Chapter 56: Liberation

A bit earlier, Shinra was watching Ifrit cause mayhem at sector 5 of the slums. "Yes, go on and show them who owns them."

He was satisfied with how Ifrit wreaked havoc and make the people meek. With their secrets out to the public, then they have no choice but to rule with tyranny.

"Hmm? Who are those? Avalanche!?" Shinra stared at the three people who suddenly fought Ifrit. And one of them was well known as someone that Deepground tried disposing.

"Vincent Valentine... A disgrace, you were an ex-Turk once. But you betray Shinra." He squinted his eyes.

All their evidence points to Vincent when three Mako reactors were destroyed by Avalanche. And they surely gave the company a hard time.

"No matter, I will take care of you today." Shinra took out another two Materia. They were so Mako intensive that nobody was able to use it in the military department.

"Use the Mako reactors to power them up. They must be powerful beyond recognition. It will be a good opportunity to clean up the slums as well." He ordered and the Materia were transported to functional Mako reactors.

"Tch, they will defeat Ifrit if this continues. When will those things pop up?" Shinra was getting impatient and he went wide eyed when he saw Alexandra take care of Ifrit.

He was shocked and couldn't believe it. The perfect soldiers have definitively betrayed him. Not that they were loyal in the first place.

Shinra quickly dialed up his lackeys. "I want those summons here ASAP!" He slammed the phone down and was fuming.

"Hehe. Guhahahaha! Fools, you think I will fall here!? Yes. The summons will take care of them. And I will replace them all with the little puppets of Deepground." He rubbed his hands and watched on.

__

"Crap, Midgar's in deep trouble. Hanz! Target these coordinates for a barrage!" Ramiel pinpointed the location of the titan as he focused on their Mako.

'Alexandra is currently taking care of the other. I hope Vincent can last a few minutes.' Ramiel started sweating as he made the ship go even faster.

"You heard the captain! Load the turrets!" Angeal doubled down and they helped everyone as the next highest officers.

And at Midgar, Vincent was currently evading the hands of the titan who tried swatting him away. He fired black energy beams from Cerberus and kept it busy.

"Uogh! Eat this! Flare!" Ifalna cast her most destructive spell in her repertoire and a relatively small ball of flames escaped from her hands.

It travelled slowly, but surely. And when it hit the titan's face, it exploded grandly. The titan's advance to Midgar turned to a halt and her spell made it step back.

Vincent then got coated with violet energy as he used the tainted Mako of Chaos. He roared and crashed right at its chest.

The titan began falling down, and appropriate with its massive height. It caused tremors that increased panic in the slums when it fell.

Ifalna then communed with the planet and thick bark started to sprout from the lifeless soils of Midgar. Acting as chains that bound it for now.

She then kneeled on the ground, panting from exhaustion. And Vincent followed suit, falling from the sky.

"Vincent!" Ifalna stood up with shaky legs and was going to cast a barrier to catch him, but something swooped in and took him out of the skies.

"Yo, cavalry's here love." Ramiel smirked at Ifalna and she sighed in relief. The titan that was just outside of Midgar was starting to struggle against the makeshift chains.

But it was suddenly bombarded by Bismarck and the summon received critical damage. Needing to restore itself for some time before it could be functional again.

"You've got to help Alexandra. Look at that thing, it's gonna cause a lot of damage." Ifalna pointed at Alexander who was firing seeking missiles of Mako at his sister who was flying around.

Thousands of blue lights twinkled at the sky and Alexandra countered with her own firaga spells. But the onslaught was too much.

"A little help over here!" Alexandra shouted out and evaded the attacks with difficulty.

"Bismarck, protect the city at all costs! Full power on defense!" Ramiel ordered the crew and the Nouliths orbited Midgar and cast a magic barrier.

"I guess I'll need you a bit here, bud." Ramiel looked at the Materia in his hand and concentrated his Mako to it.

Water suddenly drowned the outskirts of the city and Bismarck kept Midgar safe. A dome kept it water tight.

