there, and we don't want Avalanche or worse, the twins to get a hold of them." Hojo gave his orders once again and the troops went into position for an ambush.

Ifalna and Aerith got a bit faster, receiving more strength at the thought of having freedom at last. It was the only thing on Ifalna's mind right now as she looked towards Aerith and remembered Gast. "Come on honey, we're almost there."

She panted and was running on fumes already, devoid of energy due to her last stunt. And also heavily injured, Ifalna kept their pace with her all. But when they were near the exit. Shinra's troops were already there.

Her heart started beating fast and her face soured instantly, seeing the squads of soldiers that were aiming their weapons at them. "Remember, don't kill the child. Aim for the mother." The squad leader gave reminders and the clicks of their rifles were like a death sentence to Ifalna.

"Mom, the bad guys are here. What should we do?" Aerith looked towards her mother and cowered behind her. Ifalna looked around and found a small opening where Aerith can fit through. With the meagre amount of energy, she recovered. She erected a wall of stone made out of the floor of the sewers as they quickly heard the gunfire that was as loud as thunder in the confined corridors.

She hugged Aerith tightly and cried, thinking it was the end of the line for her. "Aerith, listen to me honey… Try to hide as much as you can, when you think you are safe. Find Ramiel and Alexandra, they will definitely take care of you." Ifalna smiled at her as her tears fell.

Aerith was shocked and was about to protest. "Don't forget to eat, you're already thin enough as is, brush your teeth three times a day, take a bath regularly… And I'm sorry, it seems I won't be able to teach you magic. I love you." Ifalna pushed her to the small opening as fast as she could and Aerith crawled into the place subconsciously due to the shock.

The stone wall got worn down and Ifalna was exposed to the line of sight of the Shinra troops. She immediately picked up stones from the ground and threw it at them, fighting tooth and nail to buy enough time for Aerith to escape.

But she was too exhausted and her injuries made her slower. Outnumbered and at her wit's end, Ifalna got gunned down and she dropped to the floor with a thud. "Aerith… Please live a good life, Ramiel… Alexandra, please take care of my baby girl."

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.