Johnny didn't move immediately. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the silver, standard-model PHS (Personal Handphone System) he had recently bought with his tournament winnings.
There was only one number in his contacts.
Ring... Ring...
"Hello, Johnny?" Aerith's voice came through clear, though slightly breathless, as if she had just run to answer the phone. "Calling in the afternoon? Do you miss me already?"
Johnny didn't reply with his usual banter. His voice was grave.
"Aerith, listen. I'm going into the underground cargo tunnels near the Pillar. There's a hardline Avalanche faction down there. This... is going to be dangerous."
On the other end of the line, Aerith's tone shifted instantly. The playfulness vanished, replaced by the alertness of a Cetra.
"I can feel it. There's a bad 'vibration' coming from that direction. Malice, just like I said."
"I'm calling to warn you," Johnny said, walking briskly toward the rendezvous point. "You might... feel pain again later. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Aerith cut him off firmly.
There was a brief silence. Then Aerith whispered, her voice sounding as if she were speaking directly into Johnny's ear rather than through a speaker.
"Johnny, don't close the 'door.' Keep your heart open. I will be with you. I can't hold a sword, but I can lend you my 'breath.' I want to try our new power."
"I'm afraid it's too dangerous for you, Aerith," Johnny replied, his grip tightening on the phone.
"It won't be."
Johnny felt a warm sensation spread through his chest, right where his heart beat. Their Soulbound connection pulsed softly, like an indicator light flicking on: CONNECTED.
"Alright, as long as you think it's safe," Johnny answered reluctantly. "Take care of yourself there, Flower."
"Give them hell, Iron."
Click. The connection ended, but the link between their souls had just fully activated.
The cargo tunnel was dark, damp, and reeked of rotten oil. It was illuminated only by the soft blue glow of Reno's electro-mag rod and the faint reflection off Rude's sunglasses.
"They're up ahead," Reno whispered. "The 'Raven' elite squad. These aren't the amateurs you beat up at the warehouse. These are trained killers."
"I'll take point," Johnny said. He didn't ask for permission. He stepped forward immediately, his massive frame and the Dragon Slayer blocking the narrow path completely.
Rude nodded in agreement. It was the logical strategy: The Shield in front, the Damage Dealers in the back.
BLAM!
The iron door of the hideout flew off its hinges, kicked open by Johnny.
Inside, a dozen Raven soldiers in black-and-red combat fatigues reacted instantly. They were heavily armed with short-barrel assault rifles and stun batons.
"Intruders! Kill them!"
Bullets filled the air.
Johnny angled his massive sword, blocking the majority of the incoming fire.
CLANG! PING! CLANG!
"Now!" Johnny shouted.
Reno darted out from behind Johnny's back. His movements were as fast as lightning.
"Electro Mag!"
Reno swung his rod. A crackling arc of blue electricity chained between three soldiers, sending them into convulsions before they collapsed.
Rude followed up with terrifying calm. He used "Seize," catching a soldier attempting to flank Johnny. With a fluid judo technique, he slammed the man into the concrete, then silenced him with a single, precision punch to the face. K.O.
Their teamwork was terrifying. Johnny was the impenetrable wall, Reno was the stinging lightning, and Rude was the crushing hammer.
But the enemy had a surprise.
From the darkness at the far end of the room, a Sweeper Prototype emerged. The bipedal killing machine had been modified with dual Gatling guns and a massive chainsaw attached to its arm.
"Damn it! They have toys!" Reno cursed. "Rude, Barrier!"
The Sweeper began to fire blindly. These weren't standard lead bullets; they were armor-piercing rounds.
Johnny sensed the danger. If those rounds hit Reno or Rude, who were only wearing suits, they were dead.
Johnny leaped into the line of fire.
"Huh?!" Reno's eyes widened.
Johnny slammed the tip of his greatsword into the concrete floor. The Cover Materia embedded in the blade glowed bright.
BRRRRTTTT!!!
Hundreds of rounds hammered against the flat of the Dragon Slayer. The vibration was so intense that Johnny felt the bones in his arms threatening to crack. Several bullets ricocheted, grazing Johnny's exposed shoulder and thigh. Blood sprayed.
