I Never Let Her Die! (Aerith x Male Gamer Reader)

Disk 02: Chapter 09: Reactor Raid

The Highwind dropped us off about two miles to the south of Junon. Concerned about the ship's security, Cid gave orders for the crew to take off and circle to the southeast until we contacted them for pick up, and then we walked the rest of the way into Lower Junon.

We arrived to find the town in even worse shape than it had been during our first visit. "Wow. It's really gone downhill." Tifa said.

"Yeah. I wonder why?" Cloud agreed.

A voice from behind us said "I'll tell you why." We turned to see Jansen, the man who had aided us on our first visit. He continued "Ever since Meteor showed up, Shinra's been refusing to pay their guards here. The guards are making up the loss by taking whatever they want from us."

"That's terrible!" Aerith exclaimed.

"Tell me you're here to put a stop to it." Jansen said. "We're running out of food."

"It's not why we came, but I'm sure we can do something in the process." Barrett said. "Hell, if nothin' else we can bring in some food from the ship."

"Thank you. I assume you're planning to head up to the base again, right? Just bribe the guard this time."

We thanked Jansen and made our way to the elevator where, as expected, the sole guard was easily reasoned with, accepting a bribe of ten gil per person. The elevator ride was unnerving. To put it simply, an OSHA inspector would have a field day with Shinra facilities. There were no walls, no guardrails, no safety features of any kind, on a platform only just barely large enough to hold us all.

We arrived at Upper Junon and followed the main road north. After a short distance, Cloud stopped. "Something's different..." he said. I decided to keep my mouth shut and see how long it took him to figure it out.

"I'm feeling it too." Tifa said. "Like something's missing."

"What could it be?" Cloud wondered.

"The gun!" Barrett suddenly said. "Look! The damned Mako Cannon is gone!"

Cloud and Tifa looked up in surprise. "But... Where did it go?"

"Midgar." Aerith said.

"They're hooking the thing into all six functioning reactors, hoping to pump it up strong enough for a shot to penetrate the Barrière physique around the northern crater." I said. "It'll work too, but that's a story for later."

"Right." Cloud agreed. "Let's move"

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As we approached the elevator that led down to the reactor we encountered a large number of guards. Most no longer cared since they weren't being paid anymore and simply ignored us but a few actually took a stand. The first group of such numbered three. They rushed at us from ahead, guns blazing. We scattered for cover to the sides of the hall, save for Cid who jumped up, then pushed off the roof downwards, taking out the lead guard. Cloud moved next, sliding under the gunFeu of the two remaining guards and finishing them both with a single fluid swing of his blade.

The next team of guards was smarter than the first. Instead of rushing us they took cover against the walls, behind support columns, and Feud on us from there. Vincent and Barrett returned Feu to keep them cornered while the rest of us worked to actually deal with them. Yuffie tried to cut through a column with her boomerang but the material it was made from proved too tough. Aerith and Red were trying to attack with magic, but the guards seemed to be well protected from spells. It was Tifa who managed to take out the first guard. She slipped out of the hall into a side room, then took out the guard by punching through the wall and grabbing him, pulling him head over foot and slamming him to the ground unconscious.