The hydraean roared and it swam through the skies. A tsunami crashed right onto Alexander's fortress like body. But it had a barrier that looked to be nigh unbreakable.

Leviathan curled onto its body and chaos ensued immediately. Massive constructs of Mako fighting for supremacy.

"This shit's gonna get hectic, quick." Ramiel needed to get them away from Midgar as far as possible. Bismarck's energy source can only last so long against the batterings.

"Ramiel! We've got another issue over there!" Ifalna pointed at the titan who recovered and was picking up a huge boulder.

"Oh, not today." Ramiel put delivered Vincent right at Ifalna's side. The titan threw the giant Boulder and was in a crash course against Midgar.

He wasn't at 100% so Ramiel just tried storing the boulder in his storage and it worked. "God bless you Genesis." Ramiel smirked at the titan who was confused.

"Now, I don't know if I'm gonna need energy. So I'll be using these." He cracked his knuckles and loosened up his body.

Releasing jets of Mako behind him, he accelerated and arrived right at its face almost instantly. He then slugged the titan. A shockwave got released from the blow like a bomb and made it flew quite a bit away from Midgar.

"I-is that how really strong he is? That kid's insane!" Elmyra who just arrived and put everyone she could see inside the dome witnessed Ramiel smack the titan with his bare hands.

"He is, I don't know how strong that guy is." Ifalna communed with the planet and tried coaxing the lifestream to strengthen the barrier.

The titan crashed onto the ground and large pillars of earth arose with it as the epicenter. Ramiel wiped some sweat across his brow. "Good thing I made it land that way. These things are wild."

At the other side, the fortress Alexander emitted tons of energy and magic circles in the sky appeared.

"Oh crap, that doesn't look like it's a healing spell." Alexandra prepared for the scary attack and Leviathan concentrated water in its maw.

Steam escaped from the middle of its apparent face and bright red lights flickered dangerously. A thick beam got released from the fortress. Bestowing its divine judgement.

The Leviathan countered with a super concentrated jet of water. But it was obviously not enough. The laser from the fortress cut through the jet and collided with Alexandra's prepared reflect.

"Fuuuck!" She struggled immensely as the beams got reflected everywhere. Shaping the landscape wherever it went. Clouds parted and explosions followed the lasers.

Pure devastation was seen as everything hit turned to dust. With stray shots hitting Midgar as the barrier cracked due to the intense might.

"Hah, hah. That was not pleasant." Alexandra panted as she deflected the attack. Running on fumes already due to it.

"Shit, give cover fire!" Genesis ordered the crew and they loaded up their shells. The cannons roared and hit Alexander. Its shield not able to protect itself with the massive energy consumption.

"Mom, I'm scared. Is this how civil wars are fought?" Tifa was shivering as they saw everything on the deck of Bismarck.

"N-no, honey. This is a battle that you'll only see in a lifetime." Thea hugged her tightly as the roaring cannons of the battleship delivered shell after shell.

Alexander was forced to retreat as it suffered critical damage. The Leviathan then used water and cast a spell.

Clones of itself made of water swam in the air and battered the fortress. While the real body swirled water and tried to wash Alexander away from Midgar.

Lightning crackled from its body and a thunderclap was heard all over Midgar. The Leviathan zapped the fortress as a storm of lightning and water crashed onto it.

"Damn, you didn't tell me you were an electric eel?" Ramiel watched as he prepared to support them. He quickly dodged the large hand of the titan that was too slow to hit him.

He grabbed right onto it and threw it over his shoulder with the added momentum helping him. "Eat dirt, you giant fucker!" And while it was in the air. He suplexed the titan onto the ground, causing earthquakes from its massive weight.

While the heavy hitters outside fought for supremacy. Vincent was contacting a little help from inside.

"It's me, Vincent. Don't worry about Midgar, they will handle the summons. Quickly, target the Mako reactors. They're the ones powering up the summons." Vincent looked at Ifalna and she nodded, 100% positive that if the Mako reactors aren't dealt with. Then Midgar will have a huge problem.