"Argh..." Johnny groaned. The stinging pain from his shoulder and thigh was white-hot.
At the same moment, in her room in Sector 5, Aerith gasped. She clutched her left shoulder, wincing in pain as if an invisible bullet had just grazed her.
"Johnny!" she cried out.
Instead of fear, Aerith closed her eyes. She didn't pull away from the pain. She embraced it.
She channeled the Lifestream—the pure energy of the Planet flowing beneath her house—and sent it through the invisible bond, straight to Johnny.
"Hold on!"
In the tunnel, Johnny's eyes suddenly widened. His dark pupils shifted color for a moment, glowing with a faint Emerald Green light.
The pain in his shoulder vanished, replaced by an explosive surge of power. It was a supernatural adrenaline. The wound on his shoulder stopped bleeding instantly, sealed by a thin green light.
Reno and Rude saw it. Johnny's body seemed to emit a green vapor. The aura around him shifted from that of a "Mad Dog" to something... holy yet terrifying.
"What the hell is that?" Reno muttered.
Johnny pulled his hundred-kilogram sword from the concrete. But this time, he lifted it as if it weighed no more than a chicken feather.
Soulbound : Martyr's Blessing
"Move," Johnny growled.
He charged forward, tearing through the rain of bullets. The Sweeper aimed its chainsaw at Johnny's neck.
Johnny didn't block. He swung the Dragon Slayer with a speed that defied the laws of physics.
ZWING!
The black blade sheared through the chainsaw, sliced through the hydraulic arm, and continued its arc to cleave the Sweeper's steel torso diagonally.
CREAAAK... BOOM!
The two-ton machine split into two neat halves, exploding behind Johnny's back.
Johnny stood amidst the flames of the explosion, his eyes slowly returning to normal. The green light faded.
Reno and Rude stood with their mouths slightly open. They had seen SOLDIER 1st Class operatives in action. But that power just now... that wasn't Mako. That was something else.
Johnny exhaled a long breath, feeling Aerith's heart racing in rhythm with his own in the distance.
Thank you, Aerith, he thought.
Johnny turned to the Turks, who were still stunned.
"Threat neutralized," Johnny said flatly, wiping blood from his cheek. " The Sector 7 Pillar is safe."
In the smoke-filled tunnel littered with machine wreckage, Reno lowered his baton. He looked at Johnny with a mix of newfound respect and cold calculation.
"Hey, Johnny," Reno called out as Johnny turned to leave. "That power... that wasn't normal Materia, was it?"
Johnny paused, but didn't look back. His broad shoulders remained tense beneath his leather jacket.
"That's the power of wanting to go home," Johnny answered diplomatically. "Something a corporate dog wouldn't understand."
Rude adjusted his glasses, hiding his surprise. "Safe travels."
Johnny didn't answer again. He dragged his feet out of the tunnel, leaving the Turks to clean up the mess.
As soon as he was out of their sight, Johnny's defenses crumbled.
He staggered, leaning his body against the cold concrete wall. His breathing was ragged. The Dragon Slayer felt ten times heavier than usual.
The green energy that had exploded within him receded, leaving behind a massive void. It felt as if half his blood had just been drained away.
But what worried him more wasn't his own exhaustion.
"Aerith... is she exhausted? I shouldn't have tried it," Johnny hissed.
He felt the heartbeat at the other end of their soul bond weaken. Not stopping, but... tired. Incredibly tired.
Johnny forced his legs to move. He didn't go home to his father's workshop in Sector 7. He mounted his motorbike and tore through the night toward Sector 5.
Elmyra's house was pitch black. Only the porch light hummed dimly, surrounded by night moths.
Johnny didn't knock (he didn't want to wake Elmyra). He vaulted over the wooden fence with his remaining strength, landing silently in the flower garden.
He saw the window of Aerith's room on the first floor slightly ajar. The curtains fluttered gently in the breeze.
Carefully, Johnny peered inside.
There, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the window, Aerith was sitting on the edge of her bed. She was still wearing her plain white nightgown. Her hair was loose and messy.
