Early the next morning, I joined the rest of the team, minus Red, at the town's main entrance. I looked up towards the observatory and saw Bugenhagen and Red watching us gather. "So Red's really staying?" Yuffie asked. "I hoped he'd change his mind."
"We all did." Cloud answered her.
"I'll miss the big flea-bag, that's fo sure!" Barrett rumbled. "But, we can't sit here poutin' or we'll never get 'ta Nibelheim. Let's move out!" Barrett started walking, with Cloud and Tifa immediately behind him, Cait and Yuffie a little further back, and Aerith and I last, just out of earshot.
"You're sure Red will change his mind?" she whispered to me.
"Unless game and reality take a major divergence from each other here, yeah... Though, so far as that goes, I was expecting him to catch up to us at the gate. I'm starting to worry..."
"Hmmm..." Aerith mused. "Hey! I just thought of something! Do you actually know what's going on with that mystery supply deal Red's got going?"
"I'm not sure." I answered. "The thing is, in the game, you're given a ridiculous amount of inventory space. Like, more than a thousand people could realistically carry. But it's never explained, or even commented on, and pretty much all adventure games are like that... Until Red, I just thought it was a way to make the game easier."
"Strange..."
"Yeah... Tell you what, if he really doesn't come running to rejoin us, we'll come back here when this is all over... and refuse to leave him alone 'til he explains it."
Aerith chuckled. "Deal..."
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=== Begin Third-Person P.O.V. - Nanaki ===
"Well Grandson, there they go..." Bugenhagen said. "I knew them only a day, yet I think I'll miss the lot of them."
"As will I." Red agreed.
"You don't have to, you know..."
"I don't understand Grandfather."
"Oh-ho... This old man thinks you do... Why are you staying here Nanaki? The canyon is in good hands, and the world itself is at risk."
"Grandfather, how could I go? It is my duty to protect the canyon..."
Bugenhagen laughed. "And what good, pray tell, will that do if the entire world is destroyed? Do you think that this little canyon might survive the death of Gaia itself? That we might use magic to contain a bubble of air around a Cosmo Canyon-sized asteroid drifting in space?"
"Of course not, but..."
"But nothing Grandson. The canyon will be fine, and so will I... If the world is saved. Go. Help your friends."
Red looked up at the old man with his good eye. "I... Thank you Grandfather. I will return when Gaia is secure once more." He turned and ran to catch up with the rest of us...
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=== Resume First-Person P.O.V. ===
We had just reached the buggy when a loud howl sounded from behind. Everyone turned and looked to see Red running towards us at full speed. As he approached he slowed to a walk, and had to sit and catch his breath before saying "I have discussed the situation with Grandfather, and we concurred that my duty to protect Cosmo Canyon is, at this juncture, best served by protecting the planet as a whole. May I continue to travel with you?"
Yuffie started laughing and threw her arms around Red's neck. "I knew you wouldn't abandon us!" she exclaimed.
"Then you knew wrong." Red replied. "I truly did intend to remain here."
YOU ARE READING
I Never Let Her Die! (Aerith x Male Gamer Reader)
FanfictionOn his way home from work. Y/N was transported back to the original game for one purpose: to prevent the death that shocked and saddened the greatest number of players on earth, giving him the opportunity to heal a wound that hadn't been healed in s...