Avalanche who are evacuating the people began to suit up and focused their attention to the upper plate.

"Vincent, can you help with this? The Mako reactors would definitely be guarded." His handler wanted him to be a part of the operation. But he was too exhausted.

"Sorry, some of you may die. But that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." Vincent didn't want to risk it as he now have meaning to his life.

"What the hell is that about? Just tell us you don't want to help." The handler laughed and thought he was joking.

"Vincent... That was mean." Ifalna chided him and he rolled his eyes. "Help me here, I don't think I can get away to safety. They're really going at it."

They watched them clash with Alexander and the titan. Every blow was earth shattering and the fortress fired barrages of bullets and energy at them.

Alexandra then cleaved through one of the arms of it. Its huge metal arm dropped on the ground and a tsunami of water hit Bismarck's dome.

Leviathan roared and smacked the fortress with its tail. Geysers of water then hit and battered Alexander's body.

Aerith and Cloud watched the kaijuu battles. Their eyes shining from excitement as they cheered. "Yeah, kick their asses!" Cloud shouted out and Claudia smiled wryly at him.

"Ohhhh! Throw them away, boom, pow!" Aerith shadow boxed in the air as Ramiel kept on hitting the titan who was regenerating.

Meanwhile, the operatives of Avalanche attacked the Mako reactors under the chaos. They had a relatively easier time with their numbers.

The war with Wutai just finished after all and most of their personnel that can protect it were the Turks. And they weren't like SOLDIER that can handle whole retinues of people.

So after some time, the first Mako reactor exploded splendidly. Alexandra and Ramiel felt the Mako saturate the air and they absorbed it immediately.

Alexandra glared at the fortress and had enough of its lasers and crap. She flew into the sky and concentrated. A blue pulse of Mako washed over Midgar.

"You goddamned piece of junk! Eat this, MEGAFLARE!" A blue beam escaped in front of her and sliced right through Alexander. The ground cracked and the lifestream seeped through from the damage.

The fortress started to fall down and it returned to particles of energy. The Materia of it went to Alexandra's hands. Recognizing her as the true summoner for when its divine judgement is needed.

Ramiel smirked and nodded at her marvelous control. He looked at the titan and cracked his neck. "Let's end this, shall we?"

The titan noticed that it was the last stretch of the battle and it punched the ground. Earth rumbled and massive pillars of stone decimated the landscape.

Ramiel took out his halberd and concentrated his energy on it. He cocked his arm, the veins on his arm bulging from the strength he used.

"Blue Judge." The halberd glowed with blue lightning. The elemental attack pierced through the bastion of earth and exploded right on the titan's chest.

A storm of lightning appeared. Thunderclaps deafened Midgar as lightning fell from the heavens. As if judgement from god was declared.

But he wasn't finished, quite annoyed by the titan who kept on regenerating like a little bitch. Wanting to incinerate it to nothing.

"Hyperion!" Ramiel willed water to go to the skies. Leviathan helping him with his endeavors. A massive lens of water went to space and absorbed the solar energy for miles on end.

He then clapped and imbued it with more energy. With a twinkle, the skies lit up and a barrage of pure heat fell on the remains of the titan.

Explosions littered the ground as the nigh limitless artillery caused havoc. The titan's location turned into a pool of molten earth.

"One more! You goddamned motherfuckers causing trouble for me!" Another set of Mako reactors exploded and Ramiel flew into the sky.

He took out the boulder he stored from the titan and dropped it from space. Accelerating it to breakneck speeds. He was surely a bit too angry.

"Everyone prepare for impact!" Alexandra absorbed some Mako as well and with Ifalna, they created a barrier in front of his part of the battlefield.

Midgar saw a meteor burn in the sky and in a few seconds. It crashed onto the earth. An explosion akin to a nuclear bomb made Midgar tremble to its core. The upper plate wobbling from the quakes.

"Nii-sama! Are you insane!?" Alexandra was going to give him a piece of her mind. But she stopped when she saw him glare hatefully at the crater that was crackling lightning. The friction of the dust creating electric charges.