Her breathing looked heavy. Cold sweat plastered her pale forehead.
"Aerith?" Johnny whispered from the window.
Aerith jumped, startled, then turned. When she saw Johnny's face, grimy with dust and dried blood, a weak smile broke across her lips.
"You came home..." Aerith's voice was hoarse. "You survived."
Johnny climbed through the window, placing his massive sword on the floor with extreme care to avoid making a sound. He knelt in front of Aerith, looking at her with panic in his eyes.
"You're so pale," Johnny said, his voice trembling. "What happened? Did I... did I drain too much of your energy?"
Aerith shook her head gently. "I'm fine. Just a little dizzy. Like I just ran a marathon."
But Johnny's sharp eyes caught something.
Aerith was clutching her left shoulder with her right hand. The movement was protective, as if hiding something.
"Show me," Johnny demanded firmly.
"It's nothing, Johnny. Really."
Johnny took Aerith's hand, gentle but insistent, and moved it away from her shoulder. He pulled back the loose sleeve of her nightgown slightly.
Johnny's breath hitched.
On the smooth white skin of Aerith's shoulder, there was a large, purplish-blue bruise.
The shape and position were exactly where the Sweeper's bullets had grazed Johnny.
Johnny stared at Aerith's shoulder, then at his own. His wound had closed, fully healed by Aerith's energy. But in exchange... she bore the mark.
Johnny immediately cast a spell. "Cure."
Soft green light enveloped Aerith's shoulder. The bruise slowly faded and disappeared. However, Johnny now knew the price. This new power... it was too dangerous for her.
"This..." Johnny was at a loss for words. His eyes felt hot. An overwhelming guilt slammed into his chest like a sledgehammer. "Sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Aerith smiled, then touched Johnny's cheek with her cold hand.
"Don't make that ugly face," Aerith teased softly. "This is proof, Johnny. Proof that you survived. This bruise will fade. But if you had taken those bullets without protection... you might not have come home tonight."
Johnny shook his head violently. "I would have lived, Aerith. I survived fighting the Behemoth alone."
Aerith replied weakly but with fierce affection, looking deep into Johnny's eyes. "But I would have felt it, Johnny. Especially with you fighting alone. That pain tortures me more than this bruise ever could."
She took a slow breath. "I had to try. I had to know that I could protect you too."
"But you were in pain," Johnny looked down, kissing Aerith's palm with deep regret. "I shouldn't have let you do this."
"We protect each other, remember?" Aerith lifted Johnny's chin. "The Heart and the Shield. A package deal."
That night, Johnny didn't go back to Sector 7. He didn't sleep on the living room sofa either.
He sat on the floor, leaning against the side of Aerith's bed, guarding the girl like a faithful watchdog. The Dragon Slayer lay beside him, ready to be drawn if even a shadow moved.
Aerith lay in her bed, color slowly returning to her face after drinking a glass of water Johnny fetched for her.
"Johnny..." Aerith called out softly before her eyes closed.
"Hm?"
"Thank you for destroying that bad robot."
"Go to sleep."
Silence reigned for a moment. Only the crickets of Sector 5 could be heard.
"Johnny?"
"What now?"
"Will you hold my hand until I fall asleep? It feels... cold when I'm alone."
Johnny sighed deeply, but his hand moved up, reaching for Aerith's small hand hanging off the edge of the mattress. He grasped it tightly with his large, calloused hand. It was warm.
"I'm here," Johnny whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."
In that silence, their bond restored itself. The Lifestream energy flowed gently, not as an explosive combat buff, but as a healing current soothing them both into sleep.
Puck, who had been hiding in silence sensing the weight of the moment, finally crept out of Johnny's jacket pocket. He flew soundlessly and curled up to sleep on Aerith's pillow next to Ivalera, taking up the duty of guarding the Cetra's dreams from nightmares.
"The Soulbound is strictly for emergencies only." Literally, the physical injury(the scratches and stab wounds on Johnny's body from battle) is exchanged and becomes Aerith's—Different from the Lifestream Bond wound. Lifestream Bond just felt but there was no physical injury"