It was an apocalyptic sight, molten lava all around the place. Lightning crackling on the dark sky that was blanketed by dust. His glowing form from all the Mako he used still there as he looked like an enraged god.

"Hah... I've lost my cool there." Ramiel swept his hair and did breathing exercises. A little frustrated from all the work he needed to do because of Shinra.

"Ramiel-nii, are you okay? It isn't good to bottle up your stress like that... If you want... I can help you with that." Alexandra fidgeted as she went up to him.

He raised a brow at her words and she started panicking. "No! I mean, I can maybe give you a massage or something!" She blushed like a tomato and he sighed.

"You're right, all this crap has been giving me a headache. How about we transform Wutai's shores to be the tourist attraction it was meant to be and relax there for a bit?" He massaged his temples and was stressing a bit too much on their plans for too long.

"Ramiel! You crazy boy! You almost killed all of us!" Ifalna chided him and he looked at Midgar. "It's fine, isn't it? That's all that matters. Now, about that fucker Shinra." Ramiel squinted his eyes and called Lazard.

"Yo, old man Lazard. You better keep your daddy there in the top floor. We'll be coming for him, and the people will give his judgement." Ramiel gave his orders.

"Sure thing, weren't you a bit too overkill on dealing with the titan? I thought you were gonna destroy Midgar or something." Lazard snickered and he sighed.

"Leave it, I'm going to leave the restoration efforts to you okay?" Ramiel cut the call and he flew with Alexandra to the top of Shinra's HQ.

Ramiel breathed in and out, knocking on the glass before he whacked it. He was a gentleman after all.

"Hands up in the air and pants down!" Ramiel pointed his Halberd at the people inside and waved it around.

Alexandra deadpanned at him as the people froze from his words. A bald Turk tried going for them to honor his work as one. But Alexandra force choked him.

"Pull his pants down so he will never forget this day." Ramiel looked at Alex and she almost choked on her saliva as he was dead serious.

She sighed and pulled his pants down and put chains of Mako on him to make him stay down.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? An old geezer that wants to control the world. Why can't young people replace old farts like you?" Ramiel smiled at Shinra and he was terrified.

"Get him!" Shinra ordered the other men in black, but Ramiel smoked them with a gun. Surprising them greatly.

"What? I like guns, they feel great when you shoot them." Ramiel shook his head at the lack of taste of the people around him.

"Ironic, isn't it? You ruled over Midgar by using the planet. But it all comes crashing down in a heartbeat. And the oppressed will pass on judgement onto you using the earth." Ramiel took some rubble and juggled it.

"Don't come close to me! I'm warning you! If I press this button, all the plates will go down and destroy everything below!" Shinra threatened him.

Alexandra couldn't hold in her laughter and was amused by his desperation. "Come on, old man. Do it, it would give us an easier time to reform Midgar."

Shinra gritted his teeth and pushed the button. Thinking they were just bullshitting him. But when he pushed the button, Bismarck kept the plates afloat and nothing really happened.

"Sorry, old man. But your time is up, it's time to pay for your sins." Ramiel dragged him by his hair and went to the slums where the people evacuated.

He dropped the man on the ground and cleared his throat. "People of Midgar, this here. Is Shinra, some of you might not have seen him ever. But he is the reason why all of you live in poverty." Ramiel's deep voice resonated and everyone listened intently.

People were shocked for a moment, but they suddenly sobered up and their rage was apparent.

"Now, this old man is quite fond of stones. Like the little gems he used to destroy your home. How about you affirm his love for it?" Ramiel pointed at the rubble on the ground and Shinra was frozen in fear.

A stone immediately hit him on the torso and it was a woman who lost her family to Shinra's tyranny.

"Bring back my family you monster!" With righteous fury, everyone started throwing stones at him. The people felt the catharsis of punishing the oppressor. And they felt wonderful.

"You damned devil! You took everything away from us!" A fallen businessman that Shinra crushed with their massive influence threw stones with righteous fury.

Ramiel and Alexandra watched on as the man that was responsible for Midgar's overwhelming poverty and barren land was stoned to death.

He felt his soul return to the lifestream, but he had an idea. He coaxed the planet to give his soul to him. Ramiel crystallized it in a Mako crystal and stared at it with a smirk.

"What is that?" Alexandra felt that it was familiar, but she wasn't quite trained in the arts of being a Cetra.

"This is Shinra's part of the lifestream. Pretty neat, huh?" Ramiel then crunched it like candy and processed his soul into pure energy.

Alexandra was shocked and stared at him incredulously. "Did you just?" Ramiel nodded at her and squinted his eyes.

"He doesn't deserve to go back to the lifestream." Ramiel turned around as the people kept on beating Shinra's corpse.

"Lazard, I want you to make everyone in Midgar board Bismarck. Make an announcement right now, the plates will fall and we need to get them down." Ramiel called Lazard.

An announcement was quickly heard all throughout Midgar and the people boarded the massive ship.

Once the evacuation was done, Ramiel stored the plates and the people below finally were able to see the light of the sun once more.

Alexandra looked at Midgar and sighed. "This going to take a lot of work." She smiled wryly at her brother and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm definitely going to take a short vacation, maybe a week." Ramiel massaged his temples and thought of all the work needed to change everything.

The Mako reactors were now offline, electricity is gone from the world's largest city. Power lines needed restoration and the modular nuclear reactors will need to be set up.

It would take months for normal life to come back to Midgar. But it would be a change for the better. Ifalna was even starting to commune with the planet and give back life on Midgar.

Eager to complete her mission as a Cetra. Seed the planet with life.

"A vacation huh, I do think we need that. We've been working nonstop aren't we?" Alexandra liked the sound of that.

"Yeah, we should bring everyone to Wutai. Except maybe Angeal and Genesis, they can be a helping hand here. They're probably sick of Wutai anyway." Ramiel shrugged and they landed on the ground where Bismarck will be disboarding the people.

Elmyra was looking around the ship for someone and Lt. Gainsborough hid from his wife. "He's right over there." Alexandra pointed out his hiding spot and Elmyra, was like a woman scorned.

She used her training with Vincent and snuck up on him, pinching his ears immediately. "So you've been having some mighty fun in Wutai in this thing eh? Not even having the nerve to send me a message."

They watched the couple quarrel and Ramiel gave everyone some popcorn for the drama. "Ramiel-nii! Alexandra-nee! I want to participate in a civil war too when I grow up!" Aerith cheerfully announced.

She just thought that a civil war meaned cool fights. "Uhhh, Ifalna. I think you should definitely teach her that wars aren't cool." Alexandra gave a dry laugh.

"Come here, honey." Ifalna had a cramped smile on her face as she explained to Aerith that wars weren't good.

"Now what?" Genesis and Angeal went up to them and saw no point in continuing to be SOLDIER. Now that they knew that Shinra was a tyrannical company that uses them to coerce the people.

"We continue, as the new world order. SOLDIER aren't just barbarians that fight for interests you know? Don't you want to be a hero? Then protect the people, not as a SOLDIER. But as a human being." Ramiel ruffled their hair and the two smiled.

"That's right!" Genesis shouted out and thought he could be a real hero now.

"C-can we be one too?" Cloud asked, a bit nervous. As he knew that he wasn't special like them.

"You can, heroes aren't born. They make their own legacy." Alexandra patted him on the head and smiled.

He then looked at Tifa and Aerith. "Then we'll definitely be the trio that will save the world! Just like you two!" Tifa smiled and Aerith nodded.

"Then you better work hard." Ramiel patted their heads and gave them some sweets. "But! Before that, I am tired. I want to go and play on the beach. Hanz! On a course to Wutai!"

The Bismarck floated up in the skies, but Ramiel left a message to Lazard that all the loyal men they have will search for clues on Hojo's whereabouts.

__

Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.